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. and numerous other franchises. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Dark Souls
By Bellatrix Black
Chapter Ten: Consequences Pt.1
"Careful with that Ron!" exclaimed Hermione. She was seated on a stool in Herbology class the day after her misadventure with Draco the night before. In her lap sat a set of instructions she was memorising for the day's lessons, while Harry and Ron attempted to trim the leaves of a rather fussy Worolo Plant.
"I know what I'm doing!" Ron scoffed hotly, as he accidentally snipped off one of the branches.
"Mr. Weasley! Put down the plant and step away from the sheers!"
Professor Sprout was glaring at him angrily from across the green house, her hands on her hips and a clipped look on her face. Harry gave Ron a sympathetic look; whose face, in turn, turned the same colour as his hair. Hermione began tending to the poor mutilated and rather bald tree as her friend prepared himself for a long lecture on 'green house etiquette'.
"Is something wrong with Ron?" she asked Harry absentmindedly, trimming the leaves slightly as she spoke.
"I think he's just a bit nervous, another Quidditch match is nearing and everything," said Harry as he compared his own Worolo Plant to Hermione's complete and neatly finished one.
"Well he did pretty well during the last one. What's happened?"
Harry shrugged as he readjusted his glasses, brandishing the sheers menacingly at a still ragged and rather brushy branch.
"We won the last one, but I think he's afraid that it was a fluke. He calls all his victories fluke's, even when he passes an exam."
"Oh, I see..." Hermione muttered, a pang of guilt striking her in the stomach.
"How about you come to Quidditch practice tomorrow afternoon? It might give him a confidence boost," said Harry, silently praying that Hermione accepted the offer.
The past few weeks, she seemed to have distanced herself from not only he and Ron, but everyone else in Gryffindor. In fact, Ginny had gone so far as to say Hermione had shut everyone else out. Harry couldn't help but wonder if she had been right, and more importantly, if she was right, then why? Hermione had been acting strangely lately, but she had already said was because of her studies.
"Sure, of course I will," piped up Hermione, a small smile on her face and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He had been imagining it. He must have.
"Great! Tomorrow afternoon, four o'clock, Ginny will be there too, so you'll have something else to do other than stare up at us for a few hours."
Ron came trudging back to his friends, a rather sour look on his face as he muttered curses under his breath.
"I wonder what crawled up Sprout's arse-"
"Ron!"
"Oh forget it, let's just get this over with," he muttered. His eyes strayed over to the next twenty plants waiting to be trimmed. "And hopefully, we can burn them all in a satanic ritual when we're done."
Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry couldn't help but chuckle. Perhaps, things weren't as different as he had thought. The three continued on like this, with Ron's very open complaining which attracted quite a few annoyed stares from Professor Sprout and ten points from Gryffindor.
"Dreadful! I swear she is!" Ron huffed as they all began packing up their sheers and gloves when the lesson finished.
"She's lovely as long as people listen to what she's saying," said Hermione with a dark look as she tucked her notes into her bag.
"Miss Granger, can I have a word with you?" Professor Sprout called from across the greenhouse. She was just congratulating Neville on his extra credit homework.
"Sure," came the reply. "Can you guys pack away my things? I don't want us to be late for Potions."
"No problem," Harry murmured as he tucked his own dragonhide gloves back into his bag. With a thankful smile, Hermione skipped over to the Professor.
"Professor Sprout's probably going to congratulate her on having an A triple plus on her most recent homework," Ron retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Well if she does, Hermione would have deserved it, Ron."
"Yeah, I guess so," Ron sighed and as he shoved Hermione's notes into her bag. Hermione came wandering back to them, a small resilient grin on her face as she merely muttered something about 'wonderful work'. And the trio hurriedly made their way off to Potions.
~*~*~*~
"No! They have to be around here somewhere Harry!"
Ron's shrill voice echoed through the Gryffindor common room that night. Furiously, he tore through his bag, throwing the contents around as he did so, causing Lavender and Parvati, who were sitting on one of the couches not too far away, to throw his quills right back at him.
"Ooph! Stop it!" he hissed, batting his arms wildly in front of him to avoid the rather pointy feathers.
The two girls merely glared at him, before glancing back and forth between each other and breaking out into a fit of giggles. They resolved to run up to the sixth years girls dorms for a gossip session, rather than explaining why, leaving Harry and Ron to wonder the mystery of the opposite sex and his missing Herbology notes.
