Professor Dumbledore stepped further into the room followed by the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione. He walked over to stand behind Draco and looked at Ginny.
Ginny's body was thrashing around the bed. The bruises on her body were eerily stark and made her pale features seem translucent.
"Dear Morgana, why is she bleeding?" Molly Weasley asked as a stream of blood began running down Ginny's body.
"Madam Pomfrey, can you do anything for her in this state?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"No, Headmaster, I am afraid moving her will only do more damage. Although, I have no idea why she is bleeding from the neck, Mr. Malfoy, did something else happen? This is most distressing."
"No, ma'am, I don't think so. I was asleep in this bed beside her…" Draco's retelling was interrupted by the sound of running feet.
Seconds later, the doors to the infirmary were thrown open and Mr. Snape rushed in followed by Professor Snape. They slowed as they approached Ginny's bed, but their demeanor was still hurried.
"Professor Dumbledore, you need to see this! We also need to alert the contact in the area immediately." Mr. Snape said as he handed the copper triangle to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore turned and faced Mr. Snape, "Slow down, Austerus. Now, what do I need to look at? Something on the surveillance device, perhaps?"
Austerus nodded as Professor Snape stepped closer to Ginny. He walked to her side and took a long look at the trail of blood down Ginny's neck.
"What is this?" Professor Snape demanded.
"We don't know, Severus." Madame Pomfrey responded.
Severus nodded in understanding, but did not look up from the sight before him. He leaned in a little closer to take a better look. He gasped audibly. He took his hand and brushed back the hair twirling around her neck.
"She's been bitten. She's been bitten by a vampire." Severus said in shock.
Severus pulled back her hair and pointed at the two obvious, fang marks. Everyone in the room gasped. Draco tried to get to Ginny's side, but Mr. Snape and Mr. Weasley held him back.
"Poppy, what do we do now?" Professor Dumbledore inquired.
"This is worse than I conceived. I guess we should treat her for a vampire bite and any other wounds that show up. I have no idea if or how this could affect her fractured skull." Madame Pomfrey relayed, while nervously wringing her hands.
Dumbledore gave her a brief understanding nod and looked to Draco. Draco was still being forcibly restrained by Arthur and Austerus. He was silently crying; despair etched into every facet of his face.
Mrs. Weasley was as distressed as Draco. She was heavily leaning on Harry and Ron. Harry looked as if he was going to be sick. Ron looked even more so as he was also concerned about Hermione and his mother.
"Professor Dumbledore, I know this is a most distressing turn of events, but I implore you to look at the surveillance system." Austerus Snape solemnly said.
Dumbledore was pulled from his musings by Austerus' voice but did not have a chance to respond before Harry jumped into the conversation.
"Not to be rude or anything, but who are you?" Harry asked with a lot of suspicion in his voice.
Mr. Snape and Professor Snape laughed at this. Ron, Harry and Hermione's mouths dropped open in surprise despite the seriousness of the situation.
Austerus laughed at their faces and said, "I am Austerus Snape. Severus is my younger brother. I went to Hogwarts and I was a Gryffindor."
Professor Snape snorted at this and rolled his eyes. Austerus simply smacked him on the back and said good-naturedly, "You cannot hide me forever, Severus."
"I can try." Severus growled.
"Gryff-Gryff-Gryffindor?" Ron stuttered out.
"Most assuredly…" Severus sneered at the trio.
"Yes, a Gryffindor," Austerus confirmed, "I am also a specialist in creating Magic surveillance equipment from muggle ideas. I am, if you will, a magical 'Big Brother.'"
Hermione snorted a laugh at this. The two boys looked at her in confusion.
She rolled her eyes and said, "Honestly, don't you two read? 'Big Brother' is a reference to George Orwell's novel, 1984."
"Right you are, Miss Granger." Dumbledore assured her as he took his wand and pointed it at the copper triangle he had been holding for the past several minutes.
Dumbledore muttered the Latin magical command and the copper pyramid opened revealing the lights, as before, that allowed them to see the happenings at Amberlin Mossuri's castle.
They all gasped in shock as they saw the svelte, blonde woman holding Ginny close. It looked as if they were caught in a romantic embrace.
Dumbledore uttered a simple command to the view and the scene before them changed slightly to the right. From this point of view, it was very obvious that they were NOT involved in a romantic encounter; rather, Ginny was being viciously attacked by a vampire.
"Help her!" Molly Weasley and Draco yelled simultaneously.
Ron, meanwhile, had run over to the device and attempted to invade the image before them. He failed.
"Tut tut, young, Mr. Weasley. We will get your sister help; we cannot, however, go through this image. Austerus, when was the last time you received any messages from Charlie?"
"Last night." Austerus responded.
"Good, contact him again and tell him to get to the castle immediately. I am assuming, of course, that you have kept him stationed there in case something like this happened."
"Yes, of course."
"Make it so."
"Yes, sir." Austerus said and hurried out of the room.
