Silver Hair
Dear Harry,
I'm sorry if you got the feeling I would threaten you. I can assure you, I will never harm you in any way. My invitation to tea was exactly that, an invitation. I was a very good friend of your father and I would love to get to know you. Maybe you can give me a chance?
It would be a shame if our bodily differences would be the only thing standing between us. Sirius also had been a 'Longtooth', as he had called himself, and he somehow found a way to tolerate me, though I don't know how.
Well then, as I said before, I really wish to get to know you and if you are also interested just knock at my door. I will be there for you.
Yours, Remus Lupin
Harry sighed and lowered the hand that was holding the letter which he had received in the morning post. He stared at his untouched breakfast, sighing deeply.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked as she looked up from her morning papers with a frown.
Harry shook his head and mumbled, "Nothing."
"Who wrote you that letter?" she asked, ignoring Harry's standard reply. It was never 'nothing' when it came to Harry.
"Professor Lupin," Harry finally admitted with a second sigh.
Frowning more, Hermione folded the newspaper up and gave Harry her full attention.
"Professor Lupin? Why did he write you?" the girl wondered.
"He was a good friend of my father and said he wanted to get to know me better," Harry explained.
Hermione smiled excited, "But that's great, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Harry replied unenthusiastically, "Great."
The frown was back on Hermione's face. Shouldn't Harry be excited for this unique chance to learn about his dad?
"You don't like him?" she asked quizzically.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "It's not that. I... I cannot tell you exactly what the problem is... he is making me feeling uncomfortable and that has something to do with what I am."
"Oh," Hermione's eyes widened. "You mean he is also a... you-know-what?"
"No" Harry shook his head, "If he was, it wouldn't be a problem for me."
That got the girl thinking. What else could be the problem? Frowning, she studied her friend and then cast a short glance at Professor Lupin. There had to be something only a vampire could sense. Maybe the smell? Hermione hadn't forgotten their arrival at Hogwarts as Harry complained about a bad smell nobody else could smell.
"It's the smell, am I right?" she asked curiously.
Harry had to smile at the girl. His friend always had to analyse everything. "Look. It is not just the smell, okay? I don't have anything against Professor Lupin as a person. There is a problem with his nature. I really cannot tell you more, so please, stop thinking about it."
Hermione looked disappointed. "Okay," she said, but her brain was still working on the riddle provided to her by her best friend. She couldn't just switch off her thoughts, she needed to solve the puzzle.
"What's the problem?" Ron asked, after he finally finished with breakfast. He had been too occupied with eating that he hadn't paid attention to his friend's conversation.
"Never mind," Harry said and then stood. The first class was about to start in a few minutes.
"Oh my god," Hermione cried as she checked her watch, "We are going to be late!" She jumped out of her seat, while packing the Daily Prophet into her bag, then pulled at Ron's arm to get him moving as well.
"Calm down. It's just Hagrid. Do you really think he will take points if we come late?" Ron asked, jerking his arm out of the hysterical girl's grip.
Hermione hissed at him to hurry up and then stalked out of the Great Hall. Ron rolled his eyes but he stood and followed her together with Harry.
"Really, she can get so mental," Ron grumbled and Harry hummed in agreement.
It was nice to see that his friends hadn't changed a bit, but it also made it more than clear how much he had changed. He wished his problems would be as simple as worrying if he came to class in time. As much as Ron and Hermione tried to include Harry again, there was still a thin invisible wall between them. There are things Harry couldn't share with them.
Oxo
On their way to Care of Magical Creature class, the Gryffindors and Slytherins met each other. Harry caught Draco's look and wondered what the problem was. The blond haired boy looked dejected. Harry slowed down a bit until he walked next to his new friend.
"Are you okay?" he asked curiously.
Draco huffed, "Yes, sure. Why wouldn't I? The Golden Trio is united again. Yeah!"
"Watch it. Someone would think you are jealous," Harry said with a grin.
"Jealous? Me? I don't need stink bombs or know-it-alls as friends," Draco said and sniffed indignant.
