Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Freedom Bound in Chains	By : TaintedSensibly Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 58478 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Harry Potter characters. I did not make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 101
- 102
- 103
Confrontations and Acceptance
Remus hadn’t woken until more than twelve hours after the ritual Severus had performed… The ritual Severus had used him in. He was on Severus’s couch. In his private room. And he was so disoriented that for a wild moment he thought he’d dreamed it all up. But Remus knew deep in his bones that he hadn’t. His body felt simultaneously like he was going to burst with energy and like he’d been run over by a bus and could sleep for a weak. The contrast made him jittery and skittish, and he’d fled. He practically ran all the way back to Hogsmeade. He didn’t see Severus, didn’t speak to him or confront him. Remus couldn’t face the man after what they’d done, what they’d learned, what Severus had manipulated him into without warning or consent.
He was breathing hard. His graying, sandy-blond hair was windblown and sticking up in places. His eyes were wide, his pupils small. The deep scaring on his cheeks stood out vividly against his pale face. Feeling completely dissociative, Remus practically staggered through the front door of his cottage. The sun had set. It was dark, but it was not that late; the sun set early during winter. He stared dumbly, the door still wide open behind him. He had to blink several times before he really understood what he was looking at in the dim confines of his home.
There was a fire cheerfully dancing in the hearth, but the room looked destroyed. The curtains were tangled and torn. The furniture looked like it had been shoved around. One armchair was completely on its back. A lamp he’d bought at a thrift store in London and had loved was shattered on the ground. A puddle of white lace and silk, and was that a corset?, had been abandoned in the middle of the floor. A few inches away from where the clothes lay discarded, there was a stain of something white and crusty on the rug. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and something else that he refused to acknowledge.
Adrenaline dumped into his veins making him shake even harder. Where were the boys? Were they attacked? Kidnapped? Remus ran down the hall, heading toward the boys’ bedroom and splashed through a puddle of water that had spilled over into the hallway from the bathroom. He glanced inside, bracing his hands on either side of the doorway to keep his feet only to see more water on the floor and several sopping wet towels doing a piss-poor job of soaking it all up. The tub had been drained at least.
Confused, panicked, Remus pushed off from the doorway and continued toward the bedroom. He didn’t think to knock, just swung the door open. Draco and Harry’s arms were wrapped around each other as they kissed. They were dressed in jeans and sweaters; their hair was wet. They pulled apart to see who had entered. Draco had a curious look on his face, completely unashamed. Harry looked worried, his hand coming up to push his glasses higher up his nose, but he was not worried because they were caught or because the house was destroyed. No, he was worried because Remus most likely looked crazed.
Remus’s heart was pounding, rage and relief swamped his brain with chemicals. Tears burned down his face. He couldn’t catch his breath, but he heard as if from a long tunnel his own voice, barking in his ear. “What do you think you’re doing?! The place is a disaster!”
Draco turned his attention away from Remus. He smoothed his hands through Harry’s hair and kissed his lips chastely. “Go warm us up something to eat. We’ll be along in a minute.”
“Yes, Draco,” Harry answered, obedient as always. Peace shone in his bright green eyes and it made Remus want to howl with jealousy.
Draco held Remus’s wild stare with a cold, hard look. Remus shivered. “Oh, and don’t clean anything up. Remus will do that.” Remus stared at the young blond, his teeth bared in a smile that was anything but. Draco’s lips pulled into a dangerous smirk.
“Yes, Draco,” Harry said again and slipped right by Remus without acknowledging the man.
Draco hadn’t moved. Just stood there staring Remus down. Remus was trembling, his whole body quaking. He just couldn’t think. He was shattered. It was all just too much and a whimper escaped him, his emotions whiplashing from anger to terror.
Draco spoke a single word, voice like steel despite it being so young. “Kneel.”
Remus instantly sank to his knees, but a growl escaped him, his teeth bared. Some small rational part of his mind was shocked. What the hell was he doing? He was completely out of control!
Draco walked over, completely unafraid of Remus’s wild growling and show of teeth. Before Remus knew what he was going to do, Draco grabbed him by the hair and yanked him forward so hard that he went sprawling on his belly, pain radiating from his scalp. The pain shocked Remus out of his panicked state like ice water thrown over his head. A sneakered foot pressed on the back of his neck and pinned him to the floor. Then Draco was leaning forward, putting more weight on his neck and suddenly Remus couldn’t breathe at all.
“The house can be fixed with a few simple spells,” Draco voice came from above him, quiet yet firm. “So tell me what’s really got you so upset.”
Remus gasped as Draco took enough weight off his foot to let him breathe and speak, but the threat remained. Draco could cut off his air at any point. Strangely, he found that thought soothing. “Peter did it,” he said on a cough, spit soaking into the rug under his cheek. “He did all of it.” And suddenly Remus was sobbing, hands clawing into the floor. “We only f-found out because S-Severus… He made a deal with an Old God. To l-learn the truth. Now he has to break the w-werewolf curse, but it’s impossible, so many have tried! He only has f-five years to live before the Horned God comes for him!”
