The morning after
Snape watched the boy currently snuggling his lower chest as he slept, wondering how he had become so important to Snape in so short a time.
Over the summer, Snape had seen how diligent a worker Harry was with the cleaning out and rearrangement of the broom shed and greenhouses. He was happy when Harry had sprung that list on him when they went to get his school supplies and clothes, but it showed thoughtfulness and forethought.
Snape was also impressed with the boy's taste and money management, finding a shop that sold fairly high quality quills, inks, and parchment at half price.
They spent the rest summer together and not once did Harry bother Snape unless it was for something important, and even then it wasn't for Harry's own sake, it was for Dumbledore or Lupin. The only thing Snape could remember Harry ever asking for was Asim.
Snape ran his fingers through Harry's hair, he was rewarded with a small smile and contented sigh.
Then there was last night. The very thought that Snape had come so close to losing him, twice, made him feel cold.
Over the years, Snape's hatred of the boy slowly ebbed into dislike, then tolerance. This boy had somehow managed to crawl his way into the fringes of Snape's heart without either one of them knowing it. Last night had shown Snape just how far into his heart Harry had lodged himself.
Harry gently drifted to consciousness. He became aware of long, slender fingers, combing through his hair. It was nice, comforting, he felt safe. Then what happened last night came back, Umbridge, the cell, coming back, and sharing a bed with Snape. Harry stiffened the tiniest bit, this was Snape's bed. Which meant it was Snape that was petting him.
Harry blush as red as tomato, and was made worse when he noticed he was cuddling the man; and Snape was letting him!
"Um…Snape, wh-what are you doing?"
"Thinking."
Okay, "about what?"
"You. I believe I owe you an apology."
"For what?"
"A misconception. You are nothing like what I first believed you to be, and the more I see and learn about you, the more impressed I find myself."
Snape stopped messing with Harry's hair and looked him dead in the eye, "please forgive me."
"Oh…um. Yeah, of course. I mean we all make mistakes from time to time, and I did kind of snoop in your pensive so I can definitely understand why you would be a little wary of me. My dad really had no right, and I -"
"Potter."
"Yes?"
"Your babbling."
"Oh, sorry. A nervous habit I guess. Though I'm not sure why I am so nervous."
"Neither one us are used to giving or receiving an apology from the other."
Harry nodded thoughtfully.
Snape shifted and pushed himself up on his elbows, "come, breakfast will begin soon, we need to get ready."
"Right."
Harry hastily scrambled off the bed and quickly crossed the chambers to his room to shower and dress after he had a quick bite.
Harry came out of the bathroom towel drying his hair, Asim wrapped around his neck.
"Are you alright young master? Your heartbeat is very fast."
"I don't know, Asim, I don't. It's just…"
"Just, what? What troubles you?"
"Humans are complicated creatures. They base their beliefs about a person, sometimes before they even meet them, on what that person looks like or what they are." Harry tried to explain.
"Is this like yesterday? I told you already, if they are true to you, it doesn't matter who you are or what you are." Asim told him patiently.
"I know, but I was hoping to tell them gently. You know, ease them into the idea. Besides, it's not really Ron or Hermione that I'm worried about; not too much anyway."
"There is a hesitance in you. Explain."
"Well…in Second Year this man, Voldemort, he had somehow put a piece of his soul in a book and a friend of mine had gotten a hold of the book. She wrote in it and it slowly sucked her own soul out, bit by bit.
"After awhile some pretty bad things started happening."
Harry threw the towel in the hamper and started working out the knots. Maybe he should think about cutting it to his human length.
"What kind of things?" Asim prompted.
"Students were attacked, turned to stone, the roosters were being killed and messages were being written on the walls in blood."
"That does sound bad."
"It gets worse. The headmaster started up the Dueling Club again and Mal- Draco and I, we weren't on the best of speaking terms at the time, we were picked to be 'partners'.
