A/N: Well, since the new book is out. I should be reading it but at the
same time, this (now an AU fic) needs to be finished. I'll probably write a
book 6 fanfic but I'll use Rowling's storyline as the background so ppl
don't need to read this. So unless you guys want me to continue writing
using this storyline, a book 6, I won't be using this fanfic as background.
Probably better cuz then I can start with a different storyline, and since
you guys seemed to like Walter, I may use him again. Anyway. the vote it up
to you guys.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 33: Trial by Fire
Now that Quidditch was over, Harry had more opportunities to catch up on other things. First there were the O.W.L.s which was quickly approaching but then he also had other things on his mind such as his encounter with Sepet in the dungeons the day of the Quidditch match and his newfound relationship with Cho. Hermione would push them to study day after day when they weren't doing anything but the two boys would often lead her on a wild goose chase around the castle.
As much as Harry didn't ask Cho in public, somehow the entire school always found a way to get information and so everyone knew about his relationship with Cho by pretty much the next day. A few comments from the Slytherins such as "How did Potter get a girlfriend like her?" were heard but after Hermione slapped Malfoy in front of everyone, those comments died down.
One Tuesday afternoon, after classes, the four students were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, studying for their O.W.L.s when Parvati came downstairs looking a little distressed.
Hermione, noticing this, whispered to them, "Parvati has been acting a little strange lately. I wonder what it is."
"Perhaps she's just troubled over the O.W.L.s like we are," Ron commented as he was reading over his Transfiguration book, looking rather bored.
At this point, Harry decided it was best to tell them about what he had seen on the day of the last Quidditch match and so suggested that they all go take a walk.
"That's probably the best idea anyone's given yet," Ron said, standing up and dropping his book on the table but when he did so, another book, "Quidditch through the Ages," fell out.
Hermione threw Ron a look of annoyance. "I see you've been studying hard."
Ron grinned at her. "You bet, but let's go for that walk."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and the four of them got up and walked down and out onto the Hogwarts' grounds.
"We'll have to be back by 7 so you two can go on your rounds," Cho told Hermione and Ron.
"We know," Hermione said indignantly.
"Ok." Harry interrupted as soon as they got out of the castle. "Now that's over, the reason why I wanted you three out here is because I wanted to tell you something."
"What would that be?" Cho asked.
"It's something I saw on the day of the Quidditch match," Harry said, as they walked towards Hagrid's hut. "I think it might have something to do with Parvati."
"Did you see Parvati with Sepet?" Ron asked.
"No but I saw Sepet with two of Walter's skeletons walking down in the dungeons. He was giving them orders about staying out of sight because someone is back and I think they're planning on killing whoever it is."
Hermione suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. "How did you avoid getting caught?"
"I used an invisibility spell but Sepet nearly caught me anyway because he can still smell my scent," Harry replied. "Anyway, he's up to something and I think more likely than not, he's going to kill Dumbledore since he's back."
"Mmm, it makes sense," Cho stated. "But how do we kill him?"
"The shield won't work if we surprise him," Hermione pointed out. "So if we surprise him, we can defeat him."
"What about the mortuorum potion? Isn't that made to kill vampires?"
"Yeah but we need someone's blood but a vampire like Sepet probably means that we need a lot of it."
Ron looked a little pale at that thought. "If we did that, we'll be too weak to battle him if it doesn't work."
"No silly," Hermione said sarcastically. "We wouldn't give all our blood in one shot; we'd do it a little at a time, day by day."
"That will take a long time," Cho remarked as she drew her dagger to inspect the blade. "Have you guys sharpened your weapons lately?"
"No, why do you ask?" Harry replied as he drew his sword to inspect the blade.
Cho picked up a rock from the ground and started sharpening her dagger. "I would think the sharper the weapon, the better if we actually fought someone, no?"
"But your weapons are too short and Sepet has a sword," Ron said, glancing worriedly at their knives. "I think you two should stay out of it."
"And let Harry have all the action?" said Cho with a mischievous grin. "I don't think so Weasley."
"I think Ron is just telling you to be careful," Harry said, ending any further argument. "It's agreed that we'll have to fight together so let's meet each night after dinner in Myrtle's Bathroom - we'll make the potion there."
"All right."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the next weeks, the four students met each day after dinner in Myrtle's Bathroom, adding a little more blood each day to the potion. Myrtle was delighted to find that Harry was visiting each day but Harry, on the other hand, was a little worried that Cho might take her advances the wrong way.
"This is really starting to get redundant," Ron commented as he cut the palm of his hand with Hermione's dagger and added more of his blood into the cauldron.
"Oh well. it sure beats fighting Sepet," Harry said, following suit as soon as Ron was finished healing himself again.
"HARRY!" they heard Myrtle exclaim from the stall behind them. "It's so nice to see you visiting everyday."
Myrtle glided over to them and hovered above their potion. "This potion looks very painful."
"You have no idea." Ron muttered to himself.
"Why don't you just get some chicken blood or something?"
"Does that work?" asked Ron
Myrtle's eyes shifted quickly in Ron's direction. "Of course it does!"
"No it doesn't," Hermione argued. "We need human blood."
"But why cause yourself unnecessary pain?"
Cho gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Myrtle, we can't tell you."
Myrtle looked saddened and retreated to her stall again. "That's ok.. I understand. no one trusts Myrtle anymore," she sobbed as she closed the door behind her.
Harry glanced in Myrtle's direction as she went. "Myrtle, we nee -" Harry tried to explain but he was cut off as Myrtle let out a long wail.
Hermione merely shook her head as the sound of Myrtle's cries echoing throughout the bathroom. "I think that'll do it for today - let's go."
The other three nodded and quietly walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day, while they were waiting for Hagrid to come out of his hut during their Care for Magical Creatures class, the entire Gryffindor class was chatting idly as they sat on the grass in front of Hagrid's hut.
During this time, Harry got a good chance to observe Parvati. He still couldn't get over the idea that she was a vampire walking around in broad daylight but since she was still a newborn vampire, the sunlight probably didn't affect her as much as it would Sepet or any of the older vampires. At the moment, she happened to be chatting with Lavender but in between talking, she kept biting on her hand with her teeth as if she hadn't been fed in years.
"Do you think our potion is affecting Parvati?" Hermione said quietly.
Harry merely shrugged his shoulders in response as Hagrid came out of his hut carrying a very large box.
"Hullo everyone!" he bellowed with a large smile. "How are yeh doing?"
He received nods and some smiles from the Gryffindor students, even a few vocal responses but for the most part, Hagrid didn't seem to care too much since he was more preoccupied with the box he had in his hand.
"I have something special today," Hagrid said, placing the box down on a wooden stump in front of them and fumbling with the lock that was on it. "Not yer normal creature but yeh might encounter it if yeh happen ter come across sum caves."
"What is it?" asked a Gryffindor student. "Is it going to hurt us?"
"No, o' course not," Hagrid insisted. "'Tis only a vampire bat."
At this, Parvati's head shot up quickly, her now blood red eyes widening in a look of genuine surprise.
"How did you manage to catch one Hagrid?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Why t'was feeding on meh chickens," Hagrid explained. "So I laid a trap fer it and managed to catch it. 'Tis asleep now though."
"Are vampire bats found commonly around here?"
"Now that yeh mention it," Hagrid said. "I haven't seen one around here at all, not one of this species anyway."
"I knew it," Harry heard Hermione say to herself. "Harry - I think Sepet is in that box."
Harry nodded. "We need to get our hands on that box before tonight, else he'll wake up."
At that point, Parvati slowly rose from her sitting position and approached the box almost fearfully.
