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Soldier's Welcome	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 25565 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

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Chapter Twenty-Four�On
the Move

�� When Harry
walked into Dearborn�s class the next day�most of the instructors didn�t
require them to attend after the exams were finished, but of course Dearborn
had to be the exception and insist on a final �review� class�he saw Draco
talking to Catherine Arrowshot. Their heads were bent together, and from the
looks on their faces, what Harry could see of them, they were either arguing or
agreeing intensely.

�� There was
no reason for the stinging bile that flooded Harry�s mouth, or his sudden
inability to breathe, or the way he wanted to hit someone. There was no excuse for it. Draco could talk with
whoever he liked.

�� In fact, Harry thought, as he slowly
took a seat towards the front of the classroom and turned around so that he
couldn�t see Draco and Arrowshot anymore, he
needs more friends than just me. He still doesn�t have someone who will stay in
the same rooms with him. I would, but that would mean abandoning Ron. He still
doesn�t have people lining up to talk to him after class, no matter how
brilliant he is at the subject. He doesn�t have a study partner or someone who
will sit with him at meals, other than me.

�� I should be happy that he has someone who
doesn�t mind spending time around him, even if it�s only because they�re
discussing Nihil.

�� Harry
glanced at the door. No, Dearborn wasn�t coming in yet, which meant he could
dig his fingers into the desktop with no one to scold him. He hated showing
that much emotion in front of the Offensive and Defensive instructor. Dearborn
would always find some way to mock him for it, or to look at him and make him
feel as if it was a weakness.

�� I have no idea why Draco likes him so much. Harry
had to smile a bit, though, as he remembered how Draco would have done the same
kinds of things to him in Hogwarts if he could muster the coolness of
expression. Similar personalities, maybe.

�� Draco�s
laughter sounded from behind him. Harry heard more laughter, too, laughter he
assumed was Arrowshot�s. He hunched his shoulders and moved them defensively,
then stopped. He could hear Dearborn�s footsteps in the corridor, but more than
that, he was revolted by his own behavior.

�� He deserves to talk to anyone he wants. He needs
friends, I know that. It�s disgusting of
me to make any kind of a fuss about it.

�� Harry
almost relaxed when his irritation and jealousy turned into self-loathing. At
least he knew how to deal with that kind of thing since Draco had confronted
him about his conversation with Ginny.

�� I had thoughts that were stupid, but as long
as I don�t actually do anything
stupid, then it�s all right. Besides, I have Ron and Hermione as friends, and
Draco doesn�t object to them nearly as much anymore. I shouldn�t object to
Arrowshot.

�� Dearborn
walked in. Harry heard a rustle of robes as the students standing up and
talking to each other scuttled to their seats. He rearranged the quill and
parchment on his desk and told himself that he didn�t mind where Draco sat,
that he wasn�t waiting�

�� Draco
dropped into the chair beside him and raised an eyebrow at him, as if asking
why he had a half-sulky expression on his face. Harry relaxed and smiled back.

�� You should
know,� Dearborn�s voice began, �that the next term of Defensive and Offensive Magic
will be different from this one. You have learned the differences between them
and used them in duels against each other. Next term, you will have to combine
spells and use them in large-scale battles with three or four partners working
together. This is done to prevent two people�s magic from becoming so deeply
entwined that they can only function in pairs.� Harry frowned as he saw
Dearborn looking at him. �I will give you the names of several books that may
help you if you wish to begin preliminary study over the Christmas holidays��

�� Harry heard
the soft scratching of a quill from his left, and knew that Hermione was
already taking notes. Beside him, Draco folded his hands and raised his
eyebrows, as if he wanted to know what the book titles were before he would
bother writing them down.

�� Everything�s normal, Harry reassured
himself. See? It�s not going to change
anything if Draco has other friends.

�� He picked
up his own quill and parchment when Dearborn began to reel off the titles,
sounding as if he were naming old companions. There was probably no chance of
getting hold of them, since the trainees� library never had enough copies of
the required books for everyone, but on the other hand, he was staying at the
barracks over the Christmas holidays the way he used to stay at Hogwarts. He
might have a chance when most of the other trainees had gone home.

�� He had to
stay focused. He was here to become an Auror. There had to be other things in
his life besides Draco and who Draco was spending time with.

