Why hello again! I know it's been a long long long... long while. I'm so so sorry. And I'm glad you're back!
I won't waste any more of your time. Dive right in!
Unless you want to re-read the story to remember where in the world we are in the first place... but you do you ;)
ENJOY!
"Draco… I ... uh… I have to tell you … something." I say slowly trying to disregard the current of magic coursing from his hand to mine, and certainly ignoring Xerxes' last comment.
"Sure, just probably not right this second." A small smile begins to form on his face.
He's not wrong. Everyone in the common room is still staring at us. Some with dread, others with annoyance. Either way- what I have to say should not be spoken in present company.
"Right, of course." I take that moment to glance over at the now bored-looking Xerxes. He's leaning against a table with his arms crossed in front of him with a disdainful expression like I'm wasting HIS time or something.
"You're okay though? I could feel your anxiety, or at least I thought I did," He whispers as he guides me out of the common room and away from all the prying ears. The magic spike from him to me begins to dissipate so I'm only feeling his emotions once again.
I let him pull me away from the kerfuffle without hesitation. Unfortunately, Xerxes just follows us in tow. How long was I going to be blessed with his presence?!
"Is that 'something' you have to tell him about little Ole me?" Xerxes asks keeping pace with us.
I ignore his questions. I mean, I should tell Draco. I wouldn't be taking this relationship seriously if I didn't include him on important matters such as 'the guy who tried to kill me twice is now linked to me for an unknowable amount of time.' I don't know how to be a girlfriend- I've never been one before. But I do know that seeing another guy on a weekly basis without my boyfriend knowing about it probably isn't the best way to start it off.
"Delilah?" Draco stops suddenly. Oh right- I didn't even answer his question.
"Crap, sorry, yes, I'm okay. And to be fair, when you touched me in there- after your profound display of alpha male dominance mind you- I could feel your magic. Like, not just your emotions, but your energy and magical potency. If that makes any sense whatsoever."
"Potency huh?" Draco chides.
I elbow him lightly cracking a smile.
"As cute as this is- you may want to tell lover boy to tread carefully. Once you're fully bonded there is no going back. You will be bonded till death. Are you prepared to let him make that choice?"
I jerk my head in Xerxes direction.
"Or are you going to make it for him?"
My eyes widen at his implication.
"Obviously, I don't give two shits what you do."
His voice sounded different when he said that last sentence almost as if it was a screechy violin in the background of each of his words. That's odd.
"Listen- these new vampires mean business. Don't let them touch you and you'll be fine. They're not as old as me and shouldn't be able to take you for a vampire unless you purposefully do something stupid."
I give a slight nod just to signify I heard him.
"And if you don't visit me this week, I will punish you, and not in a fun way. Understand?" He adds with an extra amount of venom to his words.
"Lila- is there something wrong?" Draco asks looking over to where Xerxes stood. He's gone now. Like he was never even here.
"God Draco. Yes, I think there's something wrong. Wrong with me. Wrong with this whole damn castle. Did you hear what all those idiots were saying about the new vampires?"
"A blatant change of subject, but sure I'll bite. What were they saying?" He asks softly brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. It sends small shivers down my spine. Stop it Delilah- focus.
"They were just as delusional as they were when Xerxes was here. Going to the stupid party he threw, and now students think they can learn that awful spell and control a vampires every whim? Are they daft?"
He pulls me into a tight embrace and hugs me. "Yes. They are. And completely ignorant to what's really going on here."
"You can say that again," I grumble into his chest.
Draco's hearty laughter makes me smile once more. Until I remember what Xerxes said- about giving him the choice. A choice for something that neither of us really understands or can remotely explain.
It's like here- would you like to drink this magical potion that is so magical that no one knows what it does but HEY you'll be extra magical with some random unknown side-effects that may or may not kill you. I mean- who would say yes to that?
"Okay, so what is it you wanted to tell me?"
He pulls away and looks down into my eyes with such devotion – it makes me feel treasured beyond words. My breath catches in my throat.
