Harry awoke from his sleep with alacrity that no human should possess. As soon as the last sliver of sun went below the horizon, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his chest and mind.

The vampire still had some of his old tendencies and routines stuck in his mind. He grabbed his clothes stuff and entered the bathroom. It never hurt to be clean, so he really didn't mind the shower. In his mind, he still had to make up 10 years of inadequate cleanliness at the hands of the Dursley's. Not to mention it is much easier to harness magic when your body, mind and soul are purified from the day's wear and tear.

Harry donned on his new cloak when he was finished. He went to go see if Daphne was ready to go hunting yet as what she told him yesterday was still fresh on his mind. In fact, he dreamed of nothing but that idea.

Dreaming was something he was not really used to. While on the outside, he did not move a single inch while sleeping, and his mind was very much active. He did not really dream anymore, it was more of a subconscious state of perpetual thought. He could do nothing but think while his body recuperated. His body did not show his brain activity at all. He did not have REM sleep, twitching, rolling over, night sweat, or morning wood. That last one he was extremely thankful for, but that thing that hung between his legs still had a mind of its own during the rest of the day.

The purpose behind the sleep was important. It regenerated the body. Even simpler – it kept him immortal. By skiving off sleep Harry would not give his body a chance to regenerate. It regenerated more than simply physical damage to the body, but metaphysical damage as well; the type of damage that normal humans cannot understand. Going out in the sun and skipping the regenerative process did more than just damage the skin, but hampered the vampiric curse as well.

Blood was the fuel for the regenerative process, as could be expected. You needed both, but if you lacked one, you could simply make it up with the other, at least for the short term. Over-indulging in blood is a quick way to regenerate catastrophic damage, as well as restore damage caused by neglecting the natural vampiric sleep cycle. The sleep cycle is only as useful as the blood intake though.

A lack of either sleep, or blood, is quite an obvious thing to behold. The lack of blood creates a very decrepit looking vampire, lacking in most of its abilities and generally lethargic compared to its normal brethren. Too much blood and no sleep, and you have a healthy looking vampire, but also a crazy, psychopathic, uncontrollable murdering monster.

That is why both are necessary. You can overindulge in blood, but as long as you 'sleep it off,' you can offset the effects off uncontrollable rage, at least for the short term. That is one of the reasons why newly turned vampires are not all murdering beasts, and that is because while they may over-indulge in blood in their first months because they do not know better, they also sleep during their natural times because most lack the willpower to fight it.

To a vampire, the idea of 'short term' can be as long as months or even years, because to immortals the concept of time is vastly different when you have no natural expiration date. Harry was somewhat thankful for that, because he has missed some sleep, and he has over-indulged in blood. But he knew he would have to make up for it down the line eventually. He was fairly confident his natural instincts would tell him when.

And well, if they didn't, a bunch of innocents would most likely end up dead.

Harry tucked all those thoughts that he thought of while sleeping into the back of his head as he set off to look for the other vampire in his flat. He expected that Daphne was exactly in the same spot he left her in.

The door to the guest room Daphne was using was currently open, so Harry just walked right in.

That may have been a mistake.

The girl vampire was currently standing next to the wall, facing away from him, and doing stretches. She stood on one leg, while hugging the other leg to her chest, making it completely vertical. Harry had never seen someone that flexible before.

Without warning she dropped her backwards onto her hands, arching her back in the process. She looked completely at ease, as if it was some part of an old routine. That could very well be the case, and Harry knew all too well that he still followed some of his old routines from when he was human. If anything, vampirism may have added an elegance to her stretching that would have been otherwise absent.

Or perhaps not.

There was something about her that made Harry curious. Harry could tell that the way she held her self was not a result of her vampirism. She held herself regally, and her speech was eloquent and slightly old fashioned. She seemed to hold herself as a pureblood of the highest standards, almost as if she was nobility, but it was very subtle and understated.

She was almost the exact opposite of Malfoy in that regards, yet the result was much more effective. Maybe it was the fact that Malfoy seemed much more like a Gryffindor than a Slytherin at times, and perhaps Daphne acted like most children from the Old families act, but Harry couldn't be certain.

But she was interesting, despite it seeming like she tried to make herself seem as uninteresting as possible, but that just made her more interesting. Harry couldn't imaging that these stretches were done in anything but the most private of locations, as it showed her acting in a way that seemed almost out of character for a pureblood heiress. And Harry made that conclusion even though he barely knew her.

There is one thing he did know for certain. One's outside appearance often has very little to do with their actual personality. Harry himself was a shining example of that. On the outside, he was the savior of the wizarding world. On the inside, he was far different than anyone expected their hero to be. He did not have a monopoly on hidden feelings, so it was more than likely that what he saw Daphne as, and what Daphne thought herself as, were two very different things.

