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Dignosco Perturbatio	By : KianaD Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 1771 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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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- 3
- 4
Same warnings/disclaimer as from chapter one. Carry on, brave soul.

He reappeared a few moments later, surrounded in darkness and unable to even see his hand when he waved it in front of his face. Pulling out his wand, he muttered "lumos" quietly, figuring that should he encounter any Muggles, they would more than probably just assume he had a torch.
Even with the light emanating from his wand tip, it was too dark to see much farther than a few feet away, and so freezing, he hugged himself with his arms and for the second time that evening, waited for Malfoy to appear.
And when Draco did appear, he managed to Apparate just a little too close to Potter for his own liking. He raised a brow but surprisingly did not say anything, just nodded and lead the other man the rest of the way to his home. He let the wards down, ushered Potter instead, and immediately reset the wards before lighting a fire.
"Nice place," Harry nodded approvingly as he cast a quick glance around. "It could be done with being a hell of a lot warmer though. Didn't think it was possible to get somewhere colder than Hogwarts but if you'd kept me waiting out there much longer you'd have ended up having to defrost me." He flashed a grin at Malfoy then, even as a shiver crept down his spine.
"Whiny fuck," Draco said with no real heat and a slight grin of his own. "That is what the whisky for."
Moving in front of the fire, Harry knelt down beside it and held his hands out, rubbing them together as he warmed them. "Well you better hurry up and pour us some then, hadn't you?" he replied with a raised brow. "Some host you are."
"I suppose if I liked you I would have already done it," Draco responded with a shrug. He waiting until Potter had turned back to the fire before flicking his wand at the other man. Not wanting another thanks for the warming spell, Draco quickly hurried out of the room.
Once in the kitchen, he rolled his eyes at himself as he reached into the cupboard for two glasses. Not bothering to fill them while in the kitchen, Draco carried them and the bottle of whisky back into the sitting room and set them on the table while taking the chair furthest from were Potter was sitting.
Harry was less than bright when it came to many things, however he knew a warming spell when he felt one. The way the warmth slowly trickled from your head down to the tips of your toes, warming everything in between as it went, it was unmistakable, and certainly not a sensation that you got from sitting in front of a log fire. Still, as Malfoy had turned and made his way into the kitchen, Harry thought better of mentioning it but couldn't help but wonder why he'd done it.
Shrugging out of his coat and settling down on the floor in front of the fire, Harry stretched his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his hands and waiting for Malfoy to re-emerge from the kitchen. Watching as the other man placed the bottle and glasses on the table before sitting, Harry smirked, thinking how completely surreal this scenario was, but feeling oddly comfortable with it.
Draco paused in his pouring of the whisky long enough to raise a brow at the man across from him. "I always did think you were a bit mental," he said. "And when you grin like that, you look downright manic."
Harry laughed, despite himself. He probably should have felt annoyed by that comment, and in another time and place he may well have replied with a scathing comment of his own, but Malfoy didn't seem to trying to be nasty, so instead he just shrugged.
"Yeah, well you aren't alone in thinking that you know? There was a time when quite a lot of people thought I was mental, myself included. But if it's unnerving you I can stop." The grin fading into an amused smirk, Harry raised a brow in challenge at Malfoy, surprisingly comfortable with the other man, all things considered.
"I am not unnerved," Draco replied as he handed Potter his glass. "Ever."
"Well, that's all right then," Harry, replied as he took the glass from Malfoy, slowly bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip before resting it on the table and leaning back again.
"Glad to hear it," Draco answered without rancor. He shrugged as he swallowed a mouthful of his own drink. He had no idea what to say, really. He was not even certain why Potter was there. Going from an outright �I don�t care enough to even bother with you� to spending time together, in Draco�s home, drinking whisky� Draco decided he must be mental as well. It was quite possible, given his genetics.
Harry laughed again and shook his head. "This is bloody weird. Not in a bad way, but weird all the same. Of all the things I thought I might have been doing tonight, this definitely wasn't one of them."