“What did you find out?” Draco asked, voice hard. He could feel how badly Remus was shaking from where he had his foot on the man’s neck. Alarm ran down his spine, his attention sharpened. “Tell me.”
Feeling the command deep in his core, Remus was helpless to disobey. “P-Peter found out that S-Sirius was in l-love with J-James, so he helped Lord Black s-spell L-Lily. Used a B-Blood Ritual and Amortentia. Then the w-war got s-serious. I r-ran away. J-James figured out who h-hurt Lily. And P-Peter sold him to V-Voldemort to save his own s-skin. Framed S-Sirius.” Remus gasped, tears soaking his face. “Put S-Sirius in A-Azkaban! With D-Dementors! For ten years - oh god he’s been in there ten years! P-Peter didn’t even feel bad! Thought Sirius d-deserved it for still being in love with J-James, even after James married L-Lily.”
For several long minutes Remus lay limp and helpless, sobbing. The pressure against his neck lifted, but before he could panic, he felt Draco sit on his back, right over his shoulder blades. The boy braced his feet on either side of Remus’s head and began to stroke his hand through his hair. Remus whimpered at the gentle touch. He’d denied himself the comfort of human touch for so many years that it almost hurt to receive it now.
“I a-attacked Dumbledore,” Remus remembered, voice hoarse. He should be horrified. He’d honestly tired to kill the man. His rage had been so great that his monster had come out even without the moon! But he felt no regret, only a deep betrayal. “I was right fucking there! Looking for you! He could have told me the truth then! Explained it to me! But he let me walk out of there, not saying a word! Always manipulating me! WHY? He saved me! Gave me an education, protected me. I TRUSTED HIM! We all trusted him! Would’ve done anything for him! So why? Why couldn’t he save us? James! Sirius! Peter! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Mind swimming, completely overwhelmed, Remus broke down completely. “I’m sorry, please! Please! Don’t leave me! I’m sorry!”
“Shhh,” Draco soothed, sensing Remus had no idea where he was or even what year he was. “I’ve got you. You’ve been good. So good. Such a good boy.”
The man beneath him gave a pained whine, going limp, his hysterical cries dissolving into broken weeping. Draco just sat there, comforting Remus with his weight, pinning him and holding him secure while he continued to pet his hair. It didn’t take long for the man to tumble into an exhausted sleep.
Draco sighed, his hand stilling but remaining in Remus’s thick, coarse hair. All this pain and suffering because, what? Sirius Black was gay? Narcissa had warned him, but Draco hadn’t understood just how deep the taboo against homosexuality ran in the Wizarding world. Dread crawled up his throat to choke him.
He and Harry were still minors. They didn’t have the right to make choices about their future or their bodies… or even their hearts. Basic rights were afforded them, but beyond that children were owned by their parents. And he’d just lashed out at Andromeda. He’d been pushed too far by the woman’s overbearing, judgmental attitude and had used his relationship with Harry as a weapon against her. Oh, it had gotten her to back off, all right, but now he and Harry were in danger. Draco was doubly glad Harry had already warned Lucius. He’d have to talk to the man soon.
And that pissed Draco off further because Lucius had placed his own desires over Draco and Harry’s safety. He’d been unforgivably careless by keeping Bellatrix locked up so close to them for eight months before they went off to Hogwarts. Granted, they had only been at the manor four of those eight months, but that was still too much time! Things could have gone so wrong and Harry would have been in danger. It had only been luck that they had already left when things had gone wrong. Even worse, Lucius had toed the line of betrayal and risked his own death by not telling Draco about the diary with Voldemort’s fucking soul inside it! He really fucking hoped Narcissa was alright. Not only because they needed to stop the soul piece in the diary, but because she had become one of their biggest allies.
Draco carefully stood and stepped over the unconscious man on the floor. Remus was falling apart. It was expected, but it was still inconvenient. Although, to be fair, Remus had no legal way of helping them even if he hadn’t had a breakdown. He wasn’t their guardian, and if his condition became known, he’d be less than useless, likely locked away in a prison disguised as a hospital. For the safety of the public, of course. A deep, disgusted sneer crossed Draco’s face. What utter and complete bullshit. Remus was only dangerous one night a year. The same couldn’t be said of wizards and witches the government fully supported. They didn’t care about citizens’ safety; they only cared about keeping their own precious lives unbothered.
And just like that, the distant, shadowy threat of society snapped into focus and became a target for Draco to destroy. He always knew it would come to this. Because of the views society held and what Draco and Harry were, but he had hoped they could stay unnoticed until they were of age, when their status as minors couldn’t be wielded as a weapon against them.
