Darkness Falling

Darkness Falling

*

Indecency and Serious Thoughts

*

Lucius let his eyes skim over the crowd of students as they filed out of the train. Being taller than most, he had no difficulty in spotting the person he was looking for. Walking calmly through the students, uncaring about the wary looks they gave him and the band around his arm, he headed for Severus.

"Well, this is surprising," he said, raising an eyebrow, as he finally reached his lover. "What would our dear Minister say if he knew that you are a part of the added security against Dark threats?"

"Probably the same he'd say if he knew that you and Lupin are a part of it," the other Slytherin replied calmly. "We'll have time to chat later on. Now, let's get the students to the school." He, too, glanced around at the students, and noticed Draco. The blond was currently busy explaining something to Harry, his hands whirling to and fro. "May I ask what exactly is wrong with your son?"

"Oh, Draco? Nothing serious," Lucius replied lightly. "He was too nervous to function, so I made the house-elves feed him beef. As you know, it won't poison him, but it does make him rather... unusual."

"Out of his mind, you mean," Severus remarked bemusedly, nodding in understanding. Veelas were cannibals by both nature and magic. Lucius, as a half Veela, would have been poisoned, should he have ingested any other meat than human flesh or blood that wasn't human -- the reason why he was a vegetarian. Draco, however, was only a quarter Veela, and thus the effects weren't as strong on him as they were on his father. There were some effects, though, like could now be clearly seen.

They got the students safely into the boats and carriages. Whenever some student started to protest at their "overprotective" actions, one look at Severus and Lucius's cold expressions was enough to shut them up. Remus and the few other teachers present didn't have to do much except for just watching.

Some students had given Severus rather odd gazes due to his now perfectly clean, shiny hair. Unable to resist the urge and not needing to do so anymore, now that his divorce from his wife was official, Lucius casually brought his hand up to tangle his fingers in the raven locks. Severus briefly leaned his head against the blond's hand, then slowly pulled away. "We need to get going," he said simply.

They soon found themselves in a carriage with, unsurprisingly, Remus and Draco. The werewolf raised a slightly amused eyebrow at their now joined hands, but didn't say anything. Draco didn't say anything, either -- at least not before he saw his father's hand wandering to Severus's thigh.

"Now, that's quite enough," the younger blond remarked dryly. "It is quite enough that I know about your relationship. Do not try to traumatize me any more by getting intimate in front of me."

"Well, don't blame me," Severus replied, slapping Lucius's hand slightly to make him remove it. "It's your insatiable half Veela father here who seemingly just can't get enough. As you can see, it was not my hand that was wandering past the boundaries usually held in polite company."

"Don't blame it on just the Veela blood," Draco said, smirking a bit. "My grandmother is a Veela, and my full human grandfather still could keep up with her. I'd say father's human genes are just as bad."

"Well, I cannot tell which side it is that makes him so insatiable," Severus remarked, "but whatever gene causes that most certainly is strong." He glanced sideways at Lucius, who just smirked.

"Err... excuse me," Remus said, "but could you possibly choose another topic of conversation?" He indeed looked a bit uneasy at their choice of subject, not to mention he was blushing slightly.

"Why so, Remus?" asked Lucius, raising an eyebrow with a slightly amused expression. "After all, it is only a natural thing, even more so to me than to you. Werewolves love chocolate, Veelas love sex. What's your problem? Should I get uneasy if you start to talk about eating chocolate?"

"There is quite a lot of difference, and you know it very well," snapped Remus, blushing even more now. "It may be natural to you, as a half Veela, but most people don't discuss their sexual habits in public!"

"We're hardly in public," Draco pointed out. "I'm the only minor here, and I am a quarter Veela. So, I at least don't see a problem in our conversation." The blond boy shrugged a bit.

To that, the werewolf couldn't say anything. Instead, he just sighed deep and shook his head. Then he tried to close the part Dark creatures out of his mind for the rest of the ride to the castle.

*

The Sorting Ceremony had gone by rather uneventfully, though there seemed to be a bit of strain over the whole castle. There were less first years than usually, and even some elder students were missing -- why on Earth, Harry couldn't understand. Sure, people wanted to keep their children safe, but if they'd asked him he'd said that Hogwarts was the safest place for them. So why'd they want to keep the kids home?

Shortly after the meal had started, however, Dumbledore stood up once again. "Almost all of those who have been identified as Dark creatures or part that have left the castle," the Headmaster said seriously. "However, some of them have decided to stay among us. Now, I'm required to list them." With a last glance around the Great hall, he ensured that everyone was quiet before continuing. "Professor Snape, the Potions Professor, who is a half vampire," Dumbledore started, pointing at the Potions Master, "Professor Lupin, the DADA Professor, who is a werewolf, Professor Malfoy, the Charms Professor, who is a half Veela, and Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, who is a quarter Veela."

At this announcement everybody started to talk loudly. Most seemed to be amused about Snape's status as a half-vampire, which was not a surprise, considering all the rumours there had been concerning him. Remus, of course, was hardly a surprise to the elder students, who had also informed the younger ones of his condition, but the truth about the two Malfoys seemed to indeed shock most students. In an instant a couple of seats on both sides of Draco were vacated as nobody dared to sit next to him. The blond appeared to stay as cool and collected as always, but there was a flicker of something in his eye that hinted he wasn't completely content with the situation.

After watching the now very lonely blond for a moment, Harry made his decision. Standing up abruptly, he then steadily made his way towards the Slytherin Table. Everybody in the Hall was staring at him as he walked forward, finally stopping in front of Draco. The students were all strained, most of them probably expecting to see him attacking Draco or at least insulting him. They were all shocked by what he did.

"I see this seat is free," Harry said calmly, pointing at the chair next to Draco. "Do you mind if I sit?"

