Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death. -James F. Bymes
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE?!"
Those were the words that shook the walls of the old Black house and woke everyone up the morning after Harry's quick departure. Ginny would have fallen out of her bed if Viorel had not moved and caught her in his arm, lifting her lightly back into her bed before turning to look at the door where Charlie appeared a few seconds later.
"Gin, wake up!" he snapped. "You need to come downstairs!"
Ginny bit her lip and tried to look like she had no idea what was going on.
"Why?" she asked sleepily as she tried to flatten her hair a bit and picked up Darcy, who had been sleeping with her since he had come back from the Ministry.
Viorel tilted his head at her but said nothing as she got out of bed and walked over to her brother.
"Harry's missing," Charlie replied heatedly. "So are Luna and Neville."
With that said, he continued up the stairs, probably to tell the others who were trying to figure out why the Weasley matriarch was shrieking. Ginny glanced behind her at Viorel, who had a knowing look in his eyes.
"Did you have sweet dreams?" he asked as he followed her out the door.
Ginny blushed furiously and hefted Darcy more firmly in her arms.
"You heard that?" she asked while the growing creature licked her face playfully.
He quickly reached the bottom of the stairs and instead of answering her, went into the large living room where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were facing off with Moody. Ginny hurried after him and sat down on the couch beside Fred, who didn't seem to be paying much attention to what his mother was screaming about. George and Lee were standing nearby, watching Mrs. Weasley warily.
To Ginny's surprise, seven vampires along with Constantine were also occupying the area, watching the dispute with minimal interest.
"Molly, you need to think about this rationally. Harry-"
"Rationally? RATIONALLY? You took him away! He's gone and now we can't protect him!" she screamed.
Moody shook his head.
"He's with Dumbledore, Molly. You know just as much as I do that Albus won't let anything happen to him," he replied.
"You had no right, Alastor," Mr. Weasley growled. "We're responsible for him! You should have told us!"
"You know that Molly wouldn't have let him go if we had!"
"Of course I wouldn't have!" she snapped angrily. "He's not ready!"
"How could you let him get away?!"
"I'm sorry Moody's House of Security for the Hormonally Imbalanced Idiotic Teens isn't working to your advantage, but at this present moment, he's gone and we've got other things to worry about."
"HE'S NOT READY!" Mr. Weasley growled.
"HE'S SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, MOLLY!" Moody yelled. "He's never going to be ready! We don't have much time to get your son back safely and unless you're willing to see him die, then I suggest you stop yelling at me and start preparing for a war!"
"Don't you dare-"
"Harry's fine!" Ginny snapped, drawing all the attention to herself. Biting her lip, she stood up, placing Darcy down on the couch. "Harry's fine…" she repeated.
Mr. Weasley's eyes grew.
"You knew?"
Ginny shrugged.
"I knew he was leaving… I didn't see him leave…"
"Ginny, why would you keep this to yourself?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Why wouldn't you tell-"
"Because it's his time to go, mum," Ginny cut in quickly. "He had to go…"
They all stared at Ginny for a moment before Moody coughed and turned to the vampires standing motionless in the corner.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, not wanting to get anyone, especially Ginny, in any more trouble or put them under any more stress.
With Harry gone, they all knew the end was drawing near and to turn on each other would only make matters worse.
Constantine motioned towards Ginny.
"Mr. Potter asked us to watch over Ginerva and take her to our safe house if absolutely necessary," he replied respectfully.
George walked over to his sister and spun her around.
"Ginny, you're way too special," he commented as she smiled. "You get more protection than Harry."
Ginny glanced over at Viorel, who was watching her brother's actions carefully.
"They don't really care about me," she said, not bothering to hide her statements. "They just like the way I smell."
Mrs. Weasley snorted.
"Well, I think it would be best if they left. We have enough trouble without them here," she snapped.
"I think it would be best if we stayed," Viorel countered.
"Like hell it would. I don't want you near my daughter," the matriarch hissed.
Viorel took a step towards the woman, but Constantine let out a menacing growl from the depths of his tiny chest. Viorel's eyes instantly flared, but he backed down.
"We will wait outside," Constantine ordered.
Charlotte, the female from the Bypass, stepped forward.
"We have not seen Roxanne in a while," she whispered alluringly. "Will you call her?"
Viorel nodded and disappeared briefly before returning. Roxanne appeared just after and for a moment they looked as if they were going to go, but then things seemed to get worse.
The three females behind Constantine along with Charlotte bared their fangs and released a bloodcurdling scream that shook the walls of the house. Viorel's eyes turned hellish and his entire body became a death trap as he placed himself in front of Roxanne, his true nature showing as his skin stretched over his bones and became paler than anything else around.
