[RM] To Be Like Glass

The Red Moon series

Phase Three: To Be Like Glass

---


After the night of the Elder Wood, Draco had decided he actually watch Ginny work on potions from then on. He stood beside the cauldron one night, leaning his hips against the edge of a desk as he watched her progress, arms crossed casually. After the consequences of the last potion, Draco wasn't keen on having to go in search for another one of Snape's ingredients all because the Weasley couldn't pay attention to potions.

Ginny was about to pour in a small vile of blue liquid when Draco grabbed her wrist out of reflex. Ginny pulled out of his gripped and replaced the vile,

"If you're so desperate to take another tour of the Forbidden Forest, I beg you to pour that vile in," Draco sneered before crossing his arms again, "This must be what Granger feels like when she's partnered with Longbottom."

Indignant, Ginny turned her back to him and returned to the ingredients, trying to figure out what she was forgetting from the earlier walkthrough Draco had done with her. She had created the previous potion without too much fuss the previous night and this night's potion was to be of the same level (Snape had pointed out that the most incompetent of first years could do the potion). To Ginny, however, this potion seemed more difficult. The ingredient names seemed to merge together as she looked over each and every one of them,

"Weasley, I'd like to get this done by the end of this semester," Draco drawled.

Resisting the urge to throttle to Slytherin, Ginny grabbed a vile of black liquid with thick consistency and threw it into the cauldron, vile and all. When nothing happened besides a colour change, she let out a sigh of relief when she turned back to her ingredients.

"Don't tell me you accidentally got the right ingredient," Draco looked at her curiously, "How is it possible for you to do so well at everything else, yet fail miserably with potions? I mean, Longbottom's horrible, but he hasn't even had to go gather ingredients for Snape. The idiot's got Snape yelling at him every day and yet he's still not as bad as -"

"Will you shut up!?" Ginny demanded, finally looking at Draco, eyes narrowed, hands clenching the edge of the table in an attempt to keep her temper at bay. "I can't concentrate with you mocking me every five seconds!"

"You call randomly picking ingredients, concentrating?" Draco replied in even tones, "Should I be thanking the fates that I haven't died yet from your random potion making? Or should I damn the fates in making it so I have to be here with you in the first place!?"

"Well I wouldn't have to make my decisions by luck if you'd just help me out a bit more," Ginny gritted her teeth to keep from yelling,

"You get top marks in Ancient Runes, yet when it comes to a simple potion you nearly blow up the castle! I don't think my teaching skills are the problem since I've been in Ancient Runes and I explain things a lot better than that old bat! So the problem must be you, Weasley!" Draco defended, voice beginning to sound like a growl,

"It's not my fault I get the ingredient names mixed up!" She exclaimed, hands planted firmly on her hips.

Draco sighed heavily, bringing a hand to his head. He relaxed against the edge of the desk, "Why didn't you bloody say that in the first place!?"

"I didn't think it mattered-" Ginny admitted, hands falling to her side,

"You didn't think it- Merlin's ghost, do you think it doesn't matter if you say Crucio instead of Lumos?" Draco demanded,

"That's an extreme example, Mal-"

"It's a very relative example!" Draco breathed to calm himself down. He pushed himself away from the desk, picked up his robe that he had tossed across the back of a chair and made for the door,

"Where are you going? We've only been here for an hour and I've hardly begun the potion!" Ginny reminded, a bit scared he was leaving her to make the potion on her own.

"We're done for tonight. Since you've finally decided to admit what your problem is, I can start teaching you in a way that won't end in either of us back in the Forbidden Forest," Draco explained, "The realization that the answer to your incompetence is so simple has given me a headache." With that, Draco left muttering along the lines of Idiotic Weasley'.

---

Later that evening, Draco was sitting before the fire in his common room, chin propped up on his hand as he focused on the flames, clearing everything in his mind. The sound of the entrance to his common room opening barely surprised him. When Blaise walked into his area of vision and sat down on a nearby couch, Draco remained as he was.

Blaise put down a box the size of a large apple on a table beside the couch, "Snape wanted me to give this to you. He said it was a reward for taking on the job of having to tutor Weasley."

