Don't own anything you recognise.
Back again? I see that you, like so many before you, have discovered the delights of my strange little crossover fic.
On we go!
-YDHP-
Bertrand actually smirked in amusement when Vlad had to leave their lesson five minutes early to go for detention, jokingly calling him a "young hellraiser" as Vlad slammed his book on Transylvanian Lineage shut and hurried down to the Entrance Hall. Harry and Neville both nodded at him in greeting, Ron scowling and Mr Filch hovering around gleefully, muttering about stringing children up in the dungeons with a little too much enjoyment in his voice - Vlad was strongly reminded of his father at that moment. The first years were led across the grass, and Harry's relief was visible in his face as they saw Hagrid's hut, Hagrid stood outside. "I wouldn't look too happy kids, you're heading into the forest tonight!" Vlad was mildly confused, he assumed the forest was "forbidden" for a reason. "Filch, not yer place ter lecture 'em. Yer late!" Filch scowled up at Hagrid before turning back to the first years, a twisted grimace-like smile on his withered face. "I'll be back for what's left of you in the morning." The caretaker headed back up the castle, his lantern a glow of light in the dark night.
"We aren't really going into the forest are we? It's forbidden! And there are... werewolves in there!" Vlad raised an eyebrow, it wasn't a full moon. "There's more'n werewolves in these trees lad." Hagrid pulled a large crossbow, probably bigger than Vlad, over his shoulder and whistled to call Fang along with them. A wriggling in his bag had Vlad looking down, seeing red eyes glowing back at him. He hadn't even realised Phantom had snuck into his bag, but he could hardly go taking her back now. As they entered the very edge of the forest, Vlad noticed glinting puddles on the floor. "See tha'? It's unicorn blood." Vlad cringed slightly, he knew a unicorn would sooner run him through with it's horn than let him near it. "Takes alo' ter injure a unicorn, this one 'as been hurt bad by something. It's our job ter find the poor beast. Ron, Neville you two are with me. 'Arry and Vlad, you two take Fang. Stick ter the paths, and if yer find anythin', send up red sparks." Vlad nodded, ignoring the irritating wriggling familiar in his bag as he and Harry set off on a different route to Hagrid. There were more puddles of silvery blood, and Vlad picked up a sound nearby. Pulling Harry behind a tree, covering his mouth and watching Fang run off yowling, Vlad waited. There was a shadow, a slithering sound like a cloak rustling over leaves and Vlad held his breath. Something about the presence seemed too familiar, and he was reminded of when he'd been hiding near Professors Quirrell and Snape in the forest before. Harry's suspicions about Snape may yet turn out to be right. Vlad agreed with some, but he was so uncomfortable in Professor Quirrells garlic-laden DADA classroom under his accusatory glare that he wondered if Harry was on the right lines.
The shadow disappeared and Vlad let out his held breaths, Harry looking at him in confusion as Vlad released his mouth. "I don't know what that was, but it scared Fang off and it didn't feel... right." Looking down, Vlad could see Phantom's eyes lit in the dark, flashing between red and purple. "Whatever it was, it's enough to set Phantom off. Let's stick to the path, but be careful." Harry nodded at Vlad's hissed words, staying right next to his side as they followed the trail of shiny blood. "Why would anyone hurt a unicorn?" Harry whispered in the dark. "I don't know, you have to get the tears and hairs given willingly which is why they are rare. Though I think Hagrid mentioned he picks some up where their tails get caught on bushes, which is how the school keeps a stock of it. Given the amount of it, I think they must be after unicorn blood. I can't imagine why." "What's so special about unicorn blood?" One of his classes with Bertrand had covered animals and places vampires should avoid, and unicorns had been one. Vlad felt sick remembering the list of all the creatures that would be sickened by him being a vampire, especially when he didn't want to be. "If you drink unicorn blood, it'll keep you alive, even at the brink of death. But to kill something so pure, so innocent, it curses you. Like I said, can't imagine why you'd want it." Harry retched behind him, probably at the idea of drinking blood which didn't help Vlad's mounting anxiety. "Look, it's getting thicker, we must be getting close." Vlad thought he could probably sense it if he tried, but he wasn't about to try and push out his vampire side ever by choice.
They entered a clearing, and there was a patch of moonlight glimmering over the biggest pool of unicorn blood yet. "It can't be far, nothing could lose this much blood and live long." Looking around, there was no actual path to follow here. "Stay close, I don't like this Harry." Phantom was growling in his bag now, and Vlad could feel the hairs on his neck stand up, Harry's warm breath condensing on his cooler skin. Edging around the blood, Vlad could see a gap in the trees, silvery hair and smears on the sides. "There?" Harry nodded to Vlad pointing, and the two crept closer. "Keep your wand out to send up sparks." Vlad felt more confident not worrying about holding a wand, and Harry probably realised this as he clutched the length of holly. Stepping carefully through the gap, Vlad could feel the burning sensation as the smears of blood touched his skin. Innocence didn't belong on his body, he knew that. Wiping it off on his trousers quickly, Vlad waited for Harry to follow him. It was dark, but the body of the unicorn was obvious the second they cleared the trees. Pure white, practically a light source in itself and silvery blood all over the side of it's neck not on the ground. Harry cried out in pain and Vlad turned in confusion, seeing his friend collapse and jumping into a bush as he heard a noise. Prepared to throw whatever magic he could to protect Harry, Vlad peered over the bush.
