Gunshots echoed in the distance as Draco desperately climbed over a fence. He was almost certain he had cut himself climbing over hedges before. Draco hit the ground hard, nearly knocking the breath of out of himself. Everything was a nightmarish blur and he only wanted to find shelter and hide until the nightmare was over. He pulled himself up and dashed for the back porch of the house in front of him.
Draco was surprised to find the backdoor unlocked. He opened it, then closed and locked it quickly. He stood there with his hand against the door, breathing hard. He jerked as there were sounds of footsteps coming from above. He quickly looked around the dark of the room he was in that appeared to be a kitchen. He couldn't see anywhere to hide as the footsteps came down the stairs.
He considered running back outside but Draco knew for certain what was outside. Death troopers. Perhaps, whoever was hiding out in this house would be friendly.
"Who's there?" a familiar voice said, as the footsteps moved toward the kitchen.
Draco didn't speak. He knew that voice. Or was he only hearing what he wanted to hear? The figure arrived in the kitchen and moonlight illuminated his face.
"Potter," Draco said.
"Draco?" Harry replied.
"Yeah," Draco said, feeling relief as he fell to the floor in exhaustion, the scratches on his abdomen burning.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked, kneeling near Draco.
Draco didn't reply at first. This was all so strange. What were the odds that he would bump into Harry Potter like this?
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked.
"My question first, Draco," Harry insisted.
Draco scowled and grunted.
"I'm fine," he lied, fearing the cuts were worse than he thought.
"I was in town visiting Ginny's family," Harry said.
"Whose house is this?" Draco asked.
"I don't know. There's… someone on the front porch," Harry said.
"Are they OK?" Draco asked, his heart pounding.
"No. They aren't OK. They aren't OK at all," Harry admitted, the meaning behind his words obvious.
"Is… is Ginny here?" Draco asked.
"No. I don't know where Ginny is. I thought she was at her mom and dad's house but when I got there… it was on fire," Harry said, his voice filled with despair.
"My parent's house is on fire too. I guess they knew who to target," Draco said, struggling to believe it had all come to this.
"Are your parents OK?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. They are on vacation in Europe. I was in town on business so they let me stay there. Everything started burning so I got the hell out. I kept running until I got here," Draco said.
"Astoria?" Harry asked.
"She's at home. Our other home, I mean. Upstate New York. I talked to her on the phone a few hours ago. Right before everything went dead," Draco replied.
Harry sighed.
"I'm sorry, Draco," Harry said.
"Me too," Draco said, then tried to pull himself up before groaning in pain and falling to the floor again.
"You're hurt," Harry said.
"I'm fine," Draco insisted.
"Stop lying," Harry said.
"What are you gonna do? It's dark and if we make too much noise they might come looking for us," Draco said.
"They'll probably come looking for us anyway. But at some point we're going to need to escape. I found some supplies in a bathroom upstairs. Come on," Harry said, grabbing Draco's hand then gingerly lifting him.
Silently they moved through the house, Harry helping Draco to walk with an arm around his back. Draco had thought of Harry holding him so many times but never under circumstances like this. It was stupid to think of it now, Draco knew, but something about his touch had always been electric.
"Take off your shirt," Harry said, leaving Draco on a bed while he rifled through a bathroom cabinet.
Draco sighed and pulled off his shirt. No, it wasn't the first time he had been shirtless in front of Harry Potter but it still made him a little nervous. Draco unbuttoned his shirt then threw it aside while he waited for Harry to return.
"It's cold in here," Draco said.
"Lower your voice," Harry said as he entered the room.
Draco looked down at his torso. Blood smeared the cuts, barely visible in the pale moonlight shining through the blinds. Harry had what appeared to be a bottle of alcohol and cotton balls in his hands.
"Now, hold still," Harry said, just like Draco's mother would've said it.
Harry wet the cotton balls then began to dab at the cuts.
"Ah. Shit!" Draco screeched as the cuts burned.
"Your voice!" Harry hissed.
"Sorry. Dammit," Draco grunted as Harry continued to dab.
Draco covered his mouth while Harry finished up. Harry pressed a towel to Draco's abdomen and said, "Hold this. It looks like the bleeding has mostly stopped but just in case."
"I'm going to live?" Draco asked pathetically.
Suddenly, there were voices and the sound of someone banging at the door. Draco felt all the blood drain his face and his heart began to pound in terror.
"What do you we do? They'll kill us!" Draco screeched.
"Come," Harry said, grabbing Draco by the hand and quickly dragging him into the nearby closet.
Once inside Harry moved aside an ironing board and Draco squeezed behind it with Harry pushing himself in front of Draco and putting the ironing board in front of them and sweeping clothes in front of the ironing board.
"How did they know?" Draco growled.
"Shut up," Harry said and Draco was silent.
A door downstairs slammed open, making Draco jump. There were muttering voices and stomping up the stairs.
