Chapter 7

The vampiress

The next morning the Great Hall was positively buzzing with news of Harry's highly successful dueling class. Students were gushing to eachother about Harry's teachings and even the Slytherins were excited about it.

"Sweet Chocolate Frogs, you sure made yourself the popular new guy," Aurora muttered sourly as she helped herself to some coffee. "I take it your class was a hit?"

"They enjoyed it," Harry said, watching in morbid fascination as his fellow teacher inhaled three steaming cups of black coffee. "Good god woman, is that healthy?"

"Shut up," she muttered. "I'm not an early bird like you."

"Fine," Harry snapped. "I was just wondering."

Aurora sighed unhappily. "Can we not fight please?" she pleaded. "It's too early in the morning for it!"

"What are we fighting about?" Harry shot back. "You don't like mornings, big bloody deal."

"Harry," she begged, but Dumbledore interrupted their conversation.

"Ah Professor Potter, there you are!" he said. "We are quite fortunate that your induction into the DFDL as I like to call it is in the morning! Come along, they're all waiting!"

Harry groaned audibly as some of his new students cheered for him. He put on a brave face and smiled wanly at his students, resulting in many feminine sighs.

"Lead the way Toto," Harry commanded. Dumbledore, who understood the movie reference perfectly, chuckled.

"We're off to see the Wizard!" he sang happily as he and Harry left the Great Hall.

Aurora watched Harry walk away and sank her head into her hands.

"And it is with great honor," Minister Fudge said loudly, as dozens of cameras flashed, "That I award this honorary membership to the DARK FORCE DEFENSE LEAGUE, to Harry James Potter!"

Harry was given a small Auror-like badge that was pinned to his jacket by Fudge. He smiled and shook hands with the Minister, his crony – er – assistant Weasley and many other Ministry personnel and League members.

"Welcome aboard Harry!" a dark – appearance-wise – wizard named Claudius said, shaking Harry's hand repeatedly.

"Glad to be here," Harry said in return.

There were sixteen DFDL members, all of them highly talented in multiple ways of combat. Claudius was an expert in curse-breaking and defensive spells.

A middle-aged woman named Bethany Bilcox was a legendary werewolf hunter. Another man named Listerex Luthens was a retired Unspeakable. Harry hadn't met many of the others, since they were out fighting crime, but he did meet a young woman who preferred to stay in the thick, dark tent she was provided.

"Er- hi," Harry said, greeting the woman in the dark.

"I'm surprised that you would come see me," she said. Her voice was throaty and very sensual. "Being what I am."

"Someone who likes dark places?" Harry asked. She laughed, and again it sounded even sexual to Harry.

"Didn't you know?" she asked. "I'm a vampire."

"Oh, that's interest – wuzzat?" Harry said.

"And then they leave," the vampiress said wistfully. "They always leave after that."

"Uh, why?" Harry asked stupidly.

She looked at him from under her heavy cloak. "Most people are deathly afraid of us dangerous vampires," she said with a sneer.

"Well… you're not out for my blood so you must be a good person," Harry said nervously. He tried hard not to envision long fangs piercing his neck.

She suddenly laughed. "Do you really think so?" she asked, somewhat shyly. It was a total change from her previous demeanor.

"Yeah, sure, I've had a bunch of weird friends before," Harry said, slightly less anxious now. "Even a house-elf!"

She laughed and glided up to him. Harry tried not to tense as a pair of deep blue eyes bore into his emerald ones. "You are a strange one, Harry Potter," she breathed.

Harry was lost in her eyes. He knew that he was being Enthralled by the vampire, even if she was unwilling or not but he couldn't help it. Those eyes… they were just too captivating. Harry leaned forward and took the vampiress into his arms. Her eyes widened in shock but she didn't move as his hands traveled up her shoulders and to her hood. Harry pulled the hood back and his breath hitched.

She was beautiful. Well, obviously, all female vampires are strangely gorgeous, but that didn't stop Harry from staring some more. Her crystal blue eyes gazed at him in wonder as he took in her features. She had a slender, almost elven face that was pale as moonlight. Her hair was jet black, blacker than his own and thick and wavy. Her nose was perky and small. She had gorgeous blood-red lips that were undeniably full and pouty. "Like what you see human?" she whispered.

"I -"

"Harry, there you are!"

Harry jerked around and the vampire drew her hood back up and stepped away from the light that filtered in the tent. His parents, Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus beamed at him.

"Another fighter in the family!" James said proudly, putting Harry into a headlock. "I'm proud of you son!"

"We all are," Lily whined as she fought to give Harry a hug. "And we heard how well your lessons are!"

"I've only had one so far," Harry said sheepishly.

"I can't believe it Moony," Sirius moaned. "We've lost a potential Marauder to – to – school!"

"I was a Defense teacher you know," Remus told him.

"I am the headmaster there you know," Dumbledore added.

Sirius waved him off. "You, my furry friend and Albus don't count," he said. He suddenly spied the cloaked figure. "Who're you?" he demanded, brandishing his wand.

"Sirius, relax," Harry said. "She's part of the League."

Sirius put his wand away but glared at the lithe figure. "Alright, but not funny business alright? League or not, I'm an Auror."

Remus, meanwhile, had narrowed his eyes as he sniffed the air. "Vampire," he growled. The others drew their wands and pointed them at the vampiress, who made no move to escape.

"Enough!" Harry bellowed, silently disarming the four. They all gawked at him. "Did you not hear me? She is a part of the League, hence part of the Ministry! I highly doubt that she's about to drain any of us."

"But Harry," Remus protested. "You've killed vampires; you know what they're like!"

