INTERLUDE

Bethany had been on Underhill's trail for weeks now.

She had first tracked him to a pub in Soho where he was lurking near a group of students at the bar. Hidden in the shadows, she watched as his eyes fixated on a willowy blonde and the colourful drink she was sipping. As he was hidden from the eyes of Muggles, it was child's play to pour the contents of a potion's vial into the girl's cocktail.

Having seen enough, Bethany traced her finger on the stolen ring she wore, the kind that was given to trusted Muggles by the Auror Corps. In under a minute, a pair of Sentries stormed into the pub. Their eyes zeroed in on the only wizard present, who was now fondling the artificially infatuated girl.

Bethany thought the blonde would've been enough to distract him, but she wasn't. Underhill caught sight of the approaching Aurors and quickly scarped out the back.

Swallowing her frustration, she quickly left the pub in case the Aurors returned. They wouldn't be happy to find one of her kind unsupervised amongst so many Muggles. Bethany told herself it didn't matter if they failed to catch him today as she would present them with more opportunities in the future.

After all, she knew where Underhill lived.

However, while she knew patience was a virtue in cases such as these, Bethany felt her frustration mount as she watched Underhill go about his day-to-day business like he wasn't a criminal. Like he wasn't every bit the monster she was.

Worst still, as a wizard, he had access to magical forms of transportation that she did not. So, Bethany had to keep watch over his house and family, unsure if he was continuing his crimes without her knowledge.

Still, this was almost beneficial. Even after all these years, Bethany struggled to keep her hunger in check but found it easiest when picturing her daughter. As she watched Underhill's young children play together, she felt her restlessness evaporate.

Unfortunately, as proven by numerous incidents over the years, this was not an infallible method.

Finally, after weeks of impatience that was only aggravated by the long sunny days, Underhill re-entered the Muggle world. For hours, Bethany didn't remove her eyes from his back, but her impatience began to grow when he refrained from committing illegal activities. Then, after a night of hard drinking, she saw him enter a dodgy hostel which- from what her senses told her- could only be a brothel.

This should have been her moment to call in the Aurors. But when Underhill struck the girl he was with, her bloody lip became a matador's red flag for Bethany.

Her control slipped.

She couldn't remember what she did next, only flashes of the pleasure and jubilation she got out of it.

Just as she had done numerous times before.

Bethany came back to herself minutes later, her front splattered with blood and viscera and her forearms coated in it. She stumbled out into the hall in search of a bathroom and dropped the organs she was holding in the sink as she hurried to wash her hands. When her skin was clean again she hurried back to the room to get rid of the evidence but paused when she heard whimpering.

There, huddled in the corner of the room, was a young brown-haired woman. She had her hands clamped over her mouth and tears were streaming from her eyes.

"It's okay," Bethany said with forced calm. "It's going to be-" She stopped when she heard police sirens in the distance. "Come on." The girl gasped when Bethany blurred across the room, grabbed her and then jumped out the open window, into the night.

Bethany only stopped running when she reached her safe house. She put the girl down in an armchair, marvelling at how light she was. She hasn't been eating properly, Bethany instinctively knew. There's not much nutritional value with this one. She shook her head and tried to get in touch with what was left of her humanity. But she couldn't picture her daughter's face.

The girl was babbling something. Bethany wished she understood, but the effects of the Translation Charm didn't survive the transition. "I can't understand you," she said.

The girl paused before visibly calming herself and speaking in stilted English. "I no tell. You let go?"

"Ah." Bethany grimaced. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I lied to you before. It's not going to be okay. I'm quite hungry you see."

"What-?" The girl's eyes widened when she saw Bethany's true face. She tried to scream, but Bethany clamped a hand over her mouth before plunging her fangs into the girl's neck.

Finally, when the girl's body had no more sustenance to offer, Bethany pulled away and dropped the dried-out husk. She knew she should clean her clothes before Underhill's blood dried, but her body became feverish as it experienced a state of euphoria. She lay down on her sofa and relished the sensation of hot blood pumping through her veins.

But every high has its comedown.

This is good, she tried to convince herself later. This is very good. The clothes were a loss and she had already thrown them away. She was now in the shower, scrubbing frantically at her skin. If I keep myself fed, I'll have more control while I hunt my enemies. And I'll have more control when I see my baby again. I'm keeping her safe.

Perhaps if she told herself that enough times, she'd eventually believe it.