The Reason
'It's down to this; I've got to make this life make sense. Can anyone do what I've done? I missed life, I missed the colours of the world. Can anyone go where I am? 'Cause now again I've found myself so far down, away from the sun that shines into the darkest place, I'm so far down, away from the sun again. I'm over this, I'm tired of living in the dark. Can anyone see me down here? The feeling's gone, there's nothing left to lift me up, back into the world I've known. 'Cause now again I've found myself so far down, away from the sun that shines into the darkest place, I'm so far down, away from the sun that shines the life away from me to find my way back into the arms that care about the ones like me, I'm so far down, away from the sun again. It's down to this, I've got to make this life make sense and now I can't do what I've done, and now again I've found myself so far down, away from the sun that shines the life away from me.' "Away from the Sun" Three Doors Down
Harry Potter sat up in bed, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding, and a bitter, acrid taste in his mouth. He took deep breaths, trying to convince himself that it was just a dream.
Several floors away, in the dungeon that was the Slytherin dormitory, Draco Malfoy lay awake also, tears streaming silently down his cheeks.
Neither boy slept for the rest of the night.
The next morning, Harry sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts, staring unenthusiastically at the front of the classroom where Professor Lupin was explaining sparky bargs, rare creatures that fed off of the magic of witches or wizards, and transferred the power to their masters. Once they found a master, they would never serve another. Any other day, Harry would have been fascinated. Defense Against the Dark Arts was usually Harry's favorite class now that Professor Lupin was back, but today he just couldn't concentrate.
Finally, class ended, and Harry rushed out, hoping that he could evade Ron and Hermione and skip Potions — he didn't think he could handle Snape's rude, condescending remarks and Malfoy's derisive laughter. Unfortunately, they caught up to Harry just as he was about to duck into an empty classroom and wait until the halls were clear.
"Harry, wait up!"
"Are you okay, Harry? Lupin was worried about you," Hermione said anxiously. She looked at Harry, and to her dismay, he looked pale and very tired.
"I think I've got the flu or something," Harry lied. "In fact, I'm just gonna go upstairs and sleep for a while."
"Oh, Harry, you can't!"
"Hermione, we all know how you feel about skipping classes, but look at Harry. He looks horrible – give him a break and let him sleep a little," Ron broke in.
"No, you don't understand; he really can't. Snape's giving a pop quiz — we have to make a potion, and it's different for every class. You know if you skip, he'll give you the most difficult potion he can find!"
"Damn it!" Harry muttered, and then flushed slightly as Hermione stared at him in surprise. He looked away and walked the rest of the way to Potions in silence. He was so intent on his thoughts that he smacked straight into Draco Malfoy as he entered the Potions dungeon. Much to Harry's shock, instead of turning around and hexing him, Draco just continued walking, and Harry was almost positive that he had heard a mumbled apology as well.
Snape was as rude and snide as ever, but Draco was silent the entire class, not even saying anything when Harry's first attempt at the wart-removing potion burst in to flames and he had to start over.
When Potions was finally over, Harry attempted to escape, but Snape called him back.
"Mr. Potter, I must say, you have impressed even me. I thought that you couldn't get any worse at your studies, and yet, today, you have proved me wrong. I'm amazed that you're still here; with performances like that, you should have been expelled long ago. Of course, the whole school is being far too easy on you because of Black's death."
Rage flooded through Harry at the contemptuous way Snape said Sirius' name; Harry wanted to scream at Snape, tell him that Sirius had been a better man than Snape could ever hope to be, but he stayed silent, working to keep his temper in check. As it was, some of the glass vials containing common potion ingredients rattled ominously on Snape's desk, and Harry looked at Snape with barely veiled hate in his eyes. Snape continued, amazingly oblivious to Harry's anger.
"I, however, have no problem giving you exactly what you deserve. You will behave, and you will take your classes more seriously, or I will see to it that you are disciplined. Now get to your next class," he said coldly, and the discussion was over.
Harry walked dejectedly through the school, now resigned to go to all of his classes. At least Herbology was next, which meant that they would at least be outside in the fresh air. He stepped outside and nearly fainted.
His entire body felt as if a white hot brand were searing into his skin, and lightning bolts of pain sliced through his head.
Harry let out a low moan and slowly collapsed into a sitting position. He sat there for a full minute, his head in his hands, and then suddenly, as abruptly as it had come, the pain was gone. Harry staggered to his feet, still amazed at the power of the pain that had gripped him, and made his way to Herbology, noticing that the sun was now behind a cloud and suddenly the day had become very gloomy, much like his mood.
He slipped into his spot between Ron and Hermione in the green house, and began working on the assignment. They were planting philagora seeds that would be needed for Madam Pomfrey's medicinal potions later in the year.
Harry was almost finished planting his and actually feeling better than he had all day when suddenly the pain was back, worse than the first time.
He fainted, and within seconds, the whole Gryffindor half of the class had surrounded him. He woke up almost immediately, and once again felt fine, but Professor Sprout insisted that he go see Madam Pomfrey.
"I'll take him, Professor." Draco spoke quietly, but his voice rang through the room as everyone stared at him in silent shock.
"I've already planted my philagora seeds, and I need to see Madam Pomfrey anyway."
Hermione looked as if she wanted to protest, but Harry subtly shook his head at her. She wasn't finished planting anyway, and he was curious about Draco's motives for helping him.
So he walked silently out of the greenhouse, followed closely by Draco. Harry was bursting with questions, but he knew Draco was hiding something, and he was determined to make Draco speak first. Finally, when they had reached the school and still no one had spoken, Draco turned to Harry.
"Aren't you even a little bit curious as to why I haven't hexed you yet? We're out here alone, you're weak, and I'm just walking quietly along. Doesn't that make you even a little bit curious?"
"Yes, but I know that you know something that I don't, and I want to know what it is. Weird things are happening, and you're a part of it."
Draco sighed. "You make everything difficult. This would have been so much easier if you were already mad at me. Look, let's go in here." They had reached the second floor, and Draco pulled open a door and led Harry in to an empty classroom.
"Sit down, Harry," he said softly, and Harry looked up at him, shocked by the sadness in Draco's voice and eyes. Normally, he would have been suspicious, but he felt instinctively that something was different.
"You've been having nightmares lately, right?" Draco continued softly. Harry nodded mutely, not wanting to know how Draco knew about the nightmares, wishing this whole thing was just a nightmare of its own.
Draco took a deep breath. "They're real... you're becoming a vampire."
Chapter 2
'I like you the way you are when you're talking to me one on one, but you become somebody else 'round everyone else, watching' your back like you can't relax. You're trying to be cool, you look like a fool to me. Tell me, why do you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated. Life's like this; you fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get and you turn it into honesty. Promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it.' "Complicated" Avril Lavigne
"So you're here to gloat?" Harry exploded. Before Draco knew what was happening, Harry had leapt from the desk he had been sitting in and shoved Draco against the wall. Draco remained motionless, staring calmly at Harry, and suddenly a little bit of his old arrogance and condescension entered his eyes again.
"I wouldn't do this if I were you, Harry. I'm the only person you've got. After all, you know I'm telling the truth. You've had the nightmares, you've seen what the sun does to you, the thought of normal food turns your stomach — you're a vampire, Harry. Who are you going to tell? Ron and Hermione? You haven't even told them that the Sorting Hat tried to put you in Slytherin. You can't very well tell them you're becoming a demon, can you? You remember how they reacted when they learned you were a Parselmouth, don't you?
