Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belong to JK Rowling and associates. This was written for fun. I make no money from it.

Chapter List
- 1-The Optimal Balance
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-Ch. 36
- 37-Ch. 37
- 38-Ch. 38
- 39-Ch. 39
- 40-Ch. 40: Epilogue
- 22
- 23
- 24
A throbbing ache in his lower back woke Harry early on Wednesday morning. One of his hands automatically moved to press into the pain as he buried his face into his pillow. They had both been much rougher with each other the night before than Harry knew they should have been, expending some of the adrenalin that their fight had caused. The resulting orgasm had been worth it at the time, but he was definitely paying the price for it now. The thought that lying on his stomach was probably not the best thing for a sore back flittered through his mind, causing him to immediately try to roll over.

“Fuck!” His breath hissed out of him as his muscles protested the move, sending waves of pain straight through him. “Damn it.”

A low chuckle beside him had Harry attempting to glance over to where Draco obviously lay beside him without actually moving his back. When he was unsuccessful, he let out a sigh.

“Draco?”

“You seem to be in worse shape than I am at the moment.” There was a few seconds’ pause before the bed dipped and Draco's weight pressed into the back of Harry’s thighs. “Let’s see what I can do about that.”

The pressure of Draco's fingers pressing into the small of his back had Harry hissing in pain again and attempting to arch out of the way. A mumbled apology and a lighter touch were Draco's only response. It took him a few minutes, but eventually Harry began to relax a little into the touch, enjoying the sensation of Draco's fingers working some of the knots in his muscles out. Draco waited until Harry was pressing up into his touch before murmuring a Healing charm to ease the rest of the pain away.

“Why didn’t you just do that to being with?”

“Because that charm needs you to be much more relaxed than you were to be effective.” Draco's weight lifted off Harry’s legs and, in a few seconds, he flopped down on his stomach next to him. “Mind returning the favour?”

A small frown creased Harry’s brow as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Surely Draco couldn’t have the same kind of injury he had had? Their relative positions during sex… Harry’s eyes widened when he got a good look at Draco's back. Eight angry-looking red welts had formed on Draco's pale skin, stretching from his shoulders down to the small of his back. Reaching out, Harry placed his fingers into position on the welts, realising that he had caused them the night before by clawing Draco with his nails. His eyes closed as shame rushed through him.

“Jesus Christ, Draco. Why didn’t you stop me?”

“For the exact same reason you didn’t stop me, I would assume.”

Harry nodded silently as he went about Healing the welts. He had been so wrapped up in both the pleasure and the feeling of release he had been getting the night before that it truly hadn’t occurred to him that he was being way too rough with Draco. He made absolutely certain that every little bit of redness had been properly Healed away before he collapsed down onto the bed beside Draco again, finding that the shame he had been feeling was slowly washing away with the small amends he made with each Healing charm. When he turned his head in Draco's direction, it was to find him watching him with half his face covered by his pillow. Harry opened his mouth, but Draco beat him to it.

“Don’t apologise. We are both consenting adults who went into this last night with the full knowledge that we were both angry. Previous firsthand experience with angry sex should have given us both a warning, but we either ignored it, or had forgotten.”

Harry offered up a small smile. “You’ve been thinking this over?”

The edges of Draco's one visible eye crinkled when he returned the smile. “When I woke to those welts, I figured you would have some similar injuries. Taking your martyr complex into consideration, I ran through your likely reactions and what I could do to prevent you from blaming yourself.” He let out a low grunt when Harry jabbed a finger into his side. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Shaking his head, Harry couldn’t help grinning up at the canopy of the bed. “Thank you, Dray.”

For the next few minutes, the only sound in the room was their breathing and the occasional chirp from a bird outside the window. Harry knew that they had things to discuss, but exactly how to bring up the fight they had had without causing another one was escaping him for the time being. Instead, he began to run through what he needed to do in order to prevent the boys from actually following through with whatever it was they were trying to find.

Speaking to Kingsley was right at the top of his list. It had occurred to him the previous night just before he had succumbed to sleep that Kingsley would have a bit more knowledge about Grimmauld and the types of people who had lived there over the years than he did. So, when he went into the Ministry that morning, his first stop would be Kingsley’s office, where he would both ask about Grimmauld and get official permission to place a charm on the boys so he could track them as needed. If they did manage to somehow make their way to Grimmauld, Harry wanted to know before they could get close enough to do any damage.