Case and pint; her stretches. Harry had never heard of any witch taking active physical care of her body. Not even the Quidditch teams would, and that was the closest thing to a physically exhausting activity they had. Harry pretty much concluded that he knew next to nothing about her, and a conclusion based on outward observations alone would most likely be incorrect.

Harry half expected her to finish her stretches with a back flip or something, but his eyes were too focused on the way that particular stretch emphasized Daphne's prominent breasts. They weren't bad for a 15 year old dead girl. Of course, he would probably say that about nearly every girl at that age, minus Millicent Bulstrode. And the dead part… It was the curse of being a teenage boy. Sure, he may have 'grown up' mentally quicker because of his rough past, having killed a man with his bare hands at age 11 and all that, but physically, he was nought but a boy.

"Hey… I am I interrupting something?"

Harry startled her when she saw him standing in the doorway. She slipped out of the stretch and fell into an undignified heap on the ground.

Just as quick as she fell, Daphne was back up on her feet and brushing herself off.

"Potter! What the hell?"

"Sorry… your door was open."

"Oh," Daphne responded blandly, "Time for our experiment?"

"Not in those clothes…" Harry told her. Her shirt was a vivid blue, not a good color to blend in with. "I got robe you can wear over that."

Harry brought her into his room and tossed her a robe identical to the one he was wearing. It was never a bad idea to have extras.

Daphne inspected the robe for a few seconds before slipping it over her shoulders. Harry felt a little awkward at that moment, as it seemed a little too intimate. He did not have much experience close up with girls. He was thankful that she deemed the robe good enough to wear for herself.

"Where do you think would be the best place for our 'experiment'?" Harry asked.

"Knockturn would probably be the best. Although it would be fun to do it right in front of the Ministry entrance."

"I think that would attract too much attention. Plus, I don't know where that is."

"Me neither, most either apparate or floo in, unless they live really close by."

"Well then, to the Alley we go."

Harry did not have real good feeling about their plan. It went without saying that they had to be real careful. With recent attacks Aurors will probably be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. Of course, the Aurors didn't know the perpetrator of the night's attacks was going to be a vampiric Harry Potter.

Harry tossed in a handful of floo powder into the hearth and called out his destination – "The Four Flagons Inn!"

He came out the other side unharmed, and the vampiress followed shortly after. She did not seem threatened by the magical fire at all. Daphne walked out of the tavern like she owned the world, and Harry could just make out a slight hint of disgust upon her face as she observed the drunkards.

Harry brought Daphne into a dark corner within viewing distance of the front entrance to two taverns. "We will follow a drunkard when one leaves. Hopefully they will not be sober enough to notice us following them."

It was less than a minute later when a man stumbled out of the tavern. The man yelled back in, "Fine! I'll take me coin elsewhere!"

The man walked down the street, with a slight tilt in his step. Harry tapped Daphne on the shoulder before setting off after the man.

Daphne followed closely behind as the man slowly made his way down the alley, presumably towards the next tavern.

Harry and Daphne did their best to be inconspicuous, but the normal denizens of the alley were generally mindful of their own business. Everyone in this place was slightly off kilter and most had their own slightly questionable agendas. About the only thing that would get their attention is a large fire, or possibly a large contingent of Aurors.

They had one close call when a small kid ran in front of them and pick pocketed the drunken man. He did not even look at the two vampires as the man's coin for more alcohol vanished just quickly as the man's sorrows did in bottle.

Harry saw his opportunity when the man walked in front a small side alley. Harry quickly clamped his hand of the man's face and dragged him into the darkness.

Harry bit down on the man's neck and began to drink in earnest. The man was quiet as the lifeblood seeped down Harry's gullet. The man was clearly too drunk to realize he was dying.

Seconds later, something unexpected happened.

Daphne jumped in and bit down on the other side of the man's neck.

Harry was just aware of his surroundings enough to notice how her eyes were slightly clouded over in bloodlust. Daphne's dark blue eyes started to gain an otherworldly glow as she feasted upon the man. Harry could imagine his eyes glowing similarly upon consuming blood, but there was nothing to be done about that. It was actually quite scary, and if another person saw it they would probably run in fear if the sight of drinking blood didn't do that first.

The man was drained dry, and Harry let the corpse drop to the ground. He was surprised that he remained somewhat lucid during the whole feeding, but the same could not be said for Daphne.

Daphne was looking up at the moon as she slowly licked the blood off her lips.

That action sent shivers down Harry's spine, but he found that sight quite arousing. It did not help matters that Daphne's eyes returned to their normal blue color and she gave him a fanged smile.

Her teeth were perfect, and the fangs just added to the perfection. It seemed almost wrong, that an English girl could have teeth like that. Harry's were not in great shape due to the many years of poor maintenance during his childhood. Magic and blood consumption seem to have started their own repair work, but they were hardly like Daphne's.

The blood that was smattered on her lips and cheek added to the appeal greatly. The subconsciously licking of the lips… It was something that a fifteen year old girl should not be doing. It seemed very out of character for what Daphne portrayed herself as normally.