Draco made a sound of disbelief, still staring at the flames.

"That's what I thought. Snape can be a horrible liar sometimes," Blaise said as he opened the black box and peered at the contents,

"Is it what I think it is?" Draco asked absent-mindedly, thoughts slowly beginning to cloud his mind once more as his eyes flickered away from the fire.

"I don't even know what I think it is," Blaise replied as he pulled one of the objects out of the box, "I wonder why Snape didn't think I'd open the box? Why wouldn't he just give it to you himself? He can't trust me as much as to give me this box."

"He doesn't trust anyone, besides Dumbledore I suppose," Draco muttered as he stood up and took the object from Blaise, "So he must know that you know."

"Did you tell him?"

"He doesn't need to know who I tell what," Draco replied tartly before replacing the object and shutting the box firmly. He walked into his bedchamber and when Blaise thought he wouldn't return, he came out holding a box identical to what Blaise had brought him.

"Draco-"

Draco looked up at Blaise. The only time Blaise referred to him by his first name meant he was worried about something or another,

"I guess I won't be needing this one," Draco ignored Blaise as he tossed the box in his hand into the fire.

The flames hissed violently for a few minutes before it enveloped the tossed box completely and resumed its previous state.

"Draco, was there anything in there?"

Draco looked absently at the flames, "I suppose we'll never know now."

"You know how dangerous -"

"What's dangerous is how I can't get Weasley out of my memory," Draco mused, still looking at the flames.

"What? Draco have you gone mad? You're thinking about Weasley!" Blaise reminded forcefully, "I knew these tutoring sessions would bring nothing but trouble!"

"It's not the sessions. It's her-" Draco said, almost in a trance-like voice, eyes glued to the fire,

"Draco?"

"I did the unthinkable," Draco's eyes darkened in a way Blaise had never seen before. Draco turned to face Blaise, his trademark smirk twisted evilly on his pale face, "I tasted her. I got a taste of Weasley and I liked it."

"Draco you bubbling twit! What are you - possessed!?" Blaise demanded as he took Draco by the shoulders and shook him forcefully,

"I want her, Zabini. I. Want. HER!" He shoved Blaise's grip off him.

While stumbling down onto the couch, Blaise whipped out his wand and aimed it at Draco. Saying a quick spell, Draco was sent flying back against the chair where he had sat. With the armchair and Draco both lying sprawled on the ground at the other end of the common room, Blaise stood up, wand still pointed at Draco.

"Draco, you're a man obsessed," Blaise commented as he slowly walked towards his fallen friend.

"No, I'm not," Draco managed as he held his head with one hand and pulled himself up with the other, "I don't know what got into me."

"Just remember she's a Weasley," Blaise said slowly as he replaced his wand, "Just remember she's a Weasley and you won't go psychotic again."

Draco nodded as he ran a hand carelessly through his hair,

"You're right. She's a Weasley and I can't want a Weasley," Draco replied,

"Draco, it shouldn't be that you can't want her, it should be that you won't want her," Blaise warned. He turned to leave but stopped at the entrance, "Just remember you're a Slytherin and how you've felt about the Weasley family up until now. That'll keep you from wanting her."

As the entrance closed behind Blaise, Draco closed his eyes and hoped that's all it took.

---

The next day, Blaise was eyeing Draco cautiously and for once Draco didn't say anything. Blaise had a right to be watching Draco and he was glad for it. After the previous night, Draco no longer knew what was happening to him. He was losing control of his emotions, his desire was taking over and he didn't like it one bit.

During lunch, Draco went with Blaise to the Great Hall. For the first time in weeks, he was back at the Slytherin table. As he sat there, gaze focused on a platter of butter rolls, he tried to clear his mind again as he did before the fire. Draco believed if he were able to clear all thoughts from his mind, he'd be able to keep his desire under control. Apparently, his desire didn't give a flying pigmypuff who he wanted, no matter how many times he reminded himself that she was a Weasley.

