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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
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Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-Six�Learning
to Trust

�Master Harry Potter is a bad
human.�

�

Draco paused outside Harry�s rooms;
one panel of the door had been left slightly ajar, disrupting the privacy
spells. He could lean against the door and listen without risking a retaliating
shock from the wards.

And from the sound of it, a very interesting conversation was in progress
between Harry and Rogers.

�Yes, I rather fear I am,� Harry
was saying now, his voice fierce and flat. �There were times as a child when I
thought I was born to be a house-elf, anyway.�

The fingers of Draco�s free hand
curled into the door so hard that he wasn�t surprised to hear wood splintering
under his nails. I knew it. In fact, it
sounds like his relatives treated him even worse than I thought they did. If he
was raised as a house-elf, then it would explain some of his attitudes and the
way that he thinks of everyone before himself.

Draco knew, of course, that Harry
must be exaggerating, because Muggles didn�t know what a house-elf was and
therefore couldn�t have deliberately raised Harry to imitate one. But he didn�t
care. Harry�s words had the force of truth that many unconscious observations
did.

�I need you to leave the Manor and
hunt down a Healer named Virgo Emptyweed,� Harry said
abruptly.

Draco choked�on air, luckily, so
that he wouldn�t make a betraying sound. He
wants to bring an enemy here? Behind the wards, where he�ll have the chance to
see and understand our defenses? Is Harry utterly blind to what we�ve tried to
teach him?

�His parents were being bad humans,
too,� Rogers
said.

Harry laughed. Draco took the
moment to relax himself. As long as there were real house-elves around, and not wizards
who had been raised to think they were like them, life would not be entirely
bleak.

�And he may be as well,� Harry
said. �But I need to be absolutely sure of his allegiances now, and of the
information he can tell me. If my enemies are keeping him captive, then I can
give him his freedom. If not, then at least I�ll make sense of the confusing
things he tried to tell me before he ran away from the hospital.�

How
interesting, Harry. What confusing things he told you? You didn�t mention this,
of course, and so there�s no way that we can be fully prepared for the
intrusion of our enemies.

�Kreacher
will be following Healer Emily Pontiff and observing her. But you�ll bring Emptyweed here,� Harry concluded. �It does mean leaving the Manor, though. Can you do that?�

Draco relaxed further, smirking as
he leaned against the wall. Harry�s about
to discover how much an elf like Rogers
values a commission that�s hard to perform.

There came the rubbery thump of Rogers flinging his arms
around Harry, and then he sniffled and began to wail. Draco could practically taste Harry�s bafflement in the silence
from him that followed.

�Master Harry Potter is�� A large sob cut Rogers
off, but he continued in a whisper as soon as he could. Draco approved. He had
ordered Rogers to instruct Harry in the duties
of being a Malfoy, and so Rogers
would make sure Harry understood why this order had affected him so much. �Master
Harry Potter is acting like a proper Malfoy, ordering Rogers around the way he should. From the tales Dobby was telling of Master Harry Potter, Rogers thought he was
being wild and undisciplined and acting like a bad human at all times. But
Master Harry Potter can also act like a proper Malfoy to house-elves.� He
sniffled. �Rogers
is believing Dobby now, that you were a good wizard.�

I
hadn�t realized he knew Dobby was Rogers�s son, Draco
thought, and then straightened as he heard Rogers disappear. He would let a few minutes
pass, just in case Harry wanted to accuse him of eavesdropping�which would be
normal for a man Draco adored and who trusted him so little. Draco saw no need
to run himself headlong into unnecessary pain.

When he decided that enough time
had passed, he stepped into the bedroom and showed Harry the vial of yellow
potion he�d gone to his lab to fetch. �

�Time for another dose to heal your
lungs,� Draco said. �I�ve read up on the Breath-Stealing Charm. You need it.� He
made his voice both as warm and as reasonable as possible, so that Harry would
see the good sense of the matter without Draco�s having
to sit on him.

And Harry accepted and swallowed
the potion as if it were the lemonade that Draco had sweetened it to taste
like. Draco tried to mask the expression he knew that caused on his face, but
it was useless.

He
does trust me. In some things, even if it�s only my brewing skill, he can trust
me.

Then Harry tossed the vial on the
bed as if he imagined that was the natural resting place for all of Draco�s
delicate brewing equipment, and began to pace back and forth, waving his arms.
Draco settled back into a more comfortable position than simply leaning on the
air. This ought to be good.

