Chapter Seventeen
(As usual, starts boring, gets good, gets evil then I leave it there… sorry about the last chappie, I read over it again and hated it!!! It will start to get really going now, more blood involved and more fights, just the tiniest bit of romance at the end of this but that's only because there are so many D/Hr fans reading this (sorry to anyone who hates romance but I have to keep everyone happy)! It's definitely the calm before the storm. Thanx for being so patient with me! Very long if it's any consolation!)
Excited talk filled the hall as quickly as the food appeared on the golden plates at the start of year feast. The house ghosts were having fun showing off to the new first years and Peeves, who was normally banned from the feasts, had found a way in and had started throwing food at them. It took a very stern word from the Bloody Baron to sort him out, even then he blew the biggest, wettest raspberry he could manage back at him before flying out of the hall cackling. Who knows what he was going to do and who to. So, in short, everyone was there, except one.
Hermione was frantic. The rose Draco had given her had sat up in a dangerous way all summer, until she saw he was OK, she would not settle down.
"Hermione would you stop it! That's the third time you've done that and look, my soup was heading for my mouth!" Ron pointed to his wet, stained robes that now smelt of tomato.
"Sorry," Hermione replied quickly, sitting back down.
"Eat something and stop worrying!" Harry told her, shovelling mashed potatoes onto her plate.
"I suppose I should stop, someone would've told us if-"
Hermione had to stop there because at that moment, Peeves came flying through the doors of the Great Hall with a huge bucket, dripping water. Girls screamed and guys ducked as Peeves cackled wildly overhead, the odd drop of freezing water dripping onto a student. But Peeves did not throw it at anyone, in fact, it was completely empty. Students and teachers were just beginning to wonder what was going on when their question was answered by a very familiar, and very pissed off, looking figure storming in through the doors.
Soaking from white head to black boot was Draco Malfoy, his eyes were in dangerous slits under wet hair sticking to his deathly pale face. His boots swished with water as he stalked briskly forward and his clothes stuck to him as though with glue.
Peeves laughed hysterically before Draco could say a word, "Just a little wake up call that's all little Draccie… nothing menacing about it," he said this with the biggest smirk his little face could handle.
"I was already awake, I was walking out the bloody door!" Draco snapped, wringing out his cloak, a waterfall of icy water splashed on the stone floor, hitting a few near-by students.
"PEEVES! OUT!" McGonnagal yelled as she stood up, pointing at the doorway.
"Why me?" Peeves' features changed to that of innocence, "I'm not the dangerous one around here. If I go toothy gob goes too!" he looked down at Draco, who was gliding closer to him.
Students were silent, some were laughing quietly behind hands at this little show. First years didn't know what to think of this, after all, they knew no one.
"Get out now before I get the Bloody Baron!" she was still standing but her voice was lowered and more threatening.
"Fine, fine… Peeves can't have no fun he can't…" he glided sadly away but as he passed behind Draco, he threw the bucket over his head, which just about muffled out the swearing.
Once again, Peeves floated out, still cackling like a mad man as if that was the funniest thing he had ever done.
Draco angrily threw off the bucket onto the floor with a wooden crack; the handle sprung off and soared across the hall, hitting with a prang onto a wooden beam. Everyone was silent and stared at Draco, he felt as though his face would light up bright red if he had had enough blood in him, but he remained as chalk white as before.
The silence seemed to last for an age, until Dumbledore stood up and chuckled, "Very entertaining Draco I must say. Your endless war with Peeves never fails to amuse!"
"Oh, so I'm just a spectacle of entertainment is that it?" Draco tried to show anger but a grin was breaking through, his joy of finally being surrounded by people once again was stronger than his hatred for Peeves… and that was saying something!
"I believe it is time to introduce the last of our Hogwarts family," Dumbledore held out a hand in a gesture towards Draco, who swept his hand through his wet hair and it instantly became dry once again. A few people who caught this gasped and first years were beginning to see that he was not normal at looking at his waxy skin and unnatural movements.
"This is our school's night watcher, Draco Malfoy. He will be patrolling the corridors at night to make sure everything is sound so that you are safe inside these walls. It has gotten to the point now that outside at night is too dangerous, so I must press on you that outside after sun set is forbidden, but if it is necessary, Draco here must be with you at all times."
"Just don't get on my bad side, I might suddenly decide I'm hungry," Draco grinned and winked at a small girl beside him.
