Login
MuggleNet Fan Fiction
Harry Potter stories written by fans!

Crimson and Clover by Envy_I_May_Be

[ - ]   Printer Chapter or Story Table of Contents

- Text Size +
Chapter Notes: Ta-da! Fast, wasn't it? *Winky face*
Pretty soon, the holiday season was upon us. Snow blanketed the grounds, it was bitterly cold outside, and Christmas decorations were popping up all over the castle. There was mistletoe in the corridors, garland was strung around the suits of armor, and the traditional twelve humongous Christmas trees were put up and decorated in the Great Hall. The atmosphere was a rather cheerful one, despite the dark mood that had been permeating the castle before.

–Are you going with Ron for Christmas?” I asked Harry as we sat in an empty classroom and studied.

He nodded. –I always go with Ron for Christmas. Are you staying here?”

It was my turn to nod. –There’s no way I can go home.” I sighed. –No; this year, I’m going to have a nice, quiet holiday.”

He frowned slightly. –Are you sure you can’t go home?”

I scoffed. –Positive. They wouldn’t take me back there if their lives depended on it.”

–That’s a bit dramatic.”

I looked at him.

–I’m sorry, but it is. Have you tried talking to them?”

–What is there to say? ‘Hey, mum and dad, how are you? By the way, I’ve been wondering if you hate my guts, or if you were just afraid I was going to kill you. Can I come home for Christmas?’ I don’t think that would go over well,” I said with a shake of my head.

–You never know until you try.”

I sighed. –I hate the fact that you’re right.”

He chuckled softly. –It’s a rare occasion, but it’s effective, when it does come around.”

I laughed, looking down at my potions book. I looked over to see his ugly, battered old copy that he carried around with him all the time.

–What’s the deal with this thing?” I asked, picking it up.

–What do you mean?”

I flipped through the pages, shaking my head at the sight of the written-on, torn pages. –This thing is a mess! What have you done to it?”

–I didn’t do anything; it was like that when I got it.”

–Why don’t you just buy a new one? It might be better to read the instructions.”

He snatched the book away, and tucked it into his bag. –Because, believe it or not, those scribbles in the margins are helping me in potions.”

I raised an eyebrow. –That mess is helping you?”

He nodded. –Yes, it is.” He bit his lip, seeming to wonder if he wanted to tell me something. –It belonged to someone who called himself ‘the Half-Blood Prince’. And whoever he was, he was brilliant.”

–Prince?” I scoffed. –Not likely. What a vain name to give yourself.”

–I suppose so. But still, who cares if he was vain; he was bloody brilliant.”

–Or barking insane,” I said with a wink.

He laughed. –I don’t know about that; he knows what he’s doing. My potions are turning out better than Hermione’s,” he said with a satisfied grin.

–Better than Hermione’s? This is serious.”

He nodded. –Exactly; no one here is better than Hermione.”

–Well… isn’t that cheating, then?”

–How so?”

–I mean, this guy obviously wrote this down for himself, to help himself out. But if you use it to help you, then you’re not doing honest work. That’s cheating.”

He frowned slightly. –I never thought about it like that.”

–Well, I did, and I say you get rid of it and get a new copy.”

–I have a new copy,” he said sheepishly.

I raised an eyebrow again. –Then why aren’t you using it?”

–Because….” He trailed off.

–Oh, I see,” I said, nodding. –You like being the star of the show, don’t you? You like being able to win things and be better than Hermione, for once. Well, what happens next year, when you need a different book and you have to take your N.E.W.T's? And everyone knows you’re rotten at potions, and suddenly you’re amazing? I’m sure somebody is suspicious.”

–But I can’t just give this up. It’s got amazing stuff in it, like spells, and everything.”

I frowned. –Spells? What kind of spells are we talking about here, Harry?”

–Well, there’s this one that makes you hang upside-down by your ankles, and there’s another one that I haven’t tried yet, it’s called Sectumsempra.”

