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Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or Darren Shan. And that fact makes me sad.

"Speaking"

"Thinking"

"Noises"

"Text book reading"

Darren Shan Point of View

"Um…who are you?" I asked the man in front of me. I couldn't help but crinkle my nose at the smell; I was surprised I hadn't smelt him coming from a mile away.

The man grinned at me, and it was a kind, if not mirthful, look despite his rotting teeth. "Well, it's refreshing to know that at least one person doesn't know about me." I decided to not comment on his statement. For a moment, I wondered if he was some sort of celebrity, but I dismissed that thought as quickly as it had come.

"Why are you so surprised? What's the big deal, anyway?" I asked him.

"I'd rather not say…." He began, but trailed off. The man heaved a sigh, and I made a face as I smelled his rancid breath. "So what are you doing in there?" he asked me with a curious expression. "You look young enough to be a student here, so what are you doing in a cage? Did someone decide to play a trick on you?" his smile was back, more mischievous and a spark of amusement came into his dead eyes. "Reminds me of my school days here." He said more to himself than anything.

"You're a wizard, right?" I asked, an idea coming to mind. Andy had said that a wizard could probably undo whatever spell had been put on my cage. "You see, my friends put a…um…jinx on the cage and now I can't get out. Do you think you could undo it?" I asked, trying (and succeeding) to sound like a helpless child. The man seemed suspicious, though.

"Your friends did this? How did they get the cage?"

"They…conjured it." I supplied weakly. Judging by the expression on his face, I had a feeling that that was the wrong thing to say. "They're older than me. And very smart! It was just a little prank, but I think they took it too far." I said quickly, floundering for a believable excuse. Still, his face showed his wary disbelief. "My friends, their names are Hermione, Ron, and Harry." I added, trying to make my story more believable. I figured that if he maybe knew them, then he would be more likely to believe my lie.

"Harry…Harry Potter?" he asked me, his eyes widening as he spoke the words. "And Ron Weasley? Tell me, did they have a rat with them?"

I gave the man before me a strange look. I didn't like his voice or the desperate scent he gave off. Was he a bad guy? Was he out to hurt the three I had only recently met, and why had he asked about a rat? This was making head hurt!

"I don't know. Now, can you come here and let me out?" I begged the man. He stared at me for a few long seconds, then walked forward.

"I'm going to get out of here!" I thought happily, silently rejoicing in that fact. It felt like I had been in the cage for a long time, even though I had only been conscious for a short while. Of course, it was about then that something began to go wrong.

Just as he approached my cage, the man froze. He just stood there for a long moment, his face scrunched up in confusion. Slowly, he leaned in and actually sniffed the air. Then he jumped back and a low growl ripped from his throat. I stared in shock at him. No human should have been able to make a sound like that!

"You're not human, are you?"

"You're not either." I snapped back at him.

He appraised me then said in a quiet voice "Some have said that. On one level, I suppose I'm not. I have better…senses than most. This is why I know better than to let you out right away. I know that Dumbledore must have you in there for good reason, so I think I'll just trust him for now. Perhaps I'll come back sometime." The man told me with a sad smile. And just like that, he was gone.

I stared after him for a long time, halfway hoping that he would some back. "….My life seriously sucks." I said before retreating into the darker side of my cage to sulk and try my best to ignore my aching belly.

Harry Potter Point of View

Harry turned over, groaning quietly. His eyes flickered open, breaking through the bad dream he had been having about a bunch of bloodthirsty creatures. Immediately, Harry knew something was wrong. Silently, he turned his head to scan the room and paled. There it was again; the Grim. Harry closed his eyes tight, hoping that it was just a figment of his imagination; a leftover image from his dream. When he opened his eyes, the Grim was gone. Harry let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"You alright?" he heard Ron ask sleepily, turning to look at his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry confirmed. Ron grunted and rolled back over onto his side and immediately fell back asleep, snoring loudly. Harry cracked a grin, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was…off. With a sigh, he headed down to the common room.

Harry settled into a chair by the fire, gazing into its depths. After a while, his attention began to wander and he found himself staring absently out the window. On the grounds, he saw the distant glint of metal.

