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For Their Unconquerable Souls	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 29229 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 23
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Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter
Twenty-Four�What Is Tolerable

�� Draco
leaned against the wall and gnawed on a knuckle. Harry had insisted on stopping
by Number Twelve Grimmauld Place so that he could speak to his friends. Draco
had to agree that they deserved to know what had happened to Harry in hospital,
especially if their enemies decided to go after Weasley and Granger in
retaliation for Harry�s actions.

�� And so far,
he had even managed to fight the temptation to listen in.

�� Draco.�

�� He started
and looked up. His mother stood in front of him, holding one fold of her robes
in hand. She narrowed her eyes as she studied him, but what she found that was
objectionable, Draco couldn�t reckon.

�� You know
we must be careful of Harry when we have him back in the Manor,� she cautioned
him. �We do not want to alienate him again.�

�� Do you
think it would be that easy, when he�s accepted that we care for him?� Draco
smiled at his mother. �Revealing that we liked him was a stroke of genius, by
the way. That matters to him more right now than love, which I don�t think he
would believe in, anyway.�

�� Narcissa
moved one hand in a deprecating gesture, but Draco could make out the faint
blush along her cheeks. �Perhaps it was,� she said, �but yes, we could still
lose him, Draco. At the moment, he is in an extremely fragile state, uncertain
whom to trust�uncertain, perhaps, that there is any secure place whereon to rest his trust. We must
encourage the strength of his attachments to us, and not their fragility.� Her
eyes grew so sharp that Draco couldn�t turn away, as if they were sticking him
to the wall like the pins that Muggles stuck through insects. �That is why we
cannot risk another argument like the one that you had with him.�

�� It was
difficult, but Draco managed to incline his head. �Yes. I know that.�

�� Do you?�
Narcissa laid her free hand on her hip and surveyed him slowly. �I would have
thought you had known it in the first place, but that did not prevent you from
driving him away once.�

�� Draco
licked his lips. He was glad, now, that Harry had left them alone for a time,
because he thought the brand of embarrassment on his face would leave permanent
marks there. �Mother.�

�� Yes?�

�� Draco
stiffened under her continually cold
tone. He managed to recall his pride and reach down for it where it lurked at
the bottom of his heart. And at last he was standing straight and meeting her
eye-to-eye, exactly as if he had nothing to be ashamed of at all.

�� I made a
mistake,� he said. �But I was also part of the reason that we won him back. I
wish that you would not chastise me for a fault that I have made up for.�

�� Narcissa
studied him with shadowed eyes for a moment. Then she said, �Made up for, but
not mastered. I would make sure that it does not happen again.�

�� I can
control my impulse to tell Harry what I think of his dashing into danger,�
Draco said dryly.

�� And how
will you do that?�

�� By making
our home so attractive for him that he will have fewer impulses to do so,� said
Draco. �By ensuring that he thinks more of healing Lucius and less of risking
himself for the sake of other people. I know much more about Potions than he
does. He will need my help to research dreambane.�

�� Narcissa�s
eyes were still shadowed. �And you think that will be enough?�

�� If it�s
not,� Draco said, and he knew his breath was coming heavy and his eyes were
flashing but he didn�t care, �then I�ll do something else. I do mean to win and keep him, Mother, and
I�ll do all that�s graceful and right and balanced in the pursuit of him. I
don�t need my mother, who�s not the one doing the courting, telling me how to
go about it.�

�� A moment
later, he feared he had gone too far. Narcissa�s face was pale, and her eyes
were traveling raptly over him, as if she expected to see something alien and
ugly there. But he had had to say it.

�� He was
sorry for what he had done. That did not include, however, giving apologies to
anyone but Harry, especially since he did not think apologies would stop the
ice-edged words that his mother was flinging at him. He held her gaze and
neither flinched or looked away.

*

�� Narcissa
held Draco�s gaze with the stillness and shock he would expect of her after an
outburst like that, but inside, within the secret places of her heart that
neither Lucius nor Draco would ever see, she held pride.

