Chapter Eighteen

(The end is now officially sorted out! After much plotting and day dreaming in maths… I've got an ending I am satisfied with along with the all important lead up…*sings* So, thanx for reviewing this story, I didn't expect it to go on this long or to get as many reviews *big hugz* About this chapter… the vamp thing is shorter because I want to get to the war… you all want to get to the war… lets speed things up a little shall we? I thought it would be funny but… it's not! Damn! My writing standard, I feel, has slipped… or more like plummeted… so I'll try to get it back up!)

Draco twitched at any movement, any sound that reached his sensitive ears.  He should stop acting so scared, vampires don't feel fear often and it would look suspicious.  He thought that he would have a hard time finding the rest of the clan, but strangely, his feet seemed to know where to go.  They knew every dip, hill and fallen tree or branch as well as Draco knew the corridors at school, it didn't alarm him at all but it did make him feel better knowing that he would know the way back out if he was to get into trouble, rather than running randomly in circles all night.

Draco stopped and his ears twitched for the hundredth time since he left the castle.  He definitely heard something that time, no mistake; he had heard trees rustling in no way that the wind could make them.  Once the noise stopped and eerie blanket of silence had crept back over the dark, cold forest.  Draco continued, a little wearier now.  A second noise, a thud and a small squeak from behind him made him jump and turn round with a slight yelp.  Still nothing was to be seen.  Draco turned his body round and started walking, but he kept his head turned in the direction of the noise.  Once he was sure nothing was there, he turned his head round again.

"DRACO!"

"ARGH!" Draco yelled as he fell backwards.  He had turned round to see a pale face in front of him with a joyful, childish grin, hanging upside down.  Another soon popped down beside it with a giggly, high pitched, "BOO!"

Laughing, the first person swung round off the tree branch and glided slowly to the ground, landing with a soft whisper of sound to the forest floor.  "I've been waiting for ages to do that! Where've you been?" he held out a hand to help Draco up and he spoke with a faint, but very obvious, French accent.

Draco didn't take it; instead he stared up into a pair of dark eyes, almost black in colour.  They were completely lifeless; nothing seemed to be behind them, it was like looking into the eyes of someone who had fallen victim to a Dementor.  The boy was as pale as death like himself and his grin showed sharp teeth that were stained red/brown so slightly, and his hair would've been white enough to reflect even the tiniest bit of light by the moon through the trees but it was covered in hardened mud and dust.  He looked as though he had been trailed through several laps of the forest on a wet day by a raging centaur.  Draco didn't know who it was, he did not remember ever meeting him, but at the back of his mind a name popped up out of nowhere to put with the unfamiliar face.

"Nice way to welcome me back Dario.  I suppose you've been planning that since I left?" Draco jumped up without help and dusted himself down.

"Dari!" the other called in a higher childish voice.  Draco looked up to see a small five-year-old girl with long blonde hair and bright eyes.  She held out her hands, "Catch!"

She jumped down into Dario's outstretched arms with the lightness of a small feather but she quickly squirmed her way back out of his grip and over to Draco's leg, clutching it in a tight hug as she could reach no higher.  "Where you been Dwaco? I've missted you this much!" she stepped back and pulled her small arms out wide as far as they would go to back this up, almost falling over in the process.

Draco laughed at how cute she was, her young innocence was so sweet and angelic but obviously she wasn't angelic at all.  She was a vampire like all the others in the forest, she still had the power in her teeth to rip out someone's throat or the magic to kill someone without even having to try but Draco could not imagine such a sweet thing to do that.  That was probably why she was more dangerous than the others; she was more deceiving.  Draco felt saddened at how someone could do that to such a young child, taking her life away to replace it with this.

"That's what we'd all like to know Draco, you don't look any worse for wear," Dario began walking, Draco followed as the girl jumped up onto his back for a piggy back ride. 

Draco didn't know how much Dario knew about the episode with Voldemort and Harry in the old house, so he thought quickly, "They caught me…when I chased Potter… interrogated me on the master's plans and where we were hiding."

Draco could've sworn that Dario's face flickered into a malevolent grin but he shook his head, thinking it was the weak light of the forest.  Instead, grave concern fell over him.  "Oh my God… how'd you get away?"

He had never seen an emotion on a vampire before, but he could see a slight trace of horror on the boy's features.  If it was real or not was another thing but Draco did not think about that.  "Well, they took my magic away so I had to fight… they should've known those chains would've have kept me for long," Draco gave Dario a grin.