"You could go to Dumbledore, but he's got the whole school to think of. Vampires are very violent; he can't have a bloodthirsty demon terrorizing his students; he'll have to expel you — maybe even kill you. Lupin is always an option, but even he wouldn't truly understand. Werewolves only change with the full moon, and with the advances they've made in potions, they're practically harmless even when they change, whereas vampires are always demons, always dangerous. Besides, werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies — Lupin might kill you before you even have a chance to explain anything. You could always go to Snape; he knows what it's like to be hated and considered evil and yet not really be evil. But he doesn't really like you; in fact, he hates you. So, I am your only hope. Do you still want to punch me?"
"More than ever," Harry muttered, but he backed away from Draco and sat down resignedly.
Draco sighed, and the arrogant, condescending look was gone, replaced by sadness and pain.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be that cruel, but you need to understand how serious this is, and you need to trust me, because I am your only ally at the moment."
"I realize that you're the only option I have, but I don't have any reason at all to trust you. How do I know that I wouldn't be better off working on this alone?"
"You don't. You just have to trust me, Harry. Do you really want to do this alone?"
Harry was silent.
"I didn't think so. Now, if you're done throwing tantrums, I'll explain as much as I can about all of this. As I'm sure you know, my father is one of Voldemort's key supporters, and they've been holding Death Eater meetings at Malfoy Mansion for as long as I can remember."
"And you were star struck and spent hours of your free time listening at the door, praying that someday you could be an evil prat like your father," Harry said acidly.
"If that's what you'd like to call it, fine. Yes, I went home for the weekend last Friday, and I was listening outside the door while they were discussing their newest evil plan – to make you a vampire – and they discovered me."
Draco sighed again. He didn't really feel like explaining the whole thing, so he concentrated for a moment. The room seemed to abruptly dissolve around Harry, and he was suddenly in a large hall with mahogany walls filled with pictures of sinister looking blond men, with a few goblin portraits mixed in every so often. He was facing a set of tall wooden doors with silver handles fashioned in the shape of snakes, and as he watched, the door swung open.
"Master Malfoy, please join us," Peter Pettigrew said in his whiny voice. He was ushered into the room, which was obviously a Dark Arts chamber filled with tons of creepy-looking artifacts. At the moment, several Death Eaters were in the room, looking perfectly at home.
"Draco, I thought I told you to stay in your room." Lucius Malfoy's voice was mildly scolding, but his steel gray eyes were blazing with fury.
"Nonsense, Lucius. The boy is merely curious about his future; you can't blame him for that." Voldemort stood near the fireplace, and he smiled over at Draco in a way that could make anyone's blood run cold.
"Truly, Draco, I am impressed. Not many boys your age are so ambitious and interested in their destiny. If it is alright with your father, I would like to give you a reward. You know the Potter boy, yes?"
"Yes, he and Potter are in the same year at Hogwarts. Sadly, Draco has never won a game of Quidditch against him."
"Then young Draco has a personal interest in this. Did you hear what our plan is?"
Draco nodded silently.
"Vampires are such useful creatures, you know - so powerful, and yet subtle. I think it will be perfect for Potter. I'm sure it will be a wonderful educational experience for you to watch the transformation and since you are such an ambitious young man, I'm going to perform a spell so that you can not only watch his suffering, but feel it. There is a mind connection spell that will enable you access to all of Harry's thoughts, allowing you to feel all of the glorious pain of his transformation. What do you think, Draco?"
"Sounds wonderful," Draco said softly.
"Perfect. I will perform the spell tonight, and you will remain here for two days to recover. Now, we still have other sensitive matters to discuss."
"Of course. Thank you, my lord. I will leave you now, with my apology for my intrusion, and my gratitude at your kindness."
Draco walked quietly out of the room, and the doors slammed shut behind him with a loud echo.
Suddenly Draco was in front of him again, looking slightly pale.
"What just happened?" Harry asked hoarsely.
"Harry, for being the boy wonder who's defeated the Dark Lord countless times, you're kind of an idiot."
"Evaded. I've never defeated him, only escaped. And not without losses."
"The point is, that was my memory. I was spying on the Death Eater meeting, I got caught, and I was punished with a spell that connects our minds. That's how I know about this whole vampire thing."
Harry stared at him for a moment, not wanting to believe him, but knowing it was true.
"So why don't you enjoy it? Voldemort thought it was a great privilege. Why isn't it?"
"Because I'm not evil, regardless of what you may think. Would you enjoy it, if the situation were reversed? I don't want you to become a vampire in the first place, not to mention experiencing the change. I know you don't believe me, but I'm telling you the truth."
"So when did this spell happen?"
"Friday night."
"So can you hear all of my thoughts? Like, everything?"
Draco nodded, and Harry flushed.
"Don't worry, I haven't been trying to find out who you have a crush on or anything like that," Draco said with a small smirk. "I can block your thoughts out of my mind, as well as block mine from your head. That's why you didn't know – if I hadn't been blocking them, you would have heard my thoughts, too."
"Oh. I wasn't worried or anything," Harry said, but there was an undercurrent of relief in his voice.
"Don't worry, my hunch about your secret crush on me is still just a hunch," Draco said, his smirk growing even larger.
"Sod off, Malfoy," Harry snapped, but his tone lacked conviction. He looked at his watch and sighed.
"Listen, it's almost lunch time, and Ron and Hermione are going to be looking for me. We need to discuss this more, but not right now."
"Alright, let's meet back here at 10:00 tonight."
"Fine," Harry said, and turned to walk away, but then he stopped.
"Draco?"
"Yeah?"
"Is there a distance limit on this spell? Like can it only work when we're within, say, a ten-mile radius of each other?"
"I don't think so, because it worked on Friday, when I was at Malfoy Mansion."
"Oh. Okay."
Harry walked out without another word, and Draco sighed. Harry at least believed that, for the moment, Draco was on his side, but he was still suspicious. If only he knew the whole story. Draco walked slowly out of the classroom, and instead of going to the Great Hall for lunch, he headed outside towards the lake, wanting desperately to be alone.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked anxiously. "You looked pale when you left, and you left with Malfoy... What did he say?"
"Did he try to hex you?" Ron asked, looking excited.
Harry forced himself to laugh and reply calmly, "Oh, he wanted to get out of class and I was the perfect excuse."
"So he left you alone in your condition? What a jerk!" Hermione said indignantly.
"You know, Harry, I think there's something going on here, and Malfoy's involved. I mean, he didn't say anything when you bumped into him, not even 'sod off' or anything, and he didn't say anything at all during Potions, and then he's almost nice to you in Herbology. Even if it did serve his purposes, he still didn't do anything to you while you were alone, not even verbally torment you. That's just weird, Harry. And you look like hell – you're pale, you obviously haven't slept well, you can't concentrate – something's wrong. I think Malfoy may be poisoning you, or maybe he has some curse on you, and he's being so subdued because he's basking in the glory of beating you at something," Hermione finished breathlessly.
Harry was torn-- he couldn't decide whether to laugh or scream; he settled for being completely exasperated.
"Hermione, honestly, I would have expected this from Ron, but not from you! I just have the flu, that's all. And maybe there is some evil plan that Malfoy's trying to enact, but first of all, do you really think that Malfoy is capable of carrying out a complex scheme to kill me? I don't. And if there is something, it will surface eventually, and we'll deal with it then. Most likely he was just told that he was too young to go to the Death Eaters convention and now he's too depressed to bother with me."
Hermione sighed, unconvinced.
"Alright, if you say so, Harry."
"Listen, I'm gonna go up to the dorm. I'm still really tired and all we have after lunch is Divination and History of Magic, which I have no problem skipping."
"Alright, Harry. See you later."
"Get better soon, mate. Classes are so boring without you," Ron said sadly.
"Thanks, guys," Harry said with a small smile.
"Harry."
Harry sat bolt upright and looked around in the pitch black room.
"Harry, where are you? We were supposed to meet half an hour ago!"
"Draco?" Harry thought tentatively.
"Yes. Wait, are you still in bed?" Draco asked irritably. "We need to talk; we need to make a plan!"