"Oh? So now I'm a know-it-all stink bomb?" Harry joked, but Draco didn't laugh. He glared at the black haired boy.
"Very funny, Potter. You know exactly what I meant."
Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Sure I know, but I don't understand your problem. Just because I'm back with my friends, doesn't mean I'm going to act like I used to. I'm still a Black Moon Hunter and this will always stand between me and them. I will never be able to take a nightly flight over Hogwart's grounds with them, for example."
Now Draco smiled. That was true. The things that parted Potter from his friends, he had in common with Draco. "Well. Shall we meet today in the evening then?"
"You mean for a nightly flight?" Harry asked, although he knew Draco's answer already.
"Yes," Draco confirmed with gleaming eyes.
"Erm... okay but... we will need to ask permission."
"And risk, that Sev says 'no'?"
Nervously, Harry bit his lip, "No, just to make sure we are able to sit down tomorrow."
Draco rolled his eyes. "You are such a coward!"
"No!" Harry contradicted immediately.
"Then prove it. I will wait for you after dinner in the Owlery," Draco said before he quickened his pace to get ahead so Harry did not have the chance to reply.
Harry sighed. He knew it wasn't a good idea to go flying without saying something to Severus; he also knew what will happen as soon as they would get caught. On the other hand, he really want to go flying again and he was sure Severus would say no if he ask him. And who says that his dad would find out?
Oxo
"There you are!" Draco called out, as Harry finally made it up to the Owlery.
"Yes, sorry. It wasn't easy to shake off Ron and 'Mione but I promised Ron to play chess with him later, so they let me go."
Draco arched an eyebrow, "You play chess?"
Harry blushed embarrassed, "I'm not sure if you can call it that. I'm pants at it, I lose every time."
"Well, okay. Where are we going to fly today?" Draco wondered and looked over the grounds towards Hogsmead. Then he turned around as an idea struck him, "Hey, have you been hunting for insects yet?"
"What?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Insects. You know, bat's food," the blond haired boy explained with a grin.
"You are having me on, right?" Harry asked, unsure of Draco's intention but the other boy shook his head and Harry made a face, "Really? Insects? Ew."
Draco laughed at Harry's disgusted face. "Just a newbie would say that. They are actually very tasty. I mean, I wouldn't eat them in human form either but when you are a bat they are very delicious. Want to try?"
"I'm not sure," Harry replied, still looking very sceptical.
"We can try and if you don't like it we come back here, okay?" Draco suggested.
"Okay," Harry finally agreed, he didn't think they would taste good but if Draco was trying them, he could also try, right?
"Brilliant. We will go towards Hogsmead. There are the most insects around the street lighting. Ready?" Without waiting for a reply from Harry, Draco changed into his bat form and hopped onto the windowsill.
Harry followed him and soon they were flying through the darkness towards the village, near the castle. The feeling of foreboding grew, but Harry ignored it in hope of having fun with his friend. It was too late to go back; he couldn't talk with Draco like he could with his dad. He really hoped that his dad would not find out.
They quickly reached Hogsmead and Draco, having done this before and excited to show Harry, headed for where he knew the brightest street light where he could sense lots of insects were circling.
As his bat instincts took over, Harry was trying to catch a big moth he had spotted, which wasn't as easy as he first had thought it would be. He soon managed to work out the way to do it and the first moth got caught between his teeth. He flew over to a tree and landed. There he carefully tried his protein-containing prize.
Strangely, as a bat he felt no disgust about it, just curiosity. With two bites the moth was gone and Harry was in the air again. It was such a fun to hunt insects. If a bat could laugh, Harry would a hard time flying straight with all the laughing.
All too soon, it was time to fly back again. Draco flapped around Harry's head and then towards he castle. Harry understood and followed him. In the Owlery, they landed and changed back immediately.
"That was so, cool. We have to do this again!" Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.
Draco smiled and nodded his head. He would do it even every night if it meant he could spend more time with Harry. "Yeah. Just imagine Weasley's face when you tell him you had been insect hunting."
"Better not, he would think I've gone completely bonkers. Especially, when I tell him what a fun it is or how good they taste," Harry agreed with a laugh.
