In the Dark

Day After

Harry felt the light against his eyes and the sheets under his body first, then the awareness that he was, again, bound – his ankles and wrists. Only this time, his wrists were at his side and he wasn't submerged in darkness. It was disorienting to open his eyes at first. He wasn't in the same room now. The bed was small; the room was nearly bare and sterile looking. St Mungo's. He was in the hospital.

The shades were drawn but it was still light in the room. A sound drew his attention and he looked over to find Hermione asleep in a chair beside his bed.

The night before came back to him slowly as he watched Hermione sleep. The way the vampire had acted differently and the wishes he had made. He could remember the last one before he had passed out. It seemed so far away then, but now he knew without a doubt the vampire was Draco.

He sighed as he turned to look at the ceiling. Draco had let him go. He could understand why Draco would do that but he still didn't like it. He did want to go looking for the blond now, but not to kill him. He wasn't going to let anyone else either, though he didn't know how much they knew yet. He would have to find that part out first, and right now he wondered why he was bound to a bed. Did they think he was going to hurt himself? Not knowing if he was going to see Draco again was already starting to claw at his insides.

The door opened and a Healer in the traditional bright green robes came in. "Ah, Auror Potter," he said.

Hermione stirred at that, blinking open her eyes. "Harry!" she said excitedly, relief clear in her expression. "Oh, thank God."

"Have I been out for a while?" Harry asked, giving Hermione a small smile to reassure her.

Hermione scooted closer, putting her hand in his. She opened her mouth to answer him but the Healer shook his head.

"I need to evaluate you, Mr Potter. I am Healer Shaw," the man explained, holding a clipboard and quill handy. "After you have answered some questions, we can let you know what we have so far. Understand?"

"Okay," Harry replied. His was voice stern. He didn't see why telling him how long he had been asleep at the hospital would be an issue, and he wondered if more than a day had passed. How many nights had Draco spent without him?

"Can you tell us where you have been since you last reported in at the Auror division and how long?" Shaw asked.

"No," Harry said evenly. "I don't know."

Both the Healer and Hermione frowned at that. "Mr Potter, you were missing for over a week, and you were in serious condition when you arrived here yesterday. Can you not recall any of the events of that time?"

Harry ignored the question for the moment. He could recall most of what happened on the bed or in that bedroom with Draco, and he longed for those cool hands now to touch him again. He sighed, knowing that Draco wouldn't spend enough time here at St Mungo's for the amount of skin contact Harry was craving. It was too dangerous for the vampire. He thought for a moment that maybe Draco had brought him here, and asked, "How did I get here?"

Shaw shifted from one foot to the other and gave the drawn-out sigh of a person preparing to deliver bad news. He glanced at Hermione. "The information I have about your condition could be quite personal, Mr Potter."

"I would like it if Hermione stayed," Harry stated. "You can say whatever you want in front of her. She'll only ask me to repeat it afterwards if you don't."

Hermione smiled, squeezing his hand in support. She looked haggard, like she hadn't slept well recently.

"Very well then. You appear to be the victim of a vampire attack. You had multiple bite wounds, blood loss and ... appeared to have been sexually assaulted," the man explained, not meeting Harry's eyes as he said it.

Harry could see why the Healer would think that what happened between him and Draco had been assault. It hadn't been gentle even when he had been riding Draco. Harry shivered then as he remembered how much he resisted, and was secretly glad Draco had persisted in giving Harry what he longed for. He had begged for it eventually, and would do so again. He didn't care anymore about whether or not Draco won by being proven right because, in this, he was quite content in losing. Harry did, however, bite his lip as he heard Hermione gasp in shock. He didn't want to explain this to Hermione, even if she would believe him. Harry didn't think he could talk about the vampire penetrating him without sounding as if he liked it, so he decided not to talk to them about it.

"We have performed some Healing Spells but will need to have you take Blood Replenishing and other potions," Healer Shaw explained.

Harry frowned. "Then why am I bound to a hospital bed?" He wanted to leave as soon as they would let him so he could leave and find Draco, then maybe he could feel those hands, teeth, and that prick again. The thought made him tug against the restraints unconsciously. He hoped they would take it as an emphasis to his question even as his mind fantasized about being with Draco.