I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him lightly. I mean, he deserves a kiss for standing up for me back in the common room at least. A light chaste kiss that couldn't possibly turn into anything more.
Until it totally does.
He has me up against the wall a split second later with one hand on my waist and the other in my hair. He pulls back on my hair so my neck is exposed and he bites down, hard. Not so hard as to draw blood- but enough to send tingles every which way down my body. He begins to suck at my skin, gently at first, but as my hands slide down his sides to the front of his pants he bites down even harder and with much more force. I've never experienced this kind of sensation and it's oddly erotic- I mean I'm usually the one doing the biting. But I can't let him distract me- he always distracts me. I just have to tell him about Xerxes- before I chicken out and start ripping off his clothes. In the middle of the hallway.
"I sort of kind of made a deal with Xerxes," I say breathlessly.
He stills mid-neck kiss. The emotions he was feeling evaporated almost immediately.
"You're joking." He mutters leaning his head against my neck.
"Nooooo… but to be fair, I did it for us?"
He yanks his head back to look down at me. And it's definitely no longer with that devoted loving gaze he had just moments ago.
"Please, enlighten me." He says, slowly, deliberately as he takes a deep deep breath.
"Well, I was freaking out about all this bond stuff, and I know I can't trust Malachi,"
"Oh, but you can trust his psychotic murderous brother?"
"No, I mean not really. But you know that saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend right? Well, I reached out to Xerxes in hopes he'd be able to help just because it would piss off Malachi."
"And? What did he ask for in return?"
I look at him sheepishly, because of course, he knew there was a catch, "Oh you know, just that I visit him once a week to test out this new potion he concocted."
"Visit him?" His voice remains calm, but I can feel a bit of dread spike in him.
"Kind of? I don't know exactly how it works, but my body stays here while my spirit or soul or whatever visits him."
"I've never heard of such a thing."
"Yeah, well, apparently it linked us, so now he can do the same thing with me- as long as he has my blood. Which you know- he has vials and vials of, so he can just 'pop' in whenever."
"Pop in? Delilah, are you serious?"
"Well, yes? He was actually just here, a minute ago. Commenting on your gallantry. Among other things."
"To think I thought you couldn't possibly find a way to make our lives more complicated… here you go connecting yourself to a lunatic. This is just great." He lets go of me as he takes a step back, running his hands through his hair, quite aggressively. I don't know if he's simply baffled or just angry.
"Look, Malachi showed up out of nowhere threatening what I have with you. I had to do something- anything. And then they took Beth and it all just got more complicated."
"Complicated?" his voice turns cold, "this isn't complicated, this is a fucking disaster. You really have no self-preservation at all do you?" He begins pacing in front of me.
"I don't know. I just, it's all I could think of in the moment. Malachi had me hurt you Draco. I was so cruel and so heartless and I just can't fathom why he'd sink so low, but I had to find out; I had to try." I'm looking down at my hands with tears welling in my eyes. I don't want them to fall. I don't want to succumb to the memory of Draco lying on the floor with his neck ripped open, I…
"Lila, look at me." He grabs my hands gently, tracing his thumbs over my palms. I don't look at him. I can't. The shame I feel, even after he said he'd forgiven me, it drove me to find out more about Bonds and why Malachi is so against it.
"Delilah, love, please look at me." He whispers kissing my forehead.
I slowly lift my eyes, willing the tears to stay in place.
"I'm still furious that you involved yourself with Xerxes even further, but only because you've gone through enough. Enough pain, enough despair. I can't imagine this is going to turn out well." He sighs, the worry flowing freely from him into me.
I chuckle sadly, "You're definitely not wrong."
A small sad smile plays at his lips. Why is he so handsome?
"I'd say let's go to our place, but seeing as Vampires now live there I guess that's out."
"But where shall we almost-have-sex-only-to-be-thwarted-by-numerous-people now?!" I laugh.
