Title: Rushing, Forever. (Chapter Six)

Author: P.L.S

Contact: ptwentyfour@yahoo.com

Summery: VALOR challenge response. Harry seems to finally find a peace as a vampire, until the public finds out. . . running, hiding, helping others who are in need; his life is suddenly filled by hate and fear when the Ministry takes down the protections and declare Open Season on all Dark creatures, with a hefty bounty for the supposedly strongest vampire ever created, Harry Potter.

Rating: (Changes with the chapter)- Ten years and up.

Disclaimer: Is this even needed? Is it? I own very little in this thing. What I do own is fair game for the rest of you. Don't sue me, I won't sue you.

Note: The first part is going to be a bit odd. . . It's not really set in reality, more like a dream-realm thing. I think I mentioned before it was like dominoes, well, I'm knocking over the first one.


Pain . . .

Burning, hate, anger without cause . . .

I'm sure this is what Hell is like, but oddly I can't say it's that bad.

And yet I haven't dared to open my eyes and ears to this, so how can I tell if it is good or bad? I can't.

The first thing to do is breathe.

Inhale. Smoke, ash, heat, blood. . .

Exhale. I just want to die.

Inhale. Blood, sweat, death, sulfur. . .

Exhale. I know I can't breathe in again.

Inhale. Death, just death . . . So much death.

Exhale. Don't make me please.

I have to suppress the urge to cough, the smoke is filling my lungs now. It burns. It burns so much. But I can't do anything about it.

A gentle hand touches my face. It's cool. It sends a healing energy into my skin. I gasp and choke on the air. I feel my body being lifted and embraced in the coolness, the goodness.

Save me.

I know without this coolness I'm doomed to this death, this pain. The coolness just wraps around me, I know it's okay. It whispers of promises to the world that it wants to fulfill in me. It speaks of a way to be perfect just like it is.

To be Forgiven. I want it.

To be Loved. I want it.

To be Forever. I want it.

I all I have to do is say yes, and let go.

Let go of my Hell.

Just let go.

I can't.

I built it. I don't want to taint this perfection with my sins, my death, my pain. I can't let go. I weep. I want to let go, but I can't.

The coolness weeps with me and lets me go. I go to my Hell. My personal Hell. Salvation is gone. I let it get away. I'm a fool and now all I have is pain and death. Forever.

But Perfection still weeps for me.


(6:07 pm 30/09/20, Peacebrook Village, Uruguay)

Janus watched as Harry finally opened the last and greatest power of the Dark Emperor, it was the most painful as well. The young vampire was tied down by the bed he was in, titanium straps clamped his limbs to his sides and his chest to the flat bed. Harry was fighting the straps, arching against them, howling, and screaming his throat raw. Harry's friends and makeshift family stood next to Janus watching in horror. No magic could be used to subdue the young vampire, it would weaken him to a mundane vampire status.

The only thing any of them could do is watch and fully appreciate the sacrifices that Harry made to lead them all. That was part of the reason it was being broadcast live over the networks and why even the school children were watching it. Everyone had to know just how badly this young child was treated for them to live in this war. It was Janus's command that was guiding this as smoothly as it could go, no other vampire in the history of civilization dared to open this last gift, especially not in one so young. Harry was only thirty-one years old in all, most Imperial Vampires only started to awaken their ruling gifts when they were at least a hundred.

But Harry had to start as soon as he was a day walker, it was the only reason the Dark Council was still around. Everyday they took more and more damage from the Light and it would have been much worse if Harry hadn't opened the Binding gift just nine years ago and started to set up the ward networks.

Harry has stopped screaming, he looked to the eldest vampire like he's crying, Janus looked to Hermione who was already turning up the microphone inside the supposedly soundproof room.

God . . .I want you. . . I need you. . . S-saving me from myself. . . Why. . . Love me. . ., broken sentences mingled with his sobs echo out of the speakers and into Janus's ears as he watches a cloud of light seems to envelope him and Janus could no longer see Harry. What was going on?, Perfection. . . You. . . Lo-love. . . me. . . just like I love them. Harry's voice was growing stronger, God. I love you. I'm so ugly, how could you love me?

