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"Ugh."
"What in Merlin's name is the matter with you?" Pansy asked.

Blaise made another groan with his head resting on the table. "Tired," he managed to mutter.
Pansy looked at Draco. "He was out all night with Valerie in the Forbidden Forrest."
Pansy's eyebrows soared up on her forehead.
"It's not what it sounds like, I assure you," Valerie said, slipping into the seat beside Draco.
"I should hope not. I didn't think your standards were that low."

Blaise raised his head long enough to glare at Pansy, before letting it fall back down onto a conjured pillow.

"I don't know why you're being so melodramatic for. We were only out there till two in the morning," Valerie said as she buttered her toast. Blaise made a whining sound.

"So says a creature of the night," Draco commented.
Valerie stopped buttering her toast and looked at him. "Care to say that a bit louder? I don't think the Hufflepuffs heard you."
Draco had the grace to look sheepish.

Pansy looked at her fellow female Slytherin. She certainly didn't look like a Vampire, and it was hard to imagine that Valerie was one. Although, her personality was a bit rough, Pansy couldn't see her as a bloodthirsty magical creature. Pansy didn't even find out about Valerie in a graceful manner. Blaise had just made some comment sometime after the Halloween party about Valerie ripping out the throats of her enemies, and Pansy had given them a queer look. Blaise had realized what he had said, and all heads whipped toward Valerie - whose expression would suggest she could tear out her enemies' throats - and then they had turned their gaze to Pansy. That had forced Valerie to explain exactly what it was she was. Oh, Pansy had laughed. She nearly cried, she thought it was hilarious. But seeing Blaise with a straight face, Pansy's smile melted off of her face.

Her acceptance wasn't instantaneous. In fact, she acted skittish around Valerie for several weeks. It was even worse when she told Ron. Which, by the way, Valerie gave her permission for. Pansy had wanted to talk to someone about the new revelation, and since everyone else seemed to know about it, Pansy felt like she was going to burst. However, one day, Valerie just came up to her randomly and said, "Tell someone if you need to, but it has to be someone you trust, and who will keep their mouth shut."

And Pansy was glad she took Ron to the Room of Requirement and cast a silencing spell just for safe measure. And true to Ronald Weasley fashion, he blustered and yelled and made a big deal. Pansy made him swear he couldn't tell anyone, and that Granger, Potter, and his sister already knew. It was actually quite comical, because that weekend was a Hogsmead trip, and they were all hanging out together. Ron took one look at Valerie and went white, or whiter than he was. He acted even more ridiculous than Pansy did. He flinched whenever Valerie moved. He had talked to his friends about Valerie, but they didn't care. It took some stern lectures from Granger and Valerie yelling, "Oh for crying out loud, I'm not going to eat you!" She had to sit both Ron and Pansy down and explain exactly who and what she was. Eventually Ron came around.

Pansy still wasn't quite sure about this 'other side', but as for Valerie, Pansy was willing to give the benefit of the doubt. After all, the girl didn't act any different than when Pansy didn't know about her secret.

Shaking her head at herself, Pansy went back to her breakfast.

It was nearing Christmas, and Pansy still didn't know what she was going to get Ron. She'd never been in a serious relationship. Actually, she'd never been in a relationship. Ever. She had had relations, but not relationships. She'd been with maybe two guys as a beneficiary agreement, but that had been purely physical. She couldn't help but once again feel unworthy. She'd bet that Ron had never been with anyone. His relationships were that Lavender bint and Granger. The first, well, she hoped Ron had been smart enough not to do anything too serious as the former just screamed 'stalker'. Granger she didn't have to worry about.
Pansy didn't want to go too extravagant. They'd only just started to go out. But she also didn't want to get him some cheap and crappy gift, either. She figured she would get him something to do with Quidditch, since he was constantly talking about it. She thought it was rather cute. She could ask one of the guys, but she could already imagine Draco's disgusted grimace and Blaise's mischievous grin. Maybe she could ask Potter or Ginerva.

She also had to think of gifts for everyone else, as well. Money wasn't an issue, but thinking of Christmas gifts for the people you're closest to is one of the hardest things ever! That and birthdays. Alas, Pansy shoved that thinking in the back of her head, and departed with the rest of the students to class.

"Valerie!" Draco called.
Valerie didn't even bother looking up from the paper she was holding. Lucky for Draco, she also had a free period at this time, so they could talk in private.
"Valerie," Draco said.
"Hmm?" Valerie asked, half paying attention.
"About the 'Christmas Party'."
She looked up. "What about it?"
"I'll go."

