Third Place - Action/Adventure

Ivan and Dante jumped skilfully into the Entrance Hall of the Ministry of Magic. They barely spared a glance to the mortals who had jumped back, astonished at their sudden arrival, and instead they walked to the desk where a woman was sat, flicking through a Witch Weekly magazine. She didn�t bother to look up as they approached and so Ivan snatched the magazine out of her hands and smirked coldly when she growled her protest.

"Where is Malfoy?" Ivan asked as he rocked backwards and forwards on the ball of his feet cheerfully. The woman looked at him as if he was off his head but he paid the look no mind and waited for an answer.

"Classified," was all she said and Ivan rolled his eyes before looking at his husband. Dante grinned and with a nod, they walked past the woman and kicked the large double doors open that stood at the side of her desk. They could feel stunners and a few small hexes hit them from behind but they didn�t bother to be insulted, they were in far too good a mood for that.

They followed their senses, having already met the fool who called himself Lucius Malfoy before; thus, they would recognise his tainted scent anywhere. They climbed up the seemingly endless flights of stairs, taking two at a time, and only stopped when they reached the top floor of the building. When they stepped into a stiflingly posh corridor, all twelve office doors of which going down each side were open, their eyes trained immediately on a large set of ornately carved Mahogany doors at the end.

The Vampires grinned at one another and started down the corridor, upon reaching the end of which, had gathered quite the audience as people stepped out of their offices to watch what would prove to become quite the show. The Auror�s following the pale pair seemed to only guarantee the entertainment.

"I�m afraid you can�t go in there." A woman, more probably the Minister�s secretary, spoke up as Ivan reached for the brass door knob of Fudge�s office door. The leader of the Corvus Clan stopped, his hand still poised on the brass knob, and turned to stare at the witch who, he noticed for a reason he didn�t quite know, looked to be in her mid-thirties.

"Whether we are permitted to go in there or not, rest assured my Lady, we shall be entering this room." Ivan assured her, his tone as cold as ice; so cold in fact, it send shivers down the spine�s of all those present; including Dante�s, but for an entirely different reason. Fudge�s secretary managed to right herself however and bristled at Ivan�s insolence.

"The Minister is currently in a meeting and has specifically asked not to be disturbed!" The woman declared frostily, but Ivan just smiled sweetly at her.

"Then it is luck indeed that the Minister means precisely nothing to us at the present� no, I apologise, at any time." He corrected himself. Both he and Dante heard a number of muffled snickers from their audience but paid them no heed. They did, however, watch with something faintly akin to amusement as the secretary woman flushed with embarrassment at the blunt dismissal of her employer�s importance. "That said, we are still entering his office." As soon as the words left his mouth, Ivan pulled the door to the Minister�s open with so much force, its top most hinges had been torn completely from the wall it had been previously embedded in.

"What is the meaning of this?" An irate Minister Cornelius Fudge was in the process of pacing around his overly large desk towards the two intruders. "Aurors! Arrest these men!" He ordered and was just in time to see a group of five of his best Auror�s step up to the door before...

"Minister, do shut up." Dante spoke for the first time since entering the Ministry building. Fudge spluttered indignantly, an angry red flush slowly rising on his face.

"How dare you�" Suddenly, Dante was all of three inches away from the Minister�s face... or as near as being over a head and a half taller than the Minister could make him.

"Oh I dare." The Vampire hissed. "Now sit down and shut up, or leave. You decide. But, as loath as you must be to hear it, we are not here, for you." He punctuated the last word he spoke with a light �prod� of his finger on Fudge�s chest, inadvertently � or possibly not � sending the Minister back sprawling onto the leather chair behind him. Fudge seemed to decide there and then that staying out of the intruder�s way, at least for the moment, would be the best course of action all around.

Dante nodded once and turned around to see his husband being held, or rather, mockingly standing still at wand point; the wand of said point being held by one Lucius Malfoy.

"Just who do you think you are to be threatening me?" The blonde aristocrat sneered.

"We don�t make a habit of threatening the people who try to have our son killed..." Ivan began, his eyes almost black with fury. Dante stepped up beside him, is eyes showing exactly the same level of rage as his husband�s.

"We usually kill them." He growled, watching with no little amount of satisfaction as fear flickered in Malfoy�s eyes before his sneering mask returned.

