Fleur tried to control her nerves as she approached the rather imposing castle.

Her mother wouldn't tolerate any show of weakness.

How she was glad that her Aunts had helped her prepare, though the dress Aunt Lenore had given was a tad more risqué than she was used to.

It was just her luck that when her father had finally sent her to visit her mother in Austria she would be thrown in the middle of a war in Wallachia.

"Fleur." her mother looked at her, her red gaze disapproving, as it normally was ever since she had arrived.

"Yes, Mother."

Queen Carmilla looked her daughter up and down, judging, measuring, calculating, before she scoffed.

"Remember to keep a neutral face, and good posture, most of the Vampire Nobility is already here, along with Dracula himself and his youngest son, we of Styria must not show any weakness, this is not Paris, and not a meeting of your father's spoiled friends, are we clear?"

Fleur answered resolutely, "We are." she hid her disapproval of her Mother calling France's Vampire Nobility 'spoiled'.

"Good, as I said, his youngest son is there, if rumors are to be believed, he takes after his father more than his mother, which could mean he likes the…Intellectual types…like you, and your body might just be enough to turn his gaze."

Fleur frowned, "Isn't he grieving his mother?"

Carmilla's eyes narrowed, but a glance from Aunt Morana dissuaded her to merely scoff, "Probably, what Dracula saw in a human is beyond me," she seemed to think for a moment, "perhaps, this could work in our favor, he will be emotionally vulnerable, approach him, get close to him, seduce him if needed, he is now the heir of Dracula and having him on our side would be very advantageous."

Carmilla considered her daughter for a moment. "Use your abilities as required, but don't be too obvious."

"Yes, Mother."

Their army, dressed in polished armor, finally arrived at the gates, where Fleur could already see other vampires, from all around the world, gathered.

Fleur looked down at her dress, black with silver accents, it was low cut and tighter than usual, but the skirt was long, at least the cleavage was covered by a semi-transparent fabric, she felt more comfortable in simpler dresses, or even light armor, but today, they were meant to impress.

How she missed her father's library in France.

Her mother walked in as if she owned the place, her Aunts followed her, but not before giving her looks of sympathy, Aunt Lenore even gave her a pat on the shoulder.

She walked a bit faster to keep up, noticing most of the army stayed outside, only a small escort followed them in.

The entrance hall was enormous, enough to house a small village, this castle put even her mother's castle in Austria to shame in the size department.

Not that Fleur would ever voice that.

Soon, her attention was called to the occupants, vampires from all over the world, hailing from many cultures and periods.

Japanese, Norse, Indian, Turkish, and of course, the more local ones.

One of them, who looked to be a Viking from one of the sagas, Godbrand, she heard him being called, looked lecherously at her, before her mother dissuaded him with a glare.

Fleur was surprised to find herself grateful for her mother.

There were murmured greetings or nods of acknowledgment, and also many curious glances in her direction.

The atmosphere was as tense as it was excited, and Fleur hadn't even needed to use her abilities to read that.

Instead, she focused on calming herself while her mother did 'small talk' with the other Vampire leaders.

The Viking man looked at her again, and seemed to be about to address her when the room quietened, Fleur turned to the stairs and say why.

A dozen or so black-armored guards were descending, red eyes glowing under their hoods, and behind them, Fleur saw Dracula for the first time.

He was tall and imposing, and carried with him a presence unlike any she had felt.

Fleur tried to get a passive read on him, trying to look at his eyes, and she held back a gasp, a mere moment was enough.

Pain, so much pain, and anger too, with a touch of madness, it was almost overwhelming.

However, her attention was called away by who was walking behind him, the so called Prince of Vampires.

Black hair, just as Dracula's, though shorter, the face had softer features, and no facial hair, it was, however, the eyes that called more attention.

A bright green at the corners, but redder as they got to the pupil, and they too, carried much pain, loneliness, and other things she couldn't identify.

Unlike his father, he was dressed in armor, a black half plate, and mail and in his hip, unlike most of the other European vampires, was an eastern sword, a katana, if Fleur remembered right.

Strange.

He was followed by two humans, a bald, dark-skinned one and another with strangely grey hair, but who looked young, she could feel the Dark Magic in them.

