Feel my Fangs
Chapter Nine - Choking Dumbledore
"Funny," said Harry. He was silently pacing round and round Madam Paddington's Shop for Creams and Powders.
"When a witch doesn't want a door to show, the door does not show," Harry sighed. "Clever piece of magic."
Harry could sense that there was a door, but the magical concealment was flawless. He debated just blasting the walls away but he would undoubtedly attract the attention of customers and owner alike.
Harry cringed at what Paula had said of him not long ago: "Foolish child, you do not have a inkling of subtlety in your entire body!"
"Change of plans," Harry murmured to himself. "Operation Stealing from Lucius is officially on."
He walked back onto Diagon Alley and looked for the prominent blond head.
Spotting Malfoy walking quickly out of Diagon alley, Harry hurried after him. When Lucius found himself in a particularly crowded area, Harry brushed by him and gingerly replaced the phial Lucius had in his pocket with one of approximate size and weight.
"Easy," Harry grinned. He took out the charms book he'd accio'd the other day and unshrank it. He flipped through a page looking for a copy charm. There didn't seem to be any.
"Guess you can't photocopy a potion," Harry concluded. "No wonder potions masters are so popular, even if it's Snape, the ugly git."
Harry ran after Lucius. Using his vampire influence, he implanted into Lucius' mind that the batch of the potion had been contaminated. This way, Harry covered his tracks and would get Lucius to return to the cream shop to get another potion, giving Harry another opportunity to snoop.
He apparated away with a small POP.
Back at Sythe's fortress, Harry asked Paula to test the potion. She raised an eyebrow when Harry just happened to mention that he'd stolen it from Lucius Malfoy without the Death Eater realizing it. She kept her thoughts to herself on that.
Paula took one look at "Madam Paddington's Potion for Tummy Pain" and stared at Harry, daring him to say it was a joke.
"It's suspicious," Harry shrugged.
"An insult to my mastery," Paula complained, but she headed to her labs nonetheless. Harry followed her to her labs but got kicked out on account of his loud breathing.
Two hours later, after ingredient mixing, diagnostic spells and an interesting formation of pink smoke, Paula came out of the labs.
"Harry you idiotic child," Paula started. "That potion is for—"
"Yes?" Harry eagerly prompted.
"It's a potion against infidelity, you doofus brain!" she said exasperatedly.
Harry stood very straight. "Infidelity…what do you mean?" he asked. Then it clicked. "You mean, Narcissa's…"
"Yes, this is to protect the lady's virtue. Only the husband will be able to make use of conjugal rights," Paula slowly explained, as to an especially dumb child. "The wizard must be suspicious. I fear the lady's poor lover is going to lose a very vital part of himself once the potion is administrated…"
"The shop's owner talked about blood protection against intruders," Harry bit his lip. "I thought she was talking about protecting their blood against vampires."
"Actually, this potion is quite similar to that blood-intolerance potion against vampires," Paula said. "The basic idea is the same. The individual carries a substance in her or his blood that is activated by a specific intruder, be it a vampire or a clandestine lover. The intruder is then annihilated, terminated, finito, caput."
"HA, so I wasn't completely wrong!" Harry pointed out. "This could be a preliminary potion that Snape is going to use to test out the potency of his own potion!"
"When you get to my age, you will see that not everything is connected," Paula rolled her eyes. "You really should be more relaxed. Well, I cannot dillydally all day long now, ta-ta."
The old vampire left without another word.
"Liar, who sleeps with two blood-sucking pets under her bed, tons of wards around her rooms and a decoy in the bed?" Harry muttered under his breath. "Paranoia is overrated, my behind, you old hag."
Harry headed for the door and looked in the hallway.
"Screw the potion, I'm going to get some lunch," Harry said. "Where's the other old geezer now? Lord Sythe, Mister Head of the Great Vampire council, ugly old git…"
Harry muttered to himself all the way to the kitchens. The house-elves were a bit frightened by him. "Scary Master Harry!" they whispered amongst themselves.
