YO! Lookit! A Chapter! A whole fucking YEAR later. Gosh, you people should just kill me now and put us all out of our miseries. Or something. Perhaps you'd have to torture me into telling you what happens at the end of these stories first, but THEN you should kill me.

Okay, seriously, any freak-o stalkers out there, incase you're insane, this is NOT me giving you permission to kill me. >_>

...

On with the show!


Prologue / Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven /




Quick Summary: Harry Potter is the wizarding world's hero. But when Voldemort discovers a dark magic that could turn his greatest threat into a valuable asset, will Harry be able to hold onto who he is, or submit to the shadows within? (Creature feature)

Set in 7th year, but follows canon only till the end of Goblet of Fire.

Title is a song by Ben Harper

Pairings: Harry/Draco, Sirius/Remus, Hermione/Ron. Implied Voldemort/Draco, Voldemort/Death Eaters

Warnings:

-Spoilers for books (and movies, I guess), 1-4 with occasional 5-6 spoilers for largely irrelevant things like character names and monsters and things. Not plot-related stuff. (I think/hope).

-Rated R-18/NC-17

-This story contains - obligatory capitals: SLASH! Also known as YAOI, also known as males having sweaty sex with OTHER MALES. If you don't want to read that kind of stuff, don't read the fic. Don't complain to me if you do and it grosses you out, that's just silly on your part. There are also issues of non-consensual sex. Run while you still can.





Disclaimer - This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. This disclaimer was nicked from the Restricted Section.


A/N: First off a BIG thank you to ferris04 for the beta. Also, I would just like to say that I don't like this chapter, but right now, after 12 months, I give up on trying to make it any better. Also again, apologies for how long this has taken. Hope you guys like it better than I do!




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Harry moaned and sunk back into his Mate’s embrace; Malfoy’s hands moved up to twine in Harry’s hair as they kissed, tongues meeting and caressing, exploring and tasting. Harry sighed into the kiss and pressed his body closer, trembling as their bodies brushed each other’s.

Harry pressed into his Mate, letting his fingers travel beneath robes to explore precious skin, humming into Malfoy’s mouth as flesh made contact. Malfoy’s fingers dug deeper into Harry’s hair and they both shifted closer. Harry could barely keep a single train of thought going – Malfoy’s skin was so soft, like paper-fine silk that almost felt like it would disappear beneath Harry’s questioning fingers. The Slytherin was only just warm to the touch, as if cooled by some preternatural force while Harry’s blood raged and tore through his veins – gasping and grabbing for the sustaining life that was his Mate.

Malfoy let out a soft moan, “Potter...”

Harry broke away from Malfoy’s mouth and started trailing bites and kisses along the blonde’s jaw line, “Hmm?” he questioned peacefully.

“I just want to make it clear,” Malfoy said, tripping his head to the side, “That you don’t just win fights automatically by initiating sex.”

“Mm,” Harry responded, digging his teeth lightly into his Mate’s earlobe.

“In fact, I may still be very angry with you, um...” Malfoy let out a soft breath and ran one hand down to Harry’s face, lifting so that their lips could meet again. “Um, you know, later,” he breathed.

“Mm.” Harry murmured, feeling a thrill race across his shoulders he lifted Malfoy up by his hips and shoved him harder against the wall. Both boys arched against each other, gasping for air against each other’s lips.

However something was intruding on Harry’s consciousness, something not-good. He growled and pulled his Mate closer, wrapping one arm tightly around the blonde and grunting in approval when Malfoy wrapped his legs around Harry’s waist.

Malfoy had been licking gently at Harry’s bottom lip but now the kiss got hotter, more frantic; Harry thrust his tongue into his Mate’s mouth, demanding and claiming with every inch of his body.

But the not-good was coming closer and without a second thought, Harry turned and tossed his Mate onto the bed across the room, letting out a snarl and backing away from the door, his eyes scanning the room for defence or escape.

“Potter, I really think we’re going to need to work on the whole tossing me across the room theme that’s developing here.”

