Chapter Nineteen
(ARGH! Writers block… damn it to hell!!! I've had it with both my stories for two weeks now! Hopefully this chappie will be OK, I got writers block halfway through and spend most of my writing time staring at the screen with a blank mind! That's why it's later than normal! Ori story is going fine btw, and thanx for the reviews, I'm so loved!!! *hugz* This chappie is important for the chappie after next, I think… and there is a fight at the end that reminds me of the Matrix! Sry it's long btw… in case you hate chappies like that .. I'm, also very sorry that humour seems to be fading out of my story but I'm a bit preoccupied… I'll try my bestest to keep the standard up. I THINK THIS CHAPPIE IS TOO LONG! PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU THINK IT IS, NOT OTHER CHAPPIE WILL BE AS LONG AS THIS IF YOU ALL COMPLAIN!!!)
Wet mud stained every visible inch of his once black outfit along with blood dripping from his mouth onto his clothes. His hands were blood stained from where he had tried to wipe the blood off his face and the mud was hardening in his white hair. He was staggering back up the gravel path to the school entrance with dizziness, he often felt like he was going to faint at any moment, but at the same time he felt like he could make a show of impressive back flips and somersaults. Strong and weak at the one time, it was strange. He could feel blood filling his body, making him feel as sick as he felt powerful.
The rain poured now, drenching him further and making it harder for him to see and walk. He didn't care in the slightest; his thoughts were on other things. Before he had been set free by Antonio, he had told him what the real plan was… what he was to do.
He was in the Entrance Hall now, wet boots squeaking as he walked leaving muddy trails behind him, Filch will have his head for it, he was sure. It was dark outside from the winter months but it was only around dinner time. He could hear the commotion inside the hall.
He had to tell them… he had to say something before he lost control of himself once again. He knew what he had done and he had felt like crying at the thought, but not only was it so unlike him to do that, it was also too late. What was done was done, but he could at least warn the others first.
He continued to limp over to the huge doors of the Great Hall and he swung them open.
*~*~*~*
Hermione chased her peas around the plate with her fork, a blank look on her face. She eventually got bored with them and looked up at the enchanted ceiling, which was black and the rain was pouring down endlessly. Her thoughts were directed towards Draco in the forest, cold and wet. She wondered if he thought about her at all. She hadn't stopped thinking about him, which seemed to be annoying her two friends, one in particular… no prize for who can guess who!
"There she goes again…" Ron sighed and put on a higher more girly voice, "Oh, I hope he's ok… Oh no it's raining, and he's out there… Oh, Oh, I hope he comes back soon!" he mimicked. "I hope he comes back soon too, it'll stop her whining! Then again, it is better to listen to than her usual ranting about the N.E.W.Ts…"
Harry cringed and was glad he wasn't sitting in between the two of them like usual. He knew Ron was pushing it by the look of disgust over Hermione's once blank and thoughtful face. She looked ready to slap him as hard as she could when there was a rather horrific disruption.
A barely recognisable figure burst into the hall, every fibre of clothing seemed to be covered in either mud or blood. He was practically tripping over himself until he finally stopped at the top near the teacher's table.
Every face was turned in Draco's direction, each with a look of horror or shock or both. Once again the whole hall fell silent at his presence.
He began to try to speak but all that could be hear was a strange choking sound before his legs gave way and he fell limply to the floor. No sooner had begun to fall than the teachers rushed to his side. Lupin held up his head and began to shake him gently. "Draco… talk to me… Draco?" He noticed the blood on his face straight away and he feared the worst.
"Draco what happened?" Dumbledore got down on his old, weak knees and spoke softly, before Lupin could comment.
Draco finally managed to spit out two words that were very faint and soft, but the hall was so quiet with fear and anxiety that both words could be heard as clearly as though he had shouted them. "F-fake… evil…" With that, his blood-shot eyes rolled back in his blood covered head and he fainted.
"Draco? Wake up! What's fake? What's evil, tell us!" Lupin slapped him slightly harder but to no success.
"I don't think slapping the poor boy will help Remus," McGonnagal stood over them, her face, although she tried to keep it neutral, showed pure terror.