The Slytherin stared at him for a moment. Then, however, he nodded in permission. Harry sit down calmly and started to fill a plate, ignoring the countless pairs of eyes locked on him, Draco's included.

"Why aren't you eating?" he then asked curiously from his old rival. "It's rather good, you know. Especially the cooked carrots." He stuck a fork into the small orange objects on his plate.

For a moment, Draco just stared at him. Then the blond chuckled a bit desperately and slowly started to eat. Satisfied with this, Harry continued with his meal, and the Hall gradually returned to its usual state. However, not everything was the same -- one of the giant hourglasses now held twenty rubies.

"So, Potter," asked Draco after a moment, "why exactly did you come here? Because if it's out of pity, you can leave right away. I don't need anybody's pity, and especially not yours."

"That's not my reason," Harry replied calmly. "It's just that after all these years I'm convinced you can't be that bad. As everybody else seems to think that you are, I'm intent on proving them all wrong." He smirked a bit -- a habit he had unconsciously copied from Snape. "So, what did you do this summer?"

Again Draco gave him an odd look. Then the Slytherin chuckled again, sounding now more amused than desperate -- a definite improvement, Harry decided. After that he launched into a detailed story about what he had done during the summer. At some times there was even a hint of smirk tugging at his lips.

'Oh, yes,' Harry thought. 'Definitely an improvement.'

*

"Why on Earth did you do that, Harry?" asked Ron. "Malfoy's a Slytherin! A Death Eater bastard! And now he's even officially a Dark Creature, and what do you do? Try to befriend him!"

"Exactly," Harry replied levelly. "I think it is unfair to judge anybody just by who they are or what they were born as. The Dursleys have mistreated me all my life just because I happen to be a wizard. Besides, anybody who's against Fudge is on my side, and Malfoy definitely is against that bastard." Raising an eyebrow, he continued, "I am rather surprised, though. I'd think that you, of all people, would know about the new regulations against Dark Creatures, what with your Dad's job. Doesn't he tell you anything?"

"No, he doesn't," the redhead answered. "Dad says that his job is nowadays hard enough without bringing his worries home as well. However, I still don't think that any information would change my opinion much!"

"I dare to disagree," Harry said calmly. "However, despite everything, you are my best friend, Ron. I do not wish to fight with you over such a thing. Now, let it drop. I want to get some sleep at last."

With this, he turned around on his bed, ignoring Ron, who still stood out of his bed, staring at the back of his head. However, even though Harry appeared to be sleeping, in reality it took a long time before he managed to really fall asleep. Even then, his rest wasn't exactly peaceful.

*

Draco lay on his bed, wide awake. He had requested and got a private room outside the usual Slytherin quarters to prevent some Slytherin fanatics from trying to slaughter him because of his "impure" blood. Even though it was unlikely they'd do anything in Hogwarts where all Dark magic would be immediately noticed, the danger did exist, and all teachers admitted that, not just his father and the Headmaster. Therefore, he was now as safe as he could be, given the situation. Still, he couldn't sleep a wink.

His eyes wandered to his arm in the dim light of the room, and he shivered. The fresh scar stood out against his pale skin, and for a moment he was reminded of the pain. Even though the ones who had to bear a registration mark were now much more numerous than before, the Ministry still hadn't changed its habits. Just like Lupin had once been marked, he, too, had had to sit still as a number was carved onto his skin repeatedly, soaked with some burning scarring potion after each time until nothing could erase it. If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the blade cutting through his skin and the flesh underneath.

However, the pain hadn't been the worst part. No, far from that. He could bear quite a lot of pain -- a rather useful Veela trait he had fortunately managed to inherit. The worst part of the marking, however, had been what he had smelt -- and felt. As soon as his nose had caught the smell of the blade, he had known that many others had been marked with it that very same day. Even though the small blade had appeared to be clean, he had clearly sensed the scent of blood and pain. And that had made him hungry.

Of course it hadn't been so bad to him, as he was only quarter Veela. His father had, by what he'd been told, had to struggle so as not to attack the markers and try to devour them. One of the rare full Veelas in the country had indeed done so -- and been executed right away. Draco'd had no problems in keeping his hunger in check, but still, it frightened him. If the faint smell of blood and the feel of his flesh being cut was enough to make him hungry for human flesh and blood, what would he do if actually offered some?

Now, he shivered again. The thought was one of the most frightening ones he'd had in a long time. He knew that Severus, although preferred human blood, could survive perfectly well on animal blood, or even solely a potion. Severus's main urge was blood; when that was satisfied, he had no problems with his vampiric side. Even when he was hungry he still stayed in control of himself.

That was the main difference between vampires and Veelas. Vampires had all once been humans; Veelas were of a different species altogether, although they were capable of interbreeding. Although a full vampire might have been a slave to their instincts when faced with hunger, a half vampire with a strong will and some stubbornness could perfectly well control themselves. Half Veelas, however, were not as lucky. All his life Draco had watched his father eating only vegetables and fruit, knowing that any nonhuman meat and blood would poison him, perhaps strongly enough to die. And if Lucius ever had a taste of human blood, he might completely lose control of himself, attacking whoever was nearby. The consequences of him eating human flesh were just unimaginable -- or, at least, Draco preferred not to imagine them.

Also all his life had Draco thought he was above such a thing. After all, he could eat animal meat -- although it did make him appear like he was on sugar high, or, "meat high", like his father called it -- and had once even tasted some goat blood from his father's potion ingredient stock. However, the smell on the marking blade had given him a hunger, a hunger he could not satisfy. And that truly frightened him.

At that time he had managed to control himself without problems. However, could he do that in the future? And, more importantly, could his father stay in control of himself if faced with such a situation again?

He'd lost his mother because of Fudge. He did not want to lose his father, too.

*