"Arthur, can you go to my office and retrieve the gold box on top of my bookshelf by the Sorting Hat?" Dumbledore asked Mr. Weasley.
"Yes, of course." Arthur also walked out of the room with a quickened gait.
Once he was gone, Dumbledore turned to Draco and began, "Mr. Malfoy, I realize that Ginny is your wife, but I must ask you to stay here. Your emotions in this situation mean that you could be a danger to our mission and thus, your wife. Can I count on you to follow my orders?"
"Go fuck yourself," Draco responded, "This is my wife and I WILL be going. If you can't handle that, you are welcome to sit in your castle and rot. And need I remind you, Dumbledore, that Ginny and I are the ones with the power here, not you!"
"Draco," Molly Weasley shouted, "Don't you speak to Professor Dumbledore that way! He is doing what he thinks best for you and Ginny!"
"Molly…" Dumbledore said in a placating way and his left hand lifted in a 'stop' fashion.
"Oh please…Dumbledore does what he thinks is good for Hogwarts. I am what is best for my wife and I will be there, whether you like it or not. Got that, ALBUS?" Draco said while stealthily, yet menacingly, moving towards Professor Dumbledore.
Professor Dumbledore looked at Draco with hard, cold blue eyes, "I think you need to stop right there, Mr. Malfoy. You have said quite enough. Now, sit down and get quiet. I have my reasons for this if you could cool down for five seconds to let me explain myself. Are you ready to listen?"
Draco, who had never seen his Headmaster so pissed off, found himself dropping into the nearest seat and listening. When asked if he was ready to listen, he nodded and kept quiet.
"Good," Dumbledore continued seriously, "The reason why I do not want you to go is because we cannot take the chance that Amberlin could attack you, as well. We need you and Ginny safe and well, if we are to defeat this evil. You know that. Have you forgotten the prophecy? Use that Slytherin mind, boy!"
Dumbledore finished his uncharacteristic display just as Professor Snape and Arthur Weasley returned to the infirmary. Severus snorted when he heard Dumbledore's last remark. Arthur grinned. The rest of the room was looking at Dumbledore in shock.
Dumbledore ignored all the looks and began detailing his plans to the people in the room.
*******************************************
Ginny's mind was frantically searching for a way out of the situation that she now found herself. Her body was consumed with pain, but she pushed it aside.
And then, her moment came. Amberlin pulled slightly back and Ginny threw a nasty punch to her solar plexus. It startled the vampire enough to make her slightly choke while drinking from Ginny's neck. Taking full advantage of the vampire's momentary lapse in strength, Ginny walloped Amberlin with another painful blow.
Amberlin Mossuri staggered back and gave a horrendous glare at Ginny.
Ginny fumbled with her left sleeve and hastily grabbed for her wand. It was there. She gave a small, silent sigh of relief and pointed the wand at the vampire.
Amberlin threw her head back, gave an evil cackle and then inquired, "You think that wand is going to save you, Ginny dear? You shouldn't because it won't."
The vampire began to walk towards Ginny with an evil glint in her eye. Ginny began moving backwards to stay out of the clutches of the bitch. She continued backwards until she bumped into something metallic. It made a horrible noise that startled Ginny greatly; but, she refused to look away from her nemesis. A few seconds after the noise stopped another rattle rose from something dropping on the floor beside Ginny. Ginny spared the item on the floor a brief glance and realized that it was a medieval rapier. Keeping her attention on the foe in front of her, she gingerly bent down and retrieved the long thin bladed weapon. In attempt to warn off the vampire, she gave it a few whips through the space between them.
Again, Amberlin simply laughed and informed Ginny cockily, "That is hardly a threat to me. Now, if it was made of wood, I might be a bit more concerned."
Ginny smirked and retorted, "Thanks for the idea."
Ginny pointed her wand at the rapier and muttered, "Mutare Lignum!"
The rapier immediately became a long thin spindle of wood with a very sharp tip.
Ginny laughed, placed her wand back up her sleeve and said, "Who's laughing now, bitch?"
"We'll see who laughs last. Shall we?"
"Please…I want to see you twitch after I stake your sorry ass."
Amberlin ran to the wall closest to her and grabbed another rapier off the wall. She gave it a few twirls in the air and ended with it pointed directly at Ginny.
"Let's dance…"
Ginny hesitantly walked towards her nemesis. She kept her eyes on the target and began plotting her strategy in her mind.
The vampire attacked first and put Ginny on the defensive. She threw the unnaturally, long wood spike upwards to deflect the blow towards her head. Ginny could hear and feel the indention made into her weapon from the rapier's blow. She knew that she could not afford to allow the vampire to attack too much; she needed her weapon to stab Amberlin in the heart and dust the soulless slut. So, Ginny tried a new tactic as she advanced with her own attack.
As she shifted her weight slightly forward with her right hip, she sparred with her stake as she asked, "So, Amberlin…how did you get your name? It is not a common name…"
The vampire easily deflected the thrust of the stake towards her torso and laughed.
