Disclaimer: I own only the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling.
Chapter Eleven-
Harry ran for his life. Even if the guns were heat up, didn't mean that the Skull agents didn't have others hidden away. Snape was a few steps ahead of him clutching the arm where he had been hit while he ran, the red blood soaking his sleeve and colouring his pale hands. They'd have to do something about that as soon as possible.
The car was just right ahead and the two of them put on an extra bout of speed, the kind of thing you could only do when you were desperate. The vampire slowly pulled ahead and jumped into the drivers seat, closing the door just as another round of bullets shot over his head. Harry down right threw himself over the hood of the car, quickly got to his feet again and jumped into the car.
"Drive!"
Snape didn't need to be asked twice. A second later they were leaving the parking lot behind with the men yelling and cursing them to the seventh hell.
"Is nowhere safe from you and your little friends Potter?" Severus asked later that night when they had stopped to do something about his wound.
Potter sighed and decided not to reply, instead his focused on cleaning the cut. Luckily the bullet had only made a little flesh wound and there was no need to panic, though it would hurt for a couple of days.
Severus couldn't help but notice how gently the Gryffindor treated his wound – and him – while cleaning and bandaging it. The young man was a natural at healing, and it wouldn't surprise the vampire if it had something to do with the endless amount of blood he had.
"There." Potter said as he tied the last knot. "It should hold for a couple of days before we have to change it. You were lucky at that one – in fact, I don't think they ever meant to shoot you seriously, just a warning shot or something." He studied his work critically and shook his head "Well, we better get going. There's nothing more I can do for you without using magic."
The Slytherin nodded and sat down into the drivers seat. Then he looked at the younger man who seemed dead on his feet. "Why don't you go to sleep in the back seat Potter? You look worse than Voldemort."
The Slayer nodded and yawned before creeping into the back and making himself comfortable as possible. Severus started the car again and soon they were on the road again.
When Potter woke up he took over the wheel and the vampire went to sleep. What woke Severus later that day was soft singing. He didn't let the Slayer know that he was awake, and instead listened to the words and Potter's voice.
During the song Severus had sat up and had been watching the younger man in the mirror. He had never heard that song before.
"That was quite nice Potter," he said and the Gryffindor jumped in surprise. "What's the name of the song?"
"Hotel California by the Eagles." The blushing Slayer replied.
"Where did you learn to sing like that?"
"Nowhere in particular." The vampire raised an eyebrow at that, but the Gryffindor kept his eyes determinately focused on the road.
The next couple of days went by like that. While one slept the other would drive. Severus usually woke up to Harry humming or singing softly. It also surprised the Slytherin that Potter had somehow become Harry to him during those days, and that the Boy Who Lived called him by his given name was also a surprise though he couldn't say that he was displeased with it. He liked to hear his name roll of the others tongue.
At one point under the journey – on the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania – they stopped. Pot- no, Harry explained to him that both parties of the war had decided to have at least a twenty feet wide space between their wards when on the border from one state to another. There the Gryffindor had taken out his wand and first healed the Slytherins wound, then had transfigured the car into a black, fancy one with roof that could be put on and taken off, he had also made it very comfortable too so that they didn't get a backache when sleeping in the back seat. The Slayer also took time to teach the vampire to drive properly.
With the new improved speed of the car they reached Gadsden in Alabama three days later. By Severus estimations they had been on the road for about eight days. Another thing Harry had done when stopping in the ward-free zones was to conjure up bags of clothes for them and a little cooler with endless amount of drinks. Since Severus was a vampire and couldn't drink the sodas, he drank Harry's blood after the young man had finished a can to cool himself off. First time this had happened both of them had been nervous, but now both of them seemed to enjoy it, and Harry would out of habit offer his arm to the vampire when he was done drinking.
Severus also found himself enjoying Harry's company for every day that passed. Every time the two of them argued – and they hardly did anything else – something about their pasts was revealed. No matter how hard they tried to shut up about their childhoods, it came out; it was as if some power from above or something had decided that they would know everything about each other. The vampire began to have very lustful dreams about the younger man, and worried him slightly.
