Smoke, Leather and Blood

Smoke, Leather and Blood

Chapter Two - Vampyr

Draco was disappointed to note that Roux was at the teachers' table at breakfast the following day. He enjoyed thinking up conspiracy theories and his newest one had just been ruined.

Draco watched as Roux ate his waffle and sighed, feeling dejected. At that moment Blaise joined the Slytherin table and began to eat. Between mouthfuls Blaise said:

"How weeg ich gak?"

Draco blinked. "How weird is what?"

Blaise swallowed. "The new school banner above the teachers' table, silly."

Draco hadn't noticed the banner before. It was suspended over the teachers' table. The bottom corners of the banner were secured against the wall, but the top corners were suspended in midair at the point directly above the front of the teachers' table.

"Wow" said Draco. "I think it looks very... imposing."

"I heard they bewitched the school's coat of arms on the banner to look like it was three-dimensional rather than flat and that was why they had to put the banner at such a funny angle."

"Either that or Snape was worried about freckling" muttered Draco.

At that moment the owl post came. Thousands of owls swooped in from the owl-hole in the ceiling and flew over the tables, depositing mail onto the table. It was like a sheet of feathers, white, grey, brown and black cascading out in all directions darkening the hall slightly.

The sight was breathtaking.

Draco just looked bored.

Blaise had received some post from home and was eagerly ripping at the packages to get at the sweets that were sure to be inside.

Draco just looked bored.

Then suddenly Draco laughed.

"What is it?" asked Blaise.

"Look," said Draco, pointing. "That owl forgot that the ceiling is bewitched to look like the sky and thought it actually was the sky! Here he goes again."

The tiny-sized owl flew headlong into the ceiling again and again, clearly confused about why it couldn't reach the sky causing whoops of laughter from the Slytherin table. It reminded Draco of a fluffy, white snitch trapped inside an enclosed space in the midst of the Quidditch world cup. He resisted the temptation to try and catch the thing.

"I wonder whose owl it is?" asked Blaise, but that question was answered almost straight away when Ron Weasley crawled under the Gryffindor table and hid.

**

Twenty minutes later, Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson were creeping down to the infirmary in order to tease and laugh at the expense of one gawky, freckled, redheaded Gryffindor.

Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were talking with Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, when they crept in.

The infirmary was still dark, as Madam Pomfrey hadn't opened any of the curtains to let the light in, but once hidden behind a changing screen, they could hear everything that was being said.

"... I just can't believe how you could sit by and let this happen," said Madam Pomfrey, who was clearly very annoyed. "Your owl has a concussion from hitting the ceiling and he's also damaged his flight feathers."

"Will he be okay though?" asked Ron in a worried tone.

Draco impersonated a worried and scared child, much to the delight of Pansy and Blaise who had to cover their mouths in order to stifle their giggles.

"He'll be fine," replied Madam Pomfrey. "I've already patched him up, but I want to keep... what did you say his name was?"

"Pig," supplied Ron.

Draco impersonated a flying pig just because he could.

"Yes, well Pig will be okay, but I want to keep him overnight just in case."

"We're terribly sorry about this," said Harry the Righteous. "If you need any help--"

"I'll be fine," butted in Madam Pomfrey. "Besides, I'm sure you have classes to go to so..."

But at that moment she trailed off. Professor Roux had just entered the infirmary and swaggered over to the potions cabinet as though he had just strolled into his kitchen and was looking for a glass of water.

"Okay, out!" said Madam Pomfrey, shooing out the Gryffindors.

Crabbe made a move to sneak out too but Draco caught him by the wrist and shook his head. "Not yet," he mouthed.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over to Roux, blocking Draco's view of both the potions cabinet and of Roux.

"This it?" asked Roux.

"Yes," replied Madam Pomfrey. "You'd better have it here; there are students all over the place at the moment."

"Right," replied Roux.

There was silence for a few moments as Roux drank.

Draco heard a soft "clink" as Roux set down the container.

"Tangy," he said simply.

Madam Pomfrey sighed "Glad you liked it... now out with you before I open the curtains."

