Chapter V

The quiet rustle of pages drifted through the early morning silence in the library. Beams of sunlight were peppered with dust motes. They drifted down onto the bent heads that were poring over the massive texts in front of them.

"Bloody hell, I rushed through breakfast for this?" Ron groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Why didn't you let me finish my potatoes, 'Mione?"

"I'm sorry but this is a lot of information to sift through. Plus we only have two of Sora's symptoms to go on. Would you like a liquorice wand?" she pulled one from her pocket and offered it to Ron.

"I guess." he said as he took it. The end promptly disappeared into his mouth. "What were we looking for again?"

"Any description that mentions paleness and headaches."

"Oh. How about this then?"

Harry leaned forward as Ron pushed the book into the middle of the table. "Vampires, Ron?"

"It's about right here." Ron said jabbing the paper with his finger. "Merlin 'Mione, this is some tough liquorice."

"It's been out all night. But I figured that wouldn't really matter to you." Hermione's eyes scanned the page. "This could explain it, but it seems like a far stretch Ron."

Harry nodded. "It says here that people that are vampire hybrids can appear to be human but show the traits, usually at the onset of puberty, but they can show at any given time. Some of the signs are pale skin, splitting headaches, elongated canines, hypersensitivity to light and a taste for rare meats. Another sign is the ability to morph into animals; usually something their victim will trust and be comfortable around."

"Well, Sora shows two of them so far." Hermione picked up another book. "But she could just have an upset stomach. Maybe the Butterbeer didn't agree with her after all."

"That's probably it." Ron said as he looked at the book. "We should make sure we rule this out too."

"Sora? A vampire?" Harry shook his head. "I don't believe it, but we should rule out everything. Is there anything else?"

"Ron seems to have found the only thing Harry." Hermione said. "We should see if Sora's been released. Or if she can at least have visitors."

"And keep an eye on her." Ron added. "Malfoy wasn't himself last night. There something else we don't know about; just what is up between her and that arrogant git."

"He wants up to keep our ‘noble Gryffindor noses out of this’." Harry said, with a snort.

"Who's he kidding? Since when have we listened to the little git," Ron laughed before he stopped abruptly. "Unless he wants us to start digging. He could be setting us up, Harry."

"For what, that would be question." Harry mused. "From the way he was acting, Draco doesn't want anything to happen to Sora."

"It could be something to just get to us. He knows you're worried about Sora too." Hermione said. "What if Draco set this up too? He could have put something in Sora's Butterbeer."

"If that's the case," Hermione said as she reached for a book beside Ron. He pushed it over to her with a smile. She returned it before she opened the heavy tome. "Then she was poisoned with Vampire's Life. It can produce similar likenesses to the symptoms described for the hybrids."

"This is why you don't trust a Malfoy." Ron muttered to himself. "I say we go and try to see Sora now and warn her. Who knows what the git might do next."

"You know Ron you didn't have to come with me." Harry said as they walked up the flight of stairs.

"I know." Ron said. "If Malfoy really did put something into her Butterbeer, I'll pound him to pieces."

Harry didn't say anything as they rounded the last alcove and walked up. He knew what Ron really meant; he had been sitting right beside Draco and could have done something. 'Merlin, don't let Draco be there; I don't want to have to pry Ron off of him.' Harry had to admit, it was rather quiet inside the school on the weekends, even on a Sunday; everyone was outside doing something. After he visited Sora, he was heading to the Quidditch pitch; if anyone was there yet, they were probably devising strategies.

"Ron," Harry said, pausing outside the infirmary doors. "If it is Draco, we're probably going to have to go back to the Slytherin common rooms."

"Don't remind me. I've been trying to not think of that. It's one hell of a depressing place. And it has changed too, I'd imagine." Ron shuddered. "Hope it doesn't come to that."

"Let's hope." Harry said as he opened the doors and they walked in.

"Hello boys." Madame Pomfrey said with a smile when she saw them. She was rolling up some bandages. "Sora's gathering her things now."

"Thank you." Harry said as he walked along the pathway.

Ron looked at him as they walked down, searching for Sora's head. When they went past the last screen, they saw Sora sitting on the bed, a book resting on her legs. She looked up when she saw them, a faint smile coming to her lips.

"Harry, Ron." she said as she rose slowly, holding the book lightly. "How have you two been?"

