The Bonds That Tie
Harry had spent the night making sure everything was packed up for the return to Hogwarts for what would be his sixth year. One more to go and he was done; he didn't know why he was bothering to finish when he was now a vampire and could effectively do magic and an array of other abilities. Perhaps it was the mindset that being a vampire didn't change him and he wanted to accomplish something as graduating school. The next morning came quickly, not that Harry slept at all and now he was at King's Cross station with his adoptive family as they'd already crossed the barrier onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The platform for the Hogwarts Express was bustling with students getting checked in and leaving their things to be loaded.
"Alright now, time for you two boys to get on and find a compartment to sit in." Lucius informed.
"Yes, Father," Draco nodded as he gave his mother a hug and then shook his father's hand.
"Yes, sir," Harry replied to Lucius while Narcissa gave him a light hug, and he also shook Lucius's hand.
"Be on your best behaviors and we'll see you for Christmas!" Narcissa smiled.
"We will," Harry and Draco responded before they pulled themselves up onto the train and began making their way through.
"Do you want to go sit with your friends?" Draco asked his adoptive brother.
"No, I think they've made it pretty clear that we're no longer friends. Ginny has probably convinced herself that we'd be okay as a couple, she's always wanted to be with me; I saw the crush way back in second year. Ron has definitely made it clear that I'm not the person he thought I was and Hermione…Well, she just didn't say anything at all really. I'm probably just going to find a dark compartment to seal myself off in." Harry told him.
"Nonsense, Harry," Draco shook his head. "You can come sit with me and my friends in the Slytherin car."
"There's a set car for the houses?" Harry asked.
"No, but it's always the one we claim and no one ever wants to sit with us, so we've dubbed it ours since back in first year. Come on, you'll sit with me." Draco stated.
"As long as your friends don't mind." Harry agreed.
"Not at all and I won't tell them about your…Well, you know." Draco informed.
"You can. I'm sure they'll want to know how we suddenly ended up so close after the last five years of rivalry." Harry remarked. "By the time we get to Hogwarts, I bet everyone will know because Ron's gonna open his big mouth as to why I'm not sitting with him and Hermione."
"No one in Slytherin is gonna give you a hard time over it. Hell, they'll think it's cool." Draco assured. "And during meals, why don't you ignore the lions and come sit with us too? There's no rules against the houses mingling with each other, it's just not usually done because everyone thinks they have to stay with their own. But I've asked Sev and he says there are no regulations against a member from another house sitting with another house as long as they're welcome there." He explained.
"At this point, I should probably just be in Slytherin…" Harry shrugged with a half-smile.
"You definitely possess the traits we represent," Draco complimented. "Ambition, Self-Preservation, Cunning…" He named a few.
"I guess. But Dumbledore is already hacked off that I'm a vampire and refusing to fall in line with his…Wants? Demands? Control? Not sure what to consider it anymore." Harry stated.
"I'd have gone with control." Draco chuckled.
While they walked the length of the train, they eventually passed the compartment where Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were. With them was Neville, and Luna too. The looks of uncertainty he got only made him more annoyed. What was the big deal?! He was still Harry, just…A vampire. Draco saw the look in Harry's eyes as he smiled and took Harry's hand.
"Come on, ignore it…" Draco pulled his brother along. "You don't need fake people in your life who claim they're your friends but abandon you over something that you didn't have a choice in."
Eventually, Harry walked through the door to where all the Slytherins were and of course, it went quiet but it didn't deter Draco from pulling Harry into the seat with him.
"Um…Draco? Why is Potter here?" A boy asked.
"Because he's my brother," Draco remarked. "My family blood adopted him last month. He's Harry Potter-Malfoy now." He informed. "Harry, these two here are Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. Across the center aisle here are Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson." Draco introduced Harry to them.
"Are the rumors true?" Pansy asked. "They've been circulating the train that Potter is a vampire…?" Draco looked at Harry as he just nodded that Draco could tell them.
"They're true." Draco informed.
"Woah…" Vincent said.
"Cool…" Gregory chuckled.
"Do you like it?" Blaise asked. "Being a vampire?"
"It's not so bad. Never thought I'd like not sleeping, the sun is kind of annoying…" Harry replied.
"And your thirst isn't crazy? Like how long have you been one?" Pansy wondered.