Harry glanced at his Mate briefly, but stopped at the look on Malfoy’s face, “...What?” he growled.

Malfoy only had a moment to say, “Your eyes have turned black -” When the door crashed open and the world went jagged.


~..*..~


Draco watched in horror as his Aunt Bellatrix flounced into the room. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything, boys,” she sneered. Potter let out an animalistic noise and, practically dripping dark energy, launched himself at the woman.

Bellatrix, however, was not a Death Eater for her looks or intellect, and a fast curse sent Harry slamming back against the far wall, “What’s the matter, Potter?” Bellatrix said in her irritating, high-pitched voice, “Your pet dog didn’t train you to go for the kill faster? Too busy scratching for fleas?”

Potter had slid down the wall, shaking the curse off with a flick of his head, he tipped swirling black eyes up to the room and growled, “Stay away from my Mate.”

Bellatrix spared a cursory glance at Draco, “Why would I be interested in tormenting my little Draco-pet when you’re here to be cannon fodder, Potter?” She said snidely.

Draco scrambled to his feet just as Potter was about to get up, “Potter! Stop it.”

The Gryffindor glanced over at him and Draco moved to his side, pressing him back to the floor while glaring at his aunt, “Don’t be such a bitch, Bella. I never was your pet and I never will be. Meanwhile, I think you’re forgetting that Potter here was only ordered to never harm the Dark Lord himself; no vow was made to do the same for the Death Eaters. And you can scoff all you like, but Potter’s survived a few scrapes before, and now he’s a creature that all wizard-kind fears.” Draco smirked sadistically, “If you think he’d hesitate to say, rip off your face, then I think you’re welcome to keep antagonising him but I’d prefer you didn’t do it where your lifeblood might stain my sheets.”

Bellatrix’s eyes flashed, “You impudent little— You think that just because you were the Dark Lord’s favourite pet you can act like you’re something special!? And now that you’re Potter’s bitch you have some kind of power here? You’re just a common whore, Draco!”

Draco ran a soothing hand down the back of the seething Gryffindor’s neck, raising an eyebrow calmly at his aunt, “Oh? Then what would that make you, Auntie? A whore so old and addicted to Dragshorn weed that she can’t even gain the notice of her Master, save for when she begs? I never realised you and your dog of a cousin had so much in common.”

Bellatrix shrieked with fury, but Draco calmly turned his back on the woman and attempted to soothe the flow of fear, anger and protectiveness that was coming off Potter. “Shh, Potter, it’s okay,” he whispered. “Bella can’t hurt me here, it’s against the rules, but she can hurt you if you try to attack her; so you’ve got to calm down, okay?”

Potter’s eyes were still mostly obscured by swirling black, but they flickered away from Bellatrix and back to Draco briefly and Draco took that as a good sign.

Hah! Score one to Draco in the creature-calming event for the day!

Potter seemed unwilling to push Draco aside to resume his attack on the dark-haired woman, despite – at least from what Draco could sense through their bond, being still overcome by protective urges, so Draco looked back at Bellatrix, “What are you here for, Bella? Is there a reason, or does your intellect and imagination just fail you when there is no one around to torture?”

Bellatrix’s eyes gleamed with malice, “Actually, you uppity little brat, the Dark Lord wanted to let you know now that you’re bound and awake, that you, Draco, have two weeks to get the Golden Boy under control before you’re both to be sent back to Hogwarts.”

Draco sucked in a breath – Potter didn’t seem to even register the name of the school, “Hogwarts? What for?”

“As a spy. In preparation.” Bellatrix smirked, “No one will suspect the Boy Who Lived of betraying all of them. Even with a Slytherin as his personal fuck-toy.”

Draco’s hand tightened reflexively on Potter’s neck, who was still looking rather like he thought Bellatrix should be something sliced, diced and on a menu, “Just two weeks? He’s only just changed.”

“Well, you’ll just have to make sure you meet the Dark Lord’s expectations, won’t you Draco? You know how difficult he finds it when people let him down. Even his favourites.”

