Chapter 4 /./ What Dark Time Is Coming
The shadow of a man slid across the wall. I moved closer to Alana, the girl I had met on the train, being careful not to alert her of any suspicion I had. We were exiting the metro station, only a few short blocks away from the Opera Bastille. The air was full of the excited sounds of French youth and the delicious smell of a bakery we passed on the street. Alana looked excited, but the wonderful city only left me wishing for more peaceful days.
Alana was an Irish girl, slightly younger than I. She had come to Paris to live; it had recently been found that, though her parents had been long deceased, they owned a small flat by the Eiffel Tower that they had left to Alana before they passed away. She had bought the opera tickets from a shady man in the train station to Paris, moments before she had encountered me.
I was beginning to doubt the existence of coincidences.
We entered the Opera Bastille in a crowd of people who were apparently attending the same show as we were, La Femme Sans Ombre. It was not long before we had found our seats and the house lights darkened and eventually turned off. The silent room did nothing to release the pressure on my nerves.
"Hermione," Alana whispered, her bright blue eyes shining in the dark.
"Yes, Alana?"
"This may seem a tad strange, but I feel as though..."
"As though what?"
"Almost as though we're being watched."
I started to speak to alleviate her worries, half-truths and lies though it may have been, but at just that time the stage curtain opened and the auditorium burst into light. She smiled at me, obviously forgetting her concerns. I attempted a weak smile back, which inevitably turned into a grimace.
By intermission, it seemed stunningly appropriate to me. The woman without a shadow.
I don't know if anyone noticed besides me, but there were shadows on stage the whole time. Wait, no...
As I looked around, there were shadows everywhere.
Iknew I should've brought my flashlight.
It was just as everyone began to settle in for the second half of the show. A sudden explosion, reminiscent of the Weasley's Wizard firecrackers, set the stage alight with colors and fire, and the room shot into chaos. People began to scream, and I grabbed Alana's arm as she jumped up to race about with the masses.
"Alana." Her eyes were terribly frightened and confused. "Listen to me."
"What is it? Hurry! We must-"
"Listen to me. If you never see me again, forget my face. Forget my name. We never met."
"What are you-"
"Take care of yourself, Alana."
I pushed her into the stream of people running and hoped she could keep up. Instead of following, I turned and went in the opposite direction of the crowd, leaping onto stage and following a shadow figure ducking behind the curtains.
A flash of blonde caught my eye just before I passed behind the curtains.
Narcissa Malfoy? But when I turned back for a second look, there was no one who remained seated within the auditorium.
I shook my head. There was no time to debate whether Draco's mother was watching me. I nimbly creeped backstage, was looking for a door in the gloom. Looking for some evidence of what was happening.
Suddenly, the lights went out. I stopped moving, willing my eyes to adjust quickly to the darkness. I was only aware of movement. The air was full of the sound of an unearthly scuttling, too many rapid movements. They seemed to be everywhere.
I stepped to the right, praying that there would be nothing blocking my path. Just as quickly as the lights had vanished, however, they came back on.
Vampires. Everywhere. I can't say how I knew, in that instant, that every last one was a vampire, but the fangs may have had something to do with it. I turned my head to look for an escape, but was met only by the sight of even more vampires. Harsh laughter came from my right side; I turned to look.
"Miss Granger, at last. We have been waiting for you, dear."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry to keep you waiting," I spat, although I hadn't managed to catch a glimpse of who was talking. They all seemed to tower over me.
"We will forgive you for now." One vampire, towards the back, appeared to be speaking, and I moved towards him. "Oh no, my sweet. We will have play time soon enough."
They began to close in on me. I'm not sure if I screamed as darkness closed in around the edges of my vision and then shrouded it completely.
I hope I shattered their ear drums.
A/N: Here we are again! I know this is a little rocky, but we're moving into solid ground and I've got some great ideas. Stick with me! I will not abandon this story. I intend to see it through, once and for all.
Until Next Time:
"Hermione!" He tried to scream, but his voice was ragged from failed attempts. "Hermione..."