"I'm sure we will discover such a place once more." He joins in my laughter. And for a second I can pretend like we're a normal couple without the threat of Xerxes, my mother, brother, Malachi and the vampire populace hanging over our heads. For one glorious second.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I wake with a start. I look around taking in my surroundings. I'm in my bed in the girl's dormitory. Nothing seems out of place. The girls sleep soundly next to me. I take a deep breath as I try to ignore the intense pain in my throat. Ah, that's what did it. I'm thirsty. Again.
I'll just ask Draco for a quick snack next time I see him. No biggie. I'm sure I'll be fine.
The ache sends a tremor down my throat as I inhale on a sharp breath. The burning doesn't recede and I lie back down trying to focus on something… anything but my growing desire. The steady pump of every heartbeat in this room has my teeth extend, my fingers itching to grab at the nearest human.
Just breathe.
Or don't. Don't breathe at all. Hold my breath until it goes away. Until it all goes away.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"DELILAH! WAKE UP" Gretel shouts, throwing something on top of me.
I grab the shirt off of my face and sit up with a yawn. Why is everyone running around our room like chickens?
"What's going on?" I murmur, noticing my thirst has gone back down to normal levels. Man, last night was torturous. I lied awake for hours- contemplating whom I'd devour first, and hating myself every minute.
"None of our alarms went off! We're going to be late for our first classes- the majority of us have CARROW!" Daphne screams, anxiety filling her voice. Ah right, the vampires are here and it's their first day running the show. Or maybe not? At this point I don't know what Carrow's motives are or why he brought vampires here, AGAIN- because Xerxes' visit went SO WELL.
"GET YOUR ASS MOVING," Gretel growls at me as she yanks on her boot.
"Fine." I grumble. I take the quickest shower known to man and throw on my uniform before I'm even fully dry. My hair's dripping wet as I grab my wand and books and head out after the girls.
The energy in the air as we enter the classroom isn't the same as last night in the common room. Before everyone was nervous-excited, maybe now, after sleeping on the fact Vampires would be in such close proximity of all of us, they aren't nearly as anticipatory.
I take my seat with the rest of the girls. No one says anything as we all simply wait. Carrow looks as gleeful as a child on Christmas morning. That's not foreboding at all.
The door opens and the vampires walk in. Amara at the front, shorter than the rest but if I had to guess, she was definitely the leader- or at least the one with the most power in the group.
Her bright red hair is even more vibrant up close. Reminds me of that movie with the mermaid. She has piercing green eyes that scan the room with a fierceness I've only seen on Malachi's face during training sessions.
Behind her is another girl. A tad taller with short jet-black hair with the left side of her head shaved. She looks mean and beautiful at the same time. She has a few piercings in her eyebrow and nose and is a tad plumper than usual vampires.
The two guys behind her look like complete opposites. We have a hulking black guy who looks like he could squash anyone with his thumb who is smiling at us like we're cute puppy dogs he gets to play with. Not joking- he looks thrilled to be here. And then the guy in behind him is paler than Draco, which is saying something. He does NOT look excited to be here and is probably skinnier than Amara even. He is bald. And did I mention angry looking?
"Welcome Vampires. Thank you for partnering with the ministry and volunteering your time to help shape these youths into better and more obedient citizens." Carrow claps enthusiastically signaling we should join in. I slow clap along with the rest of my class. I glance over to the Gryffindor's who are looking both fearful and furious. Neville, who has been stepping up more this year than I thought possible, is glaring daggers at Carrow.
"It is our Privilege." Amara bows slightly.
"Of course it is. Now, introduce yourselves so we can begin."
"I'm Amara, this is Paige, Barthelme, and Kade." She points to each of them in the order they walked in behind her. They each nod as their name is said.
"Perfect." Carrow clasps his hands together. "You will duel today in order for the Vampires to assess your talent and choose who they want on their team, for lack of a better word."
"Aren't they just going to teach us more about being a vampire?" a boy from behind me asks, quite mockingly.
