Hermione Granger; A Vampire Chapter 15
"You would've thought, being wizards, that they would've invented a way to travel that's a tad more comfortable than that!"
Malfoy staggered and collapsed on a heap on the dirty, grey pavement. He took gulping deep breaths and looked around. Ginny and Neville were looking slightly green, however Ron, Harry and Luna seemed fine. Luna looked around dreamily and once again, began to swat her hands around her head.
They seemed to have materialised in a deserted street. There were hanging lights hung from nearby lamp posts and there was a huge building in front of them. If Malfoy had to guess, he would've thought it was a palace, yet it looked old and crumbled in some places and there didn't seem to be any glass in the windows or doors.
"Quit your moaning." Harry snarled as he scanned his surroundings. He had hoped they would have been able to disapperate directly to Hermione, however no such luck.
"Shut up Potter! I'm sorry if I'm not used to having my insides feel like they're about to pop out of my eyes!" His voice practically dripped with sarcasm.
"Will you two just shut up!" Ginny came bounding forward looking aggressive. "We're here for Hermione, and we need to find her, so if you'll just stop arguing, we'll be on our way!" She shielded her eyes from the sun and peered around. "Let's go up this road and if we don't find this bar in the next ten minutes, we'll ask someone."
Together they began to walk up the road, occasionally stopping to peer into one of the shop windows before remembering why they were there. None of them had ever been to New Orleans, except for Luna, and they all found it highly fascinating…all accept of course, Malfoy;
"It's a bit of a dump isn't it?" Malfoy sneered, looking at the spay painted brick walls, or the mismatched lights hanging from lampposts and telephone boxes alike.
"I wouldn't say it was a dump, no. More artsy." Neville spoke for the first time since they arrived. "I like it."
"Well of course YOU would, your not used to the higher class's standard." Malfoy straitened his tie and smirked.
"If being higher class means that you have a permanent stick up your ass, then I'm fine where I am." Ginny retorted in Neville's behalf. He'd never been very good at sicking up for himself, Neville, however, having Ginny as a friend, seemed to help in that department.
Malfoy opened his mouth to respond, however he was shoved hard in the back before doing so by Ron who pointed mutely in front of them.
Not far ahead of them, stood the bar in which they had seen Hermione sitting in less than twenty minutes ago, using the locator spell. They couldn't see inside, as the door was shut and the blinds were drawn. The sign on the door read 'closed'.
"Come on!" Ron exclaimed and made for the bar, however Malfoy pulled back on his jumper sharply, bringing him to a halt.
"We can't just dash in there! Are you mad? They'll rip us to bits, they're vampires!" Malfoy shouted. He grimaced and wiped his hand on his jumper as if he caught germs just by touching Ron.
"Oh grow up!" Ginny snapped at him.
"Malfoy's right though. We can't just barge in there, they'll kill us." Harry said gazing thoughtfully into the distance.
"Yes, but Hermione's there! She'll protect us!" Ron yelled in frustration.
"Ron, think about it, why would Hermione ever miss out on school? Why would she ever go somewhere without telling her best friends? It's because she's flipped her switch! Her humanity switch!" Neville reasoned with him.
Ron seemed determined to try and march in the bar by himself, but in the end, even he began to see reason. There was no other explanation…Hermione would never just take days of school, without telling anybody, let alone her friends. And if you'd ever met Hermione, she wasn't one to miss out on school work either.
"So, what are we going to do?" Ron asked the rest of the group.
After a short silence, Luna spoke up; "Why its obvious of course! We form a plan, a rescue plan!"
Everyone stared at her. The thought of forming a rescue plan against two ancient vampires, were scary enough, considering they weren't hungry, but if they were…
"You mean, we fight? Against the vampires?" Malfoy struggled to keep his voice steady, but couldn't hide the note of panic that was clearly there.
Harry grinned slyly at him. Malfoy wasn't one to be brave. He was put in Slytherin for a reason. He as sly as a snake, but when it came to fighting like this, Malfoy was one to do his business any way other than physically.
"Why? You scared?" Harry cocked his head and grinned again.
"Scared of having a vampire tear my throat out? YEAH!" Malfoy roared, his eyes as big as galleons.
"None of us will have our throats ripped out!" Ginny reassured everyone, "We just need a strategy, get in and get out quickly and quietly…maybe someone could cause a diversion."
There was a moments pause, in which they all thought about the best way to get into the building without Katherine or Stefan hearing them. But then again…vampires had extremely acute senses. They might be able to get in without being seen, but what about not being heard?
"Polyjuice potion?" Neville asked after a while.