"He's gotta be in one of these houses unless we've lost him," a deep voice said.
"If we've lost him he'll be dead anyway. You know what's out there," a higher voice said.
"Nothin' in the bathroom," a different, more familiar high voice said, disturbing Draco.
"Fine. Check the closet and let's move on," the deep voice said, then stomped down the stairs.
The closet flung open. Draco could see a bright light roaming around. Draco held his breath and tried to be as still as possible. She was going to see them. How could she not?
Just as Draco was certain she would dig in deeper the closet door shut with a slam and the person stomped down the stairs. Neither of them moved until the sounds had passed. Draco was thinking that if he were them that he would just wait downstairs just in case anyone outed themselves from hiding. Under different circumstances Draco might've enjoyed being wedged this close to Harry but currently he felt terrified and suffocated.
Draco wasn't sure how long they waited in the closet before finally coming out but it had felt like an eternity. He collapsed onto the bed and said, "Her voice. I recognized that voice but…"
"Pansy Parkinson," Harry said flatly, sitting on the bed.
"But that's not possible," Draco said.
"It was her. I saw her and… I think she saw us," Harry said.
"No, no, no! You don't understand. It can't be her!" Draco growled, feeling that panicked feeling again.
"Draco, I saw two kids I went to school with, murder each other this morning, so you'll forgive me for finding it easy to accept that Pansy Parkinson who was never exactly the nicest person in the world is working for them," Harry said with frustration.
Draco sighed.
"Pansy is dead, Harry! Trust me. I saw her die," Draco said.
"You saw her die?" Harry said suspiciously.
Draco closed his eyes and tried to banish old memories of blood and fire. He didn't like to think about the dark thing that Pansy had become and how he had been forced to end her existence.
"Yes," Draco said, unwilling to divulge the details.
"Well, she got better. It wouldn't be the first time I saw the dead come back anyway," Harry said.
Draco wondered what Harry meant but was afraid to pry and be forced to give up his own secrets in return.
"I'm exhausted," Draco confessed.
"Me too. One of us should get some rest. I guess you since you're injured," Harry said.
"You're going to keep watch?"
"Yeah."
Harry stood up and stretched.
"You don't seem any less tired than me," Draco said, scooting himself on the bed and laying his head on a pillow.
"I've been up for nearly two days," Harry admitted.
"Then you should get the rest," Draco said.
"No. I'll be fine. I can't sleep and if they come back…" Harry trailed.
Draco knew Harry was special. He supposed he had always known that even back in school. He had hated Harry out of jealousy and buried an attraction that had only come bubbling to the surface when they were reunited as adults. But no, he was special in some other way. But he would let Harry keep his secrets as long as he could keep his own. And God knew the death of Pansy Parkinson wasn't his only dark secret.
Draco closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He tried not to think about Harry Potter. He tried not to think about Pansy Parkinson. And he tried not to think about his wife, Astoria. She hadn't been well. She was back out east and so was he. Draco shuddered as his mind flashed to him. The God Supreme. The Dark One. The President.
Draco didn't think he'd be getting any sleep that night.
When Draco woke up sun was shining through the blinds and Harry Potter was snoring next to him. He wanted to apologize for not taking his turn at watch but figured Harry was sleeping just fine. Draco slid out of bed. It was cold in that house. So cold. There was no heat, no electricity and not much in the way of humanity.
Reluctantly, Draco strode over to the window, glancing out the blinds. The sky was blue and the sun was out. If you ignored all the smoke in the air and the corpses in neighboring yards you could almost mistake it for a nice day. The chaos of the night before had ended, the death troopers having slaughtered anyone who might be dangerous or unwelcome in his new reality.
This town got it a bit worse because more people knew about him here. They knew who he was… who he really was. And they knew things about the other world, whatever you wanted it to call it. Miracles. Magic. The supernatural. The sort of stuff that let dead ex-girlfriends come back to life.
Harry yawned and Draco yelped, ripped out of the silence.
"Fuck. That scared me," Draco said.
"Sorry, I guess," Harry said and leaned up.
Draco couldn't help but take in the shirtless figure that he had shared a bed with. Harry was every bit as gorgeous as he had been before Draco had moved away. He wasn't as ripped as he was in high school anymore but he was still pretty fit. Harry rubbed dark fingers through his black hair, glaring at Draco with interest.
"Your cuts have healed. We both might want a shower. No telling when we'll get another chance," Harry said and stepped out of bed.
"Yeah. You're probably right," Draco said, struggling to ground himself back into reality.
Nothing felt real. Nothing was right. The world was over and they were somehow supposed to get on with their lives. But what else could they do? Roll over and die? Draco scowled at himself then looked for his shirt while Harry left the bedroom and went to the bathroom, reminding Draco that his bladder was full. Draco heard Harry pull back the shower curtain then scream.
"Fuck. Fuck!" Harry shouted then came into the bedroom and fell on his knees, shaking and possibly sobbing.
