oOo.

One of the most annoying myths about Vampires is that we cannot cross running water. Like the 'rule' about religious symbols, it's only as strong as the faith that is attached. If I were, or had ever been, a God-fearing Vampire, I would not have made it very far at all.

I knew I should have reported to the Ministry immediately upon my return to London, but instead, I took the Knight Bus to Highgate cemetery. I will never forget the look on the attendant's face when I asked for the legendary cemetery.

It first went pale behind his gratuitous acne, he then narrowed his eyes. I smiled at him politely before finding a seat. He knew full well what I was by now. Most adults wizards knew what I was at first glance. It was much easier to fool muggles.

As the bus swayed back and fourth, I found this to be a frightening thought. There would come a day when I could no longer fool Anna, and it troubled me. Anna had a love for vampires, it was true, but loving stories and concepts of something is not that same thing as loving the actual thing. Would she still accept me if she knew?

These thoughts plagued me as I got off the bus, bidding the driver and attendant a good evening in the most stereotypic manner I could manage. The Living ate up the novelty 'Dracula' act.
The gates were shut and locked, but I was able to break the chains without too much trouble, save for a chip in the black lacquer Anna had put on my fingernails earlier that week.

"Well if it isn't the Vampire Integra." I heard a voice call from inside the cemetery. "Where have you been? Hunting Ghouls in Budapest again? Or playing with the kids from Hogwarts?"

I shut the gate behind me and looked calmly through the shadows despite the obvious distain in the male Vampire's voice.

"I just came back for a few hours, Sanguini."

A gaunt man in a set of pinstriped robes came through the shadows, his feet making no sound as he strode brazenly on the path. His black hair was slicked back, and he had an amused expression on his face.

"There are kids are in the cemetery again. We could use your help around here, you know. We rarely had this problem when you were here." Sanguini said as I cut past him, my black cloak trailing in my wake. It was strange to see Sanguini without his Living counterpart, Eldred Worple, but I raised no questions.

"I know. I am sorry for being gone all the time." I replied, darting noiselessly through the graves with him in tow. "It's not for much longer, a year and a half if I'm lucky…"

"And when you finish your education, then what?"

"Then nothing, nothing will change save for being able to legally use magic to defend us. No more explosives, no more guns. It'll be safer for everyone involved." I said quietly, reaching the entrance to Egyptian avenue. In truth, it would mean something much more for vampires: the ministry called us 'beings' in all their foul bigotry. We are dead, but were once alive, and if these foolish mortals truly believe in any sort of respect for the dead, they would not demonize us as mere 'beings'. My graduation from Hogwarts would they mean that the Ministry had to acknowledge a vampire as an equivalent to a wizard.

Or at least, a better wizard than Cornelius Fudge had.

Ahead, I could see the glow of flashlights and the voices of teenagers shouting and whispering, clearly searching for some sign of the Vampires of Highgate.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." I said, watching them. "Why don't you just scare them off."

"Because." Sanguini said carefully, pulling me into the shadows of a large mausoleum. "They wear the mark of the Illuminati."

Had I still drawn breath, the color would have drained form my face: the Illuminati was an organization the infamous Van Hellsing was said to have belonged to. But they were now defunct, correct? Van Hellsing was supposed to be the last one, and my darling Earl Vladislav was said to have eliminated him.

"That's ridiculous." I scoffed, squaring my shoulders. "You are a logical man, the Illuminati-" I stopped. I could see in the deep crimson of his eyes that there was considerable concern. Sanguini was much older and wiser than I, and for him to be concerned then there must have been some base to his concern. And it made sense, though I didn't want it to. Where there were Sanguarians running rampant, there were surely Illuminati to follow.

"We're hiding out in the mausoleum here until they are gone." He said, opening the door and leading me inside.

"I can't stay here…" I said, taking a step back. "I have to leave for Rome soon." I snapped, my thoughts still very much on Anna. I wonder if he sensed this.

"Then go quickly and quietly. If you are seen, then this cemetery will be crawling with Vampire Hunters." He said, looking around wearily. "And be careful in Rome. The living can be just as evil as the dead."

I nodded, slipping down the stone steps in silence and scaling the wall of Egyptian Avenue and climbing through the barren tree branches like a wild animal. This behavior had become, unfortunately, old hat for me in my work at the Ministry. The branches tore at my clothes and hair, but I forced my way through the obstacle, slipping silently down into the place I called home.

Outside I could hear the kids moving along, which forced me to remain as silent as a vampire can. Dust lay thick on my rosewood coffin, but everything was just as I had left it in the summer.
I felt a slight flame to my anger: I should not be treated as an intruder in my own house, but I had no other choice. Sanguini's fear had been legitimate.

My silent search turned up my treasured gun. I had stashed it snugly behind a loose stone in the wall, and when I pulled it out, I knew it would need cleaning badly before it was fit to fire.

A gun is a strange thing for someone within the Wizarding world to carry, but my gun had special significance. As beneficial as it would be for the Ministry to get a hold of it, I could never let that happen.

