Red Passion - HP - Draco/Hermione - 5/31
Title: Red Passion
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: Mature (R)
Links: Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4
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 5
Draco leaned his head back, propping his neck against the tub's cool ceramic surface as his body relaxed, the warm water slowly drawing the tension from his muscles. He ran the sopping sponge over his neck, wincing as the soap collected on the tender flesh surrounding his scabbed wounds. He dropped it back into the bath, and slid down beneath the silky surface, the water pushing against his eyes and filling his ears with pressure.
"Granger?"
Sanguini's fangs grazed the skin of the limp girl in his arms, his blood stained eyes shooting up to meet Draco. His grasp tightened on his victim, and his face lit with a tiny smirk. "So this is the one Darien's chosen?"
The female vampire at the young wizard's side let out a slight, animalistic growl. "Find another place to finish your leftovers," Holly hissed.
Annalisa moved, her shoulder half blocking Draco's view of the male vampire. "You were asked not to bring your supper along. In fact, you were given the strictest of instructions. The host will provide for us."
The smile on Sanguini's face widened until it looked as if he was a beast flashing his teeth to his opposition. "Cold blood? Our host is greedy. And look at the whelp he's bonded to. . . That stringy wizard is little more than an appetizer. My lady, I think you are simply a bit jealous with my catch."
Holly spit at the floor, her saliva tainted with Draco's blood. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that that was your new Master's catch and that you are obediently receiving what he decided to throw out to the dogs."
"I have no master," Sanguini snarled. "And the Dark Lord of whom you speak doesn't know about this one. . ."
"What have I told you about playing with your food?" asked a cool voice.
Draco leaned over Annalisa to see Darien standing in the parlor's doorway.
The wizard shot out of the bath, sloshing water over the rim onto the tiled floor. He snatched his towel off of a nearby stand, wringing the beads of wetness off his face.
"What the hell happened last night?" he muttered, stepping out of the tub and wrapping the towel around his waist in one movement. The question repeated in his mind, finding its way out of his mouth again when he opened the door to his bedroom.
"Why, my dear, I wasn't there," said a sweet voice. Madam Hart looked up from in front of the tiny table by his window (a new addition from the day before). The woman had set up tea, a basket of fresh biscuits and pasties in front of a small plate. She folded her hands before her stomach, her strange smile hidden in her eyes. "I hope you enjoyed your bath."
"Yeah," Draco breathed. He glimpsed down at his dripping self. "Clothing?"
Madam Hart raised a brow. "I'm sure you're aware of the location of your wardrobe by now . . . However, I've taken the liberty of laying something out on your bed. It's a tad informal, but the master said that it would suit you better than the robes.
Black breeches and a long sleeved green button-up were folded neatly atop his pillow. He noticed that a folding screen was now standing at the opposite side of the room, its thin paper decorated with an oriental painting of a water dragon.
"You changed the room," he stated, laying the clothing over the side of the screen and hiding himself behind it as he changed.
"To better suit you," Madam Hart stated, her voice cheerful.
Draco tossed his towel over the side slipping into the trousers. He couldn't see the old muggle woman, but he knew that she was still standing beside the table. "What happened last night? Why can't I remember everything? It's all a blur. . ."
He heard a light, girlish giggle and walked out from behind the screen, still working the pearl buttons into their holes. "What?"
"Newcomers rarely can." Madam Hart grinned. "I've already told you that I wasn't there. However, I am the keeper of the house, and I am aware of everything that goes on within these walls. You proved to be very entertaining, I must say. The master has mixed feelings about the evening."
"What the hell happened?" Draco seethed. He was tired of her vagueness, and the flashes of memory in his head left him wanting the answer even more.
"If you're going to be rude," Madam Hart began, looking in the other direction as if she had just seen something in desperate need of dusting.
"I just want to know what I did last night. . . And quite possibly who I did what with," Draco hissed. "Can't you give me any answers?"
"I can." Madam Hart walked across the room as if to leave.
"Please," Draco growled.
Madam Hart turned, touching her messy ball of gray hair to fix it. "Don't be naïve, Master Dragon. . . You're still quite the virgin . . . physically, at least."
Draco could feel his whole face turning red. Had he been so embarrassed a year ago, he would have hexed anyone into the vicinity into the next millennium. Slytherins took special pride in their teenage 'prowling'. Sure, he had told a few fibs in relation to his sexual experiences, but mostly he let people think what they wished. . . And often they wished to think that the Slytherin Prince had taken on several select females over his summer vacations. He had even heard himself referred to as a Sex God. He had never said otherwise.