"But then again, never have we found a wizard behind an assassination attempt." Ivan went on, his tone nearing conversational. Fudge chose this moment to get to his feet and step back into the frame.

"Now listen here!" He declared. "Mr Malfoy is a respected member of this Ministry and I�ll not have you spouting lies�" The Minister was suddenly propelled backwards by what looked to be an invisible force. The next thing Fudge knew, he was being pinned to the wall of his office by the strange intruder that had spoken to him the first time.

"I warned you, Mortal..." Dante snarled. "...to keep your mouth shut. You have no possible hope of comprehending what is happening here." The irises and whites of the Vampire�s eyes had completely blackened over, giving Dante a look that was guaranteed to instil fear on anyone who looked at him. "Keep quiet." The Minister then found himself being dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"I am afraid, gentlemen, that I have no clue as to what you are talking about." Malfoy said when Dante had returned, his eyes still black and sending shivers up and down Malfoy�s spine. "Stupefy."

The blonde smirked as the tip of his wand glowed red before a short beam of the same colour shot from the wand, rapidly covering the distance between its starting point and Ivan�s chest.

The smirk died as the spell the wizard had cast, hoping to put one of his opponents out of commission, had absolutely no effect on the Vampire after hitting its target directly.

"It was an unspoken rule, or so I�ve read..." Ivan began. "That a wizard or witch, should never, and by the power of an immortal I do mean never, voluntarily and knowingly interfere with anything regarding Vampires. Or more importantly, the House of Corvus."

"It is a rule still in affect today." Someone said from the doorway.

"Thank you." Ivan inclined his head without taking his eyes off Malfoy. "So, Mr Malfoy, the next time you want to kill the heir to the Corvus clan, my heir, my son... you will remember this day and remember us telling you, that whatever happens today, was just a warning." The leader of the Corvus clan bared his fangs and growled loudly. Behind him, he heard the Minister being dragged kicking and screaming about laws and Azkaban, from the room. He then heard his husband �request� one of the Auror�s to educate the prat of a Minister on Vampiric laws before once again, stepped up to his, Ivan�s, side.

What was left of Lucius Malfoy, though he was still alive and a long way from death, was a bloody mess. Both his arms had been broken, both legs too; in three places in one of them. Five ribs had been fractured, nose broken, both eyes black... in fact, over eighty percent of his body was covered in bruises. Cuts littered his face, neck, arms, chest and legs though none, much to the level of control Ivan and Dante actually showed, were not caused by their fangs piercing Malfoy�s flesh.

Before the beaten wizard lost conscious, Ivan grasped the blonde�s bruised chin in his hand and forced their eyes to lock.

"My son captured your assassin, my husband killed him. The next time you so much as go near my son, neither he, nor my husband, nor I, will hesitate to end your pathetic excuse of a life. And believe me when I say it, we are entitled to do so." With that said, the wizard lost the ability to stay away, much to his relief.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, little master?" Blaise asked worriedly as he hurried to catch up. Harry rolled his eyes and grinned at his friend over his shoulder.

"Don�t worry so much, I won�t let him hurt me," he said mockingly and Terry snorted but Blaise didn�t even crack a smile.

"Seriously though, if you kill him, you�ll get expelled and the wizards might decide to start their ridiculous vendetta against vampires again or something � well, okay I�m probably overreacting a little I know, but you really shouldn�t kill someone in your second week here... even if he does deserve it-"

"Blaise-"

"Because he does deserve it... and a lot more.... I know he�s a little shit, but the world is full of stupid twats and you can�t kill them all-"

"Blaise-"

"Perhaps I should call your fathers or something? They would know what to do and you listen to them! You�re not supposed to be getting into any trouble, well not this sort of trouble anyway..." Blaise said again, talking mainly to himself now as he stared ahead without exactly seeing.

"Blaise!" Harry called again sharply and rolled his eyes when his friend finally turned to look at him. "I don�t plan on killing anyone, stupid! I�m not even going to seriously hurt him � I�m just going to point out that I could kill him if I wanted too, that�s all," he said exasperatedly and Blaise grinned sheepishly.