For the first time, Ginny saw real, primal fear in Roxanne's eternal eyes. Instead of defending herself, she shot over to the corner where Fred was sitting and cowered behind him like a terrified child.
Everyone else moved away from the interactions, backing up into the corners as they watched fearfully, waiting for something else to happen. Darcy produced a piercing scream, fear evident in his face as he opened his wings and prepared to fly if needed.
Constantine grabbed one of the females by the back of the neck and dragged her back while the other two males grabbed Charlotte and the other two, shoving them away from an incensed Viorel and petrified Roxanne.
"What the hell is wrong with you four?" Constantine snarled while Viorel carefully backed over to Roxanne, who was starting to make weird noises from her spot behind Fred.
Charlotte let out a low hiss, rolling her shoulders and preparing herself to attack the young woman cowering in the corner.
"She's pregnant," she growled loathingly.
"What?"
This came from Charlie and Bill, who had come down right when the commotion had started. All the other people also looked confused.
"She's pregnant?" Mrs. Weasley repeated weakly. "Is that even possible?"
Roxanne released a whimper which caused the other female vampires to go into a snarling frenzy as they tried to get away from their male captors and attack the woman.
"I CAN SMELL IT ON HER!" one of the females, a middle-aged blonde, shrieked as she fought against the male holding her. "I WANT IT! LET ME GO!"
Viorel let out a deafening roar that only made them scream harder before he made a lunge at them. Constantine grabbed him by the arm and slammed him down into the ground before rounding on the other males.
"Take them outside, now!" he hissed.
After a brief hissing, all of the vampires except Constantine, Roxanne and Viorel disappeared from the room, leaving the others to relax… a little…
"What the hell was that?" Moody demanded instantly.
Viorel turned to Roxanne, who was still in the corner but no longer looked scared.
"You're pregnant?" he asked curiously.
Roxanne's eyes flickered over to Ginny before she nodded.
"Yes… I was going to tell you in a couple of days," she murmured.
Ginny's eyes widened.
"Is that why you've been acting funny?" she gasped. "Rearranging the bedroom and such?"
"Destroying my bedroom," Bill muttered with a hint of disgust in his voice.
Roxanne stood up and nodded again.
"I am pregnant," she repeated. "I just needed some time to figure things out."
Lee looked around the room.
"Why in the hell were those female vampires acting like they wanted to kill you?" he asked.
Viorel wrapped his arms around Roxanne, who suddenly looked smaller and weaker than normal.
"Because they did," he hissed. "They wanted to kill her for the baby…"
Ginny frowned.
"But vampires can't die," she muttered.
Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow.
"I think the more important question is how she's pregnant in the first place?" she snapped. "I thought you were dead? How are you pregnant?"
Everyone turned to the vampires for an explanation and Constantine sighed.
"Vampire pregnancies are not uncommon," he said. "In fact, they're more common than human pregnancies."
"But you're dead," Mrs. Weasley insisted. "How are you pregnant?"
Roxanne pulled away from Viorel and pressed a hand to her stomach.
"We are dead, but certain parts of our bodies can still work for a certain amount of time," she explained. "Our lungs still work so we can smell and give the appearance of breathing. Our brains still work and our sexual organs still work, in case you didn't notice," she added, glancing over at Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, who both turned completely red. "But only to a certain extent…"
Ginny frowned.
"To a certain extent?"
Constantine looked up at Roxanne.
"A female vampire can only carry a baby for two and a half weeks before the female turns immortal again and the embryo dies," he told them.
Charlie held up his hand.
"I'm sorry, did you just say that Roxanne is mortal?" he asked. "As in she can die?"
They all took a step back when Viorel shot a nasty look over in Charlie's direction.
"You offering?" he growled dangerously.
Roxanne grabbed Viorel's arm and grabbed his attention.
"Viorel, calm down," she whispered. "J'ai encore une semaine et demie."
Ginny bit her lip.
"Wait, I don't get it. She becomes mortal when she's pregnant and then after a specific time, she turns immortal? What happens after that? What happens to the baby?" she asked.
Before the vampires could answer that question, the fireplace turned green and after a moment, Kingsley's face appeared.
"Moody, we've got a problem," he said loudly. "Our first dead hostage showed up in London and it's not good."
"Weasley?"
Kingsley shook his head.
"No, a muggle, but you really need to get down to London," he said. "Voldemort's not screwing around anymore. He wants Potter."
"You've been quiet since we got here."
