Disclaimer: on 1st chapter… i hate rewriting stuff :P

Warning: This chapter's kind of slow, but please read and review!

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Chapter 2: Chats and Muses of the Undead

Pounding. No, more than pounding. His head throbbed as if a giant was punching the living daylights out of him through his ears.

Wait a sec…

Living?

"Oh bloody hell." Draco's eyes flew open only to immediately clamp shut. Merlin, those lights felt like fiery suns to his eyes. Ok, he could work around that. Eyes closed, no problem.

He tried to move his fingers. 'Well, at least I've got those.' He quickly wiggled his toes and smiled smugly. 'Ha!' He'd be better in no time. He contemplated for a moment before sighing. There was no choice; he had to, even if he really didn't want to…

Draco cracked his eyes open and groaned. Every miniscule glint of light was pure torture. But that was fine, for now.

He looked at his surroundings with a grimace. He was back in his room at Malfoy Manor. His empty room. 'I'm not even going to wonder how I got here.' Sucking in a deep breath, Draco used every ounce of strength to push himself off the bed. His legs wobbled for a few insufferable seconds before- yes! his knees locked. Draco would've given a whoop of victory if he hadn't been physically incapable of it at the moment. He had done it! Eyes shining, chest puffed out with pride, he let go of the bedpost and moved his foot to take another step.

And then fell flat on his face.

His breath rushed out of him in a loud whoosh. Draco lay there for a few seconds before deeming it safe to breathe again.

He realized quickly that had been a really stupid mistake. He let out a colossal groan. 'Pff…air is overrated anyway.'

Ok, so no seeing and no breathing. He could do that.

'Pretend I'm a rock. Yup.'

Perfect.

Man this was boring. First his head pounding and then the lights and now his 'ass-in-the-air-cuz-I-can't-roll-over' position; being undead was just a bundle of joys every moment wasn't-

Oh.

'I'm dead…'

Of all the thoughts he'd imagined to have at some point in his life, somehow that one had never wormed its way in.

'Well, I guess I can work around this also.' Besides, there were supposed to be benefits to this new… er, lifestyle that couldn't even compare with the disadvantages. Of course there were, there had to be.

He just didn't see them yet.

Speaking of seeing…

As the migraine slowly evened out to a constant throb, Draco noticed a prickly feeling made its way up his spine, raising the hair on the nape of his neck. He couldn't shake it off, the notion of being watched intensely from some hidden dimension of his rather large room. Nonchalantly, Draco opened his eyes and looked around his surroundings from his spot on the floor. There was… nothing. HIs room was as empty as it had been a few minutes ago. None of the furniture was disturbed.

'So maybe I'm going barmy… again. What else is new?' Dying was bound to give him a few loose screws, right?

Still, the feeling persisted and Draco swore that something was off; some tiny insignificant undercurrent traveling through the air forming goose bumps on his already clammy skin and-

"So… are you going to lie there much longer? Because really, it's not all that entertaining anymore." A lazy voice wafted down to Draco from somewhere to his left.

Draco whipped his head around, forgetting momentarily that he was still on the floor and more than likely to bang himself up even more. His eyes widened. His head connected with the floor with an interesting thump.

"What the hell are you- oh never mind." He settled for glaring halfheartedly at Victor as his headache came back full force. Really, he shouldn't have been so surprised.

'Tsk…so unresponsive,' Victor thought as he tapped his feet a few times near Draco's ear. Hearing a satisfying groan emerging from somewhere in the carpet, he smirked and plopped himself on a nearby armchair.

"Not very talkative today are we? Hmm… well ok then, if you'd rather not know…" Victor chirped as he continued squirming in the chair. It was so hard. So that's why wizards always walked around as if they had something perpetually stuck up their asses. He frowned at the uncomfortable antique cushions before muttering something under his breath.

Draco's glare intensified as the pounding in his head passed to a new level of unbearable. His thoughts on revenge came to an abrupt end, however, as he noticed the thin sheaves of material that Victor sat on immediately bulge. He looked silently at the stitches that were straining in parts as the stuffing threatened to pop out. His eyes followed the mess upward until they rested on Victor.

"What the bloody fuck are you doing?!" Draco forgot that he was more or less an invalid as he struggled to get up. "Those were in the family for centuries! You can't just-"

"Whoops. So I did." Victor sighed as he nestled further into the now overstuffed cushions. Happily forgetting of the vengeful presence flopping about and glaring murder at him, the vampire snapped his fingers and casually caught the glass of murky dark liquid that appeared in front of him. He took a sip, relishing the rich taste, before a supposedly-menacing squawk averted his attention.

