I am writing this right after the previous chapter, hoping to keep my mind flowing in it. Not sure I did.
You may or may not have contemplated staking your poor author, I'm sure. There is always a point to Vlad-centric thing here, if you need reminding.
-YDHP-
Vlad ran towards the sounds, silencing his shoes and slowing down when he heard a scream, focusing on the specific direction it came from. Bertrand and Ingrid were going to tear him limb from limb when he got out - assuming he survived.
A werewolf bite on the full moon wouldn't turn him, but it would kill him.
The silver bracelet would act as a deterrent, but it also meant the werewolves would be able to sense his movement as they felt the repelling purity of the metal. Rounding a few trees, he spotted them. There weren't two werewolves, there were six.
Draco had his wand out, and Vlad could see he had a shield charm up but his magic reserve was finite, would not last the whole night like a pack of hungry wolves would. Behind him were both Jacob and Jason, unarmed and by the looks of it utterly terrified. Vlad could sympathise.
"Werewolves only respond to the call of their own kind."
A voice suspiciously like Hermione sounded in his head, and Vlad sincerely hoped he never had to make this noise again. Taking a deep breath, he did his best attempt at a howl.
"Ah-wooooo."
If Draco ever mocked him for this, Vlad would threaten to feed him to a real werewolf. The pack turned to the sound as one, growling and grizzling. One had streaks of auburn in it's silver fur, reminding Vlad of Professor Lupin's greying hair that had probably been a rich brown colour. All werewolves had the same amber-coloured eyes, but one was clearly full of fight. Lupin took wolfsbane potion, why was he wild tonight in the first place?
Oh, right. Half a dozen wolves advancing. Vlad should have a plan. Backing up as they sniffed at the air, his back hit a tree. Could werewolves climb? He was about to find out. A lightening charm on his shoes boosted his jump enough to grab a branch, spotting thick enough limbs that he could probably get to where Draco and the twin boys were still cowering.
He had to distract the pack first.
"Diffindo" he grimaced as the charm cut through the skin on his forearm, deeper than he meant to but there was blood spilling out. Instantly attracted, the wolves surrounded the puddle on leaves and Vlad hurried across the trees, ignoring the pain of his bleeding forearm.
The largest wolf, which Vlad assumed was Greyback just because, followed the trail dripping from tree to tree, dangerously close to where Vlad was directly above the trapped students.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
It would have been great if he could have warned them, because several high pitched screams drew attention like moths to a flame as the twins flew straight up. Vlad hastened to sit them on a couple of branches, but their screams and his slowed reactions from pain had cost them.
Draco's pained scream cut through Vlad like a knife, yellowish and bloody teeth sinking deep into his forearm. Lifting the invisibility charm, he turned to the twins.
"No matter what, stay here. Stay hidden. And put this on."
They watched as Vlad threw the cloak at them, eyes wide with fear as they pulled it over themselves. Holding his forearm up slightly to try and slow the blood loss, he held his wand out at the wolf biting Draco.
"Incendio!"
He had been having trouble with overpowered fire charms on and off for weeks, and it showed as flames engulfed both the wolf's face and Draco's arm. Gritting his teeth, Vlad lunged and caught soft underbelly as he shoved hard, the wolf finally letting go so he could grab Draco. A silent dousing charm put out the fire, smell of burnt skin unpleasant but at least the boy was alive.
"I'm taking lessons from first years!"
Vlad thought as he mumbled a spongify charm, bouncing up to the tree tops and cancelling the charm before a savvy werewolf worked it out. He wasn't great at Healing, but he had potions in his bag. Draco was (probably mercifully) out cold, but Vlad could hear his heart pound, see his chest rise and fall in the bright moonshine as he dug for a Wiggenweld potion, a good general Healing potion.
Draco Malfoy was going to be a werewolf.
He forced that concern away, using his innate levitation skills to keep Draco afloat in the awkwardness of treetops as he swallowed a little potion himself, his forearm bleeding slowing. He had to tug Draco's jaw open, pour potion in and massage his throat to make him swallow. The burns started to heal, though they needed more expert care. He poured a dreamless sleep down after, to ensure Draco wouldn't wake through the pain until he could get back to the school.
"Boys? Either of you have your wand?"
"No" was hissed back, so Vlad had to think around it.
"Here, use mine. I don't need it. He should stay put, but use a levitation if Draco falls. I need to separate those wolves. Are there any adults here?"
"There were some that brought us here, I don't know where they went."
Swallowing some Replenisher and pocketing the rest of his potion vials, Vlad shrunk his backpack down and braced himself.
