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Their Phoenix	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 68678 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 1-Their Phoenix
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16
- 17-Part 17
- 18-Part 18
- 19-Part 19
- 20-Part 20
- 21-Part 21
- 22-Part 22
- 23-Part 23
- 24-Part 24
- 25-Part 25
- 26-Part 26
- 27-Part 27
- 28-Part 28
- 29-Part 29
- 30-Part 30
- 31-Part 31
- 32-Part 32
- 33-Part 33
- 34-Part 34
- 9
- 10
- 11
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� If we make
such an enemy of the Minister as exposing him to the rest of the populace
will,� Severus said, �then we must prepare to raise strong defenses, or perhaps
leave the country.�

�� Harry
leaned forwards. Draco frowned as he noted the pallor of his face. Someone
taking the potions that he knew Harry was taking for the pain of the Gut
Chewing Curse and the rearrangement of his intestines really should not be
dashing around. But Harry�s words showed how little he would welcome such
fussing at the moment. �But would trying to make a compromise with him keep us
any safer? I don�t think it will, given that he seems more afraid of Huxley
than of us.�

�� I think
Harry�s right,� Draco murmured.

�� Severus
turned and stared at him. Draco raised his head and tried to ignore the feeling
that he was betraying Severus. There would be disagreements between the
bondmates sometimes, that was all, and he would have to stand with the one he
thought was right.

�� The warmth
of Harry�s hand on his shoulder was welcome, in the wake of that realization.
Draco held Severus�s eyes, however, as he took Swanfair�s letter from his robe
pocket, because Severus was the one he needed to convince. �There are already
other people involved. They might consider it an insult if we tried to
reconcile with the Minister. And as Harry pointed out, we simply can�t trust Shacklebolt. He hates you,
Severus, and he�s indifferent as to whether I live or die. Even Harry�s
heroism��

�� Harry
snorted. Draco gave him a curious sidelong glance, and noticed Severus doing
the same thing. Hmmm. It seems that Harry
has some contempt for the things that he should be proudest of. That will be a
problem in the future.

�� can�t
protect him from Shacklebolt�s desire to play politics,� Draco continued, as if
he hadn�t noticed the interruption. �It�s true that we can�t trust Swanfair and
her kind, either, but at least we won�t be taken off-guard by a desire to
believe the best of them. I think it�s most intelligent of us to accept what�s
happened as a fait accompli, accept
that Shacklebolt has separated Harry decisively from the Ministry, and use the
allies and the defenses that offer themselves, like publicity, to protect
ourselves.�

�� Severus let
out a little grunt under his breath, still studying Swanfair�s letter. Draco
hid a smile. It was actually easy to manipulate Severus if one mentioned the
intelligence of such and such a gambit. He was anxious not to appear stupid.

�� But will
that keep you safe?� Harry interrupted. �I want to do what will keep you safe,
before anything else.�

�� Once again,
Severus glanced at Harry, this time over the top of the letter. Draco gave a
shallow nod when those dark eyes turned to him, telling Severus he had noticed
the thing missing in Harry�s words. He
wants to keep us safe. What about himself?

�� But that
was something to be dealt with later. For now, Draco said, �Severus told me
that the bond, if unraveled, is likely to undo everything that we�ve
accomplished with it. So the Dark Marks would come back, and the Dark Lord,
and��

�� And I
would stop feeling as close to you as I do now, right?� Harry finished. �Of
course we can�t allow that to happen.� There was a lingering note of horror in
his voice.

�� Draco
resisted the temptation to laugh in triumph, but it was hard. Severus lifted
his head at the same time and said, with a brightness in his voice that Draco
wondered if Harry would detect, �We cannot
allow the bond to be unraveled, and I am not sure that Shacklebolt has given up
the idea, or would believe us if we told him the truth. Yes, Harry. Call
Skeeter.�

�� Harry
nodded without smiling, climbed to his feet, and turned in the direction of the
front door. Severus cast a critical eye at his back and murmured a spell Draco
didn�t recognize. �What does that do?� he whispered, pushing closer to Severus
across the couch.

�� Keeps him
on his feet a bit longer,� Severus said. �He will need to collapse soon. So
much constant exercise and dashing about is not recommended for someone
recovering from the Gut Chewing Curse. But collapsing in front of the Minister,
his Aurors, and Skeeter would be fatal for our project in more ways than one.�

�� He put an
arm around Draco�s shoulder. It crushed down possessively, while his gaze tracked
Harry just as possessively.

�� Draco
closed his eyes to savor the sweetness of the moment. He knew he might as well,
since they were unlikely to have many chances to do so in the near future.

�� We do have a bond. It will become stronger
than just the mindless clash of our personalities.

�� We will be more magnificent than anyone
thinks we can be.

*

�� Well. Well.�

�� `Skeeter
sounded as if she would roll over dead of happiness at any moment. Harry smiled
at her wryly and leaned against the wall in what he hoped looked like a casual
gesture. In reality, he felt as if he needed the wall to hold him up, but he
was not going to admit that to
Skeeter. He avoided looking at Kingsley�s face, too, He knew the expression the
Minister was wearing would only distress him.

