By: MLD
Rated: R
Disclaimer: anything you may recognize does not belong to me! Meaning, any characters from the HP universe! (but of course I'm sure all of you know this by now?)
This is an AU Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fanfiction, if you don't like this pairing then why are you even here?!
This fic will most definitely be dark.
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Cassius Leonidas is a 947-year-old vampire. On his 347th year he was captured on the shores of Scotland by a powerful group of witches and wizards. They encased him in a tomb deep within the dungeons of Hogwarts; there they spelled a warning to anyone that would find it and cursed Leonidas with eternal sleep.
Yet, this was not enough to fall the powerful Leonidas, for the curse had only one counter…
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So many words
Can't describe my face
This feelings evolved
So soon to break out
I can't relate
To a happy state
Feeling the blood running inside
(System: QotD-Chester Bennington)
|Chapter One: Dark Blood|
Draco Malfoy, the name floated around the tables of the Great Hall, whispered with curiosity, malice, and admiration. Mixed feelings floated around the tables as Draco stood in the doorway contemplating on whether he should get breakfast or run away. The stares he was getting was making him antsy, in fact, ever since he turned 18 and started back to Hogwarts it had been like the whole school knew something about him that he did not. Sighing, he walked over to the Slytherin table and looked down as a plate of food appeared in front of him. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of eggs, sausage and bacon overrode his senses. His stomach churned and he pushed it away, opting for a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice.
Ever since that dream he had had last night, he had had a feeling of dread come over him. It wasn't like there wasn't much of a difference between the dream from last night and the ones he had been having since his 18th birthday, except for one minor detail. He was beginning to fucking hallucinate. He ran a pale hand through his flaxen hair, blowing a few of his loose bangs out of his eyes. Yes things were beginning to grow a lot worse.
Getting up from the table, he could feel eyes following him and he didn't really care, used to the stares and the whispering behind his back, he was a Malfoy after all. Walking to one of the many large windows, he leaned against the wall so he could look out of it, seeing the lake. He wondered if his father had forgotten to tell him something before his passing. It was possible. And knowing his luck, it was something very vital. He and his father hadn't talked much since the death of his mother. He had loved his father, but their relationship had been rocky.
He seriously opted for skipping classes today; he was so tired. His eyelids heavy and his eyes were burning. Not like he would be missed anyway, he had cut himself off from everyone of his friends since the death of his father and thus his downward spiral caused a lot of tension in Hogwarts. Deciding that going back to his rooms and trying to see if daytime sleep would leave him without dreams, he slowly made his way back towards the dungeons.
"Draco!" A voice called out to him. Draco had forgotten… how he had forgotten was beyond him, that he still had two people that would never leave him to his own. And for that, he was really grateful, seeing as no matter what he did, what he had done he could never shake those two. He stopped walking and turned.
"Your not going to be in classes today are you?" the girl said, her voice filled with worry. "We are really worried about you Draco, and I don't think all of this," She gestured towards his appearance. He guessed that his charm had worn off. "Can not be because of your father."
He sighed; he knew he must look a sight. His unruly blond hair that was usually groomed to perfection, once unmarred face now had dark circles under his eyes and his posture one of defeat.
She walked up to him, her slim hands resting on his shoulders, "Please, tell me what the hell is going on with you?"
Draco blinked his gray eyes, and stared at her. He noticed, in the dim light of the hallway, that her green eyes were filled with worry and love, love for him and her features were gentle. He sighed, "I'm sorry, its nothing really. I haven't been able to sleep at night you know? I was just going to see if I could get a little rest. I'm sorry that I worry you, Gin, I really am." He gathered her small form in his arms and hugged her fiercely. " Your just like the little sister that I never had, and I do love you." He kissed her forehead. He must have surprised her with his forwardness in a very public hallway. He let her got, "Tell Blaise I will see him later, and give him my love. I just need to go rest." He turned and walked away from the red haired girl.
