Author's Note: The two fun characters in this chapter are sadly not mine. Irvan and Kuso are borrowed from Aku Maru who has written some pretty fun Vampire-centric Snape fics. I really suggest you catch them. She's an amazing writer so I'm secretly jealous of. Well, enjoy and review!

Chapter Five: The Opposition

Gabriel Van Helsing could sense evil. It was a sort of sixth sense he had possessed for as long as he could remember, and had come to rely on more then any other he possessed. He could feel evil like most people felt chill or warmth. It was the way Darkness crept into places and people that Gabriel sensed like a sort of forewarning that came before danger, like ozone that filled the air before a fierce summer storm. And, for the most part, he had come to acknowledge and accept evil and darkness were not always actively out to get him. Most times, yes, they were trying to kill him, but not all the time.

And in times like now, as he carried an injured woman in his arms, he would have to trust that Erised knew what she was thinking when she asked him to take her to dark and menacing central: the looming Grand Marquis hotel. The Marquis held the air of being old, ornate and at the same time being forbidding to anyone who would dare come near its old, gilded doors. Lights flickered from various rooms, and matched with the pale purple sky as morning began to peer over the horizon, the Marquis was bathed in gray, dead light.

Gabriel swallowed deeply and made his way towards the entrance. Erised had woken by now and was lying silently in his arms. As she felt him climb the steps, she tapped his arm and motioned to be let down. Standing on her own unsteady feet, Erised stumbled slightly then pushed open the doors. They entered the grand lobby, and Gabriel was floored by its splendor. He inclined his head to look up at the grand light fixtures and winced, grabbing at his sore shoulder and cursing under his breath.

"It's late, Michael." A man called, walking down the stairs and favoring Erised with a scolding look. He was a handsome man, pale and slender, with a wave of dark hair pulled back from his narrow face, intelligent sapphire eyes and thin pink lips. He was standing at the top of the stairs, arms folded over his chest, and standing in such a way he looked like Lord of a manor in his dark robes. "I didn't expect to see you for a visit."

"Michael?" Gabriel asked, watching Erised out of the corner of his eye. Her entire demeanor had changed again, it lacked the dry wit from earlier in the bar and quiet submissiveness displayed with Dumbledore. Erised stood now, in silent command of her features and in strength. She was the same person she had always been, only now composed, and relaxed as if she had shed some guise and was now among friends where she could show her true colors. She didn't acknowledge Gabriel, and simply bowed to the man. "I had a run in with the Dark Prince earlier. I could use some downtime."

"Of course, come in." The man said. "I heard about the Looking Glass a while ago, Noir wrote me."

"He was there? I didn't see him."

"He took off right after the Muggle." The man took this time to stop and look pointedly at Gabriel. "Started shooting." His thin lips curled into a smile as he walked down the stairs to him. "You must be the famous Gabriel Van Helsing. I am Isaiah."

"How do you know Erised?"

"Of all the questions that must racing through your mind, that is the first one you ask?" Isaiah asked quietly, with a soft smile touching his face.

Gabriel shrugged casually. He glanced over at Erised again, who wasn't looking too hot. She had slumped against the wall and was staring at the chandelier, waving her hand before the dim light and smiling at the shadows made. "…Actually, the most pressing question that is running through my head at the moment is why Ari is making a duck with the light. The question about why did she bring me to a hotel occupied by Vampires is somewhere on the list though if it makes you feel better."

"It's not a duck, it's a camel." Ari called.

"It's a duck, honey."

"Honey?" Isaiah asked, arching a brow. Gabriel noticed Isaiah's face had fallen, and he was now sneering telling Gabriel more then any words would have.

Gabriel tilted his head. "How do you know Ari?"

"Intimately." Isaiah said, shortly. He turned towards Ari, dropping his sneer and walking to her. Gabriel noticed there was clear concern in his eyes as his fingers traced Ari's cheek, down to her neck and lingered on the scratches that marred her cheek then to her neck, over the bite wounds. He swallowed down his pain. "Simon, come take Ari to a room. She needs to rest…and tend to those bites."

Simon, a youthful handsome Vampire who looked delicate but deadly, stepped passed Gabriel and bowed, deeply. "Of course, Isaiah. Come, Michael."

Gabriel watched as Erised curled into Simon's arms, and as they walked up the stairs, passing an open room. Something in the room made Erised stop suddenly, pushing away from Simon and turning into the room. Beside him, Gabriel heard Isaiah curse as he hurried up the stairs to follow. Not content to be alone in this Hotel, and quite simply curious about what he would find, Gabriel followed.

