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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 Three�Potter the
Infuriating

�� What made
everything worse, Draco thought later, was the lack of expression on Potter�s
face when he spoke. He certainly didn�t look worried enough about a patient he�d
just been warned was in danger from other people in hospital. Maybe he was a
mediwizard, but he seemed to have missed the training that most of the Healers
Draco knew had received, emphasizing the importance of patients� safety, and
their sense of that safety. They
would not rest as well, nor recover as quickly, if they had to look over their
shoulders for an enemy around every corner.

�� Actually,
Draco thought he would have known that without hearing that the teaching
occurred as part of Healers� training. It was common sense. But Potter had
learned to ignore that, hadn�t he?

�� And you�d
simply let them, is that it?� he asked Potter in a snarl, his hand falling to
rest on his wand. He felt an extra surge of fury when he remembered the plan he�d
dreamed up for seducing Potter. He would have wasted his time and his skill
with someone who cared as little about his patients as Potter cared about Lucius.
Someone like that did not deserve to
be coaxed into loyalty to the Malfoy family.

�� Don�t be
more of an idiot than you can help,� Potter snapped, and Draco paused as he saw
rage split those green eyes like a flash of lightning. Perhaps Potter is taking this more seriously than I thought he was. Potter
turned towards the bed and kept one shoulder pointed at Draco whilst he spoke
ostentatiously to Lucius. �This is a matter of practicality, Mr. Malfoy. I have
other patients and can�t spend every hour here with you.�

�� Draco
concealed a sneer, but only because exposing his contempt of Potter now would
mean exposing far too much of what he really felt. He never wanted to become
used to displaying his emotions unguarded in front of someone who wasn�t part
of the family.

�I also can�t guarantee that I�ll
have the curse reversed in a week, which is the time span of safety my superior
gave me. I won�t hurry it and possibly hurt you. Nor do I have the authority to
set up wards around your room. If I tried, someone would find out and use that
as an excuse to have me removed from your case.�

�� Lucius
nodded shortly.

�� Limitations are all you give us, Draco
thought, his hand curling around his wand again. Is this the honesty my father so admires? Admissions of weakness and
incompetence? Perhaps Potter knows that the one shining moment of heroism in
his life was destroying the Dark Lord and now he tries to advertise himself as
he really is to the rest of the world, so they�ll forgive him his failure since
then to live up to that moment.

��

�� What do
you think the best solution is?� Potter asked. He stood with one hand braced on
his hip, the other folded into a fist beneath his chin. His eyes were locked on
Lucius�s face. Perhaps, Draco
admitted reluctantly, he wants to do
everything he can to save Father, and is admitting his limitations so that we
won�t demand the impossible. �Can you arrange protection on your own? Is
there someone you want me to contact?�

�� I can take
time away from my training.� Draco said the words because they were true and
obviously he would have to be the strong one here, the real hero and protector,
but also because he wanted to see Potter�s reaction. Potter shot him a startled
glance, as if he had never considered that Draco might care for his parents.
Draco touched Lucius�s shoulder and gazed evenly at Potter. He had no intention
of hiding his strength. �I�m still a
year away from my mastery, you know that, and I�m at a point where pausing my
studies won�t hurt me.�

�� I would
not want you to have to live in hospital, Draco, when I am the one who is sick,� said Lucius.

�� Draco
flicked his right eyelid in an imperceptible motion, catching and acknowledging
the hint of anxiety behind his father�s words. Malfoy Manor needed at least one
member of the family there as often as possible, to reassure the house-elves and
anchor the wards and show their enemies that it was not worthwhile trying to
occupy their home. Lucius had assumed Draco would be that person most of the
time, but Draco saw no reason for it to be so. His mother was better at a
distance from the bedside anyway, where she was not confronted so strongly with
evidence of her nightmare�the disintegration of the family�from moment to
moment.

�� Of course,
though Lucius understood all that, Potter might not. And Draco had accepted
that they should not antagonize him, though he doubted his private feelings
about the man and Lucius�s would ever be in agreement. �I want to,� he said. �Please
say you�ll allow it? You know Mother isn�t as good with the sight of potential
death as I am.�

�� Potter
frowned even as Lucius nodded. Draco restrained a sigh this time. He wished he understood Potter. Why would
he admit that he could barely do anything, even protect his patient�s health,
and then demand some voice in the proceedings?

�� I have one
condition, then,� Potter said.

�� Of course you do. Draco turned enough to
face him and show he was listening, keeping his face calm and bored. You�re probably about to ban Dark Arts books
from Lucius�s room, despite needing to study them yourself in order to
understand the curse on Father.