"I had them when we were in the green house! I remember I had them in my hand and then I was putting Hermione's notes in her bag…" Ron scratched his head before realisation dawned on Harry.
"I may just be taking a stab in the dark here Ron, but do you think you might slipped them into Hermione's bag by accident?"
Ron flushed, embarrassed as he nodded slowly. "Well, it is a possibility."
With that, the two boys trudged up the steps to the girl's dorms and cautiously knocked on the sixth year's door softly.
"Hermione?" Ron asked and a barrage of giggles erupted from behind the door. The two boys heard soft footsteps heading towards the door, before it opened a crack and Lavender popped her head out.
"Hermione's doing her prefect rounds right now, she should be back soon though," she said amid soft giggles.
"Oh, well did she take her school bag with her? Ron thinks he might have left some of his notes in there by accident," Harry asked hopefully. He didn't want to have to come back to this dorm once more that night, especially considering the sweet sugary look Lavender was giving him.
"She left it!" Parvati piped up and Lavender stepped aside, letting both boys enter the room. Ron and Harry nervously edged passed her and made their way to Hermione's bed. Her belongings were neatly placed on her dressing table, next to her bed and slumped against one of the bedposts was her bag.
"Thanks," both boys murmured absentmindedly, as they opened it and tried sorting through the contents within.
"God, she's got so many notes in here. You'd think she'd taken up more subjects again."
Ron resolved to emptying the bag all over Hermione's bed, amid protests from Harry who was rather worried about being in the girls dorms, let along going through Hermione's personal property.
"Look at some of this stuff, there's a whole lot of papers on curses and stuff," Ron muttered as he flipped through the papers in front of him. Harry started pawing through the papers as well, hoping to get it over and done with before Hermione returned.
"Ron…"
"What?"
"Umm…"
"WHAT?"
"This ones on Malfoy!"
Ron's eyes widened as he snatched the paper from Harry's hands and began skimming a few lines.
Luis Malfoy's journal spoke of his many grudges, but after Draco and I explored it with the Maura curse, I realised the severity of such. It was rather trying and I believe Alexandra's influence on the situation only intensified his hate for his family. No doubt Luis' hate for his family hasn't died down. Draco's owled his father once more, though I don't know just what will happen really…
"What the hell?!" Ron screeched.
"Calm down, maybe there's probably a reasonable explanation for this," Harry insisted gently, cowering slightly from the look of fury on his best friend's face.
"A reasonable explanation for what?" Sounded a voice from behind the two boys. Harry and Ron turned towards the doorway to find Hermione standing there, a large blue book in one hand and a rather interesting expression on her face. She glanced down towards her bed to see her notes strewn all over the place and her eyes narrowed uneasily at the paper in Ron's hands.
Ron pursed his lips and flung the parchment at her and it only took one glance for Hermione to realise it was her notes on her experience inside the Maura Curse. She cleared her throat, but Ron managed to speak before her.
"What the hell is going on with you and Malfoy?"
Parvati and Lavender broke out in astonished giggles. "Hermione and Malfoy? Oh my god!"
"There is nothing going on with Malfoy and I," she barked at them, glaring at Ron now, "and this has nothing to do with you Ron, so just leave it!"
"Hermione, what's going on then? What are all these notes about?" asked Harry curiously, a rather dark look on his face. So, Hermione had been coming something from him and apparently, that something concerning his very own arch-enemy. What kind of person would he be if he didn't get upset?
"They're not important and I'd appreciate it if you'd both stay away from my property," she muttered as she strode over to the bag and began hurriedly shoving them back into her bag.
"Don't tell me it's not important Hermione, considering half these papers have Malfoy scribbled on them!" He almost shouted and Hermione cringed slightly.
She felt her face become quite warm and she glared at the two boys. She hadn't done anything wrong here had she? It wasn't like she had been hanging out with Malfoy behind their backs – well she had, but only because the situation required her too. How else could she ever rid herself of the vampire who had been haunting her dreams? The man who had been meeting her night after night as she slept.
And now, Harry was berating her for not telling him about something. It brought her right back to the summer before fifth year, where he had been so angry with her and Ron because they hadn't been able to tell him about most of the summer's events. Even then, he knew they had promised not to tell him and still he had persisted yelling at them.
