V

V

Hermione was amazed by the speed at which she finished the novel in her lap. It seemed that her eyes moved more quickly than normal, transmitting information in a rapid buzz of electricity to a mind that operated at top speed. It was almost as if she had suddenly developed a photographic memory...she could clearly see and remember the contents of each page. Emboldened by this new discovery, she swept gracefully to the shelves in search of a new book to devour. She was running her fingers over the spines of those alluring volumes almost before she made the conscious choice to move.

She slipped the copy of Mansfield Park back in its place on the shelf, all the while searching for a new book. Her eyes found a plain, worn leather volume tucked away in the corner of the top shelf. It was so nondescript, antique, and beautiful at the same time that she was drawn to it with a strange magnetism. The volume was in her hand and her lithe form folding comfortably in her chair in a breath.

As soon as she opened the cover she recognized the cramped, flowing script of her maker. It was one of his many journals. The first entry was dated early April, 1969, and recounted a conversation between her maker and a Siberian gypsy.

I had been in the North for many years, feeding on the occasional rodent or fox, when I stumbled upon the encampment of gypsies. They were huddled together around a small brush fire that melted the packed snow. Many of them were young and inattentive, though the elders noticed my presence perhaps the moment I arrived. The oldest of the encampment, a woman whose face was the appearance of worn hide with deep wrinkles and sunken eyes, followed me into the darkness.

A fire blazed in her eyes as she began to chant some strange spell. The wind blew and howled in a whirlwind around us. Her wrinkled hands touched my own, and a spark seemed to travel between us. My body felt as if it were sinking in upon itself. "So be it," the old woman said, her voice clear against the howling winds. "So be a child again, Shadow walker. Go back to your world and learn to be alive again. Enjoy your time with the living, for it will not last forever. You will return to your current state at the age of your new birth. Now go, find your way to your ancient home before the new moon rises. Find your peace, Shadow walker."

"What have you done with her, Severus?" cried Dumbledore, his voice barely hiding the anger coursing through him.

Rage seemed to pour through Snape as he stared at the feeble old man. Here he was, so old that his eyes were failing, his instincts playing second fiddle to his desire to see the good in all, trying to separate him from his mate. His hands closed upon themselves in an iron grip.

"Answer me, Severus!" the old man boomed. He raised his wand and pointed it at Snape's chest. "What have you done with Miss Granger?"

"What it is in my nature to do, you pathetic fool!" Snape hissed. He stalked toward the old man, his eyes blazing with fire. "You will leave her with me. She is mine now, for she is like my kind."

Dumbledore gasped, his wand clattering to the ground. "Severus, you didn't? How could you do such a thing! She is just a girl!"

"Don't you understand, Headmaster? She is a girl no longer, and yet a girl she shall ever remain. Do not doubt me and what I am capable of," he replied, striding forward and placing his foot lightly on the wand on the ground. He held back a bitter laugh as he reigned in the little strength it would take to snap that pathetic piece of wood, to tear that pitiful man to shreds. "I have lived two centuries alone, fleeing from place to place, never to have a home or peace of my own. It has been a lifetime of man since I have taken the blood of the living. What am I to do, you blind, ignorant fool?

"Am I to crawl the face of the Earth in loneliness and despair until God breaks through heaven and earth to chain me in the abyss? No, I do not think so. You see, my dear Albus, I am no longer alone." He smiled, baring his pearl-white fangs. "No, Hermione is mine, my mate for eternity."

The color drained from the headmaster's face as he finally comprehended what had happened. He was too late to save her. Anguish crept over him, and he felt his heart begin to fail. "Then there is no hope for her."

"No. You cannot save everyone, my friend. But we will spare you the trouble of having to watch over two vampires. Hermione and I will leave the school at the end of the term," Snape said softly. "You will not have to worry about us, you have my word."

Professor Dumbledore seemed to sink in upon himself, withering before his eyes. "Can you guarantee that no one will be harmed before then?"

"I will do what I can to restrain her, but she must return to my rooms everyday to feed. Will you make the necessary arrangements so that no other is aware of this?" The headmaster nodded feebly, defeated. "You must also excuse her from Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. I leave it to you to find a reason, but be certain that I will teach her these things."

"It will be taken care of, Severus. But if a single student is harmed, you will leave the school immediately and risk being hunted by the Ministry."