"I know � sorry. I forget that this is a mere mortal boy-" he said and then he held the door open for Terry and Harry before he followed them into the trophy room. Inside they saw Draco Malfoy along with Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson and one or two of the older Slytherins that Harry wasn�t quite acquainted with.

"Are you ready � my love?" Harry asked mockingly as he stared coldly into the blonde�s eyes. "You stated the time and the place, so I guess it�s up to me to choose the weapons and conditions." He said again and watched as Draco nodded, the boy was visibly seething.

"Hurry up Potter! We haven�t got all night, you know," Pansy sneered when she realised that Draco was currently unable to find his tongue.

"Just be thankful that I�m not suggesting a duel to death, bitch," Harry replied calmly and smirked as he saw Draco pale. "No. I�ll say wands, swords and daggers, fight until the loser is unconscious. Do you have any weapons, my passion, or do I have to loan you some of mine?"

"Loan," the blonde finally managed to snap out between clenched teeth and Harry arched an eyebrow before crossing his arms over his chest.

"You do know how to use said weapons, right? I already know I�m dealing with an amateur here but don�t take all the fun out of it!" he said with amusement and Draco glared at him but held out his hands for the weapons.

"I know," was all he said and Harry shrugged. He was already wearing his belt and so he pulled the serpent master sword from its holder and held onto the blade as he pointed the handle at his blonde year-mate. When Draco gripped the handle, Harry kept hold of the blade as he stared into those grey/blue eyes.

"I want this back in perfect condition, this is worth more than your life and if there is even a scratch on it, I will use it to cut off your head," he sneered and then let go and drew his other sword before Malfoy could even reply. He handed over one dagger and then pulled out his own wand but left his two daggers strapped to his wrist, he doubted he needed those but if he did then they were waiting. He took the belt off and handed it over to Blaise along with the rest of the weapons that were on there before he turned, and bowed, watching as the spectators backed away quickly.

Draco returned the bow and Harry turned on his heel and took three steps forward and away from his opponent. He really wasn�t surprised when he was hit by a spell as soon as his back was turned... well, he would have been hit if he hadn�t been expecting it and if he hadn�t moved out of the way.

"Petrificus Totalus" Draco shouted again as Harry turned to face him, Harry merely stood there with a cold smirk as he allowed the curse to hit him. He looked down at himself in mock confusion when nothing happened and then he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"When are you going to learn, Malfoy? Your magic has no effect on me," he said cheerfully and rolled his eyes again as he was hit with a painful tearing curse, a stunner and an Expelliarmus charm before the blonde threw his wand down in frustration and gripped onto the sword tightly. He charged forward with the sword pointed at Harry�s chest and Harry stood his ground before he stepped to the left just as the other sword was about to hit him.

He turned around and lazily brought his sword up to block as Draco attacked again, and again. He was moving quiet fast but Harry was faster and the ease in which he defended was insulting to both Harry�s skill and Draco�s patience.

"Might want to spread your legs wider... I hear you�re good at that anyway babe," he said with an innocent smile and he heard a snort of laughter from the shadows and grinned when he realised his guards were watching. He spared a brief nod in their direction before he turned back to his... opponent.

Really, it wasn�t fair on Harry to call this mortal child his enemy. There wasn�t enough skill and power combined in this fool to even think of him as more than a chore. He smirked at the thought and then deftly brought up his right hand to block another attack while he stopped the dagger from striking his left side with his own dagger. It was typical, it was predictable and it was basic.

"Straighten your shoulders..."

"You fight like a girl!"

"Try using your left hand..."

Harry shook his head, this was quickly getting boring. The two swords clashed and both boys glared into each others eyes, Harry smirked at the pure hatred he saw in Draco�s but also at the grudging respect. He pulled away and then moved out of defence and into attack, pushing Draco back into a corner before he slammed the handle of the dagger into the boys head. He watched as he crumpled down to the floor and then he turned away and straightened his robes in disgust.

"I�d get more of a challenge out of a bloody girl," he muttered and then paused, "Well; apparently not considering Malfoy seems to be confused of his gender..."

"Very nicely done," Blaise said with a grin and Harry returned it before shrugging. He bent down to get his weapons from the fallen Slytherin before he strapped his belt around his waist and he was about to step forward and say something else when he heard the sound of talking and then he froze.