Draco scowled at the older woman.

“Perhaps things will start to change around here. Back to the way they should be,” she said viciously, “Good luck, nephew, I’m sure the cravings will begin in the next day or so. Ciao!”

With that parting shot, Bellatrix swept out of the room.

There was a long pause, then Potter’s voice broke the silence raggedly, “...Cravings?”

Draco closed his eyes and sighed, “Yes Potter, the cravings. When you begin to feel the need for life energy, you begin to need to hunt. And feed.”


~..*..~


Draco tried not to bite his nails. He had always been a nail-biter. His mother still claimed that he had acquired the habit from Blaise Zabini when he was four, (his mother had been less likely to invite Mrs Zabini over for tea ever since) but Draco suspected that it was probably just something he was born with. Over many years and many punishments, he had mostly broken the habit, but in times like this – when he felt rather like he was going to explode with stress – the desire to chew came back with a vengeance.

When Draco had mentioned the whole ‘feeding’ concept, Potter had royally flipped. Full freak out with yelling and pacing and total refusal to calm down or listen to sense. Draco, for one, was sick of being the spoilt brat’s caretaker, and had curled up on the sofa in front of the fire with a book.

But Potter kept pacing, and Draco kept wanting to chew.

Apparently having worked himself to a fever-pitch again, the Gryffindor rounded on Draco, “Feeding!” He burst out with. “As in, using my crazy magical-creature powers to suck the life out of people.”

Draco sighed, “That’s right, Potter.”

“Suck it out! With my skin!”

“Through skin to skin contact, yes.”

“No, that makes no sense! I don’t understand!”

Draco slammed his book shut in total frustration, “What’s there not to understand, Potter? You’re a Dark Creature now, you go up to people, use your Dark magic on them, suck out their life, they die, you live – I live. Easy! What’s so fucking complicated about it?”

Opening his mouth to vent more of his frustration, Draco caught sight of Potter’s expression and stopped. The Gryffindor looked utterly stricken.

“But-” Potter said, “I don’t want to hurt anyone...”

Draco let out a breath and pressed a hand to his forehead, “Yeah well, life’s not always about what we want, is it Potter?”

Potter seemed to have gotten the pacing out of his system because he unsteadily dropped down to sit in the middle of the floor, a strange look on his face. After a pause where they both considered each other silently, he asked abruptly, “What happened to you?”

Draco tried to hide the instinctive tension which wound through his muscles. “What do you mean?”

Potter waved one hand expressively, “You used to be this complete asshole – a totally self-centred; arrogant, stupid rich-boy. Now you seem, I dunno, a lot more... human, or something.”

Draco let out a short laugh. “Thank you – I think – though somewhat ironic considering our current situation, really.”

Potter just kept watching Draco, clearly not willing to be distracted from his question.

“I-” Draco tried, “A lot of things were different, when the Dark Lord came back. I don’t think I really understood anything about it when I was younger. Everything changed and... well...” Draco struggled with the words while Potter watched him with earnest interest.

Seized by a completely errant thought, Draco suddenly blurted out, “Potter, I’ve never heard anyone trustworthy brag about – certainly not – Uh... have you ever had sex with a guy, y’know, before... before?”

Man Draco, really subtle evading there, and you call yourself a Slytherin? And what was with that sentence? I sound more like a commoner the more I hang around stupid Potter! Next thing you know I’ll be speaking in nothing but, ‘umms, ahhs and dhuurs’!

Potter turned a bright red colour which really didn’t look good on him, his eyes sliding wide open.

Draco wasn’t sure if he should be horrified, or relieved that he wasn’t going to catch one of those awful Muggle diseases, but something about Potter’s reaction nagged at him. Fighting down unease, Draco asked, “Potter, you had sex with someone – a girl though, right?”

The Gryffindor looked like he wanted to sink into the floor and disappear, “No, not really,” he said.

