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Changing of the Guard	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 58627 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- 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.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven�Romancing the Ministry

�� Harry
smiled at himself in the mirror. It was a timid, shy smile, and his eyes darted
away from his reflection the moment he gave it. He nodded. Yes, this was the
Harry whom Ron and Hermione would expect to see: interested in their lives,
reluctant to talk about himself, guarded in his conversation and his
expressions lest something he did led to a mention of the war.

�� As long
as Draco isn�t here, I have no trouble assuming one of my personas.

�� You need
this one right now, the merciless voice promptly answered. That doesn�t
mean you�ll need it always.

�� Harry
ground his teeth together hard for a moment, then stopped. Would the Harry Ron
and Hermione knew get angry? No, he would not. He was afraid of his own temper.
He had said and done things when angry that he would regret forever,
particularly when he had been nineteen, the year between his real seventh
year at Hogwarts and the beginning of Metamorphosis.

�� He felt his
hand begin to shake, and stopped it by sheer force of will. He had once told
himself he would not spend time dwelling on that, and he never had. His
anxieties, insecurities, and doubts dissipated in the constant running of
Metamorphosis, in the assumption of minds and personalities that had no reason
to feel them. And he would not let his new relationship with Draco, or the
rebellion it seemed Harry was half in charge of running, damage his ability to
assume those personalities.

�� Draco
said he wanted to know all of me. These personas are part of me, too.

�� Harry stood
up, shook his head twice, and clattered down the stairs. He normally would have
asked Kreacher to make him some breakfast before he left, but this would leave
his stomach free to growl whilst he spoke with his friends, and then Hermione
would have the chance to fuss and accuse him of not taking care of himself.
Harry would blush and look at his hands and mumble something that didn�t
actually answer the accusations.

�� They
deserve the chance to see what they want to see.

*

�� Draco kept
his head up as the Aurors marched him through the corridors of the Ministry of
Magic. He knew they were deliberately choosing the most public route, to
humiliate him in the most effective manner possible. They ignored a lift that
started up from the Atrium with only two wizards in it, in order to crowd into
one laden with Ministry employees, visitors, and children. One of the older
witches lifted an eyeglass to her face to look at them and inquired in a low
voice what Draco�s crime was.

�� Public
homosexuality, madam,� the blue-eyed Auror announced. Draco let his eyes fall
half-shut so he could study the reactions to those words without it being
obvious that he was doing so.

�� Half of
them flinched. Others looked at the floor. The witch with the eyeglass adjusted
it as though she thought public homosexuality ought to leave a disgusting film
on Draco�s skin. A burly wizard tugged his daughter behind him and frowned at
Draco. One young woman bit her lip hard enough to make a drop of blood run from
it.

�� My, my,�
said the witch with the eyeglass. She had shining black hair, so obviously dyed
Draco subdued the impulse to tell her where she could buy dye that would last
longer. She leaned closer. �And more than one violation, from the way that
you�re holding him.� She nodded to the other Auror, a bald, brown-eyed man, who
hadn�t stopped twisting Draco�s arm behind his back since they left the flat.

�� Two
incidents that we have record of, madam, from the testimony of numerous
eyewitnesses,� said the blue-eyed man, and swung around to glare at Draco. �He
simply couldn�t control his libido.�

�� Draco
raised an eyebrow. He knew the stereotype of homosexual men that many wizards
entertained concerned their insatiable sexuality; they spread disease and were
inconstant to their lovers because one partner could never satisfy them, said
the common �wisdom.� Marrying one was unsafe because he would bring diseases
home to his wife. They would rape children and any straight man even the slightest
bit unwilling to accept their attentions.

�� The
stereotype was so far from true in Draco�s case that he had some hope of being
able to cause doubts in the Aurors� minds simply by his behavior. On the other
hand, eyes determined to remain shut could not be opened, and he would not
waste his time with them. His task was to identify the members of the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement who might possibly be sympathetic and
work on them.

�� And you�re
not going to speak up in your defense, young man?� the witch continued, peering
so closely at him now that Draco was certain she could count the pores in his
face.

�� I�m in a
relationship more permanent and deeper than half the people in this lift could
ever entertain, madam,� Draco drawled. �What is there about that to defend?�

�� The witch
chuckled. Most of the adults simply looked angry. The grip on Draco�s arm
tightened until he would have gasped with pain had he not been a Malfoy. But
Lucius had done worse to him and expected him to bear it without sound. Draco
focused his eyes on the ceiling of the lift and didn�t show a thing. He thought
he heard the blue-eyed man suppress a frustrated snarl.

