.

Vampire and Prey

by lookimacloud

Chapter

A New Life

He needed blood. He could not wait to kill the woman of his thoughts, the human he wanted to marry. How he longed to stick his teeth into that smooth neck. She couldn't know until they marry. He had to keep his secret just a little longer. She would run from him if she knew.

Once Hermione was satisfied that they were man and wife, then and only then, would Draco allow himself to take her. He would kill her. He would make her his own, and marry her by his own laws. He would then kill his father, as was tradition, and rule his kingdom. Nothing could go wrong. His Queen would give him the heir he needed. He would raise his son to be a better Prince than he, and one day, his son would be the ruler of the dynasty.

Draco had his goals set in blood, theoretical of course. He needed to marry her. Once she was a vampire, he would be satisfied that she would never escape him.

ooooo

The pain was unbearable. Hermione screamed and fought against the hands on her

shoulders. What was happening to her? Shifting colors swirled around her head…a voice

demanding something in her ear. Who was it? What did they want? Why couldn't she

move? It was a white room. The faces came in a blur. Voices, so many voices. Beeping

Hermione woke in chills. The dream kept getting worse. It always started with the pain, then the room. What room had she been in? She'd been feeling strange for the past few days. Shaking the dream off, Hermione stretched her body. The sheets felt wonderful and warm against her skin. Dosing, she thought of Draco.

Today was their Anniversary. She'd gone out the other day with her friend Ginny to pick out the perfect gift. Hermione smiled and hugged her pillow. Draco would love her gift; she just knew it. Draco seemed to have extremely heightened senses, so Hermione had spent a meticulously long time wrapping it.

Her boyfriend could always tell if the most random object was somehow out of place. They even spent a whole afternoon arguing over where the door man should stand. After pointing out that the poor man had on two different black shoe laces, Draco had stated that the man should be fired from his job. Not only was he wearing two different laces, but he was also standing on the wrong side of the door.

That, was an impossible argument to win. Sometimes, there was just no sense arguing with the man.

Once, Draco had even rearranged her whole kitchen to make it more functional. The toaster does not belong in the oven, she recalled him saying. He seemed to take offense that she used the baker as storage. Well, when one lived in as small of an apartment as she did, one must find places to put things.

Hermione didn't mind the toaster in the oven because she never used either. Cooking, was never something she attempted.

Which was another reason tonight was so very important. Hermione was going to cook Draco a meal for the first time. Her present, not a wrapping paper seem out of place, would be placed next to his plate.

Hermione eased her contented body from the bed, and went to shower. The meal would be horrendous she knew, but she wanted to show Draco how much she loved him. She figured if she could live with his observations, then he could live with her cooking.

Ginny came over a little past two to check on her progress. "Oh Hermione that is a beautiful cake. You made that?" she asked sounding as ridiculous as her question was. Ginny too, knew that Hermione couldn't cook.

Hermione was starting to regret her surprise dinner. She had just finished cleaning the apartment, which wasn't all that bad to begin with. She spent an hour on the phone with Draco. And now finally, she'd started to cook. She didn't even have the desert made yet and the dishes were already piling up.

Hermione had to admit to herself, and now even to Ginny, that making desert was harder than it looked.

"I just hope it tastes as beautiful." Hermione nodded in Ginny's direction, "I got it from the bakery last night just in case I ran out of patience cooking today. It's a good thing too. I'm going to have to clean this kitchen double time when I'm done and guess who's going to help me…it won't be Draco."

Hermione glanced at Ginny from the corner of her eye to see her reaction. If anything, Ginny hated cleaning as much as Hermione hated cooking. Ginny didn't disappoint.

"It's your fault that you don't know that flour goes in the bowl Hermione, not mine." she glared.

"But you want me to be pretty for Draco don't you? It's been one year today. I can't wait until he comes. But I won't have time to clean my kitchen and myself before he gets here. I don't know which would be worse, a dirty me, or a white kitchen."

"Oh all right, fine." she grumbled, "But you owe me big."

"Deal." Hermione pulled the milk from the fridge and poored a glass for herself and Ginny. "I'm really happy Gin."

"Yes I know." Ginny then asked with a hint of a smile, "What are you doing tonight? You know, after you taste the road kill?"

Hermione didn't take offense. She already had Chinese on speed dial just in case. "I don't know. Draco said that he had a surprise for me. He said that 'it was time', whatever that means."

"What do you think he means by it?"

"Don't know. I will have to find out. I think he might finally ask me to marry him. Can you believe it? Hermione Malfoy." Hermione twirled in a circle with milk sloshing over the rim of her glass.

"Hermione you are really horrible with food of all sorts." Ginny snatched the glass away and growled, "You will not take advantage of my kindness. Now get your butt cooking. I don't want to hear another word until you stir something."

