Hadley opened his eyes with agonizing slowness, squinting at the unshaded lamp nearby. It made the sun seem pale in comparison with his head throbbing the way it was. His hands were above him, making his wrists ache, and the pain in his head made him have to fight back bile so he didn't throw up.
"I thawt I thaw a putty tat." The mocking voice made Hadley's insides freeze, only his eyes dared to move as he searched the darkness beyond the lamp. And then he saw the vampire.
"I did, I did thee a putty tat!" Finished with his Tweety Bird imitation, the vampire grinned unpleasantly at Hadley. When Hadley tried to move he discovered he was actually chained to a wall and his feet were cuffed together. His shirt and jeans were gone leaving him in only his briefs and not a single weapon in sight. Not even his wand.
"Now then, luv, let's get down to business." the bantering left his tone and his eyes hardened into pools of granite. "Who do you work for?"
Hadley blinked, confused and caught completely off guard it took him a moment to even respond. "I don't work for anyone."
"Bollocks." the vampire bit the word out precisely. Hadley fought the instinctual urge to hunch over to protect his vital organs as the vampire got closer to him. "Who do you work for?"
Hadley's head snapped back as the vampire slapped him. Hadley had been tortured several times, but he had to admit being slapped was a new one, even if it hurt like hell. Hadley lost his diplomacy filter when torture was brought out.
"Go to hell."
Immediately there was a ringing in Hadley's ears as he was hit again, this time he could taste blood from where he bit his tongue.
"Once again, who do you work for?"
Spitting out the blood in his mouth, he growled up at the vampire. "No one, knobhead!"
The vampire blinked in surprise, and then rocked back on his heels and laughed. Regaining his control, he leaned in until his mouth was inches from Hadley's face. Fangs gleamed in the light.
"I know you're lying." His voice was a whisper, a threatening caress against his skin. He lowered his head until his mouth brushed against Hadley's neck. Hadley held himself still, this wasn't the first time he had been threatened, it certainly wouldn't be the last. He was never going to beg.
Cool breath blew against his skin causing goosebumps to rise. "I know you're lying," he repeated. "Because last night I was looking for a bloke. When I spotted him, I saw the same lovely red-haired vixen who'd been rubbing on me leaving with him. I followed, thinking I would sneak up on him while he was occupied. Instead, I watched you plug a stake into his heart, and what a stake!" In front of Hadley's eyes, the vampire dangled his modified stake triumphantly. "Wood on the outside, silver on the inside. Now, that's made in America! Poof, down goes Devon! You didn't even stop there. You plopped him in the trunk of his own car and drove to your truck, where you chopped his bleedin' head off and buried him in pieces. Then you went home whistling a merry tune. How in the bloody hell could you do that, hmm? You don't work for anyone? Then why, when I take a deep whiff here," he put his nose to Hadley's collarbone and inhaled, "-do I smell something other than human? Faint, but unmistakable. Vampire. You've got a boss, you do. Feeds you some of his blood, right? Makes you stronger and faster, but still only human. Us poor vamps never see it coming. All we see is… food."
The vampire slid his finger down Hadley's pulse in his throat, pressing lightly as a threat.
"Now, for the last time before I forget my manners, tell me who your boss is."
Hadley watched him, and he understood the threat perfectly. But he was also beginning to feel extremely annoyed and not the least bit scared, and Harry had never been accused of having much self-preservation. He would have made a terrible Slytherin.
"I. Don't. Have. A. Boss." Each word was bit out with careful enunciation. If he was going to be killed by someone, he sure as hell wasn't going to do it by lying. The scars on the back of his hand from Umbridge probably had to do a lot with that particular issue. "You want to know why I smell like a human and a vampire? Because that's what I am. From what I can gather from various second-hand accounts and my mother's journals, my mother came to the US to take a break from her husband before she throttled him into the afterlife. While she was here, she went on a date with who she thought was just a nice regular guy. He turned out to be a vampire, and while she doesn't explicitly say so in her journal, her permission for his cock to even be near her had been rescinded as soon as his fangs popped out, not that the vampire seemed to care about consent all that much. Five months later I was born, premature but fully developed, with some obvious characteristics not belonging to her husband. I didn't learn of my heritage until I was 17 years old. My best friend's family was also slaughtered by a kiss of rogue vampires a couple of years ago. So I decided when I started to need to make money, I would put my inherited skills to work and hunt vampires and other rogues with bounties on them. Who better to hunt them than a half-blood bastard of one?" Harry's voice had risen, but he kept his tone even. He had never backed down before and he wouldn't do it now.
