Third Place - Action/Adventure

"How could we have left him there-"

"There was no way we could have known-"

Harry paused outside of the headmaster�s office with a sigh. It was rather obvious now why he had been called but he hadn�t been expecting to meet Remus Lupin so soon. He certainly wasn�t in the mood to walk in on an argument though and so he simply leant against the wall and folded his arms over his chest, picking at a lose thread in his robes.

It had been but two days since Harry had told all of what he had found in the box his parents left him, and in those two days everything had been relatively quiet. There hadn�t been a single attack, even Malfoy and Ronald Weasley seemed to have backed off for the time being. Susan hadn�t had any particular visions that she needed to tell him about and everything was just, quiet.

Too quiet.

He hadn�t let his guard down once, and had tightened them if anything. He was watching for an attack from all angles but he was getting tired of waiting. Quirrell was obviously getting ready to do something, whether that was to kill Harry or to snatch the stone, Harry didn�t know and he didn�t particularly care right now either.

His Da and his Pa would be here in just under two hours to spend time with him and so that they could hunt together. They would also be bringing Calyce Cardona, the seer for the Corvus Clan and another one of Harry�s adopted aunts, with them so that she could talk to Susan. Talking of which, Harry would have to remember to buy his aunt an extra nice present for her birthday in way of a thank you. She barely bothered with other vampires, outside the actual Corvus family, let alone the mortals.

He lifted his head when he noticed that the shouting seemed to have calmed down some and he was about to knock and enter when he heard what sounded suspiciously like a stifled sob. Oh fuck that, he�d wait a little longer. He walked elegantly over to the headmaster�s bookshelves that he held in the round outer office and ran his fingers lazily over the titles.

When he found one that caught his interest, he plucked it off the shelf and then leant against the wall once more and flicked it open. He tried to ignore the soothing murmurs he could hear beyond the door to his right, the man was a stranger to him and his pride would probably feel it if he was caught in such an emotional state by an eleven year old child who happened to be his dead best friend�s son.

He briefly pondered whether he should just turn back and come again later, but he couldn�t have walked away even if he wanted too. Oh sod it. They were talking about things that concerned him anyway, so why shouldn�t he listen? He closed the book again, not bothering to try and read and he pointedly ignored the smirk of amusement he could see one of his shadow guards wearing as they flashed in and out of view.

When he heard more shouting, Harry figured it was about time he gave the old headmaster a break. He tucked the book under his arm, he�d ask whether he could borrow it later, and then knocked sharply on the door before he pushed it open.

It was rather amusing the way Lupin stopped in mid-step of his pacing and just openly gawped at him, his eyes were looking suspiciously red but other than there he merely looked tired and haggard but he reeked of guilt.

Dumbledore was sat behind his desk, looking as composed as usual, though the twinkle in his eyes had dimmed somewhat and he looked older than he did earlier. Which, he was older, by hours, but that wasn�t the point. Harry shook his head from his distracting thoughts and turned to study the new man again. The man both his mother and his father had spoken very highly of in their letters to him and to each other.

"You�re a vampire," Lupin managed to choke out after a minute and Harry smirked, why was it that mortals seemed to think he needed to be reminded of that fact?

"You�re a werewolf," he replied calmly and neutrally, though his eyes flashed with mirth as he walked further into the room and shut the door behind him.

"You�re Harry Potter,"

"Potter-Corvus actually, and you�re Remus Lupin,"

Harry crossed the room and placed the book on the headmaster�s desk, not missing the amused look the old man shot his way when he realised it was one of his own. Harry pulled out the chair and sat down, calmly.

"You�re a vampire,"

"You�re supposed to be smart,"

Harry snorted softly and Lupin actually seemed to shake out of his daze somewhat as he sent a sheepish grin and sat in the seat next to Harry�s. He continued to stare though and it began to get on Harry�s nerves after a while but he didn�t let it show and he clasped his hands on his lap and returned said stare neutrally.

His amusement never faded, not even when the werewolf scowled at the way Harry turned the conversation around, but when he heard the name Corvus, it was rather interesting to watch as he paled and stuttered some more. Harry looked over at the headmaster and quirked an eyebrow when he saw the old mans eyes alight with mirth as he obviously tried to suppress a smile.

Lupin was an attractive man for his age, he wore tatty robes that seemed to have been patched up more times than not. He had long golden brown hair that was greying in parts and his eyes seemed to glow amber. He was perhaps the same height as Harry�s Da and looked to be quite fit, which wasn�t really unusual for a werewolf.

