Red Passion - HP - Draco/Hermione - 24/31
Title: Red Passion
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: Mature (R)
Links: Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15 + Chapter 16 + Chapter 17 + Chapter 18 + Chapter 19 + Chapter 20 + Chapter 21 + Chapter 22 + Chapter 23
Summary: Post HBP. A vampire saves Draco from death and introduces him to a dark world. With Hermione Granger on the menu, can Draco save his enemy and his own soul? Eventual DM/HG.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Written for profitless entertainment.
Warning: Blood, violence, and eventually scenes of a sexual nature.
Author's Note: Story goes AU after the events of Half Blood Prince.
Wordcount for Total Story: ~65,900 words (varied by chapter)
Chapter 24
Death would be a reprieve.
It wasn't Darien's voice, and it certainly wasn't Hermione's. Draco's foggy mind repeated the line. He'd heard it somewhere before-perhaps in a book? But who was speaking it? Draco bit down a laugh when the answer came to him: it was his own voice. Had it really been that long since he'd heard himself think?
He had to admit, his mind was right. Death would, in its own depressing way, be a reprieve from the nagging voices that had awoken him. Back and forth, back and forth. They'd been fighting for over thirty minutes, the entirely of Draco's "nap." He felt as if his head might, at any second, explode from the sound alone.
"I don't know what you think I know, but you're wrong! Hermione wouldn't do this, not even to Malfoy," Harry spat.
"She could have killed him-she would have killed him if we'd not stopped her!"
"You. Are. Wrong!"
Draco could have sworn he'd dreamed the entirely of this conversation already. He had arrived at the house with Tonks and Lupin to find that Potter's muggle caretakers had went out for the evening. Harry was, to say the least, shocked to see the group at his door. Before the interrogation could begin, Draco had chosen to pass out. A rather good decision, he determined upon waking.
"Harry, there's no questioning it! We know exactly what we saw out there. Now, you must, Harry, you must tell us what you know about this situation. Have you had contact with Draco Malfoy or Hermione Granger over the last few days?"
"I've already told you my answer."
"Why would you lie to us, Harry? I know Hermione was your friend, but that's not her anymore, not as far as any of us know. Look at what she did!"
"You're wrong-Malfoy will tell you as much when he wakes up!"
Draco winced at the high pitch of Potter's voice, and his eyes flickered open. His head was lolled to the side, and he could see Lupin and Potter in the other room, standing head to head in a shouting match. He would have found the situation extremely amusing if his whole body wasn't aching from the patchy healing job his removed cousin was providing.
He felt Tonks' wand graze his bare upper chest and looked down his form. His shirt was open, tucked neatly under his body, and it appeared as if the blood had been entirely cleaned from his form, except for that welling up over his wound. He swallowed, tasting the bitter remains of blood replenishing potion.
Tonks sighed, staring down at the white, scarred skin with a wrinkled brow. The auror didn't seem to notice the open gray eyes watching her face. Draco opened his mouth to speak.
"So thin," she muttered, interrupting him. "Like a sack of bones. What happened to you, Malfoy?"
Draco frowned, annoyed with her concern. It wasn't that bad. Was it? "And you're looking a bit pudgy these days, if we're being quite honest with one another," he piped.
Tonks jumped, nearly dropping her wand onto his stomach. She blinked, shaking away her startled reaction. "You're awake? And I'm not pudgy."
Not waiting for his reply, she called over her shoulder. "Quiet!"
Harry and Lupin's argument came to a sudden stop. Tonks cleared her throat, as if to cleanse the air of the heated discussion.
"Remus, I need you," she requested, her voice softer.
Lupin approached, opening his mouth, as if to greet Draco. He seemed to realize that he nothing to say, and turned instead to Tonks.
"I can't heal some of these," she said, her eyes darting to Draco's neck. She glanced up back up at Lupin with worried eyes.
The older wizard shook his head, scratching at the gray stubble growing onto his cheeks. "No," he answered, "I'm afraid you won't be able to. Vampire bites are rather permanent."
Nothing new there. Draco rolled his head back, seeing Potter standing to Lupin's side, his face downcast.
"But some of them are...older looking," Tonks said, her confusion written on her face. "And why are there so many?"
Draco refused to answer that the new ones were the result of a few wild nights in bed with a vampire. That would simply be too awkward.
"Then Ms. Granger must have become a vampire directly after her abduction," Lupin breathed, a look of grief wrinkling the edges of his lips.
"No she didn't. There not all from her," Draco snapped. He swallowed hard, mentally scolding himself. Why in Merlin's name had he felt the need to correct the werewolf?
"Tell them, Malfoy," Harry pleaded . "Tell them that Hermione wasn't trying to kill you. They think she's some sort of beast."
"I didn't say that, Harry," Lupin said, his voice restrained. "I said that she is different and that she is dangerous, even to you. It's not her fault, but it's true, nevertheless."
"You can't just report her to the Order as if she's some dog that needs brought in. She's still Hermione. Ask Malfoy. Just ask him."