Reaching for his glass once again, Harry took a long, slow swallow from it, closing his eyes as he shuddered slightly; relishing the burn of the alcohol as it slipped down his throat, adding to the warmth in his body caused by the warming charm Malfoy had unexpectedly cast on him.
"Not certain that �weird� is the word I would use to describe it," Draco said. "Seems a bit� tame. Help yourself to more whisky when you wish it. It is Remus�, by the way," he added.
"No? So what word would you use then?" Harry asked, actually rather interested in the answer as he poured himself another glass. Holding the bottle towards Malfoy, he tilted it towards him in offer of a refill.
Draco accepted the refill as he thought about his answer. "Maniacal, again perhaps. Unhinged, demented, absurd� completely and utterly ludicrous? Mix those together, then you might be close," he said in self-satisfaction. "I have more, if needed."
"You talking about me still or about yourself now?" Harry asked with a grin as he took another swallow from this glass and placing it on the table before he got totally smashed. He still had to be able to get home, after all, and Apparating while drunk was never a particularly good idea. He'd realised that the last time he'd done it and ended up on the tiger enclosure of London Zoo. Luckily, it was at night so no one saw him, but he'd learned his lesson right enough.
"As much as I enjoy talking about myself, I was speaking about� this," Draco replied haughtily. A tone that was quite ruined by the slight grin he was not quite able to hold in. "You are not done already, are you?" he asked, nodding at Potter�s glass.
Harry shook his head. "Nope, but unless you want me sprawled over your living room floor in a drunken stupor all night I've got to take it easy. Not used to drinking spirits; they go straight to my head."
He sighed rather contentedly as he held one hand up in front of the fire, not feeling cold but enjoying the tingling burn of the heat on his hand, before he turned to look at Malfoy again. "Like talking about yourself eh? Well, don't let me stop you."
"Who says I wouldn�t like that?" Draco asked, eyes wide as he replied to Potter�s first question and neatly ignoring his second. "I might even take embarrassing photos of you and sell them to the Prophet."
"Yeah, would be just like you to take advantage," Harry grumbled, reaching for his glass and taking another sip. "Still, I'm not without a few embarrassing Malfoy moments myself you know. Although, you�re cocky enough to probably lap up the attention those would cause, so it seems you have the upper hand."
"Be grateful that would be all I would do to take advantage," Draco retort with a smirk. "And I assure you, I do not become embarrassed."
"Why doesn't that surprise me," Harry replied with a soft snort. "Tell me Malfoy, is there anything on the emotional spectrum that you actually do? I'm beginning to wonder if you're human."
Shifting slightly so that his legs were curled at the side of him, Harry turned towards Malfoy, his back to the fire while resting on one hand as his other held his ever-emptying glass. "And exactly how else could you think of taking advantage then? Am I going to have to keep an eye on you? I don't want to get up to go to the loo and suddenly find that I've sprout a tail when my back's been turned."

"What will it take for me to get through to you? Do you even feel anything at all? Ever? Draco are you even listening to me? Never mind, I see you are not. I wonder if you are even human, the way you can ignore emotions."

Draco briefly thought they were both correct, as he felt no guilt when Birget had died, but then realised they were both wrong, as he had felt relief.
"No, not really," Draco replied finally. "There�s little point in emotions. And equally as little point in giving you a tail, for Merlin�s sake. As hard as it may be for you to believe, I do realise we are not in school anymore."
Harry frowned, not really having expected Malfoy to take his comment seriously. "I was kidding," he replied eventually. "About the tail I mean."
He watched Malfoy carefully for a few moments, his eyes narrowing as his brow furrowed in thought before he spoke again. "Now, I know you'll most probably tell me to mind my own business and that it has sod all to do with me, which it doesn't really but I'm curious. What do you find so pointless about emotions? I mean, I don't actually believe you are without them; I've seen you display a couple more than a few times to prove me of that but�why say it?"
"I doubt I have had enough to drink to allow me to answer that to you," Draco answered thoughtfully.

