Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sniffle.
Big hugs to my new beta, Heather!
Chapter Three- Running
"There's another world inside of me that you may never see,
There's secrets in this life I can't hide.
Well, somewhere in this darkness, there's a light that I can't find
Well, maybe its to far away, maybe I'm just blind"
When I'm Gone- 3 Doors Down
Hermione sat all but hidden behind the high back of the crimson armchair that she was reclining in and listened to the people chattering around her.
One of the conversations taking place nearby caught her attention, so she settled back to listen.
"Welcome to the Circle," said a deep, silky voice that she recognised. It was not, of course, thedeep voice of the man that she knew that she would never see again.
Nevertheless, hearing the voice of the speaker, so similar to that of Severus, comforted her. It was something familiar, almost warm, in the cold hostile world that she currently inhabited.
"There are a few things that you need to know before you begin to meet people," said another voice, female this time.
Hermione knew both of these voices. They were the voices of the married couple that had founded the Circle together five years ago and ran all of its meetings.
"First thing," began the man, "we know you want to be a vampire. Everyone in the Circle does, and while you are here you can pretend to be whatever you want. But no matter what you pretend, please remember that you are only human. Don't do anything foolish."
"By 'foolish'," added the lady, "we mean that you should remember that you cannot accomplish anything superhuman and should not drink much blood. We do have a supply of animal blood from the butchers, and you can be served some in a shot glass if you want."
"But we don't recommend it. It's not a nice taste, and people really only drink it if they're showing off or haven't tried it before. It can, and very likely will, make you ill."
Hermione could almost hear the new addition to the Circle frown.
"So why do you serve it, then?"
The woman sighed. "Because some of our new members drank some alcohol when the group had just started and decided that they wanted a taste of blood. There was… trouble."
"Trouble?" asked the newcomer with a slight tremor to her voice.
Hermione heard the rustle of hair against clothes as she turned to look around, no doubt for troublemakers that were out to suck her blood.
"Don't worry, it won't happen again. That's why we serve blood; so that those who really want it can have some."
"Do many people actually like to drink it?"
"Just the odd one or two. And that was the other thing we wanted to warn you about."
Another rustle of clothing. The newcomer must have leaned forward.
"Do you see the armchair over there, the one with the high back?" said the man more quietly.
Hermione smiled. No matter what they thought, she would still hear the people talking about her even if they whispered.
"That is Hermione's chair. You don't talk to Hermione unless she talks to you -- and I doubt that will happen. She doesn't speak much."
"Hermione is one of the people that drinks blood. She doesn't have anywhere to live, and doesn't like to talk, but that's really all we know about her."
"We think that she only comes here because we serve blood," finished the man.
Hermione smiled wryly at that and turned to toast the speakers with her glass of blood. She nearly laughed out loud at the terrified squeak from the girl.
"Well," said the man with a sigh, "at least now you know who she is. Just… be careful."
"Most of the people in the Circle are pretty harmless. They just want to meet people, like I expect you do. But some of the others are different. You should watch for them."
At this point, Hermione stopped listening to the conversation. She had heard all she needed- the newcomer would not try to talk to her and attempt to make her join in the socialising. They would leave her be.
Hermione had never been particularly good at socialising, even when she was human. It had taken her friendship with Harry and Ron to make her go out and meet any people at all.
As a vampire, Hermione knew that she had no chance at all. If any prospective friends were not scared off by her abysmal people skills, then her pointed, gleaming teeth would probably finish off the job just fine.
The only reason why Hermione even bothered coming to the Circle's nightly meetings was that they provided her with some of the blood that she needed each day. Besides, it was someplace where she could spend time.
Hermione had not slept once in the two years that had passed since she was bitten- after all, she did not actually need to do so, so why expose herself?
Exposure. That was everything, really. If Hermione slept, then Damien could come for her, and she would not be ready to defend herself.
Hermione would have left, gone somewhere else, but she knew that if she left the country, then he could follow her, catch her on her way. That was why she had stayed in England, hidden in the darkest places in London.
And what better place for a vampire to hide than a club for vampire wannabes?
Almost all real vampires scorned such clubs- except for the odd one who thought it funny to take one of the people from it, offer to make them a vampire, then kill them instead.
That had happened once in the Circle. Hermione had immediately sensed the presence of the vampire when he had entered the club and quickly cloaked her own powers.
When he had selected one of the girls and taken her out of the club, Hermione's Gryffindor instincts had screamed at her to save the girl, to chase off the vampire and any others who came.
But she had not. She had let the vampire take the girl and just called for the barman to bring her more blood.
Then she had sat until it congealed in the glass that trembled in her cold hands, weeping for what she had been and what she was now. And as per her own orders, she had been left completely alone.
Possibly the worst thing was that even weeks later, nobody had spoken about the dead girl. Nobody had even asked where she had gone. Nobody came to look for her.
Hermione had found out over time that the members of the Circle were similar to herself in many respects. They were all alone with nowhere to go and nobody to look for them when they were gone.
The difference was that they came to the Circle to change that, to make friends with people just like themselves.
Hermione had come to the Circle to ensure that she stayed the only way that she was safe- alone.
