Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, only Vivian. All the HP characters belong to JK Rowling, Warner Bros., etc. Mitchell belongs to Destiny78. Radu belongs to Full Moon Movie Productions. Marius belongs to Anne Rice. Mesphisto belongs to Goethe. Carmilla belongs to Joseph Sheridan le Fanu. And last but certainly not least, Vlad Dracul belongs to Bram Stoker. I can't remember if I put a disclaimer in the beginning but here it is now! Enjoy!
Chapter Six: Unwelcomed Visitors
Vivian woke up at a quarter to seven. The sun was setting. She still felt tired but she had work to do tonight. She walked into the bathroom and surveyed herself in the mirror. Her makeup was smudged and her hair was mused and greasy. She judged she had twenty minutes to shower until Sanguini woke up. She took off her robes and noticed only a couple bruises on her body. The bruises were mainly on her left side. She thought the bruises might have been caused by the dumping of her person on the porch. Or else some stupid Order member dropped me. She moved away from the mirror and turned the "hot" tap on. It took a couple of seconds for the water to start flowing and another minute for the water to heat. She stepped into the shower gingerly. The hot water felt good. She had scrounged around through the cabinets underneath the sink and found an old bar of soap and shampoo. A darkish brown stain was on the shampoo bottle. She washed quickly. Vivian charmed herself dry and charmed her robes clean. She went downstairs and found Sanguini in the kitchen reading the Evening Prophet.
"I have business to attend to tonight, darling, so don't wait up for me," she told him with a sickening sweet smile.
"Be careful, Vivian," he answered.
"I will."
She donned the only cloak she had; the one the prince had left with her. Then she walked away from the house and disapparated.
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Screams rent through the air. Flashes of light glowed eerily in the darkness. Two cloaked figures watched the violence from a far. One was wearing a mask. If you would look at the other, you would think he was wearing one, too. But he wasn't. Voldemort's snake-like face was stretched by the grin he wore. His eyes flashed malevolently. The masked figure stood ram-rod straight, his arms crossed. Black eyes glittered behind the white mask.
"Ah, Severus! These muggles have no idea what is going on! The ministry is just as confused! The Order of the Phoenix will not come tonight because they have not a clue either!"
High pitched laughter followed these statements. The Dark Lord's face was full of ecstasy. The black eyes remained the same. Men, women, and children ran down the small town's streets, chased by creatures they always were taught did not exist. Voldemort and Snape were able to see everything clearly from their vantage point on top a small hill. The full moon shined brightly behind them. Werewolves could be seen ripping the limbs off people they caught. Dementors kissed anything that ran. Two cloaked figures were mere blurs to the human eye. Wherever they stopped, however, blood gushed and sprayed down the asphalt. Deatheaters marched proudly through the carnage. One of the blurs disappeared for a second and appeared next to Snape and Voldemort. Snape drew his wand but kept it out of sight.
"My Lord," it said with a bow.
It lowered its hood. The vampire's face was smeared with blood and dirt. Its face was sunken in and gaunt. Its hair was a long tangle of brown dead strands. Severus suppressed a shudder from looking at the hideous creature.
"Radu," the Dark Lord acknowledged with a tilt of his head, "What news have you brought me?"
The vampire straightened and smiled, its fangs yellow and bloody. Its voice was heavily accented.
"Ve haff destroyed the town and killed most of de muggles. One of your deatheaters found several portkeys that de ministry probably gave dem. Bellatrix is doing a body count in case ve missed some."
"Good work tonight, Radu. You may go."
The vampire bowed and melted into the night. The Dark Lord turned his back on the town and motioned for Snape to follow him. the grass was damp under their boots.
"I have an errand for you, Severus."
"I will do whatever my Lord asks."
"Go to the cemetery in Godric's Hollow. Potter is there. You will find him sitting next to the gravestones of his parents. His mind is open and vulnerable at the moment. Search the house for any horcrux he might have hidden in it. Check his school trunk. I'm certain they are in there. You will not have to worry about any of his friends tonight."
"It will be done, my Lord."
With a parting nod from Voldemort, Snape disapparated.
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Vivian apparated behind a large white-washed tomb. She had made it to Godric's Hollow a little after nine o'clock. She had stopped at the Leaky Cauldron first for a bit of supper and then to Gringotts since she needed gold. The full moon illuminated the graveyard. She looked around and saw no one. She walked slowly around the tomb, her wand at the ready. After about twenty minutes of tip-toeing through the graves, she saw the young man she was looking for. He was kneeling between two graves. The redhead was right. Potter was in Godric's Hollow. In the distance she could see the house that Lily and James Potter died in. It was rebuilt a few years ago by an "unknown benefactor." Albus Dumbledore did it, she thought. She walked closer to him to see him better. Potter had thick unruly black hair. He wore glasses that shined whenever he moved. Even though the night was cold, he wore only a pair of muggle jeans and a white shirt. Vivian noted that he looked small for a boy of seventeen. She judged his height to be about a meter and half with a couple of centimeters, give or take. He was very thin. Potter just kneeled there next to his parents' graves.
Vivian looked around and did not see anyone else. She moved silently between the graves and tombs, careful not to be noticed. No one was there. No one kept watch or guard over the Chosen One. I was right to come here tonight. She scanned the trees and surrounding wood but did not see any animals. It wouldn't be good to be surprised by an animagus. She remained crouched like that for two hours, watching Harry Potter until she noticed something by the house...
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"A deatheater!" she whispered.
