A Piece of His Soul

A Piece of His Soul

Chapter Three

"Remus, what do you know about vampires?"

Remus Lupin looked across at his deputy headmaster slightly startled by the unexpected question. If someone had told Remus years ago that he would become the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he would have thought that person crazy. If someone had told Remus that Lucius Malfoy's son would be his deputy headmaster, Remus would have sent that person on a one-way trip to one of those Muggle Homes for Psychos.

However, he was now Headmaster and Voldemort of all people was to thank. Voldemort had specifically targeted supporters of Dumbledore several years ago, in an attempt to cripple the Order of the Phoenix. And in a blitzkrieg attack, he killed many of the Hogwarts Professors, maiming the wizarding school. However, Voldemort didn't target Remus, not seeing the werewolf as a threat. With many empty position to fill, Remus hired Draco Malfoy to be the Potions Master. Remus trusted Draco Malfoy, a double agent, enough to make him Deputy Headmaster.

Draco had returned from Diagon Alley with his potions ingredients just in time to catch the end of lunch.

Remus paused for a minute, considering the question. He answered, "As you probably know, I'm more of an authority when it comes to werewolves. I have had some..."

"Of course he knows about vampires," Remus' wife scoffed from her husband's other side. Draco leaned in. Tonks had taken over the role of the Defense Against the Dark Arts about nine years ago after she married Remus. It was a safer job than that of an active Auror. "Did you know that it was Remus' exploits that Gilderoy Lockhart plagiarized in his books?"

"Only the books about werewolves and vampires of course," Remus said quickly. "I never meet the Yeti."

"So it was you who... Now that I think of it, I remember someone saying that you went to Romania after the death of Lily and James Potter and the imprisonment of Sirius Black. I think Potter said you were there for almost ten years."

Remus smiled sadly. "Yes, I was. Though I had to keep my head low after Gilderoy Lockhart published the books. I was almost a victim of one of his botched memory charms."

"I'm not surprised he botched it," Tonks said, smirking. "He was one of the most exasperatingly stupid people I have ever encountered. He was about two years ahead of me at Hogwarts. He had a pretty face, but an empty head. I'm not surprised he forgot the spell." They all had to laugh at this.

Lupin finally answered Draco's question, "Forgive me for changing the subject. I've encountered a few vampires in my day. I even destroyed a few dangerous ones. What do you want to know about them?"

"Was there a vampire named Dracula?"

"Yes, his name was really Vlad Tepes, and..." Remus began.

"Remus! How did you know that? I had to look that up this morning after hours of research! Madam Pince was glaring at me the entire time." Draco interjected, incredulous. "Oh, just continue what you were saying."

"Vlad Tepes was ruler of an area of Romania south of Transylvania. Muggles believe he liked to drink his enemies' blood, but they didn't know that he was actually a wizard who was bitten by a vampire. I'm not sure if he's still alive. Theoretically vampires are immortal unless they are killed."

"You said that killed a few vampires. How did you do it," Draco asked, summoning parchment and a quill, "and how do you keep the vampires from being brought back to life?"

"The "stake through their hearts" method. I usually like to use oak - it doesn't usually splinter. The stake is usually best if it is made of real wood. After you use the stake you have to burn the body. Otherwise they will just rise from the dead again."

"Why isn't putting the stake through their hearts enough?" Draco asked.

"Because someone could just pull it out."

"Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

Tonks' cough sounded suspiciously like "Lockhart."

"Thank you for your help. I have a lesson to prepare and I might not be here for dinner. I have an errand or two to run," Draco said, standing up from the table and walking toward the door.

"Should I ask the house elves to bring you up something later today?" Remus called to Draco's back.

"I doubt I'll have any appetite," was the reply.

CCC

"Put those back in the cupboard, Will," Draco said to the boy who was serving detention.

The Potions Master looked up from the potions book he was skimming and watched the boy put away the utensils he had been cleaning and the ingredient jars he had been re-labeling.

"Don't forget to put them in alphabetical order according to the potion they are used in from the most potent potion to the least potent potion."

"But what if something is in more than one potion?" the boy asked frantically, looking at the labels.

"I was joking," Draco said, waving his hand at the jars, which obediently rearranged themselves alphabetically.

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll be watching you for pranks plagiarized from Fred and George Weasley," Draco said seriously. "If you are going to cause trouble in my class, be creative and come up with original pranks."

