Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own characters.
Note: You're supposed to hate this chapter.
Doesn't Feel like Christmas
"You know, everyone keeps saying how gorgeous you are, how you'd make a pretty vampire, etc, etc, but I'm just not seeing it" she said as she slammed me into the wooden shed. "All I see is how beautiful you'd look dead" she said cheerfully as she slammed against the shed again.
"Debra!" I heard Matt call out as I felt like I was seeing stars.
"You had to know someone was going to take this route" Debra said, ignoring Matt as she slammed me once more. "Quite honestly, I thought it would've been Courtney" she said as I heard Fred yelling something. "I know everyone keeps saying Matt is going to turn you, Matt is going to make you a vampire and you're going to kill everyone" she said in a mocking tone. "But, what about the avenue when I turn Fred and watch him kill you" she said as I heard myself whimper. This was just a bad dream, another forced vision, anything. This couldn't have been happening.
"Let her go" Matt said, his voice dark and low, he must have been Damon again. Debra did as she was told, letting me slide to the ground.
"Matthew, what's become of you? Your poor sister used to mourn over you so much" she said as she moved closer. "And Damon…" she started, a little playfulness in her eyes. "My how the mighty have fallen" she said.
"Get away from this house" he said as Debra's lip twitched.
"You don't mean that" she said but Damon showed no sign he was joking.
"Smell that? Smell my ownership?" he hissed at her as her face disappeared of playfulness and instead became angry. "Fred, take Tammie inside, lock the doors and windows" Damon said as Fred started to move closer to me but Debra pushed him, so hard in fact that he went flying in the opposite direction.
"Fred!" I shouted as I jumped to my feet, though completely disoriented.
"See, she goes to him" Debra told Damon/Matt as I went over to help Fred up, glancing back over at Damon and Debra.
"Leave him alone, he's my friend" Damon snorted back.
"You don't have friends" she said coldly. "But if you did, I'd tear them limb from limb" she said as she took another step toward Damon as Fred and I moved toward the house. "C'mon mate, tell me they're worth more than me" she said, her voice very seductive as she stood inches away from Damon's face.
Fred pulled open the door, both of us standing in the doorway watching Damon who glanced over at us, his eyes a quick flash of blue before they went shiny black again as he leaned over, talking into Debra's ear. "You wish you meant a drop of what they mean to me" he said coldly as he stood straight and stared at her. I couldn't see her expression because she was facing the opposite way but I had a feeling she wasn't happy about his choice of words.
"I can't wait to watch you die Matthew, but I hope you stay long enough to turn your whore into one of us, to see the fear and humanity leave her body, I hope you get to watch as she screams and begs for you stop" Debra said as I felt myself go rigid, the thought giving me anxiety. I thought she was going to say more but instead she took off, running so fast in the opposite direction I barely saw the flash.
"Matt…" I started but he only looked at me with a stony expression, still as Damon, only, colder, with no sarcasm or wit.
"Close the door" he said flatly. I wanted to protest, I wanted to say something comforting but my mind was blank and then Fred was pulling the door closed, it made a clicking sound as he locked it.
"I thought I said stay inside" he said, his voice shaking with underlying angry. "Why couldn't you just listen for once, Tammie?" he said as I felt my eyes getting watery.
"I—I…I'm sorry" I said for lack of anything else as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.
"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked running into the room.
"Nothing" Fred mumbled as he headed for the stairs.
"Fred" I said staring to follow him but he spun around so quick I almost walked into him.
"Not now, okay? Just, stay here" he said, his tone still foreign to me. He let out a little huff and then continued up the stairs, George looking at me with complete question and worry but didn't move, as if he had never seen his brother like this before.
"We saw some of it from the window" Ron said as I moved over to the couch, still a little—greatly thrown back by Fred.
"I almost got him killed" I said as I slowly realized why he was angry.
"I don't think that's what made him upset" Draco said as he came over to sit next to me. "We couldn't hear everything, but, Debra threatened to turn him, to have him kill you" he said as I nodded, I heard that part. "You know what that does to a person, hearing what you could be, how you could kill someone you care about, someone you love" he said as I looked at him.
"But it wasn't the same" I disagreed.
"Maybe not in the long run, but for those few seconds I'm sure all Fred thought about was being something he didn't recognize and killing the only person he ever loved while still being locked somewhere in his mind" he said as I shook my head, trying not to believe it. "It's the same thing Matt fears" he added. "And it's the same thing you have nightmares about" he said as I felt the tears slowly rolling down my face.
"What are we supposed to do?" I asked feeling helpless.
"Fight" he said as I shook my head.
"Burnner somehow turned them them against us, the vampires. How are we supposed to fight against them? They're vampires. Debra tossed Fred aside like he was a pebble, she didn't need a wand" I said as Draco nodded.
"I think everyone should go to bed" Mrs. Weasley said emerging from the kitchen. None of us disagreed, but I was the last person up the stairs, stopping at Fred's room as George made a point of going to use the bathroom.
"I love you" I told Fred as he sat on the bed staring at the floor. "Fred" I said debating moving into the room.