Draco yawned, and turned a corner, only to be stopped in his tracks. He slowly backed up and peeked around the corner. In the dimness of the dungeon hallway stood Professors Bryce, Knight and McCray. He scowled, he had never liked those three. There was something about them that he just didn't trust, like there was a secret that they were hiding, a very dangerous secret. He heard them arguing.
"Do you have any idea what you are suggesting, going against the wishes of Albus like this? What the hell are you up to, Katherine?" Darlene hissed at her colleague.
"What I'm trying to get across to you, Darlene is that Albus knows. He knows what the key is… this trigger, and he is protecting it. So concerned for his precious students that he has ignored the past!" Katherine shouted.
"The past holds the key to Leonidas's undoing. In destroying him once and for all. Do you not understand what Katherine is saying, Darlene? Do have any…idea what so ever? The ultimate revenge." William stated, his eyes wide with excitement.
"No, do YOU have any idea what this means. If you are saying what I think you are saying it means to unbalance Hogwarts… the whole of its nature. It will tear the school apart; shake its foundation. To kill the heirs of the founders?!" Darlene yelled, aghast at what her friends were saying to her.
Draco stared at them, a slight of fear rising with in him.
"There are only two that need to be brought to their deaths. Leonidas is the devil incarnate and the protector of bad faith. Do you honestly think that what we will accomplish in killing the heirs of Slytherin and Gryffindor. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are going to be left as they are, leaving them to the balance and getting rid of the Dark Blood that stains this school!" William shouted at Darlene, who flinched.
"Do you not want to avenge all those who were slaughtered by Leonidas? To avenge their deaths, by killing the one who caused them?" Katherine voiced.
"You are talking about the cold blooded murder of a student." Darlene said, her voice barely audible but still falling on Draco's ears.
Draco felt like he should leave, hide… find someplace where he would never be found. Yet, he stayed, and instead of fear welling he found anger… pure unadulterated anger. He was seething. He couldn't help but wonder where all of this anger had come from, overriding the fear that he knew that had just been there. His grip tightened on the stone wall, his knuckles whitening. Trying to calm himself down and continuing to listen was become very hard.
Katherine raised her hand and slapped Darlene in the face, her head jerked and blood coming from the corner of her mouth, "Don't you dare talk about him as if he were human. They were never human; the heirs of Slytherin are dark to the core. They are Evil beyond anything you could imagine, Knight. A student! This is something more then just some mere Hogwarts student. This is the key to the deadliest vampire that has ever graced Europe. The one who slew our families with out an ounce of mercy. Don't you dare act like this student is human," Katherine hissed, her face red with rage.
William grabbed Katherine's wrist, "Let her be, Katherine. Let her stew on this, we have classes to teach and a student to find. Lets just hope we find the student in time, before his blood becomes active. Merlin help us, if we are too late." William led Katherine away from Darlene, who just stared after them like they had gone mad.
And they probably had.
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Draco waited till they were gone before letting out a shaky breath and sinking to the floor. They wanted to kill him, and who the hell was this Leonidas they kept mentioning? Protector of Bad Faith? Deadliest Vampire to ever grace Europe? What the hell was that part about Dark Blood about? Tainted, was he? Evil… no. Sarcastic prick, spoiled brat, snobbish, hateful, he was… or used to be… still is, if he had anything to say about it. But he wasn't evil.
Draco felt the anger in him start to rage within him. 'How Dare They Judge Him and His Ancestors?! What Right Do They Have!' He shouted with in his mind, slamming his fist into the stone floor, not feeling the pain.
All thoughts of going to sleep had vanished, now they were filled with the images of blood and a young man. Draco shook his head, trying to get the images out of his head.
Closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself. Taking deep breathes and counting to 40 slowly, he started to become aware of the pain in his hand. He grimaced and opened his eyes. His knuckles were busted and bleeding. But what caught his attention was not the pain, not the fact that he probably just broke it all to hell but the fact that his blood was much different then it used to bed. He had injured himself plenty of times. Falling as a child, playing with his father's swords and on the Quidditch pitch and all those times he had never remembered his blood being so dark.
