Hey there! For this chapter, please keep in mind that-at this point- Darren knows nothing of the Vampaneze.

Please consider this chapter a (slightly late, by *checks watch and says dryly* 31 minutes) Christmas present to you all. Please make sure to return the favors through your awesome reviews! ;) Thanks a ton. Hope you all like!

"Speaking"

"Thinking"

"Sounds"

"Text-book"

Darren Shan Point of View

When I woke up the next morning, the sky was grey and the unmistakable scent of rain permeated the air. Lupin wasn't there. I waited for a long while, but there was no sign of him. I was just about ready to give up when I smelled a slightly familiar scent, and all of a sudden he was there, a small smile on his lips. And (thanks be to whatever gods might be out there!) he was carrying a large sack, which the unmistakable smell of food was coming from.

"Hello Darren. I hope you are doing well." He greeted, his polite statement sounding more like a question. I didn't answer, too distracted by the mouthwatering scent to pay much attention to such trivial things as manners. "Here." He chuckled, kneeling by my cage to deposit the contents of the sack. I reached out and took them, shoveling the various goods into my mouth. I don't think I ever tasted anything as good! "Slow down or else you're going to get sick." Lupin cautioned me. The only acknowledgement I gave his comment was a glare and a (very) slight decrease in my speed.

Lupin watched me in silence for a time, waiting until I had to stop for a breath before he spoke. "How are you acquainted with Mr. Larten Crepsley?"

I froze. "I don't know what you're talking about." I lied through clenched teeth. How does he know about him?

"The Boggart, Darren." He said, answering my unspoken question. "I recognized him."

"You mean you've met Crepsley before?" I asked, eyes wide and brow furrowed. Then I realized my slip-up. "Um, I mean…eh…."

Lupin laughed good-naturedly. "I met the man quite a few years back, when I was much younger. His is a face one never quite forgets."

I nodded, sighing a bit, then questioned "And did you know what he is when you met him? I mean, that he's a vampire and everything?" Lupin nodded calmly, blue eyes a bit sad. "How'd you meet him?"

"That is something that I would rather not talk about. However-" the man's eyes were suddenly alight with mischief. "-if you would be willing to swap stories, it could be just our little secret." He looked curious and a bit hopeful, eyes boring straight into mine. I appraised him thoughtfully for a bit. My curiosity was gnawing away at my insides, and finally I caved.

"Fine!" I growled. He didn't flinch. "But first you have to tell me everything you know about vampires." I commanded.

Lupin looked surprised by my demand at first, but then a small, knowing smile lit up his face. He nodded and said "I understand, Darren." Then he launched into a long explanation of what wizards and witches believed about vampires. By the end of his speech, I could barely contain myself. It took all the willpower I possessed not to literally roll across the grass clutching my sides in laughter. The 'Magical Community' as he sometimes referred to it, had a few things right (such as how vampires are blooded), but most of it was dead wrong. According to them, some vampires (Subspecies type 2, as he called them) actually had purple skin! It was completely ridiculous in my opinion.

"From the expression on your face, I'd guess that a lot of our information is incorrect?" Lupin asked with a smile. Quickly, I did my best to compose myself, and told him that he was totally correct about everything, keeping Andy's warning in mind. Obviously, he didn't believe me, but he didn't press the issue. Instead, he asked me if I would tell him my story. I considered it for a moment, and then nodded.

I launched myself into a much shortened and highly edited version of what had been happening to me over the last few months, making sure to make a few things more bloodied and gruesome than they had actually been-just to see the expressions on the poor man's face. I made sure to add in the strange, purple-skinned vampires once or twice, basing how they might have acted on what Lupin had mentioned about them and also on a few of my favorite comic book villains. When I mentioned having to fake my own death and experience my own funeral, Lupin's eyes grew sad and full of pity. I made a face and continued with the story.