�� And if he
felt jealousy for any reason, it was up to him to conquer it and not let it
make him stupid.

*

�� You�ll be
coming to the Burrow for a few days, right, Harry?� Weasel�s voice was loud,
anxious, and unmistakable, even from a corridor away. Draco leaned his shoulder
on the wall and shook his head. Weasel was right to be anxious about Potter
refusing, since they�d been arguing most of the term.

�� I reckon,�
said Potter. Draco heard a few muffled thumps that were probably him throwing
clothes into a bag to travel�wherever his Muggle relatives lived. Or maybe he
was going to spend the holiday with Potter relatives, if he had any left.
�Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? And maybe Boxing Day, if no one minds.�

�� Who would mind?� A solid sound, as though the
Weasel had clapped Harry on the shoulder. Draco curled his lip. He always
clapped too hard; Draco had seen the bruises before.

�� Ginny,�
Potter said quietly.

�� An awkward
pause. Draco smiled sharply, bowing his head. You don�t have an answer to that one, do you, Weasel?

�� You have
as much right to be there as she does,� the Weasel said suddenly, fiercely.
�Come along if you want, Harry. And I�ll tell Mum to make sure that she doesn�t
seat you together.�

�� Potter
laughed. Draco strained his ears, but he couldn�t tell how much genuine
merriment was in his voice and how much was probably a contrivance for Weasel�s
sake. �All right, Ron. I�ll see you then, and probably sooner.� This time the
solid sound was, Draco thought, a clap on Weasel�s shoulder in return.

�� He waited
until he heard the Weasel�s footsteps leave before he rounded the corner. When
he peered through the door of the room, he blinked and wondered how he could so
have misinterpreted the noises. Potter wasn�t packed yet. Instead, he stood
frowning at a thick book, shaking his head as though he had found a theory he
disagreed with. Draco eyed the back of his neck. He hadn�t realized how long
Potter�s hair had grown. It lost some of its messiness as it sprawled towards
his shoulders, though it would never look as elegant as Draco�s did.

�� He cleared
his throat, since Potter was taking an unconscionably long time to notice him.
Potter started and looked up, but relaxed when he saw it was Draco.

�� I do that to him, Draco thought smugly
as he walked further into the room. Me. �Are
you ready to visit my mother?� he asked, running a critical eye up and down
Potter�s trainee robes. �No, of course you aren�t. Use a Cleaning Charm first.�

�� I thought
we were going tonight.� Potter put the heavy book down on his bed as if it had
hurt his hands. Draco rolled his eyes. Honestly, sometimes Potter seemed to
forget he was a wizard. Why not just use a Lightening Charm?

�� There�s no
reason to when we�re being allowed to leave the barracks anyway,� Draco said,
with a shrug. �When I told you that, I had heard rumors from the instructors
that they would extend our days here with extra meetings like the one that
Auror Dearborn wanted to have. Now I know they�re not going to.�

�� Potter
glanced at him with eyes that were brilliant and a mouth twitching with
laughter. �Why not just admit that you made a mistake, Draco?�

�� Because,�
Draco explained carefully, �I didn�t.� He could feel a smile lifting the
corners of his lips. Why that was happening, he couldn�t understand and perhaps
should not try to.

�� There�s no one else in the world I could see
myself joking with like this. Draco had never considered before whether a
lover should be able to make him laugh, because other traits had always come
first in his mind. But now, as his gaze lingered on Potter�s rolling eyes and
flushed face, he decided that the trait might be worth considering.

�� All
right,� Potter said. He turned towards the door of his rooms, leading Draco
along behind him, and then asked, in such a pointed tone there was no way he
could make it sound casual, the way he seemed to wish, �Oh�what were you
talking about with Arrowshot this morning?�

�� Draco
cocked an eyebrow. He deserved to get part of his own back since Potter had
seen fit to laugh at him. �Jealous, Harry?� He deepened his voice, and watched
in great satisfaction as if Potter�s shoulderblades twitched as if he was about
to grow wings.

