SUMMARY – Blaise Zabini loves Draco Malfoy's promised bride, a beautiful but deadly witch. All of them have been promised to Voldemort... Can the love between them help them escape their destiny, or will their struggle end in tragedy? Set in 7th year Hogwarts with new character.
DISCLAIMER – Unfortunately, I do not own anybody mentioned in the Harry Potter books. I only own Carmilla and the personalities and images I have adapted for all the characters. Oh, and this story is not about the Golden Trio. Also, don't be mad that the characters are somewhat cliche, especially Carmilla, cause she seems a little Mary-Sue-ish.
I hear your voice in the darkness, but I do not listen...
Blaise Zabini stood on the platform of 9 3/4, lazily slouching against a pillar. His dragon-hide luggage was strewn about his feet in disarray.
Blaise was a seventh year student at Hogwarts, Slytherin house Head Boy, and, last but not least, the most handsome guy in school. This latter title was the result of popular school opinion, and the really obvious fact that he WAS good-looking. Blaise's silky raven-colored shoulder-length locks were pulled back in a loose ponytail, he sported a small silver hoop in one ear, and his dragon hide trench and 10-buckle boots probably cost more then many other student's homes and possessions combined.
Yes, he was rich, pureblood, handsome, and popular... The world was before his feet.
As he stood on the platform, Blaise's proud blue eyes sluggishly glanced at the pretty girls who giggled at him behind their hands and at the boys who glared at him with supreme hatred.
Oh, but who cares? He didn't give a damn about anyone or anything.
"'Better late then never', eh?" called out Blaise suddenly as he saw his friend Draco Malfoy approaching.
Draco was just as smart, handsome, rich and popular as Blaise was, perhaps even more. With his perfectly combed peroxide blond hair, silk dress pants and velvet blazer, Draco was the perfect picture of aristocratic dignity compared to Zabini's wild and roguish good looks. Draco was both feared and worshipped at school. After all, his father was the richest and most powerful wizard in England. But due to his laziness and average grades, Draco hadn't received "head boy" title this year, even though he bribed the teachers handsomely. Oh well, at least he was still prefect.
"Zabini, I am NOT late. I am exactly on time." drawled Draco as he approached Blaise. When both boys stood next to each other, their characters seemed to be almost identical – the smirks, the drawling voice, the "no-care-in-the-world" posture... However, Blaise wasn't as cold, spoiled, and boring as Draco. His personality was much more "down-to-earth" and he had a wicked humor to boot.
"OK, OK! Chill. No offense meant." laughed Blaise while Draco only smirked. "Hey, let's hang out in the Head cabin. I'm officially allowed to bring friends along."
They picked up their luggage and made their way to the waiting train, all the while pushing frightened first years and love-struck girls out of his way.
Several minutes later both were comfortably lounging on the velvet couches in the Head cabin. This year's Head Girl had not yet arrived and both friends were discussing the many possibilities.
"I've heard a rumor that this year's Head Girl is also from Slytherin. So, I recommend you start praying to all the gods in the world that it ain't Pansy Parkinson." teased Draco. Pansy was an ugly and stupid girl in Slytherin, who was both annoying, and disgusting. Most of the students thought she was Draco's fiancée, because they were both from influential and powerful families. Draco however despised her immensely, and had secretly decided to commit suicide the moment his father declared that he would have to marry her. Luckily, so far no such discussions were heard at Malfoy Manor.
"I don't think she'd ever make it. Merlin, she's phenomenally stupid! It's probably that mud-blood Granger. Although I heard that her grades aren't as great as they used to be. Seems like she spends too much time with that Weasel boyfriend of hers to actually study." laughed Blaise.
"Who cares who Head Girl is? I personally wouldn't give a damn." said Draco, although he really would care if he were in Blaise's place.
"Who cares!" Blaise was mock-outraged. "I do! I'll have to live with her for a year! Of course I care! I damn hope she's at least tolerably hot."
With that, the compartment doors suddenly slid open to reveal a dark figure dressed in a hooded vampire-style suede trench coat. Daintily putting away two dragon-hide carpetbags, the figure took of her coat and seated herself before the two open-mouthed gentlemen.
What they saw before them was a stunning girl of about 17 with waist length black hair and moss-green eyes. Her skin was extremely pale and an even whiter scar went across her otherwise flawless left cheek. Her lips were somewhat blue and were drawn into a firm line. Nothing on her face expressed gentleness or friendliness, but she was still very beautiful. She was dressed in a floor-length long-sleeved tight dress of black velvet, her waist was cinched by a black lace corset, and black dragon-hide boots peeked out from under her dress. She wore no jewelry except for a large ruby ring on her left hand.
Draco Malfoy was the first to compose himself:
"Ah, you must be this year's Head Girl. My name is Draco Malfoy, and I am a prefect. This here is Blaise Zabini, Slytherin Head Boy. And you are?..."
"Nemesie. Carmilla Nemesie." said the girl in a low voice tinted with a clear Eastern European accent. She merely nodded at the two young men, ignoring the hand Draco offered.
This time Blaise joined in the conversation:
"What house are you in? I don't believe I've seen you before."
