Apologies I had meant for them all to leave for Vampire mountain in this chapter but it kind of didn't happen. I promise that will happen in the next chapter. This chapter really ties up a few loose ends and gets the research project properly started. I hope you enjoy reading it.
DISCLAIMER - I don't own anything from either the Saga of Darren Shan or from Harry Potter
Chapter 4 – Feeding Time
A week had passed now since Darren had returned to Mr Crepsley. To start with Mr Crepsley had kept Darren even closer to him than before. Darren strongly suspected that in those first few days had it not been for his broken leg that Mr Crepsley would have had him on a leash and because of this Darren was secretly grateful for the broken leg as he would have found that eventuality extremely embarrassing. As the week went on Mr Crepsley had seemed to calm down certainly he had stopped looking to see where Darren was every five minutes and today he had even left Darren alone in the tent for a whole twenty minutes. Darren decided he was going to have a quick look outside the tent as he really wanted to see if his leg had healed sufficiently for him to put any weight on it yet. It hadn't! As soon as Darren tried to put weight on the leg it collapsed from beneath him and he went sprawling onto the ground. Oh great he thought just what I need, nothing to use here to help me get back inside and now when old grumpy comes back he is going to find me outside without him.
Sure enough when Mr Crepsley returned and found Darren outside the tent he was less than impressed. Darren was roughly picked up from the floor and thrown back inside the tent. He gasped with pain as he landed awkwardly on his broken leg.
"Maybe that will teach you to do as you are told! How many times do I have to tell you? You may not go outside alone!" Mr Crepsley was fuming with rage but he held it back Darren's disobedience was not the real reason for his anger and it was not fair to take it out on the boy.
Larten Crepsley was not an easy person to read but Darren had been with him for at least seven years now and he was one of the few people who had some ability to read Mr Crepsley.
"Mr Crepsley, I wasn't going anywhere I just wanted to see if my leg would hold my weight yet. It won't!" Darren spat "What is wrong? I could see you were angry before you found me outside again. Please don't break my other leg," Darren whined but there was a flicker of a grin on his face as he said that.
"The ones that kidnapped you, they are back, and in large numbers. I cannot find them but I know they are here there scent is unmistakable. I fear we must leave and that the Cirque is not safe for us now." Mr Crepsley said.
"Where will we go?" Darren asked.
"Vampire Mountain is where we must go. It will be very difficult with your broken leg. I have contacted Gavner and he has said he will join us this evening and help carry you hopefully your leg will have healed by the time we reach the more difficult parts of the trail. For now I want you to try and sleep the rest of the day, as will I, for we will need all our energy but first we must both feed." Mr Crepsley said.
Darren didn't want to drink human blood again so soon it had only been two weeks since he last fed and normally he was allowed a month between feedings. Maybe he could get out of it later but arguing with Mr Crepsley while he was this riled was sure to hurt. So the half vampire just sighed and grasped the older vampires arm for support and they left to find some unsuspecting human to feed on.
Harry POV.
As an Auror Harry normally found surveillance to be relatively easy but doing it with a class of 30 school children and a half giant certainly didn't make it easy. In the week before taking the students Hagrid had given daily classes on known vampire behaviour patterns with Luna providing information from within the ministry. Harry's work was different but equally as important, his job during that week had been to ensure the students could perform strong disillusionment charms, teach telepathic communications, a skill not normally taught at Hogwarts, and to handle the logistics of keeping a full class of students safe whilst outside the school's grounds.
The first and second of these tasks had been relatively easy, most of the students on the program had been a member of the DA during Harry's own fifth year and he had taught them the basics of disillusionment and telepathic communication, so for all but the Slytherins this had simply been revision. The logistics on the other hand had been a nightmare but he had now sorted them and five portkeys lay waiting on the lawns to take the students to the Cirque du Freak. When the students arrived Harry spoke up.
"Ok we all know what we are doing today, and we need to be very careful. I want all of you to cast disillusionment charms on each other now. Hagrid please put the cloak on." Harry had wanted to use the invisibility cloak himself but due to Hagrid's giant blood the disillusionment charm wasn't effective on him and he too needed to be disguised. Once all the students where blending in with the background Harry and Luna cast charms on themselves that rendered them near completely invisible.
"Ok the portkeys leave in one minute everyone please get hold of one" Harry said.
Harry felt that familiar jerk behind his naval and landed gracefully in the forestry where they had caught Darren.
Harry was very glad he had chosen to disguise everyone before leaving because when they arrived the Orange haired vampire, Mr Crepsley Darren had called him, was standing maybe fifty yards from their insertion point. Harry sent a telepathic message to everyone.
"Keep quiet, and observe our subject is within sight, don't let him know we are here"
But the vampire was intently sniffing the air, he followed his nose like a hound who had caught a sent and within seconds he was within touching distance of the group.