Harry was exactly where he'd fell, clutching his forehead and whimpering weakly. What he was prepared to bet was the cloak he'd heard earlier was draped over the unicorn, slurping at the blood still oozing from the unicorn. Fighting the wave of nausea, Vlad tensed ready to grab Harry and run. The hooded figure leaned up at the sound, looking around in what he thought may be confusion before spotting Harry. Vlad was about to jump out and grab Harry when Phantom leapt from his bag, hissing and he caught her eyes turning purple. The figure stopped, but he could see it was trying to get to Harry. Flicking his hand to send up red sparks, Vlad froze when the figure turned towards him. Silvery blood was splattered all down the front of the cloak it was wearing, and Vlad panicked. Phantom hadn't moved other than to keep hissing angrily, and Vlad was as confused as anyone else at what his familiar was doing to hold off the unicorn killer. Heavy footsteps sounded nearby, and the figure seemed to realise it was about to be found and practically evaporated away.
Hagrid thundered through the overgrowth, Fang, Ron and Neville not far behind. Vlad jumped out to check on Harry, who was currently paler than himself and still whimpering in pain. "Vlad?" Phantom, clearly done with her job, crawled back into Vlad's bag without being spotted by the others and promptly curled up. Helping Harry stand up, Vlad looked up at Hagrid. "We found the unicorn. And what killed it. It tried to get Harry but ran off when it heard you guys." Hagrid headed over to the dead unicorn, and Vlad was itching to get out of the forest and into a hot shower. Supporting Harry's arm around his shoulders, Vlad helped his friend stumble to the edge of the forest. "What happened back there Harry?" "I don't know, my scar started hurting and then I couldn't even see or hear, it was just pain." Looking at the scar beneath Harry's fingers, Vlad thought it looked a little more red than it had before. Pressing his fingers over it, Harry seemed to relax beneath him. "Wow, keep touching me Vlad, it hurts less!" Ron appeared then, scowling down at the two on the floor. "That's disgusting!" Returning the scowl, Vlad looked up at the redhead. "Well next time you're hurt, I'll be sure to tell everyone not to help!" Hagrid and Neville soon arrived, Hagrid with the unicorn body slung over his shoulder. He hoped they could go to the hospital wing soon, the unicorn blood on his skin was starting to really burn.
"Righ', yer all walkin' back ter the castle with me now, can yer stand 'Arry?" Harry felt Vlad pull him to his feet, supporting his weight even though Vlad was shorter. "I guess so, I have a Vlad shaped support." Vlad chuckled next to him, not seeming bothered by the extra weight as he half-carried Harry along to the castle. If there was nobody else around he imagined Vlad would just float him along, but it would be a little obvious. Hagrid left them at the door and Neville went ahead to get Madam Pomfrey, who appeared a few moments later and conjured up a stretcher, floating Harry along to the hospital wing and demanding Vlad follow. Ron was sent scowling to collect Professor Dumbledore, and Harry was glad to see the back of him as he was placed down in a bed. "What happened to your hand Vlad?" Vlad seemed surprised Harry had noticed, mumbling "scratched it on a tree" and moving to cover the injury. Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a once-over, pushing a vial of something called "Dreamless Sleep" on him and glaring until he drank it. He thought he saw Vlad holding his injured hand out to her, but then he was asleep.
Waking up feeling much more rested than he expected to, Harry pulled on his glasses to find Vlad asleep in the chair next to his bed and Professors Dumbledore and McGonogall stood over his bed, Madam Pomfrey hovering nearby. "Ah Mr Potter, how are you feeling?" A lick to his left ear confused Harry until he turned to find Phantom perched next to him, eyes clear and bright. "Alright, my head still hurts though." Vlad stirred next to him, looking exceptionally lost as he took in his surroundings but brightening when he saw Harry awake. "Harry! You're alright!" Nodding, Harry smiled. "Thanks to you, thanks for dragging me out of there." The teachers turned to smile at Vlad and the joy on his still-tired face was apparent. "It was nothing, I wasn't going to leave my friend there." Pushing himself to sit up and sip at some water, Harry tried to remember. "How did you save me? I don't remember much other than pain." Phantom purred, curling up in his lap. "Yes Phantom, I was about to say it was you." Vlad looked down fondly at his familiar before turning back to the teachers. "I sent up red sparks, and the thing couldn't seem to spot me but it was Phantom who jumped out and hissed at it. The thing couldn't get closer and then we heard Hagrid and it ran away. Then I dragged Harry out, showed Hagrid the unicorn and brought Harry back here." Everyone was looking down at the ball of fluff in Harry's lap in wonder.