�� I insist
on some respect from you, Draco.�

�� He what? Draco stared, unsure if the
demand or Potter calling him by his first name surprised him more. Did Potter
understand how impossible it was for Draco to give him that because he called
for it? He had to do something to earn respect
first. Only family members received unconditional emotions. Draco would set limits
even on his hatred when he found it interfering unjustifiably with his
obligations.

�� If you�re
continually questioning me in the midst of delicate operations and insulting
me, you�ll take up valuable time I could be using to cure your father.�

�� He practically admitted that he couldn�t
cure Lucius, and now he claims he wants to try anyway? Draco was glad he
didn�t live in close proximity to Potter on a regular basis. His friends
probably needed Mind-Healers merely from trying to keep up with the swift
change of his moods.

�� I don�t
promise not to ask questions at all,� he said, largely because Lucius had
pressed a finger to the inside of his wrist, and he knew that his father would
require a verbal answer to satisfy him. It would probably escape Potter�s
notice that Draco hadn�t actually agreed
to his other ridiculous request. Of course, Draco could feign respect, and that
would be good enough for a man who didn�t have parents to fall back on, never
mind a pure-blood family.

�� Reasonable
questions are fine,� Potter said. �Unreasonable ones can wait.�

�� And then,
exactly as Draco raised his eyes to Potter�s face, he did�that.

�� He smiled.

�� Draco had
been sure he had memories of Potter with a smiling face. If he did, he learned
in that moment, they were years out of date, and he had only ever seen a sneer
or a smirk or a smile on the edge of tears. This was full, this was real. Potter looked at Draco as if he
were the center of the universe, as if light glittered on his head, as if he
had a pocket full of Galleons that he would spend on needy Muggle orphans at
will.

�� He looked
as if he were interested in him.

�� Draco could
not remember the last time someone save Narcissa or Lucius had done that.

��

�� He could
feel himself blinking, his jaw dropping, but he didn�t care. He couldn�t have
held his reaction in, dangerous as it was to get used to expressing emotion.
That would have been less than genuine tribute to Potter and the rich and rare
property he represented. Potter arched an eyebrow curiously, as if he didn�t
understand, but that didn�t matter. Draco understood, and Lucius, who touched
his wrist again. Draco didn�t have to glance at his father to know there was a
hint of smugness in the expression.

�� Yes,
perhaps Potter�s honesty and forthrightness had their value after all.

�� A shiver of
desire dried Draco�s throat. He could bed someone who smiled at him like that. He
could have a more lasting relationship with him than he could with most who
were not part of the family. He wanted�

�� Combined
with what you told me yesterday about Smythe and the Aurors� report,� Potter
said then, �I�m confident his motive was revenge. We know he wanted your death
to be painful and lingering. That gives me a few ideas about what spell he
could have used. I�ll return tomorrow and let you know what I�ve found.�

�� Thank you,
Mr. Potter,� Lucius said. Draco glanced briefly at his face. Yes, smugness
about the corners of his eyes. He knew his estimation of Potter had proven more
correct than his son�s. �You have proven yourself more competent than I could
have dreamed.�

�� You
dreamed about me often?�

�� And Draco�s
perception of Potter changed again.
He scowled and didn�t try to prevent himself from doing so. Potter gave him a
half-glance as he left again.

�� How in the world am I supposed to decide if
I want him? He goes from splendid to arrogant in two minutes, from heroic to
vulgar. Perhaps we might be compatible in bed, but I would never like or trust
him in the long term.

�� But the
memory of that smile still made Draco want to fuck him. Another paradox. He
could imagine those green eyes widening up at him, that smile gaping into a
slack grimace of passion, even as he knew he would flinch at the words that
emerged after the sex.

�� You are
too stern, Draco.�

�� Draco
turned with a slowness to face his father that Lucius would understand very
well. Sternness was a family virtue. If anything, Lucius should be encouraging
him to show it.

�� We are
limited in our choices.� His father had sat upright against the pillows, though
the effort made sweat start on his face, and he stared at Draco with a slight
relaxation of the lucid mask he wore over his emotions in public. That alone
was a sign of how disappointed he was in Draco. �We do not have a private
Healer. We have no member of our family who possesses Healer training.�

�� I can brew
the potions.� Draco folded his arms. Lucius would read that relaxation of Draco�s
armor in much the same way Draco read the loosening of his father�s mask. �Let
me treat you.�

�� The
knowledge of spells��

�� Potter
doesn�t possess that,� said Draco. �He�s
a mediwizard.�

�� Who
possesses skills that may be more valuable to us than mere Healer training.�
Lucius raised an eyebrow. �I trust I need not enumerate them?�

�� Draco
thought of protesting that Lucius had just said Healer training was valuable, but instead a reluctant
smile touched his lips. Lucius was already thinking of ways to use Potter. He
could strategize from the middle of his hospital bed, which meant he did not
think he was going to die.