Janus looked at the other watchers, Hermione was pale shaking in her husband's arms. Dervish was hugging both his wife and son while whispering something that sounded like Cho, the reformed slayer girl, was pale but standing strong and looking almost preoccupied. Ron Weasley, the spy and almost brother to Harry, was biting his lip and kept clenching and unclenching his hands, like he was itching to grab his wand. The Malfoy family was looking intrigued, not worried at all in fact. It was almost like they understood it and were glad for Harry. Only the youngest, the girl Belinda looked a bit nervous. Janus wondered how they could be so calm. He knew that the Malfoys were now the ambassadors to the Vatican, and he knew they all seemed to be finding something there, faith in God, Janus supposed. But why was something so frail giving them the calm that no one else had?

I. . . want to. I need you. I can't. Janus heard more sobbing, louder, more despondent, and not just Harry. What was going on? In a flash that blinded everyone, the cloud vanished and left Harry alone, no longer tied down, and curled up in a ball as he cried. At that point Janus saw a tear slip down Renee's cheek as she and Draco exchanged a sorrowful look.

Mamma. Uncle Harry. . . he gave up Heaven, for us. Belinda said in a small voice, sounding far younger than she was.

Yes. God wanted him, loved him so much, but Harry loves us like God loves us. Renee said softly. Draco nodded.

I could never have given that up. said Belinda, He's stronger than I could ever be. At that instant Draco hugged her and cried for the first time that Janus had ever seen. He looked around everyone but that slayer, Chang, was crying. The slayer was looking at her watch, waiting for something.

Janus narrowed his eyes, searching for any indication of what she had planned. Chang was an old schoolmate of Harry's, and an old girlfriend to boot. The young vampire trusted her, brought her and her fellow slayers and hunters into the fold, told them about their plans, offered help when they asked for it, and did whatever it took to get them satisfied. Janus never trusted her.

The imp that Janus had placed as her bodyguard/spy told him about the times when she would vanish from his sensing abilities and then reappear looking refreshed and yet sad to be leaving where ever she went. They had figured out that there were two possibilities for her strange behavior. One, she was cheating on Harry, as they were now boyfriend and girlfriend again, or at least lovers to some existent. Or two, she was a spy. Both meant betrayal, and vampires all had a sense of duty and honor to rival the Japanese Samurai of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was probably due to the fact the first vampires were warrior demons bred to loyally serve and protect the kings and emperors who paid the required price of the Father and Mother. Despite the fact that the Malik blood was very well diluted in even Janus, he still felt revulsion at the thought that anyone would dare betray Harry or the Dark Council.

Janus suppressed the urge to kill her this long, he could wait until Harry was awake and confront her then. Signaling to the imp who was using it's special ability, Shadowform, he watched as the tracking spell was placed and the imp became air. No one else needed to know of his suspicions just yet.

(6:48 pm 30/09/20, just outside of Greenwater Village, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico)

It was all so peaceful here, but not for long.

Juan Cortez was amazed at how easy this was going to be, after just seven years of hard work with the muggles and spy work they had the magical equivalent of a nuclear bomb, the location of the single strongest Dark ward conduit, and in just twelve minutes the key to that blasted ward system of those Darkies was going to end up a crater. It was enough to make him almost giddy.

Watching through his omnioculars he saw that the Darkies were all watching the big television-thing in the town square. On it just a little while ago was a thrashing, pain racked Harry Potter. If that was what they did to their leaders then they needed to be wiped out. Juan sighed, he was almost sympathetic to the vampire, not a good sign of his mental health.

The Mexican wizard pointed his omnioculars up to the sky. The muggle aeroplane was right on time, if a little early, and in it's hold was the blessed end to the world's problems.

He watched through the omnioculars which were charmed so that he wouldn't go blind by watching this. He was officially here to record the event for research, but ever since Mexico had officially declared neutrality and safe haven for all he hated Dark magic and the rebels who used it.

He was sure they had bought favors as soon as he heard the news that the President refused to sign the Pact of Toronto. Sure enough the proof was right here. This place called Greenwater was the cause of the trouble, he was sure of it. It was a resort town that paid very steep taxes to the Mexican government, but even then it never suffered for the taxes. The place even had an airport, and rich muggles came here to relax! It was obscene and Juan hated the fact that his country was so weak that one resort had boosted it's economy that much. But once this was over he knew the Americans would make good on their promise to help his homeland.

The plane was right over the town and attracting attention. He saw the cargo doors open. Juan hit the slow motion key and watched the black speck descend.

It fell into the heart of the town.