Dumbledore was helped up by Snape, "Take him to his room and make sure a fire is lit and for God's sake get him some clean clothes!" he snapped as he helped the headmaster up. Dumbledore nodded to Hagrid to do so.
Hagrid lifted the limp thing off the floor, cradling him in his arms as if he was a fragile baby. Hermione was the first student to move. She ran up beside Hagrid and followed him out, soon followed by Harry and then grudgingly by Ron. The other students were still sitting in a stunned silence; fearful and full of confusion.
"I knew this would happen… I foresaw this… I sense treachery in the air!" Trelawney was the only teacher not to have moved from her seat. She rarely ever came to dinner with the rest of the school. They knew straight away that something was up as soon as they all saw her there but no one lingered on the thought, as soon as the food appeared she was fogotten.
"Oh for God's sake Sybil, SHUT UP!" McGonnagal snapped bitterly.
*~*~*~*
For days the only things on people's tongues were the rumours of what Draco had meant. Students and teachers alike could speak of nothing but the events of that night. But still, they would have to live by rumours, for Draco still hadn't wakened.
Any free moment she had, Hermione was bound to be found sitting beside Draco, hoping with all her might that he would just wake up. She feared that he would be dead, there was no way of telling with vampires… they don't breathe and don't have a pulse.
"What have they done to you Draco?" she sighed as she rested her head on his motionless chest, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Hatred towards the minister and Voldemort rose inside her. It's their fault… they did this… they don't even show any regret… the minister doesn't care that he might have just killed someone and Voldemort is just an evil bastard anyway, he wouldn't care.
"When you wake up, not if, you are going to get revenge… you hear me?" she whispered to him, kissing his forehead before leaving.
After a long four weeks, Draco finally woke up from his coma-like state… as if nothing had ever happened.
His eyes opened as quickly as if someone had slapped him or poured cold water over his face. His wide, watery and silvery eyes darted around the room as if he didn't know where he was or how he got there. The fire at the opposite wall had burned out long ago and little light was shinning through the cracks in the shutters, early morning light.
Draco swore with the pain of his stiff body as he heaved himself up with one arm and leaned on it. He felt different somehow, sick almost, but it also felt strangely good. It was strange and a hard feeling to describe, but, he felt weak and strong at the same time, if that was even possible. No sooner had he thought that than he felt something rising in his throat. He quickly dodged to one side as he threw up blood onto the stone floor.
Shaking violently, he sat up fully, running a hand through his unnaturally soft and silky hair with a groan. Something had happened, something important that he had to remember. He sat in silence for a few more seconds before hearing a voice from the far corner of the room. "Charming… what happened this time then? Fall and knock your head?"
Draco's head jerked up quickly and his eyes rested on the mirror in the distance, but the image of himself was distinct.
"Not in the mood for this!" Draco's voice was cracked and hoarse from not using it for over a week.
"Sor-ry, just a little concerned on how you are treating my body that's all!" the mirror Draco paced left to right. "I mean, I got a little worried when you didn't wake up for a month…"
"A month?" Draco's eyes widened. He had thought it had only been a few hours…
"Yeah. Whatever you did, don't do it again it hurt me!" the image whined pathetically.
"How?"
"I just got shoved about a bit… that bastard tried to take over you again but he couldn't do it for some reason. He kept backing off in pain… eventually he disappeared. Care to explain?" his eyes rested on his solid self.
"I wish I could!"
"You have the memory of a goldfish you know that?"
"It'll come back to me!" Draco snapped as he swung his legs around over the side of the bed. "I'm going to see Dumbledore, so he knows I'm awake and all."
The image smirked as he leaned on the frame, "You might want to put some clothes on first," he nodded.
Draco rolled his eyes as he got out his clean green shirt and black trousers along with a silver belt with a dragon buckle from the huge wooden box at the end of his bed. "Nah, I'm going to run around the school naked singing the national anthem, and then I'm going to run into the Great Hall and do the can-can upon the tables…"
"What, all of them?"
A pair of socks rolled into a ball thrown in the mirror's direction was Draco's only response.