Nothing.

"So, uh, you could do preparations or whatever..." He trailed off when she raised an eyebrow.
"Right." She continued reading her paper and walked off.
"Seriously? You already made plans for me going?"
She laughed. "It's not like you'd say no." She looked up. "It's not like you COULD say no. Neither here nor there." She walked on.

"What would have happened if I did say no?" Draco asked, suspicious.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. Probably exploit your feelings for Granger, say something about you being chicken. Something along those lines."
"Really?" He asked surprised.
"I'm a Vampire. Get used to it."

When Draco didn't respond, Valerie looked up.

"Do you really think I'd do that?" She sounded a little hurt.

Actually, no. Draco didn't think she would. If he thought hard enough, he couldn't remember Valerie doing something so diabolical before.

At least for selfish gain anyway.

Hell, the only time she'd even read his thoughts, was when they first met. He figured that out some time ago.

Then, and whenever he thought something over too much. Which, he had to admit, would be his fault. Albeit begrudgingly.

"No," he finally said.
"Okay then." Attention back to the paper.

"So why didn't you want Blaise to know about the job?" Draco had been thinking about some reason, but he kept drawing a blank.
"Oh. That was in case you did say no. Face it, if I needed only one of you, but told both of you, Blaise would block out everything like 'vampires' and 'life threatening' and only hear 'party'. And if you'd accepted, and I chose you Pikachu, then Blaise would be all upset."

"That makes sense, actually."
"I can do that on occasion."

Valerie scribbled something on the paper before passing it to him.

"Duplicate that, and give a copy to Potter."
"Potter?"
Valerie gave him a disbelieving look. "What? You didn't really think I brought you for my benefit."
"I thought I was going for my benefit?"
"Eh. About eighty percent. The other twenty is for Potter's safety."

Of course. Heaven forbid that something happens without Potter.
"Hey. For your information, he asked to come. I didn't invite him."
"Why would Potter want to come?"
Valerie shrugged. "Apparently he was oh so moved from some of the things he heard on Samhain, he wants to try to help. And since he is a big name, why not use him for any political gain." She grew a pensive look. "That sounded worse out loud. Look, point is, he wants to help, I need the help, it helps. The Ministry here already passed the law requiring us all to register, and our appeal is coming up. If we had Harry Potter as an advocate, we might get the law repealed. You want to be a lawyer. You know how much that'll help."
Draco took a step back.

No one was supposed to know that. Not even Mother knew that. He didn't want to join his father at Malfoy Enterprises. He wanted to work in law. Granted back then, it was more for monetary and networking reasons, but now he wanted to help. He still didn't know which branch of law he wanted to work.
"How do you...Did you peek into my head?" He demanded.
Valerie gave him a 'really?' look. "You're taking all the classes that would indicate a law career. Anyone else would think it might be just for the family business, but I saw a few of your books in your bag that you wouldn't need for class."
"And how would you know what books I do and don't need?"
"I'm in a political and judicial battle with one of the magical community's strongest powers. I'm not going into a battle blind. Now if we are done with the interrogation, I believe you have a copy to make and give away." With a mocking bow, Valerie strode off.

Draco looked down at the list in his hand.

YOU WILL NEED TO BE IN MCGONAGALL'S OFFICE NO LATER THAN 6:30 ON DECEMBER 17. BE ANY LATER, AND I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. WEAR THE SUIT FROM SAMHAIN (DIFFERENT TIE POTTER). WE WILL BE USING THE FLOO NETWORK TO GET TO MY ESTATE. IT IS A PRIVATE PARTY, SO ONLY THE IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WILL BE PRESENT. LIKE LAST TIME, NO EMOTIONS, AND YOU WILL BE PROFESSIONAL. I HAVE NOTIFIED THE MINISTER OF EACH OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT. ONLY HE, AND A SELECT FEW AURORS KNOW OF YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS. ALSO, HE KNOWS ABOUT SAMHAIN. SORRY. PROTOCOL. REGARDLESS, TELL NO ONE ELSE. NOT EVEN YOUR GIRLFRIENDS. THIS IS A VERY PRIVATE EVENT, AND YOU RISK THEIR SAFETY WITH GIVING THEM KNOWLEDGE ABOUT IT. LASTLY, IF THIS GOES LIKE CHRISTMAS TRADITION, THERE WILL BE AN ATTEMPT ON MY LIFE. I WILL BE GIVING YOU A PRIVATE PORT KEY. IF THERE IS A SIGN OF TROUBLE, YOU ARE TO USE IT IMMEDIATELY. NO QUESTIONS. DON'T BE THE HERO. IT WON'T BE LIKE A FIGHT YOU'VE EVER HAD, AND I'M TELLING YOU NOW, YOU WILL BE KILLED. THE PORT KEY WILL TAKE YOU TO THE VERY EDGE OF HOGWARTS. GET ON THE GROUNDS ASAP, BECAUSE YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE FOLLOWED. THE ONLY REASON I'M TELLING YOU SO FAR IN ADVANCE IS TO PRPARE. THAT, AND THE FACT, THAT I WON'T BE HERE. PREPARATIONS WILL BE TAKING ME AWAY. ANY QUESTIONS, ASK FELIX.