"You make a plan and tell me about it tomorrow. I'm sleeping."
And with that, he cut off the connection and fell back asleep, feeling very proud of himself for already starting to understand the telepathy and be able to turn it off, instead of being at Draco's will.
The next morning in Charms, with Ron and Hermione sitting beside him talking about Gryffindor's next Quidditch match, Harry began to wonder if maybe it hadn't been a dream -- not the whole thing, but maybe the vampire part, at least. Maybe he had been so sick with fever that he had imagined the whole thing. Maybe he had actually --
"No."
Harry's head sprang up and he looked around, trying to figure out who had spoken -- Hermione and Ron were both concentrating on reading the chapter Professor Flitwick had assigned. It was Draco, of course.
"No, what?" Harry thought innocently.
"No, I'm not a natural blond!" Draco snapped. "No, it wasn't a dream. Go over and stand by the window if you want proof."
Harry looked over at the window where sunlight was streaming into the classroom, and the thought of standing anywhere near all that brightness made his head throb.
"That's what I thought," Draco said, and even though his back was to Draco, Harry could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Harry, are you okay? You look a million miles away," Ron whispered.
"I'm just a little out of it still; I didn't sleep well last night, thanks to this flu that I've got."
"Well, you need to get better fast. We've got our Quidditch game against Ravenclaw next Tuesday – less than a week away. And they have a new seeker, you know." Ron would have gone on, but Hermione looked up and glared pointedly at them, and they fell silent.
Harry sat in his seat as still as stone. He had a Quidditch match in less than a week and he could already barely even stand to look at sunlight, let alone be outside in the middle of the day. If they didn't find a cure, then he would never be able to be in the match. Hell, it could kill him – he had fainted in the greenhouse, when the sun had barely peeked out of the clouds while he was inside. He wouldn't be able to even go out on the pitch, and everyone would want to know why, and Snape would figure it out – he hated Harry so much and he was really very shrewd when it came to such things – and then he would be expelled, or maybe he would be too far gone, or maybe there wasn't a cure and they would have to kill him. Oh god, he was so dead. There was no way he could pull this off any longer.
"Harry!" Draco practically shouted telepathically. "Calm down! Everything will be fine – we'll find a cure, but in order to do that, I need to still be alive. And let me tell you, you're making that rather difficult at the moment." Harry glanced cautiously at Draco, and saw that he had his head in his hands from the pain Harry's panic was causing him.
"Sorry," Harry said, and made a huge effort to calm down.
"Listen, we'll meet later on, and discuss our plan of action, and we'll find a way to fix everything. I promise, Harry. Everything will be okay."
"Thanks, Draco."
Oddly enough, Draco's words calmed him, and Harry managed to get through everything fine until it was time for lunch in the Great Hall.
He hadn't thought of it the day before because for the most part, the day had been cloudy, but today was bright and sunny, and the Great Hall with its bewitched ceiling was full of sunshine. Harry's head started throbbing the second he stepped in.
"Listen, guys, I still don't feel very well. Tell Hagrid I'm sorry I'm missing his class."
"Oh, Harry, are you sure you can't handle it? It's such an easy class, and Hagrid loves seeing you," Hermione said, looking disappointed. What she meant was that Hagrid was going to invite them to come see Grawp later on that night, she and Ron hated going, and it would be even worse without Harry there.
"No, I feel really dizzy and light-headed, like I might faint again," Harry said honestly. "I'm just gonna go back to sleep. It's better to miss a few classes now and get better fast than keep going and get so sick that I have to miss a lot more later on."
"Alright, Harry," Hermione said softly, but she still looked doubtful.
Harry spent the rest of the day in bed, but he only slept half of the time – he spent the rest worrying. He and Draco had agreed to meet in what had become their conference classroom at 10:00. When Ron came in around 9:00, Harry turned over and pretended to be asleep. He left ten minutes early, just to be sure that he was on time.
After checking the room to make sure everyone was asleep, he climbed silently out of bed, grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, tossed it on, and slipped out of the room.
Across the room, Ron sat up in bed, debating whether or not to follow Harry. Something was up; even when Harry was sick, he didn't usually act so depressed and secretive. Something else was going on and he was hurt that Harry hadn't asked him for help. But Harry obviously thought he could handle it himself, and Ron would let him – at least until he could tell Hermione about it and ask what she thought. He sighed and went back to sleep.
Chapter 3
'I don't wanna waste another moment saying things we were never meant to say. And I take it just a little bit, I... hold my breath and count to ten, I... I've been waiting for a chance to let you in. If I just breathe... How do you fill the space in between? Oh no, everything is alright, breathe, every little piece of me. You'll see, everything is alright, if I just breathe. Well it's ours, so overrated, not saying how you feel, so you end up watching chances fade and wonder in which way. And I... give you just a little time, I... wonder if you realize, I... I've been waiting till I see it in your eyes. If I just breathe... How do you fill the space between? Oh no, everything is alright, breathe, every little piece of me. You'll see, everything is alright. If I just breathe. So I whisper and I'm hoping you hear me... Do you hear me? If I just breathe... How do you fill the space between? Oh no, everything is alright, breathe, every little piece of me, you'll see, everything is alright.' "Breathe" Michelle Branch
When Harry entered the classroom, Draco was already there, sitting gracefully on top of a desk.
"Finally," he drawled.
"I'm right on time," Harry protested.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter. I have a plan of action. We need to know more about all of this, and obviously what we need to know isn't going to be just lying around on the shelves – we're going to need the Restricted Section. So for now, we switch nights sneaking into the library and going through the relevant books we can find in the Restricted Section."
"That's your awesome plan?! Research?!"
"First of all, I never said it was awesome, and second, at least it's a plan. All I know about vampires right now is from Dracula and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and you probably don't know much more. So unless you want me to stake you right now, then yes, research is our best option."
"You're right. I'm sorry. So who goes tonight?"
"I will, but I'll need your Invisibility Cloak, just in case."
"Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow."
Harry handed him the Invisibility Cloak and was surprised to find that it wasn't hard at all to give the cloak to Draco, even though it was one of his most important possessions. For some reason, he had already begun to trust Draco completely. Maybe it was because Draco held Harry's life in his hands, so what did a mere Invisibility Cloak matter? He pushed the thought from his mind and turned to leave, but something stopped him.
"Draco?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Draco made his way slowly down the hall, enjoying his new freedom. He had been out of his dormitory past curfew before, but he had always had to be careful. His father may have been rich, but he had refused to buy Draco an Invisibility Cloak, saying that it was too expensive for the fact that it was just a toy. Besides, according to his father, Malfoys were naturally stealthy and it would serve him better in life if he learned how to blend in, sneak around, and escape tight situations on his own, without the help of some silly toy. So now Draco felt a sense of incredible liberation, and he wanted to do something crazy, like break a suit of armor or kick Mrs. Norris, but he didn't dare – there was too much on the line. All he could do was walk slowly to make sure he enjoyed his journey as much as possible.
He had just reached the library when a voice called his name, scaring him half out of his mind until he realized that it was just Harry.
"What?" he snapped, trying to keep his irritation under control.
"Watch out for the books – some of them scream. There's a spell you can use to find out if they do or not – you say 'relevar' and if the book glows blue, then it screams or something, and if it glows white, it's safe."
"Okay, thanks."
"Be careful; if you get caught, we're dead."
"Yes, Potter. Go to sleep, why don't you?"
Harry grinned – he had scared Draco half to death when he had spoken. Finally – Draco had scared him several times, and he didn't even seem to realize it.
As Harry fell asleep, Draco was walking through the Restricted Section pulling down any books about vampires he could find. After checking each one with Harry's spell, he pulled open the first, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from his robes, and settled in to take notes.