*~*~*~*
"We need to make a move now Dumbledore! We can't stay any longer or they will over power us. We must stay ahead of the game!" the minister brought his fist down hard onto the table as if that made it final.
"Not until we know for sure Cornelius, we don't want any deaths due to a major mistake," Dumbledore replied in his usual soft, calm voice.
"We know what's going on!" Cornelius snapped.
"No, we don't minister!" Lupin glared, "We don't know if it's true or not… we also don't know when attacks are imminent! If you want to send the Order and armies out there randomly… you are going to get them killed! To tell you the truth, I think that this is getting ridiculously out of hand, almost out of our control. It feels as if we are being played here!"
"I won't deny that I have felt that way too Remus," Dumbledore nodded, "But we can't do anything until we know every last detail."
"What if it's too late? We are talking about a full scale war here not some playground tussle!" Cornelius was not calming down. Everyone's patience and nerves were being tested to the limit. Lupin's dark rings under his dark eyes were already turning a jet black and his hair seemed to have greyed more. He looked a wreck. The Minister looked no better and his face at the moment was an angry red from shouting and arguing with the headmaster.
"Maybe I can help…" a small voice suddenly came from the fireplace.
Leaning against the mantle piece was Draco, bright eyes reflecting the flames so it looked as though his eyes were burning red. His face was a pale as ever, his hair as it always has been and his movements… possibly more graceful and unnatural than before.
"Ah, Mister Malfoy! Glad to see you are well, please sit down, we need your help." Dumbledore gestured to an empty chair beside himself and the minister with a smile on his face. He was obviously relieved that Draco had come to settle this argument.
"I'd prefer to stay by the heat, thank you sir," Draco replied quietly with a nod and a slight smile. Lupin was slightly unnerved at Draco's atmosphere. Was he the only one who noticed something different about Draco? Or was it just his heightened werewolf senses?
"Of course, yes," Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now, Draco. Do you remember the information you sent us from the rest of the vampire clan?"
Draco laughed softly and shortly to himself, "Straight into business I see. Well, I hardly remember anything but give me a chance and I will."
Lupin turned round and his mouth was open for a while before he talked, as if thinking carefully about what he was going to say. "Do you remember bursting into the hall?" he asked, but before Draco could answer he spoke again, "You said something that didn't make sense. You said the words, 'fake' and 'evil'. What did you mean?"
They watched the vampire closely. He closed his eyes and bowed his head in thought with his arm resting on the mantelpiece. He didn't move or make a sound for several minutes, the only sound came from the crackling fire beside him.
Draco thought, he remembered but he was tracing it back. Something had happened before that, something ter-
He flinched and opened his eyes wide as his mind showed him visions that brought back memories.
The conversation he had over heard, him running through the forest from the vampires, a pair of dark eyes leering at him from above. He swallowed and he could almost taste the blood he had taken, it made him feel sick remembering it… but… he took vampire blood and he was him… wasn't he? He was so confused, scared almost.
"Fake…" he suddenly said, his hissing and loud voice cutting through the silence, making the others jump slightly, "the plan they told me at first was fake…" he finished in a slightly dreamy, dazed way.
"Thought so…" Dumbledore smiled at the Minister, almost gloating.
"What? Fake? How?" he stammered, he hated being corrected.
Draco shrugged, "They wanted to throw me off I guess. I overheard them saying it was fake."
"Did you hear the real plan at all?" Lupin asked.
"Yup… they are going to attack the school. So Professor," he looked up at Dumbledore, "It's best you stay here, they might not attack with you here. And it's London they are attacking… any wizarding home and the Ministry of Magic HQ but of course they were hoping that you would all be gone to the fake location. It'll be a surprise for them when they see you all there waiting for them!" Draco smiled.
"Any idea when?" Cornelius was the first to ask this.
Draco laughed shortly, "Could be any time after the new year apparently," he repeated all that Antonio had told him, "I guess it's their new year's resolution to destroy and take over the wizard world!"
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, "And the 'evil'?" Everyone looked at Draco, awaiting his response although not looking forward to it.