"That is not what I was asking," Draco sneered, "and you know it. What happened last night? I remember coming downstairs and these two vampires who. . ." He despised the next word out of his mouth. ". . . Fed on me. Then this vampire I'd seen before appeared. His name is Sanguini." Draco's words trailed off. He could clearly remember that know-it-all Hermione Granger being present, though somewhat less than conscious.
"Ahh," Madam Hart breathed. "The girl. The witch. Yes, you pitched quite the fit. I think every guest was aware of your feelings on the matter when the master arrived."
"What?" Draco raised a brow. "What happened?"
"You were quite angry at the prospect of Master Sanguini having your friend as his meal," Madam Hart said, dreamily. "You didn't seem to have a problem with your own situation in the arms of Lady Annalisa and Madam Holly. However, when you saw the girl. . ."
"That mudblood Granger isn't a friend of mine," Draco interrupted.
"Oh." Madam Hart frowned, shrugging. "Very well then. I will inform the master of the mistake when he awakens."
She turned to walk away.
"Wait!" The wizard took two strides, grabbing her arm. "Wait, what happened after she arrived?"
Hart cocked her head. "What would you care? She's no friend of yours."
"But I do know her," Draco insisted. He blinked, taking an involuntary step backwards. "Is she alive?" he asked quietly.
"I would think that you would have at least remembered that much, youngling," Madam Hart said. She tapped her chin with one finger. "She is at the moment, mostly because of your passionate outburst. Master Darien would have let Master Sanguini take her and leave, except you, as I mentioned earlier, pitched quite the fit. You told Master Darien that she was a friend, I believe."
"I would never say that," Draco replied. "I hate that bloody do-gooder."
"Very well," Hart sighed. "I shall personally return her to Master Sanguini at nightfall. . ."
Draco's brow drew tight. "Return her?"
"Why, yes. I'm sure Master Sanguini will be delighted to have her back." Hart stared at the young wizard. "She is in one of the downstairs bedrooms at the moment. Master Darien let her live as a gift to you. I suppose he can take her back just as easily."
"Let Sanguini kill her?" Draco stared back. "Just give her over like a pig to the slaughter?"
"That's what I had in mind," the old woman replied. "The only other choice is to keep her in this household. We can't release her. She knows far too much already." Madam Hart gestured toward the table. "However, seeing as you have so much hate toward this individual, perhaps you would like to speak to her before then. There are a few hours before nightfall (yes, you did sleep quite late, little wizard), and I'm sure you would enjoy the chance to 'rub salt in the wound' before I summon Master Sanguini to announce the return of his prize. Should I move the tea downstairs?"
Disgust rose in him at the thought of having tea with Granger just to smear in the fact that she was going to be killed by a vampire when the sun set. "No. . ."
"Very well." Madam Hart walked out of the room. "She is in the second room down the left corridor, if you change your mind."
The wizard swallowed deeply, following a few paces behind the old woman. He walked down the steps to the ground floor, Madam Hart never turning back to look at him. She made for the kitchens, but Draco stopped. He turned, staring down the left corridor before taking a step toward it. He passed the first room and went straight to the second. There was a bolt above the knob. Draco slid it back.
When he opened the door, he half expected the witch to be standing behind it, raising a piece of furniture above her head to bring it down on him. Instead, he stared into the beige room to find a lump lying across the bed in a white night gown, half covered in blankets. She was on her side, her face pressed into the pillow and covered in curling tendrils of brown hair. Her hand was raised above her, crudely tied to the bed post.
Draco stared at her, somewhat dumbfounded as to what to do. He found himself standing beside the bed, looming over her. With a shaky hand, he reached down and brushed back her hair. Her skin was pale, almost as pale as he was on a regular basis, with only the tiniest flush of pink on her cheek and neck. Draco pulled at the line of her gown, staring at her collar bone. There was a scratch, reddened and scabbed, but, from what he could see, she was absent of bite marks on that side.
A sigh escape her partially opened mouth, and he jumped back. He let out a short chuckle at his own movement. A smirk played on his mouth when he saw that she looked quite ridiculous when she was asleep, her button nose caught on the fabric, upturned, and a slight bit of drool wetting her lower lip.
Her mouth shut as she let out a stifled yawn, her head lifting. Her eyes slowly opened, focusing on the most prominent figure before her, one Draco Malfoy.
The sleep left her within a millisecond. She was suddenly very alert.
"Malfoy," she breathed. Her eyes narrowed. "You sorry bastard-I should have known."
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