Chapter 17

"Draco, what's going on?" Harry could tell that Draco was in some sort of pain. It only took a moment to inhale to realise the issue. Harry started coughing violently as the garlic re-infiltrated his lungs. It burned him to his core, and again he started to feel woozy. It had been there too long. Even with Draco now here, he didn't know how long it would last until he would pass out again.

"Minister, you have to remove the garlic." Even Draco's voice sounded rough. "It's pretty much vampire torture. Whoever put it there..." Draco shuddered and reached out a hand. Harry grabbed it, and Draco lifted him up easily, wrapping and arm around him.

Harry nuzzled his head into Draco's shoulder again, and he heard Draco whisper ever so quietly, "I love you." Harry fought the urge to jerk back and figure out what was going on. Why was Draco not chasing after someone else? Had the bite somehow not infected him? Was he still human? But he had seen Draco go through the transformation last night...

"I'll make sure to yell at Roberts." With a wave of his wand, the garlic disappeared. "Now, I'm expecting a story behind this." Harry took a breath and looked up, only to see Ron and Hermione standing speechless behind Kingsley. Harry's jaw gaped. Had they all come to rescue him? The thought was touching, and left Harry smiling like an idiot.

"The story is odd," Hermione added, giving a nervous smile in Harry's direction. "I would suggest performing a truth spell. It's what we did." Draco paused before speaking.

"Would it be possible for me to have a moment with Harry?"

Kingsley paused. "Give me your wand, Mr. Malfoy. I have to be sure you're not going to try anything. I'm sorry, but it's a necessary precaution. The same goes for you two." He looked over at Ron and Hermione, sighing.

"Alone, if possible?" Kingsley raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Ron and Hermione. They nodded, and he sighed again.

"I've seen some strange things before, but this one wins, I must admit. Just come get us when you're done explaining." Walking away, he continually shook his head. Ron and Hermione threw supportive glances back at them before scurrying after Kingsley.

"What happened?" Harry asked. "I thought I bit you." Draco chuckled, and his eyes lit up. The way Draco was looking at him Harry felt loved and appreciated. It was different than before.

"You did."

"Did it not work, or how are you still able to touch me? Why aren't you angry at me? I mean, who is your mate? Or, does it not matter because I'm a vampire? I mean, is it only with humans that –"

Draco cut him off with a kiss. The blond shoved him against a wall and bit Harry's lower lip, moaning as blood filled his mouth. His hands roamed down Harry's chest, and one slipped up under his shirt, massaging the skin beneath it. Harry's legs quivered, but Draco held him upright, suckling on his lip. Harry lay frozen, unsure what exactly was going on, and shuddered when Draco's lips moved down. The blond's hands shot up, and he slowly undid the first few buttons, shoving the shirt aside and biting into Harry's shoulder. His hand shot up before Harry could cry out, and he covered his mouth.

The pain slipped away, and slowly was replaced by poisonous warmth. Harry felt woozy, and could barely keep from moaning. The feel of Draco feeding on him went straight to his cock. Draco seemed to notice this, and he stuck his fingers into Harry's mouth. "Suck."

It was the first word Draco had said, but he didn't pause long, instead lapping at the pinpricks of blood that had reappeared on Harry's skin. Harry eagerly complied with Draco's command, though, and his tongue swirled around them. Draco's eyes fluttered, and he pulled back, his lips smeared red.

Tauntingly, his own tongue reached out, and he drew his tongue over them. While Harry lapped at his fingers, he worked at the buttons of their pants. The zippers came undone easily as well, and he deftly pulled everything down with one hand. Draco's pants puddled at his knees, and he smirked.

"Enough." Pulling out his fingers, he spoke again. "Turn around." His voice was so commanding. Yet it was better than before. It wasn't because Draco wasn't afraid this time; it was because Draco was going to fuck him. Harry's hands touched the stone wall in front of him, and he felt Draco's fingers ease into him.