Curious, Harry opened his senses and reached out to Lupin. He had never actually met a werewolf before, though he had been made to read up on them when he was younger, and to learn the laws they had to abide to. It was interesting to say the least, it was as if he could sense two beings in one body, the wolf�s scent was distant as the man�s scent took over and held tightly grasped hold of the control.

"So, are we here just to stare at one another, or perhaps for another reason?" he asked after a minute when he had finally managed to drag his eyes away. Lupin quickly averted his eyes, his cheeks heating slightly as he realised that he had, in fact, been staring and quite openly too.

"I had just finished telling Remus here that Sirius Black is, indeed, innocent. I, obviously, hadn�t quite had time to tell him of your upbringing as heir to the Corvus throne." Dumbledore spoke up after another silence and Harry nodded, he opened his mouth to reply but then he found himself in a bone crushing hug before he could so much as blink.

Well, this was awkward.

What were you supposed to do, or say, when someone you hardly know tries to break your ribs by embracing you? Never mind the fact that he felt like he knew Moony after reading all about him, but that wasn�t the point. Before he could even think of � something � to say, he was swept off his feet and he automatically wrapped his legs around the werewolf�s waist to stop himself from falling.

He pulled back a little with his hands resting on the older wizards shoulders so that he could look him in the eye and then he quirked an eyebrow and sent him an amused look. Lupin blushed and mumbled an apology but made no move to put him down, on the contrary, he sat himself down in the chair with Harry still on his knee.

"Why don�t I leave you two to talk? I have a letter to deliver to the ministry and I might as well do it personally," Dumbledore said as he stood up and Harry sent him a glare, this was bloody uncomfortably and the werewolf only seemed able to stare, and stare, and then stare some more. Before Harry could protest though, the old man had slipped out of the room and he and Remus were alone.

Staring.

"You were so small the last time I saw you," Remus spoke up suddenly, his eyes fixed on a spot over Harry�s shoulder as if he was remembering. "Just a little pup you were, laughing and playing with your mum and dad... your first word was Moony, you know," he said and then he looked back at Harry with a sad little smile.

"Ten years ago. Ten long years and I haven�t seen or even heard of you since. I tried to get the Ministry to let me take you in, but being a werewolf and therefore a Dark Creature, they wouldn�t even consider it... and now you are a vampire," he said this bit softly and mournfully that Harry couldn�t help but feel a little indignant on behalf of his own kind.

"I�m proud of who and what I am. You say vampire like it�s a bad thing but I am the heir to the Corvus throne, the largest and most powerful of the vampire clan" he said with a hint of coldness in his voice that he couldn�t quite suppress. Remus stared at him for a minute before he sent yet another sheepish grin his way.

"I�m sorry; I didn�t mean to offend you at all. I have nothing against your kind, don�t get me wrong, but I guess it�s just difficult for non-vampires to realise that vampires like what they are... if that makes any sense," he said with his brow furrowed in thought and Harry grinned, softening immediately. He felt like he knew this man inside out from what he had read about him in the letters from his parents to him and to each other.

"I�m happy," he was quick to assure him. "Dumbledore left me on the doorstep of my muggle relatives, but my Da and Pa got me instead and turned me into a full-blooded vampire. I�m happy how things are now, I love my Da and Pa and I wouldn�t want anything to change that. I�m proud of what I am too, Moony, but that doesn�t mean I don�t want to know you and Sirius." He added again softly, sensing the hint of fear that he would reject them now.

"Well, I�m glad you�re happy," Remus said eventually, tightening his grip slightly to let him know that he appreciated the comfort and then he smiled. "Get to know me you will though, I hope you know it isn�t going to be easy to get rid of me now that I�ve seen you again. Padfoot and Moony�ll be back at Hogwarts for a while."

"Mum knew I�d be happy you know," Harry said as he pulled back again and grinned. "She had a vision of me with my Da and Pa and knew that not only would I survive that night but I�d be placed in a happy home. She says so in the letters she left for me, she�s relieved that I never met my muggle relatives, said that they hate her, hate magic and everything to do with it. I�m a Corvus; my fathers make sure I want for nothing,"

"Corvus," Lupin whispered, his eyes losing their focus for a minute and Harry wondered at why he received this reaction twice now. Usually people either got over it immediately or they dodged him expertly... normally the latter. But no, it wasn�t hatred or revulsion that Harry could sense, nor was it fear. It just seemed to be plain curiosity.