"When the moon starts to go down, you'll have about five minutes while they change back. Go that way and keep going, hex anyone in your way until you find my sister and our tutor."
"What about you?"
"If I'm alive by dawn, I'll worry then. Stay safe and get yourselves out ok?"
A mild Impediment jinx would hopefully keep Draco in place, Vlad didn't want to use ropes in case Jacob or Jason, whoever had taken his wand under the cloak, couldn't undo them.
"Oi you mangy dogs, come get some!"
Vlad scrambled to the next tree, hanging from one branch perilously to ensure he had their attention. They knew they were hunting a vampire now, would be further determined to tear him to pieces even if they couldn't actually eat him.
He was beginning to worry - he couldn't keep this up indefinitely, and there were at least six hours of night to go. He really needed to think through his plans more sometime.
Large, leathery wings obscured the moonlight for a moment, and the wolves scattered as what Vlad recognised to be a Thestral landed in their clearing, bony nostrils flaring as it sniffed around where Vlad had bled.
Of course.
"Do you understand me? Can you get them out of here?"
He was talking to a horse skeleton with wings. Apparently blood loss made him delirious.
The wolves tried to advance, but scattered again when the Thestral spread its wings and made a very strange sound. He could only describe it as a death rattle. It trotted under where Vlad was clinging dangerously, and he took a shot by dropping down onto it's back. The weight didn't even seem to jostle it, managing to keep Vlad perfectly steady as it swatted off the wolves again.
"Boys, I'm going to try and get under you. You need to take off the cloak though."
"You said not to!"
"For anyone but me, get a move on!"
The cloak vanished so Vlad could guide his new friend under the tree, floating Draco down and actually using some binding to hold him in place.
"Now you two. Leave the cloak there, I'll get it."
He held up a hand to guide them, shaky with adrenaline as the two clung to something Vlad now realised they could see. That was a chat for another day. They couldn't all fit, as Vlad had to climb back up in to the tree.
"There should be another vampire or two nearby. Take them there, please?"
The Thestral licked at Vlad's outstretched, bloodied hand, then turned and flapped enormous wings before galloping off at a fierce speed. Really, he should be escaping, but sentiment was getting the better of him - if he left Remus Lupin here, the man would be dead by dawn with his present 'company'. Harry cared about this man. He had to try.
The burnt werewolf was back up, blackened fur and raw looking burns already beginning to heal - one of the few advantages to being bitten by a werewolf was a rapid healing process. Trying to work out what he was going to do, it soon transpired he was attracting attention from more Thestrals, the bloodied puddle on the ground surrounded by no less than four of them now.
Picking out Lupin (he hoped), Vlad contemplated his options. Wrapping the cloak around his shoulders so he wouldn't lose it, he whistled to the Thestrals. One trotted over to him rather eagerly, rattling away to scatter the wolves.
"I have to save one of them. Do you understand me?"
He got a rattle in return, but the Thestral didn't leave. Hoping that signified understanding, Vlad dropped onto it's back and knelt awkwardly - keeping legs out of wolf teeth range. Not much could subdue the beasts, they were resistent to most magic because of sheer power and instinct. Vlad had to hope the frequent usage of Wolfsbane potion would at least slow Lupin down as he picked him out, fired every stunning/slowing/petrifying charm he could think of at him, then summoned the hopefully unconscious wolf to him.
The stench was overpowering up close, but Vlad still shifted to use the cloak for cover, then leant down and mumbled to his new friend.
"Hogsmeade. Shrieking Shack."
Holding a werewolf, an invisibilty cloak and trying to stay on a powerful flying creature was probably his finest achievement to date, a few twitches from the furry creature worrying Vlad as they reached the Shack.
"Thank you. You had better skidaddle, but I will come visit you guys for sure. I owe you my life."
He reached a hand to the bony beak-like face, patting it and got a softened rattle in return. Making a note to befriend these intelligent, beautiful creatures at a later date, Vlad used a couple of unlocking charms and sighed in relief, levitating the werewolf in front of him up to the most trashed room he had seen before.
"Please be built in protection."
Was all he could think as they crossed the threshold, then he stepped back and slammed the door closed just in time for Lupin to wake up, ramming into the door but Vlad could feel wards in place.
The adrenaline wearing off made him feel weakened, dropping to lean against a wall with his head against his knees. Draco had been bitten, they would probably all have died if not for the Thestrals coming to their rescue. He felt sick and weakened by the argentalium exposure, blood loss and cold hard fear.
Fumbling for a pepper up, he felt some of the exhaustion lift and settled in for the duration. Dawn had never been so welcome, and Vlad almost... almost felt bad for the pained screams the other side of the door. Maybe when he hadn't almost been killed by wolves, compassion could begin.
