Hot-Blooded

Chapter Six

"Harry was attacked, Draco!"

Draco had known going to see Teddy and Andromeda was a terrible idea, but he hadn't been able to stop himself from doing it, anyway. He wanted comfort and family, and they're all he has.

He's five days out from the full moon incident, and everything still feels horrible. He'd been stared at and whispered about at work. Even Taylor, who always treats him more normally than anyone else, had looked at him with so much pity it had made him want to scream. "Sorry about Harry," they'd whispered, and Draco hadn't been able to do anything but nod tightly and walk away.

"He's going to be alright," Draco tells Teddy gently.

"I know," Teddy chirps back. "Aunt Hermione is looking after him. Aunt Ginny, too. And sometimes—"

"I'm sure they're doing a very good job," Draco cuts him off, turning away so Teddy won't catch the ugly jealousy in his expression.

"Have you been to see him?" Andromeda asks him later when Teddy has been put to bed and Draco is preparing to leave through the Floo.

"No. Not since..."

"You should go see him."

There's a firmness in her voice he's never heard before. At least, not directed at him.

"I..."

"Go see him," she repeats, sounding so much like his mother that he doesn't even consider refusing.

✦ ✦ ✦

Harry is leaning against the counter drinking a cup of tea when Draco Apparates into Harry's kitchen after work the next day. He's shirtless, and the wounds on his chest have nearly healed completely. The only indication of their presence is a raised crimson scar where each laceration had been.

"Hi," Harry says, tilting his head to one side with an appraising look on his face.

"Er, hello," Draco finds himself inexplicably lost for words. "I was—I just wanted to make sure you were—I expected Granger and Weasley to be hovering over you like a pair of dragons guarding their nest."

He shakes his head. "Ron's working. Hermione's been doing most of her research here, but she needed to catch up on some paperwork and she wanted to search the Ministry archives for something, so she went with him. It's just me." He shrugs.

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" Harry asks gently, setting his mug aside and crossing the room. "You look tired."

"Flatterer," Draco laughs weakly. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're the one who was injured."

"I'm fine now. Thanks to you."

"Don't—"

"I'm serious, Draco," Harry says, setting a hand on his arm. "Thank you."

Draco's eyes are drawn to the tendon in his wrist, to the blood pulsing through him. The scent assaults him, and his mouth floods with saliva, his fangs extending.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but I can drink from a bottle. I don't want to hurt you."

Harry gives him a warm smile that crinkles his eyes at the corners and leans in to kiss him. He slides his hand up Draco's shoulder to cup his cheek, his wrist inches from Draco's mouth in blatant offering. "You won't. I trust you."

The temptation has him practically vibrating. He's hungry, and Harry trusts him. It feels like they've crossed some sort of rubicon, and Draco doesn't quite know what to make of it, but as the scent of Harry's blood hits him full force, his brain shuts off. He can't stop himself from gripping Harry's wrist and sinking his teeth in.