Chapter Two:
"One Man's Insanity is Another's Reality"
If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?" -Willam Shakespeare
They ran a series of test on him, gathering samples of his hair, skin, and blood. Their testing didn't show much, for they had never actually captured a vampire before. From what they could see, the vampire was just like any other human. Except for the fact that he had gone mad when they gave him blood. He showed no negative reactions to the ultra-violet rays they exposed him too, leading the wizards to believe that the myth of vampires fearing sunlight was just that –a myth. When they attempted to photograph him, they found that his image always came out blurry. He had no aversion to garlic or holy water, either. As far as they could tell, he couldn't turn into anything from his current form.
A few days passed with no change in the subject's behavior, which worried the wizards, because they were on a schedule. The subject continued to have violent outbursts and exhibit rabid tendencies. His fever raged on, with no sign of breaking. They again entertained the theory that this was how vampires behaved once they had their first taste of blood.
It was with a disappointed air that the ministry sent off the vampire the next week. He arrived at Hogwarts in a cage, just like all other creatures for the challenges. But unlike most of the creatures, he would not be hidden inside the maze, he would be kept out in the open until the day of the task.
The Ministry had been calling him by some random specimen number, but at Hogwarts, he would need a name. After much debate, the wizards decided to name him Bram. At Hogwarts, before the maze, Bram was to be used for classes. Different subjects would show them different bits about vampires: Care of Magical Creatures would focus on behavior, Defense Against Dark Arts would teach the students protective spells, and so on.
Darren's Point of View
When I woke up, my vision swam and my skin felt feverish. Incoherent sounds buzzed in
my ears. My head was pounding and as I opened my eyes, I saw the blurry image of iron bars. Behind them, what seemed like faces drifted in and out of my vision. I struggled and fought to stay awake, but I was once again pulled under by darkness...
Third Person Point of View
Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, discussing the newly revealed third task with Ron and Hermione. A few students walked by, gossiping about the tournament. It came to no surprise that the school already knew the ins and outs of the upcoming trial.
"I heard that the champions were going to have to fight acromantulas in the third task," one first year said knowledgeably to her friends.
"Oh yeah?" said another, who had parents working in the Ministry. "I've heard that they're bringing in lots of monsters! Even a Sphynx!"
"A Sphynx? I heard there were going to be vampires and werewolves!" said another.
Harry groaned and placed his head in his hands –this next month would entitle a lot of studying. He couldn't think anymore, so he excused himself and went up to bed. Something told him this was going to be harder than he thought.
The next morning, he chewed through his breakfast as Hermione ran off a list of spells she deemed useful for the upcoming task. He vaguely listened to her, and opted out for leaving breakfast early and heading to Care of Magical Creatures.
Harry was the first to arrive at Care of Magical Creatures, where he saw Hagrid was looking at something in a cage. He stepped closer, but when Hagrid heard his footsteps, he pulled a cover over the front of the cage.
"Er," Hagrid said neverously, "Hello, Harry. How long have ya been standin' there?"
"Not long," he replied honestly. "What's in that cage?"
"Somethin' fer class, not to be worryin' about it."
Harry eyed the cage suspiciously, "Alright then, anything you need help with?"
"Now that you mention it," Hagrid replied excitedly, "the blast-ended skrewts need feedin'."
Harry reluctantly complied.
The rest of the class arrived shortly afterwards, all curious as to what was in the cage. They were momentarily distracted by a smoking Harry, who had just walked up, but when Hagrid stepped up to the cage, their gazes settled on him.
"We got ourselves a treat today. Somethin' real rare." Hagrid pulled the sheet off the cage, revealing what was inside.
At first, most students thought the cage was empty, but upon further inspection, they found a teenage boy lying on the bottom. His clothes were tattered, and he was adorned with several bruises. The feral creature seemed to be sleeping.
"Hagrid, what is that?" asked Hermione.
"He's a vampire!" Hagrid boomed, face filled with an expression similar to when he had Norbert (Norberta) the Norwegian Ridgeback.
"A vampire?" Ron gaped at the cage. "What's one doing here?"
"The Ministry lent him to us," Hagrid replied, happy to see the class so captivated.
"He's not really a vampire! He is right in the sun!" shouted Draco Malfoy from a pack of Slytherins in the back.
There were several murmurs of agreement and some cries that this was cruelty. The screams seemed to have woken the "vampire" up, whom after a moment of blank gazing, lunged at the cage with a ferocious snarl on his lips.
"He can be a bit testy, stay back. His name is Bram," Hagrid explained.
"A bit?" Ron repeated incredulously, gesturing to the snarling creature.
"Er, uh anyways," Hagrid said, scratching his beard nervously, "we are going to be studyin' him for the next few weeks."
"How are we supposed to study him if he's rabid?" asked a random Gryffindor.
"Well," he replied, looking quite like he hadn't thought this through. "We can study his habits n' see what food he likes best."
"I say the Gryffindors feed it!" a Slytherin called out. "I'm not risking my life!"
"Now, now," Hagrid said, "you'll all be gettin' yer chance to feed him."
The Slytherin rolled her eyes and whispered something to Draco.
"You there," Hagrid shouted at the girl. "How 'bout you go first?"
"No way! Find another chump! I value my life," she retorted.
"Fine," he grumbled. "Yer missin' out, though. Harry, how 'bout you come help?"
Harry groaned inwardly and glanced at Ron, sharing his exasperation with his friend. Reluctantly, he accepted a still wriggling ferret and threw it in the cage.
