Elyse had AP Transfiguration with Hermione, Divination with the girl named Luna, who was still oddly cold to her, and Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions with the Gryffindors. Defense Against the Dark Arts was an unspeakable case, Umbridge was the WORST. Potions were bound to be fun; they told Elyse that Snape was bound to be more of an ass as a teacher than as a god father.
They sat in whatever seats they wanted to, though Snape would most likely move them. Draco somewhat waved to her from two rows behind. She returned the gesture, but abruptly turned back two seconds before her god father entered. He looked over the group, but didn't look at Elyse. He turned to the blackboard and waved his arm. The chalk rose and wrote: Nightshade, Aconite, Hellebore, and Hemlock.
"What are the similarities between these four plants?" Not very many people raised their hands. Hermione, next to Elyse, raised her hand eagerly. Elyse looked around and saw only half a dozen hands raised. Snape was standing straight in front of the class with a somewhat patient expression. Elyse raised her hand. Snape looked right over the two girls' heads. "Mr. Malfoy," he said. Elyse turned around.
"They are all deadly; known as the four classic poisons." He looked at Elyse and smiled cruelly. She narrowed her eyes. The next few questions, it was a competition between the two. Ron had nothing better to do, so he kept score. By lunch, he had a good tally: Draco, 2; Elyse, 3.
"Brilliant, we might actually have found someone who is smarter than Hermione," Harry said. The two girls smiled at each other. Elyse did not feel like talking, so she took out her notebook and began writing. After a few minutes of this, Ron asked her what she was working so diligently on.
"A journal," she said. Fred tried to peek over her left arm, the one that was writing, to see what it was, but the ink was invisible. She knew what he was doing and smiled. As soon as she did, a vision came into her mind. Someone was going to fall very soon. Ron, two people away from her, was being beckoned by a black boy named Dean, and failed to notice the small puddle of pumpkin juice soon to be underneath his foot. He stepped on it and slid, only to be caught by Elyse flicking her wrist behind herself and casting a silent but strong charm to hold him up. He was raised up to his feet. Not very many people noticed, but those who did whispered among themselves. Ron looked at the vampire, who had stopped writing.
"Be careful. Wet floors cause loss of balance," she said, and resumed writing. Her friends simply dismissed her silence and began talking amongst themselves about anything and everything.
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"How does it kill, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Snape had accepted Draco's answer to what does Hemlock do (It kills you), but he didn't know the complete answer. Elyse rolled her eyes as he was silent and raised her hand. Hermione did so, as well. Elyse glanced over her shoulder at Draco, who was moping. Snape ignored them and looked to the left of the room.
"Mr. Potter, do you know the answer?" Harry lowered his hand.
"Hemlock produces complete paralysis and loss of speech, and depressed respiratory function that ultimately ceases altogether, and death results from asphyxia," he paused a moment. "The mind remains unaffected to the last," he finished and glanced at Hermione and Elyse.
"I didn't know he knew that," Hermione whispered. Elyse smiled. For homework their assignment was an essay on the properties of the four classic poisons. It was easy, if you had paid attention in class. This, with the exception of Harry's answer, is exactly what Ron and Harry didn't do. Later they were sitting in the courtyard, and Elyse simply couldn't think straight. She tapped her foot to an unheard beat as Ron and Harry tried to convince Hermione to let them copy her notes from History of Magic (a VERY boring class, but it wouldn't be so bad if Professor Binns wasn't so dull… or dead). Absentmindedly Elyse realized that she hadn't had enough blood for the day. She told her friends she needed to go the bathroom and went down the hallway. She didn't know what to do; she didn't have a supply for cases like this, and she couldn't go to the Black Forest in the middle of the day.
She paused in the corridor and leaned against the wall. There was an ache in the back of her head that went all the way down her spine, pulsing and growing with pain. She tried to look natural. A small group of students passed her, laughing. When they caught sight of her they stopped laughing and passed on the far side of the hallway. Elyse could only imagine what she looked like: a pale, sickly looking vampire leaning wearily against the wall, her fangs showing like white eyes in the dark. After a few moments she thought of someone who might be able to help and forced herself to move. The ache had now turned into a need that was felt both physically and mentally. Blood for a vampire was an addiction, more than a life source. If she didn't get some, and fast, she didn't want to know what she would end up doing. A vampire starved for blood was like a werewolf in the light of a full moon. They would attack their best friend and not really know what they were doing. Humans are just sacs of blood waiting to be punctured, letting the warm metallic liquid flow, giving life and strength. The animal would squirm and only encourage the thirst and she would hold on and drink no matter what the protests were like and she would keep drinking until just before the thing had died because dead blood was bad dead blood made you sick but the life blood gave you life you stole it from them oh shut up! She took a left down a staircase, nearly fell, and went toward the dungeons.
