14. part fourteen

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Xander listened while Puppy and Parrot told him about the boy savior of the wizarding world, Mr Harry James Potter.

"So basically, his big deal is the fact that he didn't die when he was supposed to?" Xander snorted. "That's his big claim to fame? For reals?"

"Voldemort... he was the Dark Lord and nobody had ever survived him before Harry," Parrot said, her voice taking on a fluttery quality he didn't like.

Xander's hand shot out, gripping her tight around the neck as he dragged her close. "Don't get all fangirl on me about some stupid little boy," he snarled. "You're mine now and he's nothing, understand?"

She jerked her head in a nod, her eyes locked on his face as though it was the center of her world.

He released her neck, stroking the side of her face with his hand. "Whatever your life was like before, that's all over now. You belong to me." He leaned forward, kissing her lips gently at first, but ending by viciously biting her lower lip, drawing blood with his merely human teeth.

She looked at him out of glowing eyes, blood pouring from her torn flesh even as it already began to heal itself. Her cloud of golden brown hair swirled around her shoulders and the sapphire blue shift dress she'd shimmied on over her nakedness only made her seem that much more the innocent girl. Anyone seeing her for the first time wouldn't even think to assume she was a horrible blood sucking monster on the inside. It actually made Xander kind of proud of her.

He had had his share of minions, but it was nice to have a couple of Childer. They were smarter for one thing, and when they finally grew up... they would be Masters in their own right. And everything they had would belong to him in the end.

"Why don't you come over here too," he said, crooking a finger at Puppy.

The once proud man scrambled up on the bed. He'd been looking forlorn standing on the sidelines; now he looked positively joyous.

It always made Xander feel good to know that he was the one with all the power. It was the way things were meant to be.

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15. part fifteen

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At the best of times Grimmauld Place was gloomy and depressing, but then everyone had been on edge dealing with the capture and probable death of Snape. Then had come the news about poor Fred.

The Weasleys had bonded together and there was no way Molly was letting any of her children out of her sight. Somehow Harry had been included in their number, not that he particularly minded.

He was feeling a bit out of sorts and his scar had taken to throbbing with almost-pain at the strangest moments.

"It feels as though he's... puzzled?" It came out sounding more like a question than he planned but he couldn't help that. He was getting a nagging sense of wrongness and he rather thought it was Voldemort's confusion more than his own.

Harry was seated next to Molly with the rest of the Order arrayed around the room. He was glad of her presence as he was uncomfortable being the center of attention.

"Can you tell why he's puzzled?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward in his armchair.

Harry shook his head. "I think he got some unexpected news, but I don't know anything more."

"Hm." Dumbledore steepled his hands in front of his chin as he thought. "I wish we knew more, but without Severus we will have to handle things alone. Come to me after the meeting Harry and we'll work on your Occlumency some more."

Without Snape, Dumbledore had been teaching Harry himself. Harry had thought it would be easy and that the only reason why he couldn't get it before was because Snape was a terrible teacher. It might still have been true, but Harry was starting to think he might be a terrible student too.

He'd seen the frustration in Dumbledore's eye.

There was a sudden clatter from the other room and a rather ashen faced Arthur came into the room.

"Arthur?" Molly questioned. Her hands were clenched in the folds of her dress.

Arthur gave them all a pained look before focusing on Du3mbledore. "Albus, I've just come from the Ministry. A news report came to Muggle Affairs. Hermione and her family... they've been killed."

"Death Eaters?" Dumbledore had gone pale. He suddenly looked years older.

"No," Arthur said. "They think it was one of those muggle serial killers or some such. There were no traces of magic."

Even as Ginny cried and Ron raged and the whole room seemed to break into an uproar, Harry sat perfectly still. It felt as though his ears had been stuffed with cotton because he didn't know what to do. There was just nothing.

Hermione was dead, and he felt completely hollow.

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16. part sixteen

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It was lucky that Parrot was almost Willow-smart-pre-vampire Willow smart-yet not nearly so babbly. It meant Xander could use her big brain without feeling like he wanted to stab her quiet. He considered it a win.

"We're different from the vampires I've read about," she said. "I don't think the Wizarding world has ever seen anything like us."

"I've never heard of any other kind of vamp," Xander said. "I've seen a ton of demons, but no other kind of vampire."

He hated the thoughtful thinking moments the most, but sometimes they were necessary. Like now, when he was wondering what was going on and whether he was still in his own world. It wasn't like he was going to call the Master and ask.