"Shall we go for a walk? My fathers will be arriving soon to take me hunting, but we have a little time yet," Harry offered after a long silence, mostly he just wanted to get his feet on the ground again, but he could do with the fresh air anyway.

Smiling at the boy, Remus nodded and rose cautiously to his feet. It was when Harry unhooked himself and dropped his feet without a sound to the floor, that Remus actually realised the boy had had his legs around his � Remus� � waist. He grinned, amused, at Harry.

"I see you mustn�t be one to want for affection." Harry looked at him, confused for a moment before realising what the older man was talking about.

"Sorry. I guess I�m used to it." The Slytherin said sheepishly but Remus shook his head, dismissing the apology as nothing to fret about. The Vampire grasped the Werewolf�s hand and pulled him towards the office�s exit. When they were outside the room and past the stone Gargoyles, Remus fell in step with the first year and noted idly that they were heading in the general direction of the Entrance hall.

"I suppose you know that there are four other Vampire�s following us, right?" He questioned sounding remarkably unconcerned. Harry eyed him for a moment, amusement shining in his own eyes before he nodded his head.

"Aye. They�re my guards here at Hogwarts. You see because I am who I am, being that I am Ivan Corvus� son and heir, and all that malarkey, I�m prime target for many an assassin... as I�m sure you already know." Remus nodded. "And I�m sure you�ve heard of a slight, skirmish, in the Minister�s office, involving one Mr Malfoy..." He left the sentence open and kept his expression tactfully innocent. Remus looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and snickered.

"The Ministry are trying to keep it all in the hush." The older man stated as they rounded a corner, the laughter was clear in his tone and even clearer in his expression; Harry couldn�t help but smile at him. "But as with everything in the Ministry, there are, rumours." Harry snickered at this.

"The man hired Vampires from..." He paused in both his speaking and his walking and tried to think. Eventually, after a few seconds of pointless, fruitless thought, he turned to look at a shadowed corner, his expression was expectant.

"From the Keren clan, little Master." A bodiless voice Remus didn�t know but Harry recognised as Alexander�s answered and Harry nodded.

"Aye! Thank you." He nodded to his guard before he started walking again. And Remus, having no other choice, followed, his hand still clasped firmly in the child�s. "He hired Vampire�s from the Keren clan, to seek me out during a hunt, and actually kill me. They used to just want to kidnap me, hold me for ransom, demand my Father step down from his leadership position... stuff along them lines." They stepped into the Entrance hall and were almost immediately confronted with an obviously irate, Hufflepuff sixth year.

When the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team Captain saw the Slytherin first year, he glared forcefully through dark eyes, glittering with unbridled fury and no little amount of malice. He stalked over to the Vampire, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He would have surely tried to hit Harry had there not been an adult stood next to the boy... and adult the Hufflepuff had never seen before, but an adult none the less... and one that was attached to the Seeker�s hand.

"I hope you�re bloody happy with yourself Potter." Darren Jameson, sixth year Hufflepuff and their Quidditch Captain spat at Harry. The Slytherin looked at his nails in a bored fashion before levelling the older student with a cold, indifferent glare.

"I�m ecstatic. My Godfather is innocent, and I think I just might get two more Uncles." He unconsciously tightened his hold on Remus� hand as he said this. "I bet you can�t say the same." If anything, Jameson seemed to be angered further at Harry�s proclamation.

"No I can�t say the same, nor would I want to, not with your Godfather being who he is." Jameson sneered and Harry saw red. He made to hit the Hufflepuff but was instead, dragged back and picked up off the floor, thus relieving Harry of his leverage should he wish to move... and he did want to move. He wanted to sink his teeth into Jameson�s neck and tear his soon-to-be bloody throat out.

Remus� eyes flashed gold at the statement that came out of the Hufflepuff�s mouth but he managed to hold Harry back from attacking. His eyes remained in their glowing state as Harry thrashed about in his arms and didn�t look like they were going to dim either.

"You mother fu-" Remus� hand snapped into place over Harry�s mouth, effectively muffling the curse words that were undoubtedly being released from the small mouth. He didn�t even remove the hand when he felt Harry�s canine�s pierce the flesh of his palm.

"Whatever it is you are angry at Harry for, get over it, because the next time he sees you no one will stop him from killing you." He snarled at the pale Hufflepuff Captain. He watched the boy exit the Entrance hall pretty quickly after those words were spoke and sighed, the glow in his eyes dimming back to their natural colour. It was then that he noticed that his hand ached strangely.