Stephanie looked up from her cup of hot chocolate and bit her lip.
"I… I just didn't expect to see you here," she murmured meekly, avoiding his intense gaze.
She had run into him when she had been in the Egyptian Ministry of Magic and though he was her Overseer, over the past few months she had started to get visions of only her Overseer and that bothered her greatly. In turn, she had stopped writing him in order to sort out her feelings for him.
Unfortunately, her sudden silence had brought about a concern in England and forced Dumbledore to send Severus Snape down to see why she had failed to reply to his numerous letters.
"You think I'd just let it go? You could have switched," Severus said slowly, watching her carefully as she nervously sipped her cocoa.
If it were not for her dark skin, he would have seen her blush.
"I didn't mean to worry Dumbledore… I just… had a lot to think about," she muttered before flinching as a flash of white light interrupted her sight briefly. That had been happening a lot lately and she had a feeling it had something to do with not telling Severus about her visions.
Severus immediately picked up on her temporary pain and stiffened visibly at the sight of it.
"You're supposed to tell me what you're thinking about," he pointed out coolly. "You're having white flashes, aren't you?"
Stephanie sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to slow her heart rate. The more excited she was, the faster the flashes came.
"I'm just a little out of sorts, I'm sorry," she replied, taking another sip of her drink.
"How long have they been going on?" he asked.
"A couple of days. It's not serious," she whispered.
"Were you going to wait to tell me what you were seeing when they got serious?" he asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Stephanie looked up at him.
"No…" she replied carefully. "I was going to wait until they changed."
Snape decided against responding, so they fell into a tense silence that lasted until Stephanie finally decided to break it, thirty minutes later.
"Um… do you have a place to stay?" she asked.
"Yes."
She nodded, glancing around the café. Not that she had to.
In the past half hour, all of her visions had been of the café and people staring at the odd couple as if trying to figure out how the two possibly worked.
"Would you like to go?" Severus finally asked calmly and she nodded, standing up.
"I have to use the restroom first," she murmured before heading for the bathrooms at the back of the café. When she got to the bathroom, she quickly headed for the sink and pulled the faucet. After the water had been running for a few seconds she cupped her hand under the flow and gathered some before splashing her face with it in hopes to rid herself of the growing sensations to kiss the man who had been sitting across from her.
"Come on, Steph," she muttered to herself. "It's the same man you met three years ago. Nothing's changed."
Except of course the fact that she was now attracted to her Overseer…
"Oh great," she groaned before wiping her face leaving the bathroom.
"Hey."
Stephanie turned to see a young man appraising her from a table nearby. He was handsome with perfectly tanned skin and carefree hazel eyes. She bit her lip and looked around the café.
"Your bodyguard left, if that's who you're looking for," the man commented.
Stephanie sized him up for a moment before pointing to the café entrance.
"I should probably go find him," she replied politely, but from the looks she was getting, she could tell that the man had other things on his mind.
"Are you two together?" he asked curiously.
The young woman hesitated before biting her lip and glancing over to the door.
"Um… no, we're not… he's just a… um… friend," she muttered unconvincingly, not that the man cared.
"Well, I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind if you had a drink with me?"
Stephanie shook her head.
"I don't think that's such a great idea… I'm not in the best position to get into a relationship," she told him carefully.
This time, the man actually stood up and approached her, eyeing her with special interest.
"And why is that?"
She shrugged, backing up a little from him.
"It's complicated," she replied.
He reached up to take her hand.
"It doesn't have to be," he said.
Suddenly a pale hand shot out and snatched the man's hand, crushing it and making him wince in pain.
"Yes it does," Severus growled, letting go when the man was on his knees. He grabbed Stephanie by the arm and dragged her out of the café, eyes cold and unfeeling. They walked along the warm streets of Cairo in a steely silence. Stephanie flinched occasionally when his grip on her arm tightened too much, but said nothing as he led the way to her apartment buildings.
This was not the first time Snape had acted this way. There had been several other occasions where he had come to visit and become aggressive when she had been approached by other men. At first, especially when she was younger, she had blown it off as a protective brother reaction and for a while it probably was. But as she had grown older and they had become closer, making his reactions seem less older brotherish and more of something else she had been trying to avoid.
The Overseer was supposed to be a relative for a reason…
To form a romantic connection with your Overseer could be disastrous if a telepath ever switched…
"Do you wish to have had another Overseer, Warner?" Severus asked when they finally approached her flat.
Biting her lip, she glanced over at him.
"I wish my Overseer was a relative, yes," came her muttered response.
"Why?"
"Because then things wouldn't be so complicated," she answered when they reached her door.
