Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim to own Harry Potter in anyway, shape or form. He belongs to JK Rowling, Warner Bros. Bloomsbury Books and many other franchises. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Authors Note: Athene Saile, you're one hundred percent correct! The line from the previous chapter ('What harm could come from reading a book?') is taken from the movie, The Mummy. Well spotted :)

The beginning of this chapter takes off after Luis was saved from the Train at Hogsmeade station. Of course, he being a 16th century vampire could never so much as imagine what a train could be. This chapter will finally reveal Luis' intentions for Hermione and Lucius' reply.

Dark Souls

Written By Bellatrix Black

Chapter 7: Time after Time

"What brings me back to you Luis?" Alexandra asked, eyeing Luis coyly and smiling her sweetest of smiles. "Is that even a question my dear?"

He watched her carefully, his arms hanging lazily by his side as she surveyed him smugly.

"It's a very simple question."

She raised an eyebrow and reached over, grabbing a handful of his shirt and tugging him towards her, placing a soft lingering kiss on his cold lips. He didn't push her away, nor did he kiss back before she pulled away and observed his expression of pure shock.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" she asked sweetly, her innocent face alight with insincere delight. "After all, I did just save your life. What on earth did you think you were doing standing on the train tracks?"

"Train tracks?" he questioned softly, glancing down at the 'rune' that lay on the ground below the platform. Alexandra pursed her lips curiously.

"I do not like being out in the open here Luis, where can we go to talk privately?" She insisted, changing the subject.

"There is a place I can deem is safe," He answered, plucking some much-needed confidence up from within him and without a second glance at her, he strode back down the path that led into Hogsmeade. Alexandra was of course slightly soured by his discourteous manner, but ignored it and lingered by his side silently.

Luis couldn't help but glance at the woman next to him and take in her atmosphere of pure unearthliness. At first glance, Alexandra looked the pure image of an angel. Her face did not betray the secrets of her past or the vindictiveness that stirred within her soul. But he knew. Oh yes, he knew well enough. And now having her here, by his side once more silently whispering the forgotten secrets from their past together, he couldn't help but feel less content.

He had crumbled once, because he had given her up. Because she had made him so strong, but refused to let him stand on his own. And now she had returned and within seconds, he could feel the same magic that had once existed between them both stirring inside of him. Her image had not altered at all in his mind and a whole rush of memories began to bombard him.

Luis shook his head, removing the thousands of questions that plagued him and instead concentrated on making his legs move without stumbling. His encounter with the 'train' had been a shock to his system and his nerves were only now calming themselves. After a few minutes, they arrived outside the Shrieking Shack and in the darkness, he pulled one of the doors open and gestured her in.

"Well… you certainly have quite a place here," she purred sarcastically. He shot her a dismissive look as he took off his coat, hanging it on the rack next to the door and gesturing for hers. She complied and then seated herself on one of the dusty couches in front of the barren fireplace. Luis sat opposite of her, his arms folded in an observant manner and a curious expression lingered on his features.

There was an unbroken silence between them both as they merely store back and forth between one another. And then, just as Alexandra felt she could take no more, Luis spoke.

"Why are you here?"

Surprised, Alexandra sat up in her seat before beginning to trace with her finger, the faded pattern on the armrest next to her.

"I could feel you had returned," she purred.

He cocked his head to its side, "Feel? Alexandra, that word is not in your vocabulary."

Alexandra chortled, "I see you've not lost your sense of humour."

"Why are you here?" he repeated. "The last time I saw you, you were wishing death upon my very head."

The corner of her lips curled into a small smile as the silently reminisced to herself.

"Though do not worry my beloved, Cassius did find a much better punishment for myself," he continued.

"Or so I've heard," Alexandra muttered, smoothing out the creases in her skirt absentmindedly. Her eyes glanced up to his and to her delight, they were observing her keenly. She raised her chin and surveyed him for a moment. His chiseled features, his strong arms, his hallowed eyes… the same old Luis…

"Luis, please do not tell me that all these years have not passed and you've still not forgiven me," she insisted and her shot her a dark look.

"Forgiven you? For what? Have I forgiven you for turning your back on me? For allowing me the deepest and darkest of tortures?" he growled softly and she shook her head, her dark eyes losing their strong and valiant demeanor a spark of remorse shimmering deeply within those pools. And as soon as it had appeared, the gleam in her eyes evaporated and a dark and sour look plastered itself over her face.

"You speak as though you are sinless, as if you yourself have not committed the crimes you have never dared to speak of."

Alexandra's soft voice had disappeared and in its place was a dark, deep and venomous replacement. "You're forgetting who left who to begin with, my dark prince. You're forgetting who took the first step and walked away!"