"Dark blood that stains the school…" He whispered as he looked from his hand to the floor below him. His blood; in a small puddle slowly seeping into the stone floor of Hogwarts. He swallowed, the feeling of fear rising within him once more.
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Darlene straightened and wiped the blood from her mouth. She couldn't believe what she had gotten herself into. She had just wanted to protect the students and the school its self, though she had her own reasons for joining in this little… 'Revenge' for Leonidas. All she wanted was to meet Leonidas… for her own reasons. Not for Revenge or anything of the like. She hated Katherine and the others with a passion and she knew something that they did not. The identity of the Heir of Slytherin and she was going to try her best to protect him from the Order if it was the last thing she did. Effectively casting a healing charm on her face, she brushed out her emerald robes, straightened her dark auburn hair that was pulled un in a nice bun and made her way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room, where she would teach her students, and keep them safe.
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Blaise looked around the classroom; he noticed that Draco had indeed not showed up in class that morning. After Gin had informed him of their little chat, he began to worry more about Draco's health and safety. Drumming his fingers on his desk, he glared at the Gryffindorks as they glared at him. How he hated having classes with them, especially this early in the morning and with no one to talk to. Taking a deep breathe and exhaling he crossed his arms.
He wasn't a very patient person, and he really liked this class. DA was one of his most interesting and he was very good at it… while he plummeted in Potions. Yup, today was going to be grand and no Draco to help him in potions was just going to be the greatest thing that has ever happened to him, he though sarcastically.
Hearing the door opening, he saw Professor Knight entering, her green eyes dark with emotion. He lifted a brow at this. She was certainly flustered, and she didn't hide it as well as she thought… especially with his Slytherin instinct.
Professor Knight stood at the front of the classroom, her eyes scanning the students as they talked excitedly and laughed. Her eyes landed on the empty desk beside him where Draco usually sat. An interesting look crossed her young features before it was gone and again Blaise found it unusual. 'Hnm… something strange is going on and it must have to do with Draco.'
Professor Knight's gaze landed on Blaise and he stared right back at her, his dark eyes searching for more out of the ordinary. "Mister Zabini, I would like to see you after class. The rest of, quiet down as we begin today's lesson! We are going to be studying Vampires."
'Strange.' Blaise thought.
A Gryffindor raised their hand, "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"But Professor, we covered that in our Second Year." The girl with the bushy hair asked.
"Let me finish, Miss Granger, and you will find out your answers," Professor Knight snapped, "I know that we have already covered Vampires in the earlier years, but we are going to be covering them again. A certain Vampire to be exact, as I'm sure you have all heard stories about him. We are going to be talking about Cassius Leonidas."
Some gasped, others looked clueless and while the rest looked very interested. Blaise kept his face blank.
"Wasn't he the most dangerous Vampire to ever walk upon Europe!?" Ron Weasley asked, a little surprised.
"Raise your hands, please! And yes, some of the stories say that he was the most merciless vampire, but I'm going to tell you something that you may have never heard before. Of our Cassius Leonidas, Protector of Bad Faith and the Devil Incarnate." Professor Knight cleared her desk off and sat on it, crossing her legs and sitting Indian style, her hands resting in her lap.
"It was said that Cassius Leonidas was born 947 years ago… born a vampire. That's all rubbish, as you have studied, vampires cannot be born, they are made into what they are. Bitten, I guess you would call it… turned into a demon. But nay, not all vampires are evil and full of blood lust. This goes for our Cassius. Only certain people can be turned, their blood is different and most die from it. Different ages they are, but they all eventually die. This is what happened to him. Cassius was born 972 years ago… his mortal name is not mention in the history books. He was the son of Godric and Lillian Gryffindor. Its true, this foul demon that many curse and scare children with is the spawn of Gryffindor."
The Gryffindors stared on with shocked expressions, the Slytherins as well, but Blaise wondered why she was even telling them this.
