Third Place - Action/Adventure

November came along with the cold weather and the mountains of the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. The Quidditch season had begun and on Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training with Cedric: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. If Slytherin won, they would move up into first place in the House Championship.

Since the thing with the troll, Hermione had been by their side constantly and their friendship had somehow grown. Harry had had to apologise to Blaise after his fathers last visit... which had been two weeks ago now. Then after apologising, he had had to listen to a lecture about going out to feed every single night and not ever forgetting again.

He knew one thing though; he would have much preferred to have been shouted at about the Troll incident considering that wasn�t even his fault. He had disappointed his fathers something terrible and they had barely spoken to him since, apart from the owls that were sent backwards and forwards every two days... and those were short. These two weeks had been the worst ones that Harry could remember, and he even found himself wanting to burst into tears a time or two... there was nothing worse than disappointing his fathers this much.

He had never done so before.

Harry sat in the corner of the Slytherin common room with his nose buried in a book called �Quidditch through the Ages� on Friday night and he had spent the entire day there, opting not to bother with classes this once. He was slightly nervous about the upcoming match tomorrow but he was even more nervous about whether his fathers would turn up. He had, of course, invited them with the day and time, but it depended all on how angry they were with him.

He didn�t know what he would do if they didn�t turn up.

He should really speak to Snape about making sure they had seats for if they did come but he seriously couldn�t be arsed. Blaise had followed him everywhere lately, and whenever Harry went into the forest to feed, the four guards that usually stayed hidden came out and flanked him tightly, two in front and two behind. He didn�t say a word of complaint though; there was no need to upset his Da and Pa even more.

He looked up when he noticed everyone had gone completely silent and then saw Blaise stood in the entrance to the Common room with Hermione and Terry behind him. He quirked an eyebrow and nodded impassively before looking back down at his book, ignoring the shouts that broke out immediately.

"What do you think you�re doing? Bringing a mudblood and an animal in here?" Draco Malfoy snarled, his voice slightly louder than everyone else�s. Harry didn�t even think about it, his hand shot out to the side until his palm was facing Draco and then Malfoy yelped as he went crashing forcefully into the wall.

"Watch your words, mortal," he hissed without even looking up nor did he pay attention to the gasps and stares he received in return. His three friends crossed the room and sat down opposite him and Hermione and Terry sat back comfortably as if they weren�t in Slytherin territory.

"Harry don�t you think its time you did something other than read?" Hermione asked and Harry snorted at that and looked up. This was coming from the bookworm herself?

"Aye, tomorrow I�ll be playing quidditch, that isn�t classed as reading is it?" he asked dryly and Hermione scowled along with Terry and Blaise.

"You know what I mean, Corvus. Get your act together and stop feeling sorry for yourself," she snapped and Harry rolled his eyes before he sighed and closed the book.

"Why? Did you have something in mind? Something other than reading of course?" he asked mildly and Hermione smirked.

"Well, we could start planning another prank. Or we could go down to the lake and swim, or we could go out to the quidditch pitch so you can practice flying..."

"Or we could stay right here and read," Harry interrupted smoothly, a smirk playing across his lips when she sat back with another scowl. He knew she was right though, all he had done was read, go to lessons and go hunting for days, the routine was beginning to get tiresome. "Okay, so we�ll go down to the staff room so I can tell Snape to save two seats in case my fathers decide to turn up tomorrow, and then we�ll decide what to do from there... suit you lot?"

"Of course your fathers will turn up," Blaise said with a frown and Harry made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat before he stood in one smooth motion and brushed down his robes. It was only when he turned around and noticed people were still staring that he realised he had just used magic to slam Malfoy into a wall ... but without his wand. Now that was interesting... he�d have to look into it.

Without a word, he stepped out of the common room and nodded as his three friends followed him. When he looked into the shadows, he saw a swish of a cloak which was all that let him know that his guards were there and following and then he headed through the dungeons and up into the main part of the school.

"Wait here," he said when they had turned the corridor to the staff room. "Snape�s not so much of a bastard when I�m on my own," he added before they could protest. Blaise nodded, knowing that he was close enough to hear everything and to intervene if needed and so Harry walked a little further down the corridor and then knocked on the second door he came too.

No answer

Shit.

Harry pushed the door open and then he arched an eyebrow when he saw Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes up above his knee and one of his legs was a bloody, mangled mess. Harry felt his fangs grow and he leant against the doorframe casually with his arms crossed over his chest. Great. Now he would have to hunt.

