A/N: Remember that this is rated M for swearing.
Oh, and I couldn't fit this in the description: starting in this chapter, there are spoilers for House of Night, through at least Awakened. Maybe even after. Anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.
Hope you enjoy, and sorry for the wait!
Chapter Two - Blizzard and Flight
Hermione
My eyelids parted, and I perceived the night sky above me. The stars were pinpoints in a sea of blue, scattering a haze of soft white light that faded as my vision cleared. Soon I could see a face above me – Harry.
One emotion pierced the blurry veil of my mind: longing. My hand reached up to touch his face – all I needed was him. My palm pressed against his cheek. His skin was so warm it almost burned my hand, but I kept it there, hoping he wouldn't fade away.
I began to wonder why he looked so worried. Was he talking to me? His mouth moved, but the most I could hear was a faint ringing. Something smooth pressed against my back and legs – I was lying on something. Discomfort and confusion started infiltrating my thoughts. I tried to lift my head.
"Aagh!" A dagger seemed to push through my skull, causing me so much pain my vision faded again. Harry pulled me closer in his burning grasp as I clutched my head as though it were about to burst apart.
As the pain receded I heard what Harry was saying through the sharp ringing. "It's okay, Hermione. You'll be all right… calm down. …I can't believe they did this to you."
"Did what? What happened to me?" I asked. Then the rest of the room came into focus. Crowds of teenage girls in ballroom dresses and boys in tuxedos. My words echoed throughout the Great Hall. What happened to me? What happened to me?...
My head throbbed. Dear Merlin, no.
"Harry. What happened?" I said more quietly, almost in a whisper, so as to avoid having my voice echo again. I felt like the crowds would attack me if I provoked them by speaking too loud.
"Um… I don't know. But it's bad. We can't stay here."
I was beginning to recall what happened before I fainted. "That guy must have been a vampyre. A Tracker." Shivers ran through me involuntarily when I said 'vampyre'. It was too crazy to be true.
"We had a lesson on vampyres once - in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry said quietly. "They're not good."
"I should know, I wrote an essay on them last year. And they're not completely evil, you know." I was always irritated by people making sweeping judgements - apparently, even in times of crisis.
"Well, I don't know. Wizards don't like them."
"Obviously not. Dumbledore looked like he wanted to kill that vampyre earlier - "
You need to get out of here.
I froze. "Who said that?" I asked, swiveling my head around, and earning a good bit more pain in my head for moving. I looked behind me. Up on their stage, even the Weird Sisters were staring silently at me.
"Nobody said anything," Harry whispered, looking concerned.
"Then what -" I shut my mouth. Nobody would believe me if I said there was a voice inside my head.
I began to sit up, wondering why I'd suddenly gone crazy. Harry tried to lay me back down again.
"No, don't get up. You hit your head pretty hard; Madame Pomfrey's on her way to help."
Listen not to the boy. These people will only hurt you.
Get out of this place. Now!
Whoa. This was really messed up. A voice in my head telling me what to do, right after I fainted and hit my head? Obviously I was imagining things.
And yet I staggered to my feet, pushing Harry away. He protested but he didn't grab me again. It was Harry, or the Voice...
Trust in me, Hermione. Your new life has just begun.
New life? That sounded cool at the moment.
The room swayed, but I headed determinedly for the Hall's back exit. Somehow I knew I had to listen to this voice, for my own good. I had no clue why. Maybe it was that anything seemed better than lying on the floor with the whole school looking on eagerly, wanting to see what had happened to me. Harry yelled to slow down, and I heard Luna calling out to me, but I somehow ignored their desperate cries and outran them.
I knew what had happened to me. I didn't like it. In some part of last year's essay, I'd written about the way some vampyres are born: by being Marked. They live normal lives as humans for fourteen years or so. Then one day, as a teenager, they encounter a vampyre Tracker and boom, they have the tattoo on their forehead. They are one of them.
Looked like I was outta here. Vampyres are much different from people at Hogwarts; their lifestyle is filled with lust, magic, and even great power. To be one of them was unthinkable to me, yet the way I was acting, I seemed to be embracing the fact that I could join them, and be so different. Vampyres never live among Wizards or Muggles, and as far as I knew, I was no longer human...
