Cracking the Gold

Author\'s Note: Leaving for wedding in 12 hours!! I figured I\'d get another up if I can before I get cut off from my internet. :) It\'s late, please forgive me. >_<

Disclaimer: See Introduction

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Draco\'s head tilted once more, studying Harry intently again. The mood swings were enough to drive him batty, and he wasn\'t entirely sure how he was picking up on them so easily yet, though he supposed it was due to the recentness of the feeding and let it slide.


Harry slouched back in his chair, closing his eyes. Plotting your own death was hard and emotional deep inside--since he couldn\'t dare let it on to Malfoy. Hell, maybe the DE\'s would attack and torture Malfoy for slipping this fact up once both he and Voldemort were dead. Then they\'d all kill each other in a glorious battle. Then everythin would be safe again. Dream on Harry.


Draco\'s brow furrowed slightly once more, \"Shall we have dessert out on the veranda Harry? Or would you prefer to eat it inside this evening?\"


Harry blinked. \"Doesn\'t matter.\" Why was he asking him? Why was Malfoy pretending to care? He just wanted to shut his mind down for the time being. Be a numb robot or a while.


His brow furrowed further then, \"I asked your opinion Harry. If it didn\'t matter I would have decided.\"


\"Fine. The \'veranda\'. Like I care...\" Why did he feel snappy? He wasn\'t sure...


Draco sighed, shaking his head as he instructed the houselves, unfolding from his seat, \"Come along then pet.\"


Harry was messed up inside. Draco randomly calling him Harry instead of pet, his unusual concern or whatnot for him, Harry trying to figure out whether he liked his rival or not and the new knowlegde that he\'d had the power to get rid of Voldemort all this time--easily. Harry followed slowly, shuffling behind him.


If he\'d been paying attention, he likely would have noticed that Draco called him Harry when he wasn\'t doing anything to displease the blonde, and called him pet otherwise.


Ahh, let\'s add another thing onto Harry\'s little mind. This would soon set into Harry\'s head, but not right now. His mind was now switched to the thought of sweets.


Draco smiled slightly once they reached the veranda, settling in his usual chaise lounge, almost purring, it was nice enough at least.


Harry settled on the ground rather quickly, oddly. He enjoyed the cool tiles, that was all. It felt nice on his warm


He laid down on the ground, as if he was tanning and stretched out happily, ignoring the taunt of the sweets for now.


Draco smiled at that as well, his own arms folded behind his head, watching Harry out of the corner of his eye, glad that he seemed to be stablizing at least. As far as emotions were concerned anyway.


Harry laid on his back, trying to not crush anything, eyes closed happily to the lowering sun.


Draco tilted his head slightly, just watching the other intently for a long moment, then settling back himself, it would be a while before the houselves brought the dessert.


A few minutes passed before Harry opened his eyes. \"Draco...why aren\'t you torturing me...?\" It was slightly random, yes, but he felt he needed to ask it, and the wording hadn\'t been well thought out.


His brow furrowed slightly at that, blinking, \"Why should I? I don\'t like destroying my things.\"


The brunette sat up slowly, leaning back on his hands and looking at his lap as if he\'d just been caught coloring on his sleeping father\'s bald head. \"Because you\'ve never exactly been nice before--and now....now that I can\'t----you could really...nevermind.\"


He half smiled, brow arching, \"Now that you can\'t fight back I could really tear you to ribbons? Yes, I know. But what would be the point, besides the momentary satisfaction I would glean from such an action.\"


Harry\'s ears went red as Draco had put what he\'d been thinking so bluntly. \"Yea that...\" he muttered softly.


He shrugged, \"I prefer a living pet and source of food than one who\'s dead and therefore of no use to me whatsoever.\"


Harry blinked and looked at Draco. \"F-food...?\" This was getting creepy. His head was going to explode. Was that possible?


He blinked twice, \"You can\'t think the biting was just for fun.\"


Harry sat up and his eyes seemed to glaze over. He felt ill as his fingers idly floated to his neck, hovering over the skin without touching. His mind flashed back to those moments, the feeling that swept through his body, the feeling of bliss. Was Draco saying he was a....a... No. There was no such thing. Period. You didn\'t think there was such things as werewolves either....


Draco\'s head tilted slightly, studying the other man intently for a long moment, \"Are you feeling alright Harry?\"


Harry nodded slowly before blinking his eyes back into focus and letting his fingers finally land on his skin. He didn\'t understand...he had no mark other than what the collar had given him, but the memory of that piercing feeling was intense. He swallowede nervously as he felt his eyes close in rememberance of prior events, and embarassment that he was--being affected by the memory of them.

He shifted the way he was sitting.


Draco smiled slightly at that, noding, \"Thought you\'d remember.\" He shrugged, \"Ah well, you\'ll get used to it anyway. And then you won\'t have to remember each time.\"


Harry couldn\'t even pretend that he wasn\'t thinking about those exact moments anymore. His emerald eyes rose to meet silver. \"You...I didn\'t think...that felt...\" His eyes lowered to the ground as he settled to sit cross legged--somehow. \"Blimey...\"

He shook his head, \"If it hurt there\'d be a struggle and too much blood would be lost in between. It\'s just not worth it then.\"


His hand ran absent mindedly over his neck, trying to find the marks he knew weren\'t there, prodding at the ones that were. His head was definately going to explode. so much information in one day.