Dracula took center stage in front of his throne, his son at his right, and silence reigned in the hall.

The King of Vampires's gaze swept through the room, many of the vampires couldn't meet it, but Fleur stood strong.

Dracula extended his hand.

"My Generals, we fight a good war, when they killed my wife, humans proved they do not deserve Wallachia, and thus we shall take it from them, and it shall become our seat."

He closed his fist, "We shall scour them from the land. Using the Night Hordes, creatures of Terror humanity once drove away, perhaps…" he glanced to this right, "I shall give them Wallachia after it."

Dracula stopped for a moment, and Fleur glanced at his son, for the first time seeing some doubt in his eyes, though it was well hidden.

"My son, Hadrian," the young man winced, and Fleur was pretty sure the grey haired human smirked, " along with Issac and Hector, will present me with plans for our next steps today."

Dracula turned, but Godbrand apparently didn't agree.

"Let me get this straight, you're putting this entire war effort, under the command of a child and two humans?"

"Hector and Isaac are not guided by thirst, unlike most here, and despite being humans, and this being a war to eradicate their kind, they are still loyal to me."

Some vampires present showed discomfort at this, and so did Fleur, to eliminate all humans in Wallachia, an actual genocide.

And her father had once told her that Lord Dracula had mellowed out after finding his human wife.

"And as for my son, his capabilities speak for themselves."

Godbrand didn't seem content, and Fleur thought his big mouth would get him in trouble.

"Speak for themselves? A pampered kid who hasn't even-urk!"

Fleur blinked, even her superhuman senses had trouble processing what had happened, Hadrian flashed red and suddenly he was there, grabbing Godbrand by the neck and raising him a foot off the ground, the vampire himself seemed the most shocked by this, his eyes wide and hands uselessly trying to pull Hadrian's hand from his neck."

"I may be young compared to you, Godbrand, but don't doubt me, even for a moment, it won't end well for you…" he released the man, who fell to his knees and began taking deep breaths.

Hadrian looked around the Hall, "This is the war many of you have been waiting for, there's no time for useless questions, we must stand united, only then will everyone enjoy the… spoils." he looked down at the vampire at his feet.

"You are one of Dracula's Generals, act like one."

The Viking looked in the young man's eyes for a moment, before nodding.

Hadrian nodded back, and turned to look at his father, as did Fleur. Dracula was watching the situation coldly, before turning his back on them and walking back inside the castle, the two humans, Issac and Hector, exchanged glances, before looking at Harry, whose shoulders sagged minutely, before he too began walking back.

Though not before looking around the hall again, and Fleur had the impression his eyes lingered on her for an instant.

She looked at her mother, who looked thoughtful, before turning to Fleur and nodding at her.

It was a day later, that Fleur met Hadrian in person, she had asked about the Alchemy Lab and was guided to a large, expansive room full of advanced equipment and books.

Many of those pieces of equipment looked decades beyond almost anything she had seen, only Monsieur Flamel's laboratory compared to it.

Fleur looked around, amazed at the variety and quality of it, and some of it seemed to have been recently used.

"Can I help you?"

Fleur did not jump as she heard his voice behind her, no matter his stupid, if faded, grin, she hadn't expected anyone to be here.

She cleared her throat, holding herself back from glaring at him.

"Er, Hello, Hadrian." he grimaced, "I was wondering if-"

"Harry."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Harry, please."

Fleur got really curious about the story behind that, but she wasn't close to Hadri-Harry to ask, so she merely nodded.

"Sure, Harry, as I was saying, I was wondering if I could look around the lab. You see, I practice Alchemy myself and this lab is…well…" she gestured around them, "Incredible." her accent slipped a bit at the end there.

A wistful, sad smile came over his lips, and his eyes softened, they were almost entirely green now, "Father built it, but it was…Mother, and me, who used it the most."

He looked at her, deep green eyes as penetrating as the sharpest blade, looking for…something. Honesty? Sincerity?

Whatever it was, he seemed to have found it, because he smiled, and Fleur couldn't help but notice how handsome that made him at the moment, even if, as she had been noticing more and more, his expressions were faded, lessened.