A second later a bright hemisphere burst up and expanded until it was at least eight miles in diameter. A huge boom shook him and he thanked God he had put in the earplugs and tied himself to his perch. He watched at the hemisphere turned into a mushroom cloud and then saw what was left of Greenwater.

It was a crater.


(2:10 pm 30/09/20, Dragon's Nest Village, Romania)

Virginia Copernicus looked at the flowing Arges River that went past the small Transylvanian village she and her brothers lived in. She smiled at the constants in her life knowing she should be happy for all life had gifted her with. But she just couldn't be. There was a reason that she was sorted into the Hogwarts house that she was and just sitting here wasn't it. She had questions, she had a family to defend, she had a war to fight, and she wasn't allowed to do a thing about it. Not with the mark on her arm now.

She was sure it happened to every witch and wizard who wasn't already marked as soon as Harry Potter left that could of light. On her left arm was his Dark Mark, a winged snake engulfed in flames in a play of simple lines the size of a postage stamp, was still stinging with the burn of it's magical orgins. So now there were three types of Dark Marks and all three linked to the Most High Imperial Vampire who was now the Dark Emperor, and Virginia was sure that if anyone had told her about this twenty-seven years ago she would have said they were insane and gone back to watching her crush chat with her elder brother about quidditch.

Of course, now she was bound to her old crush by this Dark Mark and she was a Dark Witch, something she had no clue about even if she did grow up in an all wizarding family. How was she to know her mother had passed that trait on to all of her children? How was she to know that being good with ghouls, hexes, and the like was a good indication of where her strongest magic came from. But there was a saying, the best defense against the Dark, is the Dark', but she had always thought it meant something like the muggle saying of, fight fire with fire.' She had no clue that the students who clearly were their best in Defense Against The Dark Arts had a Dark attribute in their magic. Now that she knew, it really wasn't that surprising that Harry Potter of all people was the Dark Emperor, he was the best Defense Against The Dark Arts student Hogwarts had ever seen. He had even been the unofficial Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher in his fifth year and he did play the prophesied roll in getting rid of the very insane and very evil Voldemort.

Virginia was jerked out of her reverie with the sounding of the warning bells and the cries from the town proper. She looked at the town, the dragons were flying about defending the town and getting cut down by something that she couldn't make out. There was only one group that she knew of that had the knowledge, skill, and reasons to kill dragons.

Oh no. she muttered. She quickly got rid of her shock, pulling out her wand from it's holster she ran to the town, praying that her husband and children were all right. Nick Copernicus was an astronomer, not a warrior like she was. Her children were as foolish as he was and had her temper and talents, they would be killed if she didn't get there in time. All but two of her brothers were all dragonriders and were probably flying up there, but they could take care of themselves. The only other brother of hers in the village was a ward keeper and was probably locked away by now, but how did they find the village if Percy was alive? Sprinting now, she added her older brothers all to her prayers.

Finally she made it to Ghoul Mansion, the five room cottage she called home, and Nick ran out to her followed by her six children. All managed to hug her in a weird parody of a dog pile. Finally her eldest, Erica, spoke, Mum, the wards failed, Uncle Perce is dead. He dropped dead after trying to maintain the wards for five minutes, I'm so sorry. We gotta go, the slayers, hunters, and an army of muggles and wizards are killing everyone. Uncle Charlie is already shepherding the school kids out, but let me keep us her til you returned. Uncle Bill is putting up curses and shooing dragons off, but Uncle Fred and Uncle George. Erica trailed off, for a fifteen year old she was dealing with this very well, but she just couldn't bear to tell her mother that last fact.

Xander, the thirteen year old, spoke up, I think they are in the air, leading the fight. Or at least we keep hoping they are still up there. he said, Virginia nodded.

I know. You all need to get out of here. Find a portkey to Peacebrook, your Uncle Ron is there with your Grandmum and Granddad. Nicky? she looked over the blazing heads of her children, Go with them. We both know you are hopeless with a wand at times like this. I'm going to get their cousins and send them along after you. Make sure the news gets to Snape or Janus or Malfoy, they will make sure Harry knows or at least they can send help. Go now. there was something in that last bit that made them reluctant to leave her, but she exerted all her motherly terror instilling skill into those last two words. All seven ran to the meeting house, and Virginia sank into her almost forgotten auror skills, finding the safe path through the battle to the closest house of her five brothers, Bill.