�� Skeeter
wagged a finger at Kingsley. �Was the Minister naughty to Harry the Hero?� she
asked. �Bad Minister. You ought to
know where the public sympathy is by now, and you�re doing little if anything
to win it to your side.� She shook her head sadly and turned to look at Harry.
Her eyes were darting around the bedroom, and Harry, resigned, knew that he
ought to expect an article in a little while on �The Room Where the Savior
Sleeps.� �What happened, Mr. Potter?�

�� Harry
explained the situation, making sure to emphasize that Kingsley had attacked
the bond without knowing what would happen to it, that he had summoned Harry
out of hospital to deal with it�here he managed to look tragic and pathetic,
and Skeeter smiled at him at in approval�that he had refused absolutely to try
Huxley, and that Harry felt as if he would never be safe in Britain as long as
Kingsley was Minister.

�� Skeeter
kept uttering long sighs as she wrote things down. Harry noticed that she was
using an ordinary quill and not the Quick-Quotes Quill, and relaxed a bit.
Though he doubted that everything in this article would be as strictly truthful
as it had been in the article about the bond, he doubted she would change much,
either. The story itself was too gripping and too interesting for her to do
that.

�� Finally,
Skeeter approached Kingsley, who still sat in a chair with his arms tied behind
him with the Petrificus. �Do you deny
any of these accusations, Minister?� she asked helpfully.

�� The
situation is not as Mr. Potter has reported it,� said Kingsley, glaring over
Skeeter�s head at Harry. �Someone who works for the Ministry should show a
certain amount of obedience and consideration for the society outside himself.
That, Mr. Potter has not shown. He
has recklessly allowed his concern for two people to overshadow the larger
picture.�

�� Skeeter
turned to Harry. �Is that true?�

�� Harry
waited a moment to answer, supposedly so he could look at Kingsley in pity but
really because his breath was getting short and he didn�t want to reveal that. �Did
I not tell you,� he asked at last, in the voice of someone surprised by his own
carelessness, �that he kicked me out of the Auror program? That was before he
attacked the bond, but after he released Huxley, the woman who attempted to
murder me, from Auror custody. Apparently I�m not fit to join the exalted ranks
of people who do things like that.�

�� Skeeter
cackled, and her quill raced. Harry was sure that final quote was going down
exactly as he�d said it. Then she turned to Kingsley again. �And what do you
say, sir? Had you kicked Harry
Potter, who would have become a brilliant Auror, out of the Auror training
program?�

�� That is
true,� Kingsley said. He�d recovered his poise again, and he smiled slightly at
Skeeter. �But once again, there are complications to the situation that you do
not know.�

�� Harry held
his breath, and then winced as he felt a sharp pull in his stomach. This was
what he�d been worried about. If Skeeter was curious enough, or wanted to
present a �balanced� story, then she might listen to Kingsley and be convinced
despite everything that Harry had carefully tried to persuade her of.

�� I don�t
see many complications that could excuse releasing an attempted murderer,�
Skeeter said, eyes hard, and turned away from Kingsley as if he had ceased to
interest her. �Mr. Potter, is there anything you would like to add?�

�� Harry
sighed and let his gaze fall to the floor as if he were simply overwhelmed. Severus would be proud of me, he
thought. �Only,� he whispered, �that it�s hard. I did my best for wizarding
society, and now to have them rejecting me�� He let his lip tremble, and looked
up helplessly at Skeeter.

�� Skeeter
patted his shoulder, her long nails clicking, her eyes absolutely wide with
rapture. �I�m sure you�ll have plenty of sympathy once this article is printed,
Mr. Potter.�

�� Do you
really think so?� Harry asked, glancing at Kingsley. He looked as if he wanted
to do murder. You almost did, Harry
thought. He had no remorse for any action against someone who had tried to hurt
his bondmates.

�� I do.�
Skeeter gave him a peculiar, almost gentle smile, and Harry wondered how many times
she had the ability to look behind the fa�ades she reported on. �After all, the
public is anxious for ripe, fresh news involving their favorite hero. And they�re
looking for a way to choose sides. This gives them a very efficient one.�

�� Ms.
Skeeter.� Harry had to give it to Kingsley. Even trapped and looking as if he
would be the center of a scandal soon, he retained his calm, courteous
politician�s demeanor. �If you would only try to learn a bit more��

�� But I
don�t want to,� Skeeter said, looking perfectly delighted to say it, and waved
her sheaf of parchment at Harry. �You can count on this being in the paper by
the evening.� She popped out of the house.

�� Harry
turned to in silence. Kingsley�s face was incredibly red. He breathed through
his nose for a moment, and then said, �I have been inside your defenses. I know
something about how they operate now.�

�� Do you
never tire of saying stupid shite?� Harry brushed his hand through his hair,
and sighed. Then he lowered his hand to his side, hoping Kingsley didn�t notice
the way it trembled. �We�ll get new defenses. We�ll raise them against you.� He
shook his head and studied the Minister for a moment, broodingly. �How did it
come to open war between us?�

�� It began
when you had the temerity to bond two Death Eaters to you.� Kingsley looked
stubborn.

�� And if I
hadn�t done it, Voldemort would have lived and the war wouldn�t have ended,� Harry
said. He paused, then added wistfully, �I don�t know what you want, Kingsley.�

�� Action out
of you that makes sense,� Kingsley said. �A promise to remain obedient to those
who know more than you in all matters, including politics. For you to put aside
your preoccupation with Snape and Malfoy, and to agree to the dissolving of the
bond.�

��

�I�m doing the things that make
sense to me.� Harry yawned. He hoped Kingsley would take it for a sign of
boredom. He also braced his legs against the wall, but from the way Kingsley
was staring raptly at his face, Harry hoped that could escape his observation.
�I can�t promise to be obedient when my successes depend on thinking for
myself. And of course the bond is important to me. I saved them. They�re under
my protection. Don�t you have anyone that you think of that way?�

Kingsley just looked stubborn again.
Harry sighed and turned to limp from the room. He had done what he could. He
would just have to release the Minister and his Aurors now and hope for the
best.

