A/N: Okay, so in this chapter there's gonna be something probably unexpected ;) Well maybe not if you read my other story...Although I don't recommend that! Anyway...I was going to post a poll to see how many of you would really be opposed to the idea, and if it was an overwhelming 'NO' I was gonna cut it and re-write. However, I've made an executive decision that since the surprise isn't going to play a major role in the plot...It's more important to post what I already have. Hopefully you'll enjoy!
p.s. Guys, I've got to stop trying to type these things at midnight. So tired! So determined!
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Tom Riddle sat in his study at Malfoy Manor with his customary afternoon pumpkin juice. He smiled tightly into the goblet of his indulgence.
The alarm had gone off hours ago signaling that Harry had awoke. He had to admit he was curious about what was keeping the young man, but so long as Draco was with him he didn't worry, much.
He idly flipped through the Daily Prophet, scowling at the article about himself and his Godson. Evidently, and unsurprisingly, it had been assumed he has kidnapped him. There were rewards for promising sightings and because of that many outrageous claims had already been announced.
One proposed that a little boy's new pet hamster was, in fact, Harry as an animagus.
Tom snorted and shook his head in disgust. He closed the paper and sat down the delectable pumpkin juice. Tom unfolded his tall, lean figure from his leather chair and began to pace.
How would Harry react to the situation now that his mind wasn't clouded by that old coot's spell. He clenched his teeth at the thought of all that man had cost them. He stopped before a large window and looked out at the immaculate gardens below, without really seeing them. Tom only hoped Harry would accept his explanations for all he had done and choose to stay here with him. With luck maybe he and Draco could even become friends...
Both Harry and Draco were in Harry's new bathroom primping and trying to rid themselves of their currently disheveled looks.
Draco couldn't stave off the smile at Harry's preening reflection in the mirror. He was surprised to say the least.
Today had been a day of one shocking revelation after another. First, Harry was the Godson of his Lord, now that alone was a big enough surprise to last a lifetime. Second, it appeared the boy had already strayed from Dumbledore and would side with his Godfather. Draco shook his head, knowing the kind of Hell that would bring once they returned to school for their seventh year. He smiled though, rubbing his face in thought, and he couldn't help if his fingertips stilled just for a moment on his own full lips.
Third, Harry Potter was gay. No big deal in the Wizarding World, but, rather unexpected with all the rumors about Ginny and Cho and who knows who else. However, Harry had chosen Draco Malfoy to be his. While he was very surprised, he wasn't. In the short time they had spent civilly, sometimes more than civilly, together Harry had shown his true colours, and oh how Slytherin those colours were. Yes what an amazing day.
When he left his musings he saw Harry watching him expectantly.
Draco felt his face flush briefly as he wondered just how long he had been thinking...
He smiled, embarrassed, and Harry shook his head leaving the bathroom. Draco followed as he knew was expected of him by the dark haired boy ahead of him.
Back in his bedroom Harry slipped into his new cloak. He smiled at Draco coupled with a gesture clearly asking his opinion of his outfit. Draco smiled and nodded his approval.
"You clean up nicely, Harry." Harry smirked and motioned for Draco to lead the way out of his suite. Draco nodded and obliged, leading the taller boy to his Godfather's study just the floor above.
Draco stopped at a large, embossed, black door that Harry could only assume was their destination. He took a step towards it then looked at the still form of Draco expectantly once again and nearly whispered.
"You're not coming?" The imposing door nearly commanded quiet. Draco looked surprised.
"I didn't think either of you would appreciate my presence." Harry shook his head.
"Of course I do, and given the circumstances, I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Harry finished with a motion towards the door.
Draco looked unsure, he rubbed his forearm hesitantly, as he had taken to doing when in the presence of his Lord.
Harry watched as Draco rubbed his arm where he knew the Dark Mark either did, or would shortly reside. Harry reached out and replaced Draco's rubbing hand with his own, soothing grip.
Harry met his eyes then gently lifted the soft material of the cloak sleeve from the slightly smaller boy's arm. Draco grimaced but Harry couldn't hide his grin at the sight of the pale, unmarred skin. Harry lowered the sleeve and quickly kissed him thankfully.
"Come on, Draco. I'm sure it'll be fine..." Draco nodded begrudgingly. Harry chuckled and smiled again. Then, albeit a little hesitantly, he reached out and twisted the cold knob and pushed open the heavy door. Harry walked in with a small confidence, and Draco followed reluctantly.
Upon the opening of his door Tom Riddle turned, fingers on his wand hidden in the folds of his robes. Thin lips curled into a small smile at the sight of his Godson and he forgot his wand altogether.
He had great hopes for this. He raised a thin, dark eyebrow at the blonde trailing behind him, Tom looked to Harry for an explanation and was simply given a nod in answer. It was enough, he let Draco stay. He waved his arm to the seating area silently transfiguring an armchair into a plush couch and gesturing the boys to sit in one motion. They took their seats on the couch with Tom across from them in his beloved leather chair. Had Harry been paying attention he would have noticed this was the very seating arrangement he experienced in his visions. Minus the couch of course. Harry held a small smile as did his Godfather, Draco however still looked miserably nervous.
