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Siege Mentality	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 7869 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

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Thank you for all the reviews!

Part II. Tipping
Point.

�� Harry
paused in his packing and admired the device that the Department of Mysteries
had invented to track Apparitions. It was worth the boring course he�d had to
sit through to learn how to use it. Such an elegant
thing, and so useful. Harry had never been able to resist useful magical
artifacts, and thought people who believed they could were secretly lying to
themselves.

�� It
resembled a small cone of silvery metal, but from the top rose a delicate stalk
like a strand of seaweed, and on the top of that
was a blue ball of something soft and yielding that might be either cloth
or rubber. Harry couldn�t tell simply from touching it. If he touched any one
of the three parts, the others would bob and sway as if they were all connected
by some sort of living tissue. Just looking
at it made visions swirl up into Harry�s head. He didn�t know exactly how
or why it worked, but he didn�t need to. Reasons had always been Hermione�s
province.

�� At least, reasons outside Dark magic. For
some reason, Harry had become extremely proficient at getting inside the heads
of Dark wizards and understanding the twisted motivations they had for casting
their spells.

�� Not smiling
anymore, Harry carefully packed the Apparition-tracking device inside the
crystal case they had given him for it and then leaned one elbow on his desk,
staring unseeing at the photographs of his friends and the numerous Orders of Merlin
covering the walls. He didn�t reckon that he deserved those Orders of Merlin, anyway.
Most of the Dark wizards he tracked had a sort of mania for confronting Harry,
as if they thought that finishing the work Voldemort had failed to bring off
would cover them with eternal honor and glory. Sure, Harry had saved the world
eleven times at the last count, but the world would have been destroyed ten
times over if those wizards he�d captured didn�t insist on targeting him like
idiots.

�� Those people,
he could understand. There was always a moment in a case when the world twisted, just so, and he could jump
inside the head of someone else and ride the twisted and throbbing structures
of their minds.

�� But Draco�

�� Harry
smiled a little, memory returning to him so powerfully that it almost knocked
him from his feet.

�� But Draco.

*

�� Harry
frowned and knocked on Ron�s door again. It wasn�t like Ron to be missing from
home on a Saturday morning. Besides, Harry and Ron had started a tradition soon
after they began Auror training of going to the Leaky Cauldron at ten every
Saturday and spending two hours getting drunk, complaining about their
instructors, and criticizing all the Minister�s pets who put their effort into
pleasing the instructors instead of studying actual techniques. Ron hadn�t
broken that tradition yet in the two years they�d been in training.

�� And anyway, Harry thought, as he
listened to his knocks resound through what certainly sounded like an empty
house, Hermione should be home even if he
isn�t.

�� He�s not
there, Potter.�

�� Harry
whirled around and pressed his back to Ron�s door, his instinctive reaction now
when he was startled. Auror training is
good for something, after all, he thought, as he found his wand in his hand
considerably faster than it could appear in Malfoy�s.

�� In fact,
Malfoy, who stood behind him on the path that wound through this section of Hogsmeade,
looked a strange mixture of bored, amused, and impatient when he saw Harry�s
wand pointed at him. Harry hissed under his breath and kept it aimed anyway.
Maybe Malfoy wouldn�t have accosted him in the middle of the street in broad
daylight, and so near Ron�s wards, if he meant any harm.

�� Then again,
this was the boy�man�Malfoy who had spat at Harry when Harry offered him the
hawthorn wand back and almost refused to take it. He did strange things because
of his pride.

�� Where is
he, then?� Harry asked, when some moments had passed and Malfoy just kept on
looking at him like a sphinx and preserved his silence.

�� That will
take some telling,� said Malfoy. �He knows I know, you see, and I thought that,
better than trying to convince him I don�t intend to do anything with the
knowledge, I�d tell you. You�ve always been a touch more reasonable than the
Weasel.�

�� Keep
speaking in convoluted sentences like that, and you�ll see how reasonable I am,�
Harry said, sneering in a way that made Auror Dogsbody look fierce and which
Harry hoped would do the same for him.

�� Malfoy
tapped the heels of his hands together. �Congratulations, Potter, you�ve
learned a new word! I�m sure it only took a month or two to stuff that one into
your head.� He turned around with a flourish of his cloak that Harry thought,
spitefully, he�d imitated from Snape, and then glanced back over his shoulder
and cocked an eyebrow. �Well? Are you coming? I�m hungry.�

�� Speechless
and angry and worried, Harry nevertheless followed him. He was sure he was a
better fighter than Malfoy, now.

�� And he was curious about where Ron and Hermione
might be.

*

�� Malfoy led
him to the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, still standing behind the bar, gawked at them
when Harry came in with Malfoy instead of Ron.

�� Harry
turned away, uncomfortable. Of course the prat would have led him here. He
probably intended specifically to mock Harry�s Saturday ritual with Ron.

