A Place to Call Home

Blood Donors

Disclaimer: Sorry to all the potential lawsuits out there; I don't own Harry Potter

A/N: Ta Da! The second chapter of A Place to Call Home is finally completed. This has been done, except for two pages at the end, for a week now, but I got injured in softball practice and then I been going to see all my relatives for the past couple of days. So well…you can guess the rest. That coupled with the fact that all I want to do after I finish my homework is fall asleep has resulted in me not even starting to tenth chapter of Defeating the Antagonist yet. I think I'll start that now, otherwise I'll feel like a failure. It should be out sometime next week, especially if I focus. Thank you to all who reviewed; I'll mention you next chapter but I figure I should get this chapter out as soon as possible. Anyway if there are any questions or comments please Review! Thank you…

Draco Malfoy was pissed; in fact, in all his years as a one of Voldemort's elite and even more years as just a regular vampire, he couldn't remember any time he had ever been quite so pissed. And all over a tousled haired, green-eyed boy. Life was ironic that way sometimes.

Draco entered his make-sift home of two days, a cave, and dropped the squirming boy on the floor near him. The red head practically flew across the room in an effort to get away from him, and Draco, watching him carefully, growled under his breath, making the boy whimper. Rolling his eyes, Draco turned his back on the boy as he pressed himself against the cave wall. Then he walked over to cave entrance, he hid himself in the shadows, watching the entrance.

"He…w-won't c…come."

Draco raised his eyebrows and looked back at the small boy. His teeth were clattering so hard he was visibly shaking.

"So he speaks."

Ron bristled fractionally at the cutting words, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

"I can see you glaring at me from here. Watch yourself human."

Ron stiffened and this time didn't hold back, "He won't; you'll never complete your Blood Donor Ritual; they'll keep him safe until midnight, then you'll die. You can't survive longer than midnight without fulfilling the Blood Donor Ritual. They'll stop him."

"Oh really?" Draco snapped, not only unsettled by the young boy's precise knowledge of vampiric ways, but also wondering who they were. Harry's family…for some reason he didn't think so.

"Lots of vampires come this to try and kill…" The childish boy stopped, cutting himself off, then he continued, "Lots of vampires come to this village; everyone, even the really small children, know about vampires. Their weaknesses, their laws, almost everything."

"You don't seem very worried about yourself. If he isn't here soon, I will kill you."

The boy seemed to shrink into himself, "I don't care, as long as you don't get Harry."

"I highly doubt that, but you're definitely a Gryffindor though, through and through."

He stared at Draco, eyes boring into the back of his head and Draco rubbed his head, wondering how long it would take the other boy, Harry, to get here. He didn't seem like the sort of person who would leave his friends, but then again, he had been wrong before. If that was the case then Draco would have to kill the red head and go after Harry himself.

Then he realized that the kid was still staring at him and he snapped, "I'm one of Voldemort's."

He should need no more explanation, and he noticed with satisfaction that the boy looked terrified again. It seemed that news of Voldemort's horrifying reign over all vampires that retained their magical abilities after being turned was spreading far and wide. Of course, there was something weird about this village. The kid had said that many vampires came here, which really meant that there were many vampire attacks, but the village didn't seem like anything special and there were plenty of better and bigger villages scattered all over Britain. Hell, most vampires, the ones with less refined taste of course, preferred muggles to wizards because they couldn't fight back.

Draco looked back outside again. No one.

The whole mystery of this village would have to be addressed later, perhaps in his report to Voldemort. He only had a day or two before he was required to return to Voldemort's encampment. He had thought he would snatch a child, preferably an orphan, or one with little or no relations and then spend the rest of his days refilling himself with his donor's sweet young blood. Obviously things weren't going exactly as planned.

He hadn't been able to find a suitable donor before Harry had seen him and then when the children began to group together and call fully qualified wizards, he knew that he needed to act then. As a result, he had just picked the child that he was closest to after he had blown away the older children. He figured it was bad luck on Harry's part to first, get picked, and then, having that girl scream out his name, completing the second part of the blood donor ritual. He could have broken the pact if only the first part had been completed.

And then, of course, just when Draco had finally gotten the situation under control, Harry had broken out from his trance, which should be impossible unless he was trained proficiently at it. That had led to his kidnapping the red head and their arrival here. Draco slammed his fist against the wall, relishing in the younger boy's flinch. It was all because of this stupid village and their hyped up vampire awareness.

In any other village, they would have laughed off young Harry's words. In truth, the redhead was right, if Harry chose to hide and defend himself with garlic as he had done earlier, then he could very well die at midnight, in the very least he would have to be very cunning.