Running in heels sucks. So when I was tromping along noisily and I almost twisted my ankle running in my black stilettos, I stopped to quickly yank them off my feet. I threw the wretched shoes behind me before I heaved open the door and dove into the winter night.
I was met by a flurry of snow and wind that tried to push me back inside the castle, but I broke through the barrier and began to sprint around the outside of the building. I don't know if it was the urgency of the situation that made me able to walk in six-inch-deep snow in my bare feet, or what. The sky was pitch black, filled with thick, stifling clouds, but the Hogwarts grounds, illuminated by flame-lit torches every few yards, glowed a ghostly white in contrast.
"That's funny. When I woke up, the sky was clear," I said to the blizzard as I ran. I was assuming that I'd seen the sky through the enchanted ceiling of the Hall. Had I just imagined it? Quite possible.
I realized I was talking to myself, and resolved to see a psychiatrist after this was over.
When I made it around the corner of the castle, the giant rose garden that had been created for the ball was just visible through what I thought definitely qualified as a snow storm.
I figured that as long as I was losing my mind and running about shoe-less in a blizzard, I might as well keep listening to the bossy new voice in my head. Okay, Voice, where to now?
Nothing.
Feeling aimless, I unwittingly steered myself into the garden. I couldn't see much through the snow coming down sideways, but if anyone was still following me, I could probably lose them in the garden. Why did I want to run away from my only friends? I had no clue.
I entered the columns of bushes, that grew three feet higher than my head, and were full of white roses almost the size of my head. Around a bend I stumbled upon a couple students making out noisily on a marble bench. I crept past as quickly and quietly as I could, trying not to puke.
The rose garden was way bigger than I thought - it was more like a hedge maze than a garden. I kept running. And running. So many roses... I thought weakly, cursing myself for having the stupidity to come in here when my goal was to get away from here.
Suddenly I tripped on the front of my beautiful dress, and heard an awful ripping noise. I winced as I looked down at the huge gash that had opened in the silk across my knees. Steeling myself, I grabbed the bottom of the dress and ripped the fabric away, holding back tears as I thought of how many Galleons this garment had cost me. Now I clutched a chunk of fabric, and my dress was a good two feet shorter. To hell with fashion, I thought as I moved on.
Then, as I rounded yet another corner, I almost ran straight into a tall guy for the second time that day.
Shit! It was the vampyre who had apparently Marked me. I held the torn fabric of my dress in front of me (yeah right, like that would protect me or anything), and held my breath. He probably wouldn't kill me. He'd just made me one of his kind, right?
His hood was up again, but when he saw who I was he pushed it back once more. Again I saw his curly, dark hair, strong jawline, and ocean-blue eyes. They narrowed when he saw me so afraid.
"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you! Settle down. I'm here to help; I've been looking for you." He grinned, and I was almost overcome by his exotic beauty. No fangs, just shiny white teeth.
"My name's Erik Night," He said, looking a lot less dangerous than he did earlier. But still very dangerous. He seemed to radiate darkness; I felt threatened by his very presence even though he stood a few yards away from me.
I guess I should have realized at that point that I was probably emitting the same kind of darkness, now that I was about to become a monster like him. It didn't cross my mind, though, as I carefully looked him over.
There was no denying it. This man was so handsome, he put Superman to shame, with his own little hair-curly-thing brushing against his intricately patterned forehead. He looked to be about twenty years old, but it was hard to tell with Vampyres, whose everlasting beauty never decreased with age. He would have had any girl at Hogwarts drooling and asking to marry him in seconds. But I resisted his charm as he gave a friendly grin. I didn't want to trust him yet.
"You're a Tracker, right?"
"Yep." He lifted a hand from his robes and showed me his palm, which was covered in a Mark so detailed it boggled my mind. The pattern looked like a labyrinth, with sapphire lines curving and twisting beautifully all over his skin. This must be the extra tattooing that helps classify Trackers.