�� But
insulting Malfoy at the moment was unlikely to make him more honest, so Harry
restrained himself, nodded to Tom, and said, �A mug of Firewhisky, please.�

�� Malfoy
turned around neatly on his heel, as if he had been waiting for the moment
Harry would say those words, and gawked at him like Tom had. �At ten-thirty in the morning, Potter?� he said. �Do you want to die an early death?�

�� When you
drink alcohol has no effect on your health,� Harry said, irritated into
answering an objection he knew was stupid.

�� You�re not
going to die because of liver complications,� Malfoy said. �You�re going to be
beaten to death by devotees of good taste.� He nodded briskly to Tom, who by
this point was leaning forwards, elbows on the bar, and watching them as if he
thought them bloody good live entertainment. �Cancel that. Instead, we�ll take
two plates of eggs, ham, toast, fresh fruit�apples and those small delicate
oranges they�ve been importing from Spain lately�and two cups of tea.�

�� What
annoyed Harry the most was that Tom turned away to get the plates just as if
Harry wasn�t standing there, and hadn�t ordered something quite different.

�� Harry
opened his mouth, and then shut it. On the one hand, Malfoy had no right to
order for him, or treat him as if Harry had suddenly vanished, when he had been the one who sought Harry out
and promised to explain.

�� On the
other, there was really no point in causing a scene when Malfoy was the only
one who seemed to have information about Ron and Hermione. Harry was hungry, though he usually waited
until after noon on Saturday to eat. And the minute he had the information he
needed in his possession, then he could go back to insulting Malfoy. In the
meantime, he�d have a good breakfast.

�� So the
finish of it all was that he kept quiet and followed Malfoy to a corner table.
For some reason, Malfoy looked terribly pleased with himself as he sat down and
tapped his hands together. Harry leaned forwards, bracing his elbows on the
table�he ignored Malfoy�s shudder when he did that�and glaring as menacingly as
he could. �Talk.�

�� Please,
Potter,� said Malfoy, and drew out a white rose that, for some reason, he�d
been carrying up his sleeve, to sniff it. �No one civilized talks about
business before breakfast.�

�� So Harry
had to wait, fuming, whilst Tom brought the breakfasts and Malfoy sent his back
because the toast was a bit burnt, and then whilst the breakfasts were brought
again and Malfoy tasted his and hummed. He bit savagely into his own eggs, but
it didn�t hurry Malfoy. He did look
up and raise a disgusted eyebrow when Harry gulped his tea. Then he gave Harry
a stern look when he started to leave the fruit, both apples and oranges, on his
plate. Harry glared back, but Malfoy had somehow acquired the knack of chiding
him without even opening his mouth. Harry sighed and began to eat his apples.
Malfoy returned to his own meal with every evidence of enjoyment.

�� At last he
pushed his plate back, folded his hands behind his head, signaled lazily for
more tea, waited until Tom had brought it, sipped from the cup, and then said, �Weasley
did something stupid, Potter, and I saw it. He saw me, and I reckon he thinks I�m
going to blackmail him, so he�s probably trying to convince Granger they need
to flee the country.� He gave Harry a wide smile so full of amusement Harry
blinked; he hadn�t realized Malfoy could look that human. �She probably went with
him to indulge him, but I think they�ll only be gone until she can persuade him
back. Still, there�s a chance the word might get out. You need to let him know
the word won�t get out through me, and that I�ll work to suppress it if anyone
else does think it worthwhile to tell the story.�

�� Why, for God�s sake?� Harry burst out. �You�ve
never liked Ron, or me.�

�� Malfoy made
a sharp, cutting motion with his hand that seemed to signal Harry to keep his
voice down, and then lowered his own voice impressively. �Because the person he
did the stupid thing to thoroughly deserved it.�

�� Harry,
about to yell something else, blinked and sat back in his chair. �I�m
listening.�

�� You remember
Cormac McLaggen?� Malfoy was watching his face intently, as if, at the
slightest hint that Harry didn�t, he would decide Harry was working for the
enemy.

�� It took
Harry a moment to grasp the name, but then he nodded. That lump of a Gryffindor
seventh-year who, in their sixth year, had done his very best to date Hermione
and take Ron�s place as Keeper on the Gryffindor team. �He was the one Ron�did something
to?� Harry didn�t think he had enough details to be sure of what his best
friend was guilty of yet.

�� Malfoy
nodded back. �Apparently, he�d been sending Granger lovestruck letters. He�s
done the same thing to various other women throughout the Ministry and the
pure-blood circles he travels in.� Malfoy�s lip curled. �Broken up several
relationships that I know of, because, somehow, he can make himself charming on
paper.�

�� Harry said
nothing, but he was privately certain that Malfoy�s relationship must be one of
those McLaggen had broken up. Not that a woman would need much reason to want
to leave Malfoy.