Laughing and joking, they left the Owlery. As their ways parted back at the castle, Harry said in an earnest voice. "Thank you Draco, I had a lot of fun today. I really hope we can do that again soon."
"I also had a lot of fun," Draco agreed.
Draco and Harry smiled at each other and for a short moment time seems to stop. Harry felt incredibly glad to have found such a special friend. Ron was a good friend, too, but he felt that the relationship he had with Draco was more brotherly.
"Good night, Draco!" Harry finally said.
"Silver Hair," Draco corrected.
Harry looked confused, "What?"
"That's my name. Silver Hair."
"Oh. Okay, then good night, Silver Hair. I'm Meadow Moon."
Draco smiled warmly, "Good night, Meadow Moon." With these words, Draco turned around and stepped down the steps heading towards the Slytherin common room.
Harry followed him with his eyes, frowning to himself. What exactly had just happened? Was it something special, to tell someone your vampire name? Harry wondered. He would have to ask his dad.
"Harry!"
Great... Speak of the devil, Harry thought to himself and then turned around to look at his dad, who was approaching him from the side corridor "Yes?"
As Severus reached the boy he asked, "What are you doing still outside? Shouldn't you be in your common room? It's nearly curfew."
"Erm... yes, sorry. I was visiting Hedwig," Harry lied, astonished how natural it sounded. He would believe himself immediately, obviously Severus, too.
"I see. Why are you staring at the stairs?" Severus wondered.
"Oh. I met Draco on my way," Harry explained the half truth, then he decided to distract his father with a question, "Dad, can I ask you something?"
Severus titled his head, "What is it?"
"I wondered, if our special names have a deeper meaning," Harry asked.
At that, Severus arched an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Erm... well. Does it mean something if someone tells you his special name?"
Now the other eyebrow arched, too, "Who told you his name? Draco?" At Harry's nod Severus continued, "well, I believe that was his way to tell you, that he was interested to bond with you."
Harry's eyes went wide. "But isn't Draco in a bond with his father?"
"He is and if Draco is interested in someone else, he would have to ask his father first. My stance to you bonding with someone else, you know already."
"I also told him my name. Does he now think I want to bond with him?" Harry asked nervously. He wasn't ready for that.
"Don't worry, if Draco is really serious about it, he will ask you directly. Believe me, he is as unsure as you are about bonding to someone else. It's a big step to trust someone that much."
"Good," Harry said, visible relieved.
"And just you know," Severus started, "A bond doesn't automatically mean a sexual interest."
"What? Dad!" Harry yelled, scandalised and blushed in embarrassment. That hadn't even crossed his mind. "I'm thirteen!"
"I'm perfectly aware how old you are. However, sooner or later that will became an important point," Severus told his son with an amused look.
Harry blushed deeper, lowering his head in further embarrassment. This was not what he wanted to speak about to his Dad. Laughing, Severus put an arm around the boy and pulled him in an one-armed hug.
"Come on, Harry. Let's get you to your common room, or I'll be forced to dock points for missing curfew."
At that, the boy smiled up as his dad. He really loved those hugs.
Oxo
Since their flight to Hogsmead, Draco and Harry met twice or even trice a week in the evening. They raced the walls in unused classes, or raced each other in the air between the Forbidden Forest and the castle and of course they also went on insect hunting again.
Harry got to know the cool side of his vampire life and he really enjoyed it to the full. He felt much better and more carefree than ever. Ron and Hermione wondered about Harry's changes but didn't question it as Harry was so much more happy, though they were very curious where Harry was vanishing to every other night.
Oxo
"What are we going to do tonight?" Draco asked, with a big grin as Harry entered the unused classroom, their secret meeting point. He liked he evenings he spent with Harry a lot. Finally he had found someone who also doesn't stick to the rules all the time.
"How about dessert?" Harry suggested.
"You want to go to the kitchens?" Draco asked, somewhat disappointed.
"No, what I have in mind, I wont get in the kitchen," Harry said, giving Draco a meaningful look.
"Hmm... maybe we will be more successful in Hogsmead?" Draco asked and Harry nodded his head eagerly.