"Does anything around here look like a potions store cupboard to you?" Malfoy sneered.
However Harry nodded is head in agreement. "I agree, Polyjuce potion would be the best way to go…we could pretend to be a bartender or something, maybe a janitor."
Malfoy scoffed, "Yeah, alright then lets go an brew some up, shouldn't take any longer than…I don't know…A MONTH?!"
"Maybe one of us could sneak back to the castle to Snape's private store cupboard?" Harry asked.
Ginny raised her eyebrows doubtfully. "I dunno Harry, It's awfully risky, but again its the best way really."
"So it's agreed, Polyjuice potion it is!" Ron confirmed. "So…I really think Malfoy should be the one to go."
"This bartender is taking a while!" Katherine was getting irritable and began to pace around the small bar.
"Why don't we just go and find someone else to eat? Come on Kat, we'll go to a breakfast bar or something." Hermione pleaded. The bar was small and stuffy and she was bored. She wished this festival would start earlier but that couldn't be helped. The time now was, 14:23.
Hermione could see Katherine was trying hard to resist going to the breakfast bar, personally she couldn't see why. They could have a big fry up and eat the waitress for desert. She smirked at the thought.
"Hmm…the picture planted in your mind IS awfully tempting…Okay then, lets do it!" Katherine spun around and waved her arms in the air. "Stefan darling, let's go!"
Hermione grabbed her jacket, and together they exited the bar. It was a sunny day and there was a light breeze, rustling the leaves on the nearby trees. It was extremely quiet around here during the day, but at night, Hermione knew it was gonna fill up fast.
Katherine and Stefan were ahead of her, walking hand in hand, their heads close together whispering abut something. Suddenly from behind her she heard a sound, a leave rustling kind of sound, the sound of twigs breaking underfoot, the sound of someone spying on Her. She whipped around fast as to catch whoever it was off guard. However there was no one there. Hermione frowned and cocked her head trying to listen, but the noise had gone. Maybe it had been a stray cat or something. She shrugged and ran after Katherine and Stefan.
"Oh my God! She almost saw us!" Ginny bent over and clutched her heart dramatically. They had all rushed to the closest thing when they heard Hermione and Katherine's voice, which happened to be an overgrown bush. They all clambered out, Neville tripping over in the process and Malfoy laughing gleefully at him.
"Definitely flipped her switch." Harry said as he wiped soil of his trousers.
"How can you tell?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Didn't you see when she turned around? It was like she looked like Hermione, but she doesn't. Does that make any sense?"
"No." Neville, Ginny, Malfoy and Ron chorused, however Luna piped up "Yes!"
Malfoy peered at Luna curiously, while Ginny asked Harry to explain himself.
"It's like…I dunno, kind of like her eyes, they look dead looking, like she isn't feeling anything. And she looked like Katherine, you know? Her eyes looked kind of evil looking and empty and narrowed. I don't know how to explain it really."
Ginny nodded, frowning, but Neville spoke up first. "So, have we decided that Malfoy will be going to be the one to sneak into Snape's Classroom?"
Just before they had all jumped into the bush for cover, they had been arguing in hushed tones, who would be the one to steal Polyjuice potion from Snape's private store cupboard in his classroom. Everyone except Malfoy agreed that it should be him, because he was for one; In Snape's house and his favourite student (Malfoy smirked at this) so if he was caught, he was unlikely to get seriously punished; two; Malfoy had his two brainless body guards, Crabbe and Goyle to keep look-out for him; and three; everyone was sick of his moaning.
"Yes, I think we are." Ginny said firmly glaring at Malfoy, who looked away uncomfortably. "Malfoy you will get the potion while us lot find the hairs of someone to transfigure into. I heard Hermione saying that they were going to a breakfast bar or something, so we could transfigure into anyone really."
Luna looked confused. "Why couldn't we just go as ourselves? They can't do anything to us in a crowded bar, and it'll be better that way, Hermione will know it's us."
To be honest, what Luna was saying was true. Hermione, Katherine and Stefan couldn't do anything to them if they were in a crowded place, and if they went as themselves Hermione would know that the just wanted her to be okay really. But then there were the risks, the possibility that Katherine and Stefan wouldn't mind killing six teenage humans in the middle of a restaurant, or that Hermione would react badly to seeing them.
"Yes! Let's just go as ourselves, and if Hermione and the other two vamps decide they want to eat us…well, we've got magic!" Malfoy seemed on edge, partly relieved he won't have to go and steal from his head of house, and risk being found out, having his prefect duties revoked, and having his father hit the roof. Then there was the chance of him having his throat ripped out buy a bunch of psychotic nutcase's.