"Harry, how did you sleep? Oh and I do hope you found everything to your liking." Tom said sincerely. Harry's smile widened marginally.
"Yes, yes it was all very nice, and indeed I slept well, thank you. Also, you'll be pleased to hear Draco made sure I didn't do anything stupid." Harry and Tom shared a short laugh, while Draco felt his face heat and he averted his eyes.
"That is indeed good to hear." Tom said with a small smile at Draco's unusual lack of composure. How intriguing.
They made insignificant small talk until the awkwardness of the situation melted away. Even Draco seemed comfortable.
Once this occurred Tom felt it time to discuss the matters pressing in his mind.
"Harry, What do you think? About all you've discovered thus far that is." Tom and Draco watched in anticipation.
Harry thought on the question for what seemed like hours but was, of course, but minutes.
"Well for reasons I haven't entirely been able to pinpoint, I believe you over Dumbledore. The only logical conclusion I've been able to draw is that I have known for quite some time that Dumbledore aside from being senile and fervently manipulative, he is also a liar. He has been caught several times in lies just against me. That is something very important I haven't encountered from yourself. If you said you would try to kill me, you did indeed try, even if was without success." Harry laughed and Draco sat, jaw dropped unceremoniously at the insult, but Tom just scowled mockingly.
"By the way, I do have a question, if you said you only wanted to meet with me just to meet, then why did you consistently try to maim or kill me at every opportunity." Tom nodded, knowing the question had been coming.
"I'm no fool, I knew and still know that I couldn't kill you if I tried, and obviously neither can Dumbledore. I was advised it was best to keep in line with the tale Dumbledore had woven, and since it wouldn't hurt...It was thought best to go full out. You were never in danger, your magic is too strong and it envelops you in a way that no shield ever could. Quite the invaluable gift, especially for the life you lead. I would even dare to go as far as to say there is something magickal about you. Although if there is, neither Lily or James ever informed me." Tom's eyes held mild frustration at the thought but did glint in hope for the idea.
Draco spoke unexpectedly, "What do you mean, 'something magickal'? Are you saying you actually think Harry might be something other than human, My Lord? Wouldn't we have noticed or...there had to have been a sign..." Draco began to mumble towards the end under Tom's crimson gaze.
He had spoken out of turn. He braced himself for the resounding 'Crucio!' but it never came. Draco looked up curiously and saw those red eyes staring patiently. He scooted centimeters closer to Harry, hoping it wouldn't be noticed.
Tom filed the move away for later inspection.
"Yes, Draco, and there was a sign, a very large one in fact. Harry is...let's face it he's more powerful than Dumbledore himself and may as well be immortal...at least by magical means. No mere wizard has had that capability. No mere wizard can have that capability. It just isn't possible. That is what makes me believe there is something more lurking in Harry's blood." Tom finished with a motion towards Harry, who currently sat intently listening to the two men discuss him like he wasn't present. He had to hide his smirk.
He would let them debate his lineage, even though he already knew.
Over the past year, Harry had noticed changes, physically and in his own magic to something more...magickal. It coursed through him differently, at times feeling as if it was pulsing just under his lightly-tanned skin.
Physically, his facial features had sharpened to more aristocratic angles. His boyish, round face had narrowed nicely. Truth be told, he had had Hermione correct his vision not so he would be free of his glasses for Quidditch as he had told her, but because they had simply become a hindrance as he could see better without them and needed a reason not to wear them. Thus, his brilliantly green eyes seemed to glow ethereally without the interference of said troublesome glasses. There was more difference than just that, their almond shape had sharpened ever so slightly to something that hearkened of a feline. The most noticeable and compromising change being delicate point taken on by his canine teeth. Of course Harry kept all of this glamoured, he didn't think the wizarding world was prepared to accept him as whatever this meant he really was. So to them, he was just Harry Potter; Harry Potter with tamed hair and a growth spurt albeit, but The Boy Who Lived none-the-less.
At some point during Harry's pondering the other two men had stopped discussing him and now were looking at him for his own input on the idea. Harry smirked once more, how to go about this... His eyes held a mischievous glint.
"Well..." Harry waved his hand in a nonchalant gesture appearing to signal that he didn't have an input. In reality, the wave had been him wandlessly dropping his glamours. He watched as slowly recognition stormed into eyes, red and grey.
Draco's mouth unceremoniously fell open at the sight. Tom was, of course, very surprised but held his composure, looking at Draco's mouth agape with a disdainful, tight grin.
"Well Harry, you are full of surprises." Tom said, his grin twisting into a smirk. The words shook Draco from his shock and he closed his mouth, mildly embarrassed. He took in the boy he now...what described their new relationship? He certainly had feelings for Harry, and he was fairly positive the feelings were reciprocated. He smiled at the thought. Draco had to admit to himself that he had always found Harry attractive, but now with his ethereal features, he was bloody gorgeous. He couldn't help but rake his eyes from the tall, lean, now pale body, to the shaggy midnight hair that framed Harry's beautifully defined face. He shuddered involuntarily as he watched Harry smiled at his Godfather, exposing one pearly...fang?