I shook my head, not liking the sound of that one bit. –It sounds fishy to me.”

–It’s fine, trust me. If I thought it was really dangerous, I would get rid of it.”

I looked at him for a moment. –Whatever you say. But if something’s wrong with it, then you need to promise me that you’ll get rid of it.”

–I promise.”

–Good.”



Not only had Harry been obsessing over a very suspicious potions book, but he was determined to stalk Malfoy. A lot. It was more than a little annoying, and even Ron and Hermione were starting to get irritated by it.

Now, no one is perfect, and I understand that more than anybody. But Harry’s Malfoy obsession was just plain unhealthy. And it was starting to freak me out a bit. So, as any good girlfriend (was that what I was?) would do, I decided to confront him and try to work out the problem. I may not have been able to convince him to toss that foul old potions book, but I had a feeling I would get better luck with this. After all, he hated Draco Malfoy with a passion (and rightly so), so this had to be easier. Right?

Wrong.

–Harry, you have to listen to me. Even if Malfoy is up to something- which I would never doubt, given the git’s nature- there is nothing you can do about it. Whatever it is, it’s best to just let him screw up on his own and let him get himself in trouble,” I said a few days later as we walked through the corridors to the library.

He looked up from his potions book, and sighed, snapping it shut. –You don’t understand.”

I stopped and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. –Oh, I understand perfectly. I realize that you have this… thing against Malfoy. Perfectly understandable; not very fond of him myself. However, this is very stalker-like and borderline obsessive.”

He shot me a look.

I walked over to him, and gently took his hands within my own. I looked into his eyes, my gaze softening. I brushed a strand of hair from his eyes and took his hand again.

–Harry, please. Just back off of him for a while. Please. You have way more important things to worry about, like getting that… ‘special thing’ for Dumbledore. Let Malfoy ruin his own life, okay? I think he can manage to cause trouble without you aiding and abetting him.”

He gave a small laugh at that. I kissed the tip of his nose, and smiled.

–Just try to worry about yourself, for once. You never do that, you know. You always have someone else on the brain. Just worry about you, and let Malfoy worry about himself. Besides, Ron and Hermione are ready to snap your neck, and if you don’t relax, I just might assist them.” I gave him a wicked grin, showing off my fangs.

He rolled his eyes, but nodded. –Alright; I’ll relax. But if he tries anything funny again…”

I looked at him for a moment. –Harry?”

–Yes?” he asked innocently.

–Shut up,” I said, kissing him.

He didn’t say a word.



Before I knew it, I was being roped into the torture that was Slughorn’s Christmas party, which was not my ideal way to spend an evening, but Harry begged me to go, practically getting on his knees when he did so.

–Please, Vivian, come to this party with me,” he’d said as we sat in the library.

–Oh, why? I hate Slughorn. He’s a daft old fool, and he wears the most ridiculous clothing. Besides, I can think of several better ways to spend the evening, and one of them is detention with McGonagall. And that is really saying something.”

–Please? Just this one time; he’ll probably be gone next year, and we’ll never have to go to another one of his stupid parties again.”

I had my firm –Absolutely not” on the tip of my tongue, but the way he was looking at me with those big green eyes that were slightly covered by his adorably messy hair, with desperation and need on his face, I just couldn’t bring myself to say no.

–Besides, if you don’t go with me, I’ll have to ask Luna, because Hermione already has a date.”

That did it. –Fine, I’ll go. I like Luna- don’t get me wrong- but there is no way I’m letting you take Lovegood to a party over me.”

He grinned, and kissed me sloppily before gathering his things.

–Thank you, Vivian. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

He kissed me again and jogged away.

The smile on his face when I’d said yes and the extra kisses granted to me because of it were almost worth it.

Almost.

I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I wondered if I should wear robes, or if a Muggle dress would be appropriate for the occasion. I decided to play it safe and go with the robes, tossing my dress back into my trunk and slipping the robes on. They were pretty nice- a deep midnight blue, almost like my eyes, and slightly more form-fitting. They had some silver beading on them, as they were dress-robes, and they glittered when I moved around in the light. I smiled. I had been waiting for an occasion to wear these.