A gust of cold air jerked Hermione out of her reverie, and she watched, disinterestedly at first, as a new group of people entered the club.
She looked the youths over. They were dressed relatively smartly in comparison to most of the other people in the club. Most of the members of the Circle wore black; it was a sort of dress code.
But these people were not wearing the trashy attire that most of the Circle's members favoured.
Instead their attire screamed of money, and even though Hermione was not usually one to notice clothes, it was certainly enough to catch her attention.
Her fears were confirmed when she heard one of them order four glasses of blood in a commanding voice that, although quiet, carried through the suddenly silent club. Even though the muggles were not able to sense what she did, they could still tell that something was about to happen.
The very nervous barman handed the vampires their glasses, and they turned to survey the club.
Hermione could not suppress a gasp when she saw the face of the man who had ordered the drinks.
Damien had found her.
How, she did not know. She had done her best, tried everything in her power to avoid detection… but she had obviously failed.
"I would like everyone to stand up," stated Damien, "and move to the centre of the room."
All of the members of the Circle except Hermione stood obediently, and moved silently as they had been directed, their eyes blank and glassy.
Hermione remained where she was, wondering what was in store for her as she watched the spectacle.
Three of the four vampires circled their unresisting prisoners and picked out the ones that they wanted for themselves.
Damien, however, looked on without moving an inch.
The other active vampires separated out their chosen victims, glanced briefly at Damien, and then led them away to the other rooms in the club for a more private feeding.
Damien still did not move.
A few minutes later, unable to wait any longer, Hermione stood and slowly walked forwards to face him.
"How did you find me?" she asked quietly.
"That does not matter now."
"It does to me."
"Much as I would like to get to know you, my dear," drawled the vampire, "I feel that more time is needed before I allow you insight into my own secrets."
Hermione frowned. "But I thought that-"
"You thought that you, a new vampire with no insight into our ways, could hide from me? My dear, I have had centuries of experience. Rather presumptuous of you, don't you think?" sneered the man mockingly.
Hermione hung her head. She had tried so hard…
"Don't worry, precious. After time, you will learn everything that I did. I promised that I would come back for you, and I have."
Damien stalked closer to her, and brushed off a stray tear that had run down her cheek.
"Don't cry, Hermione. It's not so bad."
"And I should believe you for what reason?" she asked angrily, shaking her head so that his hand was knocked away.
"Because I was like you myself, once. You only need to trust me," said the man soothingly.
"Trust you?" Hermione snapped. "Trust the man that took my life, made me leave my friends, and ruined everything I ever worked for? The centuries must have turned your mind!"
"I never asked you to leave your friends. You could have stayed- after all, what has running away changed in the long run?"
"It kept them away from you," she spat in reply.
"Ah yes, I remember. You were one of those loyal, self-sacrificing Gryffindors, weren't you? How quaint."
"I suppose you were in Slytherin."
"You suppose wrong," said Damien with a smile. "I told you, I used to be just like you; a Gryffindor, prejudiced against vampires, with clear views about 'right' and 'wrong.'" He laughed. "The world isn't like that. I can teach you, Hermione, and like it or not, you will learn."
"What if I just leave?" said Hermione slowly, a plan forming in her mind.
"How do you propose to do that?"
"Well," she said slowly, bringing to mind all that she had learned about her powers over the last couple of years, "I could do… this!"
On that last word, she flung all of her anger and fear in Damien's direction.
She had used this form of attack once before, and it had blasted the vampire she had been using it on through a wall.
Sure enough, Damien flew backwards, hitting the bar with a sickening thud.
Without a pause, Hermione turned and ran.
Instead of heading towards the main exit of the club, through the midst of the other vampires who would have heard everything, she cut across the large room to the fire escape.
A moment later, standing outside in the cold, she paused for a moment. Looking wildly from side to side, she tried to work out which way to turn next.
Pivoting left, she headed for the darker alleyways. Hermione was certainly practiced enough at blending into the surroundings; hopefully this would help her now.
She jogged quietly down the narrow gap between two buildings, trying to decide where to head next.
She knew that her best bet was to leave the country. Damien may be able to track her, but if she kept moving then she could hold him off for at least a while.
Hermione turned sharply around some dustbins, then skidded to a halt.
"I thought that you were intelligent, Hermione," said Damien.
She spun around to see the other three vampires moving up to flank her.
Hermione turned back to the speaker who did not have a hair out of place, despite the supposedly halting attack that she had sent at him just minutes ago.
"You have taken too long to learn this lesson, Hermione. Let me tell you again: there is no use running. I always get what I want, and I want you."
Her only response was a scowl.
"Are you going to cooperate now? No? Ah well," said the vampire almost cheerfully. He waved a hand in Hermione's direction.
There was suddenly a rushing sound in her ears, and everything abruptly went black.
Before I forget, I have to add now that I'm not sure how often I will be able to update. My RL has just zoomed up on me! I can promise to update at least once a month, hopefully more, but I'm not sure.
Hugs to my reviewers, Princess-starseed 1987, Silver Butterfly 04, Natsuyori, Innogen, SPSB and Moony's-Mate (my computer hid your review! Sulk).
I will be inspired to find time to update faster if I get lots of reviews! Hint hint hint....