"What are yeh doin'?" Hagrid asked her but he didn't receive a response. "'tis not awake yet an' daylight won't do it any good."
"I just wanted to see it," Parvati replied shakily.
"Yeh get yer chance," Hagrid said. "I've drilled a hole in the top but since yer up here anyway, go ahead an' take a look."
Parvati nodded and bent down over the box so that she could look through the hole at the creature within.
"Can I see too?" Dean asked, getting up as well.
"Once Parvati is done, yeh can. Ok, that'll be enuff," Hagrid told Parvati, "Let the other have a turn."
Parvati stood up again but two seconds later, she snatched the box and took off running in the direction of the castle.
"HEY STOP HER!" Hagrid shouted and he too took off running after her as fast as he could. "SHE CAN'T HAVE THAT!"
Harry jumped up from his sitting position and started running in the same direction. "Hurry up you two, we gotta stop her."
Then Ron and Hermione jumped up and started following, drawing their wands in the process.
After a few moments, Harry saw that he wasn't gaining any ground in following Parvati so he stopped in place and pulled out his wand. Pointing in front of him, he summoned the air guardian.
The air swirled around him and his robe started fluttering in the wind. He saw a small whirlwind appear in front of him slowly forming from the ground until it was about as high as his waist. Then a faint outline formed in the shape of an upper body with arms and a head.
*Your bidding Harry? * he heard the guardian say as soon as it finished taking shape.
"Follow Parvati," he commanded, pointing in the direction that she had gone in. "She's carrying a box. Find out where she's going."
*Yes sir * the guardian acknowledged and it flew off after Parvati at a rapid pace, eventually overtaking Hagrid.
"Harry!" Ron panted when he got to where Harry was standing. "Did you catch her?"
Hermione, being the last to catch up to them, rolled her eyes. "Of course he hasn't. She's not here is she?"
"I sent the air guardian after her. He should be able to catch up to her," Harry explained as they began to walk back towards the castle. "I think that class is over for today so let's go back to the Gryffindor tower. The guardian should come back with some information soon."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It wasn't until later that afternoon, after classes were finished when the air guardian finally caught up with Harry in the hallway.
*The girl has locked herself in a tower; the box is still with her. * It reported. *she hasn't come out yet.*
"Did she go anywhere before that?" Harry questioned it.
*No but she was going to run into a bathroom before that. *
Hermione perked up at this bit of information. "What stopped her?"
*There was a voice from the box that told her not to go in there. *
Harry stood there in thought. On one hand, their potion worked but on the other, it didn't work on the intended target. This would probably mean that they would have to go to the tower and take the box from her by force, but more than likely, they would be coming face to face with Sepet and only beating him in combat would allow them to kill him.
"Ron, we'll need to get you a sword somehow," Harry finally said, "It's the only way you'll stand a chance in a fight against Sepet."
"But how will we get one?"
"I think Malfoy's sword is still in Walter's office and no one's been in there since he's left the school. You can use it."
"You're not actually thinking of fighting Sepet are you?" Hermione asserted vehemently.
Harry turned back to the air guardian, "Lead us to the tower - sorry Hermione, it's the only way."
The guardian turned around and slowly started hovering ahead of them so that they could follow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
About 45 minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves climbing up the stairs of what appeared to be the South Tower. The air guardian effortlessly glided above the ground, leading them on but they were starting to get tired.
"I say we get up there, peak through the keyhole to see if she's still there and then we turn back and wait until evening," Ron suggested, plopping down on a stair exhaustedly.
Harry, seeing this, told Hermione to stay with Ron while he continued his way up to see if Parvati was still there.
"But won't you need our help?" Hermione protested. "What if -"
"I have the air guardian with me. Don't worry, I'll come back - just make sure no one comes up," Harry replied with a grin and he continued up by himself, leaving his two friends behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After a few more minutes of climbing, he found himself at a wooden door. Kneeling down, Harry put his ear to the door to see if he could hear anything but after two minutes of hearing nothing, he finally decided to peep through the keyhole.
The tower apparently had a window since he could see a faint light reflecting off the walls. The floor was covered with a thin layer of straw and he saw Parvati sitting up against a wall, facing the door with the box still in her hand.
Harry then stood up again and called the air guardian to him.
*Yes Harry? *
"Stay here and make sure that this door doesn't open," Harry quietly instructed the guardian. "I'm going down again. I'll be back later with some help."
*Yes sir.*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night, the trio gathered in the Gryffindor common room with Cho to discuss how they were going to get Parvati. The air guardian hadn't come back all day so Harry assumed that Parvati was still in the tower with the box.
"Ok, first we need to steal Malfoy's sword from Walter's office," Hermione was saying. "Ron and Cho can use Harry's invisibility cloak - still have that Ron?"
"Right here," came the reply as Ron held up a piece of cloth that glistened silver in the firelight.
"Hey, watch it Ron," Cho hissed, pushing Ron's hand back down to the floor with her own. "No one needs to see that here."
Harry glanced around quickly to see if anyone had seen but all the students were either too busy playing or had their heads buried in books.
"Back to the plan," Hermione continued. "Harry and I will use invisibility spells and we'll meet outside of Walter's office."
"Agreed."
"Are we ready to do this?" Cho asked everyone.
They all nodded at her and the four of the stood up and briskly walked out of the Gryffindor common room, Ron carrying the invisibility cloak wrapped under his arm.
"Ok, put it on," Hermione told Ron as soon as they were outside the portrait and had turned the corner.
Ron motioned for Cho to stand next to him and he carefully put the cloak around them.
Once they had disappeared from view, Harry and Hermione drew their wands, pointed them at themselves and said the invisibility spell.
Their bodies began to ripple for a brief second before completely disappearing from view.
"How will we be able to follow you?" Harry heard Ron ask.
"Just head down to the dungeons where the Dark Arts classroom is, Walter's office is not much further," Harry replied and he started walking down the spiral staircase leading to the first floor and from there, down into the dungeons.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry arrived at the Dark Arts classroom, he made himself visible again by removing the invisibility spell and a few moments later, the other three students joined him.
"So what now?" Cho asked.
"I guess I'll have to get under that cloak with you," Harry said. "Hermione will know the way, right?"
"Yeah, I think so," he heard her voice say.
Harry ducked under the cloak with Ron and Cho and the three of them with Hermione started walking further down the corridors until they reached another door near the end of the hallway. Sepet's office was also visible at the end but if anything, that was the last place they wanted to be.
"Here, let me take care of the door," said Hermione, drawing her wand from her pocket and pointing it at the door lock. "Alohamora."
The door unlocked itself and they gained access.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Walter's office was neatly arranged as it was before, the potions on the table next to the door all lined up perfectly from the smallest vial to the biggest potion jar. The skulls held newly lit candles and Harry could only assume that either the candles never burnt out or they were replaced by someone daily.
The mirror of Malikith was now on the wall behind Walter's desk but what they were looking for, Malfoy's sword, was nowhere in sight.
"Now where did Walter put it?" Harry said to himself while continuing to look around the room.
Nothing was lying up against the bookcases on the right and Walter's desk only had a nice pile of parchments stacked on the upper left corner.
"Here it is!" Hermione's voice was heard from behind them.
Harry turned around and saw what Hermione was referring to, Malfoy's sword sitting in between the two skull candleholders. Oddly enough, it must have been hidden from view when he entered else he would have spotted it earlier when they came in.
They walked over to it and Ron quickly thrust a hand out from under the cloak to grab it by the sheath. The four students then retreated out of the room, closing the door behind them.
