AN: A fun little oneshot idea that came to me when I was watching Prisoner of Azkaban. I hope you enjoy this fun little jump into the Harry Potter universe for Vlad.
Also full shout out to the larger HP/Young Dracula writers! Those guys do some brilliant work and if you enjoy this I would check out those other stories out there!
The curtains that lined the towering windows floated like gossamer ribbons into the room, carried by a light breeze that brought the damp, earthy scents of the Forbidden Forest into the classroom. Vlad took a heavy breath, letting the smells of the wild wash over him like a calming balm. He was on edge; every hair was standing on end as he gazed at the front of the room. The object of his fear stood next to Professor Lupin's desk, a decrepit cupboard that reeked of creature, it shuffled and rattled, the thing inside was restless. Vlad could feel it.
"Intriguing, isn't it?" the werewolf mused, his amber eyes scanned the classroom a smirk playing on his lips and his gaze found Vlad's with the quirk of an eyebrow. Vlad looked away hurriedly, not wishing to catch the man's attention any more than he already had, "Could anyone venture a guess as to what's inside?"
"That's a boggart, that is," Dean Thomas said as the class jumped, the cupboard jolting precariously on its small wooden legs. Vlad felt his heart sink into his shoes, his blood running cold at the thought.
"Very good Mr. Thomas," the professor smiled, leaning against the dark cabinetry at the side of the room. Vlad swore he saw the teacher shoot him a goading smile at him out of the corner of his eye, but the grin didn't reach his eyes.
"Now can anyone tell me what a boggart looks like?" Lupin asked.
Hermione's voice rang out, causing Vlad and Harry to jump back at her sudden arrival, "No one knows, Boggarts are shape-shifters they take whatever form a particular person fears the most. That's why they're so—"
Lupin interrupted, "So terrifying yes, yes."
Vlad knew this creature could truly out him to the class as a member of the 'undead club' as his sister put it, and that his teacher was putting him at risk with this exercise. He looked over to Harry in a panic by the boy seemed to be hanging on Lupin's every word, watching the teacher as if entranced. It seemed that his friend would not be a particular help with this little problem. Lupin's spell instructions swept over him and unable to penetrate the layer of dread that had coated his skull.
He felt a tugged on his sleeve, calling his attention. Hermione was looking at him, hair was an array of light curls around her but was pinched in concern, "Vlad are you alright? You look like you're about to be sick."
"I-I'm alright, I just don't really think I want to—"
"Riddikulus!"
The chant interrupted his thoughts and Hermione's head swiveled towards Lupin who was watching the two with a careful eye. The man definitely knew what he was doing, throughout the year he had been trying to tear Harry away from him during their one-on-one lessons but, like all of the teachers, was swore against revealing his true nature to any of the students. It seemed that the man had found a-not-so-subtle way around that little rule through the boggart. At least Vlad didn't let racial tensions get in the way of his education, unlike some furry bastards.
"Very good! A little louder and a little clearer," Remus cheered, "Riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" the class recited again with a loud ring that Vlad joined in with. He turned back to Hermione who gave his hand a little squeeze, if he could blush properly, Vlad was sure he would have been pink up to his ears as the girl's eyes dropped to the floor. She herself looked nervous; he swore for a moment he could hear her heart pounding against her chest as if it was begging to get out. He shook the thought away and looked back to the front of the class.
Lupin paced in front of the third years, "Well so much for the easy part. For the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape that you find truly amusing," he searched the crowd for a moment, "Let me explain…ah Neville will you join me please?" the boy immediately paled, as his name was called. Vlad couldn't help but think it was a little cruel to get the nervous boy up in front of the class, "Come on don't be shy, now what frightens you the most?" Remus asked as Neville staggered to the front.