Draco held himself still, trying not to feel dirty in the presence of such innocence and naivety. Irritated by the shame that wasn’t an inch his fault, he snapped, “Not really? What’s that supposed to mean? You either have or you haven’t, Potter! How about we just clear this up properly and you tell me exactly how far you’ve been with anyone who isn’t me.”

“Why does this have anything to do with anything?!” Potter exclaimed.

“It just does! Tell me!”

Potter snarled and stood up, walking to the other end of the room. Draco bit his lip, Way to go, genius, aggravate the monster boy, see how that turns out.

“Me and Luna... y’know, did each other by hand, last year.” Potter finally growled.

“...That’s it?”

“Yes! Alright! That’s it! You don’t have to be so bloody surprised, Malfoy, I have been a bit busy!” Potter turned and glared.

“What? I didn’t say anything that –”

“You didn’t have to say it! I can feel the thoughts running through your mind, remember?” Potter started to advance on Draco slowly. “I can taste how dirty and jaded it makes you feel, I can practically smell how scared and nervous it makes you.” Potter was close now, and he leant over Draco’s chair - his arms bracketing Draco to each side, his eyes tinted with gold. “And I can also feel how relieved, how hot it makes you, that no one has ever claimed me for themselves before you.”

Draco leaned back in his chair, trying not to be mesmerized by Potter’s red, glistening lips and his clean, earthy smell.

“Do you want to burn yourself into my skin, Malfoy? Make it so no one can claim anything that you haven’t had first? Make it so every inch of my skin belongs only to you?”

Draco gasped and reached out to yank Potter to him, fusing their mouths together, demanding with lips, teeth and tongue, relishing the feeling of Potter sinking deeper into the embrace.

Draco pulled sharply on Potter’s hair, making him shift so he could pull his tongue along his palate, drawing away to bite sharply at his pouting, red lips.

Potter yipped and leaned away, “You bit me!”

Draco raised his eyebrows, Merlin’s balls, an innocent in the body of an incubus, what the hell am I going to do with him?

I suppose honesty is a start.

“We’ve both done worse. And I don’t mean in post-Quidditch tussles; when you get your groove-thing on you’re more than capable at all this sex stuff. Don’t try to give me that innocent look and expect me to just suck it up.”

Draco wasn’t one to coddle anyone, least of all Potter, life-bond or not. Potter might want to court obliviousness for breakfast and denial for dinner, but Draco was a strong believer in the therapeutic value of just facing issues head-on. Potter might try to go into this thinking he could find a way to be normal again, but if the Dark Lord was making Potter Draco’s responsibility, there would be no Gryffindor-coddling permitted on his watch. So no point in skipping the sex-talk to preserve prudish Gryffindor sensibilities.

“But that was different,” Potter was saying, “When I was – before, that was the creature, not me; I wouldn’t even know how to do... to do most of what we did. Not, not specifically...”

Draco couldn’t prevent a smirk, “But, you’d thought about it before, hadn’t you, Potter?” Potter’s pretty blush reminded Draco quite forcefully of their little play-offs at school, before all of this had begun...

Bloody hell, that seems like a lifetime ago now.

“Yeah,” Draco continued, “Don’t think I don’t remember some of the looks you were giving me in class, Potter. And let’s just cut out that, ‘that was the creature, not me’ crap before it gets any worse. I know Gryffindors like to put all the blame for any misdeed on anyone save themselves, but you’re only going to do yourself, and the people around you harm if you keep that up.”

“What do you mean?” Potter said. “You said yourself that I was going to suck the life right out of people just to eat. I would never, ever want to do something like that. How can you say that all that will come from me?”

“But it is you, Potter,” Draco said, sitting up and running frustrated hands through his hair, “You may not initiate the desires any more than a human initiates the desire for food, sleep or even procreation, but it is still you who will crave it, and you who will do it. You can’t run from that. That’s just cowardice. Aren’t you lot supposed to be the brave ones?”


~..*..~


Brave ones? Harry snorted, “I’m not feeling very Gryffindorish today, Malfoy.” Harry moved away from the blonde, returning across the room to fall onto the bed.