Harry got his monologue off to an
enthusiastic start. �Do you know your father is an idiot?�

�That was the daily opinion of my
teenage self,� Draco said gravely, and bit his lip to contain his delighted
laughter. It was partially at Harry�s words, but mostly at the sense of kinship
he suddenly felt with Harry. �What has the idiot done now?�

�Kept important
information from me!� Harry reached the far side of the room and whirled
around, snorting like a wild bull. �He didn�t tell me he already had enemies at St. Mungo�s, people who were prime
candidates for casting the spell that destroyed my stabilization fields. The
administrators were angry at him for stopping donations, maybe angry enough to
put this conspiracy together or at least help with it when Lucius landed in
hospital. And of course it would have been easier
on me if I knew all that, but Lucius Bloody �Watch me faint rather than ask for
help� Malfoy isn�t about to make anyone�s life easier. So now I�m making
preparations to gather information and actually try to help the stubborn wanker, and if he ever does anything like that again I swear that I�m going to subject him to
one of my own potions!�

Draco had to let the laughter out then. Harry blinked at him as if he
thought Draco would insult him for insulting Lucius, but Draco looked up and
let him see his amusement.

Harry glared at him, apparently
under the impression that his taking this seriously wouldn�t make Draco laugh
more. �It�s not funny,� he said. �His
silence could have resulted in someone being seriously hurt, the person who
treated him if not himself.� He pointed an accusing finger at Draco, which made
Draco have to bite the inside of his cheek to stifle the guffaws. �And that�s
the thing I don�t like about your devotion to family. It excludes devotion to
or sympathy for anyone else. Lucius sounded as if he wouldn�t much care that a
Healer or a mediwizard died attending him, as long as he wasn�t forced to
reveal those secrets to someone who wasn�t family.�

Not
fair, Harry. And that statement shows that you still have a rather simplistic
understanding of the codes that guide the Malfoys. We don�t hate others; we are
simply indifferent to their fates when our fates are entangled with pain. We
can afford to be benevolent only when our loved ones aren�t in danger. It�s the
same with other people; they just aren�t as honest as we are, that�s all.

But Draco doubted Harry would react
to the truth anything but badly, so once again he used different words to make
the same point. �Why should he? They don�t deserve to know. Throughout time��

Harry snorted, which from him was
as good as a sneer. Draco scowled at him, and continued defiantly. �Throughout time, people who weren�t
Malfoys have tried to hurt the Malfoys. Had Lucius told the person attending
him, then his enemies might have learned he suspected them all the faster. He
had to have someone he could trust, and until you performed that spell, there
was only me and my mother.�

Let
him understand what those words imply. Lucius can trust him. He is trusted, he is
beloved, and the least the arrogant wanker could do is return those emotions!

�That spell is an arbitrary
boundary,� Harry snarled, taking a step forwards. Now, if he resembled a wild
bull, it was in the way he looked about to charge. �What would happen if you
made someone a Malfoy based on it and then found out they were a sadistic
fucker?�

Draco�s nostrils quivered. He�s simplifying the situation for the sake
of making his point. �Blood is important.�

�Magically shared blood can happen
by chance, and you would still consider yourself bound by your laws to accept
the person who shared it?� Harry might not use a lot of sarcasm, but when he
did, he loaded his voice with it.

I
can�t let him think he�s getting an upper hand. �It brought us you,� Draco
said, lowering his voice and letting his smile widen across his face as he
looked at Harry, �and that was not a
mistake.�

�It�s still arbitrary,� Harry
repeated. He looked ready to step off a cliff for his point. �As arbitrary as
dividing people up based on blood. My mother could do magic. She did magic that
saved the world. You acknowledged as
much yourself when we performed the blood magic that saved your father�s life.
Does that mean she was inferior to your mother, simply because her parents
weren�t magical?�

Draco closed his eyes. He doesn�t know all the heroes and heroines
I do, the ones who fought for and preserved wizarding culture when Muggles
tried to destroy it. He�s never seen the dances at Midwinter, or the stars
shining at Midsummer. He�s denying something he doesn�t understand, and I have
to be the one who teaches him to understand it.

But it did seem very hard that this
burden should fall upon him, when what he really wanted was to live in peace
with Harry, and perhaps take him to bed some time in the next century.

