Burning Eyes

I think I might have blacked out for a moment. The next thing I knew, we were in a room. A room with no windows. The walls were exposed brick. The floors were covered in honey coloured parquet. I sat up and realised that I was in a sumptuous bed. It was covered in sapphire hued satin from canopy to mattress. The furniture scattered throughout the chamber was upholstered in similar shades and fashioned from the same gleaming honey wood. A fire was blazing in the hearth and candles glowed. I was alone.

Or so I thought.

\"Finally awake?\"

I turned my head to ascertain where that sibilant coo came from. All I saw were feline eyes shining in the deepest shadows of a corner. She smiled and I saw those dangerous teeth flash at me menacingly. For the first time that evening I felt real, true unadulterated fear. I couldn\'t even speak, so I just nodded.

\"Did you have a nice nap?\" Hermione purred. My eyes adjusted to the half-light and I saw her sitting in a chair, cross-legged and still.

I cleared my throat. \"Where are we?\"

\"At home, Draco.\" She smiled again and uncoiled herself from the cushions.

\"Not my home.\"

\"No...mine.\" She stopped at the foot of the bed and towered over me. \"Get up.\"

Her eyes compelled me to obey. I got up and stood facing her. I\'d never noticed before how tall she was. She was able to look me in the eye. I think I was hypnotised. She laid a palm on my cheek. Her hand was icy cold and it made my skin seem even hotter underneath her freezing flesh. She stroked my face and I unconsciously leaned my neck over to her gaze. I closed my eyes, waiting.

I barely felt the scratch as she her nails opened my skin. Her tongue lapped at the wound. I knew that this was going to happen. I\'d known it all night. Surprisingly, the moist bit of muscle that licked so delicately at me was warm - in direct contrast to the iciness of her skin. It made me curious to see if everything contained in that cold shell was still hot with the fires of life.

Despite the inherent scariness of the situation, I was undeniably excited. Hermione had morphed from a slightly frumpy bookworm into a writhing predator. I admit I found her unbearably attractive from the minute she walked into that seedy pub. I shook off the stupor that I\'d found myself in and reached up to grip her skull through that shining mass of ringlets. I could feel her smile against my throat. Then all of a sudden there was pain.

Not just a minor prick or slash, but real pain. The pain of twin daggers sinking into my neck. They felt cold and metallic. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and a strange smell filled the room. In my shock and rapidly fading consciousness, I recognized it as pure animal fear.

Just before my eyes slid closed, I saw her raise her head. She had a mournful look on her face. Then she did the strangest thing. She kissed me - sweetly, tenderly.
****************

I woke up and promptly groaned with aching pain. My chest hurt. My eyes hurt. My neck hurt. In general, I felt like I\'d been rolled over by a lorry. I was in my own room and the autumn sun shone brightly through the windows. Flicking the drapes shut with a wave of my hand, I crawled out of bed to the bathroom.

I managed to haul myself up to peruse myself in the mirrow above the sink. I looked bloody awful. I was paper white with large lilac circles underneath my eyes. My neck, surprisingly, only had two small healing marks along the side. I\'d expected to see major bruising there. A bit of a swish and flick and even those disappeared.

I trudged back to the bedroom and flopped onto the mattress. I was completely spent. There was no way that I would be going into the office today. And I was starving. I felt the need for a great, giant bloody rare steak. No potatoes, no peas. Just the barely cooked meat, if you please.

I zapped a fire into the fireplace and managed to wing a bit of floo powder into the flames. At once the head house-elf\'s (Dinkum) head popped into the space.

\"What would master like?\" he asked that strangely low voice of his.

\"A great bloody rare steak. Just walk it through a warm room.\"

\"At once.\" His head disappeared and I lay down again.

I was just nodding off when a house-elf popped into the room with the meat on a platter and a bed tray. A rose sat in a bud vase on the tray. The deep red colour put me in mind of Hermione. I thought that I should take the flower to her the next time we meet. What the hell am I thinking? She\'s a fucking vampire. And she sucked me nearly dry. Which, I must admit, was the sexiest thing this side of fucking I\'ve ever experienced.

I forked up a bit of the dripping meat and popped it into my mouth. The bloody juices and spices tasted like heaven. I made short work of the meat and the glass of red wine the elves had thought to send up. Feeling stronger, I set the tray aside and went back into the bathroom, stripping along the way.