�� I have an
interest in such sexual perversions,� the witch said. �My card, if you will.�
She bowed with a flourish and slipped a gold-embossed brown card up Draco�s
sleeve. The Aurors looked as if they might have liked to protest, but given
that it had happened in front of everyone, they didn�t quite dare. Or maybe it
was the coat-of-arms briefly visible on the card that had stopped them, Draco
thought. The Garrett family was neither poor nor without influence. �I look
forwards to following the progress of the case.� The lift jerked to a stop, and
she moved out with half the people on it, not once looking back at the Aurors.

�� One
ally, Draco thought. And a good one. He had briefly scanned the
genealogical tables that Lucius had drummed into his head, looking for a witch
of the appropriate age, and determined that she was Caroline Garrett, an expert
in Abstract Magic�and Blaise Zabini�s second cousin. Draco might not be able to
rely on her for anything, but he had no doubt he would see her again.

�� You
needn�t look so pleased with yourself,� the blue-eyed Auror murmured to Draco,
his lips close enough to Draco�s ear that none of the other passengers could
hear him. �You ought to know you won�t find allies like that everywhere.�

�� Draco
fluttered his eyelashes briefly. �If you wanted to whisper sweet nothings to
me, you could have done it openly. I wouldn�t have minded.� He darted
his eyes towards the man holding his arm. �He looks like the jealous type,
though.�

�� In half an
instant, the blue-eyed Auror was on the other side of the lift. He stared at
Draco with his mouth open in disgust. His fingers had tightened on his wand
until Draco fancied he might snap it. But alas, the wood was hard enough to
withstand the increased pressure.

So was his arm, though Draco
grunted a little as the other Auror yanked on it. �Do you explain bruises
often?� he asked, with what voice he had left.

�Go easy with him, Young,� the
blue-eyed Auror said, and faced Draco again. �You ought to know it won�t be so
easy for you when we actually reach the Department.�

�Your phrasing is repetitive,� said
Draco. �It bores me.�

Young clenched his arm again. Draco
smiled inwardly. Yes, it hurt, but on the other hand, he knew how strict the
standards for Aurors had become since Minister Shacklebolt took over and
cleaned what corruption he could out of Magical Law Enforcement. Aurors were
supposed to handle even suspected murderers gently, proving themselves to be
above the sort of rough justice that had tarnished their reputation during the
first war with the Dark Lord. Draco only had to make sure the right person saw
the bruises, and Young would suffer for this arrest right along with Draco.

�� At last the
lift clattered to a halt, and Young and the other Auror led Draco off. Draco
let his gaze rake the mass of desks he was led past, looking for a face he
recognized. Though a few men and women stared at them curiously, he saw no one
who looked like a good ally�

�� Malfoy?
Oh, this is rich.�

�� Draco had
to fight harder than normal to keep his face blank as he realized that the
wizard who had risen from the desk ahead of him was Ron Weasley.

*

�� You forgot
to eat again, didn�t you, Harry?�

�� Harry kept
his eyes on his hands and shrugged a little as he listened to Hermione bustling
about the kitchen. She had stood up the moment his stomach rumbled, although
she had been deep in the middle of a story about how she�d managed to make it a
crime for wizards to burn house-elves. It was the first of a long, long series
of abuses that needed legislation passed against them, she�d said seriously,
but if she had to devote the rest of her life to it, she would pass those laws.

�� Harry felt
slightly in awe of Hermione when he listened to her say such things. She had a
simple, direct will that he had only ever matched when he contemplated
defeating Voldemort or playing a Quidditch game against Slytherin. She knew
what needed to be done and did it, directly approaching the goal, without
turning aside, lying, or manipulating anyone.

�� A pity
she doesn�t turn that same will to the protection of wizards or witches who
want to love one of their own sex, the merciless voice said in his head.

�� Because he
was alone, Harry dared to roll his eyes. The merciless voice understood the
Harry who related to Draco well; it did not grasp the Harry who related to his
friends. They had their own lives, lives Harry could understand and support. It
would be wrong of him to try and make them change.