The girl took one look at this grin and shrieked, "Vampire!" This set off a chain reaction among most of the first years, who all were either screaming or looking extremely shaken. Many of the muggle-borns were looking very interested, they had never seen a real vampire before, and the older students smiled and laughed, remembering their own reaction last year.
Dumbledore raised a hand and the screaming stopped, but several white faces were still keeping at least one eye on the vampire standing in the centre of the Hall. "Do not panic, he will not hurt you he is safe!"
"You would think that wouldn't you… Draco Malfoy, the tame vampire. But what if someday I go mad… mad with a hunger inside me, for human blood," Draco made his eye twitch and he made a sudden movement towards a small boy in Slytherin with a hiss. The boy yelped and fell off his seat in shock.
"DRACO! Do not… torment the first years!" Dumbledore stood up and shouted firmly.
Draco stopped and swallowed, "Yessir…" he replied quickly and hung his head.
"Take a seat Draco, you've been looking forward to seeing your friends since the moment they left. Someone will bring you something in a minute. Everyone else, carry on and enjoy the feast!" with that final word, Dumbledore sat back down and the talking in the hall resumed.
Draco scanned the Gryffindor table for any sight of his friends. When he saw them, he smiled and glided towards them. First years watched were he was going to see who he was friends with, possibly to make sure they didn't go near them either.
"Draco!" Hermione stood up and gave him a big, warm hug. Ginny joined in, giving him a hug from behind. Draco couldn't stop smiling, he was with his friends again. He was the happiest he had been in months. As he stood there, surrounded by a hug, he saw the seventh year Slytherins glaring at him, some were grinning at him, as if they were up to something. Had they told their parents about him? Was Voldemort now wise to his plans? His momentary happiness was sucked out of him as if a dementor had just entered the room.
*~*~*~*
The weeks passed and everyone eventually grew used to Draco being around and the fact that he was a vampire, in fact, they were growing more and more curious.
"Did you really die?"
"What does it feel like being bitten?"
"How long have you been a vampire?"
"Can you still see the bite mark?"
Draco loved all the attention so he was happy enough to tell them what had happened… well, he couldn't remember exactly what happened… so he just had to add a little part of his own to the story…
"I was surrounded by them, I had no chance of escaping. I still had lots of energy left and I was determined not to let them get me, so I struggled. It took four of them - or was it five? - to drag me out into the forest. There, I still fought against them, I gave it every once of strength and I never gave in to tiredness, but" he put on a sad face, "as you can see they eventually won the fight. And, if you look carefully, you can still see the scar on my neck…" he rolled down his high necked collar and moved to the candle-light. The wide-eyed students followed in mounting excitement, still feeling fearful after Draco's story.
"I can't see anything!" A Welsh second year boy frowned as he looked closer.
"You have to look very closely and concentrate really hard on this spot here," he tapped the right side of his neck just below his jaw line.
All the students leaned in closer and closer. "Yes, that's it, closer… closer…" When they were close enough for their noses to touch, he quickly jerked round and hissed at them.
They all fell back with their hands in front of their faces and screamed in shock and fear. Draco laughed, showing his gleaming teeth. After a few seconds, everyone had began to laugh, the whole common room was soon laughing at the curious students.
As much as the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were getting to love him, the Slytherins weren't all feeling that way about him.
"Hey Malfoy, enjoy your 'life' while you can. You are in so much trouble!" Pansy and her gang of Slytherin girls giggled behind their hands as Draco walked past, going to deliver something to Lupin. A group of boys, including Crabbe and Goyle, were standing with them.
Draco rolled his eyes and stuck his middle finger up at them on the way past, without even looking round.
"Won't be so cocky soon Malfoy, hope you don't mind a little sunlight to get a tan, or do you not tan and just burn?" one of the other girls called and they all laughed.
Draco twitched but he wouldn't let them get to him, he had to stay calm, they were just trying to get him into trouble with the ministry, he knew about that as he had done it himself in third year to Buckbeak.
"You know Malfoy, if you really did care about those Gryffindork friends of yours, you'd just give in now. If you don't you know they'll just get hurt… staring with the mudblood, then-"
The boy didn't have time to finish, Draco dropped the parchment and he seemed to just appear right in front of the boy, hand pinning him up against the wall, eyes narrowed and dangerous, teeth bared in an angered grimace.