He pushed the door open, finding the twisted, naked, bloodied and bruised body of his Defence Against The Dark Arts professor. He pulled out several healing potions, a couple of energising and a replenisher, lining them up and finding some nearby bits of fabric to transfigure into basic clothing and a blanket, which he tossed over the werewolf to save both of their blushes.
"Vampire!"
"Yes, vampire who pulled you out of the Forest to save your sorry ass. Drink up, you need to get out of here."
Lupin blinked foggily, recognising and swallowing pain potions and healing potions like a burning man drinking water. His injuries healed before Vlad's eyes, then he turned to let the man dress in shapeless jumper and trousers.
"Clothes aren't my strong suit but I thought it better than you escaping naked."
"Werewolf time is always blurry, what happened?"
"There were six of you, and three students. Draco Malfoy was bitten, not by you but you can't stay here. It'll get out what you are, and Harry would miss you when a lynch mob kills you. So drink those, and go hide with Black. I'll talk to Dumbledore, I'm sure he will get your things to you."
"Was anyone killed?"
"I set a wolf on fire and he got back up, but Draco's bite was probably the worst of it."
"You're hurt."
"Self inflicted distraction. The sooner you get lost, the sooner I can go get healed."
Lupin nodded, finishing the line of glass vials and shuddering visibly as they worked their way through.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Harry."
For a moment, he was stunned silent.
"I was wrong about you. You are good for him."
As long as he was alive, Harry would probably want this wolf in his life. Vlad had to make a little effort he supposed, taking the outstretched hand.
"Don't make me regret it."
Harry was roughly woken by... Ingrid Dracula? at about one in the morning, finding Hermione in the empty common room and the two dragged along to the Hospital Wing. Jacob and Jason looked shaken but relatively unharmed, being harangued into dreamless sleep by Madam Pomfrey before his very eyes.
"Is Vlad here?"
"No. We couldn't get to him. Come through here."
That sounded extremely very bad, cold fear trickling down his spine. Lay on the bed, bloodied and unconscious, was Draco. Hermione gave a strangled cry, spying the thick bandage being peeled off his forearm gently.
"Was he? Is that a..."
"He was bitten, according to the twins. Vlad was alive last they saw him, but he attracted a Thestral and used it to deliver these three to us. Whoever rigged this used argentalium, so-"
"You couldn't get through, and the wolves couldn't escape. Vlad told us about it."
Hermione somehow remembered that as she watched her newly-werewolf boyfriend being treated, while Harry went slowly out of his mind worrying about Vlad. Not that Vlad was his boyfriend, but he was the most important person in his life.
"So he's out there alone? With werewolves?"
"They can't turn him, and if Vlad hadn't gone through the argentalium these three" Bertrand indicated Draco, then out towards the door Jacob and Jason slept behind "would be dead. It's a miracle they aren't all dead."
"And what if he's dead?"
"You think I'm not aware that I let a student run headlong into danger? That Ingrid isn't aware her brother is in danger?"
Mollified slightly, Harry shut up. If he tried to go out there Bertrand would stop him dead. All he could do was wait. Draco didn't come around before dawn, and Hermione fell asleep in the bedside chair, holding the non-bitten arms hand of her boyfriend. Harry paced, and Dumbledore and McGonogall appeared at around 5 in the morning. No sign of Severus, which perplexed Harry.
"Vladimir Dracula? Again?"
"Argentalium and short on time. As soon as he crossed the line there was no chance of us retrieving him, and had we left the Thestral would not have been able to deliver the students to us. Then the priority was getting Draco medical attention."
Their head of house went rather pale as she saw the bite, realising her student was now infected.
"Hold on, Thestral?"
McGonogall must have been very emotionally frayed, using abbreviated sentences and all sorts.
"Vladimir tied unconscious Draco to a Thestral, then got the twins on the same one and sent it running to us. Innovative, no? This was after he apparently separated the werewolf and Draco by setting it on fire."
"Dawn is breaking, by the way. If you were thinking of going to find the wolves and my brother in the Forest, since I can't."
A rare show of caring, Ingrid was obviously worried about Vlad now, heavily lacing words with intent.
"No need. I mean, find the wolves by all means, but I'm here."
Everyone had turned round by then, finding a bloodied, exhausted and for some reason, covered in silvery-brown hair Vlad.
"You're alive?"
"I think so. I'm so full of potions I can't be certain. Is Draco alive?"
Madam Pomfrey nodded, and Bertrand replied.
"Thanks to you."
