A/N: hey guys! Most of Hagrid's dialogue is referenced heavily from the book (mostly cause of his accent) so I do apologise for that. That aside, I need to know whether you guys want me to continue this story to the Half Blood Prince, or even the Deathly Hallows. The next chapter will be the turning point for this story, depending on what you guys want me to do.

I'm more than willing to write it, if you guys are still willing to read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The snow crunched beneath Harry's feet as he, Hermione and Ron walked down to Hagrid's hut.

The grounds were partially covered in the frosty whiteness, and the golden trio were all wearing scarves and gloves. The breeze was cold and biting, and it was clear that winter was now upon them.

Harry had left Draco asleep, as he doubted the werewolf would particularly want to wake up at the crack of dawn when Harry had. He was planning to drag Draco out to Hogsmeade this afternoon though.

Harry couldn't help but smile at the loud sound of a dog barking as he knocked on the cabin door, Hagrid's gruff voice sounding.

"Shoulda known! Bin home three seconds, out of the way, Fang... Out of the way, yeh dozy dog..."

The door creaked open, and much to Hagrid's obvious discomfort, Hermione let out a tiny scream. "Merlin's beard," the half giant muttered. "Keep it down!"

He quickly ushered the three inside, Ron being the first to speak. "What the hell happened to you?"

Hagrid's beard was matted with blood, his left eye bruised and purple. Cuts littered his face and hands, and he moved stiffly. Harry frowned, suspecting broken ribs.

"Nuthin," Hagrid replied, closing the curtains and limping over to the fireplace, filling a kettle with water.

"Hagrid, you've been attacked!" Hermione cried.

"I told yeh, it's nuthin. Want a cuppa?"

"Come off it," Ron snapped. "You're a right state."

"I told yeh, I'm fine. Blimey, it's good ter see yeh three again, had good summers, did yeh?" Hagrid asked, waiting for the kettle to boil.

"You ought to go and see Madam Pomfrey Hagrid," Hermione said anxiously. "Some of those cuts look nasty."

"I'm dealin' with it, all righ'?"

"Well where have you been, then?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"I can' tell yeh that either," Hagrid mumbled. "Top secret. More'n me jobs worth ter tell yeh that."

"Did the Giants beat you up?" Harry asked, speaking for the first time since they'd entered the cabin.

All heads turned to the pale boy, even Fang, who hadn't stopped staring at Harry from the moment he'd entered.

"Giants?" Hagrid asked. "Who've yeh been talkin' to?"

"Sirius," Harry answered quickly. No, that wasn't the real answer. He could sense it, smell it almost. It was odd, but for some reason all of his senses just screamed Giants. "Was I right?"

Hagrid just groaned, clearly resisting the urge to face palm because of his cut up face. "Yes, yeh are."

Harry tried to ignore the accusing glares Hermione and Ron were shooting him.

"So you've been to look for Giants?" Ron asked.

"Yeh."

"And you found them?" Hermione asked, her voice hushed.

"Well they're not that difficult ter find, ter be honest," Hagrid said. "They're pretty tall, see."

"Where are they?" Ron asked.

"Mountains."

"How do muggles not notice them, then?"

"They do, on'y their deaths are always put down ter mountaineerin' accidents."

"Come on, Hagrid!" Hermione pleaded. "Tell us what you've been up to!"

"Tell us about being attacked by the Giants, and Harry can tell you about being attacked by dementors-" Ron started.

"Whadda yeh mean, dementors?" Hagrid growled, nearly dropping the huge cup of tea he was holding.

"Didn't you know?" Hermione asked.

"I don' know anythin' that's been happenin' since I left," Hagrid said. "Dementors, yeh're not serious?"

"Yep," Harry answered. "They turned up in Little Whinging, attacked me, and then the Ministry expelled me-"

"You were expelled?!"

"We had to go to a hearing and everything. Tell us about the Giants, and then I'll tell you about the dementors."

Hagrid glared at them, but started to speak anyways. "Well, we set off righ' after term ended-"

"Madame Maxime went with you, then?" Hermione asked, Harry's mind flickering back to remember the Beauxbatons headmistress from last year.