He sat silently, fixating his eyes on the forest beneath him, then suddenly he saw a rustle in the underbrush. He grinned neurotically, then he turned to the boy sitting resolutely on the floor, "Time to go welcome our guest."

He disappeared.

Harry stumbled through the underbrush, tightly gripping a wand and following a small pale yellow spark that danced just out of reach. He had stood frozen for at least two minutes after the vampire had left, taking Ron him. Then finally snapping out of it, he had ran for Hermione who was still lying on the hill. Panting, he reached her and turned her over so he could see her face. Then realizing that she couldn't talk, he told her to get the elders as soon as she could and taking her wand, he had run off.

Usually children weren't allowed to have wands until they were eight, but Hermione had shown an unusual proficiency for learning and since her parents had wanted her to get a head start on her studies, she had gotten a wand a year early. Harry ran his hand over the wand. It hasn't made for him, so it wouldn't work as well as it did for Hermione but he had practiced basic spells just in case there was a another vampire attack and he had to defend himself…again. One of the spells he had taught himself was a basic vampire-tracking spell. It led him to the nearest vampire, who would hopefully be the one who had Ron. Harry didn't know what he would do if their was more than one vampire in the forest and he was lead to the wrong one…

Harry tripped over himself and landed on the ground with oomph. He picked himself up and realized that he was still carrying the bulb of garlic in his hand. He stared at it and recalled from Hermione's incessant babbling on the subject that garlic could kill vampires if they ate it and would burn them horribly if they touched it. It would even interrupt their various abilities if they got too close to it. That was why the vampire had let him go.

Harry looked around the forest frantically, searching for somewhere to hide the garlic in case he needed it later. Vampires could smell garlic from miles away and the last thing he wanted was to get caught with it and have the vampire kill Ron in retaliation. No…he'd have to hide it somewhere…anywhere. He just needed to be able to find it again. Then his foot went through the dirt and sunk into the ground. He yelped and struggling, he dragged himself out of his self-made hole. He glared at the offending opening until he realized that it could be exactly what he was looking for.

Conscious of how little time he had, Harry carefully felt along the edges of the hole for fox or other animal nests. He found none and warily placed the bulb of garlic in the hole. Then he covered the area lightly with sprinkled dirt. Done, he looked upward and noticed that he was standing in front of an enormous oak tree…that was surrounded by tons of other enormous oak trees. Harry's face fell…he'd never be able to tell where he buried the bulb; he'd be dead or worse before he could dig up holes at the base of all these trees. Then he smiled and remembering another spell that had been taught to him by one of the Weasley twins, he slashed Hermione's wand in front of him, creating an X. A flaming red mark engraved itself on the tree.

"X marks the spot…" Harry said smiling.

Then he took off again, moving quicker than before, the spell would only last a couple of hours and he wanted to find Ron and leave before it came to that. He didn't know if the whole blood donor ritual was a sick joke or not. Harry had been hunted by vampires all his life because of the scar on his head and his connection to Voldemort. Dumbledore had sat him down one day and told him quite seriously. He had told Harry that he would likely be hunted by them until Voldemort was dead. That was one of the reasons he had started to train, but he had never been the focus of a vampire who wanted him for a favorable purpose…favorable for a vampire that is.

Harry wondered about that; he didn't think that the vampire knew who he was…he couldn't have, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted time trying to make him his blood donor, instead he would have just killed him, like all the other vampires had tried to do. Harry breathed deeply and focused on the dancing spark; he would worry about it later, he needed to save Ron now. In fact, if the vampire didn't know who he was, it might be easier to beat him, not that Harry had ever actually fought a real vampire alone, but he was prepared to do so for Ron's sake.

Harry had been receiving special training, mostly mental and physical (the only wand he ever got to practice with was Hermione's) in order to protect himself ever since the first vampire had attacked the village and almost slit his throat when he was four. He had learned how to shield himself from vampiric trances and other tricky slips of the tongue. He had even learned how to defend himself in a fashion even though he was sure that he would better with a wand than his small arms and legs.

Then the spark jumped upwards and Harry followed it with his eyes and groaned. The spark was leading him up a steep hill and his abused legs could only take so much, but still, he pushed on. He was incredible worried about Ron; both of them had seen firsthand what vampires were capable of.

Then he was snatched out of thin air…

Draco held another squirming child under his arm for the second time in one day. It was getting tiresome and so he dumped the boy unceremoniously on the ground near the red head.

"Harry!" he yelped.

"Look, your friend has arrived." Draco said pleasantly

Harry scrambled forward and practically threw himself into the other boy's open arms.

"Ron," he cried out, "are you hurt? Did he hurt you? I was so-"

"As touching as this…I believe that we've got some business to do…" Draco let the sentence trail off.

