Passion

"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed." --Jiddu Krishnamurti

Blood. Crimson, metallic, sweet, sticky blood slowly flowed down his cheek like tears, except that tears had never trailed down his cheek or even appeared in his uniquely colored eyes. A pale, long finger glided down the length of his cheek, past the creek of blood creeping down the soft flesh before sweeping up and wiping the red up.

The finger entered an eager mouth, where the blood was licked off the skin of the appendage. His face brushed past the other's mouth, and his tongue licked the remainder of the vitality away. His eyes looked up, and stormy blue met overcast grey.

"How dare he?" growled Blaise Zabini. Draco Malfoy scowled, a wicked gleam appearing in his eyes. "No one dares to touch you without my permission," continued Blaise.

"Possessive, aren't you?" Draco questioned with a smirk before capturing Blaise's lips and savoring the taste of his blood. He licked his lips seductively when they drew apart.

Blaise smirked. "Eager, aren't you? Though it would be quite inappropriate here, just in case someone finds us."

"We could just Obliviate them, you know," Draco suggested.

Blaise smirked. "Perhaps later. You still have to retrieve the Lord's Pet."

Draco scowled. "Fine."

The two men walked down the cold stone corridors, silent footsteps permeating the chilling darkness. They stopped in front of a plain, brown, wooden door, and Draco took out his wand, murmuring the spell to unlock the door. The door opened to reveal darkness, though an even darker form could be seen. The shape lumbered toward them until the light from the torches shone upon Harry Potter, whose brilliant green eyes glittered with hatred until he saw Blaise.

"Remember me, Potter?" smirked Blaise.

Blaise himself remembered it very well, the images still clear and lucid in his mind. It was the last battle they had before the end of the war, and Potter, damn him, had panicked and cast Cruciatus on Draco when Draco cornered him. Though Draco stayed upright and bit his lip so he could refrain from screaming, he had blood pouring everywhere, from every orifice. Blaise effectively cast a Stupefy at Potter's back, and before anyone had noticed, he took Potter's unconscious form and Draco's barely conscious one and Apparated to Serpent Dawn, his and Draco's manor.

He chained Potter up in the dungeons and snapped his wand, then set to work restoring Draco, whose flawless skin was torn and bloodied almost beyond recognition. While tending to Draco, Blaise, vengeful as he was, thought of a plan. He appeared later at Riddle House, where the rest of the Death Eaters were, "celebrating" their victory. Blaise sought an audience with the Dark Lord and told him of his plan for revenge, which the Dark Lord approved, knowing Blaise to be efficient, merciless, and almost infallible.

The raven-haired man sent ransom letters to the people Potter cared about most, warning them to keep the exchange secret and show up alone if they wanted to see him alive again. He made sure to send each a different date.

They all came willingly, like brainless puppets, and each was captured as he/she arrived, the ransom of fifty million Galleons taken and added to his and Draco's account in Gringotts. Then, the true revenge began. In front of Potter, he tortured all the people the hero loved to death, feeding the flesh to wolves brought in from the estate grounds and the blood to several vampires loyal to the Cause. He had Potter crying in front of him and Draco, bound with chains, before he knocked the foolish once-Gryffindor out with the flat of a sword. Potter was taken by the vampires to Riddle House to the Lord, who decided to keep him as a pet. Potter held an irrational hate for Draco, who he blamed for his whole ordeal, though he became quiet and subdued with Blaise's presence.

"Come, Potter, the Lord is waiting," drawled Blaise. Potter grudgingly shuffled forward until he was out of his cell, Blaise keeping a careful watch on the slave. Draco locked the door, and the three set off, Draco in the vanguard and Blaise in the rear with Potter in the middle so Blaise could watch all of Potter's movements.

They reached the dining room with ease, and when they entered, all eyes turned to them. The three headed straight for the main table, where the Dark Lord sat. When they arrived, the Lord smiled at them, amused.

"My Pet, sit here. You two, choose."

Potter took the remaining seat next to the Lord, who sat at the head of the table, leaving two seats between Severus Snape and Potter. Blaise took the seta next to Potter, Draco by Severus.

Dinner was loud in the room, though the High Table was relatively quiet. Draco and Blaise chatted amiably with Draco's parents and the Snapes while Potter remained quiet, the Dark Lord's amused gaze upon them.

The troupe moved to the ballroom after dinner ended, and as Ode to Joy by Ludwig von Beethoven started playing, many couples started to dance, Lucius and Narcissa, Severus and his wife, Lysandra, and even Blaise and Draco, though they slowly navigated to the door and left as soon as they were certain that no one was watching them.

"Shall we go back?" asked Draco mischievously. Blaise responded by Apparating them both to the Serpent Dawn estates, by the hidden waterfall.

The moon shone on the two men, reflecting pale, almost silver hair. Beautiful gray eyes beckoned to matching lucid blue ones, playful teasing apparent in them. Draco smiled and extended a pair of pure white wings he received from his Veela heritage.

Blaise gave a matching smile, and he extended his pair of black wings from his incubus genes. Draco took flight, and Blaise chased after the blonde. He overtook the half-Veela, and when he caught Draco, Draco took them both plummeting into the lake the waterfall ran into.

Water droplets. Small, round, and wet, they settled in hair, clothes, and wings alike, and when Draco and Blaise rose out of the water, laughing, the droplets were shaken off. And when the two collapsed onto dry land, Blaise noticed several red droplets on the almost completely dry face. He frowned.

"What?"

"You cut your cheek," Blaise responded softly.

Draco shrugged and stood up. Laughing, he pulled Blaise to his feet before the two took flight together, holding each other and flinging water droplets everywhere. They kissed in front of the luminous moon, and during the kiss, Blaise leaked out several tears. The tears mingled with the water, but especially the blood on Draco's cheek, and several red droplets fell with the teardrops onto the wet ground.

One year later, Draco and Blaise found a white flower growing with blood red stains around the outer edges of the petals, and they knew that the legends were true. The blood and tears of a Veela and its lover combined with true love and emotion would create a rare flower only mentioned in legends--the Verus Diligo, capable of giving immortality to true lovers.

Blaise and Draco never used the flower, though every year, on June 10, they went to the waterfall to cherish the day. After they died, it was said that if one looked hard enough on June 10, one could see two beautiful moon-lit forms, one with white wings and one with black wings, flying with each other in the night sky, laughing and kissing.

~~~~~

For auriasve-chan.

Happy Birthday!

You're the best beta a person could ever have. ^^ Thank you for putting up with me all this time!

You're a great friend, too. Thank you for helping me with everything and making me smile with your comments!

Don't give up yet. Love can create wonderful things. Go for it, you never know what you might find!