Chapter 11

"What was that?" Lucius yelled. Hermione's memory circled around them into a blur of colors. The four were being transported to the next subconscious memory containing Tom Riddle. Narcissa waved her wand arm maintaining the spell, but you could tell that even she was slightly taken aback. Snape looked thoughtful. "Not red, but dark brown," he murmured. Draco looked down at the present day Hermione. She was shaking madly and her nose was bleeding. Draco stopped moving his wand. The whirlwind of blurred colors stopped around them as the spell broke and all of them were back standing in the little, dusty room.

"What? Draco, what are you doing!" Narcissa scoffed, clearly annoyed. "Didn't you see what happened? Why did you stop?"

Draco nudged his head towards Hermione. She had stopped shaking, but was whimpering slightly. She curled up into a ball. "She would be no use to us if she dies, or loses her mind. I'm sure you're sensible enough to realize that." Draco said as he crouched down. He picked Hermione up in his arms. Her eyes were open and she was facing him, but her vision wasn't focused. "Continue tomorrow," he said, and left the room.

He slowly made his way back to his room. He looked down at Hermione. Her nose was still bleeding. The metallic smell of blood entered his body and he inhaled it deeply. He closed his eyes, savoring it. Then realizing what he was doing, he mentally hit himself in the head and made his way to his room. Once there, he laid Hermione on the bed and brought out a clean towel from the bathroom to wipe her face. She was sweating profusely and trembling slightly. He was impressed that Hermione had endured this forbidden spell, but at the same time was disturbed by being a part of this cruelty. Sure, he had spent most of his life hating her. Every day he told himself that he would kill the woman responsible for his miserable existence. But seeing her past, the torturing of her by Riddle, her parents viciously murdered, and her right now, quivering like a sick animal… all this lit something up in Draco's heart that he did not know was possible. This brutality in her life was much more than he had wished for this woman. Why was he feeling this way? Was this pity? Shame? Or…

"Hunn…" Hermione grunted. Draco pushed his confusing thoughts aside and continued wiping her face. There was no spell, no charm, nor any herbs that could help her recover. The aftermath of the Pensivitum spell had to be endured and beaten by the victim themselves. Draco stood up and went over to the windowsill. In about half an hour the sun would rise. He needed rest. The spell was also draining on the caster as well. He drew the curtains shut and sat down on a chair next to the bed. He closed his eyes, welcoming sleep.

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...

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Hermione opened her eyes slowly. The room was dark but for a single torch on the wall bathing the room with a dim, orange light. She blinked a few times and felt crusted tears around her eyes. She rubbed them away and sighed as she realized how heavy her arms felt. It was as if she had run a hundred miles and her muscles were screaming in protest. She gingerly pushed herself up to a sitting position and realized she was in Draco's bed. She stretched her neck and heard small cracks as if her bones haven't moved for a thousand years. Then slowly looking around the room, she discovered Draco fast asleep on a chair next to her. Anger and feelings of betrayal filled her heart as she looked at Draco's face. She had pushed the memory of the horrific night, that night her parents died, out of her mind. Reliving the memory like this, with her subconscious probed no less, was not how she wanted to experience that part of her history.

Draco had promised her to turn her back into a human. But this was too much to endure. She was lucky this time to have survived the spell, but there was no telling if she could go through it again and come out of it sane and alive. She looked around the room, unsure of what to do. Running away would mean recapture by Tom Riddle. Killing all the Malfoys and the other hunters in this manor was unrealistic. Staying here waiting for the next round of probing into her past was out of the question. Then it hit her. Potter. Potter had turned back into a human. She will find him and get whatever potion or concoction he took. She lifted her stiff body up from the bed quietly as to not wake Draco. She tiptoed across the room and pulled the door open gently. She slid out of the room and glanced briefly back at Draco. Then she closed the door and quickly retraced her steps to Snape's underground laboratory.

The air was stuffy and humid just like the last time she visited. She ran her hand along the wall for support as she descended down, down, into the ground towards her salvation. After what felt like hours, she stood in front of the old, battered door. Praying that Snape wasn't inside, she pushed the door open. She poked her head through, her body ready to attack whatever threat coming towards her. Fortunately, Snape was nowhere to be seen. She entered the room, rolled her head this way and that, taking in the sights of the tall cabinets with their multicolored beakers and vials. Very few were labeled. How would she find the right potion to turn her back into a human? She was beginning to realize how little thought-out her plan was. She made to go back to Draco's room, before anyone realizes her absence. She would bind her time to conjure up a better course of action.

"Granger?" said a voice. Hermione turned quickly and grabbed the owner of the voice by the neck. Her right hand was raised, ready to claw the person's eye out. She hissed and her fangs stuck out like a wild animal.

"Sto- Grange…" the person coughed. Recognizing the bright green eyes, Hermione let go of the person's neck. It was Potter. He fell to the floor, coughing and trying to steady his breathing. Hermione fell on her knees next to him and stroked his back apologetically.

"Jeez, I thought I was going to die," Potter said, sighing heavily. "Well, had I not been a vampire I probably would have died."

Hermione's heart sunk. What did he just say? She stood up slowly. "Potter," she whispered. "What did you… what are you?"

"A vampire," Potter said matter-of-factly. He stood up too and went over to a table lined with different potions ingredients. "I'm actually glad you came. I'm not allowed to leave the room and it was getting quite lonely down here. I was-"

"Why are you a vampire?" Hermione demanded. Potter stopped organizing the ingredients and turned to look at Hermione. Hermione advanced towards him. Potter backed away a little, sensing hostility. "Why. Are. You. A Vampire?!" Hermione shouted. "You are supposed to be human. I thought, I saw, I saw you turn into a Mindless. But now you're not a Mindless. You are… not… human?" A piercing headache shot through her temple and she fell to the floor clutching her head. Potter hurriedly grabbed her before she fell.