"Ok, now on to the tower," Harry said and he ducked out from under the cloak, leading the way to the tower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oddly enough, they encountered no one, not even Mrs. Norris along the way to the tower but when they arrived, Harry found the air guardian standing guard as he had been previously.
*She has not left still, Harry * it said.
Harry nodded and he drew his sword from its sheath. Ron and Cho threw off the invisibility cloak and drew their weapons. Hermione drew her wand first and used the Alohamora spell once again to open the door before drawing her own dagger.
Ron opened the door slowly until they saw a glimpse of Parvati, sleeping soundly against the wall. The moonlight shown through the windows and reflected ample light off of the walls, just enough so that they could see the box in front of her, still unopened from before.
They carefully approached her but as soon as the four of them had entered the room, Parvati's eyes shot open, gleaming red with alarm.
"MASTER!" she screeched in alarm.
The box in front of her rattled as the creature inside struggled to get out. With inhuman strength, Parvati quickly broke the lock to the box and opened it.
Immediately a large bat flew up out of it and started to fly up towards the windows.
"MASTER, DON'T LEAVE ME!" she cried in panic.
The large bat however, had no intention of leaving but it merely snatched a sword that was lying on the windowsill in its claws and swooped down again to where Parvati was.
The four students stood their ground with their weapons in front of them as the giant bat landed.
Before their eyes, the bat began its transformation. Its legs and body began to lengthen and its wings grew in proportion to the body. Soon enough, the bat was taller than Parvati was and it closed its wings around itself as if it were in a cocoon.
The wings started to shrink again, revealing a head covered with short grey hair and two glistening white teeth protruding from its upper lip, coming to rest upon the lower. The creature's eyes were red just like Parvati's, maddened with rage at being discovered. The wings eventually transformed into a large cape fastened by a gold ring, covering the entire body; only a pair of black boots shown from under the cape.
"Th-that's not Sepet," Hermione whispered in realization.
The vampire glanced in Hermione's direction and began to laugh arrogantly. "Very good my dear, you are really quite the observant one."
Its eyes darted to study Ron and Cho before coming to rest upon Harry. Harry stared into its blood red eyes which seemed to spread a feeling of fear throughout his body.
He quickly looked away to avoid its gaze, only to receive another haughty laugh. "So this is the mighty Harry Potter..Lord Voldemort talked of you as if you vere an annoying insect vho put a stop to his plans at every turn. Hovever I think my lord vill be pleased to find that he kan karry out his job now..once I put an end to your miserable life that is."
"Wh-wh-who are you?" Harry finally managed to stammer out.
"Me?" he replied with raised eyebrows. "I am Baron Igor Radu. Your Kount Sepet has been quite an annoying pest in preventing me from feeding upon your kind. But no matter, I did have three very pleasant meals, the first, that girl, being one of the tastier morsels and I have gained myself a servant," he said, motioning with his head towards Parvati next to him.
"So it was you who was biting our students," Cho said accusingly.
"Another observant one. this is very good," Radu said mockingly. "My servant and I shall feast tonight upon you four and you shall join our ranks."
"Over our dead bodies," Ron said in defiance.
This merely led the vampire to laugh. "My good prey. you shall be dead, soon enough.but come, I shall give you a sporting chance."
"Ron - Cho - Hermione, get out of here," Harry finally said, gripping his sword tightly with both hands.
"Are you out of your mind Harry?" Hermione said hotly. "You can't possibly take on two vampires by yourself. You'll die and then -"
"Enough talk, let us fight," the vampire interrupted impatiently. He threw back his cape, revealing a black sword under it.
The vampire slowly closed a gloved hand around its hilt and drew the sword with a menacing smile. The double-edged blade flashed silver as the light from the moon was reflected off of it.
Cho moved to stand with Hermione and drew her wand out as well. "We'll deal with Parvati, you two deal with the vampire."
"Got it," Harry acknowledged and he and Ron charged at the vampire, yelling at the top of their lungs.
"This shall be very entertaining," Radu replied, and to Parvati he gave one simple order, "Kill the girls."
Parvati rolled to the left and charged at Hermione and Cho with her wand drawn.
Hermione and Cho fired a disarming spell at her but Parvati rolled out of the way and returned fire.
Both girls jumped in opposite directions out of the way and Parvati leapt at Cho who thrust out her dagger in defence.
Parvati shoved Cho's hand onto the stone floor, causing her to lose her grip on the dagger.
Cho then used the other hand with her wand to fire a curse at Parvati but that was deflected into the air when Parvati pushed her hand out of the way. She then lowered her head to take a bite at Cho's neck but Hermione used a spell to levitate her dagger and send it flying straight into Parvati's side.
Parvati screamed and rolled off Cho who then grabbed her dagger once again. Cho quickly rolled away from her opponent into a crouching position on the ground.
In the meantime, Harry and Ron were having no luck with the Baron. Ron, having no previous training with a sword was swinging wildly, leaving the Baron to block his blows effortlessly before counter Harry's.
"Attack together," Harry said, as he swung upward towards the Baron's arm.
The Baron brought his sword down to block and thrust forward towards Harry's chest but Harry moved out of the way just in time. Then both boys simultaneously thrust forward with their weapons in the direction of the vampire's chest.
The vampire deflected both swords by pushing Ron's blade into Harry's and then smashing both of them into the wall. Ron lost his grip on his sword at that point and so he was forced to retreat backwards to avoid the next blow coming across his chest.
Harry thought it might be better to just defend himself against the Baron while Ron recovered from his loss and so he began to attack the vampire so that Ron could get away to a safe distance.
Now that one of his opponents was out of action temporarily, the Baron sped up his attack on Harry and started by launching a fury of attacks coming from different directions.
"Ron, your wand," Harry commanded as he deflected a blow off to the right. "Use it!"
At that, Ron drew his wand and fired a leg locking curse at the vampire but the vampire apparently saw it coming and jumped backwards but this was the opportunity that Harry was waiting for since it meant that the Baron would have to lower his guard for a moment to avoid the curse.
Harry sprinted towards the vampire with his sword and with one swift motion, smashed his sword down onto the other's blade. The Baron was put slightly off balance by this as his blade was guided by Harry's into the wall and precipitated the loss of his hold on it. It quietly fell onto the straw covered ground next to Harry's feet. However the vampire was still in midair and so he pushed off the nearby wall with his left leg. This caused him to spin around in the air until he came to another wall which he also rebounded off with his hands; only this time he fell towards the ground and rolled towards Harry, his cape following him in a circular motion from spinning around in the air previously.
This threw Harry off and he felt movement next to his legs. Sensing this, he brought about his sword down near his legs, apparently in time to meet the blade intended to cut his legs out from under him.
At this point, Ron couldn't exactly interfere and so he decided to help his girlfriend and Cho with Parvati by firing some stunning spells at her.
Parvati was already having a hard time dealing with the two girls and so the added opponent, Ron, created more problems for her. Still, she managed to pull out Hermione's dagger from her side and was now charging at Cho with it.
Hermione fired several ice bolts at her as she came but then decided to raise a force field in front of Parvati just before she ran headlong into Cho. Instead Parvati rammed right into the forcefield and was knocked back down. The dagger flew from her grip and landed several feet behind her but Parvati herself remained relatively motionless.
"I think that -"
"HERMIONE LOOK OUT!" Ron shouted as he noticed Harry's battle with the Baron coming over to where Hermione was standing.
Hermione began to turn around at Ron's warning but she found herself knocked to the ground as Harry tumbled backwards onto her.
The vampire then proceeded to kick Harry's sword out of his hand - it slid out of his hand, making a grinding sound as it slid, followed by a clatter as it hit the wall.