"At least I didn't condemn you to a box of stone for centuries on end!" Luis shot at her, his gray eyes wide with fury and his arms pulsing with the urge to take all his anger out on the woman in front of him. "At least I did not allow you to be thrown away, to live with your hunger as the world around you changed. As the world around you grew and flourished into what it is now. So that all you could think about, all you could feel was the hunger, the thirst!"

"I did not choose your fate, Luis!"

Alexandra stood up, towering over the man who sat in front of her. He drew up quickly, trying to restrain the urge to take out all his fury on her. To make her pay for the years he had lost and to make her realize just how much he was hurting – yes hurting – to have been locked away.

And then she reached over, her fingers cupping his chin and the anger, which stirred within Luis disapparated. The glimmer in her eyes expressed her dark and sensual side, which soothed him nonetheless. The memories… oh the memories all came back to him now and he knew this was just one of her tricks. One of her ways to make him calm down to adhere to whatever she wanted.

She leant over and once again that night kissed him softly and slowly. This time, Luis could not resist and he leant into her, letting his hands travel down to her hips and tasting the pleasures her mouth had to offer.

And then it happened. A sharp pain shot through his head, making him cry out hoarsely and pull away from Alexandra. His eyes screwed up tightly as the images in front of him became clear. They lasted but a few seconds but he was sure of what he saw. He held the palm of his hand to the side of his head, as if to calm himself and ease off the shooting pain.

"Hermione…" he purred softly, silently relishing and cursing the images that had suddenly come to him.

Breathing deeply, which was a quality age-old vampires rarely did -- as vampires did not need to breathe – he gripped the armrest of the chair behind him and flopped himself down in a very non-Malfoy way.

"Luis," Alexandra barked. "What's happening to you?"

He took another moment to steady himself before cracking one eye open and looking at the woman before him. The images he had seen, they had been so real, so as if Hermione had been right in front of him. In those split seconds he could practically smell her scent and feel her soft skin as she stood just out of arms reach. She had been crawling back into the covers of her bed. She was going to sleep. And why had these images come to him all of a sudden? Usually he had to will himself to see the young girl at all… but now.

And then Alexandra's poisonous eyes told him what he needed to know.

"Leave," he said plainly, his hand dropping to his side as he turned himself to face her.

"Leave?" She almost laughed, "Why should I 'leave' Luis?"

Her voice was almost challenging and his eyes narrowed to slits as he stood up.

"Because I'm done with you," he muttered, turning his back to her and making his way to the dusty and cobwebbed bar across the room. Alexandra's eyes widened and she rushed in front of him and placed her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean you're done with me Luis? You don't so much as know why I'm here!"

"Oh, but I do!" he roared. "I know now why you're here! Why you traveled here from god knows where and god knows whose bed! Did you really think the journal's curses would just plague me whilst I rotted in that tomb? No, they dwell with me and the gifts you supplied to the journal refuse to leave me as well! I know what you want from me Alexandra! I know what you believe I should be and I shall make true on my leave to you!"

And then Alexandra gasped in disbelief, a hand drifted over her mouth as she store at him peculiarly.

"Foresight? You have the gift of foresight?"

She had obviously been ignoring everything else he had said. Her eyes showed no mercy, but her expression spoke of regret.

"Yes and no," he began darkly. "I cannot see things whenever I wish to, but only when I need to. My body knows and shows me when something is right or wrong with myself… or with Hermione."

"Hermione?" Alexandra's voice shot bitterly. "Who is this 'Hermione'?"

And in true Malfoy fashion, Luis smirked broadly. "She is the one who had allowed me to once again become a part of this world."

"She unlocked the journal?" she asked, her voice rasping slightly.

"Yes my Alexandra, she was the one who set me free. A complete stranger, a mortal, rather than my lover and sire."

Under normal circumstances – if there could ever possibly be normal circumstances – these words would have stung Alexandra on the outside. But instead she scowled, raised her right hand and left a stinging slap on Luis' cheek. He took no notice of it, merely chuckling and gripping a hold of her wrist.

"Don't you speak to me like that you fool!" she demanded hotly, but his haunting laugh which she had seldom heard chilled her to the bone, holding up any words she could have said further.

"I'm done with you Alexandra. Now I know why you refused to ever let me turn another. You didn't want me to find someone else; you didn't want to be alone. You didn't want me feel for anyone but yourself, you selfish brat!"

And with that, his firm grip on her wrists loosened until it was no more and he strode over to the door of the shack and threw it open, "Get out and leave me be Alexandra, I no longer need you!"