�� He could,
of course, fish for information. When Hermione came back with a large sandwich
packed with nourishing vegetables and probably slices of fruit and meat, too,
Harry smiled at her and turned the conversation as if idly. �I�ve heard rumors
about other pieces of legislation being trumped up,� he said, and then had to
pause and lick his fingers as a piece of lettuce crumpled out the far side of
the sandwich onto his knuckles. �Something about homosexuality and rebellion
and art. Are they going to make it illegal to portray gay characters?�

�� Oh, no,
nothing like that,� Hermione said, smiling reassuringly at him. �At least, not
more illegal than it already is.� She waved her wand, and the traces of
stickiness left on Harry�s fingers vanished. He murmured his thanks. �There was
a group who tried to stage a play portraying homosexuality a few days ago,
though. At the Theater-in-the-Round? Perhaps you�ve heard of it?� Her words had
taken on a slight edge of exasperation now. She considered Harry hopelessly
uncultured, especially since he didn�t even get the scraps of knowledge Ron did
by accompanying Hermione to the plays and concerts she wanted to see.

�� I�ve heard
of it,� Harry said quietly, and licked his fingers one more time, causing
Hermione to roll her eyes in turn. Harry hid a smile behind his hand. �Posh
pure-blood place, isn�t it?�

�� Oh, it�s
more than that.� Hermione rapped her wand against her palm, her eyes shining.
�It�s where they staged the first production of The Moon Shining Down,
which was the first alternate history of the Slytherin-Gryffindor feud, and
there was a play based on a recovered manuscript of Macbeth created by a
wizarding scribe. Very different from the play that goes by that name in Muggle
circles��

�� Harry sat
patiently, letting Hermione speed through the history of the plays she�d seen,
or heard about, or wanted to see, performed in the Theater-in-the-Round. As it
happened, he was familiar with most of the productions, which made the
listening more tedious than usual, but it would hardly do to seem too eager.
Finally, when Hermione had finished exhausting her speculations about possible
places for other Shakespeare manuscripts to be hidden, Harry returned the
conversation innocently to the beginning. �But a group tried to stage a play
portraying homosexuality?� He leavened his voice carefully with both
incredulity and envy. So far as Hermione and Ron knew, he wished that he could
express his sexuality publicly, but had accepted that it was impossible.

�� Oh, yes.�
Hermione shook her head. �And there was a riot in consequence. Really, I don�t
see why they expected anything else to happen. Everyone knows how touchy
pure-bloods are about homosexuality, and that�s a theater that�s expected to
represent pure-blood ideals even when their audiences and playwrights don�t
come from the culture.�

�� And the
Ministry is going after the people who started the riot?� Harry asked, his
sandwich apparently hanging forgotten between his fingers.

�� Well, they
have to.� Hermione sighed. �It�s not that I�m not sympathetic to them,�
she added, when Harry gazed at her inquiringly. �I think the way most of the
wizarding world reacts to gays and lesbians and bisexuals is disgusting. But
you can�t fight an organization like the Ministry or the force of pure-blood
conservatism with violence. You can�t change everything that quickly.� A sad
smile touched her lips for a moment. �That was the lesson I had to learn. I
came into the Ministry with bold visions of freeing all the house-elves in
England in a year. Then I had to change that to two years, and finally I
admitted that the task might not be done in my lifetime. Muggleborns won�t be
fully integrated into the wizarding world in my lifetime, either, and it takes
a lot of hard, repetitive work to make as much progress on either front as I�ve
made. Now you have a group of young, impulsive people doing their cause more
harm than good by imagining they can just take the wizarding world by storm.�
She snorted softly into her teacup. �As if no one has ever tried that before.�

�� In
neither of your causes does that gap between old and young exist, the
merciless voice murmured. In neither of your causes is the opposition to
change mostly irrational. Losing house-elves can cost money, and many
pure-bloods have the idea that they�ll lose their homes and jobs to
Muggleborns. But the origins of the hatred against homosexuals are based on the
idea that wizards will dwindle out of existence if they permit same-sex affairs
to flourish freely, which is ridiculous. As if there aren�t enough orphans and
Muggleborn children mistreated by their own parents to maintain the wizarding
population!

�� No, I
suppose violence won�t make the Ministry listen to them,� was what Harry
himself said, leaning back in the chair and returning to the sandwich. Hermione
would scold him in a minute if she realized he hadn�t finished it, and they
would get even further away from the subject Harry had come to discover
information on. He could hardly believe that he�d forgotten Ron would be at
work today. �But they don�t deserve to be persecuted even more than they
already are.�

�� Hermione
sighed and twisted a curl of hair around her finger, gazing at the polished
wooden table between them as if it held an open book. �If they hadn�t started a
riot!� she murmured. �Ron came home saying something about it yesterday, how
the lot of them were desperate criminals and had used dangerous magic against
the Aurors sent to arrest them.�

�� Did he?�
Harry concentrated intently on the sandwich and gave no appearance of being
interested.