After three hours, he was practically ready to go insane. The books were old, the print was faded and the pages were brittle, and the script was a flourishing Old English type writing that was very difficult to decipher. He sighed and moved on to the next book, the third out of fifteen.
He fell asleep around six in the morning, exhausted beyond anything he had thought he could feel.
He woke up an hour later, Harry's voice frantic in his head.
"Draco, where are you? People are worried about you because you aren't at breakfast and you weren't in your room this morning. Are you still in the library?"
"Yeah, I'm getting out now," Draco said, as he shoved the books he was finished with back on the shelves, grabbed a few new ones along with the three that he still had left from the previous night, and rushed out, making sure the Invisibility Cloak was secure.
He had just reached the door when Madam Pince, the librarian, pulled it open. Draco waited until she had passed him and then slipped out and walked as quickly as possible to the Slytherin dorm. He dumped the books under his bed and covered them with the Invisibility Cloak. He crawled into bed and fell asleep immediately.
Someone came in ten minutes later to check for him once more, and he didn't even open his eyes.
He finally woke hours later in the darkness, starving. Thankfully, according to his watch, dinner had just started about fifteen minutes ago. He went down without even combing his hair or changing clothes, hoping it would help make his "sickness" more believable.
Crabbe and Goyle nearly fainted with relief when they saw him – they never did anything without him, and they didn't really know how to anymore, so a day without him was torture for them.
"Okay, something is definitely going on," Hermione said. "Look at Malfoy. Not only did he not show up for any classes today, now he's not even bragging about skipping class, and he looks like hell. I've never before in 6 years seen Malfoy look like hell."
"Well, he didn't look too awesome after I threw all of that mud on him in fourth year, and he was howling like a baby when Buckbeak hurt his arm," Harry said calmly.
"You know what I mean; he hasn't brushed his hair, and his clothes are so wrinkled that I'm sure he hasn't changed them in at least a day."
Harry looked over at Draco for the first time, and felt a twinge of guilt at what he saw; Draco did look like hell, and it was all his fault. He managed to tear his eyes away and push his guilt out of his mind.
"Well, I'm fine, so obviously it has nothing to do with me, and I don't really care what Malfoy looks like," Harry said, suddenly feeling rather irritable.
Hermione and Ron exchanged a look and dropped the subject.
Harry was quiet and withdrawn the entire day, and when he went to bed, Ron wasted no time telling Hermione about Harry's late night adventure the night before.
"He's hiding something, I know it," he finished.
Hermione sat in silence for a minute. "Ron, maybe it's not anything serious. Maybe it's something personal, and Harry just doesn't want to tell us. He's always told us everything when it's serious – the Sorcerer's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, Sirius, everything. I don't think he would hide something dangerous from us. Let's just wait a few days."
"Draco? We need to meet, same place as before, okay? Right now."
Draco flinched – Harry sounded pissed off.
"What happened? All you had to do was research, and you can't even do that!" Harry burst out angrily the second he walked in.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but it's a little more complicated than you think. Staying up all night reading while blocking my mind at the same time is not exactly easy. So I fell asleep for one hour – what difference does it make? I still got tons of research done and no one found us out, so there's no harm done."
"You're right, I'm sorry. It's just that Ron and Hermione were a little bit suspicious – they think you're trying to poison me or something, and your weird behavior just seems to confirm their suspicions that something's up."
"Now I'm trying to poison you?! Nice to know I'm so loved around here."
"Anyway, why did you have to block your thoughts? Is what you found out really that bad?"
Draco smiled slightly. "No, I just got tired of your dreams about Ron invading my head and breaking my concentration. And then there was that dream where you and I were in the Forbidden Forest and you weren't wearing anything, and you kept begging me to keep you company, and I kept trying to leave, but you wouldn't let me..."
"Kept asking you to keep me warm is more likely, if I wasn't wearing anything – and I'm sure you jumped at the chance. But I can see how that would make it difficult for you – you're already so attracted to me that you can't think when I'm in the same room."
Draco stared at him for a moment and then laughed, surprised that Harry was in such a good mood.
"Whatever, Potter. You wish I was attracted to you. But I don't want to dwell on your unrequited love, so let's move on to my research."
"Change the subject Draco, but you can't change the truth," Harry said with a grin.
Draco rolled his eyes and pulled out several pieces of parchment from his robes. Harry laughed, completely unused to seeing Draco look so studious.
"Okay. First of all, I got all of the basic information that's pretty common knowledge – vampires hate crosses, holy water, sun, but not garlic, that's just a myth. I did find out quite a bit of new stuff that might be helpful.
"First of all, although vampires like blood, they don't actually need it to survive. Vampires can go for centuries without blood, and when they do have to drink to stay alive, animal blood will suffice. This is such a little known fact because for a vampire to abstain from blood, it would require them to have a conscience, and to have a conscience, generally you need a soul, which vampires don't have. I also confirmed that, as I told you before, vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies – so be careful around Lupin.
"The most important thing that I found out was that there are three ways for a vampire to be sired, or created. The first is the most familiar – the sire drains the victim almost to the point of death and then replenishes the victim with his blood, completing the transformation in one quick ceremony. The second one is where the sire drinks the blood of the victim three times, but on the third time, he uses the first method to finish the transformation. This method ensures that the newly created vampire is completely under the control of the sire.
"The third method is where the victim drinks the sire's blood on two separate occasions and then the third time the sire uses the first method to complete the transformation. The reason vampires go with this is that the resulting vampire is more violent and bloodthirsty as well as even more deeply under the sire's control than with the second one.
"So, now that we know this, we know what else we need to look for. First, we need to find out what technique your sire us using and how to cure that particular brand of vampirism, and how to control you if we can't cure you."
"Wow. I never knew you were so smart," Harry said with a small smile. "That research was worthy of Hermione! So do you want me to research tonight, since you had such a rough night last night?"
"That's fine, if you want to. Here's a list of the books I've already gone through so we don't go over the same material, and under that is a list of books that I think would be most beneficial."
"Wow, Malfoy, wow. Excellent work. Alright, I'll just grab the Invisibility Cloak, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have fun," Draco called after him as the door opened and shut seemingly on its own as Harry left under the protection of the Invisibility Cloak.
Draco made his way cautiously back to the Slytherin common room and found himself wishing, not at all for the first time, that he was in the Gryffindor common room where it was warm and cozy, instead of the Slytherin common room. A fire was burning in the fireplace, but it didn't seem to warm even the hearth, let alone the entire room. And suddenly he missed Harry. He was shocked at how well Harry was taking this whole vampire thing, and despite everything, he was still a lot of fun to hang out with. Draco sighed, and opened a new book to take notes on. He had only been reading for about half an hour when it happened.
Chapter 4
'Whose eyes am I behind? I don't recognize anything that I see. Whose skin is this design? I don't want this to be the way that you see me. I don't understand anything anymore in this world that I'm tired of is taking me right up these walls that I climb up to get to your story. It's anything but ordinary. And when the world is on its knees with me its fine and when I come to the rescue I get nothing but left behind, everybody seems to be getting what they need with mine 'Cause your what I need so very but I'm anything but ordinary. Can you save me from this world of mine before I get myself arrested with this expectation? You are the one look what you've done, what have you done? This is not some kind of joke. You're just a kid, you weren't ready for what you did. I think I'm trying to save the world from you, you've been saving me too. We could just stay in and save each other. I'm anything but ordinary. I'm anything but ordinary.' "Ordinary" Train
The common room seemed to dissolve around him, and he was suddenly in the Forbidden Forest. Standing beside him was a tall figure, covered in a dark cloak with a hood that hid his face from view.
"Drink." The voice was low, cold, very powerful, and frighteningly familiar. He looked down to see the man's raised wrist, crimson blood trickling down his arm.
"Drink. Now."