Draco stood in the kitchen doorway and watched Harry set the last dishes on the table. The boy looked up with a smile. His black hair was still damp, his face bright with happiness. Harry was still slender and lean, but he’d come so far since they’d met in the dark Hold. Draco’s chest still burned with Harry’s promise of becoming a partner who Draco could lean on, his promise of becoming his wife, and Draco smiled back, the impulse to protect this boy who he loved so damn much burning stronger.
Draco wasn’t about to let the world tear Harry apart to keep their pathetic peace. Soon the people would be forced to abandon their beloved illusions about their fucking ‘normal’ lives. Because Voldemort was coming back. In fact, it was possible even more than one of the fuckers was coming. And Draco would have no qualms letting the whole Wizarding world collapse if it was a threat to Harry. The public would have to accept all that they were or Draco wasn’t going to lift a finger to save them. He was going to have to change his war strategy completely now. He’d have to raise defenses and keep Harry safe, but he would no longer attempt to end the war before it began. Now the Wizarding world would have to earn the right to be saved.
“Draco?” Harry’s happiness dimmed with worry, sensing something wasn’t right.
Draco shook his head, trying to clear it of dark thoughts. “Looks good.” He crossed to the table and sat, pulling Harry into the chair beside him. “After we eat, I’m going to go visit Lucius. You stay and look after Remus. He’s in a bad place right now.”
Harry nodded solemnly. “Yes, Draco.”
Draco smiled and brushed the back of his fingers down Harry’s soft cheek. “Come on. Don’t be so worried. I’ve got this handled. And tomorrow when we wake up, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Harry peeked over at Draco - curious. “A surprise?”
“Yep.” Draco gave a happy grin, he couldn’t wait to see Harry’s reaction! “It’s New Year’s Day tomorrow. You gave me such a great gift. It’s only right I give you one, too.”
Harry touched his nipple rings through his sweater, heat rising in his cheeks. “You already gave me a gift.”
Draco waved that away, sticking his nose slightly in the air in a mimicry of Lucius at his most pompous. “That was your Yule gift. This will be for New Year.”
Harry smiled - happy LOVE - glad to see Draco’s playfulness returning. “Thank you, Draco,” he said with soft sincerity.
Draco leaned over to kiss Harry’s cheek. When he pulled away, he took Harry’s hand in his, resting them both on the table between their plates. He lifted his fork with the other hand and said, “Eat, Harry.”
Harry gave a big smile and did as he was told, happily watching as Draco ate the meal he’d cooked.
…
Draco walked calmly through the halls of Malfoy Manor. His way was lit by lamps glowing with anchored, low-powered Lumoses that were fed by the wards. The white marble and antique furniture, the paintings and sculptures, the vases of flowers… It all looked even more elegant and high class illuminated by the soft, clear light of the lamps than it did in daylight. Draco had lived in this manor every other month for the last two years, but it still felt like he was walking inside a magazine or through a movie set.
It was beautiful, that was undeniable, but it didn’t feel like home. Of course, his near constant conflict with Lucius probably didn’t help, or the fact that living in this house was more like attending a Pureblood bootcamp. Etiquette, blood-lines, history, riding, fencing, calligraphy, languages, religion: They had spent their hours here near constantly at lessons. That’s not to say it was all bad. They had some good moments, too. Especially on the holidays. Narcissa had always gone out of her way to make holidays special for them, but a few holidays out of the year weren't enough to make this place a home.
The manor was quieter than normal. There was a stillness in the air and Draco trailed his fingertips thoughtfully along the wall, his body swaying gracefully with his slow steps. Maybe it was because he’d just been forced to relive most of his memories or the fact that he’d realized their enemy was more than just Voldemort but also society itself, either way he had a new perspective on Malfoy Manor. He didn’t suddenly want to take up the mantle of Malfoy Heir, but he could see how useful being a Malfoy would prove to be in this fight. The problem was his parents just didn’t understand that no matter what they did that becoming who they wanted was too confining. He just couldn’t do it.
Draco had spent the first years of his life at an orphanage. It had been rundown and there hadn’t been enough adults to children. He hadn’t gotten the attention he needed, and the kids were always fighting over toys and food, but Draco had felt a part of something there. It had been home. He would never forget the feeling, while watching the orphanage burn not long after his sixth birthday, of terrible certainty and utter grief that his whole world was gone forever.
He’d spent the next four months in a pedo’s closet getting molested until his venomous power had finally come awake the first time he’d been raped. He’d been sold to the Hold master after that, and for a year, he’d been a slave. It had been a dark and terrible existence that exceeded even those first few months of being broken. He’d been physically abused and on the verge of death dozens of times. Bones had been broken, his blood had been spilled, he’d faced torturous mind games, and had been emotionally degraded and made into an animal. And then… Harry had come to him and sunlight had broken into his bleak existence.
