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Their Phoenix	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 68680 -:- 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
- 22
- 23
- 24
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� And how�s
your boyfriend, Harry dear?� Mrs. Weasley asked as she handed a platter of
potatoes across the table to him.

�� Harry
swallowed his mouthful of bread hastily and occupied himself with taking the
platter. It was so heavy and awkwardly balanced that he had a legitimate excuse
for being distracted, but Mrs. Weasley didn�t leave him alone for long.

�� How is
Cadell?� she asked again, as Harry settled the platter in front of him and
started spooning potatoes off it onto his own plate.

�� There was
nothing for it but to go straight through, the way he had when telling Cadell
about Draco and Severus. Harry looked up with a small, brave smile, or at least
a smile that he hoped was brave. �Fine, I hope,� he said. �But I haven�t seen
him in almost a week. We broke up.�

��

�Oh, no!� Mrs. Weasley frowned at
him. �I do hope that he didn�t turn out to be working with Shacklebolt, or only
attracted to your fame?�

Harry swallowed his laughter as he
handed the potatoes on to George and shook his head. Of course, it would be
reasonable for her to think that that was the reason he would lose any
relationship. �No. I was the one who broke up with him, actually. I decided that
he wasn�t making me happy, or wouldn�t make me happy in the future.� He gave a
shrug that he knew was too casual and dug into the potatoes, filling his mouth
with them so that no one else could ask him a question right away.

�� And what
do you need?� Ginny was leaning forwards across the table, eyes keen. Harry gave
her a narrow glance, which she returned with a perfectly innocent smile. Of
course, she was the one of the Weasleys who was most likely to realize what was
really going on. Come to think of it, Hermione also looked shrewd.

�� A lot of
things,� Harry said. He wasn�t ashamed of
his relationship with Draco and Severus, he told himself defensively. He simply
didn�t know how to describe it. It was in a delicate place right now, when they
hadn�t even slept together, and when he knew that he wanted them but would feel
silly talking about why to anyone
else.

�� Oh, I
see,� Ginny said, with a small, wise nod, and returned to her dinner. Mrs.
Weasley looked back and forth between them for a moment, brow wrinkled as
though she was trying to figure out what she had missed.

�� Well, I
hope that you find someone who can give you that,� she said finally, and patted
Harry�s arm, the closest she could give him to a maternal hug while they were
all sitting down. �In the meantime, have you heard anything from Shacklebolt?�

�� If someone
had told him that someday he�d find it easier to talk about politics than his
personal life, Harry decided as he answered the question, he would have thought
they were mad.

�� But his
life had been one unending stretch of madness, so perhaps it wasn�t strange
that that should continue now.

*

�� Mr. Potter
has agreed at last to share your bed, then?�

�� Draco
choked on his water and was actually crass enough to let a few drops of it escape
down the side of his face before he could capture them. He wiped his napkin
across his mouth and looked in disbelief at his mother, who was sipping
delicately at the turtle soup in front of her. She looked up when he
spluttered, her eyes so bright and innocent that he might have been fooled if he
hadn�t known her all his life.

�� How do you
do that?� he asked, as he laid his
napkin down on the table. A house-elf appeared, fetched it silently, handed him
another, and Apparated away again. �I didn�t even say anything.�

�� Your words
are not my spies,� Narcissa said, with a small, self-satisfied smile that Draco
knew would have changed the minds of many people who didn�t think his mother
was dangerous if they could have seen her. �Your gestures are, and especially
your facial expressions. You look contented this evening, and have eaten more
than you usually do at one of these formal meals. That speaks to a source of
great contentment recently introduced into your life, or a pressing problem
solved. It was not hard to guess what would give you the most satisfaction.�
Once again, she lifted a tiny spoonful of soup to her mouth.

�� Draco
sighed and shook his head, before returning to his own soup. He couldn�t
conceal his emotions form his mother or inflict a similar triumph on her,
because she guarded her feelings too well. But he could stretch out the silence
and make her wait for a confirming response from him.

�� How is
it,� Narcissa asked the wall, �that Mr. Potter agreed to join a pair of old
enemies who must surely have their differences from and their resentments
against him still, instead of finding a lover who would give her heart to him
in the way that I told you he wanted the other day?�

�� Draco
smiled. That was enough of a confession of impatience for him. �We finally
convinced him that we could give our hearts to him.�

�� Narcissa
turned her head, her eyes as keen as a lioness�s. �Not that you will.�

�� No,� Draco
admitted. �He still has his doubts about that, and I can�t say I blame him. But
it�s a great improvement over the situation as it stood three days ago, when he
was convinced that we would never alter
our behavior to suit him one whit.� He pushed the bowl of soup back, and it
promptly vanished, replaced by the roast swan that was the main course. Draco
sighed as he picked up his fork and began to stab delicate bites. He wondered
if he would ever convince Severus and Harry, neither of whom had been used to
luxuries growing up, to appreciate foods like this one. �And I think he will
come further into our embrace as he learns that we value him.�

�� So you are
content to exist on hope.� Narcissa brought her cup to her mouth. She might
have been using it to conceal a smile.