"You're right. Where are my manners? Of course you can have a chair too." Victor said sweetly as he set his drink aside and conjured dangerous levels of stuffing into another nearby chair's cushions. Ignoring Draco's angry sputters, he stood and nimbly plucked the boy off the ground. Within seconds the Malfoy heir was neatly deposited on the second chair and mauled by overly sinkable cushions.

Draco nearly fell off in shock as soon as Victor let go. There was No Bloody Way this was happening.

"Drink?" Victor asked as he held up a second glass to Draco.

Sometimes it was better not to talk.

Silence filled the air.

"No? Ok then." The vampire set the glass down neatly on a nearby stand and settled back down in the soft cushions. He seemed completely content as he sat there, happily humming a tune under his breath.

Seconds filtered into moments. Nothing happened.

"Well really." Victor huffed after a while. "You're not even going to ask?"

"No."

"Why not? You know it's not healthy to be unconcerned of your surroundings-"

"Bloody hell just shut up already! I've got a headache the size of Hogwarts, A History here-"

Victor stared for a second. "Well why didn't you say so?"

"-and you are sitting there squawking away and-"Draco paused as he took in the last few seconds. "…come again?"

Victor huffed and theatrically crossed his arms as he fell back in the chair. "Well if you'd have shown some interest you'd have known by now but…" He paused, glaring expectantly at Draco.

'Infuriating bastard' the Malfoy heir thought as he gritted his teeth and snapped, "Fine. You win. Why are you here when I'm clearly dead and your job is over with, hm?"

"My job is never over, Draco. It comes with being an overlord of a supposedly nonexistent race," Victor grinned and waved his hand dismissively. "But I digress. Obviously you're not feeling well…" Draco gritted his teeth but said nothing. "so I thought you would appreciate this wonderful little pain reliever." Victor smiled sweetly. "It wouldn't do to have my new negotiator indisposed, would it?"

Before Draco had completely processed what had been said, a vial was dumped in his lap.

He stared at it. To drink or not to drink? On the one hand it could be poison or any one of numerous vile potions that would most certainly not relieve any pain whatsoever, but on the other hand he really bloody needed it. Now.

Not forgetting his well-earned potions skills, he tasted it once before deeming it nontoxic and drowning it in one big gulp. Instantly his head quieted and his muscles unclenched. Draco sighed in relief as normal thought process resumed in his now quiet mind.

Brilliant.

"Better?" Victor's voice piped up innocently. Draco glared.

"Great! Moving on then?"

'Crap. What else is there?' Draco thought in annoyance. Now that he could think and move, there were better things for him to do… such as eat. He had never been this hungry before; it was incredibly uncomfortable, this heavy thirst for sustenance that fogged his judgment and made him run on instinct. His trance was broken as his eyes pinpointed on the glass set innocently on the table in front of him.

'Oh sweet wonderful Merlin.' The scent coming from the glass smelled so good he could almost taste it in the air. Draco tipped it back and took a big mouthful, ignoring Victor as he plopped back down on the other seat. His taste buds soared.

"That will be an issue for a while, you know." Victor stated as he watched the newly fledged vampire nearly radiate content as he sipped at his drink.

"What will be?" Draco asked distractedly as he swallowed a mouthful.

"Your appetite of course. The rest of the abilities we can deal with later, but the thirst will torture you to no end."

"Hm. Ok then." His thoughts cleared up a bit. "Wait- no, not ok!" 'Oh sure, sound so fucking cheerful as you say it why don't you.' Draco thought as he shot a glare at Victor.

"Pff, go back to your drink and listen." Victor ignored the dirty look and pressed on. "It won't be horrible, if you don't resist that is, and considering you asked to be turned I suppose that shouldn't be a problem much. Still, it shall be entertaining watching you cope at that school of yours."

"Yes wonderful. It's the absolute perfect domain for a new vampire- dark gloom castle with hordes of hormonally crazed witches and wizards on the side."

"I'm glad you see my point." Victor gave a toothy grin. "So it shouldn't be difficult to appease your stomach, but since you're under the nose of Dumbledore," Victor sneered at the name but moved on, "you'll have to be rather inconspicuous."

