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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
- 10
- 11
- 12
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� It isn�t
going to be easy, you know.�

�� Harry gave
Hermione a faint smile, not wanting to tell her how relieved he was that she
had shown up and seemed to be on his side despite his breakup with Ginny. He
thought she might be offended by that. He sat up against the pillows�after two
days in the bed, he could do that all by himself, though he was still disgusted
at how long he was taking to heal from a simple wound�and leaned across so that
he could see the paper Hermione was straightening. �I know. Has Skeeter
published an article defaming me yet?�

�� Hermione
blinked at him for a minute. Maybe she hadn�t anticipated that Harry would
actually be that intelligent about Skeeter. Then she said, �Not her, but
others. There are some saying that this all a Death Eater plot, and that the
Minister hasn�t actually done anything to you that he needs to apologize for.�

�� Harry
sighed. �Of course they would say that. What about Huxley? Are they defending
her?�

�� They�ve
been silent about her.� Hermione nibbled her lip. �I�m worried, though, Harry.
There are many people who think that Kingsley�s done a good job for his first
months in office, especially because he used to be a member of the Order of the
Phoenix and they like that connection. The storm of resentment might build
against you to the point where it wouldn�t be safe for you to go out in
public.�

�� The way it
isn�t safe for Draco and Severus right now?� Harry asked dryly.

�� Hermione
flushed. �I didn�t,� she said, and then stopped. Her fingers ran up and down
the seam of the blanket. Harry folded his arms and waited for her to continue.

�� You have
to remember why so many people feel that way,� Hermione whispered. �You have to
remember what the Death Eaters did during the war.�

�� And you
have to remember what Severus did,� Harry retorted instantly. �We wouldn�t have
found the Sword of Gryffindor without him, and then we wouldn�t have been able
to destroy the locket, and then��

�� I know, Harry.� Hermione cast him a look
of pure misery. �But you know that we
can�t tell the truth about that. Then people would probably get interested in
the idea of Horcruxes. At least, the idiots who want to resurrect Voldemort
would.� She brought her hands down in her lap with a gesture of finality. �We
can�t show as much of his heroism as we�d like, and the kind we can talk about
isn�t the kind that people understand. The vast majority of them will never see
why it�s heroic to kill someone because he asked you to and then govern in his
place for a year, all the time trying to keep students from being too badly
hurt.�

�� I know
they don�t understand.� Harry lowered his voice so that Hermione would realize
he didn�t blame her. She wasn�t against Draco and Severus, but she was
frustrated that so many people were. �I�ll fight an uphill battle until they
do, that�s all.�

�� Hermione
cast him a haunted look. �I don�t know if their minds will ever change, Harry.�

�� Harry
shrugged. �Then I�ll fight until they do,� he repeated, and charged on before Hermione
could give him another pessimistic speech. �I want to start a campaign to shift
public attention to my side. What do you think the most effective way to do
that would be?�

�� Hermione
blinked, pursed her lips, and then said, �Well, you would need more allies
besides Brynhildr Swanfair and Rita Skeeter. Neither of them is the kind of
person that the normal wizarding public would consider good. The Weasleys aren�t enough, either. They�ve been associated
with you for too long, and the novelty has worn off.� Harry concealed a
chuckle. Hermione, as much as she loved Ron and the rest of his family, could
take as detached a tone as Severus when talking about them, if she wanted. �I
think I would seek out other Muggleborn heroes�ones other than Huxley�and tell
them that you want to make sure the Ministry doesn�t change into what they
fought. They�ll have an interest in that. And play up your connection with
Andromeda Tonks and Teddy. Her husband died in the war, and Remus and Tonks
died in the Battle of Hogwarts.� Hermione rubbed at her eyes for a moment, and
Harry cleared his throat and glanced away. �That�ll grab some attention.�

�� I haven�t
seen Teddy in four weeks,� Harry mused. �I did send him a Christmas present,
but I�d like to visit him again.� He hesitated. �I�m not sure that I can use
him or Andromeda as political pawns, though.�

�� They�ll be
used that way anyway,� Hermione told him. �Either the newspapers will think
it�s sweet that you�re visiting him, your little orphaned godson, or they�ll
suggest that you want him for some nefarious purpose now that you�re bonded to
two Death Eaters. You might as well control the publicity and shelter Teddy and
Andromeda as much as you can.�

�� You�re
awfully good at this,� Harry murmured, peering at her from beneath his fringe.