“If only it was as simple as lighting a candle and your inner nature could be put on hold - unfortunately I don’t think it really works that way,” Malfoy replied.

Harry frowned, “People aren’t as simple as school houses, Malfoy, we’ve got a lot more complexity to us than just, ‘courageous, loyal, smart or sly.’ As if there was never a smart Hufflepuff, or a courageous Slytherin.”

Malfoy’s lips twisted – even from across the room Harry couldn’t help but follow every slight movement of muscle made by the Slytherin.

“Perhaps,” Malfoy said, “But I wouldn’t like to see what would happen if you ever tried to accuse a Slytherin of having Gryffindor traits.” He paused, “...Actually, I think I would like to see that, I’m sure the repercussions would be quite colourful.”

Harry couldn’t help but think of his Vision Quest and shivered. Did any of that have something to do with what’s happening now? Could any of it be true? But does that mean that underneath it all I’m more evil than I think, or Malfoy’s nicer? “You never did say what it was that’s changed you lately, Malfoy,” Harry tried again. This time Harry was sure that the flush of anger and shame which seemed to stain the air between them was coming from the bond.

“That’s because it’s none of your business, Potter.”

“I was under the impression that everything between us was my business now, Malfoy.”

“Oh yeah? Then what is the Weasel’s greatest fear then?”

“Spiders.” Harry said before he could think, the word popping out of his mouth.

“Spiders, hmm?” Malfoy looked positively fiendish at the news, “Oh I could so use that.”

“Malfoy!” Harry exclaimed, “You can’t use the fact that we’re soul-bound to extract information from me to use to torment my friends!”

“Oh? But I just did,” said Malfoy, gleeful.

“No! Out of bounds! Across the line! Totally and completely un-cool!”

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, “Are you using Muggle-speech on me, Potter?”

“No! Shit! Could you stop being an arse for half a second already? If you didn’t want to answer my question, you could have just said so!”

“I did, you prick!” Malfoy cried, “On both counts! I have been doing my best to be nice to you all bloody day! As for the question... well, would you just leave it the fuck alone if I just say that some stuff came up which helped me to reconsider whether this whole war was as black and white as I thought it was?”

Harry blinked, he wasn’t really expecting that.

“I’m sure you’ll find out the details soon enough, since it seems like we’re going to be hanging out here for a while, I just don’t really want to talk about it, okay?”

“I – alright,” Harry said, confused and troubled by the way Malfoy’s shoulders slumped, as if depressed by a great weight. “I’m sorry,” he added.

That caused Malfoy’s head to rise again with a snap, “Did you just apologise to me for something that was actually your fault for a change?”

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Harry said, “Weirder things have happened.”

“Yeah, during the 1432 hot-spell in Alaska.”

“You know, the apology doesn’t cover my actions if you force me to beat you around the head with that chair.” Harry said, eyeing Malfoy sourly.

“Ooooh, I see how it is, ‘Abusive Gryffindors and their Silenced Slytherins,’ is that going to be the next headline? Dumbledore will be so upset.”

Harry was half ready with a response when Dumbledore’s name made him shut his mouth quickly. Malfoy must have sensed Harry’s disquiet because he had the grace to look a little uncomfortable.

“What did Bellatrix mean when she said we have two weeks before we go back?” Harry asked, his brain finally latching on to details from earlier through the fog of his hate and anger at the woman.

Malfoy looked at him seriously, “I gather she means the Dark Lord intends on sending us back to Hogwarts as soon as we’ve got your powers even remotely under control.”

“I don’t understand,” Harry said, wrapping a hand around one of the bedposts nervously, “Why would Voldemort do that? And what do you mean by, ‘under control’?”

“Well, I imagine the Dark Lord has some kind of plan which is helped by having you planted on the inside of Hogwarts’ walls, and as for the control part, surely it hasn’t escaped your knowledge that every time another human being comes even remotely close to us your mental capacity lowers to the equivalent of an enraged monkey?”

