Disclaimer: Wait…tell me what you think, and I'll get back to you on that.
See my crying
I did my best
Don't you, don't you
Notice this?
-Untitled- IssaLee (Mine!)
secrets, secrets, making me fall
issalee
The blonde was sitting at his normal seat in the Great Hall, eyes alert and wary. His Slytherin robes were shining brightly as he stood, and they shimmered even more against the drab gray background.
He was alone.
And then there was suddenly someone in the shadows—but it was a shadow-person, nothing more, with glittering, emerald-like eyes. The blonde's breath hitched as the shadow pulled him into the darkness, and they both started falling.
Dying had never felt so good before…Draco awoke gasping for breath and sweating, with his sheets on the ground and curled up into a ball. He pulled himself up, running several fingers through his hair and wondering what had frightened him so.
The dream came rushing back to him in bits and pieces, and he coughed a little as he recalled the eyes. Those glowing green eyes…
Something was fluttering in his stomach, and as he looked about he realized it must probably be only two or three in the morning. His throat felt dry, and Draco brushed off the dream as a nightmare of sorts as he slid out of bed.
A great pain overtook him as soon as his feet touched the floor, and he clutched at his chest while he fell to the ground. His heart felt as though it was going to explode, and he had to repress a cynical laugh at how his lovingly green-spattered rooms would soon be red-spattered as he hauled his body towards the edge of the room, where there was a desk. He used it to draw himself up, heart still beating rapidly, and as he stood, his eyes were drawn to the mirror.
It was true then; he was no longer the same Draco Malfoy.
His face looked hauntingly beautiful (forget what men claimed to be manly, this was the only way to describe it) and pale, especially in the moonlight. His hair, a tousled mess of white-blond curls that were just past his shoulders was silkier than—silk! His eyes shone such a deep, deep silver, they seemed like mercury, and while he had always been in good form, his transition had made his body seem more lithe, and yet he still had the look of a toned athlete.
Yes, yes and thrice yes! A voice hissed in his mind, and he couldn't help feeling worried that even at such a horribly inappropriate time, he managed to admire himself in a mirror. With this realization came another one; his chest wasn't hurting anymore.
Gingerly, Draco removed his hand from his chest, gazing at himself in alarm. And then he felt it; a dull thudding against his ribcage that slowly and surely became a low, rapid buzzing noise in his upper body. Sometime during his awakening, his wings had unfurled and were now hanging limply behind him.
He took a second glance at them, though, and was shocked to see a light color tinting the pale white. It was in little speckles all over his extra appendages. A small smile grew over his face, and he folded his wings behind him, basking in the warmth of the dull buzzing near his chest that meant his mate was near.
"Have you seen him yet?" Carleigh whispered to Pansy. They were both sitting in the kitchen at the counter, a bowl of strawberries between them. Pansy plucked one up and shook her head.
"No. Why?"
Carleigh shrugged. "Ginevra went up to his rooms because he was late in getting down and he's never late. Two minutes later she came running down all pale-faced, saying that no one could go up as Draco didn't want to see anyone."
Pansy bit into a strawberry. "Do you believe her?"
"I think it's bull."
"So why would she lie? I'm hoping he didn't hex her, she's such a dear thing for a Weasley!"
Carleigh snorted. "You're getting soft, Pans." But then she added, more quietly, "Remember when Chloris read from the book? What if—"
But she didn't get to finish, as at that exact moment, Draco came downstairs all in black, sweatshirt and slacks and socks with a book tucked under his arm.
She was floating, her hair flirting with the wind behind her. The smell of mud and leather pressed against her nostrils, and she moved to get closer, feeling as though her whole being would be split apart if she didn't…
Draco glanced at Carleigh. Her eyes had glazed over, and she was staring open-mouthed at him. "Hello? Anyone in there?" He rapped lightly on the counter, but she didn't move.
"Pans, check this out—," he started, but stopped as he realized Pansy was in the exact same position, except she was holding a strawberry out to him.
