A/N: I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter. Here's the next one. I don't own Harry Potter
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"Hermione Snape." The first acknowledged and I bowed my head in respect. A cool hand raised my head so that I was looking at her eye to eye. "Good evening, I trust that you are well." Her voice chimed musically as her teeth glinted in the dim lighting.
I nodded solemnly. "Who are you?" I asked and immediately slapped my hands over my mouth, embarrassed at my bluntness.
The six beautiful women laughed, the sound tinkling in the silence. "We are the previous leaders of the Vampire Council."
"Like Jacqueline?" I asked, tilting my head slightly in question.
The woman that lead the group chuckled and shook her head, her eyes soft as she smiled down upon me. "No, Child. Jacqueline is merely the leader of London. She still has a leader to answer to. I am Valkyrie, the first leader of the Vampire Clans." They all stepped foreword and introduced themselves.
"We are here to help you." The vampire that had introduced herself as Silvestra said kindly.
"Help me with what?" I asked but they just smiled at me and shimmered away. "With what?" I asked again softly as my surroundings faded away around me.
I opened my eyes and yawned. Charlie was sitting calmly across from me. "Where did the twins go?"
"They left, about half an hour ago. They offered to take you home but I told them that I'd take care of it since they had their shop to get back to."
His words didn't make sense in my sleepy mind. "But they know-" I cut myself off. "Oh yeah, they don't know about us. I didn't give anything away, did I?"
"No. In fact, the twins were appalled that I was letting you drink wine." He motioned to the nearly empty glass in front of me.
"Didn't they wonder why you were in town?"
"I told my family I had taken some time off of work and had rented the flat to stay for a while. They were elated that I'd be in town and said that they'd drop by."
"And your excuse for being asleep whenever they drop by will be…?"
"That I'm so used to being up at different hours that I'm having trouble adjusting." He smiled. "See I've got this all planned out."
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"I should get going. If I leave Sev alone with Voldie for too long I could end up with a dead cat on my hands." I stepped into the fire after bidding Charlie goodbye and was whisked home. When I stepped out of the fire I noticed that everything was oddly quite. "Hello?" I called and the noise seemed to echo back at me until it faded into silence.
"Sev?" I asked, opening the door to his study. The desk chair was sitting in front of the desk and everything was in order, as it always was. I made to close the door when I noticed that there was a piece of parchment sitting on the floor.
Silently scolding Voldie I bent to pick up the parchment. As I was placing it on the desk I noticed that my name was written in a hasty scrawl across the entire back of the parchment. Turning it over I discovered a note written to me in an unfamiliar script.
If you ever want to see your father again you will do exactly as I tell you. Await your first instructions tomorrow at 9 o'clock PM.
Tears fell unabashedly from my eyes. Note in hand I scrambled to the fireplace and threw a handful of Floo Powder in. With tears streaming down my cheeks I yelled Charlie's address and stumbled out onto his floor once the spinning sensation had stopped.
My loud sobs sent him running towards me and he started asking me questions but all I could force my body to do was hold the note out to him. He wrapped his arms around me as he read the note and his grip only tightened once he finished it.
I cried into his shoulder as he rubbed circles into my back and promised that he would help me any way he could. Eventually I cried myself to sleep and found myself in the marble hallway again. This time only one vampire appeared, Parisa. Her petite features were heavy with sadness.
"My child," she greeted me, placing her small hand on my shoulder, "I am saddened to hear of your loss. We will be watching over you in your time of need." Her chiming voice lifted some of the weight that sat upon my chest. Her arms opened wide and I collapsed into them.
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"Hermione." A male voice murmured from nearby. "It's time to wake up." A strong hand gripped my shoulder and started shaking gently.
"Charlie?" I mumbled, blinking to clear the blurriness.
"No, it's Bill. Charlie went to your place to collect the instructions."
I shot up from where I had been sleeping. "What time is it?" I asked, frantically searching around the room for something that could tell me the time.
"Shh, calm down. It's only reached nine o'clock just now." He pushed me back down onto the pillows. "Charlie told me what happened, are you okay?" I shook my head, fighting the tears that threatened to stream down my cheeks. "Of course you're not. What kind of question was that?" He pulled me into a brotherly hug and I broke down into tears again.
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Go to Borgin & Burkes and buy a necklace with a silver chain that has a heart shaped sapphire. Once you have completed that await further instructions.
Charlie read aloud once he had returned. He looked at me and I could clearly read the pity in his eyes. I buried my face into the pillow I was holding on my lap.
When I had evened out my breathing I looked up at the two brothers. "I'm going to go buy the necklace. I'll see you guys later." I stood and the room immediately started spinning. Bill caught my arm as I started to stumble to the door. "Let me go!" I cried, trying to pull my arm away.
"I'm not letting you go anywhere, not like this." Bill said gently, steering me easily back to the couch. "And I'm sure Charlie agrees with me." He looked at his younger brother who nodded.
"I'm fine." I argued, still struggling against Bill's strong arms, not understanding why I couldn't break free. "I just want to get this done so I can see my father again."
Bill checked the large clock that was hanging above the fireplace. "Borgin & Burkes closes in five minutes. I'll go in the morning as soon as it opens and buy the necklace. Okay?"
I had no choice but to agree. Bill stared at me for a few moments before heading up to Charlie's guest room to go to sleep. I remained seated on the couch, staring into the fire but I could feel Charlie's gaze. "We'll get him back, I promise." The words were whispered but they sliced through the silence like daggers.
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A/n: Any guesses on what happened to Sev? I'm sure you've all got it figured out…or do you? LOL. Here are the voting results as of yet:
Charlie: 9 (still in first)
Bill: 5
Twins: 2 (still in last :sniffle: )
Draco: 7 (pulled ahead to second, I'm kinda shocked)