A/N: I'm back, bitches! So, yeah, due to a severe lack of inspiration and college and other shit, I've been gone for a while. For that, I'm truly sorry, but hey, better late than never, eh? So without further ado, the first chapter of my revamped HP/Hellsing crossover. I'll be taking things slower this time, and I've already got a good idea how things are gonna play out, as well as an epic shitload of free time. Only thing you need to know is that I'm assuming that Harry was intrigued enough by a few spells to ask how they worked, which seems perfectly logical to me. Enjoy, my lovely people!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the magnificent brain child of one J.K. Rowling, and Hellsing is from the, slightly depraved, mind of Kouta Hirano.
Harry Potter and the Bird of Hermes: ULTIMATE
Chapter 1: Careful Execution
Narcissa Malfoy wasn't a woman that scared easily, a side effect of being in the Dark Lord's presence on a semi-regular basis, but something about said Lord's current guests had her more on edge than usual. She wasn't sure if it was the perpetual grin on the young woman's face or the stony silence from her companion, but something was just...off. Still, she would be a fool not to lead them to the Dark Lord as instructed, uncomfortable as it might have made her.
"Frau Malfoy, this is quite the home you have here, very extravagant. I wish accommodations at our base were half this nice. Sadly, military discipline leaves no room for such elegance," the young woman spoke, looking around as Narcissa lead the way to the room the Dark Lord favored for private meetings.
"Thank you, Miss...?"
"Lieutenant," she corrected, her grin somehow stretching wider, "Rip Van Winkle, and this is the Captain. Just the Captain."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," she replied, the mountain of a man walking at the Lieutenant's side giving her a nod of acknowledgment. They came to a halt in front of a large, ornate door. "The Dark Lord is just in here, I will leave you to discuss your business in peace."
"Thank you for the escort, Frau Malfoy, I have a feeling we shall be seeing more of each other in the future," Lt. Van Winkle said, with a deep bow and slight cackle that had Narcissa making her exit as fast as possible. As she disappeared from sight, the slight young woman entered the room, the Captain remaining outside to ensure privacy.
"Ah, Lt. Van Winkle, I presume?" the pale, serpentine figure of Lord Voldemort greeted her from a seat near room's fireplace. He motioned to a chair across from himself, "Please, have a seat."
"Guten abend, Herr Voldemort," she replied, taking the indicated chair. "It was very nice of you to extend such courtesy to our organization."
"Ah, but, of course, it would not do to alienate such powerful potential allies. I must confess, though, I was expecting someone a fair bit more eccentric based on what your leader told me."
"The Major warned me to be on my best behavior. He is of the opinion that our organizations stand to benefit greatly from each other in the coming days."
"That we may. I understand this Major has sent some sort of gift to...bait the hook, as it were?"
"Ah, yes, we happened to be in a certain neighborhood and thought it would be a good idea to make our offer too tempting to resist," her grin grew positively predatory as she pulled a photograph from her suit jacket's inner pocket. She handed it to the Dark Lord and his laughter rang throughout the Manor as he saw the subject.
"Your Major certainly knows how to negotiate," he said, a predatory grin of his own forming as he gazed upon the bound form of Harry James Potter, armed soldiers flanking the chair he was lashed to. "For Potter, you merely need to say the word and my Death Eaters are at your disposal, Lieutenant. It is the least I can do."
"Excellent, Herr Voldemort, Millennium appreciates your enthusiasm."
Two Days Earlier...
Harry Potter was doing what he always seemed to be doing these days, laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering what might have been. He knew Sirius would be kicking his ass for it, but he just couldn't move past the idea that it was his fault that his godfather was gone. If only he'd been less impulsive, less susceptible to Voldemort's influence, if only Snape's lessons in Occlumency had taken, if only Dumbledore had been more open with him this year, if only Umbridge was less of a raging b-
"Boy, get down here, one of your freaks is at the door!" his Uncle shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
"Coming!" he shouted back, sighing as he dragged himself downstairs, not really feeling up for dealing with anyone at the moment. He glared through the peephole and found an unfamiliar face on the other side, though it was fairly obvious why Uncle Vernon had pegged him as a "freak." He was wearing bright, outlandishly colored robes and his wand was proudly displayed in a small holster at his hip. Scoffing at the sheer lack of effort, Harry pulled open the door and leaned against the frame, wand in hand behind the door, "Can I help you?"