"Go get your sleep" he said as I felt tears spring from my eyes. He let out a low sigh and slowly got up, coming over to kiss my head. "Goodnight Tamms" he said as he whipped my eyes with his sleeve. I waited for him to say more but when he didn't I backed up into the hallway, George coming around just as I did.
"Night Fred" I said as I reluctantly went to Ginny's room, pausing in the doorway, realizing Melinda and Houston weren't in there.
"They're talking in the attic" Hermione explained.
"I think she's telling him it's over" Ginny added as I nodded, not really having the energy to cheer about it as I curled up in the sleeping bag and faced toward the wall, letting myself silently cry until I fell asleep.
Waking up I didn't feel refreshed or re-energized, in fact I hadn't feel this crappy on a Christmas since fifth year. I turned over, looking at the small cluster of wrapped presents in the corner but had no will to get up and look at them. I continued looking around, noticing Houston's sweater Melinda had worn the day before was gone, as were a few of the trinkets we got him. I had a sudden feeling Houston was gone, not just for the day, not just from this house, but from Melinda's life, back where he belonged, back where he was safe.
I rolled over to lay on my back but what I thought was low buzzing turned out to be yelling. At first I assumed it was the twins but I could hear a female's voice. Maybe Melinda was yelling at Fred or Draco. But then I heard Matt's voice. Or rather, Damon's. Why was he still Damon? I wondered as the voices reached the floor I was on.
"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?" Melinda exclaimed as Damon snorted. "You protect us and then you go out and do some stupid shit like that?" she continued, her voice beyond angry.
"I knew you knew him" Damon replied as my ears only barely perked up. I wasn't in the eavesdropping mood.
"What did you do to him? Why is he in the hospital?" Melinda asked as I felt a little twitch. Damon put someone in the hospital? Was it Houston? No, it couldn't have been, he left, he was okay. "Why is his mum saying he's been unconscious for the last six hours? What did you do?" she hissed, her voice shaking. It was definitely someone Melinda knew though.
"I needed to blow off some steam. I was doing a swell job until he came along" Damon answered. "Called me a monster—"
"That's what you are!" Melinda exclaimed.
"Anyway, I told him to move, I wasn't in a good mood and he continued yelling at me and I kindly asked again and he still continued yelling, so I took a little bite" Damon said as I felt my eyes grow bigger. Damon attacked someone and Matt let him?
"He's in the hospital! Unconscious!" Melinda shouted back.
"See, this is what he was doing and he landed in the hospital, so how about you lower your voice…" he said sarcastically as Melinda grunted at him. "I said I took a small bite, I didn't say I drank a small amount" Damon added in an almost forced voice.
"You drained him of blood?" she asked as she turned back around, her face nearly white with horror.
"If I had he would be dead. I took enough to keep him out, but, truthfully I'll be surprised if he makes through the next twenty-four hours" he as Melinda fell silent for a moment.
"Why?" she asked, her voice filled with tiredness and sadness.
"I told you," he snapped back at her. "But I think you're missing the best part" he said, almost tauntingly. "He had a brother, I'm sure you know that. They were walking around together, he couldn't have been than five or six—"
"He was seven…" she said quietly her voice badly shaking. "He was just a kid…" she added as Damon let out a sigh. "What the hell is wrong with you!" she shouted, as she sounded like she was moving closer.
"Now that's not very nice" Damon said, I could only assume she was about to slap him. "Besides, one of them was going to die" he said as I sprung up, the words hitting my ears in the worst way. Did Damon kill a child?
"He did nothing!" she continued shouting as I opened the door.
"Oh good, you're awake" Damon said as I glared at him. "You heard the part where I killed a kid, didn't you?" he asked as I tried not to show any signs of weakness or rage.
"He was just a kid and you killed him!" Melinda shouted as Damon rolled his eyes. I shook my head, Burnner had to be involved somehow, further in his mind than we all ordinary thought.
"It's what I do!" he shouted back at her. "I am a half-vampire, I feed off human blood. The only reason I haven't touched you is because Tammie said so" he said matter-of-factly as he glanced over at me.
"No, it's because you know, deep down, I'm your friend" she replied.
"You really still believe that?" Damon asked with a little laugh.
"I knew all your feelings, you told me everything, all those problems with your family, all your internal dilemmas, your struggles. I knew that, she didn't" Melinda said as Damon smiled, almost like he predicted that.
"Would it help to know Matt told me to kill that kid because he knew it would be like a knife twisting into your soul? Especially after yesterday?" Damon replied as Melinda's eyes filled with rage.
"Enough" I said sharply, stepping between the two. "Melinda, go downstairs, I'll be down in a minute" I said as Melinda glared at Damon.
"I hate you" she spat to Damon.
"Feeling's mutual" Damon replied as Melinda shook her head.
"I promise you, you will be gone when this is all over; you will leave us alone and you will stop using Matt" she said.
"Yeah, right after you stop being a manipulative hypocritical bitch" he replied and almost instantly Melinda's hand went clear across his face. "Give him hell, Tammie" she said before walking down the stairs.