"Good. We couldn't visit you yesterday." Ron said as he looked at her more carefully. "Where'd you get that?"

"Get this?" Sora held up the pendant in the palm of her hand. "I got it from an admirer. Hm, where's Hermione? Isn't she usually attached to your side, Ron?"

"Hermione? Uh, she's in the library," Ron's face turned red as he spoke. "Doing research."

"Are you all doing research today?" Sora asked as she readjusted her grip on the book.

"We're heading out to the Quidditch pitch." Ron said. “We have practice.”

Sora wrinkled her nose. "I don't like Quidditch all that much. Perhaps I'll keep Hermione company in the library."

"Oh come on," Harry said with a grin. "I'll let you have a run at it before the Gryffindor team goes out to practice."

"That's possible?" Sora looked at him sceptically.

"I'm sure Dean won't mind; he's the team captain. Besides, we haven't seen anyone new give it a go. Besides, Dai and Ken seemed to think that you could play. You must have some skill then."

"More than likely, as a Beater; I have hit them so many times, I could beat off a thousand Bludgers."

"Ten Knuts says you can't." Ron said suddenly.

"Ron, are you mad? She's just getting out of the infirmary! Madame Pomfrey won't happy to see her back in here in less an hour."

"Just the one Bludger," Ron said. "I want to see how good she is on a broom."

"Trying to get me hooked to Quidditch, Ron?" Sora flashed him a somewhat devious smile as she patted his cheek gently. "It just might backfire on you. I'll accept your wager. I'll go get my broom."

Harry watched Ron as Sora walked past them. He gave a huff as he smacked Ron on the arm; that dopey smile didn't win Ron any points. Harry and Ron followed after Sora silently down into the dungeons. She looked back at them as they halted at the beginning of a long hallway before she continued on. They waited patiently until they heard the sound of a door creaking open and then the thud of it shutting.

"Ron, you have got to be kidding me!" Harry said. "What made you dare her?!"

"She was going to go to the library! I panicked! If she saw Hermione there, doing research, she might start to ask questions."

Harry had to admit, he had a point there. "But a dare, Ron? To fend off a Bludger? What if she's good enough and the Slytherin team captain finds out? He just might convince her to join."

"What should I have said? Catch the Snitch?"

"It might have been a better idea. That thing is incredibly hard to catch." Harry sighed. "But so long as it keeps her out of the library, like Hermione wanted."

"Besides, she looks like she could use a bit of sun." Ron said. "Don't you agree?"

"Yes. But if what we think is true, all the sun in the world wouldn't help her." Harry replied. "I think I hear the door."

They fell silent as the door creaked open again and Sora appeared a few minutes later, her mahogany Firebolt in hand. She looked at them with a gleam in her eyes.

"Are you two simply going to look at me, or can we go so I can have my ten Knuts?"

Harry squinted slightly as he looked up into the sky. This was the perfect weather for Quidditch; the sun was shining brightly, there were few clouds and the entire team was ready to go. Right after they watched Sora complete her dare. Harry had been expecting and outright refusal from Dean as well as protests and complaints, but was surprised when Dean actually allowed it. 'Probably because she's a Slytherin and they want her to fail miserably.' Harry grasped his broom handle in his hand tighter as the box was brought out and deposited on the ground.

"All right," Dean said as he walked over to the box and opened it; the Bludgers were thrashing around in their restraints. "Ready, Sora?"

Sora gave a disdainful snort as she placed her book by the box and mounted her broom. She mounted and pushed off. She hovered off the ground slightly, taking the Beater stick that Ron handed to her. "Let them loose."

Harry watched as she zipped off into the sky, mildly impressed with her speed; Dai and Ken were right when they said she could have been a Seeker. He turned his attention back to the box and undid the restraints. The Bludgers flew up into the air, going after her like a Seeker to a Snitch.

"Wow, she's bloody good." Ron muttered as Harry took a step back to stand beside him to watch. "She's as fast as you!"

Similar murmurs were passing through the team as they watched Sora beat off the flying balls viciously with the stick. Harry didn't say anything as he watched every twist, turn, flip and rotation. 'Let's hope the Slytherins don't get word of this.' He felt a small smile come to his lips though. The Sora on the broom now was far different from the one he had spent his afternoons with in the English countryside, zipping through hills and valleys, making sure they weren't seen by Muggles.