�� We did ask
for a deadline when he might be comfortable coming to our bed,� Draco said,
stung by her implied criticism. A Malfoy was never content to exist on hope. He
took steps to secure what he wanted. �He said that he would be comfortable
within the month.�

�� He is
braver than I believed him,� Narcissa said, and then changed the subject so decisively
as she began talking about his father that Draco did not have the heart to
resurrect it.

�� Privately,
he determined that his mother should come and visit the house when Harry was
safely part of their triad. She would see him there, see how happy he was, and
then stop dropping her gentle doubts into Draco�s mind and disturbing his
complacency.

*

�� Severus had
taken care to cast several detection spells the moment he set foot on
Hogwarts�s grounds. For one thing, there might be people here who would still
be hostile to him, including students who had known him only as the tyrannical
Headmaster of the last year and did not consider that he had been sufficiently
punished for his crimes.

�� For
another, he did not want anyone to see where he was going. It was a private
matter.

�� He needed a
place to pour the full cup of his thoughts, and, considering that those
thoughts were about Harry and Draco and he did not want to take the risk of
sowing dissension between them, he could not speak about them directly to his
bondmates. He had already noticed that he spoke more in confidence to Draco
than to Harry. Perhaps that was only natural when they had been lovers first,
but it could not continue if Harry was to have the equal relationship with them
that he had demanded.

�� I never thought a time would come when my
first thought would be pleasing Harry Potter, Severus thought, as he
arrived at his destination and strengthened his Disillusionment Charm.

�� Albus�s
tomb stood in front of him, gleaming white to the casual eye. By leaning closer
and fixing it with a keen gaze, Severus could see the off-white spots of bird
dung, the green of small plants that had found a crack in the marble to
colonize, and the grey of smoke and fog and damp that no one had yet found the
time to clear away. He nodded, satisfied. The tomb was now more a
representation of the soul of the man who lay buried beneath it.

�� No one
ever understood you like me, Albus,� he said aloud. He could be content now
that that was true. Kingsley Shacklebolt might wish for that understanding, but
it had not come. Harry might think of the man as a beloved mentor, but he had
not been aware of all his plans, or all his ruthless mercy.

�� Mercy to
the wizarding world, not to Harry himself.

�� He does
not know,� Severus said softly, to the tomb and to the spirit that he had to
picture as waiting beyond it if he was to have any confidant at all. �I have
never told him the full extent of your plans. I did not think that he needed to
live with more nightmares, when he had more than enough already.� He rubbed his
mouth thoughtfully. �Small hints here and there, and I believe that he has some
notion of the truth buried in the back of his mind. But kindness to the
living�two of the living�outweighs my debt to the dead.�

�� The tomb
remained silent, of course. Nonetheless, Severus would have said there was
silence and silence. Someone listening sounded different from no one doing so,
and he knew that this was the former.

�� I do not
know if this can work,� he admitted aloud for the first time. �They are both so
young. Not physically�I accept that
they are adults and can make their own decisions, and so I need not feel badly
if they choose to share my bed. Not,� he added dryly, because it was the kind
of thing that he would have said during his conversations with Albus, �that my
moral scruples were ever overly strong. But they are both so impatient and pull
so much at any restraints and look so much to the future. I am marked by the
past. Scorched by it, no matter what marks I actually bear.� He stroked the
phoenix on his arm. �Can someone who is top-heavy with the weight of guilt fit
with two people who are growing past it and feel other emotions more than
occasionally? I do not.�

�� He shook
his head and sat back on the bench in front of the tomb so that he could look
around the side. Yes, that looked as spotted as the front did. �And it is more
than a bit strange that I should speak to you like this,� he said, �treating
you as a friend when you were the one who forced me to kill you. But if I woke
one morning and my life was normal, then I would be dead before the evening was
past, having killed myself in a fit of paranoia.�

�� Severus
stroked the side of his mouth and contemplated the tomb for a moment more. It
would have been heartening to see Fawkes appear on top of it and cock his head
at him, or a ghostly Albus walking around the side to greet him.

