Ebony tossed over onto the cold side of the pillow, heat from the fire toasting her toes and spreading up her body. She spread out in the double bed, feeling the chill on the colder sheets against her sweating skin. Dreams so passionate they made her body ache even as she lay there, panting and remembering as she stared at the ceiling. She couldn't understand it; he had been out of her life for so long, she had almost forgotten him. Almost.
"Ebony? Are you awake?" came a small voice at the door, accompanied by a knock.
"Even if I wasn't, you'd be trying to wake me anyway. Is Samara with you?"
"Yes." There was a paused and a shuffling of feet. Lenera and Samara knew better than to just waltz into Ebony's room from unfortunate past experience. "We have chocolate."
"Then yes, I am awake!" Ebony giggled. Her friends flooded into her bedroom and dived on her bed, both heavily laden with food and sweets and drinks which they spread out over Ebony's navy blue bed cover.
"Are you alright? You look like you've had a fever!" Lenera asked with her mouth full of fizzing whizbees.
"Yes, just… Very nice happy dreams. Where did you two get all this stuff?" Ebony responded, twirling a liquorice wand in between her fingertips like a blade.
"House elves. Anyway, what's happening with you? Haven't seen you in a while," Samara grinned, swallowing a pumpkin pasty almost whole.
"Oh yes, it has to be… what? Six hours since you both last saw me?"
"Don't be sarcastic," Lenera scolded, stunning an escaping chocolate frog and stuffing it down whole.
"Without sarcasm, I'd be nothing. Now, what are we going to do about Voldemort?" Ebony concluded before finishing the wand in her hand.
"Well, the Boy Who Lived has to have an attempt to fulfil his prophecy, but other than that, I'd say the path is clear for women to take over," Lenera began.
"Yes, never send a boy to do three women's job," Samara agreed.
"I agree, and would like to add never send a boy to do a mans job," Lenera smiled devilishly.
"I second that," Ebony giggled after slapping her friend gently with the non-sticky end of a new wand. She gnawed on it thoughtfully. "However, losing the vampire's will not help us; quite the opposite in fact, we are fairly well doomed with this situation. Voldemort is not stupid, he will utilise this new allegiance to his advantage and our downfall; we must be wary of every coming and going into this castle."
Lenera nodded. "Yes, very true, I do not think he is foolish enough to try a direct assault on the castle himself, but he has friends…"
"And Dementors," Samara interjected. "They have been revolting against the ministry officials for weeks now. I know I'm good at the Patronus curse, but I ain't that good."
"You'd try though, which is more than most. Dementors are too obvious; we're expecting him to use them. Now, Death Eaters are both powerful, expected and a right old pain in the proverbial," Ebony sighed bleakly. The others fell silent except for the sound of rustling as they devoured the rest of their feast.
"Well, we ought to leave you and get some sleep, eh Samara?" Lenera suggested, seeing the depressed expression across their friend's face.
"Yeah, see you in the morning Ebbs," Samara smiled, slipping off of the bedclothes and cleaning up the remnants of the food with a swish of her right hand. The two left wordlessly, Ebony watching them leave. She knew she would not sleep that night. She slipped from her bed and stole from the room, tossing her cloak over her shoulders and walking down to the grounds. The moon was a few nights from full and lit her way over the grass to the edge of the forest, where she stepped skilfully over fallen limbs, bushes and undergrowth onto a little known path. She lit her wand and strode into the darkness, every sense on edge and every tiny sound making her spin around. She never had dreams as raw and passionate as that for no reason. She'd dreamt of their death the day the Potters' died, but by the time she had got there, it was too late and the act had been committed. She had stolen away, unseen and unheard by the aurors that flooded the scene. Coward, she had been called by Remus when she had told him of the events. This had, ultimately, lead to the end of her relationship with him and the beginning of her relationship with blood. She sighed and blasted a few branches from her path and following it around the corner ahead of her. She came to the glade she sought, deeper into the forest than even Hagrid dared come at night, and settled onto the grass. She didn't know why her feet had dragged her here, why her body decided she needed to think. She sat alone. Isn't this how it always was? she whispered to herself. Her back itched, wings begging for freedom but without cause. Beyond Redemption she was labelled in heaven. There was no place for her here, she was told. She came back and feasted upon the first human she found. I don't need heaven, she told herself having drunk almost a whole bottle of Firewhiskey and lying in bed with Barty Crouch Junior, I've got sex.
"What are you doing here, Vampire?"
Ebony jumped to her feet and lit her wand, having extinguished it when she sat down. The blue light whisped over a tall centaur with palomino horse-half. "Firenze, how charming," she replied coldly, dimming the light slightly.
