To Love a Vampire

-Chapter One-The Train Ride

Harry sat on the Hogwarts Express, watching the students say good-bye to their families, and board. Ron and Hermione already went up to the front of the train to meet the new head girl and head boy, and get their duties, leaving Harry alone, again.

He turned and looked at Hedwig, who was hooting to get his attention. Harry got up, got an owl treat from his bag, and gave it to her.

As he sat down again, he looked out the window and he saw a girl that he never saw before. She had long black hair, and blue eyes. Her skin was pale, and the way she was studying the train reminded him of someone he knew, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Three boys came up behind her, and he saw her turn to the boys. She shook her head, and playfully punch one of them. At least, Harry hoped it was a playful punch.

The three of them then boarded the train, as the clock sounded eleven, and the train was on its way.

Harry sat, looking out the window as the train traveled through the country. Who was that girl? Why did she look like someone he knew? His head started hurting as he thought about it. He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands.

"Are you okay?" someone asked. Harry quickly looked up and saw that it was the same girl that he had been thinking about for the past ten, or was it twenty, minutes. She smiled widely at him, and was sitting down in front of him.

He didn't even hear her come in.

Harry nodded his head, looking at the door, then back at her. How did she get in without him knowing?

"Who are you?" she asked. Obviously, she didn't know that he was the "Famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived".

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said, slowly, thinking that she was a little slow in knowing these things. She didn't, after all, know who he was.

The girl didn't do anything. She sat there, and smiled at him. She had to have been sixteen or so. She just welcomed him like he was a normal wizard.

"Nice to meet you, Harry," she said. She held out her hand. It was small, and white. A blue and black bracelet hung on her wrist. "I'm Nicky LeBouche."

Harry took her hand and shook it. "Really?" was all he could manage to say.

Nicky looked down at her hands once she retrieved it and put it in her lap. "No," she mumbled. "I'm really Nicky Lockhart, but," she picked up her head and smiled widely again. "I don't care about that. I never really was a Lockhart fan. To up tight. I hated him."

"LOCKHART?" Harry couldn't help keep his mouth open. This girl was Lockhart's daughter. How did she feel about that?

Nicky smiled. "Like I've said, I don't care about that. Besides, it isn't Lockhart anymore. It's LeBouche. My mother was simply mortified at finding out that he was a fake, so she changed her name, and my and my brothers' names as well."

"Are you just now coming to Hogwarts?"

"Yep. I'll be a sixth year. Don't need to worry about anything though, I had a tutor all my life, teaching me things that we learn in school, and what we don't learn in school."

"What type of things?" Harry asked, suspiciously.

Nicky only smiled, and looked out the window.

So, she was Lockhart's daughter. She didn't look anything like him. Well, maybe if you gave her blonde hair, and gave her skin a little color, he guessed then, she does.

Just as he turned his head to look outside the window again, the compartment door opened, and Hermione and Ron walked in. Hermione sat next to Harry, and Ron next to Nicky. Neither of them seemed to notice Nicky.

She rested her chin on her hand, and smiled. This girl was a very happy child.

"I don't think being a prefect is all that great," Ron muttered, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said. "It isn't that bad. Honestly, it could be worse."

Nicky looked at them.

"Yeah, easy for you to say," Ron uttered. "You always think things are all giddy and perfect."

Hermione opened her mouth in a complete "O". "I do not!"

"What's it this time?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Cho's Head girl," Ron said. "And Davies just has to be Head Boy. They wouldn't leave us alone!"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, Davies was all over Hermione, and Cho was complaining about it to me. Why on Earth would she do that?"

Nicky giggled. Ron and Hermione jumped, just now taking notice of her.

"Who're you?" Ron demanded. "It isn't polite to laugh at people, you know."

Hermione sighed. "And since when did you start caring what's polite, Ron Weasley?"

"It's all right," Nicky assured. She turned on Ron, smiling still. "I'm Nicky LeBouche." She held out her hand, and Ron shook it, his eyes wide like he was meeting a celebrity.