Harry, god Harry, the boy had crashed into his life, bringing sweetness and love - real fucking love - and it had broken something in Draco, broken and fixed something at the same time. For three months, he’d planned while Harry had recovered some strength. When they were ready, Draco had murdered the man who had enslaved them both and they’d escaped. Escaped to a man who was much like Draco. An alpha, a dom, a man who lived on the border of acceptable society and the criminal underground, but by taking in escaped slaves, Brendon had overstepped his authority and he was murdered for it.
That could have very easily been the end of Draco and Harry. It nearly had been. If the thugs hadn’t stopped to play with them, if they had dragged them back to slavery and separated them… Draco shuddered to think about it. Fortunately, that wasn’t how it went. Fate had given him a window to escape and he’d taken it. Draco had killed them all. He’d taken Harry and run to the streets, but two seven-and-a-half-year-olds, who were runaway slaves no less, could not survive alone, so he’d gone to a Boss for protection.
That’s where he’d met Liam, Brendon’s younger brother. They had spent only nine months with Liam, but those months spent living in New York with him were the closest he and Harry had ever come to having a true home. He and Harry had had their first real birthday party with Liam when they had turned eight. They had gone to movies, restaurants, museums, and theme parks. They had hung out at home and watched tv together. They had laughed and cried together. They had loved each other.
And it had all come crashing to an end when Remus had come for them, and then the Scourers, and then Britain and the Wizarding world, and finally landing in this crazy agreement where for the last two years they bounced from Malfoy Manor to the Tonkses every other month. Only to then be sent to Hogwarts to live ten months out of the year. So yeah. He could see how this manor might have been home in some alternate dimension where he hadn’t been stolen as a baby. But he had. So this place was nothing more than a tool to use to force society to bend to his will.
Draco was determined to make Harry’s promise come true. They would build themselves a home that they decided on and had no demands or impossible expectations attached. A home they couldn’t be kicked out of and where only those they allowed to enter would be welcome. There would be no more judgement or secrets or jumping around from house to house. They would be officially married and have ultimate authority over themselves and their lives. They’d be free. It was for that dream that Draco was here now, walking the halls of Malfoy Manor once more. Despite wanting to leave this place and his parents behind forever, Draco had no choice but use the platform they afforded if he was ever going to make Harry’s dream a reality.
Tucking his white-blond hair behind his ears and steeling himself for the difficult verbal war ahead of him, he pressed open Lucius’s office door only to come to an abrupt stop and stare around with wide eyes. The bookcases and furniture were gone except for a single long table and a chair that had been placed in the center of the room. Papers were pinned to the walls almost covering every inch. Some looked like pages torn straight from books. Others were covered in Lucius’s handwritten notes. Books lay carelessly discarded around the floor. There were more on the table, all open to random pages.
Lucius stood with his back to the door, still unaware of Draco’s presence. He wore an undershirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. It wasn’t even tucked in to his slacks. His blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail that fell down to the center of his back. His fingers were ink-stained and he muttered to himself as he bent low over the desk.
Draco moved along the wall of the room, stepping carefully around books as he did so, until he could see Lucius’s profile. The man looked pale, his eyes feverish with dark circles underneath. Draco suspected Lucius had been taking too many potions. Dilated grey eyes snapped up to meet his and Draco lifted an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lucius straightened, his back giving a quiet pop. For a long second, he didn’t react to Draco’s presence. Then he smoothed his hands against his pant legs and gave a cool smile. “I’m making some progress in understanding how to manipulate a Horcrux. I still haven’t discovered a way to remove it from Harry’s core, but I’m close.”
“Narcissa is still not back?” Draco asked softly, expression tensing with worry. She would never have let Lucius get this bad.
Lucius’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You assume too much. There is a chance she will never return.”
Draco was shocked by this. “You would divorce her?”
“I would be widowed by her,” Lucius snarled, hands curling into fists. “She was already injured when she went about her mad quest. She thinks she can control her sister, she always has, but she won’t see Bellatrix for the viper she is and so will always fail.”
Draco frowned. “She was injured? By what?”
Lucius stared his son straight in the eyes and said, “By me.”
Draco felt his magic stir in response, the deadly energy of his core beginning to snake through his veins.
“You think you’re ready to play these games, but you are still too young.” Dismissing the arrogant boy, Lucius turned his attention back to the ancient tomes spread out before him.
Draco strode forward and slammed his hands down on the books, leaning forward threateningly. “What did you do?”
“I’m sorry. I did not realize you cared.” Lucius gave a darkly amused grin and casually turned a page of a book.
Draco stepped around the table and boldly shut the book his father was reading. He forced his voice and expression to be calm. He couldn’t rise to the man’s bait. “Lucius. Please. Explain the situation. I need to know if I’m going to make successful plans.”