"Well, then... let's go. We are a bit late, but we could still manage if we don't stay too long."
The boys hurried to the Owlery and only a few minutes later, two bats were flying high speed towards the lights of the nearby town.
While Draco flew off to eat his prey, another bat joined them and Harry startled violently as he thought it could be Snape but then he berated himself. If it would be his father then he would already be scolding Harry for breaking the rules. Still, the boy-bat wondered who that could be. Was it a normal bat? Harry flew over to Draco and the other bat followed him.
Draco looked up questioningly as he noticed the other bat, too. Then he turned his head towards Harry who shrugged his shoulders. Harry looked towards the castle and then back at Draco and the other nodded. Together they flew up and back towards the castle. The other bat followed them a bit but then it turned and flew towards the Forbidden Forest.
As they landed in the Owlery again, they turned back and looked at each other. "Who do you think had that been?" Harry asked worried.
"I don't know. Most probably just a normal bat. I mean it most certainly wasn't Severus, was it?" Draco asked and Harry shook his head. He looked towards the Forbidden Forest, wondering worriedly if it could have been Sirius Black. Before Harry could think more about it further, he heard Draco swear.
"Shit. It's past curfew!"
"What?" Harry asked horrified.
"We need an excuse. A very good excuse. Any ideas?" Draco asked.
"Maybe nobody noticed that we are still out," Harry tired to reason.
"Severus knows immediately when one of his Slytherins miss curfew and there is a good possibility then he will also know it when you miss it." Draco explained, his head of house had a special spell on the door to the common room which was the bane of every Slytherin's existence.
"Damn. So he is most probably already searching for us," Harry concluded.
"We will tell him that we met and... and..."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes, that would work brilliantly."
Draco glared at the black-haired boy, "Well what would you tell him?"
Both boys went silent for a bit thinking of an excuse. Harry broke the silence first. Harry suggested, "What about the half-truth? We tell him that we went flying to train my ability but we tell him that we stayed near the castle."
Draco rubbed his chin in thoughts "When we tell him that you ate your first insect today and then we lost track of time because of that, maybe then we would get away with it."
Harry nodded in agreement and together they stepped down the steps from the Owlery. Soon their hopes of getting to the dormitory unseen were squashed, as Severus stood at the end of the stairs with crossed arms and an very stern look.
Both boys gulped nervously.
"And what exactly are the two of you doing still outside your common room?" he asked in a low and controlled voice.
"Oh erm... we lost track of time. We just realised how late it had become," Draco said with a forced smile but Severus dark eyes snapped at him and he gulped nervously.
"And what has happened that caused two children, that knew exactly how important it is to be back at the common room after curfew, to simply forget the time?"
"We... erm..." Draco started but trailed off at Severus angry look.
"Don't insult my intelligence by lying. I know you two have been flying," the man hissed.
"We have been very careful," Harry tried to calm the situation a bit. "Draco told me about insect hunting and I got curious. We have been..."
"...at Hagrid's hut." Draco finished the sentence.
Severus' glare only intensify and Harry got the bad feeling that his father wasn't believing them.
"I wanted to tell Harry, that we need to head back, but I wasn't able to say so, as we cannot communicate as bats," Draco went on.
Severus sighed and then asked Harry, "Do you have anything to add to this... story of yours?"
Harry shook his head and the bad feeling grew in his chest.
"It was Harry's first insect hunt, it's understandable that we lost track of time," Draco still tried to reason with his godfather.
Harry bit his lip and lowered his head and then he realised that the noises of the Owlery could be still heard even down the steps, at least by a vampire and then he looked up with a horrified expression, "How... how long have you been waiting here?"
Severus gave Harry a long look before he answered, "Long enough."
Harry winced and was about to apology and tell the truth but Severus pulled up a hand, "No, Harry. You had your chance. Follow me, boys!"
Hanging his head in shame, Harry followed his father. Bad enough that they had been flying, they shouldn't have lied to the man, too.
"He isn't believing us, is he?" Draco whispered and Harry shook his head.
"Has he been in your head?" the blond wanted to know next.
