A little shorter than the last but this time, action packed! Enjoy chapter 6!
6. Unfortunate events
Harry woke up the next morning well rested, yet nervous. He grabbed his glasses, put them on and looked around at the other four post beds. Ron had apparently woken up before him, because he wasn't sleeping in his bed. Harry frowned. It wasn't like him to wake up earlier than Harry.
Harry left the dormitories and, not finding Ron in the common room, he headed to the great hall. The commotion in the corridors was astounding. Many students were running here and there, and there was someone calling their names at the end of the main seventh-floor corridor. Harry walked to professor McGonagall, who was standing with a long roll of parchment, calling names and pointing her wand at different students. As she caught sight of him, she said, "Potter, over there with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley." He followed her wand's movement and saw them standing next to a statue, looking more nervous than him. He half-ran to them, and they both looked at him and tried to crack a smile without much success.
Slightly frustrated by their silence, he asked, "What's going on?" They looked at each other, making him fold his arms impatiently, and then Hermione whispered, "It's the new DADA teacher."
Harry gave her a quizzical look, and they huddled, Hermione giving him all the details about the past night. Harry's eyes grew wider with every sentence, and his heart raced. So she really was a vampire. How he hadn't noticed before was a wonder to him, but what was even a more perplexing wonder was why his interest in her grew after having confirmed this fact. His face was slightly flushed with excitement, and when Hermione finished her story and looked at him she asked, "Are you ok?"
"Y – Yeah I'm fine," He mumbled hastily in reply and straightened up, looking the other way. Professor McGonagall had successfully managed to get everyone into their house groups and was yelling for quiet. When everyone calmed down, she looked sternly at them all and spoke. "We have received information from the centaurs that a dangerous creature strong enough to kill them on its own is loose in the Forbidden Forest. "
This comment was met with exclamations of fear and whispering among the students. Professor McGonagall raised her hands for silence, and when the commotion ceased she continued. "There is no real need for panic, since you all know that there are many spells surrounding the castle. There are just some new rules that must be implemented to ensure everyone's safety. I trust you are all wise enough to follow those rules. If anyone is seen breaking them, he will either be severely punished or killed by whatever it is that is out there."
"You mean you don't even know what's out there?" A boy from Ravenclaw house exclaimed, an incredulous look on his face. More commotion arose and Professor McGonagall had to yell for it to stop. "Rest assured that no matter what it is, Headmaster Dumbledore will make sure you are all out of harm's way," she said. She then took out a piece of rolled up parchment from inside her sleeve, unrolled it and adjusted her glasses on her nose. "Now, listen closely. All of you are to be within the castle before sundown, and I mean before sundown whether it is before curfew or not. You are not to walk close to the Forbidden Forest, or seek shade under the trees close to it for that matter. If it happens to rain or get very cloudy and dark, you are to return to the castle immediately. All classes will remain on schedule, and nothing will change until further notice." She rolled up the parchment and placed it back in her sleeve. "All the professors are renewing the charms put around the castle grounds, and some new spells have been placed around the castle. Your house passwords will change weekly as an extra precaution. Should you see anyone suspicious lurking around the castle or inside it, you are to report immediately to any staff. You will all have a copy of these rules pinned on the announcement boards in your common rooms. Any questions?"
There was silence for a moment where everyone looked nervously at her then Katie Bell raised her hand and asked "Will there still be Quidditch, Professor?" Professor McGonagall sighed and said "I'm afraid any extracurricular activity done outside the castle walls must be canceled." An outcry of disappointment and anger rose from the Quidditch fans and players, Harry yelling "No way!" along with them. Professor McGonagall yelled through the commotion "If that is all, go to your classes", waited for a few seconds then left when no one seemed to have paid attention to her.
Harry turned back to look at Ron and Hermione, and Ron looked frustrated. "No Quidditch? Now how am I supposed to have some fun during the year? I can't possibly sit and study all the time."
"Well at least you'll study most of the time when you used to study less than half the time," Hermione retorted. "You should be more careful about your grades."
"Whatever," he replied sulkily, then his stomach growled loudly and they all laughed. They needed some breakfast.
The day passed as normally as possible, and by twilight the only difference was Hagrid standing at the great oak doors of the castle making sure they were well locked. The Castle was crowded by six o'clock that evening, and Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way to the Great Hall to have their dinner before retiring for bed. As they entered, Harry made sure to look carefully along the front table. All the professors were there, including the vampire. Now he could see it clearly. The cup of red wine…could it be blood? And that steak on her plate seemed to be cooked very rare, or at least that's what he thought as she sunk her fork in it, making it ooze out a bright red liquid.