After Roux had left and Madam Pomfrey was distracted with the curtains, Draco and the others snuck out of the infirmary and back into their common room. The same question was on all of their minds. What on earth was that about?

**

Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't scheduled until almost the end of the day. After their theory lesson they were to have their first practical with the Aurors. Draco was slightly ashamed about it, but he was actually looking forward to the class.

He struggled his way through another intoxicatingly boring lesson of History of Magic and attempted to stay awake during Arithmancy. The only interesting part of the morning was when Neville Longbottom melted his cauldron in Potions and Snape took five points from Gryffindor because of his general uselessness.

When Defense Against the Dark Arts finally rolled around, Draco felt like he had spent a week waiting for it rather than just one morning.

"Hi," said Roux when he entered the dungeon.

"I don't want to bore you with the useless introduction about beings without souls if you already know the stuff so let's get right into it. There are four ways that a person can lose their soul. Who knows one?"

Most of the class put up their hands.

Roux leaned against the teacher's desk and nodded to Neville. "Who are you?"

"N-Neville Longbottom, Professor," said Neville.

"Ok, how do you lose your soul?"

"Death."

"Longbottom's right. The most common way for a soul to depart from a body is due to death... anyone else?"

Draco was surprised to realize he knew another way, and raised his hand.

Roux nodded at him "Mr. Malfoy?"

"The Dementor's Kiss."

Roux nodded. "Good. Anyone else?"

Lavender Brown was picked next.

"You could... sell it to a higher being in exchange for something you want," she supplied.

Roux nodded. "I don't recommend it though. Meant to be very uncomfortable. There's one more, does anyone know it?"

All hands had been lowered except for Hermione's. Roux pointed to her. "You?"

"I'm Hermione Granger, Professor."

"Can you tell the class the last way, Miss Granger?"

"Yes," she replied. "...vampire."

Roux smiled. "Very astute, pet. If someone is attacked by a vampire and is killed by them, in some cases they will rise as a vampire. A vampire is a being inhabited by a demon rather than by a soul but still appears to be an ordinary human."

Draco felt extraordinarily smug about the fact that they were having a lesson on vampires. His uncle was a vampire and so he knew what they were like and their habits. He was sure he could identify a vampire three miles away. This lesson would be easy.

"So," said Roux "defense against vampires. Who knows what the identifying marks of a vampire are?"

Both Hermione and Draco raised their hands.

Roux picked Hermione.

Draco was annoyed.

"The vampire," began Hermione, "is repelled by garlic and any religious images, for example the crucifix and the star of David. It is unable to stand in sunlight because it will be incinerated. It also has to feed off the blood of humans, usually by biting its incisor teeth into the victim's neck and sucking out the blood".

"Good," said Roux, and then added, "a point to your house thing. Anyone else?"

Draco raised his hand.

"My uncle," he said "is a vampire. His name's Rouminorf. Because of the fact that he can't go out during the day, he's nocturnal. His skin's also really pale because of lack of sun exposure, but most Malfoys are fair anyway. And his fashion sense... eugh. Trust me; the guy doesn't get out enough."

Roux smirked, looking faintly amused. "Thank you for that perspective, Mr. Malfoy."

**

The practical lesson with the Aurors was not as exciting as what Draco had hoped it would be. With all the hype about the Ministry of Magic and the Aurors being the main defense of wizardkind, most of the students were expecting something more stunning than three slightly overweight men who were about ten years past their prime.

The Gryffindors seemed particularly disappointed. Weasley looked like he was on the verge of tears and kept saying things like, "But I thought they would be COOL!"

Draco decided to act flippant and uncaring. He also pretended to be allergic to garlic and wouldn't go near the stuff. His cries about being part vampire were mostly laughed off, but a few students, Hermione Granger in particular, looked at him very oddly.

After the lesson, Draco decided to go to the library. After anything physical the Slytherins were always a little too... excited to study and Draco had a mountain of homework to finish.

