After having left Severus to choose the gemstones for him, Vlad made his way to wait at one of the booths away from the windows. Flicking through the small menu on the table, not really expecting to see anything he might like, Vlad stumbled upon an odd yet appealing sounding meal.
"Shoot!" Vlad mumbled to himself, he'd left all of his allowance from Dumbledore with Snape. Along with this realisation, his stomach rumbled loudly and Vlad remembered that he hadn't eaten lunch yet.
Vlad ended up just sitting at the table for a long while considering his options. He could order the food now and pay when Severus got back, though he wasn't sure how the pub worked with that sort of thing, they might ask him to pay before the meal instead of after. Perhaps he could quickly floo back to Hogwarts to get something to eat and rush back once he'd finished. No, Snape could be back at anytime, so that wasn't really a feasible option either. Well, it would seem that for now Vlad would just have to wait.
"Vlad!" Said one voice.
"Is that you?" Said another.
It seemed like the universe was looking out for him today. It had sent him help in the form of two identical Weasleys.
"Fred! George! How are you?" Noticing their outfits he paused, Vlad couldn't help but comment on them. "What's with the get up?"
"Don't know if you noticed from all the way at the Slytherin table…" Said who Vlad was sure was Fred, though he couldn't be certain.
"…But we're not going to Hogwarts anymore." Said George.
Then in unison they exclaimed, "We opened our own joke shop!"
"Speaking of not being at school though," Said George.
"What're you doing at the Leaky Cauldron in the middle of the school year?" Asked Fred.
Shoot, Vlad hadn't thought he'd see anyone he knew and as such hadn't planned a response. He couldn't tell them he was buying an engagement ring for the impromptu proposal he made, could he? No. He decided that telling a half-truth was the best way to go.
"I just need to pick up something and I got Professor Snape to escort me. But I forgot to bring my sunscreen, you know, because I'm so pale. So the Professor is picking it up for me. He might be a while." As he finished his explanation, Vlad's stomach grumbled once more.
"Hungry mate?" One of the twins asked.
Vlad looked down, "Yeah, I got caught up in the Library and forgot to eat lunch."
"You seem to be forgetting a lot of things today." the two chuckled and sat down on either side of him. "Since you're so hungry, and we're such great guys, we'll just have to buy you lunch."
"No no no! You really don't have to do that, I'll just grab something from the kitchens when I get back to school."
"We insist. What do you like the sound of?"
So Vlad and the twins each chose some food and ended up chatting for a bit, them asking about school and him asking about the shop and how things at the Order were going. But Vlad, being his clumsy self, dipped his sleeve into his food as he reached for his glass of water.
George laughed at him, "You'd think that as a Vampire you wouldn't make such human mistakes! You got your shirt in your food, Vlad."
Vlad looked to the offending sleeve and muttered, "So you heard about that? Can't say I'm too surprised, Hermione was very proud of herself."
"She was indeed," One of them said as Vlad tried to dab off the sauce with a napkin. "But it was Ron who told us."
When Vlad had finished dabbing his sleeve he made a crucial mistake. A mistake that could have been so easily avoided. A mistake that would change the rest of his life in the Wizarding World.
He rolled up his sleeve.
For most people this would not have been an issue. Unfortunately, only a few weeks ago Vlad had taken the Dark Mark and he just happened to be in the presence of two Order of the Phoenix members. All the laughter and smiles at the table died instantly. Vlad realised his mistake and quickly pulled his sleeve back down, but it was too late.
"Is this some kind of joke?" The twin he thought was George asked. He was stuck between them, there was no way out without using his Vampiric speed. So thats what he did, though he couldn't go far because of the sunlight streaming through the windows.
The two stood up and made their way to him. "You sick bastard!" Fred yelled. "We let you into our home, we trusted you!"
Fred ran at him then, Vlad hadn't been expecting it and got caught off guard. The twin pinned him to a wall, a wall splashed in sun. Vlad yelled at him to get off as he started to smoke, but Fred didn't budge until he heard a voice behind him.
"I advise that you let go of my ward, Mr Weasley."
Severus' wand was pointed at the redhead and Fred let go, allowing Vlad to speed-run out of the sun.