Harry too was facing some of the same problems. He had started to enjoy Severus' presence more and more since this trip had begun. First he had thought that it was Connor's work and that the Old Vampire was following them, but since the resident vampire would've been able to pick up the paranoid man no matter how far away he was, and wasn't complaining about it, the whole thing had to have some other source. He was starting to have lustful thoughts towards his former Potion Master, and the dreams that accompanied those thoughts didn't help the matter.
If it had been anyone else, Harry would've stopped singing at once. But now he just kept on going, and he blushed – of all the things in the world: blushed – when Snape commented on his singing abilities. No, it was Severus now. Goddamn it, he hated it when Connor was right. The paranoid vampire reminded him of two people: Mad-Eye Moody and Dumbledore, a combination which would've sent braver men screaming into the night. If someone had told him a month ago that he would have been falling for the Slytherin Head of House, he'd either send them to St. Mungo's or ask if they had been dropped on the head when they had been kids.
And it would only get more confusing.
When they reached Gadsden they drove straight through and stopped at a little bank at the outskirts of the town. Harry had insisted on stopping here for two reasons. One: he was tired of sitting in the car day in and day out; and two: from here he could phone Tiaret, 'Mione or his godfather without getting traced as no one would think twice about a call made from a public place.
Harry parked the car outside the building, got out and entered the bank first with Severus holding the door open for him. He smiled gratefully to the vampire who just nodded, and headed straight to the other side of the room where a couple of semiprivate telephone-booths. There were about fifteen people in the room along with the clerks. An elderly couple, a pregnant woman and a little girl around five or six hanging on to her hand; the rest of the people were around Harry's age and some even at Severus'.
The little girl smiled as the two of them passed and Harry winked to her, the vampire just raised an eyebrow. The Slayer chuckled at his comrade and put some coins into the phone-machine-thingy. He never really could figure out what to call the thing. Severus leaned against the side of the booth and watched as Harry's fingers danced over the little digits dialling a number. Quite nice fingers, he had to admit.
Before the Gryffindor had the chance to dial all the numbers several men dressed in military attire entered, guns and pistols at the ready and Swiss army knives hanging of their sides. The leader – a blonde man – fired a couple of shots into the roof and hereby got everyone's attention.
"This is a robbery people," he said loudly in a commando voice. "Congratulations, you have just become hostages. Now, hands into the air if you please."
Slowly people obeyed, Harry and Severus looked at each other before doing the same. Someone up in heaven really had to hate them to send all these obstacles their way; either that, or someone down in hell was laughing their head off.
"You!" another one of the group said pointing with his gun at Harry. "Put that receiver back on," he mentioned to the phone. "Now! And when done, both of you sit down on the floor."
"You know who these guys are?" Severus asked as they sat down.
"Yeah, Muggle lunatics."
"The normal kind, or the one who has a personal vendetta against you?"
"I'd say it's the former." Harry looked around. The little girl was clinking to her pregnant mother, the elderly couple had sat down in chairs and the others against the walls. The people who worked in the bank were driven out from behind the counter – and from other rooms – and told to sit with the rest of them. "Ironic, isn't it?"
"What?"
"We both manage to avoid being captured by the most evil wizard for decades, and then a couple of crazy Muggles wave with a gun and we're captured."
"Hilarious." Severus had gone back to being sarcastic.
Suddenly one of the younger terrorists entered dragging a young Afro-American woman with him. "Hey guys, look what I found." She was struggling and cursing enough to make a sailor blush. He pushed her roughly towards Severus and Harry and she sat down on the Slayer's other side. "Hope we can have some fin with her later, eh?"
Their leader shook his head. "Idiot! Nothing can be done until everything's secured." He turned and addressed the people in the room. "Here's the deal folks. You don't resist us or make any stupid, heroic deeds and we'll let you – and yours," he looked pointedly at the pregnant woman and her daughter, "live. We're all going to stay here for a while, so you might as well get comfortable."
"We've got to do something about his." Harry whispered.
"Any bright ideas?" the vampire's eyes and ears were both working overtime trying to hear or see something that could give them information on their captors or help them escape.
"Not yet, too little information to work with." He turned to the young woman when she tapped his shoulder. "Yes?"
She extended her hand. "Whoopi Goldberg. My parents named me after the actress." She added seeing the confused looks they sent her.
"Harry Reed." Harry replied.
"Severus Mortimer."