But blood does crazy things for a vampire… things that no mortal could understand and things that Harry still could not fully comprehend as a fledgling blood-drinker. It really was a cure-all, but it was so much more. The term life-blood took on the deepest meaning when it came to vampiric consumption.

Daphne's haze lasted until Harry started snapping his fingers in front of her face. She blinked rapidly a few times before regaining her composure and straightening her clothes.

"Do you feel it?" Harry asked.

Daphne nodded her head. "Yes. The blood tasted so good, far better than the muggle blood from yesterday."

"Try casting something easy," said Harry, and Daphne pulled her wand out from the folds of the cloak.

"Lumos," Daphne cast with her wand. A faint light emitted from it. "Still weak, but better than nothing."

"The more magical blood we drink, the stronger we get. I wonder how many we have to drain to get back to our former power?"

"I guess there is only one way to find out."

"We have to keep hunting," Harry agreed, "But we have to be careful. We don't want the Ministry becoming suspicious of us. There is quite a trail of bodies already."

"What do you recommend?" asked Daphne.

"By ourselves, it is hard to feast and not kill the prey, but with each other we should be able to leave less bodies. The less dead innocent wizards by our hands, the better. There is not many of them after all, and who knows how long the food supply would last?"

"True. Even at one or two kills a day the population would be gone in a dozen years."

"Yeah," Harry replied with a pensieve look. "Do you know any healing spells? Or blood restoring spells?"

"The incantation 'episkey' should be able to remove the neck punctures," Daphne responded quickly, "Provided they are still alive. Anything worse than that, we would need a more powerful spell. As for the blood, well, there are blood replenishing potions, but the easiest way is to just let the person rest. The body will replenish its own blood over time, assuming we do not completely drain them."

Harry nodded his head in acceptance. "Alright. Shall we continue hunting then? I want to get back up to my old strength."

"Why stop there? We can go beyond the likes of which the world has ever known." Daphne said those words with a fiery resolve, and Harry found himself attracted to the idea of power through blood. With a nod of his head, Harry and Daphne set out into the night, searching for more sustenance.

Harry stepped out of the floo and wiped the blood from his face. He had arrived as soon as he could. He simply tossed Daphne some gold and told her to go enjoy herself with it while he attended to business with the Order. There probably were not too many stores open at the hour other than taverns, but Knockturn Alley never sleeps. The safeness of a 15 year old girl in that place alone at night could be debatable though, if she were not a vampire.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore spotted the blood on his face.

"Ovado, are you hurt?"

"No, no. Drunkard took a swing at me when I went to use the floo," Harry replied, "I was in the Alley when I felt the emblem activate."

"Very well then, if you are alright please take a seat. We will begin shortly."

What Harry told him was not the full truth, of course. A drunkard did hit him, but it was an accident. He went to bite the man, but the man stumbled and smacked his head into Harry's nose.

Harry and Daphne had drained a good half dozen people between the two of them, and only accidently killed one of them. Well, the other people were alive when they left them unconscious, and they could have died afterwards from lack of blood, but they were out of sight and out of mind.

The magic that now coursed through Harry's veins was intoxicating. His eyes glowed with unbridled power, but his spells were as still as weak as a first year's. That is an improvement over being as weak as a newborn baby though.

A minute later and Dumbledore spoke up. "Welcome, my friends. If you take a look around you, you will notice roughly have of our number our missing. Take note of everyone's face, for all of you share the same assignment. You are the team that will be guarding Nurmengard. I have already met with the other half of the Order who will be guarding the Department of Mysteries.

"Guarding Grindlewald is a straightforward task. If you see anything amiss, report right away. The only way there is by apparation, and then a half mile walk to the prison tower. If you are not a strong at apparation, then I will help you learn. Since Nurmengard is so far away, multiple stops have to be made."

"Where exactly is this place?" Sturgis Podmore asked.

"Ah, yes. What I am about to tell you is for your ears only. It does not leave this room," said Dumbledore in a very serious tone. "Nurmengard prison is a tower erected near the castle known as Neuschwanstein. It is in a town called Hohenschwangau in Bavaria."

"So it is in Germany then?"

"Correct. Grindlewald's prison cell is the topmost floor of the tower, which stands nearly 500 feet from the ground. Muggles cannot see the tower, even though it looms over the castle often blocking the sun. I must warn you about the castle itself. It is very large, even larger than Hogwarts. Do. Not. Wander. Grindlewald populated the castle with many a foul beast. You will arrive in the courtyard, and you will walk straight ahead to the tower."

"What kind of beasts lurk there?" Black asked, curiously.

"The kind that even I would have trouble defeating," Dumbledore said, killing that train of thought.

Everyone shivered at the casual proclamation. Dumbledore also proceeded to pass out a few maps and pictures of the area.