"You'd better not target him again, or there will be consequences."
ooo
Back in the safety of the Professor's office, Severus demanded an explanation. Vlad explained how they had come into the pub and ended up talking, then eating lunch and he explained how he got food on himself which resulted in him stupidly rolling up his sleeves and showing them his Dark Mark accidentally.
"As I'm sure you're aware, you can no longer have contact with anyone inside the Order, they will only assume the worst. For now though, here's the gems I bought and your leftover allowance. There's a note inside that will tell you the significance of each stone. Now leave me be, before I hex you for your idiocy."
With a silent nod, Vlad made his way out of the office and back to the Library, reading the small note as he went. His books still where he left them, Vlad finished the final touches on the ring and set the gemstones. And soon enough, it was time for dinner to begin in the Great Hall.
By the time Vlad arrived the whole school was already seated and chatting away. His eyes quickly found Daphne and he made a beeline for her, as he came closer he noticed she was looking upset and no one was talking to her. In the heat moment, Vlad decided he was going to propose to her. Properly this time.
When he arrived behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. "Just follow my lead ok."
Vlad saw her nod so he took her hand and lead her to the middle of the room. He left her there momentarily, as some people watched wondering what was going on, he speed to the teachers table. "Professor Dumbledore, I have an announcement I'd like to make. If you could please get everyone's attention, that would be great."
Dumbledore stood up and cast a sonorous charm, "Students and staff, Mr Dracula has an announcement. If you could please give him your undivided attention."
Transferring the charm to Vlad, Dumbledore gestured for him to speak.
"This is just for Daphne, actually. However, I'd like you all to bare witness." He walked swiftly toward her and held her hands, much like he had done on the train.
"I know I've said this before, not even a week ago, but I felt like it was time I did this properly and for everyone to see." Vlad took a deep breath. "Daphne Greengrass, I swear to you that I will protect you, and that I will be kind and loyal. But most of all I swear, on all that is good and evil, to live by your side and to never abandon you for as long as I am able."
Then he bent down one on knee and grabbed the ring from his robe pocket, "Will you marry me, Daphne?"
There were tears in her eyes and a wide smile was briefly visible on her face before she covered it with her hand. "Oh Vlad, you didn't have to do all this. Of course I'll marry you, my answer hasn't changed since five days ago."
He placed the ring on her finger and stood up to capture her lips with his. It was sweet and short.
"Thank you Vlad." She whispered to him when they parted. He then sped them back to where she was sitting, to have a nice dinner together now that they were officially engaged.
ooo
That night the Order of the Phoenix held an emergency meeting. Harry, Ron and Hermione were floo-ed in especially because the topic will impact them the most. The topic was of course Vladimir Dracula.
Dumbledore stood at the head of the table, "We've gathered here today to discuss a recent development discovered by Fred and George, I've been told its quite urgent. Take it away, boys."
Fred and George stood up from their seats, "This afternoon we came across Vladimir Dracula. We'd known of him for the past couple years or so because he was a transfer student at Hogwarts and later revealed to be a Vampire. As such, he's supposed to be incredibly powerful, we're sure Harry, Ron and Hermione can attest for that. In the summer last year Vlad visited our house for about a week, he seemed like a nice kid, if not a little eccentric. So to say we were surprised this afternoon would be an understatement. During our short time together today we managed to see that on his left forearm he was carrying a Dark Mark."
Molly gasped, "What?"
Lupin's face was twisted in confusion, "Are you sure it was certainly Vladimir?"
"100 percent." One of the twins replied.
His frown deepened, "The Vlad I know would never do such a thing. The kid would be afraid of his own reflection, if he had one!"
"That's where you're wrong, Lupin." Snape walked confidently into the room, not bothering to take a seat. Merely standing in front of the doorway. "The Dark Lord forced him into it by threatening one of his friends. The boy is braver than you might think."
Harry piped up, "Who did he threaten?"
Snape rolled his eyes, "Daphne Greengrass."
It was Ron's turn to speak out now, "Greengrass? You mean the girl he proposed to today at dinner?"
Whispers ran rampant around the small room. Things like, 'Propose?!" and 'How old is he supposed to be again?'
Severus sighed in deep frustration. If they could all wait for just a minute without interjecting he would tell them all the details. "Yes, Mister Weasley, that girl."