"You know Harry she could catch the Snitch if she wanted to." Ron muttered as his eyes followed every movement.

"I know." Harry crossed his arms as he looked up. "I think that's enough time, don't you?"

"Uh huh," Ron's eyes were glued to Sora's small darting figure. "Enough time."

"Sora!" Harry yelled up at her as she made a low pass. "That's it!"

Sora didn't even acknowledge his words as the Bludgers came whizzing past after her. Harry frowned for moment; something wasn't right here. He watched as Sora passed around the pitch a few more times, trying to shake the Bludgers that were now dangerously close behind her. She shot off into the sun's glare, the Bludgers following after her before Harry could do anything.

"Where did she go? Is she mad?" Ron asked as the rest of the team buzzed behind them. "She's just gone up there!"

"Here she comes!" someone from behind them shouted. Harry felt a stab of fear clutch at his heart as Sora came hurtling back down, the Bludgers not far behind her. A dead silence overtook the small crowd as Sora didn't slow down, only increasing her speed. She was approaching the ground far too fast; there was no way she would stop in time. And with the Bludgers so close behind her, there would be no avoiding them.

"Sora, pull up, now!" Harry called as he started forward, whipping his wand out.

Sora had an arm out in the air, wand in hand, as she yelled something out. Suddenly a large cloud of mist poured from her wand, enveloping at least ten feet of air. The Bludgers were enveloped and a few seconds later a loud thud resounded across the field.

"Merlin," Harry muttered as he ran forward with the rest of the team. "They'll kick me out for this."

He banished away the mist, trying to see as the space before his eyes cleared away. What he saw brought him to a complete standstill as well as the rest of the team. Sora was standing there, her broom at her feet with the two Bludgers in her hands, perfectly still like normal balls.

"But…you…how…" Ron looked at her confused. "You should be completely smashed into pieces."

"Thanks for the comforting thought." Sora said in a dry voice. "I believe these are yours." she held them out.

"How did you stop in time?" Harry asked, taking them back to the box and fastening them down.

"A simple Aresto spell for me, followed by an Imobilus for the Bludgers." she shrugged. "Are you satisfied?"

"Bloody hell, if Slytherin finds out, we're doomed." Ron moaned.

"Rest assured," Sora said, raising a hand. "I have no desire to do anything of that nature again. You don't have to worry about me."

"But you're OK?" Harry asked as he came back, resting a hand on her shoulder. He held her book out.

"I am fine Harry." Sora repeated as she took it, giving him a somewhat hard look in the process. "Now, I have had enough excitement for the day. I think I will join Hermione in the library. If you'll excuse me…" Sora inclined her head slightly before she picked up her broom and walked off. Ron looked at Harry before he took off after Sora.

"Wait up!" he called. "I still owe you ten Knuts!"

Harry watched them go for a moment before Dean's voice called his attention once more. "Ok, the show's over. Practice time."

Harry rubbed his eyes as he walked into the Gryffindor common room. Practice had been gruelling today. Nothing had seemed to go right. First there was the collision of the two Beaters, then the entire team had become discouraged, making only and half-hearted effort. And with the sky darkening to blackish indigo, there was no point in continuing on any longer.

"Tough practice?"

His head snapped up at the voice to see Hermione seated in a large single chair by the fire, a large book on her lap. He took a seat on the couch beside her. He sighed heavily and let his head relax against the soft material of the cushions. The fire crackled merrily as they didn't say anything.

"You don't know the half of it." Harry broke the silence.

Hermione chuckled. "I can just imagine. Sora came into the library with Ron. Apparently there had been some bet?"

"Ron bet she couldn't stop a Bludger. She took on two of them alone. And she still ended up at the library."

"He should have said that she should try to catch the Snitch." Hermione lapsed into silence for a second. "Some of the information I found today was interesting."

"Like what?" Harry asked, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees.

"Sora is part Japanese, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, for starters, I found a book that makes mention of the Matsushita, the family that Sora has descended from. Almost a full millennia in the past."

"That far back? But that would have to be in the late eleventh or early twelfth century." Harry looked at her surprised; how on Earth did she manage to find some of the things she did. "What did it say?"