Harry barely stifled a yelp of pain. It hurt like hell. But Draco soothed him by kissing him lightly on the neck. It took a moment, but when Draco wiggled them around, something else flashed inside of him. Harry couldn't bite back the sound this time, and he moaned into the wall. That spot lit him on fire. Behind him, Draco chuckled.

"That's what I was aiming for." He didn't say anything else before he removed his fingers. Harry whimpered at the loss, but Draco shushed him. He could feel Draco align up behind him, and he gasped. This was really it. In Azkaban of all places. Harry's fingers curled as Draco buried into him. It was painful – yes – but the feeling of being filled... Harry made a faint choking sound.

"Move." With a swift motion, Draco rammed into him. His hands wound around Harry, and he wrapped his fingers around his weeping cock. With every thrust, his hands jerked, and his thumbs skilfully played over the tip. Harry could barely breathe. He could feel his climax well up inside of him. He was so fucking close.

The only sounds in the jail cell were pants and groans. Their bodies were moist, and every time Draco buried deep inside of him, Harry's hips would snap back to meet him. The blond moaned, changing angles. There it was again! Draco hit the same bundle of nerves inside of him, and Harry gasped out, his head jerking back slightly. He bubbled, on the brink of that beautiful release.

"I'm so close, Draco."

"Then, come, love." With a few more jerks Harry toppled over the edge, coating Draco's hands – although, a bit did slip past onto the walls. It only took a few more thrusts for Draco to come as well, and they both leaned there, panting. Draco pulled out, and smirked. "I got you to shut up." Harry smiled playfully as well, but then glanced at the wall.

"Shite, how are we going to clean this up?" Harry was in too good of a mood for that thought to truly bother him, but he felt slightly uncomfortable as he stared at the mess.

"Scourgify." It disappeared and Draco's smirk widened. "It's a good thing I can do wandless magic."

"But that's pretty powerful stuff. How did you –"

"Shush. I think I should answer a few of your other questions before we have to get back to them. I'm just glad they didn't come back to that." Draco winked and zipped up his trousers. Harry shook his head and leaned against Draco's shoulder.

"So explain."

"You turned me into a vampire last night, I believe."

"Yeah, but I already knew that. What I don't understand is why you're not chasing after some mortal. I mean, I don't really know how vampire laws work, so maybe you can touch other vampires, but –"

"You talk too much." He cut off Harry's babbling with a quick peck on the lips. "Harry, you're my mate." Harry stared blankly and shook his head.

"That's not possible. I'm a vampire. I can't be – Can I?" Draco ran his fingers through Harry's hair and hummed.

"It can only happen if a prior bond between the two was established." Draco shuddered suddenly. "William told me."

"Oh." Harry pulled away, thinking back to when it had happened. Draco had used him. That much was clear.

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. I feel like a prick, but it turned out well, didn't it?"

"Sure, you're a vampire. Speaking of which, why do they trust you?" Harry suddenly realised that Draco's eyes were still blue. "Contacts. They don't know?"

"They don't know – not yet." Harry nodded his head. So, Draco was going to explain everything else and then he was going to break the news that he was a vampire. Before he could process much more, though, the others came over.

"What's taking you so long?" Kingsley Shacklebolt strode over, looking slightly annoyed. "This is an urgent matter. We need to discuss it as soon as possible. Before the public has a chance to get too unruly, at least..." He shook his head. "I've scheduled an impromptu court hearing."

"I –" Draco's jaw dropped, and Harry felt his stomach flutter. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Is there a problem with a court hearing?"

"No, but like I said, I just wasn't expecting that. The story's slightly personal."

"If you came all this way willing to free Harry Potter, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling a few extra people." Kingsley arched an eyebrow in challenge. Draco scowled.

"When it's all over the press..."

"Surely you can't think that the entire wizarding world will be that fascinated with a simple story of yours. That's rather self-satisfied, if you will."

"It's...unique, sir," Hermione chimed in from behind. "I think the press will be all over it."

"Interesting," Kingsley muttered. "Well, we'd better not be late."

HDHDHDHDHDHD

The courtroom was completely packed when Draco and Harry walked in, hand in hand. Apparently news of Harry Potter's trial had spread like Nifflers after a pot of gold. There wasn't a single seat left empty.