"Would you like a tour…eh…"

Fleur blushed as she realized her gaffe, "Oh! Where are my manners, Fleur, Fleur Delacour." she curtsied, and he inclined his head to the side, similar to a dog.

Fleur fought the thought of thinking it cute.

"French? I had thought you were Carmilla's daughter?"

Fleur rolled her eyes, "I am, my father is Jean Jacques DeLacour"

Recognition filled Harry's eyes, "Ah, the Vampire Lord of Paris, I heard of him."

Fleur nodded, "Yes, he hasn't come because…"

"The Werewolves are acting up, yes, I heard that too, was about to ask father to let me go there, before…" he stopped himself.

"I am sorry." He turned to look at her, some red in his eyes, but after a few moments, they were green again, and he looked…surprised, shocked even.

"You truly are, aren't you?"

Fleur had an inkling of how he did it, it appeared she wasn't the only Empath around.

"Yes, I am, look…" she didn't know why she was going to tell him this, maybe she needed someone she could talk to that she knew wouldn't be on her mother's side, or someone close to her age.

Maybe she was just naive, like her mother said almost daily.

But at that moment, Fleur did not care.

"My mother and I…don't see eye to eye, but me and Father, well, I…love him and just the thought of him being gone…"

Harry closed his eyes, and Fleur felt some of his pain bleed through, she had the urge to comfort him, but held back.

"Thank you." he turned his back to her and went towards one of the large pieces of equipment.

Fleur stood there, confused.

"Well?" she knew what he was doing, putting on a mask, but she would respect it, "Don't you want a tour of the lab, maybe you can even help me with some experiments."

Fleur followed after him, maybe she could help improve his mood too.

They stood in one of the Castle's many, many balconies, overlooking the city of Targoviste, most of it in ruin, some of it still burning, if she focused, she could hear the screams.

Fleur did not like cruelty, she didn't feel one way or another about humans, had barely interacted with them, but this wanton destruction seemed too much, needless.

She hid those emotions well as she came here with Harry, the last week had been revealing, and sometimes even fun, his mood varied, mostly melancholic, brooding, but often, a refreshing pleasant attitude surfaced, dry wit, humor, sarcasm, and even kindness too.

Fleur had more than once wished she had met him when his mother was alive.

She was sure he had been far more carefree and happy.

"The man who killed her escaped, you know?"

She turned to look at him, his face cold and focused on the city, no empathy in his eyes, cruelty, and anger were there instead.

He really looked like his father now, more than ever.

"The priest?" She had heard the story, as had everyone else by now.

"A bishop now." a mockery of a smile twisted his lips, and Fleur hated it, she much preferred his real ones.

"He is in Greviste now, not too far from here, the Night Creatures could have gotten him, but…"

"You want to do it yourself."

He looked at her, irises blood red, his hands squeezing the railing.

"Yes."

Fleur sighed, she would go with him, she did not know why, but she knew she should.

"What about the Cathedral here?" she pointed at one of the few intact buildings, easily the largest one left in the city, surrounded by a hastily made palisade.

"Ah, that," he snorted, "A practical way of getting them all together.

They think their walls protect them, that their priests can help…but, the real ones left months ago, or even a few days before, the ones left are the archbishop's sycophants, corrupt little men who use other's faith to enrich themselves, to feel superior…" He smiled that cruel smile again, it looked wrong in his face, Harry looked out of place here, leading a genocidal campaign, speaking of slaughtering humans for pleasure. Fleur felt like it was a waste of his potential.

She also privately thought his Mother, the Lady Lisa, the medic, wouldn't approve.

"And we, are going to make a visit to them, bastards have taken most of what's left of the city guard to protect themselves." he shook his head, "Typical, ain't going to help them, though."

[LINE BREAK]

Fleur had never seen Harry truly fight before.

She wouldn't be afraid to admit it was terrifying and weirdly attractive to behold.

He moved with the grace of a predator, the quickness of the wind, his sword, a katana with a red blade, cutting everything in it's path.

Muramasa was it's name, and it's cruel aura seemed to be relishing in the bloodshed.

Fleur followed along with her Bardiche, quickly disposing of the guards Harry didn't take care of, they had early on left his 'guard' behind, not that he seemed to need it.