"Something about Amaya Matsushita and the child she had." Hermione looked at him. "That the child had a dark creature for a father. A few hundred years later, an albino child was born, one with pale white skin and red eyes. This seems to pop up every few hundred years. The child is always a girl, and with black hair and red eyes."

"That's odd." Harry mused for a minute. "What else was there?"

"All the things Ron found that indicates a vampire. An aversion to sunlight; peasants had accounts of the lady of the house roaming around her lands at night and such things. The records also show that a lady a few hundred years later suffered from headaches; headaches so severe that she was bedridden her entire life. Plus all the classic signs of vampires."

Harry gazed into the fire. "You think what Ron said could be true?"

"It's starting to seem so. But I would still like to make sure of any other possibility." Hermione's eyes flickered to the book before she regarded Harry again. "That was just on the Matsushita. I haven't gotten to the de Vyns."

"There's more than that?" Harry shifted his full attention to her.

Hermione nodded her head. "And this would concern you as well too, since you are related to them by blood."

Harry didn't say anything, his throat dry. Hopefully it wasn't something too disastrous.

"Well, the de Vyns are one of England's oldest families. One of Europe's too. There's an old legend, but I can't be too sure if it's pure tale or something that has some fact in it."

"What was it, Hermione?"

"About shape shifters, but I think the passage meant shape shifting in terms of animals rather than actually making you look like anything without a potion. But it doesn’t really seem to be anything too…strange. Just something that seems to indicate a strong…affinity for morphing into animals."

"Animagus; that probably explains why my dad could transform so easily," Harry murmured. "What makes you think it's only animals?"

"If it was a person changing themselves to look like others, they would have made some sort of specific reference to it. But all I found was the tale and every year after that there were reports of strange animals roaming the area, even until eighteen hundreds."

Harry paused. "Starting from the same time as the Matsushita?"

"Pretty much."

He fell silent for a moment before he looked at Hermione. "Sora had a book with her today."

Hermione looked at him for a moment. "That's nice, I suppose. What does it matter what kind of book she had?"

"It was a book on advanced transfiguration." Harry didn't say anything as he looked back into the fire.

"Advanced transfiguration?" Hermione looked as Harry with a worried light in her eyes. "Did you get a clear look at the book?"

"It was old, heavy, bound in leather and studded with metal, with some strange design on the cover." Harry watched as Hermione became thoughtful. "Oh no, no, no."

"What?" Hermione looked surprised. "I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to. I recognize that look. You want to get a closer look at the book. Sora took it with her and the only way to see it would be to go into the Slytherin rooms," Harry paused as he made a slight face. "Again."

"Yes, it would, I'm afraid. But we won't be breaking any school rules; well, any major ones at least."

"Oh, that's a comforting thought." Harry groaned. "So long as it doesn't involve a Polyjuice potion again..." Harry let his sentence trail off.

"That can be arranged. There are disguising charms and such that I can do now, with varying lengths of wear."

"That I can deal with. Now, if there was a spell that made Malfoy more tolerable-"

"That will never happen, Harry. I can only do spells, not perform miracles." Hermione said with a laugh.

"Guess you're right. Not even Merlin himself could change Malfoy." Harry said with a chuckle.

Their laughter was broken off by the entrance door creaking open, followed by rapid steps, running steps. Harry looked up to see Ron come in and lean against the wall, his face pale and drawn, beaded with sweat. Hermione was up from her seat in an instant, book discarded on the table beside the chair.

"What happened, Ron?" she held his arm, guiding him to her seat.

"Merlin!" he said in a shaky voice as he collapsed into the seat. "I was just coming back from the kitchens with a snack. I heard this weird sound behind me and when I turned around and it was there! All black and….flowing-ish. It just walked right up to me, sniffing and I couldn't even move. Then it grabbed the sandwich from my hand and took off!"

"It took your sandwich? What was it?" Harry asked as he

"I don't bloody well know!" Ron said, glaring at Harry. "I was too busy hoping it wouldn't eat me!"

"I'm sorry. But we need to know. Can you remember anything at all?" Hermione said in a soothing voice as she rubbed Ron's shoulder.

Ron glared at Harry for a moment before he nodded his head. "Hagrid wouldn't have happened to get any new animals, would he?"

"No, why?" Hermione asked.

"Then there's a wild creature loose in Hogwarts."

When Darkness Comes - Chapter Four || When Darkness Comes - Chapter Six