Chapter 10: Full Moon Deceiver
The next day Hermione was walking alone outside when Ron came up behind her and started to walk with her. They were later joined by Harry, Sirius and Remus. The group settled by the lake for a picnic dinner where they laughed and had fun. It wasn't long before it grew dark, so they packed up their dinner and started back towards the castle. But Remus stopped walking suddenly, the trio turned back to see why he had stopped. And the look on their professor's face was enough to startle them.
Remus had his head tilted to the side and was panting harshly. Hermione looked behind her father and was shocked to see the clouds shifting behind him. It was the night of the full moon. "Harry!" Hermione shouted. "Ron, Sirius! We need to get out of here!"
"Something's wrong…" Sirius said coming over to his long time friend. "Remus, did you take your potion tonight?" Sirius didn't get an answer for Remus was now hunched over, his hands visibly curling into paws. "Run!" Sirius yelled as Remus fell onto all fours. Harry and Ron followed Sirius as he made his way back to the castle, but Hermione remained next to her father, unmoving.
Hermione felt tears of pain and terror falling down her face as Sirius looked back at her. "Hermione, let's go!" He cried as he ran back towards her. Hermione shook her head, trying to get him away, for she knew there was nothing he could do to help her. Sirius stopped running to her amazed as she started to howl in pain.
"Sirius! Mister Potter! Mister Weasley! What are you doing?" Severus yelled as he ran across the grounds meeting the three halfway in their trek back to the castle. "It's Remus; I don't think he took his potion. And there's something wrong with Hermione." Sirius said coming to a stop next to Severus so he could catch his breath.
Upon hearing Hermione's name Harry and Ron turned back to see their friend howling in pain next to their professor. Severus noticed this too and immediately told them to get to the castle. They turned back around and continued their way towards the entrance hall. Severus continued to stand where he was before he turned and followed the others.
Once they were all back inside the castle Harry, Ron and Sirius turned to Severus for answers, but before he could answer anything he saw Skylar run out of the doors and onto the grounds. "Skylar!" Severus yelled out before he took off after his niece. Harry and Ron tried to follow but Sirius stopped them. They walked over to the windows and watched from the safety of the castle walls.
"Skylar stop!" Severus yelled again as he followed her across the grounds. He caught up with her and grabbed her by the arms. "Something's wrong. They're not safe!" Skylar stopped her now difficult running and looked at her uncle startled. "Get back to the castle." Severus whispered to her as he watched Rune and Hera walking towards them. Unfortunately, Rune had decided to charge them while Hera threw her head back and howled.
Severus pulled Skylar behind him and waited for Rune's teeth to sink into his exposed arm, but they never did. He looked up and was surprised to see Sirius as Padfoot fighting Rune. "Come on, while they're distracted." Severus whispered before they started to back away slowly. They had almost reached the doors without either werewolf noticing them, but as Padfoot and Rune ran to the Forbidden Forest Hera realized what they were doing.
She ran after them until she was standing directly in front of the Entrance doors, right in view of Harry and Ron. "Hera… you don't want to hurt us." Severus said once again nudging Skylar behind him. Hera saw this and started to growl in warning at them. "Hera…" Severus said again as he took a step back. Hera shook her head before she lunged at them.
Severus quickly shot a stunning spell at her, but missed. While he aimed again Hera jumped on top of Skylar and barred her teeth at her. Severus turned around and shot the spell again, this time hitting Hera in the back, right before she was about to bite Skylar. Hera looked up at him confused, instead of stunning her like the spell was supposed to do it had only made her woozy. But, even a woozy werewolf is still a dangerous werewolf. Hera jumped off of Skylar and charged into Severus causing him to hit his head against the ground.
While her sister's back was turned Skylar had pulled out her wand and fired the same stunning spell, thankfully this time the spell worked causing Hera to fall off Severus, stunned. Once Severus was sure that Hera was stunned he motioned for Harry and Ron to come outside and help them. The two boys did so and helped them to the Hospital Wing; all the while they were thinking the same thing. "Hermione"
After Harry and Ron dropped Severus and Skylar off in the Infirmary they went to Gryffindor Tower to talk about what they had just seen. Meanwhile, after they had entered the castle Hera broke through the stunning spell. She followed her father's scent into the forbidden forest where, sometime later she found him asleep next to Padfoot. Shaking severely Hera laid down next to them and fell asleep.
The three of them stayed like that until the moon was replaced by the rising sun. Padfoot then changed back into Sirius and conjured some cloaks for the two people still asleep. He then levitated them up to the castle and on to the Hospital Wing. Once he arrived in the Hospital wing Madam Pomfrey placed them onto separate beds before she asked Sirius what had happened. Sirius told her that he believed Remus' wolfsbane had been tampered with. When Madam Pomfrey asked about Hermione Sirius just shook his head, unsure as to what happened with the young witch.