The Earl had retrieved it from the hands of Dr. Van Hellsing himself, and for the past forty-some years, I had used it to kill other Vampires. My gun was more notorious than I was, something that seemed ironic.

I caressed the delicate silver barrel of the sleek weapon, my fingertips curling around the filigreed handle before I tucked it into my bag. I could hear the sounds of the teenagers coming closer, so I quickened my pace, quickly exiting my tomb and running out into the frosty night.

I don't know if they saw me, but I could hear them as if they were perusing me. I ran through the field of graves, pushing past the briers and the bramble that stood in my way. My clothing was torn and rent, my skin scratched in some places and oozing stale blood. I would have to feed before I reported to the Ministry, and the state of my clothing would only further Cornelius Fudge's smug sense of 'Human' superiority.

I tripped on a tree branch, my heart racing as I scramble upwards. I couldn't use my powers here and risk exposing the other Vampires, as tempting as it was to eliminate these kids.

After what felt like hours of running, I reached the West end of the cemetery, scaling the wall and landing in an almost empty street full of small shops and a few pubs and coffee houses.

I spotted a Muggle about my size and age smoking on a street corner, oblivious to my sudden appearance. She was wearing loose-fitting, baggy pants and a black tank-top. Her hair was shaved into a Mohawk, which had been dyed bright pink, and spiked leather collars adorned her neck and wrists. She was decorated from head to toe in chains and spikes and lace, what a Muggle would call a 'punk', I suppose. She looked like a relatively easy target.

I gripped my bag tighter and took a deep breath, crossing the street.

"Excuse me, can you tell me the directions to Kings Cross?" I asked the girl, looking around for any other Muggles who might see me.

After a few moments of talking back and fourth, I struck, sinking my teeth into her neck. She didn't fight, but rather, went calmly, with a small cry and very little fuss. I was thankful, because when a victim fights, it only makes it more painful for them, and adrenaline makes the blood taste sour.

I hid her body back in the cemetery and went on my way, the chains swinging loudly on my hips. It made me feel dark and mysterious, perhaps more like a Vampire should. I had had enough of velvet and lace for a while. People didn't seem to cast me a second glance as they had before, my pale skin and black hair fitting in with the rest of the people in this district.

I could have fed for hours on these people and their street culture, but one was enough. I did not like to glut myself on blood as many Vampires did. It was pointless to take a life for such a stupid and arrogant reason.

I settled myself on a rooftop overlooking the streets of London, my shining gun balanced on my knee in the moonlight and my gun-cleaning kit beside me.

An hour later, I was striding across the Atrium, past the Fountain of Magical Brethren inside the Ministry's headquarters.

Much to the dismay of several people, Cornelius Fudge included, I strode right into the Minister of Magic's office without warrant or warning. It was something I had never dreamt of before I met Anna, but something about her sheer existence gave me the courage to face down my 'oppressors': the men who had turned my afterlife into a mere tool.

"Good evening, Monsieur Fudge." I said with a smile, placing my hands on his desk palms-down and smiling at him from behind my black bangs. "What's this I hear about the Illuminati?"

"Ah, Miss Black…" the older man stammered, scooting away from me slightly, which only served to widen my smile. I'd never seen him this flustered. "Illuminati?"

"Surely you know as well as I do that where there is a concentration of Sanguarians, there will be an Illuminati or two…It's Vampire 101. I'd hate to think that you were sending me into a situation I couldn't handle…"

"Of course not!" Fudge bit at me, straightening his robes and tossing a file onto the desk. "I have full confidence that you can handle this..."

"There were kids in the cemetery tonight, they were wearing signs of the Illuminati…"

"You know…muggle kids…" Fudge stammered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his chair. "Obsessed with the occult…like that girl you've been hanging out with…Annabelle Le Croux…"

I pretended not to be bothered by him using her name. Fudge thought that he had played his trump card, and the truth was, he had.

I tried not to shift, to let my smile fall, but a slow smirk spread across his face. Inwardly, I wondered which one of his dogs had informed him of Anna's existence.

"The Illuminati. The Sanguarians. What is going on in Rome?" I asked with a startling shortness.

"War, my dear Integra, an all out war." Fudge said, tapping his papers on the desk. "I'm sending you down to deal with negotiations…"

"What makes you think they will listen to me?"

Fudge smirked and turned away, grabbing a file from his pile and handing it to me. "It seems in your stay at Hogwarts, you have forgotten who you are. Vampires fear you as they feared Dr. Van Hellsing, the Illuminati will recognize your fame."

"You said you knew nothing about the Illuminati…"

"I never said that, my dear."

I stood up, crossing my arms, careful of my spiked wrists. He had a point, much as I didn't want to admit it, but it led me to wonder what and how much of it he wasn't telling me.

.oOo.

A/n: now were getting into the 'Italy' arc of the story. I'm having a fair amount of trouble writing it for some reason. This chapter was short because of this.

On Sunday (Valentines day), I jokingly asked the girl I'm writing this for if she would be my valentine via text message. She said 'It's better than some of my options'. It's not a yes, but it's not a no, either. ;) She still doesn't know about this story.

Review! I need the encouragement sometimes.