�� Yes.�
Hermione took a long, drawn-out breath and shook her head. �The spell wiped the
memories of the Aurors completely clean, so they couldn�t remember who had been
in the house they raided, who they might have arrested, or what kind of magic
was used against them. Ron was enraged. Memory magic is always dangerous, you
know that�� she gave Harry a quick smile that made him think she was
remembering Lockhart ��and he had some friends in the raid. They could have
sustained brain damage.�

�� Harry
sighed. �That�s unfortunate. I suppose the Ministry will have to try again,
though, if the first raid failed.�

�� Yes. And
Ron wants to be part of the next one. They should be able to put it together in
a few days, he said.�

�� Harry
looked up and blinked in feigned surprise. �Why would it take so long? If they
could raid this group�s first meeting, couldn�t they raid a second one?�

�� Apparently
their source of information isn�t being very forthcoming. Maybe he thought
better of betraying his comrades, whoever he was.� Hermione gave a crooked
smile. �And I have to say that I rejoice for their sakes, even if I don�t
approve of their tactics. Betrayal by a friend is no light matter.�

�� No, said
the merciless voice. No, it is not.

�� Harry
finished eating his sandwich and stood. He�d got all he could reasonably pull
from Hermione without making her suspicious. �Thanks for the sandwich,� he
said. �I should head home now. I�ll need time to sleep this off before I eat
lunch. And if I don�t eat lunch, Kreacher will never forgive me.�

�� Hermione
rose to her feet, eyes bright with concern and smile strained. �You should see
the Theater-in-the-Round for yourself,� she said. �Promise you�ll come with me
and Ron this Saturday. They�re holding a production of that Macbeth I
told you about.�

�� Harry just
looked off to the side and shook his head a little. �I doubt the playwright and
the actors would like having their work disrupted by a public feeding frenzy,�
he said.

�� And though
she had hated the means he used to try and rid himself of the attention,
Hermione gave way before the validity of that excuse, as she always did. Harry
pressed her hand, smiled wanly at her, and went.

�� The moment
the door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place closed behind him, he summoned the
cold Harry persona and went to work. So the Ministry�s source had suddenly
become tight-lipped, had he? That could mean several things, and Harry would
need to conduct tests to confirm which of his suspicions was closest to the
truth.

*

�� Draco had
been quiet and cold for the past hour, but it was difficult with Weasley at his
elbow, staring straight at him and snickering whenever he thought he could get
away with it. Young and the blue-eyed Auror were completing the paperwork
necessary to confirm Draco as a �dangerous� criminal. Though other Aurors
stared at them, Weasley was the only one who had ventured near. Thus Draco had
no one to cordially complain to, and no one to show the bruises to. He still
sat with his hands crossed in his lap, looking more beaten than he would have
liked.

�� I always
wanted to know,� Weasley said, beginning another of his childish taunts. �Do
you really not miss women when you�re sliding balls-deep into some poor
bloke�s arse? Or does part of you remain conscious of how unnatural this is and
assign female bits to your partner?� He lowered his voice. �Come on, Malfoy,
admit it. That�s the real reason so many of you wear women�s clothes, isn�t it?
Because sometimes even you get fed up and have to pretend you�re fucking
a woman to get it up at all.�

�� Draco�s
tongue burned. He wanted so badly to ask Weasley how he�d managed to
retain attitudes like that, given his enlightened Mudblood wife and his gay
best friend. But then there would be questions as to how to he knew Harry�s
orientation, if there wasn�t a punch for the insult to Granger. Draco was not
stupid enough to give the game away like that.

�� Besides, he
thought he knew exactly how Weasley�s attitudes had endured. Harry had
confessed he loved Weasley. And Harry didn�t challenge people he loved half as
often as they deserved. Consider how he�d responded to Draco; casting spells on
him seemed a last resort, even when a Memory Charm would have solved his problems.
He tried to fade away instead, to lie, to subtly manipulate. The magic he had
used to break Draco�s ribs hadn�t been planned.

�� He has
become almost too Slytherin. I wonder if another of my tasks might be coaxing
the Gryffindor side of him back to life. Of course, he�ll get some practice in
that if he intends to support the rebellion�

�� A sudden
slap made his ears ring and jerked his head sideways.

