A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry about the slight delay in posting, but it's a long one to help tide you over until next week! Please read and review! Thanks for all the support so far!

Chapter 7

We eventually reached the dinning room at 6:30, and Draco pulled open the door to let me pass through first. A simple dinning room setting met my eyes as Draco stepped around me in order to pull out a chair for me to sit on. Always wants to make the best impression, I thought to myself as I took my seat and Draco placed himself beside me. Not a moment after we sat, a whole range of food appeared on the table before me, which meant the meal had officially started and I could take the time to look around. I turned my attention to who sat with us at the dinner table, and as my eyes regarded Lucius and Narcissa eating stiffly, Lucius glanced up and gave me a slight smirk. I quickly looked away and tried to concentrate on the lush green carpet, the portraits of the old Malfoy family adorning the walls, or the wooden table, we ate at, with supports shaped like snakes.

"Do you not like our food?" Narcissa's voice snapped, bringing me out of my investigation.

"I…" I began, but trailed off as I reached for the dish closest to me. I felt Draco's hand on my own and I looked at him curiously.

"Mother, she's not hungry." Draco drawled and my eyes widened in surprise, but he shot me a warning look, so I kept quiet. My stomach growled in protest as I dropped my hand down to my side. Draco smirked to himself in victory and continued eating, obviously enjoying the food more in front of me, knowing I had to sit there and watch him and do nothing. I fumed in silence at how cruel Draco was being, but I knew I couldn't let him have the last triumph.

"I am sorry Mistress Malfoy, I am not hungry." I replied, looking back at her.

"Very well." She said icily, and nodded her head so that two House Elves came and removed my goblet and plate from view. Silence ensued with only the munching of food, which made my stomach growl even louder.

"Perhaps after dinner Draco, you should give Tiffany a tour of her new house." Lucius commented placing down his fork before taking a sip of his red wine. I shuddered inwardly, the way Lucius said 'her new house' made me realize that this deal was closed off for good, and that I was too late to stop my marriage to Draco.

"Would you like a tour?" asked Draco after he finished polishing off his plate of food, and before reaching for seconds.

"Yes, I would." Knowing there was no other answer I could give.

"That's settled then." Continued Lucius oily, and placed his napkin on the table and looked at me. "I would like to welcome you to our family formally Tiffany, and the way the Malfoy family does this is by throwing a big ball in the new couple's honour." Lucius glanced to his son who was ignoring him. "This ball shall take place tomorrow evening, and attendance in formal wear is mandatory. If you do not have the proper outfit, let my wife know and she will sort things out." I nodded, not meeting Lucius' gaze. "Look at me when you answer." I raised my eyes to meet Lucius's piercing gaze and nodded again, slower this time and Lucius rose from the table, signaling that dinner was at its completion. He pulled out Narcissa's chair and offered his arm. She took it and rose as well from the table. "Draco after your tour, come by my office please." Draco did not answer, and Lucius did not seem to care and he led his wife out the door. The dining room doors shut just as Draco placed down his own fork and placed his napkin on the table.

"Come Tiffany." Draco said impassively and he pushed back his chair from the table and stood up, glancing down at me. Guess he's not going to help me this time, I thought and got up from the table by myself before turning to face him. Draco turned on his heel, making his way towards the dinning room doors, and I walked quickly after him in my black heels. He stopped at the doors and threw a look over his shoulder at me. "Are they always that loud?" he asked me. I reached his side and gave him a questioning glance.

"Are what always that loud?" I asked.

"Your shoes." I glanced down at them and they peered back up innocently.

"I guess so." I replied thrown off by his odd question.

"They must be removed." Draco said, tilting his whole body towards mine, pointing his wand at my shoes and making them disappear. I dropped an inch or two in height and had to look up further to see Draco's face.

"I could have done that." I retorted and Draco gave me an unreadable smirk before pushing open the door and leading me past them into the front hall. He led me into the middle of the front entrance way and over to the glass doors I had only seen earlier.

"What's through there?" I asked, trying to peer around Draco to get a better look.

