Harry, Draco and Ron: Vampire Hunters

Chapter XI. The Game and the Death Eaters.

Let the game begin, hear the starting gun,

Play from the heart today, we will overcome,

When the game is over, all the counting done,

We were born to win Number One!

- Manowar, "Number One".

As they told him, while he was out the vampires started doing strange attacks on Ministry officials, but Fudge kept denying this has anything to do with Voldemort or any other organized operation... Until he was found killed by a vampire knife - a knife made of black steel.

*****

Harry was feeling a bit odd - maybe it had something to do with lying in a coma-like state for a week, maybe with the fact that Malfoy was in deep trouble for putting Harry into it or maybe with the fact that he had a Quidditch match with Ravenclaw tomorrow, and that meant meeting Cho. He wondered about her reaction to his... er... illness... but no-one could give him a decent answer, and he was just not up to asking her.

Ron kept trying to raise Harry's hopes, while the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was slacking in the trainings for the last week, while Harry was... er... not in a sport-ready state. All pointed towards one thing - there will be crushing all right, and they were ones who were going to be crushed.

*****

"Harry, stop being so nervous!" Hermione exclaimed. She and Ginny were sitting on either side of Harry, trying to cheer him up. The match was in half an hour and Harry could not force a single molecule of food into his mouth even if his life depended on it. Actually, it did.

Finally, he stood up, a determined look on his face, and walked off into an unknown direction pretty fast without saying a word. Hermione only frowned at this, while Ginny went after him.

She could not, however, find him and was forced to go straight to the pitch, hoping that he would come. But it did not appear so.

*****

"Listen, Cho, we don't have much time for this, so..." he started rather feebly, but she cut him off pretty roughly. They were walking down a hallway right now, moving in the general direction of the Quidditch pitch.

"Listen, Harry, I don't want to have a single thing with you anymore, understood?" he tried to say something, but just opened his mouth without saying anything, as if words escaped his grasp, so she went on, "Besides, if you thought that getting onto my better side, in which you just failed, would help you win the game, then you are oh-so-wrong!"

She gave a short laugh and proceeded moving determinedly towards the Quidditch pitch. Harry took a deep breath in and, without a single word, ran after her, stopped her and, when she turned to insult him or stop him or something like that, judging from her face, he kissed her on the lips, firmly and decisively. She tried to push him away at first, but then melted into the kiss...

*****

"Where the hell have you been?" Ron hissed angrily as Harry dashed into the changing rooms, "They will disqualify us if we aren't on the pitch in five minutes!"

"Just tying up a few loose ends, my friend," Harry replied, grinning mischievously, giving inner thanks to Ginny for giving him such a weapon of self-respect-boosting as The Ring.

He then put in into his pocket so that it won't affect him during the game...

*****

"And now, the Gryffindor team!" Lee Jordan announced, for he always was slightly biased towards his own House's team.

Harry and his team flew out onto the pitch, followed by the applause from the Gryffindor stands. Jordan called out the Ravenclaws and they flew out as well. Harry could not help but grin as his eyes met Cho's and for a moment froze, green eyes locked into hazel. The standard exchange of a handshake between captains took place and Madam Hooch released the balls.

"And it's Spinnet in possession, she's..." Jordan commented, but cut himself short pretty quickly, "Watch out Alicia!" he yelled, but was then elbowed by McGonagall, who was sitting next to him as usual, putting him back in line when his comments became too biased, "Well, Spinnet barely avoids that Bludger and passes on to Johnson, that stunningly beau... Alright, alright professor!" he added rather hastily as McGonagall shot him an angry look.

Harry grinned at the usual mischief Lee was causing, while he was scanning the pitch for the snitch. Cho was not far away, obviously hoping to follow him, but her Nimbus 2001 was no match for Harry's Firebolt, at least in a straightforward race.

"Not angry anymore, eh?" he yelled to her. She shook her head. "Thought so," he added.

Then his eyes caught something. A small gold glitter at the opposite end of the pitch, near the Ravenclaw goal hoops. Cho did not notice it as she was still looking at Harry, but after she noticed the way he looked behind her, she also turned her head to see what the reason was. That was when he shot forward, leaning closer to his broom.

"As they say," thought Harry, "In love and war, anything goes."

