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Deligo Sanguis	By : Menecarkawan Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 14171 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
Chapter Fourteen

Subterfuge

ONE

Harry
was in the Great Hall around midnight, playing a game of Solitaire, Ar�th�sa
knitting across from him.

�Why
have you never claimed your Chosen?� Harry asked, placing a queen down and
frowning at it. It was red. He needed a black queen.

�Because
my Chosen isn�t in love with me,� Airy replied. �It gets dangerous fer
both parties involved when the Chosen doesn�t want to be turned.�

Harry
looked up at her. �Why?�

�I�ve
seen it before, so I have,� Airy said. �That�s how I ended up
turned. This vampire kidnapped me. He took me to his layer, where I
discovered that he�d kidnapped Severus as well. He kept us in cages for a
few days, talking to us. He told us that his �master� had taken him fer a
mate, but he didn�t want ter be a vampire. He�d killed his �master� in a
rage and was deciding which of us would be best to turn so he could kill
himself.�

�Did
he set himself on fire?� Harry asked.

Airy
nodded. �He wanted one of us to scatter the ashes and kill the other one
who wasn�t turned. He didn�t know that Severus and I had been friends
since childhood or he would�ve killed us himself. Vampires, fer the most
part, are very secretive about their existence. Since most of the people
I know are mortals, I�ve never had problems letting them know what I was.
Aside from that, this particular vampire had been a Muggle in his previous
life. He didn�t know about wizards and such, and he certainly didn�t care
that he was committing me to what he hated. He just wanted to use me to
scatter his ashes, so he did.�

�And
did you?� Harry asked. �Scatter his ashes, I mean?�

Airy
nodded. �He�d have come back if I didn�t. He wouldn�t have been
happy about that. Anyway, that�s why I haven�t claimed my Chosen. I
don�t want to end up like that vampire�s �master�. My chosen doesn�t love
me, nor will he from what I can tell. Once he dies, I�ll be able to find
a different Chosen, so I will.�

�How
do you know he doesn�t love you?� Harry asked, turning back to his game.

Airy
was quiet for a long time before she said, �It�s not possible.�

Harry
was going to ask another question but he saw how sad Airy looked
suddenly. He didn�t want to make her sad, so he stopped his
questioning. �How long are you staying?� he asked instead.

�Fer
the summer,� Airy replied. �I�m planning to show you and Draco the
wonders of the night before yeh have to go back to school.�

Harry
looked toward the closed doors of the Hall when he heard footsteps.

�Its
just Draco,� Airy said, not even looking away from her knitting.

Harry
frowned. �How d�you know?�

She
shrugged. �Just do.�

The
doors opened and sure enough, Draco walked in, smiling when his eyes landed on
Harry. �Hey,� he said, sitting next to Harry and resting his head on
Harry�s shoulder. It had been quite the trick for him to convince his
mother to let him stay the summer at Hogwarts, but he hadn�t told Harry how
he�d accomplished it. As the days wore on, Draco was less and less
clingy. Harry didn�t mind it, but he was glad that Draco was coming back
to himself.

Harry
placed an arm around the blonde�s waist as he continued his card game.
�What have you been up to, love?� he asked.

�Severus
was helping me with my Defense essay,� Draco replied, trailing a finger up and
down Harry�s arm.

Harry
nodded. �I would have helped you.�

He
felt rather than saw Draco�s smile. �I know.�

Harry
chuckled a bit.

�You
boys want to go out and see the night?� Airy asked, placing her yarn and
knitting into a pocket.

�Do
you want to, Draco?�

�I
do,� Draco replied. �But I�m not going without you.�

Harry
nodded, pulling Draco to his feet. �We�ll go,� he said.

TWO

Harry
liked Hogwarts in the summer time when the corridors were empty and the grounds
clear. He could do what he pleased with his time, and he was free to
explore the night for nearly two months, his mate always at his side.
Father had requested that he and Draco keep their relationship quiet for as
long as they could because Father was a known traitor to Voldemort.
Draco�s father was one of the loyal servants, so Draco�s association with
Snape�s son could conceivably place him in danger. Draco had complained
about this plan, but had agreed after Harry had given him a pleading look.