�� I hate
being good at it,� said Hermione with unexpected ferocity, her eyes flashing.
�But someone has to be. And people who are stupid and believe stupid things
about you deserve to have us deciding what they see and hear.� She rose to her
feet and gathered up the papers she�d brought with her. �Ask Snape and Malfoy,
too. They might have opinions about political contacts I�ve never heard of.�

�� Harry
reached out and squeezed her hand. �Thanks, Hermione. I�when do you think Ron
will come back?�

�� Not for a
little while.� Hermione squeezed his hand back and gave him a keen, sympathetic
glance. �He�s taken your breaking up with Ginny pretty hard. I think he thinks
that he�ll lose you to Snape and Malfoy now that you don�t have a strong
connection to the Weasleys.�

�� My
connection to the Weasleys will always be strong as long as he�s my best friend
and my brother.� Harry leaned back on the pillows and frowned at her. �Severus
and Draco can�t take those roles away from him.�

�� Hermione�s
face relaxed into a smile. �Thanks, Harry. I�ll tell him that you said that, in
those exact words. I think that�s what he needed to hear: just that his best
friend was still his best friend and would always be with him.� She pecked him
on the cheek and slipped out of the room.

�� Harry
folded his arms behind his head and contemplated the ceiling. Of course the
Weasleys wouldn�t like it that he�d broken up with Ginny, or she�d broken up
with him. (Fairness to himself compelled him to remember that it had really
happened that way around). He should have thought�

�� The door to
his room banged open. Harry dived for his wand before he realized it was
Severus and Draco, and they held large boxes covered in bright paper and wore
determined expressions. He blinked. �Er. Are you all right?�

�� We�re
doing this right now,� Draco
announced, and set down his box at the foot of the bed. �We bought you
Christmas presents ages ago, and what with your almost getting killed and tying
up the Minister and then falling down the stairs��

�� I didn�t
fall down the stairs,� Harry started to protest. Honestly, how in the world was
he supposed to convince them he was healing if they made up lies that they then
believed? �I only wavered and almost fell
down them.�

�� Draco glared
at him. �And that�s so much better, of course,� he said. �Well. We wanted to
give you these presents before you could do something else that would make it
impossible to give them to you.�

�� Harry bit
his tongue so that he wouldn�t say that all those things that prevented him
from receiving the gifts hadn�t been his fault. They would probably get into a
tedious argument, and he didn�t want that.

�� Besides, he
had to admit to a tiny bit of private happiness that they�d bought him gifts.
Ever since Hagrid and Hedwig, gifts were no longer a complete novelty, but part of him would apparently be eleven and
just away from the Dursleys forever.

�� Your gifts
were well-chosen,� Severus said in a soft voice that claimed Harry�s attention
at once. He placed his large box down in the middle of the bed, though Harry
could have sat up in a chair if he wanted to. Severus had that ridiculous
notion that he shouldn�t �strain� himself too far, of course. �We hope that we
have chosen ours equally well.�

�� I�m sure
you did,� Harry said, and smiled at him before picking up the box and tearing
into the paper. Severus winced. Harry didn�t care. He liked the sound of
tearing paper, and he wanted to get the box open rather than sit around
admiring the wrapping like Aunt Petunia.

�� Inside was
a heavy book. Harry turned it over, expecting to see a title on the spine that
would have something to do with Potions, but to his surprise, there was no title
at all. He opened the book, noting absently that the pages were thick, velvety
paper and easy to turn, and looked for a table of contents or a title on the
inside or something that would tell
him what the book was.

�� Almost at
once, he recognized some of the potions that had been in the Half-Blood
Prince�s potions book. This time, though, the notations that had been added to
that book in Severus�s handwriting were incorporated into the recipes
themselves. Harry flicked through the pages and recognized the spells that he�d
used during that year, too, including some that he never got to try.

�� Harry
raised his eyes and looked at Severus. He didn�t quite understand. There were
several things the book could mean. Was Severus mocking him?

�� You can
use this knowledge to defend yourself, now,� Severus told him. His hands
tightened around each other for a moment, creating a joined constellation of
stains. He must have been brewing some particularly difficult potion that
morning, Harry thought absently, since it had splashed him so thoroughly. �I
have included everything I thought useful from that first book, as well as
knowledge that I only learned afterwards.�

�� Harry let
his eyes flicker to Draco. Has he
forgotten that I used one of the spells to hurt the man who�s his lover, now?

�� When he
looked back to Severus, he found a solemn gaze waiting for him, so open that
Severus might have been inviting Legilimency�so deep that it made Harry uneasy.
But from the way Severus made a slow gesture at the book and nodded, Harry
thought he understood the silent message.

�� It�s different because he trusts me now. He
thinks that I�ll treat the knowledge with respect, the way I wouldn�t have
before.

�� Harry had
to look down at the book and stroke the pages as if admiring them, because his
throat was tight and his eyes would be wet in a moment, and that was not on.
Then he glanced at Draco, who was holding his box out importantly. This box was
smaller than Severus�s, and Harry opened it with a more intense feeling of
caution. If Severus had got him a copy of the Half-Blood Prince�s book, he had
no idea what Draco would have got him, except that it would be double-edged.