"P-Professor Snape," Neville stuttered, wringing his hands. Vlad's heart went out to the boy, as if a teacher was his greatest fear? That would never be allowed in a breather school. Snape had always been horrible to many of the students, he seemed to despise Harry most of all. It was as if the boy had personally affronted him however, the potion master always managed to throw a few vampire-themed barbs Vlad's way as well much to the young biter's chagrin.
Remus smiled a little at that, a soft chuckle escaping his lips, "Frightens all! And I believe you live with your grandmother?"
"Yes, but I don't want that boggart to turn into her either!" Neville said in a panic, looking towards the cupboard as if it would bite him.
"No!" Lupin exclaimed with a grin, "It won't. I want you to picture her clothes, only her clothes very clearly in your mind."
"She carries a red handbag…" Neville began.
Lupin cut him off and with a swish of his hand pulled out his wand, "We don't need to hear, as long as you see it. We'll see it. Now when I open that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do," the older man whispered into the shaking boy's ear, Vlad couldn't make out what was said but by the way Neville smiled with nerves it couldn't have been all bad, "Alright! Wands at the ready," the man said as he flourished his wand towards the ancient wardrobe.
The click of the rusted lock echoed through the room, the creak of hinges squealed out causing a few of the breathers to wince and Vlad watched on intently, sweat pooling in his palms. He hoped that Neville would be okay but by the way Lupin was standing it seemed that the man planned on protecting them as best as he could.
There was a beat of silence, as the classroom held its collective breath.
A flutter of midnight hair caught Vlad's eyes, as a spitting image of Professor Snape stepped out into the classroom in all his greasy glory. Neville took a shaking step back away from the man, his wand tremoring in his hand as he held it aloft.
Squeezing his eyes shut the boy shouted, "R-riddikulus!"
With a gasp and a twist, the figure shifted. A stuffed eagle appeared upon its head as if in mid-flight, a gleaming red handbag was clutched in its hands and a velvet green dress slid down its body. Vlad chuckled at the sight, internally crowing for Neville's triumph as the boy shone with pride.
"Excellent! Excellent Neville! Bombastic! Alright, class form a line, Neville get to the back of the line!" Lupin shouted with enthusiasm, nearly jumping in his scuffed shoes, "Now I want everyone to picture what they fear the most and turn it into something funny!" the man said as he placed a record onto an ancient turntable that crooned with jazz.
Vlad rolled his eyes but jumped into the line, knowing he couldn't pull himself out of the class without the teacher's permission. Vlad felt the press of bodies against him as students shoved their way into position, he found himself just before Harry in the line.
"You alright Vlad?" he asked, his emerald eyes shining behind his glasses. He didn't seem as nervous as Vlad felt, a small smile was playing at his lips as he looked towards Snape dressed in horrible drag. Even Renfield looked better in a dress than the potions professor.
Vlad turned to look at his friend, "Yeah I'm just a bit worried about this task I guess."
Harry smiled then, the warmth cheering Vlad slightly, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure if anything goes wrong Professor Lupin will protect us."
Vlad sighed at that, looking towards the Defence teacher, "I guess you're right mate. Thanks," Vlad mumbled as the teacher sidled over to them.
"Count. A word if you don't mind?" he said, walking over to the window as the jazz record the werewolf had put on played, "You're welcome to sit this one out if you want Count," Lupin sighed.
Vlad felt indignation rise up like fire in his belly, "Well it wouldn't be particularly subtle if I left now would it professor?" sarcasm dripped from his tongue as he stared his teacher down.
"Attitude young fang," his teacher hissed, but his face was blank and his stance casual, "You can tell your friends you don't want to face the boggart and fail this class or you can just be quick with your spell work. I've heard from Flitwick and McGonagall that you are particularly adept," the man seemed to be struggling to keep the sneer from his voice, his nose wrinkling in disgust, "Either way the choice is yours, best be back to your place in line. I have a class to run," the man pivoted on his heel, leaving Vlad in a flurry of tattered brown cloak.
Vlad trudged back to his place, ignoring Harry's glances that radiated concern, "What did he want?" Harry asked.