He sighed, shaking his head, \"Oh do relax Harry. I\'m not about to rip into you, and certainly not right now.\"


Harry looked at him. \"I never thought that...\" In fact, he\'d been trying to convince himself that he hadn\'t enjoyed the feeling and that he didn\'t want to try to seduce Draco right there into draining him dry---and this time he wasn\'t even giving a thought to using that as a suicide attempt. All he could think about was those glorious sensations he remembered.


He smiled slightly at that, nodding once, \"You\'ll get used to it pet. It\'s going to be a regular part of your duties.\" And so it would, he\'d found that he was quite addicted to the brunette really and loathe to give him up.


Harry smiled discreetly at that. He hoped the feeling wouldn\'t ever fade at all. He kept his eyes low, hoping then that his thoughts weren\'t written all over his face.


Draco smiled as well, and it turned into a grin as the houselves brought dessert, \"Just in time I might add, as always. Thank you.\" It was uncommon for him to thank the houselves and they weren\'t entirely sure what to make of it.


Harry nodded in appreciation to them again, his mind swirling still. Only moments ago he\'d been sure on a plan that he had to rid himself in order to rid the world of Voldemort....yet he was having second thought because of how a....a...how he had made him feel on some blood greedy moments? Harry wondered then if Voldemort has somehow jumbled his brain with the scar...


Draco smiled, settling back in his chair once more, picking up one of the lemon squares to nibble at, smirking faintly as he did so, just watching Harry, head tilted, \"What would you like Harry?\"


Harry blinked back into the real world. \"Oh...umm...anything really.\" His ears tinged slightly, as he looked to the plate. He remembered Draco\'s words from previously and hesitantly searched for something he\'d never tried before.


Draco smiled, handing him down a slice of jellyroll, \"Sticky, watch the drips.\" He continued nibbling at his own lemon square, content with that for the time being, and just watching Harry with the blackcurrant jam in the jelly roll


Harry turned it in his fingers for a few moments before taking a cautious bite. He seemed to like it as he took another larger bite immediately after, cupping his free hand beneath his chin to catch any stray dribbles that might appear.


Draco smiled slightly at that, dusting the crumbs and sugar from his fingers as he watched, he decided that he rather liked that look on the other man, hand dipping to wipe a smudge of jam away, licking it off.


Harry tilted his head away from this the best he could with a mouthful of sweets while attempting to see what else was on the table. There was something that looked like that of a cheesecake. Harry carefully set his eye on it, careful not to look like a pig though.


Draco chuckled softly, lifting a slice of it down and handing it over, it was indeed cheescake, a prailine chesecake at that.


Harry thanked the blonde quietly and took the piece into his mouth, smiling and closing his eyes as he savored the taste. Cheesecake had to be his ultimate...sweet. He never turned down cheesecake, and it was always delicious. This was one of the sweets he didn\'t horde down as fast as he could.


Draco arched a brow, taking note of that. He made a mental note to tell the houselves to come up with new cheesecake recipies, he rather enjoyed the look of bliss on Harry\'s face.


Harry ate the piece slowly, happily savoring everything, enjoying the creamy cherries on the top with the thick juices that covered the cake portion. He picked at the little bottom layer crumbs that had fallen onto the plate and ate those, licking them from his fingers as he poked them to pick them up.


Draco smiled at that, shaking his head as he sat back, \"Would you like another slice Harry? Or do you think you\'d probably explode if you had one?\"


Harry wasn\'t sure what was meant by the \'explode comment\' but he nodded eagerly for another, then realized he looked like a git. He calmed his nodding and replied with an eager tone, \"Yes please...\" He\'d only have one more, as many as he would crave. As much as he hated Malfoy, he still didn\'t want t seem like a pig.


Draco smiled, lifting Harry\'s plate gently and giving him another slice, somewhat larger than the first. He sat back again, ankles crossed, just watching once more.


Harry seemed all too happy to have another piece. He took his fork and scraped off the cherry toppings and rolled them onto his tongue within his mouth, beaming like a child with ice cream.


Draco smirked faintly at that as well, hands half-caressing the arms of his chair, picking up a cream puff for himself and nibbling it delicately


The fork continued to pole at the layers gently, picking up only enough of the treat to cover the tips of the fork\'s prongs before he placed it just inside his mouth and sucked the delicious delight off. Then of course repeating until he was at the crumb bottom.


Draco smirked faintly at this process, shaking his head, it was amusing really, and that was all that mattered. That and the fact that Harry was quite clearly enjoying himself.


Harry proceeded to puncture the crumb bottom until it was in crumbs and not a solid block. Then he put the fork down and poked them with a wet finger and licked them off.


Draco chuckled softly, shaking his head as he settled back more comfortably, just watching the entire process with interest.


Harry was finished. He looked at his lap. He didn\'t need anything else. He was happy with the lingering taste of the cheesecake.


