Damsels and Demons

Soft murmurs reach Lucienna’s ears as she begins to wake. A sterile scent fills her nostrils, assuring her that she is indeed safe now.

Safe…

“You’re safe here.”

A deep voice drifts through her mind, dredging up with it all the events prior that makes the backs of her eyes sting with relief to have escaped. A spike of adrenaline rushes thick through her veins and she jolts up, eyes frantically searching her unfamiliar surroundings. Golden mid-day light gleams through the long, high windows of an open room. She notes the rows of beds along the wall like the one she currently sits on and the thin white gown scratching against her skin. She quickly pats herself down to look for her wand, noting the gauze wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Finally spotting her wand on the bedside table, she snatches it up and goes to swing her legs over the side of the bed when a woman’s voice rings sharp through the room.

“Now hold on a minute, Miss! You stay right where you are!” Lucienna whips her head up as an older woman comes bustling over, a warning finger waving in the air.

Lucienna relaxes when she spots the medic insignia on her white robes and raises her hands in acquiescence as the woman begins waving her wand about. “I’m Madam Pomfrey, dear. Do you know where you are, Miss Fayne?” She asks, eyeing the vital stats glowing in the air.

“Uhm… England?” Lucienna asks, noting the woman’s accent. How the fuck should I know?

“Oh, an American!” Madam Pomfrey laughs. Seeming satisfied with Luienna’s current health, she gives a decisive nod and waves away the floating letters. “Not quite, dearie,” the medi-witch continues cheerfully. “You’re at Hogwarts! In Scotland.”

Lucienna raises her brows in response, unsure of how else to respond as questions whirl rapidly through her mind. Before she could decide which to ask first, another woman in green robes and a tidy bun comes striding out of a back office right to the edge of the bed, leveling a determined yet kind gaze to confused young woman. “You gave us a right good scare coming in as you did, Miss Fayne,” She says in a prim Scottish accent, her tone just as severe as her gaze. “I’ve never seen Severus look so unsettled!”

“Severus?” Lucienna questions, still reeling.

“The man who carried you in, dear.” Madam Pomfrey answers softly.

Right… the voice.

The second woman extends her hand, “Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor here at Hogwarts. We’re very glad that you are all right.”

Lucienna blinks before grasping the professor’s hand, mentally shaking herself. “Lucienna Fayne,” she responds. “The mysterious American.”

Professor McGonnagal gives a small grin. “Mysterious, indeed!” She exclaims before turning to Madam Pomfrey with a conspiratorial tilt of her head. “Oh, Severus is just beside himself with curiosity. He’s been holed up in Albus’s office all morning, practically pacing a hole  in the poor man’s carpet!”

Lucienna watches as the two women chatter back and forth, happy for the reprieve as she slowly gathers her thoughts. She startles when Professor McGonnagal suddenly turns back to her with a firm nod. “Right! Well now that you’re well, Headmaster Dumbledore would like a word.” A neat pile of clothes come floating to the bed. Madam Pomfrey quickly pats Lucienna’s shoulder and pulls the curtains around the bed, leaving her to dress.

The splendor of the castle is lost on Lucienna as she follows the professor to the headmaster’s office, for she is wholly occupied with organizing her own thoughts. She smoothes down the front of the black silk skirt drifting around her ankles as she and Professor Mcgonagall stop in front of a large gargoyle at the end of a hall. She mentally thanks the professor for her surprisingly modern eye for fashion. The bandages on her wrists are conveniently covered by the sleeves of her black fitted sweater, just snug enough to keep her wand secure against her arm.

Professor McGonagall turns to her as the gargoyle shifts to reveal a winding staircase. “Here we are, dear.” She says, grasping the young woman’s shoulder with a small smile.

“Thank you, for everything.” Lucienna says, returning her smile. Then, straightening her spine, she ascends the steps and steels herself for the meeting to come.