�� But what
was heartening did not happen in Severus�s life. What was terrifying and
joyful, yes, but none of the comfortable mediocrity in between.

�� They are
also,� he said, in the low voice that he would use to no one alive, �concerned
almost exclusively with themselves, while being terrified of my opinion
concerning them. They do not seem to assume that I need compliments or caresses
or any of the other bindings that they depend on my flinging around them.�
Severus snorted bitterly. �And I have gone so far out of my way to convince
everyone that I am inhuman and do not require such small kindnesses�can I
complain when I am left isolated by the success of my own tactics?�

�� The silence
changed quality, or at least Severus was free to imagine that it did. Now there
was charged amusement around him. Albus was laughing, wherever he was. Severus
decided that he was glad he could not receive more than that laughter�s shadow.

�� Almost glad.

�� He rose to
his feet. �I do not know what to do,� he said. �Yet. I do not wish for this
difference between us, this role in which I offer compliments and they offer me
nothing on the same level, to continue. And yet how can I complain, when they
offer me their company, their compassion, their bodies?� He shrugged and drew
his cloak tighter around him, though late May was not particularly cold. �I do
not have all the words myself to define what I wish. That limits the extent to
which I can make articulate complaints.�

�� The silence
listened to him, and at least it did not judge. That was the best thing about
having the old man underground, Severus thought as he took his leave.

*

�� I think
I�ve found a way to do it.�

�� Harry
paused when Severus glanced up at him, his lips pressed together in a thin
line. It was one of the evenings when Draco was visiting his mother, and Harry
had assumed that it would be the perfect time to offer to share his memories
with Severus. If it failed, then neither he nor Severus would have to suffer
embarrassment in front of Draco. Harry wanted to avoid the chance for Draco to
offer acid comments. He trusted him, yes, but not as much when he was faced
with temptation.

�� Looking at
Severus now, he wondered why he had imagined that Draco�s tongue was rougher
than Severus�s.

�� A way to
do what?� Severus demanded, and then Harry realized that one reason he might
look so grim was that he didn�t know what Harry was talking about and dreaded
some impulsive Gryffindor plan.

�� A way to
share my memories with you,� Harry explained, and sat down on the couch near
Severus. That put him within reach of the private, thick aura that Severus
seemed to carry around with him. Harry swallowed and tried to ignore the way
that the hairs on his arms were rising. Severus was touching him with nothing
but his eyes. Harry had no reason to have the images flashing through his head
that he did, images from the last of their blended dreams. �I�m going to open
the bond from the side.�

�� From the
side,� Severus said, and his voice was so neutral that he might have been
expressing either wonder or mockery.

�� Yeah. It�s
hard to explain, but I can do it.� Harry shrugged. He�d done it early that
morning, when he thought both Severus and Draco were asleep or struggling to
wake up and so probably wouldn�t notice. �I just envision coming at the bond
from the side, and it lets me do it. I almost sent my memories to you this
morning, but I didn�t think you�d appreciate it without a proper introduction.�

�� I
appreciate many gifts from you, proper or not,� Severus said, and extended his
hand.

�� Harry
swallowed. �Uh, I don�t have to touch you to do this.�

�� But I wish
you to,� Severus said, with a small bite behind the words that Harry didn�t
think he would have heard if he hadn�t been listening closely.

�� Harry
nodded after a moment and laid his hand in Severus�s. The man�s skin seemed too
warm, but Harry told himself that was his imagination and anyway he should stop
being ridiculous. He closed his eyes and had to ignore the way those long
fingers wrapped around his wrist as he reached for a memory.

�� He�d
thought it would help Severus to see that Harry himself had done stupid things
during the war, things that he could be blamed for. So he�d chosen the memory
of him, Ron, and Hermione breaking into Gringotts and riding out again on a
dragon.

�� He thought
of the bond as a thick conduit that stretched between him and Severus, and then
came at it from the side and underneath. Something shuddered in his head like a
plucked bowstring, and then he opened a small
part of the bond, enough to share more than thoughts but not so much as
emotions.

�� The images
began to pour through him and into Severus�s mind. Harry heard Severus catch
his breath, and the hand holding his tightened, drawing Harry into an embrace
that made him lean against Severus with his nose pressed to his chest.

�� Harry
shivered and succumbed to the urges that were running up his spine like
electric currents. He grasped Severus�s neck with his free hand and relaxed
fully against him, not permitting any ideas about those powerful hands crushing
him or those dark eyes flashing with dislike to enter his head.

�� He let
Severus embrace him more fully than he had ever let Ginny or Cadell do, and
waited for the memory to end.