�Blood-based beliefs are not the
same thing as blood,� he said. �One refers to a group of people who share a
similar culture��

�Then why do you speak as if you
shared a similar heritage?�

I
cannot believe he said that. �Culture is
heritage, you uneducated��

�And as if Hermione and my mother
were inferior because of the way they were born,
not what they knew and learned?� Harry continued remorselessly. �I�m sure
Hermione knows more about pure-blood culture than you do, with the way she
studies.�

Draco opened his eyes and glared,
because the attempt to remain calm with his eyes closed was not working.
�Growing up in it gives you an insight into the subtleties that you can never
have if you�re coming to it later. It�s the difference between speaking a
language natively and learning it when you�re an adult. We�re different.�

�And you have stupid customs, and
your house is too big!� Harry yelled.

�� Draco fought the temptation to
blink frantically. What does that have to
do with the conversation we�re having?

But a moment�s thought told him the
truth.

�Harry.� Draco said it gently, so
that Harry would have to calm down and listen to him. �Do you still feel out of
place? Is that the reason for this?� He took a step closer. �Please understand.
We don�t expect you to share our beliefs about blood. The Malfoys have adopted
half-bloods and Muggleborns before, and we never
expected that from them.� He hesitated, then added, because
it was true and Harry should know it, �Although many of them chose to abandon
their birth families in any case, once they saw the superior attractions we
could offer them.�

�I�m never going to change my name
to Malfoy,� Harry said. �I�m never going to stop seeing the Weasleys. And if
you consider my aunt and my uncle my birth family, yes, I�d abandon them in a
red-hot minute, but that doesn�t have anything to do with their being Muggles.�

Draco raised a doubtful eyebrow. He
thought speaking at this point would reveal the dryness of excitement in his
throat. He�s going to tell me. He really
is going to tell me about his Muggles of his own free will! And I wasn�t even
trying to steer the conversation around to them on purpose.

Of course, Draco realized after a
moment�s reflection, that only proved how brilliant a
manipulator he was, because he had done it without any conscious intention to
do it.

�They hated magic,� Harry said.
�And they didn�t like me.� He suddenly stopped, and Draco could see doubts
racing across his face like clouds on a windy day. Perhaps he had decided
against telling Draco anything so personal.

But
that he�s done it at all gives me hope that he�ll trust us more in the future.

�What an irrational hatred,� Draco
said, and he did not have to strive to sound shocked. �How could they dislike
anyone who was born with magic?�

�How could you dislike anyone who
wasn�t born to two magical parents?� Harry countered instantly.

Draco opened his mouth, then realized he needed words before he spoke. He stayed
quiet to think intensely, though he thought from Harry�s sidelong glance that Harry thought
he was intimidated or didn�t have the words at all.

The
contradiction doesn�t exist, because our beliefs don�t have the basis he thinks
they do, but what is the basis?

I
at least can�t accuse Harry of not giving me intellectual exercise.

A moment later, he said quietly,
�Harry, I know our beliefs still don�t make much sense to you. And some of them
probably won�t ever do so. But you need to know that we won�t force you to give
up your beliefs and adopt ours.� He felt able to muster a smile for Harry then.
�Real beliefs, ones that are going to
stay in someone�s head, have to be accepted for what they are. Maybe in time
you�ll come to see the Heart�s Blessing spell as enough of a test to pass. I
don�t think you�ll ever give up your friends or your liking for Muggleborns, no. But you�re still a member of the family.�
He took Harry�s hand and rubbed the back of it with two fingers, because, at
the moment, he needed physical contact to compensate for the emotional and
mental effort he was making. �Do you understand that?�

Harry looked thoughtfully at him. After
what seemed far too long for consideration of such a simple matter�simple for
him, at least�he answered.

�Yes, I do now,� he said. �Thank
you for taking the time to explain it.� He
even sounded sincere, Draco thought, reeling.

�You weren�t in bed with me when I
woke this morning.�

And Harry spoke those words almost shyly, his eyes directed
to the side.

Draco choked back the first
response that rose to his lips�Would you have liked
me to be?�because it appeared that his instinct to retreat when he found
himself asleep beside Harry had been correct.

�Of course not,� he said. He pressed
his fingers down suddenly, heavily, on the back of Harry�s hand. �You said you
didn�t want me there.�

Harry smiled helplessly. �Thank
you,� he whispered.

Yes,
that was the right decision. He�s further along the road to trusting me now.

Draco smiled at him, because there
was no other response that was either right or safe to make.