"Don't you dare make any threats against them… don't you dare call any of them a mudblood either or you may find that I don't care what the minister says and rip your throat open… don't think I'd drink any blood though, it'll just make me sick with it's sour taste," he hissed.
From behind, Crabbe and Goyle had grabbed his shoulders and they easily pulled Draco off the shaking Slytherin. They must have been the most stupid boys in the school picking a fight with a vampire but they did. Goyle held Draco in an arm lock while Crabbe continually hit him on his face and in his stomach.
"Want a fight do you? Your funeral boys!" Draco smirked. With one swift movement he bit Goyle in the arm that was holding him, when Goyle shrieked and let him go in an automatic reaction, Draco grabbed him by his other arm and swung him into Crabbe. Both boys were lifted off their feet, by the vampire's strength, and landed with a crash and clatter into a near-by suit of armour.
Draco spat and gagged at the taste after biting Goyle before grinning up at the others, as if daring them to make a move. "Anyone else want to say anything to me, or want to take me on? Feel free, I need a laugh!"
The girls had already made a run for it, the boy Draco had threatened, was edging away while Crabbe and Goyle were struggling to figure out what even happened, never mind get up.
"Fine, have a nice day," Draco smiled as he turned away, his cloak flying out behind him as he picked up the parchment again and continued to walk to Lupin's office as if nothing had ever happened.
*~*~*~*
The note for Lupin had said that he needed to be there at a meeting later that night with the Order and the Ministry inside the main conference room. Unfortunately for Draco, he had to be there too.
"So what you are saying is we should get this underway as soon as possible?"
"Yes, we need to start early to end this before it gets any worse."
"Will there be a war Minister?"
"I certainly hope not but, of course, we can not stop it if it does come. We will have to stand and fight."
"Everything rests on Malfoy… who is sleeping as we speak… Draco wake up!" Lupin nudged Draco, who was sleeping with his head on one arm.
"Young Malfoy, it is important that you pay attention! If you don't heed this information, everything will go wrong and it will be your fault that a war breaks out!" the Minister snapped.
Draco blinked, "Sir, I pretty much know what I'm doing here!"
"Pretty much isn't good enough! This is practically the whole wizarding world counting on you!"
"Oh well thanks for making me feel so much more confident sir! There's really not a lot resting on this really! Why don't I just go kill myself… it's not as if it would make much difference for all the faith you have in me!" Draco glared, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
They were all sitting at a very large, round table of polished pine. The room itself was decorated in gold and it was very grand looking. Draco was sitting opposite the minister and between Lupin and Dumbledore.
"What little faith I do have in you is slowly fading with your lack of attention and enthusiasm!"
"Enthusiasm? You want that? OK then… yeah, there's going to be a war no matter what I do and we're all going to die! Oh yeah, such spiffing fun that'll be eh? Painful deaths all around courtesy of the Minister and Draco Malfoy!"
Lupin hid his head under his hand, unable to suppress a grin, although he felt the seriousness of this. Draco did not believe that he could do this… he was not paying any attention… this could all collapse in a matter of days and a war will break out.
"Seriously, Draco. You need to understand fully what you are doing before you do it. Nothing must slip," Lupin looked up.
"I am to go into the forest or wherever the rest of the vampires are hiding and I have to stay there with them sending you lot back information on you-know-who's next moves… how can that be so hard?" Draco shrugged.
"They must truly believe that you are one of them, and that will be hard. Vampires are hard creatures to trick," Dumbledore replied.
"But, as the old saying goes, fight fire with fire," Lupin smiled at Draco.
Draco paused, "When do I start?"
"Tomorrow night," the Minister stood up, the rest followed suit and soon the conference room was almost empty.
Draco sat on his own for a while, taking it all in. The fact that he might screw up was prominent in his head. He had only just seen his friends again and now he has to leave. "This sucks…" he whined as he walked back to the common room.
*~*~*~*
Draco sat on the edge of his bed, he was worried about this, and he could feel that something wasn't right and that something terrible would happen but hopefully that was only his nerves playing up. Hopefully he thought again and looked up out of his hands. He was about to get up and go for a walk outside in the grounds again but something caught his eye and he stayed put, staring at the mirror in the far corner of his room.
He slowly stood up and glided over to it, still staring in disbelief as a tall, pale sixteen year old boy stared back. His reflection.