�� I�no!�
There was no way that Potter could make that convincing, either. He seemed to
realize it a moment later, since he turned around. �I wanted to know if she�d
found out anything else about Nihil.�

�� Draco shook
his head. �She has more extensive ties to the Ministry than we do, however,
since she has family members working there. She intends to ask them to listen
for rumors and to spread the rumor herself that the Auror program might lose
some of its trainees if people get nervous enough.�

�� That�s
true, I reckon.� Potter ran his hand through his hair, making Draco wince, and
then turned around again. �Well, let�s go face the Wild Beast of the Manor.�

�� We don�t
keep wild beasts running about to devour the guests,� Draco said, as he cast a
nonverbal Styling Charm at Potter�s hair, �not since the war ended.� He did not
want to think about Nagini, but at least the thought in teasing words sounded
less fearsome than the memories it would stir if he tried to be serious.

�� I was
talking about your mother, actually,� Potter said, and then had the good sense
to dodge to the side to avoid the hex that followed. Draco only felt more
irritated when he remembered that their compatible magic wouldn�t actually have
let him touch Potter.

�� Well, I can still trip him up, or punch him,
or hold him against a wall and breathe on his lips until he thinks we�re going
to snog.

�� Draco could
not decide which of those would be more fun.

*

�� Mr.
Potter. How lovely to see you again.�

�� Harry was
sure Narcissa Malfoy�s words weren�t sincere. Why would they be? He was the
reason that Voldemort was dead, and even though he knew she had helped him
escape Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, he�d still cost her family a lot of
prestige and money, and helped to put her husband in prison.

�� But because
she sounded so absolutely sincere and
was smiling while she extended her hands to him, Harry thought that the least
he could do was return the courtesy. He clasped her hands and bowed his head to
give the back of the right one a kiss. �The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Malfoy,�
he murmured as he stood back up. He hoped that was right. He was mostly running
on old memories of shows that he�d sometimes glimpsed on the Dursleys� telly
that were set in historical times.

�� Draco drew
in a sharp breath that made Harry wince, sure he�d got it wrong, but Mrs.
Malfoy looked more charmed still. �Call me Narcissa, Harry,� she said, and
hooked his hand in her arm and drew him into the Manor. �Let me show you the
portraits of our ancestors. This is the very first Lady Malfoy, who was born
Harmonia Torrent��

�� Harry was
glad for the tour; it let him look around without seeming like a gawker, and it
gave him some time to recover from his first impressions of the Manor. He�d
been thinking of it as the place where Hermione was tortured, and getting more
and more tense as they came up the long gravel drive. He needed to stare at
each wall and each portrait and each piece of furniture for a while until he
could get the screams out of his head.

�� Draco
followed them like a shadow, and when Harry glanced back at him, he found him
scowling. Harry wondered what in the world he�d done wrong, but the only thing
he could do was to try and give Draco a reassuring smile. Draco hunched his
shoulders and turned away with a sniff. Harry shook his head. He had no idea
what that was about.

�� And this is
the glass case with the relics of the Persecution��

�� Harry found
himself calming down as they wound further and further into the Manor; they
were avoiding any of the rooms he remembered. He wondered if Mrs. Malfoy knew
that he wouldn�t want to go into them, and then shook his head and told himself
not to be so vain and stupid. Why would that matter to her? She probably had
bad memories herself, and so those rooms were shut up or something.

�� And this
is the beak of the griffin that Octavius Malfoy killed all by himself, in the
days when the Malfoys still demanded some sort of trial of manhood��

�� Mrs.
Malfoy�s pointless chatter was actually soothing. By the time the tour finished
and they were sitting down in a room so posh that Aunt Petunia would have drooled
at the sight of the cushions, Harry was more relaxed. He tried to ignore the
fact that the glass in his hand probably cost more than four sets of his robes
would have as he said, �Did Draco tell you why we�re here, Mrs. Malfoy?�

�� Narcissa,
Harry.� She sat on the couch across from him, her pale robes a contrast to the
deep red of the cushions. Her hair was done up in some kind of complicated
arrangement with silver combs that Harry knew his hair would never agree to.
She gave him a smile with a bit of a bite to it. �That�s what friends of the
family always call me.�

�� Harry was
glad he hadn�t been taking a sip of wine just then, because he would have
choked on it. Friend of the family? He
was Draco�s friend and he owed a life-debt to Mrs. Malfoy, but he wouldn�t say
that he was a friend of the entire family. Draco, too, was shifting on his
chair as if he disagreed with those words.