He fought against the command as hard as he could, and he tried to run, but he found that he couldn't even look away from the blood, warm, inviting blood, much less run away.
"Look at me, boy." The voice was growing angry, and more demanding. Against his will, he looked up.
"Now drink." And he lowered his head and drank, wondering vaguely in the back of his mind why he had resisted. The blood was so good, so powerful, he could drink it for the rest of his life. . .
"Enough!" The voice was sharp and irritated. "Good. Now go back to bed and forget all about this, Potter."
The Forbidden Forest was gone, and he was suddenly in Harry's dormitory, and Ron had just come in.
"Harry, I know the truth. You're a vampire and a murderer, and I'm here to kill you. I have to. If you were yourself, you would understand. I can't let you kill innocent people, I have to kill you first, for your own good."
"You're right, Ron," Harry said tonelessly. "Go ahead. Just tell Hermione and Hagrid that I love them. And thank Draco, tell him it's not his fault. Tell everyone I'm sorry. Thank you for doing this, Ron." Ron pulled out his wand, but before the dream could go any further, Draco ended it.
"Harry! Wake up!"
"Do it quickly Ron," Harry mumbled.
"Harry!"
"What? Is someone coming? What time is it? Oh, shit!"
"Chill out, Harry! You've only been asleep for an hour or so. You were dreaming, otherwise I wouldn't have woken you. Anyway, now we know what method your sire used."
"Which one? How do you know?"
"Your dream was actually a repressed memory from the first time. It was the third method."
"Okay, well, thanks for waking me. Now I know what to look for, and I'll make sure not to fall asleep again. See you tomorrow."
Draco sighed as Harry broke the connection; he shouldn't have told Harry like that. He hadn't realized how painful it would be to learn that not only were you becoming a vampire, you were also going to be a particularly bloodthirsty, brainwashed vampire. But there was nothing he could do now except try to help Harry get out of this situation.
Chapter 5
'He's everything you want, he's everything you need, he's everything inside of you that you wish you could be. He says all the right things at exactly the right time, but he means nothing to you and you don't know why. You're waiting for someone to put you together, you're waiting for someone to push you away. There's always another wound to discover, there's always something more you wish he'd say. I am everything you want, I am everything you need, I am everything inside of you that you wish you could be. I say all the right things at exactly the right time, but I mean nothing to you and I don't know why. I don't know.' "Everything You Want" Vertical Horizon
After another hour, he sighed again, and rubbed his eyes. Basically all that the book talked about was how vampires were created. It was important, yes, but curing them was more important. Why couldn't there just be a section called "Curing Vampirism" in bold print?
He flipped the page, telling himself he would go through two more chapters of this book before he gave up on it, and one more book before he gave up for the night. Then he started laughing as his eyes came to a stop in the middle of the page. It was in italics, not in bold, but there it was just the same.
Three Cures for Three Types of Vampirism
His eyes darted down to the third bullet.
"When a victim is infected by drinking of the sire's blood twice before the final transformation, to cure the victim, the sire must drink of the victim's blood on two separate occasions, and then the victim is safe. This cure must be started before the third and final drawing of blood, the completion of the transformation. The cure will be completely effective, but unless the sire is killed, the victim's transformation can still occur with only one drawing of blood."
"Harry!"
"What? I'm still awake, Draco. There's no need to scare me half to death – I thought someone had discovered me."
"Harry, I found a cure! Quit researching, go to bed, and I'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. Goodnight."
"See you tomorrow."
"Draco? Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, Harry."
Chapter 6
'Now that you're here, I just feel like I'm constantly dreaming, but something's gotta go wrong, 'cause I'm feelin' way too damn good. And it's like... Every time I turn around, I fall in love and find my heart face down, and where it lands is where it should. This time it's like the two of us should probably start to fight, 'cause something's gotta go wrong, 'cause I'm feelin' way too damn good.' "Feeling Way Too Damn Good" Nickelback
Harry crept silently back into his room, eager to sleep, but the second he took off the Invisibility Cloak, it became obvious that he wasn't going to sleep for quite a while. The second Harry reappeared, Ron sat up and looked at Harry.
"We need to talk," he said in a low voice.
"Fine," Harry whispered. "But not here." Harry turned and walked back downstairs, his mind racing as he plopped down in a chair beside the fire.
Ron sat down beside him and just stared at Harry for a minute.
"So, do you want to tell me what's up?"
"It's complicated, Ron. Trust me, you wouldn't understand. Please, just give me two days, and then I'll explain."
"Harry, you need help – I can tell. Hermione thinks that you're seeing some girl or something else not serious. She didn't say that, but she thought it, and she thinks I'm making a big deal out of nothing. But I can see it in your eyes right now that something is wrong – seriously wrong. Talk to me, Harry, please."
"Ron, I can't. You wouldn't understand – this is big, really big. It's too dangerous, and I can't involve you in it."
"But you can involve Malfoy in it?" Ron hissed furiously.
"What ... What are you talking about? Why would Dra – Malfoy be involved?"
Ron shook his head in disgust. "You never could lie very well, Harry. It was just a hunch, but your face said it all. If I didn't know better, I'd think you and Malfoy were friends."
"Ron, listen to me, I -- "
"No, Harry. I'll give you your two days. You're my best friend, Harry, and no matter what's going on, I'm here for you. So, take the two days, figure out what you need to, but that's it. Tell me the truth and tell all of it that day. After that the offer expires. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight, Harry."
"Goodnight, Ron."
Harry wanted to shout after him, tell him the whole story – the vampire curse, Draco, the prophecy, even the Sorting Hat wanting to put him in Slytherin – everything. But he didn't, he couldn't.
He was just about to go to bed when a voice spoke, and he stopped, hoping it was Ron, but there was no one there – it was Draco.
"Harry, you're still awake?"
"Yeah," Harry said shortly.
"Well, since we're both awake, we might as well get something done. In order to cure you, we need to know who your sire is. We're going to go back through the memory for clues, or if we're lucky, a glimpse of his face. So I need you to relax, and open your mind to me."
"Fine."
Harry relaxed, and suddenly he could feel Draco's mind exploring his, and then he was suddenly reliving a night he had never known existed. He had never once remembered the dream, and now all of a sudden there was no question of Draco's honesty – it was real. Harry slumped back in the chair, trembling all over. He was a vampire.
Chapter 7
'I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away. I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm open, and I don't feel like I am strong enough, 'cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel light when you're gone away.' "Broken" Seether featuring Amy Lee
Suddenly the memory was gone.
"Harry? Harry are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded unconvincingly.
"Oh, god, Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't realize ... You didn't remember it, did you? God, I keep doing everything wrong! I'm so sorry, Harry."
"It's fine, Draco, you didn't know. Did you see a face?"
"No. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Listen, I'm going to bed."
"Yeah, of course. We'll talk tomorrow."
What Draco didn't tell Harry was that he should have seen a face. The sire commanded Harry to look at him, and Harry had obeyed, but in that few seconds there was only darkness. Harry had obviously blocked the image – his mind had been fighting against Draco through the whole memory without Harry even knowing it – after all, it was a traumatic memory which warranted repression in its own right, and Harry had been ordered to forget it. The resistance had simply been too great, and it wasn't fair to Harry, anyway. So Draco's only hope was to wait for Harry to dream again, which didn't take long.
Instead of going up to bed, Harry stayed where he was in the chair, too shocked and exhausted to move, and he fell asleep there, staring morosely into the fire.
Draco had to wait through another dream about Ron discovering Harry's new curse and some "prophecy". Then there was a dream about Harry failing his N.E.W.T.s and being exiled from the wizarding world before he came to a vampire dream.
