41 Chapter 23 - Divination of the Dark Lord and the Devil

After a short silence, he gave a wry smile. "Even the scars are completely gone."

He had some complicated feelings about the fact before shaking his head with a sigh.

"What's done is done I guess," he thought, throwing a clean white shirt over himself. "Wonder if Arnya and Nyx are fine."

It's been a couple of days since the incident before Vincent was allowed to get out of the hospital. Due to the end of exams, most students spent the rest time relaxing in Hogsmeade, leaving most of the castle empty as he walked through the corridors, looking out the windows on the way.

"So...all healed are we?" A familiar drawling voice caught Vincent's attention as he looked forward to Snape with his hands behind his back, eyes narrowing at Vincent.

"Yes, sir, not a single scratch left," Vincent nodded.

"...Is that so?" Snape glared at Vincent for a good while before walking past. "I saw Potter and his friends heading to the Gamekeepers hut. Your vampire friend should also be there too."

Vincent turned and watched as Snape continued walking before turning back.

"Huh, he does care," Vincent said to himself scratching his head as he headed off to Hagrid's hut, not realising that the teacher in question had heard him, nearly falling over, with his eyes twitching violently as he glared back to see Vincent turning a corner.

...

"Ohhh...Buckbeak! I'm so glad ya' back!" Hagrid sobbed as he rubbed his hairy beard into some very pink feathers happily, not noticing the odd looks from Harry, Ron and Hermione who were currently looking at Vincent for an explanation. Arnya was off to the side watching over the group.

"I swear, I did not do this," Vincent said quickly.

"But you had something to do with this right?" Hermione said with a raised brow.

Vincent silently opened his mouth before closing it as a bright red coloured feather Hippogriff trotted by. "...not my intention."

He looked over the paddock with complicated feelings, watching all of the Hippogriff herd moving about. That would be fine and all...

...if not for the fact that all the Hippogriffs were so well...coloured.

It was like looking at a very messed up rainbow as each Hippogriff moved. One was red, another was green, some had two colours, and others had all of them. Poor Buckbeak now looked like an overgrown flamingo with its brightly pink feathers, beak and talons. The only thing spared from the colouring were its eyes.

"Arnya, what did you do?" Vincent asked frantically, turning the group's attention to her. "I only told you to use it on Buckbeak!"

"I did, but it didn't work out as well," Arnya explained. "So after a bit, I decided to use it on all of them."

"What did she do?" Harry asked.

"After that night, I asked Arnya and Nyx to make a potion the changes the colour of any living being," Vincent explained. "Thought it could disguise Buckbeak from the Ministry should they have decided to check the flock. However, I guess it coloured too well, making Buckbeak stick out like a sore thumb. Leaving Arnya here to..."

"...drug the herd?" Ron finished with a wince. "'If ones changed, make them all change so no one knows', that sort of idea? Bloody hell man, will that stuff wear off?"

"A little less than a year, I think?" Vincent said thoughtfully, leaving the trio to open their mouths in shock.

"You...think?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Vincent shrugged. "Well, the beetle I tested on have somewhat faded lately so who knows. But I think it should be fine regardless. Look at Hagrid, I don't think he minds it."

Everyone looked to Hagrid who was happily patting Buckbeak, seemingly not caring about the change in color. They all silently agreed as they watched the scene.

After having some very chewy toffee and tea with Hagrid, they went back to the castle to find Sirius walking out with Dumbledore and Fudge.

"Harry," Sirius greeted. "Vincent, Ron, Hermione. There you were."

"Sirius, what's happening?" Harry asked with alarm as he looked to Fudge. "They know that your innocent right?!"

"Calm down Harry my boy," Fudge coughed, getting their attention. "While he has been cleared of all crimes related to your parents death twelve years ago...nearly thirteen now I think, he still is charged with the crime of being an unregistered Animagus."

"Your not taking him to Azkaban are you?!" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Well, punishment for a crime of this level isn't something to laugh at," Fudge shook his head as the children were about to speak again. "But, considering he spent all those years in Azkaban falsely accused, Dumbledore and I decided that a fine would be enough to compensate. We would have left sooner, but Sirius here didn't want to make you worry so we looked around for you."

Vincent felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Dumbledore smiling at him.