�� And yes,
he did,� Mrs. Malfoy went on, turning to her son. �You want to make the kind of
political contacts that would let you find out who this �Nihil� is.� She framed
the name carefully with her lips as if she disliked pronouncing it.

�� Yes.�
Draco gave his mother a smile and finally seemed to relax. �I know that we Malfoys
don�t have as much political capital as we used to, but what do you think of
the name of Potter? It ought to get us what we want.�

�� Harry
shifted in turn. �I don�t want to do that unless we have to,� he said.

�� We have
to, Potter,� Draco snapped, glaring at him. �End of discussion.�

�� There�s no
proof of that yet,� Harry said, and turned to Mrs. Malfoy. �What do you think,
ma�am? Do you think that we�ll really have to trade favors to get people to
investigate Nihil? After all, he threatens the safety of the world they�re living in, too, and not just
Draco�s safety or mine.�

�� I would
like you to call me by my first name, as I have several times told you to.�
Mrs. Malfoy�s voice was low and sharp. Her smile had vanished entirely as she
put down her wineglass on a table beside the couch and took up her wand.

�� Harry
stared at her, then glanced sideways at Draco, who was quietly chuckling. He
sighed. �What do you think, Narcissa?� The name tasted foreign on his tongue,
worse than when he had had to start calling Draco by his first name. At least
there was friendship there to help him over the initial barrier.

�� As though there
had never been an argument between them, Narcissa settled back into her seat
and picked up the wineglass. �I think I would rather not try weapons that
didn�t work and see them fail,� she said equitably. �We will begin with your
name, Harry, instead of waiting on it. That will secure us the results that we
want, and faster.�

�� Harry
hissed between his teeth, but nodded. �All right,� he said. �If we must.�

�� Narcissa
tilted her head to the side in curiosity. �Forgive me for asking, in case the
answer is obvious,� she said quietly, �but why are you so reluctant to use your
power? The Ministry has not been. They have bragged consistently that you are
in the Auror program since you joined, hoping to draw more recruits.�

�� Harry
tightened his hand on his glass and stared blankly into the fire. That
shouldn�t surprise or hurt him as much as it did. Of course it had happened,
and he probably would have known that if he�d been able to pay attention to
anything outside exams, his friends, trying to find Nihil, and Draco in the
last few months.

�� I don�t�I
don�t want to ask for anything unfair,� Harry said at last, when he glanced to
the side and realized that Draco was waiting for the answer, too. �I�ve
received so much already from the wizarding world, and not all of it is stuff I
deserve.� He ran his hand through his hair, which made Draco give a full-body
twitch for some reason, and shrugged. �And I also don�t want to do unjust
things for people I�m obliged to.�

�� Asking for
help to find Nihil is not an unfair use of your power,� Draco said, his voice
so thick with conviction that it took Harry a moment to sort out the words from
the tone. �And I�ll make sure that you�re not bound to anything too bad.�

�� Harry
looked at him. �You will?�

�� Trust me.�
Draco�s lips were parted and his eyes shone.

�� Harry
smiled in spite of himself. �That�s no
problem,� he said. �But even you can�t stop people asking for things that I
might not want to grant.�

�� Then we
will simply negotiate the price down,� Narcissa said briskly. �I know a few
people I can ask�those who might have had some sympathy with either side but
remained neutral during the war. They would know more than the Ministry would
at the moment about undercurrents shifting among their social circles. They are
also the ones who might be approached and asked to support Nihil.�

�� Thank you,
Narcissa.� Harry sipped at his wine again while Narcissa and Draco steered the
conversation in different directions, mostly talking about people he�d never
met. He was happy to remain silent. He felt hopelessly out of his depth, and
had since he�d entered the Manor. This was a rich place, and he wasn�t rich.
This was a pure-blood place, and he wasn�t a pure-blood.

�� This was a
family place, and he didn�t have a family.

�� Harry
scowled into his glass. Yes, you do. You
have the Weasleys. Just because you don�t feel like spending every spare minute
around them these days doesn�t mean that they abandoned you.

�� Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

�� It was hard
to do, but watching Draco�s face as it lit up with wicked humor at some joke of
his mother�s more than helped.

*

�� You need
not be so hard on him, Draco,� his mother murmured the moment Potter had
followed one of the house-elves out of the dining room in search of the
bathroom.