"I know who you are!" he exclaimed. He blushed and shook her hand, but wouldn't let go. "I read about you and your family in the Prophet!"

Nicky's smile slowly faded a little bit, as she retrieved her hand, and looked back out the window. Harry looked at her suspiciously. This was the first time he saw her not smiling.

"How did it feel finding out that Lockhart was a fake?" Ron asked.

Nicky sighed. "I changed my last name. How do you think I felt?" She stood up and walked out of the compartment.

Hermione glared at Ron. "What was that for?" she demanded.

Ron shrugged. "What did I do?"

---

Nicky sighed as she walked down the corridor. She wanted to find her brothers. Talking about how she was publicly humiliated was not how she wanted to be remembered.

She walked until she heard the familiar voices of her brothers. She knocked on the compartment door, and walked in. She saw her three brothers talking with two other students. They all stopped talking and looked at her.

Harold, her oldest brother, stood up and walked to her, throwing his arms around her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You're not smiling. That's unusual for you."

"Another remembrance of that stupid dick head," Nicky grumbled.

She saw the other two students smirk at her. One of the students had short black hair. He looked at the other, then back at Nicky. His eyes were so dark brown that they almost looked black.

The boy sitting next to him had blond hair that slicked back. His eyes were a light blue, and his black pupils were the most noticeable part of his face. Vampire...thought Nicky. She turned away from him. Lestat...

Harold laughed. He led Nicky to where he was sitting, pushing Louis, Nicky's youngest brother, and set her down and sat next to her.

Louis grumbled and sat next to the kid with black hair.

"Dear sister," Harold said, holding her head so he could look into her eyes, "You shouldn't think on him." He then pointed her head towards the two boys. "Nicky, this is Draco Malfoy," he pointed to the blond boy, and Nicky sighed relief. He couldn't have been a vampire! It's too sunny outside. "And Blaise Zabini," he said nodding to the black haired boy. "They are in yours and Santiago's year. I made sure that they will take good care of you," he said, glaring at the two boys, "and that they will watch out for you." His voice softened as he smiled at Nicky.

Nicky smiled at them. Santiago, Nicky's last brother, and her twin, wrapped his arm around her.

"I will be watching for you also, my sister," he declared.

Harold and Santiago both looked expectantly at Louis.

"What?" he asked. "Like I would let anything bad happen to Nick?"

Nicky smiled, but looked out the window. "Thank you," she said quietly.

---

The compartment door opened, and a nervous looking Neville Longbottom poked his head in.

"Hello, Neville," Harry said. "What's wrong?"

"I lost Trevor," Neville said, in a small voice.

"You lost him, again?" Ron said, bits of candy spitting out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione scolded. "Why do you insist of making a huge mess?"

"I can't help it, Mione," Ron said, more candy spitting from his mouth.

Harry shook his head. "Hope you find him, Neville."

Neville nodded. "I think I know where he is," he said, closing the compartment and sitting down next to Hermione. "He's in a compartment; but there are Slytherins inside. Two Slytherins, three other boys, and a girl."

"Are you sure he's in there?" Harry asked.

Neville nodded. "I saw him go in. I came here, because I know you aren't scared of Slytherins like I am."

"Which Slytherins?" Ron asked, his mouth free of food.

"Malfoy and Zabini," Neville whispered.

"Knowing them, they probably killed the toad already," Ron grumbled.

"Ron!" Hermione shrieked.

"What?"

Harry shook his head again. "What are you saying, Neville? That you want us to go get Trevor for you?"

Neville's eyes brightened up. "Would you?"

Harry shrugged.

"Of course we will!" Ron volunteered.

Neville smiled. "Thank you!"

Harry and Hermione glared at Ron. He always has an obsession of volunteering them in things.

---

"Why are we watching out for her anyway?" Draco asked Harold.

Nicky sighed loudly, her smile long gone. "From the one thing that my father could never save me from."

"He didn't save anyone though," Blaise said. "He was a fake."