"Just wanted to talk to me about detention at the end of the week," Vlad sighed, the lie was his regular one, it slipped out of his mouth easily burning like acid. He hated lying to his friends, but it was the easiest way to keep his private tuition with Bertrand a secret. No need for Hermione to find out about ancient vampire lore, or she would never be seen again from behind the pile of dusty books.
"Ah, I see," Harry chuckled with an eye roll.
The two watched as the students dealt with the boggart, yells of riddikulus rising above the din of the music that swirled around the room. Vlad could feel his nerves bubble through his body, knowing that he would need to decide. Lupin was right, his casting ability may be up to the task if he was quick enough, he thumbed at the worn wood of his veneer of a wand. The cherry stick was really only for appearances, vampires were adept at wandless casting using rings as conduits that drew on their innate blood magic. Vlad's now sat heavily on his finger, humming slightly in time against his skin with that haze of magic in the air. Lupin knew Vlad wouldn't fail a class, he was too committed to his near-perfect grades to allow them to slip so easily, nor was he interested in looking weak in front of his classmates. He was in no need of being of the receiving end of passageway jinxes thank you very much.
"Granger!" McGonagall's voice cut through the noise like a knife. Vlad's head whipped up and he gazed at a quaking Hermione facing down her incensed headteacher, "You have failed every class this year! You have given me no choice but to ex—"
"Riddikulus!" Hermione yelled as clear as crystal, the image before the class warped and shifted, pulling like candy as Hermione's will manipulated it. The boggart seemed appalled looking down at itself as its legs wobbled for a moment as if struck by a particularly harsh wind before it began to tap dance. A grin tore across its face while its eyes jumped around wildly, feet tapping on the ground to the beat of the music. Burgeoning pride bloomed in Vlad's chest at the sound of Hermione's laughter at the front of the classroom. She looked back towards him with an encouraging smile as she walked away from the boggart towards him.
"You'll be fine Vlad," she whispered in his ear before, walking to her place in the back of the classroom with the others that had finished the task.
He felt Harry's elbow dig into his side, Vlad turned to see his friend giving him a leering eye and waggling eyebrows. Rolling his eyes with a smirk Vlad turned back to the front of the room and the slowly dwindling line in front of him.
Pavarti Patil stepped up in front of him to the challenge, her shoulder back and her eyes fierce, Vlad had always respected the girl for her quiet determination in class. She threw her long hair over her shoulder as the clown in front of her darkened, it's face morphing and broiling, its skin stretching as a chilling laugh filled the room, reverberating through the floorboard. Every person stiffened except for Vlad whose eyes flicked towards Lupin. The man himself was watching intently as the creature appeared in its final and familiar form.
A tall shadow of a man stood before them in a liquid pool of gloom, his hair was slicked back and was as dark as an ink spill, with eyes that burnt like the sun. Pavarti took an involuntary step back with a yelp. Vlad could hear her shuddering breath as she neared him and she muttered a hiss of "Dracula," too quiet for any to hear. The class watched with bated breath as the vampire stalked towards her, fangs flashing like knives.
Vlad couldn't help the roll of his eyes at the display, Pavarti was a half-blood and had obviously read the Stoker book, as this boggart seemed to have taken the near spitting image of his father, dramatics and all. He understood why breathers found them so terrifying, deep in his stomach he could feel the thrill squirm at Pavarti's fear which he quashed with a scowl; they were their natural prey, after all. Everything about the vampire was made to draw a breather in, to trap and distract and seduce and drain, it was a deadly elixir that ultimately led to a blood bath.
"Come on Pavarti!" Vlad whispered gazing at the shaking girl's back, "You can do it! Just say the spell and it will be gone," he encouraged from behind her.
