Chapter 3

Notes:

TW: Graphic depiction of violence, blood, (failed) attempt at sexual assault.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Harry stepped into the dark hallway, listening to the rain mixing with the murmurings of people from the cells on either side of the floor, and the sounds of rats running around. It'd been only five days, yet it felt like an eternity without Draco, and Harry had never felt so lost. The Aurors hadn't been able to locate the other five Death Eaters, they were well in hiding, and that was why they had resulted to doing this.

"Ready?" Ron asked, standing next to him and Harry nodded. Ron gestured with his hand at the guard, and the man unlocked the door with his wand. They both entered the room, seeing a figure sitting on the bed, looking out at the gloomy sky outside the barred window.

"Must be desperate of you to find me," the woman spoke up, turning to look at them with a crooked, vicious smile. "Aurors asking Death Eaters for help? What a step down for you fools."

Ron stepped forward and blocked Harry with his arm before he jumped at the woman. "Carrow," Ron said carefully, his voice sturdy as he faced the Death Eater. "Do you have any information on your brother?"

"Right to the point, are we?" Alecto Carrow laughed, her tone high and screechy. She was dressed in grey clothes, her hair long and already sprinkled with white strands on her head. "Well, let's see. I haven't seen my brother dearest for seven years. Why would you idiotic Aurors even assume that I have a bloody clue where he is?" the Beta spatted, her gold teeth showing behind her chapped lips. "I have better expectations for you imbeciles; however, I am certainly having second thoughts about your intellect."

Ron sucked in a sharp breath and exhaled, turning to the door, not forgetting to drag Harry out of the cell. They stopped at another door and the guard unlocked it again. When they stepped into the room, it reeked of the stench from dead rats. Rabastan Lestrange was standing in the middle of the room, with his back turned to them.

"Words fly fast, do you know that, Auror Potter?" the Alpha said, turning around with ease and facing them finally. Harry looked at the thin man in torn clothes before him, anger already building inside his chest, threatening to explode. "I heard your precious little Omega finally got kidnapped. Such a shame, whoever it was that took him, should have killed him right away."

"Watch your mouth, Lestrange," Harry growled, his nostrils flaring, and his body was ready to attack.

"Do you know where your brother, Rudolphus is?" Ron asked, still standing next to Harry to calm him down.

Rabastan let out a malicious cackle, stepping forward with his chained hands behind his back, its loud rattle crashed against the ground. "I, unfortunately, do not hold that information. Even if I do, I don't see why I would ever share it with you halfwits," he said, his mouth curving up to form a cruel smirk. Harry's jaws clenched, his patience was thinner than air.

"I suggest you find a new mate, Potter. After all, Omegas are just lowlife sluts, nothing but holes for Alphas like you to use. Yours deserve to die all those years ago in the war already, being the weakling he is. Your whore is better off dea-…"

Harry didn't anticipate it, but his instinct had acted first. His first blow landed on Rabastan's throat, making the Beta stagger back, gagging as Harry's next blow hit his jaws, knocking him down on the floor. Harry's anger boiled inside him, his chest thrummed, prickling on his skin as he took the chance and tackled Rabastan flat on the ground. Every time his fist connected to the Beta's face, more blood splattered out of his nose and mouth.

"Harry-…"

"Stay away!" Harry roared, his voice blaring at Ron, who was attempting to stop him and stepping back instantly.

"It's a shame though," the Alpha underneath Harry rasped, his mouth trickling with blood, the smirk still stretched across his lips, "I would have wished to have a taste of your Omega, he seems delici-…"

He struck more hits at Rabastan's face, stopping him from spitting out more words. There was no ounce of compassion in Harry. There was none left for the scum. The Beta was clawing on his arms, gasping for air and thrashing underneath him. His mind was growling inside, commanding him to do everything to protect his mate. His heart throbbed in his chest, the bond was tugging at him, telling him that Draco was in danger. And he turned more aggressive by the seconds.

Blow after blow, Harry didn't stop until all he saw was red. Rabastan had gone limped under him. He was no longer moving, his chained hands had stopped clutching on Harry's robes, and the smirk had disappeared on his lips, his face now covered with blood and nothing but blood.

Harry heaved, standing up and glancing at the lifeless body next to his feet. He'd wanted to feel guilty, even just a little bit, but he felt nothing. He met Ron's eyes, his best friend was looking at him, not with fear, but worries.

"I didn't kill him," he said, clarifying as he gestured at the body. Rabastan's finger twitched, and Ron let out a sigh of relief. Harry walked past him and left the cell, cleaning the fresh red blood off his hands.