Paige moves and a second later I hear the same boy gasp. The classroom has turned around to see her grasping his hair as she pulls his head back. Farther and farther until his neck is fully exposed and strained. The whole classroom holds their breath as they watch her. The boy begins to whimper.
"Let the poor child go Paige." Amara chides. Paige releases a heavy sigh and runs back down to Amara's side.
"We are here to help you better prepare yourselves against the undesirables that are mounting a defense against your ministry."
"Attempting to." Carrow adds, and then turns back to us, "Let us begin then."
We take turns standing in front of the class pointing our wands at each other. The Gryffindors do a mighty fine job of defending themselves- particularly if they get the first shot in. I try to blend in as much as possible. I don't want to suck of course, but I certainly don't want the vampire's eyes on me.
A handful of students have been asked to sit back in their seats after the first few rounds. And it's my turn yet again. This time I stand in front of Neville. He looks determined and unafraid. Not that I want him to be afraid of me. We used to kind of tolerate each other… well, until I become Draco's girlfriend. Now all he and the rest of them do is glare at me. I decide I don't need to prove anything to these people, and I certainly don't want to try to hurt Neville – each round allows for strong and more potent spells. At this point, I could really hurt him.
"Duel!" Carrow demands.
"Aguamenti," I say hitting Neville with a mild stream of water.
For a small nanosecond, I saw a hint of a playful smile at his lips as water drips down his front- right before he shouts, "Expeliarmus."
My wand flies out of my hand right into his outstretched one.
"Oh no. I have failed." I kick the ground in mock anger. I certainly didn't want to hurt anyone- let alone feed into Carrow's torture obsession.
"Just one second Kane, I don't think you're taking this very seriously. You will now duel Pansy."
"Um okay?" I shrug my shoulders as I get my wand from Neville.
"And Crabbe."
"At the same time?" Neville interjects no longer looking like he was proud of what we had done.
"Of course. If she thinks taking my class seriously is a joke, I will make sure you all understand otherwise."
I ignore the vampires watching us and roll my eyes. Carrow's had it out for me from the beginning. Even though I wasn't planning on showing anyone up during these duels I'll gladly make a point that I am not to be trifled with.
"Alrighty then," I mutter getting to my side. I watch as Carrow whispers in Pansy's ear, "You know what to do." Whatever that means. Wish he would have told her exactly what to do so I know what's coming.
Crabbe already stands before me with a fowl grin on his face. He knocked out two people earlier and I would love nothing more than send him flat on his ass. I don't know how he ever got in this advanced class anyway.
They both stand in front of me wands raised. Pansy doesn't look thrilled but she does look determined.
"DUEL"
"Aguamenti"
This time the water blasts from my wand like a jet stream hitting Crabbe directly in the face. Pansy gets a little wet, but it knocks him off balance and he topples over. The class roars with laughter, and I can't help but smirk a little- particularly in the direction of Carrow. See? My unique brand of dueling does work.
Pansy takes that exact moment to attack. I hear a spell I've never heard before just before I feel a puff of wind in my face. I glance over to her in confusion? Is she going to fan me to death?
She looks … almost guilty. That's weird; she didn't really do much of… Suddenly my mind almost topples into a memory that doesn't feel normal. It feels like a memory though- of me on my knees in front of some guy. Oh- I'm not just on my knees I'm definitely going to town on a boy? I shake my head trying to dislodge that site from my mind but it won't go away. I've never done this for any guy. The moan in the memory sounds familiar though. I look up and see Draco's face. "Harder Pansy." He says grabbing my hair. No not my hair, Pansy's hair. This is her memory.
Jealousy like I've never felt blooms inside of me. I know Draco's been with a handful of girls. I've known that for a couple of years now, but seeing it? Hearing him say her name was not something I think I'd ever be prepared for.
As my eyes focus on Pansy and Crabbe I realize too late what she was 'supposed to do' – distract me. Because it's far too late for me to put up any defensive spell or even move out of the way as Crabbe bellows, "Crucio."
Review? If you like.
vVv