He looked down at where he had his hand placed over Harry�s mouth and raised his eyebrow when he saw small trickles of blood trail down the boy�s chin.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asked mildly, amused at the almost embarrassed look Harry suddenly donned. He didn�t move his hand away, nor did he set Harry on his feet. What he did do, was move down the steps of the main staircase, past several of students that each had expressions on their faces varying from shocked to sickened; but of the latter they were few.

Having his hands full, Remus surmised that he couldn�t possibly open the main doors to go outside so he looked around and caught the eye of a young Gryffindor � forth year, Remus would have guessed. He motioned the teenager over with a jerk of his head and waited.

"Could you open the door for me please?" He asked with a small smile. "My hands are quite full at the moment." The teen nodded, eyeing the still restrained form of Hogwarts resident Vampire as he opened the door. "Could you close it behind me also?" When the Gryffindor nodded again, Remus thanked him and stepped outside, sensing that all of Harry�s guards had quickly followed in the short time and space they had to get through the opening.

The Werewolf chuckled as he felt another mouthful of blood been drawn from the wounds in his hand and moved with Harry down into the heart of the court yard the main doors of the castle led to.

"Is your hunger abated?" He asked and once again, Harry looked embarrassed at being caught, but he nodded mutely none the less, so Remus slowly moved his hand away from Harry�s mouth � dislodging the teeth still inserted there in the process. He looked down at his hand and chuckled, offering the wounds to Harry without a second thought. The Corvus heir blinked up at him, wondering what he was doing.

"If you bite a mortal, you hide the evidence." Intoned Remus softly. "It is one of the reasons your kind have been left alone by the world at large; you hide it when you feed. Even on Animals." Harry stared at him a little longer before shrugging his small shoulders elegantly and healing the wounds in Remus� hand with a small dot of his own blood placed over them.

"I didn�t know that." Harry remarked.

"But you do it anyway." Harry nodded. "See, its basic common sense. Well, from a Vampire�s perspective." Smiling slightly, Harry shrugged. He was sat on the Werewolf�s lap with his head resting on Remus� shoulder. The position wasn�t entirely uncomfortable, but Harry fidgeted anyway before releasing a frustrated sigh.

"You can come out, you know." He said out loud, much to Remus� amusement. "I�ve got him subdued, he�s not going anywhere." He said dramatically causing his would-be-uncle to chuckle.

From a point directly in front of them but at the other side of the Court Yard, Harry�s Father�s stepped out of a spot that had been caked in shadow. When he saw the two figures in full light, Remus� breath caught and his eyes widened.

"Corvus." He whispered. "That�s where I knew the name from." He didn�t notice Harry looking at him with a confused expression, but continued to follow the two older Vampires as they made their way towards the seated pair.

"You forgot me, Remus?" Ivan spoke up, a teasing grin on his face. Beside him, his husband rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn�t fret; he seemed to only remember you when we arrived." Dante ignored the glare sent his way by Ivan and took a seat on a stone wall a few feet away from his son and the Werewolf. "How have you been, Puppy?" His grin widened as Remus scowled before it dissolved into warm chuckles.

"Well, I haven�t been called that in a long time." The man smiled. "But I�ve been as good as my inner wolf lets me be." His smile turned sad and wistful for a split second before it was gone. He didn�t notice Ivan and Dante exchanged concerned looks.

"Wait a minute..." Harry spoke up, now completely confused. "...what the hell is going on? How do you know each other? And why wasn�t I informed?" He demanded to know, much to the three adults� amusement.

"We met our Puppy here," Again, Dante ignored Remus� scowl, "the night he was bitten..."

Dante growled as he pushed his husband face first up against a tree, pinning him there with one hand while the other reached around to unzip and lower the leather trousers the pinned Vampire insisted on wearing whenever they went out to hunt. Apparently, they rubbed him the right way. But Dante wasn�t bothered what rubbed what the right or wrong way at that particular point in time however, unless it happened to be him doing the rubbing.

"Shh, little one." Dante said softly. "You�re safe now. You�ll be fine." By the time he�d finished saying �fine�, the boy had lost consciousness.

"The kid turned out to be Remus here." Harry rolled his eyes at Ivan�s story-telling skills. The Clan leader was never one to pass up an opportunity to tell a tale about his sex life... even if the focus of the story had been originally intended as something completely different. He glanced up at Remus and saw him fighting between wanting to be amused by Ivan�s antics or appalled at his blatant lack of discretion in front of his son. "Whatever you say darling, you�re still our Puppy." The Werewolf gave up deciding and settled for rolling his eyes heavenward.

