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The Stag and The Snake	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9713 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
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Chapter 11 – Life Less Frightening

Though Draco was in a considerable amount of pain, he had things to do. Lying in Harry's magically stretched out bed next to his unconscious lover, Draco was propped up next to him with a self-inking quill and a small scroll of parchment. Hedwig was perched expectantly upon his knee, her round amber eyes never leaving Harry's still form. Using an old book as a makeshift desk, he wrote a short note, smirking to himself.

I owe you the biggest 'I told you so' ever.

Draco clicked his tongue, and Hedwig refocused her gaze on him. He folded up and addressed the note, and held it out to her apprehensively. “Do you think you could take this to Ron and Hermione Weasley-Granger?” Hedwig clicked her beak, eyeing him for a moment before plucking the parchment from his fingers and taking off through Harry's open window. He watched her disappear into the night with a self-satisfied smirk, then eased back into the pillows, wincing as he tried to move as little as possible.

Draco would have liked to have gone straight to St. Mungo's, but in hindsight he realized how bad of an idea that would have been. “There'd be a press firestorm,” Sirius had told him patiently as he settled Harry and Draco into the overlarge bed. “I'm fairly certain Harry isn't ready for so much media attention. We'll try to keep this quiet for as long as we can.” Draco was too exhausted to argue, and while Sirius drafted a letter to his parents, assuring them that he was alive, Remus contacted the Hogwarts Matron.

“What dangerous activity was he doing this time?” She sniped as she looked Harry over. Draco scowled at her, but the small quiver of a smile told him she was just as pleased as them at Harry's reappearance as they were. He was still only roughly patched up by Sirius, and had refused her treatment until after she had tended to Harry. Her wand twitched in her hand, muttering as she peeled back his eyelids, looked in his mouth, and checked his pulse.

Watching her now, in the warmth and out of the dark, that had it not been for the near-agonizing pain lancing through him with every small movement, the entire thing could have been a dream. The fingers that had held the sword twitched, and Draco shivered a little. The look of the light fading from Snape's eyes had freed Harry, but Draco still felt sickened with himself that he had been forced into taking a life. He had known of people who drew power and strength from murder, but the memory of it made Draco feel dirty. Shaking his head a little, he drew himself out of the immediate past and focused his attention on Madam Pomfrey, who was still awaiting an answer.

“He was cursed, then the curse, or, or something, it almost killed him.” By the look she shot at Draco, it was fairly obvious that he was not the first one to tell her this. While he did not like keeping her in the dark, the fact of the matter was that it was a curse that drew power from words, from sentiment. Draco, as well as Sirius and Remus felt that the less they directly reference the specific curse in question, the better. Madam Pomfrey turned back to her patient, tutting under her breath as she flicked her wand here and there, muttering about foolhardy Gryffindors and arrogant Slytherins.

“Harry will be fine, Mr Malfoy.” She said a few minutes later, straightening up. “Whatever curse that was laid upon him is completely gone,” she paused, frowning a little as she looked down at Harry. “But the strain it put on his mind and body was immense. I'm putting him in a magically-induced comatose state, this will give him time to heal without interruptions.” She eyed him, but when he did not speak, she pressed on. “The coma will last seven days, and he should wake naturally following that. Try to keep from disturbing him too much. When he wakes, he will still be quite weak. I suggest you curb any...” she cleared her throat, “...strenuous activity until after he fully recovers.” Draco felt himself go a little red, but he nodded.

His checkup under her skilled hand was far less unpleasant than he had expected it to be. After taking a number of potions to heal his internal damage, a salve was massaged into his outer wounds and his bandages changed, he already felt significantly better. “Make sure you remember to take this potion every twelve hours, Mr Malfoy,” she said, motioning to several vials of thin, honey-coloured liquid that she had left on the bedside table. He nodded mutely, and she smiled a little at him. “Do tell Mr Potter how wonderful it is to have him back when he wakes.”

She faltered for a moment, then pulled out a small, round bottle and set it on the table with the other potions. He recognized it at once as Dreamless Sleep potion. “I do not want to hear of you abusing this, Mr Malfoy,” she eyed him, as though debating whether or not it was wise to leave the second concoction with him. “You both have been through a terrible ordeal, but do not use this as a means of escape. Do I make myself clear?” Her tone left no room for argument. Silently, he nodded.

The Matron reached out and touched his shoulder gently, being careful to avoid his injuries. “Get some rest,” she smiled a little, and Draco found himself returning it. It was so good to be home. She extracted her hand and turned to leave, while Draco eased down into the warm folds of the duvet, and shifted closer to Harry. Twining his fingers with his unconscious lover, Draco was asleep almost at once.