"Interesting names." Whoopi commented. "However, I just wanted to tell you that if you plan to do something about our… situation, don't forget to count me in." Harry and Severus looked at each other then nodded to her. "You know, the two of you really make a cute couple. Of course I have nothing against same-sex couples – god knows, my mother is a lesbian – but 'til now you're the cutest couple I've ever encountered."
"Er… thanks, I guess." Harry blinked a few times, trying to ignore the giddy feeling that was flooding through him. He suddenly became aware of Severus who was leaning slightly over his shoulder, watching the woman through narrow eyes.
"Hey! The three of you, break it up." They jumped when the leader of the terrorists stalked over to them. "That's a bit too close for my liking." He growled and with his hand mentioned for them to split up a bit. Then his eyes fell on Harry and Severus, and he grinned manically. "You know, freaks like you aren't allowed in the army and thank god for that, no telling what you'd do to our boys."
"Well, that answers at least one question." Whoopi said as he walked away. "These people have had proper training in battle and are extremely dangerous. Perhaps even mental."
"And you would know this how?" Severus asked.
"The first is just logical. The second, well, it reminds me kinda of a movie I once saw."
"Gods," Harry sighed. "The next thing you'll know those guys will start jumping around in tutus and sing I'm too sexy for you."
"Eeew, Harry!"
Severus just smacked the younger man lightly over the head. That was a mental image he could happily live without.
By nightfall everyone were thoroughly bored. The police had arrived hours ago and had surrounded the building. As in all movies they had demanded for the terrorists to give up, then threatened the men and at the end tried negotiating. In the end the leader of the terrorists had decided to let go of the elderly couple as they were more trouble than they were worth and a burden to them all.
Everyone were tired. The little girl was leaning against her mother, her eyelids dropping lower and lower. The mother herself didn't look much better, luckily she wasn't too far into the pregnancy or something bad would've happened long before now. The rest of the people were resting against each other or talking quietly together.
Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes. Gods, he was tired. He, Severus and Whoopi had finally gotten to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do about the situation without endangering the other hostages. Whoopi had dozed off leaning against a chair, and Severus was still awake, not having moved once, watching and listening.
"If we could turn the lights off, I would be out of here before the generator kicked them into gear again." The vampire whispered.
"Hmm, that could work." Harry replied. "But how to turn them off?" he looked around the room for a while. "I think I have an idea. Get ready."
"Don't do anything stupid, the Commander would have my head if something happened to you."
The Slayer just smiled and got up.
"What's he up to?" a newly awakened Whoopi asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"I have no idea."
"Then lets sit and enjoy the show."
The two of them watched as Harry hurriedly walked towards the pregnant woman. Just before he reached her, the man who had found Whoopi in the back of the bank stepped in front of him and pushed the Gryffindor harshly backwards.
"And where do ya think ya're goin'?"
"To check up on her baboon, now let me pass." That proved to be too much for the young man who had joined this whole thing thinking it would be a bloodbath like in the movies. He whipped out his gun and shot right at Harry's head. Some people screamed, the mother covered her daughters eyes and Whoopi gasped. Severus on the other hand, smirked. The box with all the fuses or whatever the Muggles called it, was right behind the Slayer. As Harry quickly ducked out of the way, the bullet hit the box and everything went dark. When the light came back on three seconds later, the vampire was gone.
Whoopi blinked a few times, staring at the spot where the Slytheirn had been in surprise. Then she turned towards Harry who was picking himself off the floor, swearing and cursing at the other man. The whole commotion brought the groups leader there and it took another five minutes of explanations before Harry managed to convince them that he was a doctor and that he feared for the pregnant woman's health. Then it took another two minutes before someone noticed that Severus was gone. No one even thought that Harry might have something to do with it; no, the whole blame landed on the man who had fired the shot. Then it took another minute before they managed to organise a search of the bank.
The young woman blinked another couple of times and caught Harry's green eyes. The young man was currently checking the pregnant woman and making small talk, but when he saw her looking at him he grinned and winked. Whoopi shook her head but smiled back. She had been right. Harry and Severus were one hell of a team.
