Disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter or Vampire Diaries

Chapter 5 :

Intermission

Wednesday 21st October, 2009

The modest two story house sat quiet and dark in the peaceful street, no light shining out of the windows like in the other houses left and right down the street as the day had crept into night and the sky was dotted by stars. Looking at it the house seemed empty the rooms deserted of life, despite the car in the garage. Had a burglar been tempted and actually made it past he would have been in for a rude awakening though as a small figure crept through the darkened hall polishing the metal painting frames muttering under it's breath, the words of 'pests' 'vermin' and 'filthy muggles' often uttered full of disgust, yes this servant in a foul mood having his master stay in a muggle hovel would have welcomed a little piece of filthy meat to take his frustrations out on and in fact kept a set of finely sharpened cutlery concealed in uniform pockets after the first of such happy occasions.

Alas the poor bloodthirsty house elf wasn't that lucky tonight and had to make do with aggressively attacking any speck of dirt.

A foul curse drowned the servant's own mutterings, echoing down the hall and followed by many more too dirty to even spell them, making Kreacher perk up and listen attentively at some even he had yet to hear. Master was so creative.

Kreacher never knew you could use a spoon for that, Kreacher would make sure to try the next time a vermin thought they could sneak past Kreacher to Master he would make sure to make Master proud and was eager to do everything to do so. Master was such a good Master much better than bloodtraitor that broke poor mistress' heart. With a happy humm the house elf scrubbed the surface with extra vigour.

A loud thump as a demonstration of formidable temper echoed through the house ended the diatribe, sparing the 'unorganised ancestors' and 'nuisance of bloodsucking leeches' further defamation of character and abuse via a filthy mouth. Following the sound into the dark living room would show it was indeed as empty as it had appeared from outside but still the low muttering could be heard. There in the far wall beside the fireplace was a small closet it's store slightly ajar and there set on the floor underneath a few hung coats was a single black dragonhide trunk that had seen better days, it's lid half open and spilling faint light into the dark closet.

It was there that the litany of displeasure originated.

Yes this was not a normal trunk but one belonging to a wizard and so magical in every sense of the word, if that meant said wizard wanted to have multiple compartments with one of them being his very own portable, top security study he could take with him on his travels...well he would have it. And have it he did.

Down a wrought iron spiral staircase into the innards of said trunk, one found oneself in the center of a very generous room with floor to ceiling bookcases, an unlit fireplace, a few portraits, a large desk leather chesterfield armchairs it was a homey room with an innate elegance that wasn't even diminished by being buried under layers of paper of what seemed like an explosion of parchments, as nearly every available space was occupied spilling from the large mahogany desk with thousands of drawers over the floor, ink stained, scribbled on, or just plain scrunched up and tossed to the side. All in all, it was impossible to tell that this was not a room in a manor but instead located inside such a nondescript storage vessel.

There sitting cross legged amongst the chaos was Mystic Fall's resident wizard, slumped over, words muffled as he repeatedly gave his forehead love taps via the floor, the very picture of defeat as frustration was in every line of his body.

He just didn't get it, he had the basics, he had the effects, he had done all the calculations and the runes were selected to perfection, but why didn't it work? Just what was the missing link?

With a sharp inhale he suddenly shot upright sending papers flying everywhere, his hand snatching a particular persistent one stuck to his forehead, head whipping around, emerald eyes sharp, as they fixed unerringly upon an open page of a book lying hazardously between the bookcase and the ladder. Scrambling across the small distance on all fours he snatched up the book and scanned it's page before furiously flipping through the pages before his face lit up in the perfect 'Eureka!' moment "That's it!"

Shooting to his feet he marched to his desk, quill flying to his open hand, and began scribbling away furiously like a man possessed, pink tongue peaking out from between teeth his face a mask of concentration.

Ten minutes later he finally dropped the quill from his cramping hand and slumped back in his chair and stretched his arms as far overhead as he could, Hadrian moaned as his spine popped before sinking into the leather upholstery with a sigh of satisfaction.

On his face was the unadultered bliss and arrogance of the cat that had finally gotten the canary, smugness oozing out of his every pore as he regarded his masterwork. At first this had been a concession, something he merely looked into, but after it being such a bitch... well, then it became personal.

To think his misery started with one innocuous phone call weeks earlier, just a day after the festival.

~)Flashback End(~

The call came whilst he got ready to head to his shop and already in a hurry from having slept in due the late night.

Hurrying through morning absolutions because one overslept, the last thing one wanted to hear was the phone ringing, Hadrian felt very justified in the venomous glare he sent the offending piece of technology, especially when he saw the name. A call this early from the man in charge of building his future home was never a good sign.

"Lord Black there seems to have been a disturbance at the construction site." Came the voice of Simmons his site foreman.