Snape closed the distance between them. "So be it," he said softly. In an instant, his icy hand was around the headmaster's throat in a vice-like grip. He lifted the feeble wizard from the ground with ease. "But know this. If you unleash the Ministry on us, if anything happens to Hermione, I will come for you and drag you down to hell with me."

Harry was beginning to worry as he sat in the headmaster's study. It seemed as if he had been there for hours, waiting for some news or some sign that things were going well. The silence was deafening, each tick of the clock magnified until it was painfully loud.

There was a soft click as the door sprang open and Headmaster Dumbledore staggered into the room, white faced and visibly shaken. "Professor," Harry exclaimed, nearly leaping from his chair. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, my boy," the old man answered, waving a shaky hand as he dropped into the chair behind his desk. "You will be pleased to know that Miss Granger has been found."

Harry sighed with relief and flashed a bright smile. "Really? Where is she? Why didn't she appear on the map?"

Dumbledore laughed slightly. "One question at a time, my boy! Miss Granger had a nasty run-in with a poisoned vampyr mosp in the dungeons. She got a bad sting from the thing, and...it being a good-sized mosp...dragged her off to its hole. That's why we couldn't see her on the map. Now, though she will be right as rain eventually, she was in too much pain to be moved very far, so she is resting comfortably in Professor Snape's quarters at the moment."

"When can we see her, Professor?" Harry asked, trying to disguise the fear and anger in his voice.

"On Monday, Harry. She will remain in Professor Snape's quarters until she has recovered enough to return to her classes. Meanwhile, he will treat her with a potion he has developed to stop the spread of the venom. Miss Granger will be confined to the school...as sunlight irritates the wound...until the end of term. Until then, she must see Professor Snape several times daily to obtain further treatments. At the end of term," here the headmaster sighed, "Professor Snape will escort Miss Granger to a hospital in Germany that specializes in treatments of this kind."

A confused expression passed over Harry's face. "Can't Madam Pomfrey treat her? Why does she have to go near Snape?"

"Professor Snape, Harry. While Madam Pomfrey is a wonderful matron, she does not have the experience with wounds such as this. Professor Snape will take good care of Miss Granger. Now," he replied, seeming to slump against his desk. He slowly drew a piece of parchment toward him. "I must write to Miss Granger's parents to let them know what has happened. Run along to the Gryffindor common room and let Mr. Diggory and Mr. Weasley know she is okay."

Hermione was out of her chair before Snape had even put his hand to the doorknob. She bounded across the room in a graceful dance and wrapped him in her arms as if she had not seen him in days. She pressed light kisses along his jaw and twined her icy fingers in his own. A shadow crossed her face as she saw the worried expression in his eyes. "Severus? My maker, my love, what's the matter?"

"You must return to the school on Monday," he said, his voice a little hurt. "The headmaster knows."

She felt a fire of rage blaze through her, causing her eyes to glow ruby as she bared her teeth and snarled. "I won't. I won't leave you!"

He caught her wrists in one of his pale hands and held her tightly. His other hand wound into her hair, forcing her to look at him. "You will do what must be done to keep the Ministry at bay. I will not have you taken away from me," he growled, kissing her fiercely. "Albus will not betray us, not if he wishes to keep his position. But you will not be attending Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures any longer. You will come here for those lessons."

"Someone else will find out. They will soon understand why I no longer go out into the sun."

There was a musical laughter that erupted from him. "As you found out Lupin your third year? No, my dear, no one else will know, for you and I are leaving Hogwarts at the end of the term. We will go far away, where none shall bother with us. We shall spend our days in bed and our nights roaming the world to see all there is to see."

The thought of leaving all she had known was suddenly unnerving, no matter the fact that she would be with him. She felt a wave of calm warring with the anxiety that rose up in her. "Severus..."

"Do not worry, my love. I have survived this long, and I shall make sure that nothing happens to either of us. We must simply survive another month in this place, then all the world shall bow at your feet." He drew her to him, pulling her beautiful, soft form to him. "As will I. I will worship at the altar of your form, pray to your breasts, and seek my penance in your depths. My goddess," he groaned, feeling his desire for her begin to bubble to the surface. "Grant me pardon for my sins!"

She smiled at him, the ruby glaze fading to warm gold in her eyes. "You must pray first and do penance until I am satisfied."

"May you never be satisfied, my love," he replied, grinning with a feral air. He lifted her to him in a blinding motion and disappeared with her into the bedroom.