He stumbled on the stairs, and
caught himself with one hand against the wall. While he stood there, breathing,
the scar across his stomach began to ache with terrible, regular pulses. Harry
gritted his teeth and waited some more. He wasn�t about to fall down these
stairs and get a cracked head on top of everything else.

Why
is this happening now? You�d think the Healers would have managed to cure me of
a simple Gut Chewing Curse in the time I�ve spent in hospital.

�Harry?� There was a soft gasp near
his ear suddenly, and Harry jumped. When had Draco come up the stairs, and why
hadn�t he heard him? �Severus!� Draco�s arm curved around Harry�s shoulders and
hauled him to the side, supporting him with a strength that Harry found himself
grateful for at the moment. �He�s faltering!�

�� Faltering? I�m not! The word made Harry
sound as if he was weak, and he thought he�d devoted most of the morning to
proving that he wasn�t. He drew himself up so that he could stand tall and
strong and reassure Draco.

�� His stomach
pulled and ached, and then Severus�s voice said harshly to him, �Idiot boy. You
have tried to do too much.� Harry felt the press of a smooth wand against his
temple, heard the murmur of a spell, and then a curse from Severus.

�� Where
would you be if I hadn�t tried to do it, I�d like to know?� Harry forced his
eyes open and glared up at him. �Without me, you couldn�t have handled Kingsley
as effectively, and then Skeeter wouldn�t know, and��

�� What is
the Minister next to you?� Severus said harshly, and then looked furious,
either at himself for saying the words or Harry for making him say them, Harry
didn�t know. He moved his wand again, and this time Harry felt both an easing
of the pain and a darkening in his mind.

�� He�s sending me to sleep!

�� No!� Harry
fought to sit up. �Just do something that will ease the pain and make me better
for a little while. Give me a potion or something. But I have to stay awake
right now! My friends weren�t in my room when the bond summoned me, but soon
they�ll figure out where I must be, and Kingsley will probably say something
that��

�� Severus�s
hand clamped on Harry�s shoulder, and he glared into his eyes. �You are going
to rest because you need to,� he
said. �If you do not take care of your physical health, we also suffer. Or is
your memory so short?�

�� Harry
opened his mouth, realized that he didn�t have an argument to hand, and shut it
again grumpily. Then Severus repeated the sleep spell, and Harry yawned and
closed his eyes.

�� He was
still grumpy, though. He had to take care of himself, but they could have put
him to sleep later, after a few more
things were settled. God knew what Severus and Draco would say to his friends
when they arrived. If they�

�� And then he
remembered that if he trusted his bondmates, he should trust them not to
permanently alienate his friends, either.

�� He fell
asleep while he was still thinking about that.

*

�� You�re
glaring at him as if you hate him,� Draco murmured into his ear.

�� I hate the
sensations he provokes,� Severus snapped, without looking around. He could feel
Harry�s mind wavering and sinking, part of it still fighting the sleep spell.
He wondered if part of the boy�s resistance to the Imperius Curse was based on his
instinctive tendency to battle anything that tried to take over his mind.

�� Will he ever open the bonds and feel our
emotions, then?

�� Severus
scowled. He had other things to concentrate on, and with a jerk of his mind, he
managed it. �Unless you are going to tell yourself that you did not feel what
he just inflicted on us?� he added, turning to Draco. �That sensation as if
part of you was shutting down, its heart beating more and more slowly towards
extinction?�

�� Draco
shuddered and folded his arms. �I felt it, but I was more concerned with
Harry,� he muttered.

�� Severus
studied him, but as far as he could tell, Draco was sincere and did not notice
the contradiction in his words. He wondered if that would become a permanent
part of the bond: Severus watching out for the physical safety of the others,
acting as the stern taskmaster, and Draco mediating back and forth in concern
for the both of them.

�� But that would mean that only one role is
left open to Harry: to act as human sacrifice for our good.

�� Severus
snarled silently. No, he would not allow that to happen. He intended to protect
Harry as well, and to force him to rest if necessary. Harry would learn to care
for himself and not simply fling his body between Severus and Draco and every
curse that came along, or Severus would know why not.

�� He was
beginning to die,� Severus said. �Some of the potions that ease the pain of the
Gut Chewing Curse and ensure that it does not scar the victim are addictive,
and he has now gone too long without them.�

�� Draco
looked stricken, and turned towards the front door as if he would run to St.
Mungo�s immediately. Severus shook his head. �By sending him to sleep, I have
eased his need for the potions for now. And I have several of them on hand, as
well as several that will substitute. We can save him.�

�� Draco
sighed all the breath out of himself and sat down on the couch where they�d
placed Harry, reaching out a hand to stroke his hair. �I can�t�it�s so strange,
Severus, but I don�t feel as though I could
lose him.�

�� Of course
you could, if the shutdown of physical processes went far enough,� Severus said
briskly, turning towards the potions lab. �And the feeling in itself is not so
strange, given that you would die if he dies.�

�� That�s not
what I meant, and you know it.�

�� Severus
paused and turned around again. He had learned not to argue when Draco took
that tone: flat enough to ring like a trodden pavement, low and threatening. He
met Draco�s eyes and said quietly, �Yes, I know.� He hesitated and took a quick
glance at Harry, but his eyes were closed, and the bond between them buzzed with
the swift flashes of emotion characteristic of dreams. He would not hear what
Severus had to say next, and that was all to the good. �I feel much the same
way.�

�� Draco rose
from the couch with a brilliant smile and came over to stand in front of him.
Severus looked down at him with a slight blink, wondering what he wanted now.
Sometimes, the lack of a bond that would permit him to read Draco�s emotions
was troublesome.

