A/N: Hey guys! It's been a really, really long time. I know, but I've suffered from some serious writer's block the past couple of months. This chapter was surprisingly hard to write. I hope everyone likes it.
"Please, Lucius, it's quite urgent. I have your son right here with me; we'll explain matters. Yes, for the hundredth bloody time, I've handled the situation! I assure you, I was able to bring young master Zabini out of his shocked state and erase his memory successfully. Please sir, I'll explain everything, just come down here."
I awake to a hushed, angry voice whispering to my left, which I immediately recognized as Professor Snape. Great. What does Snape want with me? I slowly opened my eyes to observe my potion master's dark and gothic crib. I had to admit it was better than I expected. He owned a black leather couch, a wooden oak coffee table and an entire wall of ceiling-high book shelves, which were, indeed full. He had potions bubbling and brewing in every direction and ingredients were scattered throughout the room, but besides that, it was nice. Or at least it would've been had he not chained me up to the wall.
I'm serious. When I sat up in amazement, I tried to walk around, or at least stand up to stretch, only to find I couldn't. For a minute, I panicked, until I realized my ankles and wrists were sore and heavy and that I heard a rattling, metal sound every time I moved around. As I looked down, to my horror, it was just what I thought. Professor Snape had chained me up to the wall as well as small white bed, which I sat on at the very moment, unable to stand, what was with this? Did he not trust me? Or wait…did he KNOW?
I waited, my head spinning at the thought of all the blackmailing and damage he could do to my reputation as my professor hung up his wiz-phone and looked up. We were right across from each other, him on a black leather chair and me on a lumpy bed. This is awkward…
"Good evening, Draco…" his cold and icy voice drawled. "Nice rest, I assume? I thought you'd never come out of it…hungry?"
He held up a coffee mug that contained blood. I could smell the metallic liquid from where I sat. it smelled so good…it reminded me that I never got a taste of Blaise and was still starving. Mmm…blood….food…wait! He's offering me blood—that must mean…oh, bugger he DOES know. "You know!" I hissed as he gave me a cold glare, swaying the cup back and forth…back and forth…if only I were within reach.
"It's not like I want to know, Draco, trust me. This is a huge responsibility on my part," he replied dully, still swaying the cup.
I licked my lips…oh, come on! Why can't he just hand it to me? "How do you know?" I demanded. "Did my mirror tell you?"
He laughed, placing the cup on the coffee table exactly in the middle of us. "No—but it's nice to know that it knows, too. Your parents were worried you were sick because of how you acted at and after the Death Eater's Party…They, uh…" he trailed off for a moment.
After taking a deep sigh, he rolled his eyes at the next part, "They uh…asked me to SPY on you today so I could—you know—figure out what was wrong with you. And of course, I couldn't simply go against their wishes and disappoint them by telling them 'no'. So I did it."
"That's dumb," I muttered.
Spying on me? Just because my overprotective parents said so? Yeah, and I'm certain he'd jump off a cliff to his bloody ending, too—if my beloved, powerful parents told him to. What's he under? The Imperius Curse?
Snape grinned maliciously and continued. "The only real reason I didn't want to follow you was because I thought you'd hide it from your friend Zabini and it'd make my job a full-time, all day assignment. But luckily, it proved easier than I thought. I mean, when you launched towards Zabini and tried to bit his neck, it was a dead giveaway to me, now wasn't it?"
"NO!" I shouted, not wanting to believe it.
But it was true. I covered my mouth with my hand and leaned back against the wall behind me. "You told on yourself, Draco…"
My whole body froze at his last, icy words, as I tried to comprehend the meaning of them. He raised his eyebrows and glared at me as I stared straight ahead of me without moving or blinking.
Oh, bugger…MY fault. This was all MY BLOODY FAULT. Had I not given in to my urge for blood, had I not tired to kill my best friend, I would be HERE in this horrible situation right now. And only I'd know my secret.
Ugh! Why did I do that? I hurt myself as well as my friend Blaise Zabini…aye! I hate myself. I leaned against the wall even harder where it began to make my back ache, still deep in thought until I saw Snape heading my way. Now I sat straight up, as far forward as the chains would allow me, because in his hands Snape held the mug of blood. I suddenly felt my anger disappear, cheering up as the smell grew stronger…yummy…I think its time for a nummy treat…
I grabbed the cup instantly as he approached, just like I had done with the coffee earlier in the shop, and took an enormous gulp. But instead of swallowing it like the coffee, I gagged and spit it out all over the white sheets of the bed. Yuck—this didn't taste anything like the tempting, delicious blood I took from Healer Garrow and Daisy Ann Brown. Eeeew…it tasted weak and gross…not the same.
"Eeew! What the heck did you mix in this? Trying to poison me now that I'm night walking with fangs, are you? Thought it'd be funny, eh, to punish me? That is so low. No, I want real blood, without poison, you idiot!" I shrieked, shocked and offended that my favorite professor would sink so low as to pull a stunt like that.
Snape shook his head. "Just as I suspected…" he drawled.
I scowled. What did he take me for? "What?" I barked. "You think I should just sit here and be happy about your little stunt? You think I don't notice when people poison my drinks? Yeah, I'm sure you knew I'd blow up at some time about this, but inside you were dearly hoping and praying I wouldn't. Probably thought since I'm new to this, I'd over-look it. You're dead wrong—I'm disappointed, SNAPE—out of all the people in the world, I--"
Snape merely chuckled at my red face, the sodding moron. I popped my knuckles, scowling again. I suppose I'll need to find a new favorite teacher this year…suck up to them…no one will completely replace Snape, though…
"Oh, yeah—tremendously funny. Letting me believe—leading me on to think that I'm tasting non-poisoned blood--"
"This IS non-poisoned blood, Draco. Good, pure, non-poisoned blood," Snape broke in coldly.