The boy looked startled and stuttered his reply as he almost ran out of the room. Draco watched the boy's retreating back for a minute before looking down again at his book.

The Amor Fidelitasque potion is a simple potion that can be brewed by any novice. The drinker will fall in love with the maker of the potion. (Amor Fidelitasque comes from the Latin meaning love and loyalty. Scholars debate whether this is translated as an example of Hendiadys in which case it would be translated as loving loyalty or as loyal love.) The drinker will also defend the mixer of the potion - in words and actions. The potion wears off after exactly two days. The potion can be re-administered as many times a possible. However, certain wizards and witches are known to develop a resistance to the potion if it is administered too frequently. The potion's side effects are similar to those of many other potions - headaches and inability to balance. The side effects usually manifest within the hour if the potion is mixed with another potion. However, the potion can only be mixed with potions whose color is metallic, clear, blue or green.

Draco skimmed the Latin origin of the potion but kept mulling over several key phrases. "Side effects...manifest with the hour...mixed with another potion...clear." Could there have been multiple potions in the wine Blaise brought? The Amor Fidelitasque potion upset the drinker's balance. Ginny Weasley collapsed into his arms a few times that afternoon. Veritaserum did not cause that effect. He picked up the new self-inking quill to make a note in the book. He tried to write a note on the page but nothing came out.

He picked it up and looked at it strangely. It was normal, greenish-black in color. Was he supposed to drip it in ink first? He tried to remember the last time he'd used a new quill from Fred and George Weasley's shop. He shrugged and opened a desk drawer and rummaged around for ink. He eventually found the ink and dipped his quill inside.

The ink flew everywhere, all over his robes, his desk and the book. As he cleaned the ink from the page with his wand, he growled all manner of curses against the Weasley twins. They had given him an Augurey feather instead of a real one. Those filthy pranksters!

Draco cleaned his robes, glanced at his watch and cursed. It was later than he thought. He ran into his office, pausing to look at his Felix Felicis. It would be about done simmering by now. It had been a little over a month.

He grabbed the black robes and silver mask sitting on the chair by the fireplace.

"Incendio!"

After watching the fire roar to life, he grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

CCC

"Potter!" Harry rubbed his eyes from where he was drifting off on the couch. The book he had been reading lay forgotten on the ground. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at the blonde head in his fireplace.

"Merlin, Malfoy! Do you know what time it is? Not all of us are nocturnal creatures! You probably sleep upside down."

"It helps blood circulation," Draco shrugged.

Harry rolled his eyes and rolled off of the couch, walking over to kneel next to the fireplace. "Any news about the Voldemort's next target? The Hogwarts Seal hasn't been stolen from the Museum yet. It was just put out today and I'm having Aurors watch it night and day."

"That's not the right seal, Potter. The Dark Lord has it. One of his goons, parading as an archaeologist, stole it on Wednesday. The Dark Lord's planning on executing the murder very soon. You have to be on your guard."

"Are you sure it's me?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "You said so yourself at the beginning of the week. The Dark Lord's exact words were 'preparations are being made. I will kill that old lion within the week.' Who else could it be?"

"Old lion? That means it could be any Gryffindor. It could be Professor Lupin."

"Or it could be you," Draco countered. "Just keep your eyes and ears open. I'll warn Lupin tomorrow morning."

"Did you have anything else to tell me?"

"I think I might have a lead on Hufflepuff's cup. I think it might be at Dracula's castle."

Harry snorted. "With the bogeyman guarding it, right? It's a little late for you to be playing practical jokes on me, Malfoy."

"Think what you may." Draco shrugged. "Dracula, or Vlad Tepes, was somehow related to Salazar Slytherin. I think like some kind of great-great-great uncle or something. I know because I looked at the Slytherin family tree yesterday morning before I talked to Remus Lupin. Can you believe he knew Dracula's real name! I swear that man was born with a book in his hand."

"Well, it's still wonderful news. Now we can destroy that one and then the last one before he even puts up any defenses."

"The thing about the cup is," Draco said, cringing, "I think Dracula might be the one guarding it."

Harry snorted before he could help it.

"If you're not going to take this seriously, I'll just be going," Draco said, looking stern.

"I couldn't help it," Harry said smiling. "Don't go. I'll be serious now."