She relished the smell of cloves and garlic, all sorts of herbs that she was lying in, her face shielded by a large leaf. She was grounded, and she'd be damned if anyone were to try and move her.
Draco snapped his fingers in front of each girl's face, but they merely shook their heads a little, then pushed back their chairs and stood. Pansy held out the hand with the strawberry in it again, making a little insistent noise.
Tentatively, Draco reached out a hand and took the strawberry, biting into it. Pansy's eyelashes fluttered, and she grabbed a hold of his arm.
"Oh, Draco, how good you feel." She purred at him. Quite literally shocked, Draco stopped chewing and stared at her until he felt a tug on his neck. Carleigh was behind him, pulling hard.
"Come with me, Draco. I'll show you a good time." She winked brazenly at him, and he tried to suck in a breath. The strawberry bits slid down his throat, sticking in the most inconvenient of places, and he began to choke.
The girls let go of him quite suddenly, fear showing plainly on their faces. "Get Blaise!" Pansy shouted, and as the younger girl took off and Draco stole a quick breath, her eyes glazed over again.
"Oh, dear," she murmured. "Is my Dragon okay?"
The blonde looked up at her with pained eyes; his vision was already fading. As the girl drew nearer to him, he flung the book under his arm at her.
The last thing he heard before completely blacking out was a loud, satisfying thunk!
"Harry, did you take my copy of Charming Charms by Cavil Cattily? I sort of need it for school, you know?"
The raven-haired boy pushed his glasses up as he looked back at Hermione. Behind her on the bed was a large book with the words CHARMING CHARMS written on the cover. As Hermione turned to get some clothing from the top of the bed, the book shimmered out of existence and reappeared on top of her trunk. When she turned again, it did the same thing.
"Not at all, Hermione." Harry hid a smile as he ducked his head under the pretext of re-checking his trunk just as Ron entered.
"Well. I'm packed." He said glumly.
"So why so sad? I just finished." Harry shut his trunk, locking it before he stood.
"We're going back to school!" Ron replied, aghast. "And this summer was so great too, what with us being able to go out all the time without worrying about someone killing us, or spying on us so they could tell Mum about the not-so-good things we do so she could kill us."
"Ron, your mother is a very nice woman with absolutely no homicidal tendencies, which makes me wonder what happens to you." Hermione muttered it from her side of the room, and Harry sniggered as Ron colored.
"Shut up, Hermione!"
He'd managed to forgiven her for not telling them about Ginny, and although Harry thought it might be because Ron was having trouble doing anything right without her assistance, Ron insisted Mrs. Weasley had made him do so.
"It's our last year." Hermione popped up from the side of the trunk, dumping some books in in the process.
"Amen." Ron grumbled.
"Do you even know what that means?" The witch asked him.
Harry decided to intervene and save his friend any more embarrassment. "I'll be missing Hogwarts, for sure. Where are you guys going after?"
Hermione shut her trunk, locking it firmly as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Seeing as I'm taking up a Ministry job, I've got to stay close, so I'm getting a flat in London. Speaking of which—"
She reached into her jean pockets and handed Harry a crumpled piece of paper. He opened it and found an ad concerning a one-bedroom flat with "plenty of space and a large, beautiful bathroom"!
"It's only about a block over from mine, you should check it out." Hermione busied herself with the finding of her Charms book, which was now resting just above her head. "Seeing as Ron's new place is just down the street from it, it'll be perfect! Now, what do you have to say?" she teased.
Harry grinned. "I think you guys set me up and knew this was going to happen."
Ron shrugged. "It was inevitable, mate. Hermione got one in a nice place, and there were a couple available ones. I'm going to start working in the Ministry in that new section; Dad's pulled a few strings. I get to work with the manufacturing and creation of magical candies!"
Harry shook his head at his friend's glazed look. "Herm, I bet you he's going to weigh ten stone by the time his first week ends." Ron shot him a dirty look, but Hermione had had enough.