"Well now Fudge, I have something to discuss with Vincent here, I hope you don't mind me not seeing you off?" he asked.

"Ah, yes, do be well Dumbledore," Fudge nodded his head at the old wizard. "You too Vincent, take care of yourself."

Vincent nodded his head as he was lead by the Headmaster into the castle with Arnya following behind at a distance.

...

"How are your injuries?" Dumbledore asked Vincent after entering his office. Fawkes sat on it's usual perch, watching them.

"Not a scratch left," Vincent moved his arm around. "Probably better than before."

"That's good to know," Dumbledore nodded as he waved his wand, summoning a chair. "Take a seat."

Vincent sat down and looked behind at the door, knowing that Arnya was just waiting outside. For some reason, she didn't seem to want to come in.

"Vincent," Dumbledore put his hands together and looked back at Vincent gravely. "I don't think that I need to tell you that what you did that night was both brave and very dangerous."

Vincent stayed silent, letting Dumbledore talk. "However, had you not been there, Sirius would still be a wanted man, and Peter would still be free. So for that, thank you."

"...For what?" Vincent asked a little taken aback.

"I've made many mistakes, one of them being not truly believing in Sirius," Dumbledore gave a tired sigh. "Back then, I was doubtful that Sirius was truly the traitor, but instead of pushing harder for his innocence, I gave up, believing in the evidence given that he was indeed traitor. For that I can't ever forgive myself, and for that, I thank you for setting him free."

"...I saw someone that needed help and helped him, I didn't do it for anyone else," said Vincent. "Well, except, Sister An."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore nodded solemnly.

Vincent looked at his hands for a good while before looking back up again. "Was it...was it the right thing for her and Peter to meet?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "A question that should be asked to the person in question, not me. Annie Pettigrew has been scarred from that incident twelve years ago probably more so than anyone including perhaps Harry who has one quite literally. Meeting her supposed dead brother must have been a heart wrenching moment for her, with him being the one responsible for her best friends death and indirectly their mothers as well."

Dumbledore leaned forward and looked Vincent in the eye. "But...from my experience, I believe that seeing her brother was, while terrible, beneficial to her. Although she may now feel responsible for her own brother, she has at least found the man responsible, allowed her to take one step closer to closure. So to answer your question, while I'm in no position to do so, I think that you bringing in Peter so that they can meet was a good thing for her."

Vincent nodded in silence.

Dumbledore glanced at the door behind Vincent. "How's Miss Tepes? From what I've heard, she's become a good friend of yours during this past year."

"Yeah, she has," Vincent smiled as he also glanced at the door behind him. He then frowned slightly before looking to Dumbledore. "About her father, Dracula, should I be concerned about having his attention on me?"

Dumbledore had a thoughtful expression on his face before shaking his head. "No, while Dracula is indeed powerful, he has a distaste of harming children. All previous accounts of a King's candidate inform us that he only 'tests' adults. Seventeen by wizard standards. So you'll still have at least four more years at the least to prepare."

"Prepare..." Vincent muttered to himself.

Dumbledore watched Vincent think for a bit before smiling. "I think we've had enough of that conversation, how about something more lighthearted? How has your time been at school this year?"

Vincent and Dumbledore spent the rest of the time just talking about his time at Hogwarts and other unimportant stuff. Whether it was about the classes or Vincent's potion mishaps, they both had a smile throughout their whole talk.

"It's nearly time for lunch," Dumbledore glanced at a clock. "You best be going now."

Vincent nodded as he got up. He looked to Fawkes and waved. "See you Fawkes."

Fawkes squawked at Vincent who got to the door and stopped just as he had his hand on the handle.

"Something wrong?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well...it's something that has been bugging me since the start of school," Vincent looked at Dumbledore. "What was in that letter that Arnya gave you?"

Dumbledore gave a long, sad sigh. "...A reminder, of what the Wizarding world owes the Vampires."

Vincent frowned but didn't ask any further. He walked out, closing the door behind him as he found Arnya looking up at him.

"Let's go," Vincent smiled. "I owe you some pancakes right?"

Time passed rather quickly and the exam results came out. It was at that point that everybody found something odd. An extraordinary amount of students had passed potions. Students comparing their results were all puzzled and amazed at this fact, seeing that their teacher was Snape himself, being notoriously known for being strict on students other than his own house.