Draco closed his eyes again, pretending to be remembering this but he was really debating the idea of telling them that he had drank vampire blood… and that he had thought that he was going to be evil once again…
No! They will never trust you! You'll be outcasted… they might kill you!
Don't be stupid! Go on! You have proof! The cross, show them the cross!
The two ideas fought furiously inside Draco's head until he had settled. He would tell them.
"It… I… the-"
Draco didn't get to finish, for the door was flung open and a frantic, terrified Professor Trelawney ran in, her eyes wide behind her glasses and shawl flying out behind her.
Remus rolled his eyes and sighed as he buried his head in his hands out of pure exasperation. The Minister hadn't even taken his eyes off the vampire, studying him, and Dumbledore was looking at the exhausted teacher in front of him.
"Yes, Sybil?" he asked, looking over his half-moon spectacles.
"Terrible… horrible… news…" she breathed.
"What's new?" Draco muttered under his breath by the fire. Knowing how overly dramatic Trelawney was, he went back to staring into the flames, lapping up the heat into his cold body.
"What is it Sybil?" Dumbledore replied in a calm voice in hope it would rub off onto her. He was always calm… was it only Draco that got annoyed by this?
"The signs… my whole class saw the same things in their orbs and I too am seeing it every night in my dreams…" she had calmed down after several counts to ten with deep, obvious breaths.
"Well, there's something to write to the Daily Prophet about…" Draco said out loud, louder than he intended.
Trelawney looked over at Draco, her eyes showed anger and hate, something Draco was used to in a look towards him, but not this way… it seemed to burn right through him yet making him feel cold inside, even with the heat from the fire.
""It is your fault, you will be the deaths of us all, vampire!" she hissed with venom, her voice was strangely low and, as much as Draco wouldn't admit it, scary.
"That's enough Sybil!" Dumbledore raised his voice. Had he not heard what Draco had heard in that sinister way?
"Rivers of blood within these walls… the evil is here with us whilst he stays!" she pointed a long, pointed finger with long, sharp and brightly coloured fingernails at him as she glared.
Draco stared, face as blank as he could make it in such a situation. She's nutters… gone mad… but something still made him panic. Her voice… her eyes…
Lupin was at Trelawney's side, "Come on Sybil, we'll get you some coffee… and some pills along with a little trip to the nut nurse…" he added under his breath with a roll of his tired eyes.
*~*~*~*
"DRACO!" Hermione screamed when she saw him that night at dinner. She threw down her fork with a clatter, not noticing that it fell off her plate and stabbed Ron in the leg. I'd rather not go into too much detail on what he said after that…
She ran over to him and gave her friend a tight hug, almost as if she didn't want to let go of him. "Don't ever, ever scare us like that! And NEVER go away again you hear me?"
"You think I'll even consider it after what happened?" Draco snorted as he put his arms around her, hugging her as tight as she did him.
The Slytherins mocked him and began yelling insults and taunts, not very original ones mind but the mind of the average Slytherin was very simple. Hermione was about to yell back but Draco silenced her with his finger over her lips. He looked at Pansy, who seemed to be leading in the jeering (why is it always the ex's? Draco thought with a mental sigh), and suddenly the gravy jug tipped over her knees. She shrieked and jumped up in a shot but she fell backwards over the bench, taking the people on either side with her with more shrill shrieks that sounded like several banshees had been let lose.
The rest of the houses clapped and cheered and laughed hysterically, but the teachers soon put an end to it… ruin the fun as usual! "Malfoy, don't make me lock you up for a few days and take your magic away!" McGonnagal threatened in 'that tone'.
"They started it!" Draco replied childishly and turned away from the teachers and the bright red face of Pansy Parkinson. He followed Hermione to the Gryffindor table and the others.
"Don't look too excited to see me Weasley…" Draco drawled sarcastically as Ron ignored him.
"Can hardly contain my excitement…" Ron said dully.
"Watch what you say Weasley I might suddenly decide I'm hungry!" Draco smiled, showing a row of straight, white and very sharp teeth.
"You dare try and I'll open the shutters on you!" Ron threatened back.
"That job's taken by Peeves…" Draco rolled his eyes and sat down beside Harry… something that he would never have thought he'd be doing voluntarily.
