Harry Potter and the Black Secret

Chapter Thirteen

I trust only you

"Three minutes!" Harry shouted back to Kristine looking at his watch, "Come on!!"

The two students were running along Platform 9 at Kings Cross station towards the barrier that would take them onto the magical Platform 9¾ from which the Hogwarts Express would be leaving at eleven 'o' clock sharp. They both had a bag on their shoulder and were carrying several carrier bags of presents. It was a good thing that Hedwig was off delivering a message to Lupin for Sirius or Harry would have hadto carry her screeching in a birdcage as well.

They reached the Platform barrier and ran straight through with one minute to clamber through the nearest door onto the train before departing. They made it, just.

They stood gasping for breath in between compartments both laughing with relief.

"Come on," Harry said when he found the energy to speak, "Lets go and find the others."

"I'll come and find you in a minute," Kristine said, "I've got to go to the bathroom. Here," she said loading Harry up with her bags, "Take my stuff will you. Thanks Hun!" and she disappeared down the passage before Harry could protest.

Kristine checked in the window of every compartment she passed looking for a glimpse of blonde hair. She just needed to see that he was all right, just needed to see his face quickly, just to be sure.

Where is he? She thought frantically as she neared the other end of the train. Then she saw him.

Lying down spread over three seats, alone in the compartment. She couldn't see his face, but that blonde hair really did give him away. Slowly she slid open the door and stepped inside.

"I told you to leave me alone," Draco growled not looking up.

"Actually," Kristine said, the sound of her voice prompting Draco to sit up immediately, "I haven't heard from you all week."

Then she saw his face.

A healing black eye. A spilt lip. A bruise over his sharp cheekbone.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Draco said quietly seeing the pained expression on her face.

Who? How? Why? All these questions flooded Kristine's mind, but the answers were obvious. She didn't need to be told.

"He doesn't know," Draco said guessing Kristine's thoughts.

"But then...why? Why did he do this to you?"

"It doesn't matter right now. Look, Kriss you have to go. I'll meet you later, usual place, usual time."

Kristine didn't budge.

"I'm okay! Don't worry about me. I heal fast, its in the blood," and before Kristine to question him as to what that meant, "Go," he said.

She reluctantly left Draco and headed back down the train to find Harry.

*

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Harry and Kristine told Hermione, Ron and Ginny about the week they spend with Sirius. After the New Years party, Sirius had taken them to the apartment he had bought in London using the 2,500 Galleon compensation he had received from the Ministry (equivalent to roughly £15,000). He had also been given an official position within the Ministry's Defence Department, in addition to his duties for Dumbledore in The order of the Pheonix.

Sirius's trial had forced Fudge to accept that there was an ever-increasing threat of Death Eater activity, although he was still adamant that Voldemort himself was dead and gone. Still, better than nothing.

The apartment was lovely. It had three bedrooms, a living area/kitchen, a bathroom, a small study and a balcony garden. It was small, but not cramped, more, cosy than anything else. It felt like a home.

Harry had written to the Dursley's and explained that he wouldn't be coming back to Privet Drive. He had considered telling them about the charms and protections over their home, but decided against it. Dumbledore had always wanted Harry to stay with his awful relatives over the holidays because of the wards around the house set up to protect Harry. The types of charms used worked on the basis of blood relations, and were highly effective. However, Harry had made his mind up not to go back, no matter what Dumbledore thought on the matter.

Voldemort was coming and he could strike any place and anytime. Harry wasn't going to waste his potentially short life with three relatives who hated the very sight of him. He was going to spend it with his family.

Kristine crept out of her room, past the picture of the Green Maiden and down into the Gryffindor common room. It was eleven thirty and everyone had gone to bed to get a good night sleep before the first day of lessons tomorrow. She slid out of the portrait hole, and made her way to the unused Divination classroom on the second floor, in the west wing of the school.

It was a perfectly amiable room, and the only reason it was vacant was because when Trelawney joined the school, she had insisted on being as high up as possible, away from distractions that could 'disturb the mystic vibes'. Draco had discovered the room in his first year by accident on an exploration of the castle. They met there at midnight, away from the rest of the world.

She was early the old Grandfather clock informed her as she entered the room, but there, perched on a large desk at the front of the classroom was Draco.

He turned to look at her as she entered. Kristine's eyes widened in amazement. He looked...well, better. The bruising was still there, but it had faded a little, and the cut on his lip looked almost healed.

"How...?"