I went to the mirror and fixed my long, dark brown hair, piling it on top of my head and letting it fall like a fountain. I added some silver clips for a little extra sparkle, and moved on to my makeup. I swiped some icy silver eyeshadow over my eyelids, and put on some eyeliner and mascara. I put a small amount of rouge on my cheeks, and finished by painting my lips with a deep red lipstick that I had stolen from my mother years ago. Satisfied with my appearance, I put my little silver heels on, and made my way out in front of the entrance to the tower, where Harry said he would meet me.

While I was standing there, I spotted Eliza and her friends. They stopped and gaped when they saw me, all of them clearly taken aback at my appearance.

–Vivian- why are you dressed like that?” Eliza asked.

I raised an eyebrow. –If you really have to know, I’m going to Slughorn’s Christmas party tonight. I’m just waiting for my date.”

One of her friends scoffed. –Who would take a freak show like you to a party? He must either be stupid, blind, deaf, or just betting with his mates for a few Galleons and a laugh.”

–Actually, neither of those. I’m taking her because I genuinely would like her company,” Harry said as he walked up to us.

I smiled. He looked dashing in dark green robes, with his hair combed to be as tame as it could be. He was so… handsome. I gave my sister and her stupid friends a –Now what?” look. They looked at him in disbelief, looking back and forth between us.

–Harry Potter is taking you to the party?!” Eliza asked incredulously.

–Why wouldn’t he? You sound surprised.”

They all gaped, looking stupid. I bit back a laugh, savoring every second of the moment. I looked at Harry, and everyone else disappeared as our gazes locked. I smiled at him, and walked over to him, feeling like I was in a trance. He took my hand and kissed it, and I blushed slightly. I smiled.

–You look… b-beautiful,” he whispered.

I giggled at his stumble. The poor boy was so awkward sometimes, but I loved it.

–You don’t look too bad yourself. Who are you, and what have you done with Harry? Your hair is slightly tame. I feel like I’ve gone into an alternate reality.”

He laughed, rolling his eyes, while Eliza and her friends still gaped at me stupidly. I smiled, and looped my arm through his.

–Shall we go, then?”

–Let’s.”

I heard the whispering start as soon as we began to walk away, but I could care less. Harry walked me down to the dungeons, and when we came to the corridor leading to the potions classroom, I gaped in wonder at the decoration just on the outside of the room. There were red and gold lanterns floating in the ceiling, casting cheerful light into the stone corridor.

We went inside, which was even more lavishly decorated than the corridor outside, and before I could really take it all in, we were swept up by Slughorn, who paraded Harry around the room like a child with a shiny new toy. I didn’t really pay attention to any of them… until I met the vampire.

–Harry, this is my friend, Sanguini,” Slughorn said.

My eyes snapped up to see the tall, dark-looking man standing next to some guy whose name I didn’t pay attention to. We locked eyes, and he nodded slightly. I knew he could sense that I was a vampire, as well, because I could sense it within him.

–My name is Vivian,” I said, extending a hand.

He took it, shaking it with a firm grip.

–Charmed,” he said with a small smile.

–How did you end up here?” I asked.

He pointed to the man next to him. –He roped me into it,” he said in a bored voice. –I really have no patience for these human affairs, but he said the host insisted that my presence was needed.” He rolled his eyes slightly.

–I’m kind of in the same boat,” I said, not sure how I was having such an effortless conversation with a complete stranger. –My date.” I pointed to Harry.

His eyes drifted to Harry for a moment, where they lingered for a few seconds. –The Boy Who Lived,” he whispered very slightly.

I nodded. –Indeed.”

–Forgive me for this, but you are so young, my child. How long have you been turned?”

–One year in October,” I said. –I only just came back to school at the start of term.”

