Someone Will Bleed

Preface- Family Ties

If she hadn't known better, Aurora would have sworn that Harry Potter was staring at her awkwardly. While part of her aknowledged the fact, the rest simply concentrated on keeping the glamour over the celtic knot crown of venom on her head. She had never once used glamour before, and she knew that, if she were to hide the fact that she was the Vampire Princess (the thought drew an exasperated sigh from her), she would have to keep the crown hidden until it faded at midnight. It was already a well known fact that she was a Wiccan, and her connection to the Earth allowed her to help out with the Order despite the fact that she was barely seventeen, thus she didn't need any help attracting a target. Oh, if Marcus could see you know, Ms. I'll-Never-Use-Glamour, she thought grimly. Marcus Flint had teased her incessantly in his seventh year because, not only was she the only female player on the team (having replaced Malfoy after his disaterous career as Seeker), she didn't use glamour like every other girl in Slytherin. She was only now beginning to understand that Flint had admired her for the fact. Now, a seventh year herself, she was captain of the Quidditch team and she was prepared to make Potter eat Pitch Dirt, so to speak. She'd practiced incessantly over the summer with her cousin, captain of the only vampire team in the league. Bleeding Hearts was in the running to become favored for the Cup, and Aurora knew that. Her cousin, also a seeker, had drilled her on tactics, strategy, and feints. She had drawn up a whole new playbook for the team and was holding tryouts. The announcement on the bulliten board, done on Slytherin green paper with silver ink, proclaimed that prior team status would be calculated, but would not gurantee a spot on the new team. In spelled ink beneath that, she said that she would also be weeding out supporters of the Dark Lord, so none of them were to try out if they didn't want to die.

All in all, she thought it was a good ploy.

She felt a hand on the back of her robes and suddenly she was hauled out of her seat as if she were light as a feather. She recognized the billowing black robes and wondered what the hell she had done to get Snape pissed at her already.

"If this is about my helping Hagrid's pumpkins along last year, I'll have you know that there's nothing in the rule book preventing me from-"

A hand over her mouth silenced her as Snape sat her down in the Entrance Hall.

"You should be under the protection of the Phoenix Guard in the Ice Palace, not parading around at Hogwarts like nothing happened to you over the summer," Snape hissed. For the first time in Aurora's short life, she could see real concern in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, Professor," she said, shocked into formality. Her mother and Snape were good friends and she had called him Severus for as long as she could remember. Considering she wasn't in regular potions, she could get away with it. Well, that, and a few other circumstances.

"Is it your intention, then, to continue on as if you weren't Vampire Princess? Any one of your house-mates could reveal to their parents your identity and then you would be in some serious trouble, now wouldn't you?" Snape hissed. "I want you on the train home."

"I'll not be seen as a coward, Severus," she growled, wrenching away from him. "My mother has held her head high for the last nineteen years knowing that she would never back down from a challenge and I won't either."

"Victoria would agree with me in this instance," Snape replied.

"I am of age now," Aurora said with narrowed eyes. "My mother's opinion holds no sway over what it is that I do. Be thankful I haven't broadcasted it to the whole hall by dropping the glamour. I will not cower in fear before a man who is beneath me, damnit."

"So this is a ploy to prove your bravery?"

"William and Liam are in the forest right now, securing the school's perimeter. My own contingent of guards will be here tomorrow. I am not stupid enough to come back without some protection, if that is what you are implying. Aside from that, I would rather Voldemort focus his attentions on me than my mother. At least here, I am protected by Dumbledore. He would not try to recruit me until..."

Aurora trailed off, remembering that she wasn't supposed to know what it was that Severus was doing for the Headmaster.

"By then, I will be well on my way to the Ice Palace to begin training for the Guard," she finished, allowing the unspoken notion to drift over them. Without a word, she placed an alabaster hand on his shoulder. "I will be fine. For once in your god-forsaken, shat-on life, worry about yourself."

Aurora had a feeling it would be a long year, especially with her... dare she think it, father looking over her shoulder.

A/N: Reviews equal chapters. Bad language in the next chapter (and every one after that, since she is, after all, a teenager; full of cursing)

Midnight