Draco raised a finely shaped eyebrow.

"And you thought I couldn't figure that out? Really, the trust you put in me… I'm touched."

"You have a plan, then?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well do tell, I'm all ears."

"Not that it's your business, but I'm sure it won't be too difficult to find some willing blood donors or suppliers outside of the castle and arrange to deliver- what!?" Draco stopped short as he saw Victor cringe.

"Draco, think about that for a minute. Most creatures with magical potential wouldn't give their blood so willingly, and even-"

"What? It'd come from muggles?!"

"Fair chance of that, but that's not the point you dunce. Do you know how utterly horrible old blood is? Even with preserving charms, it is absolutely wretched!"

Draco nearly screamed in frustration. What the hell else was he supposed to do, dammit! It wasn't like there were free blood supplies just waltzing around in plain view whenever he needed them!

…Victor couldn't possibly be thinking that. Him actually attacking people? How vulgar. He couldn't, wouldn't…

"You can't possibly be thinking this. I can't go biting the idiots walking around Hogwarts! Someone would be bound to notice! Dumbledore would-"

"And that's why we're working on an inconspicuous plan here. Really, do try to keep up." Victor huffed. Draco opened his mouth and promptly closed it as Victor shot him a warning glare.

Victor watched the sulking teenager and sighed. 'Really, why did he pick me to change him?' Stupid wizards. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a second vial. He contemplated for a second and, deciding he didn't care too much, launched it at Draco.

Draco thanked his Seeker skills at times like these. He prepared to launch a few scathing insults at Victor, but oddly enough the vial caught his eye. He frowned and uncorked it, wondering if the vampire was making a point by throwing random potions at him. To his surprise, he instantly recognized the contents.

He turned around and sneered at Victor. "And what would I want with a blood replenishing potion?"

"It's not for you, obviously, "Victor commented with seemingly infinite patience.

"Oh really. You think I didn't understand that-"

"Shut up. Listen." The infinite patience was really wearing thin, apparently. "It's obvious you haven't considered animal blood. You do realize blood's all the same to us, yes?"

The sulking increased. Victor sighed. "Fine, fine, don't pick the easy way then. Anyway, I gave you the means, you figure out the rest. This could all be avoided by taking a quick nip into a forest every once in a while…" Draco got even paler at the thought. Victor smirked. "No? Ah well, your choice. I'll let you ponder for a bit, shall I?"

Draco stared as Victor got up from the chair. "That's IT? No more wisdom to impart or, or…"

"Oh, well sure." Victor said thoughtfully. Draco bent forward in his chair to hear. "Draco… your mother's here."

"What?!" Draco jumped out of his chair just as a knock sounded on his door. 'Aw hell how the fuck am I going to explain-' Draco's frantic thoughts stopped abruptly as he turned back to the empty spot beside him.

Victor had gone.

'As quietly as he came…man I really have to learn that trick.' Draco thought before answering the door.

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The mansion loomed over Draco as he sat in the shade overlooking the grounds. The last few days had been, in his opinion, personal forms of hell. What with getting the hang of living without actually living and putting on a show of normalcy for the benefit of numerous onlookers, his nerves had been frayed within an inch of snapping. Only recently, in the commotion formed by yet another dinner party, had he been able to slip away unnoticed. 'Really, if I wanted to be pampered I would've bloody well said so.' He glared behind him for added measure.

As it was, the first few rays of sunlight were beginning to diminish in the distance, elongating the shadows surrounding him. In the silence, Draco became acutely aware of the hunger he'd mercilessly been squashing until then. He hadn't eaten- really eaten- since Victor had come the first morning after his transformation.

'Well what a wonderful time to remember that small factor. Merlin, this is bad. I'm hungry now, but what am I going to do in a week when I go back to Hogwarts?' He shuddered at the thought. Sure, there was always the possibility of going on a feeding frenzy, Draco thought wryly. Still, Draco thought resolutely, he was a Slytherin and would think of something sooner or later.

He idly fingered the potions vial in his pocket. Of all the things he could have received from that daft vampire, he'd hardly expected blood replenishing potion. Really, what was the point? It was obvious who it was for (the slight fact that he was already dead ruled him out), but the thought of an elite race of predators being concerned about their victim's health afterwards was somewhat laughable.

