Pierced (Completed)

Chapter 3: Betrayal

CONFIDENCE COMES NOT FROM ALWAYS BEING RIGHT BUT FROM NOT FEARING TO BE WRONG."-PETER T. MCINTYRE

*****

"He is becoming confident in his powers," the man shrouded in shadow said, his hair hanging in front of his eyes.

"I know," the other man said, pinching the bridge of his nose. His half-moon spectacles glinted eerily in the moonlight. "It is thanks to your legilimency that he has not yet discovered that we know his secret."

"I think it also has to do with his arrogance," the first man said with a malicious sneer on his face. "Always arrogant."

"We must move before it is too late. He must be killed," the man said gravely, stroking his white beard. "He cannot be the face that everyone looks up to if he is undead. It is unacceptable. Not to mention what might happen once he defeats the Dark Lord. It's too risky to keep him alive."

"Agreed," the man in shadow said, his sneer growing into a nasty grin. "How shall we do it? A stake to the heart while he's in class?"

The older man heaved a great sigh and said, "No matter what sort of feral animal he is now, the vampire was the great Harry Potter at one point. It would not be right to dispose of him in such a dishonorable way. We shall give him a full vampire sacrificial ritual."

The man in shadow grimaced, his thought of the idea very clearly displayed on his face. "I understand," he finally said, trying to suppress the anger in his voice. "I will capture him as soon as possible, along with the girl."

"Good," the man with the spectacles and beard said, his eyes now glinting along with his spectacles. No moonlight could make a man's eyes glint in that manner. "And Severus, be careful."

*****

Hermione glanced around at the edges of where the light was shining from her wand. She was breathing as quietly as possible as she made sure to quietly walk for the edge of the forest. Once she got there she would be home free. She gasped and whirled around as she heard a twig snap behind her, only to see nothing. She swallowed hard and took a step forward while continuing to look over her shoulder, grunting as her foot caught on a root. She braced herself for impact, cringing and drawing her hands in to her chest to prevent a broken wrist. But then a pair of strong arms caught her and her eyes shot open to find a pair of familiar green ones gazing right back, a grin on his face. She felt her face heat up and her heart rate spike, a lazy smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Harry cleared his throat and stood Hermione on her feet, sure that he would be blushing brilliantly if he could. Since being turned into a vampire two weeks ago he had really begun to notice Hermione in a more-than-platonic-manner, paying attention to everything from her long, thin legs to her flared, womanly hips, flat stomach, plump lips, not-quite-bushy hair, and even her slightly-smaller-than-average but noticeable, attractive chest. And he didn't know if it was her shampoo or bath soap or just her natural scent, but some smell that he couldn't quite put his finger on was just so…intoxicating.

Hermione swallowed, trying to coax some moisture into her dry throat, and shakily said, "G-good job, Harry. You've improved so much in the past week."

Harry grinned and softly kicked at the ground, the praise making him feel warm. He trained every night, focusing on both finer skills such as controlling his massive strength for the purpose of blending in and amplifying all of his powers in preparation for the upcoming fight against Voldemort. Hermione assisted him in his exercises every other night, usually not getting in bed until one or two in the morning. She and Harry would go deep into the forest and he would count to one hundred to give Hermione a head start, then go after her. If she made it out of the forest or managed to stun him before he could touch her, she would win, and if he managed to get to her before she stunned him, he would win. It was the first time Harry had won and he was elated, even if it was only because she had tripped and fell.