Harry tiptoed down the stairs, trying to not wake the house's other occupants. It was useless; his parents where already down there drinking their morning coffee.
"A package came for someone named Draco Malfoy this morning, Harry. It's in the living room," his father said as soon as he saw him. Harry winced. The doorbell; no wonder his parents were awake.
"I'll go get it for him." Harry replied before his parents said anything else.
When he came back down he heard his mother speaking.
"i think there's something different about harry. it has to be that boy! He's going to be a bad influence on Harry, James! Just look at him! I bet he smokes and does drugs as well." She tried to keep her voice down, but Harry had heard anyway.
"He does not!" he said when he came into the kitchen, his face slightly flushed.
"Oh really? Yelling at your parents?! Is that something they do in the Malfoy household?" She stared at him as f he had grown a second head.
/Yes/ Harry stared back. /not to mention setting ones father on fire./ "I just wish that you would see that Draco's not a bad guy. Yes, he's a little different, but that's it." /For the most part.../
"'A little different'?" Her green eyes, so like her sons flared. James simply continued drinking his coffee. As much as he hated seeing them fight, he would only interfere if it got to bad. "A little different would be, say... one foot bigger than the other. He's not just a little different; he is a menace."
"No he's not mum!" Harry pleaded with her, half glaring. "You don't even know him. You don't have any proo-"
"And look at you! He's changed you." Harry remained silent.
"Harry is fine Lily. And so is Draco. He hasn't proven himself to be someone we can't trust. Come sit down, Harry, and tell us some things about Draco." James interrupted them.
After a moment of seething over what his mother had said to him he did so. "I don't really know much, actually." he smiled slightly. "But I do know that he's a good friend to me."
"That's good. You know, I've heard of the Malfoy's, Harry." Harry froze. "They're one of the richest families in France. Most anybody in the area has heard of them. I met a man name Lucius Malfoy when I travelled there on business one time. He was probably Draco's father. Lucius was... an odd man, but he didn't seem like anyone untrustworthy."
Relaxing, Harry nodded. "He seemed to be."
"I trust he treated you well. I never met his wife."
"He did." /Aside from the part where he came on to me.../ Harry heard shuffling on the stairs then saw a tired Draco in black sweat pants and a blue shirt borrowed from Harry make his way into the seat beside Harry; he nodded to his parents good morning. "Still tired?" Harry asked him.
Draco shook his head yes. "I couldn't sleep." /I missed you, Arris,/ Harry heard in his head.
/It'll be ok./
"Not a good night, Draco?" Harry's father asked him in a friendly manner.
"Sorry, but no, Mr. Potter." he smiled tiredly.
The telephone rang and Lily got up to answer it.
"It was Hermione, Harry. She called to ask if you could spend the day with her and Ron. She said Draco could come as well. I think that she would be a good girl for you, Harry. Don't you think so, James?" she smiled and return to he kitchen table.
Harry flushed and said nothing. Draco felt anger towards the woman that would suggest that his mate be with someone else! /she doesn't know better, Draco.../ He then felt Harry's hand in his under the table and relaxed a bit. Harry was his and he always would be...
"I think we'll go ahead and get dressed so we can go." Releasing Draco's hand, he got up and hugged his father first then tentatively his mother. He loved her dearly but she was being a pain in his ass at the moment. Why couldn't she just accept it like his father did?
Draco followed closely behind him. He ached so much to touch him. Going to sleep without Harry had been torture. He wanted to be able to hold him, touch him, take him. /…bite him... / Just the thought of sinking his fangs into the soft skin…. he wanted to feed off him. He felt the smooth hardness of his fangs against the inside of his mouth as they ached at the thought. He wanted him so much but he couldn't have him here.
He was shocked when Harry had jerked him into his room before slamming him against the now closed door, then claiming Draco's mouth as his own. He whimpered when the tiny, yet sharp, fangs of Harry's grazed his lip, barely drawing blood. He loved it when Harry did this. He could only imagine what it would feel like when Harry was completely a vampire. His fangs would continue to grow until then. It shouldn't take too many more times before the vampire blood in Draco completely changed him.
He couldn't wait.
Draco groaned at the loss when Harry finally pulled away, licking the redness from his lips. "That's all?" he pouted before licking his own lips to clean them off.
"For now. Go get dressed." Harry smirked, another thing he got from Draco, before pushing Draco out the room.
"What was that noise!?" Harry heard his mother shout up at them.
"Nothing, mother! Draco tripped!"
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Hermione had no idea how act around Harry when he was with that... boy. Truthfully she and Ron had only wanted to talk to Harry, to find out what happened to him, but it would have been rude not to invite Draco along as well. Hermione really had no idea how to act around Draco either; the boy unsettled her, disturbed her. There was just something.... Ron had told her he felt the same way.
Ron had no idea why Harry was dragging this other person over to Hermione's house. Ron and Hermione were Harry's closest friends and now he was bringing in someone else. Ron openly glared at the thought of the boy who had intruded on their friendship.
"I know how you feel, Ron. But he'd Harry's friend. We might be able to get used to him. After a while." Hermione tried to reassure him. "And besides, he might go home soon."
"Yeah we might be able to get used to him..." /I hope./ Ron doubted it.
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. After peaking out to see who it was she opened it. Harry stepped in with the almost 'uncanny' Draco behind him.
"Harry!" Hermione rushed to hug him, Ron not to far behind. Hesitantly she then offered her hand to Draco, who, in turn, cautiously took it. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been around regular humans for any length of time and it made him feel uneasy. It wasn't something he liked to do... but this was for Harry.
