The Reason

Chapter 13

'How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb, without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it there and lead it back home. Wake me up inside, I can't wake up. Wake me up inside, save me, call my name and save me from the dark. Wake me up, bid my blood to run before I come undone, save me from the nothing I've become. I can't wake up, save me. Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me, breathe into me and make me real, bring me to life. Frozen inside without your touch, without your love, darling, only you are the life among the dead. All this time I can't believe I couldn't see, kept in the dark but you were there in front of me. I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything, without thought, without a voice, without a soul. Don't let me die here, there must be something more. Bring me to life. Wake me up inside, I can't wake up. Wake me up inside, save me, call my name and save me from the dark. Wake me up, bid my blood to run before I come undone, save me from the nothing I've become. I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside. Bring me to life.' "Bring me to life" ~ Evanescence

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Harry had to use all of his restraint not to burst out laughing when he walked into what had become his and Draco's classroom.

There was a six foot circle of thick candles, which were about two feet tall, and six inches thick, laid out on the floor and Draco was standing in the middle of it, reading from an ancient-looking book. He glanced up when Harry entered, and Harry was struck by how attractive Draco looked in candlelight. He immediately pushed that thought from his mind and turned his attention to the task at hand.

"So, what do I need to do?" he asked quietly.

Draco sighed. "I'm going to summon the vampire while we're both in the circle, and then you're going to step out of the circle, and well, um, he'll drink your blood."

"And I agreed to this because?"

"Because you know I'm a genius. Now come over here so we can get started."

Harry walked over, and Draco pulled a thin dagger from his bag.

"Whoa! What are you going to do with that?"

"Would you prefer he bit you and drank the blood from your neck?"

Harry was silent.

"Exactly. It'll just be a small cut on your wrist."

"So who is my sire? Actually who are my sires, is the question, I suppose. If we're doing this, you must know, right?"

"Yes, I know," Draco said carefully. "Tonight we're going to summon Goyle's father, Ian Goyle. We'll talk about tomorrow after this is over. Now hold out your wrist. It'll hurt for a while, but vampires have amazing healing powers, so you'll be fine."

Harry turned his head away and held out his wrist. Draco's hand rested lightly under Harry's arm, and Harry found that he barely even noticed when the knife slit into his wrist.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Draco muttered and began reciting something that sounded like Latin, and suddenly mist filled the room, and from the mist appeared a very large man dressed all in black.

"Out of the circle!" Draco hissed urgently.

"What? He could kill me with his bare hands!"

"Now!"

Harry reluctantly stepped out of the circle, and found himself staring at the man, who was now less than a foot away from Harry.

"Drink. Now," Draco commanded, and Harry was shocked at the power in Draco's vice, and even more shocked as the man standing before him obeyed the command.

Draco waited for what seemed to Harry like an eternity before commanding the vampire to leave.

"Holy shit, Draco, where did you learn to do that? That was incredible!"

Draco looked up at Harry from where he sat in the circle of candles, and smiled bitterly at Harry, his eyes unreadable.

"Well, not everyone is as blessed as I am. I've been practicing black magic 100 times harder than this since I was 10."

"Draco, it's not your fault that his evil. Look at what you're doing; you are the exact opposite of him! You saved me."

Draco kept his head down, refusing to look at Harry as he spoke. "Not entirely, Harry, and that's what I'm worried about."

When Draco finally looked up, Harry was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"Draco, what's wrong? You've started my cure, which is something that very few people could or would do. Who cares how you got the knowledge? All that matters is how you use it. Draco, look at me. I'm half-demon. Am I evil?"

"No, of course not. God no, Harry, it's just tainted blood, nothing else, nothing really to do with you."

"Exactly my point. You're the same. Just because your father's evil doesn't mean you are."

"Harry, you don't know the whole story. Your other sire? The one we have to summon tomorrow? It's my father. My father is the one responsible for making you into a demon. He's a demon, Harry. He's a vampire!"

"Draco, is that what this is about? God, I don't care if your father created Voldemort! If your father was the one who killed Sirius, it still wouldn't change the way I feel about you. Nothing could."

