Authors Note: Thanks to all those who reviewed and a very happy 2008 to all!

Disclaimer: Remains the same throughout the fic

Chapter 4: Vemon

Luna looked up hearing the knock at her door. She smiled when she saw a very pregnant and very vibrant Hermione standing there smiling with an arm load of papers in her hands. Her hair was curly as ever, but now they were soft curls, her brown eyes twinkled with contentment.

Luna got up quickly to help her carry the load. Hermione, her and Ginny had gotten quite close since the war. Hermione had even given up on rolling her eyes at the mention of Luna's strange creatures, instead she just helped her finding information on them. Working in the Ministry of Magic certainly had it's perks.

She held out a chair for her brown haired friend. " You look beautiful," she said looking at Hermione in open admiration. Hermione chuckled nodding her at her blond friend.

"O shush Luna, I have been bloating like a balloon. This one," she said pointing at her stomach, " has a craving for icecream so often, I swear I have gained over fifty pounds by now!" she finished her complaint, all the while smiling at Luna.

Hermione didn't fool anyone. She loved being a mom and she was very good at it. She had a two year old girl and every one could tell she had inherited Hermione's brains and Ron's heart.

"So what's this sudden interest in Vemons? Another project of yours?" her friend asked interrupting her thoughts.

Luna smiled, thinking about last night. Draco had reached her home after their conversation. Not much had been said after her words of consolation for his mother. She knew he didn't tell her the entire story, though the part he did tell was sad enough. She didn't expect him to, she was quite surprised to see him open up as much as he did yesterday. She focused on her present surrounding when she felt Hermione's stare boring into her forehead.

" Well something like that," she told her friend. She knew she could trust Hermione to keep a secret, but she felt it wasn't quite her secret to tell. Draco Malfoy had trusted her with the information, and she wasn't exactly lying. She wasn't a ravenclaw for nothing. Although a lot of people believed she was incapable of lying, which was true to a certain extent.

"What did you find out?" she asked watching Hermione sift through the papers.

" Well, it's very interesting. You see Vemon's are not exactly dark creatures but they have a cursed life," Hermione said looking up from her papers into her eyes. Luna nodded knowing her friend would continue without prompting. Hermione's nature was like a teacher's sometimes. She made sure her conversation was followed by her listeners.

" It's sad really, you see they are not quite vampires but they still need blood. The catch is they can only take blood from the corrupted and can't touch an innocent without dying themselves. They hide their true face from most people. The accounts of people who have glimpsed them claim it to be horribly disfigured and bloody. It's like they are always bleeding. They bleed from their eyes constantly. The curse is that they are left with a heart see, and it's very difficult for anyone to get past their physical appearance to see it. And even if they do, the task that is required of them isn't for the faint of hearts. They usually hide their true appearances to begin with.

They have to be innocents themselves but willing to give their blood to the vemon out of love. The love has to be pure and they should both feel it. They need to accept in being a vemon themselves, for the rest of their lives. You see once a witch or wizard agrees to mate a vemon they turn into one themselves, though the craving for blood ceases. You see once a vemon finds a mate it's a little easier. The disfiguring remains but the bleeding stops. There hasn't been any cases so far where they have been healed completely but I haven't found any cases of healings at all.

It has been said that the consequences of refusing the love of a vemon can result in the vemon going crazy. It's just theoretical research done over the years that have enabled us to get this information. To date there has been just one vemon recorded in the registry. But I couldn't gain access to find the information. It's quite a vague and unexplored area of study," Hermione finished looking for Luna's reaction.

Luna nodded, forcing a slight smile on her face, her mind kept drifting back to Malfoy. 'Who would want a life like that?' she thought. " Thanks Hermione, you have been very helpful," she said, " Would you like some tea?" she asked.

Her friend nodded her head standing up. " No thanks Luna, I promised Molly I would do lunch with her today. But I am glad I could help you out," she said, slowly walking towards the door.

Luna walked her friend out. "Give my love to little Jane and say hello to Ronald for me, and Harry and Ginny as well if you meet them," she said as she watched her friend gather a handful of floo powder from her pocket.

" I sure will, you take care Luna and we will definitely do tea sometimes," she said, hugging her friend one last time before stepping into the fireplace.

Once Hermione had disappeared in the blue flames, she sighed returning to her chair. She needed to help Draco Malfoy find his mate. The question was where would she begin? Who would Draco Malfoy love?

Review Please: Next chap - the search begins.