Chapter Seven - A Rescue

Harry walked out of his apartment. He was shivering from the cool air as much as from his nervousness at what they were going to try. They had returned to his apartment together so that they could be seen leaving, except for Ron, who would meet them at their destination.

Harry was dressed entirely in black. He was wearing a long leather trench coat that Ron had found for him and a pair of dark black leather boots. His shirt was a shiny black color, which nicely matched his pants, at least as far as he could tell.

Tracy walked next to him, and Harry knew the vampire was clearly the more dramatic of the pair. While Harry walked, Tracy strode purposefully. Harry fidgeted slightly, trying to push up the sleeves on his coat, or scratching at the day's growth of beard on his neck. Tracy's look betrayed nothing but purpose.

Behind them, there was a sudden shriek, the sound of the neighbor's car alarm. It silenced almost as quickly as it sounded, however, and Harry saw the old Volkswagen swing around them and peel down the street, Charlie behind the wheel. Harry thought he saw shapes going from rooftop to rooftop pursuing the small vehicle, but when he looked at them directly, they seemed to vanish.

Tracy suddenly broke into a run. While this was part of the plan, Harry was still shocked by how fast the vampire was able to push herself to full speed. Harry pushed himself to chase her, but was having trouble keeping up. He had expected that the vampire would have no trouble outperforming him, but there was more that he hadn't expected. His side was starting to cramp, and his legs were burning, but that wasn't the surprise.

The surprise was that he was enjoying it. Harry hadn't felt like this since his last year at Hogwarts. Even Quidditch hadn't given him this sort of thrill in a long time. The pain, the pressure that he was experiencing, it was a part of him that he hadn't remembered.

Harry saw shapes jumping on the rooftops nearby them. He hoped that they had been unable to keep up with Charlie, or that they'd abandoned the chase. If they were with Charlie when he reached the park, they wouldn't be fooled. Harry hoped that the little foot race that he and Tracy were engaged in would keep them occupied long enough for Ron to finish his transfiguration.

Tracy turned sharply down an alley, and Harry trailed after her. He was wheezing, but it felt good, like he was truly alive again. They cut right down the next street. Harry heard a thud behind him, but didn't look back. He couldn't afford to take the time, or worse, to take his eyes off of where Tracy was leading.

They finally reached the park. In the middle of the grass, surrounded by streetlights, a large black stone was floating. It seemed to have gray runes etched into it. Tracy skidded to a stop, turning around, and Harry stopped next to her.

Half a dozen vampires were behind them, but they slowed, rather than immediately confronting them. They seemed awed by the stone. One of them, a tall, gangly vampire with four studs in each of his ears, fell to his knees.

Charlie shouted from the middle of the park. "Tell your boss that we want the woman back before dawn, or the stone will be destroyed."

One of the vampires howled in obvious dismay. Another moved towards Tracy, but she hissed at him. "Don't try anything, or the rock gets it."

They suddenly started to fade back into the distance. They were running into the streets as fast as they could. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He actually thought this might work. His arms started to shake as the adrenaline wore off, but he tried to keep himself attentive. He'd had barely any sleep in days, and had been moving constantly all day, but he couldn't stop now. Hermione needed him.

Harry breathed in suddenly. Tracy looked at him with concern, "What's wrong? I hope I didn't run you too hard, eh?" She had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"No, I just realized something."

"Anything I should be concerned about?" Charlie asked, walking up to them.

"No, I don't think so," Harry's voice sounded distant, even to himself, and Charlie was concerned.

"Are you alright? You've gotten us this far, you can sit it out from here if you need to."

"No, it's nothing to do with that. I can handle this. I just saw something I should have seen years ago."

Ron chuckled. Harry hadn't even seen him approach. "Looks like Fred and George owe me some money."

Harry looked daggers at him. The wind whistled between them, and Harry had to concentrate on calming down. His lack of sleep had apparently taken its toll on his control.

Ron backed up. "Look, I'm not saying anything you don't already know, right?"

Harry nodded, and looked down. "Yeah, I know. I care about her, okay? I've said it. I love Hermione Granger, are you satisfied?"

A deep voice came from what seemed like nowhere. "I am. Now I know why you would be willing to trade something so valuable for someone so common."

Harry stared, and where there had been empty space a moment ago, there was a vampire now. The new arrival was taller than Ron. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest, which was revealed to great effect by his white tank top, which matched his white leather trousers. His hair was blonde, cut short. His face was narrow, a disturbed expression on his face. There was nothing that explicitly showed the man to be a vampire, but somehow it never occurred to Harry to doubt it.

"I've heard of you," the man said, looking at Harry. "You're that Potter chap."

"You're that Carnie, right?" Harry responded, a little thrown by the sudden appearance of their foe. He hoped to shake him back, but the vampire didn't seem interested in their verbal sparring.

"I'm the one who has your friend... or more than friend, apparently. How are we going to make this trade?"

"Simple," Charlie answered. "Bring the girl here. You've already got the park surrounded, we aren't going anywhere."

"She's already here," Carnifex answered, holding his left arm up. A pair of vampires started to walk forward towards the park, holding Hermione between them by her arms, her feet dragging slightly on the ground. "She's alive," Carnifex confirmed. "The rock?"

"Take it," Charlie said magnanimously. "Just give her to us."

Carnifex waved his hand forward, and the vampires brought Hermione forward, laying her down on the ground. She wasn't moving. "Take the rock," Carnifex said, not turning his head. The two of them walked towards the rock. Harry rushed over to Hermione. "Are you alright?"

She mumbled something under her breath, but she seemed to be alive. Harry took a deep breath, and wrapped his hands around her. He lifted her off the ground gingerly, and walked towards the other three, who were still standing there, watching Carnifex. He felt Charlie's hand on his shoulder, and smiled. Carnifex's face twisted in a look of realization a moment before Ron's shout sounded from next to them, "Reducto!" There was an explosion behind Harry, the sound of the false stone being shattered. Carnifex was moving faster than Harry would have thought possible, straight for him. His claw reached towards Harry's face, but instants before it reached him, Harry felt a cold feeling from right behind his naval, and space twisted, leaving him in the empty room at St. Mungo's.

Harry almost collapsed. They had made it safely. He somehow found the effort to walk Hermione out of the room and into the arms of a waiting Healer before he collapsed on a bed himself. They had made it.