Well, that was unexpected, Harry thought to himself as he continued in his close observation of his companion. Not the fact that that Malfoy hadn't told him, because he was fully prepared for that, but that he hadn't outright refused too, which meant, at least to Harry, that with the help of their friend Mr Bottle of Whiskey, he might explain later.
Mentally shrugging to himself, Harry quirked one corner of his mouth into a rather lopsided grin, already beginning to feel the alcohol dispel any of the reservations he may have had about being there, along with any associated inhibitions that came with being in Draco Malfoy's home. "So is there anything you can tell me without having to be drunk first?" He asked finally, reaching for his own glass and taking a sip, catching a couple of stray drops with his tongue.
"That entirely depends on how much you have had to drink," Draco replied absently, watching Potter with a sick feeling of fascination. That ought to be outlawed, he decided as Potter flicked his tongue out, causing a warm sensation in the pit of his stomach that Draco realised with a jolt was attraction.
Bugger.
"Me?" Harry asked, surprise evident, along with an equal measure of confusion. "Do you want to make sure I'm too drunk to remember, or something?" he added with a grin.
"That would be the point, yes," Draco said, grinning slightly.
"Yeah, well when I've passed out on your floor, you'll know it's safe to talk," Harry replied shaking his head. It didn't matter how much he drank, he was one of the fortunate people who always remembered everything that was said and done; although really whether or not this was a good thing could really be left open to debate.
"Talk and give you a tail," Draco agreed. "Perhaps ears? A haircut too, maybe?"
"So much for not being in school," Harry snorted as he finished the remainder of his drink. "Good luck getting the hair to do what you tell it though. It's ignored me for years so I don't see why it would listen to you."
"I am not acting as though I am in school at all," came the protest. "I am talking to you, am I not? And besides, your hair would listen to me," Draco added in a voice that made it clear he thought Potter should have known better.
"You talked to me in school as well," Harry replied raising a brow in amusement. "Well� sort of. Does sniping count as talking? Cause technically, you have to speak to do it so really it does in a way I think." Harry pondered this thought for a moment, before shrugging. "Still don't think it'd listen, but then you always were better at making yourself presentable than I was so no doubt you know a few tricks I don't."
"It is for certain that I know a great many tricks you do not," Draco said, mouth twitching upward at the double entendre he doubted Potter would catch.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Harry replied watching Malfoy's expression curiously. "There's a lot of things I don't know. Tend to pick them up pretty quickly though. Except potions." Harry wrinkled his nose at that and made to refill his glass. He wasn't sure what it was about potions that he found so difficult. It wasn't Snape; the man didn't intimidate him, he just seemed to have a natural ineptitude when it came to them.
"Well�" Draco said, considering. "There is always someone worse than you at something. In your case you are pretty high on the fuckup scale with potions, but on the bright side, Longbottom was worse."
Harry's mouth fell open slightly, as he laughed and shook his head. "I'm beginning to think I've had too much of this already. I could have sworn you just paid me a compliment. In your own, saying something without actually really saying it, sort of way." Frowning, Harry eyed the bottle suspiciously, wondering what on earth Lupin did to his whiskey to make it more potent than he remembered.
"If it makes you feel better, I ought to remind you that I would not do something without it benefiting me. In this case, I am quite delighted to have shocked you. The joy of proving you wrong, you see."
"Proving me wrong about what, exactly?" Harry asked, deciding 'what the hell' and pouring himself another glass. "Refill?"
Draco studied Potter in disbelief. He was not entirely certain the other man was not being coy and that he knew exactly what Draco was talking about, but yet there was an underlying of ingenuousness there that even as hard as Draco tried to deny, he did see. He nodded at the question and held his glass out again, nearly smiling in true amusement as Potter refilled his glass without question.
"Your fallacy; erroneous beliefs in black and white," Draco said, answering the first question finally as he settled back in his chair with the full glass.