Yep. He knew it.

"What kind of disturbance?" Hadrian asked tying his tie in a neat knot, the phone wedged in place between shoulder and cheek.

"Someone seems to have been here and things were moved about and there's residue of multiple little campfires on grounds, there's also footsteps in the sand and soil."

"Was anything damaged?"

"No, nothing sir. All the materials are still safely stored away where they were left and the tarp was completely undisturbed."

"Hmmm... The wards must have fallen because of the comet they were after all only a weak temporary solution. I've already ordered the ward stones from Gringotts. "

"Should I call the Police?"

"No need." Hadrian sighed straightening up from tying his shoelaces the old fashioned muggle way, "It must have just been some nosy teens checking out the construction site and probably drinking far from the watchful eyes of adults."

"You don't think it were the vampires, right?" He glanced at the newspapers lying on the coffee table, the articles of attacks and missing people jumping out at him.

"Unlikely."

He should look into wards that repelled vampires and other supernaturals too, or it could become a problem later, muggle repellent didn't seem to be enough in this town, he glanced at the local newspaper warning about animal attacks. Really could they be any less original any hunter worth their salt would be attracted like bees to honey.

He could also feel the unease all the way from across the phone.

He just had to insist on employing squibs and exiles exclusively, didn't he? But having to hide his magic from his workers would hamper his creativity, detrimental when he's creating a magical masterpiece and not just a house with four walls and a roof. Limiting himself always left a foul taste in his mouth. So squibs and exiled outcasts it was.

Unfortunately, being squibs they had their feet firmly planted in both worlds, that meant they were aware of everything that went bump in the night and that meant they'd been understandably jumpy entering Mystic falls territory despite the headlines screaming animal attacks. They simply knew better.

He sighed, there was nothing for it but to bite the bullet. "I'll look into wards that repel Vampires and other supernaturals, so they can't step onto the land."

Hadrian could feel the man relaxing and his relief was obvious in his voice when they concluded the call. Understandable, since the man was a squib and knew exactly what went bump in the night here but had no means to protect himself but the usual close up stake. He was right to worry about his workers, he concluded the call with an order to be well gone before sundown.

~)Flashback End(~

True to his word he'd scoured not only the Black library but also all others in his possession, which were a alarming member for a member of the house of red, gold and bravery, yet this time there was no pride in possessing enough books to make half of Ravenclaw sell their soul to get access to it, the other half having some harebrained notion that he would ever entertain the thought of marrying them and so grant them unconditional access.

Of course it hadn't been as easy as editing and tweaking an already existing ward; no he had to discover, to his great dismay, that there was no such thing as a vampire repelling ward, the closest being the innate one nature itself (more like the judgmental hedge witch part) erected upon every living home that bound muggle vampires to the invitation rule, nifty and rather ingenious considering how primitive it was, but ultimately far too weak and rigid to suit his needs.

He could not count how many times he nearly ripped his hair out in frustration and how many books sailed through he room. He would have probably given the project up entirely until a later date if time wasn't pressing. He had a schedule to keep and that didn't work if his workers got squeamish and jumped at every shadow. Well it was not like he could actually blame them what with the disturbing news of animal attacks featured prominently and then the disturbance at the construction site... besides he himself thought it would be a good idea to have a ward that kept vampires off his property what with Mystic Fall's crawling with them.

(He was still convinced it was karma that allowed him to wreak the the absolute hell that had descended on Tweedledee and Tweedledum in their Boarding House.)

So he'd started from scratch, he lost count on how many books on ancient wards, history and arithmancy he devoured over the last month or how many times he pestered his goblin contact in Gringott's Warding Department but he finally had a breakthrough three days ago;

In the end it was Kreacher that gave him the final breakthrough and all due to particular acerbic comment about a certain vampire disturbing the sanctity of his shop when he tried to get in to get his beloved trinkets back in the quiet of the night. Tried being the operative word here. And his response to the uncouth vermin thinking he could steal from his master as hilarious as his vindictive response it had been it were the words he hurled at the crumpled unconscious form of the vampire that had cinched it and something in his brain had clicked into place and he suddenly saw it. Didn't make the task any easier or less troublesome and headache inducing.

No matter.

He'd finally completed that pesky but necessary ward, that had cost him far too many hours to draw up.

Before him lay the plans of a magnificent manor, born from his own quill. Despite being nothing more than lines on paper one could already see it's charm and his heart leapt just looking at it, this was going to be his home, he could already see it before his minds eye in vivid detail, the solid stone walls rising from the sprawling lawn, large windows glinting in the sun as light streamed inside filling the rooms within. The intricate gardens and greenhouses concealed in private gardens far from prying eyes and the centerpiece; the large inner patio with it's looming tower rising four stories high to overlook it all.

