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Keep This Wolf	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 20230 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am making no money from this story.

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Chapter Nineteen—Restrain the Hunter
            “It’s such a pleasure and honor to know that you lived up to my choice,” Umbridge was gushing, one hand pressed to her heart as she stood on the other side of Invisible Heldeson’s desk and watched Malfoy. “To know that in spite of some of the regrettable things you did during the war, your heart was always in the right place.”
            Malfoy was wild with hatred, but Harry thought no one without a werewolf’s nose would ever know that. Of course, it remained to be seen if Umbridge had acquired some strange powers in the years since Harry had last known her. But Malfoy sat still in the chair, and the bow he gave Umbridge was perfection itself.
            As was the tight hold he maintained on Harry’s collar. Harry had hated the collar and lead from the moment Malfoy first proposed them, but he could see the necessity now.
            “Thank you for your trust, Madam Undersecretary,” Malfoy murmured.
            “Oh, my dear, I don’t hold such an exalted position now!” Umbridge winked at him as though Malfoy had been flirting with her. Harry was also glad that Malfoy’s hold on his neck was probably too tight for Harry to bow his head and vomit, even if he did want to. “You should know that! I’m here in an—unofficial capacity.”
            “Did you select me as negotiator in the same capacity, madam?” Malfoy seemed determined to use titles all over instead of Umbridge’s name. Harry considered that for a while before he could see the sense of it. Of course, Umbridge’s name might show Malfoy’s contempt too clearly.
            “Yes,” said Umbridge. “Oh, not without the cooperation of the dear Minister and dear Invisible Heldeson, of course.” She turned and simpered at Minister Hinsley. “We found that our interests were rather similar, and the Minister was kind enough to let me help with the choice of the negotiator.”
            The Minister avoided her eyes, Harry noticed. He had to glance back down at the floor before Hinsley noticed him looking, but he was sure that he hadn’t missed the twitch of revulsion in the Minister’s fingers when he said, “Yes, but I want Thornsberry without sanctuary. Nothing akin to what you want, madam.”
            “We can both get what we want, then.” Umbridge appeared utterly undismayed at the dismissal, and Harry hoped she would turn and simper at Invisible Heldeson next, so they could learn why she had betrayed one of her own people. But instead, she turned and approached Harry. “And what kind of dear little doggie have you brought to see me?”
            Malfoy’s hand on his collar was so firm that Harry knew he wasn’t even to growl. Of course, he would have to be more suicidal than he thought he was to do that. He bowed his head, and allowed Umbridge to gather up his chin and manipulate his head back and forth without protest, letting it hang down again when she released it.
            “His name is Ian Jackson,” said Malfoy, his voice clear and critical. “He does have a tendency to whimper a bit, but he wanted to be free of the slavery of serving Harry Potter, and he agreed to a collar now for greater freedom later.”
            “A werewolf who understands an exchange!” Umbridge clasped her hands together. This close, Harry could smell her better than he’d smelled anyone who wasn’t of the pack in months—well, except Malfoy. She had a perfume that floated around her body and seemed especially located in the creases of her neck, but beneath that, there was a thick scent that reminded Harry of—
            He nearly stiffened and snarled as he recognized it, but in this case, the heavy collar was a relief, reminding Harry of where they were. Umbridge was already moving away, anyway, and talking some nonsense about non-humans and how nice it was when the Ministry could reach an accommodation with them. Harry let himself slump, his weight resting on his elbows and his legs trembling as he knelt there.
            Malfoy’s hand on his head was heavy, comprehensive. He tugged at Harry’s hair, and Harry looked up, to find Invisible Heldeson studying him.
            “I know that you mean what you say, Unspeakable Malfoy, and you are a trained investigator,” she said. “But are you sure that Potter will not come after us before we can attack him, angered that we took in this traitor to the pack?”
            “Yes,” said Malfoy, and shifted his weight in his chair. His heartbeat had calmed down again, and now Harry knew some werewolves who could have been in the room and still been fooled by him. Sometimes, his Unspeakable-trained self-control came in valuable. “Potter’s besetting fault is arrogance. He thinks he has power that can command humans. He thinks that every werewolf who feels it must want to crawl at his feet and submit to him. He’ll never look for rebellion because he thinks it isn’t possible.”
            They had come up with the general outlines of that story, but not the words that Malfoy put around it, the flesh that clothed its bones. Harry knew he had to refrain from closing his eyes in pride, but he came pretty near to doing it anyway.
            “And what is the power?” Minister Hinsley was pressing, now. “Could he use it to control Thornsberry, the way he claimed he could?”
            “Of course not, Minister,” said Malfoy. His hand touched Harry’s head again. “Look, he can’t even control a weaker werewolf who was determined to break free of him, let alone one as powerful as Fenrir Greyback’s Scion.”
            “I thought not,” said Hinsley, with a bob of his head. “But in that case, why volunteer to take Thornsberry? His pack stands a danger of being torn apart.” He gave Harry a speculative glance where he was on the floor. “The way it’s already being shredded.”