Lucius stared coldly at his son. “As I said, I stripped her of her connection to the wards. To prevent Bellatrix from having access again. When Narcissa recovered, she guessed where her sister would flee. After all, as a legally dead escaped convict, the only place Bellatrix would be protected is her Family home. The house used to belong to her aunt and uncle, but with the deaths and disinheritance of the main line, her father had been made Lord Black. That means Bellatrix would be accepted and protected there. However, Narcissa knew her sister would be suspicious should she show up, so she concocted a plan. Narcissa thought she could play on her sister’s sympathies, make Bellatrix lower her guard, by arriving beaten and in disgrace. She would make it appear as if she had nowhere else to turn after being exiled from House Malfoy.”
Draco frowned. “You beat her,” he said carefully. “To make it appear like she had a falling out with you. In order to get closer to Bellatrix.”
Lucius suddenly swiped his arm across the table sending parchment and books flying to the floor. In a rage, he snarled, “She spelled me to think Bellatrix stood before me… So Narcissa got her way… I attacked her. And now I cannot tell if she is well or not because I have blocked her access to the wards and also to me.” Silver eyes flashed as he met his son’s guarded stare. “She is risking her life. To protect you! And still you stand there casting judgment and disregarding what it means to be a family.”
“Lucius…” Draco bit back the sharp things he could say and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had come knowing he’d have to compromise. He’d need the Malfoy name and the political power that came with it if he was going to challenge society. Draco would never take up the title of Malfoy Heir the way Lucius wanted, but they did not have to be at war, either.
Draco stepped closer and placed himself within arm’s reach of his father. He ignored the way Lucius’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and spoke as calmly as he could. “I had no idea you both went that far to protect me and Harry. I am deeply grateful.” He lowered his chin to look up at his father through his lashes the way he had seen Harry do so many times before. He held the humble pose for a long second before lifting his face to meet Lucius’s shocked stare once more. “I’m worried about her, but Narcissa is strong. She’s cunning and shrewd. A beating, one she asked for, is not going to slow her down. She will use it as she planned and get Bellatrix right where she wants her. You know this; you’re just tired. You need to take a break, Lucius.”
Lucius stared at his son in abject shock. A break? When Potter’s body contained a piece of the Dark Lord’s very soul?
“Harry is fine at the moment,” Draco said firmly, knowing what Lucius was thinking. He boldly reached out to grab Lucius by the wrist and tugged the man toward the door. “We need the Horcrux out of him as soon as possible, but I wouldn’t be able to trust anything you came up with in this state anyway. Come on. When’s the last time you ate? Slept?”
Lucius said nothing as he followed his son to the private dinning room. The elves were only too happy to supply them with a light meal. Draco chose to sit directly next to him, as if wanting to be close, but Lucius was not fooled for a second. Draco would only be this accommodating if he wanted something. So Lucius waited and watched, wondering when Draco would reveal his true motive.
Draco had endured Lucius’s narrow-eyed stare long enough. He set his fork down sharply next to his plate and flashed Lucius a glare. “Look. We want different things. I’m not denying that, but we still need each other. We have to figure out a way to make this work. For both of us.” He titled his head, deciding to get to the point. “Did you get Harry’s letter?”
“Yes.” Lucius sat straighter. Andromeda seemed so insignificant to him that he had forgotten about it. So that was why Draco was here. His lips curled in amusement: Draco needed his protection. He wondered what he could get from the boy in return. “He wrote that she is now aware of your relationship with Potter.” Lucius lifted an eyebrow, derision in his eyes. “How careless of you.”
Draco accepted the jab. He deserved it. “It doesn’t matter. It just speeds up my plans a bit.”
Lucius frowned. What plans?
Draco gave a chilling smile. “So, Lucius. Remus told me she will petition you for sole custody of Harry in return for relinquishing all rights to me.” He leaned his cheek against his hand, elbow propped up on the table. “You could agree, of course, and officially become the enemy. Or we can try and work together as I am suggesting. What will you do?”
Lucius actually laughed. “That threat has lost all its power, I’m afraid. I gave up believing you would work with me long ago, Draco. I will suffer no loss in approving the change in guardianship rights since you already treat me as the enemy and always have.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Draco tensed, his hands gripping the table edge tightly. His mind raced to think of words that could salvage this situation. “I’ve kept you at a distance, yes, but believe it or not I have respected the fact that we are family to the best of my ability. You’ve asked a lot of me from the moment you discovered I was back. I may not have given you everything, but I’ve played along.” Temper flashed through his eyes. “If you think it’s been hard for you, it’s been even harder for me. So don’t you dare sit there and act like I’ve been unreasonable, Lucius, because you haven’t seen anything yet.” Draco pushed to his feet, his chair dragging loudly against the floor. “If you would just give up on controlling me, we could do such great things together.”
Lucius sneered. “Your plans only give you what you want, Draco. They do nothing for me in return.”