"Where�s Calyce?" Harry asked after noticing that the Seer of the Corvus Clan wasn�t there with his Fathers. Ivan waved the question away though.

"She went to search for Miss Bones alone; said she could sense her well enough not to need, and I quote, �your help complete with annoying comments on the male anatomy�." Harry snickered. Ivan just looked affronted, though dramatically so.

"She never did follow the rules." The first year mused. "Never could keep her in line, could you Da?" He teased and ducked as Ivan�s hand shot out to swat him over the head.

"Forgive me, but what are you talking about?" Remus asked, a slightly confused look adorning his face. Harry turned to him and smiled brightly.

"Susan, my friend, just found out she�s a Seer. She saved my life, and my friend�s life, in the hall the other day and I promised I�d contact Da and ask him to bring Calyce to school with him and Pa next time they came. Calyce is the Seer in the clan. And as I said, she�s not one for rules unless it�s actually a worth while rule." Remus nodded his head in understanding. He allowed Harry to get up when the boy tried to wriggle out of his lap. "I want to see say hello before she�s lost to us."

"Have you fed yet today, Har?" Ivan asked as he took Harry's hand and waited for the others to move. Remus took Harry�s other hand while Dante just walked slightly behind.

"Uh huh, a little,"

"He had a drop or two of me, but no more" Remus interrupted with a smirk and Harry pouted before looking up at his Da with wide innocent eyes.

"It was his fault; he stopped me from attacking a stupid little prick," he said and then grumbled under his breath. Ivan quirked an eyebrow and he looked from his son to Remus and back again, noticing that Harry seemed to be a little sheepish.

"The Hufflepuff verbally attacked him first, of course, managed to anger Harry enough so that he looked like he would be tearing the mortals head off," Remus explained and Harry sniffed indignantly.

"I do have some control you know; I would have just scared him a little," he mumbled as he pushed the main doors open again and stepped into the Entrance Hall. He followed his still chuckling Da through the corridors as the elder vampire followed his senses.

They stopped outside of an unused classroom and Ivan pushed the door open, only to have it slam shut in their faces straight away. Harry snickered and then was out right laughing at the look of surprise and irritation on the Lord Corvus, he smothered his laughter when his fathers turned to glare at him and then tried to pull himself together when they knocked on the door.

"Go away, Ivan Corvus! We girls don�t want to be interrupted by you!" came the voice of the Corvus seer and Harry smirked again.

"Can I come in Aunt Calyce?" he called innocently through the door and heard a slight pause.

"Of course you can Harry dear, I don�t want to see that ugly mug�s face though." Calyce said after a minute. Harry stuck his tongue out at his Da and grinned before he slipped through the door and shut it behind him.

Calyce and Susan were sat by the window on two old classroom chairs. They were facing each other and both were grinning, so at least it seemed like they were getting on well.

"A lovely friend you have here dear, especially for a mortal... no offence Susan" Calyce spoke up eventually and Harry grinned and nodded his agreement even as Susan waved off the insult to her race. "Now Harry, I passed some screaming mortal children on the way here, shouting about vampires being allowed in the school and how one nearly killed a Hufflepuff for no reason..."

"No, I�ll deal with that Aunt. The boys just a little prick who thought he could get away with insulting the godfather I haven�t even met yet... and myself. I was merely going to scare him and put him in his place, but Remus stepped in before I could � ahh � kill him apparently," Harry interrupted smoothly as he crossed the room and pulled out a chair to sit with the two girls.

"Good boy, I knew you wouldn�t terrorize them for no reason... even if your fathers are Dante Delgardo and Ivan Corvus" Calyce said with a grin as she patted him on the knee and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Come on, you know that Aunt Cerelias was the one to teach me common sense at least. I�m not stupid. Now, what have you two discussed already?" he asked, tactfully changing the subject before one of them could attempt to point out that he was, indeed, stupid at times.

"I�ve just finished pointing out the differences between a dream and a vision so that our young friend here can tell the difference. I�m just about to tell her what life is like for a seer and what they are treated like... in all worlds. A true seer is a rare thing, and Susan here is just that, she will most likely be in danger if anyone every realizes, for the dark and light both wish to know the future and the outcome of any... possible... wars."

"You know I won�t let anyone harm a hair on her head Aunt, but I appreciate your coming here and explaining things I couldn�t even begin to understand. I�d better go back outside before my fathers break down the door though, you do realize you are likely to get the cold shoulder for months now?" he asked with amusement as he stood back up. Calyce grinned wickedly, the look out of place in her usually serene face.