"Little over a year, and no…It's not bad anymore." Harry answered.
"Yeah, thanks to who helping you and being your personal blood bank." Draco lightly shoved Harry.
"Yeah, yeah," Harry waved it off as no big deal.
"You're such a prat!" Draco rolled his eyes. "See if I help you anymore."
"You know I could make you just stand there and get bitten, right?" Harry smirked.
"Y-You wouldn't, though…Right? You love me, we're family now." Draco protested.
"I love your blood." Harry grinned. Draco pouted. "Oh, stop it. You know I love you, brother." He teased. "I'd never make you feed me. You enjoy it too much to stop being my donor."
"You…Feed off of Draco?" Theodore blinked.
"I didn't ask him to do it; he offered." Harry informed.
"I found him over Easter holiday last year, hiding out in a hidden room of the castle. I realized he was a vampire and needed blood, so I offered mine before he went off in a feeding frenzy." Draco explained. "Since then, I've let him feed off me a couple times a week during the end of fifth year and then over the summer, once a week. He's not really a newborn vampire anymore, so the thirst isn't crazy like it was." He paused. "You also need to stop waiting so damn long in between. I've told you, when you need it…Find me. I'm sure it's not hard with that heightened sense of smell of yours." Draco folded his arms over one another.
"Hey, it's not always my fault." Harry argued.
"Regardless…Now that my friends know, it won't look so weird when I randomly disappear for an hour or so. I know you all were wondering why I vanished three times a week last year." Draco stated.
"You were feeding him?" Pansy questioned.
"What does it feel like? Harry said you liked it." Blaise inquired.
"Not gonna lie, it's pretty enjoyable. Pleasurable, arousing…" Draco admitted.
"So it doesn't hurt?" Theodore asked.
"There's a pinch when his fangs pierce skin, but it fades afterward. I think it's the venom he injects," Draco replied.
"Wouldn't that change you into a vampire yourself?" Gregory arched a brow in confusion.
"No, I can bite him and feed without changing him. There's other requirements in changing someone, and I promised Draco I'd never drain or turn him." Harry reassured.
"Would you ever change him if he asked?" Vincent wondered.
"No." Harry shook his head. "I wouldn't want this on anyone. Yeah, it's easy to live once you get the hang of it…But figure how much you have to change and sacrifice, the way people look at you. The friends I've had since first year abandoned me over it, look at me like I'm a monster even though I haven't changed who I am. I don't even look different, maybe paler and I have fangs. I'm still me." He stated. "Regardless, I didn't choose this. I didn't have a choice. I wouldn't do it to anyone else."
"Didn't you tell me back in June that the person who changed you made some kind of remark about let's see you survive?" Draco asked. "It sounds like you were targeted. The guy knew your name, Harry,"
"It did seem rather personal." Harry agreed.
"What happened?" Pansy asked. "If you don't mind sharing? We understand if you don't, but if you're Draco's…Brother now, I assume we're gonna see a lot more of you and I think we should get to know you better."
Harry eyed her a moment, then turned his head to look out the window as the passing scenery and sighed. "It was last year, the day after I turned fifteen…" Harry began. "I'd been wandering Surrey in Little Whinging while my muggle relatives had some dinner party. It started to rain so I took cover in a tunnel. The next thing I remember was someone grabbing my hair and jerking my neck to the side. I tried to struggle when they said that it would be interesting to see how the famous Harry Potter survives being a creature of darkness, and then he bit down. It was searing pain, like everything from the bite circulated and felt as if it was on fire." He explained. Draco paid attention, he didn't get this more detailed story last time. "I really only remember getting weaker to the point I couldn't stand. I couldn't reach my wand as it had been knocked away from me. I thought I was going to die, I could hear my heartbeat slowing down in my ears. I couldn't see anything."
"It sounds awful…" Blaise admitted.
"And painful." Theodore added.