"Some things are black and white," Harry shrugged. "Sure, not everything is but nor are some things as complicated as people make them. It's all about balance, I think. Another thing I've never been very good at. Except on a broom," he added hastily. "That, I'm rather good at."
"I suppose you are a passable rider," Draco allowed. "I wouldn�t have enjoyed riding against you if not. Still, you speak about balance, and I do agree you are horrible at it, hence my bringing it up in the first place. You more than most anyone else I have ever known treats things as black or white."
Harry narrowed his eyes and looked at Malfoy with an expression something similar to amused suspicion. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy?" He grinned, trying to ensure that this words were taken in the manner in which he meant them, which surprisingly enough wasn't as a criticism. He was surprised however, by Malfoy's admission, which led him to think of the times that they had played against one another and Harry had to admit that those just so happened to be the games he enjoyed the most. No one pushed him quite the way that Malfoy did, and Harry had loved that.
"So enlighten me then. Give me an example of something I treat as black and white and show me why it is isn't."
"I would do so gladly, if you hadn�t just proved my point for me," Draco said, shrugging. "You may have meant it in jest, but that is exactly what I mean."
Harry was finding himself spiralling deeper and deeper into confusion every time Malfoy opened his mouth and said something, and he silently cursed the whiskey that he had absolutely no intention of ceasing to drink, for making his brain fuzzier than usual.
"So," Harry began, sitting up straight and assuming a pose of someone who had just been handed a very important task and meant to complete it. "You mean to say that there is some other reason that you took every available opportunity to try and make my life hell, other than you hating me? Because if not, I'm not following. I'm not even certain I'm following now, to be honest."
"I am saying that nothing is completely black or white, or certainly one way or another. So yes. Maybe." Draco sat back on the chair, lips curving into a self-satisfied smile.
That meant yes, Harry was almost certain of it; the admission taking him more than a little by surprise and naturally arousing his curiosity.
"And no doubt neither one of us are drunk enough for you to tell me what that reason would be then, are we?" he replied, annoyed by the slight note of petulance in his voice.
"I must admit, your keen understanding has taken me by surprise. For once," Draco laughed.
"Git," Harry grumbled, as he settled back on his arms, allowing his head to fall back and his eyes flutter closed, the sound of Malfoy's laughter ringing in his ears. It was a sound he was well acquainted with, having been on the receiving end of it often enough over the ears, but it sounded different. Less hollow somehow, and more� genuinely amused, Harry supposed.
"Why'd you keep it?" he asked again, not attempting to move or open his eyes. The warmth of the fire against his face caused his cheeks to glow slightly as their colour deepened, the sensation and the alcohol working together to relax his body as he worked to stifle a yawn.
Draco did not answer; too busy watching. Potter looked so comfortable � more comfortable than Draco would have been had he been in Potter�s place � and to Draco�s disgust, he looked beautiful. He sighed and poured himself another glass of Remus� whisky before settling back to stare at the fire instead. "Who do you think it is?"
This was getting to be a habit. No matter how much Malfoy accused him of seeing things in black and white, some things just were; and his blatant refusal to answer Harry's questions happened to be one of those things.
"I don't know." Harry replied eventually, ignoring the knot that had tightened in his stomach at the question. The thought of someone betraying him like that; worse still, someone close to him doing it� Sighing, he opened his eyes and shook his head, his face becoming serious as he turned to look at Malfoy.
"Do you know me well enough to tell the difference?"
Silently Draco gave that question intense thought. Did he know Potter well enough? He thought back over the exchanges and barbs they had shared over the years, but he knew that was not enough � anyone could have remembered those; as Draco recalled there was not a person who did not know the rivalry they had shared. He considered what he did know of the other man, and he was somewhat surprised to realise that it was indeed a good amount.
He knew how the other man walked, laughed, smiled. He knew that Potter�s eyes crinkled when he was amused, and that he would use his left hand to brush his hair out his face, and that he often would lick his lips when he was annoyed or concentrating.
He had a good grasp of what motivated and moved the other man and what things he would not tolerate. He knew that for all of Potter�s Gryffindor qualities, he was not above being sneaky or even lying if he needed to.
