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Here But For the Grace of Merlin	By : makochan0217 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 21620 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. We make nothing from this piece of fanfiction, and suing would be pointless, unless you like lint and bad skin!

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Warnings: Angst, OOC, DH spoilers (minus Epilogue), language, violence, self-harm, drinking, slash, smut, non-con, BDSM

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and Warner Bros and some other stupid companies. I make nothing from this piece of fanfiction, and suing would be pointless, unless you like lint and bad skin!

Author’s Notes: Ugh, I give up on not starting new stuff. Maybe, one day, eventually, I’ll finish all my WIPs, but it’ll take some time. Just send a flame (or review) over on the muses’ way. They like that stuff, yanno?

Chapter Two – The Attack

Time stood still for Lucius Malfoy after the Dark Lord’s defeat at the Battle of Hogwarts. He remembered huddling with his wife and son in the Great Hall, and their eventual release back to the Manor, with an entourage of Aurors until their trials began. No sooner had they reached the gates to their property than the flock of white peacocks took up screams that sent nails into every nerve ending in Lucius’ body. He began twitching all over, adding his own unearthly yell to the cacophony around the grounds.

Vaguely, from far off, he could hear Narcissa’s cries of worry, Draco’s shout of horror, and still he screamed. His blood felt like it was boiling in his veins, his brains melting from his ears. The pain was so great, so extreme that he fell to his knees, losing his voice to hoarse mewls of agony. And then, blessedly, the world grew dark.

When he awoke again, the private Healer his family had retained for years was at his side. Narcissa seemed to be curled against his side, and his beautiful son was drawn up in a chair in the corner of the room. But, he couldn’t remember how he got there.

“Oh, Lucius, you’re awake finally,” Healer Jacobi said with a faint smile. “We’d begun to worry that you’d taken a permanent vacation.”

“How-” he croaked, his once regal voice now sounding as if he’d gargled with gravel.

“How long, I suppose you want to know… You’ve been asleep,” he frowned at the word momentarily, “for almost two weeks. The Ministry had to postpone your trial - and that of Draco and Narcissa as well - because of your condition.” The Healer then began to check his vitals, wand moving in complicated swishes and flicks that made the blond’s head hurt. “Harry Potter was more than willing to speak on your behalf, but Minister Shacklebolt was quite adamant that you be well enough to face whatever was dealt to you. Said it was the least the Ministry could do.

“Of course, Bellatrix was killed by Molly Prewett-Weasley. Thicknese met his end from Percy Weasley, of all people. Nott, Goyle, Goyle’s son, Crabbe, Jugson, Yaxley, Selwyn, Rowle are all in custody. Alecto and Amycus Carrow were found dismembered by Greyback, who disappeared. And the rest are in the wind, running from the Aurors. Oh, and the Parkinsons have been told, discreetly mind you, that they’d be better off leaving Britain after little Pansy’s actions towards Potter.”

Lucius scrunched up his brow in thought, his mind racing as he tried to digest what the man was saying. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, I thought you’d like to know what’s happening. It’s a shame about the Parkinsons though… Pansy wasn’t such a bad looking girl. My Justin would have been a nice match for her, if they hadn’t had to leave like that.”

“Jacobi, I appreciate your news, but my head feels as if an army of house-elves are banging around in it,” Lucius drawled, trying his level best to retain the Malfoy coolness, and only failing a little. “Why did I collapse?”

“Lucius,” Narcissa whispered happily. “You’re awake.” He turned his head and found his wife’s beautiful blue eyes watering with tears. “We were so worried when you… but look at you.”

“Cissa, love, please, contain yourself,” he replied, sneaking a hand in her own and squeezing it to let her know that her worry was appreciated. “Jacobi?”

“Well, Lucius, the best I can gather is that after You Know Who’s defeat, the older followers got a healthy dose of magical backlash. You’re not the only one suffering from this. You were just the first to fall, sadly.”

“Draco?” Lucius whispered, trying hard not to let his fear creep into his voice. If anything happened to his son, it would be his fault.

“Oh, the boy is fine; just sleeping right now. I checked him over, and aside from the fact that he’s having trouble reining in his very impressive temper, he’s fine.”

The blond looked into his wife’s face and frowned. She shook her head minutely, letting him know that she’d also noticed the change in their child, but there was nothing she could do. “If only Severus were still alive, he’d be able to brew something so he could control his anger…”

“I think it’ll be healthy for the boy to get some of this off his chest for a while,” the Healer said cheerfully. “From what I understand, he’s had a pretty stressful couple of years with very little outlet. If it continues beyond reason, say a few months, call me back and we’ll take it from there.