"Yeah," Hagrid answered. "She's a tough woman, even knowin' that we were clamberin' over boulders an' sleepin' in caves, bu' she never complained once."

"You knew where you were going?" Ron asked. "You knew where the Giants were?"

"Well, Dumbledore knew."

"Is it a secret, where the Giants are?" Ron asked, looking excited to hear the 'top secret' mission story.

"Not really," Hagrid replied. "It's jus' that mos' wizards aren't bothered where they are. Took us abou' a month to get there-"

"A month?!" Ron asked, eyes wide. "Why didn't you just use a portkey or something?"

"We were bein' watched, Ron."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"The ministry's been keeping an eye on Dumbledore an' anyone they reckons in league with 'im-"

"So you couldn't even use magic to get there? You had to act like muggles?" Ron asked.

"Well, not the whole way. We managed ter give the ministry person tailin' us the slip in France, an' chanced a bit o' magic after that an' it wasn' a bad journey. Ran inter a couple o' mad trolls at the Polish border an' I had a slight disagreement with a vampire in a pub-"

Harry visibly flinched.

"Bu' apart from tha' it was fine. An' then we reached the place, an' we started trekkin' up through the mountains, lookin' fer signs of them. We had ter lay off the magic, cause they don' like wizards much, an' Dumbledore had warned us tha' You-Know-Who was goin' ter be after the Giants, so we couldn' scare 'em off."

"How big were they?" Ron asked.

"Bout twenty feet," Hagrid replied. "Some o' the bigger ones might've been twenty five."

"How many were there?" Hermione asked.

"I reckon abou' seventy or eighty."

"What then?" Ron pressed.

"Well, we waited until mornin', didn' want ter go sneakin' up on 'em in the dark. Bout three in the mornin' they fell asleep where they were. We didn' dare sleep a' all, mainly cause we didn' want them comin' over to where we were, and the snorin' was too loud. Caused an avalanche near mornin'."

"So you just went and waltzed into a giant camp in the morning?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Well no, Dumbledore'd told us how ter do it. Give the Gurg gifts, show some respect, yeh know," Hagrid replied.

"Give the what gifts?!" Ron asked, frowning.

"Means the chief," Hagrid translated. "This one was named Karkus, lyin' down in a valley by the river, yellin' at the others to be fed."

"But didn't the others try to kill you?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it was definitely on some o' their minds. Bu' we did what Dumbledore had told us, hold the gift high an' ignore the others. It worked, we got down there eventually. Set the gift down, an' we bowed.

"What did you give him?" Ron asked.

"We gave 'im magic. Giants like magic, jus' not when it's used against 'em. Anyway, that firs' day we gave 'im a branch o' Gubraithian Fire."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Everlasting fire," Hermione said, irritated. "Professor Flitwick has mentioned it at least three times in class already Ron-"

"What did he say?" Ron asked, cutting Hermione off boredly.

"Nuthin', didn' know English. Called a few Giants who did over ter translate."

"Did he like the present?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yeh, went down like a storm once they realised what it was. Very pleased. So I promised we'd return tomorrow with another gift."

"Another? Why couldn't you just speak with them that day?" Ron asked.

"Dumbledore wanted us ter take it very slow, let 'em see we keep our promises. We come back with another present, an' it leaves a good impression. Gives 'em time to test out the firs' present and find out it's a good one, makes 'em eager for more. Giants like Karkus - overload 'em with information an' they'll kill yeh just to simplify things. So we wen' down the next day an' gave him a battle helmet, goblin made - indestructible, and we talked."

"What did he say?" Hermione seemed eager.

"Not much, listened mos'ly. Bu' there were good signs, he'd heard of Dumbledore heard he argued against the killin' o' the las' Giants in Britain. He seemed pretty interested in what Dumbledore had to say. We were hopeful when we left that day, promised ter come back in the mornin' with another present. Bu' that night it all went wrong."

"What d'you mean?" Ron asked, frowning in concern. "Is that why you're all bloodied up?"

Hagrid sighed, but nodded. "Giants aren't meant ter live together. They'll kill each other often, yeh'd think that with their race dyin' out they'd be less eager to kill each other, bu' a fight broke out. The noise was horrible. An' when the sun came up the snow was scarlet an' his head was lying near the river."