"Mr. Potter?" he asked, eyes drifting towards Harry's hairline. Harry rolled his eyes but nodded, "Oh, it's so good to meet you, sir! I'm with the Ministry, just doing routine checks of wizards and witches in these troubled times. May I come in?"
"Do you have some sort of identification?" Harry was naturally distrustful of anyone having anything to do with the Ministry, let alone a supposed employee who appeared to not care about the Statute of Secrecy and hadn't provided a name. He was only peripherally aware of a noise from the kitchen, but passed it off as Dudley's noisy eating.
"Right here, sir," the blond man replied happily, producing not a badge or a wallet, but a...bubblegum wrapper.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Harry growled, slamming the door shut and locking it tight. Shooting a quick locking spell at the door, he bolted upstairs and did the same to his room's door. Grabbing Hedwig, he scribbled a quick note and disillusioned her with instructions to get to Grimmauld Place as fast as possible. If that confounded idiot had gotten to the door, whoever was on watch must have already been taken down.
"Harry, get the hell out of her-" a strangled scream that sounded like Tonks came from across the yard. Harry ran to the door, but stopped with his hand around the handle, images of a tortured Sirius flashing in his mind. Was faking a voice all that hard? It was an area of magical ability he knew nothing about. Reluctantly tamping down his urge to get outside as quick as possible, he walked to his window and surveyed the scene. Far from a desperate firefight or downed Auror, there was nothing. Even the wizard who'd served as a distraction was gone from sight. Grabbing his invisibility cloak, he quickly packed his things with a few flicks of his wand and stuffed his shrunken trunk in his pocket. Standing to the side of the door, he removed the locking spell and waited a second before dashing downstairs. He froze in a corner of the foyer, straining his ears for any minute sound. Hearing nothing he went further into the house, making for the back door. In the kitchen, he was dismayed to find the bodies of Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley, each bleeding onto the tablecloth, throats slit from ear-to-ear. Harry swallowed and took a deep breath, trying not not vomit at the sight. He'd admit to wanting them to feel a modicum of the suffering they'd put him through, but this...this was too much. Shaking it off as best he could, he crept to the back door. He took a look around, and couldn't see anything out of place, but that very fact was starting to worry him. He had the cloak though, so if he moved slowly, he should be able to evade any Death Eaters out there. Thinking quickly, he moved back toward the front of the house and fired a Reductor at the front door, blowing it outward in a rain of splinters. Hoping that that would distract whoever he was up against, he slipped out the back door and into the night.
Hellsing Manor - Approx. same time
"Albus, are you sure about this?" a young blond woman asked the aged Headmaster, plans and contingencies already running through her mind.
"I'm afraid so, Integra. Most of the relatively few vampires in Britain are secret but firm friends of the Order and they are reporting rather aggressive recruiting measures on behalf of Voldemort," he replied, his all-business attitude a stark difference from the kindly grandfather most of his students saw him as.
"That is concerning indeed, I imagine any efforts for recruiting on the continent will be met with a warmer response?"
"If my contacts are correct, yes. The communities in Eastern Europe are especially eager for a chance at fresh blood, I'm told. Most of the rest appear to be leaning towards neutrality. One of my contacts is working the major French covens, and has high hopes for success, however."
"Well, some good news, at least. Alucard!" she called. In response, a tall figure clad in red passed through the wall, a grin on his face as he spotted the Headmaster.
"Hello, old man, long time, no see," he spoke in greeting, his deep voice filling the room.
"No time for pleasantries, Alucard, I want you to take Seras and investigate a few targets the good Headmaster has brought us," she ordered, holding out a short list of the vampire communities already confirmed to be allied with Voldemort in Britain.
"More fake vampires?"
"For a change, no. These may actually present a challenge, so try not to take them all yourself. Seras needs to learn how to fight more than pale imitations eventually."
As Dumbledore opened his mouth to ask who Seras was, the fireplace burned green for a second, revealing the face of Remus Lupin.
"Albus, something's wrong at Privet Drive, Hedwig arrived disillusioned not moments ago, frantic, with a message from Harry."
"Integra, if I might impose?" Albus asked, motioning to Alucard.
"Of course. Alucard, go get Seras."
"As you wish," he replied, drifting back through the wall.
"I'll be along shortly, Remus, take the others and secure the area," Dumbledore ordered, and Remus nodded, pulling back from the fireplace. Not a moment later Alucard and a young, blonde woman shouldering a large rifle appeared in the room.
"You called, Sir Integra?" the young woman asked, snapping to attention.