His next port of call had to be to the various Curse Breakers he knew in London. Surely one of them would be able to spare him an afternoon one day that week to help with a detailed sweep of the house. He and Bill had gone through the house quite thoroughly right after the end of the War, but he knew that he had to look again, considering what had happened. He also knew that a pair of fresh eyes with no history with the house would be better than someone who knew the layout and what was supposed to be where; the new person might be able to spot something that was odd much easier than someone who was used to how everything was set out. He was just starting to run through a list of people he could ask when the touch of Draco's hand resting lightly against his chest drew his attention. He glanced over to see that Draco hadn’t moved from his position lying on his stomach.

“You’re going to see Kingsley today?”

The muscles in Harry’s shoulders tensed a little, but he ignored it. He nodded. “I am.

“And you still don’t want to confront them directly with this?”

“Dra–”

“Wait. Before you tell me that this is the best option yet again, just listen to me,” Draco interrupted. “I want to be involved in this.”

Harry’s insides immediately froze, causing his stomach muscles to clench. He began shaking his head even before he opened his mouth.

“No.”

Silence followed this, although whether it was because Draco was considering how to respond or because he was angry with Harry again, Harry had no idea. Moving slowly, he reached up so he could place a hand over the one resting on his chest.

“Draco?”

“You need a Black family member there.”

“What? No we don’t.”

“Yes you do. Who else would be able to tell you which particular heirlooms should be checked more thoroughly than others?”

Harry couldn’t help scoffing. “The very first time you set foot into that house was when you started seeing me. How the hell are you going to know what is more dangerous than anything else?”

The hand on Harry’s chest clenched for a few seconds before releasing. Draco sighed. “Wait here.”

“What? But–”

“For Merlin’s sake, Potter, just do what I ask for once!” Draco shoved himself up into a sitting position and glared down at Harry. “Please. Just stay here and wait for me to come back.”

Harry waited a few seconds before nodding his consent. Draco moved around the room, getting dressed swiftly. Harry couldn’t help shaking his head when Draco grabbed the shirt Harry had been wearing the night before and buttoned it up quickly before slipping out of the room without even glancing at him. Draco had taken to stealing little bits and pieces of Harry’s clothing to sleep in a few months previously, but this was the first time he had purposefully gotten dressed in something that was obviously Harry’s when his own clothing was right there as well. It wasn’t that Harry minded losing his old t-shirts – in fact, he thought Draco looked quite good in his old clothing – but it did confuse him. His was mind drifting a little, conjuring images of just what he could ‘accidentally’ leave out that Draco might look especially good in, when Draco returned. A small blush crept up Harry’s cheeks at being caught fantasising, which he attempted to cover by sitting up in the bed and fussing with the sheets. When Draco didn’t join him in the bed again, he glanced up.

“I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone that I own this.”

Harry’s eyes widened and his heart seemed to skip a beat as he dropped his gaze to Draco's hands. He was carrying what appeared to be a small box, his fingers clenched around the edges. Spreading his hands carefully out over the sheet still covering his legs, Harry stalled for time while he attempted to calm his now-racing heart. When it looked to him that he could no longer pretend to be smoothing the wrinkles in the sheet, he closed his eyes and hung his head.

“Harry?”

“Draco, if you have been keeping something dangerous from me in a house that I have allowed my children to become comfortable in…”

An amused-sounding puff of breath was Draco's only response before he moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside Harry. Glancing up tentatively, Harry was surprised to note how open Draco's expression was. The reassurance he could see in the small smile Draco offered up was enough for him to begin to relax a little, but not quite enough for the tension to completely leave him.

“Considering how much I fought both you and Astoria last night, do you honestly believe that I would keep something dangerous in the house with Scorp around?”

“I…” Harry shook his head before running a hand through his hair. “No. Sorry. I, er, I guess with everything that’s been happening…”

“You’ve reverted to Auror-mode?”

Harry let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I have.” He sighed as he stretched, flexing tense muscles before lying back against his pillows. “What’s in the box?”

Shifting so he was facing Harry, Draco carefully placed the box on the bed between them. “Promise me.”

“I swear that whatever is in that box will stay between the two of us,” Harry responded with what he considered to be an admirable amount of patience.