"Really, Ginny, I thought you were smart. Amberlin Mossuri…Think about it."
Amberlin threw the challenge surrounding her name as she swung the rapier in a grandiose manner and once again went for the fatal blow to the head.
Ginny quickly pirouetted and threw up the stake in one graceful movement. The steel rapier was deflected and Ginny was now to the left of the vampire.
"Think about it, huh? Think about this…" Ginny said as she flipped the stake point upwards and tempted the vampire into sparring. The stake and the rapier met again and again, left then right, high then low. Ginny knew that her stake was getting very badly nicked, but she had to keep the vampire moving in the hopes of getting herself a few seconds to throw the vampire off.
Her moment came unexpectedly. There was a loud noise to their right at the castle's entrance fireplace. The vampire gave a brief glance to the fireplace, but it was enough time to get Ginny's stake deeply and roughly embedded into the soulless being's chest.
The vampire's chilling surprised eyes turned to Ginny in great disbelief.
"You fucking little shit" Amberlin gasped out in obvious pain.
"Ginny!" someone, with a feminine voice, yelled from behind her.
Ginny turned to see Ron, Hermione and Harry rushing towards her. Mr. Snape and Dumbledore were carefully approaching the vampire.
Ginny ran to her brother's arms and basked in the warmth. Harry joined the hug from the right and Hermione from the left.
"Hhhhh…" Dumbledore yelled, but it was too late.
The vampire cackled loudly, pulled the spike out of her chest with blood dripping everywhere, and said, "You missed!"
She then flew towards the hugging group faster than a speeding bullet and grabbed Hermione from behind. She pulled Hermione's long, bushy hair away from her neck and sunk her teeth into the sweet virginal flesh there.
"Hermione!" Ron and Harry screamed.
"Your friend here is quite pleasing to my exotic palette" Amberlin informed those in the room.
The vampire took one more suck of Hermione's blood, retracted her fangs, and with a sickening crack snapped Hermione's neck. She then turned, smirked at them all and disappeared into the shadows of the castle.
Hermione, already dead, fell to the floor in a heap. Her body randomly twitching from the deadening nerves throughout her body.
Ron ran to his girlfriend, placed her in his arms, rocked her back and forth and muttered her name over and over. Harry joined him on the floor and hugged his two best friends.
Ginny, in slow motion, slumped to the floor, buried her face in her hands and loudly sobbed. She felt a strong supportive hand on her shoulder and looked up.
She looked right into the eyes of Draco, her Beloved.
*********************************************
As Professor Snape walked to the bed where Ginny was sleeping, she began to violently move around.
"Professor Dumbledore, I think we need to get moving quickly. It looks as if the battle in Ginny's mind has commenced." Professor Snape quickly informed the people in the room.
Dumbledore, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Mr. Snape ran to her side.
"Austerus," Dumbledore began, "hold Ginny down while Severus pours the anti-vampire venom down her throat."
Austerus immediately grabbed a hold of Ginny and held her down by the shoulders so that Severus could administer the potion. Once the potion was coaxed down her throat, she almost instantly stalled her thrashing. She took on an almost peaceful air about her.
Severus and Austerus stepped back from her. The entire room, with abated breath, waited to see what happens next.
Out of nowhere, her arm drew up in front of her as if she were holding a sword. She rotated her wrist a few times and brought her hand back to an "en guard" position.
"Umm- Does anyone else think she is currently partaking in a rapier fight?" Mr. Snape asked the room at large.
"I do believe you are correct, Austerus" Dumbledore responded with the first twinkle in his eye all evening.
"Sir, it is time. If she is fighting back, we need to go now!" Severus assured the Headmaster.
"Right you are, Severus. Let's go." Dumbledore commanded as he pulled his wand, pointed it at Ron, Harry, Hermione, Mr. Snape, Professor Snape and himself and muttered, "Intro Suus Somnium"
They were momentarily stunned but quickly regained their bearings just in time to see Ginny lunge towards her aggressor and thrust her stake in the vampire's torso.
They immediately went to grab Ginny and return her mind to the Hogwart's infirmary. Dumbledore pointed his wand and muttered, "Oriundus Suus Somnium"
******************************************
"Draco?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, Baby, it's me." Draco said with relief evident in his voice.
"Draco, where is Hermione? I need to see Hermione." Ginny implored her husband.
"You can't, Ginny. I'm so sorry, but she is…she's…she is…dead." Draco told Ginny breaking down in tears.
Ginny sat up and looked past Draco. Ginny saw her brother had been knocked to the stone floor by the lifeless body of his girlfriend. Her arms, in her fall, had wrapped around him and she looked to be holding him. He was staring up in shock at his dead girlfriend. He was saying her name and 'I love you' over and over.
Ginny took in an audible gasp and realized that Hermione's dream had been real; she simply had misunderstood the actions. It was Hermione who was to die, not Ron.
Ginny threw her arms around Draco's neck and began to sob violently. He returned her embrace thankful that he still had his Ginny.