�� He did not
expect the kiss that fastened on his mouth in the next moment, but he responded
eagerly, grasping Draco�s shoulders and pouring passion into the tangle of
their tongues. Draco moaned and stepped shakily back, fingering his lips as if
he were uncertain they still belonged to him. Severus watched him smugly.

�� We have
him,� Draco whispered. �We have each other. And someday soon, perhaps we will
have him in the same way we have each other.�

�� Severus
would normally have scorned such an enunciation of simple truths, but at the
moment, they sounded like ones he could endorse. He put his arms around Draco�s
waist and held him possessively while they both looked towards the couch where
Harry slept. Draco had a faint, gloating smile on his face that Severus was
familiar with from days in Hogwarts when he had got away with a prank on
another student. Severus did not know for certain what his own face looked
like, but he suspected it was similar.

�� Yes, they
had Harry now. And he was not trying to win himself free, which meant they had
him even more firmly, though he might not have accepted or thought about all
the implications of that possession as yet.

�� The moment
passed when someone knocked at the door.

�� Severus
turned. The wards had been damaged slightly from the attack on the bond by the
Aurors, but they still held strong, which meant that only those who did not
intend to harm them could approach the house. Since Skeeter had so recently
departed, Severus could think of only one other group of people who did not
mean them harm.

�� The
Weasleys, or others of Harry�s friends.

�� It is questionable whether they mean all of
us good, he thought grimly, and caught Draco�s eye, jerking his head at the
couch. Draco nodded and went to sit beside Harry, drawing his wand. In case one
of the impulsive Weasleys did something rash, he would be ready to shield Harry
from it. He had already begun, in fact, by creating a bubble of silence that
would let Harry sleep on no matter what someone else said in the room.

�� He nodded
to Severus when he was ready. Severus went to open the door, his own wand held
at his side.

*

�� The
She-Weasel was the first through the door, of course, and she didn�t even
bother to glance at Severus as she went by. She headed straight for Harry, and
recoiled with a loud cry when Draco�s privacy bubble kept her away from him.
She whipped around and glared at Draco. �What do you think you�re doing?�

�� Keeping
him asleep,� Draco said, his gaze fixed on her and his wand hand twitching with
longing to rise. He heard other voices, and assumed that the Weasel and Granger,
at least, had accompanied Harry�s girlfriend. He would have to trust Severus to
handle them.

�� Harry�s girlfriend. The words left a
foul taste even in his mind, like the slime trail of a slug.

�� But he
would have to put up with it until Harry made the decision to leave the
She-Weasel and come to them of his own free will. Draco knew�though he didn�t
know if Severus had accepted it yet�that any relationship they formed had no
chance of lasting until that happened. Harry would never forgive them if they
took advantage of the bond to force him away from his friends.

�� Why would
you want to do that?� Weasley�s eyes narrowed as she stared at him. �Unless
you�ve exhausted him making him defend you.�

�� That was
too close to the truth to make Draco rest entirely content. He rose to his
feet, emphasizing the height he had on Weasley, and moved a step closer,
lowering his voice to a hiss. He knew Harry couldn�t hear them anyway, thanks
to the bubble, but he wanted to show that he
had some concern for the quiet Harry needed. �He started to collapse thanks
to the Minister, who tried to destroy
the bond. Harry�s phoenixes summoned him from hospital to defend us. And after
that there was other business to be handled with the Minister, which he
insisted on doing himself. He nearly died a few days ago. Is it any wonder that
he needs rest?�

�� Weasley
stared at him in silence for a few minutes. Then she said in a low, passionate
voice, �I hate this bond.�

�� Draco
blinked. Of course I should have expected
her to hate it, but I didn�t expect to be the one she confesses that hatred to.
Does Harry know about this?

�� It
endangers his life,� Weasley went on, and fell back a step to look at Harry, as
if seeing his face from a different angle would somehow make a difference in the
truth of her words. �It forces him to act unnaturally. It disrupts his training
and gets him kicked out of the Auror program.� She turned around and stared at
Draco. �It must hamper you, too. Why don�t you want to be free of it?�

�� Draco
curled his lip. He didn�t intend to discuss the more personal reasons that he
and Severus wanted to keep the bond with her. �Because,� he said sharply,
�undoing the bond means that everything goes back to the way it was before
Harry�s accidental magic brought us together��

�� Good,�
Weasley said.

�� Which
would mean,� Draco said, raising his voice slightly, �that the Dark Lord would
still be alive and that scar would be back in place on your boyfriend�s
forehead. Do you really want that to
happen?�

�� Weasley
folded her arms around her as if she were cold, but kept her attention firmly
on Draco. She seemed to have forgotten Harry was lying there, Draco thought. How could she?

�� You say
�your boyfriend� as if the words hurt you,� Weasley whispered. �Do you really
resent my relationship with him that much?�

�� Draco
paused. The one thing he had not anticipated was being understood in that way.
He�d thought he�d concealed his resentment well enough.

��

�� But then he
remembered that Weasley had caught him trying to kiss Harry, and reckoned that
he should have anticipated this.