I set the shower to scalding hot and stepped in. I scrubbed all traces of the witchly vampire from my body and I felt the better for it. When I came out of the bath, I saw that all of the curtains had been drawn and only the light from the fire illuminated the room. I knew instinctively that she was there.

\"Where are you?\" I called out.

\"Here.\" I looked at the bed, where the draperies were nearly shut. She reclined on my bed, delicately licking the juices from my steak.

\"How in the world did you get here in the middle of the day?\"

\"It\'s not hard to shield yourself when you\'re a witch, Draco.\" Her lips parted in a smirk.

\"So I see. Come to get the other four pints?\"

\"Later for that.\" She got out of the bed and came to stand in front of me. Damn her. Since I had no shoes on, I was a tiny bit shorter than her and it intimidated me far more than anything else had. \"I had an attack of conscience and I came to see how you were.\"

\"How very human of you,\" I jeered.

She literally *hissed* at me. \"Fuck you, Pureblood.\"

I felt myself go flying back against the wall of the room. She advanced on my prone figure and towered over me. \"Remember yourself.\"

And then she extended a hand to help me up. I took it and remembered that I\'d lost my towel. She smirked at my embarassed nudity.

\"It\'s cold in here, Granger.\"

\"I\'m so sure.\" But I\'d caught the faint gleam of interest in her eyes. I was sure that it wasn\'t just blood lust this time.

I went to the armoire and pulled out a pair of boxers and trousers. Hastily pulling them on, I sat on a chair and regarded her closely.

\"I can see something brewing behind those busy little eyes of yours, Draco, so spit it out.\"

I was caught. \"I was wondering why you didn\'t kill me last night.\"

\"Ah.\" She curled up on the foot of the bed. \"That.\" I could see her gathering her thoughts. \"Why should I have? It would\'ve served no purpose. Frankly, you\'re more interesting to me alive instead of dead.\"

\"Interesting? Like a pet of some sort?\" I was indignant.

\"Something like that.\" She grinned. \"Besides, I\'d always wanted to find out what a pureblood tasted like.\"

\"Didn\'t you get enough of that with poohead Weasley?\"

\"Contrary to popular belief, Ron and I never did anything more than hold hands.\"

\"You\'re a filthy liar. I know you had to do more than that.\"

\"Not at all. I\'ve no reason to lie about it.\" Hermione\'s chuckles subsided into indignance.

\"Right.\" I looked at her. She was dressed in a deep burgundy velvet jacket and deep blue stovepipe jeans. Fucking vampires. They always looked great and Granger was no exception. I, however, looked like death warmed over.

\"Oh, Draco,\" she grinned at me. \"Don\'t be so hard on yourself. You look very...tasty.\"

\"You heard that?\"

\"What do you think?\"

\"I think I ought to drive a stake through your heart.\"

\"Ha. You know that shit doesn\'t work.\"

\"Fire then.\"

Her eyes grew hard and cold. \"Only if you\'re ready to die with me.\"

\"Don\'t presume to threaten me. Fear is not in my vocabulary.\"

\"No. But it is in your eyes.\" She uncoiled her body from the bed. I could feel the power radiating from her. I\'d forgotten in our banter that she really was not only an ordinary vampire, but an extremely powerful vampire/witch. I shrank back a little. She can be a frightening bitch when she wants to be.

\"That\'s a good mortal.\" She smiled, showing inch long incisors. Hermione reached out and ran an icy finger down my cheek. \"Get dressed.\"

\"Why should I?\"

\"Because I\'m taking you out.\" She leaned over and placed a burning kiss on my shoulder. \"I want to show you off.\"

\"I\'m not your fucking pet, Granger.\" I responded tightly.

She laughed at my indignance. \"Care to make a wager on that?\" I watched her lick those fangs of hers before she tucked them out of sight.

I got dressed.
*******************

The October day was moist. The puddles on the pavement were evidence of a recent rain. I was amazed by her ingenuity in the matter of getting around. Hermione had managed to obtain an invisibility cloak. The natural silveriness of the material acted as a sunblock of sorts. Its ability to completely conceal the wearer gave another sort of protection. We moved quickly through the streets underneath the fabric. My steps took on an otherworldly swiftness that I know was her doing. The streets soon turned dark and shrouded and I recognized the cobblestones beneath my feet.