But when he did, he wasn't happy with what he found – it was a different dream. This one was in a dark corner of a Hogwarts hallway, and this time the sire was bulkier, but somehow less frightening. It was basically the same thing, the command to drink, which was heeded immediately this time. After Harry drank, however, the vampire bent down as if to drink Harry's blood, but he was stopped by a sharp voice – the same voice from the other dream.
"Goyle! You must not drink or you will reverse the effects of the process and risk ruining the plan. Let the boy go and leave"
"Now!" he barked when it became obvious that Goyle was not going to heed the orders without a protest. Goyle glared in the direction of the other voice, and then suddenly he was enveloped in a swirl of fog, and then he was gone.
"Now, Potter, you run along back up to your room, and see that you don't get caught. And erase all traces of this meeting from your memory."
He disappeared in a swirl of fog as well, and Harry turned and climbed back to his dormitory.
Draco pulled himself gently from Harry's mind and sighed. This complicated things. Now he didn't know which was the real version, or if either of them were. Or maybe – maybe both were real; maybe Harry had two sires. It would fit, it would probably make Harry even more evil, having the blood of two evil vampires in him. So Draco slipped back into Harry's mind and very gently guided Harry's mind back to the first dream. Since Harry was asleep, he provided less resistance, which would hopefully allow Draco to see the face of the vampire.
There was still blackness when Harry looked at him, but with a light prodding from Draco's mind, he brought the image back.
"Look at me, boy," the voice commanded, and Harry obeyed. He stared up into those icy, steel-gray eyes that showed no emotion, framed by white blond hair, that face that could have been so handsome if it weren't for the hatred and evil in it.
His father.
Chapter 8
'I thought I saw a man brought to life, he was warm, he came around like he was dignified, he showed me what it was to cry. Well you couldn't be that man I adored; you don't seem to know, don't seem to care what your heart is for, but I don't know him anymore. There's nothing where he used to lie, my conversation has run dry. That's what's going on, nothing's fine I'm torn, I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel; I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor. Illusion never changed into something real. I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn. You're a little late, I'm already torn. So I guess the fortune teller's tell us right, should have seen just what was there and not some holy light, but you crawled beneath my veins and now I don't care, I have no luck, I don't miss it all that much. Illusion never changed into something real. I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn.' "Torn" Natalie Imbruglia
Draco pushed the dream out of his mind, wishing he could block that image out of his memory as effectively as Harry could. It made sense, of course. He should have known the second he saw the dream just from the voice.
Hell, maybe he had known and he had done a little of his own mental blocking.
'Okay, forget it, it doesn't matter right now,' he told himself. 'What matters is helping Harry. So let's go through the dreams again.'
After going through both memories very carefully, Draco had established a theory. His father had been the first sire, which was why he had had to command Harry more than once. Obviously, he had put Harry under some type of hypnotism, but Harry had always been less susceptible to mind control than most, so the first time, he fought it. But then when Goyle came along for the second session, not only was Harry under the original spell, he was also partially under their control. So they needed Goyle first, and then his father, and they needed to start soon, before they decided to visit a third time.
His father.
He kept trying to push it out of his mind, and it kept coming back. He had reached a new plateau of evil, even for Lucius. Draco sat there in bed for hours, wishing it weren't true, wondering how he would ever tell Harry.
"Draco? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Harry. Go to sleep," he said coldly, and he broke the connection. He couldn't face Harry right now.
"Harry? Are you okay? You keep looking over your shoulder like you're afraid someone is going to attack you," Hermione said softly.
"I'm fine."
Ron shook his head and remained silent.
"Draco, where are you?"
"In bed," came the irritable reply. "Now leave me alone."
"No! You don't get to keep shutting me out – I get some control over this situation, okay? I don't know what's up with you, but snap out of it! We need to discuss the cure, okay? So get out of bed and go to your classes so that we can meet after Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
Draco sighed and reluctantly obeyed. He did need to talk to Harry, and it would look suspicious if he just appeared all of a sudden after being sick all day and missing all of his classes. Plus, he couldn't really afford to miss many more of his classes.
Harry was on his way to Potions when Draco caught up with him. Hermione and Ron were still at breakfast; Harry had left early, telling them that he had to finish his Potions essay before class (Hermione had shaken her head in disappointment, and Ron had grinned at him). Draco was glad that he was alone. The sooner he told Harry about the cure, the better, because he was going to need some time to get used to it.
"Harry, let's go in here and talk for a minute. We have time before Potions."
"Okay."
"Let's talk about your cure," Draco said when they were safely in the classroom. He had decided to go with the direct method. "What we have to do is summon your sire and have him drink your blood."
Harry didn't react exactly as he had hoped.
"What? Are you crazy? That's how they create vampires, not cure them! Do I really look that stupid? I must be, because I've trusted you for this long without any proof at all! God, I can't believe I was such an idiot!"
He turned to leave, but Draco grabbed his arm.
"Harry, you can look at the book I found it in, it's there in black and white. I swear I'm telling the truth."
"Then why are you doing this, helping me? Really, why? You could just end the spell that connects our minds, and be done with it. So why bother? What's in it for you?"
"Everything, Harry." He sighed. "I haven't been totally honest with you, you're right. There's more to my story."
Chapter 9
'All my roads, they lead to you, I just can't turn and walk away. It's hard to say what it is I see in you, wonder if I'll always be with you, but words can't say, and I can't do enough to prove, it's all for you. Rain comes pouring down, falling from blue skies, words without a sound, coming from your eyes. Finally I figured out, it's hard to say, it's all for you.' "All For You" Sister Hazel
Draco sat down heavily.
"I know you think this is new to me, this helping you and not being evil thing. It's not. First year, Dumbledore approached me with a proposition. He knew that my father was still as supporter of Voldemort, and he wanted me to spy on him. Desperate measures, but Dumbledore needs all of the help he can get. And if I said no, so what? I go home and tell my father, and he sends me to a different school. Big deal. My father already knew that Dumbledore didn't trust him, and if I went to a different school, there was one less threat here. So, Dumbledore took a chance. Of course, I was given Veritaserum to ensure that whatever my answer, it was the truth. I agreed. Given the choice, I would choose Dumbledore over my father any day of the week. I hated my father far too much – still do, actually, to choose his side. But obviously, my declaring my allegiance to Dumbledore would get me disowned, and nothing else. So, we determined that everything would go on as normal. I would be put into Slytherin as my father expected, even though I wished to be in Gryffindor, and I would maintain all appearances of one allegiant to Voldemort. This way, I could spy on all of my father's activities, be in the inner circle, and completely unsuspected. So, from first year on, I've been listening in on my dad's Death Eater meetings and reporting their plans back to Dumbledore. It was unbelievably easy the first few years, but then Voldemort came back. He's smarter, more careful about privacy, and better at plans, so my job got more complicated. Just this year, I've stopped 15 attempts on your life. But this time I got caught, and after the spell, I was under such close observation that I couldn't contact Dumbledore. So, I had to get involved personally, something we had hoped would never happen. I'm sorry. You can ask Dumbledore if you don't believe me."
"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you pretend to hate me?"
"To keep my cover. I had to stay distant from you – it would have made my father a little suspicious if we had become friends. And telling you would have just put us all in more danger. I'm sorry, Harry."
"Put me in danger? As if I'm not already the number one assassination target in the entire wizarding world? I think I could have handled that much more danger, Draco!"
"I didn't say it would put you in more danger, I said us. Mainly me, Harry. What happens if you get caught and tortured for information, and they ask you, 'who's your link, who do you get your information from?', and you tell them. I come home that night, and I'm dead. Would you want my blood on your hands? We did what we thought was best, Harry, and I'm sorry if that's not good enough for you."
"Fine, you had to keep your distance, I suppose I understand that. But did you have to act like you hated me?"
