Hey all, I'm baaack! This is my round 6 story for Houses Comp s9, where I remain the Ravenclaw prefect and the Astronomy student. This is for the themed story I've gotta write.
I picked the theme of discovery, and so I hope you'll all like this! I have also picked the extra prompt (colour) cerulean. Enjoy!
For those of you who have read the series Vampire Kisses, I have absolutely taken some ideas from the books.
Note: MUGGLE AU! Also Snape is OOC, so that he can serve the necessary function in the story. Forgive me pleeeease?
Word Count: 1678
Betas: Ash Juillet
Astoria stared at the bodies surrounding her, trying to act as if she belonged. Of course, that was outwardly true. She was wearing just as much fishnet leggings, spider rings, and black lace as the next girl. Her armband marked her as belonging to the club as much as anyone else there. Only her platinum-blonde hair distinguished her from most of the crowd. In reality, she couldn't have been more out of place if she'd been back at her own boring town.
At home, she was at the mercy of the everyday tennis-skirted, country-club-going population. Here in this dim, smoky club, she was in much more serious danger. At any moment, one of the surrounding vampires, Blaise, could grab her and drain her blood, or try and turn her, and she would be nearly powerless to stop it. The only thing that was saving her was that they believed she was one of them.
Blaise Zabini… Astoria still got the creeps just thinking about the teenage vampire. He had tried to trick his way into making her his vampire bride forever, but she and Draco had turned the tables on him. Draco. When Astoria thought of Draco now, she felt a tinge of guilt. She knew it was irrational; she hadn't done anything worth feeling guilty over. But her thoughts turned to Dragon, the vampire she'd met at the club who was helping her in exposing Blaise's plot, and she thought that it might not necessarily be true. His eyes reminded her so much of Draco; they were the exact same shade of cerulean blue.
Through the crowd, Astoria spotted Pansy and Morag. Her heart sank as she saw the tiny, sharp fangs now present in their mouths as they sang along to the music. She felt a pang of regret that she had dragged them into this. They wouldn't have come into the darker side of the club if she hadn't convinced them to. I have to talk to them and apologize. She started to make her way towards them.
She let out a small gasp when someone grabbed her by the waist mid-step and pulled her onto the dance floor. Spinning around, she saw that her partner was Blaise. "Tori, what a pleasure to see you here! Have you come to see our good work tonight? Who knows? You might get your wish at last. To finally become a vampire. All you have to do is stay tuned. The votes will be counted shortly!"
The vote, indeed. She herself had filled it out as she had come in, in support of Dragon. The vote that would decide who the leader of the darker side of this club would be. All Astoria could hope was that there were enough rational vampires here that Dragon would come out on top.
"Dragon is going to win," Astoria countered, trying to convince herself as much as she was convincing Blaise. "And then your plan will never work. The club will be safe."
"And you know that Dragon won't have similar plans as I have?" Blaise challenged.
Astoria's hesitation was barely noticeable as she said, "He's not like you, Blaise. And I know that whatever you act like, this isn't you either. You don't really want to rip dozens of kids away from their families just because."
Blaise raised his eyebrows. "It's not just because, you know. The mortals have driven us to this. We need numbers to protect ourselves from them."
"Keep telling yourself…"
They were interrupted by Snape, the bouncer, as he made his way to the stage and silenced the band. Stepping before the microphone, he tapped it. The reverberation got the attention of everyone who hadn't been taken off guard by the sudden stop of the music. "It's the time of the evening that you've all been waiting for! Would Dragon and Blaise make their way up to the stage, please?"
Giving Astoria a leering smile, Blaise strode off towards the stage. Using the time that she had before things went to hell or not, Astoria finished her intended journey towards Pansy and Morag. "Hey, guys."
They turned and grinned at her, and their fangs were even more prominent than they had been when they were singing. "Tori! So glad you're here! Tonight's going to be awesome, isn't it?"
"I'm so ready," Morag agreed. "I can't believe the vampire stuff is true. We all thought it was a joke."
"But you knew, didn't you, Tori?" Pansy asked her.
"I knew." Astoria nodded, wanting to launch into her apology but also keeping her cover as one of the vampires. "I'm sorry, guys. I wouldn't have dragged you into this if I'd known this would happen."
"Are you kidding?" Morag asked. "I've never felt better. We belong here, you know. It's perfect for us."