"Luna and Malfoy have a point you know." Harry said, looking around at the others. "They can't do anything in a crowded breakfast bar, besides best we do it now, we won't be able to get in to a proper bar tonight to save her, we're seventeen and Ginny's sixteen, and we don't have compulsion."
Neville and Ginny nodded reluctantly, Ron didn't seem to be listening and was busily trying to keep his eyes on the tiny dots in the distance that were Hermione, Katherine and Stefan.
"Okay then." Ginny said, her expression grim, not at all happy about this arrangement. "We'll cast disillusionment charms over ourselves and follow them."
All together they cast the charms, Neville having to do it twice as the first time he just turned a burnt orange colour, and they followed the vampires keeping as quiet as they could, and trying not to step on each other's feet as they walked.
Twice Ron tripped over Malfoy's outstretched foot, twice Hermione's head whipped around like lightning and her eyes narrowed. Both times the six teenagers following them, froze as Hermione peered around, and it was not until she had turned around again and carried on walking did they breath again.
When they had reached the breakfast bar, Hermione, Katherine and Stefan walked right in and took the table right next to the bar's window. The table looked a little rickety, but the chairs seemed new, and the bar was flooded with sunlight, pouring through the large windows.
The six teenagers hustled in a nearby alleyway and muttered the counter spells for their disillusionment charms, and turned to face each other questioningly.
"So…now what do we do?" Malfoy asked Ginny. It had seemed that Ginny was the outspoken head of the group and all turned to face her.
"NOW, we go in as ourselves, and pretend to order normally. We'll go and sit down at their table and-"
"ARE YOU MAD!?" Malfoy, Ron and Harry all shouted out at the same time.
"SHHH!" Ginny hissed, flapping her hands at the three boys.
"We can't just sit down at their table!" Ron whisper shouted.
"For once Weasle-bee, your talking sense." Malfoy said folding his arms and nodding. Harry just stood there staring at Ginny waiting for her to explain herself.
"Well she's going to see us anyway, and what are they going to do honestly in a public place?" Ginny hissed.
"She has a point." Neville murmured.
"Shut up Longbottom." Malfoy snapped, turning to glare at the now red faced Neville.
"Don't tell him to shut up, ferret face!" Ginny pushed Malfoy hard and he stumbled onto Ron, who moved quickly out the way, so Malfoy fell on his bottom onto the dirty pavement.
"Look, just stop fighting!" Luna yelled. Everyone at once shut up, because Luna never shouted out, she usually remained calm at all times.
Everyone was quiet for a second, but trust Malfoy to be the first one to break the silence.
"I think we should vote on it." He said suddenly tilting his head towards Ginny.
"Vote on it? It's been decided!" Ginny hissed. Ron who was nodding his head in agreement at Malfoy's idea, stopped abruptly.
"Nothing has been decided, so I think we should vote on it." Malfoy reasoned. "All those in favour of using Polyjuice potion so we don't get ripped to pieces?" Malfoy and Ron raised their hands.
"All those in favour of going in their like the Gryffindor's we are?" Ginny said and raised her hand along with Harry, Neville and Luna. "So it's been decided, lets just go in there and get this over with."
Malfoy and Ron tensed up, but reluctantly followed the rest of the teenagers towards the bright breakfast bar, Malfoy muttering; "Luna isn't a Gryffindor…"
"At least some places here in this god forsaken town, isn't a dump" Stefan muttered at they sat down at their chosen table by the window. He sat closest to the window Katherine next to him, their backs facing the door. Hermione sat opposite Katherine, on the outside.
All the way to the bar, she had heard scuffling noises behind her and even what sounded like a whisper, but every time she turned around, nothing was there. "Your just being paranoid." She told herself over and over again quietly. No one knew she was here, no one. The thought didn't exactly comfort her.
Katherine summoned the waitress, a short black woman with her braided hair up in a bun. She smiled at them all, and held up her small notebook, taking a pencil from behind her ear.
"I'll have a bowl of berries and some granola, He will have…Stef what do you want? Nothing? Okay, he'll have nothing and…babe, what do you want?" Katherine gave her order and turned to Hermione.
"Ooooh, A fry up please." Hermione smiled and patted her stomach, winking at Katherine. The waitress jotted everything down and left.
"Ahh…" Katherine sat back into her chair and spread her arms around Stefan hugging him and laying her head on his shoulder.
Stefan kicked up his feet and rested them on the chair next to Hermione, winking at her.
