Chapter 8 - Kidnapping
Dumbledore had called Severus to his office not two hours after Sophia had left. As he entered, Severus knew that something was not sitting right with the wizened headmaster.
"Headmaster, what appears to be the problem?" He asked, as he sat in the seat.
"There is a dark creature within the walls Severus. And it is targeting Ms Armitage." Severus was about to scoff, when he realised that not only was Albus serious, but he was serious enough about it to have not offered a sweet to him.
"What creature are we talking about?" Severus questioned.
"I believe it is one of the true vampires." Severus couldn't help the shiver that went down his own back at the mention of them.
"You are the only person in Britain who has faced one and lived Albus. We cannot truly defend her if this is true."
"I'm not the only one Severus, but the old professional squads that dealt with them are missing."
"What do you plan to do about it Albus?"
"I'm setting up wards specifically for the room of Ms Armitage and Ms Greengrass. I'll link these to our chambers, to alert us immediately should anyone enter the room. I'm also scheduling extra patrols around the dungeons for the teachers. If she is being targeted, we'll need all the warning we can get."
All of the measures seemed to be unneeded. There was no attack as Dumbledore feared going into the last week of term. Though nights for Sophia hadn't gotten any better, the dreamless sleep was at the least stopping her from waking up after spending hours trying to sleep. It was the day before they were due to head back on the express. Sophia and Daphne were packing after the feast.
"So, what are you doing over Christmas?" Daphne asked Sophia.
"We're going to Switzerland. It's going to be nice hopefully."
"Why Switzerland?"
"I can skate, George can ski, and father holds his yearly meeting in the chalet. It also has the advantage of being quiet and out of the way, something lacking here." Daphne gave a soft laugh, knowing that Sophia was annoyed about the loudness of the Gryffindors. As they finished and got ready for bed, Sophia drank her last safe portion of dreamless sleep, before bunkering down in her last night of the term at Hogwarts.
It was around midnight when the Duke begun to make his way towards the Slytherin Common room. Although he had not yet found a safe way around the new wards that had been put up, he no longer had the time to work around it. It had to be tonight that he took the girl. He snuck around the halls, seeing few teachers around, before entering the Slytherin common room with the password that he had overheard from some older kids returning late earlier in the week. The common room was pitch black, the perfect amount of lighting for him to move in. He made his way to the door of his target, dodging the primitive and easily countered spells stopping males from accessing the female dorms. He stood outside it, feeling the power of the wards Dumbledore had placed. He opened the door, and stepped in.
It was unfortunate for him that Sophia still had to fall asleep. Although the potion induced drowsiness, his actions previously had caused her to remain restless at night, leading to that particular effect of the potion to be somewhat less effective. Sophia looked at him, and he stared straight back at her.
"Why hello there." Sophia said, seemingly cordial. Before the Duke had the chance to reply, she pulled her gun from beneath her pillow and shot three bullets into him. The sound woke up Daphne with a jump, before she reached over to her bedside table and cast a lumos spell. The two watched stunned as the bullet wounds sealed themselves.
"That, was a mistake, darling Sophia. One that will cost you dearly."
Snape's quarters were a hive of activity. The other three heads of houses were already there as Dumbledore arrived.
"Severus, we need to move quickly." Albus said, leaving no time for the others to respond as the took Snape's emergency door to the common room, many students were already gathered in confusion in the common room, both boys and girls.
"Silence!" Dumbledore boomed. The students quietened down and faced him.
"Everyone must stay calm. Professors Snape, Flitwick, and I are heading up the stairs now. The rest of you will be guided away by Professor McGonagall, whilst Professor Sprout will go and retrieve your heavier sleeping friends." Almost immediately, Sprout headed up the boys dormitory, and McGonagall struggled to maintain control of the Slytherins. Snape noticed Draco looking up the stairs to the girls dorms anxiously. Snape, Dumbledore, and Flitwick went up these steps and moved to outside the door. They burst the door open, just in time to see Daphne Greengrass go flying into the wall beside them. Sophia was backed up to the window, gun still aimed at the figure, who stilled as he felt the three enter.
"Professors, I am surprised to see you here so early. I will cut my entertainment short." He turned away from Daphne, who was drifting into unconsciousness. The three professors had their wands drawn and were about to shoot their spells when Sophia fired again. Screams were heard from the common room down the stairs. The bullet made its way into the figure's head. He reached up, and pulled out the bullet, before flicking it away.