"Whatever!" I retorted just as coldly.
I threw the glass to the floor, which broke into two solid pieces, the remaining dark, thick liquid oozing out across the stony floor. Snape raised his eyebrows again, a smirk on his face as he analyzed my behavior. "Oh," he finally said. "My bad, Draco, you ARE the vampire here, with stronger scents than anyone else. If you say it's poisoned, it MUST be poisoned."
"Oh, stop being sarcastic!" I snapped. "Now, go fetch me a new glass of blood."
"No," he clearly stated.
"Yes—go!" I cried out.
"No!"
"Snape, it's not an option, it's a demand, now go!" I shrieked.
Why did he have to be so difficult? "I am not a house-elf!"
He stood glued to the floor. "Well, no! But you DID kidnap me, so you will do as I say. Now go do as I say by re-filling a new mug with blood. Non-poisoned blood, mind you."
"I didn't kidnap you so you could boss me around and treat me like a house elf. And I wouldn't call it kidnapping, either," he replied coldly, turning around and sitting back down in his black, leather arm chair.
"SNAPE!" I growled. "Kitchen, mug, blood, now!" he leaned back and closed his eyes.
"I just sat down, "he said lazily, placing his hands behind his head.
Oh, come on! "WHY?" I cried.
"Because you'd do the same thing you just did. Take a gulp, spit it out all over my just-washed sheets, and break the mug," he shrugged.
"Well, if you don't poison it--"
"It wasn't poisoned before," he cut in.
I sighed. Should Flitwick be my new favorite teacher? I guess he's nice enough…
"If you're telling the truth," I said.
'Which you're not…'
"Then why did that blood taste weak? Why did you say you suspected my reaction? Huh? Answer that!" I smiled smugly. I have him….and then….
"Because this is pig's blood!" he shouted, suddenly standing to his feet. "THIS is what vampires should drink so people don't end up hurt. I knew you'd hate it because I read the Daily Prophet this morning, which told about Daisy Brown and Healer Garrow dying with bite marks on their necks. Draco! Had you just come to me from the beginning, two more people would still have their lives and you'd never know how much better human blood tasted like!"
"So—you mean to say all I can drink from now on is—weak, nasty—Pig's blood?" I asked.
"Yes—do you think I'm going to allow you to kill people the rest of your life?" he questioned.
"I could sire everyone," I offered.
I was SO not drinking more pig's blood. "And vampire-infect half of the wizarding population? I don't think so. In your dreams, Draco."
He acted as if I were insane to think of asking such a question. "Is there any way I can get out of drinking PIG'S blood?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Had you not gone and drank human blood, Draco, you'd never know what you were missing. I'm sorry. But you WILL get used to pig's blood after awhile, okay?"
"Please!" I pleaded.
"I'm sorry," he sighed, sitting back down in his chair.
I rolled my eyes, pressing my lips together and then forcing air out of them to relieve the tension in the room.
"So…"I drawled after awhile, "What DID happen when you caught me attempting to bite Blaise Zabini?"
Obviously I was changing the subject. Snape sighed again. "Well…what do you think?" he asked.
'Oh, don't be a wise guy!' "I don't know, sir, that's why I'm asking," I said, keeping my cool this time.
"When I saw you duck under the table, I grabbed my taser out of my bags, which I brought just in case. Then when you tried to bite, I zapped you. You went out cold," he explained.
A taser! No wonder! Those lasers seriously hurt when they zap you—ugh! I should've known…"That's cruel, Snape," I told him, and he half-nodded.
"Yeah, but killing your friend would have been ten times more cruel," he pointed out.
I couldn't argue with him there. "Ummm…" I said hesitantly, not wanting to know the truth. "What DID happen to—to Blaise?"
"He's fine," Snape assured me beforehand. "He fell into a temporary shock when you launched at him, but I had a potion on me strong enough to bring him out of that state."
"Was he mad?" I questioned.
Snape looked confused, so I added, "At me? For trying to—you know—kill him?"
"Oh!" Snape said, "No. He didn't even understand what happened, and I didn't want to explain it so I erased the memory of it and sent him home. He's fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes, and I'm also sure that Dumbledore and your parents will be arriving soon so I can explain this situation--"
My mouth dropped. "What? You—you're telling my parents—headmaster—parents--"I couldn't form my sentence properly.
"Yeah, you didn't honestly believe this would be kept between the two of us, did you? Remember the whole reason I was even in the coffee shop? It was to SPY on you for your PARENTS, so they expect feedback from this afternoon. I have to, Draco. And Dumbledore must know too, since he's the headmaster of your school."
"NO! Snape—I'll do anything, I swear! PLEASE—my parents—they'll kill me—they'll murder me—they'll bury me alive!"
And as if something hit him in the back, he agreed. "You're right. I'm not telling your parents this."
I smiled. THANK YOU! "Do you have ANY idea what your parents would do to ME if I told them? They'd blame me for this whole thing, I'd never see the end of it. They'd go on and on and on of how this is all MY fault and I shouldn't have allowed you to wonder off at the party. No, I'm not telling them. I refuse. I won't do it. I'm NOT telling them."
YES! It's true! Yay! I'm free, I'm free—it's only our secret, and no one else's! Yay! Thank you, Snape! You're my favorite teacher again! And then…it was over….
"You are," he concluded coldly.