They
stood together at the large entrance doors, watching as Ron, Hermione, and
Ginny made their way up the long walk. They�d come back to school a week
early so that they could spend some time with Harry. Since Draco was
almost always clamped to his side, the blonde came included in the
package. They�d both gone back on the sun-blocking potion so they�d be
used to staying up days once school started.

Draco
had been somewhat sore with Harry when he�d found out that Ron and Hermione had
known all along whom he was, but it hadn�t lasted long. Draco smirked now
as he watched the three approach. Harry hoped that Ron remembered to call
him Octavian. Ginny didn�t know the truth, and Harry hoped to keep it
that way.

�Octavian!�
Hermione called when she was close enough, running the last few meters to greet
him. Draco actually growled at her when she hugged Harry tightly.

�A
friend, Draco, nothing more,� Harry assured him with a smile. Hermione
gave them an odd look before turning to wait for Ron and Ginny.

�Hey,
I didn�t know you guys were friends,� Ginny said, looking between Harry and
Hermione.

�Hiya,
H�� Ron started, but Hermione elbowed him hard, turning his sentence into a
coughing fit. �What was that for?� he demanded after he got himself under
control.

�Isn�t
it nice to see Octavian again?� Hermione asked pointedly.

�Oh,
er yeah,� Ron said, catching on at last. �Hiya, Octavian. How�s it
going?�

Harry
smiled at them. �Well,� he replied. He took up Ginny�s hand.
�And this must be your dashing sister.� He kissed the back of her hand,
causing the poor girl to turn bright red.

�Hi,�
she muttered, suddenly shy.

Draco
grabbed Harry�s hand and pulled him back. �Stop teasing her,� he admonished,
though he looked a tad jealous.

Harry
bent to whisper in Draco�s ear. �She�s got nothing on you, love.�

Draco
smiled brightly at him. �Weasleys, Granger, a pleasure,� he drawled.

Hermione
rolled her eyes. �You�re looking well, Malfoy,� she said politely.

�When
am I not?� Draco countered.

�Play
nicely, Draco,� Harry admonished, only half playfully.

�Forgive
me,� Draco muttered apologetically. �I am well, thank you, and you?�

Hermione
looked between them, presumably trying to figure out what was up. �I�m
fine, thanks,� she said, though her voice carried no small amount of
suspicion. Harry decided that he�d have to be careful around her, lest
she figure him out. It would help that they couldn�t get together freely
once the rest of the school arrived, but this didn�t put Harry much at
ease: a week was more than enough time for her to put two and two
together if she put her mind to it.

THREE

Hermione
had been devastated when she�d been led to believe that Harry had died.
She�d known as soon as she�d seen �Octavian� that it was Harry. No one
else had eyes that magnificent shade of green. She even found it
difficult to believe that his mother�s eyes had been that color, even though
she�d heard it enough times. She just couldn�t imagine anyone else having
eyes that green.

Something
was off with him though, ever since he�d returned to school. She couldn�t
quite place what it was, but Malfoy had it now too. The first time she�d
seen this� oddness was with Ar�th�sa Bennet.

The
first thing she�d noticed about Ar�th�sa had been her utter enthusiasm at being
out in the sun, as though she�d been locked up in a cold, dark room for
ages. The other thing she�d noticed was the way the woman�s skin had
flushed after drinking out of the flask she kept at her hip. Now that she
thought about it, the same thing happened to Harry when he drank from his own
flask.

No
sooner had the thought crossed her mind did Malfoy pull a flask exactly like
Harry�s out of a pocket and take a swig. His cheeks flushed a bit, and
his lips became pinker. He was watching Hermione with unnatural intensity
until Harry whispered something in his ear. He turned toward Harry and
replied, bringing a smile to Harry�s face. Harry pulled him close and
Malfoy nuzzled into his neck.