So this guy was a pretty powerful vampyre, as I figured it. I couldn't risk being practically defenseless.
"Accio wand," I said, thinking of where it lay on my nightstand. I hadn't brought it to the ball because, you know, it was supposed to be just a social event. No disasters or creatures of myth involved.
"Ackeeyo?" He looked a bit amused for a moment, then became gravely serious. "Look, I'm on your side. And you have to come with me. You're a fledgling now, and you're gonna come live with the Vampyres."
I was silent for a moment, still processing this. Okay, no more Hogwarts. It's official. "How soon?"
"Now. If you value your life, that is."
"What do you mean?" I paused as my wand came hurtling toward me through the blizzard, and I snatched it out of the air above me. Ah, now that was more comfortable.
Unfazed by the fact that stuff was flying through the air, Erik said, "Fledglings are very unstable. You're already beginning a series of physical changes that will someday result in you becoming an adult vampyre. But if you don't have a lot of contact with other adults, your body will reject the Change."
"Meaning?" I repeated, dreading where this was headed.
"You need to come with me, Hermione. If you don't, you will definitely die."
I gulped as he began to walk away through the maze, apparently confident I would follow him. Soon I couldn't see him through the snow-filled air; all I could hear was his footsteps. I didn't move for a moment, thinking hard about what he'd said. He could be lying, but he obviously knew the physicalities of Vampyres much better than I did. Chances were I was in complete danger staying here. And, after all, the voice in my head had directed me toward him, and ordered me to leave. I had a gut feeling I should listen, both to Erik and the Voice, that was even more powerful than the sentimentality of this place.
Wand clutched in hand, I took off through the blizzard after Erik.
When I caught up I was practically gasping for breath, but Erik trekked on silently, showing no sign of exhaustion. I strode through the rosebushes alongside him, no idea where we were headed. My temples throbbed and my forehead stung like it was being pricked with needles. However, the rest of my body was completely numb; that couldn't be good. I wrapped the torn night-sky fabric around my shoulders like a shawl, wishing I was wearing something more substantial than this thin silk dress that didn't even cover my legs anymore.
I started to feel like I might trip and impale myself with my wand, so, discreetly as I could, I lifted the edge of what was left of my dress, and slipped my wand under the band of my panties so it would hold there. Thank goodness that vampyre didn't turn around.
I concentrated on my own thoughts for a moment. I was definitely a different species now, according to Erik. I didn't feel different; I just felt like crap. My head whirled, and I wished I could lay down.
No more Hogwarts. Just a couple hours ago my biggest problems were dealing with a crush and trying not to hurt Ron's feelings. I guess the reason I wasn't stressing out about anything now because none of this seemed real. Nothing except the growing pain in my head. I rubbed the place above my eyebrows, and caved in on my desire to ask questions.
"Erik, why is my forehead stinging like this?"
He glanced at me. "Don't worry, it's normal for that to hurt right after you've got your Mark."
"As in, a crescent moon on my forehead?"
"You got it." Erik said this without even looking at me; either he was concentrating on a way out of this maze, or something was really bothering him.
Huh. I wondered whether my Mark was blue like his, or another color. I hoped to God it wasn't pink.
"Okay… Erik… where exactly are you taking me?"
"Back to where I live and teach, the Tulsa House of Night," he said as we rounded a corner. I sure hoped he knew a way out of here, because I didn't.
"A House of Night is like school for vampyres, right?"
"Basically. It's where fledglings like you go, until they make the Change into adults. Sort of like a boarding school where you'll learn about being a vampyre. It's where you'll start your new life."
"And you teach there?"
"Yes, I'm the Drama Professor. I was a student there just last year, finishing up my schooling."
"Okay. Makes sense so far," I said, even though questions were popping up in my head like popcorn. We finally came out of the hedge maze, and turned to walk alongside the castle toward the front entrance. I went over what Erik had said so far…
Then I froze in my tracks. "Wait, Tulsa?"
Erik turned back to look at me, silent as a cat.
"As in, Tulsa, Oklahoma? The United States?"
"That's right. Come on, we can't afford to waste time."