"Where you been the past four weeks Dracula?" Harry put on a cheery tone of voice even though he was anything but. He knew how much trouble he was in with Voldemort and although he felt safe while he was under Dumbledore's watchful eye, he couldn't help getting that feeling that something was going to happen that would mean pain and suffering for a lot of people. For some reason, he felt it now more than ever.
"Coma… you?" Draco replied calmly and casually as if it was something he did every couple of months.
"Homework… it's typical really…a war is coming and yet they insist upon homework! My dying thoughts will be wasted on completing essays!"
"Speaking of which… Draco, you're dead really right?" Hermione said casually, reaching for the gravy.
"Right…" Draco replied uncertainly.
"What were your dying thoughts?" she finished.
"As in what I was thinking before I died?" she nodded. "Does 'oh shit' count?"
"Hey, that's probably what mine will be!" Harry laughed, "Oh shit, all that for nothing!"
Draco laughed too but he knew what they were doing, he could read their minds like open books. They were trying to keep the conversation away from what had happened to him and what he had found out. Perhaps they were hinting very subtly but Draco wasn't in the mood to re-live it, now that he could remember everything. He didn't want to tell them about the incident with the vampire blood, it made him afraid and he didn't want to scare them. He knew that the evil spirit couldn't come back and he put all that down to his cross, what else could it be? His strange, quiet and thoughtful mood lasted right through till late that night. Harry was still up with Ron doing their fifth potions essay of the month at eleven o'clock, Draco was sitting by the fire, silent.
"It's nearly Christmas for goodness sake, don't we get a break? Isn't Christmas a time for kindness and laziness?" Ron groaned as he let his head slip with a loud thud onto his think potions book.
"Maybe he'll get visited by three ghosts and change his mind about making us work this hard…" Harry sighed as he too gave up and threw his quill down, almost bald with him chewing and picking at it so much in agitation. Ron continued to complain, but Harry wasn't listening, his attention was suddenly caught by Draco's curious silence, something that wasn't like him, especially seeing as Ron was in the same room as him.
Draco was sat forward on the armchair, his head resting on his hands. He was staring blankly and unblinking into the crackling golden flames, his face was like a statue's yet Harry could see he was thinking hard about something. The flames were reflected in his eyes, and once again they seemed to glow a red/orange colour to make him look even more sinister in his thoughtful, plotting position. The flames danced in his evil eyes, animating his pale, ghost-like face that otherwise would've looked dead.
Harry was beginning to actually worry about him, something he found as a surprise. Harry had wanted to ask him about the vampire clan, about what had happened to him, but Hermione had told him before he woke up not to bother him about it, that he will tell them when he was ready. But now that Harry saw him, he became worried that what Draco was keeping from them, may be hurting or scaring him, something that needed to be told and dealt with sooner rather than later.
"He's plotting something…"
Harry jumped and quickly turned his head to see Ron also looking at Draco. "Huh?"
"Look at him… he's being so quiet… wouldn't be surprised if he was plotting something…"
"Not this again…" Harry rubbed his head with his hands with a huge sigh. "He is not evil Ron… he is trying to help us. He's just been through a lot, you know… give him time."
"I see you've joined the 'we love Malfoy' club," Ron turned away. "Just remember that I was right last time about him…"
Harry rolled his eyes and turned his head in the other direction. What was happening? He was putting someone who had been his mortal enemy for six years in front of his best friend. He hated doing that but Ron was just so stubborn… or maybe he was right and Harry was the stubborn one. Harry looked over by the fire once again, but Draco had disappeared. Harry hoped it wasn't because of what was said, or because Draco could read his thoughts…
*~*~*~* (there was a little scene between Draco and Hermione here but it has been moved to the next chappie cos nothing much happens there
and this chappie is long enough)
Draco's footsteps echoed around the Entrance Hall as he walked across the landing, he was in a considerably bad mood… Peeves had chased him down the corridor with one of the armour's lances held out in front of him yelling, 'DIE EVIL BLOODSUCKER DIE!!!" while laughing insanely. Draco didn't see the funny side of it of course, especially when he threw it and it had just grazed Draco's slightly pointed ear. He knew Peeves hated him but never to the point of wanting to kill him. His excuse was that it was a joke, something to make sure he was on guard… if that was a joke, he'd hate to see Peeves REALLY wanting to hurt someone.
