"Yes sir. Have a nice night, Mr. Gordon!" Hermione smiled as she opened the door for the elderly man. He grinned at her as he passed. Winking, he slipped a bill into her pocket.
"For the excellent service." He said with a chuckle.
Hermione returned his grin and closed the door. Turning, she wiped her hands on her apron and swiped a rag off its shelf to clean the tables. Waitressing was a tough job, but it was one of the only ways to save money for college.
"Hermione?" She heard Loretta's voice from the back room, "Come in here, hon."
She finished wiping the table and stuffed one end of the rag in her pocket, letting it hang.
"Yes?" She asked. It wasn't payday, so why did Loretta want to see her?
"Sit down, hon." Loretta waited until she was seated, " I'm really sorry, but we can't seem to continue this restaurant." Loretta smiled sadly at her, "After Bert died, it was all I could do to keep it from going bankrupt. Now, well, I don't see any way it can stay open. There are fewer customers and its costs to pay employees. I'm sorry, hon, but I'm going to have to let you go."
Hermione felt as though Loretta had punched her in the stomach, "Let me go?"
"Yes hon. We won't be needin' you anymore after tonight. Here." She shoved an envelope into her hands; "Here's your pay for the last week. I put in a little extra for all the hard work you've done." Loretta looked at her for a moment. "I'm sorry." She said once more, and walked out of the small room.
Hermione stared at the envelope. This was her last paycheck. What was she going to say to her … Oh. She reflected. That's right. My parents won't say anything.
They couldn't. They had died in an accident two years before. She still had a hard time facing their deaths, even now. She was only seventeen, but she had managed to support herself since their death, working late shifts and staying in a cramped apartment. But now that she lost her job, she might not even be able to stay in her apartment.
He hung her apron for the last time and pulled her coat out of the closet. She smiled grimly, for the colour of the material suited her mood- black. She pulled out the elastic that held her hair in a ponytail and let it swing past her cheeks, hiding her face.
She walked out of the restaurant without a look back, though she could feel Loretta's eyes on her back.
The bell above the door rang as she went out and she shivered in the night air, pulling her jacket closer around her. Her chocolate hair caught the streetlights and shimmered.
"Hey? How're you?" A man leered at her from the alley. She could see his eyes take her in, from her black heels to her blue jeans, to her face, which was set in a scowl. He narrowed his eyes and fell back into the shadows.
She dug her hands into the soft warmth of her pockets and walked more quickly. She didn't notice the shadow that followed her as she walked.
She walked for minutes before she detected a crunch in the gavel behind her. She swung around to confront a lamppost. She laughed at herself. Get a grip, Hermione. That's about as terrifying as Aunt Mabel.
She sighed and yelped as something grabbed her from behind. A hand covered her mouth and she was dragged into a darkened alley. She was swung around and pushed against the brick wall. Her brown eyes darkened in fear and she looked at her captor.
A pale face with freckles, ringed with crimson hair grinned at her, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, miss." His eyebrow raised and she noticed something odd about his eyes. They were blue when she looked at them, but whenever he shifted his head, they would flash brilliant red.
She gasped under his hand and he smiled ad cocked his head. He placed his other hand on her neck and applied a sharp pressure.
She remembered only a gleam of white as the darkness consumed her.
…………………….
She was in an old room. She could tell by the musty smell of the place.
"Good morning." A voice intruded into her thoughts.
She opened her eyes groggily to see the man from the alley, " I thought you'd never wake up." He continued.
"Who are you?" She asked angrily, pushing herself off the dusty floor and getting to her feet.
He seemed amused by her question, "Ronald Weasley. But you can call me Ron."
She glared at him, "What the hell is wrong with you? You abducted me from the alley, and I wake up in this dump? I'm calling the police!" She fumbled through her pocket and found her phone. She held it up to show him….
But he was on the other side of the room, and her cell phone was in his hand. He smiled.
"Give that back!" She yelled angrily. But a little voice in her mind asked: How did he get it so fast?
He seemed to contemplate her request for several seconds before answering, "No." He looked out the window. Streaks of gold were beginning to streak the darkness. He looked at her again and deliberately placed her phone on the floor. Watching her expression, he lifted his foot and crushed it beneath his heel.
She ran at him, "Do you have any idea how much that cost me?"
He caught her easily and seemed to fly through the air with her until she met a wall, "That's the least of your problems, my dear." He whispered in her ear.
Terror griped her as she realized he was kissing her neck. No, kissing was the wrong word. He seemed to be feeling her neck with his lips… for what? Her question was answered as his teeth sunk into a throbbing vein.
She screamed, but he held her easily in his arms. She was cold, and she could feel the warmth of his mouth working over the bite in her neck, sucking and pulling at the blood.
Suddenly, he stopped. He let her slide to the floor and watched her as she clutched her neck. He wiped the red from around his mouth and crouched next to her. She flinched, and he smirked.
She could see his exposed canines and feel his cool breath on her as he said; " You won't die, so stop looking at me like I just murdered you. But if I were you, I would remember this: Once bitten, twice proclaimed."
He turned and walked towards the door. He paused for a moment before looking at her again and commanding, "Sleep."
She didn't have a chance to think before she slumped forwards as her body heeded his command. She fell forwards in a deep sleep.
He glanced at her for a moment before murmuring, "Sleep well, Hermione. They'll come for you in the night."
He opened the door and walked out without a second glance back.
………………
ooOOoo so, my second vampire fic. How'd you like it so far? Hmm? Please review!