�I�m bringing Healer Emptyweed here,� Harry said abruptly as he turned away from
Draco. �I hope you don�t mind.�

Draco had to resist the impulse to
nod wisely. After all, revealing that he knew that already would also reveal
that he had listened to Harry�s conversation with Rogers. He choked instead. �He was the one
who cast the headache curse on you!� And
you must realize what a tempting target for vengeance he would make if he were
here.

�Yes,� Harry said, �but he was also
the one who first warned me of danger, and he claimed he had cast the curse to
protect me. I want to find out what he meant. I sent Rogers after him.� He glanced over his
shoulder at Draco, his eyebrows set and challenging.

Draco hesitated for a moment, then
shrugged, �Oh, well,� he said. �We can always Obliviate
him.� And then later, I can teach Harry a
lesson about why we don�t extend the safety of our walls to just anyone.

�And now I�m about to summon Kreacher, my house-elf from Grimmauld Place, and give him the task of
following another Healer who may be involved in this,� Harry continued. �What�s
the etiquette for calling one�s house-elf into someone else�s house?�

Draco nearly licked his lips. Harry
was trying to compromise. He was making some attempt to acknowledge and live by
the Malfoy rules, though he was still terrible at it.

�It�s unproblematic,� said Draco,
�as long as you accept that we might call on him to perform tasks for us in the
future as well. Crossing the boundaries between houses gives us a claim on
him.�

Harry rolled his eyes. Draco
wondered why. That made sense, and was probably the simplest principle either
he or Rogers had tried to explain to Harry so far. �I won�t ask. I�m sure it�s
pure-blood logic even more convoluted than what�s behind the Heart�s Blessing
spell.�

Draco smiled at him, because he
didn�t see that that remark deserved any other sort of answer.

*

Harry had promised that he would
call Draco when Healer Emptyweed arrived. Draco had
therefore felt free to enter the library so he could memorize the recipe for
the potion that would purge his father of the dreambane.

He sat down, breathing lightly, his eyes fixed on the book, and envisioned an empty
space in his mind that began to fill with information as he read down the page.
As the ingredients settled into their proper places, connections sprang into
being between them, interlaced with each other and studded with small notes on
the dangers of their reactions.

It was the simplest method Draco
had ever found to study potions. He couldn�t understand why everyone didn�t
adopt it.

�� So lost in thought was he that
he didn�t hear Harry�s call of his name when he first made it; he was still
building an image of piled vials and shelves around the potions ingredients in
his mind. When he did concentrate on the lingering echo and realize that Harry
had said, �Draco,� he sprinted into the bedroom.

Rogers stood near the bed with an ugly and
empty-faced man in his arms. Harry was saying, �You claimed that you cast the
headache curse on me to protect me. Explain that.�

Draco stepped up behind Harry,
saying nothing. He didn�t think there was anything he could say at the moment
that would offer the kind of comfort Harry needed. He had worked with this man,
had trusted him to an extent�perhaps more
than he trusts us�and had been betrayed. On the other hand, Harry seemed to
accept hardships like that as simply his lot in life. Draco had to stand there
and wait for Harry to decide if he wanted to accept the offer of strength and
companionship Draco was trying to lend him.

�You�ve been watched since you came
into mediwizard training,� Emptyweed whispered.
�Everyone was relieved when they discovered that you wouldn�t have the Potions
scores necessary to become a full Healer. If you had, then you would have come
into contact with hospital administration, and you�re such a reforming hero
that you probably would have pushed for reforms there, just the way you would
have tried to clean the corruption out of the Ministry if you became an Auror.
Healing is its own heroism, but being a mediwizard was the perfect compromise.
You would stay on the lower levels and exhaust yourself in the service of
people who wouldn�t give you the credit you deserved.�

Harry only nodded, as if he had
expected that. Draco didn�t shut his eyes, because he was facing Emptyweed and he wouldn�t look so weak in front of a
weakling. But he did suffer a moment of intense longing to pull Harry into his
arms.

If
only I could teach him some response besides stoicism.

�But then you showed more talent
than they expected,� Emptyweed went on, �and your
marks on the second Potions exam you took, though not enough for full Healer
responsibility, were closer to passing than they had hoped. So they started
watching you more narrowly.� Emptyweed glared at
Harry as if this were his fault. �And of course, you never noticed. You�re
oblivious to anything that doesn�t involve suffering people or the ones you
like. Why someone like you, endowed with no shred of political sensibility,
became a hero�� He shook his head in wonder.

