Rosie ran on through the woods like a train. She outpaced Padfoot easily, but he was barely able to keep her in sight. She called out again, making the woods vibrate. She stopped and he slid to a halt a distance away. She looked around, and Sirius braced himself to run if she charged him. She glanced at him, but didn't seem interested. She did seem uncertain, but she gave herself a shake.

Padfoot wondered if he should try to speak to her. He didn't want to fight her. She was much bigger than him and famous for her ferocity. Before he could work up the nerve to say something, she ran off again. He lost her in the snow and had to track her by scent. It wasn't easy with the wind as strong and cold as it was. He was tempted to go back to the cave after awhile of hunting. All that kept him from giving up was the certainty that Rosie was headed back towards Hogwarts.

Then, she nearly ran him over coming back. Raye was with her, bundled up tight against the wind. Rosie's irritation was plain. She didn't want the girl on her back, but it had to be faster than waiting while Raye tried to keep up on foot. With no time to hide, Padfoot had just laid flat. Rosie was too eager to get her errand over with to care, and Raye's head was hooded and bent into the wind.

It was easier to follow after that. Rosie had to go slower with her rider's weight, and more carefully. Padfoot was able to keep up at a trot, staying back and to the side in case one of them were to look over their shoulder. The black wolf lead the way for what had to be miles. Padfoot wondered if they would check his cave and be worried that he wasn't there. Probably not. It would probably be a few days before they had time to check.

The Forest began to clear. They weren't in the Forbidden parts anymore, he realized. Ahead of him, Rosie jumped over a stone fence with a little startled sound from Raye. Across the field, there was a river and a tiny mansion pretending to be a summer cabin. There was a familiar bush of black roses growing in the yard, despite the snow. Padfoot slowed to a stop.

He looked at the cabin and then veered around in a wide circle to get a better look. There was an ornate N in the woodwork over the front door. The Nalicus family was still playing host to the vampires then. It made sense, if Brohm had taken over the youngest Nalicus.

A flutter of movement had him looking into the trees around the cabin. Hooded shapes that made him think of Dementors were perched in the bare branches. They turned to watch as Rosie trotted through the orchard and Padfoot got a glimpse of pale faces and gleaming eyes. Vampires, roosting like elaborately gowned blackbirds as guardians.

All right, Padfoot told himself. I've pushed my luck far enough... Maybe it's time to go back. He remembered the vampire attack leaving the Nalicus estate. It was probably wisest to go home before one of them heard him thinking and came to investigate. Across the field, a square of yellow light appeared as Raye opened the front door and stepped inside. Rosie loped off into the trees and was gone.

On the other hand, what would a vampire want with a dog? And I've seen Ministry 'approved' vampires before. They weren't that scary. That was the part of his brain that wanted to get him killed, he realized.

Remember the escape from the mansion His sensible thoughts repeated. Those weren't tame vampires, and what if they all are that powerful?

He sighed, knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to leave until he had at least one look around. He was a dog after all. Strays wandered around houses all the time. Despite all common sense and better judgement, he had come too far to go home with nothing but a story of a Raye being delivered to an old vacation cottage. He gave himself a little shake, much like Rosie had, and moved at a skulk around the fence.

He came around the rosebush, giving it wide berth. He had to pass under the trees, and pretend not to notice the lurking figures in the branches. He made a big show of sniffing around the trees, and steered around towards a window that more of the yellow light was visible from. There was a thud as something was dropped by one of the vampires in a tree. Padfoot jumped and nearly swore.

It was a book, apparently finished, and discarded. He resisted the urge to look up. He approached the book cautiously. It was an old book, he noticed. It even smelled brittle. The wind blew it open. Padfoot saw the word Gutenberg and the date 1456 as the title page appeared and then was covered. Then the other pages went rustling by in a flutter of tiny print spotted with red and gold illuminations.

He had never been a bookworm, but it did seem a waste to save a book that long just to toss it aside in the snow. What would Hermione say? he thought with a mental smile. Or Madam Pince, which wasn't nearly as funny.

He stepped past the book and made his way towards the window. Nose around, sniff things, he told himself. Just a stray dog, looking for scraps… He pretended interest in Rosie's tracks and made his way silently around the corner of the porch.

He was pounced on out of nowhere. A cold hand held his head to the ground with amazing force. He yelped and thrashed, but the vampire held him still. It was a female one, looking no older than Hermione, but wearing a fanged smirk that was brighter than the elaborate jewelry she was hung with.

"What is it?" a shadowy voice called. The female stared hard at Padfoot and he felt something poke at his mind.

"I think..." she said, pale tongue touching her upper lip. "It feels like..." He scrambled to think stray dog thoughts. Hungry! Lost! Get Away! he thought desperately.

"I think it's another werewolf," she said, leaning close to peer into the one eye that she wasn't crushing into the snow. He couldn't believe she could mistake a dog for a wolf, especially after seeing Rosie, but wasn't about to complain.

"Let it go," the other voice sighed.

"They say their blood burns," the female didn't seem to have heard. "That it's sweet as a human's and hot as an animal's..."

"It's bad enough that we lurk in the woods like savages without eating filth like savages." The other vampire dropped to the snow in a pool of draped black velvet. It's voice was now sharp with scorn and disgust. "Leave it be, childe." There was a definite command in the last words, and Padfoot felt the female shiver. She arranged her face into a pout to cover it.

"As you say," she said. She released Padfoot and he squirmed away from her. The cloaked vampire levitated back into the trees, and when it was out of sight, the female lashed out and dug her fingernails savagely into Padfoot's back. He bit back another yelp and ran, kicking over the ancient book as he went. When he looked back, he saw her licking her fingers.

Back to the cave, he thought. But not straight back in case I'm followed. Then find away to get word to Harry and the others where Raye was. Tell Lorelei. She knew vampires better than he did. What had she said before?

Wait til daylight. That's what she said. Fine. That was only going to be a few hours anyway. Long enough to get back, mend his back, and figure out a way to get back into Hogwarts.