A class of first years was just leaving and Elyse politely pushed past them as she went into the classroom where Snape was straightening papers on his surprisingly clean front desk.
"Professor," Elyse said. It was slightly strange to call him Professor instead of Severus, as she was used to. He turned around and momentarily looked worried.
"Yes, Miss Mantritch, what can I do for you?" He asked. His voice was calm but he looked her over with concern.
"Is there such a thing as blood substitute for vampires who cannot find it in their busy schedule to hunt for fresh blood?" She did not plan what she was going to say, it just came out. Snape wasn't surprised.
"Yes there is. But it takes five days to make. And the ingredients are rare."
"Five days? What am I supposed to do until then? Sev- er, Professor, you know what happens if I don't get enough blood. I'm not in the mood to go on a killing spree in the castle. Or anywhere else for that matter." Thinking about killing only made the ache worse.
Snape looked down at Elyse. She was clearly in distress, and she had come to him for help. He was momentarily touched, then realized that there was no one else she could have gone to; he was the potions master.
"Elyse, you can hunt in the Black forest until the potion is finished. I'll put a charm on the flask so it stays filled," Snape said. Elyse looked relieved for a moment, then:
"What can I hunt in the Black Forest?" she asked urgently. She didn't want to kill any pet of Hagrid's or anything she might get expelled for. Second years started to drift into the classroom. Snape ushered Elyse toward the door.
"Figure it out for yourself, Miss Mantritch. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach." Elyse wasn't very happy with his goodbye, but at least she would have something to drink and quench her thirst.
Her friends were still in the courtyard when Elyse returned. Fred and George were sitting near where she had left her bag in the shade. They both looked at her with slight concern and George asked her what was wrong. She only shook her head and slung her bag over her shoulder. "See you in MCA Fred," she said and left. The halls were void of everyone but a few stray students either hurrying to their classes or goofing off with friends. She had to go through a long part of the castle before she could make it to the grounds, and then there was the task of entering the forest without being seen. If one more person looked at her weird or asked her what was wrong she didn't doubt that she would bite their head off.
Elyse made her way through the halls near the back of the castle, toward the greenhouses and the Quidditch field. She looked into the courtyard and saw that a class was in Greenhouse four. Quickly she hurried past it and onto the field. Green and silver clad students on brooms told her that there was no way she could get to the Forest without someone spotting and questioning her. She looked up at the Slytherin team and walked around the inside perimeter of the field. She was more than halfway across when Draco landed next to her.
"Where are you going?" he asked a bit coldly. He probably wasn't too happy with her for the way she had blown him off at breakfast the other day.
"For a walk," she answered shortly. She really did not want to talk to anyone at this point.
"Don't you have classes to go to?" Elyse stopped and faced him.
"Look, Draco, I'm glad to see you're so concerned about me, but I can handle my own things," she said, turning away. "Have a nice day," she added softly. She left the field and sighed. Maybe she could appreciate the fact that he's nice to her and return the favor... but not now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.
No one was between the field and the forest, but she still looked around to make sure no one saw her. She ran the last few yards and dumped her bag at the base of the first tree. She sighed and took off her outer robes, leaving only her shirt and sweater vest. She left them with her bag and took off in a sprint. Vampires are unnaturally fast and even though the world around them is speeding by, everything in their perspective is in slow motion. Elyse dodged trees in less than a blink of an eye.
A metallic smell was growing stronger and she slowed, gripping a tree like a lizard grips the glass of its tank. The sun was behind the clouds and the canopy of the trees, but she had no trouble seeing the bleeding wolf on the ground. It was suffering terribly, and she decided to put it out of its misery. She climbed to the ground and slowly approached the creature. The gash in its side looked like a brawl within the pack, and it had bite marks on its legs. Elyse felt immense pity, but the thirst was overpowering. The animal barely looked up when she landed next to it and laid her hands on the wound. The feel of warm, living blood on her hands kindled the thirst even more, and she bared her fangs and bit into its neck, breaking the skin instantly. The wolf's paws trembled feebly in an attempt to get away and a hoarse cry escaped its mouth. The blood was so warm and she drank until the thirst was quenched. Elyse raised her head and took a deep breath. There was blood running down her chin and she wiped it off with her fingers and then licked her fingers. She looked at the gray wolf with a bit of sadness. Even though it was nearly dead when she reached it, she had finished it off. Well, she thought, at least I won't be attacking any students.