"Karkus's?" Hermione asked, sadly and quietly.

Hagrid nodded. "There was a new Gurg, Gologmath. We hadn' bargained on a new Gurg two days after we'd made friendly contact with the firs', but we weren't goin' ter give up. So we went down to give 'im the present we were goin' to give Karkus. We knew as soon as we got there that it was a los' cause. Well, we set down the gift, an' the next thing I knew I was hangin' from me ankles cause one of 'is friends had grabbed me."

"How did you escape?" Hermione gasped.

"Wouldn'ta done if Olympe hadn' bin there," Hagrid said. "She used some magic agains' 'em, and we had ter make a run for it. We knew we weren't goin' ter be able ter go back."

"Blimey, Hagrid," Ron murmured.

"They didn' hate all humans, though."

"Death eaters?" Hermione asked, wincing.

"Yeh. Couple of 'em were comin' down and givin' gifts an' they weren't bein' held upside down by their ankles. Recognised one o' 'em, McNair, bloody maniac. The bloke they sent ter kill Buckbeak."

"So he's persuaded them to join You-Know-Who?"

"Maybe. Dunno."

"So there aren't any Giants coming?" Ron asked, looking disappointed.

"Nope," Hagrid replied with a deep sigh.

Harry was staring out the window. The snow was building up, yet a small, pink blur stuck out against the snow. He felt his lips curl into a snarl. "Umbridge," he spat.

"What?" Hagrid asked, confused.

"Quick!" Hermione hissed, catching on a lot faster than Ron and Hagrid, pulling her friends out the back door as someone knocked on the front. The three tried to stay silent while peeking through the back window, Harry being the only one to have good enough hearing to make out their conversation clearly.

Hagrid opened the door, towering above the little woman standing in the snow outside. "So you're Hagrid, are you?" She asked, not waiting to be invited in and instead walking into the cabin, waving her handbag at Fang when he tried to jump at her. "Shoo."

"Er, I don' mean ter be rude, bu' who the ruddy hell are you?" Hagrid asked, frowning.

"My name is Dolores Umbridge."

The name alone made Harry let out in involuntary growl as he glared at her.

"Dolores Umbridge? I thought you were one o' them ministry- don' you work for Fudge?"

"I used to, yes. Now I'm the High Inquisitor-"

"What the hell is that?"

"That's what I was about to ask," Umbridge frowned, looking at a shattered mug on the floor that had been Hermione's.

"Oh," Hagrid blinked. "Fang knocked a mug over," he said, gesturing to the big black dog who was slobbering all over his feet.

"I heard voices," she said accusingly.

Harry snorted. "Hearing voices, are we?" He whispered, Ron having to stifle his laughter.

"I was talkin' ter Fang."

"And does he speak back?"

"Well, yeh know-"

"There are two sets of footprints leading here, and none returning," Umbridge finally deadpanned. Hermione gasped, Harry clapping a black fingernailed hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened even further. Harry's skin felt like ice.

"Well, I don' know why that'd be..."

"How did you sustain those injuries?" Umbridge asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I had an accident," Hagrid said lamely. "I tripped."

"You tripped," Umbridge repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeh, tha's right, over a friends... Broomstick-"

"Where have you been?" Umbridge cut him off. "Term started two months ago, and another teacher has had to be filling in for you. No ones been able to give me any information about your whereabouts, so where have you been?"

"Away."

"Away?"

"For... For my health."

"For health," she repeated, frowning deeply. "Well, in any case, I'm glad you're back because the other Care Of Magical Creatures teacher might not be a teacher for much longer. Good day."

And with that, she left. The three hurried back inside.

"She's going to fire Newt?" Hermione whispered, looking horrified.

"I don' see why she would, he's a great teacher," Hagrid said. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll talk ter him abou' it later. You three better get goin', before she comes back."

The trio all nodded, hurrying out the door and taking a different route back to the castle. Hermione watched Harry's feet as discreetly as she could.

His feet made imprints in the snow, just like hers. Except his footprints disappeared after a few seconds.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked pointedly ahead of her.