�� Weasley
confronted him on that new Quidditch pitch they�ve set up outside London,�
Malfoy said. �I was there to practice, but I stayed hidden and watched once I
realized what was going on.�

�� Why?�
Harry demanded, his suspicions rising again. It just seemed too good to be true
that Malfoy had witnessed whatever had happened between Ron and McLaggen but
didn�t want anything for it.

�� Because it
looked like it would be entertaining, of course,� Malfoy drawled. �Does your
impeccable judgment find me virtuous enough to continue?�

�� Harry
wavered for a moment, but had to admit that that sounded like a Malfoy motive,
and not one he could really fault, since he�d done the same thing in his time.
He nodded and gestured for Malfoy to go on.

�� Thank you.�
Malfoy clasped his hand over his heart. �This moment of your approval is one
that I�ll treasure for the rest of my life.� He continued before Harry could do
more than growl impatiently. �So. Weasley threatened McLaggen. Of course,
McLaggen said that he could make Granger choose him over Weasley at any time.
That enraged Weasley enough that he cast the Detonator�s Curse.�

�� He didn�t,� Harry gasped. They�d studied
the Detonator�s Curse in Auror training, of course, but only as one they needed
to know so they could defend against it, never as one to cast. The curse burst
the bones in the limbs of the target and left small pockets of explosive magic
behind, so that any attempt to repair the bones for at least six months would
result in their bursting in the same way.

�� Of course
he did.� Malfoy lifted a finger as if he would tap Harry on the nose, but then
lowered it again. Harry was glad. They might be sitting here and having a civil
conversation under duress, but they were not close enough that Malfoy could
touch him without being invited. �Why would I make that up?�

�� To get Ron
in trouble,� Harry said automatically.

�� Malfoy
threw himself against the back of his chair, which made Harry start because it
didn�t fit in with his collected, cool persona so far, and sighed through
pursed lips. Then he began speaking as if his impatience were barely under
control. �I�ve grown up, Potter, unlike you. I don�t drink alcohol at ten in
the morning. I no longer pin my heart on winning impossible Quidditch games
against an opponent who outmatches me. And I�d appreciate it if you could acknowledge
that I�m above getting people in trouble simply to get them in trouble.
McLaggen displeased me because he realized that he had no chance of breaking up
my relationship, so he sent me threatening letters instead of charming ones. I
was glad enough to see him hurt that I never even considered reporting Weasley,
all right?�

�� Harry blinked
several times, trying to think about all the admissions that Malfoy had just
made at once, and then managed to seize on the fact that most interested him at
the moment, which didn�t concern Malfoy acting adult or reasonable. �Why couldn�t
McLaggen break up your relationship?�

�� Malfoy
bared his teeth, or smiled; they were the same thing with him, Harry thought. �He
only dates women,� he said simply.

�� Oh. Oh. Harry stared at Malfoy, who yawned
widely and said, �If you plan to spring to your feet and run out of here
screaming that I covert your lily-white arse, at least try to wait until after
I�m done with my story.�

�� Harry kept
a cautious eye on him, but kept silent, too, mostly because he couldn�t think
of a bloody thing to say. That seemed good enough for Malfoy, who went on, �Weasley
realized what he�d done the moment he did it. He panicked. Or haven�t they
taught you the spells that conceal magical signatures yet? Or perhaps they know
better than to give trainee Aurors that kind of information. At any rate, the
best thing he could think of to do was to Memory Charm McLaggen. And then he
Apparated, I would presume home to his wife. No doubt he babbled out the
relevant part of the story to her and they�re off somewhere having a good
hearty argument about what they should do.�

�� But you
said he saw you?� Harry asked. He might not know what to say all the time, but
he did remember Malfoy saying that
was the catalyst for his seeking Harry out in the first place.

�� Malfoy
smirked, a bit, but even that didn�t seem to be as offensive as the sneers he�d
used in the past. Harry reckoned he had to consider that Malfoy might have
changed. A little. �I stepped out
into the open because I had more faith in him than he deserved. Weasley�s first
attempt to Apparate failed, and so he saw me, and then he shrieked and Apparated out. Tell him from me that he
screams like a girl.�

�� I�d rather
not, thanks,� Harry said. �And you�you really
don�t want him to go to Azkaban?� Use of the Detonator�s Curse carried a six
months� sentence at least. Harry knew he would be anxious to protect Ron from
that, and even Hermione would, after a struggle with her sense of justice, but
he couldn�t comprehend Malfoy joining them among that small but select number.

�� Malfoy�s
eyes were distant for a moment, looking over Harry�s head. �McLaggen should
have got at least that for the letters he sent to me,� he said quietly. �But because
I am�who I am, and McLaggen has powerful connections, he didn�t. I�m willing to
protect the person who avenged me, however indirectly.� He looked at Harry again
and raised a familiar sardonic eyebrow. �It�s just our misfortune that Weasley
happened to be that person.�

�� Harry
hesitated, then held out his hand. Malfoy looked at it as if he might have
invisible rat dung smeared on it.