"Nobody is to move or speak" Harry messaged.
"Sir, I think the vampire can smell us they must have enhanced olfactory senses" one of the students messaged back.
Now Mr Crepsley was searching, he looked under every bush and behind every tree, even climbing a couple. It was very obvious he knew something wasn't as it should be but after forty minutes of fruitless searching the vampire turned away. He was running towards the Cirque Du Freaks campsite and then suddenly he vanished.
"Professor, I think we should follow" Mary one of the Hufflepuffs messaged
"We'll follow but not all of us, anyone wearing any kind of perfume has gotta stay. We stay downwind of them and no more than five can come." Hagridmessaged.
Hagrid took Luna and three students with him leaving Harry to mind the other students. Harry chose to set up base camp and to pick everyone who remained brains as to what they would do about the vampire's sense of smell.
Hagrid's small group travelled as quickly as they could. They arrived just in time to see from under the cover of the trees to see Mr Crepsley throw a person inside a tent, the person was obviously injured.
"Thought these might come in handy" Hagrid messaged and from inside his cloak he pulled five extendable ears and handed them out.
"Wingardium Leviosa" Mary whispered.
The extendable ears rose and landed just outside the tent the vampire had just entered, now they could hear what was going on inside. Luna made a mental note to tell Harry to work on non-verbal spell work with the students.
They heard a sharp cry of pain that sounded like a child's and then another voice spoke. An adult this time and he spoke in precise measured tones.
"Maybe that will teach you to do as you are told! How many times do I have to tell you? You may not go outside alone!"
The students reacted with shock the older vampire did not sound in the slightest bit sorry for hurting this child whom they now realised was probably the scared half vampire boy they had met in the castle grounds last week.
"Mr Crepsley, I wasn't going anywhere I just wanted to see if my leg would hold my weight yet. It won't! What is wrong? I could see you were angry before you found me outside again. Please don't break my other leg"
It was definitely Darren that spoke. Hagrid face went white and he looked like he was going to be sick but none of the others with him noticed they were all listening to intently to the conversation within the tent.
"The ones that kidnapped you, they are back, and in large numbers, I cannot find them but I know they are here there scent is unmistakable. I fear we must leave. The Cirque is not safe for us now." Mr Crepsley said.
"Where will we go?" Darren asked.
"Vampire Mountain is where we must go. It will be very difficult with your broken leg so I have contacted Gavner. He will join us this evening and help carry you hopefully your leg will have healed by the time we reach the more difficult parts of the trail. For now I want you to try and sleep the rest of the day, as will I, for we will need all our energy. But first we must both feed."
After hearing the last part Luna sent a quick telepathic message to Harry.
"Bring everyone they are going to feed"
Mr Crepsley moved at a speed that they could easily follow this time, he had to Darren had a broken leg. The boy had fashioned a tree branch into a crutch but he still needed to hold someone's hand to steady himself. Mr Crepsley had heard someone walking in the opposite direction down the street and quickly disappeared up a tree. Darren couldn't follow because of his injury so he was going to have to act as the bait in the trap.
Hagrid's class had followed keeping themselves downwind of the vampires and it didn't look as if the vampires were aware of their presence. They watched as Mr Crepsley shimmied up the tree and saw Darren leaning against it, he looked to be in severe pain. They watched as a stranger walked down and when he spotted the injured boy leaning against the tree he darted towards the boy and straight into the trap.
"You're going to need to get that leg seen to lad. I'll just phone my wife and we'll get you to the hospital. You'll get a proper cast for that leg then it won't hurt nearly so bad."
The stranger pulled a phone out of his pocket and as he started dialling Mr Crepsley jumped out of the tree and clapped his hand over the man's mouth. The man's eyes widened in alarm and then he lost consciousness and slumped to the floor.
"We need to find out how he did that? He didn't hold him long enough to knock him out from lack of oxygen nor did he use pressure points." Luna messaged.
Mr Crepsley lifted the strangers arm found a large vein and sliced it open with his fingernail. He clamped his mouth over the cut and drank. When he was finished he pressed his finger firmly over the wound and turned to Darren.
"Your turn, his blood is good and there is plenty of it." Mr Crepsley said.
"I don't need to..." Darren began but as soon as the boy started to argue Mr Crepsley slapped him hard on the back of the head. The boy was thrown off balance and fell forwards landing on the unconscious stranger. Mr Crepsley held the strangers arm in one hand and with the other he pushed Darren's head forward so his mouth covered the cut in the man's arm.
"There will be no argument, you need to drink when blood is available," Mr Crepsley stated then seeing the boy still wasn't drinking he added "struggle all you like Darren I will not be letting you up until you drink."