She\'d brought us to Knockturn Alley.

The place was home to the most unsavoury sorts of creatures, both human and otherwise. I got a funny little pang to see that she\'d been reduced to hanging around the dregs of magical society. The old Hermione Granger wouldn\'t have been caught dead in Knockturn Alley. Then again, I thought, she *is* being caught dead in Knockturn Alley. The thought made me chuckle.

\"You know...you\'re not funny.\"

\"Damn vampire senses.\" I groused at being read so easily.

\"Come along, Draco.\" She took the cloak from around us as we stepped into an utterly shrouded alleyway.

I watched Hermione take out her previously unused wand from her sleeve. She ran the tip of it along a crack in wooden wall. The wall swung open on unseen hinges and we stepped inside.

There was a bloodless majordomo standing by the door waiting to take our coats. Hermione, of course, kept the silken velvet jacket. I gave the butler my camel chesterfield and immediately regretted the decision. It was bloody damned cold there in the vestibule. I shivered when Hermione laid her icy hand on the back of my neck. She led me through the closed door at the end of the hallway. I was surprised at the vastness of the room.

Torches were lit everywhere, casting a welcoming warmth onto my skin. People and vampires milled about the chamber. They were mostly holding goblets and making conversation. Above all, they were preening and showing themselves off. It reminded me of the parties that my parents used to hold before their untimely deaths.

Almost immediately a vampire detached himself from a conversation and strode over to stand in front of us. He was slightly older, vaguely patrician and, from the looks of things, had an unfortunate predilection for patterned blue velvet. His hair was still full and his face unlined. He gave me an oily once over and dismissed me forthwith. I found myself vaguely insulted by the gesture.

\"Well, he\'s certainly prettier than most of your toy-boys,\" the vampire crooned.

\"Isn\'t he?\" Hermione stroked that frigid hand over the back of my neck once again.

\"What do you mean, \'others\'?\" I was indignant and curious.

\"No one you need be concerned about.\" She grinned at me.

I found myself pouting. I couldn\'t help it. Way to make a bloke feel special.

\"Aw. Is widdle Drakie a bit put-out?\"

\"Don\'t laugh. It\'s not funny.\"

\"You\'re right. It\'s not.\"

\"Drakie?\" The other vampire asked. \"Ah. I thought I knew you.\" The light of recognition was in his eyes. \"Draco Malfoy, I presume?\"

\"You presume correctly.\"

\"So. How did you get mixed up with our Hermione here?\"

\"We were schoolmates.\"

\"Really? So that would make you a wizard?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"Ah. If only...\" The other vampire sounded wistful.

\"I take it that you\'re a Muggle?\"

\"Not anymore. Still. I can\'t help but wonder what it would be like to be both magical and undead. Must be the strangest sensation.\"

\"It is, but you get used to it.\" She replied. I wondered what she meant by that.

\"I\'m sure you do.\" The other vampire looked around the room. \"Ah. I see Marie has arrived. I\'ll leave you to your own devices, if you don\'t mind.\"

\"No, no. Go be a good host.\" They exchanged fake air kisses and the fop moved off to the as-yet-unknown Marie.

\"Good riddance.\"

Hermione chuckled. \"Be good, Draco. Lawrence is actually one of my favourites.\"

\"How can you stand the velvet wearing dandy?\" I was feeling disgusted.

\"I\'m wearing velvet, Draco,\" she reminded me gently.

\"Yes, yes,\" I said, impatiently. \"But it looks good on you, whereas on him it merely looks ridiculous.\"

I didn\'t lie. It did look very good on her indeed. In fact, she looked good enough to eat and I unconciously licked my lips.

She laughed. \"Don\'t be so obvious Draco. That will come in due time.\"

\"What do you mean by that?\" I was suspicious. She might have been Hermione Granger, smartest witch of our time and one of the defeaters of Voldemort, but she was still a bloody vampire and as such, not to be trusted.

\"You\'ll find out. Come along.\"

She took my hand and steered me through the crowd. There were many unaccompanied vampires and there were some with pets. Strange to think of myself as a pet, but there it is. A large dias had been set up in front of a wall hung with red brocade curtains. I was curious but held my tongue.

