Harry Potter Harry Potter and the Bloodline of Leviticus

Author's note:  All characters and names belong to J.K. Rowling except for any vampires in this story.

This is my first story I have posted.  Please e-mail me any reviews.  Thanks, and enjoy chapter one.

_Harry Potter and the Bloodline of Leviticus_

Chapter 1

            No matter the time of year, it was always cold in this place.  High in the Carpathian Mountains, deep under an ancient castle, the Dark Lord had chosen this place to regain his power and lead his attack on the world.  Peter Pettigrew hated the cold, how it bit at his fingers and toes.  He hated how it sent chills down his spine that only his master could rival.  He could never get warm, and living in constant fear of he had begun to hate everything about his life.  He also realized the fact that it didn't matter in the slightest what he wanted.  His master had chosen this location for a reason that even Pettigrew couldn't argue.

            Castle Dracula was by far the most cursed place in all of Europe.  It bred evil into an almost physical manifestation.  You could see it dripping from the walls like water, smell it in the air like a decaying rot.  

            Fate was about to come full circle under this castle, but that fact was lost on Pettigrew.  Lord Voldemort, however, was reveling in that knowledge.  The vampire race was born in these walls.   From there it had spread throughout the land, and tonight, one of its eldest was coming home.  

            Even Voldemort was not sure what to expect from his visitor.  Leviticus Drake was by far the oldest known vampire to still walk the earth.  So old in fact that the stone that made the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had not even been quarried when he was born, or rather reborn.  Voldemort had speculated that he was at least 1,500 years old, possibly more.   Regardless, Leviticus was a great source of mystery.  He rarely traveled outside of England, and was not fond of wizards, dark or not.  There was a time when Leviticus had been a huge influence in the world's political affairs, pulling powerful strings when the British Empire was at its height of power.  However, he had rarely been seen or heard from in almost sixty years.  Lord Voldemort had been fascinated by him since he learned of him as a student at Hogwarts, devising a plan even then for Leviticus to help him.  

            Pettigrew looked nervously at the clock.  Leviticus was due to arrive around midnight, and it was only ten more minutes until 12:00.  He had spent the last three days preparing Lord Voldemorts underground hall for the vampires.  Absolutely no sunlight could be allowed in, although it was a rarity in this place to begin with.  His master hated sunlight, but the vampires of course would die from it.  There had also been the unpleasant business of providing their guests with "refreshments."  Pettigrew normally could not have cared less about killing a few muggles, but knowing the fate of the ones he had captured made him sick to his stomach.  

            Wizards and vampires have a natural dislike and distrust of each other.  Although Pettigrew had never even seen one up close, he had been taught since he was a child to avoid them at all costs.  That is why this meeting was such a puzzle to him.  It was Lord Voldemort who had invited Leviticus to come here.  He would never, ever question his master's decision, but he could not see the point of even talking to the vampire.  

            "The door." 

            Pettigrew snapped out of his thoughts when his master spoke.  

            "I beg your pardon, Master."

            Lord Voldemort sat on the far end of the hall near a grand fireplace.  His high backed chair obscured him from Pettigrew's vision.

            "They are here, fool.  Open the door."

             As his master's raspy voice finished echoing in the hall, Pettigrew scurried to the large wooden doors at the other end of the hall.  He felt the knot in his stomach tighten.  The Vampire Monarchy stood behind that door.  Although his master had regained much of his strength since returning to human form, Pettigrew was not sure even the Dark Lord could protect him if the vampires decided not to cooperate with whatever his master wanted.    

            The old wooden door creaked loudly as Pettigrew pulled on the ancient metal handle.  He felt their icy presence before he saw them.  They were in the shadows, quiet and still, like a part of the shadow itself.  Pettigrew instinctively recoiled, seeking the safety of the light and his master's proximity.  He backed further from the door.  Still the vampires did not move.

            "Don't be rude, Pettigrew.  Invite our guests in."  Voldemort said, with a slight hint of anger.

            Pettigrew could barely find his voice.  His heart was pounding and all he wanted to do was slam the door and run to his room. 

            "P…Please, do come in."  he sniveled.

            Finally, one of them did step forward.  The light of the fire was the only thing to illuminate him.  He was not what Pettigrew had expected.  He had always believed vampires to be what he had seen in movies; pale skin, long hair, blue veins, sharp teeth.   Basically, they were easy to spot.  However, the young looking man that came through the door looked absolutely normal.  Except for his outdated sideburns, he looked like he could have been a bodyguard, or some sort of stockbroker.  He was medium height, wearing a charcoal business suit, and wore sunglasses even though it was already dark.  Pettigrew tried to speak, but nothing came to him.  It was the vampire who spoke first.

            "Mr. Pettigrew, I assume."  His voice was thin, airy.  It made Pettigrew want to close his ears.  He managed to nod his head despite himself.

