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There was a mountain. Completely white, it towered above her. Hermione walked toward it as the snow fell around her, blanketing everything in quiet and deadly silence. She looked over her shoulder and saw eyes gleaming in the forest she was leaving behind.

Something moved to her right, it was a centaur with haunted eyes. He bowed, but his eyes remained on her, watching her. He gave a small smile, and Hermione saw pointed teeth flashing. She looked ahead quickly, following the snowy clearing that was a path to the mountain in front of her. They wouldn't be able to get her there. There was something more powerful there. Something that would keep them away.

As she got closer, she saw a city engraved in the smooth side of the mountain. The people were pale wraiths with flowing blond hair and piercing blue eyes. They glided over the ground as if their feet were disconnected with the earth. Every now and then Hermione could feel them looking at her, their eyes finding the secrets she held so dear. Eventually they all watched her as she walked slowly towards what she knew to be her goal – the gaping, ice-lined mouth of a cave leading into the mountain.

Silence filled the air, enveloping Hermione in its oppressive binds, as the wraiths watched her, laughing without sound. Their skin was translucent, and as she passed them she could see the blood moving through their veins. Some reached out as if to touch her, but only got close enough to grin with their pointed teeth at her shudder.

She faced the dark cave in front of her, not daring to look closer at the creatures surrounding her. She felt the evil within it, but it was drawing her. It was too strong. She would finally meet him.

Hermione woke up with a start. Her head throbbed with the effort it took to sit up, and she tried to get her surroundings. The presence that had haunted her dreams had faded, but she could still feel it…him…in the back of her mind. She didn't know who he was, but she could feel his call bind her heart in strings of evil. And she wanted to meet him.

A sharp pain through her wrist forced Hermione to regain reality, and she looked down. She was tied to a stake behind her with leather binds around her wrists. She stood up, wincing at the pain that came with dragging her wrists up the rough wood. She looked around her, squinting with the effort of trying to make out shapes in the dim light.

She saw Draco, tied the same way she was, and cringed at the blood that was dried on this forehead. The last thing she remembered was lunging at him when he hesitated, slamming a small rock into his forehead. Hands had grabbed her then, and the slithering cold that had accompanied them seemed to seep through her skin, into her veins, running through her body and turning it into ice. Then her world had faded.

A low moan escaped Draco's lips, and she watched as he struggled against his binds, and then as his body went limp with defeat. He looked at her, and she could see the despair written on his face.

"I was weak again. I always will be."

"Not being a killer doesn't make you weak, Draco. It makes you stronger."

He turned away from her, climbing unsteadily to his feet. "You would say something like that, Mudblood."

She scowled, but didn't respond for several moments as she tried to regain her composure. "Fine, go on mourning and debasing yourself. I'm sure it'll get you incredibly far. As for me, I'm going to try and figure out what the hell your little friends want with us."

"They knew I would fail." His voice was weak. "They want you. I don't know why, but they wanted me to bring you to them. They said I could kill you…but they knew. They knew I couldn't do it."

"Who is them, exactly?"

"Isn't it obvious? They want blood, they kill, they live in the deepest part of forests they can…vampires."

Hermione sucked in sharply. "Are you sure?"

"There's no other explanation. They…they wanted me to taste your blood."

As her stomach churned with the thought, Hermione watched as Draco tried to maintain his normally cold composure.

"But it's not just them; they want you for a reason. I don't know why, but they sounded a little desperate."

Hermione felt the ice return to her blood, and clenched her hands viciously. Suddenly, low hissing filled air. She closed her eyes, not wanting to face her fate.

The sounds of gliding robes and hissing grew louder. Finally, silence overtook them once again. Hermione kept her eyes firmly closed, and what seemed like hours ticked by. Abruptly, Hermione felt a long fingernail trace the side of her face.

Open your eyes. The voice was more in her mind then actually spoken out loud, and it felt like it was filling her, filling everything near it. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at the creature in front of her. Its face was gaunt, the white skin pulled tightly against a bony frame. Its eyes were silver, but not like Draco's. While her companion's eyes were stormy, like clouds bordering on a storm, this creature's were nearly white. He lifted his pale lips slightly, just enough so that Hermione could see the fangs that shined beneath them.

Release the boy. Draco yelped as his binds unfurled, and he dropped to the ground. The creature didn't move his eyes from Hermione's, but he spoke to Draco.

You still have a choice. You can join us, become strong and able to kill. But it will come with a price. You will give up your humanity forever. Hermione saw the pain that flickered over the vampire's face. You will never love. You will never see the light again.