Then, Hermione saw a flash of red…a flash of red…HAIR. Ginny Weasley strode confidently pass their table, with Luna who was gazing around her dreamily. Harry followed, glancing at Hermione, with Ron, Neville and Malfoy lagging behind their eyes swiveling from Hermione, to Stefan, to Katherine, and then back to Hermione.
Katherine caught Hermione's horrified eyes, took a double take when she saw who it was and the grinned. Not a friendly, Come-sit-with-us grin, an evil Wait-until-we-get-you-and-rip-your-throat-out grin.
"Well, look who's here! 'Mione! It's your friends, from school!" Katherine waved at the group of teenage wizards who had just walked in. There was a young couple sharing a plate of waffles a few tables down, but they didn't seem to notice much that was going on around them.
Ginny stopped walking to the table she was heading for, and stopped abruptly causing Harry to walk into her, and curse. She spun around and threw a sarcastic smile over to Katherine, who stopped smiling, and stood up. "Stefan darling, let's leave Hermione and her FRIENDS…to catch up." She pulled Stefan along with her and together they exited the bar and disappeared.
Ginny came right ahead and sat down opposite Hermione and put her hands together. Harry went and sat next to her looking grim and motioned to Ron to come over too. Ron sat next to Hermione and Neville, Luna and Malfoy stayed standing up, but on the other side of Hermione.
After an awkward silence Hermione spoke up; "So what are you doing here?" The last thing she wanted was for her so-called 'friends' to come along and 'help' her. She didn't need any help, she was fine.
"What are we doing here? Hermione we're here to save you!" Harry said, his voice raising and drawing unwanted attention from the nearby waitress.
"I don't need 'saving'!" She made air quotation marks on saving, causing Harry to blush. "Honestly!" She laughed, not a happy Hermione laugh that Harry and the others remembered, but a cold empty laugh, a laugh that didn't belong to Hermione. "I'm fine! I'm having fun, something you should have more of."
"Fun? You call this fun?!" Harry was getting angry, he had expected Hermione to leap into their arms and thank them over and over for saving her. "Murdering innocent people fun? This isn't you Hermione!"
Hermione stopped laughing and turned deadly serious. How dare he tell her what she was, only she knew that. "Who are you to tell me who I am? I could rip your silly little head of right here right now, before you could say Quidditch." She said coldly, sweeping her eyes to each and every one of her 'friends'. They flinched at the venom in her voice and Neville gasped out loud at what she said.
"Hermione…" Ginny started but Ron cut her off.
"So, your having fun here?" He asked unbelievably.
"It's better than studying for MORE exams! I mean, we just had our O.W.L's and they expect us to study for our N.E.W.T's already?" Hermione scoffed and learned back in her seat, flexing her fingers.
Her saying that confirmed what the six teenagers were thinking. Her humanity switch had indeed been flipped.
"Hermione? You can't seriously mean that!" Ron asked, his eyes as big as Galleons.
"Oh I mean it alright."
"Flip your switch back Hermione. We want our friend back, not some evil vampire wannabe." Ron said, miserably.
That was definitely the wrong thing to say to her, and the rest all knew it just as it came out of Ron's mouth and they saw Hermione's reaction.
"Oh, so I'm so evil vampire wannabe?!" She spat out every word and glared at Ron.
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" Ron said, waving his hands.
"He meant that your not this person Hermione. We know who you are and it isn't this person! Your good, your kind, your our friend." Harry said, he took hold of one of Hermione's hands that were lying on the table and squeezed it.
Hermione seemed in a daze for a moment or two and looked back into Harry's eyes, and her friends relaxed too, thinking that they had sorted it all out, and everything would be alright.
But it wasn't. Not by a long shot.
"I'm good am I?" She said coldly and cocked her head. She snatched her hands out of his an stood up. The waitress who had took their order was coming back, her hands full of trays of food. Hermione went up to her, using her vampire speed, so basically to human eyes, it looked like she disappeared and reappeared.
The waitress dropped the trays she was carrying and stared up at her in shock. "H- How- d- di- did you d- do that?" she stuttered.
Hermione whipped around and held the waitress in headlock-
"Hermione NO!" Ginny screamed and tried to get up.
But it was too late. With a deafening crack, and a sharp twist of Hermione's arms, the waitresses neck was snapped. Her had flopped unnaturally and her eyes were wide and unblinking. Ginny screamed and Neville fainted.
Hermione laughed coldly and let the body fall onto Harry's lap. "I'm not so good now am I?" She smirked and disappeared out of the shop, leaving the six wizards in shock and the young couple at the back snogging, oblivious to what was going on around them.