"Harry, I never hated you. You were the one that rejected me. I asked you to be my friend once, long ago, and you refused. I wasn't a saint, that's true, but it was hard for me, Harry. I was constantly saving your life, and you had no clue. No one did, and that was exactly how it should have been, but still ... You thought I was just a selfish prat. And everyone was so excited about you, Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the golden child, boy wonder, I could go on forever, Harry, believe me, and I was doing just as much to fight Voldemort, and yet I was reviled as evil. Every time you so much as cough, everyone looks at me like I poisoned you. Isn't that exactly what Hermione suggested just a day ago? I resented you for things like that, and I started acting the part of the jealous nemesis a little more than I should have, but I never hated you. I'm sorry if you ever thought so, because it was all just an act, Harry. I did what I thought was best, what Dumbledore thought was best, but maybe we were wrong. I'm sorry."
"Wow." Harry sat down across from Draco. "You realize this changes my entire perspective in life, don't you?"
"Harry, I'm sorry."
"For what, trying to save my life? Succeeding a million times and never saying a thing? I'm the one who should be sorry."
"You didn't know. Listen, let's just forget everything that's happened between us and be friends."
"Okay," Harry said with a smile.
"We better get to Potions; it's almost time for class to start, and it'll look strange if we both come in late."
"Let's skip. Let's just say screw it and go do something fun!" Harry said.
"Like what?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"Grab the Invisibility Cloak, sneak into Potions and throw things at Snape."
Draco laughed. "I could get used to hanging around you, Harry. But don't you think Snape would figure it out?"
"Probably. It would've been fun, though," Harry said with a sigh.
"How about we meet after Defense Against the Dark Arts to discuss the cure a little bit more?"
"Alright. See you then," Harry said, and he left, making sure the coast was clear first.
Potions was better than usual. Ron had decided to act as though everything was fine, so he and Hermione talked to Harry constantly, which helped him get through class despite Snape's frequent insults. After class, though, Harry hung back from Ron and Hermione, no longer feeling very talkative. He was still reeling from Draco's revelation that morning. So by the time he reached Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was alone. Draco was already sitting in his desk with his back to Harry when he walked in, but he knew immediately that something was wrong. Waves of sheer panic started emanating from Harry's mind the second he walked in.
"Draco, help!"
Draco turned around slowly and nearly fainted. Harry was standing in the middle of the classroom with fangs and a look of growing hunger.
Chapter 10
'Sick and tired of this world, there's no more air. Trippin' over myself, going nowhere, waiting, suffocating, no direction, and I took a dive and... On the way down, I saw you, and you saved me from myself, and I won't forget the way you loved me. On the way down, I almost fell right through, but I held onto you. I've been wonderin why it's only me, have you always been inside, waiting to breathe? It's alright, sunlight on my face. I wake up and yeah, I'm alive. Cause on the way down, I saw you and you saved me from myself, and I won't forget the way you loved me. On the way down, I almost fell right through, but I held onto you. I was so afraid, of going under, but now, the weight of the world feels like nothing, no, nothing. Down, down, down, you're all I wanted, down, down, down, you're all I needed, down, down, down, you're all I wanted, you're all I needed, and I won't forget the way you loved me.' "On the Way Down" Ryan Cabrera
At the front of the classroom, Professor Lupin looked up, and as Draco watched, he shivered and looked directly at Harry. Draco could have sworn that for just a split second, he saw Lupin's face begin to change, fangs start to protrude, and hair start to spring up on his hands. Lupin looked down and took several deep breaths, and Draco sprang into action.
"Harry, you have to make a run for it. The next classroom is empty. Stay in there and I'll tell Lupin you got sick."
Harry stood still, unsure.
"Now, before someone else notices you!" Harry turned and darted out.
Draco waited a few minutes, hoping Harry would be able to calm down on his own, but he only felt Harry's fear and hunger growing stronger.
"Professor, I can't find my wand. I have a hole in the pocket of my robes, and I think it may have dropped out of them. May I go look for it? If I wait until after class, it might get stolen or broken."
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, but please try to hurry."
Draco rushed out of Defense Against the Dark Arts and into the classroom next to it.
"Harry, calm down. Everything is fine; you're not around Lupin anymore, and even better, we have a cure that we're going to start tonight."
"Draco, you shouldn't be in here; I'm dangerous." Harry still spoke mentally, too panicked to speak aloud.
"Harry, chill out. Don't think about it. Think about something good, like winning Quidditch, or getting Christmas presents, or meeting me ..."
Harry had to laugh, and slowly, his fangs started to retract, and he started to calm down.
"Draco, thank you," Harry said softly. "I don't deserve to be your friend. Just this morning I accused you of trying to kill me, and you've been protecting me for six years. And just now, I could've bitten you, but you didn't care. You could've calmed me down from another room, where you would've been safe, but you came anyway. I'm so sorry, Draco." Harry looked up at him, and Draco was shocked to see blood trickling down his cheeks.
"Harry, you're bleeding!"
"No, just crying," Harry said softly, but he looked shaken, as if he hadn't realized he was even crying. "It's a characteristic of vampires. Some ancient vampire killed a witch's lover, and she cursed him with tears of blood, so that if he ever cried, he would be identified as a demon and killed. The curse carried down to his descendants, and eventually all vampires. That along with the fangs and the bumpy forehead when in bloodlust are the only telltale physical signs of a vampire. The fangs and crimson tears appear after the second draw of blood, the bumpy forehead only when the transformation is complete. Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out – I didn't even remember that, really. Anyway, I'd better go."
"Harry, wait. We still need to discuss how to start your cure. It's a little more complicated than I originally thought. It turns out that you have two sires, so we have to summon them both, in reverse order of their bites. So, we need to start tonight. Is that okay with you?"
"Yes, of course." Harry sat there for a moment, looking up at Draco. Suddenly, before either of them really knew what was happening, Harry had risen and closed the gap between them, and kissed Draco. He was tentative at first, but he quickly grew more self-assured. He had just begun to lose himself in the kiss when Draco pulled away.
"Harry, I can't," Draco whispered, and Harry was shocked to see tears in Draco's eyes.
"I have to go," Draco whispered, and walked slowly from the room. Harry lowered himself slowly into a desk and put his head in his hands.
Chapter 11
'Restless tonight, cause I wasted the light. Between both these times, I drew a really thin line. It's nothing I planned, and not that I can, but you should be mine, across that line. If I traded it all, if I gave it all away for one thing, just for one thing. If I sorted it out, if I knew all about this one thing, wouldn't that be something? I promise I might not walk on by, maybe next time, but not this time. Even though I know, I don't want to know. Yeah I guess I know, I just hate how it sounds.' "One Thing" Finger Eleven
"Professor Lupin? I just came to see what I missed."
"Your wand. You left it in your bookbag when you ran out of class. I noticed you left shortly after Mr. Potter did, and neither of you returned. Is everything okay with you two?"
For a second, Draco had a crazy urge to laugh. 'Okay?' Of course they weren't 'okay'. He had never been more confused and scared in his entire life.
"Yes, Professor, I'm fine. I just usually keep my wand in my pocket, and when I couldn't find it, I panicked. As for Ha – Potter, I think there's just a flu going around."
"Draco, I don't know if you're aware of this, but werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies. There was a vampire in this classroom, Draco, and I think you know something about it. I'm not going to say anything about it, but I'm here for you if you or anyone else needs to talk."
"Thank you, Professor. I'll keep that in mind."
Lupin remained in his classroom for a long time thinking about what had happened. Harry Potter was becoming a vampire; that much was obvious. He had only met a vampire once before in his entire life, and he had killed it instantly. He had been young, and it was during a full moon; he had followed his instinct, and he had always regretted it. Since then, he had learned to control himself even during his change, and he had told himself many times that if he ever encountered another vampire, he would control himself. And he had, but the instinct to kill had been there. He wondered if it had been another student, one he didn't love like a son the way he did Harry, if he would have been so controlled. Or even if he had been a full vampire, rather than a fledgling, if he would have been able to overcome his instincts. He hoped he never had to find out.