Harry tried to look brave; then defiantly, he said, "First let Ron go. Then we'll…get down to business."

Draco snorted, "How about first I remove that wand that you're trying oh so hard to hide," The wand disappeared from Harry's back pocket. "and now we can talk without me fearing your meager wand skills."

Draco smirked and Harry glared, along with Ron who also noticed Harry trying to hide the wand. Draco had to admire the kid, he had no subtlety, but he did have guts. Draco, himself, never would have been brave enough to try something as bold as that if he was human.

"You have my wand vampire, now let Ron go. We're really no threat without our wands."

"No you really aren't, are you." Draco muttered, unnerved by Harry's blatant hatred of vampires. Granted, no one should trust vampires, but what had vampires done to the kid besides perhaps taking a random person from his village once or twice…wait maybe this had to do with the huge number of vampires that came to this town. That might explain something; maybe a vampire had killed his parents or taken a brother or sister…

"Okay, I'll let you, Ron, go. But you're going to leave and go back to the village right away; no hiding in the woods trying to find a way back in here. I'll be putting up a barrier."

"I won't go. I won't leave Harry alone." Ron clung tightly to Harry, stepping in front of him, almost daring Draco to come and try to remove him from his place, protecting the smaller boy.

Draco ran his hand through his blond hair and sighed, now he had two obstinate children. These kids and their Gryffindor like bravery, if either of them reached the age of eleven, or in actuality if Ron reached the age of eleven, he would most definitely be a noble Gryffindor. Harry wouldn't be going to Hogwarts, if Draco had anything to do with it.

Draco opened his mouth, ready to throw Ron out the door with a few well placed curses, but before he could, Harry piped up with, "No Ron that isn't right. I can't let you do this for me. You've got a family that needs you. I…I don't matter."

Draco watched the ongoing proceedings with fascination; it had been awhile since he had seen humans in all their maudlin glory

"But Harry this isn't right. You shouldn't have come! What ever possessed you to come, you're going to be-" Ron was cut off as Harry dragged Ron into a bone crushing hug. Then Harry leaned closer to Ron's ear and Draco cocked his head as he heard Harry whispering faintly to Ron.

Leaning closer he listened as Harry outlined his plan…

"Listen Ron, you've got to go. You're going to have to at least tell the rest of the village."

"Not a chance Harry, I said I'm staying with you, the-idiot-who-doesn't-think!"

"Ron listen! We need to beat this vampire; he could hurt someone."

"Yeah," Ron muttered, "Mainly you!"

Harry ignored him this time, talking right over any of Ron's protests, "But we'll have to smart about it. I left a bulb of garlic by a large tree in the forest. There's a big glowing X on it. You have to get it. Then you come back and throw it at the barrier; it should dissolve it, since garlic is vampire's weakness. Then if we corner him with it; we can bring him down…until then, I'll…stall.

Ron's eyes widened and then looking as if he wanted to do the exact opposite, he slowly he nodded his head. Then he hugged Harry again and resolutely walked out the cave entrance. He didn't look back. The vampire looked after him, staring intensely at his back. He watched as Ron stumbled a bit and then straightened and kept walking.

Then the vampire erected a barrier stopping all from entering or leaving the cave. He turned back towards Harry smiling. Harry for his part skirted around him and looked about skittishly. He breathed in quietly and bit his lip. Harry really hadn't thought this whole thing out. He had no idea how to stall the vampire and he just kept coming closer and closer. By now, Harry was plastered against the wall.

"So…" Harry's voice was incredibly high, even for his age, "um, a blood donor huh? What…what does that exactly imply?"

The vampire raised an eyebrow, then he chuckled softly, "You know, I don't believe I've ever been asked that question. Most people just stick with begging for their lives."

"Well, I tend to stray from the norm." he muttered evasively, "And anyway, I'm the one whose going be doing all the work." He finished frantically, thinking quickly.

"All the work? You? Well then, I guess you have a point; a very valid point. Maybe I should tell you a little about a blood donor, but…what are you doing?"

Harry grinned feebly and shrugged as he tried reaching inside his pants to get a knife without looking too suspicious. Obviously he had failed…

"Give me whatever is in your pocket." Harry hesitated, and Draco bared his teeth. "Now." He said threateningly.

Harry grimaced and reached into his pant pocket. Then he withdrew the knife from his pocket and tossed it harshly at the vampire's face. The vampire swiped the vampire out of the air and inspected it closely.

"What is it with your village. Everything here seems to be made with vampires in mind, even this knife, it has elements of wood; why do you people hate vampires so much…why do so many vampires come to your city?"

