Pain is a weakness of the strong! This is what I have learnt the weak are too busy working towards goals to see or feel pain. The worst for the strong is emotional pain and this will hold them back for weeks or even months. Here at Hogwarts there are far too many strong people and far too many beautiful people for them to fall in love with. And I feel myself becoming trapped in those alluring eyes.

Lucrius Next

Hogwarts great hall 9:00 PM 31st October.

"Do you always hide in the shadows?" A pretty girl asked Lucrius.

"Only if it means finding you." Lucrius replied.

"Shall we dance?" asked the girl nervously,

"We will if you tell me why you're nervous." Said Lucrius.

"Because of who you are." Her voice was almost quivering. Lucrius bent over and kissed her on the cheek,

"Just relax and you'll see what I'm really like." He said. Harry and Ginny were standing on a balcony looking over into the great hall; Ginny was looking for Ron and Hermionie, who had gone off to dance. Harry on the other hand was looking and tracing the moves of Lucrius.

"He's so graceful, how does he do it." Harry thought aloud.

"If you say things like that too often I'll get worried." Ginny said and smiled at him.

"I feel we should be dancing," Said Harry, "and yet I cant bring myself to do it."

"Don't worry I'm going to go down by myself in a minute." She replied.

"Good!" Harry said without really thinking, "I lost him wait there's his date."

"Well bye Harry." Said Ginny

"Bye Ginny." Ginny headed off down the stairs into the main hall and immediately was found by a boy in her year. Harry was far too busy looking for Lucrius. Lucrius however was not in the great hall rather he was waiting in the shadows behind Harry. One of the best things about being a vampire was the stealth advantage, or at least this was Lucrius' favourite. He now had nearly every vampire book from the library and was trying to learn, through counter intelligence, how to use his powers to the full. It seamed he was not alone there were many vampire wizards, but they were always hunted down as evil creatures. Even, Lucrius noticed the good ones.

"Well damn I lost him." Said Harry and began to turn round. Lucrius stood and waited for Harry to turn round fully before saying,

"So what is it that you want to find out from me?" Harry just looked at him blank faced as though he had seen a ghost.

"What not happy to see your good friend Lucrius Harry." Harry looked slightly angrily at him,

"Ahh I see you are still angry at me for helping Ginny. You feel for her don't you?"

"Well… I don't know." Said Harry

"Give it time, you will. I can see it happening very soon."

"You don't read time do you. I have had bad experiences with that."

"No Harry the prophets do that for me." Lucrius turned flicked his cape round as he did and started to walk on down the stairs.

"Wait." Said Harry, but Lucrius said whilst he continued to walk,

"You can find me in the dungeons."

Hogwarts dungeons 10:00 PM

Harry shuddered as he walked down the eerie spiral staircase that led to the dungeons. He kept hearing Snape's voice over and over again screaming his name. As he put his feet on the bottom of the passage way he noticed that all the torches had been taken from the wall and he could not light then so he cast the light spell and continued down the passage way. He saw a small study with a light on 2 rooms further down the corridor; he walked down and stepped in, to his horror he saw Snape standing there. Or at least he thought it was Snape. The person said in Snape's usual voice,

"POTTER GET OUT." But something worried him about this Snape but he could not put his finger on it. So he continued down the corridor until he came to the main classroom which was fully lit.

"Took your sweet time didn't you Potter." But the voice wasn't Lucrius'. It was Snape.

"Now Potter you have come down here for a reason, I hope it would be extra potions lessons but I see you didn't even sign up for the main course. So Potter why are you here."

"I…I was told I could meet Lucrius here."

"Ahh Mr. Next my best student. He left 5 minutes ago. Now go back to the great hall or your common room its past curfew."

"Sir. Were you just in your study?"

"Don't be stupid Potter I have been in here waiting for you." As Harry wandered down the corridor the light had gone from the study.

"Maybe I just imagined it," thought Harry after all in the past 5 years he had had some sort of adventure each year and he was half expecting for it to happen.

"I'll tell the others when I get back to the common room he thought. And continues on his way to the common room.

Gryffindor boys dormitory 3:45 AM 1st November

Lucrius was sleeping for the first time in months. He had drifted slowly and it was a disjointed sleep full of nightmares, mainly about his siring. Suddenly a voice he would never forget, his sire, said

"I'm coming for you Lucrius." He woke up with a start and looked out over at the end of his bed. A pair of yellow eyes peered back at him. And then with a swish of a cape they were gone.