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Harry was sitting pow-wow style and facing Voldemort. The Dark Lord was also sitting on the ground, his legs crossed.
"Such a picturesque moment," Harry thought dispassionately. "He looks more disturbing than usual."
With a wave of his wand, Harry dispelled the image of Voldemort. He flipped through a chapter called "Believable Illusions" in his charms textbook.
"Illusioni Veritable," he said with a jab of his wand. Nothing happened.
"The jab is right, pronunciation is correct," Harry muttered while searching his book. "What am I doing wrong? Ah. I see."
Harry repeated the spell but now he pointed the wand at himself. He blinked a couple of times. And Voldemort was standing in front of him. The Dark Lord was holding a cupcake and a glass of milk. The glass broke and the milk spilt all over the floor.
Harry chuckled. Voldemort turned into Snape. Harry flipped Snape around before sending the man crashing through the window. The wind blew hard through the broken shards. There was no sign of a body.
"Finite incantatem illlusioni," Harry said. The room turned to normal. The window was repaired. The wind stopped. It was as if the milk had never been spilt; no body had ever been thrown through a window. Harry scratched his chin.
"So the first illusion spell modifies the air particles so that an image is formed," Harry concluded. "The second illusion spell modifies photoreceptors in the eyes of an individual so that one will see what the caster wants."
Harry cast an image of a person being mauled to death by a hypogriff. Harry smiled nastily.
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It's not always easy to be Albus Dumbledore. He has to look over a magical school, placate the ministry and deal with a madman. For the past months or so, he had to search for one missing Harry Potter and gather information about dark creature activities.
"Werewolves and vampires are restless," Dumbledore mentioned to the portrait of a past headmaster. "It is my desire that this restlessness can be channelled into a contract with the Order."
"I'll see what I can do," the man in the portrait said and disappeared from view.
"A messenger hidden amongst a portrait of past headmasters?" said a voice coming from the shadow of a bookcase. "Clever. Hiding in plain view is still the best approach."
Dumbledore bolted around, his old fingers wrapped around his raised wand.
"Now, now Dumbledore," said the voice. "You were never this nervous before."
"In these times, it is wise to be careful," Dumbledore said. "One can never know who is who and what is what in these days of war."
"But your prowess at deciphering illusion is impeccable, infamous in fact," the voice sneered, "You've caught me plenty during my roaming days at Hogwarts."
"Which weren't that long ago," Dumbledore said. He lowered his wand at the sight of the person sitting on the plush couch. "Harry, it is you. We've been looking for you."
"And I for you," Harry smiled disturbingly.
Dumbledore sent a binding spell at Harry.
"You won't catch me," Harry said as he bent his head. The spell flew past him.
"Attrapas Lerifress," Dumbledore waved his wand once again. "Refurigues Lores!"
Harry moved as if he anticipated where all the spells were going to be sent.
"I have absolutely no idea what those spells were," Harry said conversationally to Hogwart's headmaster.
"You really shouldn't have left school then," Dumbledore replied.
"Oh, but I don't think that Flitwick covers that type of spells," Harry said as he threw a book in front of himself, blocking a particularly nasty cutting curse. "Dangerous spells you're throwing around, Dumbledore."
"My boy, you are testing the limits of my patience," Dumbledore lashed out another curse, which Harry was unable to avoid or block. He was hit full blast and crumpled to the ground.
Dumbledore walked over to Harry's body and was about to levitate him when the old headmaster was hit from behind by a simple "stupefy."
Harry looked at Harry the decoy and at the fallen Dumbledore. The illusion of the decoy disappeared.
"Master of illusions you are no more, dear Dumbledore," said Harry. "Feel no wind, hear no whispers and see no pictures. You were blinded by your own beliefs."