�� Severus
hissed beneath his breath at several points and spread out his hand so that his
fingers lay along Harry�s ribs. When the memory finished, Harry drew back into
his own head and coughed.

�� The sound
was meant to signal to Severus that he could let Harry up. Instead, Severus
tightened his hold and whispered into Harry�s ear, �I did not know that you had
used Unforgivables so�freely during the war.�

�� Yeah.�
Harry swallowed, and wished he could draw in a full breath. He should have been able to. Severus wasn�t
crushing him. It was his own stupid body that made him pant. �So you can blame
me if you want.�

�� Why would
I do that?� Severus�s voice was very low, and he seemed to like the way he
smoothed his hand up and down Harry�s shoulder too much to stop. �Those spells
let you survive, and you did not use them against my advice. I would have the
right to be angry if I had told you not to use them and you refused to listen.�

�� Yeah,
but�� Harry closed his eyes and shivered, which made no sense when he was
warmer than usual. �I mean, I once would have said that only Slytherins would
use spells like that. So you can get angry with me for being hypocritical. I wanted
you to be able to see that I wasn�t perfect, either.�

�� I am too
glad that you survived to become angry,� Severus murmured, and cupped a hand
behind his head. �Can you look at me, Harry?�

�� Of course, Harry wanted to say, but it
was still unexpectedly hard to push himself upright, especially because he
didn�t want to stab an elbow into Severus�s knee or gut. He cleared his throat,
said, �I think so,� and then set about proving it. When he sat up, he was still
in the circle of Severus�s arm, and he couldn�t say that he minded.

�� Severus
bent over him, his nostrils flaring wide, his eyes narrow in a way that Harry
had often seen immediately before Severus began yelling about a potion gone
wrong. But this time, he trailed his fingers down Harry�s cheek, and Harry
blinked. Maybe that look was just one of intense concentration, instead of
automatic disapproval.

�� Thank you
for sharing your memory with me,� Severus whispered, directly before he kissed
Harry.

Harry found himself gasping and
putting up his hands as if to resist the assault of an enemy. Severus caught
his left hand and put it in the appropriate place, alongside his head, without pausing
or flinching. He left it up to Harry to decide what to do with his right hand.
Harry hesitated, then began to run his fingers gently, gingerly, through
Severus�s hair. It slid and hissed along his palm, oily but less greasy than he
had expected.

I�m
so new at this, he thought ruefully, before Severus�s tongue pried open his
lips and he had something else to think about.

Harry moaned. Severus was
interested in deeper kisses than
Cadell had been, in acquainting himself with every corner of Harry�s mouth, and
he apparently didn�t need to breathe. Harry was gasping before the end of the
kiss, but he didn�t want to pull away. He clamped his hands in place until
Severus grunted in pain, and then he softened the grasp of his left hand to a
caress and murmured, �You�re really good at this.�

�� For no
reason that he understood, that made Severus pause and then pull back to hover
over him. His eyes were heavy and sensual, but the pleasure in them was
brighter and sharper than Harry would have expected.

�� A moment
later, he shook his head and said, �So you would say, because you have been
with so few.�

�� That�s not the reason I�m saying it,� Harry
snapped, irritated that Severus persisted in misunderstanding him. He shoved
himself away from his bondmate and ended up sitting on the other side of the
couch, glaring at him. �I�m saying it because you make me feel as though I
could sit there and go on kissing you until all my air runs out and not care.
I�m saying it because you make me feel good, and someone who can do that is
good, and it doesn�t matter if he has a lot of fucking experience or not.� He folded his arms. �This is exactly why I
didn�t want to go to bed with you, because I knew you�d start doubting my opinions because I haven�t had as many
lovers as you have had.�

�� Severus
hesitated, his eyes narrowing further. Harry lifted his chin. If Severus lashed
out with words, then Harry would meet him with harsher ones. He was not about
to back down or let his bondmates trample all over him because some things had
changed between them. His desire for equality with them never would.

�� Then
Severus said stiffly, �I am�unaccustomed to compliments. I fear that my first
recourse is to deny them.� He bowed his head so that his hair hid his face.
�That was the cause of my words, rather than any wish to deny that you might
know what you like and what you do not.�

�� Harry
hesitated in turn. He wanted to believe that what Severus said was the truth,
and it did sound convincing. Of
course, Severus could also have acted true to his nature out of instinct and be
trying to backtrack to cover that.

�� But if he
didn�t have some level of trust in his bondmates, then he might as well move
out of the house right now. Or open the bonds the other way. And he wasn�t
ready for that yet.