�� It was a
sparkling silver potion that looked like brook water in sunlight. Harry wrinkled
his forehead and turned the vial in several different directions, but didn�t
see a name on it. He turned to Draco. �All right, I give up. What is it?�

�� By the
time I�m done tutoring you in Potions, you�ll be able to name a potion like
that without a pause,� Draco murmured critically, but he put on a bright smile
at a warning glance from Severus. �It�s called the Ordinary Potion. It only
works on people who have some degree of notoriety, like the Minister�or you.
When you drink a dose of it, then you can walk around in plain sight and people
will only pay as much attention to you as they do to someone who�s not famous.�

�� Harry
blinked and stroked the vial with one finger, carefully not looking at Draco.
They would think his emotion stupid and a weakness, probably, but it meant a
lot to him that Draco was willing to let Harry try to make himself ordinary
instead of important. After all, that meant that Draco didn�t care about his
partners being politically powerful and outstanding all the time; he was
willing to accept a normal Harry.

�� And though
he couldn�t possibly have known about it, it felt as though he�d guessed at and
granted a private wish of Harry�s: to be �just Harry.�

�� Thank
you,� he said, when he could find his voice. �That�means a lot to me.� And then
his voice cracked and he sounded stupid, so he coughed and hurried past the
moment before either of them could realize something was wrong. �Hermione
suggested making friends with the Muggleborn heroes other than Huxley, and
bringing Andromeda and Teddy into the spotlight, if they would agree to come.
But she also said I should ask you if you knew any political connections she
was overlooking. Well?� He lay back on the pillows and looked from one to the
other of them, his hands still resting on the book and the potions vial,
because he couldn�t bear to let them go.

�� Draco and
Severus exchanged a long glance in which they seemed to say thirty things at
once. Harry scowled, wondering if he could do that, or if it was a skill
reserved for former Slytherins alone. I
wish I knew what they were thinking more often.

There was a simple solution to
that, of course. He could open the bonds the other way, so that he could feel
their emotions as well as them feeling his.

But Harry refused the notion the
moment it occurred to him. He still didn�t want to spy on them just because
they had to spy on him to live. And they�d been fine about not using the knowledge
gained from his emotions against him�unless he wanted to count Severus�s weird
attempt to make him admit his pain, which Harry knew was there, but which wasn�t important�but
Harry couldn�t be sure he would be the same way. He didn�t trust himself.

So, all in all, it would be better
for him to leave the bonds closed, and just muddle along the way ordinary
humans without phoenix marks had to do. Besides, he had his Christmas presents
now. That showed they cared about him. He placed his hands on the presents
again, and waited for them to emerge from their silent communion.

*

�� Draco gave
a small nod. Severus took the invitation for what it was and cleared his throat
as the first to speak.

�� There may
be those whose gratitude we can draw upon among my former students,� he began
carefully. For all he knew, though Harry had adopted certain�softer feelings
towards two particular former Slytherins, he would not wish to associate with
others. �Your defeat of the Dark Lord ended a year of suffering for most of
them, when they were forced to see the name of Slytherin House abused again and
again as justification for torture and hatred. I believe their families would
help us.�

�� Harry
raised a skeptical eyebrow. Severus wondered if he realized that he was
practically cuddling the book and the potion vial. �Are you sure they wouldn�t
blame me for not doing something to rescue them earlier?�

�� Severus
snorted. �Slytherins are not so unreasonable.�

�� Harry�s
other eyebrow joined the one currently crowding his fringe.

�� In this,
they truly are not,� Severus insisted. He had observed Draco�s yearmates such
as Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode during the occupation of the school
that they had been told was such a �triumph� for them, as members of Slytherin
House, pure-bloods, and future members of the Dark Lord�s army, and he had seen
how their faces and their souls changed. �They have seen the consequences of
irrationality and passionate devotion to a single cause up close.�

�� I still
don�t know if they�d take it well if I approached them.� Harry�s face had a
shadow on it, and the bond resonated and trembled with more shadows, reminding
Severus of leaves in too-bright sunlight. �Maybe you should begin the
overtures.�

�� Of
course,� Draco said dryly. Harry shot him a look that had both irritation and
affection in it. Severus watched as Draco absorbed those emotions like a flower
the sun and reflected parts of them back at Harry. �We weren�t about to leave
such a precarious thing up to you.
Who do you think we are?�

�� Not
brain-damaged by worship of me?� Harry said, in a passable imitation of Draco�s
voice.

�� Draco
tapped Harry�s elbow sharply, which made Harry grin. Severus swallowed and
remind himself that he had no cause for jealousy. Not only were Harry and Draco
close to the same age, there were reasons for antagonism between Severus and
Harry that Draco had no reason to share.