The vampire stood staring at him for a minute, then he tapped his chin with his finger and looked at Hadley with an expression that could only be described as thoughtful.
"Well?" Hadley drawled, with his head pounding he wasn't in the mood to be stared at all day. "Are you going to kill me or not you manky prat?"
That earned Hadley an amused glance. "Knobhead? Manky prat? Ah, how you do make me miss England. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"My mother is dead and you are not fit to speak of her, now kill me already you mingebag, or let me go!"
A ghost of a smile hovered on his lips. "Bit of the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it? Considering just a few hours ago it was me you were attempting to kill. I've seen you do murder as well. And if what you are telling me is true, you're the same kind I am."
"How so?" Hadley asked wary, eyes narrowing. He didn't trust this man for even a second.
The man smiled secretively and Hadley was not amused.
"Look, either kill me or let me go."
Faster than Hadley could blink, the vampire's mouth was pressed against his pulse. He froze as he felt the graze of teeth against his skin. He would not beg nor plead. Death wasn't scary. He had died before, he could do it again.
Abruptly the vampire leaned back again, one eyebrow cocked up at Hadley. "Brave little Kitten. In a hurry to die, are you? Not before you answer a few more questions."
"What makes you think that I will?"
A curl of his mouth preceded his response. "Believe me, Kitten, you'll like it much more if you do."
Hadley rolled his eyes. "Not like you seem to believe the truth I told you before, so I am not sure what you plan to get out of this failed interrogation but fire away if it'll make you feel better."
The vampire's smirk widened, not in the least disturbed by Hadley's snarky tone. It was good one of them was having a good time.
"Right, then. Suppose I do believe you're the offspring of a human and a vampire. Almost unheard of but we'll get back to that. Then let's say I believe you troll clubs hunting us evil dead to either avenge your mum or your friend. The question remains, how did you know what to use to kill us? It's not an open secret. Most humans think good old wood will do it. But not you. You're telling me you've never dealt with vampires before, except to kill them?"
Hadley took a minute to think. Did he dare tell this strange vampire that he was a wizard? Would that put him in more or less danger? He couldn't really explain his knowledge of vampires without mentioning Hogwarts. Did he have anything to lose by telling the man? It's not like he was a muggle and as soon as Hadley could get his wand back, he would be killing him.
"You got anything to drink around here for non-bloodsuckers?" Hadley asked, trying to buy himself some time to weigh the pros and cons of the decision to tell the man about wizards, if he didn't already know about them that is.
The vampire let out an amused snort. "Thirsty, luv? What a coincidence. So am I."
Hadley assumed that was supposed to be a threat, but it just made him roll his eyes.
The vampire pulled a flask out of his jacket, opened it, and placed the rim against Hadley's lips, tilting it. Hadley couldn't use his hands, so he grabbed the bottle with his teeth and used it for leverage to empty the flask into his mouth. It was whiskey, decent whiskey for muggle standards, but when you learn to drink using firewhiskey nothing really ever stands up to that kind of burn. Sighing Hadley released his grip on the flask, letting it drop back into the vampire's hand.
He held it upside down, apparently bemused by its lack of contents. "If I'd known you were such a lush, I'd have given you the cheap still. Needed a little liquid courage did you?"
Hadley shrugged as much as his chained arms would allow him to.
"What's the matter? Did I ruin my flavor for you? I'm sure I'll be turning over in my grave worrying that you didn't like how I tasted."
This drew more laughter. "Good form, Kitten! But enough stalling. How did you know what to use if no vampire told you?"
Fuck it. Not like he could get in trouble for this. "My school."
The vampire remained blank-faced, waiting for elaboration.