He looked at me with fascination. –Really? You returned? Why? It is rather dangerous, being around all of these humans. I’m sure that you are… tempted often.”

I nodded. –Very often, as a matter of fact,” I said. –However, I really have no where else to go. My family… well, they rejected me.”

He nodded. –I understand how that feels.”

–It’s nice to have someone who understands that aspect, for once.”

–Have you ever considered joining a coven?”

–I have,” I said. –I just don’t know where to look.”

He pulled a card from the pocket of his robes, and handed it to me. –Well, whenever you decide that this place is too… suffocating for you, write to this address, and ask for Demitri. He can help you.”

–Who’s Demitri?” I asked.

–A good friend of mine,” he said. –He is the leader of a good-sized coven. He can give you the help that you need. Tell him Sanguini referred you.”

I nodded. –Thank you,” I said, stunned.

–You are welcome, my child.”

With that, he and his companion turned away, and Harry and I walked away from Slughorn.

–What was that all about?” he asked.

–Just chatting with a fellow creature of the night,” I said, fingering the card in my pocket.



Christmas came around, and I was alone. Honestly, it felt worse than I thought it would. I wrote to Harry during the holiday, but that just wasn’t enough for me. And when Christmas day came around, I felt even worse. There was no word from mum and dad and Eliza, and I found myself sobbing, and glad for the deserted dormitory.

I sat there on my bed, the curtains drawn, hugging my knees to my chest and crying, rocking back and forth slightly. The pain was overwhelming. I never expected it to hurt this much; I had thought the worst of the pain had passed. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way that I was very wrong. It was horrible, because I had always thought that I was so much stronger than this. This was just a sobering reminder that was not as strong as I’d convinced myself I was.

When I finally emerged from my little cave, I saw that the sun was shining outside. I caught a metallic glint out of the corner of my eye, and saw a small stack of wrapped parcels at the foot of my bed. There was one from Dumbledore, one from Luna Lovegood (who had always been a good friend of mine), one from Hermione (which surprised me, because I thought she hated me after I almost bit her), and one from Harry.

Dumbledore’s present was a large book detailing the history of vampire society, tracing all the old bloodlines and detailing coven life, with a huge list of the most powerful, influential covens. I smiled, making a mental note to thank him when I saw him. Luna had given me a necklace on a thin silver chain. The pendant was a large heart that was filled with sparkling, colored smoke that changed colors at an easy, mesmerizing pace. I smiled fondly as I clasped it around my neck. Hermione had gotten me a leather-bound journal with my name on it, and a small note attached.

"Vivian;

I’m sorry about what happened between us before. I’m sorry if what I did offended you, but it had to be done to protect Harry, and yourself. On a lighter note, I decided to give you something for Christmas. You can use this to record your thoughts and feelings, and to vent if there’s no one listening. Because not many people are willing to lend an ear to you, I thought you might like a way to release your emotions. I hope you have a happy Christmas!

Sincerely,

Hermione"

I smiled a watery smile as I flipped the pages, the smell of leather and parchment hitting my nose and making me smile. She had no idea how much this meant to me. I tucked the note into the journal, and moved on to Harry’s gift.

I peeled away the paper, wondering what he decided to give me for Christmas. I wondered what he thought of my gift to him; I had sent him a box of Honeydukes’ finest chocolate, along with an autographed poster of Viktor Krum. It had taken a lot of Galleons and even more persuasion from Slughorn to get it, but I acquired the poster eventually, knowing Harry would have a fit when he saw it. Or at least I hoped he would, anyway.

My heart drummed in my chest as I finished unwrapping the parcel, not at all aware of why I was so nervous about it. When I finally peeled back the last of the paper and tossed it onto the floor, I smiled. Lying inside a box was a box of Honeydukes chocolate (a bit of a running joke between us), and a red rose with velvety, deep blood-red petals.

