A/N: Well, all, here's another chapter. This was actually supposed to have come out in August, but the original form of this chapter didn't quite fit with the characters as well, nor did it include as many details as I would've liked. Therefore, it has been placed into an original work inspired by this fanfiction.
Darkness surrounded Hermione, but she really didn't care. After six months, it had become her preferred environment. There were so many fewer distractions now than during her life in the daytime. She had quiet to help her think, and to cherish the time alone that she got to spend with Harry.
She smiled at the thought of him. He had accepted her so readily, when others had not. A frown crossed her lips as she thought of their friends who had shied away from her: Luna, Seamus, Hannah, even Ron, though he was coming around. She sighed as she sat down beneath her favorite willow near the lake.
"Thinking of Ron?" Harry asked, coming up from behind her. He sat down beside her, and took her cool hand in his.
"Yeah." Hermione admitted simply.
"He'll get used to it," Harry said gently, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "And he did receive a bit of a shock."
She offered up a wry smile. "True….I wish he hadn't found out that way, but how were we-"
"Ssh," he shushed. "What's done is done. We can't help how he found out, or change it. All we can do now is give him the space he needs to come to terms."
"Harry, we've given him space for a month!"
"Well," he replied with a slight, dry chuckle. "We know how stubborn Ron can be." He scooted closer to her, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She nestled into him, appreciating his warmth and comforting presence. They sat like that, staring at the lake for a while, before she suddenly sat up.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, instantly worried. Hermione didn't meet his eyes, just glanced down, then began searching the surrounding area. "Mione," he said softly. She turned back to him, eyes glittering obsidian as they met his. "I told you, I trust you."
Hermione said nothing. Harry had offered his blood to her five months ago, and she had taken it then. And once or twice since. But she hated herself for it, hated herself for getting an appetite whenever she leaned against him too long. Time and again over the past five months they'd been together, she'd wanted to break if off, fearing for his safety if she lost control. But she'd only tried to twice: the first time she'd bitten him, and the night that Ron found out about her vampirism.
She and Harry were sitting in the Gryffindor common room by the fireplace, watching the rain slide down the windows. Ron was in an armchair opposite them, staring into the flames. Suddenly, Hermione felt the now-familiar thirst begin.
"Uh…I'm getting the urge for a snack. I'm going down to the kitchens. I'll be back." And she rushed out of the common, hearing Ron call after to wait.
She was just reaching the stairs when Ron caught up to her, holding an ugly brown tie. "Didn't you hear me? I asked you to wait, so that I could come along…I've been meaning to give this to Dobby."
"Oh…no, sorry. I hadn't. Er….do you mind if I stop at the hospital wing first?" He glanced at her, and shrugged his agreement.
They made a quick stop, where Hermione only managed to gulp half a bottle before Ron poked his head in to see what was taking so long. "You really should tell him, you know," Madame Pomfrey whispered to her. Both the nurse and Professor Dumbledore had been urging her to tell her other friends, or better still, announce everything to the school as a whole, rather than trying to hide the fact. But, though she'd grown to accept what she now was, and how it had changed her, she still didn't want to advertise the fact. She knew how vampires were viewed in the wizarding world.
They went to the kitchens next, where Hermione accepted pumpkin juice and éclairs from the elves as Ron presented Dobby with his new tie. The thirst at the back of her throat, only half-sated, began to worsen when they got back to the common room. Hermione itched for Ron to go to bed, so she could just go out and hunt something small.
But Ron didn't go up to bed until more than an hour later, by which point Hermione was nearly desperate. The moment Ron disappeared up the stairs, she rushed to the portrait hole.
"Hermione, you can't go out there." Harry got up from his seat.
"Harry, I have to. I-"
"It's gotten worse out there. A lot worse. You may be a vampire, but that doesn't stop you from getting sick."
"But I need more – I only got half of my usual amount, and you know that sometimes even that isn't enough. I have to go."
"No you don't, Hermione." He walked over to her.
"Harry, I promised myself I wouldn't…." her voice trailed off as he stood in front of her, close enough that the urge to bite was almost overpowering.
"Hermione, how many times must I tell you? I trust you." She sighed, prepared to start the argument that was becoming familiar to them, but stopped and bent forward. She needed blood, and all rational thinking was evaporating from her mind. Trying to be as gentle as possible, she pierced his neck with her fangs, and started drinking.
Hermione was instantly lost in the taste. Harry's blood was rich and tasting of new copper. She savored it as it entered her mouth, enjoying the way it slid down her throat. But then a loud gasp disturbed her, as did the feeling of Harry trying to turn around. Ashamed she broke away, and Harry's head instantly swiveled around to look behind him. Peeking past him, she saw Ron at the foot of the stairs, looking horrified.
"Ron?" Harry croaked out. Hermione couldn't say anything – her throat had closed up and as Ron continued to stare, she felt tears forming.
"I….came down to….I….uh…." Ron started, fumbling for the reason he'd come down, before apparently gaining a hold on his emotions for the moment. "What the bloody hell is going on here?!" His ears began turning red as he glared at them.
They tried to talk to him, tried to calm him down. But Ron just couldn't believe that they hadn't told him what was going on.
"I mean, I at least expected you to tell me, Harry!" he burst out. "You're my best friend! What were you thinking – we got Ron's approval of us dating, we'll hit him with the vampire whammy another time?"
"Ron, I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to wait until Hermione was comfortable with the idea."
"Bull." Ron said hotly. "After all, you didn't really care whether I was comfortable with the idea of you two dating but you still sprung it on me anyway!"
"But…Ron, mate, you just said…and you said back then that it didn't bother you!" Harry looked bewildered, and Hermione, without thinking, reached over to squeeze his hand. Ron gazed at the action with fury.
"Yeah, well, I lied!" Shaking, he stood up and stomped to the dormitory, where they heard the door slam.
Well, thanks to Ron, who spread the word out of spite, the entire school knew Hermione was now a vampire. While she had hated him for it then, especially when those in her own house questioned her right to be at Hogwarts, she'd forgiven him.
"I just wish he'd forgive us," she whispered softly.
"Hmmm?" Harry asked.
"I was thinking about Ron again," she said slowly. "And wishing he would forgive us."
"I think he has, actually," Harry mused. "It's himself he hasn't forgiven."
"When did you get so insightful?" she teased.
"I think my girlfriend has something to do with it," he smiled, and kissed her softly. The next time he offered her his neck that night, when the thirst rose again, she didn't refuse.