"What? What is it?" Draco begged.
Harry wouldn't speak but he stood up. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"I think the shower is out of commission," Harry said.
Draco headed over to the bathroom as Harry called out, "Don't go in there!"
Draco looked inside the shower then quickly fell to the toilet and puked.
"God, who is that?" Draco called out, desperately looking away from the shower as he went to wash his mouth in the sink.
"I don't know them. Jesus, how did we not smell anything?" Harry called out.
"Did the troopers find him? They didn't say anything," Draco said.
"Why would they care? They were looking for the living not the dead," Harry said.
Draco's bladder was feeling insistent but there was no way he could take a piss next to that thing.
"Is there another bathroom?" Draco asked.
"Probably. I hope," Harry said.
Draco sighed and walked down the stairs with trepidation. The more things seemed quiet the more Draco feared another sudden surprise, just like in the movies. The front door was still open from when the troopers had bashed it in the night before.
Draco remembered that Harry had said the owner was dead on the front porch but perhaps the real owner had taken that other path in the shower and the person on the porch was someone else. Draco looked around for pictures but it was hard to see with no light and all the shades drawn.
"There's no bathroom down here. Pretty small place," Draco said.
Harry came down the stairs and sighed.
"I mean, I guess we can pee outside. What's the worse they can do to us?" Harry said.
"Same thing that guy in the shower did to himself," Draco said with a sneer.
"Suit yourself, I'm getting some fresh air," Harry said, heading to the back porch through the kitchen.
After a moment Harry came back inside.
"It's all yours," Harry said.
"Thanks, I guess," Draco said, then headed out back.
Draco was unnerved by the silence as he did his business behind a bush. It really was like the world had died. Surely, he and Harry couldn't be the only survivors in town.
"Should we look for more survivors?" Draco asked as he came back inside.
"Definitely. I'm trying to remember how many of my friends were still in town. Ron and Hermione are in the city. I was on my way back from there when all this happened. I left Ginny and Luna at Ginny's parents's house. Neville was supposed to come by there… Remus and Sirius live in Portland now. Dean and Seamus live in the city. They got married by the way," Harry said.
Draco frowned.
"They didn't invite me to the wedding," Draco said.
"Not everyone has forgiven you for being such an asshole while we were all growing up," Harry said, tilting his head and smiling.
"Have you?" Draco asked.
"Of course I have. They don't know… They don't know the things you did. The sacrifices you made. I do. You nearly died to save Hermione. That means a lot to me," Harry said, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder affectionately.
Draco suddenly found himself speechless. Of course, Harry didn't really know all the things Draco had done, both good and bad to save himself and Hermione Granger. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Pansy Parkinson screamed and he shuddered then came back to reality.
"Thank you. Shall we go to the Weasley's house?" Draco said.
"Yeah. I need to see whatever's left," Harry said.
The streets of the town were quiet. Corpses were in yards and on sidewalks. Some houses still burned. People's pets were crying out in sadness. Draco pictured Astoria back at home, clutching their cat to her chest, filled with fear. He wiped a secret tear from his eye that he was certain Potter hadn't seen.
There was not much left of the Weasley's old three story home, just a hollowed out frame. Harry's green eyes roamed over the ashes with grief on his face.
"I don't see any remains. All the cars are gone," Harry said.
"Harry, a fire like that… you would need forensics to find any evidence," Draco said, not wishing to hurt Harry but wanting to be honest.
Harry sighed.
"I know that! I'm just saying. Some of them got away," Harry said.
Draco hoped Harry was right. He had never gotten along with the Weasley family but he meant them no ill will… and that they mattered to Harry was good enough.
Harry stepped closer to the ash. Draco wanted to pull him away and stop him from tormenting himself. Suddenly Harry knelt down to pick something up.
"Ginny's wedding ring. Fire didn't hurt it," Harry said.
Draco wanted to ask if that was good or bad but stopped himself. Harry slipped it in his pocket and said nothing more but Draco could see that his eyes were wet. Harry was quiet for a minute and Draco didn't bother him.
"She survived. She must have. I have to believe it. I just need to find her," Harry said.
Draco wanted to comfort Harry somehow but he was afraid anything he do would just be weird.
"Well… now what do we do? The whole town is dead or gone. Or both," Draco said.
Harry leaned against the tree that stood in the Weasley family's front yard. Sunlight illuminated his handsome form and Draco felt a swell of desire that he swallowed down.
"We need supplies. We need to find food and water. Some backpacks. We need a radio. With phone lines cut, cell phone access eliminated and the internet gone we need some way of finding out what's happening. Finding a radio signal might be our only hope," Harry said.
"Dammit. I never would've thought of radio," Draco said with regret.
"Guess it's good you're with me," Harry said, pushing off the tree and walking over to Draco.
"Do we dare head to Safeway? I mean surely they would anticipate people going to a grocery store," Draco said.
Harry frowned.
