jliles - Thankies!
Redmeadow - Glad you're enjoying it! ^^
lpdkgb - I try!
cherish chang - Wow, one of my stories is making it onto someone's favorites list? *Shocked... in a good way*
Air dragon - BWAHAHAHAAA! Yes. I am evil. Inherently so.
beautifulelf - Yes, he is yummy. ^^ Mmm, Draco...
paws10081 - Here ya go.
zeynel - Just hafta wait an' see, na? ^^
mistress_siryn - They are!? WHOOHOO!
maridale3 - Nooo, thank you for.. y'know... reviewing an' stuff. ^^;;
She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psyc - Yes yes! Draco's sire is revealed! *Dramatic chord* And as to "Interview With the Vampire," yes. I'm obsessed with Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, so don't be surprised to see some similarities.
Scythe - ^^ Thanks!
Lanevaly - o.O Gah, yes it was. Quit lying. Everyone who says that chapter was interesting is lying. *Hiss*
Maddy - I'm surprised it's not all.. overlydarkandallthatotherstuffyousaid... yeah. 'Cause.. I'm like that. Bah. I denno. ^^;; I still think it was boring... And I've always liked the idea of someone buttering their hand.
Kimmy - Oooh, he is. Sexy Draco. Rawr.
hyalite - Thanks!
prout115 - Yay, here it is!
Joe Jack - ^^ I "WUV" YOU TOO, HI-CHAN! And I am writing more! Really!
The Observer - KEEP YOUR PENGUINS AWAY!
Phoenix Tears - PHFT! Draco doesn't fall helpessly into ANYONE'S arms!
Mak - I'm glad too! ^^
Lunadeath - o.O I gave someone shivers? Sweetness.
Blue Rosed Dragon - I stopped there 'cause I'm a cruel person. I guarantee cliffhangers in the future. ^^
Onyx - *Giggles* What can I say? I like butter. . I'm not usually that funny though. I denno what happened.
Amber Wind - Yes, I am returned! And... here's the next chapter!
LOOKIT, EVERYONE! ^^ This chapter is out so much faster than the last one! Be amazed! Whooo! So, um… here ya go, people. Enjoy. I'll go get started on the next one. (Hey, all this stuff makes the chapter look longer. ^^ Hee.)
Chapter III: The First Time
It had been somewhat of a chore getting around Madam Pomfrey. That woman seemed to be everywhere at once, bustling about the place as if the world were going to come to a stop at any moment, and there were only two patients that Harry could see.
He snuck back to the room he knew to be Draco's and eased the door open gently, slipping inside. He let the cloak fall from his shoulders as he pulled the door shut behind him soundlessly, then turned to find the fledgling vampire he had come looking for.
Things were much the same as before. The room was dark and Draco was curled up on the bed again, but this time his back was turned to Harry.
He stalked a bit closer, quietly as he could, but came to an abrupt halt as the form on the mattress shuddered.
He held his breath, waiting for any other signs of movement, and when none came he resumed his slow walk forward.
"Get out, Potter."
It came from the bed, but it didn't really sound all that much like Draco. The voice was quiet, strained, and quavered with forced self-restraint.
Harry stopped again and called out tentatively, "Malfoy?"
"Get out, Potter, I'm warning you." Okay, it was definitely Malfoy. But what was the warning for?
"Malfoy, I just came to tell you that—"
Harry was pinned to the wall beside the bed before he could finish his sentence. Draco's hands had a hold of his wrists, pressing them into the rough stone, and the blonde's body held him firmly in place. He couldn't move.
"You don't listen very well, do you, Potter?" Draco spat, his lips at Harry's ear. "Dumbledore told you to stay away and I told you to leave, twice even, yet here you are. Whatever happens now is the product of your own stupidity."
Harry pushed at the Slytherin with all the strength he could muster, but as before, Draco wouldn't budge.
"Get off, Malfoy!" Harry shouted, continuing his feeble attempt to free himself.
"No, I don't think so. I gave you fair warning, Potter. Besides," he paused and tightened his hold on Harry's wrists, and Harry could practically hear the smirk in his voice, "I don't think I could if I wanted to."
"Malfoy!"
There was a brush of cool lips against his neck, following swiftly by a sharp, piercing pain, and some small noise of protest caught itself in Harry's throat. The world seemed to tilt violently around him and he felt a painful tug at his heart, as if someone had run a thread through it and was now trying to pull it from his chest. He clung to Draco instinctively, barely even registering the fact that the blonde had dragged them both down to the floor.
"Nn.. Malfoy, s-stop…" Harry managed, a low moan escaping him. No, wait. It wasn't from him. It was from Malfoy.
Draco was crushing Harry against him, drawing hard at the wound he had made in the Gryffindor's soft skin. Gods, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. The blood of that rogue vampire that had turned him had been different, like some sweet elixir. But this, this was heavenly. It was thick and rich and alive and it filled him completely.
He was swooning with it, loving it, but the flow was subtly slowing. With a sudden shock he realized that, if he didn't stop, Harry would die. But he couldn't, he just couldn't. It was so good and he wanted it so badly.
Harry was limp in Draco's arms now, each rise and fall of his chest becoming increasingly difficult, but the initial pain of the bite had long since faded into a dull, throbbing ecstasy. His ears and his mind were filled with a gentle pounding, like a pair of steady kettledrums, but one was gradually slowing down. He tried to ignore the fact that this was his heartbeat and attempted instead to concentrate on remaining conscious.
"Stop before he's dead, childe."
Harry found himself on the floor as Draco started and dropped him, then turned to face the speaker, someone who had not been in the room a moment before.