Dario nodded, "You haven't changed at all Draco!" Dario seemed to look at Draco all over as if analysing him.  Once he turned away again, Draco's hand automatically leapt up to his neck and felt under his high-necked collar to make sure his cross chain was concealed.  It was, but he still felt as though Dario knew it was there, as if it was showing to the world.

"How much do they know?" Dario said after a few minutes of walking in almost silence (The girl's cries of 'Giddy up horsie!' broke what silence there would've been).

"Nothing to threaten us with… about as much as knowing that there are more of us along with a few werewolves."

"You tell them about the plan?"

Draco blinked.  There always had been a plan that he was supposed to know about? He wrecked the back of his mind but nothing came, not even the word 'plan' could bring it back to him.  "Not a thing!" he said anyway, as convincing as he could make his voice go in a situation like this.

"Good, you know how fragile it is… even the slightest mistake could send us to failure and death remember?"

"I know I know…" Draco rolled his eyes.  He doesn't realise… he can't see that I'm not one of them! This could be easier than I thought… don't let your guard down though… you can't trust them!

At the same time, Dario was thinking, that's it, keep digging deeper into it Malfoy… it's only your friends' grave…

*~*~*~*

"Hey, look what we found!" Dario called as they entered a large clearing bright with moon and star-light.  All around, vampires of all kinds sat around chatting or playing tag... quite violently.  At the sound of Dario's voice, many looked up (most from under the grip of another as they played tag) and noticed Draco beside him carrying the blonde girl on his shoulders.

In one mad stampede, the ones who had noticed rushed over to greet Draco again.  Hugging him tightly, kissing him and asking questions that were drowned out by more questions so it all sounded like words caught in a blender.

"I'm fine, glad to be back again.  Hey! No touching there you two!" a couple of girls giggled and ran off side by side.

Once everyone had said their hellos, they turned back to what they had been originally doing, excitement over.  This is when the leader of the clan walked over.

He was a tall, stern looking man that had the impression that he had aged greatly in a small period of time.  His eyes were steel grey and his hair, almost the same colour, his voice was like gravel and low but it had a friendly tone.  "Nice to see you back with us Malfoy.  I am glad that you are safe, every vampire is as important as the next here.  Since the start of this retched time we have lost many of our kind, thankfully you are not one of them." He clapped Draco on the back.  "Well done."

Draco smiled, almost laughed at how formal he was being towards him, but thankful all the same that he was concerned.  For vampires having such a bad reputation, they seemed so normal, like a close community of the undead.  They seemed to be just like mortals and Draco was already feeling himself let his guard slip from the friendliness of it, but he caught himself on quickly.  Not to be trusted, not to be trusted, not to be trusted…

"Dwaco, I went out hunting by myself a few nights ago!" The girl poked him in the side of his face, snapping him out of his trance.  "I-I caught a rabbit!" she sounded very pleased with herself indeed.

"Really? Wow, I wouldn't want to mess with you any time soon anyway!" Draco smiled as he lifted her off his shoulders.

She ran off with a small skip over to the older vampire, possibly to continue seeking praise for the rabbit.

"She didn't go alone… Don followed her to make sure she was safe and hypnotised the rabbit…" Dario grinned, "Just let her think she caught it alone… believe me, it's safer that way- she can hurt!"

Draco laughed as Dario smiled, but his smile faded soon as if remembering something that forbade him to smile.

"What's wrong?" Draco inquired; half hoping it had some important information concealed in it.

"I thought you would've at least noticed… or have you and you don't even care?" Dario looked away, saddened.

Draco was taken aback by this.  He blinked, "Noticed what?"

"You mean to say you haven't noticed that Raven's gone?" Dario looked back up.

Raven… Raven… why does that ring a bell? Just look concerned and pretend you know until it comes… "Well, I thought that… I thought she just wasn't here… what happened?"

"You mean you didn't feel it?" Dario almost laughed.

Draco was lost again, "Well, I kinda had other things on my mind you know… like trying not to give you guys away!"

"She was killed Draco… surely you felt something, she created you!"