"I don't know. If there are any other survivors they might be headed there too. Draco, there's something about the death troopers… I don't think they come out during the day. They showed up just after sundown," Harry said.
"Oh," Draco said as something dawned on him.
"You look like you've remembered something," Harry said.
Draco sighed, looking down at the ground, wondering if he could really reveal this secret.
"You remember what I said about Pansy being dead?" Draco said.
"Yeah. And then she was there last night with them," Harry said.
Draco looked up at Harry. Harry's green eyes were just as beautiful in this moment as they had ever been. They still caught Draco off guard and he swallowed then looked away before he could continue.
"It's a long story but something happened to Pansy. It involves the old theater. There was this old box I found. It had… certain properties but that's not important right now. The important part is that the box's owner traveled here to reclaim it. Pansy didn't want to return it so he killed her then brought her back as…"
Draco scoffed and growled. He didn't want to say it. It was so stupid.
"Brought her back as what?" Harry urged.
"Look, I know it's stupid…"
Harry gave Draco a skeptical look.
"Draco, my standard for what's stupid or unbelievable is pretty high these days. You and I both know that the supernatural is real. No need to mince words."
Draco nodded and inhaled.
"He brought her back as a vampire. A real vampire. Drinks blood. Only goes out at night. Pansy used to love garlic then all the sudden starts freaking out about spaghetti…"
"Vampires. Yeah. That makes sense," Harry said, stroking his chin and looking even less surprised than Draco thought.
"You could act a little surprised," Draco suggested.
"One of my best friends is a werewolf," Harry said with a shrug.
"Fair. Good point. Anyhow… I broke up with Pansy. Not because she was a vampire. But the guy who made her worked for… you know… him," Draco said.
"Voldemort," Harry said in recognition.
Draco shuddered at the mention of his name.
"The president. Pansy started working for her maker and her maker worked for him. Then he got elected. Still doesn't make any sense. All those things he was proposing… He never hid who he was and he still was elected…" Draco said, feeling anger rise.
"You're getting off track," Harry said.
"Yeah. So then there was all that business with me and Hermione. The curse. There was only one way to break it… And even after I did… It was like I died. I didn't feel whole anymore. Not until I met Astoria. But even now… Anyhow, to break the curse I had to kill someone I cared about. Someone I had desired. There… weren't many options," Draco admitted.
"But you had broken up with Pansy."
"Yeah. But I still had some lingering feelings for her. Not a lot but some. And anyway… she was doing some pretty bad things and I was afraid she was going to kill someone. She was making promises. She said she was going to kill you. Ginny. Hermione. Ron. Neville. I wanted to believe she wasn't serious. I wanted to believe that she just needed time to adjust to her new identity. But when he discovered I was going to break the curse he sent her after me not realizing that…"
Harry touched Draco's shoulder. He wished he had Harry's knack for knowing when to show physical affection. Astoria was always affectionate like that. Draco always felt awkward. Astoria told him to relax but it was hard.
"I didn't have any choice. I had to do it. I had to do it alone," Draco said, his eyes feeling hot.
"I could've helped you. You should've-"
"No!" Draco shouted.
"Don't be ridiculous, Draco. There are things about me you don't understand…"
Draco walked over to the tree, placing his hand on it, needing something to steady himself.
"That wouldn't have been a good idea. If I'd failed to kill Pansy…" Draco said.
"We wouldn't have failed," Harry said.
Draco sighed. He could tell him now. What was the harm? The world was over. What did anything even matter anymore?
"No. You see the other person I cared about… the other person I desired," Draco said then turned around to face Harry before saying, "was you."
Harry didn't say anything. He didn't react at all.
"You don't need to tell me that you never felt that way about me. I'm OK with that. I get it," Draco said.
"I don't know what to say. I had no idea. I… didn't even know you were bi," Harry said.
"I suppose I am. Though, I've never felt the same way about any other man. Just you," Draco confessed, the last words coming out as barely more than a breath.
Harry's face revealed nothing no matter how much Draco searched for even the slightest hint that he approved of Draco's affections. Draco wanted to run and find somewhere he could hide to rebury his feelings but he knew he couldn't do that now.
"If you had been there something could've gone wrong. And anyway you and I know both know you aren't a killer. What I did… Maybe it was the best thing I could do but it wasn't a good thing. I trapped Pansy in my basement with magic. The spell engulfed the room while I stood outside the threshold. The spell required blood and fire. It was the only way to break the curse," Draco said.
"Well, she's back now. And you saved Hermione's life. You did do the best thing. I suppose if I'm being honest, I might not have gone along with that if you'd asked me. I don't know. I'm glad it's not a choice I had to make," Harry said and he placed a hand on Draco's shoulder again.
Draco felt his heart pound. He had an urge to lean over and kiss Harry. His full lips looked so soft. But he couldn't do that. He shouldn't.
"I guess we better see about those supplies," Draco said and they began to walk back down the road.