"Oh, I do like someone with some spirit." He said mockingly. Then he moved like lightning, appearing almost instantly in front of Sophia, ripping away the gun and crushing it in his hand. He dropped the twisted metal on the floor. The figure lifted Sophia to his eye level.
"Now then, take a little nap while I deal with your teachers." Snape and Dumbledore watched as Sophia's eyes started to fall shut at the figure's demand. They dared not cast any spell whilst he held her. He turned back, holding Sophia bridal style as he smirked over at the teachers.
"Children are so easy to control. You have lost Dumbledore. She is mine now. And on Christmas Day, she will be mine forever." He laughed at them, before turning and jumping with strength through the enchanted window. The black lake started to poor into the room, and it took half a minute for Dumbledore to fix the window. By the time he had though, the Duke had already left the grounds of Hogwarts.
When the Duke finally arrived at his hidden lair, Sophia was still unconscious in his arms. He strolled through with a purpose, coming to an ancient stone bed with nordic runes around its protruding edges. He laid the unconscious girl on it, before casting a spell upon her, waking her up. Her eyes widened and she took a deep breath. The Duke let out a short, evil chuckle.
"I was wondering when you would awaken." Sophia struggled on the hard surface.
"Let me go fool, and maybe I'll kill you quickly." She tried to threaten. The Duke simply looked down at her.
"You are in no position to threaten me little girl. And if you threaten me again, I will not be kind during the rest of this process." He leaned over her face as she sneered in disgust at him.
"What process?"
"Why, you becoming my consort of course." At her horrified face, he continued. "You will become mine. I will turn you. Don't worry, you will age for some time. Can't go around with an eleven-year-old consort can I. Before I do though, I'm going to make sure you are ready for the role." The runes on the stone slab glowed an eerie green as the Duke stared down at Sophia. A scream released itself from her lips as she began to thrash violently on the ancient stone. The screaming stopped as suddenly as it had started. The glow shimmered away as the Duke moved Sophia's body to sit her up on the slab.
"So, my dear, are you ready to learn about our kind?" The Duke asked, the curiousness in his time tempered by his sinister air. Sophia looked up at the Duke, with a look in her eyes that had not been present before.
"Yes, my Lord, I am ready to learn." The Duke took her hand and led her deeper into the catacombs, Sophia smiling eagerly all the way.
In Dumbledore's office, the aged headmaster was holding his head in his hands amidst the cacophony that was the argument between the heads. The rest of the Slytherin's had been moved in the great hall for the night, with most of the younger years too shaken by the nights events to return to their own dormitories. Eventually, even the venerable wizard could take no more of what was happening in his office.
"Silence!" He roared out. The heads of houses stopped simply because of the shock that Dumbledore had lost his temper. "You are all trying to find someone to blame for our own failures. And now because of our failures, a young girl is now in grave danger." The four people in the office waited for Dumbledore's explanation to come forth from him. "The person who took young Ms Armitage is known only as the Duke. He and his vampires terrorised Britain and the UK for centuries, including during the war against Voldemort."
"Then why did we never hear about him?" McGonagall interrupted.
"Why else Minerva, it was covered up of course." Snape said in his typical deadpan, as if explaining it to a first year. McGonagall looked furious at Snape's tone being directed towards her.
"Severus is quite right Minerva. It was decided by the ministry that the people did not need to know about the vampires attacking at the same time as Voldemort and his death eaters. The attacks were then blamed on death eaters whilst a ministry task force wiped them out. Or so it seemed." Dumbledore let out a sigh. "Regardless, we can do nothing more tonight. In the morning I will contact Amelia Bones from the DMLE. Severus I want you to go pick up Mr Armitage first thing tomorrow morning. Explaining this situation will take delicacy, so please don't mention any details to him whilst you are picking him up. Minerva, take a look at how we can improve the safety wards around the castle. I'm not happy with the Duke being able to come in and out as easily as he was. Filius, Pomona, I want both of you to ride the Hogwarts Express back with the children. I will take no chances until he is dealt with, and that includes with the children."
The next morning, Richard Armitage was waiting for his son outside of his large abode in the countryside. His plans for the next few weeks were simply to go on holiday with his children, relaxing in the chalet in Switzerland. The only break in that was the meeting he held every Christmas. But as he continued to wait under the overcast sky that was already threatening to turn to rain he noticed a dark clad figure making his way towards them. Thomas stepped out of the car that was waiting just off to Richard's left hand side.
