Chapter 1 – The Escape
The heavy silence of the night was ripped in two by a loud CRACK! Two men suddenly appeared on the dusty country lane. The younger blonde with the pale, pointed face fell forward onto his knees. Coughing violently, he fought the urge to retch into the dirt. He felt his throat on fire and his stomach was revolting against him.
“Come along, Draco,” the older figure said as he bent over and tried to help the younger man up.
Draco looked up at his teacher. Snape had done what Draco could not, or in reality realized he didn’t want to do. He had killed Dumbledore. Draco’s only chance for salvation was gone in the instant Snape had raised his wand. “Don’t touch me!” Draco fell back and crawled away from Snape much as a crab would.
“You did it! You killed him!” Draco screamed.
Severus Snape clutched his wounded arm. That raging beast of a hippogriff had attacked him as he had tried to flee. “I did what I had to.” Snape looked around the deserted countryside. “We need to get out of the open. I know of a… friend whose house is Unplottable. It isn’t far from here. You aren’t safe.” He reached down once again to help Draco up.
Draco pushed Snape’s hand away and stood up rather unsteadily. “I’m not safe? What about you? You killed Dumbledore!” Draco couldn’t help it and he let out a loud, frustrated laugh. “And I’m not safe? Safe from whom? You?”
Snape grabbed Draco’s arm and pulled him close, snarling into his face. “From The Dark Lord, that’s who. By now he knows you failed at your task and that I had to finish it for you. He won’t be very pleased with you. I need to get you settled, then I will go back for Narcissa. She’s not safe either.”
At these words Draco paled once more. His skin, which had taken on a rather increasingly grey tinge through the course of the year, turned white. “My mother?” He knew Snape was right. His mother was in danger and it was all Draco’s fault. Knowing Draco had failed would only serve to infuriate Lord Voldemort. There was no way that Narcissa would not be the recipient of the Dark Lord’s fury. But in the end, he could not do it. He had not been able to murder someone, even if the result of failure would be his own death. Draco looked around wildly, as if Death Eaters were hiding behind the trees. “I need to get to my mother.”
“I will help your mother, once we get you inside.” Snape started to drag Draco along the lane.
“She needs to be warned! I can’t let anything happen to my mother.” Draco dug his heels in and refused to walk any further.
Snape sighed, very frustrated. Closing his eyes he raised his wand as a silver snake flew out of the tip and slithered away on wings into the night sky. “There, she will be warned.” Snape once again set off, bringing Draco along. To the astonished look on Draco’s face, he replied, “My Patronus, an Amphiptere. A snake with wings. It will take the warning to your mother as well as give her instructions on where she can hide until I can get to her. We needed a way to communicate should anything… unforeseen happen. I suggested using a Patronus to let her know of any emergencies.” Snape had of course neglected to inform Narcissa and now Draco that Patronuses were the method of communication used by the Order of the Phoenix.
“Until we can get to her,” Draco replied.
“No, you cannot see your mother. It is too dangerous at the moment. The Dark Lord and his followers will be watching.” Snape turned onto a smaller path.
Draco followed reluctantly. He still felt ill. The vision of Dumbledore floating up then falling over the tower returned. It was too much to bear. The path was uneven and Draco stumbled again, going down on his hands and knees.
Snape stopped and moved to help Draco stand again.
“I told you not to touch me!” Draco screamed at him. He pushed hard at the professor.
Snape grunted painfully as Draco made contact with the wounds Buckbeak had inflicted on him while he was dueling with Potter. Pulling his hand away, he could see blood flowing anew. “Fine! Have it your way. Just hurry, we have to get to where we are going.” He did not know how much longer he would be able to sustain the effort it took to walk. The state of his injuries were beginning to impair him.
Draco stood up. Get a grip, he thought to himself, breathe. He took a deep breath. He needed to assess what had happened back at the Astronomy Tower. He had lowered his wand. He was a coward. Shame filled him and his cheeks flushed with heat. But is it really cowardice to not want to murder? Draco thought as looked up at his teacher a few steps ahead of him. He did not know what exactly to think about him. Snape murdered Dumbledore tonight. But did he do it out of hatred or because of the Unbreakable Vow? Had he chosen to kill Dumbledore or had he been forced to? His mind raced with questions as he walked.
A sudden rustling of the previously still leaves on the trees caused Draco to look up.
Snape paused and held his arm out against Draco’s chest. “Wand out.” Snape, who had not put his wand away, pointed it out into the darkness. As soon as Draco had his wand in hand Snape took a tentative step forward.