"We need to talk," Draco said seriously.

Kristine walked over and sat on the desk, crossing her legs so she was sitting completely on top of the table facing Draco. He shifted his weight to face her. Silence.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or what?" Kristine demanded, albeit mellifluously.

"I don't know where to begin," Draco admitted.

"How about with the amazing remedial functioning of your face," Kristine said.

Draco smiled diminutively.

"Ok," he said, "I'm not quite human."

"Ok," Kristine said, accepting that fact a little too easily, "What's the part of you that isn't human?"

"Veela," Draco said.

Kristine let out a laugh.

"I suppose I should have been able to guess that."

"My Great Grandmother on my Father's side was a Veela, so I'm, an eighth Veela. Barely anything really, but enough to give me the hair, the eyes and the remarkable healing capabilities. Not as efficient as a pure Veela, but better than a pure blooded human," Draco explained.

"And the bruising," Kristine said, pushing for an explanation, "Tell me what happened Draco, please. I need to know."

Draco shook his head defiantly.

"No, it's not as bad as it looks. It doesn't matter now," he said.

"Yes it does!" Kristine said angrily, "And don't you pull that it didn't hurt crap with me, because I know it did, I felt it!"

"What?" Draco said, a little surprised by her sudden outburst.

"I felt it," Kristine said quietly, tears stinging behind her eyes. "I was at the party on New Years, and it hit me. You were in so much pain Draco, I know that your face isn't the only part of you he hit."

"I'm sorry," Draco said.

"You don't have anything to apologise for," Kristine said.

"Yes I do," Draco replied, "I should have told you about...about everything."

Kristine looked into his eyes and saw the struggle he felt, a struggle she knew only too well. In that moment she made a snap decision. This was it. He was the one. It was all or nothing.

"Draco I've got to tell you something and I need you to listen to me, and not interrupt. I've never told anyone before and if I tell you, you've got to promise not to run out on me. Not until I'm done at least."

Draco looked at her, mystified.

"Ok," he said slowly.

Kristine took a deep breath. She wasn't going to cry she told herself; she was going to tell him the whole story. The complete truth.

"What do you know about Vampires?" Kristine said.

"Not a lot," Draco admitted, "Only what I've seen in movies and read in books really. We never got around to covering them in Defence Against the Dart Arts, so I don't know what's real and what's not. Why? What have bloodsucking fiends have to do with anything?" he joked.

"Look Draco," Kristine said, obviously agitated, "if you're not going to take me seriously then there's really no point in." she was cut off by Draco.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Please. Just tell me."

Kristine took a deep breath, and began her explanation.

"Vampires exist in cultures across the world, from Japan to Ireland, Mexico to Italy. They have existed as long as man and references to them pop up in all ancient cultures, cultures that had no way of communicating with each other or even know of each others' existence, which is how we know that they are not myth, but fact. A discovery made by both Muggles and Wizards.

The Vampires in the movies are mostly nonsense. Count Dracula was nothing other than a severely psychologically impaired Aristocrat and Lestat is a romantic fantasy of a very imaginative woman. There is no Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Quentin Tarantino is just an inspired director. The fact behind Vampires is easy enough to find though...if you know where to look.

There are many sects of Vampire culture, for example, not all Vampires drink blood. Some feed of the psychic energy emitted by others, some have a taste for human brains. However, I'm only dealing with the tradition blood loving type. Blood is the key to life. Blood is life. Without it, we would not exist, which is why these particular Vampires crave it. They are not alive; they have no blood of their own.

In order to survive they need to drink the blood of others. Humans, rats, dogs, Veela, even other Vampires. It doesn't make them evil; it's just the way they must live. Of course, some Vampires are evil. They needn't feed until the victim is sucked dry, they don't have to feed every night. A little once a month will suffice. But as with every race, there are some good and some bad.

The Vampire I need to tell you about, he was good.

Vampires can walk amongst the living in the day, they can enter a church and a stake through the heart will not turn them to dust. It will however cause some very nasty wounding, as being pierced with sharp pointed object tends to do. They can be killed just as easily as humans; however, no killing curse will do the trick. Beheading. Burning. Starving. There are certain poisons specifically for Vampires which when ingested will kill the un-dead. Age will never be a cause of death. Vampires are immortal that is for certain. Of all the contradicting facts about the breed, their un-natural life is a constant. This knowledge doesn't change anything though. Vampires, they are just another creature on this earth.