�� He didn�t like the fact, though, and that made him
snappish. �Of course I resent it,� he muttered. �Why wouldn�t I? He spends time
with you just to please you, and then you�re still not pleased. And you don�t seem to care about his physical
health.� Weasley opened her mouth, looking outraged, but Draco pushed on. He
wanted to say this, and she was going to let him say it, or else. �You don�t
care about anything except yourself, and the ending of the bond. Harry could
have chosen anyone else. There are
people who would understand that
bonds come first, no matter what. Instead, he chose a carrot-haired shrew who
whines at him about doing what she wants.�

�� Weasley�s
cheeks were a brilliant and unattractive red. �I�m sorry that you�ve never had
a normal human relationship,� she whispered, her voice shaking, �and so you
can�t understand that people do what other people want them to because it makes
them happy, too.�

�� Draco
lifted his wand until it was pointing at her mouth. �I love my parents,� he
whispered. �I�ve had normal human relationships. You take that back.�

�� Why should
I?�� Weasley looked down her nose at him,
which should have been impossible, as short as she was. �You�re not acting like
it. You just want Harry to do whatever you think is best for him, like your
little toy. You want him to want you. Well, you know what? He won�t.� Weasley�s
small and pig-like eyes were alight with vicious pleasure. �I asked him if he
found men attractive. He said that I was the only one he was attracted to. He�s
straight. What do you think of that?�

�� Draco cast
without thinking. It was nothing more than the Bat-Bogey Hex that Weasley had
used so often herself, but Weasley shrieked as if she were dying, and her brother
and Granger, who were standing near the door talking to Severus still, abruptly
stampeded around him and into the middle of the room.

�� What did
he do to you?� The Weasel gave Draco a look of intense dislike as he caught his
sister in his arms. Draco sneered at him. He�d thought him intelligent earlier
that day. How did I ever make that
mistake?

�� The
Bat-Bogey Hex,� Granger said, and reversed the spell with a quick flourish of
her wand. Then she turned and glared at Draco. Draco stared back and moved
closer to Harry. They don�t have the
right to take him away from us. They don�t.

�� I heard
what she said, and what you said,� Granger told him in a quiet voice. �You
ought to consider, not what she says or what we think of it, but what Harry�s
going to think of your actions.� Then she turned and shepherded the Weasleys
out of the room, while they shrilly complained.

�� Draco,
trembling, lowered his wand. He couldn�t look sideways at Severus, knowing that
he would see disapproval there.

�� Severus
stepped up beside him, put a hand on his shoulder, and murmured into his ear,
�Your intentions were honorable, your actions misguided. We must maintain peace with Harry�s friends
if he is ever to choose us of his own free will.�

�� Draco
swallowed. �I know.� That had been the thing he thought he understood so much
better than Severus. He turned and stared up at his lover. �But I got so angry.
You heard what she said, and what she implied��

�� What she
implied should not matter.� Severus interrupted him with the same cold
precision he had used when Draco made a simple mistake in Potions. �She is a
young woman dealing with more of her own internal conflicts than you know.
Those conflicts are likely to tear her apart from Harry without any extra
effort on our part. But if we attack her, then Harry will cling to her all the
more tightly because of some misguided notion of owed loyalty.� He turned away
before Draco could open his mouth to answer. �Now. Let us get Harry to bed, and
then ensure that the Minister understands the situation fully before we release
him.�

�� Draco
trailed disconsolately after Severus, watching the way Severus�s hand smoothed
gently through Harry�s wild dark hair, and wondered why his feelings of being
wise and powerful and kindly never seemed to last long.

*

�� Harry woke
in a much nicer manner than he had at the hospital, where he had the
consequences of potions to weigh him down. Of course, he must have taken
potions here, too; Severus wouldn�t have let him go long without stuffing him
full of them. But his throat didn�t hurt and his belly didn�t hurt and he felt
pleasantly warm rather than stupefied, so he lay still for a few minutes with
his eyes closed.

�� Then the
memory of Kingsley and Skeeter came back to him, along with the idea that his
friends had almost certainly visited the house while he was asleep.

�� What happened? Harry felt a surge of the
same fear he�d felt when he lay in the Hogwarts hospital wing after his first
battle with Voldemort and wondered if Quirrell had died. He pushed himself up
on his pillow with his elbows and looked frantically around.

�� Hush,
Harry,� Draco�s amused voice said from not far away. �I don�t think that
Severus will appreciate it much if you manage to undo his work.� His hand
landed on Harry�s head, and his fingers trailed familiarly over the shell of
his ear. �You�re fine. Your friends have been here, seen that you were fine,
and gone away. Severus and I released the Minister and the Aurors a short time
ago.� He hesitated, then added, �Severus tried to extract an Unbreakable Vow
from Shacklebolt about leaving us alone in the future, but he refused to give
it. So Severus cast a spell that will make sure that he�ll at least think about
us less and gain some courage for facing Huxley and others who try to influence
him.�

�� There are
spells like that?� Harry murmured. His immediate questions answered, he could
lean into Draco�s touch and�

�� No. No, you can�t. You promised Ginny that
you wouldn�t encourage his caresses, no matter what the temptation.