"I'm pretty sure no one lives here. That For Sale sign has been up for at least a year," Harry said.
The front door had been broken into already so there was no need to break in themselves. After gathering up supplies they need a place to rest and consider what to do next. They had also found a radio that needed batteries in one of the homes they searched after getting limited supplies from Safeway.
The inside of the house had a limited amount of furniture. There was, thankfully, a bed upstairs so they would have somewhere to sleep. They placed their newly obtained backpacks down on the floor and sat down on the bed. Harry futzed with the radio while Draco pulled a bag of trail mix and a bottle of water from his pack.
"Nothing but static. Dammit," Harry said.
"Does it have a scan function? You could just keep telling it to scan until it finds something," Draco said.
"Yeah," Harry said and placed it on the sole end-table in the room.
"So what do we do now? Just wait to see if the death troopers return to kill us? Assuming you really think they all are vampires," Draco said.
"I think it's a possibility. Maybe we should try to rest just in case of an attack. We can be more ready than we were last night," Harry said.
"I suppose. I don't know if I can sleep. Maybe I'll just lay here and listen to the radio," Draco said, stuffing his trail mix back in his pack.
He didn't think there was a sliver of a chance that he'd be able to sleep while the sun was still up but he wasn't sure what else there was to do. Draco suspected the death troopers had moved on. They had more undesirables to root out. Godric's Hollow wasn't the only place where people knew about the supernatural and he needed to suppress anyone who might stand against him.
Harry tossed his shirt aside and Draco forced himself not to look. Harry slid in bed and laid there quietly. Draco found it difficult to remain still. He was coping with the new reality and talking to Harry about Pansy had helped but now he was faced with the knowledge that Harry knew how Draco felt about him. Well, he supposed Harry knew part of it. Harry didn't have the full picture.
Harry didn't know how Draco's lust had grown to a greater affection and admiration. It had all been so confusing at first and when Pansy died Draco had really thought about coming to Harry and being honest. They were friends by that point, nearly good friends in fact. But Draco lost his nerve even though he knew Harry and Ginny had a more relaxed and open relationship. Harry had been seeing Longbottom after all and Weasley was involved with Lovegood.
Then Draco met Astoria and he fell for her so hard. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone, maybe even more than Harry, only with Astoria he lacked the painful history he had with Harry. Astoria was a good person, a better person than Draco had ever known. She hadn't made Draco get over Harry but she at least numbed the pain of not being with him.
But Astoria wasn't here now to numb that pain. Instead Draco was alone with the object of his desire and he was filled with confusion. He was angry at himself for wondering if Harry could return those feelings. He darkly wondered what sort of a God would fill his creation with unwanted love but he supposed that given the state of things that God was no longer on the premises. God was gone and they only had themselves now.
Maybe half an hour passed before Harry suddenly spoke: "You're not sleeping either, are you?"
"No. Too much on my mind," Draco said.
"Yeah. Me too," Harry said.
He was facing away from Draco, towards the end table that held the radio. The sheets only covered as far as his waist, his bare back fully exposed. Draco rolled over, convincing himself it was just to make talking to Harry easier.
"Harry, can I ask you something?" Draco asked.
"Sure. Not like I'm doing anything else."
"When did you know you liked boys?"
Harry chuckled.
"Cedric Diggory. Ninth grade. Changed everything," Harry said, sounding nostalgic.
"Oh," Draco said, remembering that he had never really liked Cedric, though he had to admit that Cedric was very handsome.
"Was it really me?" Harry said.
"Yeah. You moved back to town. We bumped into each other and… I saw you in a new light. We weren't adversaries. We were just… two guys. And I realised that everything I hated about you I really loved about you. I was jealous because you were everything I was taught not to admire or desire. I tried to fight it though. I didn't want to be gay. A queer. So I got some gay porn to scare myself out of it. It was just a phase, I was sure of it."
"How'd that go?" Harry asked.
"How do you think? I was into it. Really into it. But I kept having sex with Pansy, hoping I could work it out. I just needed to fuck the gay out of my system. But all the time I was with her I was thinking of-"
Draco didn't let himself finish that sentence and he felt himself turning red. Dammit, Draco, be cool, he told himself.
"Me," Harry finished for him.
Draco felt like he couldn't breathe but he quietly uttered, "Yeah."
Draco had that urge to run and hide but he felt himself magnetized to the moment, unable to stop himself from letting it play out. He was also feeling aroused which wasn't making things any easier.
"Does Astoria know?" Harry asked.
"That I'm bi? Yeah. I can tell her anything. She's bi too. She has a girlfriend actually. She tells me it's OK if I want to see other people but there's never anyone I'm interested in…"
"That's good. I still see Neville sometimes but he's been busy with Hannah. There's Luna but she's really Ginny's girlfriend, not mine," Harry said.
Draco only felt his arousal becoming more unbearable and it took all his strength to prevent him from sliding closer to Harry and to stop himself from touching himself.