“Really?” Draco tilted his head with mock innocence. “Because last I checked I had backed Dumbledore into a corner and demanded his resignation. I seem to recall you wanting him out of the school for a few years now.”
Lucius’s hands curled into fists as he tried to hide his shock.
Draco continued, pretending like he hadn’t noticed. “I mean, being on the Board of Governors is a pretty big deal. I would think you’d have a pretty big say in who would be elected as the next Headmaster. You might even get someone in position to help you further the policies Dumbledore has managed to block up to this point.”
“You didn’t do that for me,” Lucius said darkly, glaring at his presumptuous son.
Draco shrugged, letting the fake-innocent look fall from his features. “I could have used the leverage I had to blackmail Dumbledore into doing whatever I wanted, but I saw this as an opportunity for the Malfoy family to advance and acted on it.” Grey eyes met grey eyes. “So I didn’t do it for you personally maybe, but I did act in favor of the Malfoy name instead of personal power. That’s the truth.”
Lucius sucked in a breath. He wasn’t sure if he could believe the manipulative boy, but… Hope burned in his chest regardless. “I have already contacted my lawyers. They will prepare several stratagems to counter whatever move Andromeda makes. I have also begun to look for a way to free Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather. Custody should revert to Black upon his release should we need it. Also, the safe house Bellatrix resides in would also revert back to Black’s control. I am waiting to hear from Narcissa before making such a move in case it disrupts a strategy she has in place.”
Draco was super curious to know how Lucius knew Sirius was innocent when Draco hadn’t told him about the Scabbers/Pettigrew fiasco, but now wasn't the time to ask about it. “Good. That’s good.” His shoulders relaxed a bit. “We’re currently staying with Remus in Hogsmeade, but I’m considering disappearing for awhile into Muggle London.”
Lucius tapped his fingers along the table. “That could be good. We can make the case that Andromeda drove you to runaway. That is grounds for abuse and could strip her of her guardianship rights, awarding Harry’s full custody to us. However, that might push her to publicly explain why she drove you away.” He shot Draco a sharp look. “I do not advise coming out about your relationship with Harry so soon. You are both still minors.”
“I know,” Draco answered tightly. He hated the fact he had to hide it, hated it more than anyone would ever understand, but he wasn’t dumb. The Ministry would have them separated if they found out. “Remus knows where we are, so if you need us to come back, let him know.”
Lucius inclined his head.
“Get some sleep, Lucius. We are going to need you sharp.”
Lucius’s expression became shaded with annoyance as he answered, “Do not worry, Draco. I am perfectly alert.”
“Good.” Draco actually gave him a smile. “Keep me updated and I’ll do the same for you.”
…
Harry sat on the floor of his and Draco’s bedroom next to Remus. He drew his knees close to his chest as he considered the man. Remus was asleep on the floor, sprawled on his belly, head turned to the side. Dried tear tracks could still be seen on his face and there was an aura of pain around him. Harry softly stroked Remus’s hair, wondering what he could do to help. Draco had told him to take care of him. Harry wasn’t exactly sure how, but before he he could get too nervous about it, Remus woke up. Pale brown eyes blinked slowly as Remus rolled from his stomach onto his back. Harry pulled his hand back and hugged his legs. As he considered how to go about this, he rested his cheek against his knees, watching Remus from behind his black-framed glasses and a screening curtain of messy black hair. Remus was clearly avoiding his gaze. He sat up, turning his face away and running his hand through his grey-streaked hair.
“Are you hurt?” Harry asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“No. I’m fine,” Remus answered, but his face was still turned away so Harry couldn’t see his expression.
“It’s okay to cry,” Harry stated with sudden boldness. He uncurled from around his legs and got to his feet. Walking around Remus, he planted himself in front of the older man. “If you’re upset or hurt, you need to tell us. I’m right here, so stop hiding. Let me help you.”
Remus stared up at the boy in shock. He was utterly taken aback by Harry’s almost sharp tone of voice. “Yes. You’re right.” Letting his head fall forward, he closed his eyes and honestly took a look inside his own head. “I’m angry. I’m angry that I couldn’t help the people who mattered so very much to me. I’ve hated Sirius all this time and he was innocent! I was so very, very wrong, and because of that, he’s been hurting and alone. I abandoned him!” His hands curled into fists at his sides as he began to shake. Anger coiled hot and sharp through his core. “I’m angry at Dumbledore for not saving us and for manipulating me. I’m angry at Severus for nearly killing us just to gain information that doesn’t change a bloody thing! And I’m sad. I miss my family. I miss them so bloody much, but they’re gone, and I’m terrified I’ll let you and Draco down the way I let them down.” Tears began to cut down his cheeks, wetting his thighs as they dripped from his face. Voice tight and hoarse from pain, he confessed, “I hate myself. Because all I still want to do is run away. I haven’t changed at all. I’m still a useless, bloody coward.”