�� This is what he needs. He cannot yield to
Harry too simply, because yielding will not capture the attention of someone
like Harry Potter. He needs the strength and resolve to stand up to him and
seduce him at the same time, and if it is anger at me that must fuel that
strength, so be it.

�� It was a
crude method, and so one that Narcissa would have ordinarily disdained. But
they had little time before Harry came back from his conversation with his
friends. Narcissa did not think Weasley and Granger deficient in understanding,
whatever Draco might contend. They would understand almost at once that Harry
was putting himself in danger, or had been in danger in the recent past, and
they might well collaborate in trying to dissuade Harry from spending any more
time with the Malfoys.

�� You must hold stern against the disapproval
of the world, Draco, which will not want to see the Chosen
One dating a former Death Eater and the son of a Death Eater, she thought,
gazing at Draco. I know you can do that.
But you will also need to hold firm against the persuasions of his friends, and
against Harry�s exasperating tendencies, and against the way that your father
and I will try to make things better between you but will end by making things
worse because we do not understand enough about your relationship.

�� I will give you the strength to do that. I
will give you the strength to foil us in my saner moments, even if I change my
mind afterwards.

�� No greater gift can I give.

*

�� To Draco it
seemed like months before Harry descended from the first floor of Number Twelve
Grimmauld Place, his face pale and quiet, thoughtful. He took his arm and
guided him out the door, clinging close as if he merely wanted to breathe
Harry�s scent. He thought that Harry would find his real, doubled
motives�supporting Harry in case he fell and making sure he didn�t get
away�insulting.

�� Nevertheless,
they were there. Draco had no intention of letting either happen, ever. The
thought of Harry dead had fired his nerves, and then he understood in ice-sharp
clarity what he was feeling.

�� I can�t bear to let him come close to death
again, if only for the sake of my sanity.

�� Harry took
the Side-Along Apparition well, but swayed a little as they came through the front
doors of the Manor. Draco had expected that, and moved closer to him so that,
if he collapsed, he would collapse into Draco�s arms. Instead, Harry adjusted
his stride, as if he was used to walking about with wounds and his movements to
soothe pain or live with injuries had become instinctive.

�� Draco
refrained from grinding his teeth, but it was a near thing. Must he do anything rather than ask for
help?

�� Of course, with a childhood like the one he
appears to have had in the Muggles� untender care, perhaps
it is not so surprising.

�� Draco
considered that in the moment before a house-elf appeared and his mother turned
aside to speak with it. But no less
exasperating, he decided. That means
that I still have the right to get offended and upset by Harry�s behavior, as
long as I don�t show it in a way that drives him away.

�� Narcissa
turned back, a faint smile on her face that was, according to Draco�s expertise
in reading his mother, real. �The elves spiked his soup with a sleeping
draught,� she said, and Draco blinked for a moment before he realized that she
was speaking of Lucius instead of having plucked his secret plans for Harry out
of his mind. �He�ll be abed until noon at least. You should return to your
rooms.� She hesitated, one hand touching the side of her skirt. �That is,� she
murmured, �if you would not like us to move your rooms.�

�� Draco took
in her downcast gaze, the way her lashes fluttered around her eyes, and the
pulse beating in her throat, and wanted to laugh. Perfect, Mother. You couldn�t have conjured an image that Harry would
less want to violate. He�ll still be vulnerable from that confrontation we had
in hospital, but as anxious not to injure.

�� The
location was never a problem,� Harry said. His voice was stiff and
uncomfortable, and he had half-extended one hand to Narcissa, before hesitating
and dropping it back to his side. Draco wondered why. Perhaps he feared to
offer assistance when that would remind them that he was injured, too, but
Draco didn�t think he could trust that much in Harry�s good sense.

�� Would you
prefer a different set?� Draco asked. He draped one arm around Harry�s
shoulders and drew him close, the better to check Harry�s balance and comfort
himself with the sensation of warm life at once. �That�s what she means. We
didn�t consult your choice when we put you in those rooms, and I remember the
decorating scheme bothers you.� He began to stroke the small of Harry�s back,
and was rewarded by seeing a gentle flutter in his eyelashes, as if he were
fighting sleep.