"When he was 25 he came down with a terrible illness, a blood disease that there was no cure for. Many medi-witches and wizards tried to heal him, and even muggles and the only thing they could think of were to bleed him out. But nothing helped and when he was on the verge of dieing it is said a man entered his room and took his tainted blood from his body and healed him. It was later they found out the truth, and many hated him. His mother kept her faith in him, while his father betrayed him. Godric blamed Lillian for his son's taint and death. Cassius protected Lillian with a vengeance and after the birth of his sister, his mother letting Cassius name her, Seraphina. After the birth of the daughter Godric took to abusing his wife and when Cassius found out he went to the extremes and thus came the end of Godric Gryffindor."
Many hands rose into the heir, some with perplexed looks on their faces. Professor Knight called on them one by one.
"Are you saying that what they say about Leonidas is false, that he didn't slaughter all those families for 15 years before he was killed?" Lavender Brown asked.
"No, he did do that. But some things that are said about Cassius are not true."
"Why do you keep calling him Cassius, Professor?" Pansy piped up.
"Well, that's what he went by before he became known as Leonidas."
"I thought you said his mortal name was lost?" someone else asked.
"It is, there is no record of his mortal name in the history books. The only ones that know of his name are the descendants of the Gryffindor line."
"So it's lost, because Leonidas was unable to bear children." Hermione Granger stated.
"No, its not lost… not entirely. There was still his Sister. Seraphina."
The bell rang, signaling the end of class. "Alright, I want you to think of what I told you and be ready for a pop quiz tomorrow!" Professor Knight said as the students filed out of the classroom.
Blaise stayed in his seat, watching the Professor as she unfolded herself from the desk and walked over to him. He kept his mouth shut.
Darlene took a seat next to him and looked him straight in the eyes, " I need to know where Draco is. He wasn't in class today, and I'm extremely worried about his safety."
"Well, I was unaware that our little dragon needed protection, Professor. What are you not telling me?" Blaise said, his voice low. He was very protective of Draco.
"It is none of your concern, Zabini. Now I need to know where he is right now." She said in her stern voice.
Blaise smirked, "Well, last I heard he was heading to his rooms to sleep. If you want any more information I suggest you tell me or try to pry in out of Virginia. Good luck there, because if you think I'm protective of dragon then you haven't met the dragons mother." Blaise said, his dark eyes smoldering.
Darlene opened her mouth and shut it again, glaring at the young Slytherin. "You have no idea what your dealing with boy." With that, she dismissed Blaise and went to search for Virginia Weasley.
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Virginia Weasley, known as Ginny to her Gryffindor friends and as Gin to Blaise and Draco, sat in the library taking her free class period to finish some of her charms home work. She was busy flipping through the pages of her book when she saw Blaise approaching her. She looked at him. "What's got you so intense?" She asked as he pulled up a chair beside her.
"Professor Knight. She has been acting strange. I don't know if I'm the only one that noticed it, but she came in late, she had some strange emotion in her eyes. And when she saw that Draco was not in his seat a look of interest crossed her face. Something is most definitely up. NOT to mention that we are covering Vampires in out lessons." Blaise crossed his arms, and looked at Gin.
"So… she has strange looks, she's covering vampires… which is second year curriculum…"
"Not just vampires, Leonidas." Her eyes bugged out as she looked at him, "Yes, exactly. She gave of some kind of story about how he's not all that bad and everything. Then she drilled me after class about Draco." Blaise sounded very questioning about Professor Knight's interests in Draco.
"So what did you tell her?"
"Ah, I told her to tell me what the hell was going on and that she wasn't getting any information from me. I told her to come find you so be prepared when she comes and confronts you." Blaise grinned slyly.
"Oh, gee thanks. I appreciate you seeking the hellhound on me." She muttered and scowled at him.
"I think you've been hanging around Draco too much, Gin. Your starting to act like him. You sure your not a Slytherin?"
Gin slapped his leg, "Oh shut up you, I have homework I have to do, why don't you go look for Draco and see if he's okay."
"Actually, I was hoping that I could find out if there is a book on Leonidas…"
"I'll find it, you go find Draco!" She commanded, her finger jabbing him in the chest.