"How on earth did you pass?"

"A third year student, I think, gave me tips as he passed by in the library..."

"Really? Some guy called Vincent helped me fix a potion solution for my homework. Luckily it was in the test."

"He sounds really familiar..."

"Vincent? Isn't that the name of that Mad Scientist guy?"

"Really?! Could it be the same person?"

"Maybe?"

Vincent, unaware of all of the commotion he caused (and how a certain potion's teacher was grudgingly receiving praise from the other teachers about how well he must have guided the students that passed his subject), was currently wandering the corridors with Luna and Arnya, looking for any of Luna's belongings that went missing due to her classmates.

"Luna...you really need to tell a teacher about this," Vincent advised as he climbed a statue to a book that he spotted. He jumped back down and handed it to the girl. "This type of treatment is not right."

"I'm fine," Luna said with a smile as she received the book from his hands. "It's almost like a treasure hunt in a way. If I can't find it, I can always ask a House Elf or ghost for help."

"Well...If it gets too bad, tell them that the Mad Scientist is looking for a test subject."

Luna giggled at that as she turned a corner, only for her to fall back with a yelp as she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Luna apologised as Vincent helped her up.

Vincent turned to the other person that had fallen over and held out his hand. "Need some help?"

The first thing that came to Vincent's mind was that the woman before him was very, very thin. She had several chains and beads around her neck and her arms and hands were covered from the shoulder to wrist with bands and rings. What stood out the most to him were her large, thick glasses that magnified her eyes to the size of a tennis ball.

"Oh yes, thank you—" the moment she grasped his hand and stood up, she went silent.

"Uhh, are you ok?" Vincent asked concerned as the woman froze, staring right at him.

What happened next was extremely bizzare to say the least as the woman's eyes rolled back into her head as she rushed up to him, grabbing his collar.

"HEY! What are you—?!" Vincent furrowed his brows as his tried to get her hands off of him. To his shock, her grip was far too tight to pry open as she held onto him with abnormal strength.

She then spoke, in a harsh voice that seemed rather otherworldly.

"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. A SERVENT LOYAL TO HIM WILL BREAK FREE FROM HIS CHAINS. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS..."

"What is—" Luna started only to be cut off.

"...BUT HE WILL NOT BE ALONE. HELL IS COMING TO ALL WIZARDS IN THE FORM OF THE DEVIL. A DEBT IN BLOOD...IS...WHAT HE SEEKS."

With that, her head fell forward. She would have fallen to the floor is not for Vincent holding her up. Then all of a sudden, her head snapped back up again.

"I'm so sorry, must have drifted off for a bit there," the woman muttered as she yawned, seemingly not knowing what she had just said.

Vincent looked back at Luna whom seemed rather worried and Arnya, whom had a frown on her face.

...

"Bloody hell, can't get what you said yesterday out of my head," Ron muttered as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station the next morning. "You-Know-Who comes back stronger? Devil, hell, debt in blood? It just freaks me out."

The night before, Vincent discussed with Harry, Ron, and Hermione about what he heard from the strange woman.

"Oh come one, you can't believe all that Divination stuff right?" Hermione sighed with annoyance.

"But Hermione, what if she's right, Voldemort coming back is nothing to joke about," Harry argued. "What can we do?"

A rather depressing atmosphere encased the compartment.

"It'll be fine," said Vincent, bringing all of their attention. "Someone I looked up to told me this, 'no matter what anyone says about the future, your the one that shapes it'. Honestly, I can't care less about what the Professor said will happen. Tomorrow will come, it's inevitable, but what can I do today to be better than yesterday? At the very least, I'll be prepared for tomorrow."

Arnya looked up from her book as the trio stared oddly at Vincent. A snort came from Ron followed by Harry and Hermione having a smile break out on their faces.

"You sound like an old man with all that sagely wisdom of yours!" Ron chuckled as Vincent turned to the side looking embarrassed.

"Oh shut up," Vincent grumbled. "Should have known it was a bad idea to break the atmosphere. Should have left you guys wallowing in despair if I knew I was going to get teased for it."

Harry shook his head while laughing. "For what it's worth, it's good to have you here with us."