"For your safety and the safety of others, Mr Potter. We haven't yet determined the way the attack will affect you," Shaw insisted.

"Do you always do this to vampire victims? Just what sort of reactions are you worried I will have?" Harry said as he tightened his grip on Hermione's hand. He didn't like how the Healer made it sound as if he would have to stay here for a while. Didn't they know that he had things to do? For one, he wanted to go back to Draco and convince the man to keep him.

"We've never had a victim kept this long who was found alive," the Healer admitted.

Harry wondered if it was because the person just stayed with the vampire. He knew he would have stayed if given the choice, and he wanted to go back. He wanted to find Draco, but first he had to get out of the hospital. He slowly released a breath. Harry remembered how Draco remarked that only the idiots killed, but he hadn't asked what all the other ones did. "How long were the others kept?"

"I think the longest a person remained uninfected was only missing two days," the Healer said. "We will need to do some tests. In the meantime, I have a Blood Replenishing Potion for you." Shaw uncapped the potion and brought it to Harry's lips.

Harry leant forward and swallowed the liquid. It was a little uncomfortable in his current position, but he hurried to get it over with and waited for the Healer to draw the phial away. "How did you find me?"

"I'll explain it," Hermione answered before the other man could. The Healer said he needed to go arrange the tests and excused himself.

"Harry, you have no idea how worried everyone has been," Hermione began. "They found the body of that man in the alley, and his throat was ripped out. But no one could find you."

Harry remembered the body he had been looking at. Did Draco have anything to do with that or had he just seized the moment when Harry's attention was diverted? Harry knew he should have been more on guard then. "Did they find who killed the man?"

"They assume it is the same vampire that took you," Hermione said. "We don't know why he spared you and not the other man."

"There was too much blood around the victim," Harry stated. "How do they know it was a vampire attack at all?"

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not an Auror, Harry, so I suppose you'll have to ask the other investigator when he comes in to talk to you. I have been reading up on vampires though."

"What did you find out?" Harry asked, not surprised Hermione had been doing research.

"Well, the Healer was right. Most people either are found dead almost immediately or they are only found after they're infected," she explained. "I think that's one of the reasons they have you bound."

"What do you mean by infected?" Harry paused. "And I thought you were going to tell me how I was found."

"Infected is what they call it when someone is turned into a vampire," Hermione told him. "Are you sure you can't remember anything?"

"Do you think I'm infected?" Harry asked, uncertain of what he wanted the answer to be. He was pretty sure he wasn't, though. Why would Draco have let him go if that was the case? No, Draco had talked as if the only two options were to either kill him or just leave him somewhere without knowing who the vampire was. So he wondered what had happened. He didn't think they had found him at whatever house he was held inside, but they still didn't say where they found him. "And why are you trying to avoid telling me how I got here?"

"Well, that's a big mystery, too," she sighed. "The witch at reception said you just appeared on her desk. One minute no one was there and the next you were lying there in a robe with a note pinned to the cloth."

Harry felt himself perk up. "What did the note say?"

Hermione kind of looked embarrassed for a minute. "All I know is your name was on it,” she admitted.

Harry smiled up at her, but then looked down toward their hands. "But do you think I'm infected?"

Hermione frowned. "Well, we were hoping you would remember enough of what happened to be able to tell without waiting. To be infected you would have to have drank some of the vampire's blood."

"I only remember tasting my own blood." Harry said, licking his lip without realising it. "When my lip got cut. Is one of the tests supposed to tell them if I am or not? Or do we have to wait to see?"

"What else do you remember?" Hermione pushed. "You remember being bitten?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "I remember being bitten, but I couldn't see anything. I doubt I can tell you anything you don't already know or haven't figured out. If you don't know more than me, by now, after reading about vampires anyway." Harry didn't want to mention that the only times he couldn't see was when Draco had been in the room. "So how do we find out if I'm infected or not? I don't really like being tied down like this."

"The other reason you are tied down is they need to make sure you aren't Enthralled," she explained quietly.

"What do you mean by Enthralled?" Harry's voice shook slightly. He remembered Draco thinking that Harry had only wanted him because of the bite, but the bite hadn't been enough. He had wanted so much more than that. Was it wanting Draco to bite him again that was being Enthralled? Or was there more to it?

