Deeper Than Blood

Chapter 8

Harry gasped and lifted his head. He didn't feel the horrible loneliness as strongly as before. It was still there, aching in the background, but Harry could finally think again. It wasn't consuming him anymore. He laid back, opening himself up for the first time in days. The stretching would do him good.

His eyes were closed, focusing on stretching all his muscles out before he tried to stand up. It was then that he felt the smallest of tugs. His eyes flew open and the feeling dissipated immediately. He closed his eyes again and focused. This must be what they were talking about, the bond with my mate. They must be a year above me then, if they're seventeen now. He made a mental note to have Hermione do some digging to see who had today as a birthday.

The tug moved, instead of subtly beckoning him towards the window, it was now pulling towards the door to his bedroom. It was getting stronger too, alarmingly quickly. His eyes opened of his own accord and he sat up, his brow furrowed. He couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do, but his heart practically sung when Draco flew through the doorway.

He had managed to stop himself by grabbing onto the door jam and he just gazed at Harry. He was in his veela form, his cheeks tinted pink and the air around him crackled with excitement and anticipation.

"Do you feel it?" It didn't take long to figure out what Draco was talking about. As soon as his eyes fell on him, his entire body started pulsing with magic. Tiny dots of if were flying off his body, growing in volume and strength the closer Draco edged towards him.

At that moment, it wasn't Draco Malfoy that Harry was looking at. It was his mate. His beautiful, radiant and very happy mate. Their arms wrapped around each other and they stood there, embracing each other in their wings. Harry felt the tugging stop, and in its place he felt his magic slowly traveling out of him and towards Draco. He didn't need to panic though, as he could feel Draco's pouring into him just as quickly.

He felt warm all over, inside and out. He heard Draco practically chirping in happiness. They had both waited so long for something they didn't even know they missed.

They were like that for what seemed like forever. It was Harry that drew back to look at Draco first. It was like he was swimming in his eyes, and he never wanted to stop. Suddenly, Draco broke his reverie.

"Harry..." His voice trailed off as his finger tips grazed Harry's face. "I...just...wow." Harry inwardly chuckled at how hard the usually eloquent blond had to struggle for words. "Did you get shorter?" He shook his head.

"I think you grew a few inches and I shrunk a few." Their voices were just whispers on the gentle breeze, and they both took notice of Harry's in particular. It hadn't raised a pitch, but it was more musical. Softer, and harmonious now. "Draco..." Draco pulled him closer and Harry nuzzled into Draco's neck.

The most delicious scent was invading his senses the closer he got to Draco's skin. He cupped the other side of his neck and inhaled deeply, keeping his voice softer than the breeze.

"My Dragon..." he practically whimpered when he realized what was happening. Draco was carding his fingers through his hair, slowly shifting his weight from side to side to produce a gentle rocking.

"Yes?" His voice was just as soft now, barely a breath against his hair.

"I..." His cheeks flamed. His emotions were scrambling to snuff out his conscious thought, but they were failing.

"Harry, completing the bond is crucial, you can't drink from me until then." Harry whimpered, but nodded against his shoulder.

They spent their remaining days at Malfoy Manor laying in bed together. They tried to practice spending time without touching each other but each attempt was met with a dull ache that grew after a few minutes and would build into searing agony. They simply couldn't handle it yet.

Hogwarts was going to be extremely hard this year.

The four of them apparated to platform 9 ¾ and they said their goodbyes to Narcissa and Lucius. They were both wiping tears off their faces as the train pulled away from the platform.

The two of them had managed to find an empty compartment and after putting their trunks up Harry laid his head down on Draco's lap. They had used very strong Notice-Me-Not charms so no one would see them.

A few minutes into the ride, Professor McGonagall let herself into their compartment.

"Alright, I know you you two are here, but I don't know what bench to sit on." The charm faded away and she smiled at the creatures. "Beautiful wings, boys. I'm afraid I'm here on business, though.

"Mr. Malfoy, as I'm sure you're aware, your parents contacted me a few days ago once you found your mate. I've taken the necessary steps, and converted your private rooms into a suitable place for you both to stay." She paused, thinking about how to go about this next part. "Normally, I would say that you two need to behave yourselves but since there are necessary steps to your bonding...well at any rate, no other students are allowed to visit you after hours. You two will have free reign of the school, except the house dormitories after hours, in order to further your relationship.

"I've also arranged a speech at the welcoming feast about you two. I ask that you two replace your charm when I leave this compartment and separate yourselves from the rest of the student body to come and find me before heading up to the castle." The boys nodded, interested to see what else she had to say.

"You'll both be taking the same classes, and you'll both be paired up together and sitting next to each other. I trust you can keep the affection to a minimum during class time. I can't have you two being a distraction any more than you already will be."

"Thank you Professor, for being so accommodating."

She smiled warmly. "Think nothing of it, Mr. Potter. I trust you will stay out of trouble this year. Goodness knows, I'm tired of seeing you in detention. I would like to ask, though, would either one of you be willing to teach a lesson in the care of magical creatures classes about yourselves? I imagine everyone will be incredibly curious. It would have to be on the weekend of course, so as to not interfere with normal lessons." The both nodded, excited about the idea of getting to teach their classmates about themselves.

She left them to their own devices for the rest of the train ride.