"I knew you'd be curious about that." Draco replied turning the handle and proceeding into the completely white parlour beyond. The chairs were white, as were the two couches against the wall. A white grand piano stood in the left corner and a massive tapestry of Draco, Narcissa and Lucius covered the right wall. There was a fireplace against the opposite wall, empty now except for some burned out coals; however, we did not pause in this room, as there were two other doors leading elsewhere. Draco led me over to the door on the left and threw it open before leading me inside.

"Oh Draco!" I cried in amazement as we stepped down two stairs and I came face to face with the largest library I had ever seen. The walls were covered from ceiling to floor with bookcases stuffed full of every single book you cold have imagined. "But how did you-" I began, but Draco cut me off.

"Abigail." I nodded slowly, the memory returning to me.

"Right." I said, my voice loosing its excitement. Draco shrugged at me and stepped further into the library, and I watched him go.

"However, I didn't bring you here first because I knew that you loved books Tiffany."

"Oh." I said stupidly, and Draco smirked at me, before disappearing behind a shelf of books. What's he up to? I thought to myself, and threw caution to the wind as I followed him and glanced down the isle he was in. Draco's eyes were pouring over the many hundreds of books in the row intently.

"No, I wanted to show you something." He replied, and pulled out a book, just as those words left his mouth. He carried it back towards me, and motioned for me to follow him. He led me over to a fireplace in the middle of the library and sank down onto a cushion and placed the book on a table, which lay nearby. I caught a glance of the title of the book before Draco flipped it open to the table of contents.

"Modern Day Vampires?" I asked aloud and Draco nodded, absorbed with whatever subject he was trying to find. Not a moment later, he turned the pages of the book to page 173 and a picture of a tall man holding a staff with a bat on his arm met my eyes first. The man was silhouetted against a full moon, and was at the moment feeding his bat something, which I hoped was some kind of animal meat. "William Locust" I read, breaking the silence in the room.

"The father of the modern day Vampire." Draco said.

"The best race in the world." William snarled, tearing his gaze away from feeding his bat to focus on both Draco and I. Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance and flipped five more pages before a familiar sight met my eyes.

"Diego!" I cried reading the heading on the page Draco had turned to. I glanced to the left of the page and saw that the picture was empty and was strangely thankful that those haunting black eyes were not there to observe me, even though I knew the picture couldn't really see me.

"Tiffany I wanted to show you what Deigo Markov really is." Draco replied, a hint of malice creeping into his voice.

"He's a Vampire?" I asked curiously, never having known one before.

"Yes, which is why you must be very careful what you say to him. He is a dangerous, manipulative man, and you should steer clear of him." The memory of Diego's note flashed in my mind, but I shook my head to get rid of the image.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked Draco, looking up from the book and focusing my eyes on him.

"I saw the way you looked at him." Draco replied, without looking up, and a hint of a smile passed across my lips. You're jealous, I thought. He glanced up at me, and my smile dissolved quickly. "This is not a laughing matter Tiffany." He said evenly.

"I wasn't laughing." I said and Draco shot me a skeptical look.

"You have no idea what Vampires are capable of do you?" Draco asked. I shook my head, and in response Draco pointed down at the book again. My eyes followed his gesture and rested on a few lines of text. "Read." Draco ordered.

Markov's signature is not as easily identifiable as other Vampires of the current century. While others have a special place they take their victims, or a certain mark they leave, Markov's signature is both ingenious and unexpected. It is the signature of scent; however, the type of scent he leaves with his victims is still unknown.

"What does it mean that scent is his signature?" I asked, looking back up at Draco questioningly.

"Every Wizard Vampire has something, which the normal Vampire does not; a special signature for victims. This is the way we can tell each Vampire attack apart in the Wizarding world. The more powerful the Wizard Vampire the more powerful and secretive his signature is." Draco explained to me.

"How do you know so much about Vampires?" I asked curiously and looked back to the book where Deigo had come back in the portrait.