"Why do we hate vampires? Is that such a hard question to answer?" Harry laughed, remembering Percy Weasley stepping in front of a killing curse intended for Harry that a vampire had shot during a nighttime raid. Harry glared at him…it was a stupid question.

"It's because vampires kill, they don't even try and stop themselves they just do. They like it…they're inhuman…you're barbaric"

The two stared at each other in the fading light. Then abruptly, shockingly, Draco said, "Maybe I should give you that introduction to what it's like becoming a blood donor." He walked forward with the knife. "It only hurts the first time, or so I'm told…" Now the vampire was almost pressing Harry against the wall as Harry tried to think of a way out of the mess. "I'll make a slit over your throat like that only bigger…" A drop of blood splashed onto Harry's collar, but Harry didn't notice, his eyes were locked with Draco's. "Then I'll drink and the ritual will be complete." Harry shut his eyes tightly as Draco licked away a drop of blood and took a step back.

"We'll wait until after sunset; your blood will be most potent then."

He turned, then, and watched the welcoming warmth bleed into blazing reds and oranges. Harry looked at his back, not bothering to wipe the small amount of blood away from his neck. He breathed in and out, concentrating on just getting breath into his lungs. He felt like crying.

He wanted to know where Ron was. It shouldn't have taken so long to get the garlic, especially if he had started running as soon as he was out of sight. What had happened to him? Harry slid down to the floor, and shakily raised his eyes to the horizon. It sun had almost set; the faintest tinge of darkness was looming over the ground. Ron should have definitely been here by now, most definitely; where was he? Is he didn't come soon, then Harry would be turned into come sort of-

They had learned all about Blood Donors, Ron, Hermione, and him. They had found the subject fascinating, but horrendous at the same time. They had all agreed that it was the worst thing to happen to a vampire's victim. The vampire would choose someone, complete the ritual, and then the unfortunate person would have to give the vampire his blood; not all of it, only enough to make him woozy…but still you would have to give the vampire your blood every day until you died, or in some special cases, until you were turned yourself. Even if you weren't turned yourself; your life was still very confined. You led your life by the vampire's rules or else.

Harry had enough problems with vampires; he didn't need to add a blood donor to the list.

Harry stared at the vampire. He had no other plan up his sleeve; everything depended on Ron, but if Ron didn't-

"I hope you're not waiting for your friend."

Harry sat up so fast that he practically tripped over himself doing it.

"I overheard your plan. Very sneaky and underhanded; almost Slytherin of you, though you should have spoken softer." Draco turned to face him.

"He'll come back with the garlic and he'll kill you." Harry said plainly, not seeing any reason to lie or flounder around the subject.

"Really…well that'll be hard to accomplish since I erased all magical spells from the area. Your friend will be looking for that garlic forever, if he's even looking for it…maybe he just ran home." Draco turned back towards the sky; he smiled, a feral smile, showing teeth. The day had seeped into night.

"I believe it's time to complete the final part of the ritual."

Harry back up and flicked his eyes from right to left, anxiously looking for an exit. He let out a half sob and then desperate for a couple more minutes of freedom, he tackled the vampire…

If there was something that had never happened to Draco Malfoy, it would have to be having a seven-year-old boy hurling himself at him. Yes, Draco could honestly say that that had never happened to him. It was just too…undignified for him.

So as a result when Harry threw himself at Draco, he was taken completely by surprise. He staggered backwards with an odd sound and tried to stop Harry's flailing fists. He wasn't having such luck. Harry was so small that he kept slipping and wiggling out of Draco's grip.

Finally Harry kicked Draco as hard as he could electing a small yelp from him, more out of surprise than anything else. Then moving quickly, Draco grasped Harry's wrist in one hand and cruelly twisted him behind his back. Harry whimpered and kept kicking at him until Draco dragged him away by the back of his hands.

At the end of the brief struggle, Harry was breathing hard and still trying to thrash out, but Draco had him in a strong hold and was shaking him intermittingly when he kicked. Finally Draco pushed him against the wall, stunning him briefly. Then he turned and looked back at the night sky. It was late; not incredibly late, but Draco hated even slightly cutting it close. He would have to do this now.

He turned back towards Harry who was just beginning to lift himself from the ground, groaning softly. Walking quickly, he gripped Harry's arm and lifted him up roughly.

"Time's up." he rasped.

He held both of Harry's arms at his side and opening his mouth, he prepared to bite down on Harry's throat. He could feel the boy trembling, but oddly enough, not fighting underneath him. He paid it no mind until he saw that Harry was staring at.

Dumbledore was stationed, at the cave entrance, his wand pointed straight at him.

"I must ask that you let Mr. Potter go." he said calmly.

Draco's jaw dropped.

To Be Continued…