Hermione laughed, and turned to start her water boiling.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Ginny asked after a pause. "I mean, to marry Draco. He is a bit odd. Is he the one you want to marry?"

"It's the fact that he loves me for me that I love the most about him." Hermione replied, stirring her pot of steaming water. "He would never try to change me and he has never lied to me. He is different from most men. I really love him Gin, and would follow him to the ends of the earth. Sure he is odd. His favorite food is raw meat for goodness sake. But I still love him. Can I stop stirring my empty water now and still talk to you?"

Ginny ignored her. Hermione stopped stirring and smiled again. Her friend was so easy to bait.

"But every time I see him, he is covered in that black cloak. I never see him out doors with his face in the sun, and he is always out on business. You love the out doors. You love the beach and the heat. Can you honestly tell me that this guy is right for you? I don't want to burst your happiness bubble, I just don't want you hurt."

Hermione thought for a minute. It was sweet of her friend to care so much. Hermione didn't really have a good track record with guys. She hadn't dated much. Two boyfriends in the past that each lasted two months before breaking up with her. Draco was different though. He wasn't very social true, but he was perfect the way he was. He didn't like to go out to parties and get drunk like her last boyfriends. He didn't sleep with her and then leave for the night like they did either. Draco had been nothing but good to her. He listened to her, cared for her… He was perfect.

"Draco is everything I want in a man. We are so similar. Sometimes at night when I read on the couch, he plops down right beside me with a book of his own. Most couples watch the telly on the couch, but with us, we just click. Sometimes, I fall asleep with my head in his lap, and a book in mine. I love him and what we have together."

"I know you do Sweety. I have seen you two when you think that the other isn't looking. It is fascinating to watch the change that comes over his face when you enter the room. It's like you are the only person he has ever cared about. I am happy for you. I just didn't want you to not be sure."

Ginny hadn't thought their relationship would go this far. Admittedly, she did like Draco, and admittedly, she did like giving him a hard time. But the feeling was mutual.

She'd thought that Hermione was just going through a faze after her break up with Victor, a guy more into sports than his own girlfriend. Draco was supposed to be the rebound guy. Victor had hurt Hermione, and Hermione had started dating Draco as a distraction. Victor had also been trying to get back together with Hermione for over a year now. Draco was good for her.

Ginny wished that their verbal sparing wouldn't go away though once Hermione married him. Draco was the only man she knew who could give as good as he got, and Ginny would be disappointed if she couldn't sharpen her tongue on him anymore. Ginny hoped that this man would keep her friend happy.

ooooo

The doorbell rang at half past 8:00. Draco!

Hermione rushed to let him in. Oh but he was gorgeous. Draco was dressed in his habitual black suit, hair slicked back. It was nothing unusual or special. He took the same time and care in his appearance as he always did.

"Draco." Hermione whispered a bit breathless. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Happy Anniversary, Baby." He held out a tiny box to her. Hermione took the little blue box from his oversized hand and grinned at the tiny royal blue ribbon that he'd tied around it. Hermione, at that moment, didn't even care what was inside. She would treasure the gift as it was. She could just picturing Draco cursing the ribbon for not tying in perfectly proportionate loops and redoing it several times. The thought brought tears to her eyes.

Draco then swept her into his arms. His endless strength always surprised Hermione. The man could lift anything. "I made you dinner and a cake." She sighed against his neck.

"You made dinner and a cake? Baby you shouldn't have, really. Are you sure we won't die?"

"Beast," Hermione slapped her hand against his chest to show her irritation. "Well, I tried to make the cake. It didn't work out. I bought the cake. But the dinner was all me and I'm not going to budge until you eat every bit of it. Even if we are both sick all night."

Draco concentrated on the feel of her against his body. Her eyes were closed and her soft breathing on his neck was turning him insane. He carried his Queen to the sofa and sat her down. Draco looked at the woman who so lovingly stared at him. Her big brown eyes took his breath away. He would not allow himself to feel this way. She was just a woman, he censured. Just his Queen.

Draco would have to teach Hermione that matters of the heart should stay in the heart, or cease to exist. He would, he swore, after she was his. Instead he said, "Hermione, I thank you for the dinner. After we eat I would like to take you to the place where my father had once taken my mother, and I want you to hold this for when we get there." He placed his hand over hers on the blue velvet box.

Hermione had no such restrictions. She ran over to the table to get the gift she'd purchased for him. "Open it," she demanded. "Open it now before we eat."