We milled through the throng, some stopping us to chat, other just giving Hermione a glance of jealousy. I felt an odd sort of pride that I had such a good looking - what, Draco? Mistress? Please. I pushed that thought aside and concentrated on not being cold in the cavernous room.

I listened with half an ear while Hermione made small talk with some fetching lady vampire when there was a low thrum in the hall. The chatter ceased and we all turned eyes to the source of the sound. The curtains about the dais were parted and Lawrence, The Velvet Covered Pouf, walked out. Suddenly he seemed more impressive.

His eyes glowed reddish and there was a positively wolfish look on his face. He clapped his hand twice and the lights went low.

\"Friends, I\'m so glad you\'ve come tonight. It\'s been ever so long since I\'ve see you all. I\'ve got a lovely assortment all lined up for your delectation. So, without further ado, let us commence!\" He disappeared through the curtains and, after a moment\'s silence, a stunning young blonde girl stepped onto the platform.

\"Now, this is Julia. She\'s all of twenty and as unspoiled as a rose on the vine.\" The girl looked around dazedly, as if she\'d been drugged. She raised a gentle hand to the brooch holding the cloak she wore and the garment slipped from her shoulders with a hiss. The audience sighed with pleasure at the revelation of her unblemished body.

I, however, was shocked. This is what Hermione brought me here to see? Humans being peddled to the highest bidder?

She turned to look at me. \"Feeling alright?\" There was actual concern in those feverish eyes.

\"Quite. Now that I know what this is about. Silly me for thinking this was a mere cocktail party!\"

\"Hush and come with me.\"

She spun on her heels and dragged me with her. The majordomo handed me my coat and her the invisibility cloak. Hermione merely folded it over her arm, where it remained silvery and insubstantial.

We walked out and I was slightly astonished to find that it was night. Of course, it being London and Autumn, there was very little moon, only haze and no stars. Deadly stuff, pollution. We walked in silence and I managed to work up the courage to begin.

\"How could you?\"

\"I knew this was coming.\"

\"You, of all people, Granger. How?\"

\"How? It\'s either this or die, Draco.\" She stopped in the middle of the pavement and pulled me into a tiny alleyway off of the main street.

\"You\'re fairly indestructable, Hermione.\"

\"Stop, for you know not of which you speak.\" Her voice was low and formal in the darkness.

\"You have no idea of how the world works, do you?\" I went to object but I saw her pale hand slash downward, cutting me off. \"Oh, I\'m sure you\'ve had glimpses, being one of Voldemort\'s little pansy Hitler Youth. But there\'s more underneath that, codes that go deeper than millenia and precious Voldie had only scratched the surface.\" She laughed - a hard, brittle sound that raked at my nerves. \"If only he knew what I knew now.\"

\"I\'m like the starling in the poem. \'I can\'t get out.\'\" I saw her eyes blaze briefly in the shadows. \"The question you should be asking is not \'how could I?\' but \'how could I *not*?\'\"

She walked towards me and her feverish eyes bore down on me with malice and a slight bit of madness. \"Besides, it\'s time that you knew who and what I am. I cannot change it and there are some days when I am not sure that I would change if I could. Do you understand? There are some days when I *revel* in myself. I need you to know that side of me before we go any further.\"

Her eyes turned pleading and I caught a glimpse of the Hermione I\'d known at school. \"If you cannot grasp what it is I am saying to you, back away now. Run, Draco. For if you do not now, you will be trapped as surely as I am.\"

I was caught. Caught between pity and abhorrence. Caught between fascination and disgust. Caught between...and I must admit it. Love and hate. As I had always been around her. From the moment she\'d slithered back into my life, transformed, I was hooked and desperately trying to flee.

The small enchantments she\'d worked on me were enough to entice me into staying. Funny. Snape always said that my arrogance and curiousity would be the death of me. I laughed that off and found irony in that statement now that he was six feet under. But it seemed that the old devil was right. For I couldn\'t walk away from her. I couldn\'t. Not when it seemed that Hermione Jane Granger needed something from me. ME!

\"Alright.\"

Her features relaxed with something I might call relief but might not have been. But I heard the soft exhalation of a held breath. It *was* relief after all and the realisation spooled a warm feeling through my gut.