The pain left the creature's features as he moved forward with his speech, and was replaced with steely triumph. But you will have more power than you ever imagined. You will be able to command everything in the forest with a single thought. You will be able to kill and taste the blood that gives all things life, you will take your prey's life and it will become a part of you. You will be connected with The Power, and the One that yields it. You will never again be cold, rejected. You will be our brother, and we will protect and accept you.

Draco was walking closer to the vampire, and Hermione could see his face twisting with the decision he would have to make. "And if I decide not to join you?"

You will join the girl. Hermione's eyes widened at the sneer that painted the pale face in front of her. Her fate was obviously not one that would be desired by any.

"What are you going to do to me?"

You will be sent to him. You know him already. I have seen the way you shake when you dream. He has visited you.

"Why?" She heard the pleading note in her voice, but the vampire disregarded it.

He feels your power. It is not as strong as some of the sources we have sensed outside of the forest, but you are the most powerful he has ever had a chance to take…

Hermione felt fear course through her at these words, and her skin felt as though it was crawling. "What does he want with me?"

You will see.

"What if I go?" Draco sounded weaker as his choices weighed against each other.

He will deal with you as he sees fit.

Finally, the white eyes left Hermione's as he turned slightly, and she sagged against the stake.

We will send you to him in the morning. You will follow the path we will make for you. We can not come with you, for our hunger is too great to resist at times, and if we kill you he will destroy us. However, if you stray from the path, we will find you...and there are ways to make you obey.

Hermione nodded, her fear dulling as she realized her inevitable fate. She would meet him at last. The creature from her dreams…the part of her that was lifting in primal joy at the thought scared her the most.

Suddenly, the vampire swung back to face her, his teeth flashing.

He promised me a reward though, a small bite. Your power will join with my own.

Before she had time to comprehend what he meant, his lips were against her throat. She screamed as sharp teeth bit through her flesh, and she felt her hot blood gush into his mouth. The pain was sweet, and ecstasy ran through her veins, warming the coldness that had frozen her into marble.

Even as he drank, the vampire could talk to her. I knew you would like it. All of our victims do. It keeps them from struggling. He pulled himself away unwillingly.

I can feel your magic. He stared down at his hands, flexing his fingers and smiling at the newfound power within them. Her blood dripped from his lips, and he licked it leisurely with his tongue.

He looked at her again, and she saw the red that was tingeing his white eyes. He advanced towards her again.

I see why he wants you…

He caressed her face again, and Hermione saw Draco out of the corner of her eye, staring entranced at the scene in front of him.

I need more. With this, a growl erupted from the creature's throat, and he lunged at Hermione, his lips hungrily connecting with the punctures in her neck once more.

Hissing filled the air as his companions tried to tear him off, afraid of the repercussions that would come with Hermione's death. But their leader threw them off, Hermione's power combining with his own in a lethal mix.

Hermione felt her strength wean as he sucked at her neck, but abruptly he stopped. She whimpered as the cold air stung the bite, and was only able to see the light that flooded the clearing before everything went black.

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Thank you, Draco. The whispers floated through the air as the vampires nursed their leader, who had gotten a full blast of light from Draco's wand. Hermione was crumpled on the ground, seemingly forgotten.

He didn't know what had made him pick up his wand and light it, whether it was the impending destruction of the vampires if Hermione died, or the fact that his only human companion would be gone forever. He slowly walked towards her small form, and kneeled beside her.

Who wanted her? And how did she know to be afraid of him? The confused thoughts fled through his mind as they whirled with his decision. Would he stay here with the vampires…would he become one of them and gain all the power he had always wanted? Or would he venture with the Mudblood to meet her fate?

Hermione's eyes opened, and Draco noticed how dull they were. The amount of blood the vampire had taken was enormous. She would live, but she would be weak for days. Walking away from her wouldn't be right…but it would go along with what he had always been taught, what he had always yearned for. During their school years, all he had been able to do was wish death upon her and her friends.

You will give up your humanity forever. The words echoed in his mind. Would he take the chance to desert her, to hurt her, by giving up who he really was? Would he be driven by the animalistic hunger that drove the vampires around him?

She had said to him that not being a killer made him stronger. He had laughed. But was there truth in her words? Through love her and her friends had destroyed the strongest killer their world had ever seen.

"Draco." Her voice was pleading, asking him not to become one of them. It filled him with disgust.

"Don't plead…it's unflattering."

"What are you going to choose?"

At her words, Draco felt the eyes of the vampires turn to him, waiting for his response.

Silence seemed to scream, time seemed to crawl.

A/N: Please, please, please review! Sorry about the wait by the way, I'll update sooner next time!

justamuggle: I'll explain more about that soon!

Moechae: ha…he better be…not that he'll ever see this…lol

Summer: Well…this one I got as I was falling asleep one night…not sure how it happened actually…

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