Celandine's Chronicle (celandineb) wrote in cels_fic_haven, @ 2007-08-08 20:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | hp fic better than revenge, hp fic draco/harry |
HP fic: Better Than Revenge, ch. 39: In the Bedroom [Harry/Draco, adult]
Title: Better Than Revenge
chapter 39, "In the Bedroom"
Author: celandineb
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: adult, just barely
Summary: When their test of a Horcrux-dissolving potion goes awry, Draco has to call on Hermione for help, and Harry has a significant talk with his friends.
When the alarm rang, Harry tried to ignore it, but he couldn't ignore Draco's pokes in his side. He pulled on one of Sirius' old dressing gowns over his pyjamas – it was cold in the cellar at night – and followed Draco silently downstairs.
Thank goodness that the potion only interrupted one night's sleep, Harry thought, adding the sassafras. He glanced at Draco, whose face looked as tired as Harry felt, but who seemed undisturbed by having to get up in the middle of the night. Was it that Draco was compelled by his Vow, or did he actually find it satisfying to do such work? Harry couldn't tell. On the way back to their room he took Draco's hand and felt the pulse beating in Draco's wrist.
Draco turned to close the door. The pale light that came through the window caught his thin face, making the bones stand out in sharp relief like a skull crowned with a wig of silvery hair.
He would die for me. He might die for me. The realization struck Harry suddenly. That was what the Vow was about, wasn't it? Draco putting his own life at stake if he didn't keep his word. And he had done so for Harry, despite their years of enmity, despite his family's traditions, despite the fact that they still disagreed about so much – they might not discuss those ideas often, but Harry hadn't forgotten. The sheer weight of Draco's commitment made him shudder; when Draco slipped into bed beside him, he could only pull the other boy close, kiss him again and again, unable to express the emotions he felt in any other way. At last, reluctantly, he let go, knowing that otherwise neither of them would sleep, and they had to get up to make the last addition of boomslang skin.
"You know, we could test this one today, even though the other won't be ready until tomorrow," said Draco as he stirred.
Harry thought it over. On the one hand he was anxious to find something that would destroy the locket Horcrux as quickly as possible, but on the other... "I want to wait. I know logically it'll make no difference, but it feels like having two to try at once would increase the chances for success."
Grinning, Draco shrugged. "It's illogical all right, but you're the one in charge, so whatever you like."
He agreed, too, to Harry's suggestion that they practice hexes once again, with the proviso that in the afternoon they would try to remember the specific wording of the Unbreakable Vow, so that he wouldn't accidentally go beyond its limits. Harry had no quarrel with that.
After an invigorating practice session in the garden – Harry was sure that they were both improving, and Draco was noticeably less hesitant than he'd been the previous day – and lunch, they talked about Harry's plans.
"I'd like to have Hermione try to reconstruct Voldemort's movements before and during the last war," Harry explained. "That might give us some ideas for places where he might have hidden the other Horcruxes. The problem is that even if she gets permission to look into Ministry records, it'll take months."
"What would you do in the meantime?" Draco looked concerned.
"I'm not sure."
"Well," said Draco, "you asked once before if I'd ever overheard anything that might be useful. I haven't been able to remember anything much. But... there could be things in my father's rooms at home – hidden, no doubt, and maybe with curses protecting them too. We'd both have to go look."
"You'd do that?" It couldn't be easy for Draco to make such an offer. Swearing fidelity to Harry was one thing; that could be seen as a clever ploy, to put one Malfoy on each side in this war. Searching Lucius Malfoy's rooms was a far more personal betrayal.
Draco nodded. "There might not be anything of any use, mind you. And I'd want to be sure that I knew the Vow accurately before we went, just in case."
"Oh, of course. What did you want me to do to help?"
They ended up in the library, each of them trying to recall the exact words as best he could, Draco's quill scritch-scritching as he scribbled down the phrases. Harry was ashamed at how little he remembered. Something so important to both of them, and he obviously hadn't bothered to pay attention.
"Send it to Hermione," he told Draco when they'd done their best. "I don't know how she manages, but she has a wonderful memory for this sort of thing."
A little reluctantly, Draco wrote the letter. Harry wondered if his hesitation had the same origins as Harry's own embarrassment. To make Draco feel better, he said softly, "I'll make it worth your while," and was delighted when Draco's expression shifted from gloom to pleasure.
Harry didn't bother suggesting they go upstairs once Hedwig had departed with the rolled-up parchment tied to her leg. He simply pulled Draco down with him onto the library carpet, and concentrated on finding ways to keep that smile on Draco's face. If Draco had been this relaxed and happy back at Hogwarts, Ron's comparison to a ferret would have been completely inaccurate – well, aside from the time Draco had been actually Transfigured. Harry hid his grin at the memory against Draco's neck.