"Enthralled is how most vampires get their victims," Hermione said. "It's kind of like Imperius, mind control. If you are Enthralled, the vampire can make you do whatever he wants, even now while you're apart from each other."

"I'm not Enthralled, Hermione." Harry recalled Draco mentioning being able to ride his mind and make him submit, but he had never done it. "But how long until they figure that out?"

"Do you have the urge to go to the vampire? To have him bite you again?" she asked.

"He didn't use any sort of mind control on me." Harry insisted, frustration edging into his voice. Hermione was asking the right questions causing Harry's heart to clench as he considered the answers. He didn't want to tell her what he was feeling. It wasn't the bite that he wanted. It was so much more than that. He could even feel his muscles start to ache as he dreamed about hearing Draco's moans and being the cause of them. He sucked in a quick breath as he tried to focus on the room around him and the conversation with Hermione. "Besides why would he want me to go back when it seems like he was the one who left me here?"

"If you can't remember what happened, how do you know what he did?" Hermione asked suspiciously. "If you have a memory gap, he had to have done something to your mind."

"I didn't say I had a memory gap. I said I didn't know where I was or how long I was gone," Harry answered. "Though now I would guess it's been nine or ten days since I was looking at that body in the alley. I still don't think he did anything to my mind." Harry wanted to add 'except make me want to protect him', but got the impression that wasn't an effect Draco had wanted or planned to happen. It was just something that had stirred up in him, but he wasn't sure when. Harry had resisted Draco's touch at first even as his body tried to show him how good it actually felt, and then he had reached a point where he was asking for Draco. He knew he could have continued to resist, but he hadn't wanted to anymore. "So how long will it take for them to know that? What tests do they have to do to figure out if I'm Enthralled?"

"Harry, you might not know if you were," Hermione explained. "There really isn't very much about vampires that is known. Most victims don't live to tell and most vampires are killed rather than captured." She paused, looking at him sadly. "Did he hurt you badly?"

Harry looked away. It had hurt. The second night had been painful, to say the least, but he also remembered how good it had started to feel. A flush crept over his face. He knew it sounded bad even in his head when he said he liked it, and he did wish things had gone differently between him and Draco. On the other hand, he had liked the pain after that and Draco had been gentler in some ways and waited for Harry to ask. He still didn't know if he was comfortable with the fact Draco had pushed himself on Harry, but Harry knew he still wanted to be back in that room with Draco. Did that make him Enthralled? Harry would have thought so if he knew instinctively where to find Draco, but he could only guess and he wasn't supposed to know the vampire was Draco either. He wanted to go back to Draco, but if he was Enthralled wouldn't he also know where to go? He also couldn't hear a voice inside his head telling him what to do like he could when the Imperius Curse had been placed on him. He sighed. "I think the vampire brought me here. Who else could it have been? But why leave me at a hospital if he only wanted to call me back? I know there isn't much information known about vampires but killing them on sight really doesn’t help matters."

"You don't have to talk about it with me, Harry," Hermione said softly as Harry avoided her last question. "But I am here if you do want to." She paused for a moment before adding, "They kill them because they are too dangerous and difficult to keep imprisoned."

Hermione stayed for a little while longer, but they didn't talk much after that. Harry had eventually insisted that she go home and get some sleep herself. He was happy she had been there, but she wasn't looking too good.

Harry didn't know how long it was before a second Healer showed up and gave him more potions. This one also cast some spells, but didn't tell him anything new. Harry started to feel an ache burn in his muscles, but kept quiet. He recognised the feeling and knew he was longing to be with Draco again, but he didn't see that happening any time soon. It would also probably make them want to keep him in the hospital longer if they knew what he was feeling, and he didn't want that. When the Healer left, he shifted uncomfortably as he tried to tug against the bindings. He didn't think they would give, but it was better than staying still. He groaned aloud as he squirmed. Did they just expect him to lay there and stare at the ceiling?

He stopped moving though when he heard the door open, and then was surprised when he felt the restraints coming off his wrists. He looked over to see a woman in blue robes carrying a tray of food and sighed to himself. She looked like someone who just worked at the hospital and not anyone who would ask questions or give him more potions.