Draco read the note at least three times. December 17. That was about a week away. Draco would have to dig up the Samhain suit. But to the point anybody else would be freaking out about, a Christmas tradition where someone tries to kill her?! What kind of party was this?
Draco was now glad that Valerie hadn't asked Blaise. Draco didn't want him in that kind of danger.
Draco had a bad feeling about this.

XXXXX

He hated this hallway. When they were doing remodeling, they weren't allowed to alter any part of this hallway. It was the original, built some few centuries ago. It was stone, meaning the hallway had horrible insulation and was freakin' cold. The rest of the building had been either destroyed by some enemy, torn down for remodeling, or the then-Monarch got supremely pissed and started to tear things up.

Not this hallway though. It was small. In fact, it wasn't more than eight feet tall, and about half the length of an average human house. If he didn't know any better, he would say that it did belong to an old home, in those centuries way back then. Regardless, it was a horrible hallway. Besides being cold, it was always dark. No matter how many torches - yes, torches - were put in the hallway, it seemed to suck away the light making it look like a dungeon. They couldn't even decorate the damn thing. No pictures, no tables with vases and flowers, nothing.
Not that flowers would last long in this cold hell, it would've helped with the ambiance.
Then there was the smell. The smell of 'old'. And not the good kind of old, like old books or a grandmother's perfume. No, 'old' like dirt and underground tunnels and death. Which isn't that surprising considering how many animals had died in this hallway. He didn't know what it was, but animals never lasted long in this hallway. Any other part of the place was fine, but not this hallway. Maybe the constant dripping sound irritated them to death. This hallway was always wet. No amount of towels could dry it. Hell, even magic was used to try to dry it, but that didn't work.
Above all that, though, it was the power that radiated from it. Power from a bloody hallway. It was strong and it was dark and it always unsettled him. That was also why the hallway wasn't allowed to be changed.
"Lincoln!"

He turned around. "What?"
Reyes stopped about six feet away. "She requests your presence," he said with a mocking tone.
Lincoln flashed him a cocky grin. "Of course she does."

He escaped the dreadful hallway into the more open part of the home. The rest of it was bright, warm, and dry. The walls were yellow or green or a bright neutral tone. The walls were covered in paintings of mountains, or forests, or oceanic scenes. There were tables topped with vases with flowers by of each color. It was a stark difference from Timira's decorating. Not that it was all doom and gloom, but she gave in to the whole Vampire cliché, with blacks and reds and studded collars. She was a bit of a theatrical. Lincoln much preferred it as it was now. It was homey.
He entered the Throne Room, as he so dubbed it. It was actually a ballroom. It was tremendous in size, enough to fit the entire Vampire race. It had light hardwood floors that went with the pastel yellow walls. The ceiling was about three stories up, but it was made out of glass, letting sunlight filter through. There were also large windows on the walls, with cushioned benches pushed up against them. The drapes were a dusty orange color, and they were big enough that you could make a dress for about three trolls. Lincoln was going to call it the Sun Room at first, but that was before the chair was put in. The throne. At the very end of the room was a large throne. A dark mahogany skeleton with a faded blue velvet seat and back cushion. The chair had a whole mess of fairies carved into it with some flowers. It was exquisite craftsmanship.
If only the damned thing wasn't so uncomfortable.

The throne was on a raised platform with five steps leading up to it. The platform and stairs were also a bright hardwood color.

"Yooooooou," she dragged the word out, "are late."
She was splayed in the chair with her legs over one armrest, while she leaned against the other. Her feet were swinging in small increments back in forth, her sneakers making a thumping sound. She hadn't even bothered to look up at his arrival, instead keeping her attention to the papers in her hand.

