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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
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Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-Eight�Slytherin Applications of Law

Harry sighed
as he watched the last owl winging away from the house. He�d sent several
messages to Nusante and others involved with his group, giving contradictory
information and hints at the identity of a possible traitor. Depending on which
information reached the Ministry, he ought to be able to track the source of
the leak easily.

He leaned
back against the library table, stretching, his eyes falling half-shut. He
hadn�t got as much sleep as he normally did last night, thanks to the
excitement with Draco. He wondered if he shouldn�t curl up now and try to nap.

A
thunderous knocking from the front door put paid to that plan. Harry rolled his
eyes, forced himself back to his feet, and tracked down the stairs to the door,
his emotions dancing just beneath the surface like a boiling cauldron. He
didn�t yet know which ones were appropriate for him to feel about his visitor,
and wouldn�t until he saw who that visitor was.

The magical
signature revealed itself to him a few steps from the door: Ron�s combination
of fire and stinging frost. Harry blinked, aligned his face and his soul into a
smile of welcome, and opened the door.

Ron burst
past him and whirled around near the base of the stairs, his wand out. He
looked so upset that Harry wished for a moment Mrs. Black�s portrait still hung
in the usual place, so he could have cursed her. Harry felt himself stooping,
become even more somnolent and quiet in response. He did glance quickly out the
door to make sure no one pursued Ron before he shut it.

�What�s the
matter?� he asked. Hermione would have told Ron that Harry wanted to see him if
he came home from the Ministry early�or, more likely given the timing, took his
lunch at home�but a simple request shouldn�t have made him dash over here like
this. His hair was practically standing on end with how he�d run his fingers
through it, Harry thought in uneasy fascination.

�Do you
know who they arrested this morning in connection with that terrorist group?�
Ron asked, and dashed on before Harry could shake his head. �Draco Malfoy!�

Harry felt
himself become very still.

�The
idiot�s been arrested for flagrant public displays of homosexuality, and
behaves as if he didn�t know that was disgusting, as if he had every right to
walk through the world with his head up like a normal person,� Ron ranted,
dashing around the entrance hall like a hungry lion around a cage. �He�s
just�it�s not right! And then I tried to respond, and I�m the one who
gets reprimanded? Fuck that!� He lashed out with his wand, and a section of
Harry�s banister turned into green slime and dripped down the wall.
�Shacklebolt said he�d talk to me later in that scary tone he always gets, and��

�Ron,�
Harry interrupted, and didn�t know the name would come out in the cold Harry�s
voice until he�d spoken it. Ron froze, staring at him, his wand sliding slowly
down the inside of his fingers. Harry needed some reason to account for his
sudden change of mood, because it couldn�t be Draco�s name, but luckily he�d
found it in Ron�s words.

�People who
are gay are disgusting?� he asked quietly.

Ron�s face
drained of color so fast that Harry thought for a moment he�d faint. Then Ron
shook his head firmly and took a step forwards. �That�s not what I meant!� he
said fiercely. �I didn�t mean you, mate. It�s just�most of the time I
forget you�re gay, you know?� He reached out and clapped Harry on the shoulder,
as if to prove that he didn�t have trouble touching a gay person. �You don�t
flaunt it. You�ve never required me to act nice to some boyfriend of yours, and
you don�t talk about kissing and f-fucking other blokes the way some of them
do, and you know how to act like a normal person in conversation, which is a
talent bloody Malfoy certainly doesn�t have. And you�re my best friend,
Harry,� he added earnestly, gazing into Harry�s eyes. �I think that�s all much
more important than who you choose to date!�

Harry
swallowed boiling outrage. He should not have lost control so quickly and
easily, he told himself. Whose fault was it that Ron believed Harry was no
different than �normal� people? Harry had never told Ron that sometimes he went
to the Muggle world to fuck men who wouldn�t care about the scar on his
forehead. He had never let him into the secret of Metamorphosis, either, and so
could he blame Ron when he acted in ignorance of that? He couldn�t tell them
about Draco, either�

Except
you promised, said the merciless voice. You said that you would come out
of hiding and stand freely, visibly, at his side. Besides, what if the only
reason Ron accepts you so easily is that you don�t seem gay to him? If you had
tried to talk to him about your love life the way he talks about Hermione to
you, would you have received his support? A celibate gay man isn�t threatening.
An active one is.