�� Malfoy,
I�m talking to you!� Weasley snarled directly into his face. �I want to
know whether you�ve ever dressed up in women�s clothes and begged someone else
to fuck you, so that you can feel like you�re part of something normal for
once.�

�� Draco
didn�t speak, though �I assure you I have no complaints when Harry fucks me�
would have been the perfect retort. He slipped his tongue around the corners of
his mouth, making sure nothing was bleeding and no teeth had come loose. A pity
they hadn�t, in a way, but Draco preferred to show off evidence that he had
suffered Auror brutality without damaging his good looks.

�� Weasley!�

�� And here
was Shacklebolt himself�not the ally Draco would have chosen, given that he was
the one authorizing the raids in the first place, but the only one present who
might be able to restrain Weasley. He lowered his eyes so there was no chance
anyone would see the smile lurking in them.

�� Sir, I
didn�t mean to do that! I just lost my temper�� Weasley began, scrambling up
and away from Draco as if his arse were on fire.

�� But I�d
wager he won�t offer to heal me and give me anything I wanted, like Harry did, Draco
thought. He shuddered at the thought of what a long and weary struggle it would
take to come to terms with Harry�s friends. Weasley would refuse any concession
so simple as an apology, Draco was certain.

�� We�ll
discuss what you did later, Weasley,� Shacklebolt said coldly, and then turned
and faced Draco. �Mr. Malfoy, please come with me. Young and Smithson should
have brought you to my office at once.� He speared the blue-eyed
Auror�Smithson�with a sharp glance and turned away. Draco stood and followed
with alacrity, making sure that his sleeves fell away from his arms and exposed
the bruises where Young had gripped him too tightly.

�� In the
privacy of the Minister�s office, which appeared to be home to files and
nothing else, Shacklebolt saw the bruises. He took a deep breath and massaged
his forehead gently for a moment. �I daresay you have much to complain of due
to the treatment you received from us,� he murmured.

�� At least a
little, yes,� Draco said in his driest tone.

�� Shacklebolt
leaned forwards. �This offense will be made up for, I promise you, Malfoy,� he
said. �But in the meantime, may I suggest a way you could make this easier on
yourself and everyone else involved?�

�� Draco eyed
him thoughtfully, but said nothing. It had worked so far. And sure enough,
Shacklebolt clarified a moment later.

�� We need
information on this man whose play you sponsored, Raymond Nusante. And on the
group of artists he�s rumored to have met with in a certain manor house a few
days ago.� Shacklebolt�s fingers clenched together on top of his desk.
�Specifically, we would be grateful if you could tell us whether there�s any
truth to the rumor that Harry Potter was among them.�

*

�� s2kitty:
Well, Draco�s not in jail yet.

�� SoftObsidian74:
Draco will definitely not develop his own personas. (I don�t want to make that
the sole theme of the story). As you can see in this chapter, he is beginning
to realize some of the challenges that a relationship with Harry presents. It
will be a delicate business to navigate around them and learn how to treasure
and cherish Harry in spite of�or because of�that.

�� Harry
needed to make the commitment about allowing other people into his home more
for Draco�s sake and his own than for the sake of the rebellion. Even if it
makes things hard later, it connects them right now and shows Draco he�s
serious.

�� And thanks
very much!

�� thrnbrooke:
Harry may learn soon.

�� Engwaaearien:
Depends if he learns about it in time.

�� Broomrider949,
Dani: Thanks for the review!

�� Mangacat: I
agree that Harry doesn�t really grasp the problem. It�s easier for him to see
that it is a problem when Draco is actually around.

�� Calrissian18:
I think Harry and Draco already have a sort of trust; they each trust the other
not to use hurtful magic against them, for one thing. Harry wasn�t really angry
about Draco casting that sleep charm on him, as Draco didn�t retain a grudge
for Harry hurling him into a wall. They are going to have to go back and build
some of the steps they skipped.

�� Yes, that
conversation was really a turning point for Harry, and the merciless voice is a
sign of that turning point.

�� Their
physical intimacy is far advanced, but they�re comfortable being lovers.
Learning to be friends is harder.

�� arealdeal:
Thank you! Hopefully, you�ll continue to have a lot to read.

�� qwerty: What
Lucius knows or doesn�t know is about to become a subject of great interest.

�� Werewolf
Mistress: Lucius has chosen not to act directly, so he may or may not know
about this arrest.
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Changing of the Guard

Chapter Twenty-Seven�Romancing the Ministry