She did try to say something comforting as she sat the tray in front of him, but he wasn’t listening. The pain was slowly mounting. Harry kept his face blank and tried to push the pain away as he stared down at the food. He didn't really feel like eating, but he could hear Draco in his head asking him if he was trying to starve himself. So he picked up the fork and tried to eat while she stood watching him. He couldn't do it though. The few bites he did eat he had to force down. His throat seemed to close up after that and he couldn't swallow. Harry was almost worried that he was going to become a vampire, except that he was craving for Draco to be inside him again, not just the bite. He huffed as he lay back muttering something about not being hungry. She frowned and talked briefly about him needing to build his strength, but she still left quickly, making sure to clamp his wrists back down first.

Not long after the meal, Auror O'Malley arrived. He was one of the senior Aurors, having been around since Harry was still at Hogwarts. The man looked uncomfortable with the restraints but Harry assumed he knew the reason for them. Harry wasn't going to explain if he didn't; he was beginning to feel overwhelmed and exhausted.

"Potter, how are you doing?" the Auror asked politely, taking the seat that Hermione had been in earlier.

Harry felt a dull thud of pain as he answered. "I'm doing fine, Auror O'Malley. How have you been?"

"Been working on your case. I'm glad you were found alive," O'Malley began. "And I'm to tell you to take all the time you need in your recovery."

"Thank you, but hopefully I won't need that much time," Harry replied.

O'Malley looked uncomfortable. "I am told that your case is unusual," he began. "I need to hear the report from you. Need as much detail as you can give us." He winced at that and Harry could tell that meant the man knew about the sexual assault report from Healer.

"The last thing I remember is looking at the body in the alley before I woke up tied to a bed. Ironically, not that different from how I am now, except now I can see who is in the room. I think I stayed in the same room the whole time, and I never saw the vampire, just felt him." Harry said simply, knowing he would be keeping most of the details to himself.

"The medical examination report says you had numerous bites and that the last one took apparently enough blood to put you in danger. Do you know how many times you were bitten and why he drew it out so long?"

"The last night he bit me twice, and it seemed like once a night besides that." Harry shrugged slightly. "And I don't know why he drew it out." He would have rather said that he didn't know why Draco had stopped keeping him, but knew that question was wrong and couldn't be answered by O'Malley.

"Do you know who could have brought you here or wrote this note?" O'Malley asked, pulling out the paper and showing it to Harry.

The note read, 'Harry Potter, Auror. Urgent Care Needed, Blood Loss.' The writing was neat and orderly, but he didn't recognise it. He didn't know why he thought he might anyway. He’d never seen Draco’s writing but from the note, it sounded like Draco had wanted him to get help fast. Was there a reason for the haste? It seemed obvious that Draco wanted him to live, but what would have happened if he hadn't got help quickly? He didn't recall feeling bad or unusually weak the last day in that room. Harry glanced up at the Auror. "My guess is the vampire wrote it."

"Why would he do that? Letting you go just puts him in more danger," O'Malley asked.

"I wish I knew." Harry frowned. There were too many unanswered questions and Harry knew he couldn't ask for help in getting the answers. He was on his own.

"I know you've been through a lot, but as an Auror you can also appreciate how important your information is to stopping more attacks," O'Malley said, returning the note to his file. "What can you tell me about the vampire?"

"The vampire was male and had a sort of lean body. He was also cool to the touch and incredibly strong. I can't think of anything else." Harry hadn't wanted to give the Auror any physical description of Draco, but they would be too suspicious if he didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and asked softly, "Have there been more attacks?"

"None that we are aware of," O'Malley answered. "If you think of anything else that might help, don't hesitate to contact me."

"I will," Harry replied, knowing that he wouldn't. He wasn't going to lead them to Draco if he could help it.

O'Malley left and the Healer came back in with more potions.

Harry quickly swallowed the potions that were placed in front of him, and was relieved when the Healer didn't linger but seemed to cast some more spells before leaving. He did notice a frown on the Healer's face before she left though, and he wondered how in the dark they were about how to treat him. He thought the room was too quiet after that. It made him too aware of who wasn't there, who he wanted to be with. Pain seared through him at the thought of not seeing Draco again and he forced himself to swallow the screams that surfaced as a result. Harry felt so empty lying there and his muscles seemed in agreement as they spasmed all over, but he stayed still through the flashes of pain. He could only lay there while his brain tried to adjust to the constant ache until he could feel himself pulled under into a restless slumber.