"Honestly, you two! Where is my Charms book, I really need to find it! I was planning on reading it on the train and now—"
As she ranted, Harry raised his eyebrows at her head. Ron resisted a chuckle as he took out his wand and waved it behind his back. Harry replaced his wand quickly, and just as the book fell with a thumping noise from a bookshelf. Hermione spun to face it, hands flapping at her sides.
"Oh. It was on the shelf…I suppose I didn't check as well as I wanted to." She gathered it up in her arms and smiled brightly. "So. Who would like to study!"
Ron made a very rude motion with his thumb and index finger of his right hand, but stopped as Hermione glared at him. "Just because it's our last year, no, especially because it's our last year we do have responsibilities! We have to keep up our grades, especially if you're still looking forward to that job as an Auror, Harry."
"Of course." Harry shifted uncomfortably as he exited the room, the two right behind him. "I am going to get it, I'm sure, but there is the matter of that field test I have to take…"
"Wouldn't it be absolutely brilliant if after Harry here beat Voldemort in his sixth year he died in a simple field test?"
Harry hit Ron over the head, but the redhead didn't seem to find that funny and hit him back, on the shoulder. Hermione tutted at them before walking past them and into the kitchen.
"Conjure up a pumpkin pie, would you, Herm?" Ron called after her.
The bushy-haired witch snorted. "As if! First off, Ronald, I am unable to do magic still, seeing as my diploma is not in my hand. Secondly, do not call me Herm. Thirdly, don't you think you'd better ration off pumpkins, seeing as pumpkin juice is all you'll be drinking for the better part of a year?"
"We could always skive off classes and buy butterbeer in Hogsmeade," Harry said thoughtfully. Hermione reappeared, clutching said drink and a bowl. Harry grinned while Ron scowled.
"Stupid know-it-all."
"Insufferable idiot."
"But he's your insufferable idiot, and she's your stupid know-it-all," Harry said, interjecting before the quarrel grew. He leaned over Ron to see what was in the bowl, and his eyes went wide behind his glasses.
"Strawberries, Hermione? My second-favorite food!"
"What's your first favorite?" Ron asked.
Harry smiled deviously. "That is for me to know, and for you to never find out." He grabbed one of the small red fruit and popped it into his mouth as Ron frowned. Hermione took a strawberry of her own and looked at Ron.
"You'll look like Professor Dumbledore in a few moments, Ron, if you keep furrowing your brow like that."
The redhead's smile came back rather quickly.
Draco awoke feeling as though someone had shoved sandpaper down his throat.
"Good. You're awake," a voice said. "Drink this."
A liquid was shoved down his throat and the blonde shuddered violently as an icy feeling trickled into his stomach. He opened his eyes and found his vision to be alarmingly clear.
Blaise was smiling widely at him. "Nice one, Draco. Very nice."
"What do you mean, you stupid prat?" Draco growled at him. He looked around and found every resident of the house lying about, most of them asleep. Pansy and Carleigh were staring at him though, and he suddenly remembered the events beforehand.
"You tried to get off on me while I was choking," he muttered to Pansy. She colored rapidly.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, Draco, I didn't mean to!" She buried her flaming face in her hands while Carleigh simply looked away. Blaise rapped Draco's head sharply.
"Don't be mad at them when it's your own fault!"
"What?" Draco roared. "What do you mean, my own fault? I—" But Blaise clapped a hand over his mouth, making a shushing noise.
"Don't wake them up! I don't know what the Urian side of you was doing, but it had you conked out for hours now. You were throwing out an attraction like who knows what, and Pansy and Carleigh were just unlucky enough to be the first to see you—"
"No," Draco interrupted, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Ginny was. She came into my room and looked a bit queer; she started to walk over to me and I was just in boxers, so I sort of panicked and backed into the desk. Some things fell, and she covered her face with her hands and ran out."
"And you didn't guess then?" Blaise said sarcastically. Draco frowned.
"It wasn't as if it was I didn't consider it! Because, Blaise," he leaned forward, suddenly excited. "I can feel the buzzing. My mate's around, somewhere."