"Well, I guess there's no question of whether or not she's a Bastion, they have protective magic don't they?" Vlad nodded and Harry looked back to the teachers. "Well, thank you gentlemen for giving us a run-down, I don't suppose it needs saying not to tell anyone what you saw?" Both boys nodded, a beaming Vlad receiving ten points for bravery and they were left to eat breakfast that suddenly arrived with a house elf. Ravenously hungry, Harry wolfed down his eggs, bacon and sausage while Vlad worked his way through a bowl of porridge and some toast quietly. Phantom kept trying to steal the bacon until Harry handed her a piece, with which she ran off out of the hospital wing. Hermione and Neville appeared before classes begun to see if they were alright, Vlad excused to go to class but Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep Harry in until lunch for observation. Waving goodbye to his friends, Harry picked up one of the books Vlad had left on the side where he'd obviously fell asleep reading. His head started to swim almost instantly, how did Vlad spend hours every week learning about "vampire law" for the sake of family tradition? Vlad might be pale but he was about as likely to be a vampire as Neville was to take up martial arts, the boy was quiet, polite and definitely not a psychotic killer. Though Harry expected Quirrell exaggerated that part. Plus, he'd seen Vlad eat garlic bread and go in the sun, and he definitely had a reflection. Shaking his head and putting the book aside, Harry hunted out his own bag and flicked through his Charms book.
He was released to join his friends for lunch and to finish off the days lessons, following Vlad and Hermione to the library to start on their homework when it was likely to be more empty. A few Ravenclaws and Vlad's strange tutor were the only people in there after dinner, meaning they could commandeer a table and get through a lot of work. Vlad was called over by his tutor for a moment, looking slightly anxious when he returned but shaking his head when Harry looked at him questioningly. They finished two essays and got the extra information they needed for potions done before Madam Pince kicked them out at curfew, and Harry remembered he had his cloak and the hallways were clear. Hermione headed off without them when Vlad stopped to tie up his shoe, so Harry turned to his friend holding the cloak. Vlad looked at him in confusion for a minute. "Are you mad? Do you want us to get in more trouble?" Shaking his head, Harry looked at his friend pleadingly. "I just want to try it out properly, last time ended in us getting in trouble and I just want some peace. Please Vlad?" Vlad looked around, checking the coast was clear before nodding stiffly. "Half an hour, then we go back to the tower." Harry nodded eagerly, throwing the cloak over both of them and picking a corridor at random to head down. They didn't pass anyone, which surprised Harry as there were usually professors roaming the halls.
Vlad was clearly getting wary, hinting they should start heading back soon. Harry looked around before realising he didn't actually know where they were. A mewling behind them made them turn to find Mrs Norris, Filch's vile cat and Harry wondered if the cloak even worked on weird cats. Spotting an open door, Harry tugged Vlad's arm and darted in, pulling the door closed carefully. They stripped off the cloak and pressed against the door to listen closely, hearing Filch mumble "Nobody here my pretty, let's go." and footsteps leading away. Sighing in relief, Harry took in the room they were in. It was clearly a disused classroom, desks and chairs and boxes covered in dust piled up along the walls. The only thing out of place was a large mirror, gilded frame and heavy base. Vlad was looking up at the top of the mirror, and Harry thought he could make out words there. Stepping in to get a better look, Harry whirled around. There was a rooms worth of people stood behind him in the mirror, but nobody other than Vlad when he turned around. "What's wrong Harry?" Harry didn't answer, leaning closer to the image. He saw a pretty woman with long red hair, and a man with short, scruffy dark hair. He realised the eyes of the pretty redhead were a perfect copy of his. Harry was looking at his parents. There were more people behind them, some with his hair or his nose or his thin face. Tears rolled down his face as Harry placed his hand over the reflection, wishing he could fall through to his family.
He jumped when a hand touched him, turning to see Vlad looking at him strangely. "What's wrong Harry?" Turning back, Harry could only see himself in the mirror. Maybe it only worked on one person at a time. "Vlad, stand in front of the mirror and tell me what you see?" Stepping back, Harry couldn't see Vlad's reflection but it was clear his friend could see something in the glass himself. Shrugging, Harry assumed it must only show yourself. "What do you see?" "Just me. What did you see?" "My... I saw my family." Vlad turned sad eyes to him then, offering Harry a tight hug. "I know you want to look more, but we better get back before we get caught out here." Harry was reluctant, but let Vlad drag him under the cloak and they managed to get back to the tower without meeting anyone else. Vlad dropped into his own bed almost instantly, but Harry lay awake for a while thinking of what he saw and already planning to go back as soon as Vlad was asleep the next night. He deserved some time alone with the image of his family.
Vlad wasn't lying when he said he saw himself in the mirror. The etching on the mirror, read backwards, said it showed "your hearts desire". And having a reflection, growing up normal - that was Vlad's truest desire. Not that he was prepared to share that with Harry, it would require some context he wasn't prepared to give.
-YDHP-
Mysterious hooded figure *wiggles fingers and makes ghost noises* ooooooooooo
Anyway, I hope this chapter isn't a crushing disappointment!