Swallowing,
Harry looked away. Even if the merciless voice was correct�and surely even it
had to be wrong some of the time�this wasn�t the moment to confront Ron with
the conclusions Harry had just come to. Draco was in trouble. Rescuing him was
more important than forcing his own view of things on someone else any day of
the week.

�Mate?
We�re all right?�

Harry
tilted his head back and managed to smile at Ron. Perhaps the smile was a bit
too sickly, but Ron and Hermione had only ever seen one side of him, and didn�t
know the others existed. They weren�t used to reading the subtle nuances that
Draco had seemed to notice and appreciate from the first. �We�re all right,�
Harry said, and his voice sounded firm and convincing in his own ears. �I just
haven�t been feeling well lately.�

Ron made soothing
noises, and listened eagerly to Harry�s tissue of lies concerning insomnia due
to nightmares about the war and no appetite even for the delicious food
Kreacher cooked. He was as eager to put a moment that could have threatened
their friendship behind them as Harry was, Harry thought. Maybe that explained
why he left without a fuss, instead of wanting to stay and talk about Draco.

The moment
the door closed behind him, Harry opened his eyes as a new person, his thoughts
racing along in perfect agreement with the merciless voice.

He was
going to rescue Draco. Ron said he had been arrested for �flagrant public
displays of homosexuality�; somewhere in the Black library would be a book that
detailed that charge and how to counteract it. And Harry already knew which
persona he would use to invade the Ministry.

A few of
the people he had created lived only on paper, as the authors of numerous
letters to the Prophet and to various important wizards, persuading them
to change their minds about laws or fads that might have threatened
Metamorphosis. Harry had maintained friendly correspondences as well,
ingratiating his other selves with some important older pure-bloods who rarely
left their estates. It was time to bring one of those personas forwards and
into the flesh.

Horace
Longbottom should do nicely. He always wrote letters in an eminently
respectable tone, on the finest parchment, and though his connection with the
Longbottom family was tenuous, there was little chance of anyone finding that
out; Augusta, Neville�s grandmother, had died a few years ago, and Neville
himself had shown little interest in researching his bloodline. The combination
of Horace�s age and his pure-blood status would win him a respect that few of
Harry�s other identities could match.

Except
Harry Potter himself.

Harry
stiffened and shook his head. No. No, I can�t reveal myself for the sake of
rescuing Draco.

And is
there any other action you could reveal yourself for that would be as
important?

Harry cast
the spell that summoned the legal books, and another that would retrieve
Horace�s file from Metamorphosis, a variant of the magic that had retrieved
Brian�s file at his first meeting with Draco. As he concentrated on his
reading, the first waves of panic retreated, smoothing into grim determination.
He could and would storm the Ministry and rescue Draco, as much as
Horace ever stormed.

Besides, it
appeared Draco had been arrested under the Public Statute of Sexual Decency and
Morality, 1900. There was a detail about that law the Ministry must have been
counting on most people not to know, but which Harry did, and which they
would find themselves sorry for ignoring.

Harry
smiled and enchanted Horace�s file to hover in front of him, so he could
refresh the details of this persona in his mind whilst searching for suitable
robes.

*

Draco knew
he maintained complete control of his face. Shacklebolt would undoubtedly have
looked triumphant or nodded wisely if he had not. He did allow himself one slow
blink. Then he leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers together as if he
were considering his answer�which was, in fact, the case.

�That,� he
said, �is a rather intriguing question.�

Shacklebolt�s
arm flexed as if he were tightening his left hand into a fist, though he kept
it below the level of the desk and Draco could not know for certain. At least
it reassured him that Shacklebolt was indeed someone who would show tells when
he was excited or thought he was on the trail of a right answer.

�Potter was
there, then?� Shacklebolt breathed.