The dark-haired Slytherin glanced back at the two girls, who were looking back at him with incomprehensible emotions running on their faces. He looked back down at his friend and smiled weakly.
"That's great, D. But I gave you a potion that will lower the attraction, it's the best I could do. Now only people who aren't already attracted to someone else will feel the allure."
Draco smiled benignly. "Oh, so I take it you have a little friend waiting for you somewhere, seeing as you haven't snogged me senseless yet."
Blaise blushed. "Shut up, you malevolent little prick."
"Prick that I may be," the blonde replied, swinging his legs over the couch he was on. "I have the feeling that no one here is really sleeping, and that they all will jump up to do my bidding if I tell them I'm paying twenty Galleons to whoever gets me some water first."
There was a long silence, before a tiny voice was heard.
"We are not that greedy, prat." Ginny rose up from the couch she was sharing with Carina, but she was grinning widely as she walked over to them. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Draco."
He sniffed arrogantly. "I was not dead."
"Too bad, then." Theo winked at him from where he was stretching lazily on a chaise, and Carina waved a floppy hand. Chloris didn't even bother with opening her eyes, choosing instead to remain seated in the plain, velvet-lined seat she was in with her chin resting on an arm.
"You can feel your mate?" Ginny asked, poking him in the chest. "Is it one of us?"
"You wish, Weasley." He sneered at her. "No, it's not, otherwise the buzzing would be unbearably loud at the moment, seeing as you're all in very close proximity with me."
"There goes my dream of being able to bend the great Slytherin Sex God to my every whim and will." Carina fluttered her eyelashes dramatically, and Draco scowled at her.
"Wench, if you were my mate I'd kill myself."
"But you'd kill me too!" She replied, looking at him with wide eyes. "And Blaise wouldn't like that very much, would he now?"
Draco smirked. "I'd already be dead, so what would it matter?" The dark-haired Slytherin next to him grabbed the cuff of his sleeve.
"Malfoy or not, Draco, I could still find some way to horribly mutilate your body without anyone knowing, so that at your funereal there'd be only a mangled mess. Besides, no Malfoy would dirty their hands and kill themselves," Blaise finished triumphantly.
"Shut up."
"Will do, D."
"And don't call me that!"
"Unwanted nicknames are something of a fad in this household, aren't they?" Carina said innocently. She ignored the blazing glare Draco sent her and voiced another question, seemingly to thin air. "Now, we've heard what happened from Pansy and Carleigh, but I still have a question; how was Draco able to eat the strawberries?"
There was a pregnant pause, until Chloris spoke up, opening her hazel eyes at last. "It's a food his mate probably enjoys very much, say a favorite or something."
"We could search for his mate ourselves with this much information," Theodore muttered.
"That wouldn't work," Ginny said, shaking her head. "I know several people who would kill for strawberries, and they wouldn't think a thing of it."
"Gryffindors? Killing? It's unheard of!" Blaise said.
Ginny noted the sarcasm but ignored it. "In fact, it's three people especially; Seamus Finnegan, Luna Lovegood and Harry. Potter, you fools, don't act like you don't know him."
"They don't seem like the type who would attack someone for a bright red fruit," Carleigh said. "They seem more like the type who would ask, and if they didn't get it sneak down to the kitchens or something."
"Not so." The redhead replied. "Luna and I were walking along the grounds last year, and we saw a first year with a basket of the stuff. Luna walked over to the kid, whispered something and his ear and took the basket while he ran off."
"What did she say?" Pansy asked, curious.
"She told him Hagrid had captured a unicorn foal and was holding it a ways into the Forbidden Forest."
"Lovegood?" Draco said, nodding his head. "I'm impressed. But what about Finnegan and Potter?"
"Seamus once tackled Dennis Creevey and gave him a twisted ankle when Dennis wouldn't give him a strawberry from the top of his cereal. Harry set Buckbeak the hippogriff on Seamus afterward and while Seamus ran for his life Harry had the strawberry and the rest of the cereal."
Once more, silence reigned supreme until Draco spoke up.