"Harry, hold up," Ron said, rushing after him until he matched his pace. "Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

"About how that Death Eater was insulting my mate?" Harry asked, huffing out a dry laugh, "Yeah, let's talk about that."

"I know that, but you could have killed him."

"I didn't, isn't that the point?" Harry said, and Ron was quiet after that, finding no argument to his reason. The silence remained until they were out of Azkaban.

"Honestly, if you hadn't done it, I would have, too," Ron said, and Harry chuckled, genuinely as his best friend cast a spell above them to block the rain away again. "That scumbag was talking shit." Ron laughed, smacking Harry's back and he continued, "but…er, you should know, Harry."

"What?"

"Your eyes," Ron said, looking at him with his brows furrowed, "when you did it, it was glowing red, like…very red. It was practically shining in the dark."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Ron. It couldn't be. "My eyes have never glowed before."

"I know that," Ron said, nodding as he hummed. "I think, maybe, it could be the effect of the bond, your need to protect Draco."

Harry blinked, absorbing every word Ron was telling him. When that happened, Harry wasn't in control of his actions, and all he could imagine was Draco suffering somewhere, and he wasn't rescuing him. Harry's stomach coiled with a sudden pang of pain, and he placed his hand over it. It felt like their bond was trying to tell him something about Draco just now. It was frustrating for him not knowing what it was.

"Go home, Harry," Ron said, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. "Go home, I'll take care of the rest today."

"But-…"

"No, I'll call Neville, Penelope if I need to, just go, take a rest," Ron said, holding his hand up in the air before Harry could say something. "I know what you're going to say, but I'll do it. You know what? Go visit Jamie, he misses you. You should spend some time with him."

"Okay," Harry said after a while and Ron flashed him a smile. "Thank you, Ron."

"Don't worry about it, we're family," the Omega said, waving his hand and nudging Harry away. "Go, tell Jamie his godfather said hi."

Harry smiled, nodding his head and Apparating away. He landed in front of the Malfoy Manor, Harry took a deep breath and before he could knock on it, it was opened.

"Daddy!" Jamie squealed, jumping up into Harry's arm as he embraced his son tightly. "I miss you and papa," he said, and Harry smiled at him, pressing a kiss on top of his head. His son giggled and ruffled Harry's hair, pushing his cheeks together as he formed a slight frown. "When is papa coming back, daddy?"

Harry looked at Jamie and his heart clenched, he wasn't sure what to tell him, he didn't know it himself. "Jamie…"

"Jamie, I made cookies," Narcissa said from behind, and quickly enough, Jamie wiggled out of Harry's hug, jumping back on his feet and rushing to his grandmother, who was standing with a tray of chocolate cookies in her hands near the living room.

"Thank you, Grammy!" Jamie said, munching on the cookie with a smile on his face.

"It's almost your bedtime, Jamie, are you still having snacks?" Harry asked, his eyebrow lifted with a grin. Jamie pouted, stepping closer to Narcissa and hiding behind the Alpha.

"It's fine, he can eat it," Lucius said, emerging from the living room. "Only three though."

"Five, Grandpa!"

"Seven," Lucius said, crouching down to negotiate with Jamie as his grandson giggled, nodding his head. "Deal!" He shook Jamie's little hand and earned more laughter from him. Harry hadn't known Lucius and Narcissa were such spoiling grandparents, but they were, possibly, the best grandparents Jamie could have.

"Grammy, can daddy tell me a bedtime story tonight?" Jamie asked, tugging at Narcissa's sleeve as the Alpha looked at Harry.

"Of course, Jamie," Narcissa smiled, and Jamie ran to him, wrapping his hand around Harry's arm, pulling him up the staircase. "You can go up, Harry. Jamie will show you his room."

"Come on, dad!" Jamie called out and Harry chuckled, following his son. Jamie's room was the one next to Draco's childhood bedroom, before he'd moved out. The walls were painted many different colours, almost looking like a room full of rainbows. Jamie dragged him up to the bed as he slipped under the blanket, waiting for Harry to sit down.

"Okay, Jamie, what story do you want to read tonight?" Harry asked, putting the pile of bedtime stories on his lap. "I won't be as good as papa though."

"I know that, daddy," Jamie said, baring a toothy grin on his face. He put his hand on the pile of books, shaking his head. "Daddy, will you tell me about you and papa?"

Harry blinked, looking at his son, who was still smiling at him, he bore so many resemblances to Draco when he was a kid, and it made Harry miss his mate even more. Jamie missed his papa just as much, and he couldn't see him, it was destroying Harry from inside.