"Yes," Draco answered finally. "I do."
"Good," Harry replied quietly, "because you are going to need to." He took a deep breath, not quiet believing what he was about to say, but knowing that despite the sheer volume of alcohol that he had put away, that it wasn't the whiskey that was responsible.
"If Lucius knows that you've helped me, it stands to reason he might try to get to you through me, or Polyjuice me, rather. If that happens, I know you'll do what you need to do - whatever that is."
Draco knew his face portrayed the surprise he felt; both at the level of trust Potter had just placed in him, and the stark truth in what he had said. "I suppose I could just buy a pet snake," he said, almost grinning in reply at the surprise mirrored on Potter�s face before he laughed at what Draco had said.
"What do you plan on doing?" Draco asked after a moment. "Something stupidly heroic, no doubt."
"Nothing," Harry replied simply. "Absolutely nothing."
"Nothing?" Draco echoed. "Pardon?"
Pulling a face as he best tried to form a logical train of thought so he could explain to Malfoy the reasons behind his somewhat uncharacteristic choice of no action, Harry rubbed his eyes, mussing his hair with his hand before he sat up straight again, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his arms atop them.
"I want to know who's helping him. It could be anyone, anyone," Harry repeated as though trying to drive his meaning home without having to say the words he desperately didn't want to. "I can't afford to do anything that will put anyone on guard, so it's business as usual. Let him come to me. I know about it, so the element of surprise has gone, but there's no reason that he needs to know that. Not yet. And besides," he added with a faint smile, "so long as he thinks I don't know, you're sorta safe right?"
Draco paused, uncharacteristic in his unwillingness to lie. He excused it by his surprise in Potter�s sudden trust in him, and told himself he had no reason to change his belief that Draco was safe. The last thing he wanted was Potter hanging about because of some sort of hero complex. "As much as it pains me to admit it, I do suppose that makes the most amount of sense for you to do nothing," he said after a moment.
And there it was again; Malfoy's reluctance to answer a question, which in mind of what the question was didn't bode well for the answer. Letting out a long, slow whistle, Harry raised both his brows as he sucked in a deep breath, releasing it slowly after holding it for a moment or two.
"Right," he said, his mind suddenly clearing of the alcohol-induced fog that had begun to descend over it. "How safe is this place? For you I mean."
"I have enough faith in my magic that my wards will hold," Draco answered. "Until I go back I will be fine here." He was not sure why he added the last part, only that he felt he wanted to reassure Potter and his bloody complex.
Harry frowned. "Go back? Go back where? Surely you're not seriously thinking about going home?" Honestly, Harry didn't believe that Malfoy would do something so stupid, not if he was at as great a risk as both he, and Dumbledore pointed out to him. Going back to the Malfoy Mansion would have been�well�insanity, really.
"This is my home," Draco explained in a sort of patient voice one would use with a child. "But after the holidays, I will be returning to the Manor, yes."
Snorting and rolling his eyes, Harry knocked back the remainder of the drink in his glass. "And you call me stupid," he sighed. Shaking his head, he allowed it to rest on a hand propped on his knee. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
After several moments of silence between the two men, Harry laughed quietly. "Well, that's one way to kill a conversation. Although you know, telling me to shut up would have worked just as well� or not really, seeing how I don't tend to listen." He flashed a grin at Malfoy, not really sure why he felt the need to try and lighten the mood. After all, he could have just left, it wasn't as though he had to stay there, but he didn't want to and that though in itself was rather odd.
Harry was surprised to find that he was actually enjoying, for the most part, talking with Malfoy. He seemed� different somehow, and yet the same. Almost as though he'd always been this way but Harry had just never noticed, only seeing the rival that had dogged his almost every move through school. He was curious about the other man. Not just about his reasons for helping him, but about him. Harry wanted to know him, to feel that he could say that should he be faced with a Polyjuice Malfoy that he would be able to tell the difference. At the moment, he didn't think he could, and that bothered him.