~*~
“How are they looking Poppy?” Remus stepped forward nervously, and Sirius hung back with his arms crossed. He didn't trust himself to speak, at least not yet. He could still feel the aftereffects of the evening's events running through him—anguish, fear, relief. He was completely exhausted, and he feared saying too much to the woman. They only just got Harry back, he wasn't about to muck it up by blurting out too much information in his worn out state.
“They're both exhausted. Harry must have been through quite the ordeal.” She eyed them both when neither man filled in the blanks. “It would be helpful if you told me what curse Harry was put under, but as it is, there will be no permanent bodily harm. As for his mind...” She trailed off, frowning. “Whatever he went through, it may be some time before he is entirely himself again. You must be patient with him. The residual magical energy tells me it was something akin to a love spell, and that means it can be a safe assumption that he was assaulted in some form. Be very cautious about touching him without his consent. I do not know the extent of the damage he suffered, but all the same...” she trailed off with a frown. “Be careful.”

“I trust you won't tell anyone of Harry's return?” to Remus's words, she smiled faintly.

“Harry Potter is my patient. I would never betray his trust like that. In the case of Mr Malfoy, he is more physically damaged than I think he realizes. The curse that caused his internal bleeding is forcing the injuries to stay open, but the potion I dosed him with is slowly reversing the effects. Make sure he takes it every twelve hours. Provided he does not miss any doses, he will make a full recovery.” She stepped towards their fireplace and helped herself to a pinch of their Floo powder. “Give Lucius and Narcissa my regards,” she said by way of goodbye, and in an instant she was gone in a whirl of green flame.

Sirius felt himself relax a little, and he stepped towards Harry's door. Inside he could see the boys, fast asleep hand in hand. Harry was still and almost corpse-like, his chest rising and falling in a regular rhythm the only indication that he was not, in fact, dead. Draco was curled on his side, pressed as close to Harry as he could, without crowding him. The sight made Sirius's heart swell, and he closed the door quietly, then went to rejoin Remus. The werewolf looked as tired as he felt.

“How are they?” Sirius twined his fingers with Remus's when he was close enough to reach him. Remus led him to the sofa, and Sirius all but fell into it.

“It's like Madam Pomfrey said,” he tugged on Remus's hand until he sat next to him. “They're completely exhausted.” Sirius leaned his head back against the well worn upholstery. He felt as though he could happily sleep for ten years. His thoughts strayed back to the evenings events. It had happened barely four hours ago, but already it felt like a nightmare that they were all finally waking up from. The sight of Draco killing another, even one as twisted as Snape was still burned into his mind. He was certain the act was more traumatizing to the young man than he was letting on. Sirius stared up at the ceiling, still lost in thought.

An arm slipping around Sirius's waist jarred him from his memories and pulled him close. He pressed his head into Remus's shoulder with a relaxed sigh. How long had it been since they'd been close like this, with no fog of misery obstructing them? It felt longer than five years. The arm around his waist travelled up to his shoulders, and Remus began to absently toy with his hair, his gaze was trained upon the crackling fire in the grate. His intense look told Sirius that he too was going over the evening's events. Remus continued to absently toy with Sirius's hair, and the gentle touches made him feel as though he could melt into the sofa. Sirius couldn't remember the last time he had felt so relaxed.

“It doesn't feel over,” Remus muttered a few minutes later, his fingers still twisted in Sirius's hair. His gaze had not left the fire, though following his words Sirius saw him glance briefly to Harry's bedroom door, then back to the grate.

“Aftershock,” Sirius replied, reluctant to move from his position. “When Harry and Draco are up and about, you'll feel differently.”

“I suppose,” Remus frowned a little, “what did you tell Lucius?”

“Mostly? I told you so,” he chuckled to himself, and Remus rolled his eyes. “No, I said that Draco was badly injured but tended to and on the mend. Also that they could visit Draco tomorrow because they're both—” At that moment, his words were cut short as their fireplace flared green, and Lucius and Narcissa tumbled onto their rug. Sirius and Remus jumped to their feet in surprise.

“Where's Draco?” Narcissa demanded, her eyes wide and fearful, “what happened?” Her voice was getting close to hysterical, and he exchanged a worried look with Remus. The last thing they wanted was for her panic to wake Draco. He needed to rest. “Where is my son?” she strode forward, not even waiting for Lucius to compose himself, already drawing her wand on her cousin. Sirius threw up his hands in surprise, and he exchanged an nervous look with his Bonded.

“He's fine, Narcissa,” Remus said patiently, resting a hand on her arm and drawing her out of her panic-induced haze. Her eyes snapped to him, but his placid, gentle expression did not falter, nor did her fear and anger dissolve at his words. “He and Harry have been through a terrible ordeal. They're both resting.”

