There was a MAJOR typo in my last chapter – it was professor who came into the scene on top of the tower with Luna – really sorry about that, it's embarrassing to admit :S

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope to update more regularly from now on :D

Chapter 21: Clearer Images

It took roughly two hours for Professor McGonagall to stop lecturing Harry, Ron, and I about the consequences of our behaviour.

The three of us lay in newly made beds in the far corner of the hospital wing, watching the big hand of the clock over the doorway eventually strike midnight.

She continually insisted that Ron needed some sort of counselling, due to the fact that he almost jumped off the side of the astronomy tower, but Madam Pomfrey eventually convinced her that there was nothing more wrong with Ron than a severe case of unrequited love. I begged to differ.

Harry, thankfully, recovered from the spell that Draco had hit him with quickly. It was confirmed that it was in fact a mere jab-seek spell – a spell not intended to harm the target, but able to inflict enough pain to temporarily incapacitate.

McGonagall also gave all three of us two nights' worth of detentions each and we, in total, lost sixty house points for Gryffindor

All in all, it could have turned out a lot worse; she could have confiscated my letter, Harry could have been severely injured and Ron could be transforming into a vampire this very second. I counted myself lucky.

Professor McGonagall stood up to leave, looking beaten and exhausted. "I think I've made my point clear," she said bitterly. "Stay away from Draco Malfoy. Goodnight."

On her departure, Madam Pomfrey shuffled over to us, looking ghostly in the dim light, with more precautionary medicine for Harry.

"I'm watching you three. No funny business tonight. If I hear even one whisper I'll be contacting Dumbledore. Sleep only," she said sternly, as Harry swallowed a vial of Salamander Sauce, which was used generally for healing severe concussions.

The three of us lay, fully alert, in an awkward silence. We knew our luck and chances were limited at this point.

I did everything in my power to avoid eye contact with Ron. He deserved nothing more that to wallow in his own sadness and stupidity for the foreseeable future.

"Open it," Harry hissed after several sombre minutes, noticing Madam Pomfrey was listening intently to a programme called Wizard Discussions Nightly on an old wireless radio.

I nodded, throwing myself under my duvet covers, and whispered, "Lumos." A beam of light shone from the tip of my wand, allowing me to see that Matthew's letter looked extremely worn and frail, but, to my relief, remained unopened.

I felt extremely smug as I carefully opened the envelope, resisting the urge to wave it in Ron's face. I presumed he was shooting daggers in my direction and praying that the words on the parchment inside were illegible – anything to make me upset.

I knew it was vital that I read what he had written, as the situation was becoming increasingly confusing and desperate at Hogwarts. I drew a deep breath and let my eyes absorb every drop of ink on the page, like a drug.

Hermione

I can only hope and pray that you are well and that nothing unfortunate has happened at Hogwarts yet.

To start with, myself, Alexa and Nessie are all fine and are, as planned, attending school in an old building, deep within the Black Forest. I won't go into great detail about the place, but I would guess that the building has not been used in many years. It may not be the most homely place to attend school, but it caters well for our needs; the Black Forest is home to many wild animals that we can feed on.

Unfortunately, the Black Forest is home to a lot of other things too. We have a strict boundary line that we cannot cross, as several savage, unsociable vampires are believed to live beyond this boundary. We are told they can be rather dangerous to come into contact with. It is also rumoured that there is a Death Eater hideout nearby, nestled between the forest's trees.

Ms. Beveldown, has been emphasising that our safety in the Black Forest is paramount. There hasn't been any problems so far.

I don't know how temporary or permanent these arrangements are, but there have been no rumours about relocating any time soon.

I have, due to an awful lot of careful eavesdropping, figured out why our school shut down in the first place.

Lord Voldemort is creating an army, an army of vampires. Melbott's Academy was infiltrated with professors working on behalf of Lord Voldemort, encouraging students to either join this 'army' or to start one themselves amongst the students. Employing these so-called 'professors' was a massive mistake by the Board of Management, obviously, and, seeing as the school term was about to start, there was no time to employ a whole new set of teaching staff for the school. The details I found out are a little sketchy, but that is ultimately why we came to Hogwarts.

We can assume that Lord Voldemort has already recruited a significant number of vampires for his new 'coven.' I believe that he was aiming to recruit young vampires (us students) as we are more vulnerable and less under control than older vampires.

Therefore, if he were to place a human wizard that he disliked in our path, the bloodlust would be very strong for some of us, which could ultimately result in a clean and speedy death for the unfortunate wizard. This would be an extremely adequate way for Voldemort to destroy any who seek to put a stop to his plans.

It was an entirely different situation for us while we were at Hogwarts, because we knew we had to resist the temptation. However, to be offered humans on a plate... I doubt anyone could resist that.

To put it bluntly, Voldemort has an army of vampires that he will use to kill people, and I fear our school still lies on his 'to be recruited' list.

Does Voldemort intend on destroying the whole wizarding community, because that is entirely possible with such a force at his fingers, or is he going to target certain people?

Being in such close proximity to Death Eaters and stray vampires, it's all too likely that there will be an attack on the school any minute now, given Voldemort's determination to get what he wants: us.

It was confirmed that Eli and Alfred were the ones who changed Draco Malfoy into a vampire at Hogwarts, as they both recently received two years worth of detentions, presumably for their actions.

As to why Draco is allowed to attend Hogwarts, that still remains a mystery to me. Undoubtedly, it will eventually become clear, though it may be too late by then.

I need to hear your thoughts on everything that I have written above. I need to know that you are safe. I know my letter thus far is very worrying, but try to remain positive for the time being.

Write back quickly, my heart isn't very patient.

Love Forever and Always,

Matthew

P.S. Alexa would like you to tell Ron that she has moved on since their fallout and she is now dating a quiet vampire in her own year, and they are blissfully happy together. Renesmee also sends her love.

I gaped at the letter. This was unbelievable.

Matthew was in obvious danger, Voldemort was at large and more dangerous than ever by the sound of things.

Trembling, I retreated from the warmth and safety of underneath my duvet, and thrust the letter to Harry whilst Madam Pomfrey was still occupied.

He read the letter, wide eyed, and threw it back to me. I contemplated allowing Ron to have a look, because of the serious and possibly life-threatening situation that we now found ourselves in, but decided otherwise. He could wait.

Harry mouthed one word in my direction. "Draco."

Please review if you have the time. I'd love to hear your thoughts.