"How?" he whispered out loud as he touched the glass surface. I can't have one… he thought this as he was a child staring at a toy behind a glass window in a shop.
His wonder soon disappeared and his own vain self came back when he caught sight of the state his white hair was in. His fringe was long and falling untidily over his silver eyes, the rest was unnaturally shiny and messed up as if he had been in a hurricane and it was sticking right up at the back.
"Oh my God!" he growled in anger, had he been walking around like that all this time? His depression forgotten, he summoned his comb and began frantically brushing it, firstly brushing his fringe over his eyes. It was tangled in knots and it hurt to tug but other than that, his hair felt strangely unreal. "OUCH! What has that creep done to my bloody hair? Hasn't he heard of those little inventions called gel and a hairbrush? I swear I'm-" he stopped as he flipped his hair back from his eyes and looked at the mirror again.
His reflection hadn't moved, it wasn't even standing in the same position as him at all… he then looked closer and noticed that it was still wearing the clothes hehad worn the night he was bitten, impeccably neat but his hair was just like it was meant to be. His face bore the famous Malfoy smirk and stare, his arms folded and head cocked to one side.
Draco's mouth fell open as he raised the brush and pulled it through his hair. The reflection did not move but the hair did. The reflection looked up at the piece of hair moving and then smiled back at Draco before laughing at the look of horror on his face.
"The look on my face is priceless!" it laughed.
Draco's eyes widened, "Okay my reflection is talking to me…"
"Reflection? Hello, do I look as if I'm a copy of you? I'm not even moving like you! A reflection doesn't do that… and it most certainly does not talk to you!"
"Then what the hell are you? Oh Lord, I'm talking to my own reflection I've gone mad with depression!" Draco slapped his head and cringed.
"For the last time dumbass I am not your reflection!"
"Don't you call me dumbass you… you… you didn't answer my question, what are you if you are not my reflection… then go away and leave me alone!" his head flew up and he glared.
It grinned a familiar grin, "I've always been with you Draco, you've just never seen me before because I have never had the chance to show myself and if I was to leave you, you'd be back to the way you were."
"What?"
"It must be true what they say about blondes…" the mirror Draco put his head in his hand and sighed. "Look, what do you have that no other vampires have?"
Draco thought. He had his own thoughts, personality, control… he had…
"Oh hell no! No way!" he took a step back.
The mirror Draco looked up to the ceiling, "By Jove I think he's got it!"
"But how? I've looked in the mirror before and I have never saw you… no mortal has!"
The image sighed, "Guess I'm going to have to explain… now, do you want me to go slowly or repeat myself?"
"Don't make me come in there!" Draco shook his fist.
"Alright, alright! Look, when you were bitten you lost me right? Forever, gone, bye byes you get it?" he stopped, but with one look at Draco's face he continued in a hurry. "Good, well, that meant that I could never be yours again but I was called back to you magically. But even though I am a part of you again… we are still detached and so, you can see me now. And Mortals can see their souls… they just don't know it because they think it's a reflection of the body. Seeing as I am detached from your body… I have a mind of my own! Tough luck mate you're stuck with me forever!"
Draco was silent for a while to take this information in. It made perfect sense of course but it was still very weird and scary to him. "Can others see you or will it just sound like I'm going mad and talking to myself?"
"You are talking to yourself!" it laughed but continued, "Of course they can see me but why do you want them to? I'm your own personal possession… not some show like a zoo animal! I can stay here while you could be off in Romania or something which could come in handy some time, most popel would love to be in two places at once."
"So, you're sort of like a portrait in that way?"
"Now you're getting it!"
Draco opened his mouth to say something but it didn't come out, instead he shook his head and whispered, "Why wasn't I told about this? I think I have a right to know if my soul can come back and taunt me in the form of my deranged reflection!"
*~*~*~*
Draco was heading round to talk to Lupin about this, he would be able to confirm all of this so Draco knew he wasn't hallucinating due to his worrying.
He was just about to knock and enter when he heard Lupin talking to Dumbledore and the Minister.
"In a fight he wouldn't be able to win! It's not fair to do this to him."
"We must find this information out, and he is our only way. If he is found out then he can just run, at least we will have some sort of head start in stopping this war with a little information."
"He is only a half vampire, he does not stand a chance even running from them and they will be able to see right through him the moment he makes eye contact! We are sending him to his death here!" Lupin argued.