Hermione
frowned, trying to figure it out. She couldn�t recall Harry and Malfoy
ever being friendly, not even after Octavian had arrived, but now suddenly they
seemed attached at the hip. It certainly didn�t make any sense.

�What�s
in those flasks?� she asked, pointing at the one Harry had just pulled out to
drink from. His hand froze almost to his mouth and his eyes studied her
carefully.

�It�s
apple juice,� he said, his hand finishing the trip to his mouth. Hermione
didn�t miss Malfoy�s amused snort, nor the look Harry shot at him for it.

�Why
d�you carry around flasks of apple juice?� she asked.

Harry
licked his lips, tucking the flask away inside his robes. �For the
sugar,� he said. �My levels go down on occasion, so the juice helps it
come back up.�

�So
why does Malfoy have one?� Hermione pressed, determined to figure it out.

Harry
sighed and pulled her aside. �It�s a potion,� he muttered quietly.
�To protect us.�

�From
what?� Hermione asked skeptically, observing the blush on his face.

�Father
has been found out as a spy,� he said. �Draco and I have become� close,
as I�m sure you�ve noticed. The, er, attack, as it were, was a potion
that was put into my breakfast. This potion,� he shook the flask at her,
�protects me from most poisons.�

Hermione
supposed it made sense, but she wasn�t buying it. Nonetheless she said,
�All right, Octavian.�

Harry
beamed at her, walking away to pull Malfoy close again. Hermione had
never heard of such a potion. She felt it was time to consult the
library. �I think I�ll just go��

�Oh
no you don�t,� Ron interrupted, grabbing her arm and dragging her into the
Great Hall after the others. �We�re still on holiday. I�m not going
to let you disappear in the library until the start of term.� He pushed
her down into a seat at the Gryffindor table. Harry sat across from her,
Malfoy still clamped to his side, and Ginny sat on Ron�s other side.

�So
when did this happen?� Ginny asked, gesturing vaguely between Harry and Malfoy.

Malfoy
smiled and nuzzled Harry�s neck again.

Hermione
glanced at Ron to find he was a little green, but was thankfully holding his
tongue.

Harry
winked at her. He actually winked at her! Hermione felt that
she must have been hallucinating.

�Towards
the end of last year,� Harry replied. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him,
wondering if he meant the last school year, or last year proper. He
winked at her again, letting her know that he knew just what she was
thinking. Hermione blinked owlishly. She was most
confused. She hated being confused. She�d have to give Ron the slip
soon so that she could consult the library about this new mystery. If
there was something Harry provided in abundance, it was mysteries, and this
newest one had Hermione most intrigued.

FOUR

Draco
could practically see the cogs turning in Granger�s head. She knew
something was off. He smirked at her. He figured she�d have them
figured out by Halloween and he told Harry as much.

Harry
smiled, not taking his eyes from his bushy haired friend. �I think you
may be right,� he agreed. �Hermione?�

Granger
blinked, as though clearing her mind, and focused her attention on Harry.
�Yes, Octavian?� she asked.

�What
do you think about a game of chess?� Harry asked.

Granger
waved him off. �I don�t much like chess,� she said. �That�s more
Ron�s department.�

�No
you don�t,� Weasley said as Granger started to get up, and pulled her back into
her seat. �You�re not going to the bloody library. Just have some
fun for once, yeah?�

�I
happen to like the library, Ronald Weasley,� Granger snapped. �Maybe
if you took more interest in it, you might have made Head Boy.�

Weasley
rolled his eyes. �Who wants to be Head Boy?� he asked. �Being
Prefect is enough work, thank you very much.� He jerked his thumb in
Granger�s direction. �She�s the new Head Girl, by the way.�

Granger
flushed pink, but she looked pleased with herself.