Have
you known any heroes? Draco wanted to ask him. We tend to grant that title to people who are paragons of
self-sacrifice, rather like this beloved fool I�m almost holding. Political
sensibilities rather preclude that.

�I tried to warn you a few times,
but you never noticed that, either. And so I did what I could to dull your
senses and slow you down so the administrators would become convinced your
performance on the Potions exam was just a fluke. I managed to persuade them
that you struggled to keep your head above water on a daily basis, and your
constant studying was necessary simply to keep you at a minimum level of
competence as a mediwizard. You might,� he finished, with a touch of
haughtiness in his voice, �thank me.�

�� I have methods of thanking you that I do not think you will like, Draco
told him silently. There was no question but that he had to have some vengeance
on Emptyweed. The laws of the Malfoys practically demanded it, and Harry wouldn�t take it
himself.

�Why didn�t you tell me the truth?�
Harry asked. �That would have helped.�

�And you would have betrayed
everything immediately with your lack of political instincts.� Now Emptyweed had the gall to look disgusted. Draco decided his
life would be interesting from now on. �You never took time to question what
happened to you, even the sudden advent of those headaches. You had your eyes
on the case in front of you, and the one beyond that, and the one beyond that.
Your head was too full of Healing even for a Healer. The pain was probably good
for you, as it forced you to care about yourself once in a while.� He shuddered
delicately. �And I wasn�t going to give you the chance to hurt me.�

Draco growled. Harry laid a hand on
his waist. Draco quieted, because he could tell this was meant to be a
comforting gesture, but he didn�t care. Emptyweed had no right to say such things.

And
he will not get away with saying them.

�Is Healer Pontiff involved in this
conspiracy to hurt Lucius Malfoy?� Harry asked then.

�What? No!� Emptyweed
stared at Harry, looking genuinely shocked, and that was the only good thing
Draco had seen about the man so far. �I know no harm of Emily, and I won�t have
you speaking evil of her when she was the only other person who took time to
help your hopeless arse,� he finished.

Draco had to shift his weight,
because a man stupid enough to give Harry headaches as a means of �protecting�
him was likely to hero-worship blindly. Harry went on as if he hadn�t noticed. �You
said that my coming to visit her was stupid and dangerous.�

�Because it brought you back into
hospital, when I thought you well-gone.� Emptyweed
groaned. Draco caressed his wand. He
doesn�t like being in pain, does he? �I knew the administrators had a
grudge of some sort against Malfoy, though I didn�t know how much they wanted
him dead until they removed you from the case. And of course you went wandering
into their trap. I had to take an unexpected holiday myself, to make sure no
one connected my conversation with you to any warning you had of their attack.�
He glared at Harry again.

�You still should have told me,�
said Harry. He sounded angry, which gladdened Draco. �I would have been
prepared, at least.�

�I�ve told you why that didn�t
happen.� Emptyweed sniffed.

Is
that what we sound like to him when we try to explain our position on blood? Draco
thought, horrified at the lack of refinement and subtlety in the man�s voice. It�s no wonder he won�t listen.

�Did they have anyone to replace me
on Malfoy�s case?� Harry demanded.

He was shaking. Draco reacted
without thought, because if Harry could touch him and not inspire contempt in Emptyweed, he could touch Harry. He rubbed a hand across
the small of Harry�s back, and Harry jolted like a cat petted without warning,
then calmed.

�No,� Emptyweed
said, and Draco licked his lips to hold back the rage. �The next news would
have been that Lucius Malfoy had died peacefully in hospital. And before you
can ask, I don�t know any of the details about the other people who wanted him
dead. I only know the administrators were in agreement that he shouldn�t
receive the best care, or any care at all, in hospital.�

�Someone attacked him and took away
his stabilization fields.� Harry delivered the words in a low, precise tone
that made Draco feel smug again. He does
care about us, or at least about my father.

Emptyweed
shook his head. �I�m as surprised about that now as I was when you first told
me. It was too open a move for the administrators, though. It put you on alert,
and they wanted to avoid that at all costs.�

�So we have another enemy,� Harry
muttered. �Wonderful.� He sighed and shifted so that his hip overlapped Draco�s
hip. Draco did not grin because that would not be dignified. �You�ll swear that
you didn�t know anything about the Death Eaters who were involved in
constructing the curse?�

Emptyweed�s
face paled. �Death Eaters?� he squeaked.

I
could show him one, Draco thought.

