The Muggleborn Vampire: A Dramione Story

Chapter 28 - The Immortal Dilemma

'Please, for the love of Merlin, let me not be a vampire.' Draco's fears flooded his thoughts as he felt his blood run cold.

He was slowly accepting the fact that his Godfather, who, by definition, had been by his side his entire life, was not a pure wizard; no, the man was one of the dark creatures that haunts his nightmares at night. How did he not notice? Did his father know?

Surely not. There was no way Lucius Malfoy would allow a vampire into his house, let alone around his heir. He could easily picture the blond patriarch scowling and slamming the door shut on any being that had even a miniscule amount of creature filth in there blood, even if they were his best friend in Hogwarts. And that's to say if he didn't decide to kill them before they even reached his door.

That thought process was what led him to ask his uncle about his own mortal status. For if he was a vampire, he would be better off dead, for his father would rather crown Wormtail as his family heir than a tainted blood source.

"Am I a vampire, sir?" He would have been disgusted by the squeekiness of his voice if he wasn't so focus on not passing out before finding out the answer to his question.

"No, Draco, you're not." His Godfather answered sternly; he could tell that the man was struggling with his patience. "But you're not fully mortal either."

Draco felt his forehead crinkle in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Draco." A soft voice from his left begged for his attention, and he was startled for a moment. He had momentarily forgotten that he was not alone in the room with the Potions Professor.

He drew his gaze towards the girl beside him and found his mind go temporarily blank from all pressing matters. Had Granger always been this pretty?

Though there was no windows in the dungeons, her caramel curls seemed to glimmer and shine a soft gold. Though he seemed to remember that her hair had once been uncontrollably fluffy and teased, her hair was now silky and smooth, flowing in large curls down her shoulders and brushing the neckline of her robes. He could guarantee that if he were to run his fingers through her hair, he would never find any snarls or snags. Oh how he desperately wanted to test that theory right now.

He followed the smooth lines of her neck up to her face, framed perfectly by her dark locks. Her skin looked so smooth and pale. And her lips...so plump and red. They were a bit shiny; was she wearing lip gloss? Would they taste like strawberries?

Wait, what was he doing? Ugh, he was letting himself become distracted by her again, like that time in Potions. She had looked beautiful then too.

'No, stop! Focus!' He told himself, disgusted by how spacy he was acting within her presence. He wasn't even sure why that kept happening! Sure, he had noticed her beauty before, but her blood status was enough to hault his thoughts from pursuing her any farther. Granted, if she was truly Uncle Severus's daughter, she wouldn't be a mudblood...but she was still a creature! And speaking of that...

"What did you do to me, Granger?" Anger suddenly filled him as he sneered at the brunette sharing the couch with him. "Who gave you the right to jeopardize my blood? And if I'm not a vampire, how does you're...condition concern me? Why am I still here?"

"Draco...I'm sorry I bit you without your permission." Granger's chocolate brown eyes were pleading with his.

"And for that matter," Draco felt more anger wash over him, "I don't remember giving you permission to call me by my first name."

"Draco, that's enough." His Godfather's gruff voice piped in. "Let the girl explain herself."

Huffing, he shot his Uncle an apologizing look before turning back and indicating that she should continue with a sneer and a head bob.

He saw a wave of hurt skitter across her eyes before it was replaced with determination. "As Severus said, you, for some reason, are my mate. My Vampire, it seems, chose you. I tried to ignore Her insistence to march up to you right away and explain the situation, for I wasn't sure how you would react, given our not-so-stellar history. The longer I tried to ignore her, though, the more impatient She got, until she finally took over and claimed you Herself.

"Like we said before, you're not a vampire, but you're not fully mortal anymore. See, when a vampire bites their mate for the first time, the venom in their saliva enters the bloodstream and into the cells, changing their molecular codes and, essentially, placing them in a sort of a stasis that prevents cell death. As long as the dose of venom remains at a equal level, the human's body becomes preserved, in a way, in order to ensure that they can remain alive at their mate's side for as long as the vampire's life endures. As long as I bite you once a day, you'll remain your same age."

Heavy silence filled the air as Draco let the girls words to sink in. "So, You're saying I'll be immortal if I will be your mate and let you bite me everyday with your freaky vampire venom?"

"There's no 'ifs' about it, boy." Severus narrowed his eyes and his voice. "You are Hermione's mate, you will treat her how a proper man treats one's intended, and you will let her bite you or you will die."

"Are you saying that you'll kill me if I don't mate with your daughter!?"

"No, you thick-headed imbicile!" Severus met his irate godson in the middle of the room, where both men had risen in anger. "If you miss a dose of Hermione's venom within a twenty-four hour period, your cells will begin to deteriate rapidly and you'll die within the hour."

"And how is that fair!? When do I get a say in how I live my life?"

"Draco, please..." Hermione spoke soothingly as she rose and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No! I won't take it anymore!" Draco yelled, ripping himself away from her grip. "Everyone thinks they can just tell me how to live my life and that I'll just follow along like some lost puppy! What if I don't want to be a immortal mate to a bloody vampire? Or some stupid ass follower of a maniac madman? Or the prim and proper son who must always act a certain way or risk being disowned? When do I get a say about my life, huh? Tell me, WHEN!?!"

Silence filled the room again as the trio studied each other in the middle of the sitting room, seemingly at an impass. The two men looked like they were about to explode, while the woman stood guiltedly with tears rimming her eyes.

"Drac-Malfoy, I'm sorry." Hermione tilted her head to will her mate to make eye contact with her. "I should have discussed this decision with you while I still had control of all my sences. And I'm sorry you feel so out of control of your life. If you let me, I would like to help you through this."

"Why? Why would I allow someone like you to help me?"

"Because, whether you like it or not, I am your mate." She said softly, walking towards him and to her suprise, she was able to place her hand on his shoulder again, but without protest this time."And I will do everything I can to keep you happy and safe."

"You want to make me happy?" Draco's voice was hollow and numb, "Then bugger off and leave me alone."

Hermione watched, heartbroken, as Draco Malfoy stalked across the room and out of their quarters. She went to follow but was stopped by Severus grabbing her arm.

"Leave him, we will retreave him later."

"But Severus..."

"Remember, he's a Slytherin; he needs to process things on his own."

"But he'll need my venom soon."

"Then we will collect him beforehand or meet him at the hospital wing when he realizes he can't do this on his own."

Hermione huffed in flustration and sat on the couch. "Why does he have to be so stubborn?"

"Because he's a Malfoy. Stubborn is what they do best."