Draco's mind seemed to split in half as that triggered horrible, painful memories he had forgotten about until now.  There was a slight ringing in his ears as his head pounded and visions flashed up at him.  The lake, a pair of brilliant green eyes that made him feel like he was drowning, the forest, a sharp, stabbing pain on his neck along with the feeling of warm blood trickling down his neck and a scream… his own, a girl's pleading voice, "I'm sorry! I… I… forgot, then I didn't think it would matter that much… he seemed fine" then finally a cold voice, "You have failed me Raven. You failed to do what I asked..." Draco swayed slightly and he felt the animal's blood inside him bubble in his body.  There was something about that vision that seemed more disturbing than the others, a small voice at the back of his mind cried, "They see!"

"Draco, you OK? I didn't expect you to take it that bad!"

Draco blinked and shook his head sharply.  The panic inside him was now rising with every second, every time Dario looked at him, as if his eyes were searching inside his head. 

"You've gotten very twitchy Draco… what's wrong?"

Draco tried to search his eyes for some indication, some faint trace of knowing and seeing through him but it wasn't there.  The vampire's eyes were like a locked diary, no way in.

"Come on, I think we'd better get you something to drink and let you have some rest.  You've been through a lot lately… more than the rest of us.  It has been horrible but we can't do anything about it… we dare not."

Draco swallowed a lump down his dry throat.  He had no choice, he had to stay because he had not yet found anything out… besides, maybe he was just being paranoid, he usually went like that when he was scared, and the vision must've just set him over the edge even though he didn't understand it.  If only he had of thought deeper and worked it out.

*~*~*~*

He wasn't very successful in getting information out of them over the next few weeks but he did get more and more confident that he was getting away with this.  He would always think it would sound odd or suspicious if he was to ask about the plan, especially after telling Dario he had not told about it, indicating that he did know.  Everything seemed to be against him, because every time he got the chance to find stuff out, something came up.  Mostly a certain young vampire called Sylvia wanting to play hide and seek.

"PLEASE?" she tugged on his coat, whining and jumping impatiently.

"Fine, OK… one, two, three, four, five…" he would trail off after she left and not bother going off to find her.  Then she would come trotting back two hours later with a huge grin on her face, "You couldn't find me! I win, I win!".  

He used to love playing with her but lately he has grown seriously moody and low.  He just wanted to go back to the castle and be with his friends and for everything to be normal, as much as he liked the vampires, he knew that they were enemies.  He had made good enough friends with Dario and Dario's friend Donato, who was normally gone from sun set till sun rise, hunting or walking round the forest.  Donato's eyes always had reason to make Draco feel uneasy.  Unlike Dario's hollow, black ones, Donato's were the brightest most vivid blue imaginable very alive looking for a vampire, they seemed to shine out from under his messy black hair that hung over them in thick strands.  They seemed to always be watching him, looking into his thoughts, but of course they weren't, no one suspected him yet.  Draco was always strongly reminded of Mad-Eye Moody, he shuddered at the memory.

"When are we going to be doing something?" Donato shouted in a fit of boredom one night, throwing a stone roughly threw the trees, glaring at it as if it was the source of all this.

Draco's ears pricked up.  Maybe they would tell him what was going to happen, he would innocently inquire… innocently.  "Are we meant to be doing anything? I think they're just leaving us out of this for no good reason… or maybe they think we'll get in the way."

Donato looked up, eyes brighter than usual in the moon light, making Draco flinch slightly as soon as their eyes made contact.  "We are not meant to be doing anything until after the first attack; after the war starts."

"What will we do? Run round and scare a few little kids with our big teeth? We are sitting outside a school here, that's all we can do! Why don't we just attack the school now and take over it so the Ministry will give in?" Draco snorted.

"You want to go attack the school… then go! We'll come back for what's left of you!" Donato looked at him darkly.  "Why do you think we've been here, as far away as possible? We don't dare attack that school as long as that mudblood lover Dumbledore is there."

"Then who is going to attack first?"

"Haven't you been listening Draco?" Dario stood up, "The Death Eaters are attacking first.  They're going to go hunt down and kill Mudbloods at Morar Hill as an example.  Then, when Dumbledore goes to stop them, by order of the ministry no doubt, we attack the school."

Draco sat taking all this in and sending it on to Dumbledore through his thoughts.  "What if he doesn't go?"

"Then we go help the Death Eaters.  Dumbledore's own fault if he doesn't go to help, then again, he loses something either way!" Dario laughed.

"Why don't we just go help the Death Eaters anyway? Safe us the bother of waiting here."