�� I could
have used a spell like that,� he continued, leaning back from Draco�s touch so
that he was sitting upright with the help of the pillows. �When I was hunting
Voldemort and the Horcruxes, I mean. There were times I thought I wouldn�t be
able to go on.�

�� Draco
sighed, as if he had noticed Harry�s movement and resented it, then settled on
the bed in front of him. �There�s something else I need to tell you,� he
muttered. �Something I did while you were unconscious that you probably won�t
like.�

�� Oh?� Harry
kept his voice as neutral as possible while he turned to face Draco. Draco was
staring at his hands, which twined restlessly together. �Don�t tell me. You
hexed Ginny.�

�� Draco gave
a quick jerk of his shoulders, as though Harry had struck him, then bowed his
head and sat still. Even his hands had stopped twisting.

�� You did?� Harry hissed under his breath and
leaned further away, staring hard at Draco. The phoenixes on his arms weren�t
burning, but they should have been, to represent how angry he was. Draco
flinched again, though, and Harry remembered that he could feel Harry�s
emotions through the bond. He took a steadying breath. He still didn�t want to
hurt his bondmates, no matter how upset he was. �Why?� The one word was all he
could trust his voice to utter rationally right now.

�� We got in
a row,� Draco said to his fingernails. �We both implied stupid things. She said
I didn�t know how to love, and I said that she didn�t really care about you,
just about herself.�

�� Harry
closed his eyes and sat there for a moment. His mind was a mixture of
conflicting emotions. He felt sorry for Ginny, he felt sorry for Draco, and he
wondered how this would make his life harder when dealing with both of them.
Because of course Ginny and Draco would feel that the other person was at
fault, and if Harry sided too much with one, then he would irritate the other.
But he couldn�t sit in the middle and be neutral; that would demand too much of
him in a different way.

�� I�m
sorry.�

�� Draco said
the words so softly that Harry knew he could ignore them if he wanted. But he
looked up instead, and though Draco flushed when Harry met his eyes, he didn�t
look as if he were about to back down.

�� Sorry for
what?� Harry asked carefully, because there were things Draco could apologize
for that didn�t necessarily involve the row with Ginny.

�� Draco sat
there scowling at the wall, as if he expected it to produce his apology for
him. But in the end, he shook his head slightly, turned back to Harry, and
said, �Sorry for antagonizing her. I knew she was worried. But I was worried,
too, and I got irritated when she tried to reach you instead of letting you
sleep. Besides, the only hex I used on her was that Bat-Bogey Hex she was so
fond of using on other people.�

�� Harry
almost smiled despite himself at the way self-serving justifications and truth
mingled in Draco�s words. He reached out, found his hand, and squeezed it. �You
still shouldn�t have done it.�

�� Draco
tossed his head up, his patience apparently exhausted, a brilliant flush
streaking his cheeks. �Because she�s your girlfriend.�
There was enough bitterness behind that word to make Harry flinch. He had
thought that Draco had a slightly self-mocking crush on him. This sounded like
something deeper and worse. �I know. I know that you want her, and that you�re
in love with her, and��

�� All that�s
true,� Harry said quietly, cutting Draco off. He wasn�t sure about being in
love with Ginny, truth be told, but this was one truth that didn�t need to be told to Draco or
Severus, any more than Harry was about to ask how much they loved each other.
�But mostly, I�m thinking that your hexing someone could make the newspapers,
and in a way that we don�t want. Skeeter seems interested in reporting on the
Minister�s misdeeds for now, but she could turn on us as quickly.�

�� Draco bit
his lip, and his cheeks flared out as if he were sucking in some air and
holding it in his mouth. Harry sat still, staring at him. He wouldn�t be master
to a pair of slaves, but he was going
to set some boundaries for his bondmates in interacting with his friends.

�� Finally,
Draco ducked his head and muttered something ungracious about how he reckoned Harry was right. Then he stood
up and left the room abruptly, shutting the door behind him with a sharp
squeak.

�� Harry
sighed and lay back on the bed, tracing one finger along the edge of the
pillow. No, nothing he could do would make everyone completely happy.

�� But does that matter? he suddenly
wondered, thinking of the compromise he had offered Kingsley and how Kingsley
had refused it. Harry had decided that he didn�t care what Kingsley wanted, he
wouldn�t do it. Maybe it�s the same
principle. If I can�t give Draco and Ginny and Severus and Ron and Hermione and
the whole of the wizarding world everything they want, that doesn�t mean I
can�t still be a good friend or a good bondmate.

�� That made
him feel a little better, and he was just starting to smile when the door
opened and Severus stalked in. Harry took in the frown on his face and pushed
at the pillow so that he could sit up better. Severus was probably here to
scold Harry for upsetting Draco, just as Harry had scolded Draco for upsetting
Ginny.

�� Merlin, this is so complicated, Harry
thought wearily before he turned to face what he was sure would be a storm of
sarcasm.

*

�� Severus
paused when he felt the bond tighten and thrum, stone seeming to close in on
the narrow current of emotions flowing through it. Harry had been darting
freely between feelings until then, like a butterfly visiting many different
flowers, and it was only the sight of Severus that had changed things.

�� If Draco has not apologized as I instructed
him to, I will flay him.

�� Severus
slowly shut the door behind him and crossed over to sit on the chair Draco had
been keeping watch on for the past few hours. He would begin with neutral
information, then. For all that he did not think Harry could have guessed the
subject he wanted to talk about, talking about it while Harry was in this mood
would probably not work well.