It was the most beautiful flower I had ever seen. The petals were like silk between my fingers, and its scent was intoxicatingly sweet. The thorns were still on it. I liked that, though; it showed the irony of the beauty. I pulled out my wand, and with a few simple spells, I ensured that this particular rose would never die. I cradled it to my chest, and smiled, a film of tears threatening to shed themselves from my eyes. I wiped my eyes and tenderly laid the rose on my night-table, and stood from my bed, feeling much better about how the day would turn out.

I made my way down to the Great Hall a few hours later for Christmas dinner, where Dumbledore and several staff members were sitting with the few remaining students at a much smaller table than those that usually occupied the Great Hall. I sat down on the farthest end of the table, distancing myself from everyone else. Why did I even come down here?

Just as I got up to go back to my bed, I was stopped. I turned around to see Professor Flitwick smiling gently at me.

–Happy Christmas, Professor,” I said.

–Happy Christmas, Miss Moore.” He cleared his throat. –You really should stay for the festivities.”

I shook my head. –I couldn't, possibly. I can’t eat anything, anyway, and I just… don’t quite belong here.”

He looked at me with his normally twinkling eyes and nodded sadly. –If that is what you want, then so be it.”

I turned around and went back to Ravenclaw Tower, pacing the common room. I was feeling antsy, and I wasn’t sure why. I paced and paced, until I finally gave up and sat down in one of the rather comfortable chairs that were arranged before the fireplace.

And then it struck me.

I ran upstairs to the dormitories, and scanned the surface of my night-table. I smiled when I pulled out the pristine white card with Demitri’s address written on it. I looked at it for a moment, remembering Sanguini’s words.

–Well, whenever you decide that this place is too… suffocating for you, write to this address, and ask for Demitri. He can help you.”

I didn’t know who this Demitri bloke was, and exactly how much of a help he would be, but it was worth a shot. I pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill, and set to work. When I finished my letter, I examined it carefully, making sure it sounded just right.

"Demitri,

My name is Vivian Moore, and I am a sixteen year-old vampire. I was turned just over one year ago, and have been told by your friend Sanguini that if I was looking for a coven, this would be the place to go. I have decided to take him up on his advice, as I am in a bit of a predicament.

You see, I am currently attending school at Hogwarts. I knew my return would be risky, but I decided to brave it for personal reasons. However, this is proving rather challenging for me. My family and most of the school have ostracized me, and I feel… like an outcast. I only have one real, true friend here in this school, and although we’re close, sometimes it just isn’t enough. Not to mention the cravings, coupled with being surrounded by horribly tempting humans on a daily basis, and being in close quarters with them. I’ve almost bitten a girl, which pretty much ruined the tentative friendship we were building.

I have been looking into covens, and have been thinking about joining one a lot. Perhaps you could give me some advice as to how this works, and where I should start. I feel as if I am at a loss here, and I don’t know where else to turn. This seems to be the only option left for me. Is there any way you could give me some advice on it? All help is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Vivian Moore"

I sealed the letter, and tied it to the leg of my owl, Harpy. He flew away into the frigid Christmas air, and I settled down on my bed, mulling things over.

When had I decided that Harry wasn’t enough? I hadn’t even realized what I’d written that until I read the letter over. But was it true? Or was it just my lack of exposure to other vampires? Maybe I was just craving the company of someone who truly understood me. While Harry knew what it was like to be an outcast, he had no idea what it was like to be a vampire. I was clinging to the hope that this Demitri character would really give me some good advice, and help me out.

After all, that was all I had left, wasn’t it?
Chapter Endnotes: Many thanks to my ah-mazing beta iwannabeanauror for a lovely and speedy job!

This is an unofficial site and is not supported or recognized by any of the publishers of the Harry Potter books. The author J.K. Rowling created this world and owns all the names and characters in it; this is a humble fan site run by teenagers who are scared of lawyers and don't wish to break any laws. E-mail us at mnffstaff3 at gmail dot com if you have any questions or concerns.

Copyright © 2015 Artphilia Designs. All rights reserved.