Madam Pomfrey nodded her head as she walked over to Remus where she checked him over before moving onto Hermione. After she ran a few tests she turned back to Sirius. "You were right. Mr. Lupin's potion was indeed tampered with in the same manner that Miss Granger's was. It seems someone added sugar to the cauldron of wolfsbane before they consumed it, and sugar as you should remember, completely ruins any type of potion." Madam Pomfrey said clutching her apron in her hands.
"If you hadn't been there to occupy the two of them I'm positive that they would have done some serious damage to each other, if not other people on the grounds." Madam Pomfrey said taking a glance over to two beds down the wing. Sirius nodded his head gravely. "Do we have any idea who would tamper with their potion?" Sadly Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "We won't know until one of them wakes up." She continued to tell him that Remus and Hermione, along with Severus and Skylar would have to stay the rest of the week to make a full recovery. Sirius thanked her before he left the wing in search of Harry and Ron.
That night Hermione awoke to a dark room, and as she was lifting the covers to get out she heard whispering. "What are you doing?" Hermione stopped moving as she recognized Skylar's voice. "What I tried to do yesterday." Hermione sat up in her bed as she heard her boyfriend's deceiving soft voice. She was about to get out of her bed to stop Deacon from doing anything, when she realized she wasn't in the main wing of the hospital.
She ran over to the door of her private room and tried to turn the door knob. It didn't move. Hermione pressed her ear to the door and listened as the whispering got louder until it seemed like they were shouting at each other. Hermione lifted her head from the door confused but she realized it was only her heightened hearing.
"Deacon, you don't want to do this." Skylar pleaded as she stepped away from the angry yet collected vampire. "Of course I do. I've been thinking about turning someone for a while and I would have turned my girlfriend, but I couldn't, the filthy werewolf. But that's unimportant now; I choose you because you told me you were dating the great Harry Potter." Deacon said walking closer to Skylar. "Don't be scared." He said as he brushed away the tears from her cheeks.
Meanwhile, Hermione was trying desperately to open the locked door. As she would tug on the handle she heard Deacon brushing away Skylar's hair and slowly tilting her head to the side. Hermione heard Skylar's intake of breath as she slammed her body into the door. She pushed past the now broken door and ran to her sister's bed. Tears fell down her face when she realized she was too late.
There was no sign of Deacon; just Skylar slumped against her bed with fresh bite marks dripping blood down her neck. Hermione stood there in shock as she stared at her sister's deathly pale skin. "Skylar?" She whispered. Skylar lifted her head quickly; her normally blue eyes were red and had a look of terror in them. "Who's there?" she asked, the blood on her lips shining in the light.
"It's only me." Hermione walked out of the shadows. Skylar's eyes filled with tears at the sight of her sister standing in front of her. "Hera…. Oh god… how could this have happened? Oh god…" Skylar said as her tears left wet trails down her face. Hermione knelt down next to her sister and pulled her into a hug, the blood on Skylar's neck seeping into Hermione's hair. "Shhhh…. Don't cry …. Shhhh…. I promise you everything will be alright…. Shhhh" Hermione whispered trying her best to comfort her traumatized twin. They stayed sitting there for an hour; Hermione whispered comforting words while Skylar continued to cry.
Just as Hermione was about to suggest they find either Madam Pomfrey or their mother, they saw one of the shadows shift. It seems someone had been watching them. Meanwhile Sirius and Ambrosial were making their way to the Infirmary. On their way Sirius informed Ambrosial about the previous evening and what Madam Pomfrey said had happened to their potions. Once they arrived at the Infirmary they opened the doors to a startling sight.
In the middle of the Hospital wing stood Remus; he was holding a student off the ground by his throat while Skylar stood over an unconscious Hermione, trying to get her nose to stop bleeding. Upon seeing this Ambrosial rushed into the room and over to her daughters while Sirius walked over to Remus, who was glaring at the boy he was holding off the ground. "What happened?" they asked at the same time. Slowly Skylar looked away from Hermione and to her mother and father. "I won't tell you while he's…" here she pointed to the boy her father was holding, "still in here."
Ambrosial nodded her head before she walked over to her husband. She pulled out her wand and stunned the boy before binding him with ropes and levitating him to Madam Pomfrey's office, where she talked with the head patron before they locked him in her office and walked back to the assembled group in the middle of the wing.