�� And I truly do not think they will leave me
out when they are ready to be together. It was there in the way Harry held
his gift as tenderly as he held Draco�s, and in the bright-eyed glance Draco
cast Severus a moment later, before he leaned forwards.

�� We should
start with the Bulstrodes,� he said confidentially to Severus. �They have
Muggle blood, and they�ll have that reason to be grateful for the ending of the
war, which the others won�t. Besides, I�ve heard some rumors that they mean to
leave the country because of anti-Slytherin harassment. If we could provide a
safe haven for them, they would have every reason to give us strong support.�

�� Severus
nodded. �Do not stress the gratitude too much,� he cautioned Draco. �You know
Millicent�s pride, and her father is even worse.�

�� Draco
snorted. �Trust me to know the best ways of dealing with Millicent after seven
years of sharing a common room with her,� he said. �I can at least ensure she
comes around, and then I think the rest of her family will follow. They�ll do
almost anything to oblige her, their darling only girl.� He rolled his eyes.

�� Severus snorted
in return. �I would also remove that tone from your voice before you speak with
her.�

�� What do
you think I am, a Gryff�a Hufflepuff?� Draco retorted in an unusually clumsy
save before he rose to his feet and gestured vaguely at the bedroom door. �I�ll
start writing that letter now.� And he hurried out before Severus could advise
him to apologize.

�� When he
turned to Harry, however, he saw that Harry didn�t like angry about the insult
to his House. Instead, he was gazing wistfully after Draco. In his eyes was a
yearning that Severus had seen before when some of his Slytherins felt shut out
from the social life of the rest of the school.

�� He spoke
out of instinct, and wondered if that was best when he saw the wary way Harry�s
eyes shifted to him.

�� You need
not feel separated from us. It is true that Draco and I share common
experiences, but we would welcome
your sharing of them.� He pitched his voice as low and soothingly as he could,
so that Harry would not want to back away for lack of sympathy.

�� I know,�
Harry said, and hurried past the words and into another subject before Severus
could pin him down. He wondered if that was yet another of the strategies Harry
had evolved for ignoring his own pain. �Do you think it�s wise to get in
contact with Brynhildr Swanfair? Draco sounded so uncertain that I didn�t want
to ask in front of him.�

�� Severus
felt an entirely inappropriate swell of pride within him. Yes, there were
things that he and Harry alone would share, although the same was true for
Harry and Draco and for Draco and Severus. �She is powerful,� he said, �and I
think it wise to extract some guarantees for her behavior before she visits us.
But if we do not accept her help, we risk offending her.�

��

�� And that
would be bad,� Harry summarized, �even though accepting it might also be bad.�
He sighed. �I don�t understand the world of politics.�

�� You have
developing instincts,� Severus said. I
will not let him forever put himself down if I can help it. I used to think he
was seeking compliments when he did so, but now I believe that behavior is so
deeply ingrained he no longer notices. �You knew that it would be best to
leave Draco and me to approach the Slytherins, for example.�

�� Harry shot
him a startled glance. �But that�s just common sense.�

�� Severus
gave a small shake of his head and stood. Perhaps now was not the right time to
confront Harry over his continual self-deprecation. But eventually, he would
make time. Otherwise, Harry would only go on shoving it away and refusing to
deal with his own emotions. �Rest now for a time. I will be back shortly to
give you the final one of your regime of pain-easing potions.�

�� Thank
Merlin,� Harry muttered, and sank back into the pillows as though he�d been
released from a death sentence.

�� Severus
held his body still to prevent Harry from getting any glimpses of his emotions,
and waited until he could respond with a mild tone in his voice. �Does drinking
potions I have brewed cause you such distress, then?�

�� It�s not
that,� Harry said hastily, as if he had guessed what Severus was feeling after
all and wanted to reassure him. �But I hate taking any potions. Especially
pain-easing potions. They cloud my mind. I feel like I should always be alert,
especially now that we have so many people who hate us.�

�� Severus
added that small note to the stack of evidence he was collecting that Harry did
not spend enough time worrying about
his own pain, and inclined his head. �This is the last one,� he repeated before
he slipped out.

�� This time,
his hands did not shake as he stood outside Harry�s door. Of course, the
conversation they had just had was not as revealing as the one they had
conducted three days ago.

�� I am becoming easier with this, all the
same.

*

�� Draco
nibbled the feather of his quill thoughtfully. How best to begin a letter to
Millicent? He doubted that reminding her about the time he found her vomiting
after she watched the Carrows torture a Hufflepuff was the best way to get her
favorably disposed towards him.

�� But he wanted
something like that, something that
would remind her, tactfully, that the war had happened and that she owed her
freedom from the Dark Lord to Draco�s bondmate.