Lincoln stopped in front of the stairs and bowed.
"I apologize, my lady. It won't-"
"Yeah it will." She looked up. "Leave us," she said to the guards on either side of her.
The guards left, giving Lincoln mocking smiles on the way out. Once they were out the doors, Valerie cast a silencing spell with the wave of her hand. They sat, or she sat, there in verbal silence for a moment, the only noise being her shoes tapping against the chair. She hadn't even bothered to dress up today. She just wore a pair of jeans with a green shirt.

He must've been in deeper trouble than he thought.
"What'd I do this time?"
She 'harrumphed' and muttered, "It's what you didn't do."

She withdrew one of the papers she was holding and held it out to him. She still didn't look at him. Lincoln strode forward and took the paper.
It was a picture. There was a dark blonde girl sitting at a booth. With him. She had her arm slung around his shoulders and was leaning in, thrusting her chest toward his face. And with the dress she was wearing, it didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Oh."

"Yes, 'Oh'." She turned her head to look at him. "Care to explain?"
How the hell did one explain infidelity?

Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish grin. "Uh, sorry?"

With a flash, Valerie had him pinned on the stairs, her sneakered foot on his chest. She leaned down on her leg to talk to him.

"What was the ONE rule I gave you, Link?"
"I could answer a lot better if you weren't on my lungs," he wheezed out.
Throwing her papers up in the air, she relented.
"There was only one rule. One rule, Link! That was to be discreet! For crying out loud, you went to a damned wizard's restaurant!"

"I don't get why this is such a big deal. It's not public is it?" He rubbed his chest.
"That's not the point. And no. You're lucky Reyes managed to find out in time and pay the guy off."

"You do realize you don't need to get violent to make a point?"
She glared at him. "Yes."
"Val, it's not like I was there on a date. She came up to me! I was having dinner alone and, and...And you don't believe me."

"No. I don't. And stop calling me Val."
"Only when you stop calling me Link. I'm starting to get the urge to dress in green and wield a sword and shield."

Valerie smacked him upside the head. "Don't change the subject. Now I get it. You want to find your one and only, but can't you do that without there being a public? I mean, what's it look like when the Vampire Queen can't control her own damned consort?!" She threw her hands in the air, and fell back into a slouching position on the throne with her hands over her eyes.

Lincoln made soothing motions with hands. "It was just a onetime occurrence?" He gave her a hopeful smile.

She peeked her eyes out from behind her hand, giving him the full impact of her glare. "If it was a onetime occurrence, then I wouldn't have to call you in here every freaking week. For Merlin's sake, the rest of the Royal Guard is starting to think we're screwing in the chair!"

"Is that all you're worried about? What about my feelings. I was hit on by a hooker who smelled like cheap fire whiskey!"

Valerie hit him with a stinging hex.

"I hired you for a specific job. This specific job was easy. And you managed to screw even that up! Now that hooker may have come onto you, but I know you went to that place with the intention of picking up a female. Considering you're my consort, aren't there enough women throwing themselves at you already?"

"Yes. And that's the problem."
Valerie sighed. "You need to learn to not be so picky when it comes to those things."
This time he glared at her. She placed her arm on the armrest, with her hands covering her eyes again.

"Lincoln," she sighed, "we can't afford to have these kinds of screw ups. The Ministry just got back to me, and apparently, they're denying our appeal."
"What?!" He exclaimed. "Wha- can they do that? Have you talked to anyone?"
"Yes, they can. Considering their new law, they can do whatever they damn well please, concerning us. And I've already discussed with Ariann and Hudson. According to the Minister of Magic here, the Ministry is going to start Registration in about a month. Which means we have to do something."

Lincoln tapped his foot. "What about the Christmas party? Why don't you invite a few Wizarding up and ups to it?"

"Oh yes. Let me just bring a few lambs into the wolves den, that'll go over swimmingly." She slouched in her chair even further, putting her fist to her temple.

Lincoln thought for a moment. "I have an idea."
Valerie looked up. "What?"
"You're going to hate it."
"What is it?"
"In fact, you might kill me for even suggesting it."
"JUST EXPLAIN THE DAMNED PLAN!"

He told her.

She sat there staring at him. "Lincoln, if it weren't for the fact that your face is pleasant to look at, I would be clawing it off right about now."

"Heh."