“However, my main concern is you, Lucius.” He looked at the golden watch on his wrist and then ran a hand through his short, limp brown hair. “The readouts I just got are telling me that your mind was more affected than I like. I have a potion that will keep your body, which will ache terribly for a few days, in perfect working order, but for the next few days, I’ll have to drop by to check you over. Once I know what’s going on, we can discuss options.”

“What do you suspect is wrong, Healer Jacobi?” Narcissa asked quietly.

“It’s hard to say, Mrs. Malfoy. I won’t really be able to tell until I examine him after he’s been awake and moving for a while. The sudden shock to his system seems to…” The look on the man’s face told them that he really didn’t know how to phrase what he wanted to say. “For all intents and purpose, when Potter defeated You Know Who, Dark magic was lashing all around. Of course, since like is attracted to like, Potter and the Death Eaters were affected the most, but nearly everyone present at the Battle of Hogwarts has shown up at St. Mungo’s, or to their private Healers if they’re lucky, with alterations in mood or migraines. Things of that nature are very prevalent right now. But, I’d imagine with Potter, and some of the more exposed Death Eaters, the backlash would be greater. Only time will tell, of course, how much they were affected.

“The thing that worries me is that Lucius is missing some of his memory faculties.” The Healer fixed the prone man with murky brown eyes. “How often did the Dark Lord perform Legilimency on you in the last year, Lucius?”

“I… I believe quite a few times,” Lord Malfoy responded, narrowing his eyes at his uncertainty. “It’s difficult for me to…” His grey eyes opened widely in dismay.

“That’s what I was afraid of… Well, I’ll return tomorrow and we’ll see what we can do from there.” He held out a hand when Narcissa rose from the bed. “No need, Mrs. Malfoy, I am quite capable of showing myself out.” He cut his eyes back to his patient. “Rest, Lucius, you must rest. That means no getting up and walking around the Manor or yelling at the elves. Rest, eat regular meals, and I’ll see you in the morning.” He fished a sea-green potion out of his leather satchel and handed it to Narcissa. “Make sure he takes half of this with dinner and the other half with his breakfast.” She nodded solemnly, and the man was gone.

“Oh, Lucius, what are we going to do?” Narcissa whispered desperately.

“First, my love, we aren’t going to panic,” Lucius answered calmly. “Next, you are going to tell me how drastic these changes in Draco’s behaviour have been.”

“Not terribly noticeable, unless he sees either Potter or any Weasley mentioned in the Prophet. Other than that, he is just quiet and withdrawn, much like he was during the last year while…”

“Yes, I understand. Now, what has happened with our circle since then? Jacobi told me some of it, but I doubt he thinks outside of the Death Eaters.”

“The Zabinis made it through fine, although young Blaise has decided to go to Beauxbatons to finish his education. The Parkinsons have been run out because of Pansy’s rash actions during the last day there – Margarite told me that they were going to go to a nice, quiet Wizarding community in Italy. The Greengrasses have been nice enough to inform me that our son should consider any marriage contract with either of their daughters as null and void. I hadn’t the heart to tell them that Draco would rather marry a Mudblood than either of their ill-bred spawn.” Lucius chuckled at his wife’s venomous tongue.

“The Notts, aside from Celestine, are in Auror custody. Crabbe is there as well. Poor Vincent is dead, sadly. Goyle and Gregory are also in custody. I haven’t heard from Rabastan or Rodolphus since that day, but it’s hardly surprising with Bella gone. Severus, sadly, is gone, but I’ve heard since then that he actually helped Potter…”

“As did you, Narcissa, when you lied to Him,” Lucius reprimanded sharply.

“I am aware of that, Lucius,” she snapped before continuing on with her recitation. “The Bulstrodes have been extremely quiet. I believe they’d like to keep some of their reputation intact, and would rather not the public found out about their financial backing of the Dark Lord. The Boots have mysteriously disappeared as well – so have the MacDougals and Davises.”

“So, any pure-blood family with any taint on their reputation has either been imprisoned, exiled, or has gone into hiding?”

“Except for us,” Narcissa confirmed.

Sadly, that was only the beginning of the bad news for the Malfoy family.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the days progressed, Lucius’ condition was expounded upon in great detail. Not only had he taken a great deal of the magical backlash from Voldemort’s death, but whole parts of his memory banks had been raped, torn into irreparable shreds. From what Healer Jacobi could find, this condition would only get worse, until Lucius retained nothing of his former self.

Draco and Narcissa took this news stoically, neither blinking nor making noise. When the Healer suggested getting a second opinion from a Mind-Healer, Narcissa merely nodded and said whomever he recommended would be more than welcome. Lucius, on the other hand, sat in a catatonic-like state for a few hours, but his family understood that he was thinking. Sure enough, when it was over, he had a plan ready.