�� Draco spent
a moment luxuriating in the thought of Harry being his bondmate�he had always
wanted someone who would be his before
they were anyone else�s, and now he had two of them�and then turned back to the
letter. Thinking of Harry and Severus had told him what he ought to write.
Trade a vulnerability for a vulnerability.

�� Dear Millicent,

�� I dare say that you�re surprised to hear
from me. Maybe you thought that I considered myself too high and mighty to
contact former schoolmates now that I�m bonded to Harry Potter. But I�m also
bonded to Severus Snape, and so I�ve come face-to-face with the hatred that
many people have for him. Not to mention the hatred many people have for Harry.
You�ve probably read about that in the newspapers.

�� I hate the hatred, Millie. They won�t take
the time to understand nuances, those people who only want to throw curses.
They don�t understand that killing Dumbledore hurt Severus far worse than it
hurt any of those people who hadn�t seen him in decades. They don�t understand
that Harry had to compromise to live with us, instead of deciding he�d do it to
make everyone angry.

�� Draco
paused, read what he�d written so far, and then nodded. Yes. He�d called her by
a nickname, taking a chance; he�d called Harry and Severus by their first
names, to show how close he was to them; and he�d confessed his own inner feelings.
Millicent might still scorn him in the end, but at least he thought she would
be intrigued enough to read further, wondering what he could want from her that
was worth exposing his weaknesses like this and sounding gentle and soft.

�� I think it�s time to remind them�and �they�
might include some of the people who were at Hogwarts with us�what all of us
sacrificed and suffered. I�d like to invite you and your father to come to a meeting
at our house in Hogsmeade. The date hasn�t been decided yet, but that�s
partially because we�d like to involve you in the decision process at all
levels.

�� There. That
was nicely flattering.

�� We need to a make a strong political
counterpush to the Minister�s little campaign to get Harry, Severus, and I
arrested or assassinated. I don�t know that Harry�s accepted that yet; he seems
happy with making a few decisions and hoping for the best. But we�ll need to
build a party of our own. I know it.

�� And that would tell Millicent that he wasn�t
entirely under Harry�s thumb when it came to his political actions. He knew his
yearmates would require that sort of reassurance. None of them would want to do
simply what a Gryffindor told them to do.

�� What features of the counterpush do you
think are best? We�ll be waiting for your contribution.

�� Sincerely,

�� Draco Malfoy.

�� Draco
finished the letter with a flourish and then whistled softly. The owl Severus
had bought for him the other day, when they had agreed that they would need a
way to send secure correspondence that didn�t depend on the ordinary post, flew
through the window. Draco spent a moment admiring him. He was only a barn owl,
but he had magically sharpened claws and a beak and a bad temper. That was the
reason Severus had chosen him; he thought this bird would defend its message
better than many others.

�� Draco
fastened the letter to its leg, earning himself several pecks for his pains.
The owl never drew blood, but he did appear to want Draco to know that he was
doing him a favor.

�� Fly,�
Draco whispered. �Take this message to Millicent Bulstrode.� He threw his hand
up gravely. The owl bit his thumb before flying away.

�� Draco
leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head as he stretched
his legs out on the table. He was humming to himself smugly. He had made a
contribution to the business of keeping them safe, and a contribution that only
he could make. He didn�t have to feel that he wasn�t giving as much to the bond
as Severus was, with his ability to brew potions, and as Harry was, with his
determination that would drill a hole in mountains.

�� Draco?�

�� He started
and almost tumbled backwards at the sound of Severus�s voice from behind him.
Severus shot out a hand and steadied the chair, giving Draco an even look as it
came back to resting on its legs. Draco cleared his throat and shook his head.
�Was there something you needed, Severus?� he asked. �I finished writing that
letter to Millicent, and I think we�ll get a response, even if not necessarily
a favorable one.�

�� Severus
gave him the narrow, dark smile that Draco knew meant he was pleased with him,
and which no one else would ever see, not even Harry. �I must bring one more
potion to Harry for his health,� he said. �Then I would appreciate it if you
would join me in the bedroom.�

�� It was a
haughty command. Draco (sometimes) didn�t mind when he got haughty commands, so
he stood up with a smile. �Mouth or arse this time?� he asked. �Or perhaps a
hand or rubbing together?�

�� It was nice
to know that some things he said could still make Severus blush like a virgin.

*

�� Harry stood
up, hanging onto the bed, and took a single tottering step. At least it didn�t
make him feel as if he wanted to vomit this time.

�� I shouldn�t be feeling as if I wanted to
vomit at all! Stupid gut wound. I almost die and then I�m suddenly in bed for a
week? Most of the times that I almost died, I healed more quickly than that.