"Alas, fear not. As long as you do not enter the castle proper you will come to no harm. On the main level of the tower is a control sphere that will take you to any level of the prison. All of your jobs are just to observe Grindlewald and report if you see anything out of the ordinary. You are not to reveal yourselves to him at all. Invisibility cloaks or disillusionment charms are recommended, as are silencing charms. Any questions?"

"Who is going first?"

"Everyone will have a 6 hour shift. We will start with Emmeline, Followed by Sirius, William, Myself, Hestia, Ovado, Sturgis and Aberforth, and then we start back with Emmeline. We will start tonight."

Dumbledore paused for a few seconds, deciding if he forgot to cover anything.

"That is all I have to share with you tonight. Expect a full meeting to happen tomorrow, there have been some unsettling incidents I wish to talk about, but nothing that can't wait. Ovado, please stay behind." The Order members started filling out, except for Sirius. It was his home after all.

Harry sighed to himself, not sure what the Headmaster wanted. "What can I do for you, Headmaster?"

"Nothing major, I assure you," Dumbledore chuckled, "I was just going to offer my services in teaching you how to apparate, as well as how to do a messenger Patronus. Both are highly useful skills."

"Alright," Harry agreed immedietly, "I used to be able to do a fair Patronus, but it has been awhile. Happy emotions are hard to come by these days…"

"Ain't that the truth," Mad-Eye Moody said, coming through the door.

"Ah, Alastor, good of you to join us. I trust you are doing well?"

"As well as can be expected from these old bones. I got you the goods you were looking for," the old Auror said with distaste.

Dumbledore grabbed the offered brown paper bag and took a peek inside. "Ah, excellent. The quality seems to be superb. You have my undying gratitude."

Moody grunted an affirmative as the Headmaster immedietly took one of the lemon drops from the bag and put it into his mouth. "You want an extra hand with the rookie?"

"More the merrier," responded Dumbledore, tasting the muggle candy. "We shall use the dueling room in the basement to practice the Patronus. We will have to go outside the wards for apparation though."

Harry followed the two elder wizards into the gloomy basement. The place was a mess, but Dumbledore fixed that with a wave of his wand.

Dumbledore turned to face him after the room was adequately clean.

"This will be easier if you already know the basics of the spell. Positive thoughts are the key. The trick to the messenger Patronus is that you must incant 'mandatum' silently, after the Patronus is cast. Of course, the Patronus needs to be corporeal and that is often the hardest part."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and silently cast the Patronus. It was in the shape of a phoenix, and looked just as majestic as a piece of magic as it did in the flesh. The Patronus flew over to Harry and explained how to do it once more before disappearing.

"If you would, Alastor?"

"Alright," Moody gruffly replied before casting his Patronus – it was a bear.

"You didn't tell me your Patronus changed?" Dumbledore observed.

"War changes people, Albus. You know that better than most."

"Aye, my friend. Not a day goes by when I think about the families that have been stolen from us. You do put on an impressive façade, it is hard to remember that you lost your family as well to war."

"We all lost someone," Moody replied before changing the topic slightly, "Don't forget that your Patronus has not always been a phoenix either."

"True, true."

"What did it used to be?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"A kangaroo," Moody responded with a laugh, "Albus has always been eccentric, even by wizarding standards."

"Yes, well, I do like to think it is one of my better traits. A man once told me –"

"Albus…" Moody warned.

"Ah, yes, well I suppose there is always time for stories another day," Dumbledore replied before turning to Harry. "How about you cast your Patronus for us? "

Harry nodded his head. "It has been awhile since I last cast one... Expecto Patronum!"

Silvery gray mist shot out of his wand. He was using the same feeling that he used in the previous year for generating the Patronus, but it did not seem to be enough to form it into a cohesive shape. The Patronus cloud kept wavering, and you could almost see limbs sprouting, but they folded back into the mist before it could form. The prospect of living with Sirius and having a real family just did not seem exciting anymore, and was not as powerful of a memory as it used to be.

Harry steeled himself before trying again. He was still using the same memory and feelings as before, as he could not think of anything better. They were no longer as effective in his state of undeath. It took him long enough to get this far the first time he learned the spell, he doubted he had a better memory.

Instead, he simple focused as hard as he could on the feeling during the memory. He let the positive feeling of happiness flow through his body. Even if he no longer had the same happy thoughts as before, he still had the memories of having those feelings, and that would have to be enough. Being a vampire changed his current emotions, but did not affect his past. He kept that in mind as he wrapped himself in positive reinforcement.

"Expecto Patronum!" chanted Harry. This time, the silvery cloud was quicker to form, and it congealed into a shape. However, instead of the four-legged stag he was expecting, a winged creature flew in the air in front of him. It was a bat. It was quite large too, larger than most owls.

Harry did not have time to ponder the change in his Patronus as Dumbledore spoke up. "Good. Now intone 'mandatum' and immedietly tell it the message you want. It is easier to say your message out loud, but if you can cast the Patronus silently, then you can also do the message silently as well."

