I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR DRACULA! I GOT BORED ONE DAY, AND *THIS* HAPPENED.

...I THINK LORY TAKARADA OF SKIP BEAT! IS TAKING OVER MY MIND. I SET THIS IN HARRY'S FIRST YEAR, AND I'M MAKING GABRIELLE SLIGHTLY OLDER, PLACING HER IN THE SAME YEAR AS HARRY, RON & HERMIONE, SHORTENING THE AGE SPAN BETWEEN FLEUR AND GABRIELLE TO ONLY 3 YEARS INSTEAD OF 10 YEARS. ALSO, I AM SLIGHTLY ILL-EQUIPPED TO WRITE THIS, AS I DO NOT SPEAK A WORD OF FRENCH. BUT PLEASE BEAR WITH ME HERE!


LADY OF THE NIGHT:

PROLOGUE:


"Why can't you be more like your big sister?" That question had been one of the few things my family ever said to me. How was it my fault I couldn't be my perfect sister, who was the epitome of a veela? But I will not bore you with complaints. Instead, I shall tell you how I broke free of my family, and my adventure of doing so. But first, I must tell you something of my past.

Every year, my family would have a reunion. It was Fleur's favorite time of the year, as the week-long celebration also involved her birthday, often making her the center of attention. I, on the other hand, dreaded it. The only bright part of the reunion was my Uncle Jacques, or 'Jack', who was always able to make me laugh. While the other relatives 'socialized', Uncle Jack and I would go fishing down by the small pond.


So it was that on my 10th family reunion, I was sitting outside underneath a weeping willow, watching my relatives arrive, waiting for Uncle Jack. My face burst into a wide grin as his car pulled into the driveway, and I stood, running back to the house.

"UNCLE JACK! UNCLE JACK!" Uncle Jack looked up, and grinned, kneeling down so I could hug him, them swept me up into the air. "How's my little goddaughter!?"

"Uncle, put me down!" I was laughing while saying this, so he grinned mischievously. "You sure about that?" He tossed me around his shoulders, and began spinning around. "Uncle! Uncle, put me-"

"JACQUES, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING!?" We looked up and winced. Uncle Jack's wife, Aunt Alexandra, stood there, her usual scowl in place, arms crossed. I sometimes wondered why on Earth Uncle Jack had married an old bat like her. I mean, they didn't even get along! They were like oil and water!

Jack set me down reluctantly, and turned to her. "Alexandra, just-"

"Have you no sense of decency!? We want to make a good impression, not act like a bunch of monkeys!" Aunt Alexandra whirled on me next. "Child, what on Earth have you done to that poor dress!?" I looked down at my grass- and dirt-stained pink dress with white lace. "I...erm...er...um..." My mother came striding over, scowling as well. She grabbed me by the arm. "Young lady, you get inside right now, and you get changed!"


I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling as I listened to the chatter below me. "Wonderful cake, Apolline! You must give me your recipe sometime!"

"Fleur's grown into quite a beauty, Apolline!" I gritted my teeth, waiting for the inevitable. "Yes, she is, isn't she? I just wish Gabrielle was more like her." There it was.

I got up off my bed, and sighed. I didn't have to take this! I opened my window, and clambered out onto a branch of the tree beside my window, climbing down. Nobody noticed me as I opened the gate and began walking away from the house, and if they had, would they have stopped me?


I stepped into a Muggle bookstore, looking around wistfully. I reached for my purse, but remembered I had left it on my dresser, and sighed. I yanked the door to the shop open, stepping out into the cold night. Well, might as well head home. Like they even noticed I was gone. I began walking across the street, when I heard brakes squealing, people screaming, and something knocking me over. Then everything went black.