DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters, unfortunately, that privelage belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I do however own the story line and any ideas going with it. Please don't sue because I am only a poor girl whose imagination cannot come up with any original ideas for a world she could write in.

Love and Other Passions - Chapter Eight - Reborn

"This is stranger than I thought it would be." Oliver sighed, his head tipped to Hermione's chest.

"It's from the overdose of the Grindleberry serum, there is no other explanation." Severus replied, pacing the stone floor of his room.

"We will have to wait until she wakes up to find out Severus." Albus said, "We do not know if she was taking something else as well."

"She's starting to wake up." Oliver said, moving away.

"Hermione? Are you alright?" Severus asked as she opened her eyes.

Hermione grunted, pulling herself to sit up against the backboard of the bed, "What's with that pounding in my head?"

"It's your heartbeat Hermione." Draco snarled, "Somehow you've managed to get it back. You've been researching a cure for vampirism, haven't you?"

"No, and I didn't overdose on the serum, I only ever had what I needed, no more." Hermione said, blinking a few times to get her focus.

Albus sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at her concerned, "Are you feeling alright Hermione?"

"I'm fine." Hermione nodded, holding her head to stop the pounding sensation, "What actually happened?"

"You fell asleep on my bed, before I could even get down here to give you the more powerful serum. I left a note and a single dose for the next morning and went back to the chess tornament. Oliver almost went deaf when you called for help. When we got here, you had bitten your wrist with these new fangs and passed out. Your heartbeat started two days later, and your body is somehow producing blood again." Severus explained.

"I'm making blood? Real red, warm blood of my own?" Hermione asked, nipping at her wrist and watching as the liquid dribbled down her arm, "How can this be?"

"One of my dear friends is arriving today some time to help us understand that. He is an expert when it comes to vampires and strange happenings." Albus smiled at her.

*You have a soul Hermione. I can feel it.* she heard Oliver's voice in her head.

"If you have something to say, say it, don't push thoughts into my head." Hermione glared at him.

Severus looked to Oliver questioningly.

"I can feel her soul. If it wasn't for the serum, you, Draco and I would be all over her like a fly on rotten meat." Oliver said, "She's like a vampire that's a vampire magnet now. It's hard to explain, but she definately has a soul."

The dungeon was eerily quiet for a few moments before the knocking at the door made them all jump. On the other side was an elderly looking man, about Albus' age, wearing a dark green cloak and holding a bag by his side.

"Albus, it is good to see you again." He smiled, the wrinkles on his face becoming deeper.

"Ah, Felix, it is good to see you too." Albus smiled.

Felix entered the room, looking around with little distaste, and narrowed his eyes as he saw Severus, Draco and Oliver. When his eyes met with Hermione, they became surprised, unbelieving of what they saw.

"This would be our Hermione?" Felix asked, moving to the bed.

"Yes, she only woke up a few minutes ago. Sorry my letter was so short, but you are the most experienced person we know when it comes to vampires and other things, and none of us knew what was happening." Albus replied, trying to usher the others out of the room.

"Albus, I'm not leaving her side." Severus said sternly.

"I have things to do anyway." Oliver smiled fakely at him.

Draco, Albus and Oliver left the room quietly without another word. Oliver and Severus had never been on great terms, but over the past weeks, with Hermione in danger, they had been at each others throats more than once. Severus usually backed down, knowing that Oliver was more powerful than he, but on this occasion, he stood his ground, for reasons even he could not explain.

"How long had she been asleep?" Felix asked him as he checked her heartbeat and eyesight.

"About two weeks." Severus replied, moving to the other side of the bed.

Felix sat back and thought for a moment, before posing his next question, "How long have you been a vampire?"

"Five years give or take a few months." Hermione said, looking confused, "What does this have to do with what happened to me?"

"Alot. There is only one recorded case of what I am thinking you have." Felix smiled to her.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, urgently wanting to know.

"If a vampire renounces a certain thing, and there is a certain amount of depression involved, the vampire can evolve into the living undead. You are both vampire and human, Hermione. Although you will have to eat like normal human being, your vampiric half will want an amount of blood, much like the serum you have been taking. You cannot take the serum anymore though, because it will kill you." Felix explained.

"So I am mortal again?" Hermione asked, still a little confused.

"Technically, yes. You can be killed by any means that a human may. Look at your skin Hermione, it is back to it's old colour, you are now warm, like a human. For the most part, you are human." Felix replied.

~~~~

Hermione stayed in Severus' rooms for another few days, slowly eating a little more each day. She had many visits from Oliver and Severus, but Draco was nowhere to be found. This scared her a little, because she knew that he was a very volatile young man.

When Albus thought she was well enough to move around again, and Felix said that she would be alright, Hermione went to her first communal lunch in a few weeks. She sat between Remus and Sirius at the Gryffindor table, slowly stomaching what little food she could. Hermione felt a little better after the meal, but still very weak, and strange. It had been atleast five years since she had felt her heart beating and it made her dizzy.

As Sirius and Remus left her in her room that night, she looked around a little dazed and went to sit on the edge of her bed. It was warm, soft, and alot more comfortable than Severus' hard mattress. Hermione felt very tired suddenly, and knew that she needed a shower before going to sleep. She stood up, maybe a little too fast, and walked over to her drawers, pulling out a dark red chemise from the top drawer. Hermione made it a quick shower, the warm water making her even more tired, but very relaxed.

When she hopped into the bed, she lay on her side, cuddling up to the pillow and breathed in deeply. *Severus slept in my bed...* she thought to herself, smiling softly as she feel into a deep sleep.

~~~~

Her dreams were dangerous and dark. Long grey shadows climbed the walls of her bedroom, joining at the top and mixing. A pale creature stood over her, something poised in it's hand, as if to strike. There was a loud crash as the door to her room flung open and a dark silhouette that Hermione's mind could not make clear ran in, taking the creature from her mind's eye. They struggled for a moment, and Hermione heard a definate groan of pain. Her mind dropped out and it felt like she was falling. Next she knew there was a hand touching her head, stroking it as if comforting and it only lasted a minute before she fell again. Then one white figure with the other, they seemed to be talking. Hermione fell again, and when she landed, it was awake, in her own bed, in her own room.

Strangely enough, the door to her room was wide open, and there was a slash in the parted side-curtains of her bed. No one else was in the room with her, which Hermione found strange. She moved out of the bed, and taking a change of clothes with her, she went for a shower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: R&R as always please! briskit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~