Harry nodded his head and tried it a few times over the next 30 minutes. He only managed the message spell once but Moody said the message wasn't very audible. Harry thought it could be a power issue.

"I think that shall be enough of that spell for today," said Dumbledore. "It is a very emotionally draining spell, and you seem to have a good grasp of the idea. I think our time would be best spent now if we work on apparation."

"Aye. It looks like you have keen knack for picking up a new spell, most wouldn't be able to handle a Patronus like you did," Moody told Harry.

Dumbledore gave a pointed, but genial look to Moody. "Are you saying I made a good choice in recruitment?"

"Nay," Moody replied curtly, "Just saying that he's got a good head on him, but we shall see how well he can protect it."

"There is time for dueling later, my friend, but I think we should start with the basics of apparition."

"Right, Right. Well, Ministry instructors usually tell you to a simple catchphrase to help you."

"In my days it was Destination, Determination, Deliberation," Dumbledore added helpfully.

"Same rubbish we were taught as well," confirmed Moody.

"Regardless, it is a helpful tool for a beginner."

What then followed was probably the most awkward 30 minutes of Harry's life, even higher up than asking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball. Neither men were very good at teaching apparition, as Moody learned it 70 years ago, and Dumbledore nearly 100. It came second nature to both men, and trying to teach the feeling to someone else was beyond their abilities. The only useful thing Harry learned was some of their past experiences and helpful anecdotes.

Dumbledore actually looked embarrassed they he couldn't help a… plebian… like him any better than Moody could.

Harry himself was focusing on remembering the one time he had apparated in his past, way back when he was in muggle public school being chased by Dudley and his gang. He actually had surprisingly good memory of that incident. He simply remembered wanting to get away from them, and his magic responded. He desperately wanted to get away, and that must be the key.

He dredged up the same feeling, and concentrated on that for several minutes, and when he looked up he was actually about 2 feet away from where he was standing previously. Destination is a two sided meaning, both knowledge of where you are leaving and where you arriving, are equally important to apparition

The headmaster gave a small applause while Moody gave a nod of approval.

"Good. A helpful piece of advice for any spell: trigger words. This can work for your Patronus and many other spells as well. Recognize the feeling you have when performing the spell successfully: the emotions, feelings, your thoughts, and associate those with a word. Repetition is the key, and eventually you should just be able to recall that word in cinch to perform the spell subconsciously."

That made shocking sense to Harry. It was almost like training a dog. "I think I can handle that."

Dumbledore was about to say something else when an ethereal Patronus surged through the wall. Dumbledore seemed to be listening to the message for a few seconds before turning to the other two in the room. "Something urgent has come up with my brother. Continue working with him if you will, Alastor." Dumbledore didn't wait for an acknowledgement before making haste and leaving.

"So kid," Moody said once Dumbledore left, "You get to see Grindlewald in the flesh. How do you feel?"

Harry was unsure what to say to the sudden change of topics.

"Some would kill for that information. Have you read that book from the library here? The magics that library has to offer will help you in ways nothing else can, and can go a long way make sure the secrets in your brain will not be easy for someone to take. The best defense is a good offense, it's just a shame they don't teach that way at Hogwarts."

"I don't fancy going to this place in Bavaria," Harry responded. "I don't think I am ready to apparate that far yet. Some castle called Neuschwanstein… The description Dumbledore gave didn't sound very friendly. Can the magic in those books help me apparate better?"

"They can. Continued use of your magic will make you more focused as well as polarized. Getting to know what your own internal magic feels like is something most witches and wizards never accomplish, but that is what sets us apart from most other wizards. We use our magic, and the magic uses us. We are a part of it. There are many books like the one you have, and they will all help you in this endeavor. But words only get you so far. You need to actually practice the magic to get better. You will be apparating up to the library and across London by the end of the night if I have anything to say about it. I am a harsh trainer, and knowledge of the arcane does not come cheap. Show me what you got!"

Harry did not even realize he let slip the location of Nurmengard to Moody, and even if he did he wouldn't think anything of it. His mind was focusing on the very feeling of magic itself… the 'arcane' as Moody referred to it.

"Focus on my magic…. Sensation of apparition…" Harry muttered to himself.

"Most people say it is like squeezing through a tube," Moody added helpfully.

"Destination, Determination, Deliberation…" Harry was trying to focus on that feeling again, but he was having trouble.

"Come on kid, we don't have all day!" Moody barked.

"Squeezing. Popping!" Harry said the last part loudly, and as he said it, he disappeared and reappeared in the library.

"Damn, that was quick." Moody said to the now empty room. "Kid's got potential even if he doesn't realize it yet."

Moody took careful note of the faint wisps of magic that lingered behind from the apparition. They were dark in color, and vaguely resembled a cloud. He has seen more bizarre things in his day, and he knew that the lingering darkness was a result of practicing with the arcane. They are more potent than the normal magics taught at Hogwarts, and as a result they left a residual after effect.