�� Fighting it, of course. But at least he can
respond to soothing gestures.

�� I�no,
thank you,� Harry said, and however graceful his face was, his voice was
stumbling and awkward. Draco thought he could reckon his thoughts. Perhaps he
would have preferred a different set of rooms when he first entered the house,
but he hadn�t been offered the choice, and now he didn�t want to cause trouble
by asking for extra ones.

�� Harry
didn�t know that Draco was practically reading his thoughts at this point,
though, so he bit his lip and tried earnestly to explain. �It bothered me
because I wasn�t used to it,� he said. �And because I had to wonder about your
motives.�

�� He is very honest, Draco had to admit. It�s hard to imagine hidden motives
there�but of course there are the motives hidden even from himself, like that
wish for unconditional love when at the same time he�s always seeking out the
conditions placed on it.

�� His mother
looked up at Harry, with a melting, confiding look that Draco could last
remember her wearing in sincerity when he was about four years old. �I trust
you know them better now?� she whispered.

�� Harry
trembled a little, which Draco could feel through the arm around his shoulders,
and swallowed. �Yeah, I do,� he said. His chin jerked once or twice, as if he
thought about lowering his head and looking away from Narcissa�s gaze, but in
the end his eyes stayed steady, locked to hers. �Thank you. The rooms are
beautiful. I�m sure I�ll get more used to them as time goes on.�

�� Draco
tightened his arm around his shoulders. Whether Harry realized it or not, his
words sounded like a promise to stay in the Manor. From the abrupt look Harry
gave him a moment later, he hadn�t realized
it.

�� If you
want to join Father,� Draco said then, �I�ll make sure Harry reaches his bed
properly.�

�� His mother
leaned forwards, her eyes looking as steadily into his as they had a moment
before looked into Harry�s, and her hand touched his cheek. Draco understood
the silent message. You can trust
yourself to be alone with him now, and not say something stupid?

�� Draco
answered as strongly as he could, given that Harry was right there, with a slow
blink and a slight tilt of his head. A moment later, Narcissa had turned aside
and touched Harry�s cheek, then left up the main staircase, which at least
showed she was satisfied. Harry bit his lip as he stared after her, hand
trembling. He seemed to want to touch the spot on his face, as if he couldn�t
believe she had given him an affectionate gesture.

�� Draco made
another vow in that moment. By the time
I�m done with him, he�ll have come as near to taking them for granted as he
can.

�� He had
never felt such a strong compulsion to spoil
a lover before. Of course, most of the lovers he�d taken came from
pure-blood families near as rich as his, and so the exercise had been more one
of tempting a jaded palate. But to Harry, everything was new, and Draco wanted
to see him rejoice in it�if he could only persuade Harry that rejoicing was
permitted.

�� Of course,
Harry could take as much delight in the unelaborate
as the elaborate, and Draco wanted to give that to him if it was what he
actually wanted, as opposed to what he thought he should say he wanted for politeness�s sake. So, when Narcissa was out of sight, he
whispered into Harry�s hair. �If there was anything you felt uncomfortable
saying in front of her, you can say it now. Do you like the rooms? Would you
prefer something�� He hesitated a moment to find a word that wouldn�t sound
insulting, then reminded himself Harry was unlikely to see these words as
insulting. �Plainer? Simpler?�

�� Harry
yawned, making his nose crinkle and Draco feel as if he wanted to fall over,
and said, �At the moment, anything sounds good if it has a bed in it.�

�� Draco
smiled, brushed his fingers against Harry�s shoulder, and then guided them
towards the stairs. But Harry stopped when he�d put his foot on the bottom
stair, and his stern gaze made Draco�s smile falter.