Draco
frowned at him and raised one eyebrow. He would have to be careful in how he
responded, but he had been in more dangerous and delicate situations before,
with his mother especially. �I had been unaware of his presence,� he said.
�What I would like to know is why he was rumored to be there. Surely you
would know the truth of the matter at once? It was said after the war that the
Chosen One might claim the Minister�s friendship. Why not Floo him and ask him
directly?�

Shacklebolt�s
muscles tightened. �This is an official Ministry investigation,� he said. �I am
the one who should ask questions and not you.�

�And you
have the answer to your question.� Draco raised his shoulders once and let them
fall limply. �He was not there, to my knowledge. I am merely wondering
why you brought me here in order to demand answers, when you could have spoken
with him and obtained them with less time and trouble. Potter is not a good
liar.� And if he questions that statement, I will know he possesses some
dangerous information.

�Potter
deserves his privacy,� Shacklebolt said. �We merely thought�� His gaze
sharpened. �You are hiding something, Malfoy.�

�Am I?�
Draco widened his eyes. He had let a muscle jump in his cheek when Shacklebolt
made his statement about Harry. That had been deliberate, of course, but he
doubted the Minister could follow him this far into the game of baiting and
hidden motives. �Well, perhaps I am wondering why I was brought here to answer
questions about the rebellion when I was arrested for a different reason, under
a different law. Hiding such curiosity can be difficult.�

Shacklebolt
muttered words under his breath that Draco politely paid no attention to, then
folded his hands in front of him on the desk. �Listen, Malfoy,� he said. �An
honest answer for an honest answer. We suspect Potter because we know it was
incredibly powerful magic that counteracted our raid on the meeting in the
manor house. And not all of us have been taken in by the pretense that Harry is
weak. I�ve felt his innate magical strength a few times. I�ll indulge the
falsehood in public if he wants me to, as a favor to a friend, but if he�s
turned to criminal activity�� He let the words trail off and leaned forwards,
eyes intent. �We need to know what you know.�

Draco
lowered his eyes and nodded gravely, biting the inside of his cheek, but far
enough back in his mouth that the gesture wouldn�t show from Shacklebolt�s
angle. The Ministry had arrived somewhere near the truth by approaching from a
completely skewed angle, as usual.

Draco had
learned two pieces of valuable information, however. Harry would have to realize
that his pretense of weakness wasn�t as iron-clad as he would have liked.

Perhaps
that will encourage him to drop the pretense altogether and emerge into the
sunlight the sooner.

�My
involvement with the rebellion is more limited than you have supposed,� said
Draco, and gave a slight grimace, raising his eyes back to Shacklebolt�s. �I do
wish that our society was more hospitable to my sexual orientation, yes, but
pursuing my affairs in public is not my ultimate goal.�

Shacklebolt
snorted. �That part, I never believed.�

Draco
nodded. Let me never say that my father did me no favors. The selfish,
cold reputation of the Malfoy family was so prevalent that no one would believe
Draco had acted for the sake of others when he sponsored the rebellion. Shacklebolt�s
own preconceptions would do more of the work of convincing him than any lies
Draco could weave.

�Therefore,
I am not deep in Nusante�s councils.� Draco touched his fingers thoughtfully to
his lips. �But I do think it�s odd that he�s suddenly gained the courage to
move�to rewrite his play, for instance, even knowing what had to follow. Why
move now, when his rebellion could have started at any time, years ago or years
in the future? They�ve received confidence from somewhere. That confidence could
perhaps come from Potter�s presence, but more likely from somewhere else
entirely. I think I would have recognized him.�

Shacklebolt�s
eyes fired. Draco could practically see the lie taking root in his mind. �And
perhaps from your own very public actions as well.�

Draco
laughed. �I acted only for my own good, I told you. I made no speeches. I did
nothing but dance with my boyfriend�� he found it amusing that the Minister
flinched at the word ��and announce we were dating, as well as kiss him in
public a few times. If someone else wanted to take that as a signal to
rebellion, they did so without my encouragement. The only direct encouragement
I have given Nusante and his people is money.�

Shacklebolt
relaxed. �And you know nothing about the magic that stopped our Aurors from
fulfilling their obligation with the raid?�

�I would
have said it wasn�t Potter, but now?� Draco shrugged. �I don�t know.�

The
Minister nodded. �Then perhaps I can see my way to reducing the fine you�ll pay
for the public displays of homosexuality��

Someone
knocked on the office door. Shacklebolt shifted his chair backwards, somehow
missing the files piled on the floor and shelves behind it, though Draco had no
idea how. �What is it?� he called, his voice flat. �I left word that I was not
to be disturbed!�

The door
opened. An older wizard, with a gleaming mane of white hair and a beard that
rivaled Dumbledore�s, put his head around it and gave Shacklebolt a sword-sharp
smile. �My name is Horace Longbottom,� he said. �You told me once that I had
leave to disturb you whenever I liked, Minister.�

Draco
darted his eyes from the ancient wizard to Shacklebolt, fascinated when
Shacklebolt bowed his head. �Of course, Master Longbottom,� he murmured. His
words held a tone of wary respect Draco wouldn�t have thought many people
outside the pure-blood social circles capable of. �You�ve sent me
many�ah�fascinating letters. It might be of more interest to you, however, if
you visited me at a later time. I�d certainly have more ability to talk to you
as your conversation deserves then.�

Longbottom
stepped into the office. Draco leaned back in his chair and studied his face
for resemblances to the hopeless Neville�s. He could make out a few lines that
might be the same, but Horace�s brows and cheeks were heavier, his forehead
lined with wrinkles, and his eyes a brilliant, arresting blue Draco would
certainly have paid attention to if a classmate possessed them. He held a cane
in his left hand, the head a golden gryphon, with which he made pointed
gestures as he talked. Oddly, his right hand coiled close to his body, as if he
had long ago burned or injured it.

�I�ve heard
exactly what this boy has done,� Longbottom said, and nodded dismissively to
Draco, though his cane made a wide gesture at the same time. �And I�ll tell
you, Shacklebolt, the law you�ve arrested him under won�t fool a good legal
scholar for a second.�

Oh?
Draco thought, his interest in the old wizard increasing. More to the point,
the Minister had narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards.

�Now,
Horace��

The cane
swung around and pointed straight at the Minister.

�Master
Longbottom,� Shacklebolt amended, sounding faintly irritated at having to do
so. �You know that most of these laws haven�t been used in decades, and I�m
sorry to have to use this one now. But my charge is the safety of the wizarding
world, and unfortunately, the group Mr. Malfoy has associated himself with
poses a threat to that safety.�

�Then
arrest him under some law that will keep him in your custody for more than a
few hours,� Longbottom retorted smartly, his wrinkles drawing up until his eyes
seemed as bright and piercing as a hawk�s. �The Public Statute of Sexual
Decency and Morality, 1900, demands the arrest of both partners
participating in the flagrant public display of homosexuality. Otherwise, it
was feared that the law would be misused, with specious claims of such behavior
being lodged against their enemies by jilted lovers or those who wished to
cover their own adultery.� He looked at Draco directly then, and Draco hoped he
concealed his flinch; those eyes were disconcerting. �And you seem to have only
one young man here.�

Draco
permitted himself a small smile. He had read something like that in his study
of his father�s legal books, yes, but he had not remembered it before now. He
folded his hands in his lap and waited to see what Shacklebolt would say in
response.

The
Minister narrowed his eyes and exhaled slowly. �You are not acting in any
official capacity for the prisoner,� he said.