�� Draco could
already imagine the shadows lifting from his mother�s eyes when he told her the
good news. She would have allowed herself to despair if Lucius had despaired.
And then she would have lifted her chin and sallied forth to the protection of
the family in any case. But at least this proved that the burden was not one
she need bear.

�� Do you
really think he�ll continue to be valuable after you�re cured?� he asked. No
matter how much Lucius worked to convince him, Draco was not yet ready to say
that Potter would be the one to cure his father. �What if he doesn�t want to
leave the hospital and his other patients who mean so much to him?�

�� A man like
Potter will go where the need is greatest.� Lucius splayed his fingers delicately
above his heart. �I am sure I can convince him that my need is the greatest in
his immediate vicinity, for a time. And then we will have other means to bind
him to us.� He gave Draco a significant look.

�� Draco
inclined his head. Think of the fucking
as for your own pleasure and the family�s use, he told himself. It should not matter, then, if Potter kisses
you with the same mouth out of which he flirts with your father.

*

�� Mr.
Malfoy?� The man striding through the door didn�t seem discomfited to realize
that there was more than one man in the room he might address by that name; he
simply nodded to Draco and repeated, �Mr. Malfoy. My name is Julius Adoranar. I�m
one of the Aurors working on the Smythe case, here to report what we�ve learned
so far.�

�� Draco
bristled without moving a muscle. His father reached out to him without moving
one, either. The blink of one eye was enough, in the way the lid deliberately
descended and the lashes flattened along his cheek for a moment. Lucius wanted
Draco to be still and not interrupt whatever Adoranar was about to say, and
Draco still obeyed his father when he thought his commands worthy.

�� Adoranar
was taller than Draco himself, and his eyes were as gray. His dark hair hung to
his shoulders, in a style that Draco would have considered handsome. He moved
in a graceful, fluid way that made Draco think he�d had dancer�s training, and
was probably designed to make others
think he�d had dancer�s training, though if he had, Draco would eat Muggle
crisps. He knew exactly what his good looks were like, from the smile behind
the smile he wore, in the same way Potter didn�t
know what his smile did to his face.

�� Draco
despised people like this. They had so little reason for vanity, and yet they
insisted others indulge theirs.

�� Please
proceed,� Lucius said, his voice calm and so composed that Draco felt a brief
frisson of envy lick up his cheek like a cool tongue.

�� Adoranar
stood up straight and began to recite details with his hands behind his back,
for all the world like a schoolboy. Draco curled his tongue within his mouth as
he listened, in place of curling his lip. All the information was stale; they
had already known that Smythe appeared to have some insane grudge against his
father, and that he refused to take Veritaserum and confirm what spell he�d
used against Lucius, and that the spell was complicated and dark, and that it
would be weeks before the Aurors had any answers. But Adoranar spoke as if he
thought the mere favor of speaking ought to endear him to them, and then
finished and gave a meaningful wink and stare in Draco�s direction.

�� And now he�s chosen me to indulge his vanity
for him. Of course he has. Draco turned his head away and half-closed his
eyes. He would not degrade himself by noticing Adoranar�s interest.

�� But what else
do you know about Smythe�s motives?� he forced himself to ask, because there
was a slight chance Adoranar might know more than he had let on so far. �Is the
tale that he believes my father raped his daughter true?�

�� Potter
stepped into the room before Draco could properly finish his sentence. He
nodded to Lucius first, and then to Draco. He didn�t seem to realize he had interrupted. Instead, he said, �Good morning,
Mr. Malfoy. I have a suspect for the third spell Smythe might have cast under
the Cutting Curse and the Permanency Spell. If I�m right, it gave Smythe
control over your body�s healing, but little enough control to frustrate his
purpose of opening constant bloody wounds in you.�

�� How
interesting,� Lucius said. �Please proceed.�

�� Potter
moved forwards, and then Adoranar stepped in front of him to stop him. Potter
looked up at him with a face he could probably persuade himself was blank if he
saw it in the mirror, but Draco understood the situation at once. Adoranar made
a caressing gesture that Potter stepped back from without appearing to realize
he had done it, and he spoke in a husky voice as he said, �No word of greeting
for me, Mediwizard Potter?�

�� Greeting.�
Potter had the same dry insulting tone he used to speak to Lucius. The next
moment, he was on the other side of Adoranar, though Draco had barely seen him
move.