He was just glaring at the ground, as if it was its fault all this had happened when he heard a bang sound coming from the Great Hall. Draco's ears pricked up almost as soon as it had happened. His whole body froze, his sensitive ears listening into the silence for any other sound, twitching every few seconds. How long he stood in silence, with not even a twitch of movement beyond his ears, he wasn't entirely sure but he didn't hear it again until he relaxed and had glided like water down the main stair case.
This time he jumped at the crash, and now his eyes were wide and his ears were ringing. It was past midnight, no one would be out never mind in the Great Hall… the torches weren't even lit. Ghosts don't make a sound… and he had left Peeves behind in the Gryffindor Tower playing happily with his spears still laughing like a mad man… waiting for Draco to return no doubt. Who or what was it? It wasn't human, not a chance. Draco had picked up the full vampire's sense of being able to smell a mortal, the smell of blood and heat. He was always overwhelmed by it here but he never gave in to it, never attacked any of the students even though the vampire inside him was aching for fresh human blood…
Draco shook his head to clear his head of such thoughts, setting them straight, his hands reaching for the door to have a look… it couldn't be that bad… the crashes weren't that loud… perhaps it was just something small… a rat maybe? Yeah, that's it; his paranoid personality was just making him twitchy…
There was nothing he could see straight away. The Hall was dark but he could see clearly, like a cat, his eyes scanned everywhere as he walked slowly in, making no sound on his feet as if he was floating just off it, not to draw attention to himself. Something told him it was a bad idea to walk too far in yet he continued. Curiosity killed the cat…
A darker patch in the black that surrounded appeared so quickly, Draco didn't stand a chance, even with his own speedy reflexes. Knocked over, he cried out in total surprise and curled up in defence, teeth bared in attack. Nothing happened… silence. He lowered his hands to see where it had gone but all he saw was darkness once again, nothing else in sight other than the four house tables running the length of the hall. A small sound emitted from a far corner but when Draco turned to see, there was nothing.
Draco was getting angry now, his patience was being tested lately and this was just pushing it. "RIGHT! WHATEVER YOU ARE, COME OUT NOW! I AM NOT IN ANY MOOD TO TOLERATE THIS RIGHT NOW!" he shouted as he jumped up and spun slowly around in a circle, narrowed eyes searching every corner of the room, his mind playing cruel tricks on him by imagining the sort of creature it might be, what it would do to him...
"Hey, hey, chill D! I'm only playing!" a cheerful yet rather irritated voice broke through the silence from right behind Draco, making him jump back and land in a defensive position. A pair of dark eyes met his and a smile full of tainted, sharp teeth smiled back at him with a childish pleasure and glee. Draco's eyes remained narrowed when he recognised him through the darkness.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Hey, don't get touchy with me! I just came to see if you're alright that's all!" Dario's eyes also narrowed when he realised Draco wasn't going to greet him warmly, his eyes were scanning Draco as if he was something foul.
Draco stood silent for a moment, thinking. He's treating me like a friend… how can- oh… A light had just been lit in Draco's head. He thinks I'm one of them… well to Hell with the Minister I am not pretending anymore! With that, Draco chuckled softly to himself. "Listen… I'm going to keep this blunt ok?" still smiling, he used every once of speed he had in him to dive forward and grab the smaller vampire by the neck, flinging him like a doll onto the table easily.
The look of surprise on Dario's face was priceless, it was a mixture of shock and perplexity as he looked up into Draco's shinning eyes from the table. His mind clicked as soon as he looked. "This isn't right… how can this be right?" he shook his head as much as he could with Draco holding onto his neck. He was confused, so lost.
"Believe it you little filth-rag," Draco continued to give him that 'don't dare fight back or I'll hurt you' smile. "Now… I'll tell you what. You run along back down to your little hole with your evil little friends and stay there and I won't hurt you or wait for Dumbledore to call the department for the disposal of magical creatures… how about that?"