"Your fathers couldn�t ignore me for more than ten minutes if I didn�t want them too. You remember that young master Corvus. Be off with you now; leave us girls in peace... I�ll deliver Susan to you as soon as we�ve finished." She said again and Harry nodded, he pressed a kiss to his Aunt�s cheek and waved to Susan before he slipped back out into the corridor where he was met by two scowling vampires and one amused werewolf.

Harry crossed the grounds with his fathers and Blaise. The shadow guards had also come out of hiding and were flanking them as usual, and Harry watched as they laughed an joked with each other softly. Everyone seemed to have lightened up a lot in the last few weeks as they had been quiet, he wondered whether he was the only one who hadn�t let his guard down, but he decided to talk to his Da about that later.

Well actually, he mused as he looked over at his two fathers, he knew they hadn�t let their guard down. Considering they lectured him constantly on watching his back and the back of others even when he was asleep, though he hadn�t quite figured out how the hell he was supposed to do that yet. He assumed they were teasing, and he wasn�t far wrong.

His Da squeezed his hand and smiled at him as they entered the forest and Harry returned it without hesitation. He was in a good mood. Dumbledore had returned and said that the Ministry was acting up, but that he would be able to go and collect Sirius in just a few days time. Harry, of course, wasn�t allowed to accompany the old man to Azkaban and he hadn�t even bothered to ask, that was one place he never wanted to see.

"Off you go then Harry, don�t get to far in front," Ivan said softly as he released Harry�s hand. Harry grinned and then leapt up onto the nearest low branch he could find before he jumped even higher, making sure to keep his fathers in sight at all times. They moved deeper into the forest and Harry stopped looking over his shoulder every few minutes, relying on his senses to tell him where the others were.

He closed his eyes and felt along with his awareness before jumping along blindly, a small smile tugging at his lips. A scent of blood filled his nostrils so strongly that Harry missed the branch and fell down onto the ground, his eyes opened wide. He had never before smelt anything that seemed so wrong before in his life and he opened his mouth before closing it several times.

"Who�s there!" a loud voice came from the trees behind him and Harry twisted to look over his shoulder and was rather surprised to find Hagrid stood, pointing a large crossbow in his direction.

"Hagrid, it�s me Harry. Lower the damn thing before you poke an eye out!" he called, not even bothering to attempt to stand up until that crossbow was not pointing in his direction anymore. He opened his senses and found that his fathers and the guards weren�t that far behind him and they would most likely catch up in a minute.

"Harry? What the �ell are you doing out �ere?" Hagrid asked in disbelief as he lowered his weapon and Harry stood and turned to him, quirking an eyebrow.

"I�m a vampire Hagrid, I hunt." He said dryly as he approached them. Ivan and Dante came out from a croup of bushes at a run, having heard their son shout. When they saw Hagrid though, they rolled their eyes and calmed down.

"Oh, right, yeah. I don�t suppose any of you were � unfortunate enough � to drink from a unicorn were you?" Hagrid asked and Harry snickered at the looks of anger and irritation that flashed through his fathers eyes.

"No Hagrid, I doubt we could catch one even if we wanted to damn our souls for eternity, more so than they are anyway. Why do you ask?" he asked and then saw the glowing trail of blood and remembered that wrong smell of blood. "Oh."

"Malfoy and me are trying to find the unicorn... check it�s alright and all... and to find out what�s been attacking �em lately." Hagrid said with a sigh and it was only then that Harry noticed Draco Malfoy trying to hide behind the half-giant�s legs. "I don�t suppose you lot could help us could ya? We�ll be here all night otherwise-"

Ivan Corvus held up his hand to silence Hagrid immediately, his eyes narrowed as he looked around the small clearing they appeared to be in. Harry followed his gaze and then his breath caught in his throat when he saw a movement in the corner of his eye. They were about to be attacked.

"At least fifteen," Ivan whispered softly, "they have us surrounded in the trees. We can�t stay here and fight because they have arrows. When I say run, we all run, do you understand?" he said again and silently everyone nodded, guards and all. Malfoy looked absolutely terrified and Harry would have laughed if they all weren�t in danger of dying.

"Now!" Ivan shouted and then ran through the forest, dragging Harry with him. Harry pulled away though when he saw that Malfoy was merely stood blinking, looking up at the attackers arrow. Harry cursed and waved his father off, pointing to the mortal, before he ran as fast as he could, grabbed the blonde around the middle and wrenched him off his feet, just as an arrow struck the ground he had been stood on.