He was torn as to what to do. He loved Harry like a son; he was the only one left of his friends – James and Sirius had both died, and Pettigrew was a traitorous bastard, so he was the only one left to take care of Harry. So he wanted to do what was best for Harry, but he had no clue what that was.
Should he trust that Harry and the Malfoy boy could handle the situation? He knew Harry had handled many other situations of this kind, but none quite this serious. Or should he go to Dumbledore? If he went to Dumbledore, Harry and Draco could be expelled – Harry could even be killed. There wasn't a cure to vampirism that he knew, but Draco had seemed fairly sure of himself, so maybe they had found something, and going to Dumbledore would only interfere. If it had been possible, he would have helped them, talked to them to see what they knew, help research, but he couldn't. If he and Harry were even in the same room together for more than a minute, they would probably kill each other. He sighed. For now he would trust that they knew what they were doing, and leave it at that. If the situation hadn't improved by Monday, he would go to Dumbledore.
"Where have you been, Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously when he returned to the Common Room several hours later.
"Puking, and getting medicine from Madam Pomfrey," Harry lied easily. "I'm gonna go to bed, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Harry turned and climbed the stairs to his dormitory.
"What's going on with him?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"Who knows?"
Chapter 12
'Well, maybe I'm in love, think about it, every time I think about it, can't stop thinking 'bout it. How much longer will it take to cure this, just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love, makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love. Turn a little faster, the world will follow after, 'cause everybody's after love. Well I didn't mean to do it, but there's no escaping your love. These lines of lightning mean we're never alone, never alone, no, no, come on, come on, move a little closer, I want to hear you whisper, settle down inside my love. Jump a little higher, if you feel a little lighter, we were once upon a time in love. We're accidentally in love.' "Accidentally in Love" Counting Crows
Harry waited in his bed, thoroughly upset and confused. He and Draco were meeting at 11:00 to do the first part of his cure.
He couldn't believe that he had kissed Draco! Even weirder, it had been the only thing that felt right since this whole nightmare started. When he thought of Draco, all he could think of was the gentle look in Draco's eyes as he tried to calm Harry earlier that day. Harry was becoming a demon, and the evidence had been right there, and Draco hadn't cared at all. And all those years Harry had been so mean to Draco, and he had tolerated it, and continued saving Harry's life in secret. No wonder he had been a little bitter towards Harry and his friends – he had every right to absolutely despise them, and here he was doing everything in his power to help Harry.
But obviously Harry felt a little more strongly about Draco than Draco felt about him. All he could hope was that the cure would work, and he could end this whole mortifying, humiliating situation.
The minutes crawled by as Harry waited for his meeting with Draco. Ron came in after about an hour.
"Harry, is there anything you want to talk about?"
Harry was silent for a minute, and he almost broke down, but just then he remembered Ron's expression when he had said Draco's name the other night.
"No, I'll wait for my two days to be up."
"Goodnight, then."
Harry's stomach was in knots as he crawled out of bed and threw on his Invisibility Cloak yet again, and he almost cried when Ron whispered, "Please be careful, Harry," as Harry passed by his bed.
"I will," he promised.
Chapter 13
'How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb, without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it there and lead it back home. Wake me up inside, I can't wake up. Wake me up inside, save me, call my name and save me from the dark. Wake me up, bid my blood to run before I come undone, save me from the nothing I've become. I can't wake up, save me. Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me, breathe into me and make me real, bring me to life. Frozen inside without your touch, without your love, darling, only you are the life among the dead. All this time I can't believe I couldn't see, kept in the dark but you were there in front of me. I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything, without thought, without a voice, without a soul. Don't let me die here, there must be something more. Bring me to life. Wake me up inside, I can't wake up. Wake me up inside, save me, call my name and save me from the dark. Wake me up, bid my blood to run before I come undone, save me from the nothing I've become. I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside. Bring me to life.' "Bring me to life" Evanescence
Harry had to use all of his restraint not to burst out laughing when he walked into what had become his and Draco's classroom.
There was a six foot circle of thick candles, which were about two feet tall, and six inches thick, laid out on the floor and Draco was standing in the middle of it, reading from an ancient-looking book. He glanced up when Harry entered, and Harry was struck by how attractive Draco looked in candlelight. He immediately pushed that thought from his mind and turned his attention to the task at hand.
"So, what do I need to do?" he asked quietly.
Draco sighed. "I'm going to summon the vampire while we're both in the circle, and then you're going to step out of the circle, and well, um, he'll drink your blood."
"And I agreed to this because?"
"Because you know I'm a genius. Now come over here so we can get started."
Harry walked over, and Draco pulled a thin dagger from his bag.
"Whoa! What are you going to do with that?"
"Would you prefer he bit you and drank the blood from your neck?"
Harry was silent.
"Exactly. It'll just be a small cut on your wrist."
"So who is my sire? Actually who are my sires, is the question, I suppose. If we're doing this, you must know, right?"
"Yes, I know," Draco said carefully. "Tonight we're going to summon Goyle's father, Ian Goyle. We'll talk about tomorrow after this is over. Now hold out your wrist. It'll hurt for a while, but vampires have amazing healing powers, so you'll be fine."
Harry turned his head away and held out his wrist. Draco's hand rested lightly under Harry's arm, and Harry found that he barely even noticed when the knife slit into his wrist.
"Okay, here goes nothing," Draco muttered and began reciting something that sounded like Latin, and suddenly mist filled the room, and from the mist appeared a very large man dressed all in black.
"Out of the circle!" Draco hissed urgently.
"What? He could kill me with his bare hands!"
"Now!"
Harry reluctantly stepped out of the circle, and found himself staring at the man, who was now less than a foot away from Harry.
"Drink. Now," Draco commanded, and Harry was shocked at the power in Draco's vice, and even more shocked as the man standing before him obeyed the command.
Draco waited for what seemed to Harry like an eternity before commanding the vampire to leave.
"Holy shit, Draco, where did you learn to do that? That was incredible!"
Draco looked up at Harry from where he sat in the circle of candles, and smiled bitterly at Harry, his eyes unreadable.
"Well, not everyone is as blessed as I am. I've been practicing black magic 100 times harder than this since I was 10."
"Draco, it's not your fault that his evil. Look at what you're doing; you are the exact opposite of him! You saved me."
Draco kept his head down, refusing to look at Harry as he spoke. "Not entirely, Harry, and that's what I'm worried about."
When Draco finally looked up, Harry was surprised to see tears in his eyes.
"Draco, what's wrong? You've started my cure, which is something that very few people could or would do. Who cares how you got the knowledge? All that matters is how you use it. Draco, look at me. I'm half-demon. Am I evil?"
"No, of course not. God no, Harry, it's just tainted blood, nothing else, nothing really to do with you."
"Exactly my point. You're the same. Just because your father's evil doesn't mean you are."
"Harry, you don't know the whole story. Your other sire? The one we have to summon tomorrow? It's my father. My father is the one responsible for making you into a demon. He's a demon, Harry. He's a vampire!"
"Draco, is that what this is about? God, I don't care if your father created Voldemort! If your father was the one who killed Sirius, it still wouldn't change the way I feel about you. Nothing could."
At that moment, Harry wanted to kiss Draco more than he had ever wanted anything, but he controlled himself. Draco had already demonstrated earlier that day that he didn't feel the same way. Instead, he extended his hand to pull Draco up from where he was still sitting amid the candles, and Draco accepted it, sending jolts of electricity through Harry. But Draco didn't let go of Harry's hand, and he stood there a moment, looking into Harry's eyes. Then he moved forward and kissed Harry.