"It was. It's why I'd never wish it on anyone else…" Harry informed. "I realize now that everything I felt was actually me dying slowly from being drained, but then the vampire let me go. I hit the ground hard and everything was going dark. I only remember a wrist going in front of me and I smelled blood; it was mouth-watering. Like it being really hot outside and needing water to quench your thirst. That's how it felt while you're literally dying. Dry mouth, on fire…In that state, anything looks good. It was like instinct, it was about then I felt my fangs form and the blood hitting my mouth and throat was cooling everything off that I'd felt before. I was still weak, but the guy stepped back from me and only told me that if I wanted to survive the transformation, I'd need to feed on human blood. Then he left, it took almost an hour for me to get the strength to stand up and I went back to my muggle relatives house. I realized right away I didn't have a shadow and I didn't appear in a mirror, reflection-wise. Going over everything, I just figured out that I'd been turned into a vampire." Harry stated.
"You obviously had to drink human blood, or you wouldn't have survived the transformation?" Vincent said.
"I didn't want to die, rather…Permanently die, so yes…I lasted about twenty-three hours before giving in and finding some human to feed from. It was on my way back to the Dursley house when the person who turned me appeared to see if I'd lived. The only things he told me were that our kind needed human blood, animal would only work for a few hours in a tight spot also that the sun wouldn't kill us, but it could irritate eyes and skin. It could actually do damage if I'm in it too long." Harry stated.
"We'll help you all we can, Harry," Draco promised. "But I haven't changed my mind about what I said, it sounds personal that this guy knew who you were in the muggle world."
"Yeah, I have to agree with Draco. He knew your name and had every intention of turning you into a vampire and knew you'd give into feeding to survive or he wouldn't have come back after the twenty-four mark. If it had been me, I'd have been watching my creation closely." Pansy remarked.
"I knew he couldn't be far, I felt like I was being watched." Harry muttered.
"So…it's weird for hearing the whole story. You were bitten on the neck and it caused searing pain, but when you bite my wrist; I only feel your fangs pierce for a second and it fades. Why is that?" Draco asked.
"I think there's a difference between being bitten willingly and not, also…It may have something to do with the fact I'm not aiming to turn you, nor do I drain you, Draco." Harry mentioned. "I think there's a kind of paralytic or aphrodisiac released when I feed from a willing participant, making it so they don't feel any pain. You've said it's enjoyable and arousing when I feed from you." He shrugged. "I don't know how it works. It's not like I can ask the guy who changed me."
"Too bad we don't know who he is." Gregory shrugged.
"I'll figure it out on my own." Harry said. "Draco's helped a lot too." He added.
"We'll help too." Blaise said calmly.
"It should be easier when we get to the school." Draco stated. "Harry won't be in Gryffindor Tower, but in the dungeons with us."
"Well, not as a Slytherin. Snape has talked with McGonagall about letting me live in the dungeons," Harry mentioned. "The tower is too bright."
"Probably a wise choice, there's isn't too many rooms down there to be used for you, though. There's our common room entrance…Snape's office, his personal storeroom, his room, and the potions classroom. The rest is probably storage closets." Theodore mentioned.
"I'm sure they'll work it out by the time we arrive." Draco told Harry. "I wonder if Snape would let us give you the password to the common room. You're basically a Slytherin and not even Professor Snape can deny that anymore." He chuckled.
"It's pure-blood." Harry rolled his eyes.
"What is?" Pansy asked.
"Password to Slytherin Common room. The entrance is behind a bare stretch of stone wall." Harry informed.
The group blinked a few times.
"How did you know that?" Draco questioned.
"You brought me and Ron there in second year," Harry chuckled. Draco's eyes widened. "We were using Polyjuice potion to appear as Crabbe and Goyle. Remember, you asked why Goyle was wearing glasses; I told you they were for reading and you said you didn't know he could read." Their mouths hung open.
"That was you and Weasley?!" Draco gasped in shock.
"We were trying to figure out who the heir of Slytherin was, the best place to do that was in the snake pit, as it's commonly referred to as by literally everyone but Slytherin students." Harry said.
"Well, damn," Gregory laughed.
"You guys never change that password…Do you?" Harry asked.
"No one is dumb or brave enough to try and sneak into our common room. It's in the dungeon, basically under the Black Lake. The lions, badgers, and ravens would all be too scared if they saw the giant squid swim by, plus the eerie green lights." Blaise chuckled.
"I kind'a like it." Harry admitted. "Like, dungeon is perfect for a vampire but even before then…I dig the green and silver appeal." He revealed.
"It's a shame you aren't in Slytherin, Harry," Pansy smiled.