"How are things complicated?"
She turned to face him and that's when she realized how close he actually was. She hesitated for a moment before speaking; enraptured by his piercing black eyes.
"I… um…things are different… between us," she stuttered.
"How?" he asked curiously, making things a lot more difficult for her to speak as he took a sure step closer. This only made her back up into the door, which trapped her.
"Severus," she whispered cautiously. "We shouldn't…"
Too late.
His lips made contact with hers and she momentarily forgot what she was going to say as his cool hands moved up and cupped her face delicately. She stood there for a moment, her arms hanging limply at her sides before she reached up and covered his hands with hers, allowing him to kiss her firmly.
Her heart began to beat erratically as the reality of the situation finally dawned on her. She squeezed her eyes shut as flashes of blinding white light filled her mind with quick jolts of pain. Her grip on Severus's hands tightened before she began to pull away. However, as she did so, his lips began to move down her jaw to her neck, nipping her skin aggressively.
What?
Something was wrong…
He began to push her up against the door, increasing his onslaught on her neck and it was then that Stephanie realized that something was definitely wrong.
This isn't how it happened…
They had said goodnight and she had gone into her flat…
Then why was he biting her neck and forcing himself upon her?
"Severus, stop," she gasped, trying to push him away. "Stop it!"
A low hiss erupted from his throat and her eyes grew in shock and pain. She summoned all of her strength and shoved him away from her, slapping a hand to her throat where she could feel a warm sticky substance start to pour from a deep cut.
"Severus, what…" she stopped at that when she saw something that instilled more fear into her.
His eyes were no longer black, but blood red and he was baring needle sharp fangs. A tongue flicked in and out of his gnashing mouth as he released another deep-throated hiss.
"Oh my-"
Then he attacked.
"NO!"
Stephanie sat straight up from the couch she was lying on, looking around wildly as her heart pounded madly against her ribcage.
Ssssssssssssss!
She looked down and screamed, falling off of the couch upon seeing Nagini staring menacingly at her.
The Death Eaters watching her laughed as she pushed herself up against the wall, gasping desperately for air as fear began to grip her.
"No, I don't think Severus would ever do that to a woman," came a chilling voice from the other side of the room.
Stephanie bit her lip and peered over the sofa to see Voldemort sitting in a deep armchair regally, eyes fixed on her. Malfoy was standing nearby. Nagini slithered off of the couch and over to Voldemort.
"Was that your first kiss?" he asked mockingly.
She remained silent, moving over to the corner of the room where she could keep a better eye on the evil.
"Stay out of my dreams," she whispered.
Voldemort stood up and approached her.
"Why? They're so fascinating," he hissed. "So… revealing…"
Stephanie backed up as far away from him as she could, trying to ignore the fear running rampant through her veins.
"Stay away from me," she murmured, standing up and pressing herself to the wall.
"I control you," he growled, his eyes running down her body before he cornered her completely, blocking her from the others' sight.
"Please, stop," she begged, closing her eyes when she felt a hand move up her neck and behind her head, grabbing a vicious hold of her hair. He leaned in to her ear.
"Tell me where Potter is," he growled into her skin, causing her to shiver under his words.
"You don't own me," she whimpered.
"Tell me," he snarled.
"You don't-"
He whirled her around and threw her into the couch, causing it to topple over and making her scream in pain. She tumbled into a small table and yelped again. She clutched her head in pain and released numerous sobs before shrieking in unbearable pain when Voldemort whipped out his wand and hissed a curse at her.
Malfoy and the others backed away, watching with mixed emotions.
On one hand, they enjoyed a good torturing, but on the other hand, she was a beautiful woman who they wanted to have a crack at.
"My Lord," Malfoy interrupted. "Perhaps you should stop!"
Voldemort released Stephanie from his wrath and turned to Malfoy, eyes blazing.
"Excuse me?" he hissed.
Malfoy glanced down at Stephanie, who was writhing on the ground and crying.
"Um… sir… Warner will not be of any use to us if she is in too much pain," he said hesitantly, holding his head up a bit higher. "She could switch or become stable… It might be better if you… left her in my care?"
The other men held their breath as they watched Voldemort move away from Stephanie, who was now whimpering on the floor. He approached Malfoy slowly, his red eyes narrowing.
"Excuse me?"
Malfoy stood up straighter.
"My Lord, if you hurt her anymore, she won't be of any use," he repeated with a bit more care.
Voldemort stared at him for a moment before turning to the others.
"Get out."