"I make a point of knowing my enemies." Draco replied as I saw Deigo's eyes flash for a moment before Draco shut the book on his face.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I asked turning my gaze back to Draco as he stood and moved off to return the book to its shelf.

"That does not concern you Tiffany." He called out as he disappeared from view once more for only a moment before he emerged from the aisle without the book. "I must warn you once again not to underestimate Diego for your own good and to stay away from him." Draco approached me and knelt down beside the cushion I was currently sitting on. "I need you to promise me this." Draco continued and took both my hands in his tenderly, looking with his blue eyes into my face.

"I promise." I said, guilt stating to eat away at me since I had planned to attend Diego's gala. "But why are you so concerned about me Draco?" I pressed, "only earlier this afternoon you were about to kill me." Draco dropped my hands and stood up.

"I was never going to kill you." Draco replied and I rose to stand next to him as he glanced down at me. "Whether I like it or not, we're in this together and I do hate it when my things are taken from me or damaged." Draco ran his fingers along my jaw line and gazed at me thoughtfully, "and as you now are mine I do not wish for Diego to take you from my possession."

"I see." I replied, not expecting concern from Draco without a reason.

"So you will not see him unless I'm with you." Draco ordered me, but I nodded compliantly. I decided then and there to break the news about Diego's gala, since I now knew what Diego was, and if Draco was going to punish me I'd rather get it over with. Draco took my hand and led me towards the exit of the library, but I tarried and pulled him back to stop him. "What?" he demanded.

"Draco, I've got to tell you something."

"Very well." He consented and turned to face me releasing my hand. I dove right into the matter, swallowing hard before I opened my mouth.

"Earlier this morning I received a letter."

"I have no interest in who corresponds with you." Draco said dismissively, and turned to leave but I touched his arm lightly.

"It was from Diego." That ceased Draco's actions and his icy blue glare turned on me, but I braved it; this had to be said. "You must understand I was angry with you for treating me so poorly." I added quickly, seeing the smirk that had wound its way onto Draco's face.

"Go on." He encouraged me.

"I opened it and it was an invitation to a gala he's throwing for the 22nd of December."

"Well did you reply?" Draco asked, stepping closer to me, the smile never leaving his face. I thought back quickly and gave a sharp release of breath.

"…No…no I didn't" I said and looked Draco full in the face.

"Well that was rude of you. Haven't you been taught better manners than that?" Draco said as he finally took the last few steps and stood close to me.

"Well, I wanted to check with you first." I lied and Draco cocked his head to the side.

"Of course you should reply. You wouldn't want to miss a big event like that." Draco said with the same unreadable expression on his face, and I had no idea if I was in a lot of trouble, or if Draco was just toying with me for fun.

"If you don't want me to go then I won't go. Plus the idea of being around Diego now knowing he's a Vampire is not appealing to me."

"Well that's disappointing then." Replied Draco turning away from me and moved off to the door of the library. He paused at the frame and looked back at me, "I do believe that would make you the only Dark Witch or Wizard that is not attending." He pushed open the door, and stepped through before I ran to catch up to him.

"You were invited?" I asked incredulously as Draco and I made our way back through the white parlour and past the glass doors.

"Diego and I may be enemies but like myself, he must keep up appearances." Draco replied to me and led me up the staircase in the front hall. I stayed two steps behind him, fearing that he might push me down into the pit with the spiders but we moved past without incident. "Now how are you feeling?" Draco asked as we reached the first floor landing.

"I'm fairly tired."

"Fine then. We shall save the rest of the tour for a later date." Draco replied and led me down the now familiar corridor to my room and opened the door for me to step in. "Breakfast tomorrow is at 9:30am sharp, and I shall come to collect you." Draco said and nodded to me, "send word to Deigo that you will be attending his gala as well."

"Alright." I agreed and shut the door, but just as it was closing I heard Draco's voice.

"And for God's sake clean your room." I grinned to myself and made my way over the bed before dropping down upon it. Draco had taken that better than I had hoped, and with that thought in mind I undressed, took out my hair, flicked my wand so that the makeup was gone and dropped into a deep sleep.