"Shit! Snape and McGonagall are on the way," he whispered and he looked around with amusement to see Malfoy�s cronies were scattering down the corridor, leaving Draco unconscious on the floor. Terry and Blaise grabbed anything that could point to them and then they quickly grabbed Harry�s arm and dragged him down the corridor. "Where, exactly, are we going?"

"Far away from Snape before you manage to get yourself into even more trouble," Blaise replied softly and Harry rolled his eyes but allowed himself to be dragged down the corridor, round a corner and into a room. As they shut the door behind them, Harry turned around to try and see where they were and then he just dropped his jaw open and stared.

"What the fuck is that!" Blaise asked as he turned around and Harry couldn�t even tear his eyes away from the creature to look at him.

"One would think it was that certain sudden death that the old man was on about during the feast. Between getting eaten by a three headed mutt, and getting shouted at by Snape... I would prefer the latter. So get the bloody door open!" the dog filled the entire space between ceiling to floor and it had three large heads with three pairs of rolling, mad eyes, three noses and three drooling mouths. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Harry could hear Terry and Blaise groping for the doorknob behind him and then they heaved the large wooden door open once more. Without pausing for thought, Harry slowly backed out, not taking his eyes off the beast until he was across the threshold. When he was positive his two friends were out safely as well, he helped them shut the door and then bolted down the corridor and as far away as he could get.

Harry grinned and waved over to Draco Malfoy when he saw the boy sat at the Slytherin table wearing his characteristic smile. He walked straight past his house-mates and towards the Ravenclaw table where he was surprised to see Terry, Blaise and Hermione waiting for him. He sat down and blew a teasing kiss to Hermione, grinning again as she rolled her eyes.

"So, we�ve come to the conclusion that that dog thing must be guarding something," Terry said quietly and Harry quirked an eyebrow.

"Aye... and it took a Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin to work that out?" he sneered playfully and Hermione scowled before hitting him up the back of the head.

"Anyway, we think its guarding something... and Hermione here says we should ask that huge man... the groundskeeper-"

"Hagrid-" Hermione supplied and Blaise nodded

"That�s it, Hagrid. She seems to think that he knows something about it, but then again she is the one who has been going to speak to him nearly every day since the start of the year, so I suppose she would know," he continued and Hermione scowled again.

"She has got a name you know... and she is sat right here!"

"Of course!" Harry said in astonishment. "Why didn�t I think about that? I can see it perfectly now. �Excuse me old boy, I know I don�t exactly know you and all, but we kind of stumbled along the corridor we weren�t supposed to go anywhere near and we wondered if you could tell us what that large three-headed beast of a dog was guarding� yeah! That should work perfectly!"

"Sarcasm doesn�t suit you!" Hermione snapped and Harry grinned again

"If you ever meet Ivan Corvus and Dante Delgardo, then you�ll probably find that my level of sarcasm is preferred..." he said in a deliberately pompous tone. He grinned when he saw that Blaise was nodding his agreement without even realising it and he was about to point that out when he saw that the owl post had arrived.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as a long, thin, package was carried by three barn owls and Harry was hardly surprised when it was dropped in front of him. He had been waiting for this. He ignored the parcel itself and plucked the small note off the side.

My son

I will see you this afternoon when your classes finish anyway, same time in the forest as was last week. Bring your friend, Terry, I would like to meet him. As you have probably guessed, I received an owl from Snape � much to my surprise � saying that you were the youngest player to make the Quidditch team in a century and that you required a good b

I still can�t believe wizards actually fly on these stick things...

Your Pa and I are looking forward to seeing you again, we miss you terribly and we have some news to give you... before you find out from another source. Do not be late; see you later.

Love
Da

"Finally," Harry said and was about to tear the paper off the broom when he realised everyone was still watching. Why should he let them all see that he had a good broom? Why shouldn�t they wait until the first match? He grinned again and stood up, motioning for his friends to follow as he grabbed his parcel and left the room.

"I�m not saying you should ask him directly Harry! I mean I should take you all with me and introduce you to him... he�s kind of clumsy so if anyone will let something slip, then it will be him," Hermione explained as she rushed to catch up with him. Harry rolled his eyes and sighed with exasperation.

"Well I�m meeting my fathers this afternoon, so it will have to be tomorrow..."