�� He nodded
slowly. �Yeah. All right.� Then he slid closer again, nerving himself to offer
another compliment and to touch Severus�s hair again, despite the criticism
that might snap out at any moment. �I meant it. You�re a good kisser. And, I,
um.� The next words he wanted to speak made his cheeks flare red, and he had to
cough �And I like the fact that you want me as much as you do and hold me as
close.�

�� Really?�
Severus�s voice had dropped so that Harry could feel the vibration in his
chest. �Why would that be, I wonder?�

�� Harry bit
his lip. He mumbled the words, because making his voice too loud was out of the
question. �Because I haven�t had a lot of people want me for me. I get the impression that you do,
and I like the gestures that, um, that p-prove you do.�

�� Severus
bowed his head without saying anything. Harry waited tensely, sure that some
words would come along in a moment to show that he had been wrong about
Severus, but instead he heard a delicate sniff, as if Severus wanted to absorb
the smell of his hair.

�� When he
spoke again, it was only to say, �Thank you.�

*

�� Severus
knew the silent language of Draco�s expressions and half-made gestures, though
he doubted that Harry would have noticed. That was not any reflection on
Harry�s experience or lack of experience; he simply did not know Draco as well
as Draco would have liked yet.

�� I now defend Harry from accusations that
might be made against him even in my own head, he thought with some
amusement.

�� But it was
a small effort to do so. Especially when Harry had given him a compliment without
even thinking about it and then given him another. Severus had complained to
Albus that neither of his bondmates would look for the small things that might
matter to him or see them as important.�
Harry had proven him wrong, conclusively.

�� Severus wondered
if Draco would someday do the same thing.

�� But, for
now, Draco was in need of him. They were sitting at a table as honored guests,
listening to Estella Colben make another speech. Several people from Hogsmeade
were close to the stage, and Draco and Severus had both seen Cadell Caesarion
in a chair two rows back, his arms folded and his steady, brooding stare fixed
on Harry.

�� Draco bit
his lip and shifted his foot back and forth. Severus understood his
restlessness. Draco would have liked nothing better than to march off the stage
and ask why Caesarion had come here instead of staying away. Harry had broken
up with him decisively. What more did he want?

�� So far,
Draco�s good sense had restrained him. But his left hand closed into a fist,
and the bond between them was leaping with sparks that were building gradually
into a wall of fire. In a few moments, he would think that no one would really notice if he were to begin to make some
small insulting signals to Caesarion, and believing that no one would notice
something was one step away from doing it, at least for Draco.

�� Harry could
have calmed him at once if he had seen the situation. But he was watching
Colben with a critical expression, judging her words for the amount of
opposition to Kingsley Shacklebolt and the current Ministry they carried, and
his bond showed nothing but bright purple determination. Severus didn�t think
him likely to look away and notice in time to prevent Draco from embarrassing
himself.

�� It was up
to Severus.

�� Thanks to
Harry�s compliments, he resented what seemed to be one of his permanent roles
in the bond less than he might have done.

�� He put a
hand on Draco�s shoulder and caught his eye when Draco turned his head,
whip-quick, towards him. He shook his head, once. Draco frowned at him, and
then launched a thought at Severus. Did
you see him there? He can�t live with what he caused himself. He deserves to be
punished for coming here and acting like a child.

�� You would be the one who would seem to be
acting like a child if you did, Severus answered. He saw Harry�s head
twitch a bit, and a golden fish of curiosity darted along his bond. Severus
paused for a moment. He had not realized before that Harry could sense the
transfer of thoughts between him and Draco, though Severus often caught the
edge of thoughts that Harry had not meant to share. He mentally changed his
opinion of the boy�s sensitivity and intelligence.

�� No, not boy. Young man, the way you think of
Draco. You really must make them equal in your mind, or risk your sense of
difference between them coming out in your speech�which you know Harry would
despise you for.

�� Severus
made a mental note to put that into practice later, and continued at a lower
�level,� muffling his voice in the way that he would muffle his Legilimency if
he were creeping into a hostile mind. Harry
hasn�t noticed that he�s here. Whatever Caesarion�s reason for coming, Harry
would not think it sufficient reason for our retaliation.

�� But
Harry dismissed him! Draco�s leg was tapping hard enough to shake the table
they sat behind now. Why can�t he give up
and go away?

�� Would you give up and go away if Harry
dismissed you? Severus asked, while deliberately projecting glacial calm.
It wasn�t hard to influence Draco through the bond, while it would be
impossible with Harry until the moment (which seemed distant right now) that he
opened the bonds both ways.