�Was
there ever a doubt?� Harry asked, laughing as Granger�s blush got darker.
�Congratulations, Hermione.�

�Thank
you,� Granger said, ignoring the sniggering going on around her. �I just
want to look something up, Ron,� she pleaded, turning her eyes back to
Weasley. �I won�t be there long.�

�You
won�t be there at all because you�re not going,� Weasley countered. �What
time is it? I�m bloody starving.�

Weaslette
rolled her eyes. �You�re always starving, Ron.� The other
three laughed. Draco was amazed by the dynamics of this group. They
seemed to know everything about each other, and the atmosphere around them was
positively comfortable. He�d been friends with Greg and Vince for ages
and they still didn�t have this kind of rapport. It made him somewhat
jealous of Harry.

Harry
seemed to sense the direction his thoughts had gone because he felt a tight
squeeze on his waist. He looked up at his green-eyed beauty to find him
smiling. Draco stretched up to nuzzle against that pale neck, loving the
smell of his lover. He didn�t understand why Harry had a scent when
Ar�th�sa did not, but he wasn�t about to question it; he loved it. It
would be difficult for him to keep his distance once school started back up,
but he�d do it because it made Harry happy.

FIVE

Midnight
had always been a good time for sneaking about and doing what needed to get
done: with this thought in mind, Hermione snuck out of Gryffindor Tower at midnight,
making her way to the library. She wanted to find out what was going on,
and she wanted to find out now.

She
was careful to peek around corners before entering the corridors because she
felt that it was highly possible that she�d run into Harry on her way.
She knew that sneaking around trying to figure it out would probably make Harry
angry, but she knew he wasn�t going to tell her. She slowly and carefully
pushed the doors to the library open, thankful that they were always kept well
oiled.

Once
inside, she realized that she had no idea where to start her search. It
could be anything, how would she know which subject was the right
subject? With a sigh she moved into the Dark Arts section, figuring it
would be as good a place as any to begin her search. After collecting a
large stack of books that she could hardly carry, let alone see around, she
made her way to the nearest table, carefully setting her stack down, trying not
to make a sound. Once that was accomplished, she sat down, opened the
topmost book and began to read.

�And
here I thought you were the sensible one,� a woman said somewhere in the
shadows some time later.

Hermione
jumped violently and had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from
screaming aloud. She searched the shadows just as Ar�th�sa Bennet stepped
into a beam of moonlight. Hermione lowered her hand, glaring at the
woman. �You scared me half to death!� she snapped, though quietly.

Ar�th�sa
chuckled. �Sorry �bout that,� she said, but she didn�t sound like she
meant it.

�What
are you doing here?� Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

�I
know what yer up to,� Ar�th�sa replied.

�Oh
yeah? Are you going to tell Harry?�

�No.�

�Then
let me get back to it.�

�I�m
afraid yer lookin� in the wrong books.�

Hermione
stared incredulously. This woman, Ar�th�sa Bennet, who had just as much
to hide as Harry if not more so, was going to help her figure it out? She
didn�t understand why. �Is that so?� she asked, trying to sound
disinterested.

Ar�th�sa
chuckled, letting her know that she�d failed miserably. ��Tis,� she
replied. �He�s not going to appreciate this, yeh know.�

�I
know, but I need to know what�s going on.�

�Then
yeh better find some different books to read.�

�You
could just tell me and save me the trouble.�

�See,
but if I did that and Harry asked me I�d have to say I told yeh. If yeh
read about it, then I can say no.�

Hermione
found this logic somewhat disturbing.

Ar�th�sa
moved out of the beam of light to lean against a bookcase. �I think if
yeh worked more on this side of the library, yeh might have more
luck. Of course, I could be wrong.� She smiled pleasantly, and then
she was gone.

Hermione�s
head whipped around, searching for the woman, but she was just gone, just like
that. She frowned, looking in the shadows carefully, wondering how
Ar�th�sa did that. She couldn�t have Disapparated, so where did she
go? She shook her head, waving her wand to send the Dark Arts books back
to their shelves, and moved to the bookcase Ar�th�sa had been leaning on.
It was the section on Dark Creatures. Frowning, Hermione began her search
anew.