The thing was though, that you wouldn't notice unless you have also delved into the same magics. It was with a grim smile that Moody apparated to the library as well.

"Good job kid, but that is the easy stuff. Disorientating, ain't it?"

Harry wasn't disoriented, but perhaps that was due to being a vampire. Regardless, he nodded his head.

"Recall that feeling of magic, and we will go back down. Remember the trigger word."

Harry closed his eyes in concentration for another minute before apparating through the floor once more. Moody joined him seconds later.

"Good job, but don't let it go to your head. Any carelessness and you may find yourself without your arse, or even worse, your head." A dark look then came across Moody's eye. "And even worse still… your willy. Trust me, it ain't pretty sight when the Magic Reversal Squad is scouring the country side looking for your todger!"

"Uh…"

"That's right!" Moody laughed, "It all fun and games until you lose your cock! Not that a young lad such as yourself has any need for it… Now then! Let's see if you can apparate all the way to King's Cross. I trust you know where that is?

"Yes."

"Good," Moody responded. "By your leave."

Harry concentrated hard on the location, and then started to recall the squeezing feeling and the large popping sound you hear upon winking into existence from the displacement of air. To seal the deal, he chose the trigger word apparate. It doesn't get any simpler than that, and with an influx of magic, Harry disappeared from the library and into the train station.

Harry quickly spun around and noticed that there was still quite a few muggles lingering around, but none of them seemed to even notice his arrival, and as of two seconds ago, Moody's arrival either. It wasn't for lack of noise either, since both of their apparition's did not qualify as soft sounding.

"Why didn't they hear us?" Harry asked.

Moody gave him an incredulous look. "They don't know that apparition makes a sound, so they simply don't hear it."

"That makes no sense."

"Muggles don't hear nothin', nor see nothin' they can't explain. Ignorance is bliss to them…" Moody started to walk off in one direction before turning around and shouting, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE! It is one's lack of awareness that will lose you a leg, your nose, your eye…"

Moody simply taped each body part in question before trotting off down the lane.

"Where we going?" Harry asked.

"Getting some grub. Muggles aren't as likely to poison me."

"Why don't you eat at headquarters?"

"I don't trust nothing with that bastard Snape has been around," the grizzled auror replied curtly. Harry couldn't fault the man on that reasoning.

Harry arrived back at his flat, via the floo. His magic was pretty drained, as was his emotionally deadened mind. He couldn't muster up enough magic or willpower to apparate for the 50th time in one day.

It seemed like vampires were not built for apparating at all. He struggled to apparate father than the mile or so to King's Cross, and he felt as if all of his magic power was drained from him. While that was not true, his spells were definitely weaker than they were before going to the Order meeting.

If he didn't feed on magical blood beforehand, Harry doubted he would have been able to do it at all. It's funny how things work out like that. He was worried about how the hell he was supposed to get all the way to Nurmengard. He was desperately hoping for an alternative. He even wished for a portkey, despite loathing them. The legalities of unregistered and unauthorized international portkeys and their traceability are unwise to chance, considering where he needed to go with it.

What he needed was more time, or rather, more power. And to get more power, he needed more blood. He needed to get his magic up to some sort of plateau, or a stable level. He needed to get to the point where using magic for just a few hours will not tap into his overall supply too much.

Harry was looking forward to just lying down, despite not being physically tired. He was mentally tired, and just wanted to take a few minutes of his night to sort through his extraneous thoughts and get his mind in order.

At the end of the night Moody started to go over some of the spells that Harry looked at in the book, but it wasn't long before Moody sent Harry home for being a liability to both of them in his exhausted state.

It was past 4 AM, which Harry found surprising. Neither him nor Moody were paying attention to the time, but surely that isn't the normal time for Moody to stay up to.

He looked around his flat, searching for any sign of what Daphne occupied her time with. Nothing seemed out of place, at least until he arrived at the room she has claimed as her own.

Daphne was sitting in a large, comfortable looking chair. The chair was a lot more elegant than any that came with the flat, so it was either bought, or transfigured.

The girl was also wearing a silk summer dress with varying swirling shades of blue and green. The dress was riding halfway up her thigh as she browsed through a thick tome. Harry forced himself to not look as he sat down in one of the other chairs and picked up a book as well.

Harry looked at the title before commenting, "Arcane Armaments? I see you have been busy."

Daphne looked up from her book, titled Alchemist's Almanac 1860-1870. "Hello to you too, Potter."

"You managed to find enough stores to buy all this during the night?" Harry asked, gesturing to the piles of miscellany that had accumulated in the scant 5 hours he was gone. There were more containers and books than he cared to count, along with tools he recognized from the Alchemy supply store, but what caught his attention the most was the small cauldron that was set up on the floor.