"I'm a wizard. My mom was a witch. I attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for 6 years. We learned about vampires in our 3rd year. Also met the only friendly vampire I have ever come across during my 6th year. Vampire's weakness to silver isn't a secret in my world. Although it was a couple of years ago when I was making caramel apples that I thought of hiding the silver within something that a vampire would believe to be harmless. Was pretty easy to do and with how vampires tend to be eyeing my jugular, they usually don't get enough time to realize I am even holding a weapon."
The vampire shook his head slowly back and forth as if uncomprehending. Finally, he fixed piercing eyes on him and burst out, "Are you telling me that bloody caramel apples and magic school taught you how to kill vampires? Is that what you are saying?"
Suddenly the vampire threw his head back, he laughed in rich, deep peals of mirth. "That's the funniest bleedin' bit I've heard in decades!" Still chuckling, he got closer to Hadley again.
"How did you know he was a vampire when you saw him? Did your 'magic' school tell you how to spot them, or did you not find out until he tried to have an artery party?"
Artery Party? Well, that was one way to put it. "I mean, yes? They taught us how to identify a lot of creatures. But nothing beats practical application. Your kind looks different. All of you do. Your skin looks… ethereal, almost. You move differently, more purposefully. Not to mention when I am near any kind of undead, especially vampires, I feel it in the air, like static electricity. Happy now?" Hadley's arms have moved passed falling asleep and into aching and burning like hell.
"Almost. How many vampires have you killed? Don't lie to me, or I'll know it."
Pursing his lips, Hadley tried to count. He was pretty confident of his numbers here in the States. But back in England? During the war? That was just harder to try to estimate. "At least 16, including your friend last night, since coming to America. Back in England though? I know for sure of at least 11, but probably a little higher than that."
"27?" he repeated in disbelief, looking over Hadley again. "27 vampires you took out yourself with nothing but a stake and your charisma? Makes me ashamed of my kind, it does."
Hadley shrugged. "Probably would have killed more, but I took a couple of years off. "
In a flash the vampire was gone, leaving Hadley staring at the spot where he'd just been. He certainly moved fast. Faster than any vampire he'd seen.
Left alone, Hadley craned his neck to see where he was. It looked to be a cave of some sort or at the least a room carved out of limestone. With the sound of dripping water in the background, the bitterness of the cold, and how dark it was, Hadley was leaning toward a cave.
Hadley heard echoes of the vampire somewhere in the distance. Seizing his chance, he wrapped his fingers around the braces holding him and pulled downward with all of his inhuman strength. Sweat gathered on his brow, his legs clenched with effort, he usually held back on his human strength which he is now realizing could be a deadly mistake.
There was a creak of metal in stone, a rasp of chains clanging together, and then the only light was suddenly switched off. Laughter from the darkness made Hadley tense, waiting trying to sense where the vampire was in the darkness.
"Oh, sorry about that. Those won't budge. They're not going anywhere, and neither are you. Good of you to try though. Hate to think that your spirit had been broken already. Not much fun in that."
"Fuck you," Hadley said, trying to hold back his anger. He refused to be teased and taunted by this bastard.
"Time's up luv." His voice was suddenly next to Hadley, pressing up against him. Hadley's breath caught for a second before he forced himself to breathe normally. The vampire's cold hands slid through Hadley's hair, tilting his head and leaving his throat bared.
The vampire's mouth sealed on Hadley's throat, tongue circling his rapid pulse in a deliberate manner. Hadley pressed himself back into the cold limestone, but it offered no escape as the pressure of pointed, sharp teeth grazed Hadley's exposed and vulnerable artery.
"Last chance, Kitten. Who do you work for? Tell me the truth and I'll let you live."
Hadley growled, he hated being called a liar. "I told you the truth." He straight at the faint green glow in the darkness, vampire eyes, signaling his location.
"I don't believe you…" Softly spoken, but Hadley could feel the rage in his blood as the words fell with the weight of an ax. "Bloody hell, look at your eyes."
The vampire stared at Hadley with his fanged mouth hanging open in disbelief, his face now illuminated by the green glow of Hadley's own eyes. "Look at your bloody eyes!" The vampire gripped either side of Hadley's head as though it would spin off.
Still fighting back the haze from his anger, Hadley rolled his bright green eyes. "Don't need to look at them. I've seen them. They turn vampiric green when I lose control of my emotions. Happy now?"