            "Please inform our host that Master Leviticus Drake will be presented only to Lord Voldemort himself."  The vampire stood very still, awaiting an answer.

            Pettigrew nervously nodded his head again, and hurried to his master's chair.  He found him staring into the fire, with what could only be described as a slight smile on his face. Pettigrew was expecting some sort of violent response to what was obviously a challenge of power, but the Dark Lord simply stood up.  He was actually doing what the vampire had requested. For some reason, this scared Pettigrew more than the vampires ever could.  If his master was willing to conform to anyone else's wishes, no matter how small, then this Leviticus Drake must be important to him beyond belief.  He always believed that his master could do anything he wanted on his own, and with the exception of Harry Potter still being alive, he had.  For almost two years a war had raged in the wizard world.  At the moment, Lord Voldemort was enjoying significant gains as his army of Death Eaters had repeatedly laid waste to vital enemy strongholds.  Now there was the meeting with this vampire.  Pettigrew had no doubt that his master was planning something very big or very dangerous.

            Voldemort silently crossed the hall.  His stride was effortless.  He looked more like he was floating than walking.  Pettigrew watched as Voldemort stopped before the fire.  With a loud crack, Lord Voldemort snapped his fingers in Pettigrew's direction.  He knew what it meant.  Nearly tripping over himself in his attempt to do this correctly, Pettigrew went and stood at an angle in front of his master.  He cleared his still clenched throat.  

            "Master Leviticus, may I present to you my most gracious leader, the master of the Death Eaters and the most powerful wizard in the history of the world, Lord Voldemort."  

Pettigrew almost fainted.  He actually had done a good job, or so he thought.  His relief was short lived, quickly replaced with shock as Leviticus entered the hall.

Pettigrew, and silently Voldemort, had expected Leviticus Drake to be barely recognizable as a human.  He was so old, even for the undead, that surely he was going to be decrepit and weak.  Pettigrew's jaw was on the floor.  Voldemort barely twitched an eyebrow, but it did twitch.  Leviticus Drake looked no older than twenty.  

"Leviticus Drake."  Hissed Voldemort.

"Lord Voldemort."  Replied Leviticus.

            The two stared deeply right into each other, neither blinking, neither showing any sign of weakness.  However, it was the patience learned in a dozen lifetimes that conquered in the end.  Voldemort spoke first.

            "Welcome to the castle.  Or should I say, welcome back?  Do you like what I have done with the place?"  He waved his hands back and forth, as if to expose the recent renovations.  Leviticus merely stepped into the room.  No reply was forthcoming.  His two companions silently took stride behind him.  Both looked young and were dressed alike.  Pettigrew also took position behind his master.  He wasn't about to be outclassed by a couple of bloodsuckers in cheap suites.   Leviticus walked across the room, right to the chair that Voldemort had just moved from.  He sat down, the other two taking position behind.

Pettigrew almost ducked.  No one sits in the Dark Lord's chair, especially not some geriatric vampire.  No matter how young he looked, he was still older than dirt.  Pettigrew knew that Drake's life was about to come to a fiery and painful conclusion, and he didn't want to get hit by the fireworks.  But Voldemort did nothing.  He didn't make any comments or hiss any curses.     He merely walked to the other side of the fireplace, muttered a summoning charm, and sat as one of the other chairs moved across the room and took root beneath him.

"Lord Voldemort, let's dispense with the pleasantries, shall we?  I'm too old to put up with nonsense."

Pettigrew could see how young the vampire looked, but hear how old he was in his voice.  If Pettigrew found it confusing, Voldemort did not seem to notice.  Nothing about Leviticus seemed to phase Voldemort.  Pettigrew just wished he knew what was going on.

"If I may be so bold, is this where you have been for the last 60 years?  In some sort of regeneration?" Voldemort's curiosity could still get the best of him.

            Leviticus was quite for moment as if pondering whether to answer the question at all.  He motioned for one of his aides    and whispered something to him.  Pettigrew could sense his master's impatience starting to rise.  Voldemort's eyes started twitch ever so slightly.  This lack of respect from the vampire was more than his ego could take.

            "Lord Voldemort, why have you asked me here?  Surely you have not asked me here to tell stories.  Is it something else?  Is it...  No. It could not be. I know you would never lower yourself to ask a vampire for some kind of help."

            Pettigrew almost had to laugh.  The very thought that Voldemort would need help from anyone, especially this arrogant freak, was almost more than he could handle.  But Voldemort just sat there not saying anything.  Pettigrew looked from Lord Voldemort to the vampire and back.  There simply was no way that his master would need help, at least not his help.  This was becoming too surreal.

            Voldemort made a hissing sound.  He started very slowly.

            "As you may know, there are certain factions, certain influences, working against me.  As of late, I feel it cannot continue unless they are dealt with.        Do you know the name Albus Dumbledore?