Harry stared down at the man with wide eyes. He’d never seen Remus so raw and exposed. Remus always held himself slightly at a distance. As if a thin veil stood between him and the world. Harry hadn’t expected such an outpouring, but Draco had made it clear: take care of Remus. Draco had only ever told him to take care of one other person before and that was Liam. Nodding to himself, Harry took a step forward and firmly grabbed Remus by the hair. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention. Harry crouched down and stared intently into Remus’s golden brown eyes.
“I don’t know what can make any of it right, Remus, but I do know one thing.” His eyes almost seemed to burn with an inner fire. “Draco’s got you. He’ll keep you on the right path. He won’t let you run away.” His hand tightened a slight bit. Enough to make Remus wince. “So you don’t have to worry so much. You’re Draco’s now. Right?”
Remus stared at Harry in utter shock. His heart beat hard and fast in his throat. The tightness at his scalp sent shivers down his spine, and then… Harry put his hand on the front of his throat. It made everything in him go still and his eyes brighten to true gold. He felt himself teeter between shoving the boy away and exposing his throat in acceptance. This wasn’t his Alpha, but… Harry was Draco’s more than anyone else was. The instincts that held such a strong hold over his soul took center stage and he didn’t know which way he’d fall.
Harry, unaware of the tension or possible danger he was in, innocently said, “Maybe you need a collar.”
Remus’s eyes flashed to Harry’s throat and the worn black leather that encircled it. For the first time, he understood what that strip of leather truly meant. It was belonging and protection. It was a visible cry of Mine! and Taken! More importantly, it was Draco’s claim, real and weighty, and Remus suddenly felt a soul-deep longing to have exactly that. He’d fought against his instincts, questioned Draco, privately disapproved of the relationship Draco had with Harry, and held himself apart. A simple verbal acceptance seemed so unstable, so untrustworthy. Something physical really would make Remus feel accepted and forgiven.
Harry gave him a sweet smile, gentling the hand in Remus’s hair and turning it into a caress as he let his other hand fall away from his throat. “I’ll ask him, okay?”
Remus blushed a hot burning red. He couldn’t speak. Completely overwhelmed by the unexpectedly strong reaction he had to the idea of being collared! Eyes dulling to a light brown once more, he was honestly shocked by the whole idea, but it was too late to dissuade Harry. The boy was already moving out of the room and asking which spells would help clean the house.
“Sorry it got messy,” Harry apologized looking up at Remus as the man followed him into the living room.
Remus just shook his head, cheeks still stained with embarrassment. His lips curled with a wry smile. “You guys are actually very neat kids. I rarely see you making a mess, so I think you can be forgiven this once.”
Harry listened carefully as Remus taught him the cleaning and drying spells they’d need to set everything right. It took him a few tries, but Harry eventually got them working. He didn’t use a spell on the skirt and corset, however, too afraid of damaging them. Remus opened his mouth to ask if the dress was Harry’s, but he already knew the answer as much as his brain tried to resist the knowledge, so he ended up asking nothing at all.
Draco flooed back just as they finished putting the house back to rights. Harry ran to meet him, a big smile on his face. Remus practically slunk into the room after the boy, his face burning red. Harry wouldn’t really tell Draco he needed a collar, would he? But Harry did just that. Sharp grey eyes and curious green pinned him in place and Remus began to tremble with conflicted impulses. He opened his mouth to deny any such thing, but his throat was too tight to make a sound.
“I see.” Draco stepped closer to the man who had only just recently pledged himself to him. Remus’s submission should have been enough, but he still felt hesitant, not sure he could trust Remus to stay the course and not run away again.
Remus could sense his Alpha’s hesitation and his fragile calm shattered. He couldn’t tell up from down anymore! Anger and self-hate were nearly choking him! Draco was the only stable ground in sight, and the threat of that disappearing made him begin to hyperventilate. Remus sank to his knees, a whine rising from deep in his chest as he stared at Draco with wide, begging eyes. He couldn’t breathe!
Draco kept this eyes on Remus even as he pulled Harry close and whispered something in his ear. Harry nodded and slipped past, leaving the room. Draco crouched and gently stroked Remus’s tight throat with his fingertips. It made Remus shiver, but with every pass of Draco’s hand, he could breathe a little easier.
Truth was Draco couldn’t understand Remus’s pain. He had never felt a grief that made wish so badly to go back in time. Draco had always faced forward. The closest Draco could come to understanding that kind of regret was when he had very foolishly put himself in Quirrell’s path, arrogantly thinking he was the equal to a malicious and experienced Dark wizard. It had nearly cost him his mind. That one decision had led to Harry suffering greatly, to Harry being left alone and vulnerable for almost a weak. Because of that, Harry had faced their dangerous and powerful enemy without Draco! It was a miracle that it had ended as well as it had, honestly. It had literally taken a gods’ intervention, but the regret he felt over stupidly putting himself at risk like that only made him even more focused on the future, not look back the way Remus did.