"I transferred from another school several months ago. Your headmaster immediately summoned me to Hogwarts and I was sorted into the house called Slytherin. Due to high grades and recommendations from my previous school, I was also selected as a Head Girl." Carmilla's voice was low and monotonous, expressing no feeling and making it seem as if she was bored.
"I see. Just for curiosity's sake: what school are you originally from?" asked Draco. In his head he was running through all the pureblood last names that he knew. If he wanted to score with this beauty, he had be sure she was pureblood. Although, from the look on Blaise's face, it looked like he was going to have some competition. Damn, where had he heard her name before?
"I'm from Carpe Noctem Academia in Romania." answered Carmilla, as she stared out the window, her eyes dull and hard.
Blaise and Draco glanced at each other. Carpe Noctem was an infamous school, notorious for the special attention it paid to the Dark Arts and muggle-hating. The school's headmaster was Count Dracula himself who, for those who don't know, is not a vampire, just a very powerful wizard in league with the Dark Lord. Only the children of Death Eaters and Black wizards were permitted, and discipline was extremely harsh. Students were accepted at the age of 7, but very few actually made it to the last year at age seventeen. The Ministry had tried to close down the school more then once, but it was backed by too many powerful and influential wizards.
Suddenly the train lurched to a stop. Carmilla immediately got up, threw on her coat, and walked out of the compartment. Blaise and Draco were still mesmerized by her and it took them a little while to collect themselves.
"Wicked..." was all that Blaise could say, his mouth hanging open in fascination.
"You, Zabini, look like a lowly idiot with your mouth open like that. Collect yourself and go do your Head Boy duties." drawled Draco as if he cared about nothing in the world. That of course was only on the outside, because inside he couldn't take away the sight of Carmilla's cruel sneer as she left the carriage.
Neither boys saw anything else of Carmilla until that evening when everyone sat down in the great hall to eat dinner and welcome the yet unsorted first years. As the two young men entered the hall, they saw Carmilla seated at the far end of the table, alone, her long hair covering her face. Most the Slytherins were staring at her and whispering among themselves. However the entrance of the two Slytherin Princes of Darkness immediately drew everyone's attention away from the girl. Politely nodding to their acquaintances, both boys sat on either side of Carmilla. She barely acknowledged their presence and straightened her back more as her hair fell even more about her face. Looking to his left, Malfoy noticed that Carmilla was actually somewhat emaciated and seemed to be almost fainting. (dinner would have to wait until all the first years were sorted into the different houses.) Her pale scar was in stark contrast with her even paler skin and the girl was slowly breathing in shallow breaths, almost as if she were sick.
"My dear lady, could I tempt you with a glass of fine red wine?" asked Draco in his drawling voice (he could never admit to himself that he was actually concerned about her well being). "Perhaps it will refresh you." Carmilla merely nodded her head and carefully took the crystal glass that Draco had just conjured up.
"Attention please!" said Dumbledore to catch everyone's attention. "We will now welcome our dear first-years to Hogwarts!" With this, professor McGonagall brought in the Sorting Hat. While the timid little children were being sorted, The Slytherin table was abuzz.
"Drakie, who is that scary girl?" whispered Pansy Parkinson. She had taken an immediate disliking to Carmilla after seeing that she was beautiful and that both Draco (whom she considered her boyfriend, even though the feeling was only one-sided) and Blaise were fawning over her. "She looks like a corpse. I hope she doesn't die before the night is through." Pansy thought her joke was very clever and tittered along with her friends. However, a cold look from Draco silenced them all.
"This, Parkinson, is Carmilla Nemesie, respectively Head Girl. So, watch your tongue if you don't want to get detention."
With that, Carmilla turned to look at Parkinson. Her veil-like hair still hid most of her face, and her cold eyes were full of malice.
"Oh, so my duties include punishing little whores? I believe I'm starting to look forward to living here." Her smile was anything but friendly. Blaise turned around in surprise: this was the first time Carmilla had spoken since they were in the train. For some reason, Blaise found himself loving her low, lightly accented ad monotonous voice.
"Now, I am pleased to welcome this year's Head Boy and Girl. They are Blaise Zabini from Slytherin..." this was followed by thunderous applause from the Slytherin table and only polite claps from the other houses, "and our new transfer student from Romania, Carmilla Nemesie, also from Slytherin." This was followed by surprised, but pleased cheers from the Slytherins and shocked silence by the other tables. Both of the Heads were from the same house? And Slytherin at that! The Gryffindor table was especially angry. The "Golden Trio" angrily glared at Zabini and Malfoy, who were both smirking. Carmilla, on the other hand, ignored everyone.
By now, the feast had begun, and everyone was stuffing themselves. The only people who were not eating were Draco, Blaise and Carmilla. Both young men were trying in vain to convince Carmilla to eat at least a tiny bite of food. Finally, after much coaxing from both boys and strange looks from the table's other occupants, the girl gave in and reluctantly accepted a beautifully peeled mandarin. (Blaise had the great honor of peeling it with his jeweled pocketknife.)