"I drained Sam after the Wolfman did that to him. He was alive, but…he wasn't really. I carry s-some of his…soul, I guess, around with me now." I whispered through my tears, holding a hand to my chest. "I ran away after that. I guess I just didn't want to face myself. But then a bunch of people-wizards or witches, I guess- attacked me and I was knocked unconscious or something. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in this stupid cage." I finished my tale bitterly. Suddenly, I was angry with myself. It was a stupid move to tell him all that! "You're not going to really keep what I just told you a secret, are you."

Slowly, Lupin shook his head. "I'm sorry Darren, but the headmaster needs to be told about all of this." And the strange thing was that he actually was sorry. I nodded silently, looking away. There was silence between us for a long time, broken only by the fierce winds that assaulted my heightened senses, before the man said quietly "I think that you're a very brave and noble young man, Darren. And, if you still want to hear it, I would be honored to tell you my story."

I nodded, almost reluctantly. Although I was admittedly upset with Lupin, for some reason I couldn't quite bring myself to hate him, nor could I ignore my ever present curiosity.

"When I was very young, there was a werewolf by the name of Fenrir Greyback." He began.

Harry Potter Point of View

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ron whispered, staring curiously out towards Darren's cage, where Professor Lupin was currently sitting. Immediately after breakfast, the professor had left the hall, carrying with him a sack. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had followed him, hoping not to be noticed. They could tell that something was up, but weren't sure what it might have been. Imagine their surprise when they saw their favorite teacher unloading food from the pack to a certain vampire boy!

Because of the whistling wind that promised bad weather, the trio had been unable to hear any of the conversation between the two other than a few snippets when the wind changed direction and blew the words towards them.

"Let's go inside." Hermione sighed after a while. "If we're caught out here, we could get even more detention."

Her two friends paled, and hurried to follow her back up towards the castle. The five Gryffindors had been allotted five hours of detention each, as well as the loss of 25 house points per person-a staggering total of 125 points! Needless to say, their fellow housemates were not happy. The Slytherins were another story….

Well, Harry was just glad that he hadn't been kicked off the Quidditch team or something equally as awful, that way he could get his frustration out in the upcoming match against the green and silver serpents. Although, Professor McGonagall had suggested that he be removed from the team for his own protection, he had managed to dissuade her from the idea. He would be allowed to continue, as long as Madame Hooch was present at all the Gryffindor practices.

Later in the day, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny were given the news that their detention would be pushed back for another week. They weren't given the details as to why. Over the next week, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was driven to practice twice as hard as usual under the ever watchful eyes of Madame Hooch. As such, Darren rarely crossed his mind. Hermione was a whole different story, though. She was almost constantly worried, and as the weather grew steadily worse, she would spontaneously burst into tears at the thought of the poor vampire boy alone, cold, and wet outside in his metal prison. However, she and the rest of the group had been unable to escape the castle for a long enough period of time to visit Darren.

One day, when a particularly loud and chilly gust of wind blew through the castle, chilling its residents and making the poor girl let loose another round of waterworks, Professor McGonagall finally took her to the side and questioned her in a surprisingly gentle voice about what the problem was. When the bushy haired witch explained (a bit hesitantly, since she was well aware of how much trouble 'secretly' sneaking out to see Darren could get her in) the elder witch had been too surprised to respond at first.

"I'm a little startled that you and your friends hadn't noticed it yet, but Professor Lupin has been visiting…Darren. I myself cast a charm over the cage to make certain that no rain could get inside. Professor Lupin has also been taking him food and blankets, as well as other comforts." She explained.

"Why does Darren need food?" Hermione questioned, brow furrowing. "All of the books said that vampires need only blood."

"Well, it seem as if some of the research done on former specimens was incorrect." The Professor said. "If the fools had bothered to keep those poor creatures alive, they would have known that." She silently added, anger lacing the thought. Hermione stared up at her Transfiguration Professor with wide, red rimmed eyes, before she nodded slowly, wiped her tears, and thanked the woman. She left, feeling much happier than she had for several days, vowing to thank the sickly professor the next time she saw him.

Please remember to review!