�I�m acting
in the capacity of �official watchdog of the Ministry�s reputation,��
Longbottom retorted, and his cane bounced off the Minister�s desk. �Consider
what will happen when word gets out that you not only arrested someone who�s
gay, but you did it on insufficient evidence and without fulfilling every
requirement of the law. The public�s a powder keg at the moment, Minister.�
Draco didn�t understand the reference, which was probably Muggle, but
Shacklebolt did, if the way he swallowed was any indication. �Can the Ministry
afford a false step? Can you?�

�I don�t
understand why you�re interested in this issue,� Shacklebolt said, picking at
his robes with fussy care. �You�ve always given the impression that you�re on
some lofty mountain, watching the antics of the rest of us, and amusing yourself
that way.�

�I can
always make an exception for extreme stupidity,� Longbottom said, and he turned
so that the cane aimed at Draco. �Or extreme bravery.�

Draco
concealed a snort behind a polite nod. Of course someone from a Gryffindor
family would look at his recent actions in such a way, rather than the actions
of someone looking to get disowned. Privately interested in the issue of
sexuality or not, Longbottom was still of the generation before his parents�,
which was even more conservative when it came to matters of sexuality and the
duty of every child to have further children and stay in the good graces of the
family. He could never understand that someone might prize his freedom above
the continuation of whatever pure-blood line he belonged to.

�Given the
obscurity of the law,� Shacklebolt was saying now, quietly, �it is unlikely
that anyone will realize I have violated it with Mr. Malfoy�s arrest.�

�Yes,� said
Longbottom. �A pity, that. Or it would be, if I didn�t have owls ready to fly,
first to my relatives and then to that other young fellow, that Raymond
Nusante, explaining the circumstances.� He smiled, a smile that Draco would not
like to have directed at him, and stroked the upper part of his beard, halting
his hand oddly halfway down his chest.

Shacklebolt
watched him with narrowed eyes for some time, then bowed his head and said,
�You win, Master Longbottom. I can assure you that not every contest between
the Ministry and the forces of change will be so easily won.�

�Of course
not,� Longbottom said, coming over to stand behind Draco, as if his presence
were necessary to unlock invisible chains. �But consider the way you�ve opposed
them, instinctively, in your mind. The forces of change always win in the end,
Minister. The ancient oak tree falls. The ocean eats the coast away. The young
dragon kills the old one. Is that what you want to see happen to the Ministry?�

�Those
metaphors are somewhat easier to understand than the ones in your letters,� Shacklebolt
said dryly, and Draco heard a tone of uneasy amusement in his voice. On some
level, Draco thought as he rose to his feet, he was enjoying the contest, which
was probably the reason he was prepared to let Draco go so easily.

�I thought
I should choose simpler ones, as I did not know whether I would be confronting
a simpleton,� Longbottom said, and gestured with his cane to indicate Draco
should precede him out the door.

Draco did
so, listening intently in case Longbottom should say something incriminating to
the Minister before they left. There had to be a price to this; saviors didn�t
swoop out of the sky and rescue him because of his inherent goodness. But
Longbottom only bade the Minister farewell, and then shut the door of the
office quietly.

Draco
turned to face him. �Why?� he demanded.

�Can you
ask that question?� a far too familiar voice said from beneath the beard, and
the cane briefly tapped against the blue eyes. They flashed green.

Draco
stiffened, his breath stolen for the moment. It was one thing to have Harry
tell him that he was good at disguises and the strangers that Metamorphosis
provided to others, and another to witness it.

�Incredible,�
he said, at last, because it was too late to mask his reaction in any case. �I
never would have associated Longbottom with you.�

�It�s a
persona I�ve been waiting some time to assume,� Harry/Longbottom replied, and
then the green eyes became blue again and his voice deepened. �And you will
have to tell me what made you rate a private talk with the Minister.� He began
to stride down the corridor as if he owned the Ministry, nodding to the Aurors
and hurrying flunkies they passed. Draco was certain he had taken at least part
of his commanding manner from Dumbledore.

�When we
can be more secure,� Draco murmured. �Some of it concerns you.�

Harry�s
step didn�t falter. �I should have anticipated it might,� he said calmly.