Vlad offered them a tired sort of smile, then stumbled and reached for the nearest solid thing, which happened to be Harry. Madam Pomfrey tried to shoo him away but Vlad clung on, swaying on the spot.
"Are you hurt?"
"Bruised from trees. Uh, I cut my arm to bleed and distract the werewolves. Burnt my hand a little shoving the burning one off Draco."
Harry finally managed to guide Vlad to the nearest bed, though the vampire didn't relinquish his grip on Harry for a few minutes, grounding himself.
"If you give me an energiser so I can shower the smell of werewolf off me, I will tell you everything."
Madam Pomfrey huffed, healed the cut on his arm, the burn on his hand and handed him the yellow liquid he asked for. The effect was instantaneous, Vlad's energy returning and he hopped off the bed, running off into the bathroom like everyone wasn't half out of their minds.
He reappeared in clean clothes and looking nothing like he had had a long night running from monsters. By this time they were relocating to Draco's room, which was magically widened to fit a table for everyone to sit around, a couple of house elves delivering light breakfast snacks and hot drinks.
"I noticed Draco wasn't at dinner, and then Jacob and Jason were missing too. Saw Professor Lupin heading to the Forest with some big ugly furball."
Professor Lupin was a werewolf?
"Ingrid and Bertrand came with me to check, and it was apparent pretty fast it was a set up, because argentalium is a very specific thing to use, keeping the only creatures powerful enough to fight off a werewolf seperate whilst trapping the wolves in. I found half a dozen surrounding Draco and the twins, but he couldn't fight them off all night. Used the trees to get close, bled on the floor to attract them."
Vlad stopped for a mouthful of tea, eyes downcast.
"I got the twins up, but in my distraction Draco got bitten. I should have been faster."
"Vlad, you saved three people from six werewolves. Without a wand, which is out there by the way."
That was Hermione, who had apparently been listening in from her spot.
"But he got bitten."
"He's alive. They all are. They wouldn't be if you hadn't ran across that line. Now finish the story."
"Right. I told the twins to stay in the tree, and I knew I wasn't strong enough to break the grip of his teeth, so I did the first thing that came to mind and set him on fire. I think it was Greyback that bit Draco, it definitely wasn't Lupin."
There was his confirmation.
"Draco was bleeding, so I gave him dreamless sleep to knock him out, wiggenweld to try and stop him bleeding to death. I told the twins to wait until the wolves started changing back, because they would have five minutes while they recovered from the change, and to get out. That's why I gave them my wand, whoever put them there took theirs. Then, this Thestral comes along, probably because I was bleeding all over the place."
Another sip of tea, everyone hanging on his every word.
"The wolves are scared of Thestrals by the way. It chased them away from the tree we were hiding up, and let me put them on it's back. Told it to get them to Ingrid and Bertrand. Wasn't room for all of us and I wasn't going to win a speed contest with six werewolves. So, while I was contemplating how not to get eaten, another Thestral came along, chasing them off. I used every spell I could think of to knock Lupin out, took him to the Shack on the back of a Thestral, waited for him to transform and told him to get the hell out. That's why I didn't get back until morning, I spent a couple of hours just sat waiting."
"You saved a werewolf?"
Ingrid was incredulous, but Vlad just shrugged.
"He's important to Harry, and not a follower of Doctor Evil last I checked. I worried they would kill him if I left him there."
Vlad risked his life to save Remus Lupin, a werewolf who had been biased to his vampirism from day one. For Harry.
"You're an idiot."
"Love you too sis."
Now the danger had abated, Ingrid's visible concern had too.
"You students may stay here for the morning. Miss Granger is clearly immobile. Miss Dracula, I would suggest you be visible at breakfast, for appearances sake."
Ingrid rolled her eyes, then pointed out the teachers should move too before anyone noticed their absence. Vlad hugged a protesting Ingrid, then let them leave and flopped back into his chair, chewing absently on a slice of toast and trying to ward off Madam Pomfrey and her drugs until he had at least eaten.
"Oh, here Hermione. It helped, thank you."
Vlad slipped a bracelet off his wrist, then handed it back to her delicately.
"Hmm. He'll be allergic to this now. At least until I cure him."
Vlad's face creased in confusion, looking sad and guilty a second later.
"You can't cure lycanthropy."
Hermione glared angrily at the thick bandages obscuring the large bite mark on Draco's arm, eyes hard and determined.
"Yet."
-YDHP-
One more chapter of Year Three! Year Four is liable to be longer, do you guys still want it posted in one story? Year Five will definitely be separate, as pretty sure there will be a ratings change!