Hermione looked like she was stuck between happy and really quite angry, "So he's not turned dark then, just blackmailed. Was his proposal a part of the blackmail?"
"No Mis Granger, it wasn't. I'm afraid in this instance, Mister Dracula's bleeding heart merely got the better of him." Snape replied, a slight venomous tone present in his voice. Though Hermione couldn't tell if it was aimed at her or Vlad.
"What does that mean, Severus?" Professor McGonagal asked.
"It means, Minerva, that Vlad was told the girl would die if he didn't turn her into a Vampire. Unfortunately for Miss Greengrass, her parents didn't take kindly to the idea that their firstborn daughter was now a half-breed and disowned her. In result of this fact, her sister and friends were instructed to not make any contact with her. It appears that Vladimir saw how lonely she was and decided to fix it, in the most dramatic way possible."
Molly looked nothing but concerned for the boy, "Surely there's something we can do? At least let him know we've got his back?"
Severus' features softened ever so slightly, "I wish we could, Molly. But for now, the boy is compromised."
He looked directly at Harry, Ron and Hermione then, "None of us can have any contact with him, aside from myself as his Head of House, and 'fellow' Death Eater."
ooo
…Earlier that day…
Today was the day, Daphne had determined, that the universe had decided shit all over her.
Firstly, she had slept in late because she'd been kept awake by her gums aching (hopefully her transformation would be over soon, it was starting to get ridiculous) and the constant sound of everyone breathing and their hearts beating, it was driving her batty! Thus, she completely missed breakfast trying to catch up on sleep, only to find out she had to go back down to the dungeons for potions with Gryffindors. Not only that but, because her reflection had nearly disappeared, her face was a shambles from not being able to see herself properly in the mirror. So when Daphne finally got to class Snape asked why she was late, her only response was the truth, she had woken up late and tried to get to breakfast. At Daphne's reply, she heard snickering from her dorm mates. With her advanced hearing she heard one of them whisper, "Not like she'd need food anyway, probably rather bite someones neck at this point."
Daphne's eyes glowed red and her blood reached boiling point, "What the hell is that supposed to mean Davis?"
She glared down at Tracey Davis like she was the scum of the earth, how dare she say shit like that? She hadn't even completely turned yet, and even so, Vlad lived his whole life without biting anyone! Well, other than her.
Tracey spoke up boldly, "Just that with your new set of teeth I figured breakfast was now what sat at the tables rather than on it."
In a fit of rage, Daphne speed-ran and grabbed the girl by the collar.
"You don't have the right to speak to me like that, Breather." And she shoved her back into her seat. The insult came to her surprisingly easily, Daphne'd only even heard Vlad refer to 'normal' people that way once, twice at best. But it definitely made her feel better, if only for a little while.
After her temporary high, things seemed to only head down hill. Rumours began to circulate about Daphne's new form and she started getting a few rather odd looks. A few had appeared intrigued by her, some were clearly concerned she'd bite them, others looked disgusted and the rest were just cautious. Once again she found herself hearing the whispers about her, and to be perfectly honest, she wasn't sure how Vlad did it.
From what Daphne heard, most of the disgusted looks she received were because of a rumour going around that she had jumped into Vlad's bed over the summer and that some kinky Vampire shit had obviously taken place and landing her with a bite on her neck and a new set on canines. She hated the idea that people could instantly believe that she'd become some sort of harlot just because some attractive, exotic guy had come along. It was absurd!
Either way, the whispers had continued even when she was sitting at the Slytherin table casually looking around for any sign of Vlad. After ten minutes of waiting Daphne resigned herself to the idea that he was probably holed up in the library somewhere, not even aware of what time it was.
With a sigh she stared down at her food, everyday it became less and less appetising. At this point she would rather be a fully turned Vampire than stuck halfway between in this infuriating limbo.
As Daphne glared at her food, willing it to look tasty again, she felt arms wrap around her. She knew it was him instantly by the smell of him, that sense was sharper now too. Her face lit up and she felt her what was left of her blood start pumping rapidly around her body.
And then he proposed to her all over again, in front of everyone and in the most romantic way. It was then that Daphne realised that, perhaps, she was falling in love with Vladimir Dracula.