Ambling straight over to the restricted section, Draco began browsing for a book on dementors. He didn't know much about the things (aside from the fact that they made Harry Potter fall into swoons), and if they were studying them as a soulless being he may as well know something on the subject. He had his own textbook, Understanding the Undead, but he felt it wasn't detailed enough.

Draco browsed the shelves idly, wandering from the Restricted Section to the more general parts of the library. Finally he found a book on dementors and pulled it from the shelf.

The book was thick and old, so when Draco pulled it from the shelf the two books on either side of it came out of the shelf too and made suicidal bids for freedom. Cursing quietly and glancing around stealthily to make sure the librarian, Madam Pince, hadn't seen him mistreating "her" books, Draco ducked down and grabbed the other two volumes.

Stealthily fitting the two volumes back in the shelf, Draco glanced through the gap in the bookshelf and into the next aisle. Sitting there was Hermione Granger, her nose buried in what looked like one of the largest books in the entire library.

Draco couldn't help but grin. The girl did look awfully sweet, her nose all crinkled up in concentration as she poured over the text.

Standing, he wandered around the bookshelf to the other side in the most casual way possible. Running his finger along the spines of the books, he bumped the side of Granger's table with his hip. The table jolted and Granger looked up with a start.

"Scared, Granger?" drawled Draco.

Hermione simply shot him a glance of deep loathing before returning to her book.

"Oh come on," said Draco. "Be reasonable."

"Sod off, Malfoy."

"But," Draco sat on the table and pulled the book out of Hermione's hands, "but I live to torment you and yours, you know that Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "May I have my book back please?" she asked stiffly.

Draco shot her an irresistible grin and flipped the cover over to read its title.

VAMPYR

"Awww... how sweet. You're researching me, hey Granger?" he asked, setting the book back down in front of her.

"You wish," she said, her patience finally snapping.

Draco simply flashed a smile of pure venom and before he knew it, Hermione had stormed out of the library rolling her eyes.

Sighing, Draco hopped off the desk and sat down in the now vacant chair. He flipped open VAMPYR to approximately where Hermione had been reading, and scanned down the page.

Staring back at him was a Malfoy face.

Well, how couldn't it be? That cold, calculating, yet devastatingly handsome face, those impossibly soft blond locks, those icy grey yet somehow irresistible eyes...

That smoldering gaze...

Without even having to read the title at the top of the page, Draco knew who's face it was.

His uncle Rouminorf.

The blurb under his picture was relatively short. "Terrorizes muggles... various attacks throughout England attributed to his handiwork... sired by an ancient line of the long-fanged variety... believed to be in the service of The Dark Lord, He Who Must Not Be Named... Part of the ancient Malfoy Family... unknown whether he is still in correspondence with his relatives... an all-round evil... evil... evil cunning bastard!"

Draco grinned. Well perhaps Hermione HAD been researching him after all.

Draco felt flattered.

**

The book on dementors had long been cast aside and replaced by other volumes when Draco finally left the library that evening.

Much to the disappointment of the medium-sized fan club that had turned up at the library shortly after Hermione had left.

Draco returned to the Slytherin common room after swinging past the Great Hall to grab a hunk of bread and an apple for dinner.

The Slytherins all looked up and nodded their greetings when Draco returned to the common room... he was after all the prince of Slytherin.

Sliding into a chair by the fire, Draco chewed on the last remnants of bread and idly tossed his apple from one hand to the other as he let his mind wander.

It invariably returned to Hermione.

She was smart enough to know that he wasn't actually a vampire.

He wasn't an evil creature of the night at all... unless "Malfoy" was counted as a creature rather than a type of human.

Half way through his apple, Pansy and Blaise joined him by the fire.

"Penny for your thoughts?" said Pansy

Draco smirked and shrugged. "Oh its nothing, my brain's just switched off for the evening... lots of studying... and alcohol, of course."

Pansy grinned. "You missed some fun here though."

"That was the intention, dear," replied Draco solemnly, with only a wink of humor in his eyes.

Blaise sighed, "It's been weird here lately... do you realize that?"