�� They were lovers. Adoranar�s gaze
following and lingering on Potter proclaimed it. The way Potter had flinched from
the other man�s touch confirmed it. The too-casual way Potter held his
shoulders, as if he were unaware of the man gazing at his spine and arse,
shouted it to anyone with eyes in a hundred-foot radius.

�� Reactions
rushed through Draco, so strongly that he barely heard the words Potter spoke
next, explaining the Mansuefacio spell
to Lucius.

�� I knew Potter was vulgar. He must have
decided he had some emotional attachment to the man to take him to bed, and how
could anyone have an emotional attachment to that?

�� Adoranar might have chosen to visit on
purpose if he knew my father was Potter�s patient�which means it wouldn�t cost
us as much if we antagonize him.

�� I don�t want him near Potter.

�� The last
reaction would have surprised Draco a day ago, but he had seen that Potter had
a few charms when he forgot to ride the stick of awful righteousness up his arse.
And it was only right that he not want a love-struck Auror near Potter when
Potter might be in the middle of those delicate proceedings he and Narcissa had
both referenced.

�� You were
so courteous once,� Adoranar was sighing at Potter. �I cannot believe you would
snub me now.�

�� Draco
snorted, but made the snort so silent it only fluttered the outer edges of his
nostrils. He thinks talking like a
third-rate courtier from one of Pansy�s romance novels is the way to win Potter
back?

�� I have
heard of it,� Lucius said, and Draco started. He would be referring to the Mansuefacio spell, of course, not the
romance novels Draco had been thinking of. �I believe it commands mental
processes. Why should my unfortunate enemy have cast it on me, if he desired a
physical effect?�

�� Your
education has been lacking, I see,� Potter said. �A pity, though not
astonishing by now.�

�� Draco
stared at him again, and might have made a noise. Potter stood in the middle of
the room and spoke as if he said words like this every day. By what right? Why does he speak to my
father the way he would to any other patient?

Potter continued as though he were
unaware that he had to be the exception to the rule all the time, even in Draco�s
mind, which should be a protected space against Potter�s uniqueness if any such
existed. �The spell commands parts of
the brain, not mental processes. It also touches on the body. The book I read
last night��

�� Which one
would that have been?� Draco demanded. Potter could not challenge his father�s education and then speak of books neutrally.

�� He received
a bright glare and a slight lowering of Potter�s voice in consequence, which
did wonders for Draco�s cock. �Bryony�s
History of Spells Marvelous and Depraved.� Draco had to admit that that was
an adequate reference.

�Do forgive me,� Potter continued,
voice as delicate as a knife made for parting flesh from bone. �I ought to have
included that in the sentence, for the sake of the specificity mediwizards are
trained for. Said book suggested that the spellcaster might have seized control
of a rival wizard�s hand and thus his wand, by seizing control of the part of his
brain that commanded the hand.� He had already turned back to Lucius. Draco
experienced a small shiver of repulsion. They were not in Hogwarts anymore, and
Draco might be as important to the progress of the treatment as Lucius, since
he was the one who would deliver selected Dark Arts books to Potter and stay in
hospital to protect Lucius. He deserved the courtesy of equal address, if
nothing else.

�� And in
this case, he would have gained control of the part of my brain that regulates
the body�s healing.� Lucius had a deep line between his brows, which Draco did
not approve of, but could understand in this instance. Potter had to have
evidence of an emotional reaction, or he would have probably assumed something
more than the obvious was wrong with his patient and tried to intervene in
unlikely and ill-advised ways. �Could he still have it? Could he use it from a
distance? The Imperius Curse, at least, has the advantage of the caster needing
to be close when he gives his orders.�

�� I would
question how such a worthy man knows the secrets of the Imperius Curse,� Potter
said, �but I forgot that you were under it for some years when the Dark Lord
first rose.�

�� Draco
stared. He might have hesitated to
say such a thing in Lucius�s presence; one thing they did not joke about was the war. And Potter spoke
as boldly as if he were part of the family�

�� Draco
clenched one hand into the folds of skin about his waist. Awareness of Adoranar�s
gaze firmly fixed on Potter meandered through his mix of clashing and clinging
and changing emotions.