SIX

The
start of school had Harry on edge. Keeping distance between Draco and
himself was proving to be more difficult than he�d anticipated. Of
course, he could watch without suspicion, so watch he did. He could tell
that Draco didn�t like this setup any more than he did, perhaps less so, and he
smirked lightly as he watched Draco fidget discontentedly in his seat during
Transfiguration.

�Since
you find the topic so amusing, Mr. Snape, perhaps you wouldn�t mind doing a
little demonstration,� McGonagall said with a note of irritation.

Harry
bowed his head slightly, stood up and turned his partner, Blaise, into a black
Pomeranian; the girls in the class all proclaimed the dog�s cuteness in
high pitched, falsely sweet voices that forcefully reminded Harry of Delores
Umbridge. He had to forcibly keep himself from cringing as he hurriedly
turned Blaise back into a human.

McGonagall�s
lips were pursed when he turned back to her. �Well done, Mr. Snape,� she
said grudgingly. �Ten points to Slytherin.�

Harry
nodded and sat back down. He could see Draco suppressing laughter across the
room. He tried not to show his irritation because he knew that would only
make Draco laugh harder than ever. He rolled his eyes fondly as he
returned to his Draco watching, one ear still tuned in on the lesson.
Blaise gave him an odd look before opening his book to the relevant chapter.
Harry snickered lightly at his confusion before finishing his own notes.

Harry�s
room had been moved to Draco�s, much to his delight, so their little game could
end at the end of the day before starting again in the morning. Airy had
explained to Dumbledore that if they were kept apart too long the dominant �
Harry - would not be responsible for his actions. Especially since his
bond with Draco was so new. Later, when they�d been together for a while,
they�d be able to spend longer amounts of time separated without loosing touch
with themselves. Until then, they�d have to persevere for as long as
possible without giving the game away. Unfortunately, sharing a room did
nothing to soothe Harry�s jealousy where Draco was concerned. It was a
mere three months into term when it reared its ugly head.

SEVEN

Draco
had been out, placating the other two thirds of Gryffindor�s Golden Trio, when
he�d felt a strong desire to see Harry. It was spawned from a strong
suspicion that Granger had their little secret figured out. She kept
giving him this look, as though waiting for him to eat her alive. Her
eyes had narrowed when he�d taken a swig from his hip flask. Yes, she
definitely had something brewing in her little brain. He didn�t want to
consider just how much she�d figured out, so he returned to Slytherin, intent
on seeing his lover.

Harry
was in a chair, in a dark corner of the common room, when Draco entered.
His eyes immediately latched onto the blonde as he made his way across the
room, heading for their shared bedroom. Pansy headed him off, steering
him into the wall next to the corridor.

�Draco,
love,� she purred, licking up his chin. He was very aware of Harry�s
gaze.

�What
do you want, Parkinson?� Draco sneered, pushing the girl away from him.
He wanted to resolve this problem before things got ugly.

�You�ve
been ignoring me,� she said with a pout, obviously trying to garner his
sympathy. It wasn�t working. The only thing Draco was worried about
was Harry killing the stupid little chit before he could get her off of him.

�And
what does that tell you?� Draco muttered, trying to keep her away without
hurting her. Somehow, he felt that Professor Snape would be less than
impressed with him if he injured a fellow Slytherin, however accidental it
might be.

Pansy
got close and nibbled on his ear. �You�re just not used to being loved,
darling,� she replied, completely oblivious to the increasingly angry vampire
who was no longer sitting in his chair. �I�ll fix that for you.�

Quite
suddenly, Pansy was halfway across the room and Draco�s mouth was being
assaulted by his incredibly possessive lover�s tongue. Draco was vaguely
aware of the sudden silence ringing in the Slytherin commons. As fast as
it had started, the kiss was over and Harry was pinning Pansy to the wall next
to Draco.

�Do
not touch him again,� he growled at her. �He belongs to me.�

�I
don�t know who you think you are, but�� Pansy started.