They instantly disapparated, not wanting to annoy the evil man even more by taking time to manually vacate the room. Stephanie watched as Voldemort then turned to her, eyes roving over her with mild interest.
"You have twenty-four hours to find out how to get Potter in those woods, or I'm going to make sure I have no more use for you," he growled before striding dauntingly out of the room. The large snake followed him.
Stephanie waited until he was gone before she allowed herself to cry again.
Ever since she had switched, all she had seen was death and devastation.
She didn't want to see that again.
She didn't want to see anything again…
She heard Malfoy move towards her and kneel down beside her.
"Find him, Warner," he whispered coldly into her ear.
Stephanie closed her eyes, biting her lip as she struggled not to scream.
This was all a nightmare…
And it was about to get worse…
"Please," she whispered. "If you have any ounce of pity left… please… don't make me do this…"
Malfoy grabbed her from the back of the head and pulled her hair back so that he could look into her eyes.
"Find Potter," he hissed before smirking. "And then when you've found him, find Severus. I'd like to see what the prick is up to."
Stephanie released a sob as he let her go. She could feel her heart ripping itself apart before her vision was marred by blinding white light that forced a scorching jolt of pain down her spine before she opened her eyes and saw something that she wish she hadn't.
"Hermione, how bad is it?" Ronald Weasley asked quietly, watching her with severe concern in his blue eyes. The two sat up against a large tree in the forest near six of the crates from the original nine on the wagon. Five of the crates still contained living hostages. The other one was empty.
The poor girl was quaking in the snow and Ronald did not look any better.
"It's fine, Ron," she muttered, closing her eyes. "Please be quiet."
"Hermione-"
"Shut up!" Bellatrix hissed, approaching them angrily.
Stephanie immediately felt her heart beat wildly at the presence of evil, but she was unable to pull herself out of the vision.
Bellatrix leaned over to look the two in the eyes.
"You're lucky, you two," she whispered. "You get to see what's going on."
Ron spat in her face.
"Go to hell," he growled.
Bellatrix wiped her face slowly before standing up and taking a deep breath.
"Ron!" Hermione screamed when Bellatrix struck him hard in the face, causing him to fall into the snow, bleeding from his eye. He began to scream out in pain when the hell bound vixen slammed the back of her boot heel into Ron's eye. "Stop it!" she cried. "Stop!"
Bellatrix obliged, stepping away from Ron's writhing body and a sobbing Hermione. The woman looked down at her bloody heel and pouted.
"Son of a bitch," she muttered, turning to the others. "He ruined by boot."
The other Death Eaters laughed nervously, staring at the place where Ron's eye was supposed to be and the bloodstained snow that seemed to grow around the redhead's face. Hermione dragged herself around his body to his head, reaching out with both hands and touching his face.
"Ron," she cried. "Oh my God, Ron!"
Stephanie wanted this to stop.
She wanted to get out but there was one more thing that she had to see before she could…
"Attention!" one of the Death Eaters suddenly snapped and Hermione looked up to see Voldemort approaching the area. He ignored the two agonizing teens by the tree and walked right up to Bellatrix, who smiled at him.
"My Lord," she said silkily.
He pointed to one of the boxes.
"Malfoy is working on the telepath," he said. "I want to put more pressure on Potter. He needs to know what's going to happen if he doesn't come out."
Bellatrix's smile widened and she nodded eagerly.
"Certainly. Any particular one?"
Voldemort's eyes finally fell on Hermione and Ron.
"Do you have any kids?"
Stephanie gasped in torturous pain and she threw up on the carpet. Malfoy moved away from her, disgusted.
"What did you see?" he demanded.
She closed her eyes.
"Please… don't…"
"Tell me what you saw!"
Stephanie looked up at him, pain throbbing in her eyes.
"Death… all I ever see is death…"
George, Lee and Fred walked along the cold, rainy London streets, following closely behind Moody as they headed towards the same square that Kingsley's rally had been at. A few other Aurors were also trailing behind, but they were all pretty quiet as they moved through the people on the sidewalk who were also heading in the same direction as the wizards were. Bill, Charlie and Mr. Weasley were also close by, scanning the area with a careful eye. In the distance they could hear sirens blaring through the slushy ice and snow that fell from the sky.
"Have you seen Alicia?" Lee asked quietly, glancing over at Fred briefly.
George shrugged.
"I tried Flooing her a couple of times, but she won't answer," he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "She's been avoiding me since the hospital…"
Lee looked around the street.
"She'll come around," he whispered. "Katie told me she's just a bit scared."
George frowned.
"Are you two still getting married?"
Lee shook his head.