"I didn�t mean to kill the conversation," Draco said with a shrug. "I agree with you, it is stupid to go back. I don�t wish to do it, but I am not given a choice in the matter. It is just there is not a lot one can say about it, is all."
"Why can't you stay here?" Harry asked as he absently drummed his fingertips over the top of his cheek. "I mean, there's got to be some way that will mean you don't have to go back."
"Oh? And who would you send in my place?"
"That's not what I asked," replied Harry slightly more irritably than he had meant. "Just�forget I said anything. You have your reasons, just like you have your reasons for everything else and you were unwilling to explain those either so I don't know why I thought you'd explain this."
Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers and poured himself another drink, tossing it back before pouring another and handing the bottle to Malfoy. "I'm only trying to help, not that you need my help of course, I just don't want you going back there."
Taking the bottle, Draco mused he would have been amused by annoying Potter so easily had he himself not been so shocked. Following Potter�s example, he knocked back a glassful of the whisky and poured himself another, deciding it would be easier to pretend to be under the influence of the alcohol if he was going to attempt any sort of answer, and that it should dull any pain when Potter decided he didn�t believe what Draco was saying.

For courage, Draco thought with amusement as he finished the next glass of whisky.
"You saw the lack of a Dark Mark on my arm," he said. "I am assuming you realise that means I did not join the ranks of the Death Eaters, for whatever reason you thought. Lack of bravery I am guessing would have been your first thought after trickery," Draco added, amusement tingeing his voice.
"I went to Snape at the end of our sixth year for ideas, for help. I did not want to join the Death Eaters, and he was my only salvation in avoidance. During seventh year, he convinced me to speak with Dumbledore, with whose peculiar temperament was able to help me come up with a plan that allowed me to, in essence, run away but permit me to keep contact with my family. In payment, I owe him servitude including but not limited to giving him any and all information I am either told or, in some cases, I overhear."
Harry listened intently, albeit somewhat surprised by the fact that Malfoy now seemed to be explaining himself. That was something that had been completely unexpected.
Waiting until he seemed to have finished, Harry nodded once, before raising a brow at the other man and shrugging his head slightly to the side. "Actually, my first thought was that 'so he isn't such a bloody idiot after all then'. Come on, Malfoy. It was obvious Lucius had you to pegged to be a Death Eater, probably ever since you were born. I've always known that. He'd probably force fed you your duties and responsibilities since you were in nappies. I'm perfectly aware that you aren't a coward, you came to help me after all didn't you? Can't deny that you're a devious sort though, but then most people are to an extent really, aren't they?"
He paused, carefully considering the rest of what Malfoy had said. "So you owe Dumbledore because he helped get you out of taking the Mark then? What exactly did you have to do?"
"Bugger," Draco replied with a scowl. He tipped back two more drinks before turning to face the other man. "I had to get married."
Harry had been in the process of swallowing a mouthful of his own drink, and promptly choked on hearing Malfoy's admission.
"Married?" he finally managed to choke out, gazing at him with wide eyes. Harry knew he was staring, knew the complete and utter disbelief that was present on his face, but he didn't care. Draco Malfoy was married and his stomach churned unpleasantly at the thought.
When Malfoy merely scowled in reply, Harry blinked several times and shook his head as if trying to bring himself out of the shock he'd fallen into.
"Well," he replied after a few moments, once he'd managed to regain some control over his facial expressions and tone of voice. "That was unexpected." Taking another drink from his glass and seriously beginning to wonder how he was going to be able to get home at this rate, Harry let out another long, slow breath.
"I can't believe Dumbledore made you get married. What possible good would that have done? I mean the next best thing to you becoming a Death Eater would be if you�" Harry trailed off, his eyes rising to Malfoy's once more with renewed astonishment. "No�you don't. You didn't�did you? Oh bloody hell."
Really by this point, Harry was beginning to wonder if this day could get any more surreal, and disastrous. He was inclined to believe it couldn't.
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Dignosco Perturbatio