"Something wrong?" Harry's voice was chilling, empty, void. She shook her head quickly.

"I-I'm fine."

******

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Harry said, grinning as he walked into the dorm to find Draco dozing on the couch. His legs were curled up underneath him, and his head was on the armrest.

"You left me this morning," Draco mumbled sleepily. "I woke up to an empty bed."

"I left you a note," Harry sat down, smiling as Draco moved from the armrest to cuddle up beside him instead.

"Not good enough," Draco murmured, nuzzling his face into Harry's shoulder.

"Aww, well I know what'll cheer you up," Harry said, tilting the werewolf's head and kissing his forehead. "Let's go to Hogsmeade."

"Just us?" Draco asked quietly.

"Just us," Harry confirmed, lifting a hand to stroke Draco's hair gently. "Go get a jacket."

He yawned and nodded, standing up sluggishly and walking up the stairs to his room.

After ten minutes he came back down, looking much more awake and presentable than before. He pulled a black scarf around his neck, Harry smiling as he held the portrait door open for the werewolf.

******

"Where were you this morning, anyways?" Draco asked. They were walking down the snow covered path to Hogsmeade, which was otherwise deserted. Snow fell gently, flakes landing on Draco's nose every now and then.

"Hagrid's, he came back from a mission. Trying to befriend the Giants before Voldemort gets to them," Harry replied. "That reminds me, yesterday at the Quidditch game, there was this huge black cloud. My scar was going insane."

"Severus' Patronus came in, saying something about an obscurus. Newt left in a hurry after that. I could sense you were in danger and tried to get up, but I ended up just falling on the floor."

"An obscurus? I've never heard of those. Newt sent up a Patronus I think, it was a dragon," Harry replied. "And aww, you tried to save me? How noble."

"Shut up, you oversized mosquito," Draco said. Harry gave him an affronted look, narrowing his eyes as he shoved Draco, the werewolf bursting out into laughter. "I'm sorry, I've been waiting for an excuse to say that all day."

"Stupid mutt."

"Heir of Count Dracula," Draco said, putting on a mocking Transylvanian accent.

"Blond albino."

"Bloodsucking leech."

"Dumbass."

******

Luckily, this day wasn't a particularly busy one in Hogsmeade. The majority of students were in the castle, enjoying the warmth instead of the cold snow.

The only people Harry and Draco passed were Fred, George and Lee Jordan, who all had their heads practically buried in Zonko's Joke Shop bags, and the pair went unnoticed.

They spent the afternoon browsing the shops, Harry buying himself a new quill from the quill shop. Finally, when it was beginning to get dark, they ventured into the Three Broomsticks for Draco's sake, as he was beginning to catch a cold.

They sat at the back of the pub, in a darkened, secluded corner. No one paid them any notice, which Harry was thankful for. The Three Broomsticks wasn't really known for kicking out underage students who'd stayed out past their curfew, especially in snowy weather, so Harry knew that they'd be alright to stay here until they wanted to go back to the castle.

"You're making me self conscious," Draco muttered with a small smile. He had a mug of butterbeer in his hands, but as Harry wasn't able to eat or drink anything except for blood, he spent the majority of the time simply staring rather dreamily at the werewolf from across the table.

"Can't help it," Harry grinned. "You're too pretty."

Draco just blushed, looking down at the table.

"So..." Harry began. "Do you have any hobbies? Any special talents I don't know about?"

"Well, I mean, I always had to keep myself occupied doing something as a kid, just to make sure I didn't go insane from loneliness," Draco said with a weak smile. "I can play piano, and the violin. I can kind of draw, but I always loved reading. I went through the whole manor's library in three years."

"Your parents really weren't around much, were they?" Harry asked. He thought he had it bad not having parents, but Draco had ones who simply found it easier to pretend he didn't exist.

"Not really. When I was six years old they found out I was half veela, and therefore, not completely pureblood. I've been the biggest hypocrite for my entire life, but I had to keep up an image, I had to pretend that I was pure."

"Half veela?" Harry grinned. "Makes sense why you're so gorgeous now."