"I don't even remember which spell I used on him anymore, but he was mad and he summoned a snake."
"Why would that be a problem? You could talk to it, explain to it what was happening."
"That was the problem. I'm sure you noticed that not too many people can talk to snakes."
"Now that you mention it…"
Harry didn't think snakes could smile, but Asim was making an effort.
"Yes, well. People thought that I was evil because of it. They thought I was the one doing all that bad stuff to everyone."
"But you would not do something like that."
"Not everyone believed that. Except for a few individuals, the entire school thought I was out to get them. I'm not sure the teachers believed my innocence."
He tied his hair into a looseknot. It was pretty much pointless to wear a glamour anymore.
Putting on his glasses, Harry left his room and made his way to the dungeons.
"There is more."
"Yes. After the thing with the basilisk, the thing that was causing all that trouble, people talked to me again. Everything was fine until Fourth Year."
"What happened?"
"This woman, Rita Skeeter, started writing a bunch of lies about me after I got chosen to participate in…some really difficult hunting tasks. People started believing that I was something that I wasn't again.
"It wasn't just the school this time, two others were here and Skeeter has a lot people outside school that listens to her.
"That was when I was human. Vampires…I don't think there is a way to describe how humans feel about vampires. Before, there were hunters that were paid to kill us because humans didn't want us around."
"I see. You believe that your friends will not only abandon you, but try to hurt you as well."
Harry's throat constricted, "yes."
Asim nuzzled his head against Harry's in an effort to comfort him.
It was early, only a few people were actually in the Great Hall, which had gone as silent as a tomb as he walked in.
He stood there for a moment until someone clapped him on the shoulder.
Harry turned to see Draco standing just behind him, a half smile, half smirk on his face. He gestured his head towards the Slytherin table.
It was then that Harry noticed Draco for the first time.
He was paler then usual, less pointy, and his hair was longer then Harry's, braided and so white it was practically glowing. His eyes were more intense, sharper. Draco was still thin, but had some impressively hard muscles under form fittingly tight clothes.
Harry allowed himself to be led over to the few Slytherins that decided to get up with the sun.
"So it is genetic then," Pansy commented.
"What is?"
One second with the Slytherins and already Harry was lost.
"A vampire's hotness," she stated matter-o-fact.
"It's, or it was, to help vampires catch prey," Draco said. "Would you stay still and allow someone or something to drink you blood if they looked like a goblin, or a giant rat?"
Blaise snickered. "Yes, well. Now a vampire's hotness just makes it easier to recognize," he quipped.
"Hence glamours," Draco shot back teasingly.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying their meal.
Ron and Hermione met up in the common room, wondering what they were going to do. At the very least they had time to work on people, the Ministry wasn't about to let Harry go any time soon. So it was a big surprise when they walked into the Great Hall to find Harry sitting at the Slytherin table next to…Malfoy?
It looked like Malfoy, but…
"Malfoy's a vampire as well," Hermione realized. "He's been using a glamour."
"That means his slimy, smarmy git of a father is a vampire too, isn't he?"
"Most likely, or his mother, though as often as they're seen together, not as likely."
"We can't let Harry be seen with Malfoy."
"It's a little late for that Ron, but we might be able to do damage control."
"Hey, Draco."
"Yes?"
"I still haven't registered."
Draco looked up at Harry, saw the worry laying within the emerald depths. He half smiled, "don't worry about it. tecnically, you shouldn't have had to register in the first place, but Father already has it on file, both the 'official' file in the Minister's office and his own. You're cleared."
"That's great, but how did he manage it?"
Draco's smile turned more into a smirk, "my father in his own right, as you well know, can be very persuasive, when he wants or needs to be. Plus vampires, Sires, are very protective of their Childe. I'm sure Fudge saw that it was in his best interest to comply with what they were asking of him and filled out the Registration then and there."
He went back to eating.
"You hiding something," Harry said.
Draco ignored him.
A few minutes later, Harry's head shot up.