Draco blinked. Well, Hermione, surprise, surprise. Looks like Potter believes in you. But Draco couldn't stop the feeling of doubt he had. Lupin wasn't entirely wrong. Hermione was dangerous. If the werewolf hadn't arrived when he did...Hermione had been drinking far too fast.
"She wasn't trying to kill me," Draco said, his voice hoarse.
Harry released a breath of relief, allowing himself a small smile at the confirmation.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but he can't be trusted to answer with the truth," Lupin snapped.
"Excuse me?" Draco sneered.
Lupin refused to look down at him, staring at Harry instead. "Mr. Malfoy may believe his answers to be sincere, but his judgment cannot be trusted. I have to assumed that he's been bound to a vampire."
"What's that mean?" Harry asked, sharing a glance with Draco.
"It means," Lupin explained, "that his will is not his own. His master can control him. He could very well be under a vampire's thrall. That is the reason why we must be very careful. Draco could be obeying the orders of the vampire who...changed Hermione."
Harry glared at his old professor. "Or under Hermione's orders?"
Lupin nodded. "In theory, yes. But, that isn't necessarily good, Harry."
"No," Harry said, slowly, "I suppose not."
"You're full of shit-I'm not under anyone's orders! Hermione's a vampire, but she's in control of herself. You're her bloody friends. Can't you give her the benefit of the doubt?"
Draco expected his anger to be answered with anger, but instead he found a weary sadness in Lupin's eyes. "Hermione, is it?" He sighed, as if the use of the name had somehow confirmed his theory. "I'm sorry, Draco. I really am. But we must consider you a vampire's victim. I can't let what you have to say sway my judgment."
"You're making a mistake."
"I sincerely hope not," Lupin said.
He turned back to Tonks. "We'll need to move him soon," he said, his voice quieter. "We should get in contact with Kingsley first, though. It seems his recent problem with the vampire community has become our problem as well."
Draco rolled his eyes, his body shaking with frustration. He felt a tap on his sore shoulder and looked back to see Harry slowly stepping closer. Draco raised a questioning brow.
Harry held his wand behind his leg and waved his free hand, silently asking for Draco's in return. Draco glanced the pair beside him. Tonks and Lupin were speaking in hushed tones, paying no attention to Harry. Slowly, Draco pulled his hand out from under his shirt folds, drawing it towards his shoulder. He felt Harry's fingers grab on to his wrist in a tight clench. Magic stiffened in the air a moment before the two young wizards popped out of existence.
The room was old, the scent of mold and damp earth heavy in the air. Sod spilled out between the cracks in the stone walls. He was somewhere deep, somewhere cold, where magic's healing touch was closer.
Darien stretched his spine against the back of the wooden chair, his body cracking and groaning with the strain. He relaxed his aching muscles again, blinking into the darkness of the windowless quarters. Though there was no light directly in the room, he knew his way back to his bed as if the path was lit. And he also knew Annalisa was with him.
"I heard you on the steps," Darien said.
"I must be losing my edge, my sweet one." She chuckled, loudly swaying her the skirt of her dress as she approached. Her legs slipped between his parted knees and she perched herself on the arm of his chair. Darien lifted his arm, his hand grasping at the clothed thigh above his leg.
"I thought Holly would be feeding me next," he said.
Annalisa placed her soft hand on his matted black hair, patting him gently, as if he were a wounded dog. "Darien, I'm here to bring you news."
"My dragon lives," he said, with certainty. "I heard him today. Something blocks me from speaking to him, though."
Annalisa grew quiet. "Darien," she said, her voice soft. "Sanguini's body was found in Surrey. The new vampire killed him."
Darien's body stiffened. "And the children? Were they found there as well?"
"You know the answer already."
"I want them brought to me," Darien said, his voice dangerously low. His icy hand trembled above her leg.
"The girl, she's very young, strong and well fed, it seems. Still, I'm surprised she defeated Sanguini so easily," Annalisa mused. "She's drawing the extra strength from another." She paused, leaning forward so that a soft curl of her hair tickled his cheek. "I am sorry, Darien. I know you coveted him as your own."
Darien growled, pushing her off of his lap. "Are you saying they're bound to one another? Is that what you're saying, Annalisa?"
"What do you think stops your dragon from doing your will? What do you think blocks your voice from his mind? He is your new daughter's plaything now."
The arm of the chair crumbled under Darien's touch. He tightened his grasp on the splinters, his body shook with contempt.
"Do you really value him so?" Annalisa asked. "He did poison you. And he left you for dead."
"And, if I had poisoned you, mistress? When I was a man?" Darien growled.
She chuckled again, her footsteps echoing as she crossed the room. She stopped at the exit. "I would have treasured you even more," she admitted, looking back into the blackness. "But I would never have shared you with another."
"Then we'll simply have to sever the second bond."
Annalisa's smile was heard in her voice. "I'll bring you your wizard, my sweet. Rest now. You'll need your strength when I return."
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