�� Draco
grimaced and pushed his fingers through the side of his hair, where the
ruffling wouldn�t show. �I know that,� he said. �But he�s so exasperating sometimes, Mother. And he
could at least return the level of attention that I�ve shown him so far.� He
knew his voice was petulant. He could feel Narcissa�s disapproving stare. He
scowled at the table.

�� The last
few days, since their encounter in the Forbidden Forest with Gregory, Draco had
found himself more and more dissatisfied with the way that Potter didn�t understand things. He wasn�t as attuned
to Draco as Draco was to him. He didn�t volunteer information about himself; he
still hadn�t told Draco where he was staying for the Christmas holidays. He
wouldn�t admit the most obvious things, such as that he was clearly jealous of
Draco�s conversation with Arrowshot, or arrive at the most obvious conclusions
from them, such as that he might want Draco to be more than a friend.

�� Pushing
Potter, snapping at him, insulting him at times where he wouldn�t have before,
was all Draco could think of to express his displeasure, because telling Potter
the truth seemed only to inspire him to more creative ways to deny it.

�� Try not to
destroy him in your quest to bring him to that level of attention,� Narcissa
said mildly, and leaned back in her chair as she finished a bit of the delicate
Dragonsmilk Cheese. �I�m pleased for you, Draco. He seems like someone who can
help you in numerous ways, and who is worth your wanting.�

�� Draco gave
her a quick, grateful glance. He had thought often enough of Potter as a lover
in the past few weeks, but if his mother had opposed Draco because she did not
think Potter worthy of a Malfoy, any attempt to make him so would have been
much harder.

�� Merlin
knows why that longing is there,� he said, sitting up and trying to speak more
cheerfully. �There�s no one more unsuitable for me in many ways. But the
compatible magic began it, and��

�� A crack cut
across his words, and Draco turned about in annoyance. Most of the Malfoy
house-elves knew better than to Apparate into a room when a member of the
family was speaking.

�� But this
was Margy, the elf who had escorted Potter to the bathroom. Draco found himself
on his feet, wand drawn, before he consciously thought about doing it. From a
distance, his mind considered that all those Auror instincts the program was
attempting to instill in his head were useful after all.

�� Margy is
sorry, sorry!� the elf squeaked, yanking on her ears as she spoke. �But Master
Harry Potter, he has collapsed in the bathroom, and his face it is blue, and he
is having troubles breathing, and��

�� Draco had
already started running. He heard the rustle of robes behind him as his mother
rose to her feet to accompany him, as well as her mild command that would make
Margy stop punishing herself. They would probably need the elves� help, if
Potter had been taken by poison.

�� Maybe she
wanted to make sure that no one could blame them, either, as they would try to
if they found out Harry Potter had suddenly become sick while dining in Malfoy
Manor.

�� But those
thoughts were ones that Draco barely felt behind the overwhelming, shrieking
pressure of the ones that said, My
partner. Mine. And he�s dying.

�� He kicked down
the bathroom door when he came to it, and fell to his knees beside Potter�s
twitching, panting body, taking him in his arms.

�� As he did
that, Potter gave a great gasp and stopped breathing.

*

�� callistianstar:
I think Harry is beyond outbursts at Draco right now, unless they�re caused by
his jealousy. He�s committed to dealing with him as a rational human being,
because otherwise, as he has seen, Draco will have no trouble walking away.

�� Draco still
finds Harry cute, but he also finds him exasperating as hell.

�� You are not
the only one who would suck in the Observation class; don�t worry.

�� Dragons
Breath: They could be. But at this point, they have so few allies that they�re
willing to listen.

�� hieisdragoness18:
Thank you!

�� Alliandre:
Part of this one, if I can figure out a way to work it in.

�� Harry�s
reaction to Draco possibly wanting to date him was explained in an earlier
chapter, when he and Ron both agreed that Harry is not good-looking enough for
Draco.

�� SP777: I
think so, though as far as I know I�ve always let little bits of humor shine
through the characters. Maybe there�s more of it lately, though.

�� Yes, I�m
committed to making this a full trilogy, though the slash relationship might
come on a bit faster than I thought it would.

�� Thrnbrooke:
Thank you!

�� Mr Spears:
Thanks for reviewing.

�� MewMew2:
Thanks! Here�s the �more.�
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