Darren opened his mouth to argue and as he did his mouth filled with blood from the cut, he started to choke and then he had no choice but to swallow otherwise he would have been unable to breath. Mr Crepsley held his assistant in place for a full ten seconds making him drink more than he had drunk before except for that one occasion when his friend had been mauled to death.
After he had released Darren, Mr Crepsley rubbed spit into the man's arm closing the cut ready to return to the Cirque but stopped at the mutinous look Darren was giving him.
"I can't believe you forced me," Darren said
"It is time you got over your fear of blood boy. You are a half vampire you must drink blood, and you are injured, your leg will not heal properly if you do not drink sufficient human blood. I will force you again and again until you stop being stupid and drink when you need to. And no I will not apologise for having your best interests at heart." Mr Crepsley replied.
"I know I have to drink blood" Darren began but once again Mr Crepsley cut him off
"Yes you drink when you start to feel sick and weak, that is not enough Darren. You must drink every time the hunger strikes otherwise when you become a full vampire, and one way or another that will happen, you will not be able to control yourself and then you will kill. I cannot allow you to do that as I know you could not live with yourself after."
"Ok I get what you're saying but I still don't like what you just did, but I can accept it." Darren said
"I am glad to hear it."
He then picked his assistant up and steadied him on his feet.
"Put some weight on that leg Darren. Now you have fed it will be healing properly and should be able to support you again. You must feed every day until it heals, as long as you do that leg will be as good as ever in three days' time."
Sure enough Darren found his leg did feel a lot better and he limped back to his tent to get the days sleep Mr Crepsley had ordered. The older vampire followed behind ready to help his assistant if he needed it.
Once the vampires had left Hagrid turned to his class.
"They 'ave gone off to sleep. We should leave 'em to it and we 'ave lots to discuss."
Hagrid was still white as a sheet and as they walked back to camp Harry walked with him,
"Hagrid, what's up?" Harry said.
"It's all our fault Harry."
"What's our fault?" Harry asked confused something had affected his friend and he needed to know what. Hagrid let out a huge sniff.
"It's our fault Darren's leg got broke"
"Come again Hagrid"
"We kidnapped 'im Harry. Darren ran away and we kidnapped 'im, made that Mr Crepsley angry and he took it out on Darren, he broke his leg Harry all because we took 'im away. It's our fault he had to drink blood when he didn't wanna too, cause Crepsley broke 'is leg which was our fault he has to drink more to heal properly, and he don't want ta." Hagrid wailed and let out a huge sob that made most of the class turn around.
"How was that our fault?" Mary said "Mr Crepsley told him to stay inside and he didn't do as he was told. No its Darren's fault for not doing what he was told and Crepsley's fault for over really overreacting."
Hagrid didn't look entirely convinced by this but it did calm him down somewhat and soon they were back in camp.
Later that afternoon the group had a meeting to discuss what they had learnt and after the meeting concluded Luna set to writing her report of what had been learnt that day.
We have discovered that vampires have a very strong olfactory senses. Our research group was almost discovered today by this fact and we also need to bear in mind that their other senses are likely heightened as well.
We had the opportunity to witness the vampires feeding. Ambush hunting tactics were observed but also a high degree of intelligence could be observed from the way they baited the trap. The adult vampire rendered the victim unconscious by clapping his hand over the victim's mouth. We detected some sort of venom in the victim's blood stream and at this moment in time we assume this was delivered by a venom gland in the hand of the vampire.
The feeding itself was interesting as it didn't conform to expected methods. The vampire did not bite the victim instead he cut a vein using a sharp fingernail before drinking a small amount of blood.
When it was the turn of the cub to feed he was reluctant and it became obvious that the cub has not yet developed a taste for blood. It does appear that blood is essential even in the cub's diet as we observed a rapid increase in healing ability's after feeding.
This brings us on to the subject of vampire discipline and we are somewhat disturbed by what we have seen. The cub had been punished, for disobeying his mentor and going outside alone, by having his leg broken. When the cub shied away from feeding he was physically forced to do so. The force used on a child in this day and age in the human world would have been considered abusive.
It was now three o clock and as the vampires planned to leave shortly after nightfall she needed these few remaining hours for sleep. Harry had obviously come to the same conclusion as when he came in to the staff tent he stated.
"I have placed sleeping charms on the students I suggest we do the same otherwise we will struggle to keep up tomorrow."
I hope you enjoyed reading that and my apologies I think I made Darren back down a bit too easily there. Next chapter will see them on their way to Vampire Mountain I want something to happen on route but i'm not sure yet what. The wizards won't reveal themselves until Darren starts his trails that much is sure but I do want something exciting to happen on route. If you have any ideas please feel free to voice them.
I have also re formatted chapters 1 and 2 and will be posting up the revised chapters in due course the purpose of this is taking into account the reviews and trying to make them easier to read.