p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"strong*~*~*~Hermione's P.O.V.~*~*~*/strong/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""Harry, Harry!" I ran down the stone halls after Harry's retreating figure. He turned around upon hearing his name, and I finally caught up to him. I clutched at the stitch in my side, and swallowed down the gulps of air. Blast for running in such shoes, curse the inventor./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"But never mind shoes, this was much too important. "I had to warn you, I just had to Harry." I gasped out. Harry's expression hardened and he asked seriously, "Hermione what's wrong?" He grabbed my shoulders and stared down at me. I gazed up at his warily, and spoke slowly and softly, perhaps to minimize the blow. "You're not going to believe who is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is." Harry rolled back onto his heels, while rolling his eyes. "Aye Hermione, I won't be surprised no more. Not after all of our past D.A.D teachers." I gasped in horror as Harry brushed past me, and continued into the room, I right on his heels. "But Harry…" But it seemed I was too late./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Ron sat sputtering in his seat, his face red. Harry just glanced down at him in bewilderment before he turned to the front of the class room. I noticed the moment he saw the teacher, his mouth dropped open in surprise as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Snape?" Harry practically shouted. I cringed as Snape let his smirk of gratifying pleasure come across his pale face./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I quickly sat down beside Ron, trying to make myself as unnoticeable as I could. Harry still stood staring at Snape as if in a trance of downright disbelief. Snape spoke out in his cool monotone voice, "Why isn't it Mr. Potter, late for class I see. That will be 10 points from Gryffindor." He smiled wickedly and continued; "Now if you'd please sit down and pay attention you might actually learn something." Snape turned back to his table and began to scan over the papers. The Slytherin's snickered in delight, and both Ron and Harry shot them glares. Harry reluctantly sat down on the other side of Ron. I heard him as he grumbled to Ron./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape turned back around, and tapped his wand on the desk in front of him to signal attention. "Now let us begin. Turn to page 220. Today we shall…" The door banged open loudly. In the doorway stood the one and only Blaise Zabini. I felt as my mouth dropped opened, and I bet I looked like Harry had but a few moments ago./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape's eyes bulged, and he spat, "What is this disturbance?" Blaise gazed up at Snape and went to an unoccupied seat, "I am to stay." That was all he spoke, and some how the whole class new something was amiss, especially when Snape cursed, "That will be 50 points from Slytherin for being tardy and disrupting my class room!" He whipped around so fast and began to write on the board, the chalk squeaking loudly of the frustration that Snape was trying to hide./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I risked a glance in Draco's direction, and I could see as he was glaring daggers into Blaise's back. I shivered hoping I'd never be the one that that gaze would be directed on. Blaise was snickering with another Slytherin his whispers being heard loud and clear. "My parents would never let me be expelled." I could tell he didn't dare look behind him, for he knew what he would see there; one very angry Draco Malfoy. Any angry Malfoy was a force to be reckoned with, one that could be scary at least./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape turned back to the class, "Turn to page 856, we will be starting a chapter that I've decided not to pass." His smile spoke volumes, and I wondered what Snape was getting at. That's when we all read the huge white chalk that stood out on the black board./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"emVampires/em/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"The word had been underlined three times, exaggerating its importance. We all flipped to page 856. I gazed at the picture that started the chapter. I gasp. It was the man from the heads portrait. He gave me a slow acknowledging nod, and I nodded back bewildered. I turned to Ron, "I haven't seen this chapter before, and I swear I've read this whole book!" Ron looked at me like I'd grow a second head, and I turned back to my book, my cheeks burning. "Bloody Hell, the man's talking to me." Ron whispered to Harry. Harry nodded his head, "Yeah, me too. I think he's a vampire." I glanced up at Draco who sat on the right side of the class room. He was slowly turning the pages, almost reluctantly. His face had become unnaturally pale, even with his completion. I gazed over at him in concern. When he finally turned to the right page, I saw as his whole body relaxed, and he sighed in relief; obviously listen to what the man was saying. But I think he must have felt me looking for his eyes shot up to mine. I jumped in my seat, and Draco quickly glanced away, but he slowly brought his eyes back to mine, and gave me a half smile. His eyes were gray, right? My god for a moment they had seemed… yellow? It must have been my imagination, I thought to myself. I looked back up at Snape, but his black eyes were trained intently to one individual. One individual who was practically squirming in his seat./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Blaise was staring down at his closed book in fear. His eyes were huge, as his fingers turned white from clenching the table. Snape having had enough, whipped his wand up and