It had been only an hour or so since the first drink, and already I was exhausted. My mind stopped clearing up after the third vampire took a turn, and I could barely think straight. My eyesight had gone fuzzy, something I hadn't had to deal with for a very long time.
While I trained to defeat Voldemort, Mad Eye had found a potion that corrected eyesight completely. It was very illegal, and very painful. However, If I were to loose my glasses during a fight I would be no more useful than a leaf blowing around in the wind. After days of a feeling one could describe as someone taking a serrated knife and stabbing my eyes repeatedly, the pain finally faded and I was able to open my eyes and see the world for what it was. No more guessing who someone was, or trying to figure out if a shape was something I should be running from.
The symptoms of blood loss would only become more pronounced as the hours passed. Just when I thought there was no way another bloodsucker would show up, another blur would appear in front of me and an even deeper haze would descend over my clouded mind as their chemicals mixed into my blood.
At this rate I didn't have long until it was too late. Act now, or die trying. The vampire finished and stumbled away, the magic providing an impossible high. As good as it was for them, it was still a drug, it still left them vulnerable and distracted.
Barely able to think straight, I had to escape from maybe twenty drugged vampires. This was going to be fun.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sammy was the brain behind our team. He didn't go in if he didn't have a plan, a back-up plan, and help standing by. I on the other hand would run in with nothing but an empty gun and a dead cell phone.
"Unless you can come up with something better, this is the best we have." He glared, and I glared back, but I knew he was right.
"Ready?" No, but when was I ever ready to face down another danger that risked my mortality? The familiar knots had developed, my stomach jumped into my throat, and the adrenaline started pumping through my veins.
"Lets do this."
Again, I checked that the leeches were still distracted. I had managed to loosen the bonds somewhat, but it was still a tight fit. The effort already had a steady stream of sticky red blood dripping to the floor; any more blood loss and I wouldn't have a chance.
Every so often a dizzy spell would hit, and I would have to stop and wait for it to pass. Each time this happened, I was sure I would pass out. Blood's main purpose is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. The dizziness was caused from a lack of oxygen to the brain.
Finally, I felt the ropes go slack. My hands were free. Slowly, I let my right hand fall to my side. By now I should have learned to carry my wand no matter what. Stupidly, I had put it down before I answered the door. Now all I had was my weakened physical state and my wand less magic.
During one of my lessons with Remus, he explained that before Merlin created the wand, witches and wizards had nothing they could use to help focus their magic; because of this, only a few were successful with more than just a cleaning charm. However, those that managed would have been more powerful than Dumbledore or Voldemort. The benefit of a magical focus allowed magical beings not strong enough to use their magic to become proficient in using it for everyday purposes.
As this invention became the only way the magical communities accessed their magic, the magic itself weakened; no longer being forced to work very hard. Remus compared it to a muscle; if you don't use it you loose it. The magic standards were lowered, and the magical gene pool was weakened.
In the olden days, magical beings kept their marriages confined to those considered magical. When the wand came out, it broadened the range of who was considered a Wizard, weakening the gene pool and magical abilities of the offspring. The most powerful beings now, such as Dumbledore would be considered a weak wizard in the eyes of those that didn't use a wand.
It just so happens, that I came from a long line of powerful wizards, dating all the way back to the first families. One of the requirements for marriage in the Potter line was the ability of wandless magic. The test was first designed by Emery Potter and required the potential partner to pick out a stone with magical properties out of thousands of similar ones; the only way to tell was to feel the magic within the stone. The one being tested would have to spread their magic out and feel for an energy, then summon it to them without a wand.
When I first heard of this challenge, I asked Mad Eye to test me. As I stood in the field looking over a pool of thousands of rocks, all different, nothing could have prepared me for what happened. As I slowly exhaled, I pushed my magic from my body. Little tendrils of invisible energy scoured the rocks, feeling for something, anything with an energy. Slowly, they crept downwards, and I saw the stone. It was a deep blue, around the size of fingernail. I knew that was it, but something was odd about it. The energy that should have emanated from it was hidden, cloaked in a way. I held out my hand, and the tendrils wrapped around the rock and dropped it into my palm. I wrapped my fist around it, feeling the soft edges dig into my palm, and looked at the ex auror.
Now Mad Eye's favorite saying was 'Constant Vigilance!' and rarely was he ever caught off guard. When I saw his face, molded in his features was surprise. His jaw dropped, eyes wide, and glass eye stuck in place, staring directly at my fist.
When I asked him what was wrong he whispered so softly I couldn't hear him. So I asked again. This time I heard, and the words were ones I would never forget, he said 'I put a spell on that rock Harry, a cloaking spell. There was no way you could have found it.' It seemed that not only was I powerful enough to do wandless magic, but I had enough magic to fit into the same class of power as Merlin himself.
Even with all the blood loss and drugs in my system, I was more powerful than any wizard alive. And there was no fucking way some bloody vampires would get the better of me. With the energy boost from my pep talk, I scoped out the room.
Most of my captors had left out of a door to the right of me. The few that had remained were seated across the room on the old Victorian style couches soaking up the warmth from the fireplace; these vampires were so drugged up, they could barely talk. However, the problem I was worried about was the bloodsuckers not in the room. They could be anywhere, and come back anytime for another drink, only to find the ropes cut and me gone.
The floor in front of me must have been left unfinished by the builders; it was the only part of the room that resembled a basement. The room had windows, so I could see I was on the main floor, probably not even that far from the main entrance. Which luckily for me, was in the opposite direction of the way the other vampires had gone. Perfect.
Slowly I stood, but before I could even take my first step, a violent wave of dizziness took over. I almost fell, just barely catching myself as it passed. With a harsh breath I started towards my escape.
A quick glance let me know the ones by the fireplace hadn't noticed a thing, and were still dozing happily in their minds. Silently, I crept towards the door, and let my eyes wander towards the hinges: rusted; they would squeak when I opened them. With a wave of my hand energy flowed effortlessly around the problem and silenced it.
I opened the door and sidled through, closing the door behind me. The hallway before me was grand in its essence. Rich red carpeting smoothed out through the passage, its walls, paint pealing, had old portraits every few feet. Doorways led off from the hallway, and at the end was a turn I couldn't see past.
As I approached the turn, I grew cautious. You never knew what was lurking around the corner, the war had taught me that much. I peaked around, and was knocked onto the floor. My head collided with the ground, and darkness started its descent over my vision. I fought the darkness, just barely hanging onto consciousness. Finally I was consumed, and my last fleeting thought before the lights went out was 'I am so screwed'.
The door creaked as Sammy opened it, and I couldn't help but wince at the noise. Creaking doors were a hazard in our line of business; the sound was easily recognizable and took away our advantage of surprise. Thank god the main entrance was empty.
Quietly, well as quietly as two big guys could, we made our way down a short hallway to the left. The passage had red carpeting and a bunch of creepy portraits. Paintings like these always managed to freak me out, I felt like the eyes were following me.
Sammy had started to lag behind; unlike myself art sort of interested the kid. He had taken an art class, and could accurately judge this kind of stuff. He said he took the class for the girls, but I think he was lying. I rounded a sharp corner, and collided with something. I managed to hold my footing, and looked down at what I had hit. It was the kid!