"You have no business here, now leave or..."
"Aw, pony boy is going to try and kill me, eh? How wonderful."
"Do not patronise me."
"I actually come seeking help. What do you know of Angels?"
"Only 10 have ever fallen from grace, though I have never met someone who had sinned so bad they were turned away."
"If you cannot answer me fairly, then I am leaving. Goodnight, Firenze," Ebony calmly replied, though her blood boiled at his insults. She lit her wand and stood up, walking back along the path onto the open lawn in front of Hogwarts Castle and shivering as the wind ruffled her cloak.
"I do not wish to pry, Professor, but why dost thou come and seek those you fear most?"
Ebony shuddered, the voice in the wind ripping at her insides. "Because to find answers you must face fear," she muttered, feeling like a prat for talking to herself.
"Thanks for agreeing to do this," Remus said to Ebony as they stepped into his classroom. She shrugged and sighed, dropping her cloak. Remus' face softened and, for a moment, he looked as though he was about to burst into tears. Her dress, strapless and corseted, showed deep scars up and down her chest and neck, some looking like acid burns, others like crucifixes pressed into her pale skin and others like ripped bite marks.
"I'll tell them all about it," she smirked, showing her fangs and turning around to sip from her flask. He saw deep wing-shaped scars embedded in her back, the gauges black and raw like they had just been carved. The class filed in; all of the seventh years, chatting in earnest but falling silent when they saw Ebony stood at the front, smiling wickedly and running her tongue over her fangs at intervals.
"Now, take your seats and open your textbooks to page 666-"
"Appropriate," Ebony teased. Remus shot her a meaningful look before turning back to his class.
"Miss Malfetti has agreed to come and talk to you all about the pros and cons of vampirism. Miss Malfetti, please take the podium."
Ebony bit her lip not to laugh before taking his place. "Ok, kids, I always think the only way to learn is to ask questions, so, ask away, I'll answer honestly and... Hurm... Cleanly as possible." A snigger reverberated around the room.
"What do you class yourself as? Human or monster?" Hermione asked.
"Neither. I'm evil, I'm down with being evil, and it's the easiest way to describe it. I'm nothing; not worthy of pity, or love, or care. I'm depraved; I rely on other people's blood to sustain my own worthless life. Next question?"
"Do crucifixes and garlic work?" A Ravenclaw Ebony didn't recognise shouted out.
"Crucifixes work like a bitch, but only if the person who is wielding it believes in it. Garlic? No, no effect, not on someone like me. New vampires actively avoid it. If, however, you were to produce a vial of blessed water and smash it on me, I would probably die," Ebony said, shuddering slightly and Lupin frowned in slight worry. She drew a blade from her ankle and, with one smooth slashing action, she ripped open the side of her dress and it dropped, leaving her in a loose fitting bottle-green bodice, but showing clearly the acid-burn like scar which covered much of her upper body. The girls gasped, even Remus fell back off his chair. "Wonderful stuff, wouldn't you say?" she stated slowly, pulling her dress back on. "Any more?"
"Stakes- do they work?"
"Let's stab you through the chest, Master Malfoy, and see what happens," she snarled in response, flicking her hair off her face.
"Are you really immortal?" he asked, dropping onto the stage and drawing a blade. Remus raised his wand but Ebony forced his hand down. She drew her own blade and parried Malfoy for a moment before purposely allowing him to thrust his blade into her abdomen. It only entered a few inches but she forced it through so her blood spilt all over his hands.
"Oh, blood on your hands, Death Eater?" He sobbed in response, and she wrenched the blade free from herself, letting it clatter onto the floor and wincing slightly as the wounds closed. "More stupid questions?" she snarled, her voice taking on the demonic, gruff texture she loathed. She grabbed her cloak and ran, her body shaking with the sudden and very real desire for blood. Staggering, she forced herself to the back courtyard before plunging her fangs into her own wrist, bleeding into her eagerly awaiting mouth and partially quenching her thirst. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing, letting her tears and blood mingle and pool on her face and lap.
"What a state," a quiet voice said. Ebony's head snapped up and she stared around, trying to locate it.
"Minerva, this isn't exactly a-"
"Friends, Ebony, aren't meant to only be there for the good times," she shrugged, stepping forwards and resting her hand on Ebony's shoulder.
"I need... God, just stake me! I don't deserve-"
"Ebony!" Lenera suddenly yelled, swooping down onto her friend.
"You look like crap," Ebony grinned.
"Hey, it's a full moon tonight!" Lenera shot back, hugging her friend tightly despite the blood.
"I'm going out," Ebony decided, striding away from the two women, "I'll be back tomorrow."