Draco smiled down at the gift. Draco noticed the remarkable improvement in the wrapping of this gift, compaired to the last she'd given him. Hermione had all the seems lined up and the paper was pulled tightly across the package as it should. He recalled how she'd wrapped his birthday gift with a grimace. The poor thing was taped together with artist tape and had a flowered card attached to it that read,

Roses are red, violates are blue, today is your birthday, I wish it were mine too,

Love,

Hermione

She'd written the card herself, but clearly his girl had never been much of a gift giver. The paper on his current present had snoopy on it, and the bow was a bright pink color that clashed with the over-all red wrapping. It was perfect.

Draco opened the wrapping, taking as much care with it as Hermione had in wrapping it. Hermione plopped down beside him and watched.

Her gift was priceless.

"Do you like it? You talk about vampires all the time, but you don't have any vampire movies at your apartment. I just thought that maybe it was time you had the best there was to start your collection."

Draco was speechless. How do you tell a woman that Bram Stoker's Dracula was all a lie, and prove it, without things getting way out of hand?

You don't.

"Thank you Hermione. Thank you very much for this gift. It means a lot to me that you don't mind with my love of vampire myths.

Hermione just smiled. She kissed him soundly, then bounced off the sofa to get her masterpiece.

Draco tried very hard to hide his disgust for the cooked meat Hermione placed on the kitchen table. Hermione still noticed his slight grimace. "I never said I was a cook Draco. That is as rare as I could make it without it being burnt. Would you like mine? It's charred through?"

"No, no," Draco waved her words away, wondering how she could have screwed up rare meat. "Its not that." he assued, "It's just that, well," he paused, trying to come up with a distraction. He thought of his trip to her house, and the building he'd almost collided with, and smiled, "don't you ever just feel like flying?"

"What?" Hermione laughed.

"Flying," he repeated. "In this world of crowded humans rushing to throw one another out of their way? It is disgusting. We can change all that by flying. Just you and me."

"Draco. What are you talking about? You always surprise me."

Draco was suddenly serious. "I mean it. I wish to ruling my kingdom and fly among all humans, slowly picking them off, having only enough to keep the population from dieing."

"Draco?" Hermione asked. "Is something wrong? Did something happen at work today?"

"No. I was just dreaming of a better world."

"Killing humans just for the fun of it is a bit psycho, but yes, I know how you feel. I would love to get rid of my boss. I would love to be the boss."

Draco's eyes lit up, a shining silver. "Really? And how should you like him?" He asked, as though her fantasy could become a reality. Draco loved talking about the people she hated at work. Somehow, he made it seem like with him, she would never have to worry about people like her coworkers again. Sometimes, somehow, Hermione believed that to be true. Somehow, as she told him her issues, Draco made her feel like she would not always be on the receiving end of retail.

"On a platter? Or a stick?" Draco added.

Hermione, all serious, stated, "A platter, totally naked with an apple in his mouth, only to be served to me and nobody else. And if he doesn't give me what I want, then I will put him in the pig pen where he belongs." She vowed, laughing at the image.

Draco grinned at her mirth. It amused him to know that she just did not realize the power she would wield as his Queen. She just did not know that if she wished it, it would happen. Draco couldn't wait.

"Come," he said. "I want to show you what is in that box that you have yet to really 'notice.'"

"But what about the food?"

"I love it," he teased with mirth, "but the wait won't hurt it." Draco pulled her from her seat and they left the apartment.

Draco drove Hermione down to the bridge that his father told him about. It was at this very bridge, that his father had proposed to his mother. And now, it was going to be the very bridge that Draco proposed to Hermione at.

"This is beautiful." Hermione grasped his hand and closed her eyes. Lifting her face to the night. Draco did not know how much more angelic his Queen could get. She had actually sniffed the air. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone sniff the air before.

Knowing his chances with her as a human were limited, Draco whisked Hermione against his side with his right arm, and twirled her around on the bridge. Hermione's laugh was rich and gay. Draco set her on her feet in front of him, and held out the gift.

He opened the box, and took out the vintage white gold ring, holding it out for her to see.

Hermione was in shock. She had expected Draco to ask her to marry him, but she hadn't really known what she would feel. She was elated and nervous. The ring held a square cut diamond with tulip shaped V sides. He had gotten it perfect.

Hermione knew Draco was waiting for a reaction. He held the ring out to her as if he wanted her to take it from him. Hermione was afraid to move less it was a dream. He had even managed to get her jaw to drop. Realizing this, Hermione snapped her mouth closed and looked into his eyes.

Draco caught a hold of her hand and slid the ring into place on her finger. He then felt at ease. Now that the ring was there, she couldn't be parted from him. The ring recognized his Queen in her, and wouldn't come off as long as she was human. It would bind her to him as his slave, should he so choose, until she became his Queen. She would still be his slave no matter what, but at least then, allowing he permitted it, she would have the option of taking the ring off. "Marry me?" he more demanded than really asked.

Author's Note: I hope you like my story. Please review.