Ron and Cho, seeing their helpless comrades, fired off every spell they could in an attempt to get the vampire to back off.
It worked but then Ron found himself tackled to the ground by Parvati and this absorbed Cho's attention as she turned her wand in the direction of the new fight.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry came out of his brief daze after falling on top of Hermione, he found himself staring up at the looming figure of the Baron.
"It looks like I finally get to feed on you," the vampire said in triumph.
Harry looked around at the room, he saw Ron grappling with Parvati and that Cho was trying to help him. Hermione was lying next to him, also looking up at the vampire. When she made a sudden move to raise her wand, Radu quickly kicked it out of her hand as well.
Radu merely shook his head and stared deeply into Hermione's eyes, putting her into a trance has he had seen in the graveyard near Sepet's castle. He reached quickly for his wand inside his pocket but received a sharp kick into the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
In the background, he could hear the shuffling of straw as the other two wrestled with Parvati as well as something that sounded like a mass of wings flapping through the air.
The moonlight coming from the window was suddenly covered by a mass of bats coming through the window and before he knew it, he saw something drop down from the air, apparently towards him. It was completely black from below as there was a large cape that accompanied it but a brief flash of silver and the sound of a sword being draw from a sheath told him that it was Sepet.
Grabbing Hermione around the waist, he rolled out of the way with her just as the vampire made contact with the Baron's head and landed where they had been previously
The Baron let out a short cry and fell backwards but then quickly flipped around as he was falling so that he could use one hand to stop his fall. He then spun around, arcing out with his sword as well, in an attempt to hit his new target.
Sepet merely leapt backwards to avoid the blow while the Baron got to his feet, shaking his head as he did so.
"So the traitor has finally arrived," he growled quietly to Sepet.
"That's an understatement, traitor," Sepet said with a smirk, jumping off to the side into the wall so that he could push off and attack the Baron from the right.
"You never let me feed on these weaklings," the Baron said, his eyes burning with intense hatred for the vampire before him. "They could be ours and Voldemort vould rule."
"You would merely exterminate them," Sepet retorted. "Then where would we be? Feeding off animals? You disgust me."
"Because of you, I had no choice but to feed off animals!" the Baron shouted as he charged at him.
At this, the three students fighting for control over Cho's dagger in the corner had ceased to fight and turned their heads to look at the battle between the two vampires.
"Master?" Parvati questioned but received no response from the Baron who was starting to lose ground with Sepet.
After a few more minutes of trading weakening rounds with Sepet, the Baron finally gave an order to Parvati, "Retreat - run before he gets you."
"Let me come with you," she insisted and made her way towards him.
"No you fool," said the Baron gruffly but seeing as she wouldn't stop coming, he lashed out one final time at Sepet and then threw his sword at Parvati.
Sepet, seeing this, sprinted in Parvati's direction, putting his own sword in the path of the flying weapon to prevent it from hitting its target. The weapon was then deflected upwards and over Parvati's head at which it then fell, blade first, piercing the stone floor and sticking in place.
Meanwhile, once he saw that Sepet was distracted, the Baron changed back into a bat and flew as fast as he could out of the window.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry heard Ron and Cho breathe a sigh of relief that the battle was over and that their opponent had retreated. Sepet sheathed his sword again and grabbed Parvati around the neck.
"You have been one naughty girl," he said harshly. "Your master has abandoned you willingly; however, you are not free yet."
Parvati looked torn between betrayal and abandonment but she stood in place once Sepet released her from his cold hands.
Sepet turned to Harry who was still lying on the ground with his arms around Hermione, "Well done Potter but that's not the last time we'll be seeing him. Come, gather your weapons, I will escort you four to the hospital wing."
"What about Parvati?" Harry asked as he stood up once again and put out a hand to help Hermione up as well.
"I'll keep her with me for now. She looks as if she hasn't been fed a proper meal in a while but I still have a supply of fresh blood in my office," Sepet explained, looking down at the defeated Gryffindor student.
Sepet went over to pull the Baron's sword out of the stone floor with his hand and gave it to Parvati.
"Hold this but don't try anything," Sepet told her, handing her the sword which she took timidly.
Once Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cho retrieved their weapons and put them away, Sepet opened the door to the tower, ushering out the five students into the staircase and closing the door behind him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the staircase, Harry dispelled the air guardian waiting outside and Hermione immediately began to question Sepet.
"How did you find us?" Hermione asked as they began their descent.
"Vampires can sense other vampires as long as they are in human form and are nearby. I came as soon as I sensed his presence. You see, I thought there might have been one of my own helping Voldemort and so that is why I am here."
"So the duelling class is all a charade?"
"No my dear," Sepet replied. "That class will remain since the headmaster feels that it is necessary. The only regret I have is not being able to save her," he said, nodding in the direction of Parvati.
"But there is a way, right?" Harry cut in.
"Of course, only when she drinks the blood of her master will she be free."
"So you were trying to save Alicia and Filch when they were attacked," Hermione said in realization.
"Alas, I did not get to them in time as I did with you but they were less equipped to deal with a sudden vampire attack than you were," Sepet said regretfully.
"But then what about Walter?"
Sepet glanced down at Hermione, "I think that will be enough of your questions Miss Granger."
Hermione looked as if she wanted to press the issue further but when Harry motioned to Parvati, she held her tongue.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eventually, they arrived at the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey hurried out of her office to meet them.
"What has happened?" she asked.
"These students have been through a great deal this evening, please see to it that they are taken care of," Sepet replied.
"All right, you five, you know what to do, change out of your uniforms and I will tend to you," said Madam Pomfrey, motioning towards the hospital beds so that they could change.
"Uh, Miss Patil will come with me," Sepet interrupted when he saw that Parvati was also being pushed towards the hospital bed by the nurse. "I have something in my office
"Very well," she huffed. "But if something goes wrong, the headmaster will hear about it!"
Sepet merely bowed in her direction and guided Parvati out of the hospital wing, leaving Madam Pomfrey to tend to Harry and his friends.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, end of chapter 33.. 3 more to go and the end of the story! Thanks for the massive amounts of reviews, it took a lot of time to reply to all of them but here they are.
Merlins-Apprentice: mmmm, not much of a fluff scene last chapter. Sorry if you're disappointed, Fluff scenes aren't my specialty. As for Walter, depending on how you guys vote. I may/may not use him again.
Alpha Wolfe: Sepet evil? Hehehe, I think this chapter gave you the response to that one.
Dragon Phoenix: Plot twists make for a good story but I'm not sure about a big one last chapter. I'll probably continue w/ another story after this but probably after I've read the 5th book. I don't know if its such a good idea to continue this plot because then people would have to read this to get the idea rather than just read book 5. So I'll probably just go off that.
le'Ange de Mort: Walter? This chapter should give answers to that one.
smegol: all right, that would work.
Satoshi: not necessarily but I guess based on book 4, yeah.
Sikokid: This chapter should answer your question is Sepet on Walter's side.
X13: working on detail
Icedrake: I think that's a little irrelevant now.
Eloisamuggle: Hagrid. done. Ginny. hmm. too many characters to keep track of. argh.
harryfanatic: yeah, I think I'll leave the order as it is. nothing else I can do now that book 5 is out.
Blah: yeah, some stuff looks similar but not quite so.
Sunny: I think you have the right mind and this can be a bit of both. H/Cho with underlying H/Hr.
Joe: I'm not J.K. Rowling, that's for sure else I'd be the rich one but I did get several reviews saying that my writing was similar. Thank you very much for your review. Story writing may be profitable but only if I actually develop something and get it published. that takes a lot of effort seeing as I feel like I'm slacking off.