Harry stepped into the Entrance Hall at the same time Terry stepped off the last step of the Grand Staircase. They looked at one another and grinned. Harry knew his guards were still lurking around the castle at various locations and was satisfied in the knowledge that they would probably manage to keep themselves out of trouble. He sent a pointed look to a darkened corner, just to make sure. He then grasped Terry�s hand and proceeded to pull the Ravenclaw towards the main doors.

Once outside, the pair decided to walk at a leisurely pace towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Alas," Terry began dramatically. "My housemates have decided alienation is the only thing for me." Harry snorted beside him. "Seriously, you�d think they�d loosen up a little after the first fifteen attempts at getting me to stop being your friend hadn�t worked." His companion laughed.

"What did you expect? Consorting with the enemy! Shame on you Mr Boot." He clucked his tongue mockingly. "I�m a Slytherin! I�m a Vampire... better yet, I�m a bloody Corvus." Terry snorted at the admission.

"I�m a Shapeshifter. So little is known about my race; I�d be surprised if they didn�t file a petition to get me transferred." At this, Harry out right laughed. "I�m serious. Wizards are notorious in their reactions to the unknown. Take Werewolves for example; just because they turn into a wolf three nights out of the month, they�re treated... well, almost like criminals. They can�t have children, they have to �inform� their neighbours that they�re a Werewolf before taking up residence, they can�t even own pets! When a person is bitten by a werewolf, they have to register with the ministry and are automatically given the title of �Dark Creature�... despite the fact that they didn�t exactly choose to be bitten." By the time Terry had finished his little speech, they were a five minute walk away from the Forbidden Forest border.

"I suppose Vampires are lucky in the respect that we have our own society and our own laws." Harry mused almost to himself.

"You are. Shifters are lucky in the fact that we keep mostly to ourselves. Werewolves don�t have the choice. If you don�t register yourself and get found out at a later date, you�re fined anything up to 3,000 Galleons. And to a Werewolf, struggling to get by and keep their secret whilst working, taking into consideration how the Moon cycle effects them; tiring and a near constant battle with the wolf inside... then there�s the three nights of the moon where the werewolf is so knackered after the transformation, they can�t move save to get themselves into a more comfortable position to sleep until the next night comes... Their lives are hard. Let�s just say that." The Ravenclaw stared ahead, stuffing his hands deep into the pockets of his robes. Harry looked at him out of the corner of his eye and sighed.

"You know a Werewolf?" The Vampire asked tentatively. Despite his brazen attitude, he knew when to lend a sympathetic ear and when to ask certain questions and even when to keep his mouth shut.

"My brother was bitten when he was 15. He wasn�t a wizard, just a regular Shifter. Mom and Dad decided to keep it hushed up and when I was about 6... he�d just turned 21 and was called to the Ministry for inspection. He was found out, of course. He was fined, registered; they even forced sterilisation on him." Harry shuddered at the thought. "Sorry mate, didn�t mean to get all down on you." The Slytherin grinned reassuringly at his friend and draped an arm over the other�s shoulders.

"No worries. Come on, Da said he had something to tell us." The pair crossed the final few feet to the Forest boarder and were soon enveloped in the darkness that came naturally to the wood. Terry�s eyes immediately, almost unconsciously, turned cat like so he could see adequately in the dark. "Ah, why can�t I have eyes like that?" Harry pouted as he caught a glimpse of Terry�s �night eyes�. The Shapeshifter laughed.

"You very probably could you know... just go to a Muggle optician and get contact lenses." He grinned at Harry�s sour look.

"The day I let an optician near my eyes; I�ll have Draco Malfoy on his knees before me." Beside him, Terry snorted.

"Didn�t you do that already?" Harry made a show of thinking about the answer and Terry rolled his eyes, cuffing his friend on the back of the head. "So, where are these Lords of Corvus I�ve heard so much about?" he asked conversationally.

"Shouldn�t be too far away... if they�re even here yet." Harry answered. "I don�t think I�ll bother waiting for them." He turned to his friend and grinned a mischievous grin. "Can you fly?" He whispered, much to Terry�s confusion and leapt in a direction directly vertical. Terry just gaped at the space his friend had just vacated before shaking his head and looking around, trying desperately to locate the wayward Slytherin. "Become the Vampire you so conveniently taunted myself and my minder with the other day." The Ravenclaw grinned rather smugly at the comment before doing just that. "Catch me if you can." With those words said, Harry took off in a direction Terry found he could easily follow.