A veritable army was waiting for them inside the palisade, she had counted over two hundred dead humans, all of them soldiers, before they reached the gates.

Fleur frowned, solid iron, maybe they should try the barred windows.

Harry had other ideas.

He swiped his hand over his blade, and it caught on fire, a vermilion flame encircled it, and then Harry cut the air several times, blades of fire hit the gates, deep, burning cuts appearing on it, before Harry thrust his palm out, a shockwave of magic hitting the large gates and breaking them in several pieces.

Harry jumped inside, and Fleur followed, Bardiche cutting a guard in half.

More guards, quickly disposed of, until…

"And there they are!"

"Back, demon!"

"Oh, no, they aren't here yet, priest, they come after, to eat what's left!"

The man, middle aged and balding, pissed his pants.

"Mercy!"

It was the wrong thing to ask.

Well, at least Harry was quick.

He kicked down a door, and found his prize.

"Ah, if it isn't the archbishop himself, the leader of all these cunts!"

Well, this should be interesting.

The man, a fat, little, terrified excuse of one actually, was crawling towards one of the doors, but Harry flashed to be in front of him, making the man fall back, Muramasa's point touching his neck"

"Please, we, we didn't know…"

Harry ground his teeth and snarled.

"And that makes it alright, what manner of priest are you? Do you carry around that book as only as an accessory? She was innocent, she was helping people, taking care of them" his voice broke, but the terrified archbishop didn't notice.

"And you burned her, why? Answer me!"

The man pissed himself, stuttering, "It, It, It wasn't my idea, it was all him, the Bishop, he didn't even consult me, he just, just did it!"

An idea seemed to come for him, "I-I know where he is, I can tell you!"

Harry laughed, not the beautiful melodic laugh she had heard before, but a cruel, cold one she disliked immediately.

"Oh, I know where he is, I am going there, as soon as I am finished here."

"Mercy, please!"

A snort.

"You're asking the wrong guy."

A flash of red, and the man's head rolled in the ground, an expression of shock and fear frozen in it.

Fleur gave Harry a moment as he recomposed himself.

"Harry?"

He turned to look at her, eyes softening.

"Nearly done, mon ami."

He kicked down the door the man was trying to crawl to.

And froze.

Fleur followed after him, and instantly got anxious.

It was a hospital, hastly made, but organized, by what she could tell.

And many of the beds were occupied, there were even children.

Fleur didn't know what to do, she looked at Harry, but his eyes were as if looking past it, as if he was seeing something else.

Harry was decided to slaughter every single human in that city, he had held himself back during the first few days, his anger not there yet, sometimes he had even questioned as to why.

And then he remembered seeing his mother's burned remains, the words of the false priests, the accusations against her, and it easily came to him.

It was so easy, cutting through those soldiers, the priests, the archbishop, yet, Harry couldn't fully enjoy it, it was hollow, it felt like he was pretending, distant, not himself.

Because pretending helped, pretending that this violence helped him heal, that it dulled the pain.

He much preferred spending the day with Fleur in the lab, that dulled the loneliness, that made him remember better days, when his father wasn't a monster of vengeance and mad hatred, when his brother hadn't left, when his mother was still around.

But that was weakness, he couldn't let his father down like Alucard had, he knew that had hurt him, and he couldn't bear for his father to hurt more, no matter how much he enjoyed her smiles, her laugh, or the look on her eyes when he showed her something new.

And then he kicked down that door.

"Hadrian, remember, the first step is triage…"

"Beds not too close, but not too far apart, some will need privacy…"

"Washing hands with soap and water…"

"And this is how you suture a wound…"

"But mother, I am not human, how can I…"

"You do not need to be human to care, my son, to be better…"

"Hadrian, sometimes people do bad things when they are in pain, but we must strive to be better, especially those of us who have power…"

"Please don't hurt them, they are innocent!"

Harry got out of his memories to see a middle-aged woman, arms wide in front of him, with a bloody apron, a medic.

She was crying.

"What?" he asked faintly.

"Please, I, I know what they did, but these are innocents, they had nothing to do with it, and the children…"

His mother would be disgusted with the monster he had become.

"Leave." He gestured to Fleur to stop, though he knew it wouldn't be needed.

The woman seemed unable to believe what she had heard.