Eddie: ordinary life stuff. hahaha, life is never ordinary for Harry Potter.
Anonyms: I'll probably continue writing a 6th year fic but I'll see what you guys think: should I continue using this plot or since most people will have read book 5, start a new plot off that one?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 33: Trial by Fire
Now that Quidditch was over, Harry had more opportunities to catch up on other things. First there were the O.W.L.s which was quickly approaching but then he also had other things on his mind such as his encounter with Sepet in the dungeons the day of the Quidditch match and his newfound relationship with Cho. Hermione would push them to study day after day when they weren't doing anything but the two boys would often lead her on a wild goose chase around the castle.
As much as Harry didn't ask Cho in public, somehow the entire school always found a way to get information and so everyone knew about his relationship with Cho by pretty much the next day. A few comments from the Slytherins such as "How did Potter get a girlfriend like her?" were heard but after Hermione slapped Malfoy in front of everyone, those comments died down.
One Tuesday afternoon, after classes, the four students were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, studying for their O.W.L.s when Parvati came downstairs looking a little distressed.
Hermione, noticing this, whispered to them, "Parvati has been acting a little strange lately. I wonder what it is."
"Perhaps she's just troubled over the O.W.L.s like we are," Ron commented as he was reading over his Transfiguration book, looking rather bored.
At this point, Harry decided it was best to tell them about what he had seen on the day of the last Quidditch match and so suggested that they all go take a walk.
"That's probably the best idea anyone's given yet," Ron said, standing up and dropping his book on the table but when he did so, another book, "Quidditch through the Ages," fell out.
Hermione threw Ron a look of annoyance. "I see you've been studying hard."
Ron grinned at her. "You bet, but let's go for that walk."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and the four of them got up and walked down and out onto the Hogwarts' grounds.
"We'll have to be back by 7 so you two can go on your rounds," Cho told Hermione and Ron.
"We know," Hermione said indignantly.
"Ok." Harry interrupted as soon as they got out of the castle. "Now that's over, the reason why I wanted you three out here is because I wanted to tell you something."
"What would that be?" Cho asked.
"It's something I saw on the day of the Quidditch match," Harry said, as they walked towards Hagrid's hut. "I think it might have something to do with Parvati."
"Did you see Parvati with Sepet?" Ron asked.
"No but I saw Sepet with two of Walter's skeletons walking down in the dungeons. He was giving them orders about staying out of sight because someone is back and I think they're planning on killing whoever it is."
Hermione suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. "How did you avoid getting caught?"
"I used an invisibility spell but Sepet nearly caught me anyway because he can still smell my scent," Harry replied. "Anyway, he's up to something and I think more likely than not, he's going to kill Dumbledore since he's back."
"Mmm, it makes sense," Cho stated. "But how do we kill him?"
"The shield won't work if we surprise him," Hermione pointed out. "So if we surprise him, we can defeat him."
"What about the mortuorum potion? Isn't that made to kill vampires?"
"Yeah but we need someone's blood but a vampire like Sepet probably means that we need a lot of it."
Ron looked a little pale at that thought. "If we did that, we'll be too weak to battle him if it doesn't work."
"No silly," Hermione said sarcastically. "We wouldn't give all our blood in one shot; we'd do it a little at a time, day by day."
"That will take a long time," Cho remarked as she drew her dagger to inspect the blade. "Have you guys sharpened your weapons lately?"
"No, why do you ask?" Harry replied as he drew his sword to inspect the blade.
Cho picked up a rock from the ground and started sharpening her dagger. "I would think the sharper the weapon, the better if we actually fought someone, no?"
"But your weapons are too short and Sepet has a sword," Ron said, glancing worriedly at their knives. "I think you two should stay out of it."
"And let Harry have all the action?" said Cho with a mischievous grin. "I don't think so Weasley."
"I think Ron is just telling you to be careful," Harry said, ending any further argument. "It's agreed that we'll have to fight together so let's meet each night after dinner in Myrtle's Bathroom - we'll make the potion there."
"All right."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the next weeks, the four students met each day after dinner in Myrtle's Bathroom, adding a little more blood each day to the potion. Myrtle was delighted to find that Harry was visiting each day but Harry, on the other hand, was a little worried that Cho might take her advances the wrong way.
"This is really starting to get redundant," Ron commented as he cut the palm of his hand with Hermione's dagger and added more of his blood into the cauldron.
"Oh well. it sure beats fighting Sepet," Harry said, following suit as soon as Ron was finished healing himself again.
"HARRY!" they heard Myrtle exclaim from the stall behind them. "It's so nice to see you visiting everyday."
Myrtle glided over to them and hovered above their potion. "This potion looks very painful."
"You have no idea." Ron muttered to himself.
"Why don't you just get some chicken blood or something?"
"Does that work?" asked Ron
Myrtle's eyes shifted quickly in Ron's direction. "Of course it does!"
"No it doesn't," Hermione argued. "We need human blood."
"But why cause yourself unnecessary pain?"
Cho gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Myrtle, we can't tell you."
Myrtle looked saddened and retreated to her stall again. "That's ok.. I understand. no one trusts Myrtle anymore," she sobbed as she closed the door behind her.
Harry glanced in Myrtle's direction as she went. "Myrtle, we nee -" Harry tried to explain but he was cut off as Myrtle let out a long wail.
Hermione merely shook her head as the sound of Myrtle's cries echoing throughout the bathroom. "I think that'll do it for today - let's go."
The other three nodded and quietly walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day, while they were waiting for Hagrid to come out of his hut during their Care for Magical Creatures class, the entire Gryffindor class was chatting idly as they sat on the grass in front of Hagrid's hut.
During this time, Harry got a good chance to observe Parvati. He still couldn't get over the idea that she was a vampire walking around in broad daylight but since she was still a newborn vampire, the sunlight probably didn't affect her as much as it would Sepet or any of the older vampires. At the moment, she happened to be chatting with Lavender but in between talking, she kept biting on her hand with her teeth as if she hadn't been fed in years.
"Do you think our potion is affecting Parvati?" Hermione said quietly.
Harry merely shrugged his shoulders in response as Hagrid came out of his hut carrying a very large box.
"Hullo everyone!" he bellowed with a large smile. "How are yeh doing?"
He received nods and some smiles from the Gryffindor students, even a few vocal responses but for the most part, Hagrid didn't seem to care too much since he was more preoccupied with the box he had in his hand.
"I have something special today," Hagrid said, placing the box down on a wooden stump in front of them and fumbling with the lock that was on it. "Not yer normal creature but yeh might encounter it if yeh happen ter come across sum caves."
"What is it?" asked a Gryffindor student. "Is it going to hurt us?"
"No, o' course not," Hagrid insisted. "'Tis only a vampire bat."
At this, Parvati's head shot up quickly, her now blood red eyes widening in a look of genuine surprise.
"How did you manage to catch one Hagrid?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Why t'was feeding on meh chickens," Hagrid explained. "So I laid a trap fer it and managed to catch it. 'Tis asleep now though."
"Are vampire bats found commonly around here?"
"Now that yeh mention it," Hagrid said. "I haven't seen one around here at all, not one of this species anyway."
"I knew it," Harry heard Hermione say to herself. "Harry - I think Sepet is in that box."
Harry nodded. "We need to get our hands on that box before tonight, else he'll wake up."
At that point, Parvati slowly rose from her sitting position and approached the box almost fearfully.
"What are yeh doin'?" Hagrid asked her but he didn't receive a response. "'tis not awake yet an' daylight won't do it any good."
"I just wanted to see it," Parvati replied shakily.
