Staking Claims

Disclaimer: H.P. and company, not mine. *pets hair doll of JKR* mmmm.
A/N: SQUEEEE! Thanks for all the encouragement, it means a lot. BTW I am not sure how to italicize on the site. So for your convenience thoughts will be slashed. /like so/. Okay? Great. Now, “On with the Show!!!”

Draco lifted his head slightly to look out the window and down to the dark and empty street. He was lounging on a chair in his unadorned and temporary bedroom thinking about the last couple of days. Once he got over the whole ‘you’re a Vampire/Veela’ thing, he became more worried about the actual changing then about anything else. He could feel Narcissa’s eyes burning holes in the back of his head. Taking a deep sip of his Earl Gray tea, with a dreamless sleep potion (to help with the changes he would experience throughout the night) and a calming draught, he debated whether or not to speak. When she brought him his spiked drink, he had just taken the tea and turned from her. He was too confused and frightened to try to voice his feelings without breaking down. Now he wanted desperately to cling to her robes while she rocked him back and forth, the way she did when he was a child, and tell him it would be okay. Instead he sat with his back straight and his jaw set. /How did I get into this mess? Oh wait, I didn’t have a choice! Bloody bastards!/ He smirked bitterly. Thinking back he decided that he had never really had much of a choice in anything and it bothered him deeply, he felt betrayed. He was brought back to the present by the weight of his mothers hand on his shoulder. He realized he had been crying softly for the last few minutes and it must have prompted her to come closer. Wiping away his tears he looked up into her face.

“Mother?” was all he managed to squeak out. Narcissa’s face was flushed from crying and her fair hair was falling in wisps around her face from the bun behind her head. Her blue eyes were dark with grief as she knelt down to hold her troubled son.

“Breath, my Dragon. It won’t be as bad as you think.” She was muttering a steady stream of soft comforts into his ear. “It’s not even a full change darling. Shh. Just a bit of teeth and-” she paused, “it’s natural. Hush my love, drink your tea.” He nodded obediently and put the porcelain cup to his trembling lips. Tilting his head back he finished the contents before continuing to cry into his mothers shoulder. Not long after, maybe 4 or 5 minutes, he felt the edges of his vision begin to blur and then darken. Vaguely he knew he Father had come to his room as well and he was being laid down on his bed. His last coherent thought was that he needed to get the recipe to that sleeping potion.

***

At midnight on June 5th gray eyes sprang open, glittering with agony and hot, fresh tears. Draco’s mouth opened and he let out a strangled howl, waking his Mother, who was lying beside him and his Father, who was dozing, slouched in a chair beside the bed. Narcissa jumped up and promptly grabbed Draco’s shoulders to keep him from thrashing about and held him close as he screamed. Lucius immediately filled the basin at his feet with fresh, icy water from his wand and pouring in healing and calming salves. He wet a towel and wiped Draco’s flushed face before laying the wet towel across his son’s forehead. Narcissa rocked him as his face contorted in anguish. She knew Draco wouldn’t remember any of this; all he would remember would be the blinding pain ripping through him.

It felt as though his body was rejecting his own blood, as if someone was tearing him apart, piece by piece from the inside out. His skin itself crawled and burned and his scalp felt like it was on fire. Even though on some level he knew he was crying, his eyes felt like they were as bone dry as his throat was and being rubbed with sand. Minutes passed, then hours while he sobbed and screamed and ripped at the blankets on his bed. And then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped, he was facing the most brilliant green eyes he’d ever seen. They covered his entire field of vision and cleared his mind. He then took a shallow breath and passed out.

Lucius continued to wipe down Draco’s body with numerous wet clothes and cursed not having house elves to help care for his son while Narcissa checked his temperature and the progress of the changes with a few simple medi witch spells. Draco’s temperature was a 103.2 but decreasing and his vitals seemed to be stable. From what Narcissa could see the changes appeared to be continuing without a hitch. She could tell by simply looking at him that the worst was over. He was glazed with a thin layer of sweat but his skin glowed brighter and paler in the moonlight then usual, his eyes, which she had seen for but a moment as he struggled were like liquid mercury. She smiled as she watched his hair continue to lengthen only to stop just above his chin and his body began to fill out muscularly, he even gained a few inches. Lucius looked at his wife and when she nodded he leaned over and gently opened his son’s mouth. His long fangs had grown in next to his canines and sparkled mischievously in the dark room.

“Is it over?” Lucius asked quietly.

“Yes, love. He’s finished.” She smiled and stood next to her husband, reaching down and grasping his hand. “How do you think he’ll feel tomorrow morning?” Lucius looked over and laughed lightly.

“Not well I expect. I’ll have to put in a call to Dumbledore you know. He’ll want to hear about this.”

“Yes, I imagine he will.” She sighed.

“He won’t sell us out. I can’t think of a better secret keeper. And Draco will be safe at Hogwarts, I can’t think of a better place for him.” Lucius kissed his wife’s hand as he spoke.

“I know.”

***

The sun woke Draco out of his slumber. He was sore and grumpy and wanted desperately for the sun to burn out. He eyes felt crusty and his throat was dry, he reached for a glass from his nightstand and the movement felt languid. Blinking he sat up and looked around. For a moment he forgot where he was and then it all came rushing back. /I’m in a safe house. My family is on the run. I- I’m a vampire?/ He stretched his sore muscles before getting up to inspect himself in the mirror across the room. He felt different, like he was higher up, when he got to the mirror he saw that he in fact was. He had grown at least 4 inches; he thought he might be as tall as Potter now. He stood in front of the mirror for what seemed like days. He just stood and looked at his silver eyes and slightly longer, slightly whiter, hair and his slightly more defined muscles. It seemed to him that the changes were not very drastic but mostly minor. Then he opened his mouth. /Now this is new./ His set of teeth had two very sharp and very long additions. He smiled menacingly at his reflection. /Very nice./