It would be magnificent.

Carefully sculpted into the delicate lines of the blue prints were now the crimson lines of his newly created ward, seamlessly integrating into the already existing ones. That would hopefully assure his workers and make sure his house was done according to schedule; magic could do a lot but it didn't replace good craftsmanship, it was a lesson the newer generations of wizards had yet to comprehend. It was why the goblins were so sought after other than their warding and banking skills, they still held the olden values, they still understood that magic was powerful but even more powerful if it worked in conjunction with what one formed with their own hands.

It was the second reason he had gladly employed a company that was not only headed by a squib but that was entirely comprised by them along with a few exiled werewolves. There was no need for him to glamour the runes he'd painstakingly carved into every brick and the array chains that traveled along the length of the great dark walnut beams, yet he didn't have to worry about his location being leaked to the wider magical world as he would have done if he'd hired wizards. Confidentiality contracts were all fine and good but not even an iron clad one could curb their zeal when it came to Harry Potter the Man-With-Too-Many-Titles. One way or another, a wizard would have managed to make a nuisance of himself, Hadrian just knew it.

There existed no magic to contain that level of crazy, Hadrian would have gladly sold his soul for it if it did.

Shoving that particular distasteful thought from his mind, concentrating that his schedule had suddenly cleared up, leaving him with a blissful chunk of free time. With a gleeful laugh he spun around in his chair enjoying his unexpected taste of freedom

He glanced over at the calendar seeing the day after tomorrow circled in bright red. Now he had more pleasant arrangements to make, then it was off to the kitchen. It felt like he hadn't had a time to indulge in a tub of ice cream since ages, a travesty he was prepared to correct promptly.

-)§(-

Damon looked up as Stefan stormed into the room toward the house-bar and poured himself a stiff drink. Glad for a distraction from the persistent itch that had yet to abate despite it almost being a week, he looked up to heckle his brother some more and maybe drive him insane as retaliation. Any words he was about to utter died on his tongue as he chocked upon actually seeing him.

There he stood draining his second glass of their best vodka, a thunderous frown on his face that as bordering on the murderous...if it hadn't been total ruined by his hair hanging into his face. His bright neon pink hair.

Damon burst out laughing.

And he couldn't stop. Even as he had to start dodging Stefan's attempts at bodily harm, every glimpse he got at that mop of garish pink set him off again. For the first time since almost a week he didn't even feel like shaving off his skin to stop the raw irritation all over his body. Stefan with pink hair looking like a punk gone very wrong worked like a charm. He looked like one of those troll dolls!

"Weren't you going to go out to find baby Gilbert's druggie for Elena?"

There was a crash and the brothers went at each other again a pattern that was on endless loop these days.

-)§(-

What none of them noticed was that their fighting had opened a window of opportunity that a certain third party was all too happy to exploit ruthlessly with far more nefarious intentions than the resident pissed-off wizard.

~)Flashback(~

September 30th 2009,

With the flick of the wand the doors were sealed shut and another one ensured that the sleeping beauty stayed that way, couldn't have her waking up and begin making a fuss.

Aawww poor Elena Gilbert unable to handle the reality of not everything going according to her imagination and wishes, her prospect boyfriend being more than just the mysterious wealthy founder heir, his being a vampire throwing a wrench in her so carefully laid plans and bringing her fantasies crashing down.

Oh well, they knew it wouldn't last. Soon she would make new plans, realising that having a supernatural boyfriend totally smitten with her brought her advantages a human one never could. She was so predictable once you wrenched off the rose tinted glasses the whole town viewed her with.

Well they would take advantage of the situation while they were sure the pesky watchdog of a vampire was firmly out of the picture and had other things to do than imitate the broodiest stalker vampire off all time, they knew they wouldn't get much of a chance later. Especially as the number would double in the awaiting future.

The foolish girl wouldn't last to her graduation with her pulse and humanity intact. Better make most of it now.

Petrova Doppelganger blood was very valuable after all, and they were behind schedule.

~)Flashback End(~

Yes, unbeknownst to all others in town; every night since then a figure snuck into the doppelgangers room and drained her off her precious blood. A tweaked blood replenisher spelled into the stomach, and no one was the wiser. Any weakness Elena Gilbert felt was summarily attributed to the stress of carrying the heavy burden of the dark secrets lurking underneath the surface of her crush.

If only sweet Elena knew the truth… she wouldn't find a moment of sleep.

So a little of plot, a snippet of the tormented brothers... hope you liked it

Thanks for the prank ideas guys but, wow, I gotta say; you guys are brutal! (yes especially you Pheonixs1518)

I loved it! Please send more!

No worries their time of glory is not over by a long shot lol