"Okay," he said, ruffling Jamie's hair and putting the pile of books back on the bedside table. He didn't know where to begin, their story had been so complex, with lots of histories between them, of course. He decided to pick one of his most treasured memories, one that was appropriate to tell his son. "Well, once upon a time, on a sunny day, I was fighting dark wizards…"

"Oh my god, what the hell happened?" Draco stood up from his chair when Ron barged in through the door with Neville, carrying a limped and bloody Harry in their arms. They placed him on an empty bed and Draco ripped Harry's now red shirt apart, checking for the injury.

"A dark wizard," Ron breathed out, trying his best to find words to say, "he cast a curse on the vase. And when Harry touched it, he just started bleeding. We don't know what curse he used." Neville was using his wand to levitate the vase in the air the whole time, now placing it down on the table next to Harry's bed.

"Do not die on me, Harry!" Draco pleaded, fumbling with his wand and gripping Harry by his chin. "Harry! Do not close your eyes! Stay awake for me!"

"I-I am," Harry muttered weakly, his voice hoarse and he coughed, spluttering more blood out of his mouth. Draco tried to stop the bleeding, his mouth muttering spells nonstop, but it wasn't working.

"What was the curse, Ron?" he asked, watching as more blood flowed out of the cut.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Ron said in a frantic voice, "he was speaking in Latin, and you know I failed that bloody subject in Hogwarts!"

"Call Blaise! Now," Draco demanded, and Ron flinched from the mention of the Alpha.

"Can we not? I mean, I can call someone else."

"Ron, call him right now!" Draco almost shouted, trying his best to stop the flow of blood but his magic wasn't helping Harry at all. And Harry's eyes kept fluttering, close to shutting down entirely. "He's the best Curse-Breaker here, and I do not know what the hell happened in that stupid room with you and him two weeks ago, but just call him! For fuck's sake! Call him! Call him now! Your best friend is dying as we speak!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm on it!"

"Neville, call Hermione, we might need her too, please," he said, and the Beta turned on his heels, marching out of the room just as fast, leaving the two of them in an empty space.

"Harry, don't-don't go to sleep, not now." Draco cupped Harry's face, forcing the Alpha to keep his eyes open. "Harry, I need you to listen to my voice, do not fucking go into the light!"

"Hmm, I-I'm…not-not." Harry shook his head, but the blood was still flooding out of the cut, and Draco's heart only thrummed harder after each second. His hands had turned scarlet as well, trying to hold the blood down. Harry suddenly bared a sad smile, his hand coming up to touch the Omega's cheek, filling his nostrils with the scent of copper. "I-I guess I can't ask…ask you out for a-a date now," he croaked, coughing out more blood as he heaved, "I-I'm sorry I took so…so long. I-I truly, deeply like you, Dr-Draco Malfoy."

Harry blinked slower, panting for breath as his hand fell from Draco's cheek, going limp. "No, no, don't, I need you to stay alive," Draco begged, tears already stinging his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. He cupped the Alpha's face, his voice broke as he pleaded for him to survive. "Don't do this to me! Harry, please, wait, wait just a while!"

He wept, intertwining their bloody hands together. Harry's eyes were half-closed already, and his breathing had gone weak. "I like you, Harry, I like you too! It's why I came to you that night, Harry, please, listen to my voice." His voice crumbled into a broken string of words and hiccups. "My heart was seeking you that night! I've always loved you, I-I just never thought you'd actually like me back." He pressed his forehead against Harry's, breathing in his warm scent. "Stay with me, Alpha, stay."

"We're here! We're here!" Draco looked up when the door was slammed open again, Hermione and Blaise rushing in alongside Neville and Ron. Blaise didn't hesitate for a second, wand raising in the air as he murmured the incantation at the vase.

"Draco! I need you to pull yourself together!" Hermione said, pulling Draco up on his feet. The Omega shook Draco's shoulders, her voice stern. "You need to stay calm so you can heal him! Do you understand that?"

"Okay! I am! I am!" Draco said, nodding his head frantically.

"I know what it is," Blaise said, turning to look at them, and everyone breathed out a sigh of relief.

"And your uncle Blaise told everyone what the curse was, your papa healed me right away. The end," Harry said, even though his memory was quite blurry that night, he had remembered every single word Draco had said to him. "After I woke up, which was a week, I asked your papa out on a date, and he said yes."

"Wow, Uncle Blaise is so cool," Jamie said, his mouth opened in awe.

"Well, who's cooler, Jamie? Your uncle Blaise, or your daddy, who survived a nasty curse?"

"Uncle Blaise can do so many things," Jamie said, turning to him, "but you're still the coolest, dad!"

"That's my boy!" Harry laughed, crouching down to hug Jamie so tightly, he wiggled out of it.