And follow he did.

Each tree branch Harry stepped on, Terry stepped on the same one two seconds later. They played their game of chase for near half an hour before they were stopped, literally, and brought abruptly down to Earth.

Shaking his head to clear the newly formed cobwebs, it took Terry a moment to realise an obviously adult hand was being held out for him to take. Frowning slightly, he looked up at its owner and raised an eyebrow. He sniffed the air, being the Vampire his shifting abilities allowed him to be, he could pick out certain... scents. He then allowed his eyes to trail down the hand-owner�s neck until he came to the spot the mark of Corvus was �supposed� to be.

But there wasn�t anything there.

"Harry!" He called out, moving away from the being as fast as he could, which wasn�t fast if one took into consideration his floored status. Suffice it to say, he was immediately caught, dragged to his feet and slapped across the face so hard that he fell right back to the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and spat it out on the ground. He sighed, hoping beyond what hope could offer, that his attacker would leave him alone but, it wasn�t to be.

He was once again dragged to his feet, though this time; it was the sharp edge of a knife blade the connected with his skin. His attacker tore his Ravenclaw robes from him so he was left in naught but a pair of jeans and the t-shirt he�d put on that morning. Terry was then subjected to numerous slashes to his arms, his chest and his cheeks. He cried out sharply after each cut.

When Harry was brought forcefully from his run up in the tree-tops, he originally thought that it had been either his Da or his Pa that knocked him down, but after a few seconds of lying still on the ground beneath a weight that felt suspiciously like neither his Da or his Pa�s weight... adding onto that the fact that he heard his friend�s frantic cry followed by the distinct sound of flesh slapping flesh, he snarled and tried to get out from underneath the soon-to-be dead thing on top of him.

"Ah, ah, ahh little Corvus." The very over-confident Vampire currently seated atop of him drawled lazily in his ear. "You�ll not be going anywhere." It was then that Harry felt the familiar touch of a knife blade at his throat. He automatically ceased all struggles and waited for the bastard that was on top of him to make the first move.

He then noticed, rather belatedly, that his arms were free and not far from either boot of the unwelcome weight. Inwardly cursing himself for his own stupidity, he flicked his wrist to release a dagger into both hands and thrust downward through the boot material, flesh, bone, out of flesh, through boot soles and finally, into the earth beneath the feet of his attacker.

"Ah!" The Vampire cried out. Releasing his hold on his daggers, Harry took the chance offered to him when the guy dropped his knife and tried to reach his feet, to shimmy out from underneath the weight. Once out, he removed another two daggers from the holsters on his ankles, looked the other Vampire in the eye with the purest hatred he could muster, and bared his fangs threateningly.

He kicked his attacker in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards, his arms spread out to ease his fall. Harry smirked at the stupidity of this creature he had the misfortune to share race with. With two expertly aimed throws, the Vampire was pinned to the ground by not only the daggers in his feet, but two fresh ones in his hands.

Harry then removed two pure silver knives with deep holly-wood handle�s, from two sheathes attached to his belt behind his back. He walked up in between the legs of the fallen Vampire, drew his right foot back and as he brought it forward with as much force as he could muster, he threw one of his knives into the Vampire�s throat, effectively cutting off any sound he might make whilst feeling certain, pains, in his nether-regions... or what was left of them.

The eleven year old Corvus heir smirked coldly as tears of intense pain sprung in his would-be attacker�s eyes. He kicked him twice more before stepping over the un-dead body so he was stood beside it. He then dropped to his knees, divested the vampire of his shirt and carved, using his other knife, the mark of Corvus into the pale chest.

He removed the knife from the Vampire�s throat and wiped clean both knives on his robes. He leaned over until he was all of five inch away from that paler than normal face.

"Does it hurt?" He cooed not quite mockingly but at the moment in time, not quite sane either. The fallen Vampire nodded brokenly, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Harry could see him mouth the word �Please� more than once and smiled. He trailed a finger down the damp cheek. "Shh..." He whispered, one of his knives now trailing the path his finger did, stopping at the Vampire�s lips and pressing down, hard, splitting open until the blade hit the bone.