Draco eyed him for a few seconds, seeming to be measuring him against something before running his fingers along the lip of the lid, pushing it upwards. “My Mother took a series of photographs of the Black family heirlooms that still remained in the Manor before the Ministry came to collect and destroy them all. Many of them were hidden in safes or secret rooms throughout the house, but she thinks she got them all along with what each did and the consequences of activating them. She’s still under the impression, even now, that if anyone finds out that she has allowed the Ministry to destroy what could be considered precious antiques that held a magical quality to them, then she could be endangering her family.”

The lid popped off with a quiet swish of cardboard on cardboard. Curiosity rushed through Harry’s veins, causing him to lean forward so he could get a look at the photographs. He hadn’t bothered finding out exactly what it was that they had cleared out during the sweep of Grimmauld Place, so he had no idea of what to expect to see. What he hadn’t expected to see, however, was a picture of a piece of lace sitting harmlessly on top of a dresser. He sighed.

“Draco,” he began slowly, his voice soft. “That’s a doily.” The smirk Draco shot him in response had Harry narrowing his eyes.

“That doily as you deem it, Potter, is rumoured to have played a significant role in the poisoning deaths of a number of British Ministry workers and one Minister for Magic.”

Harry couldn’t help the laugh he let out, but it didn’t last long when he realised that Draco was just sitting there watching him with the same small smile that he had entered the room with. “No. No, that can’t be true! You can’t expect me to believe that one of your ancestors actually managed to poison a Minister for Magic by just cursing a doily.”

Draco's smile widened a little. “I knew you wouldn’t want to believe me. Unfortunately, I have no solid proof, just the rumours passed down through the generations of Blacks.”

“Unfortunately,” Harry murmured, shaking his head in denial. “So what does it supposedly do?”

He cocked an eyebrow when Draco silently handed the photograph over. Running his fingers over the edges, he flipped it so he could read the rows of neatly slanted writing on the back.

Lace doily, C. 1823.

Original owner: Odelina Black.

An undetectable curse was placed on the cotton before the doily was crocheted; one that could only be activated by the presence of a very specific liquid. Once the liquid made contact with any part of the doily, the curse was activated, sending poisonous spores into the air that cut the ability to breathe of anyone who inhaled them, eventually leading to suffocation.

Reported use: The deaths of a number of high-ranking officials and one Minister for Magic. The spores activated and killed anyone within their radius within a matter of hours.

Harry sat and stared down at the photograph for a long time, trying to comprehend what he had just read. One of Draco's ancestors had supposedly played a part in the death of a Minister. Not that he was really surprised by such a turn of events, but to be confronted with what appeared to be proof like this was a little overwhelming. He jumped when Draco cleared his throat.

“Harry?”

“I… Um… Why are you showing me this?”

His gaze lifted from the photograph to meet Draco's eyes. The smile that Draco had been wearing was no longer evident, replaced with the small crease between his eyebrows that Harry had come to associate with him thinking hard about something.

“Mother had to take this doily out of the locked display cabinet it had been in for decades and actually hand it over to the Ministry officials who searched the Manor after the end of the War. Their methods couldn’t detect any trace of Dark magic about it, firstly because of its age and secondly because of the method used when the cotton of the doily was cursed. Everything in this box is the same: antiques and heirlooms from the Black side of the family that she had to physically hand over because the curses on them were undetectable, even by the methods used twenty years ago.” Draco paused long enough to dig through the box and drag out another photo. “Do you recognise this?”

Harry took the picture from him with apprehension running through his veins. When he dropped his eyes to take a look at what the picture was of, he couldn’t help blinking in surprise.

“This is one of the cups from a tea set that Bill and I cleared out after the War. It tried to spurt boiling water at me when I opened the cabinet it was in.” He ran a hand unconsciously over his left shoulder, where the water had been aimed, knowing that if his reflexes hadn’t been what they had been back then, he would currently have a burn mark from cursed water on his shoulder. “There was more of the set?”

“No,” Draco responded quietly, causing Harry to look up at him again. “That was all that was left of this particular set by the end of the War. When the Manor was being used by Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters, some of them got into the cabinet the set was in and destroyed it when they copped a face full of boiling water. This one cup escaped with a small chip to the rim when Bellatrix heard the sound and caught them smashing it. The set was luckier than the men.”