"The second you let go of me… I'll tear you apart Malfoy!" Dario snarled, as if he had ignored what Draco had just told him. "You're still a newbie and I can easily destroy you!"
Draco's confidence faltered. He bit his lip without thinking and his sharp teeth ripped through his lips like a knife through butter, but he kept his grip strong on the other boy's neck as his cold, full vampire blood ran down his chin. It almost made him shiver at the thought of it; he still hated himself for ever taking it, even if he hadn't changed.
Distracted too long. Before he could do anything, Dario got his feet under Draco's chest and pushed him away with such force, Draco skidded across the hall, swearing loudly and rather colourfully when he slammed into the wooden Hufflepuff table head first. Dazed for a few seconds, his vision was blurred, but even through that he could see Dario had disappeared once again.
Draco stood up shakily and rubbed his head, glaring at the table as if telling it off for being there. He growled to himself for letting the vampire take off on him, now they would all be after him again. How do you do it Draco? Does trouble find you or do you purposely walk into it? The voice in the back of his head sighed with grief. He continued to glare as he walked towards the doors of the Great Hall until he felt a great force hit him on the back of his head unexpectedly.
Once again the room began to spin and bright colours swirled in front of his eyes like a rainbow of shooting stars. His vision returned to him and he realised he was on the floor again, pain instantly forgotten, he jumped up gracefully and stared around the room. He's still here…
Draco jumped and spun round on the spot when he heard Dario's voice calling from the banisters across the ceiling, "I don't know how you did it Malfoy! I don't know how you can defy the laws of nature by not succumbing to the spirit… I don't know and I don't care! All I care about right now is not letting you live! I can't let you go! I can't let you stop us from winning the war that is to come. You will die and then so will your friends!"
Draco's eyes burned with agitation and anger, they were nothing but furious slits of fire when he ran up to the beam as if there were a flight of invisible steps leading up to them, leaving a trail of angry, red sparks in his wake. "Shut up… just shut up! I am sick of hearing threats like this! I am fed up with you lot, the way you are constantly on my back, they way you think you are so powerful! Well, let's let this fight settle it then shall we?"
Dario's smile grew wider, revealing a set of long sharp teeth in a menacing grin, Draco could see it from where he was standing. "It's been nice tormenting you Draco, shame I have to do this. Everyone waking up in the morning to see a big pile of ash and no Draco to be found… never know, your little mudblood girlfriend might want to keep your teeth…"
Draco dived at Dario, who was standing on the beam opposite. Dario was more experienced, quicker; he leaned backwards and spun around on the banister as if gravity didn't have any effect on him. "Tut tut… novice…." He grinned.
Draco had never expected this from Dario. Donato, well, this was all he expected off him. Dario always seemed the quiet one to him but then again, it was always the quiet ones you had to keep your eye on at all times.
Stretching out his arms, Draco grabbed onto the wooden rafter behind Dario, climbing up onto it as quickly as he could, glaring all the time. The ceiling above them poured down dry, magical raindrops onto their heads, no light shone through from behind the clouds.
"I'm getting bored Draco!" Dario taunted. "Is this all you can challenge me with?"
Draco still hadn't fully mastered his magic, in a way it was a good thing. He could feel his hands and fingers heating up with hot sparks of magic flowing through them, threatening to escape at any moment. He concentrated on hurting Dario as hard as he could as he threw up both his hands, emitting red and orange sparks of what looked like electricity straight towards the other vampire.
Dario had expected this, he could sense Draco's rising anger and he noticed the sparks begin to jump from the ends of his fingers. Holding up both his hands, he caught the spell before it could hit him. It was strong, he'd give him that much credit, his whole body was trembling with the stain of holding onto it. Then, with one simple flick of a hand, the spell changed direction, back to its conjurer.
Draco didn't know how to reflect, he had concentrated mostly on attack over the summer when he was learning to control his magic but he tried. Holding up both his hands, he concentrated real hard on it, more so than when he did conjuring it. It was never to happen.