While all of this was going on inside the building, there was a certain black-eyed vampire running across the roof. When he reached the end he jumped silently into a black little alley and looked around. There were no windows and no hidden cameras in sight. Perfect. Then he used the shadows to sneak towards the police on the other side of the road. Civilians were huddled worriedly together behind the police barrier, a couple of TV-teams had arrived and were filming the building with great interest, and the police themselves looked towards the building with worry etched into their features. It was clear that everyone had heard the shot and seen the lights go out.
Severus walked out of the shadows acting as if he had been running as fast as he could, and everyone turned towards him. The police lowered their guns and welcomed him into their midst asking for information on the situation inside the bank while the TV-teams filmed the whole thing.
The vampire told them everything he knew and showed them the little nearly forgotten ally. But when the police told him to stay there while they went in, he protested. There was no way he was going to wait safely out here while Harry was in there. Why he felt this ridiculous urge to protect the Slayer was beyond him, but in the end he was allowed to come with the team that they were sending in.
Just before they were about to leave, someone tapped his shoulder and he turned. Both of the TV-teams were there, the camera men glaring at each other. "Why are you so set on going back in there now that you first have gotten out?" the female reporter asked.
"Harry's in there." Severus replied simply then stalked over to the team and started to lead them through the shadows and towards the ally.
In the meantime inside the building Harry had his hands full. The pregnant woman wasn't fairing well and had a fever. Her daughter was watching worriedly as the Gryffindor dabbed a wet cloth on her mothers forehead, now and then asking if her mother was going to be alright. Whoopi had moved over to them and was helping with calming the little girl, telling her stories and playing games with her.
The leader of their captors – named Tex, as they had found out – suddenly grabbed Harry's shoulder and dragged him to the other side of the room. "How is she?" he demanded.
"Not good. The fever's pretty high." Suddenly Harry got one of those crazy ideas that Dumbledore was so famous for. "I think it's a virus. I've never seen anything like it; though it does remind me of a case on Hawaii a couple of years ago." He pretended to think.
"Tell me!" Tex ordered.
"Well, there were these mosquitoes with tiger-stripes that were carrying some deadly disease. If one with the disease even as much as breathed in the same air as you, you were infected."
The other man gulped. "What were the signs." He couldn't keep his voice from shaking slightly.
Harry nearly grinned. Look who had the upper hand now. "First a lot of sweating, then terrible itching. After that you get dozens of spots all over. They grow and grow and in the end you look like a balloon."
"I guess that all of us are infected, huh?" Harry nodded. "Do whatever you can for all of us."
Whoopi looked questionably at him when he sat down, but he just grinned deviously. "Just gave our captors something to sweat about."
"Fake?"
"Definitely, she's only running a slight fever." He looked at the pregnant woman again. "She'll be fine." Harry began to use his power over the Element of Fire and slowly began to heat up the room; it wouldn't be long now before these idiots got panic and did something foolish.
Five minutes later his Slayer-senses picked up the silent footsteps of a vampire and the heavier footsteps of mortals. He had to keep himself from jumping up and down with joy. He looked at their captors again. Tex had told his men what Harry had told him and all of them were worriedly fanning themselves to cool off. None were paying much attention to the doors and corridors leading into the bank.
"Time to strike." The Gryffindor whispered in a tone that only the vampire would be able to pick up. "Our captors have gotten… sick of this whole thing."
Severus couldn't help but chuckle at this receiving weird looks from his comrades. He had to drag the tale out of Harry once this was over. He could feel the magic running through the room and realised that the Slayer had used his own Elemental powers to heat it up; no doubt it had something to do with the fact that the military-dressed men were worriedly checking their arms and faces, and drinking a whole lot of water.
The terrorists were completely unprepared for the swift attack, and it didn't take them long before the good guys had them in handcuffed. To the vampire's surprise Whoopi hugged him when she saw him, he saw Harry grinning at his surprise over her head. The police opened the barricaded doors and medical help entered along with other officers.
Suddenly there was a shot in the room, and everyone turned towards the sound. The young man who had tried to kill Harry already once, had the Gryffindor in a headlock pointing the gun to the others head.
"Now, me an' little doc here," he pressed the gun further into the Slayers head and Harry hissed, "are getting out of here. I want a car to wait for us at the other side of the building within the next five minutes, or else this beauty here's gonna do an impression of Snow White with the difference that he ain't gonna wake up again."