'Well fine, I guess it has some merit in my situation. Can't have people fainting left and right- oh, wait… that might be fun in some cases,' Draco mused. He'd pay good money to see the Weasel or mudblood keel over in Potions…

His grumbling stomach quelled further thoughts. With an irritated huff Draco returned his attention to finding a way to get something to eat- er, drink. 'Bah, what good's a house elf if you can't ask for a bloody steak once in a while… and I mean that literally.' He groaned. It'd been days since…

It would be so easy to…

No. He couldn't ask the house elves; it would just get reported to Narcissa eventually and cause numerous awkward questions and annoyingly concerned glances. After all, 'why would a Malfoy feel compelled to eat a bloody steak? A bit of rareness never hurts, Draco, but that?' Oh he could imagine it now.

The nightmare. 'Well no use for that then.' Draco thought with a shudder. 'But I have to find something, and soon!'

A flash of white caught Draco's eye. He shook out of his musings and concentrated on his surroundings for the first time. The sun had sunk lower, its last few rays glittering nicely off the white peacocks' feathers. Draco smiled fondly at them. 'Beautiful creatures, really… it's no wonder Father likes them so.' He stared a few minutes more before snapping out of his daze.

'Brilliant Draco you idiot, getting sidetracked by some overgrown birds! Like that's going to help you eat anytime soon…' He muttered as he glared at the closest peacock.

It stared indifferently back.

Draco noticed for the first time that there was warmth radiating from it. Underneath the stupid ornate feathers there was a small fragile heart beating at hyper speed pumping continuous streams of life-giving fluid throughout that plump little body…

Draco stared at the bird. He looked at the vial trapped in his hand and debated for a bit.

He looked back up to see the peacock had moved further away, near a rather large shrub that made up part of the entry to a small maze his mother had constructed.

Instinct won.

Draco's mouth watered as the albino bird disappeared from view.

'Problem solved!' he thought with a grin as he quickly got up from his perch. He paused for a second before pulling out his wand- 'No need to be barbaric after all!' -and then swiftly followed.

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Draco stared forlornly at the pillar separating Platform 9 3/4 from the muggle world. He knew he had to go through soon (the train would be leaving in about 8 minutes and he wanted a good compartment, after all) but he couldn't muster the will to move just yet. On the other side of that pillar… well, it was best not to think about that.

He turned to look at his mother who, momentarily distracted, was chatting with acquaintances. 'Maybe I can sneak away…say I used the loo and missed the train…' He nervously started edging away from his trunk before his mother turned to him.

"Well darling, you'd best get going. You packed everything?" Narcissa questioned with a smile.

He was doomed.

"Yes mother." Draco glanced once more at the pillar before sighing dejectedly. Taking the handle of his trunk in one hand and muttering a quick goodbye, he turned and walked through to the Hogwarts Express.

He had prepared for this, had reassured himself constantly that it would be hardly different from previous years. It was just a few more instincts to mask, after all.

The scent assaulted him seconds before he was swallowed up in the mass of bodies packed tightly together, flurrying about with activity, shouting and laughing at each other, their bodies pumping with adrenaline and blood and-

'Oh Merlin get me out of here!' Draco thought frantically as he was pushed with the crowd, his senses flaring more by the minute.

'A year with these people… A Whole Bloody Year…'

Draco pushed and prodded his way onto the train and collapsed into the first empty compartment, shoving his trunk against the door as a barricade. He took a few deep gulps of air and looked out the window where at mayhem and utter confusion.

As the engine roared to life, and the train slowly pulled out of the station, Draco wondered for the hundredth time that day how he'd possibly survive the upcoming year.

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Author's Note: Ok I'm really sorry it took so long to update! (seriously… I never thought it'd take a MONTH sheepish pout) but anyway, I'm done with the second chapter!! jumps in air even if it's not edited much…shh

First off, I guess I want to apologize for the …er, slowness of it. I'll definitely try and make the next chapters more upbeat and fun! (c'mon, when's Hogwarts NOT fun, eh? sly grin)

Next chapter will be partially Harry's POV (yup, he's finally in it :P), but I'll have sporadic internet connection for the next month or two, so it may be a bit slow in coming --'' (again sorry for that but I hope you don't give up on my poor fic!!) :P

Thanks so much for reading chapter 2! This is my first fic, so PLEASE tell me what you think… I'm not going to withhold chapters or anything if I don't get reviews, but so far this is all I have written so if you like something (or don't like) please tell me!! I'd love some reader input!

Hope to see you next chapter :P

Pip B.