"You've answered your own question Draco.  If Dumbledore does go then we can take hold of the school, force the Ministry to give in or we kill the students one by one.  We can send information to the Dark Lord about Dumbledore's movements and spring on the school when it's weakest if we stay here too.  Were you not told this Draco?" Donato raised an eyebrow.

"… er… yeah, of course… I've just forgotten most of it through all that torture they put me through.  I remember now though." Draco replied quickly.  Dario and Donato both looked at each other.  Draco panicked and changed the subject as quickly as possible.  "S-so… how about those stars, eh? Pretty bright!" he jerked his head upwards to look at them, avoiding Donato's unnerving glance.

*~*~*~* (Rushed and I hate it…nasty part coming up)

"I never doubted him for a second, I know he could do it!" Fudge clapped when he heard the news from Dumbledore.  Lupin shot him a cold glance at this.

Dumbledore was not so excited and enthusiastic about the news from Draco.  He sat down in his huge red armchair with his pipe in his mouth, thought lines etched on his forehead, silent.

"Professor?" Lupin sat up and frowned at the headmaster.  What could be wrong? They had what they had been looking for and Draco was still alive… well, so to speak.

"Something doesn't feel right.  It all seems too easy," Dumbledore said slowly.

Fudge waved his hand impatiently as if waving the idea away with an exasperated sound, "Oh come now Dumbledore.  One thing goes smoothly and you get suspicious.  Can't you just understand that we are winning; we have the upper hand here! We send the Order to this Morar's Hill and take the Death Eaters by surprise while we send out slayers to destroy those creatures in the forest."

"Yes, I understand that Cornelius, it's just that vampires are intelligent creatures.  Can they be trusted?"

"You trust that blonde thing with our lives!" he retorted.

"I trust Malfoy because he's on our side, he is a half vampire and not a danger.  Now Minister," he raised his hand to stop Fudge from speaking, "We are not having this conversation about Draco again.  Sit please, I have something to say about this."

Fudge sat down slowly beside Lupin, who shuffled away slightly as if not wanting to be near the Minister.

"We managed to see through Draco as soon as he changed back.  We could tell he was not one of them… how is it possible that they can't see it? Perhaps they can see, they are just toying with him… toying with us."

"The worst they can do is kill him now that he knows, they probably just wanted to have some fun first," Fudge said casually as if Draco was just a guinea pig in an experiment.

Lupin sighed, "Use your head sir, they could be filling us in with false information."

"Or perhaps that's what they want us to think.  There is no telling Remus.  They are very intelligent and unpredictable creatures." Dumbledore replied, "That is why I am worried and more confused than ever."

"We send people to that place anyway surely, in case it is real and we are just being paranoid," Fudge said as if it were final.

"What if they're ready for us?" Lupin asked.

"Then we'll just have to be ready for them then won't we?" Fudge nodded.

Lupin and Dumbledore still looked doubtful.

*~*~*~*

Draco was feeling very pleased with himself for once.  He was still alive… sort of… and he had gathered the information they needed.  All he had to do now was to get out.

Need good excuse… think Draco think! He thought as he ducked under the low entrance to where they slept.

Draco never liked it down here.  It smelt like mouldy, wet earth and it was very often flooded from heavy rain.  You know how scary it is to wake up under water? It would've been dark for any human but vampire's sense of sight was stronger… even then it was dark enough to make them tread on each other.  It made Draco think of death, being buried under the ground, sleeping a death-like sleep.

He was just skidding down the mount of wet earth when he heard Donato's voice in a low whisper.  "Funny to watch really isn't it? Told you it's more fun if you toy with them!"

Draco was about to go in and ask what was up when Dario's voice came to his ears, filled with a sort of laughter he had never heard from him before.  "Yeah, I'll give you that one! Malfoy is just so gullible it's too easy! Just think how he'll react when he realises he has just caused a war!"

"Shhh!" Donato hissed, "You never know who will be listening!" Draco could hear movement.  "I smell a human…"

Draco frowned in a confused manor.  Human? He thought.  He didn't have long to linger on this, for suddenly a hand was pinning him up against the wall of mud and blue eyes bright, almost luminous in the dark underground room.  "Or should I say… half human?" he grinned, showing his sharp teeth.

Draco didn't know how he knew he had been there but he knew that he had to run, tell Dumbledore it was all a trap, stop the war… but how? He now had no information what-so-ever.