�If you command Rogers to watch
over me that closely again,� Harry said, �or feed me like a baby, or try to
smother me with blankets, then it doesn�t really matter what sort of
relationship I might have with your parents. I�ll treat you as coldly as
politeness will permit me to, and I�ll curse you out of my bed if I find you in
it.�

Draco stared at him. For a moment,
he considered what restrictions Harry�s words didn�t cover, and wondered if he might be able to get away with
them. But Harry�s eyes sharpened, and Draco realized that his wavering had been
seen. He drove his fingers into his palms and nodded to Harry. �I understand.�

�Good,� Harry said, blinking a
little, as if he had thought he�d have to fight much harder to win any sort of
independence.

He blinked, and yawned, and leaned
against Draco as they made their way up the stairs. Draco kept himself from
wriggling or shouting in triumph by reminding himself that Harry might not
realize what he was doing. He didn�t want to disrupt the precious warmth or the
trust that Harry seemed to have in him.

In fact, he realized suddenly, the
thought that Harry might stop trusting him again at some point in the future
was actively painful.

I
only wish I had some better idea what he was thinking, and whether he would
feel the same way if I showed my mistrust of him, he thought, looking down
into Harry�s face.

*

�� Draco saw Rogers as they stepped
into Harry�s bedroom. He propped Harry against the wall, hoping that wouldn�t
make him feel like a piece of broken furniture, and dropped to one knee in
front of Rogers.
The elf contracted his ears and hissed like a cat; he hated even the appearance
of a Master submitting to him.

�� At the
moment, Draco didn�t care. He needed to show Harry how sorry he was for his
mistakes of the past, and that they would not be repeated, no matter the
temptation.

�� I countermand
the orders I gave you before,� he said. �You�re to ensure only that Harry
doesn�t come to extraordinary harm, like any other inhabitant of the house, and
not to harass him with food or sleep or protection when he doesn�t want it.�

�� There. How can he object to anything in that
spiel?

�Master Harry Potter is needing
something else at the moment,� Rogers
said, sniffing the air and peering at Harry. As usual with orders he didn�t
like, he gave no sign of acknowledgment, though Draco knew he would obey implicitly.
�Master Harry Potter has been walking around without the healing potions he
needs, because Master Harry Potter is being an idiot.�

Draco whirled to his feet
immediately; he didn�t even remember the individual muscle movements that
caused him to rise. The panic that had seized his throat was that sudden and
that sure. Harry blinked at him as if he didn�t understand what the fuss was
about.

Bloody
Merlin, Harry. I thought you had only minor injuries, not ones that required
potions. Why didn�t you get yourself Healed, since you were in hospital, of all
places?

�You�re hurt?� he demanded, and
went to Harry�s side. �Why didn�t you say so before I dragged you up all those
stairs? Harry��

His voice trailed off. He couldn�t
think of anything else to say that would convey his anguish at perhaps having
increased Harry�s pain, and he couldn�t touch Harry anywhere in case he
aggravated the hidden injuries.

Harry blinked at Rogers. �I had curses cast at me, but I was
healed of the wounds,� he said. �I really don�t know what you mean.�

Rogers crossed his arms. �Rogers can be smelling the lingering of the
Breath-Stealing Charm in the air,� he said flatly. �It damages the lungs
without a healing potion. And Master Harry Potter is not to be damaging his
lungs in Rogers�s
house.� He looked at Harry as coolly as he�d regarded Draco�s occasional pet
Kneazle when it urinated in the Manor.

�I never learned that,� said Harry,
his shoulders tightening again. �And I�m sure the Healer who took care of me
would have noticed the effects of the curse and made sure I got a healing
potion, if I needed one.� His voice had an intolerably prissy sound at that
moment, Draco thought, his heart thudding irregularly between irritation and
love, as though what the Healer he had consulted didn�t know wasn�t worth
knowing.

�You have no friends in that
hospital, Harry,� Draco said briskly, and then nodded at Rogers. �The Breath-Stealing Charm. Precisely
what are its effects? I have several healing potions that may work on his
lungs, but I don�t want to select one too strong.� In reality, he thought he
knew which one would work best, but he wasn�t going to presume on his Potions
expertise in front of Harry. Showing that he could be humble and seek the
counsel of others would help Harry to decide that he could trust him.