"No. Worse. He heard us while we put our excuse together," Harry answered back.
"Shit, we are in big trouble then," Draco realised.
Oxo
As they reached Severus' quarters he told Draco to find a corner in the kitchen and ordered Harry to do the same in the study.
With a pounding heart, Harry entered the study. Corner? Severus expect him to stand in the corner? Ashamed, he looked around and then walked over to the only corner that was free to stand in. As Severus entered a few minutes later, Harry was about to turn around but Severus stopped him and told him not to look around until he says otherwise.
"I'm s-" Harry wanted to apologise, but Severus cut him off.
"No, Harry."
"But I'm really sorry," Harry insisted.
"Rest assured you will be," Severus answered.
Harry turned around with a pleading look but as he saw the waiting chair in the middle of the room his eyes widen and he gulped.
"Have I told you to turn around yet?" Severus snapped.
"I'm sorry. Please don't..." Harry started to plea. "I will scrub cauldrons, I will write lines but please don't..."
"So, you think you don't earned yourself a spanking?" Severus asked enraged.
Harry lowered his head. Well, he did, didn't he?
"Look at me!" Severus demanded.
Slowly, the boy look up again and as his eyes met Severus' the man asked, "Tell me, what have you two be doing today?"
"We were flying," Harry answered.
"Where?"
"H... Hogsmead."
"And are you allowed to go flying without me knowing?"
"No," Harry hung his head again ashamed, but Severus ordered him to look up once more.
As soon as the boy complied he went on, "Even if you are allowed to go flying, are you allowed to fly to Hogsmead?"
"No."
"And as I caught you, did you tell me the truth?"
Harry closed his eyes in shame and whispered once more, "No."
"Why, Harry? Why did you do such a stupid thing? I know Draco don't take the rules seriously but from you, I have expected more. Why didn't you tell me, that you wanted to go flying?"
"I thought you wouldn't allow us," Harry admitted.
"Why did you think that?"
Taking a shaken breath, the boy lowered his head again and shrug his shoulder but two fingers under his chin forced Harry's head up again. "Don't give me that. Tell me, why did you think I wouldn't agree."
"We have been careful," Harry said.
"Who are you trying to fool? You know there is a murderer out there. Someone who may want to harm you. If something would have happened out there, I wouldn't have known. I wouldn't have been able to help you. Does your life mean nothing to you?"
Tears started to pool in Harry's eyes. "I forgot. I just wanted to be a good friend to Draco. We sometimes met in the evening to have some fun together. I forgot about Black."
"Having fun together... what is that supposed to mean? What exactly have you two been doing?"
"We crawled up the walls of unused classrooms, or race each other," Harry blinked the tears away that threaten to fall.
Severus looked at Harry and knew that wasn't all they did. "You have been flying, too, haven't you?"
Harry starred at Severus fearfully, but he was unable to answer.
"How often?" Severus asked in a hurt tone of voice.
Seeing the hurt and disappointed look, Harry couldn't help but start crying. "I'm so sorry."
"How often, Harry?" Severus snapped enraged.
Startled at the sudden outburst Harry stuttered, "Ei... eight... times."
At this Severus swirled around and turned away.
Harry felt awful. His chest started to hurt, his heart ached. He had disappointed his father, he had hurt him. He never intended to do that but now it was too late. Why had he lost focus? Why did he listen to Draco? "I'm sorry." Harry whispered once again.
Severus snorted "You are sorry," he repeated in disbelief. "You broke my trust and think a simple I'm sorry would be enough?"
Slowly, Severus turned back towards the boy and Harry winced. He wished he could do something, anything, to it make up to Severus again. He was more important than Draco. He was his bonding partner and it hurt to see the disappointment.
"You are grounded," Severus went on, "for three weeks. One week you will sleep here and are just allowed out for meals or classes. The other two weeks you will stay in you common room during your free time. No flying, no secret meetings, nothing but learning, writing extra essays and coming to detention, which you will have every evening during these three weeks."
Harry nodded, "Yes, sir."
Taking a deep sigh, Severus finally sat down on the chair and beckoned Harry to come over.