Draco smiled, shaking his head and unfolding from his seat, taking Harry\'s plate gently before offering the other man a hand up, \"Shall we retire to the parlor then? Or are you ready for bed?\"


Harry looked at the hand then gently took it. He rose slowly and thought a moment. He definately wasn\'t tired. Far from it. \"Parlor I suppose...\" He couldn\'t remember which room was the parlor, or if he\'d seen it. He--of course--hadn\'t payed much attention during his initial tour...aside from the potential escape routes. All of which he\'d forgotten or figured out that they were hexed or trapped in some way by now.


Draco smiled, nodding once as he slid an arm around Harry\'s shoulders, padding off down the hall, keeping the other man close, almost purring as they walked. He was content in the knowledge that Harry wasn\'t about to try taking off any time within the near future.


Harry seemed confused by this action, and as much as his mind screamed at him to shove him away and run, he didn\'t. In fact, he felt a need to lean onto the blonde. He ignored that thought as well, however. After a few steps, he found his mind focusing on nothing other than the rhythmic pattern of the tag on his collar flickering against the dip in his neck as he strode along. It intrigued him.


Draco smiled, half-sensing the other\'s drifting attention, though he presumed it was a good thing, since it meant Harry wasn\'t fighting him every step of the way without any cause for it.

The parlor was one of the smaller sitting rooms, with a pair of comfortable couches, a small table and a bookshelf dominating one wall.


Harry blinked back to \'this\' world as they entered the parlor. He didn\'t remember the travel there, only a rhythm that was bouncing along inside his head now which he couldn\'t seem to get rid of.


Draco smiled, settling on one end of the couch, \"Come sit with me Harry.\"


Harry hesitated. With him? As in...beside him on which side? Harry felt this old tug in his head--only a few days old mind you--so he \"instinctively\" sat on the floor and stared at it. As soon as he did, his mind shot at him. What the hell are you doing?? Get on the couch you git! But then another voice was also telling him this wasn\'t a good idea because of other certain reasons.


Draco arched a brow slightly at that, \"Comfortable down there Harry?\" He had meant the couch of course, though he\'d left it open ended for just that purpose, he wanted to see what Harry would do.


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Responses to reviews on this chapter


LPhoenix
yet another great chapter...... keep up the good work... :)
update soon... i look forward to this story when i check for updates...

I\'m glad to hear that!! ^_^ That makes me feel special! ^-^ Thanks!

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ura
Harry is way too much into sweets.

I thought vampires eat only blood.

Why is Harry confused all the time?

For the sweets, think about how long he\'s potentially been captured. I know there\'s been no said time that he was with Voldemort before he was handed over to Draco, but it must\'ve been a while, and he surely wasn\'t fed often there; only enough to keep him alive.

As for the Vampires thing, I\'ve said this before; not all vampires are \'traditional\'. How else has Draco been able to go to school in the daylight? Many people think of only the traditional vampire tales, but in reality there are really more type of vampires. Many vampires are in fact identical to us aside from the occasional blood feed in order to stay alive. Holy water is nothing, garlic, crosses, daylight...nothing. They don\'t have messed up faces or constant canines unless they wish to keep their fangs out at all times. Hope this has helped somewhat...

As for confused; wouldn\'t you be? Captured, tortured, starved, then handed off to someone who you always thought was your rival only to have them treat you better than anyone has. To have the guilt on you that you should be angry that ... whoops. Almost gave something away. ^^; To be angry at how the war ended, yet despite the occasional guilt trips, you feel almost happy where you are at times, but you know it\'s \"wrong\".

That\'s about all I can say I think. I gotta get ready for my sister\'s wedding, ^^;, so yea. Talk to y\'all later!!

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thrnbrooke
Cannot wait for chapter 22! I like Harry\'s confusion. It should be there. Draco is treating him wonderfully now. Almost like a consort instead of a pet.

He is treating him well isn\'t he? ^_^


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evil
downrighteevil@yahoo.com
Holy shist! ^^... That was absolutely... Well, I can\'t say it, because I\'m totally speechless... I wonder what\'s gonna happen next, yeah? *Grins widely and stretches a bit* Update soon, \'cause I want to read MOOOOREEE!!

*giggles* Hope you stretched out enough. ^_^


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sisko66002(not signed in)
Draco being a non-traditional vampire was obvious but I had thought that perhaps either his innate magic or perhaps some spell was responsible for the unusual aspects. I hope you update soon because it seems that each chapter is better then the one that came before it and gives me some much needed inspiration in repairing and finishing my own fics.

Aww, thank you! That makes me feel warma nd fuzzly inside! ^-^ I\'m not too sure why Draco is the type of vampire he is, perhaps Harry will have to ask him this...

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xxnutty_lunaticxx
Happy_and_Joyful@hotmail.com
Hi! Great fic! Can\'t wait until the next chapter. Just wondering, do you think you could email me when the next chapter comes out? I\'m not regularly on aff.net so won\'t be able to check much. Thank you, and thanks for the wonderful story too. Every time I think I\'ve figured out what\'s happening, a twist suddenly happens and I\'m all confused again - lol!

No problem, but I admit that I have trouble remembering to send e-mails on updates every time. ^^;