These rooms appeared to be made into a parlor where a dim lamplight was shining. The rooms were red and plush with brown leather bound books lining two walls. Soft music seemed to be playing from in the adjacent room, and only added to the coziness of the room. Clearly this room was meant to impress and sooth any of Isaiah's guests. One of which was standing in the middle of the room with his arms around Ari and appearing to be whispering something into her ear. He was masterfully built and immediately invoked images of a grand warrior king. Tall and board, his frame swallowed Erised, making her appear very fragile in his arms. An image Gabriel didn't quite like for his new partner.

The short, terse cough beside him told him Isaiah didn't like it either.

Nor did the annoyed sigh that followed as the man's comrade brought his chair back to the floor with a thud. He had been leaning on the chair's back legs with the back pushed against the wall to occupy himself, and now a scowl that seemed to have been set in his face only deepened upon seeing Gabriel and Erised.

"Prefect," the seated guest remarked dryly. "Now there's more of them."

"Nice to see you too, Chuckles." Ari remarked muffled from her head still being buried in the taller man's chest. She pulled away from him, and rubbed her eyes, startling Gabriel even more. She had felt comfortable enough to cry in this man's arms. The idea of Ari even being capable crying seemed out of sync with everything, and the uneasiness of being in an unknown situation with even more unknown variables was beginning to tax on his already zero patience. Thankfully, before he could say anything to warrant a repeat performance of earlier tonight, Isaiah had spoken again.

"Kuso, Irvan, forgive me for keeping you waiting. You know, of course, Saint Michael…" Isaiah said, motioning with his hand to Erised and then back towards Gabriel. "And this is Gabriel Van Helsing, Knight of the Holy Order…a human she's aiding."

"Gabriel!" The taller man, Kuso, spoke with what appeared to be a sincere, amused grin cutting through his features. The tone of his voice was warm and welcoming, as if greeting a longtime friend. "Last time I saw you, you were crawling up the Vatican steps bloody and probably hung over."

Now it was Erised's turn to frown, looking over at Gabriel with a curious expression. "You know these Vampires?" She asked quietly, ignoring Kuso who was making only a minor effort to hide the fact he was studying her vampire bite and scratches intently.

"They know me," Gabriel corrected shortly. He turned to Kuso, and then focused on the other one. "Exactly how is uncertain…"

"We go back." Kuso said, looking up. He gave Irvan a glance that resembled both a rebuke and a question of action. Irvan, taking the invitation to speak, looked up again, ignoring both Erised and Gabriel and talking directly to Isaiah.

"H'norngu sent us here for a reason, Isaiah." He chided. "I doubt meeting your human's boyfriend was the purpose."

"Kaga, not human." Kuso and Ari said in unison, with Kuso favoring Erised with a smug grin. She smiled, and leaned against him again.

Gabriel was beginning to get annoyed again. He turned, this time to Isaiah since he was the host. "I'm missing something. Want to share?"

"I'm with Gabriel on this one." Ari decided to join the conversation and end her flirting finally. She pulled away from Kuso and collapsed into his chair, pulling her feet up and wrapping her arms around them. She appeared in pain but gave no sign of it now that her protector was gone. "I thought the Vampires were going to keep their distance."

"We were. Until the Looking Glass incident." Irvan said, casting a gaze at Gabriel. "You've committed an act of war on the Dark Lord. Normally I wouldn't mind but you came here for asylum, which could give Voldemort reason to declare war on this clan…"

"Please don't say his name." Ari muttered into her knees. "And I had no where else to go. Gabe couldn't Apparate to Hogwarts."

"Not my concern. The concern now is damage control…we are not willing to let Dracula regain the power he lost."

"Wait…wait, you knew about Dracula?" Gabriel asked. "You knew there was a vampire alive claiming to be him and you did nothing."

"Why would we do anything?" Kuso asked. "It's not our concern."

"Not your concern!" Gabriel started.

Ari spoke again. "Gabriel, try and understand. Irvan and Kuso are from a powerful sect of Vampires that controls most of Europe. They have to worry about all their kind, not just some renegade Vampire claiming to be a legendary evil..."

"Renegade? Their Kind?" Gabriel repeated, angrily. "Where were they and their damage control when the real Dracula was tearing up Romania then? Where were they and their talk when he was hunting down the Valerious line! Where were they when Anna was killed!"

"What he did on a personal level was not our concern…and you interfered before we had to." Irvan whispered to himself.

It was interesting to see that even though the other occupants in the room had superior senses and reflexes, Isaiah and Kuso were still startled and barely able to grab Gabriel, pulling him back from whatever action he might have taken. Irvan was still sitting in his chair, brow raised in curiosity before nodding briefly to the others- clearly acknowledging the fact he should probably be grateful for their intervention. Ari blinked, sighed and brought attention back to the subject at hand.