Still smiling, Harry wiped away yet more tears and ran his tongue over the would, lapping up the blood from the man�s face as if it were ice cream from a cone. "Shh..." He repeated. "Shh, baby... don�t cry..." He caught a few tears on the tips of his fingers and brought them to the mouth wound, wiping the salty substance across the Vampire�s lip, earning a sharp wince from his bound companion.

�Please!� The Vampire mouthed, begging Harry for something Harry was sure that had the tables been reversed, no mercy would have been given.

"Please? Please what? Release you?" The knife returned to the mouth wound and cut further down passed the chin and down the neck, bypassing the Adam�s apple until it met the cut made earlier. "Free you? Give mercy?" Unable to do anything else, the Vampire nodded. Smiling once again, Harry shook his head. He then lowered himself until his mouth was over the throat wound, and proceeded to drink the Vampire dry.

The task was quickly done, considering how much blood had been lost before hand, but the one who had the gall to attack him was still conscious, though barely so.

"There now... that wasn�t so bad, was it?" The bound Vampire didn�t answer; he just stared back at Harry�s bloodied face. Harry had never been a messy eater but there is little anyone can do when drinking from a plate. You�re always going to get messy. "Don�t go away now, will you?" He pressed his lips to the other�s mouth before standing up, removing his sword from its sheath on his belt and taking off in the direction he last heard Terry.

When he arrived in the clearing Terry was in, he was happy to note that his friend was fighting and holding his own, despite the numerous cuts that littered the Ravenclaw�s body.

"Terry, get back." He ordered, catching the attention of both beings. Terry quickly did as he was told and Harry made very short work of beheading the other Vampire � but not before getting himself slashed with the knife that had cut Terry a fair few times too. He noted, rather oddly, that the knife that had cut his robes away and was now sticking out of his side. Shrugging, he ignored it for the moment.

He smiled slightly at his friend, beckoning him over with his head before moving back to where his own victim still lay bound and near death.

Without thought nor feeling, Harry removed both daggers from the Vampire�s boots, kicked him in his �pride and joy� once again, smirking at the faint wince that the motion earned him. He bit the pad of his thumb and ran it over his Corvus Mark.

The heir to all things Corvus waited purposely for his Da and Pa to appear before pulling the knife that had been embedded deep in his side out and throwing it forcefully into the centre of the floored Vampire�s forehead.

"I hope the news you promised will more than make up for my loss of blood and the near loss of my friend�s life." The two adults, in Terry�s opinion, had the decency to look ashamed. One of them, the Ravenclaw didn�t know which, stepped up to Harry and gently led him away from the now very dead Vampire attacker. The other one turned to where Terry was leaning seemingly casually against a tree.

"You seem unharmed." The Vampire elder stated rather than asked as he looked the boy over. Terry�s eyes went from their usual colour (to which they�d reverted back to during the fight with the attacker Vampire earlier) to the cat-like state he�d changed them too when he�d set foot in the forest itself. It was then, that Terry saw clearly, one half of the Corvus duo his friend spoke so highly of.

The man before him stood a rough height of 6ft2, his hair dark and long, stopping where Terry would hazard a guess the Vampire�s mid-back would be. His eyes were dark, brown, no doubt and his skin was pale as one would expect from a Vampire. That said, his build was toned and muscular without it becoming overbearing. The Vampire before him seemed to exude authority; his entire being radiated power.

But to Terry, he was his best friend�s Dad.

"You have a nose..." Terry held back a smirk when he heard Harry�s snort of laughter a few feet away. "...does the Lord Corvus not remember how do use said piece of his anatomy?" He smiled sweetly at the scowl working its way across the Vampire�s face. He altered his features to uncover the extent of his injuries.

"Ivan, my love, when an eleven year old questions how you use a piece of your anatomy, I do believe it is time for you to be worried." Dante grinned from where he knelt before his son.

Terry grinned at who he now knew to be Ivan Corvus, bowed his head mockingly and shifted his appearance once again to hide his wounds.

"Should you not heal yourself?" The Vampire asked, all previous joking aside, but Terry shook his head.

