Chapter Ten: Till Darkness Come

Severus' eyes flew open, the black irises having taken over the whites of his eyes, badly startling the headmaster. The vampire, eyes hurt by the light in the room, abruptly sat up, knocking the headmaster back from his hovering stance, while screwing his eyes closed.

"Severus, how do you feel?" the mediwitch asked while bustling over and taking his vitals.

He ignored her, "Headmaster, I don't remember giving you an antidote-I don't remember brewing one either."

"Must be due to the nasty bump you got on your head, dear boy."

"Speaking of which-" Pomfrey began.

"Why don't we let Severus rest or perhaps even return to his quarters if he'd be more comfortable? We wouldn't want him to miss the Halloween feast."

Severus watched, eyes having switched back to normal, the headmaster basically force his dismissal. Within minutes, both wizards were exiting the infirmary. At the end of the hall, Severus turned to the older looking wizard.

"Albus, I think we both know I didn't design that potion you seemed put out not to give me."

The headmaster looked Severus directly in the eye, testing the vampire's shields, "And I think we both know it isn't normal to recover, without aid, from an injury so quickly. Nor is it normal to have only sustained such a small injury given the circumstances, or to be able to fight a sleep aid so diligently. There are a lot of things, Severus, which we both know. Shall we trade information?"

Severus held Albus' gaze, searching for a clue or weakness and finding nothing. He gave the headmaster a small smirk, "No, I don't think that's absolutely necessary at the moment. Although, we should both be careful, wouldn't want some of these things we are both privileged to know to become common knowledge.

"They might bring harm to those who travel these hallways without due consideration." Severus found that he missed the faux twinkle the headmaster normally held, the cold eyes that met his now made Severus re-evaluate his opinion of the human.

Severus turned on his heel before walking away, purposely ignoring the glare he felt piercing between his shoulder blades.

VOVOVOVO

The end of classes came with no more excitement. Harry couldn't shake the need to see his professor. He rationalized that he needed to simply see that the man who saved his life was well, but he had the nagging sensation that wasn't the only reason.

After everyone had gone to sleep, Harry slipped out of his bed, toeing on his trainers and pulling his uniform robe over his pajamas.

First he snuck down to the hospital wing, figuring his professor was still there. Looking through the doors, not quite yet daring to enter less Madame Pomfrey discover his presence; he searched for the tall form of his professor.

All the beds were empty.

Being the middle of the night, Harry figured any normal person would be in bed. Harry had no clue as to where the professor's room was. It could be near the classroom. Harry knew he should just go back to the tower, but somehow his feet began carrying him to dungeons.

Miraculously, he was not spotted in his night time safari, a fact Harry would wonder about later.

Arriving to the classroom, Harry noticed light shining through the bottom of the door.

VO

Severus surveyed the damage to his classroom. Wondering if he should start the job now, guaranteeing him no time to sleep that night, or simply cancel his classes one more day and do it tomorrow.

He moved to the center of the minor explosion. Luckily, he'd been able to throw up a shield to protect the other little monsters. It also had the side effect of making the area within the shield that much worse. It was pure chance Harry was unharmed.

The thought combined with a small sound from the corridor attracted Severus' attention. Sniffing lightly, he identified the boy's scent.

Silently he crossed over to the door. He heard the boy scuffle away a bit. Severus quirked one eyebrow, wondering how the boy knew to hide from him as he had not disturbed the light nor had he made any sound during his approach.

Listening for a few more moments, giving the boy a chance to make a run for it, Severus sighed and opened the door.

Almost immediately he sensed out the boy's hiding place. Just as he'd been about to call the boy out, he heard a shift down the hallway. Smelling the air, he couldn't place the scent.

The third occupant of the hallway released a slight growl, alerting Severus to the fact that it wasn't human.

The resident vampire froze, allowing his eyes to shift blue to allow him better vision in the shadowed hallway. The visitor, neither vampire nor human, was just around the corner. Severus allowed himself a glance in Harry's direction. The child's stiff gait and stare in the visitor's direction told Severus he wasn't oblivious to the danger.

Before Harry realized what happened, Severus yanked the boy from the alcove and tossed him into the classroom, sealing the door and turning his attention to his guest.

The creature did not reveal himself; Severus could tell it was in effort to draw him closer. The creature growled once more, doing its best to intimidate the vampire. Wondering if this odd game of hide and seek was really worth the attention of a vampire of his years and strength, but knowing he couldn't just walk away and leave the thing loose in the school, Severus decided to play along.

Shrugging his outer robes to the floor, Severus began stalking towards the corner. He flexed his fingers, the nails taking on a harder concentration and forming points. He hunched slightly, preparing to either attack or be attacked, he was scarcely six feet from the turn.