Harry continued, "I'm sorry you never said anything, Draco."
Draco felt flushed and bothered, a mess of hormones and emotions.
"I never really thought you would be interested. Even if we were… friends," Draco said.
"But that's the thing. We were friends. I came to trust and respect you, especially after you found a way to end that curse. I saw what it did to you even if I didn't know what you had to do. You could've come to me…" Harry said.
"Are you saying that you would've been interested?" Draco asked, fearing the answer.
"I'm saying… I would've liked to have had the chance to be interested. Who knows what could've happened?" Harry said.
Draco felt sadness wash over him. So there was no possibility now. Dammit, how did he let himself get so worked up.
"Sorry. If it was anyone else… I've never been shy with people I liked. Just you. I hated you because I thought you were cool and then I loved you because I thought you were cool. I mean… Erm. Never mind. Forget I said that," Draco said, his heart pounding and his palms feeling sweaty.
"So, I guess you're over it now," Harry said, sounding a little disappointed.
Draco felt petrified, not knowing how he should answer. He reminded himself that the world was over and nothing mattered anymore. What was the worst that could happen?
"No. I'm not. Sorry," Draco apologized.
"Don't be. I just wanted to make sure," Harry said then rolled over to face Draco with a smile on his face.
"Harry?" Draco said then Harry leaned over and pressed his lips into Draco's.
It felt like Draco had slipped into heaven. Harry's kiss was smooth and confident. He placed a hand on Draco's cheek and Draco stifled a sob. Hold it together, Malfoy, Draco told himself. Draco's pants felt tight and he was shaking, wanting desperately to lose himself in Harry's touch. Harry pulled away. He was smiling so warmly at Draco and Draco couldn't stop his eyes from watering.
Harry rolled over but said, "You can hold me if you like."
Draco slid behind Harry, placing an arm around his and another over his shoulder. Harry chuckled softly as his feet found Draco's under the covers and rubbed them affectionately. Draco pressed his groin into Harry's back, overwhelmed with desire, suspecting they both could use some release. Draco sucked on the side of Harry's neck and slid his hand down Harry's firm stomach, to his groin. Draco roughly rubbed the bulge in Harry's jeans, wishing they were both in less clothing.
"You can pull it out if you want," Harry said.
He was breathing hard and sounded urgent. Draco felt no compulsion to prolong Harry's suffering and fumbled with the button and the zipper of his jeans for just a moment before he slid Harry's shaft out of his boxers. Harry moaned softly as Draco wrapped his hand around Harry's thickness, barely able to get his fingers around it. It felt so hot and hard and Draco could feel Harry's pulse.
Draco's lips clumsily kissed Harry's neck while his hand slowly stroked Harry's cock. He knew their time was limited but he wanted so much to savor this moment because he knew what might happen next.
Draco quickly sped up his hand. Harry let out soft, rhythmic moans as his body rocked, grinding his ass into Draco's groin. Draco's boxers were damp from arousal and he felt like he could nearly come right then if he wanted.
"God, Draco. If you keep doing that I'm going to…" Harry said, almost under his breath.
Draco sped up his strokes while Harry continued to push back against Draco's groin, his legs and his feet pushing back against him too. Draco's hand desperately rubbed over the head of Harry's cock.
"Oh, oh, oh. Oh god. Draco, I…" Harry said, his breathing heavy and ragged.
"Come for me," Draco whispered and Harry moaned, loud and deep.
Draco felt Harry's body jerk and his cock spasmed in Draco's hand, spilling warm fluid all over his hand and Harry's belly.
"Oh god. Shit," Harry moaned as his cock continued to spasm in Draco's hand.
Draco felt immense satisfaction in that moment. He had often imagined what it would be like to make Harry Potter come more times and ways than he could even fathom, though he had always imagined far better circumstances.
Harry relaxed and Draco removed his hand from Harry's cock. He kissed the side of Harry's neck some more and Harry made some happy sounds. Draco wasn't sure what would happen next but his cock was begging for attention. His balls felt heavy and achey.
"Scoot back and lay down," Harry said.
Draco did as Harry requested. Harry slipped on his glasses which made Draco giggle.
"What? I like to have good vision before do anything like… this," Harry said, quickly undoing Draco's slacks and pulling out his pale cock.
Harry slid his hand gracefully up and down the long shaft. Harry smiled at Draco's cock like it were a nice painting hanging up at a friends house. He then pressed his full lips to the head and sucked down. Draco didn't realize how sensitive it would be. He hadn't even jerked off in days. Harry's lips sucked up and down the head of Draco's cock while his hand stroked the shaft, almost like a tightly functioning machine. Harry was experienced and it showed.
Just like Draco, Harry wasted little time. They weren't making love and they were barely even fucking. Draco didn't know what it was. It didn't mean much but it meant something. It made him feel alive. If they could survive the end of the world then maybe there could be more. So much more.