Harry started to tremble but he forced his feet to obey him.
"Do not look at me like that. I'm sure you knew what will happen the moment you get caught, didn't you?"
The boy gulped but nodded. He had known. He even pointed it out to Draco but the blond-haired boy waved Harry's concern away and somehow Harry had decided that it was worth the risk. Now though, Harry knew better, it hasn't been worth anything. It was to late, though, the damage was done.
***start of corporal punishment (scroll down, if you don't want to read it)
Finally Harry stood in front of his father.
"I hope next time you make better decisions." With these words Severus pulled the boy over his lap.
Harry was breathing heavily but then he gasped and tried to reach back, as he felt hands pulling down his trousers. Severus pinned Harry's free hand to the boy's back and then continued to bare the bottom before him.
The tears started to fall again. It was the first time Severus gave him a bare bottom spanking and Harry felt so ashamed. He really had messed up.
"Ow," Harry yelped in surprise at the first smack. He couldn't believe how much worst it was without any layer of protection. Harry didn't last long. Soon he was sobbing and apologising but Severus wasn't finished with him. Smack after smack came down and Harry yelped each time.
Finally, the smacks stopped but Severus still didn't let Harry up. He waited until Harry's sobs died down a bit, then he asked:
"Tell me again, how often you went flying without permission."
Harry frowned in bewilderment but answered truthfully. "Eight times, Sir!"
Silence followed for a while, then Severus whispered "Accio ruler!"
"No, Dad. Please don't. Not the ruler, please."
"Eight times, Harry, damn it!" the man swore disappointed, "Eight times you went knowingly against the rules I set in place for your safety. I know you are sorry but I need to make sure you don't do that again. I don't want to lose you."
And with that Severus steeled his heart for what he had to do and brought the ruler down on the already red bottom.
Harry couldn't believe the amount of pain just a single stroke with the ruler caused. How could he survive eight?
When the last stroke came, Harry was a crying and sobbing mess. He was sure he will never be able to sit down. He barely felt the hand rubbing his back trying to calm him down. Harry wasn't ready to calm down. His bottom was a burning inferno and his heart was bleeding because he was sure Severus would never forgive him.
Finally, Severus pulled the boy up and cradled him in his lap, looking to it that nothing touched the punished skin.
*** end of the corporal punishment
"Calm down, Harry. It's over. You are forgiven."
"How can you forgive me? I broke your trust," Harry asked between his heartbroken sobs.
"Yes, and you have enough time in the following days to rebuild this trust again. You are a child and children do make mistakes, but hopefully they learn from their mistakes. You are important to me, more than you realise obviously. Please, never do anything like that again."
"I won't," Harry sniffed. "I don't like it, disappointing you. You do so much for me. I don't know what I was thinking. I was so stupid. You are important to me, too. I never wanted to hurt you."
"I know," Severus said, kissing the top of Harry's head.
This simple gesture caused Harry's tears to fall again. "I love you, Dad!" he whispered in a choked voice.
Severus tightened his arms around the boy while he took a deep breath. "I love you, too Meadow Moon," he whispered back.
They sat in silence for a while but as Harry started to yawn Severus decided that it was time to put Harry to bed.
"Do you want to walk to you room, or shall I carry you?" Severus asked.
"Walking would be awkward, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, most probably."
Harry grimaced. He would have to pull up his trousers if he would walk on his own and that would rub at his smarting behind. "Would you carry me?" Harry asked in a small voice.
Severus smiled and then pulled out his wand. He transformed Harry's clothes into pyjamas and to Harry's relief the pyjama bottoms were already pulled up.
Then Severus cast a feather weight charm on Harry and stood, caring the boy bride-styled to his room. Harry got a glimpse of blond hair as they passed the living room but the person was too tall to be Draco. Was it Draco's father? Harry wondered, but then he thought he didn't care. He was far too tired to think what that would mean.
He snuggled against Severus' chest and closed his eyes. He was asleep even before they reached Harry's bed.