"Oh shut up Harry!" she shouted, suprising even herself. "Don't you think I would have come to you if I thought you could help? Or do you really lack such faith in me and that you think I don't I know right from wrong!?"
"How is spending time with 'Draco' right, Hermione? How? Give me one good reason!" He barked loudly.
"It's none of your business, I don't have to explain every detail of my life to you Harry and I most certainly don't have to justify myself to you of all people!"
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that if you can't accept the fact that I can't tell you something, then I don't see why you bother asking for justification from me at all!"
Ron, Lavender and Parvati were all silent as Hermione and Harry glared back and forth between each other. Neither of the three was sure whether they should interrupt the argument between the two, though Ron had been surely tempted to when it had first started. Now, he was rather afraid of what would happen if he so dared to open his mouth.
Harry took a deep breath to steady himself, letting Hermione's words run through his head once more. A part of him wanted to yell and scream and to take the pieces of parchment and burn them to pieces. Malfoy and his family had played a part in Sirius' death. How could she even speak to Malfoy after that? But another part of him was telling him to be reasonable. He had already lost Sirius; the last thing he wanted now was to lose one of his best friends.
"What do you mean that you can't tell me?" He asked, slightly calmer now. Hermione swallowed the lump that had formed in the base of her throat.
"I can't explain it, Harry. If I could explain it reasonably, then I would. But right now, I don't understand it entirely either. I can promise you though, that I'm not doing anything bad or wrong and whatever I do, it's for the best. This is just something I need to take care of by myself."
"How does Malfoy play a part in it if you're 'doing it by yourself'?"
"He's helping me," she said plainly, biting her lip.
"How come you can tell Malfoy, of all people, but can't tell myself and Ron?"
"It's complicated Harry," Hermione said weakly and Harry shook his head, a look of disgust passing over his face and he turned to Ron, gesturing to the door.
"Let's go Ron, I think it's kind of obvious that we're not wanted here," he spat.
"I never said that!" she hissed but both boys were already half way to the door.
"You don't have to say it Hermione! It's obvious enough! Don't tell me I'm the only one whose noticed it, but you've changed. You're always studying and if you're not, you're sleeping! What happened to the days when we used to talk? Or spent more than an hour together rather than holding up in our rooms or in the library?"
Harry shook his head, almost mournfully as he stormed out the door. Ron followed after and Harry slammed it behind him. Hermione jumped slightly, taken aback at the loud noise as she stared at the barren door. The room was silent and not even Lavender and Parvati seemed to have found anything to say.
Hermione turned to her bed, struggling to keep tears at bay as she packed the rest of her notes into her bag and placed it next to her bed. She bit her lip again, this time harder and she rummaged through her dresser for her night clothes as Parvati and Lavender wandered over to their own beds and began busying themselves with straightening out their quilts and covers.
Hermione hurried out of the room and into the adjoining showers. She turned on the water, not caring that the water was barely but tepid as she stripped and stepped under the shower. The water cascaded down her body, and it was now, in the silent and lonely bathroom, that she cried.
She let the tears mingle with the water from the showerhead and she barely tasted them as they ran down her face. She cried until her body racked with sobs and until she felt so exhausted that she could no longer stand before she turned off the tap, dried herself off and changed into her pyjamas.
She returned back to her room and found that Parvati was sitting on Lavender's bed, chatting with her quietly. They both gave Hermione small, reassuring smiles as she hurried past and threw herself on her bed. She pulled the hangings around her bed closed and turned off her lamp. She closed her eyes, hoping that she was out of tears to cry, as she willed for sleep to woo her.
~*~*~*~
"Hermione," his silky voice echoed and Hermione opened her eyes. Pulling apart the hangings from her bed slightly, she glanced around the room but found no one there. Was she awake? She wondered this, perhaps she was dreaming.
"Hermione, I'm waiting for you my dear."
Hermione got up from her bed and pulled her robe off of a chair, wrapping it around her tightly as she felt a slight draft fill the room. She glanced over at the clock next to her bed; it was late, past four already. She slipped on her slippers, pocketed her wand and as quietly as she could, slipped out of the room. She made her way down into the common room, but to her surprise found no one there.
"I'm waiting for you in The Great Hall."
She quietly padded out of the room and down the many winding corridors, her body still cold as her pyjamas and robe weren't made from the thickest of materials and the crisp autumn air did her no good. Winter was right around the corner; it was becoming colder by the day.