Harry sucked hard, his green eyes looking up at Draco, seeming pleased with whatever reaction he saw. Draco was ready to explode but everything in him still wanted to stretch this moment. He wanted to drown in his lust and desire but he knew it wasn't practical.
"Do you want to come in my mouth?" Harry asked, then licked up Draco's shaft before gliding his mouth up and down the head again.
"OK," Draco said, feeling on the verge of bursting.
Harry's mouth rapidly slid up and down the head of Draco's cock while his hand swiftly stroked.
"Fuck. Fuck. Oh. Ohhh," Draco moaned as hot pleasure washed through him, almost painfully as his cock pulsed into Harry's mouth.
Harry made a pleased sound as Draco whined with the intensity of his orgasm. It had been a while since he came so hard that his balls hurt after. Harry continued to suck as Draco's cock grew soft. Draco felt peace fill his mind and body. Harry finally released his cock then got up out of bed. Draco was tired and struggled to remain awake while Harry went to clean himself up.
"I think I'm falling asleep now," Draco said as Harry returned.
"Yeah, I feel tired now too," Harry said and Draco felt himself slip away.
"Any survivors can come to the city for sanctuary. Downtown Seattle belongs to us. We have powerful friends. Please, if you are out there come here and we can be stronger together."
The voice stirred Draco out of his sleep. Harry was already leaning up and turning the volume up on the radio.
"Come to Downtown Seattle and we will protect you and you can help us protect ourselves. We can begin to build a force strong enough to go against him," the very familiar voice continued.
"Ginny," Harry said, joy in his voice.
Draco touched Harry's back, strangely feeling the confidence to provide physical affection for once.
"That's wonderful. I'm glad Ginny's alive," Draco said honestly, feeling warmness if only for Harry's sake but a little for his own.
"Me too," Harry said sounding on the verge of sobbing.
Ginny provided brief details on how to get in contact with her once they got to the city.
"How long would it even take us to get to Seattle from here?" Draco asked.
"I don't know. If we only travel during the day and we avoid trouble… Maybe three long days of walking. It won't be easy but we can bet on running into more survivors," Harry said.
"Sounds great," another voice in the room said, scaring them both.
"Who's there?" Draco shouted.
"You don't recognize me, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson said then stepped closer to the bed.
Pansy was there, only her face visible but moonlight for the rest of her body was covered in black death trooper gear.
"What do you want, Pansy?" Harry asked with hostility in his voice.
"To come with you. To Seattle," Pansy said, then sat on the bed.
"How did you even find us?" Draco asked.
"I was sleeping in the basement. I got the other troopers to let me stay behind in the Hollow so that I could find and kill both of you. Obviously, I'm not gonna do that, though if I did kill you, for the record, you deserve it, Draco," Pansy said.
"That's fair," Draco said with regret.
"So aren't you gonna ask me why I'm not dead? Well… I mean… I am dead. But not dead-dead. More like alive-dead. Ex-dead-dead, currently alive-dead," Pansy said, sounding amused.
"It wasn't the most immediate concern, but sure, I'm curious," Draco said.
"You know the funny thing about dying the first time? Nothin' happened. No heaven or hell. That bastard drank the life outta me and nothing happened. I just woke up and suddenly I was a new person. But the second time… it wasn't so pleasant. It was… terrible. Dark. Hot. Painful. I don't know if it was hell but it sure wasn't nice. And it felt… so long. Longer than I had ever been alive. And then one day… I was back. I was in that basement good as new in nothing but my birthday suit," Pansy said.
"Oh god. But I sold that house!" Draco said.
"Yeah. New owners weren't so excited. But my maker called to me… he was across the country. In Washington D.C. workin' for you-know-who. You see, you-know-who wanted to swell his forces. He wanted death troopers who could come swarming in the night. He wanted people to fear leaving their homes. He wanted people to fear the dark. Fear us. So he did some real deep, dark magic and he brought us back," Pansy said.
"Brought who back?" Draco said.
"Every vampire. All of them. Every vampire who ever walked the earth. Of course, some didn't agree to help him and lots are in other countries but who cares about them anyway. Most of us American vampires agreed to work for him. And I agreed too. I wasn't in such a good mood on account of going to hell or whatever. But then… last night… I saw the two of you in the closet… Well, I guess I still kinda love you, Draco, if even you killed me and sent me to an unbearable hell," Pansy said, her voice sounding sincere.
Draco didn't know what to say.
"How many people did you kill? Did you kill anyone I know?" Harry growled.
"I didn't kill anybody. I did feed off some of the corpses. But these guys use guns and I never really cared for guns. So loud," Pansy said.
"You have weapons?" Draco asked.
"Yeah. Do you want 'em? You can have 'em for all I care," Pansy said.
"I'm not a fan of guns either," Harry said.
"Still. Might be good to have something just in case," Draco said.
"Like I said… there's stuff you don't know about me," Harry said.