“Look,” Draco started, trying to sound sympathetic but knowing some impatience was bleeding through his voice. “You can’t get it back. What you lost. The past. It’s gone. Forever.”
Remus closed his eyes and bit his lips, swallowing the broken sound that wanted to escape. Why was this so hard? It had been ten years! Of course he knew they weren’t coming back! Of course he knew they were gone!
Draco sighed. “You belong to me now.” Harry returned and he handed Draco a cord with a pendant. Draco accepted it and turned his attention back to Remus. “Even if James, Sirius, and Petter came back, you are not the same. They would not be the same. Remus, there is no going back. Instead, you need to look forward. Look at where you stand now. You’re stronger than you were then. You’re not a helpless and lost teenager anymore. You’ve embraced your power and your spirit is more whole.”
Remus sucked in a breath as the words struck deep inside him. He felt something go around his neck and opened his eyes, looking down. There was a thin black leather cord and on the end of it was a white gold dragon with the wings outstretched. The cord was attached to each wing tip. The body of the dragon hung low, its belly exposed, a bright yellow gold. The head was beautifully crafted, mouth open in a silent roar. The tail dipped down in a sinuous curve, like a sloppy S.
Harry, standing next to Draco and looking down at Remus with a gentle and compassionate look, pulled up his sweater enough for Remus to see the white dragon with bright green eyes tattooed on his side, directly above his hip. It was nearly the same color as the white-gold dragon that now rested over Remus’s sternum.
Remus’s heart thundered in his chest. His eyes burned like fire. A strange wheezing sound escaped him with every quick, patting breath. All the panic, the grief, was washed away by hope… disbelief… expectation… It hurt nearly as badly, but it felt cleaner, more powerful.
“You wanted to be a part of us.” Grey eyes caught and held his wide-eyed look. The boy’s voice dropped, became threatening. “There’s no going back. You belong to me now, Remus. Not to them. So stop looking back!”
A wave of emotion rose up and squeezed Remus’s throat so tightly it was as if Draco had collared him after all. “Draco,” he wheezed, helpless. His chest felt so tight, like it was going to collapse any minute. Tears burned his cheeks, adrenaline pumped through his veins.
Draco smiled, all teeth and danger. “I know it won’t be easy.” He crouched down so he was inches away from Remus’s face. He gripped the dragon in his hand and squeezed hard enough to let the gold pierce the skin of his palm.
The smell of Draco’s blood made Remus’s eyes go solidly gold and he whimpered.
Draco spoke softly and yet his voice was hard a steel. “I think you have to face what happened, really face it, to let it go completely. So I’m ordering you to go to Azkaban. Go there and see your old pack-mate. But not just because you owe him. You are going to go there and evaluate his condition because he could prove useful to this pack. He’s Harry’s rightful guardian and Andromeda has become a problem. It’s going to be the hardest thing you ever had to do, Remus. You’re going to want to roll over and grovel. You’re going to want to recreate the past, but I want you to remember this.” Draco twisted his hand so that the cord tightened around the man’s throat. “I want you to remember you don’t belong to him anymore. You belong to me!”
Eyes going silver, Draco forced Remus to look him in the eye by slipping his free hand into the man’s hair and shaking him lightly. Remus broke out in a sweat and he slumped, trying to keep his head lower. Alarm sparked along his nerves. He was not trying to challenge Draco! The energy around the boy was so dominating that the mere thought of challenging the Alpha made his bladder want to release. The color silver filled his mind completely, and then Draco leaned forward. The Alpha’s teeth closed on the slope where Remus’s neck met his shoulder and bit down hard enough that Remus’s skin threatened to break. Remus went completely limp, mouth hanging open, pupils blown wide. His life was Draco’s completely! Draco could kill him in that moment and Remus would have accepted it without qualm. Remus was his…
Draco released the bite and sat back on his heels. Remus had collapsed onto his side on the floor. His eyes were glazed; he was hardly coherent. Draco smiled softly at the total surrender and rubbed his still bleeding hand over the black cord, letting the leather soak up the red liquid. It would hold the scent and hopefully remind Remus who he belonged to when he went on his mission.
As he did this, Draco glanced up at his boy. Harry was standing at his side, watching attentively, ready to help at a moment’s notice. Harry had been absolutely correct in what Remus had needed, and he’d done the right thing by telling Draco. He’d also picked the exact pendant Draco had wanted. Over the years, they had accumulated quite bit of jewelry, but neither Draco nor Harry cared to wear much of it. This particular piece had been gifted to Draco by Narcissa. She wouldn’t mind Draco using it to secure a tighter allegiance with an ally.
“Good job, Harry,” Draco said softly.
Harry smiled brightly at the praise.
Chapter end.
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Freedom Bound in Chains