“Narcissa, contact Mr. Brown-Markum,” he said, his voice having recovered rather quickly after the first day of being awake. “And bring me the parchments in the top drawer of my desk.” He turned to Draco, who stood as still as death, his face pale and rigid. “My son, I know that this news is startling, but there are certain things that must be done to maintain our family. I do not know how much longer I will be myself, but the sooner that I do this, the safer we will all be.”

“What are you planning, Father?” Draco asked, his voice steady and sure, bringing a swelling sense of pride in his father.

“You will have to become legal and magical head of the family. I am no longer fit to do so.” Lucius grimaced. “If this was two hundred years ago, I would be taken out and mercy-killed. However, that is neither here nor there. What I require from you is an oath that you take care of your mother and continue the line, if possible.”

“Do you really think the Wizengamot is going to let us go then?”

“I think that your mother will more than likely be freed because of her assistance to Potter during the final battle, if nothing else. You, well, you were under duress and if you play your cards correctly, you should fare well.”

“And yourself?” Draco snapped, his face resembling that of a wild animal momentarily.

‘This must be what Jacobi was talking about. I do hope that he can contain himself to stay out of Azkaban for the rest of his life,’ Lucius thought with a heavy sigh. “My son, Draco, what happens to me now is unimportant.” He held up his hand as he saw Draco begin to fight that statement. “Rash decisions that I made as a young man have come back to haunt this family in the last three years. Therefore, I must suffer the consequences. If that is a lifetime in that hell, then so be it. Soon enough, I will retain little of my mind to even care about where I am. However, I wish for our family to stay safe, and regain some footing, if possible.

“Your priority should be to the family, your mother, yourself and producing an heir, with a spare this time.”

“Are you really giving me the old ‘heir and spare’ line at a time like this?” Draco sneered. “Then I suppose now is the perfect time to tell you that I’m-”

“Draco!” Narcissa’s voice cut across him, and when he looked at his mother’s face, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. “Lucius, I have contacted Brown-Markum. He should be here momentarily. And I have retrieved your papers.” She handed him a sheaf of parchment and then sat down in the chair next to him. “Do you really think that now is the time to do this? There are still the trials…”

“Cissa, love, I would like to get this taken care of while I still have as much of my mental faculties as I will have. From what Jacobi and his colleague have explained to me, this will be a degenerative problem. No matter what the Wizengamot declares as my sentence, I must ensure that we are not left in the wind. Besides, doing this will stop them from trying to seize our money and property as well.”

“As you wish,” she said sadly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A week after Lucius regained consciousness found Draco Lord Malfoy and the family before the Wizengamot to find out their fate. The day before, they were alerted that they’d be tried together, since Harry Potter was going to be a witness for the entire family, and apparently, his time was too precious to squander. Yet another reason for Draco to detest the half-blood prat, he supposed. So, it was with much anxiety that the three Malfoys were escorted with a full raid group of five Aurors into the Ministry building and down to the sunken courtroom.

Taking a look around at the hostile witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, Draco schooled his features to look earnest and curious – both of which he really was. However, no manner of charm and innocence would win over this crowd, he knew, and resented the fact that after they were done scowling on him, they turned to the Chosen One with looks of total adoration.

Potter, for his part, appeared to be tired, pale, and irritated. ‘Well, that makes two of us then,’ Draco thought viciously before intensely piercing green eyes focused solely on him. ‘What the hell is Potter thinking looking at me like that in front of the entirety of the Wizarding world? If he’s not careful, tomorrow’s Prophet will have the story that we’re star-crossed lovers or some such nonsense.’

And just as suddenly as those eyes fell on him, they departed. But, before Draco could take a breath, another set fell upon him - blue eyes that belonged to one Ronald Weasley. Anger bubbled closely to the surface of his calm mask, making it difficult to breathe, until one of his mother’s small, cool hands clamped down on his shoulder and gently tugged him to face her.

“Dearest, you really will do yourself more harm than good if you continue to glare at Mr. Potter like that,” she whispered harshly. “My suggestion is to hang your head a little and stay as perfectly quiet as you can manage.” She smiled briefly before placing a kiss to his heated cheek. “Remember what the solicitor said – only answer questions that have been asked you directly, but make sure that the answers are honest and without anger. Out of us all, you have the biggest chance of getting out of here to see sunlight.”

“Yes, Mother,” he replied calmly, forcing himself into the icy state that he’d lived the last three years in. Before long, the trial began, and what was actually said seemed to have flowed out of Draco’s mind, but he remembered the events very clearly.

Interim Minister Shacklebolt started the proceedings, forcing Draco and his parents to state their names for the record. However, after that, the members of the Wizengamot shot off questions nilly-willy to whichever Malfoy struck their fancy. An eternity later, Potter was called forward. The Boy Who Lived shook off the hands of his best friends, his green eyes blazing with tightly held anger, and as he walked down to stand in the middle of the courtroom, green met grey. Draco forgot what it was like to take air into his lungs for a minute, and he instantly hated everything that Potter stood for, since he was well aware of what had just happened.