�� Come on,
Malfoy,� Harry said. �You�ve done my friend a good turn, and I do believe you won�t blab, given what
you just told me about McLaggen.� Besides, though Harry didn�t know if Malfoy
knew this, witnessing the use of a curse as Dark as the Detonator�s Curse and
not reporting it at once could cause one to be arrested as an accomplice, so
there was that extra bit of security. �Shake on it?�

�� There are
some gestures I don�t need, at this point in my life,� said Malfoy, and rose
and stalked away, as much on his offended dignity as a cat whose owner had just
tried to put it in the bath.

�� Harry
dropped his hand and blinked after Malfoy. It took him long moments to remember
that time on the train when he�d turned away from Malfoy�s hand in the same
way.

�� He supposed
the boy who had become the man might still have some of the boy�s pride.

�� Strangely,
Harry liked him better for it.

*

�� Harry came
back to himself and smiled a little, shaking his head. He�d met with Malfoy
several times after that, seeking to understand him as well as working out the
protection of Ron�s secret with him. Malfoy had continued to be that strange
mixture of polite and prideful, adult with the child�s vulnerabilities. He was
one of the most real people Harry
knew, because, in a way, one of the most unguarded. He had decided that he
couldn�t deny who he was or what he�d done during the war, because too many
people already knew about it, and so instead he lived with it, which was more
than Harry managed some days.

�� Harry had
wanted to know him, and, finally, Draco had let Harry do so. They�d spent time
together in serious conversation�Draco was the one who had taught Harry to have
some taste in art and music, as well as patiently correcting his impression
that he was the first person in the world to wonder about the meaning of life�but
also in drunken midnight Quidditch races and, once Harry accepted that he liked
to look at men himself, in appreciations of the way that certain men in
Hogsmeade dressed, danced, and acted. And then Draco had moved to France and
they�d stopped talking as regularly as before.

�� Harry stood
straight and jammed a sheaf of papers, the reports of the cases that the dead
Aurors had read, in the bag he was taking with him. He�d often enough felt
inferior to Draco at certain specific things, but if there was something he was good at, it was understanding Dark
curses and unraveling mysteries. And he was going to save Draco. He didn�t believe
Draco had cast a curse like this. He was probably as much a victim of it as the
rest of the dead or injured people around him.

*

�� Draco
sighed and leaned back against the wall of the shower. This was more like it. The water sluiced across him, hot and
welcome, washing away not only the sweat but most of the aches that had sprung
up in his muscles from running.

�� But what
was he running from? That was the part that bewildered him. He couldn�t
remember, even though he�d been running from�it or them�for what felt like
months.

�� Draco
rubbed an arm tiredly across his face, then cursed as a few soapsuds got in his
eyes. He�d try to remember later. For the moment, all he wanted was to tumble
into bed. Even food could wait. He was weary of sleeping on roots and waking up
with leaves in his hair.

�� Suddenly,
the force and direction of the water changed. Draco gasped and stared up. He�d
never known his shower to malfunction so badly.

�� And then he
realized that he stood under a waterfall, next to a rocky cliff down which it
splashed, and up to his ankles in a foaming pool it created. He backed up,
looking around wildly. Yes, there were the heavy, shaggy trees looming on every
side, the crooked roots tearing up the earth, the dark green leaves rustling
menacingly�

�� Just the
way he�d imagined it.

�� Draco felt
a sob rising up his throat. What was happening to him? Was he going mad? Or if
his enemies really were chasing him, who would drag him across the world to
torment him?

�� And then he
heard the creaks and snaps that told him the pursuers were hurtling through the
forest towards him, as large as bears, as swift as wolves.

�� He
scrambled out of the pool and began to run, dripping and naked, hungry and
tired and terrified out of his wits.

�� And alone,
so alone.

*

�� Word_Slave:
Thanks for reviewing.

�� Black
Padfoot: Thank you. This should be updated every three days or so. What�s going
on with Draco will be gradually explained, but I promise, this does have a
happy ending.

�� christis: Thanks.

�� callistianstar:
The first investigation simply started when they received reports of a disturbance,
but after that, the cases were linked by Draco�s appearance at various sites.

�� Kingsley
has to stand back and let Harry have this one. He�s the only one with a good
chance of surviving.

�� hieisdragoness18:
Thanks. I think the explanation will be really unexpected, but I like it.

�� Mangacat:
Yeah, I can understand that reaction. ;)

�� paigeey07:
Thank you.

�� SP777: Not
quite! I think the explanation for Draco�s predicament will be a bit
unexpected.

�� Thanks for
reviewing (annoyance and all).

��
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