She straightened up at his words, "R-riddikulus," she murmured, but it didn't seem to have any effect at all. The creature trailed her with measured steps, licking his lips, "Riddikulus!" she screamed, and the Count took a step back with a growl, feathers sprouting from his head, a beak bursting from his mouth with a squawk. Vlad howled with laughter along with the class at the sight, the Prince of Darkness was doing a chicken dance, his head bobbing unnaturally.
Pavarti turned to him, a smile written across her face, "Thanks Vlad!" she said as she walked away, leaving him to face his feathered father as he shot her a wane smile.
His thoughts swirled and twisted along with his gut, leaving him feeling thoroughly sick as he stepped up to the image of his father, the reds of his eyes fading for a moment as the feathers receded.
Tremors tore through Vlad's body, the cherry stick shaking in his hands as his magic simmered under the surface of his skin. Lupin inclined his head towards the creature who morphed before him in subtle undulating waves. The change Vlad noticed was not incredibly apparent, but the figure bent at the waist, their long locks curling into Vlad's own shorter ones. He kept his stance wide, many of the students at this point had become disinterested with their classmates' fears, talking among themselves instead of watching the display. However, Vlad did his best to cover what his mind was creating before his eyes. The figure was silent, face obscured by a cloak of liquid night, the spell tingled at the tip of his tongue as Vlad began the incantation to banish this prophetic illusion.
"Ridd—" Vlad stuttered, a pale hand appeared beneath the figure, crimson rivers running down their arm that smeared across their fingertips. He followed their ruby path up the arm to a waterfall of curly brown hair, the body of Hermione was carelessly draped across the figure's lap struggling with weak pants as fangs sunk into her throat. Beneath the figure's feet was the body Harry, his emerald eyes glassy and his skin a deathly white, two puncture wounds stood starkly upon his milk-white throat, "Rid—" the head rose slowly, Vlad felt his lungs nearly tumble out of his throat with a sputtered gasp as alarm swum through his veins. The dark eyes met him, his own eyes were staring back at him with a mouthful of daggers that were smeared with gore. He heard the DADA professor step forwards towards the boggart, his wand held aloft to face the manifestation of his future.
"Riddikulus!" Vlad screeched, his voice rising a few octaves in fright as he held the image of Renfield's cream pie incident in his mind. The boggart looked up in surprise as the bodies disappeared and cream smeared across its faces in messy whipped peaks.
Vlad turned on his heels and marched the back of the class and averted Harry's troubled gaze. He looked at the students, many of whom were talking among themselves, all ignoring him soundly. At least most of them had been too distracted to watch his little performance.
Hermione was staring at him from her position in the back of the classroom, her brown eyes filled with worry as he walked to the other side of the room, making sure to keep away from her. Vlad threw himself in his seat, glaring at the werewolf that stood stock still, staring at the boggart's cream-filled face.
Vlad found himself lost in his thoughts as he sat watching Harry step forward with vague intent, he saw his older self rise from his kneeling position. Standing up straight before the boy in a towering column of shadowy fabric. Vlad felt a rush of relief crash through his body for the cream-pie idea as it covered the 'Dracula bone structure' his father was so fond of. It was a strange disjointed feeling watching himself shift and dislocate as Harry's fear shaped the boggart.
The boggart-Vlad's skin crawled, pale skin desiccating and crawling into a ghastly grey as bandages wrapped around his body. Vlad watched with sick fascination as his body was taken over by that of the dementor. It seemed the effect of the illusory dementor was slighter than that of the dementors that hung at the gates, many of the students around him were shivering as if they had been dumped in the lake during winter.
Vlad felt nothing, the dementors were soul eaters and therefore had no sway over the undead but he watched with concern the shaking steps of Harry as he lurched away from the creature that loomed over him before he came to his knees. Lupin's eyes widened at the sight and with a yell he lunged in front of Harry his arms wide to protect the child. The boggart shimmered in the air for a moment before finally shifting into a full moon that hung in the classroom before them.