"You're telling me I have to go move in with the Vampyres, on another continent, right now?"
"Yes! I won't say it again," he boomed, his cloak drifting ominously in the wind. His once-charming blue eyes were now cold as ice. "You come with me, or you'll perish."
Then he whipped around and kept walking. I didn't know whether to be angry or afraid. I was about to ask more questions, when I passed a large window that showed my reflection. I glanced at myself, then stopped, forgetting all about Erik.
I was so pale, so white I almost blended in with the snow that had coated the grounds. I might not have noticed my reflection if it weren't for my dress, which looked completely black and indicated that there was a person inside. My amber hair flew about my shoulders and head in the wind, and I slowly pulled it back so I could look at my face.
Suddenly the person in the window was a stranger. A stranger with my dress and hair, being battered in the snow alongside me. I stepped closer and saw she had the same eyes as me – chestnut brown mixed with caramel. My eyes weren't that big and round, though. I blinked, and the stranger blinked, too, snowflakes caught in her eyelashes. She had my nose, which was straight, a little smaller than average, and slanted slightly upwards at the end, like it belonged to someone who was a little stuck-up. The stranger had my full lips; they opened in confusion at the next thing I saw.
Standing out against my unusually pale skin was the midnight-blue crescent moon outline that definitely identified me as a Vampyre fledgling. The Mark was so strange, as if it didn't really belong to me, and yet it unified my features in an exotic look of fierce beauty. I looked so gorgeous, and yet, so powerful…I stood up straight as I felt myself regaining strength. I looked so wild, so striking, it was as though I didn't belong to the silly, whimsical world of Hogwarts anymore. It was as if I came from a different, more savage world, a place of magic, love, and blood, where everything was more intense.
Wow… I was never going to be the same. And yet, as I stood looking at this new, intensified version of me, my sense of foreboding faded as I felt a surge of pure delight.
Finally I tore my eyes away from the window. Oh, damn – I had to go find Erik again. After all, my life depended on it.
When I found him again, he was stepping through the immense front doors of Hogwarts into the Entrance Hall. I ran forward and almost lost my footing on the icy doorstep, but he had stopped there, and he reached out an arm to stabilize me. Dumbledore stood facing Erik and me, along with three of the four heads of Houses. Professor McGonagall sent me a look of concern, while I rejoiced in the fact that Snape was not here.
Erik spoke first. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I believe we met earlier this evening. I'm sorry we could not have started off on better terms, but it was difficult to explain my reason for being here until I had done the deed. You see, once my target has been set, the urge to search out and Mark the new fledgling is overpowering. I hope that you can forgive me."
Dumbledore stared at him, his bearded chin lifted high. "And just what do you intend to do with my student now? I'm sure you know it is completely uncalled-for to have a student assaulted in this manner." The Headmaster sounded unusually accusing, as though he was dealing with someone dark and unworthy of his precious time.
"Assaulted?!" Erik said under his breath as he shifted around to cover the sound of his voice. I looked at him, then whispered back, "You… sort of did. Running in and knocking me out in the middle of the ball –"
"Be quiet. I need to get you out of here," He snapped right back. I shut my mouth.
"I apologize, Sir. I'm aware this situation is quite unorthodox."
"Unheard of, is what it is," Dumbledore butted in.
Erik gave him a look of impatience and continued. "However, it is essential that I have Hermione transfer to a school that is more fitting of her new needs as a vampyre fledgling. As long as she stays here, her health will deplete, and she'll become weaker and weaker."
Dumbledore didn't speak. I couldn't tell if he was really attached to me as his top student, or just unwilling to bend so easily to a vampyre.
McGonagall spoke up. "It's for her own good, Albus. She won't last long without her kind."
"Minerva!" he hissed. "Of all people I thought you would understand how dangerous it would be to let her go!"
Dangerous? He thought I was dangerous? Heck, I knew vampyres are a seriously powerful species, but I didn't exactly feel like ripping anyone's throat out. At the moment.
Erik bristled at Dumbledore's words. His azure eyes flashed. "I insist. Let me take her." He put his hand on my shoulder, and I instinctively sort of wanted to push it away, but knew better.