�� Harry
gritted his teeth and took another step. He knew that he needed to stay
physically safe and healthy so that Draco and Severus could have a chance to
live. He knew that. But he was so
bored, and there was no law that said he should have to stay in bed for this
long. He probably could have been up and moving around two days ago, but Draco
and Severus had an unfortunate habit of popping into the room and staring at
him when he tried to do anything more active than sitting up to eat.

�� Not this afternoon. They were busy with a
complicated potion, and they�d barely asked Harry if he would be all right
before they disappeared. Harry had assured them that of course he would be, and
climbed out of bed the moment he heard the potions lab door close.

�� Now he just
had to make it to the other side of the room.

�� Harry
gritted his teeth, set his jaw, and began to walk. Sweat poured down his
forehead. A desperate aching surged across his stomach, as if his stupid guts
were still sliding out of alignment. Why does it take a week to fix this? Surely
they�ve dealt with a Gut Chewing Curse before me?

�� But if he
pursued that line of thought, then he would have to wonder if Severus was right
and Harry had made matters worse because he�d ignored his intestines sliding
around as he defended Draco and Severus. He didn�t want to wonder about that,
so he concentrated on the far wall.

�� And then
the house shook.

�� Harry
whirled around and caught his breath as pain briefly stabbed him through the
gut, but the house shook again, and the wards trembled, and fear for his
bondmates urged him to practically leap across the room so that he could look
out the window.

�� He saw a
flash of dark robes, and for a moment thought Death Eaters! But the voice that was yelling beyond the wards
didn�t recite words that sounded like the ones Harry would have expected from
Death Eaters.

�� Coward,
you�re supposed to be the hero of our world and you go running to the Minister
for help?� Another blast. Harry, clinging to the windowsill, thought the witch
in question was probably striking at the foundations of the wards, where they
joined the earth, and so sending shocks running into the foundations of the
house as well. �For that matter, you�re supposed to be the hero of our world
and you live with Death Eaters? I
challenge you to a wizard�s duel, Harry Potter. Come out and show me what
you�re made of, unless you�re afraid and
need to hide behind your Minister and Death Eaters to protect yourself!�

�� The taunt
about being afraid started a fire burning in Harry�s brain. He turned towards
the stairs�

�� Then Draco
burst through the bedroom door, panting, and said, �It�s Huxley.�

�� Harry narrowed
his eyes, the fire in his brain at once cooling to little more than ashes. �Oh,
is it?� he murmured. He made a few rapid calculations. The flying magic from
Huxley�s attack on the wards had to have alerted other people in Hogsmeade. Her
previous attack on Harry had been quick, possible to ignore; at least, Harry
didn�t have proof that any of his neighbors had seen it. But this time, they
ought to have an audience, even if they only peered from behind curtains.

�� He smiled
and held out an arm to Draco. �Help me downstairs,� he said. �And make sure
that Severus is behind us when we go out to confront her. I think we ought to
face her as a triad, don�t you?�

�� No, I
don�t,� Draco said, and tried to tug him in the direction of the bed. �I think
it�s much better if we all remain behind the wards until both she and your
temporary madness about facing her have gone away.�

�� Harry went
limp, so that Draco had to support or drop him. Then he locked his legs and
climbed back up to stand on his feet, never looking away from Draco�s face. He
had discovered already that Draco was more influenced by a direct gaze then he
would probably ever admit to himself.

�� No,� he
said, softly. �We have to face this. I�m tired of allowing other people to do
whatever they want, including trying to hurt me and my bondmates. This time,
she�s damaging our home and our public reputation. More people will believe
that you and Severus are in charge of my movements if we don�t go out and face
her. At the very least, we can offer them something different to believe.�

�� Draco
swallowed. He started to say something, twice, and each time stopped with
another swallow. Finally, he bowed his head. Harry watched him through Huxley�s
next attack on the wards and tried to ignore his own impatience.

�� What is
it?� he finally whispered, when he thought Draco wouldn�t speak without
encouragement.

�� I don�t
want you to show yourself,� Draco said, in a voice that Harry thought he was
trying to make louder, but which stayed soft and choked no matter what he did.
�I don�t want you to put yourself in danger. I know that Severus doesn�t,
either. You�ve already suffered so much. Why can�t we dare this danger, while
you stay in hiding?� His hands pressed down suddenly on Harry�s.

�� Because
they won�t believe you in the way they�ll believe me,� Harry said gently. �I�m
Harry Potter. My name and face are still what we need to convince them. I know,
it�s not fair. You should be respected for what you are and what you did��

�� We don�t
care about being respected by people like Huxley.� Draco was staring intently
into his face. �We care about keeping you safe. I said that.�

�� Harry was
relieved to see the return of Draco�s irritation. It was something normal after
the trouble he�d had showing his emotions.