Vlad felt a small stab of vindication at the sight before the man yelled, "Riddikulus!" the moon took on a waxy sheen, shooting off into the classroom in the form of a stray balloon. Remus guided the boggart back into the wardrobe with a casual flick of his wand, "Alright! Class dismissed!" Remus yelled over the clatter of students rushing out of the room to lunch.
Vlad lurched to his feet, dragging himself from the room, pulling away from the crowd of his class that headed to lunch and proceeded in the opposite direction.
"Vlad!" Hermione yelled; her footsteps slapped against the stonework as she ran up to him. Vlad shoved his hands into his pockets and kept walking, his teeth clenching without his permission as his thoughts battered against his skull with painful jabs.
"Vlad wait up!" Harry's voice joined her, the two grabbing him from behind and turning him around forcibly, "What was that about mate are you alright?" he asked, pushing his wire glasses up his nose as he bent over catching his breath in large gulps of air. The effects of the semi-dementor still clinging to the boy as he shivered in front of Vlad.
Hermione seemed to be eyeing his warily, Vlad noticed her eyes settle on his mouth and his nails bit into his palm, the pain grounding him and keeping his face impassive, "Yeah I'm alright, sorry I'm not feeling too well I was just making my way up to the common room," Vlad answered, looking down at his shoes.
"Was it the boggart?" Harry asked, his skin taking on a green sheen as he spoke.
Vlad's head whipped up, "What do you think Harry?" he hissed, turning around and dashing away.
"Vlad!" Hermione called after him, "It was you wasn't it?"
Vlad froze his breath catching in his throat, "Of course not Herm," he whispered looking over his shoulder with a smile, "I don't have fangs. Besides it didn't even look like me."
The two students looked at each other disbelieving and walked up to him, as he took a few steps back, feeling white-hot dread slosh about the inside of his stomach.
"Are you lying to us Vlad? You can tell us, you know…if you're a vampire," Hermione whispered the word as if it could hurt her.
"Of course not! I don't have fangs and you've seen me in the sunlight! I had garlic pasta for dinner last night!" Vlad pleaded, watching Harry's face fall he knew he had to think on his feet, mumbling, "I-In the old country vampires are a lot more common than they are here you know. My father used to tell us a lot of stories when we were kids and I guess they just stuck."
Hermione sighed, "Oh Vlad! We're sorry, I…I didn't even think about it, I just saw myself there and it was—I was…I was so scared!" Vlad found his mouth stuffed with curly air and his ribs nearly crushed at the smaller girl hugged him. Looking over her shoulder he saw Harry watching him carefully as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I understand Hermione. I would never let that happen to either of you…I promise," Vlad grimaced into her hair as he spoke.
"We know mate," Harry said, "Come on let's go to lunch, at least have some pumpkin juice, it might settle your stomach."
Hermione and Vlad pulled away at Harry's knowing smirk. Vlad couldn't help but notice the blush that dusted across her cheeks as she let go, his body craving the warmth that she gave off as she extracted herself.
"Alright let's go," Vlad said and with his two best friends he walked to the Great Hall, his secrets still intact.
Vampires didn't come up for weeks after the fateful boggart event. He had heard from Bertrand that the werewolf had gotten a right earful from McGonagall for the little stunt. Which made that little part of himself roar in triumph.
The full moon was coming tonight, which meant Lupin would be out of his fangs for a few days thankfully. Vlad really did feel sorry for the man, born werewolves relished in the moon, their bodies had adapted, but bitten werewolves suffered from every cycle while their bodies were continually torn apart when they succumbed to the wolf.
Harry and Hermione flanked him as they walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, discussing quietly between themselves the possible topics for this class. The room itself was bathed in shadow as the wooden shutters were closed across the lofty windows, much to Vlad's chagrin he found his way quite well in the dark. He guided his two friends to their seats with ease, gliding through the maze of desks.
There was clattering as the rest of the class found their seats, muttered swears filling the room until eventually, everyone had found a seat.