Dumbledore raised his wand in his gnarled, bony hand, and directed it at Erik. "I cannot let you do that. It is just too much of a risk. Hermione, come here."
The hand on my shoulder tightened its grip. "Don't listen, Hermione. We're getting out of here." He began to turn with me, back out of the Entrance Hall.
"Stupefy!" Dumbledore launched a scarlet ball of magic at Erik's head, but he was too quick. He ducked and turned to watch the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Headmasters brandish their wands at him. McGonagall simply backed away timidly, seeming to want no part of this.
I bolted and ran back outside the castle, leaning against the wall next to the doorway. Where was Erik? He was nowhere in sight, but I was too afraid to poke my head back inside the castle. I began to lift the edge of my dress to get my wand out, hearing more explosions -
"Granger! Look at me, you filthy little Mudblood!" yelled a voice from outside.
I sighed and dropped my hand. That could be none other than Malfoy. Turning to the freezing gale, I scanned for his scrawny, sneering figure.
"What do you want, Draco?" I shouted in the direction I thought I heard his voice. A spot within the vast wall of white in front of me began to darken, and that pathetic bully emerged to stand opposite me. I decided to start for him.
"Lucky for you, I won't be around here much longer. I've got better things to do than sit around with the likes of you."
Malfoy scowled, looking me up and down, then pausing at my Mark.
"So the rumors are true. You've been summoned to go live with the disgusting bloodsucking scum, where you belong. About time you joined your kind - I won't miss you, that's for certain. I just hope you get staked." He chuckled as I balled up my fists. "No, wait. Actually, I hope you choke on some poor Muggle's filthy blood! Hah!"
"That's not how Vampyres work, shit-for-brains," I said, my words full of malice. I don't have to put up with him anymore, I thought.
"Oh, getting a bit nasty now, are we, Granger?" Malfoy jeered, faking a terrified expression. "Please, oh please don't kill me, oh Cold One! Your fangs aren't worthy of my pure blood!"
"I – don't – have – fangs!" I bellowed, leaning towards him and making him back away with a look of real fear. Wow, that felt good.
"All right, settle down now," he said in a small voice, visibly shaken. Now he kept a good distance from me, like I was contagious. "I guess it's not your fault you're a pulse-challenged leech," he said, flicking his greasy blonde bangs out of his face. I gritted my teeth, and he continued. "But I guess everyone knew a Mudblood didn't belong at a fine educational establishment like Hogwarts."
Enough. I was finished with Malfoy's idiotic insults. Normally I would have angrily stomped away, and maybe even been brought to tears. Not this time. My heartbeat picked up suddenly, and as my rage boiled up inside me I took a battle stance, and my arms rose toward him of their own accord.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" I roared, my fury exploding as my body took over my mind. I hurled a ball of purple fire at him, and it tore through the icy air, hitting him square in the chest. He immediately caught on fire - greasy hair and all - and was knocked backwards through the air several yards onto the ground. I heard a sickening crack as he landed hard – he probably broke a leg, plus a few ribs. Good thing I heard him scream, because otherwise I would have worried I'd killed him.
I stood there staring at my hands, making sure I had control over them. For a second they glowed purple, then the light disappeared like mist blowing away in the wind. Malfoy kept screaming in pain, and soon Professors and Hogwarts staff were rushing outside to extinguish him. The snow helped in lessening the fire, but not much.
Suddenly someone grabbed the crook of my arm from behind, and I was running away from the castle with Erik. Flashes of light streaked across the snow as teachers flung spells at us. My mind was all a blur. I'd just summoned a huge fireball… without even my wand… I felt my side and the wooden stick was still there, tucked into the strap of my underwear under my dress.
What the hell had I done?
As that thought reverberated around in my head, all my senses were jumbled. I could barely hear Erik speaking to me.
"We're safe now. Just keep running. We'll be in Tulsa soon…"
The world faded, and the last thing I remember is that I finally tripped and fell, face-first, in the snow.
A/N: Thanks, and please tell me what you think in a review!