"Is this still my world? I'm kind of thinking not. I would have noticed people waving wands around." Xander flopped backwards in the overstuffed armchair Puppy had scrounged from somewhere. The lair was actually getting to be rather homey with all the added little touches. Like the naked blond nailed to the wall, her "wrackspurt" babbling mouth sewn shut with thick black thread.

"Things have all gone strange," he mused, then grinned, "but it's good. If I did travel over from one world to the next, then I don't have to worry about anyone I know horning in on my fun. Plus, no Slayer."

He wasn't scared of the idea of the Slayer. Older vampires had worried fretfully about her making an appearance in Sunnyhell, but the Master had made her afraid of showing her face. Last Xander had heard, she'd died in the underbelly of Berlin and the new girl was so raw there were bets she wouldn't last her first year.

Xander had loved story time with Spike and hearing all about the Slayers he'd killed-it was four at last count. Spike had earned himself the name Slayer Killer, and he never went after the new girls; he liked them with some experience under their belt to add to the danger.

"What's the Slayer?" Parrot asked curiously. She was sitting at his feet with Puppy at her side, both their faces lifted toward him attentively. It was adorable how willing they were to learn.

He looked at them a long moment, tempted to shove them away, but he forced himself to be patient. They were his first Childer and it was his job to train them for the world, where all their glories would be his own.

"The Slayer is always a girl," he began, his voice unconsciously taking on the same tone Spike had used. "She hunts our kind and courts the death we offer, but she's only willing to lie down to the strongest. Every other little vampire or demon she meets, she kills as easily as we kill the humans."

It felt good to be the one looked up to and obeyed. He had pets of his own, and just like he'd promised his doubting mother, he was willing to take care of them. She'd never believed him and never allowed him a pet as a kid, but now he was proving her wrong.

Just like when he'd killed her. "You can't do this," she'd screamed.

And he'd done it.

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17. part seventeen

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Puppy was wracked with bad dreams. The burning on his arm made him want to scream and kill, but he held it all in. He hoped it would stop hurting on its own.

Puppy could tell when Master noticed something was wrong because there was a sudden chilling in his blood and he couldn't help sinking low to the floor, trying to get as flat as possible. He took off his shirt when commanded.

"What is that?" Master poked at the Dark Mark, grimacing at how swollen it was, the skin having pulled tight enough to split open. Blood oozed out slowly.

"The Dark Mark, Master," Puppy whispered.

Master looked at him and seemed to know he wouldn't be getting much coherent information, not when Puppy was biting his lips bloody to hold in the pain. "Parrot!"

Parrot was wearing a pink taffeta dress today, all cupcake ruffles and her hair teased into spiral curls. When she stood next to him in her polished black Mary Janes, Puppy saw that she was wearing black stockings with faint heart designs. He had to curl his hands into fists to keep from reaching out and running his hand up her leg.

He zoned out while she explained the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark to Master. The pain in his arm felt as though it were gouging into the bone and he could feel it expanding up his shoulder, throbbing heat. The Dark Lord was calling with all His might at the moment, much worse than all those other times when He had His followers call instead.

Puppy cringed back when Master was suddenly in front of him, staring into his eyes.

"You seriously have this connection to Moldywort?" At Puppy's shamed nod, Master laughed. "Perfect."

"Master?" Puppy asked.

Master gripped Puppy's left arm hard, a hand above and a hand below the Dark Mark. He examined it intently, jerking the arm this way and that.

Puppy cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure as Master's face twisted and he lunged forward, biting the Dark Mark.

There was a ripping, tearing agony that made Puppy scream and flail, but Master kept him from pulling away. There was the moist sucking of his blood being drawn, but it felt as though Master was sucking out something else at the same time, something DARK and poisonous that Puppy hadn't known lived under his skin.

It was torment, jagged teeth buried in his flesh and the pain he felt magnified until burning agony was all he knew...

Until suddenly it stopped. The pain was gone and Master pulled away with a bloody smile. His face was still twisted and animalish, his eyes gleaming gold. He was beautiful.

"First lesson most big time magic users learn: Don't leave an open mark. It's an invitation to vampires." Master used the front of Parrot's dress to wipe the blood off his face. "Looks like Moldywort just got a valuable lesson."

Master seemed to vibrate with energy, his skin twitching and jerking. When his face shifted back to his human mask, he still wore a manic grin.