Potter made his impassioned plea, stating how he’d been on the tower the night that Albus Dumbledore died, had witnessed the offering of sanctuary that was given to Draco – the one he almost took, until Greyback and the Carrows joined them and left Snape to finish his task. He explained how he’d been privy to many of the Dark Lord’s actions regarding the Malfoys through his visions, such as the night Professor Babbage was murdered and devoured by the madman’s snake. He also tried to enlighten the plebeians that held Draco’s life in their hands about the night that Potter and his friends had been captured and brought to the manor – the night when Draco had lied to his mad Aunt Bellatrix about the identity of Harry Potter, regardless of the fact that the prat had then left with Draco’s wand.

Then, Potter began speaking about how Narcissa Malfoy had only done what she could to ensure the safety of her only child. When one woman asked if he was comparing Mrs. Malfoy’s actions to that of his own mother, The Golden Boy smirked and said that if their roles had been reversed, he was sure that Lily Evans-Potter would have done something quite similar. That statement alone seemed to shut up the Wizengamot for a few long, hard moments.

However, when Shacklebolt asked Potter about Lucius Malfoy, all the black-haired teen could do was shake his head. He then looked at the older man and shrugged. These were the words that stood out clearly in Draco’s mind months after the proceedings, “Never once in the last seven years that I have been a full member of the Wizarding community has a kind word been passed between Lucius Malfoy and me. However, I know what kind of man he is – proud, regal, domineering, and weak. And in a moment of utterly stupid teenage weakness, he sold his soul to the one person who probably could rival the Devil himself in his lack of mercy. After the first pause in the war with Voldemort,” he sneered as the entire gallery shuddered and a few people cried out in fear, “he found a place in the world again, hoping to erase all the ill he’d caused. But Voldemort was a cruel master and never had any intention of letting his servant, and piggy bank, go.

“Things got worse for Lucius after Voldemort’s return three years ago. And of course, as he was a family man now, he had to make sure his darling son and wife were safe. I can’t fault him for that. It is a shame that he’s such a stuck-up arse though. But,” Potter shrugged, “I’m not here to judge him. He did what he had to, just like Narcissa and Draco, just like me. It was a bloody stupid thing to do, but we’re not all perfect, I’ve been told. Besides, Lucius Malfoy had his wand stolen by Voldemort and has been without a reasonable replacement since my seventeenth birthday.”

It was shortly after that moving speech, which made Draco both admire and detest his former rival that the call for other witnesses came. Healer Jacobi stepped forward and explained Lucius’ condition as precisely as possible, letting the Wizengamot know, in no uncertain terms, that the Malfoy patriarch would never recover – that, in fact, he would begin to deteriorate – had begun already.

It took all but thirty minutes for the court to declare Draco cleared of all charges – as he had obviously been under great amounts of strain, and as a teenager was unable to cope with them properly. The fact that he hadn’t actually killed anyone worked in his favor, as well as having the testimony and memories of Harry James Potter on his side. His mother was cleared as well, more for her actions in saving Potter’s life and the fact that she hadn’t taken the Dark Mark than anyone believing she was actually innocent of any wrong doing.

Lucius was another story entirely. After the positive verdicts for Draco and Narcissa, Potter and his entourage left the courtroom quietly, and the words of the various members of the Wizengamot left the younger Malfoy numb to everything else. His father was found utterly and completely guilty of every charge – countless murders, rapes, thefts, destruction of property, menacing, assault, and others just kept being named – but in light of the Healer’s testimony, he was ordered on indefinite house arrest and he was assigned a second Healer, who would check in with him once a month and report to a committee. If at any point it seemed like Lucius would recover, then his sentence would be reconsidered.

All in all, things went the way that the Malfoys had hoped, but that was the last good day any of them had. They were shunned in public. People refused their money. Narcissa was forced to go to France and Germany to do their shopping, or to do it by mail order – but only with businesses based on the continent. They kept no company in their vast manor home. Howlers arrived for weeks after the trials from people upset with their ability to ‘buy their way out’, as it was so succinctly put by more than one person.

That thought made Draco laugh until his chest hurt and tears ran down his face. The one time they hadn’t bought their way out of the situation, and they were being accused. The mental processes of the public left him bewildered and amused.

And it was only with the arrival of the Howlers and the Daily Prophet that Draco noticed the passing of time. August moved into September. Before he could blink, it was December and Christmas. And then, it was February. But that month, he had no trouble recalling.

TBC
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Here But For the Grace of Merlin