"I think we can risk the life of a half vampire for the lives of the rest of the wizarding world Remus," the minister replied.
"Then I think it's right that he at least knows the risk," Dumbledore added calmly.
"If he was to know then he would never do it! We need this Albus and you know it-"
Draco didn't want to hear anymore, he ran flat out at top speed up to his usual spot on the tallest tower. He needed to think about what he had just heard and let out his anger.
As he stood on the very edge of the highest battlement, the cold breeze blew around him. He tilted his head up to the stars and closed his eyes, letting out a long, loud cry that echoed around the grounds below as the wind swept over his pale face and white hair like a large invisible hand. He stopped yelling and just stood there, letting the rest of his worries and thoughts drift away with the bitter wind of the September night. But nothing could get what he had just heard off his mind.
It was a battle of the morals, he knew he had to because if he didn't, a war was immanent but, he wasn't known for his heroism. He wasn't like Harry, he wouldn't be known to give up his own life… especially for something that he didn't think would matter… even if he was to succeed but still be killed for his actions… a war was still going to happen. No, that wasn't Draco.
His mind then wondered over to his friends, especially Hermione. The muggle-borns would be the first to be hit hard and he didn't want that, the main reason why he had changed sides in the first place. At least if he was to die in heroic circumstances, his friends will feel proud that he tired to save them. It was then he knew he had to do it, for everyone else out there. After all… wasn't he half dead already?
He would spend then next day, no matter how tired he was, hanging out with his friends but not telling them of what he had heard, it would upset them and they would end up volunteering to help. That would make things worse. He spend the afternoon inside with them (actually getting along with Ron over a game of wizard chess) talking and joking with them. Playing jokes on the Slytherins (putting 'Gryffindor rules! Hear us roar!' banners around their common room that would only disappear after a week) was the funniest and he had the most fun ever with them. He went down to dinner with them and grossed them out with the blood he was drinking.
"What's all of this in aid of?" Harry asked.
"I just want to have some fun before I go and have to be all evil and serious!" Draco lied. And he was having fun, but there was one more thing he had to do…
"What are you doing?" Hermione laughed as she held her arms out in front of her while Draco led her over the roof.
"I just want to show you this before I go so you can come here when you feel lonely… worked for me over summer," Draco lifted her and sat her down, "Now, open your eyes."
She did and she gasped. She was sitting on the roof of the highest point in the whole castle, no one could reach it unless they could fly, which was a shame because the view of the grounds and Hogsmeade under the dark sky and bright stars was stunning. "This is amazing!" she laughed.
"I thought so too, last time I might see it though… for a long time," he added.
"I will worry about you, you know. That rose you gave me hasn't stopped warning me that you're in danger lately."
"I'll be fine," Draco reassured her.
"Please be careful!"
"I will…" he stopped, he had to do this, it'll be the last chance he would get… ever. "Hermione, in case anything does happen to me, I want you to know one thing…"
Hermione looked up and said nothing, she didn't want to think about not being able to see him again, it hurt. Draco read this in her eyes and decided now was the best time to do it. He leaned towards her and gave her a light kiss on her warm lips.
Hermione had been expecting something like that but it still caught her by surprise, the feeling of his deathly cold lips on hers. It was the strangest feeling to kiss a vampire but it wasn't an unpleasant one, if anything, it felt refreshing the way his cold lips and hands met her own warm face.
He didn't want to let her go, he knew that once he did, he'd have to go meet up with the minister and Dumbledore to start his quest, the he would never see her again. He wanted this to last. They stayed there together, not letting each other go until Draco knew he had to or he would never leave. They walked back to the castle doors and there was Dumbledore waiting on Draco.
Dumbledore still showed no signs of knowing that Draco would not survive but he explained one last time what he was to do and how difficult it will be. Draco nodded with understanding to Dumbledore and looked over at Hermione standing with Lupin.
"Good luck!"
"Be careful!"
With one last smile to her, he turned and left.
(I actually wrote romance without throwing up! It's a miracle! YAY! Lol, two things are important in this chappie
1) the mirror thing
2) the roof top place at the end
hope you enjoyed this, it was the sympathy vote chappie where you are supposed to feel sorry for Draco! Next chappie is all of the vampire things (therefore… more humour!) and the start of a battle… or a war perhaps? Saying no more, see yas! Please review by the way!)