muttering under his breath, pointed at the book. It flipped up out of the air, and landing open on page 856. Blaise whimpered at what the cloaked man in the picture was saying to him. He pushed himself away from the table, "Stop it, Stop!" He practically screamed the words. Snape who seemed to find pity of the Slytherin, spoke out, "Vermelious stop." Glancing in all the other books I saw Vermelious's yellow eyes all glaring at Blaise./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Blaise held his head in his hands, not daring to look up. All I could do was stare in disbelief with the rest of the class. What had the… man… vampire Vermelious said that had scared Blaise so. But whatever it was, Blaise deserved it./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape turned to rest of the class, "Can someone tell me what vampires are?" I shot my hand up, no one else's hand was up, and so Snape reluctantly muttered, "Yes miss Granger?"/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I glared over at Blaise, "Vampires are blood sucking fiends that have no heart, no soul, nothing. They a naught but murderers." Blaise flinched, but he wasn't' the only one, I saw Draco shift in his seat uncomfortably, but I just glared down at Blaise as his eyes met mine in disbelief./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Blaise was the one who had to turn away first, and I turned back to look up at Snape. His eyes gazed down at my angry ones, and I looked up at him defiantly. Even though he didn't show it I felt as though Snape was glad of my "pointing fingers" at Blaise. It just depended on if the rest of the class and if they were catching on to the hints yet. Snape turned to take in the whole class, and his voice switched into teacher mode. "Most of that is true, in most cases. But you will learn more of it later." Draco's head shot up, and he gazed up at Snape in… hope? I shook my head; boy was my mind playing tricks with me today./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Slowly the class began to gaze at Blaise in a whole new light, and I saw as some of the Slytherins scooted their chairs away from Blaise. I heard one kid question aloud, "What was it that you did Blaise that nearly got you expelled?" Another girl answered, "Yea, where is Pansy? She's been gone as long as you have." Blaise flinched upon hearing the name Pansy, and the whole class caught it. The class immediately became silent, and I could see as they were putting two and two together. The Slytherins who sat by Blaise stood up and moved to a new seat. I nearly choked as a Slytherin girl came to sit to the right of me. She did not say a word, but I could see the anger in her watery eyes./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I looked back at Blaise. He sat alone all by himself, and his look of sorrow slowly mirrored across my own face. He slumped in his chair, his hands rose to his eyes. Trying to wipe the tears away. But the sniffle gave it away. Now "pointing fingers" didn't make me happy anymore./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I almost wanted to cry too. What I feared most was to be alone, and Blaise was surely alone. My mind slowly replayed the scene of Blaise when Draco went to him. Opening the door how the guilt and fear echoed in his eyes, just how they were right now. And now that I looked back at it was there horror in his gaze. Yes there was… Blaise Zabini was afraid of what he had done, of what he had become./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I slowly realized I was standing, my own eyes watery. I hardly knew what I was doing, but I knew it was right. I picked up my books and parchment, and slowly, cautiously walked over to the thing I feared. But I pushed my fear away, when I saw the boy who was lost. I placed my books on the table, and took my new seat. Blaise's head shot up, and he stared at me with confused red eyes. I smiled slightly, and squeezed his arm in reassurance./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I turned back to face the front of the class, acting like nothing was unusual. Blaise muttered hoarsely, "Why are you doing this?" I knew he was trying to whisper, but I knew no amount of whispering could keep anyone in this dead silent classroom from hearing. I turned back to face him, feeling my own expression softening, "No one deserves to be alone, no matter what."/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Time seemed to have stopped then, and I felt the words seep into my fellow classmates. They softly muttered to themselves, but were too embarrassed or arrogant to go back to their original seats. But I knew that… this class would have a whole knew feeling to it, and I only hoped I would be able to deal with it./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I felt as a body sat in the chair to the right of me. I whipped my head around, and came face to face to a pair of saddened gray blue eyes. He tilted his head slowly at me, and smiled weakly. "You always do what's right Hermione." He whispered gruffly, and I felt the words seep into me especially when my name slid off his tongue easily, and my blood hummed excitedly in my veins. I hoped I didn't blush like an idiot./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Who knew how much it took for Draco Malfoy to come over here. But whatever it was, Malfoy was more of a man than I had ever known. I doubted very few men could sit one chair down from the man who nearly killed one of the most important people in his life, and forgive him enough to let him back in./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"So with Draco beside me, I actually felt I would be able to deal with whatever came my way. I just hoped I wouldn't crash on the sharp rocks at the bottom, for I knew