Wilted Celandine

Chapter Seven

First person, Hermione's POV

Three days later, it was Monday, and I still hadn't found the chance to turn to page 436 in the book--"Metamorphoses and Definitions of Acerbus Mortifera," nor had I even had time for further studying of dark, deadly things. However, my encounter with the vampire had somehow made me more open minded, and contemplative. I felt curious about the race of vampires, feeling awe and wonderment, and the urge to understand how these dark, deadly creatures could be so horrifying and yet enchantingly, gorgeously dangerous. It was as if they turned their darkness into a magnet, so that their aloofness and mystery was what in fact turned people towards them, instead of what turned them away. I didn't understand, but wanted to, and had this urge, this gnawing need to figure out such rare, powerful, clever creatures.

Eventually it got to the stage where I thought that if I didn't understand vampires and their ways, I would burst. I had always been able to find answers and gain knowledge by reading books, but somehow, even with all the information about vampires I had read up on in my manic obsession, I felt I didn't know enough. I wanted to probe a vampire's mind, or to experience being stalked by one, anything to be able to feel, to not be clueless in a situation where I was in danger of being a victim; mostly I just wanted to know because knowing gave me joy, pride, and confidence. I felt that, equipped with my brain and my wand, I could do anything, even the impossible. It made me feel strong, and strength was something that, before knowing I was a witch, I'd felt I'd always lacked.

So I went to visit Annika Mumbik, the Hufflepuff who had been attacked by a vampire right before Draco came upon her and fainted from shock, or was knocked out from behind by the escaping vampire--at least, that was my theory of what had happened before I had found them. The fourteen-year-old redhead was sitting at the Hufflepuff table during lunchtime, surrounded by a group of giggling girl friends.

I went about it casually, and finally I had the girl, two years my junior, and two of her nosiest, most trusted friends, paying attention. I decided to say it straight out, and, trying to be kind yet forward, I asked her what it had felt like to be bitten by the vampire.

Her big, hazel eyes stared at me for a few moments, and she asked me, mouth wide open, "How did you know it was a vampire? Did Dumbledore tell you?" Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not--although I did so hate lying to people, so I supposed it was right to tell the truth, I shook my head. Still gawking, Annika--an American exchange student with a Germanic name--fingered a bit of crimson hair, twirling it around her finger. Finally she stopped staring at me, and looking off in the distance, in a thoughtful mood, she replied, "Well, I guess you figured it out 'cause you're smart. Anyway, you want to know what it was like? It was...weird." She paused, and for a moment I felt my cheeks flush in anger at such an inadequate and unsatisfying answer, but then I calmed down once she continued.

"I felt afraid, as if I was gonna die, but I also felt--I know this sounds crazy, but it's true--I also felt really amazed, and...happy. It hurt horribly, and I was terrified, but at the same time the sensation of those teeth in my neck, oh it was so...wonderful. I felt...almost, well, honored, to be this guy's victim, and he was just so powerful and fierce, like an animal!" She giggled, and then ended with, "I felt like I was his juicy treat, and the idea that I was fulfilling his...hunger, or whatever, was somehow really satisfying, even though it hurt, and I still dream about it sometimes, like how I could've died..."

I felt I had to put something in, say something after all that, and replied, "Well actually, they only kill you if they are deranged or starving. So most likely you wouldn't have died."

She stared at me, and burst out laughing, saying, "Gawd, you're such a nerd!" Then seeing the look on my face, she said, "But that's okay, I'm grateful to you, and you're nice, because well, you helped me relive the experience, and I needed that to fully recover. I wish I could tell you how gorgeous the guy was...So luscious, so strong...and the way he petted my head...I felt I could faint with happiness at being so favored by a Sixth Year. He must have really liked me, going for me even though I'm two years younger than him!"

After a fakery of a cheerful goodbye, I walked away and out of the Great Hall, pondering what the Hufflepuff had said. It was obvious to me that she was a fool and knew next to nothing about vampires, for I knew that vampires didn't become affectionate with or really picky about their victims--they didn't care about the age, just the blood taste--and from the sound of it, this vampire had been desperate, and so that was why he had bitten her, and sucked so eagerly.

Wait a minute...

Desperate? That reminded me of the vampire I had met! He had spoken of being desperate, and of dying. What a thought...could there be a vampire roaming at Hogwarts? It was highly possible, especially since the girl had mentioned that the vampire had been two years older than her, and a Sixth Year. Oh no! My hand flew up to my mouth in shock. Maybe one of the students, a fellow Sixth Year of mine, was a vampire...

My mind spinning with everything I'd read about vampires, as well as Annika Mumbik's words and my memory of the encounter with the vampire, I fled down a random corridor. I needed to find a quiet place. No disturbances, no fellow students, no common room noise, no friends or teachers. Banging through a random doorway, I found myself in the very room that I had come to a few days ago, to put on my special dress and blank out everything that had happened a month before, with Draco abandoning tutoring and being in the hospital for so long.

There had been no reason at all to dress up, to put on make-up, jewelry, and the dress. But I had wanted to. I had done it be able to sink more into my fantasies, and to forget the problems involving Draco Malfoy. That night I had blanked that out, and pretended that I was with Draco again, and that things were the way they were when I had tutored him. I had also went over in my mind the kiss he'd given me.

Now, however, I had a different quest. I needed to think. To remember. I knew that if I persevered, and kept my mind focused, I could scribble things down and eventually figure out this vampire situation.

However, deep in the recesses of my mind was a question: After figuring out the situation, would I ever be able to resolve it?

-----*-----

It was now six o' clock. I thought I had figured it all out. It had taken three hours, but I had gone to sleep afterwards. Blearily, I now sat up, having slowly opened my eyes and immediately looked at the clock on the wall to see what time it was. I had slept for so long! Only three hours of business, and my body decided it needed two and a half hours sleep after scribbling notes and deeply thinking from 12:30 to 3:30. How annoying. I hadn't meant to sleep that long!

I wondered if anyone had missed me. Most likely not. Ron and Harry had skipped lunch for a game of chess. They probably thought that after lunch I went to the library, or to a prefect's meeting. Which could very well be true, in their minds; I kept myself so busy these days, I seemed to always be away, and although I didn't like or mean to abandon my two friends, they understood and would patiently wait for me and spend time with me when I had the time. Ron had gotten used to it and his temper didn't flare at me anymore when I had to leave abruptly. So it was okay to be really busy.

Yawning widely, I stood up and stretched, my arms reaching high into the air, feeling a tingle pass through me as the sleepiness shook out of my body. I looked up as a few papers of my notebook fluttered, losing the place I had stopped writing at. What wind had moved the pages? Looking around the room, I saw that a window was open, the slight breeze whirling into the room and causing all light things: paper, quills, my hair--to blow around. But there was something even more unsettling than that. I glanced at the door, and a shiver of fright ran through me.

The door I had closed and heavily locked was now open.