And Alexandra pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed darkly as she gracefully retrieved her coat and stood at the doorway.

"Tell me Luis, what do you intend to do? Let this 'Hermione' become the beacon of your life? She is a mortal; she could never want something as dark and filthy as you are. And if she is but the saint you seem to compare me to, then do you really think you could ever turn her? That she could ever be happy living as something as vile and inhumane as we?" She spat her conniving words at him and his expression faltered for less than a second. But she knew this man. She knew what he was and how his brain worked.

And then suddenly, something that Alexandra had not expected him to do happened. Luis smiled. And not just smiled, but 'grinned' so to speak.

"This girl is smart and strong. But I can feel fear within her soul. She doesn't want to die and I do not wish to see her in a century's time, old and worn through the ages. Thank you Alexandra, I've been wondering for sometime now how to repay this girl and I think I know now that there is no better gift I could present to her, than the gift of immortality."

His cold words and hard demeanor stunned Alexandra, but she did not have much time to view them. He grabbed a handful of her hair, planted a searing final kiss on her lips before shoving her out the door and slamming it shut behind her. Luis was sure he heard a loud and very unladylike grunt come from behind the wooden door before he turned and sunk down on one of the couches.

The house was silent now and all he could hear were the flapping of the broken shutters in the wind. He retrieved the wand from his pocket and glanced at it for a moment, before pointing it towards the fireplace.

"Incendio," Luis said softly and a small fire rose in front of him, heating up the house which was filled which had snatches of the autumn breeze outside seep in through it's many nicks and cranny's. So, he hadn't lost his magical side after all. He twirled the wand in his fingers in front of him for a moment, before placing it on a nearby card table.

He sat in the silence for a few minutes, letting the scarlet embers from the fireplace bathe himself and the room in it's rosy color before he felt the hunger stir deep within him. He still had not fed. Dawn was still but hours away and so, lazily he stood up and hurried out of the backdoor. He retreated in the opposite direction of Hogsmeade, telling himself to trust his instincts and not feed from the same place twice.

~*~*~*~

"Hermione," the familiar voice called silkily. Hermione stood up wearily, abandoning and ignoring Harry and Ron's querying expressions as she followed the sweet voice. They had been sitting by the lake enjoying a picnic. The autumn leaves and the beautiful Saturday afternoon had made her feel so safe and relaxed.

"Hermione," the voice beckoned again.

"I'm coming," she said softly, as she headed back towards the castle. It was suddenly so quiet now and she glanced over her shoulder at the people who were behind her. They all seemed to not have noticed the change. Some Hufflepuff first years were gossiping together under a tree and some Ravenclaw and Gryffindor third years were having a friendly game of Quidditch at the pitch.

She came up to the steps of the Entrance Hall, and looked forward, trying to make out just whom the figure in the shadows was. Their hooded face and body were unseen and all she could grasp were the eyes. Cold, gray eyes. She looked back over her shoulder, registering no change with the people around her before the figure in front of her began walking down the steps of the Great Hall.

And then someone was standing next to her. His eyes too, were gray and his face was expressionless. It was Draco. He gestured forwards at the man in the hood in front of them.

"You have to know what to see," Draco said softly, as the cloaked figure pulled back his hood and stood in the sunlight.

"Luis," her voice murmured and he smiled, reaching out a hand towards her. She took a step back, her body suddenly freezing in fright and then he drew back his hand, Luis' face preaching of hurt. He suddenly looked towards the sky. More specifically the sun and Hermione gasped as the tall, silver haired man in front of her began to burn.

"Run! Run back to the shadows!" She shrieked, but he ignored her as his hands, arms and torso became lit up. And suddenly, he was no more. His body turned to ash and disappeared as the day turned cold and the skies darkened. Hermione shivered and hugged her arms around herself tightly, trying to keep warm.

She turned towards Draco, but he merely looked towards the castle steps, then back at Hermione, a grim expression on his face.

"Do you see what you've done?" he asked stiffly.

"I didn't do that," said Hermione, fighting to keep her voice strong. Hermione shuddered and then something suprising happened. Silently, Draco reached up and cradled her chin in his hand. Hermione didn't know why she let him, but she stood staring at him in surprise. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You have to know what to believe," Draco said almost soothingly.

Hermione's eyes flickered open and she lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a few good, long minutes. It had been a dream. A weird dream, that was for certain, but a dream nonetheless. She could hear soft voices in the room and she sat up. Parvati was sitting on the end of Lavender's bed, brushing her hair. Hermione simply blinked at the two girls, before glancing over at the clock. It was 7:08am.