"Professor Lupin is ill so I will be taking your class. No complaints. Let us begin with werewolves," the deep tones of Professor Snape silenced the remaining chatter as the man appeared from the darkness, like a ghost. Vlad banged his head upon the desk at the man's appearing. The older man flicked his wand towards an intricate metal projector in the middle of the room that whirred to life with the touch of magic, beaming a ghastly painting of a werewolf mid-shift under the light of the pale moon. He swooped in front of the image, his pale skin nearly reflecting the white light of the machine, "There are two types of werewolves. Does anyone in this class know the difference?" the professor asked.
Vlad kept his mouth firmly shut, watching as the man's eyes gazed across the classroom, landing upon Hermione's outstretched hand, "Yes, Granger," he sighed as if it pained him greatly.
"There are born werewolves who are immortal creatures and not beholden to the cycle of the moon. Furthermore, the born werewolf has complete control over themselves when in their wolfish form. However, the bitten werewolves are mortal creatures and only turn when the moon is full. The transformations themselves have a severe effect upon their bodies which normally leads to premature aging. They have no control over themselves when under the effects of the full moon, they'd kill their best friend if they came across them. However, they both share the same amber coloured eyes," Hermione said promptly.
"Correct Ms. Know-it-All." Snape hissed and Vlad barely contained a growl as he saw hurt flash across Hermione's face, her mouth down turned as she looked down at her hands.
Snape paced through the aisles of the desks, "Turn to page 394," he snapped, the fluttered of pages filled the space as he walked.
"Excuse me sir," Harry said, leaning towards the sour professor, "Where's Professor Lupin?"
"I don't think that's any of your concern Potter," Snape said, walking to the projector, "suffice to say that your teacher finds himself incapable of teaching at the present time. Now turn to page 394."
Vlad saw the confusion flitter across Harry's face at the professor's words, he had a sinking feeling that Snape was attempting to out the Defence professor much like the werewolf had tried to do to him just weeks ago.
"Sir," Hermione called, turning to the professor, "We've only just started with Redcaps and Hinkypunks. We're not supposed to be learning about nocturnal beasts for weeks!"
Vlad flinched at her words, knowing that his own kind were probably on the curriculum at some point, nearly certainly under the subcategory of 'nocturnal beasts. He could imagine the way in which his classmates would react to learning about the bloodsuckers of the night. Their faces twisting into masks of horror and disgust. However, how much accurate information the wizarding world had on vampires was not something he had researched.
"Do you plan on speaking out of turn all lesson Miss Granger? Or are you just incapable of restraining yourself from showing off?" Hermione's cheeks coloured at that. Vlad could feel the heat of her embarrassment coming off her in waves, tears glistening in her eyes, so he reached over and gave her hand a little squeeze under the table. He went to pull his hand away but felt the warm pressure of her fingers against his own.
"Don't let go," she whispered, "or I'll be too tempted to jinx that bully," a smirk bloomed across her lips and Vlad was sure that his heart nearly skipped a beat at the look she sent him. He just nodded at her, not trusting himself to speak.
"Now! Can anyone tell me what the natural enemy of the werewolf is?" Snape said and Vlad froze in horror, trying not the squeeze Hermione's hand too much.
"Vampires," Draco grunted from across the room.
"Very good Draco, five points to Slytherin," Snape said, tapping his wand upon the projector the image before the class shifted to a man bent over a pile of bodies, blood gushing through the painting like rivers. Vlad had seen images like this his whole life but never in this context, they were always put in places of pride to show other vampiric clans your power and your bloodlust but here in the classroom the dark figure seemed almost distant and clinical, "Vampires are also known as strigoi," Vlad balked at the traditional name of his people, "They sate themselves upon the blood of humanity, stealing our lifeforce to continue their immortal ones. They, like werewolves, fall into the same two categories with similar results: there are born and bitten vampires, bitten vampires carry the scars of their turning for the rest of their unlives, they are wild and untamable, while the born vampire does not have this scares and are more well adjusted to their lives of bloodshed," Snape's eyes landed upon him for a moment, a ghost of a smile appeared below his hawk-like nose, "They are known to despise sunlight, while no blood pumps through their veins which leaves them pale, with a corpse-like appearance. They cannot stand holy water and symbols as well as garlic and are hated by almost every magical creature. So, I ask you class…how does one spot a vampire?"