Oh, I'm going to show this one... She waited a moment before she went to the door. The idiot never locked it! Ha! He must be new at this. She opened it slowly and looked around. There was only a couch in the room. The kitchen could be seen from the doorway. She checked that quickly in case the deatheater saw her. Nope, he's upstairs. She walked up quickly and quietly. There was a long hallways that led to four rooms. She checked the first three and found the bedrooms the teenagers slept in. In the fourth, she found the deatheater rummaging through a trunk, his back to her.
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Snape had made it through the house undetected. There were no wards on it except an anti-apparation one. He went through the house quickly and found the trunk he was looking for. He put up a quick charm to alert him if anyone stepped into the room. He found Potter's old school robes on the top with his books shoved underneath them. I knew he had my old Potions book! On the very bottom of the trunk, he found the items he was looking for.
He pulled out the gold ring with the cracked stone that belonged to Voldemort's grandfather, Voldemort's ruined diary, the gold cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, and a curious looking inkpot. On it, he saw the faded pictures of birds and an elaborate R stamped in it. He checked all the items to see if they would activate. None did. The items were free of Voldemort's soul.
"You finally did something right, Potter," he said in relief.
Then his wand began to vibrate.
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Vivian was still in the hallway when she saw the deatheater pull out all of Voldemort's horcruxes. She watched him as he tested each of them.
"You finally did something right, Potter," the deatheater said in a deep baritone voice.
Vivian smirked and decided to step into the room, her wand still raised. She felt the wards go off as she entered. The deatheater turned and stood quickly with his wand pointed straight at her, also.
"What's a disgusting thing like you creeping around Potter's house for, eh? Looking for Voldemort's toys?"
She sneered at the deatheater. He remained silent and still. His black eyes followed her every movement. Vivian became unnerved by the silence.
"Why are you here?" she said in a low, dangerous voice. "Answer me!"
To her amazement, the deatheater lowered his wand and put it back inside his cloak.
"I am here for the same reason as you," he answered her.
"Yeah? And what is that?"
He wasn't going to fool her. She knew he was trying to lead her into a false sense of security. She kept her wand straight and steady, and her mind clear.
"The destruction of the Dark Lord, of course."
"You expect me to believe that from a deatheater? Take off your mask, you coward."
The deatheater's eyes turned into slits of anger. His hands formed fists at his side.
"If I am such a coward, why do I risk discovery of my treachery against the Dark Lord?"
"It is more idiocy than bravery."
"No wonder your aunt despises you..."
"What did you say?" she asked, her eyes widening inadvertently.
"You are a hypocrite," he continued. "You've been hiding from the Dark Lord for years. You have shunned yourself away from everyone you've ever known. You are only here for the same selfish reason as I am. To be free."
Vivian glared at the deatheater. He had hit a sore spot. She was here for that one reason. She had even told Sanguini the same thing last night. She lowered her wand but did not pocket it. She wasn't stupid.
"Why aren't you in the Order if you are against the Dark Lord?"
"I was."
She studied the man before her. He was tall, about a meter and three-fourths. He was thin and judging by his hands, sallow skinned. She looked into his eyes again and saw him studying her, also.
"How can I trust you?"
"I know you have the locket, but I will not take it."
She nodded, but still didn't trust him. Using legelimency, she wasn't able to see anything. He was a good occlumens. Both turned their heads as they heard the door slam beneath them.
"Potter's back! Come on!"
"Ron? Hermione?" yelled Harry from the bottom floor.
There was no way out except for the window. The deatheater crossed the room and opened it.
"Ladies first," he said.
Vivian had no choice but to climb out. It was either climb out the window and onto the porch or be caught by Potter and held again as a prisoner by the Order of the Phoenix. She pocketed her wand and went through the window. The deatheater followed her out and closed it as quietly as he could. Vivian was already climbing down the porch. She jumped the remaining meter and landed on her feet. She looked up and saw the deatheater climbing down, too. She saw Potter at the window. The deatheater jumped just in time. A red streak of light narrowly missed him. He rolled on the ground, righted himself, and started sprinting. Vivian was ahead of him, but he caught up quickly. Flashes of light sped past them. The deatheater grabbed her suddenly.
Harry Potter watched as his unwelcomed visitors disapparated.
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"Let go of me!"
Vivian wrenched herself away from the deatheater's grip, her wand pointed at his chest. She could smell smoke and blood suddenly.
"Where are we!" she demanded.
"Dovetown," he replied quietly.
His black eyes looked over the destruction. Vivian turned and stared. The whole place was destroyed. Most of the houses were ashes; some fires still burned. She saw limbs scattered everywhere and bodies torn to shreds. Blood soaked the streets. The stench of death reeked. Vivian had to control her urge to vomit.
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.
"Not even a quarter of the Dark Lord's army was here tonight. I need you to write a letter to your aunt telling her about this. Tell her she needs to keep badgering Potter about Occlumency. She needs to raise an army quickly, too."
The deatheater turned and started walking north. Vivian glanced once more at the destruction and followed him.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
He looked back at her. His eyes had deadened.
"I must return to the Dark Lord."
She nodded. He stepped a few feet away from her.
"Remember to write to your aunt," he said. "And one more thing..."
He paused for a second before he added, "I want my cloak returned to me in good condition after this war is over."
She stared at him as he disapparated. Coming to her senses, she grew angry.
He toyed with me the whole time! I'll get that bastard back! I will find out who this half-blood prince is!
With that, she looked around to see where she was. A large object caught her eye. Hogwarts Castle gleamed in the moonlight about fifteen miles away.