Upon entering the eclectic office of Albus Dumbledore, Lucienna’s gaze is immediately drawn to the dark-clad figure standing next to the headmaster’s desk. His eyes, black as night, follow her as she makes her way to stand before the two men. He stares down his aquiline nose at her from his towering height with an inscrutable expression, though she catches a fleeting glimpse of the curiosity McGonnagal spoke of in his piercing gaze. His eyes narrow as she holds his gaze, as though criticizing her audacity not to flinch away from his cold scrutiny.

“Ah, Miss Fayne! I’m delighted to formally make your acquaintance,” Dumbledore exclaims jovially, extending his hand.

Lucienna tears her eyes away from the man to address the headmaster and shake his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dumbledore.” Her gaze flits back to the man nearby, whose face is now contorted into a fierce scowl. Lucienna raises a brow, a sideways grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. “And you must be Severus?”

His scowl deepens. “Professor Snape, Potions Master. You would do well to adhere to basic rules of propriety— You’re not in the states anymore, Miss Fayne.”

“Clearly not,” Lucienna chuckles, quickly joined by the headmaster. Attempting to ignore the sudden sensation of tingles erupting from her scalp, Lucienna extends a hand despite the man’s prickly attitude. “Lucienna Fayne, Professor.”

***

The utter nerve of the chit, Severus grumbles to himself darkly as he grasps the young woman’s hand and gives a sharp shake. He watches as she perches herself on the edge of the armchair behind her. She feigns comfortability with her crossed ankles and small hands resting atop the other in her lap, but the stiffness of her spine gives her away. She can’t be anymore than seventeen, yet there is something distinctly off about the sharpness of her gaze that lays at odds with the youth of her delicate features.

“Would you like some refreshment? Coffee? Tea?” Dumbledore asks the young woman, who quickly declines with a polite smile. Severus clenches his jaw, beyond ready to simply get on with it and finally receive some answers about this mysterious guest. As with anything involving the esteemed headmaster, whatever is to come surely cannot bode well for him.

“Ahem,” Albus clears his throat, suddenly looking quite uncomfortable as Severus glances at him questioningly. “Perhaps… this?” He continues, reaching into his robes and slowly placing a vial of dark crimson liquid before Miss Fayne.

Blood?

Understanding quickly dawns on Severus and he snaps his head back to the young woman as she lets out a surprised laugh. Opening the vial, she takes a delicate sniff of the liquid and lifts her brows in question.

Albus chuckles, “It is ethically sourced, I promise you.” The headmaster’s shoulders relax, assured by Lucienna’s reaction. “I don’t mean to offend you, my dear. I am… unaware of the appropriate customs.”

Severus’s mind begins to reel as he absorbs the strange scene before him. She’s a vampire?! And Albus, acting as if it is the most typical occurrence in the world as the young woman tips back the vial and drains it before their eyes. Severus swallows hard as he watches a faint flush bloom across the young woman’s ivory skin, spreading down the column of her slender neck.

Her earlier wariness as she sat across from the headmaster suddenly makes more sense to Severus— the vampires are notoriously secretive creatures, keeping to themselves along the periphery of the wizarding world. What does not yet make any sense whatsoever is what business Albus has with the vampires and what this particular one is doing here now.

The young woman— young vampire— runs her tongue discreetly along her teeth before smiling at the headmaster. “I appreciate it, Headmaster. Its not exactly conventional, but nothing about this current situation really is, is it?” She responds with a small wave of her hand.

“Indeed, it is not,” Albus says warmly, taking a few moments to consider the young woman before him before continuing. “Miss Fayne, when we first met— in the square— you said you were expecting me. Do you remember that?” She nods. “May I ask what you meant by that?”

***

Lucienna keeps herself from shifting her gaze back to Severus— Professor Snape— as she internally debates how much to reveal to the pair of them. She practically felt the shock radiating from him as her… condition as a vampire was revealed, his piercing eyes burning in her periphery. She doesn’t have time now to consider this relative stranger’s thoughts on the matter, though part of her is itching with curiosity at what this severe man might make of her. But too much hinges on the outcome of this discussion to be distracted— not just her own safety but the entire political position of the vampire world.

