So here's the next chapter! Sorry, but it took FOREVER to get it out! I'm a tad disappointed that I didn't get very many reviews on the last chapter... I was really hoping for more feedback, but anyway... here it is.

A lot of the last part of this chapter came from Vampire Diaries- not from me. So there's my disclaimer for that!

Enjoy!

Hermione Granger had thought about her death many times. She had stared death in the face as many, if not more, times as Harry. The troll in her First year, the basilisk in her Second, Wormtail and Professor Lupin's werewolf form in her Third, hexed mail in her Fourth, Death Eaters in her Fifth and Sixth; Bellatrix and Death Eaters and Nagini and cursed fire and a dragon and Voldemort in her Seventh; and, of course, numerous renegade Death Eaters and a crazy vampire in the years following the war.

As far as she knew, at this very moment, she could very well be walking to her death – her final death, the one that would destroy her body, not just still her heart and stop her breath; by all rights, she should've died months ago. The rational part of her mind told her she should be grateful to have those few extra months, even if they were as an undead monster. Yet, as she took what she thought to be her last, unnecessary, breath, death was the furthest thing from her mind.

The sunrise was the most perfect thing she had ever laid her eyes on. Shades of pinks, yellows, purples, blues, and even greens melded together; they painted the sky above the forest in a harmony of colors more vivid and intense than anything her human eyes had ever seen.

The burning that Hermione expected never came. The light that touched her skin made her feel alive, more alive than she had ever been when she still needed the breath that had caught in her throat.

She felt warm for the first time in months. It wasn't just her skin that tingled with the sensation, but her insides as well. Hermione had never fully appreciated the daylight before. During her life, she had spent almost all of her time studying in the dark, dusty library. Now, that she was dead – or, rather, undead – she wanted to bask in the beams dancing across her arms. If there was a heaven, Hermione imagined it would feel something like this.

She found herself smiling at the flowing, grassy area before her. A sudden urge spurred her to run full out into it. Her arms spread out at her sides as she moved forward. Eventually, she stopped, turning in circles and laughing in delight the entire time.

She was happy, happier than she had been in her entire life. She realized that she was happier than she had been when Ron had finally proposed.

Ron.

She froze on the spot and frowned. She didn't want to think about him, didn't want to be that terrible wreck of a person she became when she thought about how he had abandoned her. Like a flip of a switch, her sadness disappeared completely. 'Strange,' she thought. It confused her but she just decided to ask Draco about it later,

"Oh, Draco…" Hermione turned to find the forgotten man leaning against a nearby tree with a smirk on his face.

"Finally remembered me, have you?"

Hermione felt her face flush. She had been so rude to ignore him, even if he was a high-and-mighty jerk who knew far too much about her for someone she'd just met! "I- I'm so sorry! I was just having so much fun- I can't explain…"

"Relax, you'll get used to everything eventually… It does help to feed occasionally too."

Hermione stiffened. No, that was something she had been adamant about since her change; she was not going to feed on another human if she could help it. She wouldn't become a monster. "I- No!"

"No?" Draco's eyebrows raised just slightly.

"I don't- won't- feed on another human. It just isn't right to harm when there are other ways to survive…"

"Hmmm…"

"I-" He raised a hand to silence her.

"That is going to make it more difficult to show you how to yield your Power, but I'm sure we can figure something out if you insist on being an anorexic idiot."

"I- May I speak now?" Draco nodded in an indulgent, professorial way. "Well, I've already spoken to the Centaurs and some of them are willing to help me. The younger ones, of course, the ones who don't follow the old ways anymore. I figured it out and I would only need to drink a small amount from them once a week if I also drink Blood Replenishing Potion. And, who knows, with your new potion I may need to feed even less than that…"

"So you don't drink from humans?" She shook her head, "So you could still…" Draco trailed off, lost in thought.

"I could still what?"

He snapped his head up to meet her eyes. "Do you know who turned you?"

"What?" His question caught her off guard. "I… No, it was dark and we didn't realize it was a vampire we were tracking, and… And, well, it doesn't matter anyway…"

"How were you changed?" His tone was softer now, more gentle.

"It's… a long story. I don't like to talk about it because… it ruined everything good in my life." Just like before, the pain and hurt she felt disappeared as soon as she thought about not wanting to feel it. "What's going on with my emotions?"

Draco seemed lost in his own contemplation. "What? Oh, you only feel what you want to feel. If you don't want to feel something, then you don't."

"That makes sense…" She had to admit, it was a little freaky, but whether it be the brightness of the sun or the happiness she was feeling, she didn't really care about it either way.

"Was it painful?"

She nodded. "But some of its still there."

"That's because it takes Power to control that stuff. The more human blood in your system, the more Power you have. Power can do all sorts of things for you."

"Like what? Since I'm going to be like this for the rest of eternity, I'd like to know everything." She felt like a student again, learning a new subject. It excited her.

"Well… there's the movement and the mind reading, which you've already noticed. We don't really need to sleep either; it's just used as a convenient way to pass time. Or, perhaps, keep us sane. One of my caretakers, after my mother died, said I stopped sleeping altogether for the first year or so after her death. It probably explains a lot about me, actually… We can communicate telepathically with one another, as well as those with heightened senses – psychics, mermaids, werewolves, and such…"

"This is just all… so much. Why am I just finding out all of this now? Shouldn't I have learned this in school?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "It's not a secret, per se, but it's not something we broadcast either."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "Ouch! Damn, I keep forgetting to not do that!"

Draco chuckled. "We can also turn into animals."

"Well that's nothing new; witches and wizards can become Animagi too."

"No, this is much different. We don't have to go through any rigorous training to achieve it; we simply channel our Power through our body and transform. Most vampires can only change into one other form. Those that are darker, have more Power and thus can achieve several forms. It takes a lot of Power to change."

"I'd like to learn…"

He looked her over. "It'd be very difficult for you since your diet considerably lessens your Power…"

She pouted out her lip. "Well I'd still like to try." She looked very determined. "How… Do you have a form?"

He nodded, looking at the lake instead of her. "Two."

"Oh…"

He smirked. "Yeah, I had a few rebellious years… They're over now, but I still use both."

"If you don't mind my asking… what are they?"

He looked at her. She didn't know what he saw, but he decided to answer her. "My first form, my easiest, is a crow. I like the speed of travel and I can blend into dark places if need be." He chuckled at some inside joke. "My second is a wolf, obviously the more dangerous of the two. It comes in handy in fights when a wand won't do…"

"Do you get into fights often?"

"Like I said, I had a few rebellious years… You won't talk about your turning, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't ask about that.

"I- I'm sorry…" She felt low. Here she was, making the one helpful person she had feel uncomfortable and upset with her.

His jaw clenched. "Its fine, I just need to feed; it's been too long and my mood is showing it. I assume you won't be joining me so I'll see you later."

He turned away from her and began a light jog. Mid-stride, he seemed to become smaller, until blackness erupted from his body and a crow soared away from the spot he'd previously been.

Soooooooooo... Let me know what you think! Seriously- I want to know!