Chapter 5.

"Idiot…" mumbled hot-head-dull-eyes Sarah for the 5th time. "You should have just let him leave."

"He seemed genuinely nice" Bright-eyed-Isabelle replied, shrugging "he CARED! And it'll be a nice way to get back at Malfoy"
"How so?" The flower-scent-soft-touch-girls jumped at my input, it being the first thing I had said.

"Well, Zabini is the only person he has to be around at the moment. Except Parkinson. But that's hardly fun for him, is it?" she laughed. When Isabelle laughs, I observed, the room seems to light up.

"Well I still think you were stupid. And he KISSED you! What if he's playing you again Isabelle?"

Sarah, I thought, is too protective of Isabelle. She is both less experienced and less knowledgeable, regardless of whether she is a Ravenclaw. She will, eventually, push her away. Isabelle's thoughts, I knew, were already tangled with thought of her mother and she did not want to be lectured. They grew more agitated, twisting and turning as Sarah continued to talk.

"Shut up Sarah. If he's playing me, that's fine. I'll play him back. I just want to make Malfoy's life worse. Okay?" hot-head-Sarah glared at her, before stalking off. She's such an idiot I heard Sarah think, she's only going to get hurt again…

"Sarah might be right Isabelle" I said quietly, as stubby-morsel-Flitwick walked past, examining our final heating charm.

"Lovely, lovely" he said, absent minded, as he sauntered past.

"Don't you start Charlie. Trust my judgement please." So far, the new-leaves-spring term had been a disaster. Over the past week, hot-head-Sarah had already had an argument with two green-silver-snakey-Slytherins, bright-eye-Isabelle was becoming more besotted with dark-aura-Blaise as her anguish over her mother intensified, and I was hungry. For the first time this year. Truly hungry. As we left the classroom, I turned right, towards the staircase.

"Where are you going Charlie?" asked indignant-bright-eye-Izzy

"To see Snape. I'll see you at dinner" Why is he going to see Snape? I heard her think. I wished I could respond, but it was not seen as good etiquette to intrude on another's mind without permission. He trotted down the staircase, waiting as it turned towards the quickest route to Snape's dungeon office. On arrival, he knocked on the door.

"Come in" drawled a bored voice, from strong-shield-dark-mind-Snape.

"Professor..."

"I've been expecting you Sammonds. It's January and therefore time for you too feed I assume?"

"Yes, sir."

"It is an inconvenience this. Dumbledore has permitted you to be here ONLY because you're a day walker. If Sanguini had gone any further you would not still be here. You would be an outcast from society, following him around Transylvania."

"I know sir. I knew what he was doing though. I wasn't taken unawares" my mind searched for a break in his tough-dark-mental-armour.

"It would do you well not to use leglimency on me, boy" Snape snapped as he searched through a dusty-cold-cupboard. "I'm a practiced occlumens."

"I know sir, I'm sorry, it's just habit." And that it was. My mind automatically crawled around warm-soft-human minds these days. Primitive as they were, they were of interest.

"Here" warm-strong-shield-Snape said, handing me a large bottle of a thick red liquid. "It'll last the week. It should have subsided by then." But if it has not, he radiated his thoughts; I may have to inform Dumbledore that you are unstable.

"Thank you sir" I said, leaving his cold-dingy-mould-office swiftly. I turned the corner and brought the bottle to my mouth. Salt-moist-warmth hit my sharp-sense-animal-nose. The smell I had been surrounded by since summer. The smell I had learnt to resist. The smell of the substance I craved. Whether the blood was human or not, it was all I needed. It filled my large-alien-drifting-consciousness as no other thought had since my first feed in summer with my Sire. The taste swilled around my mouth… the smell lingered in my nose… I felt my eyes brighten, my vision sharpen, and suddenly I could sense every living being within a mile. An overwhelming wealth of life for me to feed on. I tensed with the strain of staying put, not running to the nearest human form and sucking them dry. I forced myself into a dungeon-cell-cold-classroom, where the damp-mould-walls blotted out my sense of life. The warm salty taste still rested on my lips. Now I really am everything I had wanted to become. I smiled wildly, eyes glinting in the dull light.

Isabelle threw her head back at another not-so-funny comment Blaise made. Sarah's eyes narrowed as she sat, the third wheel, next to them by the lake. Where the hell are you Charlie? She threw another pebble into the lake, trying to ignore the cooing coming from her apparently insane best friend.

"Hello" a husky voice whispered. She started and turned around, only to see the large stretch of grass and the grey mass of Hogwarts.

"I'm here" the voice said again, Sarah's head flicking round to face the lake again. Charlie was crouched in front of her, smiling. Isabelle looked up briefly before returning to her conversation. Something about Charlie's smile made Sarah anxious, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and there was an ache in the pit of her stomach. Run, her subconscious was telling her, run.

His head tilted. The action made her think of a cat examining a mouse it had caught under its paw.

"How are you?" he asked, rolling sideways onto his hip, propping himself up on his left arm.

"Good thanks." She smiled. The feeling of gut-wrenching panic had disappeared along with the glint in Charlie's eyes. His eyes slipped out of focus for a split second before he turned them towards Isabelle.

"She still completely besotted then?" he asked

"Unfortunately" Sarah sighed, "I've been waiting here for about fifteen minutes with them. Where were you?"

"Dungeons. I had to talk to Snape."

"About summer?"

"Yes." She studied his face intently as he coughed uncomfortably and started a conversation with Blaise about the quidditch match the following morning. She noticed his cheeks were flushed red, though the rest of his skin was paler than ever. His eyes were dark, almost black, the pupils dilated. The effect was entrancing and made her want to surrender herself to the pearlescent teeth he had revealed by laughing with Blaise. Stop, she thought, it's just a side affect of his condition. Obviously it would be useful for humans to want to surrender themselves to him.

Charlie's head snapped round, fixing her with his gaze. She felt drawn forwards, and saw a flicker of red cross his eyes. It was enchanting; she leant nearer to him, wanting to be enveloped in his arms.

"Sarah!" shouted Isabelle, laughter fresh in her eyes. "Pay SOME attention will you. Are you going to the quidditch match tomorrow?"

"Oh, er, yeah of course" her eyes flickered back to Charlie's, who was staring intently towards the lake, looking troubled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. But I'll be with my house"

"Fair enough" Isabelle replied, smiling warmly. Behind her back Blaise sneered at the unwanted Ravenclaw in his presence.