As the man dragged Harry with him into a corridor that led to the vaults, Severus growled dangerously. Whoopi turned to him and gasped. The man's teeth were bared and he was glaring towards the way the other two had disappeared. The two canine teeth were getting longer and sharper and the black eyes sparkled unnaturally. And suddenly he was gone. She looked around, but there was no sign of him; then Whoopi turned towards the corridor. If her suspicions were right – and she didn't doubt that they were – then that young man who had kidnapped Harry was in deep shit.
Harry himself, was trying to get the young man to loosen his grip. "What good will I be to you if you choke me before you get that car you asked for?"
The young man released him and began to push him towards the exit in front of himself, using the Slayer as a human shield. "Get goin' or I'll kill ya no matter what happens afterwards." The gun dug into Harry's back and he started to walk slowly.
Severus was watching all of this from the shadows. How dare that… that… misfit touch his Harry! He growled. Harry was his, and his alone. And Severus didn't share.
As the two men walked past an empty vault, the vampire attacked. He punched the young man with the gun, and sent him flying into the vault. Then he closed the door and activated the lock. All this hadn't taken more than a second or two, and Harry – who had been knocked to the floor – was standing up and looking at the pissed of Slytheirn who was glaring at the door of the vault.
"Um, Severus?" they could hear banging from the other side and the vampire just kept glaring. "Severus?" Harry dared to put a hand on the others shoulder. "What horrible deeds did the vault door do to you, that it deserves to be glared at until it melts?" in the next second Harry found himself in a bone crushing hung courtesy of the vampire. He was surprised at first, but then returned the embrace. The Slytherin was hanging on to him as if he was a lifeline, and both of them were shaking slightly. They slid to the floor, not breaking their hold on each other. All the tension and adrenalin that had kept them going during the day finally ebbed away, leaving them weak both physically and mentally. It suddenly occurred to them both that they could've lost each other, and it made them tighten their embrace.
"I hate Connor." Severus mumbled.
"Why?" Harry asked quietly running his fingers through the silky, long hair.
The vampire looked at him. "Because he's right." Then he kissed the younger man.
Harry blinked a few times, but then gave in to the vampire and opened his lips. Their tongues duelled for dominance and slowly but surely Severus won that battle. The Slayer moaned as the two fangs nibbled gently at his lower lip. Suddenly the Slytherin stood up, easily bringing the Gryffindor along with him.
"This isn't exactly the place for this." The taller man whispered when they broke apart.
"We could sneak out to the car and drive off, though how we'll manage that without having the TV-teams notice us is beyond me." Harry blushing slightly and buried his head in the nape of the other man's neck. He felt Severus lean his head on top of his.
"What do you say we just apparate to that godfather of yours from right here? If this is Gryffindor territory then they'll know we're coming and if not, well, we'll be arriving into Gryffindor territory and no one will dare to even think about hurting us."
Harry grinned and kissed the other man again. "I love it when you make sense."
"What's the address?" Severus asked. Neither had moved out of the embrace.
"Hmm? Oh, somewhere along St. Charles Avenue. They say it will be easy to find them once you get there." The vampire nodded and apparated them both to the aforementioned street.
They walked down one side of the street, watching both sides for something to tell them where Sirius and Remus had their residence. Severus had his arm protectively around Harry's waist, and was glaring at everyone who dared to even glance at them.
"There!" Harry pointed at a house with a stone wolf and a stone dog guarding the entrance, and the two of them headed that way. Harry rung the bell and they waited.
Soon enough they could hear footsteps from the other side, and the door was unlocked. Then it opened and both Slayer and vampire stared with their mouths open.
"Ignatus!"
There, finished. Don't expect another chapter like this. And sorry if some of you feel that things are going too fast, but I cannot keep writing and writing this story into eternity.
As to other things. I've finally figured out the Blood-thing; however, it won't be explained until the sequel, so you still have to wait a bit for that.
Whoopi Goldberg's name belongs to the actress herself.
Hope you enjoyed it and please review, and sorry for not putting the A/N at the top.
Thanks to:
vampyre, Katy999, Anita Blake, Arizosa, Kayla Darklighter, Aurelius, Mairi Natharia aka Tara-Chan, americanrdr, UltraHighDragonFly, Lukaret, Lady Wolf and izean.