"Fine, I get your point!" Blaise gave her a kiss on the forehead, causing her to scowl again and he could have sworn he heard her mutter something about idiot Slytherins… but he wasn't sure. He left, casually walking out of the library, to attend his potions and then planning to go find Draco.
Gin was just about finished with her Charms when Professor Knight walked up to her. It had been at least half an hour after Blaise had left. She ignored the Professor until she finally made her presence known.
"Can I help you Professor?" Gin asked, looking up innocently.
"I think you may be able to help me Miss Weasley. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about a friend of yours." Darlene said, as she sat across from the table watching the red haired girl watching her.
"Sure, ask all you want." Gin answered, giving her Professor and strange look.
"Well, I was wondering if you could give me any information on the whereabouts of one, Draco Malfoy?" Darlene asked sweetly.
"Draco Malfoy… Hnm, well I saw him after breakfast and then, well I can't remember exactly. Sorry I can't be of any help Professor, but Draco is his own person and goes anywhere he wants. I'm not his keeper."
Darlene had expected such an answer, "Well I'm extremely worried about his welfare. He hasn't been doing to well in his classes and I've noticed that he hasn't been very… how can I put this, social. And I'm afraid he may do something drastic."
Gin sighed, "Listen Professor. I'm not stupid. Draco lost his mother when he was young, his father passing away but only a few months ago. He has no family left and he lives in a huge mansion all by himself. I don't thank you know what your talking about, Blaise and I… we're all the family he has left and I am not going to let you come between us. So if I were you," Gin was now out of her seat, and looking straight down into the Professors face, "I'd mind my own damned business and leave my Dragon alone." Gin whispered the last dangerously. Staring down at her Professor for a few more seconds, she put all her anger in it. Finally snapping her book shut, gathering her things she marched out of the library, her head held high as if she were the Princess of Hogwarts, and walked out of the library. She left a stunned Professor behind.
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Draco had just come from the Hospital Wing, his broken hand mended. He dodged students that walked the hallways between classes and Professors as they took small breaks to watch the students in the hallways. Draco just walked on, his destination the dungeons. To his Room… his bed really. He hadn't noticed how tired he was until he left the hospital wing and he was desperately hoping that he wouldn't have any of those dreams. He made it past the potions classroom when he noticed something in the hallway.
In the middle of the hallway sat a large black panther, its tail twitching up and down as its gaze rested on him. Draco felt panic rise with in him, because this was indeed scary. Slowly he started to back away, as he did the panther moved a step forward. Then another and then another before it had finally caught up with Draco. Draco's heart was pounding, as the panther was now only two feet away, its unblinking gaze resting on him.
Slowly, he started to reach for his wand, wondering why he hadn't thought of that in the first place; but the panther noticed this action and he sprang its front paws coming down on his chest, pushing him to the ground. Draco wheezed as the breath was knocked out of him. "D-don't! Get away from me!" Draco shouted at the panther, he didn't know why he did, knowing that it wouldn't help The panther just looked at him, its green gaze not moving from his…
'Wait! Hold up! Hold up! Green eyes, since when in the bloody hell did a panther have green eyes?' He wondered and the glared at the panther. "Okay… very fucking funny. Who ever the hell you are, shows over. You can change back now." Draco shoved at the panther and his hands went straight though it.
"What the Fuck is going on here!" He shouted, skittering back on his hands and feet.
The panther grinned and he could of sworn it was laughing at him.
"That's it, I must be hallucinating. I'm going fucking insane with the insomnia, the dreams." He pointed his finger at the panther, "Okay, you can go away now. You're not real and I don't see you. Away!" Draco shooed it but it laughed even more.
Draco sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and just let his head drop. "This is getting bloody ridiculous." He said out loud.
The panther stopped his laughing and cocked its head. It padded silently on ghostly paws towards the blond boy. Setting down, it slowly began to change. Its tail disappearing and his back paws becoming booted feet until a human sat beside Draco. A black cloak pooled around the figure, its long legs crossed at the ankles while he leant back on his hands. He looked at the boy curiously, waiting for him to look up.