Harry had to suppress a shudder at the thought of what Bellatrix likely had done to the men she had caught destroying a part of her family heritage. The sound of Draco taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly had Harry reaching for him automatically.

“Dray–”

“No, no; I’m good.” Draco held a hand out to stop Harry from moving towards him. “I’ve mostly come to terms with what I saw during the War. My Aunt was… She was one of those people who forced you to confront the things that made you squeamish, or that scared you, believing that it made you stronger. I think that that actually worked for me when she flayed those men alive in front of me. Or, at least, it prepared me for what was to come, considering he had yet to make many appearances at that time.”

He had to watch Bellatrix flay men alive?

Completely ignoring Draco's still-outstretched hand, Harry moved to scoop him into his arms. Draco let out what sounded like a surprised huff of breath as Harry wrapped one arm around his waist and tangled the fingers of the other hand through his hair, forcing him to meet his eyes.

“Harry?”

Watching as a touch of uneasiness entered Draco's eyes, Harry slipped the hand in Draco’s hair around to brush against his cheekbone. “I’m incredibly lucky to have you, you know.”

He grinned when a dark blush began to spread over Draco's cheeks, but didn’t give him a chance to move away. Leaning in, he sealed their lips together in a soft kiss. He could feel the heat radiating out from Draco's cheeks and it only urged him onwards, his tongue entering Draco's mouth with ease when Draco opened for him. The scent of the lingering musk from their night together combined with the smell of Harry’s own aftershave wafting up from the collar of the shirt Draco wore sent Harry’s mind spinning a little, but he knew that they had to finish the conversation before he could continue with any of the thoughts that were running through his mind. He reluctantly broke the kiss and pulled back a little.

“Harry?” Draco's voice cracked, causing Harry to grin. “What, uh…”

“Do you think you might be able to recognise some of these kinds of curses in Grimmauld? If they still exist there, I mean.”

Draco blinked a few times before shaking his head. “Right... Right. Curses.” He shook his head when Harry – unable to help himself – brushed his fingers over his cheekbone again. “Stop that; let me focus.”

Harry moved far enough away on the bed to allow Draco some breathing room, but not so far that he couldn’t still reach out to distract him whenever he wanted to. The next hour or so were spent with Draco describing what he knew about each of the objects in the photographs, filling Harry in on the little details that weren’t included in the descriptions on the backs of the pictures. Harry vaguely recognised some of the items as being things that he and Bill had collected and had destroyed or ‘broken’, as per Bill’s job. Others he knew were still sitting in Grimmauld in boxes in the attic, because they had been unsure of their true use, so they had locked them up with strong shields around the boxes, just in case. By the time Draco had come to the end of the photographs, the sun had risen properly. Harry knew that the children would be up by that time of day, but he found himself incredibly reluctant to leave the bed. Running his fingers over the back of Draco's hand as he closed the lid on the box, he smiled.

“So am I to take this as meaning that I’m not allowed to tell you that you can’t be there when we search the house?”

His stomach fluttered when Draco returned the smile, sending a shiver straight through him. Draco sent the box hovering over to land safely on the dresser across the room before responding.

“Of course that’s what it means, you dolt.”

Harry let out a surprised gasp when Draco grabbed his wrist and dragged him over towards him. It took a little manoeuvring, considering the fact that Draco was still sat on the edge of the bed, but he eventually managed to get himself settled in Draco's lap, one leg either side of his hips.

“I told you last night that you’re not doing this without me and I meant it.”

With that, Draco dragged Harry down into a kiss that seemed a little frantic to Harry. Running his hands down Draco's sides caused Draco to puff out a breathy sound almost – but not quite – like a moan. Rocking his hips forward told Harry everything he needed to know: Draco was hard in his trousers; hard enough to make Harry wonder exactly how long he had been waiting. Slipping a hand down in between them, Harry gave Draco's cock a squeeze, testing out just how far gone he already was. Draco broke the kiss with a loud groan.

“Harry…”

Draco's eyes were glazed when they opened, causing Harry to grin. “It’s alright, Dray; I’ve got you.”

Sliding off Draco's lap backwards, Harry fell to his knees before him. He could feel Draco's eyes on him as he slid his hands along the length of Draco's thighs, kneading the tense muscles there. Locking eyes with Draco as he leant in closer, Harry couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across his face.