He was flying towards the snitch, but, just in case, looked back at Cho. She was following him, but her Nimbus 2001 was slowly falling behind Harry's Firebolt and it was obvious who was going to reach the snitch first.

But when Harry looked forward he did not see it anymore. Coming to a sharp halt, he looked around. The small winged golden ball was nowhere to be seen and Cho stopped as well, though now she was significantly closer to him than when they were talking over at the Gryffindor goals.

"Damn!" he heard her say, and then add a bit of heavier swearing.

"Interesting, I never heard her swear that way before" thought Harry.

He rose higher, for otherwise he'd be trampled since Angelina was charging towards the Ravenclaw goal right now, the two Ravenclaw chasers close on her tail. Harry saw her pass to Katie and Katie scored.

"And Bell scores another goal for Gryffindor making the count seventy to twenty in their favour!" Lee announced cheerfully.

Suddenly, Harry saw the snitch again - it was hovering above the middle of the pitch, he charged forth, but heard a sickening crunch behind. When he turned back to see what it was, he found out that Cho had crashed into Alicia and now they both were plummeting down towards the ground.

Without thinking, he turned around swiftly and raced to catch them. The realisation that he won't reach them in time struck his mind pretty painfully, so he did the most stupid thing ever - like a parachute diver he jumped forwards from his broom, putting his arms close to his sides, so that he would fall faster then they did. He reached them in no time that way, then transformed into his gryphon form...

*****

The match ended with Gryffindor being disqualified for one of their players doing the Animagus transformation mid-game, but Harry's efforts saved both Cho and Alicia. The first ended up with a slightly damaged broom (mostly twig-wise) and a broken arm, while the second got a broken leg and a virtually destroyed broom. The match was considered a technical Ravenclaw victory and the scores fixed as if Ravenclaw caught the snitch the moment Harry transformed, thus bringing them a victory of a hundred and seventy points against Gryffindor's hundred, despite the efforts of Ravenclaws to arrange a rematch, since Harry was, after all, saving their Seeker (and his own team's Chaser, but they still wanted a fair game).

"Why did you do that?" Cho asked of him while he was sitting on the edge of her bed. Alicia was several beds away, but she was quite aware of Harry's affection for Cho, so she er... did not mind. She was asleep anyway.

"Do what?" he asked softly, holding her healthy hand in his.

"Save me..." she replied quietly, as if saying these words was a horrible thing to be ashamed of, "After my... my..." she seemed not to be able to string words together as tears filled her eyes.

"Hey, you had a point then..." Harry replied, "I did ignore you for some time. But Hermione's just my friend, as for Ginny... Ginny doesn't yet understand that while she's dating some other guy I can't stay the Boy of Her Dreams," he bent down, kissing her forehead lightly, and stood up, letting go of her hand, "Sleep well. I've got to go and get trampled by the rest of my team for saving you and losing the game."

"It wasn't your fault..." she replied, but he did not hear her, for he had already left.

*****

"Great, Harry. Now why'd you do it?" Ron asked angrily, "I thought you and Cho split up?"

"We just made up again," Harry replied, "Besides, don't you think that I wasn't only saving Cho, but Alicia as well?"

Angelina and Katie nodded, so, after a moment's hesitation, did the twins. Ron saw that he was alone in his point of view upon Harry's behaviour and he did not seem very happy about it.

"But the points..." he started.

"The points make us exactly equal with Slytherin in the second place and now all depends on how well Ravenclaw plays them," Harry replied coldly, cutting his friend off.

"So, have it your way then," Ron replied, feeling his defeat.

*****

About a week later Cho and Alicia finally left the Hospital wing, despite all of Madam Pomfrey's efforts to keep them in for another week. McGonagall gave Gryffindor fifteen points in Animagus Studies for Harry's performance at the game, but this did little to cheer Ron up from his now-perpetual state of chanting "We'll lose the cup" without stopping.

One fine day, the 18^th of December it was, Harry remembered that day well afterwards, Ginny stumbled upon Harry in one of the corridors. It was between lessons and they had a small amount of time, but Harry had quite enough to realise that this meeting was not accidental as Ginny claimed.

"Listen, Harry. I want to know, fair and square, are you and Cho er... together?" she asked bluntly. Harry took his time to think of an answer.

