Love For Blood

Chapter Twenty-Two

Harry watched as the flames of the common room fireplace flickered before him. His eyes narrowed at the bright colors that danced around each other.

"There is no way it was just a coincidence," he stated calmly. "With the rise of Voldemort no longer undeniable, it had to have been an attack."

"You make a valid point. However, why Katie? What does she have to do with anything?" Hermione sighed. She too had been racking her brain for an idea of what had happened.

"Merlin, this is absolutely mental," Ron groaned, planting his face in his hands. Hermione simply nodded in agreement.

"They were taking it to Dumbledore, right?" Harry asked suddenly, his jaw clenched.

"Yeah, but-" Hermione answered, doubt dripping into her voice at Harry's tone.

"They were trying to kill Dumbledore, not Katie..." Harry whispered lowly.

"There isn't enough evidence to suggest-"

"Think about it, Hermione! There isn't any motive against Katie to warrant a cursed necklace! They were only using her as a vessel," Harry said with a sharp edge to his voice.

"So let's say they were trying to get to Dumbledore. How did they even get the cursed necklace to Katie? I'm pretty sure a death eater passing around shady brown bags to teenage girls is pretty conspicuous," Hermione stated with a frown.

"Hmm, that's true. They have a distinct look about them and an aura of 'I steal candy from children and use it in rituals' type thing," Ron added with a contemplative look on his face as if he'd actually contributed.

"We're right back where we started! I'm telling you they're after Dumbledore-"

"What if you're just overreacting?! It's completely possible it was just a Slytherin trying to knock her off the quidditch team before the end of the year!" Hermione cut Harry off with a glare.

"By almost fucking killing her?! Do you hear yourself right now?" Harry yelled indignantly. It was probably a good thing many Gryffindors had wandered to bed by now, or else the entire school would be gossiping by tomorrow.

"It makes more sense than you're practically baseless conspiracy theories! Do you know what happened the last time you went off on a tangent like this? Oh yeah, that's right! Sirius almost died!" Hermione shouted without thinking about her words. Her eyes widened as the gravity of her words settled in.

"W-Wait! Harry, I didn't-"

"I'm going on a walk. Don't wait for me," Harry stated calmly, rising from his chair and walking towards the boys' dorm. He didn't visibly exit the room, however, the portrait had mysteriously opened and slammed shut by itself.

Hermione sighed, burying her face in her hands. She hadn't meant to go off like that. She was simply frustrated. Was it such a crime to want to have one normal year? Hermione didn't want to find a deeper meaning. She didn't want to fight some unseen evil. She just wanted to have peace. However, Harry wasn't at fault. He always had a desire to find the truth. To protect the people he loved as well as he could.

"Merlin, 'Mione...You really messed him up," Ron whispered solemnly into the lingering silence.

"I know, Ron, I know..."

Harry walked through the halls, his feet stomping along. It was a blind rage really. Walking along until his anger wavered or his legs have out. He brought his map, but his mind was so absent that he wouldn't be able to focus on it even if he wanted to.

Maybe he could blame the stray tears that began to race down his cheeks on rage too.

Eventually, the anger had faded and all he was left with was the brutal truth.

Hermione was right...

Everyone who gets close to him is in danger of becoming collateral damage. Just like his parents. Just like Mr. Weasley and Sirius. All he does is put people in danger.

His thoughts fizzled out as he heard faint footsteps. He, though invisible, ducked behind a suit of armor. No one wanted detention.

He was, however, pleasantly surprised to see silver blond hair poke out of what was probably a secret passageway.

The boy stretched with a yawn, seeming quite tired.

After the boy adjusted his face slightly and a well-placed stream of moonlight, Harry confirmed it was indeed Draco Malfoy standing mere feet away.

Impulsively, as many things he did were, he crashed into the boy's chest. This made Draco hit the wall behind him with a small grunt.

Draco was a little confused. Although most people would probably be confused if an invisible body began to cling to them. Then he remembered Harry had an invisibility cloak.

Just then, the shoulders pressed against him began to shake. Was he crying?

"Harry...?" Draco whispered out in question. He figured he wouldn't get an answer, so instead, he gently got ahold of the invisibility cloak.

He carefully lifted it from Harry's head, making sure to not pull on anything else. Underneath was indeed a disheveled, crying Harry Potter.

Harry leaped forward out of the opening of the invisibility cloak to cling to Draco again. He let out a sob into the blond boy's shoulder.

This time, Draco immediately responded. He wrapped his arms around the distressed boy. One hand holding the back of his head while the other rubbed small circles along his back.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Draco whispered softly. The boy in his arms let out another sob, shaking his head violently.

"A-All I do is h-hurt and kill p-people," Harry called out between sobs. Draco's eyes widened at the sudden confession.

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is! My parents? Dead. Cedric? Dead. And I almost got Mr. Weasley and Sirius killed too!" Harry countered, his voice almost desperate.

Draco gripped the boy in his arms tightly, face scrunched in sorrow.

"I'm not afraid of you."

Harry blinked, his sobs momentarily paused.

"Wha-"

"I'm not afraid of your past. I'm not afraid of your future. I'm not afraid of your wolf. I'm not afraid of what could happen to me. I'm not afraid of you, Harry," Draco whispered out with determination. He gripped Harry's unruly hair tightly as he frowned.

Harry backed out of his arms, looking up at Draco's stormy eyes. Draco's face softened into a fond smile. Harry let out a broken laugh, a smile taking over his face. He felt like his brain was hysterical from a whiplash of emotions.

He leaned in, wrapping his arms around Draco's neck. He hadn't realized he needed to hear something like that. For the first time in his life, there was no doubt. Draco wasn't disgusted, scared, or held any doubt. Only trust, love, and devotion.

Harry caught the blond's lips in a fierce kiss, eagerly returned by the Slytherin. He melted into Draco's arms. He had needed this so much. Someone to hold him and tell him it was okay. That he wasn't a bad omen that destroyed everything he touched.

After a while, they pulled away. Draco let out a huff.

"Let's go to the RoR. We'll get caught out here," Draco whispered with a genuine smile that held no alternative motives. Harry trusted that smile with his life.

"Yeah, let's go."
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A/N
I'm so sorry for the late update! I've had a lot going on lately and really haven't had the time to work on this despite how much I wanted to. Thank you so much for over 70k reads! I genuinely don't deserve the amount of positive support this book receives. So thank you for sticking with me through rough times and good ones.
Love Y'all,
   ~Cam