"Hello, darling." Draco smiled, as Hermione and Pansy reached the boys. Alec bowed deeply to the blonde, and she blushed, glancing over at Hermione, and then Draco. So they were courting the old-fashioned way. Excellent. There just wasn't enough of that these days- a little bit of manners would do everyone good.
"Both of you ladies look smashing tonight." Alec said roguishly, winking at them. Draco coughed.
"Where are my manners? Hermia, this is Alec Zabini. Alec, Hermia Snape-LeFay." Alec bent down and kissed her hand, staring into her eyes as was proper, before turning his attentions back to Pansy. Draco inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. If he'd kept his eyes downcast, it would have been a sign of passion, and that- well, that was the last thing he needed. "And I see you've met Pansy."
"Oh, yes!" Hermione said, grinning from ear to ear. "And I'm so glad I have, too. Pansy, darling, we simply must get together sometime- go shopping, perhaps?"
"Ooh! That'd be lovely!" Pansy said, smiling at the two, seeming quite satisfied in Alec's arms, or at least for the moment. "Have you ever been to Milan? They've got the loveliest wizard boutiques-"
While Pansy and Hermione lapsed into a quick discussion about fashion options (they were, after all, girls- what else could they bond about?) Draco allowed his eyes to scan the crowded hall. They wouldn't stay here for the whole night, just until everyone arrived… then they'd go to the dining room for dinner, and the garden for desert. His mother had the night meticulously planned out, and it was his duty, she'd told him, to make sure none of the kids were left behind, snogging in the bushes. Alec elbowed him in the ribs, clearing his throat.
"As fascinating as this is, ladies, would you care for a walk in the gardens? Draco's father has acquired some lovely classic sculptures recently, I've heard-" Hermione's eyes lit up at that, and Draco breathed a sigh of relief. It'd give them a chance to get away from all the older women who were eyeing 'Hermia' warily, wondering how they could manipulate her to their gain. And all the older men, who were eyeing her for other reasons.
He hated adults.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, most honored guests!" All heads turned towards Narcissa Malfoy at the top of the staircase, looking quite exquisite in an opulent silver gown, a sheath dress with pearl-coated puffs at the hem. Lucius was standing beside her, in a smart black suit, the diamond-encrusted watch on his right wrist reflecting the light of the chandelier. "Everyone's arrived, and, if it pleases you, we request that you continue to the dining room, in the room to your right." Narcissa gestured in the direction of the dining room, diamond bracelets glittering up and down her arms. She flashed a brilliant smile, and the Malfoys dissapparated on the spot. Draco rolled his eyes.
"Come on, let's go to the garden. We won't be expected at dinner for another forty-five minutes, as custom." He directed mostly towards Hermione, who nodded. The group turned towards the open entrance to the garden almost simultaneously, though something obstructed Pansy's way. She shrieked as a tall, black-haired man, looking in his early twenties, spilled a glass full of red wine directly onto the front of her dress. Hermione could have sworn he'd stepped forward-
"Oh! I'm sorry, Miss." he said, watching her face turn from surprise to sheer horror. She could barely form words.
"My- my dress!" she turned to Hermione, eyes wide. "I'm going to go put it in cold water- spells don't work on this sort of fabric, damn egotistical designers." She muttered. Hermione would ask about that later.
"Do you want me to come help you?"
"No, no- can I use your room, though?"
"Of course. And feel free to borrow another dress… they're all Narcissa's, anyway. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
Pansy nodded, disapparating before Hermione had even finished the sentence. She turned back to Draco and Alec, the latter who looked distinctly forlorn.
"To the garden, then?" he asked unhappily. They followed him out.
Hermione lazily traced circular patterns on the surface of the fountain, as Draco played with her hair, chatting amicably with Alec about Quidditch. The boys seemed to get along quite well- much like boys she knew. Somehow, she'd always imagined Slytherin dealings to be businesslike and cruel. But she'd been wrong about many Slytherins- including Pansy. Where was Pansy, anyway? She sat up.
"How long has it been?"
