Edward's quiet laughter not only annoyed Draco but confirmed that there was no 'cure' for vampirism. At first he was enraged, enraged that he was expected to give up his life and become a dirty blood drinker. But the longer he argued with Edward, and then his family the closer he came to the realization that his own parents would most likely prefer to have a mudblood for a son than a vampire.
There was a sister named Alice who insisted that Draco use Edwards WizTop™ to send a zmail to Theo and Blaze to let them know that he was otherwise occupied, and would just catch up with them later. Draco had slowly typed out the letter, knowing it was for the best, because he did not want to have to tell his friends what really had happened to him. A few hours later he realized that even if Edwards family knew about the magically enhanced technology, they could not use it… they were muggles. Despite the fact that they seemed like tolerable-ish people, they were still muggles. Draco refused to share the same air with them, and upon making this announcement, the father, Carlisle, informed Draco that as vampires, none of them actually breathed. Draco didn't care; he was not living in their muggle hovel for any length of time. After much arguing it was finally agreed that Draco would only stay until he got his feet back under him and learned how to eat and such, then he would be prepared for the new life that he had been forced into. After that decision, and during the lessons, things began to go downhill quickly as a deep depression settled around him.
Draco had never been depressed before. Not even when his father had been thrown into Azkaban. He had perhaps felt a bit melancholy, yes. But depression was an emotion reserved for poor people. That thought only pulled him further down. And after two days that felt to be an eternity, a strange hunger had blossomed deep within. At first it was a gentle rumble, a reminder that it had been abnormally long since he had last eaten. The rumble turned quickly into a gnawing, and the gnawing crescendod into one of the worst pains he had ever felt. At first he refused the blood offered to him on principal, it was after all blood, and who knew what sort of person it came from. He would not put filthy muggle blood past his perfect lips. But as ravenous thoughts overcame all others he could not help himself from partaking of the bitter offering. Once the hunger ebbed he could not help but ask where it came from. Seeing the caribou carcass was somewhat of a relief, as he had eaten venison many times before. He decided that perhaps he could just consider this to be venison in its purest form.
This thought worked well until they expected him to hunt one down and kill it by himself. He used a simple spell to down the beast, as there was no way, vampire or not, that he would consider chasing it down on foot. The blood stained his cloths, and there were bits of fur left between his teeth afterwards. Neither was acceptable and both made him nauseous.
"Cullen, don't you have drinks that aren't vile? Like a blood wine or something not out of a dead thing?" Draco was almost positive that he had seen things like blood lollies at Honeydukes. There had to be a less vulgar way to eat.
"There is a drink being mass produced back in England, but it doesn't pass the FDA guidelines to come into the states." Edward did not even bother to glance up from his piano that he was plunking away at softly.
Draco resumed his quiet observance of the Weekend Wizarding News, with newly appointed anchor woman Rita Skeeter. After the war ended, new laws were passed and new inventions started coming out. The most interesting of all of these was debatably the WizTop™, made through WizTech, Inc. They were magically enhanced muggle technology that was dragging the wizarding world into the new century. Children seemed to embrace the new devices like an old friend, but older witches and wizards had been more leery. Until a new campaign add came out showing how every muggle in the world seemed to have these things called 'computers' and any wizard worth his salt wouldn't want to be left behind in this new and changing world. The direct competition with muggle technology and a need to feel superior put a WizTop™ in every rich wizarding household. Draco had not found much use for the one that his parents had purchased him, and had left it at home. However, now so far from home, and not a decent newspaper in sight, he took some solace in listening to Rita talk on about the Ministry of Magic and one of its newly appointed researchers. Draco was only half listening until he saw Remus Lupin's awkwardly smiling face appear on the screen. The boy leaned forward to hear his old professor speak. It seemed that he had come back out of the Veil of Death, and was now heading the research on it and other unexplained death related artifacts.
A small smirk tugged up the corner of Draco's pale mouth. He could not go home, and he could not stay with the Cullen in squalor (or at least what he considered squalor). Perhaps he could find some rich vampires back in England. The thought had been percolating for days, he just had not known where to find said well off vampires who would be more than happy to take him in and keep him in the life that he was accustomed to. Everyone knew Lupin was a freak, and freaks begat freaks, and they loiter with other freaks and attend freak gatherings and keep in freak-ish touch with each other. Lupin would know where to find other freaks; he would know where to find vampires.