�� He wouldn�t do that to me, Draco said,
but Severus�s words and emotions had checked him. He lowered his head for a
moment until he could control his scowl, then looked up at Colben with such a
concentrated expression of attention that Severus wanted to laugh.

�� He kept one
hand on Draco�s shoulder as he turned to face the crowd again. Draco, far more
than Harry or Severus himself, needed to be caressed and cajoled and
appreciated. He was a paradox, observant enough of other people when he tried
to be, but utterly incapable of applying that same observation to himself.

�� Perhaps I should have him watch a Pensieve
memory of himself someday, Severus decided. It might prove enlightening for him.

�� He caught Caesarion�s eye and sent a subtle
blade of Legilimency slicing out. It would be as well to make sure that the boy
had no evil intentions, though Severus was sure that Harry would have sensed
some intent to harm him while they were dating.

�� Unless the intention to harm him is more
recent, of course.

�� But the
Legilimency detected no hint of evil at all. The boy was resentful and sorry
and wistful. He had come to the meeting simply to get a closer look at Harry
and to make sure that he was all right�and maybe to look at his bondmates and
see whether they were good enough for Harry, though that wish hid at the back
of Caesarion�s mind and he might not even have been aware of it.

�� Severus
shook his head and pulled free from the grip of Caesarion�s thoughts before he
could notice Severus staring at him. It seemed that Harry had a talent for
picking lovers who honestly wished him no harm. Caesarion was no more a danger
than Ginny Weasley.

�� He told
that to Draco, who gave him a resentful glance, but then sighed out through his
nose and sank lower in his chair. Severus stroked his shoulder one more time
before he pulled his hand back.

�� Harry
darted them both a glance that combined amusement and concern. Are you all right?

�� Severus
decided that it might have been a little premature for him to decide that Harry
noticed nothing beyond his immediate environment. Yes, he said. A minor worry
has been raised, discarded, and settled.

�� Harry
nodded to him and then faced Colben again. Severus did his best to pay
attention as well. In truth, the woman seemed a competent politician, with an
understanding of leadership and delegation, and able to charm a crowd. Time
alone could say whether she would succeed as Minister, but Severus was willing
to give her the chance to try.

*

�� I wish I
knew what Kingsley was playing at.�

�� Draco
paused. He had been on his way from the lab to the kitchen for an afternoon
snack�Severus absolutely forbade eating in the lab�but the frustrated
exclamation had caught his attention. He peered into the sitting room and found
Harry sitting there, staring at a letter in his lap and shaking his head.

�� Another
strange message?� Draco asked, wandering over and sitting down beside Harry.
Once he wouldn�t have done that without an invitation, and he did see Harry�s shoulders tense and then
fall before he glanced over at Draco with a faint smile. But the smile was
welcoming enough, and the emotions flowing through the bond were all smooth
waves instead of pointed weapons. Draco put his chin in his hand and tried to
look as helpful and intelligent as possible.

�� Harry�s
smile quivered for a moment, as if he found the effort laughable�he had better not�but then he glanced
back at the letter in his lap, and his mouth tightened. �Yeah,� he said. �The
last one only said he was sorry. This one�� He shook his head again and handed
the letter straight to Draco.

�� Draco read
it quickly. This time, it said, I am
sincerely sorry, Harry. I understand why you would feel the way you do, but I
am asking you to reconsider splitting the wizarding world apart with a general
election.

�� I can�t
tell if he�s trying to hold onto his power,� Harry said meditatively, running
his fingers through his hair, �or if there really is some other factor that we
haven�t considered which might make it bad to hold a general election now.�

�� Or both,�
Draco said, a little irritated that Harry had already covered the most
reasonable options instead of leaving one open for him to comment on.

�� Harry
nodded. �Or both,� he repeated, heaving out a little sigh as he leaned back
against the couch. �Of course, even if that factor does exist, it doesn�t mean
a general election is a bad idea for us, only for Kingsley. And I think we�ve
gone too far with it to end it now.�

�� We won�t end it,� Draco said. �Of course we
can�t. This isn�t just an apology and an offer of good faith. If it was, he
would explain to you straight out why it�s a bad idea to have an election now,
and he would tell us anything else he knows that we might not have thought of.�

�� Harry shot
him a glance that combined admiration and annoyance. �Even with his pride
possibly getting in the way? Would you tell an enemy something that might hurt
you if they�d humiliated you?�

�� Draco
sighed and folded his arms. �I wouldn�t want to,� he admitted. �But I�m me, and
not someone like Kingsley, who presumably holds the ideals of the Order of the
Phoenix dear and cares more about Britain than his own political career. So I
thought he might. So that means that he�s not making a good faith effort to
talk to us.�

