We weren't born to follow....come on and get up off your knees...hold on to what you believe-- December 15 1998

Shrieking, I sent a powerful curse my cousin's way.  He did put up more of a fight than Regulus, so it was more entertaining.  But I was ready to end this with him.  "Enough games, Sirius.  It's time we finish this little feud."

I led Tom up the astronomy tower as he caught up with me. I went to punch him he hit me in the gut. Coughing I dropped to the ground. I quickly picked myself up off the ground as I turned to face him. I got him with rictusempra. Catching him off guard he than slammed me into the wall. He, glaring at me as I was glaring at him. He took my face in his hand and asked me.

One of the few benefits of vampirism was the built-in super strength that accompanied it. (That, and, you know, immortality.) As such, I could barely feel Draco's weight on my shoulder as we stumbled into the Great Hall. I hope that it didn't look suspicious, me not feeling weighed down.

I saw Juniper at the far side of the hall and began to lead Draco to her. "She looks fine," I observed.

I wanted nothing more than for Blaise to drop Draco off and run. We needed to get out of the Great Hall, and fast. I could see so many injuries and knew that they'd be ripping at Blaise's insides. As we crossed the hall toward Draco's sister, I lowered my wand. This room was safe, right?

I was so relieved.  Blaise was right, she looked fine.  I knew that there was something going on below the surface, but on the outside she almost looked peaceful.  "Thank you," I said, grateful for the assistance.  "you should stay here... you'll be more safe than out there."  I knew it was selfish, but I wanted them to stay.  I did nto want to worry about their safety nor did I want to be alone in here.  I killed the previous Headmaster... and I knew the Order knew that.  I did not trust them as I was sure they did not trust me.

I hoped with everything inside me that Blaise would say that he needed to go, but I also knew that Draco was his best friend. They had a strange yet special bond that made them almost brothers. Blaise needed to get somewhere that was safe for him. He could survive the Death Eater attacks all evening, but he couldn't survive being in this room full of injuries without hurting someone.

I was here to help him, but I could only do so much before he overpowered me. Just say no, Blaise.

I glanced at Iggy, who seemed just as eager as I to leave the Great Hall and seek refuge somewhere away from all this blood and carnage. He'd be upset with me when I answered Draco, but I knew that my best friend needed me right now. He was disoriented in the midst of all this chaos, and I wanted to be there to support him. With a deep breath, I nodded at Draco. "We'll stay," I agreed. "I need to hear what happened, anyways. How did they get in?"

"Well this time is wasn't because of me," I said, shaking my head, feeling nauseous at the thought of the last time the Death Eaters had entered the grounds of Hogwarts was due to me.  "I believe they chased Potter from Hogsmeade.  The Order knew about it and helped Potter back into the school... then all hell broke lose," I said, summing it up the best I could.  I knew this day would happen.  Father spoke of it; the Dark Lord spoke of it; everyone did.  The day where the Chosen One would come against the Dark Lord.  And what better battlefield than Hogwarts?

"Bloody hell," I murmured, shaking my head. With Dumbledore gone, it had to have been easy enough for the Death Eaters to actually get to Hogwarts. It was really only a matter of time.

Just at that moment, someone who had sustained a rather bloody injury walked in front of us. I swallowed hard, trying to keep myself together. The scent of her blood, though, was just as alluring as Draco's had been. Clenching my fists and closing my eyes tightly, I inhaled and exhaled as deeply as I could. Just let this pass...

My body tightened as I prepared to launch myself to Blaise's side in case of an emergency. With this injured girl stumbling by, I could tell that he was having a hard time pulling himself together. When I saw him close his eyes, I knew that the black eyes of the animal within were being exposed, hungry.

I tried to play it casually, though, out of fear that Draco would pick up on the fact that this was indeed much more significant than an aversion to blood. My eyes darted from Blaise to the girl to Draco and back to Blaise. Keep it together.

I saw Blaise's reaction and sighed.  "Perhaps you should leave, Blaise, if all of this is making you so..." I trailed off, not entirely sure what to describe his reaction like.  It did not seem like just an aversion to blood, but what else would I call it?  Something was not right.  I looked between the two of them and realized Iggy was watching my mate like a hawk.

"Yes, I... I think that's a good idea," I said, still avoiding eye contact with Draco. I got to my feet as quickly as I could. "Hope you feel better..."

As Blaise stood, I also rose to my feet. I could tell that Draco sensed something amiss with the situation, but I hoped that he would keep any suspicions to himself. "He'll be fine," I mumbled shortly to him as Blaise began walking toward the hall entrance. I pulled out my wand and walked after him, trying not to look back at Draco.

<<Sorry if I slowed down the thread. I can let this be their exit if you'd like.>>

<< Haha, no you're fine!  I'd add a lot more people... but I don't wanna get too ahead of Harry and Tom lol! >>

I watched them leave and turned my attention to Juniper.  I took hold of her hand and whispered, "June... I'm here."  I was not entirely sure if she could hear me, but I wanted to believe she could.  It would be nice if she could... I was not going to let anyone harm her in here.  I kept my gaze on Juniper, not wanting to see everyone that was injured or dead because of something that I sprung into motion by killing Professor Dumbledore.

<<It's all good, I love the interaction between them >>

I heard people talking as I came out of the darkness. It seemed like there were a lot of people, wherever I was. I felt something on my hand and I squeezed it. I realized it was another hand but who's? I slowly opened my eyes and blinked the face above me into focus, "Draco." I felt a rush of happiness that he was okay. I looked around, "Where are we?" I started to sit up but my head was suddenly throbbing in pain. I took my hand back from Draco to place pressure on my head and squinted my eyes shut against the pain as I laid back down. "Oh."