Author's Note: I wanted to say thank you once more for the encouragement and critiques thus far. I am uploading Chapter 9 a day early with the hopes of finishing Chapter 10 early next week (no promises though!) I anticipate finishing up part one of Between the Shadow and the Soul soon so that I can start on part two. But we will see! Originally I planned for only 10 chapters but that is certainly not going to be the case. ;)
"I'm flattered," Hermione replied with a slight shade of pink creeping across her cheeks. The vampire seemed amused by this response, flashing a debonair grin. Draco felt increasingly invisible, and slightly off-put by the interaction, cleared his throat.
"And you are?" The vampire drawled.
"Draco Malfoy," the wizard replied, letting the name register. He could feel the gaze of several other vampires suddenly flicker to him; unlike Hermione, he didn't get the sense that his name invoked the same celebrity. If anyone in this club knew the name Malfoy, they likely knew of his family's dark history.
"And are you two lovers?" The vampire asked inquisitively.
"No," they both said in quick unison, casting each other looks of embarrassment. Trocar seemed unaffected by the exchange.
"Ah I see then perhaps you might like to join me for some fun?" Trocar asked Hermione unabashedly. "Your friend could come along too if he'd like."
If there was one thing vampires excelled at it was forwardness. In all her time working with them, Hermione had noticed that many of them, particularly the older ones, had dropped a lot of the social pleasantries most humans expect. Asking for sex after exchanging introductions? Perfectly normal to someone who has lived a century or two. Or three.
For a twenty-something witch, however, the solicitation was still awkward. Perhaps moreso, evidently, for Draco who wasn't aware of the hedonistic manners of most vampires. Before he could react, Hermione cut in, "Thank you but I will have to pass on that. If it's alright we do have some questions for you?"
"Perhaps," he answered without commitment, taking a sip from a goblet. A splash of blood spilled on the napkin under it, betraying the contents of the cup. "That would depend on the nature of the questions."
"Compton Enterprises," Hermione said. "We were told you might know something about illegal projects they are doing."
"Ah, now that is a very tricky question," Trocar said and all mirth in his expression evaporated. "One that if I answer fully could get me into trouble with some very unpleasant individuals. I will say this they are not the type of folks to trifle with."
"So we've heard," Draco replied.
"Then I would heed the advice of others and not look any further into it," the vampire retorted.
Hermione could see there was a falter in Trocar's bravado. At the mention of the company, she watched as he instinctively looked around the room with a cautious glance. What, she wondered, did he fear?
"Trocar, we need your help. People are being murdered and we have reason to believe that this company might be involved. If they are doing something against the law, if they are hurting vampires, they need to be stopped," Hermione pleaded.
"Ah sweet championess of our kind, it's no wonder the rumors of your achievements follow you with conviction like that." Trocar remarked. "Very well, proceed at your own discretion my dear for what I am about to tell you could certainly put a target on your back. That company has some very deep roots, not just here but all over. They are innovators for certain, but what the public doesn't know is that most of their funding goes into their dark arts projects. Secret experiments, horrible hideous things they do in the name of research. I know because I have seen it. Seen the creatures they make. I've watched brothers and sisters die by their hands."
There was a long silence as both Hermione and Draco tried to absorb this information. After a moment, Hermione asked softly, "Were you… taken by them?"
Trocar lifted his sleeve and revealed patterns of red scar tissue that trailed up his arm. The faint ink of the company's logo was etched into his skin, "Labeled like just another piece of their property. I escaped their site in Romania several decades ago but it would seem they have followed me here."
"What they are doing right now, these attacks, are just a means of destabilizing the already strenuous relationship between wizards and our kind," he went on to say. "I have seen them do it before. Only back then in Romania I was naive, believing that if we cooperated with the government we would be fine. Make no mistake, those of us who have seen this before will not go quietly again."
"We need to bring them to justice, Trocar," Hermione said but before she could say anything else they were interrupted by a loud crash as glasses shattered. Two vampires closer to the bar were pushing each other violently and almost reflexively the room's occupants moved away. The few mortal guests were already making their exit.