            Leviticus nodded slowly, but nothing more.  Voldemort continued slowly, but with more anger.

            "Do you know the name Harry Potter?"

            With this question Leviticus turned his head slightly.  By the look of it, Pettigrew guessed that he did not.  It was strange because Pettigrew thought everyone knew of Harry Potter.  But he did not often think of others outside of the wizarding world, and of course, why should the vampire care?  Albus Dumbledore had been around long enough to be known by many creatures, but Harry was only 17.  Besides his unbelievable victories over Voldemort, he was after all just a boy.  Voldemort continued.

            "In that case, do not concern yourself with it.  Let us talk about Dumbledore, shall we?  As I'm sure you know, the old fool is still the headmaster of Hogwarts.  Even more surprising, is the fact that Hogwarts has remained relatively untouched in this war.  It is protected by spells and charms.  Dumbledore keeps a close eye on everything within 100 miles of that school.  The time has come for Dumbledore to be relieved of his duties... permanently."

            Voldemort paused for a second as if to let it sink in. Leviticus still said nothing for a moment, but it was obvious that his curiosity was peaked.

            "So you're saying that you want me to help you with, what, Dumbledore?  I'm sorry, but afraid you're going to do a little bit better than that."  Leviticus said.            

            Voldemort had hoped that he would not have the going to too much detail.  It would require explaining certain things to the vampire that he had hoped to keep secret.  To start with, who Harry Potter was and why he had been included in the opening questions.

            Leviticus continued, "Believe it or not, I have been following you for quite some time Lord Voldemort.  I've watched you rise from obscurity to become a very feared wizard, and then watched as you went back into obscurity.  Rather, you were thrown into back into obscurity.  Yes, I know about Harry Potter.  Yes, I know that you have not yet been able to kill him and I know you want my help to do it."  

            It was now Voldemort who sat silently.  Leviticus did know much more than he had let on.  He went on to explain that he knew everything about Voldemort, all the way back to his childhood.  He knew about Tom Riddle.  He knew about him being a head boy at Hogwarts.  He followed him as he rose to be a dark wizard and the names of the top Death Eaters.  He knew about the loss of his powers, although he was sketchy on the details concerning Harry Potter.  He had followed Voldemort's reemergence seven years earlier through the use of Professor Quirell, and he had been intrigued by his invitation for a meeting.  Pettigrew was astonished.  Leviticus knew things about Voldemort that even he didn't know.  Leviticus was coming to the end, and apparently had the upper hand in this new relationship.

            "And now you have asked me here.  Since the name keeps coming up, I assume it has something to do with Harry Potter.  Am I correct?"

            Voldemort could no longer contain itself.  He had had just about as much as he could take being polite to this parasite.  Pettigrew could feel the anger emanating off of his master like a heat wave.  Finally, Voldemort got to the point.

            "Yes, Leviticus.  You are correct.  I am asking for your help.  But don't delude yourself into thinking that I need your help.  You would never leave this castle again if I didn't allow it."           

            'That sounds more like it.'  Thought Pettigrew.

            "Its very simple, really.  I want you to round up some of your vampire miscreants, attack Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore and Potter."

            Leviticus' aides exchanged unbelieving glances.  Leviticus himself only smiled.

            After a moment he replied, "That's all?"

            "That's all."

            "And how are we supposed to do this?"

            "Well, I'll leave that up to you.  After all, I won't be there.  However, to ensure that you carry out your task, you can count on several of my top men to be...within arms reach at all times."

            The upper hand had shifted faster than Pettigrew could think.  After a minute it dawned on him that Lord Voldemort had just forced Leviticus to help him.  Leviticus was now silently considering his options.  After a moment he spoke.

            "What is in it for me?"

            "Normally, I would expect you to do this without any reward.  However, since I do have such a great respect for you I have decided to let you keep something very special from this conquest.  You see, all that I really want out of this is Dumbledore and Potter dead.  Besides that, there still several hundred children at Hogwarts.  You are to give them a choice; join me or die.  I can guarantee that at least some will not see our way.  You can have them.  On second thought, you can go ahead and have all the muggle-born children.  I would only exterminate them anyway, but you can do what you want with them."

            Lord Voldemort could see Leviticus already drooling at the opportunity presented to him.  Wizard blood, even that of non-pure muggle born wizards, is a much higher quality then human.  However, it was much more difficult to come by.  It was extremely difficult for vampires to kill wizards, and in his entire life Leviticus had only had wizard blood twice.  Leviticus was 600 years old before he had tasted wizard blood.  When he had the opportunity again 300 years later, he had bottled the blood for special occasions.  But still he had not had any and almost 400 years.  This was  practically an unlimited supply that he was being offered.  No matter the price, even having to play along with Voldemort, the reward would be well worth it.  


End file.

Harry Potter, Adventure, Suspense