Hermione was also looking her way and she snickered. "She thought she could hide it from me," she said. She shrugged and buried her nose in her book.
Ron looked at her then leant towards Harry, whispering. "Is it just me, or do all girls have a serious jealousy problem towards Professor Agnieska?"
Harry shrugged, looking towards the professor. "She is a lot prettier than the prettiest girl in this school," he answered, and they both laughed silently, stopping when Hermione threw them a dirty look over her book.
As they headed back to the common room, Hermione was oddly silent, which encouraged Ron to start picking on her. "I think reading the book is enough for a normal human brain. You don't have to keep thinking about what you just read or your brain's gonna explode. Then again, your brain's never been normal, has it?"
Hermione looked at him absentmindedly, as if she hadn't heard a word he said, and she stopped walking. The other two stopped and stared at her. "I was thinking," she said. "Our new professor has something to do with whatever is going on here. The centaurs even accused her of being one of them. Of course, she had to act all innocent in order to gain their trust and not have herself killed, but I bet she's very well aware of what is going on. She might even be taking part right under Dumbledore's nose."
Harry and Ron looked at her, not believing what she just said. "C'mon, Hermione," said Ron. "You can't be that jealous of her. I think that if she had anything to do with what was going on, she wouldn't be in this castle. Dumbledore wouldn't have taken that chance, you know that."
Hermione looked up at him, slightly frustrated by his impenetrable logic, then she said, "why don't we go ask her, then?"
Harry and Ron shook their heads. Hermione was truly stubborn. They left the corridors and headed towards the dungeons where Agnieska's office was. They knocked on her door three times and waited for an answer, then the door opened. Agnieska was dressed in her hunting gear. She was wearing tight flexible cloth on her body, cut up in a sleeveless shirt and shorts just above the knees. Straps were tied on her thighs and blades were stashed there comfortably and ready for use. The same material covered her hands in fingerless gloves and her calves for protection and better camouflage. Her hair was tied up into a closed ponytail and a hooded cloak was draped over her shoulders.
"Excuse me professor," said Hermione. "Are you going somewhere?" Her voice was questioning and almost reproachful. The vampire raised an eyebrow and moved aside, motioning them to enter. The filed inside and she closed her office door behind them. The room turned cold and dim. She walked to her desk and sat down behind it.
"If my students need me for something, I am not to ignore their request," She replied, smiling, "Whatever it is I have to do can wait." Both the boys blushed lightly and Hermione sighed.
"I'm sure you know why we're here, Professor," said Hermione, her arms crossed. When Agnieska remained silent and politely questioning, an obvious sign she had no idea why they were here, Hermione shook her head and continued, "We know you know what's going on here."
Hermione's blunt attitude surprised them all. Ron whispered, "Hermione!" but she didn't even take notice of this warning. Agnieska blinked at Hermione's accusation and got up. She walked until she was in the middle of the room and turned to face them.
"I have no clue who or what is out there, Miss Granger. I thought I made that clear to the centaurs last night before your very eyes."
"The only thing that was clear, Professor, was that you didn't want to risk your life," Hermione replied. "It's very understandable. I would have lied, too, were I in a life threatening situation."
Agnieska looked like she couldn't believe what was being told to her. That insolent girl, she thought, but she kept her calm and replied, "Nothing about last night's situation was life threatening to me, Miss Granger. It was your life I was more worried about. Those arrows would have done you in, but not me. You forget they cannot injure a vampire."
Hermione's eyes widened. She had just been politely lectured, and she had to keep her mouth shut. "Is that all?" Agnieska asked them. Hermione shook her head. "Where are you going?" She asked.
Agnieska tightened the straps on her wrists and answered, "On a mission for the headmaster. I am to investigate the perimeter. Only another vampire can take on one of our kin, if need be. Perhaps they might not fight, seeing as I'm one of them."
"Well then, in that case, we're coming with you," said Hermione. Harry and Ron both gasped and Agnieska crossed her arms, frustration slightly showing on her face now. She had only one retort, "If you get the headmaster's acceptance to join me, then by all means you are welcome. You have an hour, I will not leave later."
Hermione's face brightened as Harry and Ron looked horrified behind her and she got up and nearly ran out the door, the boys following closely behind. They both waved, smiling shakily at their professor, and Agnieska waved back, smiling. Harry's heart skipped a beat.
Ron caught up with Hermione and stopped in front of her, forcing her to stop. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" He asked. "Are you that intent on getting us killed? First you anger a vampire while we're in her office, at her mercy, then you want to take us no an entire horde of them. What's next, setting us on silver plates with red apples in our mouths so we could be their dinner?"