�Yes, Death Eaters,� Harry said. �This
is more serious than you can imagine, and you should have told me about it from
the first, from the moment you put me on Malfoy�s case.�

�I put you on the case because he
had to have the appearance of care, at least, and you were the only one who would
touch him,� said Emptyweed. �Think what it would have
done to the hospital�s reputation if we turned him away.�

Harry stared at him. �He could have
died.� His voice had a soft, shaking ferocity that Draco admired. Emptyweed�s decision is one that I might have made, but
Harry thinks otherwise�and this is one beautiful fruit of that way of thinking.
He cares because Lucius is a living person, no matter what he may have done in
the past.

�So what?�
Emptyweed shrugged. �I don�t like what the
administrators were doing, but Malfoy has escaped punishment for his crimes
during the war too long.�

And then Draco growled again,
because his predominant emotion wasn�t sympathy anymore. He was too clever to
let the opportunity for instruction pass, though, so he whispered to Harry, �Do
you see? Do you see why the Malfoys have spent so much time focusing on blood,
and trusting only those who showed they were willing to act for us first?�

�� Harry nodded. Then he leaned
back and stroked the hand that Draco had moved up to clasp his waist. Draco
half-closed his eyes and shivered, cold sweetness like drinking pumpkin juice
moving through him. �What do you think?� Harry asked. �Should we try him under Veritaserum?�

�That�s all I know!� Emptyweed struggled against Rogers. Draco could have told him that was foredoomed to failure. �Really. I can�t tell you exactly who wants Malfoy dead, and
the headache curse was the only thing I cast on you to hold you back, the only
thing I ever did to hurt you.�

�Tell me this,� Harry said, staring
into his eyes. �Why did you hate me so much from the first day I appeared? You
disliked me before I ever took that second Potions exam, I know.�

Draco half-wished he were a cat
then, so he could have licked his jaws and purred. Good, Harry. Ask a personal question whilst you have your enemy at your
mercy. Get some of your own back.

�You were arrogant,� Emptyweed said. �Most people who get such low scores on
their NEWTS don�t even apply for mediwizard training. They know they belong in
other areas. But you thought you had to be good at it simply because you were
Harry Potter. You thought your fame could get you anywhere.�

Draco growled again, not least
because it was like hearing his past self speak. Harry shook his head. �Forget
it,� he said. �It�s not worth arguing about. Obliviate
him, and have done.� He stepped out of the way.

Emptyweed
began to protest, but the next moment Draco had cast a Memory Charm.

And something more, the nonverbal
spell that he had decided on as appropriate vengeance for trying to ruin
Harry�s life out of petty spite and jealousy, and endangering his father�s.

�You�ve been on a holiday in your
own house for the last few days,� Draco murmured. �You probably did some
drinking, had some pleasant company, because you�ll wake with a headache. You
won�t remember much of what happened, but you�ll be satisfied with the tattered
memories you do retain, and not seek more.�

Emptyweed
nodded dreamily. Rogers
bowed to both Draco and Harry, and vanished, carrying the idiot with him.

Harry smiled at him as if
pleasantly surprised at his restraint. Draco carefully changed his opinion of
when the best time to tell him about the extra spell would be.

�Should we start discussing what to
do about the hospital administrators?� Harry asked. �Your parents should be
included in that discussion, I think.�

Draco turned around, and touched
the arrangement of ingredients in his mind again. �No,� he said quietly. �I
believe I�m ready to brew that potion, Harry. I want my father free from those bastards�
spell before this goes any further.�

His hands shook as he put his wand
back in his belt. Harry at once stepped forwards and embraced him for a long
time, stroking his hair and murmuring soothing nonsense words.

�� Draco leaned against him and
let him do it. It felt good to be the comforted, for once.

*

Sara: You�re welcome. Draco is
feeling stretched to the limit at the moment, as you can see in this chapter,
trying to decide how much he can make Harry understand.

Michelle Wolf: Thank you! The
psychology of characters is generally the way I try and make them individuals.

hieisdragoness18: Hee. I did enjoy writing that scene again from Lucius�s
POV.

DTDY: Thanks for reviewing.

linagabriev: Thank you! It�s interesting, the points
you make about Narcissa and Draco. I think Narcissa�s observations are linked;
she�s a subtle observer of all the people around her, not just her son, which
is one reason she makes less-than-fun points about both of them.

Thrnbrooke:
Thanks for reviewing.
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For Their Unconquerable Souls