"Blasted thing," Snape said quietly, he obviously hadn�t noticed Harry�s arriving yet. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" he said again and it all clicked into place and Harry allowed an amused chuckle to escape him, watching as Snape�s head snapped up, his face twisted with fury as he dropped his robes to hide his leg.

"POTTER!" he snapped andHarry sighed exaggeratedly before rolling his eyes.

"Aye, just wanted to inform you that my fathers are supposed to be coming to the match tomorrow, so they will need seats," he spoke calmly as if he hadn�t seen a thing, though the fact that his fangs were now clearly on display when he opened his mouth kind of defied his tone.

"Get out!" Snape snarled again but Harry merely crossed his legs and smirked.

"Quite vicious, that thing, wouldn�t you say?" he asked mildly, "I see you managed to head the fool off then, good for you," he straightened up, nodded once more and then slipped back outside the room and shut the door behind him. He smirked, as he turned to look at his three confused friends and he told them about what he had seen as he led them down to the Entrance Hall.

"What are we going to do then?" Terry asked from where he was walking beside Blaise. The others were saved from answering as they turned the corner that led from the Dungeons to the Entrance Hall and saw a group of Gryffindors stood by the main staircase talking quietly to each other.

"Well I thought about going outside..." Harry said casually in a voice that seemed oddly louder than the one he used normally. It seemed to catch the attention of the Gryffindor group however. "But this seems almost too good to pass up." His friends snorted, but were pleased that Harry was getting some of his fire back � though none of them were quite sure what had upset him in the first place.

"Potter." The redhead first year, Weasley, sneered as his hand inched towards his wand. He just then, noticed Hermione stood to Harry�s right and his sneer intensified. "Granger." He spat. "You still here then?" He seemed to have forgotten his little skirmish with the young vampire on Halloween because he was openly glaring at Hermione... in fact; he was openly glaring at the whole group; his little Gryffindor friends backing him up all the way.

"Potter... Potter, Potter, Potter." Harry drawled lazily as he took a few soft steps towards the redhead. "James Potter was my father, yes. And he was a Gryffindor, he was reportedly, a terrific Quidditch player, he had excellent marks all around and he simply loved a good prank or two." The vampire explained with a smile. "And I�m proud to be his son. Despite the fact that I will never know him, I�m proud and I like to think that wherever he is, he�s proud of me too. I like to think that despite the fact that I�m a vampire, that I�m a Parselmouth, and that I�m a Slytherin." Weasley was looking at him like he was crazy.

"As I said, I�m proud to be his son... but you seem to forget something about me, Mortal." At the spitting emphasis he placed on his last word spoken, Weasley paled. "I am, at the very same time as I am all of the above, a Corvus. I am a vampire and I am the one that has singularly, not discounting Blaise of course," Blaise nodded accordingly, "breeched the rivalries the Hogwarts houses have grown into over the centuries." He took another step towards Weasley.

"I have a good friend in Ravenclaw, my first friend that hadn�t been one of my kin. I have a good friend and a mentor in Hufflepuff. And from Gryffindor..." He grinned at Weasley�s annoyed scowl. "...from Gryffindor I have made a friend that I will more than likely keep for life, the same being said for Terry and Cedric also, but on top of that; I have created a friendship with the twin brothers of the mortal that despises me and everything I stand for. Now what a kick in the gut that must be for him." Weasley was now looking particularly irate now. His ears were red, his cheeks not far behind.

"Slytherin scum!" The redhead suddenly shouted before launching himself at the extremely amused Slytherin. Harry didn�t move as the fist flew towards his jaw. His head only moved backwards as the fist connected. He waited calmly for a few seconds with his eyes closed before turning back to face the angry Weasley and slowly opening them again.

"The first one, was free." He once again, spoke in a soft tone. This only set the Gryffindor off again and he reared back once more, aiming again for Harry�s jaw with another punch. Only this time, his fist was stopped in mid air. When he looked at it on confusion, his eyes widened in horror when they saw the vampire had a tight hold of it. He saw and felt the hand that clasped his own fist, tighten their hold. Ron Weasley was brought to his knees by the Slytherin first year he had just punched.

Smiling that same irritating smile, Harry leaned over so he was eye to eye with the redhead. He then averted his gaze to the pale, exposed throat.

"You seem to forget, Ron," the Corvus heir whispered... but the hall was so silent, that everyone heard, "that I am capable of killing you with a simple prick, of my teeth." The first year whimpered pitifully and Harry grinned. He noticed the Weasley twins staring at him curiously... not sure whether they should wait it out, or intervene. A look from Blaise seemed to appease them slightly. Harry winked at them for good measure before dipping his head and running his tongue up the length of Weasley�s throat just as he had done on Halloween.