That prompted Vlad's rather unpleasant memory of his Care of Magical Creatures class where the unicorns had broken out of their pen in their attempts to gore him. Only Hagrid's bulky form had protected him from their wicked horns. Why he took that class only Satan knows? It may have had something to do with Harry and Hermione's begging, but he would never admit that.
Seamus Finnegan piped up, "Throw a bit of garlic at 'em sir?" to the laughter of the rest of the class.
"Hilarious thought Finnegan. Looks like you will be receiving some fangs in the neck with that response," Snape said his voice dripping with derision, and Vlad couldn't help but agree, "The answer is, you don't. By the time you have realised that someone is a vampire, it is normally too late. That is what makes these creatures far more dangerous than werewolves or at least bitten werewolves because they are always monsters. They do not have friends, only future victim," Vlad's insides grew cold, Snape's words ringing in his head, catching at his mind with claws that tore at him mercilessly, "Then the question is how does one kill these beasts?" Vlad held his breath, watching at the teacher nearly grow in the darkness, his chest swelling, "Werewolves and vampires share an aversion to sliver, however it seems that werewolves are more seriously affected by the metal. To kill a vampire, one must stake it through the heart or use sunlight based spells," a sneer spread across the man's face as the scratch of quills filled the room.
"Is there really no way to spot a vampire Professor?" Harry asked his voice shaking slightly, he seemed ghostly in the light of the projector, "Like if there was one here right now?" he said.
Snape nearly grinned at that, his greasy hair tumbling around him as he pivoted as stalked to the front of the room. Vlad could feel his black eyes watching him all the while, "Well Potter. That would be even more difficult. Look around you and what do you see?"
Harry turned quizzically around the class, with a single eyebrow raised, "Erm, students?"
"Exactly Potter!" Vlad was not keen on where this conversation was going, and he had to force himself to sit up instead of sink into his seat. The instinct to run was nearly overwhelming, the weight of Hermione's hand kept him somewhat grounded, but he could feel it simmering in his blood like fire, screaming at him to protect himself, "If there was a bitten vampire in the room maybe you would have more luck, you could look for a turning scar. But if, there was a born vampire in here you wouldn't be able to tell at all. Before the age of sixteen a born vampire looks like us in every way as a defense mechanism. They have blood pulsing through their veins however it is darker than our oxygenated blood, they can go out in the sunlight, eat garlic, even go to church if they so wished to. Born vampires masquerade as us when they are young, they learn how to hunt us by blending in with us," bile was gathering in his throat at Snape's words, he wanted to run but it was too late, as Snape continued, "the only difference is that they run slightly colder than a human but that would mean...you would already be in its grasp," Snape grinned at him across the heads of the students as murmurs spread through the classroom like wildfire, uneasiness licking in their collective psyche. Snape's dark eyes glittering at Vlad in the half-light of the projector. Vlad could feel his control slipping, snapping under the pressure of his words that laid heavily like rocks upon his chest, driving the air from his lungs.
But Vlad barely paid attention to the malicious gaze of his potion master. Instead his senses were focussed upon the tiny traitorous gasp that escaped Hermione's lips and the slide of her warm skin against his own as she pulled her hand from his grasp.
He turned to look at her, making sure to keep his movements as slow and non-threatening but when his eyes found hers he was met with two brown pools of horror.
AN: YIKES! Did they make up? Are the students of Hogwarts going to start grabbing pitchforks? Who knows!