A nudge to his ribs caused Draco to break free from his reverie, "What?" He demanded, turning to the source,

Blaise looked back coolly, unaffected by Draco's tone, "Do you have to tutor tonight?" He said it casually, but Draco heard the words hidden in the message. Blaise didn't trust Draco to be around Ginny. He felt Draco would make a move - not only ruining his own reputation, but starting a fight with Ron Weasley and his friends; friends which included Harry Potter.

"Dumbledore wants me to, but I think I'm going to skive," Draco replied as he stood up, "I know you'll figure out some story if anyone asks." Before Blaise could refuse, Draco picked up a butter roll and left the Great Hall, already chewing a piece of the roll.

---

Bored later that evening during dinner, Draco decided to go to the Great Hall. Blaise spotted him and called him over,

"Malfoy, in for some flying later? Practice for Quidditch?" Goyle asked as Draco approached them,

Draco's eyes narrowed slightly before he schooled his expression, "I don't need practice," he turned away and went to sit beside Blaise.

"You're a prat, you know that?" Blaise questioned as he took his goblet and took a hearty gulp from it. "Right after you left at lunch I ran into the chit so I had to tell her of tonight's cancellation."

"You didn't have to do anything," Draco defended as he grabbed a dinner roll and tore a piece off,

"I thought you didn't like to eat bread anymore?" Blaise asked quietly as he held his goblet to his lips, giving the illusion that he was drinking again,

"I don't. It's an experiment to see if it would help sate the need," Draco explained as he looked at the piece of bread, examining it as if it were some newly discovered artefact.

"And did it?"

"Not in the least," Draco said distantly as his eyes saw past the piece of bread to a head of red hair that walked across the Great Hall and sat down with her fellow Gryffindors. Throwing the bread on the table, Draco got up and turned to leave, unfortunately he ran into Pansy.

"Draco! You've been neglecting me!" She pouted,

"I assure you, that hasn't been an accident," Draco drawled as he pushed past her and left the Great Hall.

Once out of the Great Hall, his pace quickened and he walked in a random direction. His heart was pounding and he had to get away from the Great Hall- away from the Great Hall and away from Ginny Weasley.

--

Draco was on the ground of the empty classroom on his knees; one hand to help prop him up, the other clutching his chest. He slumped back onto his backside, slouching against the wall. Hand still grasping the clothing over his chest. Feeling his heart pound slower, he used his free hand to push back the hair from his eyes. He cursed. There standing in the doorway to the room was none other than Ginny Weasley.

She stood there, worry and anxiety painted on her face, hands clutching the door handle and the doorframe.

"If you're going to spy on me, at least close the bloody door so I don't get an audience," Draco sneered as he glared at her through his loosened hair.

Tentatively, she stepped in and closed the door behind her, casting a locking and silencing charm on the room. He cursed himself for forgetting to do that when he first stumbled into the room.

"Malfoy, what happened to you?" She asked in almost a whisper, looking from Draco to the blood he had been coughing up just moments again,

Draco followed her gaze to the red pool beside him, "That's not blood. It's a potion Snape brewed for me," feeling the pain in his chest cease, he wiped potion residue from his mouth,

"He can't have done it right if you're just coughing it back up," Ginny note as she took a small step forward,

"You think you can brew something better than him?" He mocked,

"Forget it," she replied exasperatedly as she turned to leave.

"Weasley-" He called the moment her fingers grazed the handle. She didn't respond, not sure if she actually heard him, his voice was so quiet. Finally, she turned around to look at him, question in her eyes, "Can you-" He sighed letting his head hang down,

"You don't- don't know any cleaning spells, do you?" She asked hesitantly, walking towards him with slow baby steps.

He didn't reply. As she took out her wand and began casting cleaning spells, he closed his eyes tightly. He tried to focus his mind on something, clearing his thoughts, ignoring all urges. He opened his eyes and flinched back against the wall when he saw her wand pointed at his chest,

"Calm down, I'm cleaning your shirt," Ginny muttered, "Magic or not, white will still stain if you don't clean it up fast. There, done." She knelt before him, sitting on her feet watching him cautiously, "Where's your school sweater and robe? You're sweating and shivering!"