I was falling for Draco. Freefalling, actually./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""Harry, Harry!" I ran down the stone halls after Harry's retreating figure. He turned around upon hearing his name, and I finally caught up to him. I clutched at the stitch in my side, and swallowed down the gulps of air. Blast for running in such shoes, curse the inventor./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"But never mind shoes, this was much too important. "I had to warn you, I just had to Harry." I gasped out. Harry's expression hardened and he asked seriously, "Hermione what's wrong?" He grabbed my shoulders and stared down at me. I gazed up at his warily, and spoke slowly and softly, perhaps to minimize the blow. "You're not going to believe who is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is." Harry rolled back onto his heels, while rolling his eyes. "Aye Hermione, I won't be surprised no more. Not after all of our past D.A.D teachers." I gasped in horror as Harry brushed past me, and continued into the room, I right on his heels. "But Harry…" But it seemed I was too late./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Ron sat sputtering in his seat, his face red. Harry just glanced down at him in bewilderment before he turned to the front of the class room. I noticed the moment he saw the teacher, his mouth dropped open in surprise as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Snape?" Harry practically shouted. I cringed as Snape let his smirk of gratifying pleasure come across his pale face./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I quickly sat down beside Ron, trying to make myself as unnoticeable as I could. Harry still stood staring at Snape as if in a trance of downright disbelief. Snape spoke out in his cool monotone voice, "Why isn't it Mr. Potter, late for class I see. That will be 10 points from Gryffindor." He smiled wickedly and continued; "Now if you'd please sit down and pay attention you might actually learn something." Snape turned back to his table and began to scan over the papers. The Slytherin's snickered in delight, and both Ron and Harry shot them glares. Harry reluctantly sat down on the other side of Ron. I heard him as he grumbled to Ron./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape turned back around, and tapped his wand on the desk in front of him to signal attention. "Now let us begin. Turn to page 220. Today we shall…" The door banged open loudly. In the doorway stood the one and only Blaise Zabini. I felt as my mouth dropped opened, and I bet I looked like Harry had but a few moments ago./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape's eyes bulged, and he spat, "What is this disturbance?" Blaise gazed up at Snape and went to an unoccupied seat, "I am to stay." That was all he spoke, and some how the whole class new something was amiss, especially when Snape cursed, "That will be 50 points from Slytherin for being tardy and disrupting my class room!" He whipped around so fast and began to write on the board, the chalk squeaking loudly of the frustration that Snape was trying to hide./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I risked a glance in Draco's direction, and I could see as he was glaring daggers into Blaise's back. I shivered hoping I'd never be the one that that gaze would be directed on. Blaise was snickering with another Slytherin his whispers being heard loud and clear. "My parents would never let me be expelled." I could tell he didn't dare look behind him, for he knew what he would see there; one very angry Draco Malfoy. Any angry Malfoy was a force to be reckoned with, one that could be scary at least./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape turned back to the class, "Turn to page 856, we will be starting a chapter that I've decided not to pass." His smile spoke volumes, and I wondered what Snape was getting at. That's when we all read the huge white chalk that stood out on the black board./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"emVampires/em/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"The word had been underlined three times, exaggerating its importance. We all flipped to page 856. I gazed at the picture that started the chapter. I gasp. It was the man from the heads portrait. He gave me a slow acknowledging nod, and I nodded back bewildered. I turned to Ron, "I haven't seen this chapter before, and I swear I've read this whole book!" Ron looked at me like I'd grow a second head, and I turned back to my book, my cheeks burning. "Bloody Hell, the man's talking to me." Ron whispered to Harry. Harry nodded his head, "Yeah, me too. I think he's a vampire." I glanced up at Draco who sat on the right side of the class room. He was slowly turning the pages, almost reluctantly. His face had become unnaturally pale, even with his completion. I gazed over at him in concern. When he finally turned to the right page, I saw as his whole body relaxed, and he sighed in relief; obviously listen to what the man was saying. But I think he must have felt me looking for his eyes shot up to mine. I jumped in my seat, and Draco quickly glanced away, but he slowly brought his eyes back to mine, and gave me a half smile. His eyes were gray, right? My god for a moment they had seemed… yellow? It must have been my imagination, I thought to myself. I looked back up at Snape, but his black eyes were trained intently to one individual. One individual who was practically squirming in his seat./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Blaise was staring down at his closed book in fear. His eyes were huge, as his fingers turned white from clenching the table. Snape having had enough, whipped his wand up and muttering under his breath, pointed at the book. It