Draco felt something different now, less animalistic but not human either. Looking up he noticed that the panther was nowhere to be found, but when he looked to his right he noticed that a man was sitting beside him. He startled, "You!"
"Me." The ghostly figure said, he voice sounding smooth and calming.
"What… who… where…"
"When and How?" The spirit chuckled.
Draco scowled at it.
"Ah, there's the Malfoy glare I have missed these many, many years." The spirit smiled warmly.
"Who… what are you?" Draco finally spat out.
"I am Cassius." The spirit said simply.
"Cassius? That isn't much of an explanation if you ask me." Draco grumbled. "But I am talking to a hallucination, so go figure."
The spirit laughed, "Ah, Draco my dearest, you are not hallucinating. Sorry to upset you, but alas, I am as real as I can get at the moment."
"What the hell are you talking about, and don't call me dearest!" Draco shouted, though when he had heard the spirit talk to him like that it pulled at something in his chest.
The spirit smiled, his green eyes sparkling under his wild raven hair.
"And why the hell are you sending me nightmares, huh? Do you have any idea of the sleep you are depriving me of! Look at me, I have circles under my eyes, I've turned into an insomniac, my grades are dropping and my friends are worrying constantly about my well-being. So just tell me what the hell you want and let me have a decent sleep for once in the past three months!"
"What I want… I want many, many things. I want to change the past, I want to live in the present and I want to look forward to the future. I want to hold you in my arms and protect you as I've done so many of the other Malfoy's. I'm vital to your survival. All these many years, I have watched you come to age. Year after year, I've longed to be out in the open… to protect those who mean the world to me. I want MY freedom. I want MY revenge," He spat the last part, his voice sounding full of sorrow and hate.
Draco just looked at him, a strange feeling welling up within him. "I don't understand what you mean. Does this have to do with anything the professors were talking about in the hallway earlier to day?"
"Hnm… yes, McCray and Bryce." He said aloud.
"How are you here…?"Draco asked, wondering the spirit had lasted so long.
"You spilled some of you blood on Hogwarts did you not? It gave me the strength I needed to hold myself corporeal for only a little while, enough to talk and try to explain things to you." The spirit, known as Cassius said.
"Explain things to me?"
The spirit nodded. "Lets just say that I am an old friend of the family. I was your family's protect for many, many, many years. Generation after generation I have served the Malfoy, that was until I was captured and entombed."
"Entombed?"
"Yes, I was captured by a group of hunters, powerful they were. They entombed me with in Hogwarts because they couldn't kill me. Cast some kind of enchantment on me, all I know is it didn't last very long. Its slowly fading away, but I will never be completely free…" His voice was fading.
"Wait! Don't go yet!" Draco shouted reaching out for the spirit, but it was to late, he was gone.
~~~~~~~++~~~~~~~
Draco jerked himself awake in the Hospital wing. He shifted on the white sheets, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. That had felt so real… it was different from his nightmares. Very different, and yet it didn't make since. Yet for some reason he had felt like he had gotten many of his answers. All the questions he had asked…? "I'm going insane… crazy! I need to check myself into a mental ward right away. Yes, that exactly what I'm going to do. Leaving now… yea, as soon as I can get out of this bed." Draco swung his legs over the bed; his hand mended and walked out of the Hospital wing, dodging students that walked the hallways between classes and Professors as they took small breaks to watch the students in the hallways. Draco had just passed the potions classroom when he stopped, thought about the serious deja vu and took a step back, turned and headed towards the Room of Requirement. He was just having one hell of a weird day.
~~~~~++~~~~~
To Be Continued
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So how was that? I didn't exactly know where I was going with this chapter, but
I like how It ended up. So tell me what you think… please!
Thank you malfoyfreak4ever! My first reviewer on this fic and also thank you to BlueTribalRose00, hope this cleared some things up? Anyway, thank you both lots, this second chapter was for you.
Click the button, ya know you want to!
Peace!
Mad Love
serraye_sanada@hotmail.com