            “Because of that same arrogance,” said Malfoy. “He wanted to set himself up as a greater alpha than Fenrir Greyback, with a better claim to being Lord of Werewolves.”
            To being what? They actually hadn’t planned for this particular direction the interrogation could take—there was only so far they could plan—but it was hard for Harry to keep himself from sitting up and staring from face to face. Did the Ministry really believe there was one werewolf who controlled all the packs? To Harry, that made no more sense than to have one king who controlled all countries.
            But they seemed to accept Malfoy’s lie well enough. Invisible Heldeson was the one who gestured to Harry. “Can he show us the way this power works? Will he perform for us?” She discussed Harry as if he wasn’t there and perfectly well able to decide for himself.
            That’s the way she thinks of all werewolves. I have to remember that it’s an advantage, in the end. Harry kept his hands neatly folded on the floor, fingers tucked under as if he didn’t want to reach out and scrape her face off.
            “Not as well as if we had Potter here,” said Malfoy. “I did think about trying to coax him to come, but I didn’t want to take the risk.”
            Apparently you like lying to your enemies, though. Harry would remember that. He glanced at Umbridge, and found her eyes fixed on him. He let his gaze fall again. He knew Umbridge wasn’t a vampire or a werewolf or any other creature that could discover what he was merely by scent. It would be dangerous to relax too much around her, though.
            “But you can demonstrate?”
            Invisible Heldeson had focused on the loophole that Malfoy had left open in the words, of course. Malfoy nodded and reached out, scratching behind Harry’s ears as if he really was a dog. “Show the way that you reacted when Potter used the power on you, Jackson,” he muttered. “Come on.”
            Harry rose slowly and clumsily to his feet, as though he really belonged on all fours. For a second, he looked at their faces, but ended up dipping his head again. That was part of the charade, but it was also easier to look away from all that concentrated—hatred was too grand a word for it. They wanted him to perform, but they thought of him as a toy, not an intelligent creature.
            “This is the way it is for lots of people in the pack when they’re confronted with Potter’s power,” he said, and cleared his throat.
            “People,” Umbridge giggled to Minister Hinsley.
            Harry was just as glad, now, that none of them were familiar with werewolves, which meant they didn’t know what one’s danger signals looked like. He lifted his head and stared at an invisible target over Invisible Heldeson’s shoulder.
            “I’ll be looking at him, like this,” he whispered. “And then I’ll fall down, like this. It’s a compulsion. I can’t help myself.”
            He dropped straight down, his belly pressed to the floor, and whined and yelped and growled. The noises were easier to make when he thought of having Umbridge’s throat in his teeth.
            “But why did the power affect Unspeakable Malfoy?” Heldeson asked, after they had watched Harry’s display for a little while. “If it can only affect werewolves?”
            “That had to do with the Killing Curse Harry Potter survived,” said Malfoy, once again deploying a lie they had worked out. “You were right, Invisible. Potter isn’t an ordinary pack leader. He was able to call on a form of magic that werewolf packs haven’t used in a long time, because there’s been no pack leader powerful enough to use it.”
            Invisible Heldeson gave the first real smile Harry had seen her use, a faint thin one that looked as if her mouth would hurt if she tried anything broader. It’s no wonder that Malfoy felt like he was competing just to get a scrap of praise.
            “What about the Killing Curse?” Minister Hinsley said, and leaned forwards as if he would warm his hands over the fire of Harry’s disgrace. “What does that mean?”
            “Jackson can explain it better than I can. He’s lived with it longer.”
            Thanks a bloody lot, Malfoy. But it was true that both of them had been party to the lie, and if Malfoy had strengthened it with magical theory, Harry had been able to come up with “unusual” things he did that would strengthen the claim that it was strange for a pack leader to develop such power.
            “Did you know,” Harry began, still in a whisper, “that the Killing Curse really killed the mortal part of Harry Potter?”
            “The mortal part?” Umbridge, for the first time since she had come into the room, wasn’t smiling. “What do you mean by that?”
            “Why, madam,” said Harry, and turned his head to fix her with wide eyes. He used the excuse to sniff again. Yes, he wasn’t wrong about the scent covering her. He just had to decide what he was going to do about it. “I thought you knew. As close an association as you had with Harry Potter, you know. You taught him.”
            “Well, yes, hem, hem.” Umbridge shook her head sadly. “I haven’t met him for years. The rift between us grew too big to be mended.”
            Harry lowered his voice dramatically, and he thought that no one looking on from the outside would hear him. “Harry Potter isn’t a mortal body with a soul inside it. Harry Potter is just a naked soul walking around.”
            There was silence. Invisible Heldeson sat with her hands pressed to her mouth, as if she had no idea what to say over that revelation. The Minister was frowning heavily. Umbridge was the one Harry watched, though, the one whose reaction he wanted.
            Well, that and the one whose scent covered her. That particular reaction would have been nice to have. But Harry would have to wait and hope for that one.