The peaceful village was in flames, but the meeting house was the safe apparating and portkey point, it was warded and had so many protections inbeded in the stones that nothing short of a Dark Vapus Eternius Decimation could ruin it. But the houses. . . She dashed through the fires, tried to avoid the bullets and spells that flew through the air, and saw the remains of Bill and Fleur's home.

It was already ashes.

She knew Fleur was off leading the veela warriors of her nest, Bill was off saving dragons, and their little twins, Gem and Jewel, were taught that when anything bad happened and no one was here they were to wait for help from their uncles or aunt and until then hide in the enchanted room, which was now ash like the rest of the house.

She looked past this house, none of the houses on this side of the village still stood, meaning the rest of the family houses were like this one. It was a depressing thought, and an angering one as well.

Rounding about she saw the fray and jumped headlong into it, ready to avenge her family, all of it and for every wrong that had ever been done to any of them. It wasn't the first time she had fought in this war, but it would prove to be the fiery Gryffindor's last time.

(8:15 pm 30/09/20, Blackbeard's Cove, West Indies)

Sam was in shock as he updated the news networks and informed his teams on the proper warnings and orders to give out to the panicked villagers who were reporting in on the message boards. It just couldn't be happening, not with Potter taking his rightful place and all. They were on the cusp of really ending the war, all of the Dark loyal people knew it, the wards were strong, the warriors were working wonders, the society was solid and growing daily, and the war had yet to really touch the villages in eight years.

It was all crashing down around his ears.

Word was the muggles had given the Light a missile of some sort that took out Greenwater just as Potter came into his full power, now the wards were crumbling, keepers were dying left and right trying to save the wards and finding that they are just too strong, villages that were ward cores were being exterminated by armies of wizards and muggles or just bombed by the muggles. Safe Points were being filled to the max. and then some, no one had a clue what to do. No one was ready for the collapse of everything they had worked so long and hard on building. Of all the innovations only the communications were still safe, and that was why Blackbeard's Cove was a new Safe Point and was calling in every computer programer and networker in the databases. Wizards, muggles, and all manner of creature, ghost, and shade was here all focused on one task- keeping the Empire together while it was falling apart.

So far they had word that Peacebrook was the only village that was holding it's own in a battle, the rest were in ashes or well on it's way to becoming a memory. The Lights weren't taking prisoners, looting, or bothering to look into the vast reservoirs of money and goods of the villages. It was almost barbaric from the stories the survivors could tell between tears and prayers.

Via the vid-phone Janus, who was Potter's second in command as far as anyone knew, was giving orders and they were sending the reports as fast as they could to him and whoever else was in Peacebrook. So far the attack battalions were doing their best to get to the places that were still being attacked, but most were just a few minutes too late. All over the world the story was the same, less than an hour after Harry came out of the cloud of light the keepers started to strain to keep the wards up and then died and the attacks or bombings started.

Then it hit Sam like a ton of bricks. This was planned for this time. Someone knew Potter was the only one that kept the wards working if one core went down, someone knew that Potter was going to become the full Emperor and was going to be out of the game for at least a half a day, someone was on the inside spying on Potter, and Sam was willing to bet it was someone close to the new Emperor. Quickly he sent his revelation to Janus and promptly got a response.

Cho Chang was now dead for the crimes of betraying the Dark Council and espionage.

Sam muttered as he read the e-mail. It was so obvious yet he knew that no one really had a clue until this. He then had a second thought, Harry, the guy he had shared a few beers with in his shabby apartment so long ago, not the impressive and powerful vampire and Dark Emperor , was going to be crushed. Sam did not envy him at all.

Oh? Wha's goin' on Sammy? asked a gremlin, it was Juniper, who was a drinking buddy of his.

I just found out why this is all happening.

Tha s worth ore than just an Juniper hopped onto the consul and walked to the LCD that Sam was in front of. He read the message and cursed angrily in his native tongue.

Should I tell the world? Sam asked Juniper. The gremlin turned to face him, a scowl was etched deeply in his green skin.

snapped the pint-sized demon, If Janus trusted you wi' this info, you ave no righ' ta tell anyon'. I shouldn' even know, but you humans ever did figure tha' ou'. Na let's ge' back ta work. Tell Janus that Dragon's Nest Romania is gone and that the dragonriders fro' there ar' de'. And tell im tha' th' afe oints in Seattle, LA, an' Phoenix USA ar' filled bu' organizin' and wantin' is orders.

Got it. Sent. Anything else?