As he approached the hallway began to darken even further, the shadows seemed to pool at his feet. Severus stilled. Being able to control the shadows himself, Severus knew the only type of creature with that particular skill. Demons. He furrowed his brow slightly; demons scarcely entered another demon's domain without some type of outside interference. This one wasn't just hunting, it was on a mission.

Knowing a bit about his foe, Severus backed away one step, creating enough distance between himself and the creature to have enough time to react should the demon jump at him.

Severus let out an unearthly hiss, baring his fangs and calling the other demon out by slightly pulsing his magic.

The full-blooded demon answered the call, emerging from the corner, bringing his shadows with him.

Severus took in the form of his enemy. Luckily for Severus, it wasn't a warrior, its slight lithe form testifying to that fact. The creature was shorter, maybe five foot five or six and held distinctly feminine features although it was no doubt male. The eyes of the beast lacked any black or white at all, startling Severus. They were a deep honey brown throughout. It was dressed like a human muggle, jeans and a light black sweater. A whit beret with four thin black lines running just left of center topped off the demon's odd appearance.

Severus backed away another step, not caring if he appeared to be cowardice. Warrior or no, it wasn't a fun task to take on a full blooded demon; the number of shadows it was controlling worried him the most. His own demonic nature could protect him from the brunt of it, but it could only do so much.

As he half expected, the demon matched his step, its containing an almost dance like quality. It smiled at him, bringing Severus' gaze to the glowing pendant around its neck. Severus recognized it; he had a similar one of his own. It was the pendant all demons were forced to wear when a living being was clever (or stupid) enough to summon them.

The demon read Severus' face, realizing his revelation.

"So, someone was able to put a leash on you, eh?" Severus taunted. In return the demon snarled slinging a shadow in Severus' direction. Severus winced at the burning sensation that ran through his arm, before smiling cheekily at the other demon. "Come on, be a good pup and tell me who sent you and I may just not tell him what a bad puppy you are."

The demon lashed out at Severus once again, this time with two individual shadows and a bit of its own power. Severus stumbled back, taking a quick count of how many shadows remained as he grew closer to the lightest area of the hallway. It was still too many for him to handle, especially in addition to the demon itself. He wondered where provoking the demon into a mistake or at least releasing too many shadows ended and suicidally taunting it began. He was reaching that point swiftly.

Once he'd controlled the pain in his legs, Severus gave the demon another grin. "That the very best you have?"

The demon lunged at him, swinging wildly while the shadows haphazardly bounced off the walls and ceiling. Severus dodged the snarling beast, flinging its small form into the wall. Raising a clawed hand to strike the demon, Severus was restrained by a black mass engulfing his arm, causing him to snarl in pain at the raging fire that swam through his blood. The demon took the time to first slam a fist into Severus' stomach. Severus doubled over, thrown back by the force of the blow. The shadows still swarmed around him, latching onto his body and burning him from the inside with an eerie precision. 'Definitely not a warrior,' he though off handedly. A warrior would have already torn him apart with its bare fists instead of forcing the shadows to do the work for it.

Severus concentrated on pushing his demon and darkness outward to create a barrier between his soul and the shadows. It did little help, falling to his knees, Severus squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain.

"That the best you've got?" the demon asked, smiling madly while pushing its black frames forward up his nose. It leaned over Severus, placing its palms flat on the door in an almost awkward position.

Severus opened his eyes revealing them to be fully black. He growled as the markings started to appear on his neck, arms, and finally face. His teeth elongated, coming to points. "Get the fuck away from me!" he shouted, not caring if anyone else heard him. He only cared for two things. The first, beating the shit out of this cocky demon before him, the second, admittedly marginally more important, protecting the boy behind that door.

Severus savagely lunged forward, taking the other off guard and used his physical advantage to slam it into the wall opposite. The moment was short lived as the full blood quickly regained the upper hand, releasing the last of his shadows, many of the previous ones had fled, to feast upon Severus.

In his full demon form, the shadows did less damage but still flung him backwards. Severus growled menacingly, pushing his arms forward through the mass to defend himself against the now raging demon. He noted that he could not hear his own voice, nor that of the demon snarling.

The beast wrapped its small, but nevertheless strong hands over Severus' throat, letting its talons seep into the skin. Severus gasped as the shadows assaulted this new exposed area. He could feel himself falling. His only thought that he failed once again.

TBC…

I want to thank everyone who reads and special thanks to everyone who reviews also. Please continue to do so, it makes me so Happy! I should have the next chapter up before the end of the week, work-permitting. So please, stay tuned for the next installment of The Vampire's Oath…-=ominous music fades into background=-