"Portraits didn't see me either, so I won't be too harsh on you, " Harry added. He was sitting on the windowsill just outside of Dumbledore's office. He was wrapped in conjured fur, his hair whipping in the wind. Harry hadn't even set foot into the castle.
Sitting just outside the headmaster's office, Harry had cast both illusion spells on Dumbledore. One illusion hid the other illusion. As such, once the first one was dispelled, Dumbledore believed he was seeing the reality.
"Blocus Eosophagus!" Harry said, pointing at the headmaster's throat. "Ennervate!"
Dumbledore started choking.
"Accio parchment!" Harry said. "It is your own fault you're going to die, you know. Who told you to let this paper be taken away only if you're about to die? Dumb condition, if you ask me, Dumbledore."
Harry enjoyed immensely the torment he was causing the old headmaster. The air outside was cold but Harry relished the bitter satisfaction.
"PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!" a female voice screamed from the doorway.
Hermione Granger ran towards the professor and lifted his head up. She didn't see Harry.
"Professor, professor! Are you alright?" she said. She took out her wand and levitated the professor.
"Heading to the hospital wing?" Harry said, revealing himself. "You better hurry. You of all people should know that a lack of oxygen to the brain could result in severe head trauma, even death. Professor Dumbledore will never be the same."
Hermione looked shocked at seeing Harry but didn't waste time on uttering an "oxygen replenisco."
Dumbledore's face lost the blue color and the old man stopped choking. His eyes were closed and only the slow rising of his chest showed that he was alive.
"Why didn't you help him, Harry?" Hermione looked up at Harry. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Pretty tight with the headmaster, aren't you?" Harry ignored her questions. "Just walking in like that eh. I wonder what would've happened had you not shown up."
"You did this to him," Hermione whispered, her eyes wide. "Harry—"
"Does it matter? You saved him, didn't you," Harry said. He stroked the fur he was wrapped in. The wind was blowing Hermione's hair all over the place and creating a mess out of Dumbledore's papers. "I, on the other hand, got what I wanted."
Harry showed a thinly rolled parchment. He stumbled on his windowsill. The wind was blowing absurdly and dangerously hard.
"Harry, be careful," Hermione said, "You'll fall!"
Harry snorted.
Ron walked into Dumbledore's office looking for Hermione and was surprised to see Dumbledore lying on the floor and his girlfriend pleading with his missing best friend to be careful.
"Hermione? HARRY?" Ron said. "I—"
Harry put him in a body-bind, not wanting to deal with two overexcited and angsty teenagers. He debated whether to just stun Hermione and leave them there. He had, after all, gotten what he wanted.
However, resentment ate Harry up at the sight of his two so-called best friends and he turned to Hermione.
"I promised myself I would never set foot in Hogwarts again," Harry said. "You of all people should know why. Had I not obliviated you, you would be damning my existence."
"What are you talking about?" Hermione pleaded. "Please, Harry!"
Harry lifted his wand and pointed it at Hermione. "Revelio Memorandum"
Hermione's eyes widened. She put her hands on her head and fell down to her knees. She stuttered out the word "vampire" and shook as the memories overtook her physical control. Harry waved his wand at Ron. Ron was relieved of his enforced stupor and ran to Hermione.
"What did you do to her?" Ron yelled at Harry. "FIX IT!!!"
"I can't fix the truth," Harry said as he looked at Ron's red face and Hermione's shaking sobs. Harry gave himself a push and fell from the windowsill.
Hermione Granger was put into the hospital wings and administered magical versions of sedatives. One worried Ron Weasley sat at her side all night, holding her cold clammy hands. Dumbledore was sent to St-Mungo's, his injuries past what Madam Pomfrey could handle.
Under the cover of the night, a shadow of a boy riding a dragon glided amongst dark clouds, a prelude to the war that was to come.
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Author's Note: Is Harry dark? I'm not sure…but I sure like Stanley the Dragon. The two scenes were sort of disconnected. Anyhow, I really should put more blood-sucking scenes…