"Listen, Ginny, I know this will sound hard and all, but... Yes, we are."

"I knew it. I just simply knew it. And all that time, you could not tell me?" she asked angrily.

"Hey, I was unsure of the outcome myself... Until that game. Now I am," he replied, "I know I sound silly and all, but that's just the way I am, so..."

But he chose not to finish his sentence for she was already running away down the hallway, tears streaming from her eyes; she even ignored Snape's remark about taking points from Gryffindor for running in the corridors, which shocked Snape so much that he actually forgot to take those points. At some other point in his life, Harry might've rejoiced at these news, but right now he just could not.

*****

Christmas flew past in a daze, the celebrations marred somewhat by the ever going toil and turmoil of the "Let us bash Harry Potter for being able to love just one girl, who, by the way, is not Ron's little sister" and the "Let us complain loudly why does Hermione spend more time in the library than with her friends" discussions. Both, needless to say, were led by Ron, and were gathering followers pretty quickly.

Harry could not stop wondering why'd life need to be so cruel, but did not voice any complaints, since he knew that doing so would bring more trouble upon his head, while avoiding this question might mean that sooner or later Ron will cool down.

*****

Anyway, somewhere around the end of the first week of January, Harry was in an urgent need for leaving the dorms. There were two actual reasons to this need: the unbearable atmosphere and the fact that he and Cho agreed to meet in the Transfig classroom...

So, at exactly midnight, the snow slowly drifting beyond the window, Harry got up, dressed himself, grabbed the Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's Map and the Flashlight of Magic (as he called it since his wand was inside), and made his escape from the not-so-welcome confines of the Gryffindor fifth-year boys' dorm.

He did not resort to using the Flashlight since it was not that dark in the hallways, besides Filch or someone else that was on patrol might see the light, he had it more as an emergency last resort in case he needed a source of light urgently and was too scared to pronounce the Lumos spell so that it would work properly.

Upon arrival into the classroom, Harry was glad to find Cho safe and sound, not to mention... naked?

That's right, her clothes were that shapeless pile on one of the desks, and she was that wonderfully graceful being sitting on another desk.

Well, those last thoughts were quickly rushed out of his mind, for he suddenly became too busy with other, more urgent matters...

*****

About an hour later, when they both left the classroom they were treated to a nasty surprise - the dots belonging to Draco Malfoy and Lavender Brown were quite all alone in the Charms classroom.

"Good thing we're not there..." Harry whispered, but then started thinking, "What? Malfoy's got her?"

"Harry, are you worried about Malfoy snogging Lavender or about us making it safely back to our dorms?" Cho hissed angrily.

"Er... Sorry dear..." he whispered in reply, "But what if isn't... just snogging?"

"Yeah, and if we're caught by Filch?" she retaliated. Harry accepted his defeat and followed her. They sneaked through the hallways together just until a strange-looking shadow attracted Harry's attention...

The last thing he remembered was seeing the floor merrily propel itself towards his face once again.

*****

Ron woke up upon hearing noises as if someone was rummaging through Harry's chest. Actually, someone was. And it was Harry. Right, he pulled out his Cloak, his Map and the Flashlight...

"I wonder where's he going?" Ron thought as he heard Harry leave the room, covered by the Invisibility Cloak, "On a second thought, maybe I don't," he added quickly and tried to fall asleep again. Unfortunately, his sleep was disrupted permanently, so he, too, dressed up and got out.

At least he could check if Hermione returned to her dorm, as she was not at dinner, not in the Common Room... Maybe she fell asleep in the library again?

He had to check, just in case.

*****

"Listen, I was thinking..." Lavender started, "Maybe this," she waved around herself, "Maybe this is wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, looking baffled.

"You... and me... Wrong..." she replied thoughtfully.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked, "We're happy; we're a secret everyone knows, what else could you wish for?"

He sat down onto the desk next to her, but she moved away.

"Love?" she asked.

"Love?" he repeated, "But... But I love you, Lavender, I really do..." he started, but she cut him short.

"Yes? And why don't I see proof of it?" she asked with an inquisitive look on her face.

"What do you mean? I'm here, with you, I always am."

"Yes, but you could at least start with being a bit friendlier with my Housemates..." she started, "Not insult them, or play cruel jokes on them..."