"So besides proving that all Gryffindors are mad, mad fools, what else are you trying to say?"
Ginny huffed and put her hands on her hips. "What I am attempting to say, prat, is that maybe someone with a great love of strawberries is your mate, and that maybe this person could be one of the three is your mate."
Draco grimaced. "Gods, I hope it's Loony if I have to pick from one of them."
Carina waggled her eyebrows. "Ooh, the ickle Dragon's got a crush on Lovegood, is that it?" She ducked as he threw one of the couch pillows at her. Blaise flopped down next to Draco, smiling widely.
"Come now, Rin, we all know of our D's preferences, don't we? It can't possible be Lovegood. It's got to be one of the other two."
"Come off it." Draco growled. "They aren't the only people in the world who like strawberries! My mate might not even be at Hogwarts! They could be halfway across the world for all I know."
"But they aren't," Chloris said quickly. "The buzzing would be too dull for you to even notice, in that case, wouldn't it? But you said you could feel it, so that means they're in the London area, which means they most likely will go to Hogwarts."
"We've got until the day after tomorrow to dissuade Chloris' theory, seeing as that's when the train leaves." Pansy added. "So unless you've got anything to say, Draco, what she says goes."
There wasn't a word from the boy, and Pansy smiled happily.
The Hogwarts train chugged into Platform 9 ¾ with its usual billowing steam and unprecedented decorative hull. Harry watched in the never-ending fascination as the doors opened, ready to lead him to one of the places in which he felt safest.
"…And Ron, if I so much as see some of Pig's feathers missing, I will blame it one you and you will be the one to pay."
"Why did she bother getting him the owl if she knew he was going to try to murder it on a daily basis?" Hermione murmured, and Harry stifled a laugh as Mrs. Weasley came over to them and began her good-byes.
Almost five minutes later, a voice called his name and he turned to see Ginny waving at him. An unfortunate man behind her was trying to shove her trunk along so as to stuff it into the train, and Harry just got a glimpse of an owl before they disappeared in the crowd.
"You've gotten an owl?" he said as he hugged her. She shrugged.
"Draco offered, I took the chance before he got shirty. How have you been? I've missed you and Hermione and even Ron! I'm so upset my other, much better brothers couldn't come and see us off!"
Ron scowled. "And hello to you too, Gin."
She made as if to ignore him, but then suddenly bounded up and hugged him, burying her head deep in his chest. "Hi, Ron."
Ron smiled and patted her head, if a little awkwardly as Harry and Hermione sniggered. Ginny drew away and smiled back. "There, now don't expect anything for the rest of the year."
"She's so very kind, isn't she?"
The foursome turned to see Blaise grinning good-naturedly at them. "She almost drove Draco mad, and I'm sorry to say she didn't quite finish."
"Isn't he already crazy?" Harry asked.
"Yes, but he keeps it a better secret than any of us do." Blaise said with a perfectly straight face.
"Isn't he an idiot?" Ginny said, shaking her head. Blaise winked at her. "Ah, but I'm not a complete idiot; some of the parts are still missing!"
At this they all started laughing, and Blaise held out a hand. "Blaise Zabini. I know you all, Potter, the lovely Miss Granger, and Ginevra's older torturer."
"Older what?" Ron asked.
"Brother." Blaise replied. "Anyways, we wanted to know if Miss Ginny would grace us with her presence on the train, and if she wants, she can bring her friends too. Draco's exact words, although I added and removed a few here and there."
"Then they aren't his exact words." Harry interjected.
"No," Blaise corrected him. "They are, just modified to fit my intentions. Shall we get on the train?"
As they walked on, Hermione leaned over to Harry and Ron and whispered, "He's a very nice person, don't you think?"
Harry nodded, but Ron thought for a moment before replying. "Yeah, he's nice, but I don't think he was kidding when he said a few parts were missing."
Draco was already sitting in the train compartment, next to Theodore. The girls were in the next compartment over, and as he stared at the window, the blond found himself thinking.