Nicky glared at Blaise. "He may have faked all those rescues, but not mine. He saved me from anything I had trouble with. You can't imagine how I felt when I found out that my father was faking all those other rescues."

Draco leaned to Louis. "What is she talking about?" he whispered.

Louis looked at Draco, then at Nicky. Nicky smiled at Louis, allowing him to tell Draco.

"Gildroy Lockhart only became the famous rescue wizard in the world because he wanted to please Nicky," Louis began. "Nicky inspired him. She always got in trouble; getting in fights, friend problems, mother problems, she even had problems with him, but he always comforted her; or, as she would call it, rescuing her from her depressed feelings.

"We were in Paris when we got the news that Lockhart was faking it all. The news broke Nicky's heart; she never left her room, and if she did, it was always at night, on her own. She never did her studies, and she never talked with anyone.

"Three years past, and she was still always in her room, never going out unless it was night. Last year was the three years after, if you don't already know. Nicky never got in trouble. Of all the three years that she kept to herself, she never got in trouble, believe it or not. The only trouble she got in, was her depressed, betrayed mood.

"We were moving back to our house in London, just over the summer. The night before we moved, Nicky was gone, as always. She-"

"I was mugged, and almost raped," Nicky interrupted, not looking at anyone. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Three years of living in Paris, and I get in trouble the last night. Three men came up to me. I was in front of my favorite place, Théâtre des Vampires. They took me into an ally way, and abused me. It wasn't until the leader of the three kissed me did I think that my life was ending. I gave up trying to fight, and accepted death. Just then, I heard yells, and cries." Nicky's tears disappeared as her eyes had a faraway look to them. dquo;The man was thrown off me. I opened my eyes, and saw the most ghost-like man I had ever seen. No, not a man. He was flesh and blood, but not human. I thanked him, with all my heart, not knowing who he was then. He was pale, his eyes a blue color, his hair was blonde, and pulled back. He helped me up, and, just when I thought I was safe, he kissed my neck. It wasn't hard; it was soft. He barely touched me. I was so weak then, but he held me up."

She paused, remembering the man who saved her. Everyone was silent. Draco and Blaise felt this girl to be very brave, since she's admitting her most personal experience. They both admired her for it.

Nicky continued. "I wrapped my arms around his neck. He lowered his kissing to the nape of my neck, and then I saw it. The three men were laying on the opposite wall of the alley, all dead, all having blood dripping down from four small gashes on their neck. I knew what this man was then. I tried to free myself from him, but I was too late. He sunk his teeth in my neck. I felt like I was going to be drained of all life. He laid me down, still sucking my blood. I lost all hope then, all strength. He finally pulled away, and stood up. I could hardly breathe. I moved my eyes up at him, and saw that he was licking his lips, and smiling down at me. He kneeled next to me, and brushed my hair out of my face. He whispered to me, his voice reminded me of Mama's new husband. It was low, deep, but it filled my body with a sensation that I never felt before, unlike mama's new husband. He said, 'You're welcome, Nicky.' I felt really stupid then, since all I could do was moan; I could barely do that. He chuckled. 'I will come back for you, my dear. Don't you go anywhere. I will find you if you do.' Then, he disappeared."

The whole compartment was quiet, still. Draco never heard such a tale before. So, she survived a vampire attack? A VAMPIRE attack?

"Did he ever come back for you?" Blaise asked.

Nicky shook her head. "I do see him in my dreams every night, however."

"Ever since we found her in that alley, we all have kept close watch on her," Harold said.

"July came around, and our Hogwarts letter came," Santiago said. "By that time, she was as happy as ever. Always smiling. The only reasons why she doesn't smile, is when she thinks about that night and about Lockhart."

---

Harry was just outside of the compartment as he heard Nicky's story. He never heard anything like it. He was surprised that he didn't hear Draco make any rude remarks of the sort.

"Do you still have the marks?" He heard Draco ask.