Their attention was drawn to the stage again as Blaise and Dragon arrived onstage and flanked Snape. "You all put your votes in for who you wanted to lead you. The votes will speak!"
An underling brought a small slip of paper and handed it to Snape. The aging vampire opened it and read it carefully before he made the announcement. "You have spoken! Dragon is your new leader!"
And Astoria breathed a sigh of relief. They had succeeded. The greater mortal population of the club would be safe at least as long as Dragon was in charge. Pansy and Morag grinned at her; it was clear that they, too, had voted for Dragon. Others around them also celebrated, but nearly as many had sour expressions on their faces. They were bitter at losing, that they couldn't sate their bloodlust any way they pleased.
But before things could get too far along celebration-wise, Astoria saw Blaise shove Snape aside, taking the microphone. "This vote is invalid! There is an impostor among us! A mortal!"
The gasps would have been comical if Astoria hadn't been so frightened. Was Blaise really going to expose her as a last shot to gain control? His next words confirmed that yes, he was.
"It's her! Astoria Greengrass!"
Everyone looked at her now as Blaise pointed her out. Normally, she loved to stand out, but now she was in terrible danger. The general patrons looked at her with expressions of anger or mistrust, but it was Pansy and Morag's expressions that hurt her the most. They felt betrayed.
"Tori, you lied to us? You're mortal like we were?" Pansy's accusation hit her like an actual punch. "But we liked you… you were our friend…"
"She still is our friend!" Morag finally said determinedly. "What was she supposed to do, anyway? We thought all the vampire talk was a joke. We're still her friends."
Astoria looked at her friends pleadingly. "I'm so sorry, Pans. I wanted to tell you, but I guess I got in too deep."
Astoria was relieved to see the hurt slowly recede from her expression. "You're right, Morag. Astoria's still our friend, and you're all going to have to deal with us if you want her."
Both girls turned away from Astoria and towards the ever-encroaching crowd, who were developing increasingly murderous expressions. They put themselves between Astoria and the crowd of angry vampires. They're going to defend me.
Dragon spoke into the microphone. "You all chose me, don't forget that! One vote would not have changed tonight, and you all know it. Stand down, everyone."
And the crowd's energy and anger slowly died down as the logic got to them. Astoria knew it was probably temporary, but slowly the vampires all stopped approaching and turned back to the stage.
"You're going to let the opinions of these mortal-lovers get in our way?" Blaise demanded, trying to work the crowd back up again, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
"You've lost, Blaise," Dragon reminded the vampire. "Don't make yourself a fool as well."
Blaise stared at the crowd for a few more impossibly long seconds before he stormed off angrily. Astoria breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew that this was just the beginning. Dragon would have a lot of work to do here to fix things, but she knew he could do it.
Later that evening, after most of the vampires had gone to sleep, Dragon approached Astoria and said, "I think it's time you got home, don't you?"
Astoria nodded. Her sister Daphne would be surprised to wake up and find her still asleep, but that would be nothing to her finding that she had disappeared entirely. The two of them headed outside and made their way towards Dragon's super-cool motorbike. Astoria remembered a few days ago when Draco had admired the bike.
Handing her a helmet, Dragon grabbed one for himself. He faced her, and looking her dead on, reached for his head, removing the bright purple, spiky wig that was now evident he was wearing. As the blonde hair beneath came into view, Astoria gasped in surprise.
"Draco!" she exclaimed. Suddenly, everything made sense. Why he kept disappearing, his familiar cerulean-blue eyes, why he'd been interested in the bike, and why he'd wanted her to stay away. "It's you, but…"
"I've been using the Dragon moniker for a while," Draco explained. "I never knew it would come in this handy. I couldn't directly oppose Blaise, but I could pretend to be an outside party and overturn his power. And it worked."
Astoria nodded, nearly driven speechless. "And I almost ruined everything. I'm so sorry, Draco."
He embraced her tightly. "No, you didn't. You were amazing. I am sorry about your friends, but I arrived too late and there was nothing I could do."
Now it was her turn to excuse him. "It's not your fault. Besides, I think they'll get along pretty well as vampires."
"Fair," Draco agreed. They gazed into each other's eyes and felt that now that they were together, everything was right with the world. Draco reached to kiss her, and she felt that these were the arms and lips she wanted forever.
But how to convince Draco…?