Draco kept
his eyes on Harry for the rest of the journey, trying to break down the
Longbottom persona into its component parts so he might see how Harry had
changed himself. It was difficult. Even granting that he acted somewhat like
Dumbledore, and that the swinging of the cane�a Transfigured wand, Draco was
now certain�was an obvious mannerism, the parts together formed a smooth and
seamless whole. Several times, Draco found himself thinking of the old man as
�Longbottom� as he watched him sneer at people who gaped, or stop and aid an
ancient witch to step into the lift, murmuring courtesies that had gone out of
fashion fifty years ago.

And he knew the truth.

Or part
of the truth.

Draco was
more sober and thoughtful than he had been even immediately after the arrest by
the time they emerged from the Ministry. So far, he had mostly seen the
potential for useful deception in Harry�s disguises. Now that he had witnessed
one of them in action, he had come to appreciate how completely Harry subsumed
himself in them, surrendered control to the persona he called forwards.

He can
make others believe in them because he believes in them when he�s wearing them.

How can
I trust him? How can I know when he�s telling me the truth and when he�s not?
I�ve known so far�or believed I�ve known. But he had motive not to fool me at
the time.

And what
happens if he lies to me because he believes that�s what I need to hear�or
because he really does believe what he�s saying, even though it�s not the
truth?

Longbottom/Harry
pointed towards a particular fireplace as they entered the Atrium. Draco had
just turned towards it when a hand caught his shoulder. He turned, already
drawing his wand, ready to battle Weasley.

Then a
second hand joined the first and a pair of lips clamped themselves to his as if
they intended to drain his soul through his mouth.

Draco
laughed aloud, because he knew only one person who kissed like this. Staggering
away from the other man, he glanced at Harry, pleased to see a brief tightening
around his current eyes that could have been jealousy.

*

Yume111:
Draco definitely retains a very Slytherin mindset. He will need it to deal with
Harry.

And yes,
this is a �reality closing in� section of the story. Draco is beginning to get
past his romantic daydreams and realize how much still needs to be done.

If Harry
can bring himself to trust Draco, to believe in that trust, he should be able
to progress. It�s probably good that he�s already committed himself with a few
grand gestures.

He calls
that voice the merciless voice mostly because it never seems to tell him
anything he wants to hear.

Eventually,
what happened during Harry�s nineteenth year will be explained.

Draco
called Hermione a Mudblood to anger Ron-just as Ron approached a good deal of
that encounter intending to anger Draco, and for no other reason.

I think
Hermione will definitely be hurt by the way Harry has hidden so much of himself
from her. He should realize that and get on to fixing it.

SoftObsidian74:
Thank you! More reflection on Harry�s Slytherin tactics here, as you can see.

And yes,
Harry is very much to blame for his current relationships with Ron and
Hermione. He mostly assumed, based on a very initial reaction from Hermione,
that they wouldn�t want to know anything about Metamorphosis, and proceeded
from there.

Broomrider949,
thrnbrooke, Engwaaearien, momoko, Hi-chan, Caldonya, Koneko: Thank you for
reviewing!

qwerty: As
you can see here, Harry mainly came under suspicion from the power of the
magic, and Kingsley hasn�t told anyone else what he suspects as yet. They have
no idea that was Draco�s potion that caused the problem.

Lunatic
with a hero complex: I think that�s understandable. I�m hopeful the
conversation with Ron in this chapter will provide more of an insight into his
character. He�s not hopeless, but he is blind.

Mangacat:
Harry himself is confused (and is confusing Draco) on what is �himself� and
what is not.

hakkyou: Thanks! I hope that you
did not have a heart attack.

Werewolf Mistress: Definitely not
Brian. The last thing Harry wants to do right now is let Brian near the
Ministry.

Calrissian18: Harry is ignoring the
memories, but I�d say that they�re not the only cause of his personas. Getting
away with it is a good part of the cause. He�s good at it. He enjoys it.

Hermione is
more enlightened than Ron, yes, but Ron finds homosexuality personally
threatening in a way that Hermione does not (as many straight men do). His
attitude will be explored in more depth later.

Sol: There
will, at some point, be a big Harry-Ron confrontation. There would have to be,
over the fact that he�s dating Draco if nothing else.
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Changing of the Guard

Chapter Twenty-Eight�Slytherin Applications of Law