"Ron!" Hermione called as she kneeled down in front of him. He hadn't noticed sinking to the floor his mind otherwise occupied by vivid, gory memories of his travel with Bellatrix.
"You know this is the only way… We must get the potion out of his system!" Hermione said, repeating the same lecture the two men had heard so many times . "…But draining him of his blood will do nothing but kill him. Vampirism and lycanthropy clean the blood and remake it, strengthening it. This is the only way we can be sure." She gently ran her hands through Ron's short red hair, soothing him.
"…What about those blood transfusion things you were talking about?" Ron said looking up at her. His eyes where haunted, he had always been the worst effected by Harry's absence.
"None of us have the same blood type or the skill, equipment and resources to do something like that. And even if we did I don't think Harry would survive us replacing his entire blood supply. The chances of rejection are too high. It just wasn't an option." She sighed and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ron"
"It's not your fault. It's those Death Eaters and Him." Ron hissed, his hands balling into fists. He could still hear those girls screaming, and he'd just stood there. Watched as that, monster ate them alive. That same monster he'd brought here, intentionally, so it could turn his best-mate…
Draco rolled his eyes; "Why don't you say his name? It's not like he's going to pop out and say, Boo!"
Ron glared at him; "Whatever."
"Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort, see?" Draco opened up cupboards and called the Dark Lords name out, like he was some missing pet. "Voldemort, Voldemort," Draco spun around on the spot, "Voldemort, Voldemort… VOLDIE!" he was yelling by the end, and panting.
Ron stood and punched Draco in the stomach. "Bastard!" Draco coughed and wheezed doubling over and falling to the floor.
"RON! How dare you! He was only joking!" Hermione kneeled down beside Draco and gently touched his stomach. "Are you alright?"
"I-" Draco gasped.
"What are you doing 'Mione?" Ron interrupted, glaring hatefully at Draco.
"Seeing if he's alright, you ass!" She turned and glared right back at him.
Ron's eyes narrowed and he scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I leave you alone with him for a month or so and you're already fucking him!"
"WHAT?" Hermione screeched, her cheeks flushing bright crimson. Draco flinched at Hermione shrill voice and carefully stood up.
"She most certainly is not you bloody git!" Draco yelled, as he limped slightly and faced Ron. The two men glared at each other, both daring the other to strike first.
Hermione groaned, "Ronald Weasley! When will you understand that whatever we had is gone? It left the moment we lost Harry." She shook her head sadly.
Ron's eyes flicked from his ex-girlfriend to his school-enemy, "I hate you, Malfoy." He spat in Draco's face, turned and left the two. Draco swore he could see steam coming out of the red-heads ears.
Hermione growled, "Ron is so… ARGH!" She grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it across the room. It smacked into the tiled wall with a crash, the china tinkling quietly as it sprinkled to the floor.
Draco smirked at Hermione's lack of words. "Would you?"
She froze; "Would I what?" Her eyes narrowed.
Draco grinned and folded his arms over his chest. "Fuck me?" Hermione rolled her eyes and walked away. "Wait… Come on! Tell me!" Draco reached out and caught her arm.
She turned and glared right at his silver eyes. "Not even if you were- muph."
Hermione never finished her threat, because Draco had kissed her.
Ron paced in front of Harry's door. He knew that his relationship with Hermione was over, had been for years now. They had tried to make it work after Harry's accident, but the more they tried the more they fought. And eventually even their make-up sex began to lack passion.
Ron huffed and glared at the closed steel door. He just wanted his best-mate back, he wanted everything to go back to the way it had been before all this. Before the coma, before the running and fighting. Back to when he still had his family, before he'd had to bury them. He took a deep breath and reached out to open the door, and immediately wished he hadn't.
Harry was convulsing violently, blood was frothing in his mouth, his eyelids fluttered constantly; he was already turning. Thick rivers of the deepest red oozed down his arms and dripped onto the floor. Harry gave a violent jerk, his arms and legs flapping around and splattering blood on the walls and ceiling.
Ron's eyes widened as he looked around the room, everything was covered in blood. The sound of someone throwing up, their sick sloshing and splattering heavily against steel drew Ron's attention to Bellatrix.
She was crouched over the sink, her body was rejecting the blood she'd taken from Harry. It was tainted, Ron realised. If she didn't she too would succumb to the potions effects.
Bella gasped and clutched at the sides of the sink, desperately trying to draw air into her lungs. She could feel her stomach rolling and clamping, her body was already doing half the work for her. She was naturally rejecting the foul blood she'd taken from Potter.
She took a breath before shoving her fingers down her throat forcing herself to expel more of Potter's blood. The whole room smelt horrid, a mixture of sweat, bile and blood.
The smells, sounds and sights before Ron were too much and he had just enough time to lean behind the open door to throw up. Not bothering to close or lock it Ron turned abruptly, moved back into the corridor, and lent against the wall. He could still hear Harry thumping against the walls and table, and Bellatrixs heaving coughs.
This was just great… His best friend was becoming a creature that defied nature, they had a psychotic murderer throwing up blood and his ex-girlfriend was having sex with Malfoy.
What else could go wrong today?
Ron wiped his mouth on his sleeve and made his way back into the kitchen. Draco had Hermione pinned to the kitchen table, he was shirtless and had his head buried between her exposed breasts. Hermione's legs were wrapped around Draco's waist rhythmically pulling him tighter against herself.
"What the HELL are you two doing!" Ron screamed.
Hermione pushed Draco off her so quickly he lost his balance and collapsed on the floor. She gasped, her whole face and neck flushed red, whether from embarrassment or pleasure Ron didn't know; and quickly pulled her shirt back down. "R-on." Her voice came out as a squeak.
Draco sighed and sat up slowly, from where he'd fallen. He collected his shirt from where it had been thrown and tossed it over his shoulder, "Close your mouth Weasley, wouldn't want you to catch anything."
"Close my… That's IT!" Ron growled and pounced on Draco. The two men fell to the ground, Ron screamed, enraged and punched Draco repeatedly, "I'LL KILL YOU!" his fist cracking into Draco's jaw.
"YOU DON'T HAVE THE BALLS, WEASEL!" Draco grabbed Ron's shoulders and head-butted him, Ron's nose crunched loudly and blood gushed from the split on the bridge of his nose.
"BOYS, BOYS! DRACO! RON! STOP IT!" Hermione called, but it was useless.
…tbc