�I
said, he belongs to me,� Harry cut her off, pressing her
more firmly into the wall. �Do you understand?�

Draco
was aware that Harry was forcibly keeping his temper in check; otherwise, Pansy
would already have been dead. He needed to control this situation fast,
before Harry lost his grip entirely.

He
placed his hands on Harry�s shoulders. �Octavian,� he whispered in his
ear, but Harry ignored him.

�If
you ever touch him again, I will rip your heart out and force you to eat it,�
he growled at Pansy, who was beginning to tremble in fear.

�Octavian,�
Draco said again, a little louder.

Harry�s
head spun around and he leveled a glare at Draco that would have frightened
Satan. �And you were letting her touch you,� he growled.

Draco
swallowed nervously. The last time Harry had become jealous, he had
turned Draco into a vampire. �I was trying to get her away, Octavian,� he
soothed.

�You
weren�t trying hard enough,� Harry snapped, spinning back to Pansy and pushing
her tighter to the wall, one hand around her neck. She was starting to
turn blue.

�I
just didn�t want to hurt her, Octavian,� Draco said, rubbing up and down
Harry�s arms. �You know I�d never do anything with her.�

Harry
abruptly let Pansy drop to the floor, pulling Draco into his arms and kissing
him again. Pansy struggled back to her feet behind them.

�You
just wait until I till Professor Snape about this,� she threatened, rubbing her
throat gingerly.

Harry
spun back to her, pulling Draco close to his side. �Whom do you belong
to, Draco?� he asked, his eyes on Pansy.

�Only
you, my love. Only you,� Draco replied, kissing Harry�s neck.

Harry
smirked at Pansy, a dangerous smirk that spoke of worlds of pain should she
ever come near Draco again. �That�s exactly right,� he sneered at the
poor girl. �Don�t forget it.� He began down the corridor, pulling
Draco behind him.

�Well,�
Draco thought. �So much for our cunning subterfuge.� He knew he was
in for it once they reached the bedroom, and Harry didn�t disappoint him.
As soon as the door closed, Harry attacked his neck, biting and licking
possessively. He ripped Draco�s clothes off violently before
unceremoniously flinging Draco onto his bed. He banished his own clothes,
as he used to do when they�d be fucking in the abandoned classroom, and jumped
onto Draco, biting down on Draco�s neck again. He attacked Draco�s body,
touching, licking and biting everything he could reach before lubing himself up
and roughly pushing himself inside, immediately starting a fast pace.

Draco
cried out, meeting Harry�s hips with his own, thrust for thrust, panting
Harry�s name as the pain and pleasure blended inside of him. He could
feel his climax begging for release, but Harry kept a tight pinching hold of
the bottom of his shaft, keeping his orgasm at bay.

�Harry,
please,� Draco begged, locking his ankles around Harry�s waist.

�Say
it!� Harry demanded, not relinquishing his hold on Draco�s sex.

�I�m
yours!� Draco cried, pulling himself forward, trying to get more contact
between them.

Harry
growled in response, pumping Draco�s cock fast.

�Yes,
gods yes!� Draco screamed as his climax ripped through him, sending shockwaves
of pleasure through his body. He moaned loudly as he felt Harry�s come
filling him, pulling the dark haired vampire down for a fierce kiss.

Harry
collapsed on top of him, panting harshly. �No one touches you,� he said
into Draco�s ear. �Understand?�

Draco
ran a hand through Harry�s sweaty hair. �I know, my love,� he agreed.

Harry
pushed himself up to look into Draco�s eyes. �Did I hurt you?� he asked,
concern filtering into his tone.

Draco
smiled to reassure him. �No, I�m all right,� he said. �We need to
talk, though.�

Harry
gave him a suspicious look before rolling off of him and pulling him onto his
lap. �What about?� he asked.

�People
touching me,� Draco replied.

Harry
growled.