"Since what?" Draco asked, looking down at his watch. Hermione frowned.
"Since Pansy went to the bathroom…" Draco blushed.
"Half an hour. But, and no offense, dear, girls have a strange tendency to take forever in the loo… I'd be worried if she didn't."
"Draco, I'm serious. I'm going to go look for her." she stood, brushing the wrinkles out of her dress. "I'll meet you two at dinner in fifteen minutes."
"Hermia," Draco glared, "don't be ridiculous. You don't know your way around the house."
"I think I can find a bathroom easily enough, darling." whe huffed, sticking her nose up in the air. "Alec."
With that, she disapparated, back into a corridor she remembered on the first level of the house. After a minute or two of wandering around, she realized Draco was right- she didn't have the slightest idea where the hell she was going. She wasn't even sure this was the correct corridor. Bloody hell, they all looked the same. She scowled at a painting of a veela, who scowled right back, eyes darkening. Remembering the veelas at the Quidditch cup, she jumped back from the painting, only to hear a loud cough behind her. She spun around again, greeted with another painting, of a more normal-looking woman.
More normal looking than a veela was still not normal.
She had pale skin, but not the sort of pale that normal women could have. It was white, pure white, with tinges of gray- making Hermione suspect the woman was something of a vampire, along with her suspiciously limp-looking black hair. Her eyes were a deep blue, almost gray- like Draco's. Eerily like Draco's, in fact. She wore a deep-cut forest green corset, and that was all that could be seen of her clothing- barring a pendant on a leather cord around her neck, pulsating bright red. She smiled at Hermione, baring her teeth, and confirming her suspicions. She certainly was a vampire, and it was also quite apparent that she was a Malfoy.
"Hello." The painting said, folding her hands in her lap. "You look lost."
Hermione nodded, stepping closer to the woman and away from the veela.
"I am- it's my first night in the manor." The woman smiled again, causing Hermione to shudder. She thought she could detect a hint of blood on the woman's fangs- though it may have been her imagination.
"Picked up one of the boys, have you? Silly… though I suppose, even the coldest can be loved, if not capable of love themselves. Tell me it isn't that little sod Lucius, though? He had the nerve to try and move me when Marcus died. I was forced to hex him, of course." Hermione's eyes widened.
"You can do magic?"
"All of us can do magic. We generally cast the spell when we're around the dying age- to ensure that any of our likenesses can at least protect themselves. I, of course, was quite paranoid when I was alive, so I cast it at fifteen. Died six years later."
"Of what?" Hermione asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"Oh, my family killed me." she said conversationally. "I was becoming a danger to them, you see. They put up a nice statue out front in my memory- could you tell me, pretty one, is it still there?"
"Yes… it's still there." Hermione replied, understanding now why the face had seemed so familiar. They'd left out the fangs on the statue, though. "I didn't know there was vampire blood in the Malfoy lines… though I could have suspected."
"Oh, there isn't. My parents made sure of that." she said cheerily, curling her legs up under her on the plush red high-backed chair she'd been painted in. "I was bitten when I was fourteen. Naughty little girl, you see, hanging around with the wrong kind of boys- much like yourself, it seems."
"What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Hermia… Hermia LeFay."
"LeFay, eh? Strong name, for such a sweet girl… my name, of course, is Malfoy… but my given name is Carden."
Hermione coughed, growing uncomfortable under the vampire's gaze. She couldn't be sure if she was imagining the hunger in her eyes. "Carden, have- have you seen another girl around here? Blonde, very pretty… with blue eyes?"
"Ah! Yes, I have, dear… she was with a man. Didn't seem quite happy about it, either. They're just down the hall." she pointed to her left, and smiled again. "Doing what, I won't get into details. Ah, how I miss-"
Hermione raced down the hall before Carden could finish, stopping short in front of the oak-paneled door. She froze. Was it really her right to intrude? What if Pansy-
She never could finish her thought. For right as she pulled out her wand to unlock the door, a piercing scream rang out through the corridor.
Pansy Parkinson's.