"Due to certain properties in my blood... or something in my something... any wounds I received will heal quickly. What I think you should be worried about is the fact that the knife your son just pulled out of him, was charmed so neither magic nor Vampire healing abilities can heal it. It will have to heal the old fashioned way and given the length of the knife, I�d say it hit a few things inside him it shouldn�t have." He saw Harry grimace as Dante pressed searching fingers against a sensitive part of his abdomen.

"It looks like he is, of course, correct in his assumption." Dante commented. Harry grinned up at his friend.

"Terry, meet my Da and Pa... Ivan and Dante. You two... behave yourselves." His father�s gave him mock-offended looks to which, he simply raised an eyebrow at. The two adults sighed and nodded their heads; resigned in the fact that they had a lot to make up for... they made quite the put-upon display too.

"You were right, Harry." Terry said after a moment�s silence. "They are worse than you." The two eleven year olds laughed as the adults tried to glare menacingly at them. The effects were lost though by the smiles cracking on their faces.

"Come on then old men!" Harry prompted after calming himself down. "You had news! Share it!" Dante glanced at his husband and then back at his son.

"We shall tell you, if you agree to be taken to that hospital place up in the castle." At the mention of the hospital wing, Harry scowled darkly. Dante just laughed. "Now, now, you want to hear our news don�t you?" Reluctantly, the young Corvus nodded and grasped his Pa�s hand.

"Fine." He was still pouting when Dante jumped out of the clearing, taking his son with him.

Ivan turned back to Terry after he had quickly rounded up the remnants of Harry�s weapons and held out his hand. He saw the young Ravenclaw eye the hand cautiously before taking a firm hold. "Fear not, jumping does not hurt." He grinned impishly at the child before following his family to the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts where he knew his family would be landing, figuratively speaking.

Once there, the four companions made their way, with Harry having to be carried (much to his annoyance) after stumbling on a few stairs, to the Hospital Wing. When they arrived, Dante was immediately ordered to relinquish his hold on the student, set him on a bed and step back. The nurse then asked for details and was faintly horrified at what she heard.

"Assassination attempts! Dear Merlin! He is in school!" She continued to mutter things along those lines until she had cleaned all his wounds, including the blood he�d spilt when drinking from the Vampire he�d killed, and bandaged some of the more serious ones. With the knife wound to the side, she mended the internal damage as best she could but the recovery was ultimately going to be a Muggle one. Which meant... very slow.

Just as she was finishing, the doors of the hospital wing opened and one Blaise Zabini walked in, accompanied by five armed Vampire guards.

Harry rolled his eyes at their presence and turned to his Da. "You even think of blaming any of them and you�ll regret it." He said firmly. His Da looked at him innocently before smiling and shaking his head.

"You were permitted to enter the forest alone when you knew we were meeting you. They are not at fault, do not fret yourself." Harry nodded and smiled. "But what�s this I head about a duel..." The Slytherin suddenly found the ceiling extremely interesting and he avoided looking at his Da altogether. A few feet away, Blaise chuckled.

"A young Mr Malfoy initiated it, My Lord. No one was really hurt... unless you count the worth of the Malfoy pride." A few of the guards behind him snorted softly and Harry grinned triumphantly.

"Mr Corvus." The nurse said, suddenly at his bedside. "If you feel any pain at all, take one gulp of this. Pain relief is about the only thing I can give you now. I want you to stay in bed until I say otherwise! Is that clear!" Numbly, Harry nodded. The nurse turned her gaze to all those present. "No more than an hour then I want you out of my Hospital Wing!" Harry�s visitor�s nodded their agreement and watched as the nurse walked back to her office.

"Right! News!" Harry demanded, much to his father�s amusement.

"Very well." They then proceeded to explain to him and those around, their entire visit to the Ministry.

"...and when we turned to leave, Fudge was screaming for the Auror�s to arrest us. They didn�t, as they are smart enough to remember our laws. We said thanks for the hospitality and that we�d pay for the door your Da conveniently broke." Ivan didn�t look in the least bit guilty. "Then we left. And that�s pretty much it." Dante grinned at the laughter in his son�s eyes and so in the eyes of all those around.

"So let me get this straight... not only did I kick Malfoy�s arse last night... but you kicked his father�s arse today?" At Ivan and Dante�s nods, Harry refused to hold back his laughter any longer.



The Heir of Corvus I: The Philosopher�s Stone - Chapter 10

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