�Listen
to me,� Draco said, placing a hand on Harry�s bare chest. �I�ll never
love anyone but you. I�ll never sleep with anyone but you, but somewhere
along the way, someone�s bound to touch me. I can�t avoid contact with
people for the rest of eternity. You have to trust that I won�t betray
you, that�s all.�

�She
wasn�t just touching you, Draco,� Harry said. �She was slobbering
all over you. I can still smell her stench on you.�

�I
know that, Harry. I was attempting to find a way to get her off of me
without injuring her.�

�That�s��

�Harry,
please listen to me. If you keep on like you�ve been, you�re going to get
us both thrown out of school. Dumbledore�s already wary of us being
here. Do you want to give him more cause?�

Harry
was very still behind him, so Draco waited patiently for him to say
something. Finally, he said, �I will try harder to keep my temper in
check.�

�Thank
you,� Draco replied.

�But
you have to try harder to keep people from slobbering all over you as well.�

Draco
chuckled. �Harry, after that display tonight, I don�t think anyone is
going to be coming anywhere near me any time soon.�

Harry
chuckled as well. �Touch�,� he muttered.

EIGHT

Hermione
smiled triumphantly after Harry and Draco turned the far corner of the
corridor. She�d faked giving Harry a hug so she could lift his flask off
of his hip. To her intense surprise, Harry hadn�t noticed. She had
her suspicions about what was going on, but the contents of the flask now
safely hidden in her pocket would confirm those suspicions. She snuck up
to Moaning Myrtle�s bathroom to find out what was inside of it. Once
there, she checked to make sure Myrtle was not in the room before tipping the
flask upside down over one of the sinks. Thick red blood poured out,
making Hermione smile with triumph. Her smile faded quickly as she
wondered how this had come about. Surely that Ar�th�sa woman hadn�t
changed Harry and Draco? If she had, why would she have bothered to help
Hermione figure out the secret? She would have led Hermione in the wrong
direction more likely.

Hermione
frowned as she replaced the flask in her pocket and rinsed out the sink,
pondering over this puzzle. So Ar�th�sa hadn�t turned them. In that
case, who had? Some vampire in the forbidden forest maybe? Hermione
shook her head, leaving the bathroom to head back to Gryffindor. Maybe a
vampire had broken into the school sometime during the last year? That
seemed highly unlikely, but the books said that vampires had abilities that surpassed
wizards, even the ones who had been Muggles before they were turned. It
was possible that a vampire could have fooled Hogwarts� wards. Just as
she reached the Gryffindor portrait, a memory came to her.

Her
eyes widened as she saw Harry in her mind�s eyes, screaming in pain as smoke
rose from his skin. Professor Snape had run down from the head table to
cover Harry with his outer robes and carried Harry out of the Great Hall.
A potion, she realized. Someone had spiked Harry�s breakfast with a potion
that had turned him into a vampire.

She
frowned. �Lithuania,� she muttered, climbing through the portrait hole.
If it had been a potion, then how had Draco been turned? She knew he
hadn�t been a vampire the last time she�d seen him before the summer break, but
now he was. How had that happened? She sat down in front of the
fire, ignoring everyone around her. She thought of her research and
compared what she had learned with what she�d observed from Harry and
Draco. Her face grew slack as she realized what had happened. Draco
was Harry�s mate! It made perfect sense! She remembered the way
Harry had kept Draco clamped firmly to his side the whole week before term had
started.

NINE

Harry
touched his hip to find it bare. He frowned. �May I borrow your
flask?� he asked his mate.

Draco
quirked an eyebrow at him, but handed the flask over. �Have you lost
yours?� he asked.

Harry
shook his head, thinking of Hermione�s odd behavior earlier. �Hermione
lifted it,� he muttered, handing the flask back to Draco after taking a long
swig.

�Hermione?�
Draco asked, reattaching the flask to his hip. �When?�

Harry
turned to him. �Yesterday, when she hugged me for no apparent
reason. I think she�s figured us out.�

�Oh,�
Draco muttered.

Harry snorted. �Oh� indeed.
- 13
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Deligo Sanguis