A/N- I'm so glad that everyone liked that last chapter! Well, to continue the countdown, this chapter puts us as three to go. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Chapter 7- Persuasion

It had been a great many years since Le-Annette had passed out for any reason. However, with her vampire abilities slowly diminishing, the great pain caused to her from the application of the new Dark Mark had made her to do just that. When she awoke again, she found herself in the same dim bedroom. This time, only Pansy Parkinson was there to greet her.

She sat up as quickly as she could, and Pansy rose from the chair that she had, most likely, conjured, wand pointed at Le-Annette.

"D-don't try anything, okay?" the girl said, her aim not quite steady.

Le-Annette blinked once. Voldemort had left her all alone in a room with only this child to guard her? Surely there was more binding her to this place. Slowly extending one pale hand, she found that it could not go beyond the limits of the bed. The air itself, it seemed, was as solid as a glass wall. The vampire smirked. She had known that Voldemort would have not placed all his eggs in Pansy's basket, as it were.

With that image in mind, she lifted her shirt. There, as bright as any new tattoo would be, was this new, improved Dark Mark, much resembling the old one. Le-Annette traced a finger across it, feeling a great despair well up inside of her. With a hiss, she shoved her shirt back down to cover it. Pansy gasped, reminding the vampire that the girl was in the room.

Pansy's bobbed, black hair was messy. It looked knotted and unwashed. Her skin looked almost paler than Le-Annette's. And she looked quite shaky.

Le-Annette scooted to the end of the bed, causing Pansy to back up abruptly, bump, and fall back into her chair—all with her wand still raised.

"Don't move!" Parkinson squealed more out of fear than in threat.

Le-Annette held out a hand, palm vertical. "I'm not going to hurt you. Besides, I'm charmed in here. I can't get off the bed."

The girl's wand didn't lower an inch, and her face did an odd twitch-like movement. Le-Annette moved slowly to position herself in a non-threatening pose of resting her back against the bed's large pillows.

"Parkinson, am I right? Draco's spoken of you to me," she said.

Pansy's face went ridged, her mouth grimaced, and her grip on her wand tightened. Although unmoving, Le-Annette noted that that had been a poor start. As it stood at the moment, this student was her only way out. She had to make Pansy trust her. She put her hands up slowly in a "calm down" motion.

"I only meant to mention that I've heard some good things about you. That's all."

She scoffed. "You spend time with mudblood Gryffindors. I doubt you've heard too many nice things about me."

Le-Annette chuckled softly. "I'll grant you that. But, from what I have heard…this doesn't seem quite like you."

Pansy's brow arched. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Well…I had heard that, like most Slytherins, you value the purity of blood. But I've also heard that you weren't exactly a supporter of Voldemort. Perhaps you think that he's a bit too radical?"

This was a proverbial shot in the dark. She had heard no such thing. She was simply making an educated guess. She had heard that Pansy did not like to get her hands dirty. This sudden "hands on" approach seemed just that…sudden.

"Things change," Pansy muttered.

Le-Annette nodded. Her gamble had paid off. She pressed on.

"Oh, believe me, nobody knows that better than I, Miss Parkinson. But I also know that most of the time, the change occurs for some reason. So I guess then I have only one more question. What was your reason?"

The girl didn't reply, nor did Le-Annette press further. Pansy would give her what she needed. She simply had to be patient.

She pretended to lose interest. She turned her head casually to the left, like she was in a car watching the trees pass. Neither person moved nor said anything. Finally, Pansy put her wand away and cast her eyes to the floor.

"He threatened my mother. He said that he would torture her to death if I didn't become his informant inside Hogwarts."

Le-Annette positioned herself on her knees and leaned forward.

"Your mother is expecting a child, isn't she?" the vampire asked gently.

Pansy's eyes widened. "How—?"

"I overheard you mention it to a friend one night in class. He threaten to torture your mother, thus killing your unborn sibling. Didn't he?"

Pansy's face looked suddenly drawn and sad. She nodded. Le-Annette leaned as far forward as her stomach would allow her.

"Pansy, I need your help," she said. Then, placing a hand on her swollen belly, she added, "We need your help. He wants to hurt my baby. Please. I need you to get me out of here."

The girl shook her head. "He'll kill my mother…and me."

"Not if you come with me. The Order can protect you both."

Pansy snorted in disbelief.

"They will protect you, Pansy. Especially for saving one of their own."

She didn't reply at first. Le-Annette began to worry that she had destroyed any chances she might have had of escape...moved too quickly.

"Were you really Slytherin's mate?" Pansy asked suddenly.

Le-Annette raised a brow. "Yes. I was his wife, to be exact."

"Is everything we hear—everything people are told about who he was—true? Was he really as they say he was?"

Le-Annette closed her eyes. "Some of it is true. But most of it…no. At least, it wasn't always true."

Pansy nodded. A single moment passed, then the girl leapt to her feet. With a decisive flick of her want, the charm confining Le-Annette to the bed was broken. The vampire stood.

"There's a fireplace in the next room over. The Dark Lord is planning a march on Hogwarts tonight, so the room should be empty. But we have to move quickly," Pansy said, pointing the way.

End Notes: Okay, so here's chapter seven. What did you think? I personally felt really good about this chapter. Next chapter brings even more excitement! Please review!