The spell hit him straight in the chest, surrounding him in a fiery glow, winding him and throwing him easily backwards like a bludger hit by a beater with enough force to drive him straight through the two remaining beams and crash with a nasty, loud crunch into the wall. The last thing he remembered was being wrapped in darkness, he didn't even remember the fall to the stone floor.
The first thing he saw was darkness. He panicked, especially when he felt the pain over his body. It took him several minutes to realise what had happened. Draco furiously swiped at the dark material that covered him until he could see the hall again. Only then did the pain really set in. He cried out and swore, cradling his left arm in his right, the bone sat out awkwardly from when he had landed on it. Could've been worse… he thought as he stood up shakily and drunkenly from the red curtain that had buried him. He looked up and sae the damage he had caused. Several beams were broken and shattered wood littered the stone floor, it was a miracle no one had been wakened. And there, hovering above the wreckage, was Dario.
"Still alive I see… well, you're stronger than I thought. Don't look too good though, looks like a breath of air could kill you instantly!" he taunted a bit more as he swooped down gracefully and silently to the ground.
Draco didn't move, he couldn't; the pain in his body was too great. "You going to kill me then Dario? Go back to your little clan as a hero?"
"Eventually, yes I think I will just do that. But I haven't finished playing with you yet!" Dario slowly glided towards him, threateningly. "You're such a fun toy to play with Draco… just like the dolls my sister had… before I ripped their heads off…" with that, he aimed a sharp blow towards Draco's head, but this time, Draco was ready for it. He put up his good arm up to block the hit with a defiant glare.
"Oh, very good, you can defend yourself!" Dario talked to him as if he was a baby.
Draco had had enough, he fought back.
The fight which followed was a vicious one, one of speed and force. Draco was already in torment with the pain from earlier but he couldn't let Dario have his way… he couldn't. His arm ached and complained with the strain by sending sharp waves of pain through him, his head pounded and his back got worse.
Dario fought dirty, none of his moves could be considered legal in a set up fight and all the time, their hands moved so quick, to a human it would've been a blur of black and white. A sudden spell that seemed to come out of nowhere blew the two of them to opposite sides of the hall. Who cast it was not a worry at the moment but the fight had come to a pause as both of them were thrown across the room and they skidded along the floor.
Draco looked up, head shaking, blood flowing freely down his face and from his hands. His broken arm was bound to be shattered by now but he didn't care… he just watched Dario carefully as they both slowly stood up, his cross escaped from behind his high- necked coat. Dario also didn't take his eyes off Draco, even as blood dripped into the from a large gash across his eye brow, leaving the skin open wide, the red blood in his eyes made him look more angry than ever. Neither of them moved, eye to eye all the time. Both knew that this was going to be the final blow.
Dario started running first, full speed towards Draco who soon followed suit. Faster than anyone could blink, they were within range of each other. Draco knew that Dario would try to hit first, so he had his defence sorted. Dario did lash out first, Draco was ready. With a swift movement, he leaned backwards and jumped back with a grin, knowing Dario would miss. He did, but only just.
Draco then felt a sting on the back of his neck and he heard a metallic snap. He hadn't even began to figure out what it had been before he heard a shriek if agony coming from Dario. He looked over to see the smaller vampire recoiling and spinning round in circles, trying to fling something off his hand, crying out in suffering and distress the whole time before he disappeared in a small cloud of mist, without so much as a glance back at Draco or a threat.
Draco stood motionless for what seemed like a long time, then his injuries caught up with him. Slowly his hearing began to grow more and more like he was under water and slowly going deeper under the surface. Distantly, he could hear voices and a door opening but his vision went black and he collapsed of pure exhaustion and pain.
(Too long? It was wasn't it? (6,000 words and 11 pgs!!!) I'm so sorry I got carried away! I hope you all liked it any way, please review! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all who reviewed last time! And yes, vampires can btw (she knows who she is and what she asked, lol!) And Slayer, thanx for all the reviews you gave, I loved them all, they made me laugh! And thank you soooo much for your compliments Serpensortia and Loki! My ori story is doing well and I hope you all like it, it will be up in the new year some time (just before my BIG evil exams) and my next chappie of this is on x-mas day as my pressie to you!
Bye byes! Love you all! Xxx Caz))