"Nice to meet you," he quietly said to them after a nudge from Harry.
"Likewise." She grinned at him, possibly showing a little too much teeth.
"Uhh... yeah." Ron nodded.
Silence...
More silence...
"...Let's sit down." she said nervously, while closing the door behind them.
Ron fidgeted nervously for a few minutes in his seat. Nobody was saying anything. What did you say to your best friend who had mysteriously disappeared over a month ago; the police (AN: i am american, so if i should use something else... tell me) hadn't even been able to find him and now he show up out of the blue perfectly fine and strangly close with a guy we believed none of them had previously known? "So..." he began.
"Where have you been, Harry?"
/Thank you, Hermione./ Ron thought.
It was Harry's turn to fidget. "Um... France." he didn't know how much he could ay without giving it all away.
"France. All you can say is that you were in France?!" Ron asked him, slightly irritated. Friends don't usually keep secrets from one another. "I can understand you putting me and Hermione off at your parents house, but now it's just us Harry!" Ron pleaded with him.
"I was at Draco's house." Harry watched as both his friends faces fell. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can say."
/It really would be so much easier to just tell them,/ Draco thought to him.
/Why don't you do it and tell me how easy it is.../ Harry grumbled. At the moment he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in Draco's embrace and ignore them, but that would only bring more questions. His whole body felt like it was itching to be closer.
/Fine./ Draco got up, quite suddenly for the two who had not been in for the conversation.
/You wouldn't!/ Harry watched him, shocked. He wasn't...
"Harry was at my house because my father decided that it was my best interest to kid-" he abruptly cut off when Harry reached up for his belt; he yanked it causing Draco to come crashing down onto the seat beside Harry.
"Draco." Harry scowled at his lover.
/Arris!/ Draco mentally whined.
"Well." Hermione just watching them in wonder. What had Draco been saying about his father?
/What is going on?!/ Ron thought as he watched Draco lean over and place his head in Harry's lap and swung his legs over the arm of the couch, turning away from them.
/I can't believe you almost did that, Draco!/ Harry thought as he absently ran his fingers through Draco's hair. He had forgotten that they were being watched.
/It was nothing you shouldn't already do, Arris.../ He remembered the two others in the room and refrained from biting into the thigh that was so deliciously close to his fangs, which had begun to ache. They always did when Harry was this close. Draco couldn't understand why he wanted to keep it a secret. He knew that these were Harry's friends, but what could they possibly do to them? Besides it would be less hurtful for him...
"Why are so adamant that I tell them Draco. I didn't think that you would care." he didn't see looks on his friends faces as he said this aloud.
/I just think you get it over with. It would be easier for you in the long run. This will only complicate things, Arris. Besides, there's no reason to keep it a secret and I don't want to have to restrain myself around you.../
/I don't see you telling me everything about you! Don't you think that complicates things between us?!/ Harry mentally hissed. He was about to get up and leave, but Draco deterred him by rapping his arms around his waist.
/Come on Harry, I promise I'll tell you. Let's just not get into this now; we have an audience./
That was when Harry noticed two avidly watching them, one in curiosity, the other mildly glaring, and blushed. Harry had no idea what to do, and panicked. He rid himself of Draco before racing to one of the rooms in the back of the house.
Draco sighed as he draped himself across the seat that Harry had vacated.
"Aren't you going to go after him? You are his knew best friend now." Ron said to him bitingly.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.
Ron made a shrugging motions as if to way 'what?!'
"He wants time alone. I'll go find him in a few minutes... um... What was your name again?" /not that I'll remember it.../ Draco stared lazily at him. /I wonder what his blood would taste like... Probably spicy./
/Don't even think about it./ Harry's sharp thought came from the other room.
/I thought you were mad at me./
"Ron, Ron Weasly."
"Well, 'Ron, Ron Weasly', I think it would be best to give him a moment to calm down. Besides he thinks you two will abandon him you knew he…" He wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying and trailed off. He was thinking about the last time Harry had been mad at him. He worried about Harry but... /it's not like the last time I made Harry mad wasn't entirely enjoyable.../ as this thought came to him he wished that he could go back there with Harry. But he knew that Harry wouldn't be as quick to forgive him if he went back there just to grope him.
/So sure about that?/ The thought ran smoothly through his mind.
/Really?/ Draco perked up; Ron and Hermione watched his odd behaviour. He seemed to be reacting to nothing. /I thought that your 'not in the house' policy would extend to your friend's.../
/But I'm not in the house, Draco./
Unexpectedly Draco jumped up from the couch only to saunter quickly out the front door.
Ron and Hermione stared after, befuddled. They had seen the various expressions that had gone across his pale face; he hadn't seemed to have heard anything that either of them had said.
"Do you really think we should continue to even ask what is going on," Ron asked Hermione.
"Maybe." /We'll see.../
"Hermione…" he groaned. "I think we should leave Harry alone. I'm not sure if I want to know what's going on, anyway." Ron was still seeing Draco falling into Harry's lap face first; that was not something he would dare to do.
"My, that big of you. Grown up yet, Ron?" She was teasing him, but she would...
"Shut up, Herm. And please let's leave harry alone."
She glowered slightly, at having been caught. Ron knew her to well...
Ron heard a low groan from the window facing the backyard. He subconsiously picked up the remote control for the television, turning the volume up to mid-level. /What could be bad enough that Harry would think that we would leave him?/
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AN: unexpectedly this chapter almost ventured into humor. the next chapter will not... (I'm not really trying to bring in too much humor into it... but it's almost impossible when you involve Ron and Hermione)