Carefully Severus laid the child down and pulled Harry's blanket up to the boy's chin. Sighing deeply, he watched Harry sleeping. He was shocked to realise how much Harry meant to him.
"Why do you always have to act without thinking?" he asked the sleeping child. "I would never be able to forgive myself should anything happen to you. I can not bear loosing you, you stupid child. And I hate it, to spank you. I really, really hate it. Do not force me to do it again!"
Harry didn't wake up through Severus rant and finally the man gave a last stroke through Harry's hair and wished him a good night. Then he went to join Lucius in the living room.
With a tired sigh, he let himself fall down onto the sofa opposite of the blond-haired man.
"I really do not envy you; dealing with these mischief-makers on a daily basis," Lucius said with a half smile.
"Normally, I don't have to deal with this amount of mischief. But since Draco is in cahoots with Harry, both of them got out of control. I just wonder why I didn't noticed anything earlier. They have been meeting each other for a while. What's wrong with me?" Severus shook his head in exhaustion.
Lucius studied Severus' unusual behaviour and then stated, "You look tired my friend."
Severus snorted, "I am tired. For days now and it isn't getting any better. I was so worried as I noticed Draco and Harry missing curfew. I mean, Harry is still so inexperienced and with Black on the lose..." the black-haired man sighed deeply.
"The boy means a lot to you, doesn't he?"
This time, Severus smiled weakly, "Yes. He had wormed his way into my heart so fast, it's almost scary. I guess, it's due to the blood bond."
Lucius frowned at that, "You realise that you need his blood, don't you?"
Heaving a deep sigh, Severus looked at his friend with a pained expression. "I know but he isn't ready for that."
At this the blond-haired man shook his head, "This tiredness you feel will not go away as long as you don't complete the bond. Who knows what else will happen. An incomplete bond can have unexpected side effects. I'm quite sure Harry will feel these effects too, sooner or later."
"What I am supposed to do? He is afraid of being bitten. I don't want to traumatise him."
Lucius looked sharply at Severus. "The fear will not go away on his own. You need to show him that there is nothing to be afraid of," he scold softly.
Severus grimaced at that. "Easier said as done."
"You have gone so long without a partner already," Lucius pointed out, "you really need to have a blood partner. If you are afraid to bond with the boy, then you may consider a bond with me. I already told you that, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. And I'm touched at your offer but... I don't know..."
Lucius frowned to himself, but then he hid his frustration about the rejection and answered nonchalantly, "Well, you don't know what you're missing out on."
This time, Severus' corners of his mouth jerked upwards. He knew Lucius would really like to bond with him and maybe he will do it one day, but right now it didn't felt right. "I thank you a lot for being such a good friend."
These words pushed Lucius ego again. "No problem at all. If that was all, I will be on my way again. I take it the boys will spend their spare time with you the next few days?"
"Indeed. I will make sure they know what danger they have been in."
"If they get out of control again, just call me. Draco should really know by now, that he cannot get away with any mischief," Lucius said, shaking his head at his son's tendency to test his boundaries to the limits.
Lucius was already in-front of the fire place as he turned around and asked, "Do you think Harry would want to bond with Draco?"
"I'm not sure. As Harry gave Draco his Vampire's Name, he was concerned that he may have agreed to something that he didn't want to. That was a good two weeks ago but obviously I'm not up to date. It's hard to tell what happened between them in these weeks," Severus admitted.
"Well, that will chance within the next day's. Please inform me, if you know something, will you?"
Severus nodded, "Of course, Platinum Snake."
Lucius arched an eyebrow at that. Severus didn't call him by his vampire name very often. Obviously, his friend felt guilty for turning down Lucius' offer once again. Although the blond-haired man had no idea why Severus refused him again and again, he still considered him a good friend.
"It's okay, Night Eye. I guess, you have your reasons. Good Night, my friend."
Severus smiled tiredly. "Good Night."
As soon as Lucius vanished through the green flames, Severus slowly sat down again, with a sigh. He wondered to himself, why he didn't just bond with Lucius who had offered it countless times, but the idea of bonding to him just didn't feel right. He cannot explain why nor can explain why it had felt right to let Harry bite him.