Chapter Three: Once Removed Once Bitten
Harry's eyes widened at the sudden darkening of Draco's, signaling the change to come. He slipped back out of the room, slamming the large door behind him, quickly casting a locking charm as he did so.
Harry pressed his back against the wooden door before slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. His eyes were wide and pulse still beating rapidly. The Gryffindor was able to hear the cries of agony befalling Draco, and it was sickening. The torment the Slytherin felt made Harry wish there was something he could do, but there wasn't anything anyone could do.
Slowly the heart-wrenching screams died down to harsh whimpers, and then to slow panting. Harry was able to hear the scraping of claws on the stone floor, slowly at first, but soon the scraping was a constant. Harry was able to feel small vibrations through the ground from Draco thrashing around the large room.
Harry put up a silencing and a disillusionment charm upon the door after a few minutes of listening to the sounds of the werewolf running about. He tugged on the small string around his neck to pull out his Mokeskin pouch that was tucked under his jumper, and pulled out the cloak of invisibility to drape it around himself. The last thing he wanted was to have someone come around and have to answer a ton of questions which he didn't want to.
Draco felt his bones breaking and shifting under his skin, fur forcing its way out of him. At that moment he wished death would come; that would have to be less painful then being forced into a new body, slowing losing his mind to the animal he was becoming.
Coherent thoughts were growing further and further apart until he was no longer Draco Malfoy.
As he ceased to be, the animal lifted its snowy white body off of the floor, attempting to shift itself onto all four of its long limbs; shifting awkwardly on the muscles its body was in no way used to. The claws which came out of the front paws scrapped like metal on the floor. The werewolf's pointed ears perked at the sound of the claws, shifting his large head so the icy blue eyes could see the source of the noise.
His upper lip rose, exposing his canine teeth and black gums, snarling at nothing in particular. A deep growl escaped his throat as his neck fur bristled. Arctic eyes scanned the destroyed room before the animal started walking forward, stumbling over his longer legs every few steps as he went like a toddler learning to walk on its own.
Harry suddenly heard faint voices approaching down the corridor. He turned his head, trying to see who would be there, still a little on edge from the battle and the werewolf he was hiding from the rest of the castle.
He saw a flash of red hair before he could fully make out Ginny Weasley. Harry relaxed a bit at seeing the girl, until he saw Dean Thomas run up from behind her and walk alongside her. Harry knew that Dean had dated Ginny a few years back, so he kept an eye on the man. He was able to hear a bit of their conversation; Dean was asking what Ginny's plans were now. Odd, Harry didn't think they were still talking. He wasn't able to hear much of Ginny's reply, something about settling. Settling on what? Then Harry saw Dean wrap his hand around Ginny's before they turned down another corridor.
Harry didn't know what to think; was Ginny interested in Dean Thomas instead of him? He thought that he could just resume his relationship with Ginny now that the war was over. Did she not have the same plan in mind? Harry's mind raced upon the possibilities of what he just saw. Maybe she pushed him away after he couldn't see them anymore. Yeah, that was possible.
Harry looked down both ends of the half destroyed corridor to make sure the way was clear. He turned his torso toward the door he was leaning against and removed his charms. The metallic scraping of sharpened claws on stone returned to his ears, along with sharp barking. Harry replaced his charms once he was satisfied that Draco was doing alright locked in the room.
Harry pushed himself off the door and stood, removing his cloak from over him and rolled it neatly, tucking it back into his pouch. He turned and walked in the direction of the Great Hall, deciding that sitting and thinking upon Ginny was not a very smart idea. Walking into the Great Hall, Harry saw the larger line of dead bodies, some clad in black cloaks, others in school uniforms.
Ron and Hermione turned to Harry with worried, but happy looks.
"Oi, Mate! Where have you been?" Ron asked as Harry approached and clasped a hand on Harry's back.
"We were really worried," Hermione scowled. "We were going to head to the Burrow. When would you like to go?"
Harry looked between Hermione and Ron, and scanned the Great Hall, not concerned with those in the room; instead his thoughts were on the stubborn...wolf.
"Actually Hermione, Ron, I think I want to stay here for a while longer, take care of the people here first," Harry half-lied.
Hermione was about to protest before Ron chipped in with, "Always the hero. Come on Hermione, we should meet up with mum and dad, I am sure that Fr-" Ron paused painfully, "George and Percy would like to see us."
Hermione shot Harry a skeptical look before turning around and heading to the front gates of Hogwarts with Ron. Harry watched them leave until they breached the gates and disapparated together. He evaluated the grim scene of the hall, feeling a tinge of guilt before turning and heading back up the stairs to the Room of Requirement.
Once at the room, Harry slipped back down on the floor, back against the door, checking that Draco was still moving about before reapplying his charms. Harry put his cloak on once more and waited, checking about every half-hour for any sounds coming from the werewolf or room that held him.
Hours passed by slowly; Harry eventually lying upon the floor instead of sitting, once his arse had gone numb from the unforgiving stone.
He woke from his light sleep by the shrill ring of his spelled timer, another half-hour having passed by. Harry removed his charms with a swish of his wand and sat bolt upright when he realized that he heard nothing within the room. He stood, with some difficulty from his stiff legs and sore muscles, and turned to face the room. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door, not wanting to get himself mauled by the young werewolf.
Harry peeked in and sighed with relief; Draco was curled into a tight ball, human again. When Harry approached he noticed that Draco had thrown his ripped and ruined garments over his body, not truly dressed. A blush crept across his face and he turned his back to the blonde. The Gryffindor removed his invisibility cloak, setting it on the ground beside him, and draping his black jumper over the curled body, he then sat down to wait.
As he sat, wincing from his stiff muscles, back on the floor next to Draco, he saw tears staining the Slytherin's face. Harry was torn between trying to comfort the teen and remembering that this was Malfoy after all. After everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, Harry still had six years of torment to try and get past to see the scared boy beneath.
"Would...would you be better if you headed back to Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked quietly, not wanting to startle him.
Harry turned to the blonde when no reply came, thinking he might have fallen asleep until Draco tucked his head into his folded arms.
"Malfoy?"
Draco replied so silently that Harry couldn't understand him properly.
"What?"
"I can't..." Draco replied a tad louder, "I'm not a pure-blood anymore."
"Why would that matter?" Harry asked, both frustrated and unsure of pureblood traditions.
"Once a Malfoy loses pure-blood status, the Manor is removed from his, or her, rights..."
Note: So this is the revised chapter three. Once again, please thank Xezo for being able to enjoy this chapter without being confused.
I want to apologize for the people who actually read this story for taking so long on this chapter. I am going to blame working 40+ (Approved for overtime today) and taking 5 Uni classes. :/
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