His life had certainly taken a turn for the worse when this whole thing started; he had to drink the potion Blaise prepared for him until they could get to Hogwarts and find Snape, but several people were still stunned by his appearances. A Hufflepuff fourth year had cornered him in the hallway and told him to take off his shirt lest he lived to regret it; he had put a leg-locking curse on her and calmly stepped away. He was sure Granger or one of the girl's friends would find her soon, anyways.
The buzzing had gotten more insistent as they boarded the train, and he was forced to accept the fact that his mate was in Hogwarts. The only question remaining was who?
Draco loosened his shirt collar as the train started moving again, slowly but gaining speed. His chest was pounding with effort, and he was hoping that his mate wasn't sitting anywhere near them when an icy chill gripped his stomach.
"I hate him."
"Stupid idiot."
"Prat!"
"I hope you die!"
"Spoiled brat…"
The blond Slytherin clapped his hands over his ears as the voices resonated in his head. He barely registered that Theodore was questioning him, and as the pounding in his chest became unbearable—
He hates me he hates mehehatesmehehatesmehehatesme…
—Words started to run together in his head, until he couldn't make them out anymore. Seven years of insults suddenly piled on top of him, driving his Urian side crazy with grief.
Why? Why? Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy?
With one, small, scarcely audible groan, he keeled over and fell into a blissfully unconscious state.
Blaise was leading the four behind him to the train compartment, making odd jokes now and then and reveling in their laughter when he heard someone scream. His eyes grew wide and a single curse left his mouth.
Behind him, Harry frowned. "Wasn't that—"
But the black-haired Slytherin had already taken off, and they wasted no time in following him. Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron caught up to him just as Blaise pushed his way past a group of Slytherin girls.
Harry recognized some of them; there were the Ernestine sisters, and Pansy Parkinson, holding her hand to her mouth. The young girl about Ginny's age had to be Blaise's younger sister; the resemblance was striking. But he didn't have time to dwell on features as he registered what it was that had caused Pansy to scream.
"Oh, my God." Hermione gasped next to him. Ginny was in shock, staring openly as Blaise stepped out of the compartment, holding Draco Malfoy by his arms. Theodore Nott carried his legs, and from the boy's mouth, a thin trickle of blood ran down.
"What happened?" Ron asked, clearly just as shocked as any of them.
Pansy turned to him, face pale. "It was nothing, ok? Just—just a little hex gone wrong, and he fell and knocked his head. You know us Slytherins—always fighting amongst ourselves."
Ron caught the biting tone but left it alone.
"Why is it teachers don't ride the train with us?" Blaise groused as he looked down at his friend. "We need potions or something—and mine are in my trunk!"
Hermione raised a tentative hand. "I think maybe I could help. I have some in a bag I carry onboard; I don't trust the handlers not to break them."
"Can someone carry him while I go with Granger? Theo's not strong enough," Blaise said, and Nott didn't scowl, scared as he was. Harry found himself nodding.
"I may not look like much but I am pretty strong." Blaise didn't say anything; he merely shifted Draco over to Harry, and motioned for the Gryffindor to follow as they made their way down the train.
With Hermione and Blaise going towards the front, Harry was able to study Draco closely. He looked down at the mouth, curved in a grimace. Harry found himself wondering what would happen if he could make that look into a smile, before blushing and forcing himself to look harder.
That's when he spotted the glint slightly protruding from Draco's lips. Glancing up to make sure no one was looking back; Harry shifted Draco's weight, and gasped inaudibly.
He had seen these before only on the battlefield he wished never to see again; fangs, the sign of some sort of otherworldly creature. On a human, this was definite sign of Vampirism. Shuddering slightly, Harry clutched the body tighter. He'd ask Ginny about it later; now was definitely not the time.
But if Draco woke up, there was no doubt Harry would sooner kill him than ask for any answers.
I feel very sad right about now. School is back...on the plus side, I will become the Prank QUEEN! again, so all's well that ends well. B-E-A-utiful, wouldn't you agree?