Hermione shook her head, laughing at what he said. "We're not going to be their lunch, Ron. We're going to catch her in the act of negotiating something with the vampires, some sort of conspiracy perhaps, and we'll subdue them and hand them over to professor Dumbledore. Brilliant idea, isn't it?"
"No it's not, Hermione," said Ron desperately. "This is a stupid idea that will get us killed. Do you have any idea how we're going to subdue them? It's like she said, only another vampire can take them on. We're not vampires so we can't take them on. That's that."
"Oh Ron, it's like her words are your Bible, or something. You need to wake up and see the fraud that she is." With that, Hermione, shoved him aside and headed up the stairs and out of the dungeon.
Ron stood there, looking helpless, and said, "She's crazy."
"But she's right," Harry told him. Ron rounded on him with an avalanche of exclamations and worried words, but Harry brushed them off. Right before Agnieska had closed the door, she had mouthed him to come. He didn't tell this to Ron, but he wanted to obey her. He wanted to go, just as she asked. He didn't know why, but something about her beckoning made him feel like everything would be fine. He therefore decided he would do as Hermione wanted and join Agnieska in her quest. Perhaps he could be of some help.
Instead of going to the Headmaster's office, they headed for the common room. They guessed that Professor Dumbledore would never give them permission to go on such a dangerous mission, so they decided they would do as they had always done: hide under the Invisibility cloak. They wrapped it around themselves and crawled out of the Portrait hole, down the grand staircase and into the Entrance Hall. They knew she would be going out from here in a few minutes, and sure enough, they saw her slender form coming up from the dungeon staircase. She walked to the great oak doors of the castle and tapped her wand three times. They hurried as quickly and quietly as they could across the hall and the hid behind the door as she got out. They waited until she tapped the door again and the doors started closing, then they slipped through, hearing the door clang and lock itself up behind them.
They looked out and they saw her walking down the path to the forbidden forest. They walked a distance behind her so she wouldn't hear or notice them. The moon shown bright, covering the stars with its bright beams, seemingly lighting up the universe. Their path was as bright as dim daylight and they felt reassured. They were hidden from view and everything was clear around them. The vampire's hair glimmered and she hooded herself. As soon as they arrived at the forest's end, she disappeared from sight.
They picked up their pace and nearly ran to the forest. There, the darkness was broken with waves of moonlight shining through the trees. They caught glimpses of her cloak. She seemed to be moving much faster than they had anticipated. She looked as though she was walking, but her pace was swift. As they walked on, the trees became more entangled, hiding the moon from sight, and soon enough they were slowed down by the proximity of the trees and the darkness surrounding them. They couldn't help feeling less secure the more they walked, and the fact that they often lost sight of the vampire made them feel lost. Hermione didn't slow down, however. Her determination kept them close behind.
Walking on, the trio saw the vampire standing still. She seemed stiff and alert. They didn't understand why, so they stood just as still, listening. A rustle of leaves met their ears, but it was so light it might have been a slightly stronger wind moving them. They were wrong. Ron was the first to notice. As the vampire stood ahead of them, another vampire was seen standing right behind her for just a second before he disappeared. Ron gasped, and the two others looked where he was looking, seeing the vampire move swiftly from side to side. Sometimes, she disappeared completely from view, and then reappeared holding off a male vampire. They could only see his ragged clothing and shoulder length hair as he tried stabbing Agnieska in the neck with a dagger while she blocked him off with her own dagger. She threw him off and he flipped in the air, landing lightly then disappearing from view again. Hermione's eyes were wide in astonishment and awe. They had never witnessed a sparring between two vampires. They decided to huddle together and wait it out, but that didn't last.
Agnieska was busy with one vampire, but she heard that there were at least two others there. She knew that the children, meaning Harry, Ron and Hermione, were close by, and she prayed they wouldn't get caught in this. They would end up served for dinner if they were seen. She hoped they were well hidden. She had asked Harry to come along because Dumbledore wanted to gain the vampires' trust, and she thought Harry's presence would help convince them. She didn't expect a fight and it was lucky that Harry was out of sight.
The man with the long hair didn't tire of fighting, and she hadn't had such a tough opponent in a while. He was quick and fierce, fighting as if to claim a reward or to save his life. "I don't want to hurt you," she yelled out to him, but he just yelled out a war cry of some sort and ran at her again, this time aiming for her legs. She jumped as he swiped his blade and landed on his shoulders, confusing him, then she jumped off with a force that made him fall face-first into the dirt. She turned until she was upside down then aimed two small throwing knives at him and fired. One sliced his shoulder and the other barely cut a piece of his hair and he grunted, holding the wound. She landed a way behind him and waited, dagger at the ready. He turned, a grimace of anger on his face, and started to charge, but a voice rang out into the forest: "That's enough!"