He didn�t even think about putting the mortal down on his own two feet as he leapt up into the trees once more, Malfoy now thrown over his shoulder as Harry held his kicking legs tightly and he leapt from one tree to the other, listening carefully for any sound of pursuers. His senses told him that there were five vampires coming after him... he could deal with five of them, if he didn�t have to worry about Malfoy getting killed.

He briefly pondered whether he should put Draco down in one of the trees and face them, but if they had arrows then they could strike from a distance and so it was too dangerous to give them the opportunity.

"Shit!" he mumbled, twisting and turning, wishing his Da was here to tell him what to do. Part of him wanted to just leave Malfoy to his fate, he deserved it after all, but his morality wouldn�t let him do that. He had promised the old headmaster that he wouldn�t kill any students and if he left Malfoy here then that, in effect, would be killing him. These were his attackers after all, had nothing to do with the mortals... unless one hired them again.

"Put me down!" Draco screamed, punching at his back and Harry growled low in his throat.

"If I put you down, you�ll die and I refuse to save your miserable hide again," he snarled in reply. Well, that certainly worked, he mused as Draco stopped kicking and punching and went limp. He spared a brief glance over his shoulder and snorted when he realized the other boy had fainted.

Typical.

Actually, perhaps that was best.

Harry paused and listened carefully, he had a few minutes yet. He jumped up higher into the tree he was on, grabbing at the branches with his free hand until he was nearly at the top and had come across a very thick branch. He settled Draco down so that his back was leaning against the trunk and then took out his wand, placing a notice-me-not charm over him and thanking both Terry and Hermione for making him learn it.

Harry slapped the blonde�s face several times before he woke up... not that he wasn�t enjoying it though. Finally grey eyes snapped open and Harry pressed a finger to his lips and pointed at the branch.

"If you move, you�ll fall. Don�t make a sound, don�t even breath until you have to. I can�t do anything if one of them notices you here okay? Just wait," he ordered softly and even Draco Malfoy wasn�t about to disobey that, especially when it meant his life. Harry nodded once more and then he jumped straight down and landed on his feet on the forest floor. His sword drawn and his eyes closed as he waited for his attackers.

He didn�t have to wait long.

These were especially stupid because not one of them thought about staying hidden and shooting their arrows from a distance, quite the contrary, they dropped they bows and drew swords. Swords were something Harry could definitely deal with.

All five of them attacked at once, surrounding Harry and closing him on him. Harry held out his sword and turned around slowly, his eyes still closed as he stopped them from coming within an arms reach. Then he smiled, opened his eyes and shot forward, attacking with one sword while blocking with the other.

He didn�t have time to play around and anger these with words and so he simply held his lazy smile and pushed, and pushed, and pushed. In a matter of seconds, he had one of them unarmed and decapitated but he didn�t pause and had turned around before the body hit the floor. He brought his �sword of war� up to block with his right hand while the serpent master sword was used to block yet another attack on his left.

He ducked and turned, smoothly missing the attacks from behind and couldn�t stop the small bubble of laughter that escaped him when he saw that his ducking had caused the two attackers who cut each other instead. Realizing that he had only three vampires attacking him, he looked around quickly and saw one of them crawling up the tree with a smirk, obviously thinking that he could subdue Harry by holding the mortal hostage.

Harry snorted and he flicked his wrist, grasping his dagger as it slipped out of the holder, dodged another attack and thrust his sword into the vampire�s stomach as he twirled around and then threw his dagger at the other vampire. Said vampire had just about reached Malfoy now and Harry watched as the dagger he threw landed in the back and had obviously pierced his heart as he fell back to the floor with a look of complete surprise.

From what he could see, Malfoy was staring wide-eyed but was so far unharmed and so Harry turned his attention back to the three he had on him. He was a little too late, he realized, as a sword sunk deep into his side and he cursed himself for being distracted but it was nothing life-threatening.

His anger grew and his eyes iced over as he turned and he attacked without reservation, holding nothing back and used every trick he knew. It was all over in a matter of minutes, even if it had felt like hours. When he could see the five bodies of the vampires scattered around him, he sheathed his swords and collected his dagger from the back of one of them.

He took a minute to catch his breath and to calm down before he leapt up into the tree again and brought Malfoy down to the ground. As soon as his fellow first year had his own two feet on the floor, Harry took a step away from him and looked down at his wound, relieved to see it healing. The last thing he wanted was another of those charmed bloody daggers or swords.