"Yeh get yer chance," Hagrid said. "I've drilled a hole in the top but since yer up here anyway, go ahead an' take a look."
Parvati nodded and bent down over the box so that she could look through the hole at the creature within.
"Can I see too?" Dean asked, getting up as well.
"Once Parvati is done, yeh can. Ok, that'll be enuff," Hagrid told Parvati, "Let the other have a turn."
Parvati stood up again but two seconds later, she snatched the box and took off running in the direction of the castle.
"HEY STOP HER!" Hagrid shouted and he too took off running after her as fast as he could. "SHE CAN'T HAVE THAT!"
Harry jumped up from his sitting position and started running in the same direction. "Hurry up you two, we gotta stop her."
Then Ron and Hermione jumped up and started following, drawing their wands in the process.
After a few moments, Harry saw that he wasn't gaining any ground in following Parvati so he stopped in place and pulled out his wand. Pointing in front of him, he summoned the air guardian.
The air swirled around him and his robe started fluttering in the wind. He saw a small whirlwind appear in front of him slowly forming from the ground until it was about as high as his waist. Then a faint outline formed in the shape of an upper body with arms and a head.
*Your bidding Harry? * he heard the guardian say as soon as it finished taking shape.
"Follow Parvati," he commanded, pointing in the direction that she had gone in. "She's carrying a box. Find out where she's going."
*Yes sir * the guardian acknowledged and it flew off after Parvati at a rapid pace, eventually overtaking Hagrid.
"Harry!" Ron panted when he got to where Harry was standing. "Did you catch her?"
Hermione, being the last to catch up to them, rolled her eyes. "Of course he hasn't. She's not here is she?"
"I sent the air guardian after her. He should be able to catch up to her," Harry explained as they began to walk back towards the castle. "I think that class is over for today so let's go back to the Gryffindor tower. The guardian should come back with some information soon."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It wasn't until later that afternoon, after classes were finished when the air guardian finally caught up with Harry in the hallway.
*The girl has locked herself in a tower; the box is still with her. * It reported. *she hasn't come out yet.*
"Did she go anywhere before that?" Harry questioned it.
*No but she was going to run into a bathroom before that. *
Hermione perked up at this bit of information. "What stopped her?"
*There was a voice from the box that told her not to go in there. *
Harry stood there in thought. On one hand, their potion worked but on the other, it didn't work on the intended target. This would probably mean that they would have to go to the tower and take the box from her by force, but more than likely, they would be coming face to face with Sepet and only beating him in combat would allow them to kill him.
"Ron, we'll need to get you a sword somehow," Harry finally said, "It's the only way you'll stand a chance in a fight against Sepet."
"But how will we get one?"
"I think Malfoy's sword is still in Walter's office and no one's been in there since he's left the school. You can use it."
"You're not actually thinking of fighting Sepet are you?" Hermione asserted vehemently.
Harry turned back to the air guardian, "Lead us to the tower - sorry Hermione, it's the only way."
The guardian turned around and slowly started hovering ahead of them so that they could follow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
About 45 minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves climbing up the stairs of what appeared to be the South Tower. The air guardian effortlessly glided above the ground, leading them on but they were starting to get tired.
"I say we get up there, peak through the keyhole to see if she's still there and then we turn back and wait until evening," Ron suggested, plopping down on a stair exhaustedly.
Harry, seeing this, told Hermione to stay with Ron while he continued his way up to see if Parvati was still there.
"But won't you need our help?" Hermione protested. "What if -"
"I have the air guardian with me. Don't worry, I'll come back - just make sure no one comes up," Harry replied with a grin and he continued up by himself, leaving his two friends behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After a few more minutes of climbing, he found himself at a wooden door. Kneeling down, Harry put his ear to the door to see if he could hear anything but after two minutes of hearing nothing, he finally decided to peep through the keyhole.
The tower apparently had a window since he could see a faint light reflecting off the walls. The floor was covered with a thin layer of straw and he saw Parvati sitting up against a wall, facing the door with the box still in her hand.
Harry then stood up again and called the air guardian to him.
*Yes Harry? *
"Stay here and make sure that this door doesn't open," Harry quietly instructed the guardian. "I'm going down again. I'll be back later with some help."
*Yes sir.*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night, the trio gathered in the Gryffindor common room with Cho to discuss how they were going to get Parvati. The air guardian hadn't come back all day so Harry assumed that Parvati was still in the tower with the box.
"Ok, first we need to steal Malfoy's sword from Walter's office," Hermione was saying. "Ron and Cho can use Harry's invisibility cloak - still have that Ron?"
"Right here," came the reply as Ron held up a piece of cloth that glistened silver in the firelight.
"Hey, watch it Ron," Cho hissed, pushing Ron's hand back down to the floor with her own. "No one needs to see that here."
Harry glanced around quickly to see if anyone had seen but all the students were either too busy playing or had their heads buried in books.
"Back to the plan," Hermione continued. "Harry and I will use invisibility spells and we'll meet outside of Walter's office."
"Agreed."
"Are we ready to do this?" Cho asked everyone.
They all nodded at her and the four of the stood up and briskly walked out of the Gryffindor common room, Ron carrying the invisibility cloak wrapped under his arm.
"Ok, put it on," Hermione told Ron as soon as they were outside the portrait and had turned the corner.
Ron motioned for Cho to stand next to him and he carefully put the cloak around them.
Once they had disappeared from view, Harry and Hermione drew their wands, pointed them at themselves and said the invisibility spell.
Their bodies began to ripple for a brief second before completely disappearing from view.
"How will we be able to follow you?" Harry heard Ron ask.
"Just head down to the dungeons where the Dark Arts classroom is, Walter's office is not much further," Harry replied and he started walking down the spiral staircase leading to the first floor and from there, down into the dungeons.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry arrived at the Dark Arts classroom, he made himself visible again by removing the invisibility spell and a few moments later, the other three students joined him.
"So what now?" Cho asked.
"I guess I'll have to get under that cloak with you," Harry said. "Hermione will know the way, right?"
"Yeah, I think so," he heard her voice say.
Harry ducked under the cloak with Ron and Cho and the three of them with Hermione started walking further down the corridors until they reached another door near the end of the hallway. Sepet's office was also visible at the end but if anything, that was the last place they wanted to be.
"Here, let me take care of the door," said Hermione, drawing her wand from her pocket and pointing it at the door lock. "Alohamora."
The door unlocked itself and they gained access.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Walter's office was neatly arranged as it was before, the potions on the table next to the door all lined up perfectly from the smallest vial to the biggest potion jar. The skulls held newly lit candles and Harry could only assume that either the candles never burnt out or they were replaced by someone daily.
The mirror of Malikith was now on the wall behind Walter's desk but what they were looking for, Malfoy's sword, was nowhere in sight.
"Now where did Walter put it?" Harry said to himself while continuing to look around the room.
Nothing was lying up against the bookcases on the right and Walter's desk only had a nice pile of parchments stacked on the upper left corner.
"Here it is!" Hermione's voice was heard from behind them.
Harry turned around and saw what Hermione was referring to, Malfoy's sword sitting in between the two skull candleholders. Oddly enough, it must have been hidden from view when he entered else he would have spotted it earlier when they came in.
They walked over to it and Ron quickly thrust a hand out from under the cloak to grab it by the sheath. The four students then retreated out of the room, closing the door behind them.
"Ok, now on to the tower," Harry said and he ducked out from under the cloak, leading the way to the tower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oddly enough, they encountered no one, not even Mrs. Norris along the way to the tower but when they arrived, Harry found the air guardian standing guard as he had been previously.
*She has not left still, Harry * it said.