"What are you talking about?" said Potter, helping her into a chair. "Once you're a vampire, you can't go back. Well, I was fortunate enough to be Snape's first success… but-"

"What do you mean first success?" Hermione said, her breathing irregular. Her head was throbbing. With shock, or pain from the spell, or both, she didn't know.

"Well, Snape doesn't tell me anything," Potter moved to another table to get a glass. He picked up a bottled and poured a thick, red liquid into the glass. He handed it over to Hermione. "But I can tell that he's been working on a potion to bring the Mindless back. Not back into a human of course, that's impossible. But back into sanity. So now, I'm a Turned."

Hermione thrust out her arm, rejecting the glass of blood. Potter dropped it and the glass shattered. Hermione's heart was thumping madly. Draco had promised to turn her back. Now Potter was saying there was no way to go back. Potter pointed at the prison cells lining the far corner of the room. "That's where all the Mindless are kept," he said. "Test subjects. I was the first that worked."

Hermione stood up, swaying. Potter held her shoulders making sure she wouldn't fall. Just then, the door to the laboratory flew open and Draco burst into the room, his pale eyes wide with anger. He crossed the room swiftly with long strides and grabbed Hermione's arm. She let herself be dragged and left a confused Potter behind. Her ears were ringing from the maddening headache and her vision was swimming. Human. Her only hope. The reason she held onto her life. To end this agonizing life of being Tom Riddle's pet. To end her addiction to Tom Riddle's blood. A lie. All a lie.

"Let go of me," Hermione whispered. Draco ignored her and kept on dragging her up the stairs. Why was he mad? She should be the one exploding with anger. "Let go," Hermione said again. Draco did not stop walking. "LET GO!" Hermione screamed and wrenched her arm out of his grasp. She leaned on the damp stone wall for support and realized she was panting heavily. The air was too stuffy, too hard to breathe. Draco eyed her and breathed out slowly.

"The first thing you do when you are free is run away?" Draco said, trying to steady his voice. "If it weren't for me, we would still be in your past and you-"

"You lied," Hermione interrupted. "You said you will turn me back. You lied." She eyed Draco, whose expression was unreadable. "There is no potion. There is no remedy. You lied. All you wanted was to look into my past. With that despicable spell. You used me."

"I didn't use you," Draco retorted. "I rescued you. If it weren't for me you would still be Riddle's plaything." He advanced towards her, slightly shaking but trying his best to suppress his anger. "I did not lie. Snape is working on it. Potter has turned back, albeit just to a Turned, but that is the first step to curing vampirism."

"Stop it!" Hermione yelled, backing away from him. Her foot slipped on the damp, mossy stair and she tumbled down a few steps. Draco lunged forwards and grabbed her arm to steady her. Hermione yanked her arm out of his grasp and glared at him. "You're lying. Everything you are saying is a lie. You just want to Pensivitum your way into my head. You don't care. You never cared!"

"Shut up!" Draco yelled. He grabbed her arm again pulled her roughly to him. They were face to face. Their noses were almost touching. Hermione could feel his angry breathing on her face. "Shut. Up. I did not use you. You're the one who ruined my life." He pulled her even closer and now he was speaking directly into her ear. "I hated you. I hate you now. Every night I dreamed of killing you. Then I saw your memory. The torture. The lifeless eyes. You were not supposed to be having a cruel life. I was the only that was supposed to hurt you. You owe me your life, yet you are living as someone else's plaything?

"Why," Draco breathed. "Why were you in such a shit place, with a shit life?" He grabbed Hermione's robes and pulled her even closer. There was no space between them now. Hermione let him hold her as she did not have the strength anymore to fight back. Her headache was rapidly worsening. What he was saying made no sense to her. What did it matter? He can kill her right now. She would gladly accept death. There is no way to be a human. Dying would be easier. Hermione felt Draco tightening his grip on her. She could feel his heart thumping madly. She raised her arms and to her own surprise, hugged Draco. It was like welcoming death itself. She was ready to die.

Then suddenly, she felt a piercing pain in her neck. A pair of fangs penetrated her skin and she could feel her blood being sucked out violently. Her knees gave way and they both fell to the ground. The two were barely balanced on the dirty, slippery stairs. Draco's head was still buried in her neck. She felt a tinge of pleasure mixed with pain from his violent feeding. Then suddenly, her eyes snapped open. What was happening? Why was he drinking her blood? She withdrew her arms and tried pushing him away. He held on, like a hungry beast clutching onto his prey.

"Stop!" she yelled. With all the little remaining strength that she could muster, she twisted away from his grasp. Panting heavily, she looked at Draco, who was slowly wiping the side of his mouth. Blood, her blood, was dripping from his chin and slowly being soaked into his robes. Hermione stared at his pale gray eyes. He stared back, unmoving. Draco? A vampire?

"Why… how?" Hermione mumbled. "You're a vampire?"

Draco gazed into her eyes. He straightened his robes and ran his hand through his white-gold hair. "You turned me," he whispered. "Thirteen years ago, when you bit into my neck mercilessly, I was turned. You. You turned me into a vampire."

(A/N: Now that the story's direction is finalized I just want to punch it out til the end for you guys (and for me too). It's really fun writing this and I hope you guys are having as much fun reading it. I welcome reviews and constructive criticism. I am also looking for a beta if anyone would be willing.)