�� You�ll be
helping to keep me safe by helping me face her,� he said calmly. �Now, let�s go
downstairs.� The attacks on the wards had lessened, probably because Huxley was
getting tired, but her screams for him to come out still went on. Harry knew
that anyone watching would think he was a coward at the moment. He didn�t
intend to let Huxley have it all her own way.

�� Draco
sighed, a sound that seemed to come from his toes, and took Harry�s arm. Harry
gave him a smile, which didn�t lessen the sharp lines of worry his face was
carved in. Harry hoped that seeing how well he handled Huxley would do that.

*

�� Draco kept
one eye on Harry as they opened the door of the house and Harry stepped onto
the front stoop. His face was as pale as Weasley�s had got when Draco was
keeping her away, and almost all his weight rested on the hands he had on Draco
and Severus�s arms.

�� For all
that, he stepped forwards as if he felt fine and was in the best of shape,
going out to battle a dragon.

�� Draco and
Severus exchanged glances over Harry�s head. Once again, he was refusing to pay
much attention to his pain.

�� Or�it�s not that, even, Draco thought in
frustration as he looked towards the garden wall, beyond the shimmer of the
wards, and saw Huxley spring to attention at the sight of them. I�ve known people who ignored pain because
they thought it made them look good or tough, and Harry isn�t doing that. But
it�s as though the goal he has at the moment gets all his attention and his
pain is a distant second.

�� Draco
didn�t have much more idea how to deal with it than Severus did.

�� He locked
his arm into place around Harry�s shoulder and behind his back, at the moment
Severus did the same. Harry nodded to both of them and then faced Huxley with
narrowed eyes and lifted head.

�� I thought
so!� Huxley yelled, her voice projected by a Sonorus Charm but distorted by the wards. �You can�t do anything
without the support of your Death Eaters, can you? A hero, indeed! I�m more a
hero than you are, even though I saved fewer people, because at least I didn�t
betray the cause I fought for immediately!�

�� Severus
hissed under his breath, and Draco nodded at him, though he wasn�t sure Severus
had paid attention to the gesture. It was sounding less and less as though
Huxley was a Muggleborn who had just decided randomly to attack Harry, and more
and more as though someone had put her up to it�someone who probably wanted to
claim Harry�s place in the politics of the wizarding world.

�� Harry
didn�t pay attention to that, of course. In fact, he had probably dismissed the
words about his heroism the moment they reached his ears, Draco thought. He had
a habit of doing that. �And does a hero murder?� he was asking Huxley now, in a
mild voice. �Does she use a Gut Chewing Curse on someone who�s never done
anything to offend her?�

�� You did offend me!� Even muffled, Huxley had
a mighty screech. �You turned your back on the cause I fought for and you
should have stayed with the moment it was safe and convenient to do so!�

�� Your
accusations don�t even make any sense.� Harry sounded bored. Draco concealed an
exultant grin. That was exactly the right tone to take�though, in this case, he
thought that boredom was Harry�s real emotion and not a calculated move. That
was all right. Sometimes Harry�s instincts could guide them, and then Severus
and Draco would come in with their own political support. �Why would I kill
Voldemort if I wanted Death Eater support? And why would I choose two people
whom most of the wizarding world despises to assist me in my treachery? There
are other Death Eaters I could have picked, such as the ones who were tried and
exonerated, or barely involved.�

�� Draco
winced. It was true, what Harry had said about him and Severus, but still, it
was a bit brutal to hear the words spit out like that.

�� He looked
at Severus, but there was no sign that he had even heard Harry. He was staring
straight ahead, eyes narrowed, probably trying to absorb every nuance of
Huxley�s behavior that he could. Draco told himself to stop caring as much
about personal insults and attend to important things the way Severus did.

�� You have
power!� Huxley was saying shrilly now. �You could want to take over the
wizarding world, and you would have killed You-Know-Who because he was a
rival.�

�� That still
doesn�t explain why I would have chosen Draco and Severus to help me.� Harry
took a single limping step forwards. Draco danced a moment, but luckily managed
to support him in the way he needed before he either fell over or looked
ridiculous. �As for power, I defeated Voldemort through luck and accidental
magic. I had no idea what I was doing. Does
that sound like a wizard who has a lot of power in battle to you?�

�� Severus�s
eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing. Draco wasn�t sure why, though. He resolved to
pay even closer attention.

�� Your
accidental magic could�� Huxley began.

�� No, it
couldn�t,� Harry said, and his voice was sharp with anger. �That�s why it�s accidental magic. I had no idea how to
control it, no idea what it would do when it flew away from me and started
creating the bonds between me and Draco and Severus. I couldn�t use it as a
weapon against you. I don�t want to
use it as a weapon against you. There would be no point. You don�t have
anything I want.