That evening Harry convinced Draco to play wizarding chess instead of Gobstones, for a change. Somewhat to his surprise Harry won three games in a row. When Draco suggested they could play something else, Harry's first impulsive response was, "Don't like to lose, eh?"
He meant it as a joke, really, and regretted it even before the hurt had settled on Draco's face. Draco had already lost – his parents, his home, his future. That Harry had lost those things too didn't make any difference.
"I'm sorry," he apologized before Draco could speak. "That was really unfair of me. I chose chess; what would you like to do instead?"
Draco was visibly trying to stay calm. "How about another glass of wine, and I could maybe read to you, instead of playing games?"
No one had ever read to Harry, as far back as he could recall, and it sounded rather nice. The book Draco chose was about King Arthur and Merlin, which Harry enjoyed. Draco read several chapters, and then Harry took over once Draco's throat began to tire.
As Harry read, Draco leaned against him, slowly slipping down so that his head was on Harry's lap. Harry held the book in his left hand, turning the pages from the bottom with his thumb and little finger, and rested his right hand on Draco's shoulder, that thumb resting against Draco's neck. He could feel the blood pulsing under the skin as if trying to escape.
He worried that Draco might still be too annoyed by his thoughtless remark to want to do any fooling around when they went up to bed, but Draco evidently never considered that possibility, reciprocating Harry's tentative advances with fervor. They clung together, sweaty, hips bucking under each other's hands, and if Draco was speechless now, Harry made up for it by chanting Draco's name again and again until he felt Draco arch and moan beneath him, spilling sticky semen over them both, pulling at Harry's prick with glittering-eyed intensity until Harry came too.
The following morning Dobby woke them with the news that Hedwig had returned with a message from Hermione.
"What time is it?" Harry reluctantly dragged his head from the pillow.
"Nearly eight o'clock. Is Master Harry not ready to eat the breakfast Dobby has prepared?" Dobby was very nearly dancing in his worried earnestness.
"Yes, all right. Go give Hedwig some sausage and we'll be right down," said Harry. He nudged Draco. "C'mon, lazy, we can test those two potions today, remember?"
Pulling on the first clothes that came to hand, he headed downstairs while Draco was washing up. He fed Hedwig bits from his plate as he waited for Draco, then handed him the still-sealed letter. Draco looked surprised, but opened it and read quickly through the message before pushing it back to Harry.
As he'd suspected, Hermione had remembered the words of Draco's Vow more accurately than either of them, and she inquired to make sure that there'd been no lingering effects from the removal of the Dark Mark from Draco's arm.
"No, although I'll be more certain there won't be any when it's been rather longer since You-Know-Who summoned me," Draco told Harry.
"Call him Voldemort," Harry said in sudden decision. He'd always disliked the wizarding habit of avoiding the name, and he knew Dumbledore would have agreed. "The fear of a name can have as much power as the name himself. Or call him Riddle, if you'd rather. But use his name, don't avoid it."
"Riddle. Maybe I can do that. I'll try to remember."
"I'll remind you. It helps me remember that he's just a person; evil, no question, but someone who can be defeated."
Harry felt relieved to have hinted at his fears when Draco said soberly, "I understand."
They ate mostly in silence after that, the few words exchanged limited mostly to things like, "Pass the jam?" Draco was rereading Hermione's letter. Harry thought with mixed anxiety and hope about the potions they were to test. As soon as Draco lifted the last bite of egg to his mouth, Harry asked if he was ready.
Harry had the locket with him, so they went straight down to the makeshift laboratory, looking less temporary now with all their supplies there and two cauldrons simmering, the others set aside.
"I'll try this one first," Harry decided, uncovering the cauldron with the potion Draco had found in Moste Potente Potions. He pulled out the locket and held his breath as he dipped it into the viscous fluid, but nothing happened. He scowled, disappointed though he'd tried not to expect too much.
"We can try some of the other recipes, remember. Even if they take longer or use more unusual ingredients, there's time – and we could search for the other Horcruxes meanwhile." Draco's words were irritatingly reasonable.
"Yeah, and there's one more to test today, I know, I know. Here goes nothing."
He let the locket drop into the second cauldron. Again, nothing happened for a moment. Just as Harry was pulling it out again by the chain, the surface of the potion began to roil and bubble and let off a burst of yellow vapor that Harry couldn't avoid breathing. He choked, feeling the chain slip from his suddenly-numb fingers. His legs went rubbery and as he collapsed on the floor, he thought he heard Draco calling his name. Before he could try to answer, darkness overtook him.