�� I don�t
truly think so, either.� Harry rolled his eyes and set the letter aside. �And
that means that he�s trying to get us to stop the election and feel sorry for
him, and nothing else. There�s no offer of a truce there.�

�� Draco
applauded. �Wonderful,� he said, when Harry glanced at him from the corner of
his eye. �Sometimes, you can use
reason.�

�� Harry
abruptly turned around so that he was facing Draco fully, his hands clenching
in front of him. Draco blinked. What he had just said wasn�t insulting compared
to most of the things he�d hurled at Harry over the years, and yet the bond now
showed a line of cliffs marching along a bleak seashore.

�� This is
one of the things you do that I hate the most,� Harry said in a tone that made
Draco clamp his hands on the cushions so that he could keep from backing away.
�You act as if I�m stupid. You know
that I don�t know as much about Potions as you do. Fine. But somehow, for you,
that translates into insulting my intelligence at every turn. If I fight back,
you get all self-righteous and hurt. But this? This is fine to you. I should have known that it wouldn�t really change
when I agreed that we would try to become lovers. It would just hurt more.� He
turned away, the scowl on his face looking like it was set into stone, and
began to stand.

�� Draco
reached out and grasped him around the waist, pulling Harry backwards and into
him. He had a vague vision of Harry sitting on his lap while Draco stroked his
hair and explained to him that insulting him was just an instinctive reaction
by now and not something that he meant,
and that he�d try to control it better in the future.

�� He had
forgotten about Ledbetter�s training, and the fact that it included advice on
what to do if someone grabbed you from behind.

�� Harry�s
elbow jabbed into his ribs. Draco reeled, dazed, and the second elbow hit him
in the forehead. Harry turned around to face him as Draco�s arms fell limp and
visibly hesitated, restraining himself from giving a third blow.

�� Look,� he
hissed, as Draco rubbed the forming bruises on his abdomen and face. �I don�t
care what your justification for it is. The fact remains that you�d get upset
if I treated you that way, but you think it�s perfectly fine to do to me. And
Severus is probably on his way now because I hurt you, but if he doesn�t care
about me being hurt because of your words, then I don�t see why I should care
what he thinks.� There was settled bitterness in his words. Once again, he
started to turn away.

�� Draco
gathered all his courage, all his diplomacy, and all his inner strength, and
spoke the only words that would do him any good right now. �I�m sorry.�

�� Harry
froze, but didn�t turn around, instead folding his arms. �I don�t believe you.�
His voice was taut and wary.

�� Draco could
feel grave consideration from Severus through the bond, as grey and heavy as
swamp moss. For the moment, he was holding back from intervening, though he
must be aware of what had happened.

�� Draco was
grateful. This mess was between him and Harry, and he would have to be the one
to settle it.

�� I mean it
anyway.� Draco stood up, wincing as the pain radiated up and down his side. He
felt a brief flash of anger at Harry for that, but he took a deep breath and
put off the urge to demand an apology of his own. Things would never be settled
between them if he tried to get too much from Harry at once. �I didn�t
realize�I should have thought about the fact that we insulted each other in
Hogwarts and I was usually trying to belittle you or your friends then. You
couldn�t have any reason to think that I�d changed my mind now if I hadn�t
changed my tactics.�

�� Harry
turned one shoulder towards him, a small motion that showed he was listening,
though Draco knew better than to attach much hope to it.

�� This time,
though,� Draco said, plowing determinedly through all sorts of words that he
hated speaking aloud, �I mean the apology. I insulted you because that�s what I
do, automatically. It�s easier to
promise myself that I�m going to change my behavior than to actually do it.�
Harry�s shoulders relaxed at that, and the bond turned to soft and surging
waves. Draco reckoned that was a truth that Harry already knew about himself,
making Draco�s words seem familiar instead of entirely new. �I don�t think
you�re stupid. I would have complained a lot more about being bonded to you if
I did. You�re brilliant at Defense. I said that the other evening, and I meant
it, too. I just�it�s hard to remember to compliment you because for so long I
would have thought it strange to do it.�

�� Harry faced
him, this time looking him earnestly in the eyes. Draco didn�t know what he was
looking for, especially since he couldn�t use the bond to be sure of what he
found, so he stood still himself and concentrated on looking as generically
honest as possible.