"Yeah, shouldn't have fought the magic hat." Harry mumbled. "That's where it wanted me."
"Hey, you're basically one of us…We don't need the hat to make it official." Draco put a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Dray…" Harry smiled.
"I can see your fangs!" Pansy giggled. "Slightly." She added.
"Did my glamour drop?" Harry looked at Draco.
"I think it drops on its own when you're around people who you're either trying to scare or accepted by." Draco shrugged.
"Can we see it fully? What you look like without the glamour?" Pansy wondered.
Harry shrugged and waved his hand down over his face as the glamour disappeared. Harry pulled his glasses off and opened his eyes, revealing the silvery-green color. Harry's hair was done nicely and he wore a black pair of pants and black suit jacket; he had on a dark green shirt and silver tie. More revealed on his hand were his lordship rings. Giving a small toothy grin, his fangs showed.
"Wow…" Pansy inspected closer. "Never thought I'd say this, but you're really hot, Harry…"
"Pansy, please…He's my brother," Draco shuddered.
"Oh, calm down, Draco. That makes it better; you're his brother so you can't snatch him up." Pansy said.
"Merlin's beard!" Draco gasped.
"It's alright, Dray," Harry reminded. "I'm afraid you can't have me either, Miss. Parkinson…"
"Don't tell me you're already taken!?" Pansy asked.
"No, no." Harry shook his head. "I'm gay, darling."
"But you're so perfect!" Pansy flopped back, pouting.
"That means I have a chance," Blaise chuckled.
"Dear God…" Draco sighed.
"Aw, come on, Dray…It's alright. You'll still always be number one to me," Harry promised.
"I will?" Draco inquired.
"You were there for me after figuring out what I was. You had every right to run, tell everyone…But instead of abandoning me there to deal with my near blood-raging state, you willingly offered your blood to keep me both calm and alive," Harry said. "You were there for me after Sirius died, and trusted me with the location of your house so I could come anytime to feed. You became my best and only friend, and now, my brother. No matter who is in my life from now on; you'll always be number one and I'd do anything to keep you safe. Yes, I would kill for you."
"I didn't think I meant that much to you." Draco admitted.
"Dray, you are literally my family. I haven't had that in a long time. Yes, I have Remus and Sirius, in memory, at least…But you and your family took me in, adopted me…You made me family. I'm forever in your debt, Draco." Harry assured.
"You don't owe me anything, Harry…We're family, that's what we do for one another." Draco said. "But if you wanna do something for me, keep that damn glamour off. You don't need it. Everyone knows you're a vampire and ignore those who don't accept you. You've seen here," He motioned around to the other Slytherins. "You're accepted among us. Unofficial welcoming to the dark house of Hogwarts," He chuckled. "Stop hiding."
"Fine…" Harry agreed. "Dumbledore isn't going to like me drawing attention to it."
"Don't you worry about Dumbledore," Draco chuckled, putting an arm over his shoulders.
"Why is that?" Harry inquired.
"Our father will hear about it," Draco nodded.
Harry had to laugh. It was a play on Draco's infamous my father will hear about this words. The fact Draco used our father made Harry happy, a true testament to the fact Harry was adopted by the Malfoy's and part of the family.
"Thanks. I needed that." Harry told him.
"Hey, I'm here for you." Draco vowed.
"And I for you." Harry nodded.
"And speaking of being here for you…You should eat before we get to school." Draco suggested. "You know it'll be busy between unloading, the feast, and then getting you to your new space in the dungeons."
"Are you offering?" Harry questioned.
"Do I need to make it more obvious?" Draco drawled, raising his right arm up and pulling the sleeve back to reveal his bare wrist. "Even if it's just a snack feeding. You don't do well under stress, Harry."
"Fair point." Harry agreed as he held Draco's wrist and looked at him again.
Draco nodded for him to go ahead and Harry bit down, Draco only winced for a second; then relaxed. Harry's green eyes shifted to red before he closed them and went on feeding. The friends didn't seem at all bothered by what they'd seen and it only proved more to Harry that they really didn't care who or what he was. It was still hours until they got to Hogwarts; it was a good idea Draco had for Harry to feed a little now. Harry was honestly looking forward to this year, it was off to a fantastic start.