A/N: Time to answer my reviews. Thanks to all who I'm answering!

Girl-Of-Legends: I said pretend Spike was never in a wheelchair, silly :P

DruWentToBermuda: Thanks for your review! :)

Dany: We'll see who gets sired... (dun, dun, DUN!)

I know what's going to happen in this chapter doesn't make so much sense, but please bear with me as this is the only way for my ideas to make sense.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

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A body moved swiftly through the forest, darting in and out of shadows, trying it's best to remain concealed. It reached the three vampires quickly and expectantly. Somehow it knew they would be there. There was a girl with long hair and two men. One of them, with dark hair that blended in with the dark night, spoke.

"This is how you feed."

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Classes resumed normally and the students made their way through the castle trying their hardest to remain natural, but they couldn't help avoiding shadows and glancing behind statues every once in a while. The teachers seemed as though they were trying too hard to act like this was any normal day, and were giving out massive amounts of homework. Or perhaps this was to keep them occupied instead of having them prancing around the school and getting their necks broken like Snape.

The only teacher that wasn't acting this way was McGonagall. She gave large amounts of homework like the others, but didn't act naturally in her class. She was a nervous wreck. Most of the students were wondering why the other teachers weren't acting like she was, and if they weren't wondering that they were concerned as to why they were even having classes that day.

As the trio left History of Magic, Ron expressed his annoyance on the subject.

"How am I ever going to finish all this homework?" he exclaimed, walking down a slow, crowded hallway in between his two friends. "I have, like, an hour in every subject and Quidditch practice! Do they think we're all Hermione, or something?!"

"Hey, keep me out of it," she said, annoyed.

Harry laughed at Ron's comment. He thought it was clever and he definitely agreed with what his friend was saying. He had no idea how he was going to finish all this stupid work. Did the teachers really think that after this traumatizing event that they would just be able to pick up where they'd left of and handle everything in a snap? Well, that definitely was not going to happen.

Even Hermione grumbled along with them this time as they made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

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"I hate this stupid crap and this stupid school and the fact that the one teacher that actually liked me a tiny bit- besides that one stupid paper- is now DEAD."

Draco was in a very irritable mood. Everyone just assumed it was because his favorite teacher had been brutally murdered, but others felt that there were other reasons.

"Why aren't they trying to figure out the culprit of this horrible act?" he inquired. "I don't know about everyone else, but I don't feel so safe wandering around a school with a murderer on the loose!"

They were sitting at the Slytherin table eating their lunch calmly. Well, everyone was, that is, besides Draco. He wasn't ranting on to anyone in particular, he was mostly just expressing his thoughts to the general public. Suddenly, he sat up and marched off angrily to the Slytherin common room without another word besides the few he grumbled to himself along the way there.

"Lousy bastards," he spat through clenched teeth, throwing himself dramatically upon a couch in the center of the empty room. "Who the hell do they think they are just letting a bloody killer run loose in this bloody school?!" He punched the cushion rather violently. He would never admit to anyone that he was scared out of his mind that he might be on the receiving end of the next killing. If someone wanted to kill Snape, why wouldn't they want to kill him, too? He was close with the man and was similar to him in many ways. He was surprised that no one had wanted to speak with him in private about getting a little extra security. Showed him how much they all cared...

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Along the Gryffindor table things weren't so different. Fights had broken loose and people were quarreling about everything imaginable. They were all so filled with anger and fear and hatred and worriment that they didn't know how to express their emotions in any other way than yelling. Ron was still going on about his annoyance toward the teachers when he suddenly had an idea.

"I'm not going to Care of Magical Creatures," he said.

"What?" Hermione and Harry responded in unison.

"I'm not going to Care of Magical Creatures," he repeated. "I have too much work and I need the extra period to do some of it. Just tell Hagrid I hurt my wrist or something."

"You can't do that to Hagrid!" Hermione said, shocked at Ron's statement.

"I know, I feel bad, but when else am I going to do the work?" he responded. "I hate to say it, but this is the least important class I take. And you two both know perfectly well that's the truth."

They couldn't deny it. It was better he miss this than Transfiguration or Defense Against the Dark Arts. Besides, Hagrid wouldn't demote his grade if he just missed one class, whereas other teachers might do so very strongly.

Hermione sighed. "I never took part in any of this."

"Neither did I," Harry said, picking at his food with his fork.

"Good, then," Ron replied. And he disappeared off to the common room.

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Ron wasn't the only one to skip his Care of Magical Creatures lesson that day. Draco did, grabbing a few other Slytherin students to join him as he could. His motive was different, though. He was actually afraid to go outside, and he figured there was safety in numbers. But maybe there was a bit more to it than just that...

The only time they emerged was when someone came in and told them that there was an emergency meeting in the Dining Hall and they had to go upstairs immediately. Draco made sure that everyone was closed in a tight circle around him as they ascended the stairs to the main floor of the school.

"It has come to my attention that a student is missing from the premises of the school," Dumbledore announced as the Dining Hall filled up. "Has anyone recently seen Lavender Brown?"

Murmurs seeped through the large room like molasses and took minutes for Dumbledore to eliminate.

"If anyone knows anything about her potential whereabouts, please tell me or any other professor of the school," Dumbledore commanded. "This is a serious issue and I-"

He was cut off by the sound of a large door shutting quickly and someone entering the Dining Hall. It was Hagrid carrying a bundle in his arms. It took everyone a few moments to realize that the bundle was actually the body of Lavender. He made his way quickly through the thick throng of students, taking long strides to reach Dumbledore at the teachers' table. He lay her body down. Harry and Hermione, who were in the front row, vaguely noticed to small red dots located on her throat, dried blood crusted around them. Hermione gasped at the sight.

The teachers mumbled to each other worriedly as Hagrid explained that he had found her dirty body sprawled out in the Forbidden Forest, not far from the main grounds of the school. They soon reached a conclusion. She was dead and all of the students were to remain in the Dining Hall until further notice.

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A/N: I promise more action in the next chapter! It just always takes me a while to get to the good stuff in a story ;) Please review!