"No… we're going to wait," he muttered. "She wants to see what happens…"
"That's smart," Fred said, causing them to look at him as they continued to walk.
A pained look appeared on George's face, but he chose not to say anything as they reached the crowded square. They saw the police cars and ambulance near the center of the square while bystanders strained to see what was going on. Moody motioned them to the side near the columns and waited until they could not be heard.
"Okay, we've got a dead muggle out there and the muggle police are giving us hell about letting us look at it," he growled. "We need to get as much information from that body before the muggles screw it up."
Mr. Weasley frowned.
"Why would Voldemort put the body here? Why not at the Ministry?" he asked.
Moody shook his head.
"The Ministry is way too guarded for that again," he replied grimly. "Besides, he wants London to see what's going on."
"How are we going to get to the body?" one of the Aurors asked. "There are police and onlookers all over the place."
Moody glanced over at the twins and Lee.
"I was hoping you three would be able to help us out with a distraction," he said.
George and Lee turned to Fred, who had been standing idly by. It was obvious that Fred still had not gotten over Angelina's death and that bothered the two very much. Perhaps this was just the thing he needed to bring some life back to him.
"Um… we'll try," Lee muttered, watching Fred with concern.
George coughed.
"I think we can think up a few things to distract these people," he said before taking Fred by the arm and leading him into the large crowd with Lee following close behind.
The rest of them waited until the three were gone before they turned to Moody.
"Okay, we're going to have to move quickly once-"
"Oh my God!" a woman shrieked and they all turned to see what the commotion was.
"What the hell is that?" Bill gaped, backing up with the others.
At first it was hard to see what it was that was swooping down towards them from the stormy sky, but after a moment, it became all too clear that something extremely bad was about to happen.
Moody turned to Mr. Weasley.
"Is this their idea of a distraction?" he demanded angrily. "What the hell are they trying to do, kill us all?!"
There was a blazing roar that shook the foundations of the building they were near and in that moment, pandemonium broke loose.
A dragon…
It had to be a dragon…
And not just any dragon…
It had to be Horntail dragon…
"RUN!"
They turned to see Fred, George and Lee shoving their way through the hysteric crowd, eyes wide with fear.
"What the hell did you do?!" Charlie shouted as they continued to back away from what was approaching them much quickly from the sky.
"We didn't do anything!" George snapped breathlessly. "We were going to set off some fireworks not bring a bloody fire starter!"
"Oh my God!" someone else shrieked and they all saw the large beast land in the streets, releasing chilling roars as it flapped its wings and spewed fire at the crowds of terrified people.
"Charlie! Can you do something?" Moody demanded.
Charlie's eyes grew.
"WHAT?! Are you crazy? That thing is probably being controlled by Voldemort," he yelled above the screams. "I get anywhere near that thing and I'll get charbroiled!"
GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
They all disapparated right before a scorching fireball slammed into the wall behind them, sending three other people into intense and unimaginable agony.
When they arrived in front of Grimmauld, they immediately headed for the house.
GRAAAAHHH!
"Oh shit!" Bill yelped, pointing above the houses to where another dragon crouching on the roof, eyeing them with blazing orbs.
"GET IN THE HOUSE!" Moody roared before the thing released a rain of flames on them. They ran to the door and burst through.
Ginny walked around her room, holding Darcy in her arms and humming to herself to pass the time. She held the mirror Harry had given her in one of her hands, staring at it intensely while Viorel and Roxanne were sitting perfectly still on her bed, murmuring to each other in low tones that she could barely hear.
She didn't mind.
Darcy stretched up to her face and licked her cheek with questioning eyes and she sighed.
"I don't know where Hermione is," she whispered. "I'm sure she's fine though."
The skyfox tilted its head to the side as if to ask her a follow-up question and she shrugged.
"I don't know what's going to happen," she told the creature.
"Ginny?"
She looked down at the mirror in her hand and she smiled broadly to see Harry staring up at her, a look of relief on his face.
"Hey Harry," she whispered. "Are you okay?"
He nodded.
"Fine. We're all fine… just came in from some training, actually," he said, glancing over to Darcy, who was pawing at the mirror. "Nice."
Ginny looked down at Darcy and pulled him away from the mirror and pushed him up onto her neck so that she could hold the mirror a bit better. Darcy curled around her neck and released a squeak, making Harry smile.
"How are you? What's going on?" he asked.
Ginny glanced behind her to the vampires, who were staring at her as well. She bit her lip.
"Roxy's pregnant," she replied.
"What?" came Harry's predictable reply.
The redhead shrugged.