"How did he get inside the gates?" Thomas asked.
"No idea. But I think we need to increase the number of guards on them. And I'll be talking to the current ones later. Until then though, I will see what he wants. Be ready if it goes south." Richard said, walking towards the figure.
"Mr Armitage. I need you to come with me immediately." The man informed him as Richard arrived.
"And why should I be going with you for any reason?"
"My name is Severus Snape and I'm your daughter's head of house at Hogwarts. She's in danger and I need to take you to the headmaster immediately." Severus handed over a strange object that Richard had never seen before, but his mind was merely that he had mentioned his daughter in danger. The fact that he had mentioned the school merely confirmed his legitimacy. Richard took the object and turned around.
"Thomas, take George straight to the chalet. Do not stop for anything." Thomas nodded at Richard, and immediately headed inside. Richard turned to Severus. "So how does this work?" Severus grasped the object with Richard.
"Dairy Milk." And with that phrase, the two disappeared from Wiltshire.
On the Hogwarts Express, Daphne and Draco were sitting sombrely in a carriage. Whilst Draco hadn't been in the room at the time, Daphne still hadn't gotten over what had happened just the previous night, and did not say a word to anyone on her way to the train. Draco was sitting opposite, and he had been just as quiet as she had been. At least, until Hermione decided to come inside.
"Hey you guys. What are you doing for Christmas? Where's Sophia?" The questions just bombarded out of Hermione's mouth, and she seemed perturbed at the lack of response from either of her two Slytherin friends. Hermione chose to sit beside Daphne. "You didn't have an argument, did you?" Hermione asked, and she would have continued had Daphne not decided to get up and leave the carriage.
"Now you've done it Hermione." Draco told her angrily.
"I don't understand what I've done. Where is Sophia anyway?" Draco looked at Hermione oddly.
"You don't know yet?" Draco asked her, and upon her shaking head he scowled slightly. "Of course they wouldn't tell anyone." Draco leaned closer to Hermione and began to whisper conspiratorially. "Sophia was kidnapped last night. Maybe Daph can give you more details, but she was taken from their dorm last night. Slytherin spent the night in the Great Hall."
"Does anyone know anything about it?" Hermione asked him in the same low whisper.
"I doubt it. I just hope they get her back safely before anything happens. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and find Daphne. She's taking it quite badly."
Back in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, the esteemed headmaster was already having answers demanded by two very angry people. One was the head of the DMLE, who was insisting that she should have been brought in as soon as it had become an issue. The other was a very upset parent who had very nearly lost his temper at the old man more times than he could count. Severus Snape was the only head of house present, but he had wisely stayed out of the main conversations as much as he could.
"Headmaster, I cannot state how much you messed up these so-called protections around the girl." Amelia Bones stated calmly. Richard Armitage on the other hand had no problem in making his displeasure known.
"I would agree with that, only adding fucking royally!"
"Please, please. We can discuss how we could have improved things after we have Ms Armitage back in safe hands." Dumbledore said, somehow keeping his calm at the tirade being launched at him.
"I'd hardly call your school safe hands." Richard said, before finally sitting down.
"So, if this Duke person is the man behind it, what do you propose headmaster?" Amelia inquired.
"The old vampire hunting squad, can you re-mobilise it Amelia?"
"That would be difficult. Three quarters of the squad died in the last war. That leaves three alive." Richard interrupted Amelia before she could finish.
"But what about the other three?" Amelia gave Richard a sympathetic look.
"Two are in a vegetative state, and the other is in prison." She turned back to Dumbledore. "They will be of no use to us."
"You don't mean the Longbottoms were part of the group?" Dumbledore asked her, astounded that members of the Order had been part of it without telling him. The DMLE head gave a wry smile.
"Apparently there were things that even you didn't know about the war Albus. Regardless, the squad is gone. The best thing is to have a quick infiltration of wherever he happens to be, and steal her back."
"What about the one in prison, can't we use them?" Richard asked the question. It was at this point that Snape reminded everyone of his presence.
"I'm sure that anyone would rather fight a vampire than stay in Azkaban." He said snidely.
"Regardless, I wouldn't trust him. The traitor stays where he is." As Amelia said it, Albus widened his eyes.
"Amelia, you don't mean that the last member was-" Amelia cut in.
"Yes Dumbledore. The leader of the group was Sirius Black."