Slythendor

Professor Lupin was pacing in his classroom. A war was raging inside his head as he waited for his third-year class to arrive.

She is… I’m sure she is…
But what if she isn’t?
I know she is… I have to tell her…
Okay, so she is, but why do you have to tell her? Won’t it be too strange for her?
She’s strong… she’ll manage… and besides, she needs to know…
But why?!
She needs some kind of parent in her life, now that both of them have gone. Her siblings can’t do that for her.
Oh, alright! But don’t say I didn’t warn you if this backfires….

The class filed in, and Professor Lupin began the lesson.

“Doesn’t seem very on-the-ball today, does he?” Ron muttered to Vanessa.

“No, I wonder why?” Vanessa replied thoughtfully.

“And for homework, I would like an essay on how vampires turn ordinary humans into their kind and ways of warding them off.” Professor Lupin concluded.

“Well, that’s relatively easy.” Vanessa sighed.

“How?!” Squealed Neville from Vanessa’s other side.

“Let’s just say I happen to know a fair few of them….” Vanessa replied mysteriously. She grinned, and Neville noticed how oddly pointed her teeth were. Neville opened his mouth to inquire, but Vanessa simply hissed, “Later.”

As the class began filing out, Vanessa quickly began packing her things. She was really hungry, and anxious to get to dinner.

“Vanessa, could I have a word? Don’t worry, it won’t be long.” Professor Lupin smiled.

“Okay.” Vanessa replied, doubling back to the desk at the front of the classroom.

“Could you possibly meet me in my office tomorrow at nine a.m.? You’re not in trouble; I just need to discuss something with you.” Lupin asked.

“Sure, Professor. See you then!” Vanessa agreed, strolling off to the Great Hall for dinner.

Sitting in between Ginny and Neville, Vanessa told them, Harry, Ron and Hermione about the meeting with Lupin and speculated what he wanted to discuss.

“I think it’s something relatively small, like homework or something. I don’t see why he’s seeing me on a Saturday though.” Vanessa mused casually.

“You’re probably right.” Hermione agreed.

“So, this vampire homework….” Neville began.

“I don’t understand why anyone would want to kill a vampire. I mean, it’s just like all this nonsense about werewolves. They’re people too!” Vanessa started.

“Yeah, but do you know any vampires?” Ron asked sceptically, expecting a ‘no’.

“Why, yes, as it happens I do.” Vanessa grinned.

“You DO?!” The others chorused.

“As a matter of fact- Promise me you won’t tell anyone else this, okay? Not one word, okay?”

“Promise.” Harry and Ron said in unison.

“Of course!” Hermione and Ginny replied.

“’Til the day I die.” Neville agreed.

“Well, my great-maternal-grandfather and my paternal grandmother were both vampires. My paternal grandfather was a werewolf as well!”

“No freaking way!” Ron exclaimed.

“Someone talking about me?” Gerard inquired, sitting next to Ron. Vanessa’s gaze lingered on Gerard and then she looked at her wrist and exclaimed,

“Is that the time!? I’d better be off, bye!”

“But you don’t have a watch.”

“Bye!” and with that Vanessa sprinted all the way back to a nearby courtyard, finally flopping on to a bench next to Fred Weasley.

“Hello.” Fred smiled.

“Hey, Fred. Have you ever been really good friends with someone, then dated them, then broken up and now you can’t even be around them because you still like them but you know it doesn’t work and it breaks your heart to look at them, but at the same time you think they’re being an ass?” Vanessa asked desperately.

“No, but George might have.” Right on cue George sat next to his twin and objected,

“I haven’t. But I can tell you, Vanessa, have. Who’s the lucky man?”

“Gerard Way, the angelic fourth-year American transfer from New Jersey.” Vanessa replied with a heartbroken sigh. “He was… everything I ever wanted.” Looking at the twins she continued, “I very, very, rarely fall for someone, but when I fall, I fall hard. Damn it, I fell hard…. But he’s a freaking idiot, he’s so… Gryffindor! No offence to you.” After a brief pause she got up and announced, “I’m gonna go fly a bit, see you!”

“Mind if we watch?” the twins asked in unison.

“Not at all.” Replied Vanessa as she strolled down to the Slytherin Common room and to her dorm.

Arriving by the lake, Vanessa carefully mounted her relatively old, much loved Cleansweep Seven, and took off.

“Shall we, then, Fred?”

“George, I think we shall.” Fred replied to his twin as they settled themselves under a beech tree. After fifteen minutes of narrow dodges, very low dives and some beautiful flying, George remarked,

“Blimey, she’s almost as good as Harry!” and Vanessa then did an unexpected plunge into the lake.

“What the hell?” the twins chorused. Cedric, who had been studying and watching from the far side of the lake, was thinking the same thing. A minute later, Vanessa emerged, laughing and shaking water from her hair. Landing right near the twins she got off her broom and began magically drying herself.

“What in the hell was that?!” George asked.

“I needed to wake myself up, that’s all.” Vanessa grinned, waving at Cedric.

“You are bloody mental!” Fred exclaimed.

“Why, yes I am!"