Deeper Than Blood

Chapter 11

They were seated and Draco gently let his wings out.

"What if someone sees? Do you really want that kind of attention?" Panic laced Harry's voice. He just wanted a nice dinner, not having to worry about people starting.

"Do you see anyone looking?" He leaned forward. "In order for wizards to get a reservation here, they have to fill out an application and undergo an interview. That's to sort out anyone who wouldn't know how to handle people as famous, or unique, as the two of us. It's perfectly safe to take your wings out Harry. I promise you that."

Harry slowly let his wings out, still unsure of the reactions he'd get. Upon receiving not so much as a glance, he relaxed and smiled at Draco. When the waiter brought them their menus, Harry's heart sank a little.

"What's the matter, angel?"

Harry's cheeks flushed with a tint of color. "I don't know French," his voice was soft but the embarrassment shone through. "Don't worry, angel. I learned it just so I could come here with my parents. Seemed such a waste for them to go through all the trouble of getting me on their list of approved reservations for me to now know how to communicate to them. It would be quite rude of me to make them speak in English, even though the entire staff must be bilingual. I can order for you, if you'd be okay with it." Harry slowly nodded. It was better than looking like an idiot.

The waiter returned with the wine Draco had requested and a young woman. She was dressed in a light lavender colored dress that reached the floor, a color that complimented her light brown hair well. She conversed for a moment with Draco, gave the two of them a polite curtsy and moved on to greet other tables.

"Who was that?" Draco smiled, clearly getting amusement out of the faint trace of jealousy that laced Harry's voice.

"That's Lavande. She owns this place. She just wanted to offer her personal congratulations at finding you. If there's one thing about Lavende, it's that she loves seeing her favorites come here with a partner." They looked through the menus, Draco describing everything to Harry, and the waiter suddenly appeared for their orders once they had decided.

"Draco? You had mentioned something about a bond between us getting stronger when you have to leave me...what bond?" The veela tilted his head, thinking.

"Well, there's this...connection between us. It allows us to send our emotions to the other over distance, as well as the direction the other is in. Once it's more solidly formed, most can tell about how far the other one is as well. Some pairs were so strong, it's said that they could send images to one another as well as a few words."

"Oh, is that the pulling sensation I get every now and again when you're across the hall?" Draco nodded, happy that he had caught on so quickly. "So how can we strengthen it? Before you leave, I mean."

"Well, it's not very hard. It just takes a lot of practice. You just have to find that pulling sensation and send whatever you want me to receive towards it. I know that's not a very good explanation, but it's the best one I've got."

"No, I think I get it." Harry closed his eyes, and concentrated on sending a wave of desire towards his better half. He opened his eyes when he heard a tiny gasp. "Like that?" Draco nodded, his cheeks warming. He hadn't been expecting Harry to grasp the concept so quickly, or to be able to send such a strong emotion to him and he especially didn't expect his angel to send something so naughty his way.

"Alright Harry, calm down there. In time, I shall stake my permanent claim to you but until then, you must be patient. Isn't that supposed to be a virtue of yours?"

"The vampire negates that, I think."

They spent the rest of the night discussing when they thought they could move onto the next stage and practicing strengthening their bond over dinner. By the end of it, they both were watching each other with passion etched in their eyes and pheromones flying. It had been so strong that the couple sitting a few seats away from them were now sharing a heated kiss.

Draco continued to send Harry small gifts until early December. They went out every Friday night for a romantic dinner and on Saturday they would go out for lunch. Sunday they would catch up on homework and have a nice candlelight dinner in their room. Harry insisted on cooking on Sunday, wanting to show off his culinary skills to his veela. He wanted to show him how good of a submissive he could be, and without Draco having to tell him what to do, or how to do something.

"Harry, I was just wondering," Harry smirked. He knew there was only two things Draco 'just wondered' about anymore and both of them had to do with Harry. "Our bond has gotten much stronger, wouldn't you agree?" Before Harry could answer and before Draco lost his nerve, he continued. "I just thought that since the holidays start in a week, and since you're spending the holidays at Malfoy Manor, I figured now would be the best time for use to continue on to the next part of our relationship." He looked down, hating the way they had to separate. They both understood why it was necessary, but neither one of them liked it.

"I-I just thought it would be easier for our school work if we spent the holiday together instead of cutting out time from our classes or becoming a distraction to everyone else. I understand if you don't want t-" his speech was cut off when Harry kissed them. It was gentle, slow and understanding.

"I don't like that we have to, but I like the idea of having the entire holiday break to spend entirely attached to your hip." He winked, causing the pale skin to flush. "Besides, the sooner we get it over with, the sooner we won't have to worry about it."

"I've already talked to the Headmaster about it. He gave us permission to skip classes this week. All any of the teachers do the week before holiday is review what the class had learned so far. I'd be going to stay with my parents and you'd be staying here."

"For how long?" They both winced. Neither one liked the idea of spending so much time away from the other.

"Father had looked into it a little further for me. He said most dark angels have to spend up to two weeks apart. He did say that when a dark angel has a mate that is another creature then it depended on the creature they were mated to, if they were submissive or dominant and how much power they possess. With all the bits of information Father gathered, he thinks we'll be on the shorter side, needing only a few days."

"When will you leave?" Draco grabbed him around the waist and held him in his wings.

"Whenever you're ready, my angel." They held each other, neither one of them wanting to let go. It would hurt them both for them to be apart, but Harry knew that they would push out the other side of it stronger than every.

"I'm ready. I don't want to be, but I have to be if we're ever going to get past this." Draco packed while Harry stopped him every so often to plant gentle kisses on his face. When he had a few outfits stashed away in an overnight bag, he turned around and held the man against his chest.

The kiss they shared was searing, burning with silent pleas and desire. It eventually softened and spoke only of love and tenderness. Harry's cheeks were flushed and Draco's eyes burned with passion and regret. He truly didn't want to leave, but he understood it was necessary to their relationship.

Harry waved at him sadly, watching him step into their floo and disappear in a flash of green flames.