�Master Draco is being
disingenuous,� said Rogers,
and flicked him a glance that made Draco flinch. Luckily, Harry didn�t seem to
take any notice, at least not through any gesture more violent than the twitch
of an eyelid. �And also behind in his studies, if he does not recognize this
charm. It forces the lungs to stop working. It steals the breath from the
body.� He shook his head at Harry. �Master Harry Potter is determined to die
where Rogers
cannot be watching him.�

�I managed to stop it in time,�
said Harry, but his words limped. He was looking at Draco, and for the first
time, Draco thought he could see discomfort and remorse in his eyes. He seemed
to recognize, finally, that someone who was not one of his friends or this
mysterious Healer he trusted might care about him.

Draco didn�t say anything for long
moments, because he didn�t trust his voice not to quiver traitorously. He
reached out and trailed his fingers in random stretches across Harry�s face.
Scar, nose, eyes, stubborn chin�they might all have gone the way of dust and
Voldemort if Rogers
had not said something.

�Do you know who they were?� he
asked at last, when he could trust himself not to curse the air.

�No,� Harry said. �A group of
wizards and witches wearing dark blue robes, who vanished together with a spell
that surrounded them with mist and definitely shouldn�t have worked in
hospital.�

That
much confirms what Lucius�s messenger said. I think he�s telling the truth.

�Hmm,� Draco said, and breathed out
the sound so that he could reassure Harry. Thoughts of bloody vengeance would
not be soothing to Harry at the moment.

The soothing must have been more
effective than he thought. Harry sat down on the bed as if he had finally
decided to admit his weakness and stared at Draco. Draco touched his ears,
needing one final reassurance himself that Harry had escaped with those
unclipped. Then he gently tilted Harry�s head to the side, kissed the corner of
his jaw, and stood.

�� I have a potion that should work to
ease the damage to your lungs,� he said. �Stay sitting if you can, Harry. You
shouldn�t exert yourself more than you have to.� And he left for his potions
lab.

��

He did not linger long there,
deliberately; God knew what Harry would take it into his head to do the moment
he was alone. And he did know which
potion was the most effective. Perhaps it was not the best trick to lie in
front of a house-elf, he thought wryly, as he seized it from the shelf and sped
back to Harry�s rooms.

�� Here�s the potion.�

Harry was lying back on the
pillows, his eyes opening reluctantly. Draco stood still for a moment, looking
at him. It seemed as though it were the most precious thing in the world, that
he�d been privileged to see Harry�s weakness.

Harry gave a small sigh, as though
he found his inability to sit up irritating but didn�t want to complain about
it now. �Help me drink it, please?� he said.

�� Draco had to wait long moments
before he could subdue the wondering tremor in his limbs�Harry asking for help�and go forwards. He wrapped an arm
around Harry�s shoulders, the way he�d done in the entrance hall of the Manor,
and lifted him away from the pillows. Harry gave a whinge,
as if he actually mourned the loss of comfort, but opened his mouth for the
potion obediently, and swallowed all of it.

�At least, maybe they are,� Harry
mumbled. �And I wouldn�t know because I never passed my Potions exam.�

The
potion�s taken him. And Draco at last felt safe to say the words he had
repressed so far, because he knew Harry wouldn�t resent them under the sway of
the potion as he would if he were totally conscious.

�I like doing this,� he murmured.
He tried to raise his voice, but it stayed at the same level, as if he knew by
instinct what the best volume was. �Helping you do those things you ask me to
and can�t do for yourself. I�ll help you pass your Potions exam if you ask.� He
swept Harry�s hair away and kissed the back of his neck. That won him a smile.
Draco pulled back slowly, reluctant to leave and yet not wishing to push Harry
further than he was comfortable with. �Hanging the mirror didn�t work so well
to convince you you�re beautiful, but we�ll work on that later.�

�You like this?� Harry blinked at
him and rolled his neck from side to side in inquiry.