"Now tell me what happened." Ambrosial said as Madam Pomfrey moved over to Hermione and with Sirius's help, lifted her onto the bed next to them. Skylar looked away from her mother's intense gaze.
"Hermione and I were talking when he walked out of the shadows. Hermione stood up and began to yell at him, but before she could say much he punch her in the face giving her a bloody nose and knocking her unconscious. The next thing I knew dad was holding him in the air by his throat threatening to kill him. That's when you walked in…" when she was finished Skylar looked up at her mother.
"I don't understand something, why would Hermione want to yell at Deacon in the first place? And why would he hit her?" Ambrosial asked a confused look on her face. "What aren't you two telling us?" she said to herself. "I don't know why Deacon would hit her…" Skylar said looking at the ground again trying not to let them see her mouth. Remus noticed this, "Skylar, what are you hiding?" He asked as he walked over to her and tilted her head to him.
Skylar just stared at him not willing to open her mouth to speak. "Tell me Sky." Skylar closed her eyes as fresh tears fell. She shook her head causing her hair to move to the side, exposing her bloody neck to the room. Remus inhaled a breath before he tilted her head back to him. "When where you bitten?" Ambrosial gasped at her husband's words. "An hour ago." Skylar said showing the tiniest hint of her new fangs. "And I take it that Hermione found out and was furious?" Remus asked this time looking at his other daughter who was beginning to move on the bed. Skylar nodded. "She came in a few seconds after he left me…"
"I would have stopped that jerk from ever hurting you if I had been quicker in opening the stupid door to my room." Hermione rasped out anger and hatred clouding her words. Ambrosial walked over to her and helped her sit up in the bed. "But why would he even want to turn you?" She asked Skylar a few minutes later.
Everyone's attention turned to Skylar, who looked around before she faced Hermione. "After dinner yesterday I went looking for you, Harry and Ron, but I couldn't find you anywhere, instead I found Deacon." Skylar paused here so she could take a deep breath before she continued.
"So I asked him if he knew where you and Harry were. Instead of telling me he asked me if you were cheating on him with Harry. I told him no because Harry was my boyfriend. After I told him that he looked at me before he started to caress my cheeks and neck. While he was doing that I saw his eyes getting darker and his fangs extending over his bottom lip. I tried to get away but he was too strong, so I did something very stupid… I kicked him in the crotch which caused him to let me go. I ran away from him and as I was running past the entrance hall I heard Harry and Ron talking about you being outside, so I ran past them desperate to tell you what had just happened when Severus stopped me…" Skylar stopped and closed her eyes in pain.
Remus scooted closer to his daughter and moved his wrist under her mouth. "You need to feed Sky. Bite down gently…" Skylar opened her eyes and frowned at the flesh before her. She was about to refuse when another wave of pain and nausea washed over her. She lifted her father's arm closer to her mouth and lightly pressed her fangs against the skin.
A feeling unlike any other filled Skylar as she slowly drank her father's blood, she felt like she was in heaven. Everyone watched in fascination while Remus tapped Skylar on the head as he told her that was enough. Skylar gently pulled her fangs out and smile up at her father. "Now, isn't that better?" Remus asked as his arm healed the bite marks. Skylar nodded, a rosy hue now showing on her skin. "Tell us what happened before Hermione found you." Skylar took a deep breath before she spoke.
"I had been sleeping when I felt someone brushing the hair off my face. I opened my eyes and saw Deacon standing above me with a smile on his face. I moved away from him and climbed off the other side of my bed where I asked him what he was doing in the wing. He told me that he was going to finish what he had tried to do the day before."
"I tried to keep a safe distance away from him but he somehow managed to back me against the nightstand. I told him that he didn't want to turn me, but he told me that since he couldn't turn Hermione that he wanted to turn me since I'm dating Harry. As he was talking he was pressing against me, whispering in my ear. He then moved my hair to the side and slid in fangs in my neck…" Skylar paused, her breath hitching. "The next thing I remember I was sitting on the ground with Hermione talking to me."
Ambrosial looked at Remus before she asked the question they both wanted answered. "What happened next, in more detail please" This time, Hermione answered her mother. "After an hour of comforting Sky we both saw movement in the shadows by the bed. I stood up when I heard Deacon laugh quietly; I called out to him telling him he was a coward and a demon. The next thing I knew there was a fist slamming into my nose and I blacked out."
After the Lupin family sorted out everything that happened Ambrosial and Remus took Deacon to the Headmaster's office. Madam Pomfrey went with them to prove the girl's story was true. During the time that their parents were gone Hermione and Skylar were released from the Infirmary and into their parents' custody. They, along with a newly awoken Severus, then went to their chambers and spent the time talking and resting.