"I said leave, take your patients and go! Go west, near the walls, I will…clear a path…"

He did not see the absolutely gobsmacked face Fleur was making.

Unwilling to test her luck, the woman nodded

The windows broke, people screamed, and Harry sighed.

"Well, well, look at that, it seems you did leave some for us after all, my Prince!"

Godbrand didn't look too pleased to only have the sick and wounded though.

"Hmpf, not good quality, but eh, still half a city to take, so let's start here."

"No." Harry's single, strong command cut through the chatter, the warriors who accompanied the Viking looked confused, though the vampire himself was beginning to look furious.

"What!?"

"I said. No. We'll let them leave the city, that's an order."

"What kind of fucking order is that, kid? You just slaughtered some three hundred of them before coming here, and now, what? I would understand if you wanted to capture them, but letting them go, what's the big plan?"

Harry closed his eyes, and Fleur gripped her Bardiche.

"The plan is for you to go the fuck away, there are still guards around here, attack them, or those humans outside, I don't care, just leave."

Harry knew it wouldn't be so easy.

"Well, as a General, I disagree with this stupid plan, now let me have my meal, hmm, the young ones, not too much blood, but tasty…"

Harry lost his patience.

"What part of leave did you miss?"

"The part that I care of what you say, your daddy isn't here to protect you, now get out of my-" he stopped when he saw Harry raise his sword.

"Hmpf, that trick won't work with me twice kid, but come on, show good old Godbrand a good fight!"

"So be it."

Harry flashed forward, aiming for the neck, only for his sword to be blocked by an axe, though the red blade cut halfway through the rather thick piece of steel, earning a scowl from it's user.

The man tried to kick Harry away, but he jumped back faster, evading.

"Not so easy now I am expecting it, huh?"

Harry smirked.

He flashed again, this time with a shorter slash, that was blocked by the Viking Vampire's sword, releasing sparks.

Three times Harry struck, and three times he was blocked, Godbrand laughed, and tried to retaliate.

Only to hit air as Harry flashed behind him and slashed.

The Viking's head rolled off his shoulders, doing an arc in the air.

Harry turned just in the to see Fleur cutting one of the other Viking vampires' head.

Fleur had never expected Harry would change his mind like that, and let the people leave.

That was all going well until that lecher showed up, and Fleur wasn't surprised they started fighting.

And then Harry decapitated him, and Fleur finished some of the few men stupid enough to try to interfere.

"You okay?" he asked, and Fleur couldn't help the impression he was…lightened, less burdened.

"Yes, Harry, you?"

He laughed.

"I just screwed myself, I…need to get these people out of here, and then…" he looked uncertain for a moment," then I will speak to my father and stop this madness."

He looked at Fleur again, and Fleur smiled at the gentle look in his eyes, the one that she only had seen when he was looking at her.

"It's best if you leave me, Fleur, just…tell them I ordered you to not interfere, you are smart enough they would believe it, Carmilla-"

"Fuck Carmilla!"

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"I never agreed to all this Harry, and I like to think we became friends, my mother, as you must have noticed, cares little for me, and I want to help you!"

Harry smiled at her, and she blushed.

She was smart enough to know they would need a plan B.

[LINE BREAK]

Lord Dracula was in his Library, a large, very powerful transmission mirror, by what Fleur could tell, was being used to look onto a city under attack by Night Creatures.

Hector and Isaac were there, and Fleur was glad to see then nod at Harry, by what she knew, they were the closest thing he had to friends and even mentors.

"Father." Harry was looking different today, his half-plate was one adorned with silver accents, his cloak with silver trim.

He also was carrying another sword, Masamune, with a silver-blue blade, and an aura of justice.

Dracula half turned to his son. "You killed Godbrand."

"He challenged me."

Dracula nodded, "But you did it to save humans."

Harry sighed, "They were children, the old, sick and wounded, not a threat, they are not to blame for-."

Suddenly Dracula was on Harry's face, Fleur hadn't even seen him move.

"ALL OF THEM ARE TO BLAME! "

Everyone but Harry, who remained stoic, was taken aback.

"They are not, you know that." Harry circled his father, his back to the mirror, and Fleur discreetly followed suit, he was playing into her plan without knowing.