Anyway, the good Vampire I mentioned. He fell in love with a Muggle girl. He courted her, married her and she bore his child. He never told her what he was; he didn't have to, because she died when their daughter was only five years old. He couldn't bear to live for eternity without her; he had already decided to kill himself when she left the mortal plain. But he thought that would be many years from then. He couldn't do it though. He couldn't abandon his beautiful child.

So he raised her until she was eighteen. I should probably mention that she was a witch and attended Hogwarts. The power of the Vampire resided within her, but not so strong as to single her out amongst the other students. When she was old enough, her father explained to her what he was, and why he had to go. She was a grown woman now, with a life and a man of her own. So he left, and was never heard of again.

The young woman grew up and had a daughter of her own with a powerful wizard. It was this fact that brings me to the point of my story. Because her father was a Wizard, her Mother a Witch and Vampire blood ran in her veins, she was different. She had power that was beyond that of any normal Witch or Wizard, and her power was rooted in darkness. It doesn't matter that her Grandfather was a good man, the curse of the Vampire is still a curse, and I can feel it inside of me, every time I do a spell."

She finished and refused to make eye contact with Draco.

"Kristine," Draco said smoothly, "I don't care if you're part warthog, I love you, nothing you can say is ever going to change that."

"I didn't react that well when Mum told me the reason behind my power," Kristine said, determined to tell him everything, "I ran away from home, drank way to much. I even took an overdose. If Bill hadn't of found me..."

"Bill. That's the guy you were telling me about before?" Draco asked.

Kristine nodded.

"He got me to a hospital, persuaded me to call home, and eventually, to go home. I saw him just over a week ago," Kristine said.

This knowledge caused Draco to become slightly cautious.

"When?" he asked.

"Turns out that he wasn't completely truthful with me either. It was Bill Weasley, Ron's eldest brother," Kristine said smiling inwardly at Draco's blatant resentment of hr ex.

Draco lightened considerable.

"Bet that was a fun meeting," he teased.

"Oh, it was a blast," Kristine said drolly, "But it was cool. He's not going to mention it and neither am I. It's all in the past and doesn't need to be brought up. Ever."

"Kristine," Draco said suddenly serious, "That night up in the Astronomy Tower, before I found you. If I hadn't shown up, would you have jumped?"

Kristine was a little taken aback with the sudden topic change. There was a long silence between them before she spoke, reminding herself to be honest.

"Yes," she said quietly.

Draco took her hand.

"I felt you too," he said, "I felt your pain then, and I've felt it at other times too. It's how I knew where to go, what to expect. I didn't want to tell you, I wasn't sure if I was being deluded, but if you felt me, then it must be true. We really are soul mates. Connected to each other, completely, forever."

Kristine smiled.

"I could have told you that," she said, and then she leaned in and kissed him.

"What a pair we make," Draco said after pulling away from her lips, "One part Vampire, one part Veela and both hopelessly in love."

"Typical Romeo and Juliet scenario," Kristine agreed.

"I hope not," Draco exclaimed, "That ending doesn't have any appeal to me whatsoever."

"Don't worry love," Kristine said, changing her position so that she could dangle her legs over the desk and slide up next to Draco, "I'm fairly certain that I could carry on without you. You're my true love, but you're not worth dying for," she teased.

"Ditto," Draco said sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

She wrapped an arm around his neck and they kissed passionately, oblivious to the world around them.

*

Ron stomped agitatedly along the corridor. First day back at Hogwarts and Snape had wasted no time in issuing him with detention. He'd kill Fred and George when he next saw them. Snape wouldn't listen to reason. Why would Ron of set Dung bombs off in his own suitcase!

He had spent the best part of the evening cleaning the second floor corridor and the stairs leading up to it. Finally, after hours of work he was finished and was now proceeding to retrace his steps back to Filch's office to drop off the bucket and mop.

What was the time anyway? Ron thought, and glimpsed his watch. Twelve thirty!! Six hours of detention and a loss of 50 house points all because of Snape!

Now even angrier, he had to refrain from hurling the bucket down the corridor. He stopped in his tracks, anger temporarily forgotten.

He could hear voices coming from one of the classrooms nearby.

As quietly as he could he peered into the classroom just ahead of him on his right. The voices had stopped, but the owners of them remained.

There, on the desk at the far end of the classroom were two figures. The female of the pair was sitting comfortably on the males lap, his hand resting easily on her thigh as her hand caressed his face as they kissed.

He didn't need to see their faces as they broke apart, to know who he was looking at.