"Why bother starting now? You don't want to break your track record," Draco retorted snidely.

Harry chose to ignore the comment. He said, "Having us battle a vampire does seem like something Voldemort would do. But how do we know the vampire's still alive? Dracula could have just died years ago."

"I'm not sure. You might want to bring Professor Lupin with you. He's killed vampires before. Lockhart's Voyages with Vampires was all about what Lupin had done."

"I didn't know that! Lupin's turning out to be a real man of mystery."

"I think his most mysterious action was definitely marrying my crazy cousin."

Harry stopped laughing and said, "Hey! I like Tonks!"

"Maybe you should have married her."

Harry had no come back for that. Instead, he quickly changed the subject. "I was thinking about asking Ginny to help. Can you come with me to ask her tomorrow morning? It's a bit late to ask her now."

"I'll have to see what my schedule looks like. And about Weasley, I saw her this morning. I guess you could say that I was kind of spying on her while she was on her date with Zabini. She was put under Veritaserum. I'm almost positive it was Zabini. He brought a bottle of wine with him to their date."

"Did Zabini also drink the wine? Was there anyone else there who could have done it? Like a suspicious waitress?"

"Zabini drank the wine. There was a waitress who gave them water and walked around their table often."

"It could have been the waitress. Besides, Zabini saved Ginny's life during that assassination attempt. Besides it would have been risky if Zabini drank some of the wine also," Harry said.

"Don't be dense, Potter. Almost all potions have antidotes. And the antidote for Veritaserum, like the potion itself, looks just like water and is tasteless..."

"Not more potions mumbo jumbo. I always hated that class." Harry sighed.

"The only reason why you passed the NEWT class in our sixth year was the fact that you were using Snape's old book.I can't believe Snape never told me about that book. I thought I was his favorite student."

Harry quickly turned the subject away from Snape. His slimy former teacher was not one of his favorite topics of conversastion. "So what were you saying about the Veritaserum?"

"Zabini could have easily taken the antidote. It looks like water so no one would noticed."

"Did you notice?" Harry asked seriously. "Because without any proof I can't do anything."

"No I didn't. I came a few minutes after Weasley. If Zabini drank some of the antidote, he would have done it before Weasley arrived. And I was hiding my face behind a book."

"Then how could you see anything?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"There have been many advances in the world of charms, Potter. Now people can even charm books to be transparent," Draco said sarcastically.

"I knew that," Harry mumbled.

"Of course you did," Draco replied sardonically.

"Do you have anything else to tell me?" Harry replied irritably.

"Yes, actually. I'm just brimming with information today. Weasley's reaction to the Veritaserum after it had worn off was a little extreme. Zabini may have put another potion in the wine as well. I haven't found out for sure what the potion would be. I'm doing some research."

"So Draco Malfoy's not a master of potions after all." Harry smirked.

"Everyone has to do research, Potter," he snapped. "If you are curious, I did find a potion that Zabini could have put in Weasley's wine. It's a love potion."

"Aren't those illegal?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I wonder if you would have ever passed potions without Granger's help. Don't forget that Fred and George Weasley have several products on the market infused with small love potions. It's the powerful and permanent love potions that are illegal. The potion I found falls into neither of the former categories. That's why it's harder to trace. The potion is also very easy to brew. It's so easy, you could probably brew it..."

"Malfoy! I'm not that horrible at potions!"

Draco responded to that with a smirk, and continued, "Therefore, Zabini could have easily made it. It can be mixed with some potions, such as Veritaserum. It lasts for two days, so he'll have to give her another dose soon."

Harry yawned. "Are you sure this is the potion? You said you weren't even sure there was another potion in it."

"Call it a hunch."

"Not more hunches and theories!" Harry exclaimed, thoroughly exasperated. "We don't even have any proof that it was Zabini who gave Ginny the Veritaserum. It could have been the waitress. You said that the waitress came by their table several times. She could have been spying. Do you have any real proof it was Zabini?"

"I would have told you if I did." Draco rolled his eyes.

"I suppose so. What did Ginny talk about while under Veritaserum?"

"Horcruxes."

Harry cursed colorfully. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Did she say anything about you?" Harry demanded.

"No. Well I am exhausted. It must be the exasperation that accompanies talking to you for too long. Bye, Potter," Draco said, disappearing from the fire before Harry could say something in his own defense.