"If anything, Harry, you're more popular now than you were when you defeated Voldemort," Shacklebolt told him. "I mean, when we announced in the papers that people should keep a lookout for you, we got mounds of letters telling us that they had seen you."

"Oh really?" The news didn't even faze Harry. It made sense that when he was at his worst, everyone wanted in. People were always going to prey on the weak. Harry sighed.

"The most ridiculous one we got was from a bartender at Vogue." Harry coughed. There was no way this was the same guy he had seen back there. Merlin, it felt like ages ago.

"He said that you came in and asked for red wine. He knew something was up because he accused you of being different, and you threatened him. Then, he said, you proceeded to flirt with him and try to drink his blood. But he pointed out that he was married, and he said you sulked away. Off his rocker," Kingsley muttered, shaking his head.

"That prick!" Harry couldn't help but exclaim. Kingsley looked at him in shock.

"You know who I'm talking about? Don't tell me this actually happened..."

"No, nothing like it. I did ask for red wine, but the rest of it is a pretty big twist on how I remember it." Harry scoffed, and Draco grabbed his hand, soothingly running his finger over the front.

"Calm down, love." Harry sighed and nuzzled into Draco, immediately calming down.

"Well, what exactly did happen, then?" Kingsley asked, looking mildly concerned at the display of affection between Draco and Harry.

"He started flirting with me. See, I wasn't wearing my glasses, so he didn't recognise me. But when he did, he was pretty scared. I noticed the ring and told him I wasn't interested. I think he was afraid I'd try to turn him in or something. Merlin, I should have." Harry's fist clenched around Draco's hand, and the blond gently ran other one down Harry's spine, squeezing his arse.

"There are people behind you, you know," came Ron's automatic grumble. The pair of them couldn't help but chuckle. Ron found a way to intrude into every moment. Well, almost any. Harry smiled, thinking about back in Azkaban. He'd need a bit of a confidence booster considering what was coming up. He wasn't sure he was ready for a trial yet. What kind of questions were they going to ask him? Actually, that was a rather good question to ask Kingsley.

"What sort of things are they going to want to know at the – err – trial?" Harry asked, glancing over at Kingsley. He looked at him and shook his head.

"I can't get used to the red eyes. If there ever was a time I'd suggest you wear contacts, it'd be now."

"No, people should know that he's not a monster, even if his eyes seem to show he is," Draco interjected. "I'm just saying," he added as everyone gave him an odd look.

"Well, they'll be asking you what you've been doing, talking about your urges and whether you've done anything to act on them." How was he going to respond to that last part? He had acted on them with Draco. Well, that was best left to the trial. He could do nothing but worry right now. "Let's see, they'll probably be mainly focused on Malfoy and his story, if what I've been told is correct."

"I think she'd even change Umbridge's mind," Hermione said, chuckling. Everyone glanced back at her sceptically, and Ron merely shook his head. "Well, probably not..." She blushed.

"Well, I think it should be fine. Just tell the truth and show them that you're fine, and you should be alright. People aren't out to get you – well, not most of them. They just are bewildered. It's not every day that a hero gets turned into a vampire. And besides, this is testing all of our beliefs. We've grown up thinking that vampires are evil. It's certainly a big leap to make." He smiled, and Rogers came running.

"Lucius Malfoy has been apprehended, sir. We managed to get him just as he was trying to leave with his wife." He glanced up at Kingsley, waiting for approval like an eager lapdog. A side glance at Harry showed he was still under the impression that Harry was mute.

"Good. By the way, I've been told the effects of garlic on a vampire are damaging, to say the least. I believe the phrase used was 'like torture.'" He winked at Draco, and Harry smirked as Rogers suddenly found himself unsure of what to say.

"But, sir, he's a vampire. He can't understand us, and if anything, he needs to be restrained."

"Actually, I find him to be surprisingly like the Harry Potter we both knew." Rogers suddenly froze and glanced over at Harry. Harry knew he was thinking back to when he had shoved him and what he had said. "Is there any reason – you seem to be slightly unnerved."