            “That’s ridiculous,” Umbridge said at last, and her voice was a loud bray. “Someone—someone would have reported that before that now. There are people who touched him in the last few years and found him solid!”
            “Before his bite?” Harry writhed his head around to the side inquiringly, and whined a little when Umbridge looked at him, as though making an attempt to pacify her. Malfoy’s hand tightened on his collar for a second. Harry knew what that meant: don’t overdo it.
            But it would be hard to overdo it with these people. Their misconceptions about werewolves made them vulnerable to all sorts of tricks. They expected werewolves to be cowardly and cringing, non-human and vicious all at the same time. All Harry was doing was giving them what they wanted.
            “Yes, of course before his bite,” said Umbridge, and waved her hand. “How many of them do you think have seen them since he ran away?”
            I will remember you said that, Harry thought distinctly, but he didn’t need Malfoy to restrain him now. He would get his revenge on Umbridge, but for right now, the most important thing to do was confirm their suspicions and then get out again. Actual revenge could wait for later, and the right moment to take advantage of it.
            “You know best, madam,” said Harry softly, and bowed his head. “But th—the Killing Curse did something to him. Unspeakable Malfoy is the one who can tell you the magical theory.” He looked up at Malfoy with an adoration that he made dog-like, because that was what they would expect to see. “He’s the one who explained it all to me.”
            “In a way, Harry Potter does still have his physical body.” Malfoy gracefully took up the challenge. “But the second death he suffered, when the Dark Lord cast the Killing Curse at him in the Forbidden Forest, stripped away the outer covering of mortality over his magical core. Did you notice that his magic had unusual power after his supposed death and coming back to life?”
            Harry dipped his head towards the floor and let his tongue loll. The Battle of Hogwarts had taken on near-mythic proportions in the Ministry, he knew. He hadn’t been sure it had in the Department of Mysteries, but Malfoy had been able to assure him it had. The Unspeakables thought that the way Harry had succumbed to the Killing Curse that second time, and then come back to life, was intriguing, and they would have loved to get their hands on him and study him.
            So it made sense now for Minister Hinsley to say, “I—heard that, but I didn’t fully credit the reports.”
            “Neither did I, but I should have,” said Invisible Heldeson, and her hands twisted over each other. “So more of Potter’s magical core projects into the world, does it? That would explain how he could influence even humans with the power that normally only holds sway over werewolves, and why his spells have so much power behind them.”
            Idiots. Your own hearts do the convincing for you. I’m more determined and braver than a lot of other people, but I’m not more powerful.
            Malfoy nodded a little, and spoke as fervently as though he shared Heldeson’s beliefs. “Yes, Invisible. I nearly gave in to his power myself.” Harry knew he was probably conjuring a blush. “If it hadn’t been for Jackson coming to me and telling me what was happening, I probably wouldn’t have broken free—and Jackson only broke free because he managed to get into a distant part of the Forest, far enough away.”
            “Then we need to get him here,” said Heldeson. “We must get him here, Minister, so that we can study his magic.”
            She sounded like she was pleading. Harry let his nostrils flare a little, and took in the heavy scent rising off the Minister. It had been heavy from the first moment, but now it was more charged with emotion. Harry waited for the reason why, which he thought the Minister was opening his mouth to speak.
            Umbridge interrupted before he could, her voice a shrill squeal. “We must get rid of him! Not bring him here, where he could infect the Ministry with his madness!”
            “You have had your say in this, madam,” said Hinsley, and turned to her with a frown. “You were the one who recommended sending Draco Malfoy, and I must say that your choice proved inspired. Potter’s betrayed himself now, and not as many people will support him. But you must leave the final choice up to us.”
            Umbridge’s mouth snapped shut, and her ugly little eyes glinted. Harry doubted Hinsley would find it as easy as he thought to push her out of the way.
            “We could keep him safe here,” said Heldeson. “We could ensure that Unspeakable Malfoy drugged him with that new version of Wolfsbane before he brought him in, and that would restrain his power.”
            The Minister hesitated. “Ye-es,” he said. “I suppose that would work. It would remove him from control of the pack, and at least that means that no one else there could possibly be interested in adopting Thornbserry.” He turned abruptly to Malfoy. “Did you see anyone there who would be sympathetic to the Ministry? And who you know is opposed to Potter’s policies concerning Thornsberry?”
            While Malfoy was busy offering up the name of Sarah Woolwine, Harry let his tongue loll out again. He didn’t think anyone else would recognize it as laughter. They were going to send Malfoy back to capture him, and in the meantime, that left them with a gold-plated excuse to slip out of the Ministry.
            His eyes went back to Umbridge, who was fuming as she listened, and his hands didn’t close into fists only because he sternly willed them not to.
            He and Malfoy would figure out a way to punish her, too. And he would figure out a way to deal with the fact that she was covered in Paracelsus’s scent.
*
NadiaMalfoy: Not yet! But soon.
SP777: No. The rotting smell is under the Department.
BAFan: It doesn’t, does it?
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