"Yes, the child of two very dear friends is in trouble. You and Alucard are going to accompany Albus here and make sure he is safe. That is your one priority, and anyone who threatens that priority is a target to be eliminated, understood?"
"Yes, Sir Integra!" Seras replied.
Alucard said nothing, merely moved next to Dumbledore, Seras following.
"Each of you, take an arm," he said, holding both out. They did as instructed and all three disappeared with a crack.
"Best of luck," Integra whispered to her empty office. She had a terrible feeling about all this.
Behind Privet Drive
Harry was currently in the alley behind 4 Privet Drive, creeping along as fast as he was comfortable with, eyes scanning his surroundings wildly. He still hadn't caught sight of anyone or anything and it was almost worse than facing down a group of Death Eaters, the paranoia eating at him.
"Anyone else tired of playing with the kid? Entertaining as this is, we are on a schedule," a voice called from a line of bushes ahead of him on the other side of the alley's mouth. Harry's breath hitched and he pushed himself up against the fence he was standing near, crouching so as to present a much smaller target for wildly aimed spells. "Sorry, kid, that's not gonna work, we can see you clear as day."
Bloody hell, Harry cursed in his mind, not sure how they could see him, but not willing to gamble that they were lying to intimidate him. He held up his wand and muttered the most powerful version of the lumos spell he knew, sending a bright flash towards the bushes as he took off between the houses across the alley and onto the next street. Hearing pounding footsteps behind him, he cast a quick glacius at the ground as he passed and held out his wand arm as he hit the street. Unfortunately for Harry, the effort was too little, too late as a pair of hands grabbed him from behind and he found himself dragged into the darkness, pulled against a shadowy figure as the Knight Bus arrived and the conductor scanned the area. Seeing no one, the Bus soon departed.
"Nice try, Potter," a voice whispered in his ear just before an arm tightened around his throat and all went black.
Privet Drive
Dumbledore, Seras, and Alucard arrived at the end of Privet Drive just in time for a blasting hex to nearly collide with them, Dumbledore's quick reflexes preventing it from landing. Alucard had his gun up as Dumbledore's shield faded, putting a bullet in between the eyes of a Death Eater's mask. Seras was utterly confused as bolts of colored light filled the air between two entrenched factions. Following her master's lead, she judged that the masked, robed fellows were the enemy and quickly set to work, Integra's orders ringing in her head. With three fresh combatants, two of whom were utterly immune to the Killing Curse, the remaining Death Eaters were quick to retreat. Afterwards, as the rest of the Order members quickly moved to secure the area and Ministry personnel began arriving, Dumbledore, Remus, Alucard, and Seras moved into the house.
Guided by the smell of blood, Dumbledore investigated the kitchen and let out a great sigh at the sight before him, "That must be how they bypassed the wards, send a few muggles in through the back to neutralize Petunia and Dudley, with Vernon simply being collateral damage."
"Something seems off over here," Seras called, "this door wasn't broken inward, it was hit from the inside."
"Are you sure, my dear?" Dumbledore asked, running an eye over the remains of 4 Privet Drive's front door.
"I was a police officer, I've seen my fair share of busted down doors," she replied matter-of-factly. "Also, there's a strange smell, coming from somewhere. I can't quite put my finger on it."
"I was waiting for you to notice. That smell you recognize is artificial vampires, police girl," Alucard said, moving past everyone and out the back door. "As far as I can tell, the boy blasted open the front door as a distraction and slipped out the back, but they were waiting for him."
"That seems to be the case. A cleverly planned ambush. Take out our men, neutralize the wards and position forces on both sides of the house, ready to pounce when Harry decides to try and escape. It would seem that Voldemort has allied with whoever made your 'artificial' vampires. Pondering the implications can wait, however. We need to find Harry."
Location unknown, hours later
Harry awoke with a groan, shaking his head as he tried to get his eyes to focus, his head throbbing. His glasses were gone, though, and everything around him was a blur.
"Here, Herr Potter, allow me," a German-accented voice said as his glasses slid into place and the room into focus. When he could finally see his surroundings, his eyes widened. He was in what looked like a medium-sized bunker, surrounded by soldiers in black trench coats, helmets, and gas masks. Prominently on display in the room above them was a large red flag, one he'd only ever seen in a history book. Snapping himself out of the utter stupor of finding out that he had apparently been kidnapped by Nazis, he found that he was bound to a chair and standing in front of him was a very strange woman, tall and thin in a black suit with hair down to her knees. "Wilkommen, our little bargaining chip."