Harry frowned, “But I thought that was because I perceived them as threats to you?”

Malfoy gave him an exasperated look, “Sure, Potter, but I think you’ll soon find out that you consider everyone to be a threat to your Mate. Formosus Letum are known to be extremely violent and hostile creatures. Even when the infected are beings of higher-thought, like humans.”

“What, so you’re saying I’m going to completely flip out like that whenever anyone at all comes close to us?”

“I’m not certain, but I guess so. The only change I expect would be that when your cravings start you’ll probably try to feed on people instead of just attacking them. And I expect you’ll hunt if you couldn’t find any prey for long enough. I need to do some more research but I don’t remember there being much literature about Formosus Letum to begin with, so I think we’re going to end up flying on a few spare twigs and some string for this one.”

“So basically we know dick, we’ve got two weeks to learn it all, and then Voldemort plans to send me back to the school? Is he completely mad!?”

Malfoy shot Harry a dry look.

“Okay, well, stupid question, but how will we get this under control before I end up sucking the life out of First Years?”

“Well, I daresay the Dark Lord doesn’t really care if a couple of Firsties get sacrificed amidst the chaos,” Draco said, “And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s running on the assumption that Dumbledore will keep quiet any possible sins committed by his Golden Boy.”

“You think Voldemort will want us to tell Dumbeldore about what’s happened to me?” Harry asked, surprised.

“I don’t think there’s any way we’d be able to avoid telling him, Potter. Kidnapped in full-view of the entire school then mysteriously reappearing over two-weeks later? They’re certainly going to ask questions, let alone do some routine magical scans which will detect the change pretty fast.”

Harry leaned heavily against the bedpost he was gripping, “Damn it, I don’t know what Voldemort is planning, but it sounds about as viable as ever, and now I’m the one causing the problem, instead of trying to stop it.”

Harry shifted and looked up, startled to find Malfoy standing in front of him, one hand reaching out to rest against Harry’s forearm. The Slytherin’s face was a mix of concern, and what with the help of the bond, Harry could figure out as being surprise at his own reaction to Harry’s despair.

The gesture, however, was appreciated and Harry found himself turning, grasping the hand and pressing it to his cheek.

After a quiet pause, Malfoy spoke up, “You know, I don’t even like you, Potter, but I seem to keep finding myself comforting you today.”

Harry laughed, “Perhaps I’m just so pathetic that even a Slytherin can’t help but feel sorry for me?”

Malfoy shifted his hand to brush hair away from Harry’s forehead, “Harry Potter’s new special power, the ‘Sad Puppy Defence’. Definitely one to add to the school curriculum.”

Harry smiled, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch, “You know... part of me is still waiting to wake up.”

The gentle fingers were suddenly removed and Harry felt a flash of irritation through the bond – but by the time Harry opened his eyes Malfoy was already a few paces away, his expression controlled.

It was this very control which was such a starling change in Malfoy. When they were younger, the blonde was always coming up with elaborate schemes, ordering his minions around, whining and getting into fights with Harry. Now it was like he kept everything bottled up – considering his actions carefully before making a move. He even seemed to have his emotions under tight reign, if their bond was anything to go by.

“What did I say?” Harry asked, one hand half reaching out.

“It doesn’t matter, Potter. I’m as sick of this as the next person, but we both need to move on.”

Harry snatched his hand back, “That’s not what I -”

Malfoy just sent him a scathing look and Harry bit back his reply.

Fine. If that’s the way he feels then – just... Fine. Harry stood up, “Alright, maybe we should get to work at figuring out some of the strengths and limitations of these new powers then. Enough whining, eh? I’ll just do my best not to distract you with sad-puppy impressions and emotions you don’t want or need, and we’ll be sweet.”

Busying himself with clearing some space on the floor, Harry barely caught (and couldn’t be bothered trying to interpret) the odd look on Malfoy’s face.


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( TBC )



... would love to hear what you think of it...

Oh and, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! Yay, Jesus! Hope people are having good holidays! Peace, dudes!