"You hurt?" he asked coldly and Malfoy shook his head wordlessly. Harry looked around with a sigh to try and see if he could recognize where they were, but he could. He stretched his senses out for his father and he could just about touch them with the edge of his awareness... they were nearly at the other side of the blood forest.

Taking out one of his swords again, Harry threw it to Malfoy and looked him up and down with a curl of his lip.

"Keep up or get lost and die," was all he sat and then he walked off in the direction he had come. Draco followed him quickly, gripping the sword as if it was a life line and looking in every direction at once but Harry paid him no attention. He took a few more, deep, calming breaths and then grinned. It had been fun, even if it had been a little too close for comfort.

He spotted more of that unicorn blood on the floor and he followed the trail with his eyes, wondering whether he wanted to go this way and meet up with a unicorn slayer. That certainly wasn�t in his to-do list. It couldn�t be helped though, he realized, when he saw that the blood went in the same direction they were heading.

He mused on the attack, wondering whether the guards, Blaise and his two fathers had managed to deal okay. They only had ten between the lot of them and so he wasn�t too worried. Was Quirrell likely to be behind this again? None of those vampires he had just killed bore the mark to the Janius or Polumn clan; they had theirs on the palm of their hands, so this must be an entire small clan who dared to attack.

They may merely have been trying to push their luck and to rise up and take over the Corvus Clan; it wouldn�t be the first time that had happened. But that didn�t mean Harry was going to discount Quirrell from this. He stretched and looked over his shoulder, wondering whether Malfoy could deal with him feeding now too, he looked ready to faint again.

Shrugging, Harry searched the nearby trees and bushes with his eyes and then he shot forward and snatched a large fat rabbit from the ground and sank his teeth into it. He smirked at the disgusted Malfoy sent his way before he pointedly turned his head in the other direction. Harry drank until he was in danger of killing it and so he placed it back down, wiped his mouth and carried on.

A sharp pain shot through his forehead and Harry clamped his hand over his scar with a frown. The only other time he had felt that was his first night here when he had been watching Quirrell. He crawled out with his awareness cautiously as he walked, dragging Malfoy by the arm and then he blanched and snapped his senses in.

He didn�t need them

He could see with his own eyes. The pain in his head flared up once more, stronger and more forceful as he stared at the dark shadow-clad creature that was crouched over a fallen unicorn. He could see the blood dribbling down the creatures chin and he knew immediately who it was... and yet it wasn�t him at the same time.

Malfoy screamed and tried to tug away so that he could run off but Harry wouldn�t let him. He didn�t fancy trying to find him in this huge forest when he himself managed to drag his eyes away. It was as if he was drawn, fixed to the spot and unable to move. His eyes watered under the sheer pain that flashed through him and he was dragged down to his knees.

Half-blind, he crawled backwards as the cloaked figure rose to his feet and approached him. There was a roaring in his ears as the sweeping figure drew closer slowly, he was blinking away blood from his eyes without even realizing it but he knew a sword wouldn�t help him here. He could sense it, the darkness; the vile, disgusting creature wouldn�t be killed so easily... especially after drinking unicorn blood.

"Fuck this!" he muttered before he turned, hoisted Malfoy over his shoulder again and then went back to leaping through the trees. He knew the thing wasn�t following him, but he still didn�t relax until he was out of the forest and besides Hagrid�s hut, panting harshly. He laid Malfoy down on the floor, the fool having fainted again, and turned to his approaching fathers, relieved to see them well and unharmed.

"What the flying fuck was that?" he hissed, jumping to his feet again. His Da ignored him for a minute and wrapped his arms around him instead, lifting him up off his feet and wrapped his legs around his waist.

"What was what?" Dante asked as he approached along with the four guards and Blaise. Harry stared from him to the forest and back again wordlessly, unable to think of a way to describe what he had seen.

"I found what was killing the unicorns," he said faintly and then looked back at Hagrid. "Your crossbow won�t help you; I really wouldn�t go looking for that thing again if I were you. Its like � I don�t know � it�s a monster but � it�s human too. Its Quirrell... but it wasn�t at the same time." He mumbled and then shrugged at the confused looks he was getting. Sod it; they were just going to think him insane.

"Well, the five that followed me are dead anyway, I�m fine and that moron fainted twice." He murmured lightly and then he pressed forward and when his Da bared his neck, he bit intoit softly, accepting the flow of blood with a grateful groan.



The Heir of Corvus I: The Philosopher�s Stone - Chapter 19

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