Harry nodded and he drew his sword from its sheath. Ron and Cho threw off the invisibility cloak and drew their weapons. Hermione drew her wand first and used the Alohamora spell once again to open the door before drawing her own dagger.
Ron opened the door slowly until they saw a glimpse of Parvati, sleeping soundly against the wall. The moonlight shown through the windows and reflected ample light off of the walls, just enough so that they could see the box in front of her, still unopened from before.
They carefully approached her but as soon as the four of them had entered the room, Parvati's eyes shot open, gleaming red with alarm.
"MASTER!" she screeched in alarm.
The box in front of her rattled as the creature inside struggled to get out. With inhuman strength, Parvati quickly broke the lock to the box and opened it.
Immediately a large bat flew up out of it and started to fly up towards the windows.
"MASTER, DON'T LEAVE ME!" she cried in panic.
The large bat however, had no intention of leaving but it merely snatched a sword that was lying on the windowsill in its claws and swooped down again to where Parvati was.
The four students stood their ground with their weapons in front of them as the giant bat landed.
Before their eyes, the bat began its transformation. Its legs and body began to lengthen and its wings grew in proportion to the body. Soon enough, the bat was taller than Parvati was and it closed its wings around itself as if it were in a cocoon.
The wings started to shrink again, revealing a head covered with short grey hair and two glistening white teeth protruding from its upper lip, coming to rest upon the lower. The creature's eyes were red just like Parvati's, maddened with rage at being discovered. The wings eventually transformed into a large cape fastened by a gold ring, covering the entire body; only a pair of black boots shown from under the cape.
"Th-that's not Sepet," Hermione whispered in realization.
The vampire glanced in Hermione's direction and began to laugh arrogantly. "Very good my dear, you are really quite the observant one."
Its eyes darted to study Ron and Cho before coming to rest upon Harry. Harry stared into its blood red eyes which seemed to spread a feeling of fear throughout his body.
He quickly looked away to avoid its gaze, only to receive another haughty laugh. "So this is the mighty Harry Potter..Lord Voldemort talked of you as if you vere an annoying insect vho put a stop to his plans at every turn. Hovever I think my lord vill be pleased to find that he kan karry out his job now..once I put an end to your miserable life that is."
"Wh-wh-who are you?" Harry finally managed to stammer out.
"Me?" he replied with raised eyebrows. "I am Baron Igor Radu. Your Kount Sepet has been quite an annoying pest in preventing me from feeding upon your kind. But no matter, I did have three very pleasant meals, the first, that girl, being one of the tastier morsels and I have gained myself a servant," he said, motioning with his head towards Parvati next to him.
"So it was you who was biting our students," Cho said accusingly.
"Another observant one. this is very good," Radu said mockingly. "My servant and I shall feast tonight upon you four and you shall join our ranks."
"Over our dead bodies," Ron said in defiance.
This merely led the vampire to laugh. "My good prey. you shall be dead, soon enough.but come, I shall give you a sporting chance."
"Ron - Cho - Hermione, get out of here," Harry finally said, gripping his sword tightly with both hands.
"Are you out of your mind Harry?" Hermione said hotly. "You can't possibly take on two vampires by yourself. You'll die and then -"
"Enough talk, let us fight," the vampire interrupted impatiently. He threw back his cape, revealing a black sword under it.
The vampire slowly closed a gloved hand around its hilt and drew the sword with a menacing smile. The double-edged blade flashed silver as the light from the moon was reflected off of it.
Cho moved to stand with Hermione and drew her wand out as well. "We'll deal with Parvati, you two deal with the vampire."
"Got it," Harry acknowledged and he and Ron charged at the vampire, yelling at the top of their lungs.
"This shall be very entertaining," Radu replied, and to Parvati he gave one simple order, "Kill the girls."
Parvati rolled to the left and charged at Hermione and Cho with her wand drawn.
Hermione and Cho fired a disarming spell at her but Parvati rolled out of the way and returned fire.
Both girls jumped in opposite directions out of the way and Parvati leapt at Cho who thrust out her dagger in defence.
Parvati shoved Cho's hand onto the stone floor, causing her to lose her grip on the dagger.
Cho then used the other hand with her wand to fire a curse at Parvati but that was deflected into the air when Parvati pushed her hand out of the way. She then lowered her head to take a bite at Cho's neck but Hermione used a spell to levitate her dagger and send it flying straight into Parvati's side.
Parvati screamed and rolled off Cho who then grabbed her dagger once again. Cho quickly rolled away from her opponent into a crouching position on the ground.
In the meantime, Harry and Ron were having no luck with the Baron. Ron, having no previous training with a sword was swinging wildly, leaving the Baron to block his blows effortlessly before counter Harry's.
"Attack together," Harry said, as he swung upward towards the Baron's arm.
The Baron brought his sword down to block and thrust forward towards Harry's chest but Harry moved out of the way just in time. Then both boys simultaneously thrust forward with their weapons in the direction of the vampire's chest.
The vampire deflected both swords by pushing Ron's blade into Harry's and then smashing both of them into the wall. Ron lost his grip on his sword at that point and so he was forced to retreat backwards to avoid the next blow coming across his chest.
Harry thought it might be better to just defend himself against the Baron while Ron recovered from his loss and so he began to attack the vampire so that Ron could get away to a safe distance.
Now that one of his opponents was out of action temporarily, the Baron sped up his attack on Harry and started by launching a fury of attacks coming from different directions.
"Ron, your wand," Harry commanded as he deflected a blow off to the right. "Use it!"
At that, Ron drew his wand and fired a leg locking curse at the vampire but the vampire apparently saw it coming and jumped backwards but this was the opportunity that Harry was waiting for since it meant that the Baron would have to lower his guard for a moment to avoid the curse.
Harry sprinted towards the vampire with his sword and with one swift motion, smashed his sword down onto the other's blade. The Baron was put slightly off balance by this as his blade was guided by Harry's into the wall and precipitated the loss of his hold on it. It quietly fell onto the straw covered ground next to Harry's feet. However the vampire was still in midair and so he pushed off the nearby wall with his left leg. This caused him to spin around in the air until he came to another wall which he also rebounded off with his hands; only this time he fell towards the ground and rolled towards Harry, his cape following him in a circular motion from spinning around in the air previously.
This threw Harry off and he felt movement next to his legs. Sensing this, he brought about his sword down near his legs, apparently in time to meet the blade intended to cut his legs out from under him.
At this point, Ron couldn't exactly interfere and so he decided to help his girlfriend and Cho with Parvati by firing some stunning spells at her.
Parvati was already having a hard time dealing with the two girls and so the added opponent, Ron, created more problems for her. Still, she managed to pull out Hermione's dagger from her side and was now charging at Cho with it.
Hermione fired several ice bolts at her as she came but then decided to raise a force field in front of Parvati just before she ran headlong into Cho. Instead Parvati rammed right into the forcefield and was knocked back down. The dagger flew from her grip and landed several feet behind her but Parvati herself remained relatively motionless.
"I think that -"
"HERMIONE LOOK OUT!" Ron shouted as he noticed Harry's battle with the Baron coming over to where Hermione was standing.
Hermione began to turn around at Ron's warning but she found herself knocked to the ground as Harry tumbled backwards onto her.
The vampire then proceeded to kick Harry's sword out of his hand - it slid out of his hand, making a grinding sound as it slid, followed by a clatter as it hit the wall.
Ron and Cho, seeing their helpless comrades, fired off every spell they could in an attempt to get the vampire to back off.
It worked but then Ron found himself tackled to the ground by Parvati and this absorbed Cho's attention as she turned her wand in the direction of the new fight.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry came out of his brief daze after falling on top of Hermione, he found himself staring up at the looming figure of the Baron.