Draco blinked. "What's that meant to mean?" he asked.

"Nothing's right. Everything's... funny."

"Well," said Pansy, "I think it's because everyone's just come back to school... once we get back into the routine we'll all be back to our usual selves."

"No, it's not that," replied Blaise. "I sort of feel like something's here that shouldn't be... you know?"

"Maybe it's that new teacher of ours, Professor Roux?" supplied Draco.

Blaise shrugged.

Pansy grinned. "I like him... he's really very attractive and cold and evil and..." she trailed off with a blissfully out of tune look on her face.

"He does seem like a pretty neat guy," said Draco.

"Except for that thing with the potion at the infirmary," added Blaise in an undertone.

"Yeah," said Pansy, "what on earth was that about?"

"No idea," replied Blaise and Draco in unison.

"I'm sort of curious to know what it was about... I mean generally when Dumbledore keeps a secret from the students something horrible happens."

"Dumbledore's pretty irresponsible," added Blaise. "He kept that secret about the Philosopher's Shell or whatever it was..."

"I heard it was a weapon... some sort of projectile," said Draco.

"Well whatever it was," said Blaise, "Quirrel died remember? Then there was that Heir of Slytherin then that messed with the Triwizard Tournament's Goblet of Fire."

"And apparently Sirius Black was in the vicinity of the school way before those security trolls were installed," added Pansy. "There were so many cases where everyone in the school could have been killed or... worse."

Draco grinned. "You think Dumbledore would out and tell us whenever he was planning to unleash something dangerous on the school... first that werewolf then Hagrid and... well does Umbridge count?"

They all laughed.

"But what I'm trying to say here," said Pansy, "is that Dumbledore's the worst thing that happened to Hogwarts. Because of him all of this weird, horrible stuff keeps happening and when you think about it it's all because of the decisions Dumbledore made."

Blaise shrugged. "Well, we knew he was a stupid git."

**

When Draco got ready for bed that night he realized with disappointment that he didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts the following day.

Instead, he had double Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid the Imbecile and the Ravenclaws.

"Oh well," he muttered to himself before hopping into bed. "At least it's not with the Hufflepuffs."

As he drifted off to sleep, his foggy mind noted that Crabbe and Goyle weren't in the dormitory.

**

He was falling.

No, not really falling, more of a floating downwards.

The world and all of its fantastic colours whirled around him, flashes of silver and black leaping out as it spun.

Draco was the only thing not spinning, not whirling out of control. He just drifted slowly downwards, deeper and deeper into the vortex of everything whirling around him.

Then he hit the ground.

"Which will you choose?" asked a voice.

"Do I have to choose?" replied Draco, feeling completely confused. For some reason his foggy mind wouldn't work properly

"Eventually," replied the voice.

"I don't want to choose now though," muttered Draco sullenly.

"So don't," replied the voice. "But when it comes time for you to choose them, then judge by what you know, not what you believe."

Draco tried to think about what on earth those words could mean, but his mind was still too fogged and dank to cooperate and before he knew it he was whirling into dreams that were stranger still.

References:

"Vampyr" - This title was taken from Buffy. In the first ever episode (Welcome to the Hellmouth) Giles gives Buffy a book on vampires with the same title.

"Understanding the Undead" - Cassandra Claire uses this as a name for a Hogwarts textbook in her fic, Draco Veritas.

Additional Notes:

I'm just going to let you know now that I am NOT going to give Blaise Zambini a gender in this fanfic. Blaise's gender has always been hotly contested with some writers making her a girl and others making him a boy. Recently, JK Rowling verified that Blaise Zambini is, indeed a boy. However, I am not going to assign a gender to Blaise because, quite frankly, if you're used to reading Blaise as being one gender, then who am I to change that on you? If you've always imagined Blaise as a boy then imagine him as a boy in this fic. If you've always imagined her as a girl... same deal. Just letting you know now though, Blaise is going to end up with a boyfriend, so if you're opposed to slash, then I recommend that you think of Blaise as a girl so that you won't be offended later on.