"Good morning Hermione," Parvati called softly across the room and Hermione smiled slightly.

"Good morning" came the reply and a small nod went to Lavender. "Good morning Lavender."

Hermione pulled herself out of bed and dragged herself into the bathroom. She had a quick shower and brushed her teeth before she came back into her dorm to pack her bag. So today was starting out pretty normal, she mused to herself. It was definitely an unexpected feat considering her more recent mornings. But grateful for the feeling of normality, she turned back to her schedule.

A few minutes later, the young brunette came merrily down the stairs from the girl's dorms to find both Ron and Harry waiting for her in the common room. A chorus' of greetings broke out between the trio as they headed off to breakfast.

"We have Transfiguration first thing this morning," said Hermione, which only made Ron turn a slight shade of green. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong Ron?"

"Umm…well…" he began as she observed him with pincer eyes, "can I borrow your notes from the last class?"

"You didn't do the assignment!?" Hermione roared loudly and her almost cowered under her gaze.

"No, I did do the assignment!" Ron started and she breathed a sigh of relief, "But…"

"But what?"

"Well I did do it, I just didn't finish it," Ron insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh give him a break Hermione," Harry said pleadingly as both boys switched on the puppy dog eyes. Hermione sighed as they arrived at the Great Hall. She began rummaging through her bag until she managed to retrieve her notes and tossed them in front of Ron as they took their seats at the table.

'Thank you,' Harry mouthed and Hermione half smiled, half grunted.

"So, tonight. Anyone up for another round of butterbeers, gobstones and perhaps some Exploding Snap?" Harry asked as he began pouring warm milk on his cornflakes.

"Count me in!" Ron insisted as he began gulping down a large mouthful of porridge.

"Oh, me to too I guess," Hermione murmured as she glanced over at the Slytherin table. Draco was sitting in between Crabbe and Goyle, muttering things to them occasionally as he picked at a slice of toast boredly. Hermione could hear Harry asking Ron something about the Quidditch Pitch and she merely nodded along absentmindedly to whatever they were saying.

A bubble of anxiety began to form in Hermione's chest. Where was the post? Didn't it usually come around now? Why wasn't it here now? She nibbled absentmindedly on an apple slice, glancing at the high windows every now and again before finally, a large troupe of owls flew into the Hall. She sighed deeply for a moment before she paid the small owl, which brought her the Daily Prophet and glanced back over at Draco.

His large eagle owl had arrived carrying a box of what Hermione and the others had deducted to be Draco's sweets. He most commonly shared the lot with his inner circle. She watched and waited until all the owls had swooped back out of the large windows, but no others came to the young Slytherin.

Draco glanced over at Hermione for a moment, but then returned to conversing with his lunks. Hermione wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried. There was no owl from Lucius Malfoy. Clearing her thoughts, Hermione returned to her meal. She was a normal girl. She was at school, eating breakfast with her friends. She did not need to worry about a vampire during daylight. And she did not need to worry about the whereabouts of a convicted deatheater who was supposed to get rid of the vampire.

"Here you go Hermione," Ron said as laid her notes down in front of her.

"All done?"

"Yep."

"We may as well get to class early," Harry murmured, standing up from the table and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Class? Already?" Hermione glanced down at her watch. Time had flown so quickly.

Ron and Hermione gathered their books and made their way out of the hall. Among the throngs of other students, Hermione had the same familiar feeling of eyes on her back. She glanced over her shoulder, Draco was still sitting in his seat, from the looks of it he had been going through his bag and had sent Crabbe and Goyle on without him. But he placed the bag on the seat next to him and sat there silently.

Taking it as some kind of sign, Hermione walked down another two corridors before insisting that she'd left a notebook back at the Gryffindor table.

"I'll only be a minute," she announced as she turned her back to them and scurried back to the Great Hall. Peeking inside, she found that many of the other students were still inside, enjoying a late breakfast. One of which, was not Draco. Silently cursing herself for being 'too paranoid', Hermione turned around and came face to face with the silver haired boy.

They stood there, silent for a moment, before he pointed towards one of the empty passageways, which led to the lavatories. There were no classrooms down the other side of the corridor, so they'd be almost guaranteed some privacy. The moment they were out of earshot and sight, Draco turned to her and observed her stiffly.

"I'm guessing if I ask for the journal, you'll just say no."

She pursed her lips, "Clever little ferret, aren't you?"

"Granger, look. I know this probably is the most improper of times, places and yes, even people but right now, I think we need to call some kind of a truce between us both," He muttered hurriedly as he glanced down the corridor to make sure no-one could hear them. Hermione blinked, Draco still had his custom smirk plastered all over his face but she could almost see the slightest glimmer of worry pass over him.