"It's called a cold sweat," Draco grumbled as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand,

"What's wrong with you Malfoy? You were fine yesterday," She questioned, "And what's with that potion? It's not like any potion I've ever seen."

"Because you know everything about potions," he mocked,

"I try to be nice but you're not making it very easy to be Gryffindor right now!" She exclaimed. With that, she stood up and made to leave,

"The potion was made to keep me from dying," Draco said quietly,

Ginny froze in her tracks, "Dying?"

"It was brewed especially to keep me from starving myself to death,"

"The food here isn't so bad,"

"The food here doesn't do anything to sate my hunger," Draco explained, brushing his hair from his face again only to have it fall in his eyes once more.

"What's happening to you?"

"You're aware of creatures of the night?"

"Yes-"

"Once bitten by a pure blooded vampire, one becomes that which bites him," Draco said quietly.

Ginny's hand went to her mouth to suppress a gasp, "Then the potion-"

"Is to keep me from starvation," Draco finished,

"But how come you were coughing it up?"

Draco smiled bitterly, "That is truly the curse of things. The one thing that can sustain me is the one thing that my body keeps rejecting. Before it took its time. The first vile I had on the first day back to school took a few hours before my body began to reject it. After that, it's taken only seconds before I cough it all up again."

Ginny remained silent, unsure what to say. Here she was in a room with Draco Malfoy and he was admitting what should be a personal fact.
Draco looked up at her still body. He wasn't sure why he was telling her this. He wasn't sure why it came so natural to just answer her questions, to tell his dark secret.

"When was the last time you had something-er- satisfying to eat?" Ginny asked, turning back to him,

"Would have been the day it happened. Just over a month ago, I suppose," he replied. Once again the answer flowed from his lips before he could stop himself. Before he would have told her to mind her own bloody business, but not now.

"You've never," she swallowed hard, "taken someone's blood?"

He shook his head negatively and looked away,

"Would you?"

His head whipped back to look at her with question in his eyes. In silent fascination, he watched her walk back to him. She knelt down before him and with trembling hands she took off her robe and began to take off her sweater. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her progress. She looked at him quizzically,

"You don't -"

"That's why you stopped the one night- when you tasted blood after all the poison?"

"No. I stopped because-" He exhaled heavily, "I liked how your blood tasted."

She just watched him for a moment. His sigh made it seem like he was heavily burdened and it made him tired. His sigh sounded like he was giving up, something she thought she'd never see coming from Draco Malfoy.

"Are you scared to take my blood now because you like how it tastes?" She asked tentatively, not knowing where her courage was coming from. Perhaps there was a reason she was in Gryffindor.

"I don't need your blood to stay alive," he replied gruffly, not answering her question. He stood up and walked towards the door. He summoned his sweater and robe he had flung across the room in a hurried need to loosen up the clothing of his chest.

"I was just trying to help," Ginny defended as she stood to watch him,

He stopped at the door, "I know," he whispered. Then, he rid the wards and left the room.

---

The entrance closed behind Draco. One glance towards the couches and Draco scowled, walking towards his bedchamber,

"I saw her leave the Great Hall after you left, Malfoy," Blaise called from the common room.

"Sod off."

"You were gone a long time."

"Sod off, Zabini!"

"Draco-"

"Damn it, Zabini just sod off!" Draco growled as he reappeared at his door, still wearing his slacks and white dress shirt,

"She knows now, doesn't she?" Blaise inquired after looking at Draco's expression,

He sighed heavily and leaned against the doorframe, sometimes he was amazed at how Blaise seemed to read his mind, "Do I have to answer?"

"Malfoy- "

"I know how to screw things up, hmm?" Draco inquired as he crossed his arms loosely,

"Do you trust her to keep your secret?" Blaise asked as he stood up and faced Draco,

"I-I don't know," he avoided looking at Blaise.

Silent for a moment, Blaise saw that rare yet familiar expression cross Draco's face. He knew the exact moment when Draco let down his guard and it was just him: raw and vulnerable. Without a word, Draco turned into his room and shut the door behind him.



(Phase 4: Scarlet Thread)