Lucienna returns a determined gaze to the headmaster’s blue eyes peering at her over his half-moon spectacles. “Your reputation is well-known among the vampires, Professor Dumbledore. Given our… predilection for privacy, it’s easily noticed when someone such as yourself takes interest in our affairs.”

Dumbledore nods, “I thought as much. And do you know why I have taken such an interest?”

“I have an idea,” Lucienna responds, refusing to reveal any more until she knows exactly what Dumbledore’s angle is.

Sensing as much, he continues. “As I’m sure you are aware, Lord Voldemort has made a return. We are in the beginnings of a second war, Miss Fayne,” Dumbledore says, his voice grave. “Now historically, the vampires have consistently remained agnostic in the political affairs of the wizarding world. However, now that there are suddenly vampires such as yourself who have somehow managed to retain their magic post-transformation, I imagine that is about to change.”

Severus steps closer to Lucienna, his eyes narrowed, “You have access to your magic? Beyond your elemental affinity?”

Lucienna shifts her gaze to the dark professor and nods, somehow not the least bit surprised someone like himself would know what little information is available to outsiders about the particulars of vampirism. Any witch or wizard who dares take more than a passing interest in the dark arts almost inevitably falls victim to the allure of mystery shrouding the well-kept secrets of the vampire world. After centuries of ill-fated attempts to uncover those secrets, few facts are available to those in the wizarding community who dare to seek them: Non-magic folk cannot be turned into vampires; Vampires can learn to wield elemental magic but lose their ability to use a wand; They are monarchical; and while they remain staunchly removed from wizarding political affairs, they gather and hoard information like a niffler does gold.

And Dumbledore is right— vampires using wand magic changes everything when the wizarding world is once again on the brink of an internal war.

“I, along with twelve other young vampires who were changed around the same time as me— nearly a year ago,” Lucienna explains, watching as Severus’s stony expression shifts to wonder.

“How do you see these events changing the position of the vampires, Miss Fayne?” Dumbledore asks.

Severus jerks his head to face the headmaster. “Shouldn’t we be asking a more seasoned vampire that question,” he asks acerbically. 

“On the contrary, Miss Fayne’s current position makes her opinion on the matter quite vital,” Dumbledore smiles, not taking his gaze from Lucienna’s.

Despite his smile, there’s an unsettling glint in his gaze as if he were sizing her up that makes her bristle. Lucienna considers her next words carefully. “It does change things. Both sides of this war are waiting to see if the vampires will openly choose a side now— and I doubt the Death Eaters will invite me to tea as you have when they are refused an answer. I won’t give you an answer now either, but I can tell you with certainty that it will never benefit us to align with Voldemort. Now, as my recent kidnapping by the Catholics has made me aware, I need somewhere safe that I and the other magical vampires can continue to learn. If you were to extend an invitation to us at Hogwarts, I offer my discreet help to the Order of the Phoenix.”Lucienna pauses to take a deep breath, gathering as much determination as she can muster before she finishes her proposal. “But make no mistake,” She warns, her gaze fixed firmly on the headmaster’s, “I will look out for my own before anyone else’s.”

Dumbledore nods, taking a few moments to absorb Lucienna’s words before finally extending his hand to Lucienna with a warm smile. “You have a deal, Miss Fayne.”

Lucienna releases a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and firmly grasps the headmaster’s hand, returning his smile. “Perfect,” She chirps.

Severus crosses his arms across his chest and throws a skeptical glare to Lucienna. “And what, pray tell, is your position that allows you to make such promises?” He asks, arching a brow.

Dumbledore barks a hearty laugh and stands to clap a hand onto Severus’s shoulder. “Careful now, my boy. She is soon to be queen of all vampires— show some propriety!”

Lucienna throws Severus a cheeky grin, delighted by the deepening of his scowl.