With a glare, he pushed Donato off him, into the wet mud of the floor.  He ran out of the lair with difficulty, the slope was very slippy with loose and wet mud, more than once he found his face covered in it as he fell over.  He eventually made it out and made no hesitation in starting to run out of the clearing and into the forest itself.

"STOP HIM!" Dario called, but his voice was at a distance. 

Draco never knew he could run this fast.  Trees were a blur as he seemed to be putting no effort into it but then again, he didn't know this was normal for vampires, he had had no need to ever run this fast before now.  He could hear people following him, how many… he didn't know and he didn't want to think.  All he had in his mind was how he was going to get out of the forest alive.

You won't get out of here alive Malfoy!

Give it up!

There's no point in trying!

GIVE IN!

"NO!" Draco yelled out loud to the voices in his head from the other vampires.  They were full vampires, they could run faster… much faster.  It was only a matter of time before they caught him.  He'll just have to outsmart them.

Too late.  He felt something grab his shoulder and drag him to the side.  Everything went into an even bigger blur and he felt pain as sharp things scratched his face and hands and huge blows to the head. It was a while before he realised that he and another had fallen into a large ditch.

Blinking he sat up and rubbed his head.  He had no time to take in his surroundings, for a strong grip had him by the throat and had shoved him roughly back to the wet, muddy ground.  Draco's eyes flew open in horrible surprise at this sudden attack, he saw not Dario or Donato holding him, it was Antonio, the oldest of them all and leader of the clan.  His grey hair was knotted and it hung untidily over his forehead, brushing against Draco's face.  His stormy grey eyes were fixed on Draco's silver ones as he grinned maliciously.

"We told you there was no sense in running, we would find you and catch you in the end," he grinned wider.

Draco found the nerve to glare and spit, "Listen, if you're going to kill me at least do it now!" Then I won't get blamed for this war… or at least they wouldn't be able to kill me for it!

Antonio laughed, "No my dear boy, I'm not going to kill you and neither is anyone else here.  We have other plans for you.  You see, we know how you are different from us and how we can play this to our advantage.  Yes you are becoming like a living quaffle but this time you are in our possession and you will stay there til we reach the goal, obeying the master's orders once again and leading those little friends of yours to their deaths."

"No, I will tell them that everything you lot have told me is a lie!" Draco struggled.

"No, you won't," Antonio said confidently with a grin.  "Not if you are on our side, working for us and telling them what we have told you is true!"

"I would never do that and there is no way in hell you can make me!" Draco wished that his arms were free from under his back so he could get his cross out from under his high-necked shirt.

"You really think that Draco? Well, you are so naïve to think that because there is one way and there is no going back from it.  You will be with us forever, fighting for us," at that point, he raised one arm; one was enough to keep Draco from getting away.  Draco flinched, thinking he was going to strike with it but nothing came.  Instead when he looked up, he saw dark red blood flowing freely down Antonio's arm.

Draco's eyes widened.  He knew what was going to happen, he had been told about how he had not fully changed because he had not taken immortal blood; a vampire's blood.  It wasn't Raven's he needed, it could've been any of them, any immortal blood was enough to trigger it as if flowed through him.  He would not take it.

"Drink this Malfoy, it will all be over soon.  All those fears and emotions will go away forever."

He didn't want them to go.  He wanted to feel emotions, he wanted to stay as he was… to be close to Hermione and Harry, work with them.  He didn't want to be a soulless, hollow creature like the rest.  Like what he had once been.

He kept his mouth firmly shut, even as he felt the cold blood drip onto his lips from the other vampire's wrist. 

No… please no… I can't… I won't! he thought determinedly, but no sooner had he said that than the tiniest dribble of blood managed to seep through his lips and onto his tongue.  He absent-mindedly swallowed it and after that, there was no stopping him taking the blood.

(Cliffies! I love them! Hehehe, I just thought I'd be mean.  Will take me AGES to update now cos guess wot? I've been persuaded to write an original story on Fiction Press! . working on it for a while now and I hope it's ok… plot is hard to work out along with my OCs and stuff.  I need more girls so any help there will be much appreciated! I need mystical creatures too… I already have an army of vampires and werewolves! Need nicer ones now! Lol, thanx again and please review on this chappie and if any of you are interested in helping me wit my story then do say! And Loki… hurry up wit ur fic! Lol, c yas!)