"Um, well, no, sir, you see..." Rogers seemed unsure of what to say. He looked over at Harry, waiting for his secret to be spilled. But Harry said nothing. At least now I'll have the upper hand, he thought, smiling as pleasantly as he could manage. Rogers looked shocked, but curtly nodded and scurried away. Sighing, Kingsley led them over to the doors. Suddenly they seemed massive and loomed in front of him.

Which brought Harry back to his current predicament. Here he was standing in a court room, thousands of beady eyes focused on him. Harry froze in the middle of the floor, deaf to Ron and Hermione urging him on. It was Draco that pulled him out of his trance with a simple squeeze of the hand. The blond smiled, and shifted uncomfortably. The wave of murmurs that went up after they entered together only added to the enigma to this situation.

"What is the infamous Harry Potter doing with the son of a Death Eater, an old school rivalry?" Harry could almost hear. He knew the questions would storm in after the trial was over. But first he had that ahead of him. He had to try to make sure no one found out that Draco was a vampire until well after he had shared his part of the story. People were probably already less likely to believe him. True, he had separated from his father, but he still was a Malfoy, and the name held disgust in so many people's eyes.

Just to try to prove them wrong, Harry leaned over, placing a kiss on Draco's cheek. It didn't help with the murmur immediately increased in volume. Draco's hand wove around him and he threw a glare up at the audience – what else was he to call it?

They took a seat and waited for the trial to begin. It didn't take long. Ron and Hermione were the first ones called up to the podium. They stood there, shifting from foot to foot, trying to ignore the fact that thousands of people were waiting to see what they had to say.

"So, you're saying that you knew that Harry Potter was a vampire?" Ms. Thatcher, the judge asked.

"Well, yes. We found out almost immediately," Hermione answered, blushing. "But we thought we could help."

"And you knew it was an offense to withhold such information?"

"I was trying to help him! He's the same person. He just –"

"He just needs human blood to survive." There was a pause as Hermione remained silent. "Is that right?"

"Yes."

"And how exactly did he get this blood?" Hermione paused again and looked away.

"From Ron and I." She said it barely in a whisper. There was a swell of talking from the audience, and Hermione added, "But we gave it willing. We sent it in a vial. We made sure he wasn't around us when he was hungry."

"So, he is dangerous when he's hungry?"

"No! Well, yes, but he can restrain himself. If it really got to the point where he thought there was a chance of an attack, he would chain himself so that he couldn't break free using magic." Everyone seemed to settle down at this. They didn't seem to be sure how to take it, though. They understood that he was dangerous, but they also saw that Harry knew his limits. Hermione got asked a few more questions, although none too noteworthy. Everyone seemed to be losing interest by the time Ron was called up.

"Now, tell me, Mr. Weasley, was there anyone else that Harry has fed off of, if you'll excuse my terminology." Ms. Thatcher looked at him with cold eyes.

"Well, there's clearly Draco –" Everyone's heads shifted simultaneously to look over at the two of them, "- but there's also Luna Lovegood. She wasn't that involved though." Harry felt bad drawing Luna into this. She had only helped once or twice, and it had been so generous of her. The last kind of repayment she needed was involvement with the government.

"Well, unless she's crucial to the case, we won't bring her in. As far as I've understood, she won't be. Now, tell me about this supposed cure you're working on."

"Well, I don't really know much about it. The only other one we found involved a ritual sacrifice of one's mate, and none of us were really up for that one. Hermione's the one with the details." He shuffled. Harry felt Draco's curious gaze, and met it reluctantly.

"You never told me about any kind of ritual," he muttered, looking slightly upset.

"I wasn't considering it, even for a second. That's why Hermione is trying this new thing. I told her she had to find another way. You know I couldn't bare it if anyone tried to hurt you." Draco smiled.

"Understandable. The whole vampire instincts and all..." No, Harry wanted to add. It's something more than that. It's a lot more than that. But as he opened his mouth, he heard his name ring clearly and loudly throughout the courtroom.

"We now call Harry James Potter up to the stand."

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