Vincent's embarrassment grew at the comment.

Throughout the rest of the trip, the five off them played Exploding Snap as they discussed what they were going to do in the holidays.

"So what's happening with you and Sirius, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry frowned. "I don't know, he did tell me that I could come live with him if I wanted. But after saying goodbye, I haven't received anything from him for a while now."

"I'm sure he hasn't forgotten you," Vincent commented as he placed down a card.

"Yeah, I hope so," Harry said glumly. He had hoped that Sirius would take him far away from the Dursleys. Without a word from him, it seemed like he forgot about Harry.

"Well, cheer up Harry! You can come stay with us during the holidays!" said Ron. "The Quidditch World Cup is on this summer! Come and stay, and we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get tickets from work."

This proposal cheered Harry up somewhat although he still looked somewhat downhearted.

Ron then turned to Vincent and Arnya. "You guys can come too! You haven't been to my house yet haven't you Vince?"

"I can come for a couple days," Vincent said thoughtfully. "But then I'll head straight back to London."

"Then it's settled. I'll call you guys on the fellyphone ("Telephone," Hermione corrected) and tell you guys about the date," Ron said excitedly.

Vincent turned to Harry who still looked glum and nudged him.

"Hey, he hasn't forgotten you, Sirius isn't like that," Vincent repeated as he encouraged Harry who smiled before getting back into the game.

Vincent was soon proven right as they arrived at King's Cross station. The moment they all stepped through the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters, a familiar face greeted them.

"Sirius!" A beaming smile lit Harry's face up as his Godfather greeted him.

"Harry!" Sirius smiled widely. "Vincent, Hermione, Ron, Arnya. Sorry for the lack of contact. Thought I'd surprise you."

"And surprise he did," Ron muttered.

"So which one's your uncle?" Sirius rubbed his hands excitedly as he looked around.

Harry spotted Uncle Vernon at once. He was standing a good distance them, eyeing the group of people suspiciously. His eyes furrowed as Harry walked up to him with Sirius in tow. Soon enough, his eyes widened in recognition as he pointed a stubby finger at Sirius.

"Y-you—your Sirius Black! Wanted criminal!" He spluttered, having seen the man before him on the news.

"Mr. Dursley is it?"Sirius gave a smile as he shook Vernon's outstretched hand. "So you've heard off me?"

"You—why—how?!" Uncle Vernon struggled to choke out his words in fear.

"Oh, did you not know?" Sirius made an innocent expression. "I'm Harry's Godfather, and until further notice, I'm coming back home with him."

Vincent, Ron and Hermione grinned from a distance at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face as Harry turned to wave goodbye to them.

"Think he'll be fine?" Hermione asked.

"You talking about Harry, Sirius, or his uncle," Ron snorted as he turned around. "What do you think Vincent?"

Vincent sighed. "Sirius is going to have a blast."

Vincent looked at the time and then to Arnya. "Well, I think it's time we be off."

"Already?" Hermione said as Vincent nodded.

"Well, don't go dying on us alright mate?" Ron slapped Vincent's shoulder.

Arnya watched their exchange before getting a tap on the shoulder. She turned around and was surprised as she was enveloped in a hug.

"See you Arnya, thank you for being there this year," Hermione said as she hugged the black haired girl.

Arnya silently returned the hug, not noticing the smile plastered on her face as they went to the orphanage, only for both of them to receive another hug from a certain Sister.

...

In a certain castle, Dracula opened his eyes.

"The progress he makes is astounding," Dracula said to himself at Arnya's latest report. "Slaying a Basilisk, defeating a Werewolf. His combat potential is impressive, but that will of his to save others, regardless of their origin is something both foolish and beautiful. Don't you agree, Axel?"

On his right, Axel silently appeared, holding his spear over his shoulder.

"..." Axel stayed silent.

"You need not answer, but just listen," Dracula sighed. "I don't have a lot of time left. Ten years? Five? Maybe even shorter than that, keeping myself in check is getting harder to do by the day. Soon, the day will come when I can no longer hold back, and kill them all."

Dracula closed his eyes as Axel stood silently on his right.

"Milord, Voldemort requests an audience," a knight appeared before them, kneeling.