"What's happened?" She asked, her throat going dry all of a sudden. Maybe he had bad news, maybe someone else had died. She hadn't even bothered to read through the Daily Prophet yet. Draco hesitated for a moment, before he reached into his robes pocket and drew out a small envelope. The seal had already been broken and her handed it to Hermione as he leant against the wall boredly. She didn't bother to question him and instead, pulled out the letter and began to read.

Find out where Luis is. If he's still near Hogwarts or Hogsmeade, go back to the Manor. If he's near the manor, stay at school. Do not tell anyone about him, not even Snape. If you are able to get the journal off of the mudblood, then I don't know what good it will do unless I can get my hands on it and Hogwarts is not the most inviting of places for me right now. Large packages can be intercepted too easily and we may never get it back then.

Research. Owl your mother and have her send over some of the books in my private collection, they may help us in the future. Be careful and keep your eyes open. Contact me in the future if there are any new developments. Do not owl me unless it is of dire need.

Sincerely,

I needn't say.

Hermione handed the letter back to Draco, who promptly lit his wand and burnt it to a crisp. She didn't bother to ask, after last night's encounter she was certain that his paranoia concerning his father was not just a spur of the moment feeling.

"I'll be owling my mother during lunch, this letter only arrived this morning."

"When? I didn't see an owl at breakfast," Hermione muttered absentmindedly. He sneered and his lips curled.

"Have you been watching me Granger?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed for a mere second before she glared. "I was watching the post, believe me, you're no masterpiece to gaze at."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "Temper temper Granger. Let's not lose our cool."

She continued to glare and they stood there, both of them unsure of what to say really. Finally, after a minute or so Hermione sighed.

"Look, this is ridiculous."

"Exactly, which was why I suggested a truce but mere minutes ago."

"Fine then, a truce. But only between ourselves, and only when it's important. I'm not your friend Malfoy and I've no intention of conforming to some lovable sap after all the years I've had to endure your countless taunts."

"I couldn't ask, nor would I want any more than that," Malfoy muttered as he raised his chin. "And I'll not be shaking your hand, if that's what you're thinking."

Hermione nodded, "So what now?"

"Now," Draco started. "We go back down this corridor and head towards our respective classes. When the time comes, I'll give you some sign that I have more news and we'll go from there."

Draco got up from the wall and turned back down the hallway. Hermione hesitated for a second, but decided she could not wait any longer.

"Malfoy," she started and the boy stopped walking and turned around slowly. His lips were pursed in an annoyed and clipped manner.

"What?"

"'You have to know what to believe,'" Hermione said softly, nervously recollecting her dream earlier on in the morning. "What does that mean?"

A thoughtful look passed over Draco's face for a moment, before her glanced back at the young Gryffindor.

"I've no idea what it means. Why?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing important really," Hermione mumbled as she gripped her bag tighter and hurriedly strode past the bewildered silver haired boy. He considered stopping her and asking what she had meant by it, but his better judgment told him not to push onward.

~ENDCHAPTER7~

Authors Note: I certainly hope you've all liked this chapter as it did take me a rather long time to write. Almost five hours, including a few breaks. So now we have a clear picture on Luis' motives, his feelings concerning Alexandra and of course, further fodder for coming chapters. Now I've decided to speed up the romance and plot happenings of this story as it obviously took six chapters to get Draco and Hermione to have so much of a decent conversation together. I'll try to make the chapters longer and to fasten up the romances etc.

But don't think things are going to be so simple. I love to complicate things. And just a little spoiler for people, I'm going to take this story to more places than Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, so just be patient as I do need time to write each chapter. There's a lot going to happen.

Let's not forget, Harry, Ron and Voldemort still don't know about Luis. Alexandra is a very spiteful person (or shall be) and we've not seen the last of her. Lucius wants to get rid of Luis just as bad as Draco and Hermione. There is research to be done. I've planned around twenty-five chapters, but I may shorten the amount if I get the initiative to add some together.

Anyway, feel free to review me, as I'll love you forever if you do as it's reviews that keep me alive and give me the ability to continue sometimes. I'm currently working on a joint project with my good friend Sarah, under the account name Blue-And-Silver. Feel free to go check it out :p (It's a James/Lily/Severus ficcie). I'm also working on a few stories, but I need to iron out some of the plots and really want to finish Dark Souls before I start on another one.

I'm planning quite a few chapters for this fic, but if I can manage to make chapters as long as this one then perhaps it might just be around twenty chapters long. One can hope at least. Anyway, until next time :p