A few minutes of wandering the all too familiar corridors, skirting Filch twice and hearing that sweet and tantalising voice echo around her and Hermione soon found herself standing in the doorway to the Great Hall. She glanced around the hall nervously for the source of the voice, but found no one there.
"Luis," she called softly as she squinted in the darkness. She pulled out and lit her wand as she wandered deeper into the large, solitary chamber.
"I'm right here, Hermione."
The voice had come from the staff table and after a few steps forward; Hermione took in the sight of the tall vampire, sitting in Professor Dumbledore's seat at the head of the table. The young girl cautiously walked forward until he came into full view. His innocent, yet devilish face was illuminated in her wand light. His silver locks cascaded down to his shoulders and his grey, steely and still eyes merely watched her as he leant back in the plush seat. His body, thin and lanky was stretched out comfortably in the seat and his dark robes flaunted his face, which was angelic, yet cradled the misdeeds of the devil.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper.
He smiled, gesturing to the seat next to him. "Sit, I'm sure you're tired."
Hermione watched him carefully, but nonetheless rounded the table and sat down in the seat, which was usually reserved for Professor McGonagall. Satisfied, Luis decided to answer her question.
"I am here my dear, because I know that all is not right for you."
Hermione blinked, wet her lips and swallowed the lump that had begun building up in her throat. "Everything is fine here. If anything, it was dangerous for you to come, you know that."
"You do realise, that you're a terrible liar?" he asked teasingly. Hermione inclined her head, tapping her fingers on the table nervously. Her ringlets of soft brown hair cascaded down neatly over her shoulders. Her thin frame only expressed the look of someone tired and overworked - yet the determined spark in her eyes beared the mark of a true Gryffindor.
"I had this stupid argument with some friends of mine," she muttered embarrassedly.
Luis nodded his head knowingly. "Mortal problems… the ones that stab at the heart and destroy the soul."
"Well when you put it that way…"
He chuckled softly, seemingly unaware of the fact that anyone could be lurking just outside the hall. Filch seemed to never sleep and the teachers were just as diligent in catching students out of bed. Hermione had no idea how she'd explain this situation if they were caught.
"Do not fear, no one shall stray upon us tonight," he said, as if reading her mind and Hermione wondered whether he could actually do so. If he could visit her when she slept, perhaps he was able to read her thoughts.
"You shouldn't be here Luis, you know that it's not safe."
"I had to see you Hermione," he whispered and she felt slightly comforted. Well, at least there was somebody out there that wanted to see her. Ironically, it was the same someone she was trying to rid herself of. She felt another pang of guilt that night, for deep down she knew that she was betraying him.
"At the risk of capture? You should know better," she pointed out, a slight hint of thanks in her voice.
"Perhaps I should, but I have a proposition for you and I wanted to be here in person when I offered it."
"A proposition?"
"Yes," he whispered, a strand of silver blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. "You see, ever since you met me. Since you released me. I have been searching my mind for some way to thank you for doing so. I am a man of proper manners after all and I am deeply grateful towards you for releasing me."
Hermione nodded slowly. "You don't have to thank me for releasing you. I've told you before, it was quite accidental."
"Accidental or not, you were still the one. And for that, I am forever grateful. I almost came to believe that there was no way I could truly thank you for what you did for me, but then… then, I came to the realisation of the one thing I could give you that could ever truly …appreciate."
"And what would that be?" Hermione asked, furrowing her brow.
A small smile curled at the corner of Luis' lips and he turned himself to face her completely. He reached out and ran the pad of his thumb along her jaw. He felt her shudder and could hear her heartbeat quicken as he did so, which only delighted him further.
"The gift I speak of, is immortality."
Hermione's eyes widened for a moment, before she stood up from her seat, horrified, and took a step back from him. Her voice caught in her throat and Luis watched with a raised eyebrow as she struggled to find the words to say.
"How," she began slowly, raising a hand in front of her. "How is immortality a gift?"
Luis still sat, his grey eyes observing her without the slightest hint of surprise. "An immortal does not need to worry about the trivial moments in a lifetime. They never have to worry about aging, about losing their body and their mind to old age. They never have to worry about disease and they never have to worry about time, for time is theirs to waste."
"And to make me immortal… you would turn me, wouldn't you?"
"Well how else would I make you one?" he asked softly, his expression unchanging.
