AN: No, I have not forgotten Dreams of Blue, but this is another prompt I threw out a little while back on Tumblr. It will be a short little story with snack-size chapters; four, maybe five at the most. I plan to post one daily. The genre is off the beaten path for me, but I wanted to stretch myself to see what I could do. It's my nod to my Mom's love for whodunnits / suspense / psychological thrillers I remember from my childhood.

BTW, is it just me, or does suspense seem scarier when it's filmed in black and white?

PART I:

SEVERUS SNAPE rarely concerned himself over the welfare of the students at Hogwarts, but during the past week, Gryffindor's precious princess had caused him to lose some much-needed sleep. The first night he'd seen her wandering around the halls after curfew, suspiciously close to the room where he kept his store of supplies. He'd reprimanded her and taken away house points, but she hadn't seem to care, which in itself was odd for the over-eager witch. The next night, he'd watched her at dinner. She was giving her red-headed oaf of a friend a run for his money in seeing which of them could consume the most chicken. Severus hardly cared if Hermione did or didn't eat, but something niggled at the back of his mind as he observed her attacking the drumstick in her hand. The way she was eating...it was almost animalistic. The hairs on the back of his neck stood; he felt...uneasy. And last night, he'd been walking back from the forbidden forest. He'd thought the only dangers of the night had been it its depths, but when he'd entered the courtyard of the castle, he'd been met with a sight that had caused a shiver to run down his spine. He found the swotty little muggleborn on her knees; spirals and streaks of her magic were flashing dangerously in the enclosed space. A statue and one of Dumbledore's beloved birdbaths had crumbled from a direct hit. She seemed unaware of the destruction she was causing. Far from it. Hermione was doubled over, holding her stomach as if in pain.

Severus cautiously inched toward the witch. "Miss Granger...are you alright? Miss Granger?"

She turned her head at the sound of his voice. Severus gasped. His student's eyes, normally a rich brown color, were now a shocking silver. With each flash of her magic, her eyes emitted an electrical pulse. He now understood; this was serious. An ancient magic was manifesting. Unfortunately, it was wreaking havoc with her core, weakening it, allowing her powers to be unbound. He felt it when the tendrils of her magic began to curl around him, lulling him. It was seductive…...addictive…...tantalizing. He groaned.

HARRY POTTER might not be as smart as his best friend, but he'd learned over the years to trust his instincts, and right now they were telling him that something was horribly wrong with Hermione. She seemed different...she seemed...well, he wasn't sure. Sometimes the way she looked at him…..as if he was a bar of chocolate and she was starving….

Trouble was, it made him feel hungry, too.

It was almost as if a doppelganger had taken her place. It might look like Hermione, might have Hermione's voice, but it wasn't her.

DRACO MALFOY paused as he looked down the hallway to see his favorite target for bullying walking by herself. It was a perfect opportunity to harass the uppity little mudblood and show her his superiority. But something felt off. Why was she alone, traipsing down the corridor that led to the dungeons? Didn't she know she was putting herself in danger? From what he could detect from her movements, she didn't seem aware of the risk. Surely, she wasn't that naive. Maybe she was sleepwalking. Then he snorted. No, that was a silly thought...besides, she was stilled dressed in her uniform. Maybe someone had her under a spell. An imperius, perhaps? He grinned at the pleasant thought. Now that had possibilities. He considered the potential in finding her like that. Unable to resist the temptation, he sauntered down the hallway toward her.

"Well, what have we here?" he drawled. "Little mudblood, have you lost your way?"

Hermione's head whipped around at the sound of Draco's voice. Her lips quirked upward at seeing him. "Draco," she crooned. "I hoped it might be you."

"What do you mean, witch?" Draco frowned. The off feeling he'd felt earlier had returned and was growing exponentially. It was if every nerve in his body was screaming; but what they were saying, he didn't know. He felt in equal measure the need to run and the desire to wrap her in his arms. He stopped in his tracks.

Wrap her in his arms? Where in the world had that thought come?

The cocky blonde swallowed hard. This wasn't right. He was meant to scare her, not the other way around. What kind of trick was she playing on him? Had he been unknowingly hexed?

He watched as she opened her mouth; saw when she sucked in her bottom lip. The sight set his heart to racing, whether in fear or desire, he couldn't tell. When she let it go, it came back out bloodied. He let out a small whimper when he saw her fangs.

"Come here, love," she cooed.