�� I have
strengthened the wards around the house,� he said. �They are linked to our
blood and bone. Someone could fool them with Polyjuice, but no other way. I
think it best we agree on a system of code words that only we know, to further
fool the Polyjuice.�

�� Harry
nodded. The bond opened slightly. �I thought of that, too.� He looked briefly
embarrassed. �I should have suggested it the moment Pepperfield attacked Draco.
Even if Kingsley hadn�t turned against me, that was a sign that the public
wasn�t willing to accept the pardons.�

�� We
survived,� said Severus. �From this moment on, we shall have to shelter under
wards, but that was no different from the lives that we lived in Hogwarts. Or
in the summer, for that matter,� he added, thinking of the powerful defenses
that guarded Malfoy Manor and his own house at Spinner�s End. �There is another
solution that I thought I would propose to you. We may leave England.�

�� Harry�s
face immediately took on the mulish look that Severus remembered so well from
the days when James was alive, a moment before the bond clashed with a shock
like cliffs reverberating. �No,� he said. �I won�t let them chase us away from
our home. All of us have as great a right to live here as they do. Besides,
there�s no guarantee that the really determined ones wouldn�t come after us in
Australia, or France, or anywhere else. And the Weasleys and other people I
cared about wouldn�t leave Britain.�

�� Severus
inclined his head. He had thought that would be the answer, but he would not
have rested easy if he had not made the suggestion. �What has Draco done to
irritate you?�

�� Harry
looked startled for the merest second, then grimaced ruefully. �I forgot you
could feel that.�

�� You will need to remember, Severus thought.
He wondered if the reason Harry had managed to accept the bond so well was that
he was ignoring parts of it. He had accepted that Severus and Draco would need
his emotions, but he had not thought about the level of knowledge of Harry
himself that granted them.

�� He admitted
the truth about the row with Ginny,� Harry said. �And he did apologize. But I
told him that I didn�t like him hexing her, and he didn�t take it too well.�

�� You did
the right thing,� Severus said, and understood a little more as Harry stared at
him like a butterfly being pinned. Yes,
he feared that I would scold him in turn. �Draco is occasionally less
mature than he has the capacity to be. If that is not pointed out, then he will
simply sink back into childishness.�

�� Harry
regarded him with caution that made the bond feel edged around with razor
blades. �I thought you would be angry at me for scolding him,� he said.
�Shouldn�t that be your role?�

�� We will
trade roles,� Severus said, �or this bond is only an iron harness, enforcing
shallow versions of ourselves upon us. You may tell Draco if he is doing
something that is wrong by your lights.�

�� Harry spent
a few more moments staring at Severus, then nodded. �Thanks for telling me
that,� he said.

�� Severus
leaned forwards. It was as good an opening as he would ever have for speaking
of the subject he had come to question Harry on. �At the moment, my role is as
your healer,� he said. �I have administered all the potions I think wise. There
is something else that I would diagnose.�

�� Harry
looked down at his belly. �Did I manage to tear something else open? That would
be just like me.�

�� Severus
followed his gaze, and saw, as Harry�s robes shifted, a trail of dark hair
disappearing towards his groin. At that moment, he was glad that Harry had not opened
the bond the other way, and so he was ignorant of the reason Severus�s eyes
turned aside and his voice roughened. �No. But I am thinking of the way that
you healed Draco and me before you attempted to do anything about your pain
when the Gut Chewing Curse hit you.�

�� Of course
I did,� Harry said, sounding baffled. �The pain knocked you down. You didn�t
have time or the strength to do anything. I did.�

�� Severus
refrained from rolling his eyes by reciting the ingredients of the Draught of
Peace in his head. It is no wonder that
he has managed to rationalize and ignore his own self-destructive impulses for
so long.

�� You almost
seemed not to notice that you were hurt,� he pursued. �The pain surprised you.
You have also ignored the pain when it began to trouble you during your
healing. Do you realize how close you came to death?�

�� Yes, yes,
I almost died,� Harry said in an overly patient voice, while the bond
contracted like a muscle. �But I�ve done that a lot. Really, you have no need
to be so worried. If anything, I should be the one who�s worried about you.�

�� Severus put
his hands on Harry�s shoulders and stared into his face. �I told you that the
bond permits us to switch and share roles. In this case, Draco and I are your
protectors as well. It concerns me that you will play down your own pain.�

�� Harry
pulled away from him, his nostrils and eyes both wide. �I don�t�you don�t need
to worry about me. I won�t forget my own pain so much that you�ll die. That�s
all that you should be concerned about.�

�� Ah,�
Severus said in a deep, soft voice. �Is it? I think not. We may also be
concerned about you as a person.� He laid the back of his hand against Harry�s
cheek and watched the result. His movement was calculated, unlike the way Draco
had leaned forwards and tried to steal a kiss too soon.

�� Harry
swallowed. Severus waited patiently until he saw the spark of awareness grow in
those green eyes, then withdrew his hand.

�� Being
bonded to anyone else would be the same,� Harry said, in a queer, choked voice.
�Except someone else probably would have accepted reality sooner and not almost
killed you.�

�� We want to
be bonded to you,� Severus said
patiently. �And we will remain by your side for the rest of our mutual, united
lives. If you do not yet feel ready to face the consequences of ignoring your
own pain, then we will help you to do so, at some later date. But you should
know that we will not be parasites, simply drawing your emotions from you and
offering nothing in return. You have us as well as our having you, Harry.�

�� He turned
and left while Harry still gaped. Once he was in the corridor, he closed his eyes
and leaned against the wall. His muscles shook with fine tremors. A cold sweat
covered his forehead and dripped into his eyes.

�� He had not
realized the baring of his emotions would be so difficult.

�� But the
ordeal was over for the moment, and he could go to conciliate Draco.