"I've also killed werewolves too Remus, would you like to comment on that?" Harry snapped. Remus stopped talking immediately and looked ashamed.

Harry sighed. "Listen, I'm glad that you're all looking after me but I can do that myself!" he told his parents and family. "Not all vampires are evil, and not all werewolves are monsters."

"I – I'm sorry," Remus said to Harry.

"Don't say that to me," Harry said, flicking his head to the vampiress.

Dumbledore winked proudly at Harry. Good for you Harry, he mouthed.

Remus shuffled over and apologized again.

"It's alright, I get that a lot," she said quietly, making the men in the room quirk their eyebrows at Harry. He went a little pink.

"Aaaaaaanyways, I think it's time we got back to work Padfoot!" James said cheerfully. "Come on!"

"But – lady vamp!" Sirius protested. Lily cuffed him in his sensitive area and he finally had the sense to leave the tent.

"Alas, I must return to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Good day to you all, madam."

"Well, I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind me visiting for the day, so we'll get out of your hair Harry," Remus said. "I'm sorry again, instincts you know."

"It's fine, I've never spoken with a descendant of the lycans before, it was very interesting," the vampiress said. Remus smiled and after a few hugs from Lily, Harry and the lady vamp were left alone in the tent.

"Interesting, your family," she said.

Harry grinned apologetically and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said.

"It's fine," she said. She lowered her hood again and stared into Harry's eyes. "So you hunt my kind?" she asked.

Harry winced. "Used to," he said. "Only the ones allied with Voldemort."

She nodded. "I understand," she said. "I would not have judged you, I am a Slayer myself."

"I – wow," Harry said. "It must take a lot to kill your own kind."

She shrugged. "It does, but like you said, I only hunt the nasty ones." She held her hand out. "I am Celeste."

"Harry Potter, again," Harry said, shaking her hand. It was ice cold, but he felt a pulse to his surprise. "Half vampire?" he asked.

She managed to blush, which confirmed Harry's suspicion. "How could you tell?" she retorted.

"Well, I felt a very weak and slow pulse, plus the blush doesn't help you either," Harry said with a chuckle.

She smiled warmly at him, and her elongated canines didn't frighten him the least bit. Harry found it very attractive. "Ah, I must remember that in the future she said."

"So… how do you Slay?" Harry asked. "Stakes, silver?"

She nodded and shrugged off her cloak. Harry felt all of the blood rush to a certain part of his anatomy. Thank Merlin for small favors and baggy jeans.

She was clad in skintight leather. Skintight. Leather. It hugged every single curve on the lady vamp and was split down into a V at the top. The V split showed off an enormous amount of cleavage, but she wasn't so hugely endowed that it looked whorish or ridiculous. She was actually quite modest and perky. The V cut went down to her navel, showing off wonderfully white flesh as her flat stomach moved with each breath. Her legs were incredibly long and looked as if they had been carved like a Greek Goddess.

Sheathed at both sides of her hips were odd bladed devices. Both were identical and looked like a cross between a sword, staff and chakram. The handle was wrapped in white leather and round like a staff. It was about two feet in length. Attached to the ends of the handle were blades that curved around it, shaped into semi-circle bat wings. The 'bat wings' extended out in front of the handle a few inches where they met with a blade that stuck out from the handle. The blade itself was about a foot long and had an arrow head. The blade was separated into two pieces, the first piece that came out of the handle. The second piece was hollow in the middle and had the arrow head at the tip, where the back tips of the arrow lined up with the 'bat wing' blade tips. The other end had the same thing.

Both weapons were very beautiful and exquisitely designed and Harry ventured that they were made completely out of silver.

"These are my bladed staffs," Celeste explained, unsheathing both from her hips. She held them gingerly, but strongly as she held one out sideways to show Harry. With a flex of her fist, the weapon made a quiet noise and both blade tips extended out another three feet to Harry's amazement. It seemed that the end blades were in pieces so that they could extend out further. The weapon was absolutely deadly and beautiful at the same time. Just like Celeste is, Harry realized. Those weapons could belong to no one but her.

"How can you hold silver like that without being harmed yourself?" Harry wondered.

"I am half, so silver and sunlight do not harm me as much," she explained. "Although I do try to avoid them whenever I can," she added with a sparkle in her eye.

Harry and Celeste spent some time getting to know eachother. They had lunch together at an indoor restaurant since Celeste could tolerate the lessened sunlight and they had a great time. Harry learned that Celeste was nearly a thousand years old, and had known the Hogwarts founders when she was a little child. She had been sired by a vicious vampire after he had raped her mother. After growing up and learning what she was, Celeste trained hard and long until she was a teenager. She tracked down her violent father and slew him without a thought. After her mortal mother had died a long time ago, Celeste began to travel the world, hunting as many vampires as she could. Occasionally, she would find a half-vampire that would help her out, but friendliness was a rare thing with vampires, and they would always distance.

Harry told Celeste a lot of his made up life, trying to put in factual bits of his real life whenever he could. She was very interested with all of the battles he had been with and was entranced when he told her the story of fighting a Basilisk when he was twelve. She never once didn't believe him.

It was beginning to get late when Harry announced that he had a class to teach. He and Celeste were walking around a muggle park and she smiled oddly at him when he said so.

"Go to your students," she said, still smiling oddly. "They need to learn as much as they can in these dark times. I will see you again, heir of Godric."

And with that, she pulled Harry in for a searing kiss before turning into smoke and apparating away vampire-style.

Harry stood there, dumbfounded as his fingers grazed his lips, which were still tingling coldly. Her kisses had been ice cold and blistering hot at the same time.

"Well, this is a new development," Harry said, getting ready to apparate. "This world rules."