At that moment, Harry wanted to kiss Draco more than he had ever wanted anything, but he controlled himself. Draco had already demonstrated earlier that day that he didn't feel the same way. Instead, he extended his hand to pull Draco up from where he was still sitting amid the candles, and Draco accepted it, sending jolts of electricity through Harry. But Draco didn't let go of Harry's hand, and he stood there a moment, looking into Harry's eyes. Then he moved forward and kissed Harry.

Chapter 14

'When moonlight crawls along the street, chasing away the summer heat, footsteps outside somewhere below, the world revolves, I let it go. The candy sweetness scent of you, it bathes my skin I'm stained by you, and all I have to do is hold you, there's a racing in my heart, I am barely touching you. Turn the lights down low, take it off, let me show, my love for you, insatiable. Turn me on, never stop, wanna taste every drop. My love for you insatiable. The moonlight plays upon your skin, a kiss that lingers takes me in. I fall asleep beside you, there are no words, there's only truth. Breathe in, breathe out, there is no sound. We move together up and down, we levitate, our bodies soar, our feet don't even touch the floor. And nobody knows you like I do, the world doesn't understand, but I grow stronger in your hands. We never sleep, we're always holdin' hands, kissin' for hours, talkin', makin' plans. I feel like a better man, just being in the same room. We never sleep there's just so much to do, too much to say, can't close my eyes when I'm with you. Insatiable the way I'm loving you. Turn the lights down low, take it off, let me show, my love for you, insatiable. Turn me on, never stop, wanna taste every drop. My love for you insatiable.' "Insatiable" ~ Darren Hayes

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The moment couldn't have been more perfect - they were alone in a room lit only by candles; it was the most romantic setting Harry could have imagined, and he wished it would never end. They broke apart eventually, but very reluctantly.

"Your cut - it's healed!" Draco said, awed. "That's amazing! I knew it would heal quickly, but wow, that's incredible!"

"Draco, earlier today, why did you stop me?"

"I didn't think you would want to if you knew... I still don't think I'm worthy."

"Not worthy? Draco, if there's someone not worthy in this room, it's me. You think that just because your father sired me, that erases six years of you saving my life while I was a total prat? Draco, I'm lucky you're still here."

"Okay, we're both lucky that we're here, and let's just leave it at that."

"Okay. Draco, I meant what I said earlier. That spell was amazing."

Draco was silent.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Draco said, but he evaded Harry's eyes, and began picking up the materials from the spell.

"You're lying," Harry countered.

"Fine. Goyle is an idiot. He couldn't control his way out of a paper bag. I may have seemed powerful tonight, but I'm not. And I need to be for this. I have to summon my father, the most powerful man I know - and keep him under my power long enough to break the curse on you. I don't think I can do it. He taught me everything I know, and that's only a fraction of what he knows."

"Did he teach you the spell you did tonight?"

"Of course not. That's a very specific spell, constructed for exactly this purpose. That's why we could summon Goyle, despite the protective barriers on Hogwarts. He didn't Apparate - he didn't do anything. Part of the spell was just a more sophisticated version of the summoning charm we learned in fourth year Charms. It was constructed specifically for vampires, because they're the only being that you can summon without attracting attention - how much attention can mist attract, after all? No, if I had known this spell before, our lives would have been a lot easier lately."

"Exactly. You looked at that spell a day ago, and you mastered it. That gives you two advantages over your father. One, he doesn't know this spell, which makes it harder for him to block or resist. Two, you're powerful enough to read a complicated spell and do it flawlessly the next day."

"But, Harry, I'm so tired now. I can barely stand up."

And as Harry looked at him, he realized that Draco was considerably paler than usual, and he looked very weak and tired.

"Sit down, Draco," Harry said, suddenly very worried.

Draco didn't need to be told twice; he practically collapsed to the floor in Harry's arms.

"Draco, do I need to get Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked anxiously.

"No, I just need to sleep," he whispered, and closed his eyes.

Harry pulled off his robes, leaving only his pants and T-shirt, and he bunched it up and used it as a pillow for Draco, who was already soundly asleep.

Harry sat there for almost an hour, just watching Draco, praying that sleep really was all he needed. Finally, Harry couldn't stay awake any longer, and he laid down beside Draco, the candles still burning brightly in a protective circle around them.