“I–” Whatever Draco had been about to say was lost in a hiss of breath as Harry began mouthing his fabric-covered cock, sucking gently and humming every now and then. “Fuck…”

The whispered expletive had Harry chuckling which, in turn, had Draco swearing even more. He knew that what he was doing was nowhere near enough to make Draco come, but working him up like this was something that Harry had discovered he quite enjoyed. Making Draco moan and squirm gave him such an endorphin rush that he usually ended these little interludes so worked up that he hardly needed touching before he found his own release. Draco's hands landing in his hair had Harry chuckling again.

“Harry,” Draco huffed out. “Harry, please, I need… I need you…”

Whether that was the full extent of what Draco was trying to say or not, Harry never found out. He had no idea if Draco did it on purpose or not, but the trousers Harry was creating a wet spot in the front of Vanished, leaving Draco hard and completely exposed in front of him. Draco’s hands tightened in Harry’s hair and his thighs spread a little wider in an obvious attempt to give Harry more room to move closer. Taking the invitation, Harry took a deep breath and huffed it out over the base of Draco's cock.

“Please, Harry…”

Following the guidance of Draco's hands in his hair, Harry moved up so his lips were just barely brushing the head of Draco's cock. “Draco.”

“Fuck… What?”

“Look at me.”

Harry waited until Draco's glassy eyes connected with his again before opening his mouth and taking the tip in between his lips. Being the centre of Draco's attention while he sucked him slowly into his mouth was one of the most thrilling things that Harry had ever experienced and this time was no different.

It wasn’t long before he couldn’t resist Draco's quiet moans and half-uttered words and increased his pace. A quickly murmured charm gave Harry a handful of lube so he could stroke his hand along Draco's shaft, wanting to be able to keep eye contact with him as he lost control. He continued the steady pressure of his lips on the head of Draco's cock, knowing that this was one of the fastest ways of getting Draco off. When Draco was moaning with each breath and his hips jerking uncontrollably, Harry slipped his other hand down to massage Draco's sac, squeezing his balls just hard enough to tip him over the edge. Draco's hands clenched in Harry’s hair as he let out a loud, incoherent string of syllables. Harry managed to swallow most of the jets of hot cum Draco shot into his mouth and charmed the rest away before moving so he was straddling Draco's hips again.

“Draco…”

He stretched the vowels out, enjoying the shiver that went through Draco's body beneath him. Leaning in, he captured Draco's lips in a heated kiss as Draco's hand closed around his by now throbbing cock. Harry knew that it wouldn’t take much for him to find his release and rocked his hips forward in order to get there that much faster. With Draco's hand twisting and squeezing his cock and his tongue exploring all over his mouth, Harry allowed himself to become lost in the sensations. His hips jerked, sending his head spinning with desire.

“Dray…”

“Come for me, Harry.”

Jerking his hips forward into Draco's hand a few more times, Harry obeyed Draco's command. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his body spasmed with an orgasm that threatened to take his consciousness with it. When he next came to, it was to find that Draco had moved them both to the top of the bed on the pillows.

“Draco?”

“The kids are all fine with Astoria; I checked while you were asleep.”

Blinking in the bright sunlight that shone around the curtains, Harry frowned. “What’s the time?”

“Nearly lunch.”

“What?” He scowled when Draco prevented him from sitting up. “You let me sleep the entire morning?”

“You obviously needed it.”

The reasonable tone to Draco's voice had Harry glaring at him when he moved to hover over him. “Did you forget that I needed to see Kingsley this morning?”

“No, of course not.” Draco waved a hand through the air as though to dismiss the idea. “We have an appointment with him this afternoon. Tori said she is more than happy to stay here and keep a watch over the kids.”

“‘We’.” Harry sighed.

“Yes, Potter, I have already told you that you aren’t doing this without me.”

Shaking his head, Harry reached up to brush his fingers through Draco's hair. “Thank you.” He grinned when Draco raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, if I can’t convince you to stay here where you’re safe, then I may as well have you with me rather than risking having you running off on your own.”

“You make me sound like a puppy.”

Harry’s grin widened. “Well, that’s a kink you’ve never mentioned before…”

He laughed when Draco dug his knuckle into his ribcage. Circling his arms around Draco above him, Harry pulled him close, thinking that he had been right earlier when he had told Draco just how lucky he was to have him.
- 22
- 23
- 24
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Optimal Balance