The contents of it were currently boiling, and he eyed the fire that was lit under it suspiciously. It was right on top of the flammable carpet, but it looked like Daphne was at least careful and smart enough to lay down a protective charm to prevent the floor from catching fire. He was thankful of the small details.

"Watcha making?" Harry asked, peering into the cauldron. He didn't recognize the contents.

"Blood replenisher. I figure it could come in handy."

Harry nodded his head absent mindedly while inspect several vials that were set on the desk. A few of them appeared to have a red liquid in them. He opened the lid before taking a sniff.

"Blood?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Smells fresh."

"It is. About 30 minutes old," the vampiress responded with a smile before going back into her book.

"Oh." Harry put the vial back when he found it. It looked like Daphne was planning on doing something with the blood, based on the fact that she did not drink it. "You know much of Alchemy?" Harry asked, pointing at the various bits around the room.

"Not really. I saw your book on the table," she replied, gesturing to Alchemical Transmutations of the 4thOrder, "So I decided to see what it was all about."

She simply shrugged.

"And what is your conclusion?"

Daphne gave Harry an incredulous look. "It will take more than a few hours of reading a few random books to learn about alchemy. I am no more informed now than I was before today. It's very complicated, and I have just been looking at past accomplishments in the field to figure out exactly what the point of it all is. The majority of Alchemy involves skills and knowledge that are not taught at Hogwarts, as they are very advanced, and way beyond me. All I can say is that more study is required, but more than likely I won't be able to do much with it for a long time to come."

"And all this?" Harry asked, gesturing to the various odds and ends in the room.

"Tools to perform some experiments with. I didn't know what exactly I needed, so I bought a little bit of everything," replied Daphne, slightly embarrassed. "I should be able to make some of the entry level concoctions. Not all of this is alchemy stuff though. Some of it is potion ingredients. Seeing how we won't be going to Hogwarts, I took it upon myself to buy what we needed for the curriculum this year, minus all the useless stuff."

Harry looked at Daphne in a new light after that. Apparently Daphne was a prettier, less crazy and obsessed version of Hermione. She was far more composed, and did everything methodically and with a distinct elegance. Of course, she did have her own quirks, the most obvious being her vampirism.

"Is there any money left over? All of this couldn't be cheap."

Daphne shrugged unconcerned while pointing over at a bag at the table. Harry opened it up and saw that it was at least half empty. He wasn't going to bitch about it though, as what she bought would most likely be useful for some time to come.

"If it's any consolation, I am not used to having a 'budget' to adhere to with my shopping, coming from an old pureblood family… but on the other hand I've never really spent more than 50 galleons in one day."

"Eh, don't worry about it. We can always get more money if we need it."

"Alright then," Daphne responded, not defending her actions any more, or easing his mind. "You learn anything useful from this meeting? Where exactly did you go?"

"Well, the location is charmed so I couldn't tell you even under truth serum. The place is unexciting and very dirty, having been uninhabited for a dozen years. It's the last place you would expect the Order of the Phoenix to meet, and frankly, I think that may be part of the reason why Dumbledore is using it.

"Regardless of all that, I get to travel to Nurmengard several times over the next few weeks to watch over Grindlewald."

Daphne raised one of her perfectly trimmed eyebrows before responding, "Gellert Grindlewald? I thought he was dead."

"So did I, and so does the rest of the world. It is one of Dumbledore's dirty secrets, one of many I am sure, but he wants us to watch over the prison so he doesn't try a dramatic escape during the 50th anniversary of his defeat."

"Do you honestly think if he could have escaped, he would not have done it earlier?" Daphne said incredulously.

"I'm not the one who came up with the idea. Apparently this place was built by Grindlewald himself, so Dumbledore thinks that he may have a contingency plan to escape. But I agree with you. I think Grindlewald would have escaped when he was still young. I think Grindlewald was probably too cocky with his own power, and could not even imagine a one in a million chance of him being locked up in his own prison. Dumbledore did admit that Grindlewald was stronger and more knowledgeable than him at the time, but he used simplicity to win."

"I must admit, I am slightly envious of your position."

"Why's that?" Harry asked curiously.

"You get to meet the most fearsome Dark Lord in mankind's history, without threat of being killed yourself. Think of the knowledge he must have…"

"Lot of good it did him in the end. Anyways, the preferred choice of arrival to the prison is apparition, so I spent a few hours with Dumbledore and Moody learning it. It is very difficult, and quite a drain on my magic with repeated use."

"Really? How far did you manage?" Daphne asked excitedly. "And do you think you can teach me?"

"A few miles was the best I could manage, and I doubt I could teach you. Moody and Dumbledore were rubbish at teaching it, being old geezers, so I had to remember an incident with my accidental magic when I was younger: I accidently apparated onto my school's roof. The bigger problem is that Grindlewald's prison is well over a thousand miles away, and I could barely go one."