"Apparently vampires can get pregnant for two weeks," she said. "They become mortal so that they can hold the baby and then after two weeks they become immortal again… it was really weird to be honest. The other female vampires tried to attack her."
"Really?"
Ginny nodded.
"We don't know what we're going to do with the baby yet… the vampires haven't told me anything yet," she told him.
Harry frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because we have to be careful about whom we tell. Certain things are meant to be secret," Viorel hissed from his spot on the bed.
Darcy released a low growl but did nothing as the tall vampire stood up, his eyes narrowing on the creature. Roxanne grabbed Viorel's arm, but it was obvious that Viorel had not realized she had touched him until she uttered a gasp at how cold he was. He turned to look at her and a strange look washed over his face before he sat back down on the bed and they once again began talking to each other quietly.
The young woman hesitated before turning to the mirror, biting her lip.
"It's pretty tense in here, as you can tell," she muttered before sitting down in a small chair. She hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Harry… they found a body…"
His eyes grew instantly.
"Ron or Hermione?"
She shook her head.
"Kingsley said it was a muggle," she told him. "Everyone went to go see what was going on."
"You're by yourself?" Harry asked quickly and she shook her head again.
"No, mum's here with a couple of Aurors. The rest of the vampires went back to the safe house."
"Are you okay?"
Ginny felt her heart flutter at his concern and she gave him a small smile.
"I'm fine, Harry," she whispered. "I'm more worried about you. You're the one who has to save the world…"
Harry snorted.
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," he grumbled. "I don't have enough reminders as it is."
Ginny touched the mirror lightly.
"I like to remind you," she whispered. "It makes things real."
Harry stared at her silently for what seemed like forever before he looked away from the mirror briefly. He waited a minute and frowned.
"Look, Gin," he whispered. "I've got to go now… Dumbledore wants us to move sites…"
Ginny nodded.
"I'll talk to you later, okay?" she asked hopefully.
His eyes returned to the mirror and he offered her a wan smile.
"Definitely," he said somewhat impatiently. "Love you."
Before she could respond, his face disappeared and she was alone in the room with the two vampires and the skyfox. Her heart swelled at his parting words and she carefully tucked the mirror into her pocket so that she would not lose it.
"What did he say?"
Ginny and Viorel turned to Roxanne, who was still sitting on the bed. Viorel's eyes once again clouded over with concern and it became apparent that he was keeping something from Ginny. Roxanne caught the look Viorel gave her and bit her lip.
"Perhaps we should tell her," she whispered. "She could help, Viorel."
"That's not a good idea," he whispered. "We can find someone else."
Roxanne stood up.
"I will not have some woman I don't trust wander this country with my child," she hissed.
Ginny suddenly felt lost.
"Wait, rewind," she said. "What?"
Viorel and Roxanne shared an intense look before he released a growl and began to pace the room like a wild animal, making Ginny nervous. Roxanne watched him for a moment before she motioned for Ginny to sit down beside her. The teen got up and sat down on the bed, pulling Darcy from her neck into her lap. Roxanne, contrary to her former self, hesitated for a moment before she spoke.
"You remember how I told you that I had two weeks before I turned immortal again?" she asked.
Ginny nodded.
"Yeah, but I don't understand what you just said," she muttered.
Roxanne continued to watch Viorel pace as she spoke.
"Once a female vampire has been on the world for fifty years, she regains the ability to bear children. On average, a female vampire can get pregnant five to six times a year," she explained.
Ginny's eyes grew.
"Five to six times?" she gasped.
Roxanne gave her a look that clearly told her not to interrupt and Ginny's lip slipped into a thin line.
"The thing about that is that we can't carry a child for more than two weeks. We have to find a… a host for the baby if we want to keep it," she whispered.
Ginny frowned.
"I don't get it. What do you mean, you have to find a host?"
Viorel stopped pacing and turned to them.
"In a week and a half, her organs will shut down again, she will be immortal and the baby will die. In that time, she can die which means that the baby can die," he hissed irritably. "The only way that baby can live is if it is transferred to a mortal host so that it can grow."
Suddenly Roxanne's words made sense to her…
I will not have some woman I don't trust wander this country with my child…
"Oh my God… you… you want me..." she gasped.
Roxanne's eyes filled with tears and she reached out to take Ginny's hands.
"Ginerva," she whispered. "We can't force you-"
"We won't force her," Viorel growled. "She's too much of a risk!"
Roxanne turned to Viorel.
"There's no one else!"
"We can find someone else!" he retorted.
"I want this baby!" she cried desperately before snapping her mouth shut. Tears spilled from her eyes and she gasped as she reached up to feel them.