As if his head were scalding, Hadley was quickly released causing him to sag slightly in the chains still holding him. The sound of the vampire pacing bounced off the stone walls.
"Bugger, you're telling the truth. You have to be. You have a pulse, but only vampires have eyes that glow that shade of green. This is unbelievable!"
"So glad you're excited." Hadley snarked watching the vampire that was definitely worked up now, the distraction causing the vampire's eyes to fade from green to their warmer brown shade.
"Oh, this is perfect! In fact, it could come in right handy."
"What could come in handy? Either kill me or let me go already. I'm tired bloodsucker."
The vampire whirled around, beaming, clicking the lamp back on. It cast the same harsh light it had previously, flowing over his features like water. He looked ghostly beautiful under its blanket, like a fallen angel.
Wow, nearly dying apparently makes him both delusional and a poet. Disgusting.
"How would you like to put your money where your mouth is?" He said disrupting Hadley's thoughts.
"Huh?" Hadley was confused.
"I can kill you or let you live, but living comes with conditions. Your choice, your pick. Can't let you leave without conditions or else you'd just try to stake me in the future."
"Aren't you an intelligent one? Give the vampire a biscuit." Hadley really needed to learn how to not sass his enemies.
"You see," he continued as if Hadley hadn't spoken at all, probably for the best. "We're in the same boat, luv. You hunt vampires. I hunt vampires. Both of us have our reasons, and we both have our problems. Another vampire can sense me whenever I'm close by, so that makes it bleedin' difficult to stake 'em without them expecting it and running. You, on the other hand, put them completely at ease with that juicy artery of yours, but you aren't strong enough to bring down the really big fish. Oh, you may have beaten some green ones, probably no older than fifty years, tops. Barely out of their nappies, as it were. But a Master Vampire, like me?" His voice dropped to a scathing whisper. "You couldn't bring me down with both stakes blazing. I'd be picking you out of my teeth in minutes. Therefore I propose a deal. You can continue doing what you love most, killing bad little vampires. Yet you will only hunt the ones I'm looking for. No exceptions. You're the bait. I'm the hook. It's a capital idea."
Hadley had to blink at the vampire. Maybe that last killing curse had given him brain damage? This had to be a twisted delusion. The vampire was clearly off his rocker. Although Hadley tended to attract the crazy ones to him. The vampire watched him expectantly, the threat still hanging in the air. If Hadley said no, he knew what would probably happen before he could even blink. Happy hour, with Hadley's neck on tap.
The vampire's foot tapped on the stone floor. "Don't have all night. The longer you wait, the hungrier I get. Might just change my mind in a few minutes."
"I'll do it." The words flew out of Hadley's mouth before he could even think about saying no. He'd never been accused of being sane or with much self-preservation. "But I have a condition of my own."
"Do you?" The vampire laughed again. What a jolly guy. "You're hardly in a position to demand conditions.
Hadley's chin stuck out as he did an impressive Malfoy impersonation. "Just challenging you to put your money where your mouth is. You said I wouldn't last a minute against you, even with both weapons. I disagree. Unchain me, give me my stuff, and let's go. Winner takes all."
There was a definite spark of interest in the man's eyes now, and that sly smile was back on his lips. "And what do you want if you win?"
"Your death," Hadley said bluntly. "If I can beat you, I don't need you. Except for maybe your head so I can sell it for the right price. As you put it, if I just let you walk, you'd just come after me. You win, and I play by your rules."
"You know, pet," he drawled, "with you chained there I could just have a nice long drink out of your neck and go about my business as usual. You're pushing your luck quite a bit."
"You don't seem like the type that likes a boring drink out of a chained artery," Hadley boldly countered. "You seem like the type who enjoys a little danger with their meal. Why else would a vampire hunt other vampires? Well? Are you in?"Hadley knew his eyes held an unwavering challenge in them. He was no shrinking violet.
Slowly the vampire glided over, letting his brown eyes slide down Hadley's body. With a raised brow, he pulled out a metal key and dangled it teasingly in front of Hadley. Then he inserted it firmly into the center of his manacles and twisted. They fell open with a click.
"Let's see what you've got," he said finally. For the second time that night.
Why did Hadley get himself into situations like this?
Gryffindor stupidity, probably.