Huntress

Chapter 1: Vampires and Voldemort

July came and went with more Death Eaters vanishing without a trace.rd Vrd Voldemort was in a frightful rage. Was the Order of the Phoenix responsible? His spy at the ministry confirmed that it wasn\'t the ministry trapping the Death Eaters, so it had to be this blasted Order. That is until Wormtail entered the room, dragging the body of Crabbe with him. \"Report Wormtail!\" Voldemort hissed.

\"My lord, it looks like the work of vampires,\" Wormtail stammered. But the look of fear increased on his face when he saw another figure step out of the shadows.

\"That is a lie!\" the figure hissed. \"As allies of Lord Voldemort, we have pledged not to attack any Death Eaters!\"

\"Then explain the holes in Crabbes neck, Count Radock!\" Voldemort hissed. \"It is obvious that you betrayed your word. This...\"

\"SILENCE!\" Radock roared. \"Let me see the body.\" Wormtail brought Crabbe\'s body up to Radock for inspection. He took a few minutes to examine the body while sniffing at the puncture wounds on the dead Death Eater\'s neck. \"Ahh...the explanation is a simple one. You see, Lord Voldemort, we vampires are equipped with a sense of smell that can distinguish other vampires from another besides eyesight. We can tell who attacked a certain victim. And from what I can tell, this vampire is not associated with me or the other masters.\"

\"Then who?\"

\"I do not know. All I know for certain is that this vampire is a magical vampire. That means he or she was a witch or wizard before being turned. Find any witch/wizard that has been turned and you will find the culprit responsible,\" Radock explained.

*****

Back at the Headquarters, the Order of the Phoenix were also stumped at who was behind the attacks on the Death Eaters. They were waiting to hear back from Severus Snape, who was a double agent, pretending to be a loyal Death Eater. About midnight, he returned and the meeting commenced. \"Well, Severus, does Voldemort have any idea who\'s behind it?\"

\"A vampire has been confirmed to be the attacker for Crabbe, at least,\" Snape suggested.

\"One of his vampiric allies?\" Moody growled.

\"Nope, because Radock mentioned that a magical vampire attacked Crabbe,\" Snape commented. Immediately, Moody, Lupin, Tonks and Dumbledore suspected who the attacker was: Hermione Granger. But the rest of the Order did not know that Hermione was a vampire and that would stay secret for now. After a half-hour, the meeting was over and Dumbledore pulled Tonks, Moody and Lupin to the side.

\"We\'ll have to talk to Hermione about this,\" Dumbledore said. Nodding their heads in agreement, they walked up the stairs and knocked on the door to Hermione and Ginny\'s room. The door opened to reveal Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione sitting there, talking.

\"Harry, Ginny and Ron. Could you excuse us, because we need to talk to Hermione. It\'s about her becoming....Head Girl,\" Lupin said. Not only was it a plausible excuse, but also kind of the truth considering that Hermione had been selected as Head Girl, which would make her living arrangements due to her condition all the easier to manage. Harry, Ron and Ginny left the room and Tonks put a spell on the door to prevent Extendable Ears from being used.

\"Hermione, we need to ask you a question. Have you been attacking those Death Eaters?\" Lupin asked sternly. She nodded her head, half-meekly and half-proudly. Lupin sighed. \"I know you want Voldemort to weaken, but leave the Death Eaters to us. Your latest stunt confirmed to Voldemort and his VAMPIRE allies that a magical vampire had been attacking his supporters. It\'s only a matter of time before they find out its you,\" Lupin said.

\"But why? My magical abilities...\" Hermione began.

\"Only help you against the Death Eaters and run of the mill vampires, but not Voldemort or master vampires. They are much more powerful,\" Lupin said, as if to end the discussion. \"I don\'t want you to attack any more Death Eaters, for whatever reason, OK?\" Angrily, Hermione nodded her head, not liking being forced to end playing vigilante.

\"As for you needing food, we\'ll be providing it. We just can\'t take the chance of you attacking an innocent person, Hermione,\" Lupin said. \"Unlike my condition, there is no potion that will tame the vampire demon. So, from now on, blood will be provided by either myself or Professor Snape or at the school, Madam Pomfrey.\" A few minutes later, a jug of blood was brought in for Hermione to consume. She sat on her bed wondering...how would Ron and Harry react when they found out that she was a vampire? After all, when she found out that Lupin was a werewolf, she had accused him of helping Sirius Black (who was thought to be after Harry at the time) get into the castle.

*****

Days later, Voldemort and Raddock were still searching for the mysterious magical vampire when the doors opened and in strode Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort was surprised, but pleased to see his right hand man back. \"Welcome, Lucius. I was not aware of any breakout, although one was planned to take place soon,\" Voldemort hissed.

\"The name Malfoy, plus a few monetary incentives, still carry a lot of weight, even at Azkaban,\" Lucius drawled respectfully.

\"I\'m glad you\'re out. I\'ve never gotten the chance to pay you for your failure at the Ministry. CRUCIO!\" Voldemort hissed, sending the Cruciatus Curse at Malfoy. He had sent Malfoy to the Ministry of Magic to retrieve the prophecy, but failed when Harry and his friends opposed him and the other Death Eaters, causing the prophecy to smash. After five minutes of torment, Voldemort let up. \"Now, I\'ll give you one last chance to prove yourself, Lucius, or else it will be much worse for you.\"

\"What can I do, my lord?\" Lucius asked, shakily.

\"Find out who the magical vampire that has been killing your fellow Death Eaters. I want to know the name and the location of this vampire so that it can meet the sharp end of a stake!\"