"And you'll have me. I'm like super fast and really strong," Pansy said, like she was bragging about her words per minute at an interview for a desk job.
"Pansy, you can't go out during the day!" Draco protested.
"Sure I can. I've done it loads of times. Sunscreen and a hoodie. And it's supposed to rain the next few days. Cloudy skies!" Pansy declared with joy.
"She would help us make it there. But I might have to convince them to let you into the city. That won't be easy, Pansy. Even I'm not sure if we can trust you. How do we know you're not still working for him?" Harry demanded.
"Oh. Uh… I dunno. I suppose you can't know until I've proven it. But I'm not fan of the president. I mean I didn't like the old president or whatsherface that he was running against but he's a real piece of work I'll admit," Pansy said.
"Did you vote?" Harry asked.
"Oh uh… No?" Pansy said, sounding regretful.
Harry groaned then went silent. Draco wasn't sure what to say. He would trust Harry's judgment.
"What do you think Draco? You know her better than I do," Harry said.
Draco sighed. So much for trusting Harry's judgment.
"Pansy isn't a very nice person. Less nice than me, and that's saying something, if you'll recall. But she always had a good heart underneath it all. But then she got turned and… Pansy, the things you said…"
"Yeah. I know. I was new. You don't understand what bloodlust is like, Draco. You can't ignore it. I mean… you can learn but my maker wasn't exactly so inclined. Asshole. Anyhow, I was starting to learn to ignore it… then someone pulled the plug on my existence," Pansy said, her pale, pretty face winking at Draco in the moonlight.
"Then you joined… the death troopers as soon as you came back," Harry said.
"Which I now realize was a mistake. Look, I could've let them kill you last night. Or I could've woke up and set fire to this house while you both slept. There ain't nothin' for me in the city. He already knows about that situation. He probably already has spies inside and I know he's building forces for an attack. He doesn't need me. If I go in there and attack they'll just kill me and then I'm just back to hell or whatever again. You ain't got nothin' to lose!"
"I believe you," Harry said.
"If Harry trusts you then so do I," Draco said.
"Yay," Pansy said, clapping.
"But if they won't let you into the city… there's nothing I can do. So that's a risk you're taking. You might come with us and we might not be able to give you what you want. Are you OK with that?" Harry asked.
"I don't know what else I'm gonna do," Pansy said.
"Welcome to the team, I guess," Draco said.
"Goodie! So I guess I'll let you boys get back to cuddling or whatever you were doing. How come you didn't tell me you liked boys, Draco? I told Blaise you were straight. He really wanted a threesome," Pansy said.
"Blaise. What happened to Blaise?" Draco said.
"He's not a vampire, if that's what you're wondering. He wasn't here last night either. I don't know what happened to him. I hope I see him again someday, though. He's an asshole but really great in the sack," Pansy said then quietly left the room.
In the morning, they found Pansy waiting with a hoodie and a backpack just like she said. She was also wearing big sunglasses and gloves. Her brightly painted red lips were the only visible color on her body.
"Hey," she said as they came down the stairs.
"Morning, Pansy," Harry said.
"Did you boys have a nice night?" Pansy asked.
"We got a lot of sleep," Draco informed her.
"Damn. I was hoping you'd have a sexy story for me for on the journey," Pansy said, pouting but then smiling.
Draco rolled his eyes at his ex-girlfriend and stepped to the front door.
"Are you sure you're not going to burst into flames?" Draco said as soon as we step out the door.
"Nah. That doesn't even really happen anyhow. It just hurts. It's like getting the worst sunburn ever if you stand in direct sunlight too long. But it heals," Pansy said.
Draco shrugged and opened the door before stopping again and turning around, realizing something.
"Pansy… what are you going to eat?" Draco asked as Harry came up next to him, his mouth suddenly dropping open.
"I'll improvise," Pansy said with a toothy grin.
Draco shuddered and headed outside with Harry.
"So where are we headed?" Pansy said, following from behind.
"We need to travel parallel to I-5. Stick to wooded areas. We've gotta remember to check the radio periodically. We need to be careful. We need to get to the city more than the city needs us to get to it. It'll do us no good to rush and get ourselves killed," Harry said.
"Don't forget the guns. I've got 'em in my backpack!" Pansy said with a gleeful grin.
"That's wonderful, Pansy," Draco droned.
Harry sighed. Draco touched his hand and Harry smiled while Pansy giggled behind them.
"Well. I guess we're off," Harry said then looked around.
"We might not see the Hollow for a long time. Or ever," Draco said.
But looking around at the debris and the corpses Draco knew that there was nothing to return to. The only way was forward. The world had ended and home was gone forever.
"There's no place like-" Pansy started but Draco interrupted, "Don't say it!"
"Sorry. Geez," Pansy complained.
"No, Pansy's right. There's no place like home. Not for anyone anymore," Harry said and they followed him down the road that would lead them out of town.