flipped up out of the air, and landing open on page 856. Blaise whimpered at what the cloaked man in the picture was saying to him. He pushed himself away from the table, "Stop it, Stop!" He practically screamed the words. Snape who seemed to find pity of the Slytherin, spoke out, "Vermelious stop." Glancing in all the other books I saw Vermelious's yellow eyes all glaring at Blaise./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Blaise held his head in his hands, not daring to look up. All I could do was stare in disbelief with the rest of the class. What had the… man… vampire Vermelious said that had scared Blaise so. But whatever it was, Blaise deserved it./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Snape turned to rest of the class, "Can someone tell me what vampires are?" I shot my hand up, no one else's hand was up, and so Snape reluctantly muttered, "Yes miss Granger?"/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I glared over at Blaise, "Vampires are blood sucking fiends that have no heart, no soul, nothing. They a naught but murderers." Blaise flinched, but he wasn't' the only one, I saw Draco shift in his seat uncomfortably, but I just glared down at Blaise as his eyes met mine in disbelief./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Blaise was the one who had to turn away first, and I turned back to look up at Snape. His eyes gazed down at my angry ones, and I looked up at him defiantly. Even though he didn't show it I felt as though Snape was glad of my "pointing fingers" at Blaise. It just depended on if the rest of the class and if they were catching on to the hints yet. Snape turned to take in the whole class, and his voice switched into teacher mode. "Most of that is true, in most cases. But you will learn more of it later." Draco's head shot up, and he gazed up at Snape in… hope? I shook my head; boy was my mind playing tricks with me today./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Slowly the class began to gaze at Blaise in a whole new light, and I saw as some of the Slytherins scooted their chairs away from Blaise. I heard one kid question aloud, "What was it that you did Blaise that nearly got you expelled?" Another girl answered, "Yea, where is Pansy? She's been gone as long as you have." Blaise flinched upon hearing the name Pansy, and the whole class caught it. The class immediately became silent, and I could see as they were putting two and two together. The Slytherins who sat by Blaise stood up and moved to a new seat. I nearly choked as a Slytherin girl came to sit to the right of me. She did not say a word, but I could see the anger in her watery eyes./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I looked back at Blaise. He sat alone all by himself, and his look of sorrow slowly mirrored across my own face. He slumped in his chair, his hands rose to his eyes. Trying to wipe the tears away. But the sniffle gave it away. Now "pointing fingers" didn't make me happy anymore./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I almost wanted to cry too. What I feared most was to be alone, and Blaise was surely alone. My mind slowly replayed the scene of Blaise when Draco went to him. Opening the door how the guilt and fear echoed in his eyes, just how they were right now. And now that I looked back at it was there horror in his gaze. Yes there was… Blaise Zabini was afraid of what he had done, of what he had become./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I slowly realized I was standing, my own eyes watery. I hardly knew what I was doing, but I knew it was right. I picked up my books and parchment, and slowly, cautiously walked over to the thing I feared. But I pushed my fear away, when I saw the boy who was lost. I placed my books on the table, and took my new seat. Blaise's head shot up, and he stared at me with confused red eyes. I smiled slightly, and squeezed his arm in reassurance./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I turned back to face the front of the class, acting like nothing was unusual. Blaise muttered hoarsely, "Why are you doing this?" I knew he was trying to whisper, but I knew no amount of whispering could keep anyone in this dead silent classroom from hearing. I turned back to face him, feeling my own expression softening, "No one deserves to be alone, no matter what."/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Time seemed to have stopped then, and I felt the words seep into my fellow classmates. They softly muttered to themselves, but were too embarrassed or arrogant to go back to their original seats. But I knew that… this class would have a whole knew feeling to it, and I only hoped I would be able to deal with it./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"I felt as a body sat in the chair to the right of me. I whipped my head around, and came face to face to a pair of saddened gray blue eyes. He tilted his head slowly at me, and smiled weakly. "You always do what's right Hermione." He whispered gruffly, and I felt the words seep into me especially when my name slid off his tongue easily, and my blood hummed excitedly in my veins. I hoped I didn't blush like an idiot./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Who knew how much it took for Draco Malfoy to come over here. But whatever it was, Malfoy was more of a man than I had ever known. I doubted very few men could sit one chair down from the man who nearly killed one of the most important people in his life, and forgive him enough to let him back in./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"So with Draco beside me, I actually felt I would be able to deal with whatever came my way. I just hoped I wouldn't crash on the sharp rocks at the bottom, for I knew I was falling for Draco. Freefalling, actually./p