"Luis…" she began, but found that she didn't know what to say. 'Say no!' her mind screamed. How could she even consider becoming what he is? To feed off of the living and to forever live in the shadows? She couldn't become that… could she?
But what was the alternative? The life she currently led, where her best friends hated her simply because she had been acting oddly? Where she spent days upon days to establish herself, to get good grades so that when she graduated, she could do whatever she wanted in the wizarding world. And what use would that be when she was old and her mind wasted away into nothing?
'Stop!' she told herself. 'How can you even contemplate this?'
"I can see that you're torn Hermione and I understand. It is never easy for one to just choose between lives and I cannot expect you to do so within minutes. I never had the choice, though I'm sure you know all the details of my turning… Whatever you choose, just be certain."
Upon saying that, Luis stood up. He gave her one last, reassuring smile.
"Before you choose though, just know this my darling. The one mortal life you could live could not possibly be as enlightening or as exciting as the thousands I could and would give you. I could show you things you could never imagine, but only if you let me."
"I don't know, Luis," she whispered as he ran a finger across her lips, which reminded Hermione of Cassius and Alexandra. The two… human and vampire… most people in that situation didn't live to see the next morning.
"I know, so take your time. It's not like I'm going anywhere," he whispered in her ear and then, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Hermione closed her eyes and bit her lip. Maybe he thought he wasn't, but if she and the other Malfoys got their way, he would once again return to the stone box he had been imprisoned in. How could she just stand there and not tell him what they were plotting? Because locking away this man was the right thing. He was killing people, he was feeding off others and as long as he was free, whomever he killed, their blood would be on her hands.
She opened her eyes and found that Luis was no longer in front of her. Hermione glanced around the Great Hall, but found that it was empty and she couldn't help but wonder, just how long had she been standing there alone? She took a moment to calm herself and clear her head, before leaving the hall to its silence and heading back to bed.
~*~*~*~
Luis staggered outside of the castle, watching as Hermione, clearly shaken, headed back to Gryffindor Tower. He gripped hard onto the stone wall in front of him as he tried to control himself. It had taken him hours to walk from Abbotsville to Hogwarts, and even then he had had to wait until he was sure even that batty old Filch man was asleep.
He could feel the thirst growing inside of him, calling for him to feed and quench itself and it took all his will power to not run inside after Hermione. It was late and he could feel dawn approaching. He knew he had to go back to Hogsmeade, that he had to take shelter in that boarded up old shack before sunlight claimed him.
But the thirst was too strong and it yearned, it begged for him to end its struggle. He sniffed the air, the scent of man lingering slightly in the air. It wasn't Hermione's scent; he knew hers too well. No, this one was unfamiliar – and it was close by.
Her pulled himself inside the castle, the hunger making his senses go wild as he neared his prey. He pulled himself closer to the scent until the person it belonged to loomed in front of him. The boy was still in his night clothes and he had his lit wand by his side as he wandered the corridors.
Luis neared the boy, walking but a few steps behind him. But he was trained in the art of stealth. Years and years of experience had taught him how to guard his footsteps from mortal ears. And then, when the boy stopped, Luis could not control himself any longer and he grasped the boy's shoulders, spinning him around to face him.
He slapped the boy's wand away and pushed him up against the wall. Fear swam in the eyes of the prey, which pushed Luis one step closer to the edge as he eyed his neck longingly.
"It'll only hurt for a minute," he whispered and the boy whimpered pathetically as he took his last breath.
~ENDCHAPTER10~
Authors Note: OK, I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter. So let's recap. Draco and Hermione are on friendly terms, Ron and Harry are pissed off at her, Luis has made his offer of immortality to her, but do you think she'll still think the same of it after finding out he's fed off of a Hogwarts student? And WHO was the student anyway?
Stay tuned, there's more to come! Please review me to let me know what you thought! As for the romance, do you expect me to just have Hermione and Draco fall into each others arms? (I've been tempted to make it happen so many times!). I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible, so I'm afraid and deeply sorry but I have to make it long winded and as awfully anticipating.
My livejournal features my general ramblings about Dark Souls and my D/Hr centered fic, Unforgiveable Sinner. Feel free to visit for updates and musings on future chapters!
And in closing, I'd like to thank Liz Rose, jules37, Dirty Angel, wildchartermage, ishtwan hakujani the third, Salem Cat, Dirty Angel and PriNcEsS-oF-D-c for their lovely reviews of the previous chapter! It's people like you guys that I write for!