Geta brain, bu' no iont in statin' the obvious. Jus' look round and you're bound ta find somethin' ta do. snapped the demon before he melted into the computer and started to make his rounds of the circuitry. Sam shook his head at his odd quazi-friend and then started to check on the networks, making sure all the excess traffic was correctly diverted to the secondary servers before the primary servers suffered too much. A downed web site at this point in time would be catastrophic.

Sam's eyes widened in horror as he read one last message on the boards, Bomber planes from US spotted in the Caribbean. Look to be headed to Jamaica.


(11:43 pm 30/09/02, outside of Peacebrook Village, Uruguay)

A squeeze of the trigger, a new spurt of magical metal in the shape of bullets, another few opposing fighters killed or crippled. A quick slash of his sword severed another head. A whispered curse and spell sent through his sword, that was also his battle wand, into another that causes the man to go into throws of agony. Totally passionless, totally focused on protection of his home. He stopped counting the bodies after the first hour, stopped trying to guess the number after the second hour, stopped caring the third. This was survival.

There was a reason they had called him the Ice Man on the pitch, but to find that it transferred to war as well was a fascinating discovery. He'd crack open the psychology books to understand this later, but for now he had an army to kill.

Press the advantage! he called out to the others on his side. They responded, not in words, but by fighting harder, taking as many lives as their opponents had and then some. Those fighting with him were fellow collage students and by no means all human. The acromantulae were doing an impressive job of keeping fools from the three spell casters, who were mostly healers. The dementors were sweeping through, kissing whoever they could. The giant was killing anyone who was unlucky enough to come in contact with his club of granite, which was a large number. Goblins, faefolk, and whoever else was still alive were using magic and force to win. He, Travis Dervish, was the unofficial commander of the battalion of students ever since the attack and his rash choice to join the defending troops in the battle. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do so, his parents were first rate bibliophiles and researchers not warriors. He would be more likely to see his godfather do something like this.

Another shower of his special bullets, and high above he heard the sounds of a French woman cursing very vividly. Looking up he was pleased to note that his old baby-sitter and friend was in her Harpy form and hurling fire balls at the muggle fighter planes and Light warriors on broomsticks. There were other veela up there, but he could tell that it was Gabrielle because of the Broomstick Incident when he was four. Only she could keep her head when in Harpy form. Travis dismissed the reverie as he crossed swords with a slayer.

He looked this man in the eyes. The huge body builder was pushing back on his blade with strength that was more than Travis's. The only thing keeping the student on his feet was a number of enchantments on the old blade and a good strength potion that he had downed earlier.

The man's eyes were cold, inhuman. The only thing that stopped Travis from thinking he was a werewolf was the fact that slayers and hunters were all trained from the start in the facts that anything not human was corrupt and a crime in the eyes of God, which was a complete crock, but very little could be done to combat this training. It was brainwashing.

You're good for a boy. grunted the man in a thick, almost Australian accent that held a bit of something European.

Thanks. Coming from a second class slayer, it means a lot. Travis returned. The man's eyes widened a bit.

How can ya tell? asked the man as they unlocked their blades and he took a swing at Travis, which he ducked.

Everything. Studied your set up a bit. Especially the training. Travis spoke between dodging and trying to land his own blows, What's your name? he asked as he jumped out of the other's sword's range.

Brutus Antiquitus. You? grunted out the man as he exchanged a few more slashes with Travis.

Travis Dervish. Nice to meet you. Shame I'm going to have to kill you. the young man said as he fought back with nimble moves that the bulkier man couldn't match.

Na, it's the other way round, kid. Brutus said, You'd make a good slayer though. Travis grinned as he fought, drawing first blood with a small cut to Brutus's arm.

The Dark Emperor's heir a slayer? Nope couldn't work. said the boy. Brutus's jaw dropped, but his attacks upped in ferocity.

That bastard has an heir? Travis barely stopped Brutus's sword from hitting his legs.

Travis reached to his hip, and pulled out his gun. Leveling it at Brutus he grinned, Tell your girlfriend Cho hi for me. One squeeze of the trigger and a bullet shot into the man's thorax, ripping and burning his right lung and heart. He was dead before he his the ground.

--To Be Continued. . .

A/N: I'm sure you all figured out that the first bit is what Harry is doing in the cloud. I wrote about Ginny for a certain someone who asked about her. Again, I'll add more in my revisions of this when it's all done. Thanks for reading.

-- PLS