"Goodnight, dad!" Jamie said, and Harry smiled, planting a kiss on his son's forehead.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," he said, pulling the blanket up to Jamie's chest as he turned on his side. Harry got off the bed, turned off the light and exited the room quietly.

When he returned to the first floor, Lucius and Narcissa were already standing near the door.

"Is there any new information, Harry?" Narcissa asked him, and Harry shook his head, noticing the slight frown on the Alpha's red lips.

Lucius stepped forward with his lips pressed together, and he handed him a folded piece of parchment. "We know you're struggling, so this is what I managed to find."

Harry opened the parchment and widened his eyes when he saw five addresses written in it with each name next to it. Five more Death Eaters, all listed here. "Lucius," he said, looking back at him and Narcissa, "thank you, I can't believe you could find this."

"It's nothing," Lucius said, "The old man Nott is an easy target, he's obsessed with Omegas, and I'm willing to do anything to save my son."

"Draco's a smart boy," Narcissa placed her hand on Harry's shoulder, comforting him, "he can protect himself, and you can save him, Harry. We don't doubt it."

"Thank you, so much," Harry said, gripping the note in his hand and leaving the Malfoy Manor. That night, Harry managed to sleep easier, dreaming about his mate again.

Draco clutched on his stomach, which was still twisting and hurting him. He hadn't stopped throwing up every day, in fact, it only got worse. The separation from his Alpha was damaging him more each second. The door creaked open, and Greyback stepped in again, sliding the tray in as usual, and throwing something at Draco's spot.

"What's this?" Draco asked, holding up the torn clothes in his hands.

"It's for you filthy Omega to wear, you keep fucking up this room with your fucking puke," Greyback snarled. Draco ignored it and stood up, staring at the werewolf with a puzzled look.

"What are you standing there for? Are you going to watch me while I change like a creep?"

"Amycus's order, I have to," Greyback paused, clenching his jaws, adding, "take your clothes to fucking clean."

"Just go back later. Are you insane? I'm not going to change in front of you disgusting rat," he snapped, but it'd only ignited Greyback's anger.

"Change it, you whore, or I'm going to fucking do it for you," Greyback spatted, marching to him. Draco only managed a gasp and a step back before he was already pressed flat on his back with Greyback atop him.

"Get off of me, you fucking scum!" Draco yelled, flailing his hands around but he was no match against Greyback. The werewolf tore his clothes apart, forcing his hands on the ground.

"Oh, well, look at that," Greyback said, his voice turned low as he let out a chuckle, "the Omega bitch has quite the body." He grazed his hands down Draco's chest and the Omega cried out, striking a punch that hit Greyback's jaw instantly. "You fucking bitch," Greyback snarled, wrapping his hairy hand around Draco's throat, blocking his airway with a squeeze. "I'd wanted to silence you for a while now."

His smirk widened as he tightened his grip. Draco gagged, trying to suck in more air. "Might as well fuck you Omega whore to shut both of your holes." He ripped Draco's trousers away, breaking the fabric with his claws and Draco's pupils blown wide. Panic rose in his chest, and he kicked Greyback's hand away, his voice had been restricted to barely a whisper.

"Stay still, you bitch," Greyback barked, his palm meeting Draco's cheek with a loud smack and the Omega could taste blood in his mouth.

"Don't fucking touch me," he spatted and Greyback laughed before smacking Draco across his cheek again, his skin burning with pain.

Greyback crouched down to scent Draco, and the Omega's tears trailed down his cheek, thrashing to stop Greyback's hands away from his exposed body. His nose was close enough to his neck, to his mark, Harry's mark. When he could feel Greyback's foul breath against his scent gland, Draco's heart was screaming, and all he could think of was his Alpha. He wanted his Alpha, not this scum.

Draco's hands flailed around until he could grab at the glass cup on the tray. He smashed it against the ground, grabbing a large shard and plunging it right into the side of Greyback's neck. He pulled it out and jabbed it again near the Beta's pulse point.

The werewolf sputtered, hands coming up to cover the blood that was splashing out of his neck like a fountain. Draco kicked Greyback away with his legs, recoiling to the corner of the room with the bloody shard in his hands, pointing it at Greyback even though he was trembling himself.

"Don't you fucking go near me!" he shouted as Greyback staggered back on his feet and out of the room, not before slamming the door closed. Draco sat there, panting heavily and grabbing at the clothes to cover himself. His heart was still thrumming, and he touched Harry's mark on his neck, weeping uncontrollably while the bond inside him ached. He missed Harry, he missed Harry so fucking much.

Notes:

Draco was attacked by Greyback at the same time Harry knocked Rabastan out, explaining the bond between them.