Draco just diverted his gaze embarrassedly, a small smile on his lips. "As soon as they found out, I was pretty much worthless. My parents would leave for months, and the only company I had were the house elves. My tutor stopped coming because my parents didn't think I was worth educating, and that's where the library came in. I knew the alphabet and what sounds each letter made, so I had to teach myself how to read."

"So you were a genius even as a little kid, then?"

"No, I was just determined to win my parents affection. I thought that if I could be talented enough, that if I could prove I was worth something, they'd love me. Then I got my Hogwarts letter, and I had a new goal. I wanted to be the best, I wanted to be approved for once. Then I met you, and I hadn't spoken another kid for three years. I was pretty sure I didn't leave a good impression."

"I thought you were nice," Harry muttered. "It's just how everyone told me you were evil, and then the way you acted after I rejected you didn't really help."

"I was a git," Draco assured him. "I acted how my father taught me to. He wanted a sociopathic son, who didn't feel remorse or have any sort of feelings for anyone else. It's not like I was ever going to admit to him I was obsessed with you, let alone admit it to myself."

"You know what? I'm glad I was bitten. I'm glad that everything that's happened in the past two years has, because if it hadn't, I'd still hate you. I wouldn't know who you really were."

"Me too," Draco said, smiling.

"You ready to go?"

Draco nodded, leaving a few sickles on the table to pay for his drink as the two stood up, Draco hiding his smile as Harry linked their fingers together once they were out the door.

The snow was still falling, the flakes seeming luminescent and beautiful against the pitch black sky. Draco's breath came out as a cold mist, his grey eyes shining with happiness as he gripped Harry's hand tighter.

No mist was formed from Harry's breath, probably because he wasn't breathing at all. It was an eerie sight, his once vibrant and bright green eyes now lifeless, dull and expressionless. Yet hiding underneath was the burning crimson, filled with emotion. His skin was paler and colder than the snow falling around them, his hair more jet black than the night's sky. He was beautiful, and Draco couldn't believe how lucky he was.

******

It was midnight when the two finally snuck back into their dorm, both feeling rather sleepy. Harry walked up the stairs to his own room, probably to put his pyjamas on. Draco took off his jacket which was slightly damp from the snow, and lay it over the back of a couch near the fire to dry.

Yawning, he ventured up to his own room, cleaning up the random clothes and other junk scattered on his floor before pulling on his pyjamas. He was prevented from putting on a shirt as a pair of arms encircled his waist, Harry grinning as he spun the werewolf around to face him.

Draco couldn't help but notice how Harry's usually pale and pearly lips were now stained with crimson, contrasting to his pure white skin. Curious, even though he knew what the substance was, he leaned in and pressed their lips together. A metallic taste filled his mouth, Harry complying and kissing back gently.

Draco pushed Harry down onto his bed easily, straddling him and sweeping his tongue over Harry's bottom lip.

The vampire opened his mouth, willingly letting Draco take over and have dominance, something the werewolf clearly enjoyed.

He trailed his lips down Harry's jaw and to his neck, the vampire biting his lip to keep from making any noise. He'd never realised just how sensitive his neck was, tangling his fingers in Draco's hair and tugging at it, letting out a quiet moan as Draco bit at his neck, intent on leaving a mark.

"You're so beautiful," Draco murmured against Harry's neck, trailing his lips further down to Harry's collarbone and across his bare chest, revelling in the way Harry trembled beneath him, trying to stifle his moans and whimpers.

Draco's lips were warm on Harry's skin, teasing him and making him have to breathe sharply to try and calm his muddled thoughts, closing his eyes and breathing shakily as Draco's lips wandered across his chest.

Breathing shakily himself, Draco lifted his lips from Harry's skin and pressing them to his lips, kissing him deeply. With a small, mischievous smirk, he rolled his hips against Harry's, the vampire abandoning all thoughts of trying to be quiet and moaning into the werewolf's mouth.

Draco pulled away, breathing heavily.

"You're such a tease," Harry mumbled, Draco simply grinning and falling onto the bed beside him. Wordlessly, Draco pulled the duvet over them and wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him close and kissing his forehead.

With a wave of his hand, the candles in the corner flickered out, Draco closing his eyes as the room became drenched in darkness.