It was a strange man, tall and pale, with well-groomed ebony hair that fell in curls to his shoulders. He was dressed in a stylishly cut black Italian suit and looked rather prim and immaculate as he leaned back against the bedside table, arms folded over his chest.
"Stop before he's dead," the man repeated, "or he'll drag you down with him."
"You…" Draco whispered once he had shaken off the trance-like torpor that had claimed him with the first draught of blood.
The man only smiled and tilted his head, as if waiting for Draco to go on.
"You," Draco said again, "you did this!"
"Glad you remember me," the man remarked jovially, pushing off from the table and walking around the end of the bed in a leisurely manner, his movements smooth and graceful. "I daresay I was in a rather nasty state of disarray when last we met. I was afraid you might not recognize me."
"What do you want?" Draco demanded coldly, glaring at the man. He really hadn't expected to see him ever again.
"Only to teach you, my beautiful childe. That was your first lesson." He paused and gave another genial smile. "And to introduce myself, of course."
Draco backed away as the man bowed elegantly.
"My name is Corbin. Surnames are unimportant at the moment." He glanced at the crumpled form that was Harry, sapphire eyes gleaming, and his smile became a bit more vicious. "I see you've already taken your first victim. Very good. Right proud of you, I am."
Draco's face went blank for a moment. He had completely forgotten about Harry. He turned back to look at the human, managing an expression of impenetrable indifference. He could still hear the faint heartbeat.
"Right you are, he's not dead," Corbin said, commenting on Draco's unspoken observation. "Not yet at least. I didn't feel it was safe to let you come so close to death. You are still a 'newborn,' if you will."
Draco was trying to be angry, but his confusion won out. "Why did you—"
"All questions will be answered in time. Come with me. The night is young; I'll tell you my reasons and everything you need to know."
"But…" Draco began hesitantly, sparing another glance at Harry.
"Don't worry. I'll have you back before dawn and we can take care of him upon our return. Have faith, childe."
"… No," Draco said after a few moments. "No. I won't let you order me around like that."
Corbin gave a surprised laugh. "Defiant as ever. That's one of the reasons I chose you. But my dear boy, how wrong you are." He reached forward and cupped Draco's cheek before he could pull away. "You're mine now, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Draco's face grew hard and cold. He wasn't very keen on the idea of belonging to someone.
"So when I tell you to do something, you do it, no questions asked," Corbin went on evenly.
"No," Draco said again. "I won't. I refuse to be some mindlessly obedient drone."
"Childe, you don't have a choice."
Draco found himself suddenly in his sire's arms and the two were out of the room and through one of the infirmary windows before he could make another protest.
* * *
When Harry opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he couldn't see much of anything; his vision was blurred terribly. The second thing he noticed was that he was lying in a bed and three figures stood at the foot, conversing heatedly and obviously unaware that he had woken up.
With a quiet groan, he tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but his arms gave out almost immediately and he fell back against the mattress. He felt tired, weak, light-headed.
One of the figures walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at him before saying softly, "You really shouldn't be trying to get up so soon, Harry."
Dumbledore, he thought as he recognized the voice.
His glasses were handed to him and he slipped them on, causing the world to slide into focus, and he identified the other two people as Snape and McGonagall.
"You lost quite a bit of blood," the headmaster continued, his tone a touch more grave, "so you will be staying here for the next few days, until you regain your strength."
In a flash, Harry remembered everything that had happened. How long ago had it been? A few hours? A few days? It was impossible for him to tell.
"Where is he?" he asked dazedly.
"We… aren't sure," Dumbledore answered thoughtfully, eyes on Harry. "When Madam Pomfrey went to check on him and found you unconscious on the floor, he was already gone. We were hoping maybe you could tell us."
"Potter," Snape broke in sharply, "you were expressly warned away from that room! You deliberately disobeyed orders!"
Harry cringed, but he knew Snape was right. He really hadn't had a reason to be in there and therefore had no excuse to give now.
"Please, Severus. That may be true, but that doesn't cover the fact that Malfoy is now a danger to the students, and the faculty as well," McGonagall said sternly.
"And what do you propose we do about it?" Snape's tone was scathing, as was his glance at Harry.
"We might ought to consider moving him somewhere else, somewhere that holds less temptation for him."
Snape seemed infuriated by this, but wasn't given a chance to say anything else.
"Before we do anything," Dumbledore said, "we need to find Mr. Malfoy. Any ideas, Harry?"
"Not really, sir…" Harry replied, but then he paused. "I… I think I remember someone else being in the room right before I blacked out."
All three professors seemed about to ask something, so he added hastily, "But I didn't get a good look at him."
"Wonderful…" Snape murmured flatly.
"Severus, Minerva, I want you both to gather the little group we've formed that knows of Mr. Malfoy's change and get them out looking for him," Dumbledore stated firmly, taking on that odd, softened commanding tone once more.
The two professors exited silently and Harry was left alone with the headmaster, Madam Pomfrey nowhere in sight.
"Well… I assume you know now why I didn't want you in his room." It wasn't a question.
"Uhm… yeah," Harry responded. "I'm sorry, Professor. I was just…"
"You were curious. I understand. But you could have very easily been killed this evening."
"I-I know…"
Dumbledore was silent for a long moment before he continued. "Do you still wish to be a donor for Mr. Malfoy?"
Harry was surprised at the ease with which the answer came. "Yes."
"Very well." Dumbledore stood slowly and moved towards to door. "I'll let you get some rest now, Harry. Goodnight."
"Goodnight…" Harry said with a quiet sigh as he set his glasses on the side table and closed his eyes.