"It looks like I finally get to feed on you," the vampire said in triumph.
Harry looked around at the room, he saw Ron grappling with Parvati and that Cho was trying to help him. Hermione was lying next to him, also looking up at the vampire. When she made a sudden move to raise her wand, Radu quickly kicked it out of her hand as well.
Radu merely shook his head and stared deeply into Hermione's eyes, putting her into a trance has he had seen in the graveyard near Sepet's castle. He reached quickly for his wand inside his pocket but received a sharp kick into the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
In the background, he could hear the shuffling of straw as the other two wrestled with Parvati as well as something that sounded like a mass of wings flapping through the air.
The moonlight coming from the window was suddenly covered by a mass of bats coming through the window and before he knew it, he saw something drop down from the air, apparently towards him. It was completely black from below as there was a large cape that accompanied it but a brief flash of silver and the sound of a sword being draw from a sheath told him that it was Sepet.
Grabbing Hermione around the waist, he rolled out of the way with her just as the vampire made contact with the Baron's head and landed where they had been previously
The Baron let out a short cry and fell backwards but then quickly flipped around as he was falling so that he could use one hand to stop his fall. He then spun around, arcing out with his sword as well, in an attempt to hit his new target.
Sepet merely leapt backwards to avoid the blow while the Baron got to his feet, shaking his head as he did so.
"So the traitor has finally arrived," he growled quietly to Sepet.
"That's an understatement, traitor," Sepet said with a smirk, jumping off to the side into the wall so that he could push off and attack the Baron from the right.
"You never let me feed on these weaklings," the Baron said, his eyes burning with intense hatred for the vampire before him. "They could be ours and Voldemort vould rule."
"You would merely exterminate them," Sepet retorted. "Then where would we be? Feeding off animals? You disgust me."
"Because of you, I had no choice but to feed off animals!" the Baron shouted as he charged at him.
At this, the three students fighting for control over Cho's dagger in the corner had ceased to fight and turned their heads to look at the battle between the two vampires.
"Master?" Parvati questioned but received no response from the Baron who was starting to lose ground with Sepet.
After a few more minutes of trading weakening rounds with Sepet, the Baron finally gave an order to Parvati, "Retreat - run before he gets you."
"Let me come with you," she insisted and made her way towards him.
"No you fool," said the Baron gruffly but seeing as she wouldn't stop coming, he lashed out one final time at Sepet and then threw his sword at Parvati.
Sepet, seeing this, sprinted in Parvati's direction, putting his own sword in the path of the flying weapon to prevent it from hitting its target. The weapon was then deflected upwards and over Parvati's head at which it then fell, blade first, piercing the stone floor and sticking in place.
Meanwhile, once he saw that Sepet was distracted, the Baron changed back into a bat and flew as fast as he could out of the window.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry heard Ron and Cho breathe a sigh of relief that the battle was over and that their opponent had retreated. Sepet sheathed his sword again and grabbed Parvati around the neck.
"You have been one naughty girl," he said harshly. "Your master has abandoned you willingly; however, you are not free yet."
Parvati looked torn between betrayal and abandonment but she stood in place once Sepet released her from his cold hands.
Sepet turned to Harry who was still lying on the ground with his arms around Hermione, "Well done Potter but that's not the last time we'll be seeing him. Come, gather your weapons, I will escort you four to the hospital wing."
"What about Parvati?" Harry asked as he stood up once again and put out a hand to help Hermione up as well.
"I'll keep her with me for now. She looks as if she hasn't been fed a proper meal in a while but I still have a supply of fresh blood in my office," Sepet explained, looking down at the defeated Gryffindor student.
Sepet went over to pull the Baron's sword out of the stone floor with his hand and gave it to Parvati.
"Hold this but don't try anything," Sepet told her, handing her the sword which she took timidly.
Once Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cho retrieved their weapons and put them away, Sepet opened the door to the tower, ushering out the five students into the staircase and closing the door behind him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the staircase, Harry dispelled the air guardian waiting outside and Hermione immediately began to question Sepet.
"How did you find us?" Hermione asked as they began their descent.
"Vampires can sense other vampires as long as they are in human form and are nearby. I came as soon as I sensed his presence. You see, I thought there might have been one of my own helping Voldemort and so that is why I am here."
"So the duelling class is all a charade?"
"No my dear," Sepet replied. "That class will remain since the headmaster feels that it is necessary. The only regret I have is not being able to save her," he said, nodding in the direction of Parvati.
"But there is a way, right?" Harry cut in.
"Of course, only when she drinks the blood of her master will she be free."
"So you were trying to save Alicia and Filch when they were attacked," Hermione said in realization.
"Alas, I did not get to them in time as I did with you but they were less equipped to deal with a sudden vampire attack than you were," Sepet said regretfully.
"But then what about Walter?"
Sepet glanced down at Hermione, "I think that will be enough of your questions Miss Granger."
Hermione looked as if she wanted to press the issue further but when Harry motioned to Parvati, she held her tongue.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eventually, they arrived at the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey hurried out of her office to meet them.
"What has happened?" she asked.
"These students have been through a great deal this evening, please see to it that they are taken care of," Sepet replied.
"All right, you five, you know what to do, change out of your uniforms and I will tend to you," said Madam Pomfrey, motioning towards the hospital beds so that they could change.
"Uh, Miss Patil will come with me," Sepet interrupted when he saw that Parvati was also being pushed towards the hospital bed by the nurse. "I have something in my office
"Very well," she huffed. "But if something goes wrong, the headmaster will hear about it!"
Sepet merely bowed in her direction and guided Parvati out of the hospital wing, leaving Madam Pomfrey to tend to Harry and his friends.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, end of chapter 33.. 3 more to go and the end of the story! Thanks for the massive amounts of reviews, it took a lot of time to reply to all of them but here they are.
Merlins-Apprentice: mmmm, not much of a fluff scene last chapter. Sorry if you're disappointed, Fluff scenes aren't my specialty. As for Walter, depending on how you guys vote. I may/may not use him again.
Alpha Wolfe: Sepet evil? Hehehe, I think this chapter gave you the response to that one.
Dragon Phoenix: Plot twists make for a good story but I'm not sure about a big one last chapter. I'll probably continue w/ another story after this but probably after I've read the 5th book. I don't know if its such a good idea to continue this plot because then people would have to read this to get the idea rather than just read book 5. So I'll probably just go off that.
le'Ange de Mort: Walter? This chapter should give answers to that one.
smegol: all right, that would work.
Satoshi: not necessarily but I guess based on book 4, yeah.
Sikokid: This chapter should answer your question is Sepet on Walter's side.
X13: working on detail
Icedrake: I think that's a little irrelevant now.
Eloisamuggle: Hagrid. done. Ginny. hmm. too many characters to keep track of. argh.
harryfanatic: yeah, I think I'll leave the order as it is. nothing else I can do now that book 5 is out.
Blah: yeah, some stuff looks similar but not quite so.
Sunny: I think you have the right mind and this can be a bit of both. H/Cho with underlying H/Hr.
Joe: I'm not J.K. Rowling, that's for sure else I'd be the rich one but I did get several reviews saying that my writing was similar. Thank you very much for your review. Story writing may be profitable but only if I actually develop something and get it published. that takes a lot of effort seeing as I feel like I'm slacking off.
Eddie: ordinary life stuff. hahaha, life is never ordinary for Harry Potter.
Anonyms: I'll probably continue writing a 6th year fic but I'll see what you guys think: should I continue using this plot or since most people will have read book 5, start a new plot off that one?