"I don't insult anyone from your House!" he protested, "Alright, I might. But only Potter, Weasley and Longbottom!" he added under her glare, "Oh, and Granger, and Creevey, and Bell..." his voice trailed off as he found himself cornered.

"...And the rest of my House as well," she finished for him, "Does that ring a bell?"

He looked into her eyes, taking her hand into his.

"Listen, I..." he started, but stopped quickly upon hearing some strange noises from beyond the door... Noises as if a body was dragged across the floor. And not just one body at that.

"Wait here," he whispered and sneaked up to the door.

The last thing he remembered was the door swinging open and hitting him very painfully on the head. He blacked out almost immediately.

*****

Harry woke up only to find himself being locked into a cage of some sorts. Deposited in the two nearby cages identical to his were Ron and Malfoy.

"That's bad," he whispered to himself.

"Even more bad than you can possibly imagine," said a horrifyingly cold voice, "Mr. Potter," the voice added.

Harry turned towards its source and saw the man that was speaking - tall, pitch black shoulder-long hair, pale skin one could almost see through, black clothes under a black cloak. A vampire as far as Harry could tell by the appearance and the absence of windows around, for this room did not seem to be a dungeon one. Or it was a very cheap-ass dungeon then, for the room was small and circular. Harry could bet all of the money in his Gringotts vault that they were in a tower of some sorts.

"Reilak, I presume?" he replied, trying to sound colder than the day-walker in front of him.

"You're smart, Mr. Potter... For a mortal that is," Reilak replied, "Too bad the Dark Lord has plans that you won't avoid with those puny wits of yours."

Harry turned to face the sounds coming from his right - Ron woke up. So did Malfoy.

"What the hell am I doing here?" Malfoy asked, his angry voice echoing off the walls of the narrow room, "What the hell are they doing here?" he added after taking a quick look around.

"You three are here for a decent reason," Reilak replied, "So are the girls."

"The girls?" the three boys asked in unison, then looked at each other with questioning looks.

"Yes. Miss Chang, Miss Granger and Miss Brown," the vampire replied.

"Why'd you need them? All your master wants is me and I know it!" Harry yelled angrily.

"Let Lavender go, this is my family's problem!" Malfoy yelled.

"What did Hermione ever do to you?" Ron yelled, adding even more to the noise that was reverberating in the small room.

"Silence!" Reilak commanded, "They are here to insure your well-behaving on your stay here, and as insurance from any problems..." he explained.

"At least tell us what do you want from us!" Harry protested.

"Alright. Mr. Potter is to be sacrificed in the name of the Dark Lord, in an act of rightful vengeance. Mr. Malfoy is here to pay for his parents' betrayal, for they are not in a state to do so anymore," here Draco's face became contorted with pain, not physical, but mental, "And Mr. Weasley will be a small addition to the ration of my men, for they are a bit annoyed by using animal blood as a substitute for human blood..."

Having said that, he left before any of the boys could say anything else.

"Vengeance?" Draco asked, giving Harry a questioning look.

"Well, I've stopped him from being reborn twice, so I suppose he's a bit pissed off by that," was the reply.

"Betrayal?" Ron asked of Draco, one of his eyebrows moving slowly upwards.

"My parents gave themselves in to the Ministry officials, for they did not think Voldemort trusts them enough."

"And according to this creep's words he did not," Ron concluded.

"Even more - they are probably already dead," said Harry absent-mindedly.

"What?" Malfoy yelled, throwing himself at the bars of his cage, "What did you say?"

"They are dead already. The Killing Curse. Died side by side," Harry explained grimly.

"How'd you know?" Ron asked.

"The same way I knew Malfoy here," Harry nodded at Draco, "was a werewolf - the Ring. It does not just make me lose conscience, it makes me see dreams... Strange dreams, but they give more knowledge of the real world than the real world itself. They're dead, I know it as well as the fact that you are a werewolf, since the source is the same."

Silence came down upon the three inmates of this unknown tower...

*****

The next morning a guard - a Death Eater - brought food. If that strange goop with stale bread could be called food. Just before he left, he threw a newspaper at Draco, an evil jest upon his lips.

The front page had a large headline saying "Death Eater and his wife died the next day after giving themselves in to the law!"

"And so it begins..." Harry whispered mournfully, "The beginning of the End."

**********