The man stopped in his tracks and a tall woman appeared from behind a tree. Her hair was silver blond and cut into a squared bob, with a small side swept fringe hovering lightly over her large hazel eyes. She had a pretty face, but it was calm in composure and she walked elegantly to the man, her dark cloak moving silently along her thin ankles. He was breathing heavily, his iris red. Agnieska knew he was going in for the kill. All vampires' eyes turned this crimson color when they were hungry or when they were killing. The woman's call must have been an important one to listen for. He seemed like a very loyal minion if hers.
"I am Lidya, leader and commander of the Crimson Moon. Who are you and what brings you into our territory?" Her voice was clear as crystal, just like Agnieska, and she knew Lidya was of royal blood.
"I am Agnieska, mistress of Transylvania and the last of Dracula's lineage," she answered. The blond woman raised her eyebrows and threw the man a disdained look, then awaited the reply to her other question politely. "I live in the castle owning these grounds. The master of this castle has heard of your presence on his grounds, and he is bothered by your killings of the centaurs and the imminent danger this brings on the inhabitants of these grounds. He wishes you stay clear of this place."
Lidya sighed and walked closer to the woman. "We are not here to disturb. We are here to hide. We heard these grounds were safe and we needed a new headquarters, so we came here seeking sanctuary. The centaurs were only killed for food, not for enmity." Her face bore an apologetic look, but it didn't make her look weak or desperate. It just made her look genuinely sorry for disrupting. She didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
Agnieska nodded in understanding, not keeping her eyes off them, and continued. "The headmaster wishes that you leave his grounds," she said. The blond woman's look changed into a cold mask of indifference. "He cannot have unknown vampires lurking on his grounds without his permission."
"The Crimson Moon asks for no one's permission," the woman replied coldly. She turned around and started to walk away. Agnieska whipped her wand out and pointed it at the woman. The swish of her wand made the woman halt and turn, a look of outrage on her face.
"So you are a magic user, are you?" She asked. "You are a betrayer of our kin. You do the unforgivable sin of using magic, the human's destructive power. You will pay for your insult."
Agnieska sighed and said, "It was not my intention to-" But the man yelled again and attacked her. She waved her wand and a burst of yellow light came out like a lightning bolt and the man was thrown off his feet, hitting the ground hard and not moving. The woman frowned, and untied the long cloak covering her, letting it slip off her to the floor. Underneath was the most peculiar piece of armor the trio had ever seen. It looked like it was made of black onyx and it was covering the woman's bust, her arms and her legs, leaving the shoulders, hands and feet exposed. She wore an odd pendant down her chest. Agnieska's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"You know what this means, don't you?" The woman asked. Agnieska put her wand away and turned. Vampires of royal blood never attacked someone with their back turned. She started walking away, but a vampire came out of the trees and surprised her, his wand raised at her. Another one came out in the same position, then another. They were all grinning in a way that didn't look good. Agnieska took her wand out, but a simple expelliarmus spell had it flying away. It fell close to the trio as they hid, watching all this happen before them.
Hermione let a hand out from under the cloak and took hold of it. One of the vampires suddenly looked her way and yelled, "Get them!" Within seconds, the trio was surrounded with vampires. There could have been as much as fifteen of them. One of the vampires flicked his wand and the cloak floated up and off the trio.
"Oh, if it isn't The Boy Who Lived," he cackled, and the mob cackled in the same way in a chorus of sick joy. "Get up, boy!" He cried, and Harry got up slowly, cautiously. "Take his friends, Roy!" Ron and Hermione were pulled up to their feet and pulled away. Hermione was whimpering, clutching Agnieska's want tightly and Ron was trying to pull himself out of the vampire's grip unsuccessfully. Agnieska watched as Harry and his friend were discovered and she turned to the woman.
"What is the meaning of this, Lidya?" She asked, but Lidya looked just as frightened and outraged and she was apparently also a target. She stood frozen, muttering "blasphemy" under her breath and looked towards Agnieska for an explanation, but Agnieska just growled in frustration and yelled, "What do you want form us?"
One of them cackled and replied, "Our master needs you. All of you. No exceptions." Ropes blasted out of all the wands and the captives were tied up from their shoulders to their feet. The vampires walked closely to all of them, gave them a good look, and the last words they said of the night was "Stupify!" before darkness washed over the captives and they fell unconscious.
There you have it? What will become of the heroes of our story? You're free to give me ideas in your Reviews!