Closer Than I Ever Imagined by 3secondfish
“She’s with me, Niklos,” repeated Draco, a little more forcefully.
“I think, right now, she is with me,” he murmured, without looking up. “A tasty morsel, she will be, yes?” He continued to stare into Hermione’s blank eyes, and absently stroked her delicate throat.
“Last chance, Nik.”
“You vouldn’t dare do anything in front of all these muggles,” sneered Niklos, sparing Draco a sideways glance.
“Try me.” Draco shifted his arm, and his wand slid forward. Its point touched Niklos’ shoulder. “I have overlooked a great number of indiscretions on your part, Niklos.” His voice dropped to a cold whisper that conveyed the threat of dire consequences. “However much I have defended your kind, I will kill you; right here, if necessary.”
“Very vell, then.” Niklos shrugged and stood up, making as if to leave.
He whirled suddenly. Niklos lunged for Draco’s throat, his bared fangs glittering lethally. Draco was ready for him. A practiced flick brought his wand to hand, and a silent slashed incantation vanished Niklos in a brief flash of white-hot flame; another quick spell and he was remarking loudly to no one in particular about idiots who do flash photography in nightclubs. His wand disappeared back up his sleeve.
Now he turned his attention back to Hermione. Though no longer mesmerized, she was still dazed, and in no fit state to be left on her own while he finished his rounds. Looking around in indecision, he saw that Esmeralda had followed him to this dark corner to investigate the commotion. Clearly, her preternatural senses were not as easily fooled as the muggles’ were.
“I see you haff found your lost lamb,” she said. Noticing the small pile of ash on the floor, she raised an eyebrow and inclined her head toward it.
“Niklos,” said Draco simply.
“A trouble-maker he vas,” spat Esmeralda. “He tested the patience of your Ministry. At least he vill not now ruin things for the rest of us.”
“Esmeralda, I need to take a quick look around,” he said casually, “You know how it is. Checking for Death Eaters, tying up loose ends, making sure no one noticed I just flamed a vampire in here; piddling routine stuff. Can you keep an eye on Granger for a few minutes?” He flashed his most winning smile.
“Certainly,” she said, rolling her eyes only slightly at Draco’s antics, and sitting in the seat recently vacated by Niklos.
Draco nodded his thanks and moved off into the crowd.
Hermione was looking about in bemusement when she spotted Esmeralda sitting across from her. Her double-take nearly upset the chair.
“Wha? Where is the man I was speaking to?” said Hermione.
“Draco incinerated him,” Esmeralda replied casually. “You really ought to choose your friends more carefully.”
“Incinerated? Why?”
“Because, he vas about to pierce your tender neck, darlink,” said Esmeralda in her seductive purr.
“Pierce . . . ?”
“He vas vampyre,” she said in a more matter-of-fact tone. Then she added with a wistful smile, “That vas very sveet of him. He must like you to risk it in a room full of muggles.”
“Muggles? You mean . . . you’re . . . you’re not . . . ?” Hermione was desperately trying to come up to speed, but events appeared to have overtaken her once again.
“Once . . . long ago . . . but now I live in darkness.” Her strange emerald eyes glittered in the flickering light of the club.
Hermione wasn’t quite sure what to say to this. Were you supposed to give condolences to a person on their own death? Or their undeath, as it were? ‘So, you’re a vampire; that must be very interesting’ was one way to go but Hermione wasn’t sure it was the right one. She backtracked, searching for firmer ground.
“So,” she began, “Draco incinerated . . . Niklos.” She thought saying ‘one of you’ would give the wrong impression. “Was he a friend of yours?”
“He vas more of an acquaintance,” said Esmeralda dismissively. Then she leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “But he vas also a . . . how do you say . . . a git. I do not like to speak ill of the undead since there are precious few vampyre with whom to while away eternity. And I haff promised Draco that I vould not make any new friends,” Esmeralda smirked and lounged back into her seat.
The evening was becoming a bit surreal. “Does he do that sort of thing often? The incineration, I mean.”
“It is unusual,” said Esmeralda in her slow accent. “I haff known Draco for a long time, even before he vorked for your Ministry. He has been as a shadow among us. I thought, at one time, that Draco might seek to become one with the darkness. The poor creature has struggled against it for so long, as a seedling struggles against the heavy darkness of the soil,” she said with a hint of sadness. “But for now, Draco remains in the light, though he thinks maybe he should not. He moves among the vampyre as a friend, and also as a . . .” She paused, searching for the word. “A liaison, if you vill.”
“A liaison?” repeated Hermione. “How so?” she asked, interested despite the oddness of the whole situation. It wasn’t often that one discovered anything of import at all regarding Draco Malfoy.
“There were times, not long ago, when ve vould be hunted out of hand. Draco makes himself a specialist in the addressing of vampyre, so that he controls the contact between the wizards and muggles, and the vampyre.”
“The Ministry . . . he . . . just lets you hang around in nightclubs?” asked Hermione incredulously.
“It is not qvite so simple as that,” replied Esmeralda thoughtfully. “He sees that our needs are provided for. In return, ve help him with finding certain . . . people . . . who haff wandered into our dark places. Because of Draco, ve may live and let live,” she grinned, flashing a glimpse of pointed fangs. “However,” she frowned, “there are those, like Niklos, who vould flaunt our existence, and endanger us all.”
Esmeralda stopped speaking abruptly. She was looking intently at something behind Hermione, something she had just noticed. Hermione watched Esmeralda as her eyes traveled along an invisible line, widening as they fell upon Draco returning from his rounds.
“Feeling better, Granger?” he asked as he reached the small table.
“Erm . . . yeah, I think so,” said Hermione. She truthfully wasn’t sure whether she felt better or not. She had nearly been an aperitif, had been regaled by an incognito vampire, and was housemates with a person of such uncharted depths that she feared she might fall in and never return. In all, Hermione thought she should either feel very safe or very worried.
Hermione simply felt tired. “Can we go home now?” she asked.
A/N: Whew! It's good to be back! I am simply ready to *burst* with new chapters I want to show you!
Isn't Esmeralda fun? Hundreds of years of perspective and a predilection for bad puns.
A big thank-your to Sonja for her very kind words; it's so nice to get fan mail. :)