*

�� Ginny!�
Harry didn�t have to feign the gladness in his voice. He�d been hoping to see
her before this, though he knew she might not want to return to a house where
she�d been insulted and hexed. He held out his hand.

�� Ginny
walked across the bedroom to clasp it, but her smile was strained, and she
looked as though she�d been trying to prepare herself for jumping over a cliff.
She dropped his hand and said in a clear voice that shook only a little,
�Harry, I can�t do this any more.�

�� Harry
swallowed. �What?� he asked faintly, but he thought he knew.

�� I can�t
share you with them any more,� Ginny whispered. �I�m sorry. I�m probably a bad
girlfriend. But I need someone who puts me
first, Harry. I have�I still have nightmares from the war, you know?�

�� I didn�t
know,� Harry said helplessly. He felt as though a pillar supporting his world
had just been knocked away, and then someone had pointed out that he�d been the
one responsible for weakening the pillar in the first place.

�� Ginny gave
him a single bitter look. �No, why would you? You never asked.�

�� Harry said
nothing, because there was nothing to say. Ginny began to pace back and forth,
her head bowed and her fingers digging into her arms.

�� I tried to
get used to it,� she said. �And I couldn�t, because I keep looking at Snape and
seeing the Headmaster I hated last year. I keep looking at Malfoy and seeing
the boy who taunted my whole family and hates us for existing. I keep waiting
for you to ask me about my experiences during the war. I know that�s not fair.
I know I should have told you. But I didn�t want
to. I wanted someone who cared enough to ask.� She turned around and stared
at Harry with wide eyes in which shadows moved like reflections in a dim
mirror. �I�m not�strong enough to be the person you need, Harry, and you�re not
strong enough to be the person I need. Or maybe I need to heal by myself for a
while before I try to be with anyone. But the point is that it�s not going to
work between us. I feel sick when I think of you living with Malfoy and Snape,
never mind touching them.�

�� Harry
opened his mouth to deny that last part, and then remembered the way he�d
crouched in the front garden with Draco and Severus, his arms around their
shoulders. Not to mention that he�d realized, from Draco�s near-kiss and
Severus�s touch yesterday, that both of them wanted him.

�� He still
had no idea why they wanted him, but
the fact remained. And he couldn�t promise himself that he would always resist
temptation, when the bond already made them closer to him than he ever could be
to Ginny.

��

�� He realized
Ginny had stopped speaking and stood facing him, her fingers making red streaks
on her skin with how hard they were pressing down, her eyes terrified. She was
waiting for him to say something.

�� Harry
closed his eyes and made a difficult decision. He still wanted Ginny, but he
couldn�t say he loved her�not the way she deserved to be loved. And just
because Draco and Severus wanted him didn�t mean that their interest would last
or that he would ever want them back.

�� But there
were things more important than whether he had someone in his bed.

�� You�re
right,� he said. �I�m sorry.�

�� Ginny
stepped towards him, her face still pale, and clasped his hands for a moment.
�Thank you,� she said. �I know that was hard, but it�s really the best thing
for both of us.� She kissed his cheek, and then turned and ran from the room as
if she feared what would happen if she lingered.

�� Harry lay
back with his hands over his face for a moment. Then he turned so that he could
bury his head in the pillow.

�� A tentative
knock on the door made him grab his wand hastily and weave a ward on the
threshold so that no one could come in. He didn�t want comfort right now. There
were things he had to handle himself, the way he should have handled the burden
of the bond instead of trying to make Ginny bear it.

�� Harry?�
Draco tried the handle. �Let us in. You�re feeling bad.�

�� Yes,�
Harry said, his voice muffled by the pillow, �but I want to be alone.�

�� Silence.
Draco had evidently respected his wishes and gone away.

�� Harry
buried his face further and wished that he knew what to wish for. Not for Ginny
back, when that would be bad for her and probably result in a far more bitter
breakup someday. Not for the bond never to have happened, since in different
ways he valued Draco and Severus and was glad that they were in his life.

�� But
for�something.

�� For the pain to end and something in my life
to go right would be a good start.

*

�� BloodLust777:
Don�t worry! Swear all you like.

�� Voracious
Reader: Thanks! In this case, Kingsley thought shared ideals would be enough to
get Harry to follow him.

�� tf: Thanks!
Swanfair will show up in the next chapter, so that you can judge her for
yourself.

�� Alliandre:
Thanks!

�� Ron will be
hurt for a little while that Harry broke up with Ginny, but he�ll know that it
was Ginny�s choice. He can accept Harry�s bond and support Harry without liking Draco and Snape, after all.

�� I also
wanted to show that Harry has matured a little, and thinks some things are
worth more than his own stubbornness.

�� As Snape
says, the bondmates will change positions in the bond, everybody protecting
everybody from many different angles.

�� And no, not
at all! Long may the detailed reviews live!

�� Lilith:
Thank you!

�� qwerty:
Thank you!

�� Nicol:
Thanks! I hope that you don�t feel Ginny took the scorned lover route. She
would have broken up with Harry sooner or later, as long as she felt that he
didn�t pay attention to her the way one lover should pay attention to another
lover. In this case, the bond was the reason
she felt Harry didn�t pay sufficient attention to her, but it might also
have been Auror training or the way Harry is still dealing with his own
traumas.

�� PanickedSerenity:
Thanks for reviewing!

�� Seven:
Thanks! I�ll definitely try for regular updates. ;)

�� Anon:
Thanks! I hope you like this chapter, too.

��
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