Harry smirked at the reaction of his companions and the comment from Tom.
"Yes, Tom, you should expect that by now though." Both men smirked knowingly.
"Indeed I do, Harry, and it seems you have some explaining to do." Harry laughed and shrugged.
"I've just been gradually changing over the past year, I don't really have an explanation for it." Tom nodded in understanding then the bright light of an idea flashed through his eyes and he drew his wand.
Draco tensed with a sharp intake of breath and Harry had to admit a minuscule wave of nervousness washed over him. Tom rolled his eyes at the boys and muttered the incantation with a graceful swish of his wand.
At the finish of Tom's casting a pulsing, winding silvery mass encased Harry. It twitched with his every move or breath and pulsed with his heartbeat. This was Harry's magick.
Harry and Draco watched wide-eyed in awe at the cloud. Tom admired the steely colour that told him of Harry's lineage. Quite the surprise to him as he had never heard anything about it from James, or Lily for that matter.
Harry Potter was a Vampire; well half Vampire anyway, but that didn't matter, to Vampires, you either are one of them, or you aren't. Harry was.
Tom watched with intrigue at the way particular strands moved in the cloud telling his magick's story. One pulsed and twitched telling that Harry's vampiric blood had indeed come from James, not much of a surprise there.
The Potter's were old magic, and any old line has creature blood in it somewhere. The Malfoys here and there had Veelas and even the Weasleys were sprinkled with Elves. Now evidently, the Potters housed Vampires.
Very intriguing.
Tom couldn't find an explanation for how he didn't find out from James, but then again, Harry had been successfully hiding it from everyone with a simple glamour. Tom was frustrated.
Harry looked confused but with a mild understanding as he watched Tom search his magick.
Tom flicked his wand again, ever elegant, and the silver pulsing cloud dissipated from around the lean Vampire.
Draco couldn't help but feel a bit relieved at the foreign mass' disappearance.
Tom clucked his tongue and looked at Harry.
"So, how much do you really know?" Harry laughed and shook his head.
"Just as bad as Dumbledore." He smirked at Tom's scowl. "Nothing gets by either of you is what I'm saying, Tom. I do know more than I let on, as you assume. I know what I am, I know how I got to be this way and I basically know the ins and outs of what I'll experience once I reach my full inheritance on my birthday, which by the way happens to be next week, Don't forget!" Harry ended with an oh-so-rare broad smile and a laugh. Tom just rolled his eyes. Draco rolled his as well.
"So will someone fill me in as to what everyone else seems to know besides me?" Harry looked at him fondly...Draco Malfoy might as well have been pouting, how odd, cute he had to admit, but that didn't lessen the oddity.
"Well, the Potters carry Vampire blood that shows itself in varying generations, my father never showed signs of vampirism that I know of, so I assume it skipped him, or maybe he just wasn't quite as proud of it as I am." Harry winked. "Nevertheless, I am a Vampire and next week I will finally be finished with the transformation that's been ever so bothersome constantly this past year." Draco nodded.
"That seems like a pretty simple explanation for all that commotion." Draco gestured in a messy circle depicting the cloud of Harry's magic that had been there moments ago.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, well I don't really consider it to be that important or life-changing, it's just another one of those things in the life of Harry Potter." Draco shook his head, How could Harry be taking it so lightly, it was indeed LITERALLY life-changing.
Draco heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back into the plush couch. Harry looked at him quizzically but shrugged and turned back to his Godfather.
"Well, what do you think, Tom? Don't you love being right?" Harry laughed and Tom smiled a thin line of a reptilian smile making Harry briefly grimace but say nothing. Tom nodded.
"It is a joy and a pleasure to hold my knowledge over your head." He smirked broadly.
Harry shook his head with a grin, "I'm sorry, who knew before you did?" Tom rolled his eyes.
"Impudent brat, You take Draco and leave me to think on this, I'm sure he has many questions for you he just doesn't want to divulge in my presence." Draco paled but felt marginally better when an actual smile was turned at him from his Lord. Harry smiled too and nodded standing, pulling the blonde with him.
Once the door was shut behind him Draco stopped and looked at the transformed boy before him. He brought a hand to feel the newly sculpted aristocratic jaw and looked into his still ever vibrant eyes trying to believe that it was all real. Harry smiled softly at the other boy's curious touches and reached up removing the slender hand and instead holding it reassuringly in his own.
"Come now, Draco, I assure you I'll answer any questions you have, let's just go back to my room?" Draco nodded unconsciously and allowed him to be pulled along towards the aforementioned suite still in shock.
And to think he thought the surprises were over...
A/N: Sorry for making it say I updated, just goin' back and fixing so oh so irritating mistakes. -.-