"What?"
"Ron and Hermione, their finally here."
"Don't worry until they actually say or do something," Draco advised. "And keep you head down, most people believe that vampires can only smell you from far away if you're bleeding."
Harry raised an eyebrow at him.
"We don't want to give away all our secrets to just anybody."
"Ron and Hermione are not 'just anybody', they're my friends."
"Are you completely sure? If you remember correctly, they didn't do or say anything when that toad came and took you away, did they?"
"I'm sure they were just in shock or something, I think the entire school was," Harry defended.
"Maybe."
As they got closer, Harry could hear snippets of their conversation.
"…vampire…using a glamour."
"…slimy, smarmy git…vampire…"
"…or his mother…as often…not as likely."
"We can't…seen with Malfoy."
"It's a little late…be able to do damage..."
Harry's stomach clenched. He wished his hearing was as sharp as it was supposed to be, and as stable. Harry glanced at Draco to see if he could fill in the blanks by the blonde's reaction. Frustratingly, Draco's face had slipped into an expressionless mask and he just kept eating.
"Draco…"
"Harry."
"Hey guys."
"Harry, mate, why are you sitting with these snakes?" Ron demanded.
"I was invited over here."
"And you accepted? Why?"
Ron's cheeks were starting to turn red. Harry had never seen Ron's eyes so hard or cold, not even during the Tournament. It had Harry recoiling slightly. Asim tightened around Harry's neck in reassurance.
"What Ron means," Hermione interjected, "was that it's just such a surprise is all. Normally the Slytherins wouldn't look at you, or any of us for that matter, and then out of the blue ask you to sit at there table…it seems a little suspicious. Don't you think so?"
Beside him, Draco 'heh-ed'.
"Something funny, Malfoy?" Ron snapped.
"Yes, it is, now that you mention it. You call yourself a pure-blood, you're a disgrace, and the Mudblood, she's read so many books from our library alone…I'm surprised you even have to ask," he taunted.
"Don't call Hermione a Mudblood, ferret," Ron growled.
"What do you mean you're surprised Ron has to ask, ask what?"
Harry was curious to know, and ticked a Draco for the Mudblood comment, too.
"What I mean is," Draco said rolling his eye, "was that vampires know how to put the past, in the past. Contrary to popular believe there isn't a whole lot of us around, so, we look out for our own when we can. Harry," Draco emphasized, "is a vampire, one of us, my little broth you could say. As such it's my job to look after him so he doesn't hurt himself and protect him until he is strong enough in his powers to look after himself. As well as he is progressing, that shouldn't be for too long."
Draco paused to take a sip of juice.
"The reason that I invited Harry to sit with me is that he is now part of my Clan and I want to make sure he is safe. How is that suspicious?"
"It's suspicious because it's you."
"Weasley, if you made any less sense you'd be back in First Year. Actually that's not a bad idea, you'd be with your intellectual and emotionally capable peers."
Harry didn't think he had ever seen Ron get that shade of red, he certainly could give uncle Vernon a run for his money.
"It's fine Ron, really, I'll be okay."
"Are you sure Harry? The rest of the Gryffindors were really worried when Umbridge took you and sitting with Malfoy might not reassure them."
Something nagged Harry in the back his mind as Hermione finished talking, but Harry couldn't put his finger on what.
"I'm sure Hermione, and don't worry. Like Draco said the past is past. Besides, this my life now. Draco is the only vampire my own age so he's going to around more."
Harry looked up into her expecting to see worry, unease, maybe even understanding. Instead he saw annoyance and, displeasure.
"Of course Harry, you're right. The past is the past, we should all move on. Come on Ron, the others will want to know what is going on."
"'Hermione?"
Without another word, they left without a backwards glance.
A/N: Okay, so, this won't let my download 13 pages. So, I had to cut this chapter in half. Which might work out in helping me create an 8th chapter which you can expect soon.
Also, Review!
