Blood Magic

Forgive The Messenger

"Hey, Granger!"

Hermione shot her head up from the letter to see Blaise and Pansy walking towards her. They both wore the same curious expression as they cautiously approached.

Mione tucked the latter away for the time being and did her best to offer something resembling a normal smile. "Hey..."

"Are you okay?" Zabini asked.

"Well uh — "

"Draco told us about the attack," Pansy blurted out.

Blaise shot his friend an incredulous look before turning his tentative attention back to Hermione. The dark-toned Slytherin took out his wand and casted a glamor charm over her without a needed word.

"Yes. I, uh, made the mistake of walking beyond the wards of the school and it turned out that Ivan was basically waiting for me," she explained briefly.

Pansy's brows drew together. "Who's Ivan?"

Hermione's eyes lowered to the ground. "He's the vampire that killed and turned Draco."

Pansy gasped. Moine clenched her jaw and repressed an animalistic growl that stirred in her throat over the thought of Ivan's vile actions.

"Well, I'm actually heading back to my dorm to change. Draco and I have a meeting with McGonagall," she told them.

Zabini nodded his head but Pansy was the one who offered to walk back with her. Hermoine, to her own surprise, nodded her head. Before leaving Blaise behind, Mione requested that he meet them outside of the headmistress' office.

"If it's possible, see if you can find Harry and Ginny too," she suggested.

"What about Longbottom and Weasley?" he asked with a raised brow.

A sad smile touched her lips. Mione shrugged her shoulders and waved her hand off. "Neville is more than welcome to tag along. But, Ronald? I'm fairly certain that he is still harboring a particular disdain for my whole situation."

Pansy smirked. "Well, I'll have you know that Weasley boy had joined in on the search for you yesterday."

Hermione's eyes widened in near disbelief. "Really?"

The two Slytherins nodded silently before pairing off. The raven on the other hand gave out a sharp squawk and flew off its perch. It landed heavily on Hermione's shoulder and nudged its head into her neck.

Mione was far too consumed in her own worries to think twice about it.

Much to Hermione's shock, she couldn't believe the sizable crowd that had gathered outside of McGonagall's office. Blaise had apparently kept good on his promise to reach out to Harry and Neville. But what truly sparked her intrigue was that even Ron had decided to tag along. All three Gryffindors were huddled in their own separate group while Draco spoke quietly to Zabini off to the side.

After she had returned to her rooms to quickly rinse off and change, she quickly ushered Pansy out of the common room before anyone even noticed she was in there. Thankfully, the dark-haired girl didn't say much on the matter of the room's choice of decor. Mione's poor head just couldn't take the useless banter at the moment.

As soon as she and Pansy rounded the corridor, the group stopped their private chattering and turned to direct their eyes on Mione. A hard blush touched her cheeks while a searing strain of anger and hatred coursed through her veins. She lowered her head down, avoiding clear contact with anyone.

She loathed the attention.

Feeling everyone's eyes on her like she's some kind of sick experiment gone wrong. Then again, most if not all of them had witnessed her hidden nature come out not even a full twenty fours hours ago. Of course they were still a bit spooked. Either that or they were all gaping at the large raven that insisted on sitting on her shoulder.