"I don�t like being teased, Mr Weasley. And every time you insult me, you�re teasing me and testing my patience. I promised the Mugwump I wouldn�t feed from the students, but if you insult me personally again, I�ll do away with any promise and revert back to the ways in which I was brought up. And for the sake of those who are unfamiliar with vampire law, let�s just say that for all Mr Weasley here has said to me since I arrived at Hogwarts, I could have drained him ten times over." He pulled back so he was once again looking in Ron�s eyes. "Don�t test me Weasley. And don�t force me to break a promise I would really rather keep." He suddenly released the petrified teen and took several steps back.

Ron scrambled back, clutching his injured hand close to his chest. He was helped to his feet by his friends, who continued to glare hatefully at the vampire. When Weasley finally decided it was safe enough to look up at the Slytherin, he was enraged to see him still smiling that lazy, uncaring smile he had donned when the other group had first approached them.

Harry turned on his heel, not saying anything else to the Gryffindor and headed for the main doors, his own friends following him silently and the guards that kept to the shadows, smiling proudly at how mature Harry had just proven to be.

Weasley just didn�t seem to know when he�d been beat however. As soon as Harry�s back was turned, he held up his wand and opened his mouth to fire a curse but the words didn�t leave said mouth, the reason for which was that someone had gagged him with their hand while someone else had snatched his wand away.

When he was released, he turned around to glare at, surprisingly to him, his twin brothers. "What the hell do you think you�re doing?" He demanded to know, furious that he had been stopped. By his brothers no less!

"You really are a sore loser Ronald." George said, uncharacteristically seriously, his expression matching his tone.

"A wise man knows when he�s been beaten and takes it graciously." Fred intoned.

"An irrational, cowardly man attacks his enemy when his back his turned."

"You, dear brother, are the latter. And if I were in your shoes right now... I would be thanking Merlin that Dumbledore made Harry promise not to feed from the students." Ron�s wand was thrown back at him.

"You�re an idiot. He just said he could have killed you ten times over, and you try to hex him behind his back." George looked disappointedly down at his younger brother.

"But-but he�s a bloody Slytherin!" Ron declared, glaring intently at his brothers, who, by reply, stood their full height and towered over him, glaring right back.

"And he�s a good guy!" They shouted together before turning their back on Ron and stalking up the main staircase back towards Gryffindor tower.

Outside, Harry smiled as he heard the twins� final words. He hadn�t meant to cause a rift between the brothers, in fact, he valued family above all else and wouldn�t stand for anyone abusing their own but Ron really needed to learn. And it seemed, he was forcing the twins to go about teaching it the hard way.

He inclined his head slightly when his four shadow-dwelling guards stepped out of their respective shadows and walked with the group towards the forbidden forest. He would be going in the forest with Blaise and one of the guards. The other three would wait with Terry and Hermione while Harry was finished. He wouldn�t be long, he knew, he just didn�t want them to be put in the same position Terry had been weeks before.

He had frequent nightmares about what could have happened to Terry that night. He wasn�t sure why.

"Congratulations, young Master, on how you handled yourself in the Entrance Hall with that Mortal." Alexander, one of Harry�s shadow guards stepped close to him to speak. Harry looked up and smiled slightly. "Your Fathers would be proud of you this day." The younger vampire dropped his gaze quickly, a dark look washing over his face.

"Thanks." He muttered, keeping his eyes down.

When they reached the forest boarders, Terry and Hermione stayed behind; as had been previously discussed, and waited for roughly twenty minutes for their friends to return. During that time, Hermione had questioned the three guards they were with on vampire law, and generally anything that came to mind.

The one thing she made sure to ask them was; what is a Vampire�s natural enemy?

Jason, one of the guards, had grinned at her and laughed a little before answering like so... �Vampires have enough problems within their own race without outside interference. It is why we tend not to involve ourselves in the Wizarding communities, knowing beings such as ourselves are more often than not, feared and persecuted unjustly. But both the vampire world and the Wizarding world have long since had laws regarding one another. It is what gave Lord Corvus and Lord Delgardo leave to do what they did to Mr Malfoy.�

Hermione had been curious and had wanted to ask more but at that moment, much to her distress and the guard�s relief, Harry, Blaise and Alexander had returned freshly fed and smiling pleasantly from their hunt.

The group then headed back to the castle where once inside, the four guards melted quickly back into the shadows.



The Heir of Corvus I: The Philosopher�s Stone - Chapter 13

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