"Gabriel says it's not Vladislaus." She whispered, tiredly. "But he was more powerful then any turned Vampire I ever encountered. He was able to walk on walls, and almost fly it seemed. How is it possible?"

"Dracula has powers most Turned Vampires can never possess." Kuso said shortly, rubbing his neck. "I doubt he was turned by conventional means, so it's assumed he was augmented by black magic."

"He made a pact with the Devil." Gabriel interjected.

Ari looked up, watching Gabriel suddenly looking her young age. "I've never met the Devil. What's he like?"

"Can someone please shut her up?" Irvan sighed as his patience for Erised dwindled even more. He turned to glare at her, spending a long moment just staring at her, his frown relaxing just slightly as if he realized something before shrugging it off and turning back to the center of the room. He picked up the glass from the table and sipped its contents. "But that was Vladislaus, who you killed almost a century ago. This one is Rene."

"Rene?" Isaiah asked. "Exactly how many Draculas are there?"

Gabriel raised a brow. "I'm with prick-boy on this one. If this Rene is somehow involved with my Dracula, why wasn't he in Vaseria and how come I've never heard of him before?"

"Prick-boy?" Isaiah repeated with a scowl. Ari too had sat up, frowning. "My Dracula?"

"Oh don't start whining." Kuso countered. "And the reason Rene wasn't there when you fought Vladislaus was probably his mother's doing?"

"Mother?"

"…Sort to speak. Aleera, one of Dracula's brides, turned him. She had hoped that Vladislaus would accept him as an heir since they could bear no children but Vlad didn't like him." Kuso explained, moving to Ari as he talked. "He claimed Rene was too…"

"Vicious?"

"Wasteful." Kuso replied. "As it was, Aleera keep close tabs on Rene after our fun with him…so he was never around when there might be trouble."

"Why did it take him so long to resurface?" Isaiah asked. "Cowardice?"

"Don't be foolish." Ari rebuked, sharply. She had raised her head by now, playing with her fingers and staring at the wall of books intently, refusing to meet anyone else's gaze. "He was biding his time. He knew if he appeared too soon the Knights would send Vlad's murderer after him. He had to wait, till someone powerful enough could emerge that was sympathetic to his cause but would allow him free reign, he had to wait for an equal." She smiled softly to herself. "For an ally."

"You're weak, Angel." Kuso said, slowly. He looked over at Isaiah with a stern glare that made the younger Vampire step back. "Why don't you call back Simon and have her taken to a room."

"I need to hear this as much as Gabriel does." She countered.

"But Gabriel wasn't knocked cold by Dracula now was he?"

"I make one little mistake and suddenly I can't play with the menfolk? That's sexist."

"No, being sexist would require you making me breakfast." Kuso rejoined, then added with a smirk. "Which I might let you do if you're lucky again."

"Can you two stop for five minutes?" Irvan demanded suddenly.

"I agree." Isaiah added, as went to he pick up Erised, who refused to be carried but rather stood on her own, unstable feet. She once again relinquished herself to Simon's care. He folded his arms and waited till he was sure she was out of earshot before turning to Kuso, and somewhat unceremoniously commenting. "I'm not going to ask how you know Ari, but stay away from her."

Kuso blinked, before trying unsuccessfully not to smirk. "You're kidding? Don't tell me your jealous…" He started laughing when he realized Isaiah wasn't. "Aw, that's sweet kid…stupid but sweet."

Gabriel looked over at Irvan who shrugged then upon seeing Gabriel wasn't about to drop the subject, allowed. "To say Michael is friendly with vampires is to put it very nicely. In truth, she tends to have a reputation of having an…appetite for them."

"Voracious appetite." Kuso chimed, then smiling even deeper from Isaiah's glare. "Repeatedly."

Gabriel found himself readjusting the grip he had on his gun. "I see, in such a case, perhaps it's better if I finish this alone. I don't need her judgment compromised by a Vampire playing mind games one her."

"It has nothing to do with mind games." Kuso broke in, and surprisingly looked sincere in his defense. "Ari's an information broker, and early on she needed allies. Now, for some reason she's adopted the Vampires as her cause. I personally think it's cute."

"She's helping monsters." Gabriel forced out, looking over at the decanter on the table beside Irvan and wondering exactly what were the contents.

"You're really not in a room where referring to Vampires as monster would be the wisest course of action."

Gabriel grimaced, but forced himself to remain civil. He was getting annoyed with the prospect of being the last one with information in this world and found himself wishing once again to be fighting a monster with humans beside him, and not some half-charmed woman that seemed to play this game by her own rules, regardless of the consequences.

He wanted things to be black and white again.

"So," He bit out. "What do you have to drink around here?"

Irvan smiled softly to himself as he took a sip of his drink.