Draco was eager to do the same. Being in the same space of two drunk and violent vampires was not a smart idea. Particularly when others were likely to join in shortly. Trocar must have agreed with Draco's assessment because he glanced to the commotion with boredom before looking back at the pair: "I think this about all the time we have for this evening, I would be moving along if I were you two, things tend to go down hill quickly when bottles start flying."
Hermione furrowed her brow, not yet ready to depart from their conversation. Sensing as much, Trocar added: "I don't have any more information for you, except that if you want to see what they are doing for yourself I recommend looking into that rehabilitation center. And I do wish you two the best of luck."
CRASH.
Suddenly there were the splinters of a now demolished table ricocheting off the wall nearby.
"Thank you Trocar," Hermione said as Draco gave a curt nod and grabbed her hand and lurched her out of the way as another bottle flew across the room. There was snarling as the two figures threw themselves at one another. Draco didn't stop moving until they were out of the club, speeding away from Nocturne Alley without a backward glance except to make sure they were not being followed.
Once back to the familiar cobblestone paths and warm lantern glow of Diagon Alley, Hermione murmured something quietly.
"Hmm?" Draco said with a bit impatience, despite the façade of bravery he was feeling on edge from their evening's endeavors. "What was that?"
"You are still holding my hand," she pointed out. Immediately he tore his hand away in embarrassment. It seemed silly that as a grown man, fully beyond his grade school youth, Draco would be feeling a distinct shade of pink climbing across his cheeks at the awkwardness of the gesture.
"Yes, well—what now Granger? I feel like we took one step forward and two steps back with that one," he said flatly as they walked.
"I believe Trocar was telling the truth, don't you?" Hermione asked.
"Perhaps," he answered and when she eyed him with a raised brow he sighed and elaborated further "most likely, yes. But neither of us know what his intentions might be."
"You saw the marks on his arm, the initials. I am not a particularly gullible witch but I think that is fair enough proof that he was telling the truth."
"If all this is really happening," Draco said, "we should probably let the Aurors sort it out. Oh don't give me that look, you know as well as I do that this whole mess is a lot bigger than we could have imagined. "
Hermione knew he was right, knew that Draco was trying to be sensible even if she suspected it was because he wanted to save himself from getting into any deeper situations. She couldn't even blame his self-preservation on being a Slytherin: a wizard and witch going after a sinister company alone was irrational. But then again, it was three teenagers that saved the world from the Dark Lord a decade ago. Sometimes it took the bravery of few to accomplish the greater good.
Hermione thought of Harry and Neville, as Aurors she wondered what they would think of what she had uncovered. Would they believe her? As friends, she knew they loved her but deep down knew that they didn't always share her sentiments on matters of magical entities, particularly vampires. Would this information be ruled off as just another part of what Ron once called her "tireless crusade to save the downtrodden".
The two agreed to Apparate back to her bungalow and with a snap, they were gone only to reappear in front of the home a moment later.
"I am not sure they would believe me," she said eventually to continue the conversation, feeling slightly defeated. "Maybe if we could convince Trocar to testify as a witness…Why is my front door open?"
There was a moment of confusion before Hermione bolted forward with a sense of panic rising in her chest. Draco called to her to wait but Hermione didn't listen. The wizard followed behind her swiftly, drawing his wand. Why does danger always seem court this witch? He thought to himself grimly.
The lights were on when they entered the home. Everything looked like it should.
Except one detail.
"Sanguini!" Hermione screamed out, running through the living room. Draco looked to the floor and saw a trail of blood leading from the kitchen. His eyes darted to the corridors of the house, fearful that they might be in danger. But there was no time to look though each room as he followed after Hermione into the kitchen.
Hermione was crying and it didn't take Draco more than a moment to see why. Two bottles of synthetic blood on the kitchen table, the fridge door still open and there on the floor were the remains of the vampire Sanguini.