The vampire let out a feral growl and pounced on the animal. Then he proceeded to tear it to bits, killing it in seconds. The thing's teeth gnashed away at the meat, blood covering its face. Several of the girls screamed and some were hiding their faces from the gruesome sight. Bram munched on the ferret, as if it were a delicacy. Even some of the boys were having a difficult time stomaching the scene.
After finishing off most of the animal, Bram cackled loudly. Everyone could hear the insanity in the echoing laughter. This thing was dangerous.
Harry stared at the cage in horror. "Hagrid! How is that thing even allowed on school grounds!?"
"Don' worry," Hagrid said, trying and failing to reassure the class. "The Ministry sent him here till the... er end of the month, I suppose. He's locked up in that cage nice and tight."
Hermione seemed to be thinking over Hagrid's words carefully. "The end of the month? But isn't that when–"
Hagrid cut her off with a glance that clearly said, 'Not now.' Hermione immediately returned to her notebook, hastily scribbling in a description of the vampire's behavior. The students spent the rest of the class filling their notebooks with the information they had gained that day, occasionally sneaking glances at the vampire, who was currently chewing on a ferret bone.
…
Professor Moody was his normal, gruff, blunt self during class that day, but he seemed a bit gruffer and blunter than he usually was to the students. They had pegged it as reluctance to stray from teaching curses.
"I know that your previous instructor has already reviewed the subject of vampires with you," he boomed, "but the Ministry insists that I have to reteach this subject to –FLETCHLEY DO NOT DO YOUR TRANSFIGURATION HOMEWORK IN MY CLASS."
Justin Finch-Fletchley hastily put away his essay on invertebrate transfiguration, fearing that Moody would set the parchment on fire. The very same thought seemed to be on Alastor's mind, as he twirled his wand between scarred fingers. However, seeing that he could not do so without setting the student's entire rucksack on fire, he dismissed the thought.
"As I was saying," he continued, "I have to reteach you lot work that you already know, so I am going to skip over most of this and get to the point."
Hermione held her quill at the ready, ready to mark down any new information Moody brought out.
"Vampires are an anomaly. Practically nothing is known about these beasts, so the only way to escape one is CONSTANT VIGALLANCE."
None of the students jumped; they were used to Moody's outburst after nearly a whole year of them. Hermione's hand shot into the air.
"Yes, Mrs. Granger?" Moody said, peering at the girl with a beady, black eye.
"What spells work on vampires? Do they have any resistance to magic?"
"Well," he said, leaning on his wooden staff, "from what information the Ministry has managed to pull out of their behinds, we know that vampires react negatively to magic. A simple stunning spell will have a longer lasting effect on a vampire. It seems like a good advantage, but only one vampire has ever been caught in wizarding history."
Hermione's hand flew into the air at top speed. "Is it possible that Bram only reacts because he is young?"
"That is another question I can't answer," Moody replied. "The Ministry only did a brief study on him. They ran into a few… er, difficulties when experimenting."
"Oh," Hermione said, looking thoughtful.
Moody continued with the lesson, which was uninterrupted from that point on.
…
That night Hermione paced around the girl's dormitory, thinking. She felt tied down by her lack of knowledge of vampires and the more she read about them, the more questions she had. Different books had different descriptions and facts. She had even consulted her Lockhart book, Voyages with Vampires, which she kept in her personal library for… nostalgic reasons. All her work was to no avail –she was just as confused as when she began her research, if not more so.
Steeling herself, she walked into the common room, where Harry was practicing jinxes on Ron. Harry looked up and Ron picked himself off the ground as she walked in.
"Ah, good," Ron said. "Now someone else can be the practice dummy."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry, can I ask you a favor?"
"Er, sure," Harry complied.
"Can I borrow your invisibility cloak?" she asked. "And the Marauders Map?
"Sure…" Harry replied, scanning Hermione's face. "They're in my nightstand –second drawer."
Hermione nodded her thanks and dashed into the boy's dormitory. She lunged for the second drawer, and pulled out the silvery cloak and crinkled parchment. After the items were securely stuffed into her jacket, she ran out of the room again, back to the common room. She slowed her pace when she passed through the cheery room, so that Ron and Harry would not grow suspicious, and then walked out of the portrait hole.
Once she was out of the hole, she threw the cloak over herself, vanishing on the spot. Then she made her way outside to the clearing near Hagrid's house. Once outside, she pulled out the map.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," she mumbled, taping the parchment with her wand.
Scanning the map, she noted that Filch was near the kitchens, while Mrs. Norris was prowling the Astrology tower. She could see the little specs labeled 'Harry Potter' and 'Ron Weasley,' still in the Gryffindor common room. However, these were just names that she saw in passing. The name that really caught her attention was the one not too far from Hagid's –Darren Shan.
Storing this information in her head for later, she walked up to the gleaming cage near the forest. The vampire –Darren Shan, as she assumed– was currently stalking around his cage. Every now and then, he would leap forward and attack the bars on his cage. Hermione's eyes widened as she saw the huge chunk his teeth took out of the metal. But she grew relieved as she saw the metal regrow seconds later.
After twenty minutes of watching the vampire brutally assault the cage, she decided to return to her common room. Ron and Harry stared at her expectantly as she walked through the portrait hole. But she did not tell them any of her findings. She simply handed Harry his cloak and map, and claimed she was turning in early. Ron and Harry shared bewildered stares as they watched her climb the stairs to the girl's dormitory.