�� All
right,� Harry said. He licked his lips several times, then bowed his head and
let his arms fall open. The bond melted and flowed with seawater that
eventually became the calm ocean under sunlight that Draco knew was the biggest
sign of Harry feeling mellow. �All right,� Harry repeated, and looked up with a
faint smile. �I�m sorry for hitting you.�

�� Draco moved
forwards a few steps, his eyes darting back and forth from Harry�s eyes to his hands.
Harry stood and watched him come, raising an eyebrow as if asking why Draco
wanted to come closer to him at this point.

�� Draco
reached out and cupped Harry�s cheek, stroking with two fingers while his thumb
slid under Harry�s chin. Harry stiffened and raised his head. His expression
was a warning: if Draco struck at him, then he would strike back, and probably
hard enough to snap Draco�s head back with the force of it.

�� Draco
leaned in and kissed him instead.

�� For long
moments, it was unpleasant, kissing a pair of stiff lips that refused to do
anything but clamp shut. Then Harry sighed through his nose, raised a hand,
locked it into Draco�s hair, and kissed him back, hard.

�� This was a
much stronger wrestle of tongues than Draco had ever engaged in with Severus.
He and Severus were after their mutual pleasure, and so it didn�t matter much
who won the mild contests between them. Harry was out to prove something, and
he shoved his tongue into Draco�s mouth as though he were trying to conquer it.

�� Draco
wouldn�t let him, though he briefly considered it for a moment so that Harry
would feel like he had won something this morning. But in the end, they�d both
apologized, and that tipped the score between them back to even, as far as
Draco was concerned. If Harry wanted this victory, he would have to earn it.

�� He dug his
fingers into Harry�s scalp and prickled him with his nails. Harry moaned, and
shoved his hips forwards like his tongue. Draco could feel his erection, and
shifted so that he could match it with his own.

�� For a long,
ecstatic moment, Draco thought that Harry would let him go on rutting until
they came together, but Harry shuddered and flattened his hand across Draco�s
chest, shaking his head. Draco took a step back.

�� Well,�
Harry mumbled, when he could get back his breath, �that�s a much better way of
settling our arguments than I�m used to.�

�� Draco gave
him a wicked grin and leaned in further. �Imagine how much better it will feel
when you�re ready to join me and Severus in bed. Imagine two pairs of hands
exploring you, two cocks rubbing against yours��

�� Harry was
capable of a delightfully fiery blush, Draco saw. He took several deep breaths
to calm down, without noticeable effect, and then shook his head and walked
towards the stairs. He paused on them, though, and glanced over his shoulder.
�Draco?�

�� Yeah?�
Draco hoped that there would be a compliment on his face, or maybe the taste of
his mouth.

�� I�m not
the only one who could use more compliments,� Harry said. His smile was gone,
and he leaned forwards so that he was staring directly into Draco�s eyes. �Try
it with Severus, too.�

�� He was gone
before Draco could ask what he meant or why that was so important, but the
steady flow of emotions through the bond said he�d been dead serious.

�� And the
bond between Severus and Draco was frozen like marble in surprise.

�� Draco sat
down on the couch with a bump. It seemed he had more than one kind of hard
thinking to do.

*

�� Tiffani:
Thanks! I think Cadell will be better off without Harry, in the end. He does
need to find someone who will love him for who he is and not who he can�t be.

�� Snivelly:
Thanks! I can promise, thanks to Severus�s Legilimency in this chapter, that
Cadell won�t be a danger. He is sort of bitter, but not the dangerous kind of
bitter.

�� qwerty: The
road there is going to be rockier than they think right now, thanks to the
events of this chapter. But it will get there eventually.

�� PanickedSerenity:
Thank you!

�� Dragon:
Thanks! I hope to keep to the regular update schedule until the story is
finished.

�� DTDY: Thank
you.

�� dana_aeryn:
Thank you. Kingsley�s appearances are indirect for a short while longer, until
he can come to grips with what�s happening.

�� Jen; Thank
you! I hope you�ll be equally excited over the next few expressions of sexual
love.

�� Mia: Thank
you so much! I don�t know how I�m supposed to survive your kind of reviews,
honestly. ;)

�� Lydia
Monroe: Thanks! I am going to write out the smut, but it won�t be just one
scene; instead, it�ll be a series of smaller ones.

�� Mya Malfoy:
Still some emotional negotiation to handle, but it�ll be along fairly soon.

�� amy1: Thank
you!

�� Shadow
Lily: Thanks so much! I promise that the political plot and the relationship
one both continue in the next chapters, and hopefully wind up as a satisfactory
conclusion fairly soon.

�� AmeeLynn:
Thank you! A too-quick addition of smut is the main thing that puts me off
threesome stories, so I deliberately stretched it out a bit.
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Their Phoenix