"Send him away—" Dracula began before an explosion of sorts blew apart the large iron door.

Vampires started appearing all around the entrance, some with weapons, others with just their claws.

"WHO DARES TO ENTER!!" A large and burley figure landed at the front of the group. He glared at the entrance where a shadowy figure walked towards them.

Zwei gritted his teeth in frustration as blood flowed out of his palms before being molded into blood red gauntlets. It didn't stop there however, as the blood formed a large chain on both of them as it clattered to the ground. At the end of it, two large spiked ball was formed.

"Oh, ain't this a grand welcoming," A hoarse raspy voice came from the shadowy figure that stepped out of the dust to reveal a hooded man who carried what looked like a baby in his arms. "Aren't we all excited now."

Two spiked balls flew forward towards the hooded man at blinding speeds. Each one had such destructive force that should it hit someone, not even their corpses would remain intact. Zwei was amongst the strongest of Vampires in pure strength alone, a single throw of this caliber would be even enough to take out or even down right kill a giant in a single blow.

And yet...the two balls that came with such power were deflected. The figure flicked his wand sending two stone walls up from the ground in a V shaped formation. Doing this made the spiked balls slide to both sides, barely missing him as the walls blew into small bits.

However, that was just the beginning. Zwei snapped his wrists, flinging the spiked balls to hit the man from the back.

Again, deflected. Only this time, it was a shield charm. The spiked balls bounced off before striking back down again.

It didn't stop. Zwei, continued with swinging his chains, creating an endless amount of blows from the spiked balls. The wizard, seeing no escape, hid himself in a all round shield charm that protected him from all sides.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The endless volley continued for a good two minutes before the charm started to flicker.

"USELESS!" The hoarse voice came again, only this time, everyone could tell it was from the baby like figure in the wizards arms. "Such a sore excuse for a wizard! I guess I have to do everything myself!"

The wizard, keeping his wand up, brought the figure in his arms to the ground. A thin boney hand came out with a wand.

"Get back..." Dracula muttered as the wand pointed at him.

Zwei and all of the Vampires retreated, leaving only Dracula in the wands path.

"Interitum!"

It all happened in a matter of one second. A large green and light grey beam shot towards Dracula, tearing up the ground, shadowing Dracula with it's sheer size as it neared the calm man.

Zero point two seconds.

Every Vampire in the vicinity felt the pressure that such an attack gave. Against such an attack, even a wizard using a shield charm or any sort of protection can't guarantee they'll survive it. No, the only way to surely survive such a spell would be to get out of the way.

Zero point five seconds.

Dracula, however, held out one hand as the beam approached him.

Zero point nine seconds.

A large boom sounded out as where Dracula stood just a second ago

One second.

Dracula sighed as the dust cleared and glanced behind him. "Really now..."

The distance the spell covered was around five to six kilometres Dracula judged as he made not of the large pit and hole behind him several metres wide. The only thing left untouched was his throne which was right behind him.

"...As expected of the great Dracula, for you to survive that attack is impressive," the being in the wizards hands praised.

"You little..." Zwei grunted in rage before Dracula held out his hand.

"What do you want Voldemort?" Dracula asked as he sat back on his throne. "If you wanted to kill me, a simple killing curse would have done it."

"Ah, but this was the only way to gain your attention," the figure in the wizards arms, Voldemort chuckled hoarsely.

Dracula narrowed his eyes. "If it were not for the fact that I cannot kill you, you wouldn't even be allowed to speak."

"You are correct, the current me is nothing more than a shell of sorts," Voldemort coughed violently before settling down. "But it is through this process, that I have...received enlightenment. When I get my body back, I will be more powerful than ever before."

"Get to the point already or I'll slit or toy's throat," a red spear head appeared on the wizards neck, threatening to cut it.

Voldemort glanced to see Axel looking back at him and smiled. "Ah...so this is one of your cursed children..."

"Enough nonsense, speak."

Voldemort chuckled as he looked directly at Dracula. After some silence, he smiled.

"I want to make a deal."

...

...AUTHORS NOTE...

No promises, since I'm pretty bad on time, but I plan to start the next book in around two weeks just so I could map it out properly.

Thank you all for continuing to read this fanfic despite the crappy update time, and I hope to see you all again.