A small black shape flitted down from one of the tree branches. It hovered a few seconds in front of the pair before transforming into a very tall, colorless man. His eyes, clear and dead looking, never wavered from the two people in front of him as he bowed slightly. “Severus.”
Snape, still holding Draco behind him, nodded his head at the stranger.
“Darrien.” He Held his wand up higher. “What brings you here?”
Darrien smiled. His gleaming skin reflected the moonlight and Draco could see small fangs on his canine teeth. “I’m on a mission.” His eyes flicked over Draco quickly, then back to Snape. “The Dark Lord, though delighted the task was completed, was displeased that it was not done as he ordered.”
Snape moved to completely obscure Draco from the vampire’s view. “The mission is complete. The soft-hearted Muggle-lover is dead.”
Darrien snickered softly. “You of all people know how the Dark Lord wants his orders carried out.”
Snape had to think quickly. The problem was that he was bleeding and in pain. He also had to move as quickly as he needed to think. “I do. And the Dark Lord knows of the, ahem… special circumstances regarding this particular assignment.”
“Ah, yes, the Unbreakable Vow you made.” Darrien grinned at the surprised look in Snape’s eyes. He chuckled, “There are some of us the Dark Lord trusts above others.” The amusement on Darrien’s face vanished and a hard, malicious look replaced it. “I am here for the boy.”
“I am sorry but I cannot let you—Aaaaah!” Snape crumpled to the ground in agony. Darrien pointed his wand at the fallen professor. The Cruciatus Curse was excruciating and he gleefully looked on at Severus’ pain. When he felt like Severus would no longer be a hindrance he broke the spell. Then he set his eyes on the Malfoy boy.
Draco couldn’t believe his eyes. He held his wand out and took two cautious steps back. “Stay away from me.”
Darrien just grinned. “Do you know what I am? Pure blood wizard and vampire… a lethal combination no mere wand can stop.” He bared his teeth with an evil grin again and advanced toward Draco.
Thinking quickly, Draco remembered the spell Potter had used on him months ago. The scars were barely there anymore but he could still trace the lines when he saw himself in the mirror. “Sectumsempra!”
The vampire stopped and bent low. After an all too brief pause, he stood up and glared daggers at Draco as the blood ran from the gashes in his face and torso. Before Draco’s very eyes, Darrien’s wounds sealed themselves and the blood stopped flowing. Wiping his cheek with his hand, Darrien took a look at the drops of blood on his fingers. Licking them clean, he moved toward Draco again. “Tsk, tsk, little boy. That was a huge mistake.”
In a flash Darrien stood before Draco. “Yes, my powers are plentiful. Not only can I heal myself, I can move faster than you can think. Although the Dark Lord wants you alive, I don’t think he would mind if I replaced the blood you spilt.” Grabbing Draco by the neck and twisting his head to expose his jugular vein, Darrien used his other hand to hold Malfoy’s wrists in one firm grip to keep him from pushing away. As he leaned forward, his fangs broke through the tender flesh at Draco’s throat.
The taste of blood laced with fear and adrenaline was intoxicating. He knew the Dark Lord wanted this child alive but Darrien didn’t know if he could stop. His eyes rolled back in his head as he drank the warm delicious fluid.
Draco felt the initial pain as the teeth punctured his skin. Now he could feel himself floating away. Soon there would be no pain, no worries… nothing.
Snape took a deep breath. Each movement sent fresh waves of pain to his nerve endings. It felt as if fire were racing through his veins. Looking up he saw Darrien at Draco’s throat. Dragging himself the few inches he needed to reach his wand was agonizing but he took hold of his wand and yelled, “Lumos!”
The light was bright enough to distract Darrien as his eyes, unaccustomed to any light source brighter than the weakest candle, became blinded. He thrust Draco away from him as he attempted to shield his face. Draco fell to the ground, unconscious.
Seizing the moment, Snape staggered into a standing position. Having picked up a fallen branch he muttered a quick spell and transfigured the wood into a sharp stake. Taking advantage of Darrien’s temporary blindness he plunged the stake into the vampire’s heart.
The vampire screamed and threw his head back as he stumbled backwards, suddenly falling to the ground as he became a pile of dust. A slow breeze blew away the grotesque remains.
Sagging to his knees, Snape was out of breath. Spotting his student, Snape crawled over to him. Draco was still breathing and his pulse was faint. Using every last drop of strength he had, Snape picked Draco up and put an arm around his waist while taking Draco’s arm and slinging it around his own shoulder. Thankfully the house wasn’t far and he half dragged Draco to the door.
Just Breathe by hiversgrrl
Chapter Notes: Thanks to my beta Bewitcher_SR for her input!