�� And I�m
sick and tired of people telling me that I should sacrifice more for them than
I did. I gave up my upbringing in the wizarding world, because it would have
been too dangerous for me to be raised by people who might turn out to be Death
Eaters, or in a place where Death Eaters could get to me. My parents died. I
gave up a peaceful childhood. Do you know how many times I faced Voldemort, in
one form or another, when I was at school and not even of age yet? Four. How many times did you face him?�

�� Huxley
started to answer, but Harry bulled straight ahead, his words lashing out with
a ferocity that told Draco how long he had been suppressing them.

�� Then I
faced him after giving up my seventh year at Hogwarts to destroy him, and
finally killed him. But even then, I had to give up part of my freedom to be
bonded.� He pushed his sleeves back from his arms, showing the phoenixes. �I
can feel what Draco and Severus do. I have to share magic with them to content
the bond. You know that, because you read it in Skeeter�s article. Tell me,
does that sound like fun?�

�� Draco
stiffened and took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that Harry wasn�t
disparaging him and Severus, or even the bonds that tied them together. He was
simply trying to remind the idiots who saw them that he hadn�t chosen this,
which was perfectly true. What he got from the bond at the moment was anger
like trees on fire, and that self-loathing like a thin yellow liquid, without
the despair that had earlier haunted it.

�� I�ve given
up more than any of you,� Harry went on in a rising voice. He turned and looked
at the windows of the other houses in Hogsmeade. �The very least I deserve is to be left in peace. Instead, I almost gave up
my life because this woman used a Gut
Chewing Curse on me and left me in hospital for days. Then the Minister kicked
me out of the Auror program, so I lost the career that I was going to have, and
he nearly cost me my bondmates. He did cost me his friendship.

�� If you
still think I should sacrifice things for you and your precious world? Fuck you. I don�t care how much fighting
you did, how many sacrifices you made. They were still less than mine.�

�� He turned
away, his head bowed, breathing harshly. Draco wasn�t sure how much of that was
from anger and how much from pain and weakness. He shifted his arm so that
Harry could lean on him anyway, feeling adrenaline surge through him. If Huxley
had attacked at that moment, Draco thought he could have blasted her apart.

�� That was
right,� he whispered to Harry. �You were right.�

�� Indeed you
were,� Severus said. His eyes were brilliant in the way that they became when
one of his students, wronged by another professor, produced evidence that
vindicated him. �That was the right thing to say, and it has given them
something to think about. I suspect many of them did not know that Huxley tried
to murder you. Now that information will spread, and they will wonder more at
the Ministry for releasing her.�

�� Harry gave
a heavy huff. Draco was not sure what that meant, but he tightened his grip on
Harry just in case. The self-loathing in the bond grew brighter, and Draco
exchanged another glance with Severus. Yes,
we must address this.

�� Steady
applause interrupted them then. Draco picked up his wand to aim and looked over
his shoulder.

�� Near Huxley
stood a tall woman with a face more pointy than Draco�s, long silver hair
hanging to her shoulders, and yellow eyes like an owl�s. Her hands and her body
were both stick-thin; even her expensive white robes could not conceal that.
She clasped her hands together as Draco watched and gave them an equally thin
smile with colorless lips.

�� Very well
done,� she said. �I have made the right decision in coming myself.�

�� Draco
opened his mouth to ask who she was, but Severus cut across him before he
could. �Brynhildr Swanfair. Welcome.�

�� Swanfair
bowed slightly. �Indeed. Will you invite me in?� She glanced at Huxley. �If I
you require a guest gift, I have someone here who would make an excellent one,
once trussed and appropriately punished for her actions against you.�

*

�� Blood Lust
777: And here I�ve tried as hard as I can to make Ginny sympathetic�

�� NyaleIshamba:
Thanks!

�� DTDY: Thank
you! Snape will do his best to keep on being brave.

�� PanickedSerenity:
Thanks! Ron will eventually come around. He doesn�t like Harry being together
with them, but he also won�t be upset the way he would be if Harry had started cheating
on Ginny while still together with her.

�� Dawnangel:
They can focus on the bonds if the Ministry will let them.

�� tf: Harry�s
still hurt, but he�s not as hurt as he would be if he really loved Ginny.

�� Alliandre:
I also think Ginny�s decision was the right one. Harry knows he didn�t care for
her enough. But he isn�t really taking having a sexual relationship with Draco
and Severus into account yet; he thinks in terms of physical safety, as you
mentioned.

�� There�s a
limit to how much they can change the bond, since Harry ultimately controls it,
but they�ll do some investigating�once they get the time.

�� mrequecky:
Thanks for reviewing.

�� alaine1910:
Thank you!

�� qwerty:
Thanks! It�s kind of a shame that one of Severus�s emotions is concern for
Harry�s dismissing his own pain, because Harry dismisses that in turn, and
hurts Severus.
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Their Phoenix