"Yeah, I could see how that is a problem," responded Daphne, as she pulled a piece of parchment over towards her before picking up a quill, "Tell me though, As you were apparating farther, did you feel an increase strain on your magic? Or was it an equal amount the whole time?"

Harry scratched his chin in thought for a second while he watched the girl write. She started off with a header 'Apparition' before scribbling some notes underneath it.

"Well, I think it was the same amount of magic every time, no matter the distance or how many buildings I went through."

"Hmmm, then logically you need to simply refine your technique more."

"Thanks" Harry replied dryly, "You are worse than Hermione."

Daphne's head snapped up. "Never compare me with that mudblood!"

Harry saw that her wand was pointing at him before he could even blink and he raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Whoa, calm down, I meant it as a compliment. Besides, she likes to be overbearing and throw a lot of extraneous knowledge down my throat, and you have done no such thing. Let's not forget that 'mudblood' gives us magical power just like pure blood. Not much point in discriminating when it all tastes the same."

"True." She conceded as she lowered her wand. She was about to say something else but Harry cut her off.

"Death does not discriminate. Purebloods, halfbloods, mudbloods, muggles, they all die just the same."

"Yes, yes, I get it. I just dislike being compared to her of all people. She does not have exclusive rights to studying magic, no matter how much she may think so."

Harry did not want to get into an argument over his friend, so he tried to change subjects. He did wonder briefly if her temper was a result of her overindulgence of blood, or if she was always like that.

"Er, anyways…"

"Yeah."

"I also learned how to send a message using a Patronus."

"Really? I've never heard of such a thing."

"It is a spell modification that Dumbledore himself created. My Patronus isn't nearly as good as it was when I was alive though, and I didn't really come away successful."

"You know, it is normal for a witch or wizard to not be able to cast one of the most complicated spells known during their first try."

"I've always been better at practical spellwork than theory. Can you do one?" Harry asked curiously.

Daphne shook her head. "I could not think of a memory that was good enough."

"That is probably the hardest part of the spell. It took me ages to think of a good enough memory to create a corporeal Patronus."

"What is your memory?"

"That is a very personal question."

"Oh…" Daphne replied, with a slight smile and faint blush.

"And not like that either." Harry replied, rolling his eyes at her obvious conclusion. "I got offered a real home and a family, and that is the most emotional thing anyone has ever done for me."

Daphne was not quite sure what to say to that, and she held back a retort about his Hogwarts house being a bunch of emotional idiots.

"So answer me this Potter. Why did you join that organization? Dumbledore is the sole reason why your life went down the shitter."

"Simple. When the time comes, I am going to kill him. I will drain that bastard of every last drop of blood he has and take his magic as my own."

Daphne merely smiled in response.

Author's notes

I apologize for the long wait in between chapters, and for the lack of action in this one. I've been mucking about with this chapter for awhile now, and while it is not perfect, I have gotten sick of looking at it so I decided I just want to get on with the rest of the story. It is not my best edited chapter by far, but I have gone through it half a dozen times and can do no more without wanting to rip out my eyeballs. I feel like this chapter did add some insight into some of the characters, and into the inner workings of a vampire. I know I have a problem keeping the spellings of 'apparition' and 'Nurmengard' and I will go back through previous chapters to correct it.

Chapter 12 is already planned out, as is the majority of the story, but I have yet to actually start writing it. I will tell you that you will get your first sneak peak at Nurmengard, and also introduced to new magics. Alchemy will not have a roll in the story until later, and for this chapter I was just trying to show you what kind of witch Daphne is. She is a 'traditionalist' when it comes to pureblooded ideals, but she is not a fanatic in the way that the Malfoy's are or any other follower of the dark lord. She has reasons and facts for believing what she believes in, which is more than most can say.

As for what I have been doing between updates on this story. Well, the obvious answer is reading. I have also done writing though. I have started two other stories, one of which may get posted. See my profile for more info on that. Also worth mentioning is that I have been bogged down with college work for awhile, and it is probably not going to get better.

What to expect next? The next chapter of this story hasn't even been started yet, but chapter 14 in 'The Root of All Evil' has! It has been awhile since I updated that story, and I am feeling it, so expect that story to be my next update. I have been sitting on slightly altered versions of c1-4 of that story for awhile now. I plan on updating them to coincide with the new chapter. Nothing changes plotwise, but I just added more depth overall and corrected some logical fallacies. I will probably do chapters 14,15,16 in a row just because they are all closely related, and then chapters 12 and 13 in this one, and then after that it is anyone's guess.

Sorry to disappoint the people actually interested in my other HP/DG story, along with the Harry/Fem!blaise, but I haven't given any thoughts to either of those recently. The hp/dg in particular is too whimsical, and the characters too overpowered but undeveloped personality-wise, at least for the first story. They are note abandoned, or on hiatus, but HoB and RoaL are on the top of my list of things to do.

As usual, helpful reviews are welcomed, especially the kind that show grammar and spelling mistakes.