“I want to see my son,” she snapped while she glared at Remus, all but daring him to contradict her. When nobody moved, she snarled, “now.” Remus hesitated, then with a defeated shrug he escorted the Malfoys to Harry's room. Sirius watched them go with a frown, and summoned a pot of tea, cups, and biscuits from the kitchen. He didn't trust himself to conjure a platter like Remus's. Distantly he could hear the low thrum of Remus's voice, and the responding distraught tones of Narcissa and Lucius. He should have known better than to assume they'd wait until morning to see Draco, and while he did not like the Malfoys on the best of days, their love for their only child was endearing. He smiled a little while he waited for them.

When Remus returned with Lucius and Narcissa in tow, they looked distinctly ashen-faced. Remus and Sirius pressed them down into the free armchairs, and forced cups of strong tea into their hands, Narcissa's with a large dose of firewhisky added to it. The couple was very quiet, both staring down into their beverages in a state of numb shock. Sirius couldn't exactly blame them, it was difficult to see the two young men he'd watched grow up looking so grievously injured.

“What happened to them?” It was Lucius who spoke first, his eyes wide and more fearful than Sirius could ever recall seeing them. It was unsettling to sight, and for a moment, neither Sirius nor Remus spoke. Not telling Poppy was one thing, but Sirius knew that avoiding the truth with the Malfoys was absolutely not an option. It was a long moment before either of them ventured to speak.

Punctuating their words with forcing more food and drink on the Malfoys, the whole story came out. Harry being kidnapped by Snape, Draco finding him a handful of weeks earlier while out hunting with Lucius, their research about the curse, and the subsequent near-disaster of almost losing Harry for a second time. Remus finished the story when Sirius's voice decided to fail him. The images of Harry, so near death filled his mind's eye, and he felt a fresh wave of nauseous fear wash over him as he remembered that he had almost lost him—lost them both. They had been cautious to not name the curse in question, nor detail its effects. Perhaps he was being overly cautious, but Sirius had no desire to tempt the Fates.

“Your son was very brave,” Remus said, “he would not back down from Severus, and refused to give up or flee. If it wasn't for him, I doubt Harry would be with us now.” He paused, and exchanged a look with Sirius.

“He was very badly hurt,” Sirius said, resisting the urge to go into too much detail. The Malfoys may still be some of Sirius's least favourite people, but he could not bring himself to share more than they could presently handle. As it was, Narcissa looked close to tears, and Lucius had donned the cold expressionless visage Sirius rarely saw, though he recognized it as the man's way of coping with a deep emotional blow. “We contacted Poppy Pomfrey and she patched up the boys. Draco will be fine. He just needs rest, they both do.”

“Erm,” Remus began, exchanging a look with Sirius, as if asking permission for something. Sirius cocked a brow. What was Remus hinting at? “You can stay here if you like, until Draco wakes?”

“We appreciate the offer,” Lucius said with stiff, forced politeness, “but we would prefer that you contact us when he wakes.” He stood, pulling a reluctant Narcissa with him. Remus flared his nostrils in anger, but Sirius had to bite back a laugh. Was their home so decrepit that Lucius reallycouldn't bear to stay in it for one night? “I will have our house elf bring over some of Draco's things. I assume he will be reluctant to leave Mr Potter's side.”

“That would be putting it mildly,” Sirius replied with a small smirk.

Fifteen minutes later, Sirius and Remus watched the couple disappear in a flare of green flame, and they exchanged a look. “That went much better than I expected it would,” Sirius mused, sitting back on the sofa and dragging Remus with him. Remus all but fell into his lap, chuckling softly as he fell, a sound that sent a thrill of warmth through Sirius. His family was reunited, and he felt as though nothing could have made him happier in that moment.

Except...

Something about the glint in Remus's eye made him grin. It was look Sirius hadn't seen in a very long time, and it made him wonder if it was possible for his evening to get even better. Remus reached forward, twisted his fingers into Sirius's hair, and he pulled his Bonded in for a kiss, one with all the passion and demand that had all but been forgotten in the last five years. Sirius could barely contain his groan of desire.

“Come on,” Remus said, tugging him in the general direction of the bedrooms, “let's have a real celebration.”

Grinning, Sirius allowed himself to be led away.
~~ A/N: Wolfstar shippers, don't get your hopes up. I seem to have a mental block when it comes to wolfstar intimacy. There won't be any smut scene next chapter. I did try, but my brain seems to be incapable of doing the thing properly. So apologies for the vagueness and stuff. I know this is technically a spoiler, but I just don't want you guys getting too disappointed when I post the next chapter so, uh, yeah.
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The Stag and The Snake