"I wonder how that guy is doing…. What was his name again? Darren? It seems like such an unfitting name for a vampire. But is he really even one?" Harry thought to himself. Then he let out a frustrated groan at the headache all of this thinking was bringing on at such an unholy hour. Something moved on the grounds, nearer to the castle. His eye was drawn to it immediately, and Harry's eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. "What is that…?" It looked like a human, but at the same time, seemed misshapen. It's frame was much too thin, with layers of (what Harry was guessing to be) cloth hanging off of it, giving the person an almost warped image. There was just a certain sense of wrongness about the figure, giving Harry a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. What was almost worse, was the fact that whoever it was seemed to be examining the castle. Harry couldn't help but hope that maybe he was still dreaming.

A noise came from the room above him, causing Harry to look away from the window for a brief second. When he looked back, all he saw was a dark shape loping across the grounds, looking suspiciously like the Grim.

Suppressing a shudder, Harry muttered "Forget it, Harry. Just go up to bed." and then, followed his own advice, planning on telling Dumbledore about the mysterious figure in the morning.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked the next morning. They were in the Great Hall eating breakfast and Ron was hurrying to finish an essay that Snape had assigned them.

"That stupid git! Assigning us this much on the first day." He grumbled unhappily. "Hermione! Will you please…." He looked up at her pleadingly, and fingering the parchment spread out on the table. She sighed but held out her hand. "Thank you so much!" Ron cried, relieved that she was willing to help him out as he handed the essay over. Immediately, she began going over it, scratching something out and writing in another thing. As she worked, she spoke. "Harry, you look sick." She told him, sounding worried.

"No, I'm fine. Just tired is all." Harry assured her, rubbing his eye with one hand as he sipped his pumpkin juice with the other. Hermione eyed him doubtfully, but didn't question him any further. In truth, Harry was not fine as he claimed to be. It was true that he was tired, but there was something that was bothering him. He knew he had to talk to Professor Dumbledore about something. He just couldn't quite remember what. His brain felt a little fuzzy when he tried to recall just what he had seen during the night; he had been partially asleep anyways. He had the feeling it was important, but he simply couldn't remember it!

"Good morning, Harry." greeted a cheerful voice, shaking the black haired wizard out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Ginny, Ron's younger sister.

"Morning." He said back managing a smile. The red head sat down beside him, pushing Ron a little to the side.

"Hey! Watch it, Ginny." Her brother protested, but he was ignored.

"So, Harry, is it true?" Ginny asked, leaning in towards him with a grin. "That you got bit by a vampire yesterday." She clarified at his questioning look.

Harry felt his jaw drop slightly. Quickly, he shut it. "Erm…no. 'Fraid not."

"Oh, really?"

Ginny looked so disappointed that Harry said "I wasn't bitten, but he did grab ahold of me and threaten me." This earned him a sharp look from Hermione.

"Don't listen to him, Ginny. Darren is actually a very nice boy." The bushy haired witch interjected. "I think it seems completely unfair and unreasonable to keep him in a cage. Especially with the ministry out to…." Hermione trailed off, looking worried. Her eyes darted around before she said "I intend to speak to Professor Dumbledore as soon as I get a chance. Although he may be dangerous, it is inhumane to keep a child locked in a cage!"

"A child? Just how old is he, do you think?" Ginny asked, looking intrigued.

"I don't think he could be much older than you. Or, that is how he appears physically. It is impossible to tell at this point just what his age mentally is. I suppose, for all we know, he could be hundreds of years old, but stuck in the body of someone so young."

Ron made a face. "Bloody hell, that would suck."Harry nodded in agreement.

The four were silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Abruptly, Ginny rose from the table. "I have Care of Magical Creatures today. I think I might just talk to this vampire…Darren, was it?" then she smiled and waved good bye.

Ron sputtered, choking on the eggs he had in his mouth. "Oh no, you will not!" he yelled. Harry laughed at how much the boy sounded like Mrs. Weasley at that moment. Ginny ignored her brother and flounced out of the Great Hall while Hermione made a disgusted face at the chewed up food that now covered the front of her shirt.