Finally the feast ended and all the students left the Great Hall. The Heads escorted the first year students to their respective houses, and then followed Dumbledore to their own rooms. Blaise was surprised that Carmilla knew exactly what to do and where to go, but it was probably because Dumbledore had informed her of her duties earlier.
"Here are your living quarters." said Dumbledore as they came to a painting on a wall. The painting was of the Biblical character Salome, almost nude, and covered in blood, which dripped from the head of St. John the Baptist, which she held in her arms. Quite gruesome, really.
"Once you decide on your password, you may enter. The interior has been decorated to your preferences. You will find your luggage at the foot of your bed. With this I leave you." Dumbledore winked and quickly walked off.
Blaise was going to ask Carmilla if she had decided on a password, but he was too late.
"The password is Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust." she quickly said.
The painting opened and they stepped into the common room. Everything was dark and antique; the color scheme consisted mostly of black and burgundy. Next to a crackling fire lay a large black wolf and in the corner stood a grand piano. Blaise guessed that these both belonged to Carmilla. Without stopping to glance around, Carmilla called the wolf to her (by whistling and saying "here, Fenris") and then she went straight to the bedrooms.
"Hey wait!" called out Blaise. Carmilla turned around with an annoyed look on her face.
"What?" she asked. The wolf growled aggressively.
"Well, I thought that since we're going to live together for the school year, we should get to know each other better. You know, talk about our lives and stuff." said Blaise. Wow! Why did he say something as stupid as that? Carmilla didn't seem too impressed either, because her eyes had gone stone cold and her lips were trembling. Suddenly she shouted out:
"Well, you can talk about your life all you want, but I don't have any desire to listen to you. As for me, the Zabini family should be acquainted well enough with my life." with that she stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door.
Blaise stood there in shock. What in the world did she mean? Suddenly a knock sounded on the door. Blaise opened the painting/door and saw in front of him a very flustered Draco.
"Quickly, man! I've got something to show to you!" he whispered as Blaise stepped out of the painting and followed Draco to an empty classroom. Draco was shaking: "Here read this. You'll be shocked."
Blaise took the book that Draco was holding. It was a new edition of Encyclopedia of Pureblood Families in Europe. As he opened the section that Draco marked, he was immediately hooked and didn't stop reading till he reached the end.
The text:
Nemesie/Vuoran family
Number of current living members – 1 living, and 1 of unknown status
Origin – Romania
First mention in historical records – 1123 when Contessa Sardana Nemesie married Prince Vlad Trczapek, ruler of Moldavia
Related to – Dracul, Lestrange, Vuorinen, Therpak
Political relations – originally Dark Side. Sudden change to Light led to demise of clan.
(Blaise skipped the long text about the Nemesie family in the Middle Ages. He kept on skimming till he reached a section titled The Massacre)
In 1997 the Nemesie family, led by Dorian Nemesie (45) and his brother Gordon George Nemesie (47) rebelled against the Dark Lord and betrayed several prestigious Death Eaters. In retaliation, on June 6th, the Nemesie family of 24 (one son was not at home at the time) members was gathered in the Darkwood Manor located in Scotland. At the stroke of midnight 30 Death eaters attacked the manor and murdered 23 people. The casualties were D. Nemesie, his wife, eldest son with his wife with child, 5 other sons, G. Nemesie, his wife, and their son. Neither woman nor infant were spared. One surviving member was daughter Carmilla Desiræ Nemesie, then 9, who was spared by the Dark Lord, for the sole purpose of youth and pure blood, a prospective wife for the son of a Death Eater. After witnessing the carnage, young C. Nemesie was taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for the Insane. In 2000, an unknown benefactor transferred the girl to Carpe Noctem Academia. At the moment, C. Nemesie attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the unsuccessful intervention of the Ministry of Magic, in 2005 C. Nemesie will be forcefully betrothed to an unknown pureblood wizard.
As for Alexander Marcus Nemesie (19?), the son who was not in Scotland in 1997, no information has been obtained about his whereabouts. He is presumed to be dead, although his sister, C. Nemesie, assures that he is alive and in hiding in Europe.
It was then that Blaise realized the truth. He knew that his father and Malfoy along with other Death Eaters had taken part in an atrocious murder many years before. No information was ever disclosed about the event, and none of the men were ever put on trial. Blaise now understood that the murder his father had successfully hid from the law had been that of the Nemesie clan. So, that was why Carmilla hated both him and Draco! After all, she had seen their parents murder her family. What could they do to gain her friendship and trust? Both young men were less then proud of the exploits of their family, and they both feared the day when the Dark Lord would call them to his side. Neither wanted to become Death Eaters, but they know that refusal meant instant death. How could they tell Carmilla this? And who would she marry? It was already the latter part of the year 2005.
"How could we not have known?" asked Blaise in a troubled voice.
"What do we know? I know my father killed hundreds of people, but I have no idea of their exact identities. The Nemesie Clan Massacre is just one among many crimes our fathers have committed." said Blaise in a cold tone. In his head he wished that one day his father would go to Azkaban and pay for his crimes. Neither young man was very close to his father and they wished no good to them.
TBC...
Please rate and review... be gentle and don't flame me... English is not my first language and this is my first fanfic... Love you all. :)