Draco sighed and dragged himself out of his warm bed, his bare legs covered in goosebumps as the cold air bit at them. Dungeons weren't exactly hospitable at times.
He clumsily pulled a thick hooded cloak from his wardrobe and stumbled into a pair of thick tracksuits- one of the few Muggle items he was willing to wear. He draped the cloak over his shoulders and buttoned it around his neck before creeping out of his dormitory.
It was late at night, so as he expected, the common room was empty. He straightened up and strode out into the dungeon halls.
He turned away from the direction to the Great Hall and pulled out his wand.
"Lumos." He whispered. A pale blue-white light sparked at the tip of his wand and he felt along the walls until he came across the tiny gargoyle statue he'd been looking for. He twisted it sideways and quickly cast a Muffliato, lest the grating of brick on brick wake anyone- or anything- up as the door slid open.
He wrapped the cloak closer around him as the air grew colder in the unused passage, letting his hood fall as he headed up the long flight of stairs. It wasn't long until he hit open air at the end of the passage.
He panted slightly and straightened his legs a few times before continuing to wander the school grounds.
/
"Next year's Christmas Holidays, you are to receive the Dark Mark, and become a true follower of our Dark Lord. Do not fail me, Draco."
Draco nodded firmly, but he was shaking inside. He was terrified, but he'd seen disappointment harden his father's eyes too many times to refuse, and felt his wrath on his flesh too many times to hesitate.
/
Draco shook the memory from his head, regretting everything he'd said that day. Everything he'd done.
What he had agreed to.
His thoughts wrapped themselves around his mind and he begged them to leave, his expression on the outside cold and emotionless. Another trait he had learned from Lucius.
A rustle brought him to his senses and he gasped, spinning in a circle and illuminating his wand. Where the hell was he?
He squinted into the darkness, merely realising he was deep into the Forbidden Forest. He didn't think he'd even gone this far with Hagrid and Harry in his first year, chasing down that unicorn. Draco shuddered.
Speaking of first year... Draco's mind spun into thought again, Harry's eleven-year-old face swimming in his sight.
/
"I think I can decide that for myself, thanks." Harry hard, cold voice echoed in his ears and he remembered the biting, bitter disappointment he'd felt when Harry rejected his friendship. I wonder, Draco thought, what would have become of us if he had accepted it? He still remembered how cold his palm his palm felt where Harry hadn't touched it.
"Hmm... A Malfoy?" A voice whispered around him. He spun around again, his wan held at the ready, as he searched for the speaker.
"Who's there?" He called out strongly, forcing his voice not to shake. A chuckle rumbled in his ear.
A figure stepped out from behind a tree and Draco stepped back.
"My, my, what is such a young Draco wandering out here alone?" The dark-haired, admittedly handsome man raised an eyebrow, a light smirk ghosting his lips. Draco did not reply and simply adjusted his grip on his wand.
Another chuckle slipped out and the man- the name Lorcan slid into his thoughts - pushed his wand to the side, leaning forwards to look Draco in the eye. "What troubles you, my fiendishly delicious friend?"
Draco swallowed and Lorcan followed the movement, his eyes straying to Draco's pale flesh. "None of your business! I- get off me!" Draco snarled indignantly as Lorcan pressed him against an old oak tree.
"I think not." Something sharp nibbled his ear ad Draco came to a sharp realisation. Vampire.
Draco's shriek was long and full of agony as Lorcan's fang tore into the flesh of his neck, pain ripping through his mind. He feebly tried to push the other away, his strength merely that of a toddler's against such a powerful being. His eyes swam with tears.
Harry bolted upright out of bed, his skin ablaze. Draco.
Without troubling himself with something as trivial as staying quiet, he leaped out of bed and tugged a lair of jeans on, not bothering with a shirt as he bolted from the dormitory. Ron's yelp echoed him.
He tore from the common room with unreasonable speed, making his way towards McGonagall. He burst into her office and ignored the fact that she was in naught but a nightgown.
"Potter!" She cried. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Draco's in danger, we need to go find him!" Harry blurted, his body begging to run.
McGonagall looked dumbfounded and caught sight of Harry's eyes, glowing golden and fiery. This was no premonition.
Harry's wail rang through her office and he clutched his head another of Draco's screams shattered his eardrums. He didn't wait for her reply as he sprinted off again.
Tearing down staircases and halls, it took him two minutes flat to burt onto the school grounds. I'll find you.
Draco's legs shook as he felt his energy start to drain, his voice scratchy and Lorcan still eagerly chomping on his neck.
Hooves thundered in his ears and Lorcan disappeared with a shriek of indignant pain, ending in a choked gurgle as Firenze's hoof came crashing down on his throat, shattering his spine and killing him.
Draco faintly heard the centaur curse and his feet left the ground, Firenze picking him up as if he were no more than a small child. His neck throbbed wildly and his heart slowed. Black invaded his vision and he scrabbled for something to hold onto, his fingernails raking down Firenze's bare chest as he struggled to breath properly.
Firenze snarled slightly and thundered towards Hagrid's hut, hoping against hope that he could et the boy back in time.