Harry waved his hand in the direction of the Mirror and Fleur was surprised when she felt Harry's magic overcome his father's on the it, though she was sure Dracula hadn't tried to stop it.

The Mirror changed, now showing another city, and a bald priest preaching to a congregation of starved people with torn and dirty clothes.

"This one is to blame, this fucker had mother burned, he and his corrupt idiots!"

Dracula looked at the man, terrible, terrible anger burned in his eyes.

"Go then, kill him, make him suffer, make him regret having ever set eyes on your mother, and opening his mouth to accuse her, to order her to be-" he stopped himself.

Harry nodded and gestured to Fleur, who gripped her Bardiche and prepared herself.

But Dracula wasn't finished.

"And then you come back here, and you shall lead our armies as they scour their kind from the land, kill every single one of them…"

"Father, no." Hector and Isaac exchanged glances.

"No?"

"Vengeance is one thing, but this is genocide! Mother would never-"

The slap resounded through the room.

"Your Mother, is not here, because of them, your mercy" the disgust in his voice as he said the last word was palpable, "is misplaced."

Dracula considered Harry for a moment, he turned back and walked a few steps, his back to Harry.

"Are you going to stand against me as well, Harry? Will both of my sons abandon me in this way?"

Harry looked unsure for the first time, "Father, you know I would never, but-but you've abandoned yourself, look what you're doing!" he gestured around them, before continuing.

"She was my Mother, I love her, I loved everything about her, she taught me so much, and I love you too, and seeing you like this…a shadow of your former self, Mother wouldn't be happy, you know she wouldn't…"

Dracula turned and looked his youngest son in the eye.

"And what will you do, Hadrian Vlad Ţepeş?"

Harry placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, and positioned his legs into a stance.

"For the love I hold for you and mother, I will stop you, father!"

Dracula for a moment truly looked at his son, and his eyes softened, something Fleur hadn't seen in his eyes before came to the front.

Love. Tenderness. Care.

But then it was gone, and Fleur began enacting her plan as father and son stared off.

"You will try."

Fleur held her Bardiche with one hand, while the other began subtly writing runes in the mirror, Harry's magic accepting hers.

The one named Hector saw it, they exchanged glances, and she saw a measure of respect in his eyes, he and the other, Isaac stepped away from the confrontation about to happen.

"I taught this lesson to Alucard, I didn't think you would need to learn it too."

Even with his back to her, Fleur could imagine Harry's smirk.

"Mother always said we were birds of a feather."

Harry flashed forward.

A loud clang reverberated around the room, the shockwave threw papers around, Fleur's long silver hair was swept back by the wind.

She heard Hector gasp, and saw the look of surprise on Dracula's face.

Harry's blade was blocking his father's long nails, they were struggling and she could see Harry being pushed back.

"I-I did take after you the most, father."

Dracula refocused and sighed, "Not enough, my son."

With a single move, he pushed Harry away, making him fly several meters back before landing in front of Fleur, she could see his arms tremble.

That struggle had tired him.

Dracula was too strong, Harry may have been the second most powerful person in this Castle, but his father's power dwarfed his, he couldn't do it alone, and Fleur knew her help wouldn't change much.

There was one other person, though, maybe together, they could win, and she knew she had made the right choice when asking the Mirror to locate him.

She saw Hector and Isaac looking at her, Hector looked conflicted, but Isaac nodded subtly. The Mirror chimed, and Fleur saw Dracula's eyes widening minutely at the image it projected.

"Harry, trust me." she whispered.

He didn't have time to react before she embraced him from behind and with a powerful push of her legs, threw them both through the mirror.

They fell on the ground raising dust, her Bardiche clattered on the ground, but she had Harry, who looked confused.

"Fleur. What the hell?"

"Harry, you didn't look like-"

"Harry!?"

A male voice interrupted them, and Fleur knew she had succeeded.

She looked up into the golden eyes of Harry's older brother, Alucard.

He wasn't alone though, a scruffy-looking man and a redheaded Speaker were with him.

Good. They would need all the help they could get.

A/N: This is not betaed and very rough, just something I wrote after I finished watching Castlevania on Netflix, Honorversefan suggest I posted it here.
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