She hadn't cried in seventy years…
Viorel and Ginny stared at her for a moment before Viorel moved over to her in a flash and kneeled down in front of her, taking her warm hands in his lifeless ones.
"Roxanne, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I want the baby too… but Ginerva's blood…"
When the tears continued to flow, he leaned up and brushed his lips against hers comfortingly. Ginny bit her lip, her mind going over everything that could go wrong with what she was about to say.
"Does it hurt?"
Viorel turned to Ginny, eyes wide.
"Ginerva, we cannot ask you…" he trailed off, his eyes traveling away from Ginny and up to the ceiling. He became so still that even the inanimate objects seemed to move a bit. Ginny frowned and stood up.
"What is it?" she asked.
Viorel's head tilted to the side so that he could hear what was going on above them.
"Something's coming," he murmured coolly.
Roxanne reached out and touched his face.
"Viorel, what is it?" she asked fearfully.
Without looking at her, he surrounded himself with a veil of ghastly blackness before he disappeared. Roxanne looked up at ceiling in worry while Darcy started to growl more, stretching up so that he sat up right on her shoulder, resting his forepaws on top of her head, staring at the ceiling as well.
Ginny was about to ask what was really going on when Viorel reappeared, eyes blazing.
"Get downstairs now," he growled heatedly.
Roxanne bit her lip.
"Viorel-"
"GET DOWNSTAIRS!" Viorel snarled, moving over to the door and practically yanking it off of its hinges. "Je ne vais pas vous demander à nouveau!"
Roxanne looked terrified and Ginny was upset.
"Vi, what's going on?" she asked.
To answer his question, the roof shook from the impact of something large landing on it. They all looked over to Viorel.
"What was that?" Ginny demanded.
Viorel looked up at the ceiling again, his face growing more emaciated by the second and his eyes sunk further into his skull.
"Get downstairs now," he hissed. "Or I'll force you downstairs."
Roxanne took a step towards him.
"Viorel-"
He released a deep throated snarl that shook the walls before he lunged at the two of them and grabbed them around the waist and threw them over his shoulder aggressively. He strode out of the bedroom and moved with rapid speed down the stairs and into the living room. Mrs. Weasley was already coming out of the kitchen with a couple of Aurors, having heard the ruckus that had happened upstairs.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded upon seeing her daughter on his shoulder. "Put her down!"
Viorel obligingly dumped the two on the ground before turning to the Aurors.
"Take them back into the kitchen and stay there until I come back," he growled.
Roxanne looked up at him with fear in her eyes.
"Viorel, what's going on? What's on the roof?"
The front door burst open and soon the hallway was packed with shouting, wet people.
"There's a dragon on the roof!"
A/N: Hey, so yes, this was a very interesting chapter in which almost everyone is involved in some strange way. I know some of you still have some questions about the whole vampire pregnancy thing and please feel free to ask them, but I won't be able to answer them just yet so please be patient about that. I've got a certain amount of chapters I can squeeze in before I absolutely have to write the final scene between Harry and Voldemort and I have to get some things in there before that so please bear with me. Thanks! R/R!!!
OzDust: That would be really awkward if it was Ginny I was talking about. Yes, the vampire is pregnant and yes everyone else is crazy and yes, I explained absolutely nothing about a vampire pregnancy, but I will. Hope you do well on your exams! Don't fail because of me!
Blue Leah: Well then, I'm glad you found it interesting, though I think this chapter was a bit more interesting, if I do say so myself.
Jenny: Alive, but now in enormous amounts of pain. As for Ginny, she's got other things to worry about. Oh don't condemn them yet! We haven't even got to the real battle scenes! Cheer up!
wow60: Yes, yes, you were right, you can have a moment of "Yes, I knew it!" Hermione definitely loves Ron more than Curtis. She loves Curtis like she loves Harry.
mgmve2008: Ugh, I hate when that happens when I'm answering reviews, so I started writing my answers on the same word document as the story so I wouldn't lose my responses. As for Patrick, I thought I'd just sort of bring him back for story's sake. I think Bellatrix is stealing Hermione's will to live by screwing with Ron. I don't want to over dramatize the relationship between Harry and Ginny.
Mae Silverpaws: I hope this was both informative and fast paced.
nextbestthing: I was pleasantly surprised to see your message when I checked my email! Of course I'm not going to expect such a fast response, but thanks for that! Don't worry about updating quickly. Take as long as you need and I hope you do well on your papers! Thanks again!
rhr4eva: No one's going to die any time soon! At least I don't think…
No Chapter Tease.