"Yes, I do," Nicky said. "I thought that I would turn into a vampire when he left. However, I am just as human you are."

"Harry?"

Harry jumped and spun around, surprised to see himself face to face with Hermione.

"I thought I told you I would get the toad, to wait for me back in the compartment," Harry whispered. "Why are you here?"

Hermione sighed in annoyance. "You have been gone for a long time."

"Yeah, Mate," Ron said from behind Hermione.

Harry sighed again, and knocked on the compartment door.

He heard shuffling of robes, and then the door opened. There stood a boy, younger than Harry, with yellow ruffled hair.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a toad, do you know anything about it?" Harry asked.

"Harry?" Nicky said. She stood up and walked behind the boy who was at the door. "Move, Louis," she ordered.

Harry paled as he looked at her. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were tear stained, but she wore a smile nonetheless.

"Have you seen a toad, Nicky?" Harry asked.

Nicky shook her head.

"What do you want, Potty?" Draco asked. He walked up behind Nicky and glared at Harry.

"Nothing that has to do with you, Malfoy," Harry said. "Unless you've seen a toad, then I don't want hear your ugly voice. It reminds me too much of your father."

"Fuck you, Potty!" Draco shouted.

"No, I think not," Harry said. "I'm not gay."

"Potter, you better shut the fuck up!"

"Oh, so now you're calling me Potter? I'm starting to think that you are gay."

Draco's face turned bright red; he gently moved Nicky aside as he jumped at Harry.

"Get him Harry! Get him!" Ron was chanting.

"Ron! Shut up!" Hermione shouted at him. Hermione looked back at Draco and Harry. She then saw Nicky trying, frantically, to get the two to break up. Hermione tried to help.

Then, someone grabbed Hermione's shoulders and moved her aside. Nicky was standing next to her, looking at the two boys, biting her lip. Hermione looked back at Harry and Draco, and saw two other boys trying to break them apart. They were successful, and they shoved Harry and Draco in the compartment, Nicky, Hermione, and Ron following. Ron closed the compartment door.

The older boy placed Harry on one side of the compartment, and the boy who looked almost exactly like Nicky placed Draco on the other side.

"What is the deal?" the older boy asked of the two. "Starting fights ends in suspension!"

"Actually," Hermione spoke up, "it ends in house point deduction and a heap load of detentions."

The older boy looked at her, nodded, and then turned back to Harry and Draco.

Nicky stood next to Hermione, fidgeting. "Harold, don't yell," she whispered, her face seeming to be paler than before.

Harold? Hermione looked at the older boy, Harold, and saw his face red with anger at Draco and Harry. She couldn't help staring at him. He was tall, incredibly tall, and he was handsome.

"I'm sorry, Nicky," Harold said. He turned to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "Who are you three, anyway?"

"Potty, Weasel, and Mudblood," Draco said behind him.

Harry looked like he was about to jump at Draco again, but Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Harry had now completely forgot about the toad.

"This is Harry Potter," Nicky said. "That's Hermione, I think. And that's Ron Weasley." She said Ron's name with a crackly voice.

Harold looked at Nicky, then back at Ron. "I'm Harold. This is Louis. That's Santiago. "

Hermione smiled. "Nice to meet you all," she said. "You're new, are you not?"

"Yes, we are new," Harold said, his attention still on Ron.

"Are you all related?"

"Of course," Harold replied. "Ron, what did you say to my sister earlier today?"

Nicky sighed in annoyance. "Harold, let him alone. I'm not morose on that anymore." Her face was still pale, and she still whispered.

Santiago came up to her. "Are you all right?"

Nicky's breathing was staggered; her face was pale, and her body was shaking. Everyone looked at her.

Nicky looked at everyone, individually. "He hasn't come for me..." she whispered. "Don't move," she whispered once she saw Harold starting to walk to her.

"Nick?" Louis said with worry in his voice.

"Hush," Nicky replied, barely audible. Her eyes starting watering. She heard footsteps, slowly walking towards their compartment, then stop just outside. The door opened, and...