�I like doing things for anyone I
like,� Draco said, somewhat defiantly, because he wasn�t about to let Harry
start up with what a burden he found himself. �And now you have me talking like
you. Merlin.� His arms tightened, and he nuzzled his way into Harry�s hair,
soaking in bursts of scent from his skin and not ashamed to admit it, now. �I
was furious when I realized where you had gone, and then more frantic as time
passed and I didn�t hear from you. And I didn�t come after you until the Patronus came because of my stupid pride, and because I
didn�t want to tell Mother why you�d left in the first place.� That was not entirely how things had happened, but it
was true that he�d taken longer telling Narcissa the truth in a coherent manner
than he should have, and it was what he felt probably should be true. His
stupid pride had been the cause of this as much as Harry�s stupid pride.

�I was all right,� Harry said.

�You could have died!� Draco�s
voice snapped in spite of himself. He stopped, panting, and then said, �But you
let me do this for you, take care of you like this. I don�t understand why,
but�thank you. It makes me feel better.�

Terror clawed at him a moment
later. He was revealing so much of himself, and for what? Could he even be sure
that Harry would respond to the revelation as he was intended to do, instead of
protesting against the care?

And then Harry said, �I�m sorry for
leaving so abruptly,� and Draco began to breathe again. �But I don�t think
there�s anything else I could have done. You were wrong.�

�Not about the danger.� Draco would
not let Harry forget that.

Harry yawned. �You got that right
by accident.�

�Yes,� Draco whispered, and kissed
him again.

Harry lay pliant beneath him, mouth
open and tongue tangling lazily around Draco�s. Draco sated his longing to kiss
him at last, running a hand over his face and licking and lipping
at the corners of Harry�s mouth and at his gums. Once he tangled his hand
rather harshly through Harry�s hair, but that won him only a low, drugged moan.

And then Draco found himself
babbling, rather as if he were under the potion and not Harry.

�I want you. I like being near you.
I wish I saw you laugh and smile more often. I wish you cared as much about
healing yourself as you do about healing other people. I�ll do what I can to
help with that healing. You don�t know�you don�t know how much you�ve changed
the house, the family, just by being with us for a few days. I like you because
you make me feel alive with the constant challenge. I can think of other things
besides just Father�s illness, which would be all that was on my mind if you
weren�t here, and studying for my Potions mastery.

�I�d missed Hogwarts, do you know
that? Missed the challenge that came from Quidditch games, missed studying
other subjects, missed having friends who were less smart than I was to care
for and lead around by the nostrils. You�ve given me something of that back
again, but now I�m an adult and can appreciate it properly. And of course I do
look forwards to having you about for other reasons. You�re beautiful, Harry. I
want to see what you can do when you�re in a stronger position and can take
care of me. Do you know, I think
you�re the first person I could ever have genuinely fallen in love with? I
never thought I would have what Father and Mother have, and here you are.�

Draco realized then, from Harry�s
gentle breathing, that he was asleep. He didn�t care. He�d needed this release
as much as Harry did.

He lowered his head and continued
speaking the words into Harry�s hair, words of wonder, words of love.

*

Sara: Thanks for reviewing.

Michelle Wolf: Glad you think so.
Hopefully Draco is just as persuasive here.

hieisdragoness18: Yes. They�re not
completely there yet, but they�re slowly moving closer.

linagabriev:
Thank you! They�ll continue trying to be honest but at the same time true to
themselves. Draco does intend to do more for Harry than Harry specifically asks
for, for instance.

I haven�t yet decided what way
Draco�s vengeance on the Dursleys will go, but at the
moment, he definitely does want to
take it.

DTDY: Thank you!

Ellie: Thank you! The Malfoys�
notice is making the story longer and longer, actually; I have to spend a lot
more time on their introspection and reasoning than I ever had to on Harry�s.

Thrnbrooke:
Here it is!

��
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For Their Unconquerable Souls