Control [Drarry]

Chapter Twelve

It's the next evening and my palms are getting sweaty as Potter leads the way towards the half-giant's hut, I'm walking slow, partly due to pain but also trying to prolong the inevitable meeting with Hagrid, however still going over it in my mind, this will make Potter happy and it's the only lead that I have.

The steep path was a challenge, however, we did make it to the hut, Potter standing in front of me, he looked so happy to see his friend. "What if he hates me?" I said, voicing my concerns to Potter, before he could answer, the simple wooden door opened, and I hid slightly behind Potter as the half-giant swung the heavy-looking door open, letting it bang against the outside wall.

"Harry, how are you?" I heard the deep voice say happily, seeing his friend. "And who's this with you?" As soon as that question was asked Potter stepped out of the way so that Hagrid could fully see me. "Oh, Mr Malfoy," he added with a mixture of confusion and slight anger in his tone of voice. He quickly covered this up however by drawing his attention back to Potter. "So Harry, what can I do for you?"

"I was hoping we could ask you some questions, can we come in?" Harry asked. The half-giant looked confused for a moment taking a quick glance between the two of us before stumbling over his words but indeed invited us in. I found myself a seat, closest to the door, whilst Potter and Hagrid made themselves cosier by the fire.

After a while of being in his home, I started to understand the warm homely, cosy environment that the half-giant had managed to make for himself despite the home being small. He boiled us tea over the flames and started talking passionately, mainly towards Potter about many creatures he has worked with. After a while, Potter asked subtly "Hagrid, you wouldn't happen to know anything about, I don't know, vampires perhaps?"

"Why do need to know anything about vampires," he replied with a slight chuckle.

"Nothing particular, it just got me curious recently, I can't find much in books,"

"Yeah well," the giant began taking a slight cough, "Now I have never worked with vampires before, however, I used to know a man that studied dark creatures particularly what the ministry class as dark creatures, hoping that with his work we could eliminate any biases in the wizarding world, by creating understanding, we met down the pub and started talking about our professions and such, that's when he mentioned it. There are almost like types of vampires a pure vampire, who are born full vampires, have great life spans and look humanoid from a distance, however, are almost always in a state similar to the rouge state, if you've heard of that?" We nodded along so that he knew our understanding and proceeded, "Anyway, there are also half-vamps, now by my understanding there are two ways that they come about. Either they are born where one parent is human and one is pure vampire, or when a human is bitten, both half types are similar enough to one another, both having more resemblance over an actual human but with subtle vampire traits. The only difference I can remember is that bitten vampires struggle a lot more with feeding impulses and can't control themselves half as much as born half-vamps as the body will not quite accept it as well, so they need to feed more."

This information did make me panic I hadn't fed before and it's been months I know it's been getting harder for me to keep the monster at bay but I feel shocked that I could turn into the thing that attacked me that night. Many questions filled my head, "So hypothetically do you know how long a bitten-vampire could go without feeding?"

"I have no clue," he thought for a moment, "I can't imagine much more than 6 months though before losing complete control, and once they lose control the human part dies, that's why they are so dangerous."

"Is-is there a cure?" I asked optimistically.

"No, not that I know of, sorry," I sighed.

Potter stood up as he glanced out of the window and saw that it was close to the sun setting. Excusing the both of us from Hagrids, thanking him for everything and making our way back up the steep path, towards the castle.

Potter had noticed I had been quiet for a while as I was processing this new information, "so how are you feeling?" he stupidly asked.

"What do you think?" I snapped at him harshly, "I'm going to turn into a full-on monster, lose every part of myself, I'm stuck being a blood-sucking beast for the rest of my life."

Silence consumed the energy between us, "I'm sorry," I said.

"No, it's ok you're going through a lot, look I'm going to keep looking, there has got to be some way of making you better at least lessening the effects from the vampire, at least so that you're not in pain."

"Thank you Potter, but I don't want you to do that, all this shouldn't take over your life as well."

"Well is there anything else that I could do to make you feel better?"

"If you're sure, but we may get in trouble if we are caught walking around after hours again." But Potter just smiled.

"It's ok, trouble usually follows me anyway." he smiled at his statement.

We walk the route that I have come to know like the back of my hand at the beginning of the year, except it had been a little time since I had travelled it, through the twists and turns of the corridors and the many staircases, the door appeared in the wall.

"Why are we at the room of requirement?"

"I want to show you why I used to come here before you caught me."

I led him through the maze of objects piled on top of each other, lost and discarded items just like me, I guided him to the mirror that showed dreams.

"This is-,"

"The mirror of Erised," he interrupted me. "I found it in my first year, when I looked at it I saw myself with my parents. I actually became a bit too obsessed with it, I stopped when Dumbledore asked me to, and then it was moved."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea. You can go if you want, forget it exists-,"

"Malfoy, stop it's ok, I'm ok now, I won't get affected by it anymore, I was just feeling low at the time and not having many people around wasn't helping me, but I have grown from then and now I am at peace with not having my parents because I have my own family, I have made with my friends."

A long pause fell on us, I was just staring towards the mirror but not looking in.

"Why? What does it make you see?"

"I see myself, my mother and father proud of me, my old friends," I sigh before continuing, "I am human again, no more ill-looking completion, my bright blue eyes no longer dead looking, I stand tall, no more cuts or bruises and no more fangs."

"Malfoy, I'm not going to tell you what to do but don't get left in the past ok, it's not good for anyone."

"I understand."

Potter yawned "I'm tired, I'm going to head to bed I'll see you tomorrow." He started to walk away.

"Potter," I said, calling him just before he reached the door, "thank you." He nods and smiles before leaving me alone.

I take a step forward to where I am looking into the mirror properly, except the image is not like how it was before, instead, I am standing here, fully human, back to normal but when I look down slightly I notice I am holding Harry's hand.