Potter evidently decided not to
linger and enjoy his triumph, the first wisdom he had shown since entering the
room this morning. �And the answer is that I�m not sure whether Smythe could
still have such control. I need to test for the presence of the spell first.�

�� Lucius
nodded. �By all means.�

�� Father��
Draco began, and then stopped himself with a sharp snap to his lip. What was he
thinking? Challenges should not be so
open. He was merely startled that Lucius had agreed to what could be an
invasive spell without even asking Potter questions about how it worked. But
what was mere startlement now might be a sign of growing inattentiveness in the
future, and the first enemy to notice could attack them and take great
advantage.

�� Do you have
reason to distrust me?� Potter said, spinning on him.

�� Draco enforced
silence and stillness on himself for a moment before he reacted. The mere sight
of Potter�s green eyes had scattered his thoughts. That was not good.

�� Call it,
rather, distrust in your education,� Draco said at last, taking a step forwards
and folding his arms. Potter half-bowed his head and looked an inch away from
laughing. Draco wondered why. Surely he
should be glad to see me acting more human. �You lack the ability to become
a full Healer, or you would have become one.�

�� I am glad
to see that your education has imbued
you with the ability to make such stunning leaps of logic,� Potter snapped, and
then he wheeled away as if ashamed of himself, softening his voice. Draco
wanted to roll his eyes. Did he think my
father was politely not listening when he grew angry at me? �The final
decision, as always, rests with the patient. Mr. Malfoy, do you wish me to
fetch a full Healer who might treat you?�

�� Would they
be as committed to my physical safety?� Lucius asked. �Or as willing to be in
the same room with me?�

�� The only
one I can think of is already overloaded with cases. It would be trading your
current physical safety for the possible attendance
of a Healer more skilled in potions than I am.�

�� Then I
decline such attendance,� Lucius said. �My son is studying for his mastery in
potions. He can surely supply any knowledge that you lack.�

�� Potter
nodded, and set to work. Draco watched as the blue magic crept over his father�s
body and towards his brain, and allowed himself only a blink and shift of
weight. Until�

�� I always
did like watching you work,� Adoranar sighed like a love-sick Hufflepuff,
stepping up behind Potter and bending his head as if he would snuffle the back
of Potter�s neck. �Such grace, such skill and power!�

�� And Potter remained with this git for
months? Draco thought in befuddlement. It
must have been months, if they had sex. His sensibilities wouldn�t allow him to
climb into bed with anyone he knew less well than that. Well, no matter. Next
to this idiot, I will seem positively a feast.

�� Potter had
already returned to casting by the time Draco paid attention again. The entire
room filled with a tense glitter, and Draco had to watch dancing lights pulse
and play around his father�s body without knowing what half of them did. Lucius
was no help; he had deliberately adopted his thickest mask, the one that made
him look like a devotee of some strange religion awaiting an oracle, and Draco
would not be permitted to know and soothe his fear or his anger until they were
behind the walls of the Manor.

�� And then
Adoranar reached out as if he would rest a hand on Potter�s shoulder and
interrupt him.

�� Draco moved
with a speed that he knew blurred him in the eyes of his opponents, at the same
time uttering a low, menacing hiss that would catch Adoranar�s attention whilst
not disrupting Potter�s casting. Adoranar started back, and Draco arranged himself
with arms folded behind Potter.

�� Only then
did it occur to him that he had reacted as he did when a family member was
threatened.

�� Of course I did, he told himself irritably.
My father is threatened if Potter�s spell
is interrupted, either with direct magical recoil or because he might not
detect some of the harmful spells he needs to detect.

�� And if the
explanation was not true at the moment, Draco was sure it would be in another
moment. Only wait around Potter for a time, and your mood would change to match
his.

�� I wasn�t
trying to do anything!� Adoranar protested.

�� Draco
smiled, and was glad to feel the edges of the expression cutting into the sides
of his face. This was simple. This was a threat, and he had long ago
learned all the blades of sarcasm he needed for trimming a threat down to size.

*

�� Thrnbrooke:
Yes, Draco is wrong, but hopefully you can at least see why he is; his
impression is changing so fast that it�s impossible for him to get a good grip
on what/who Harry is.

�� Nightrikku:
Well, thanks! I was worried it might be boring since it is just the same thing
over again.

�� linagabriev:
Draco keeps trying to settle on one conception of Harry (partially so he will
know how to seduce him) and Harry keeps disrupting him. It�s rather fun to
write. ;)

�� Draco didn�t
really confess to Harry why he started wanting to sleep with him, no. His
parents approve, and at this point Harry is not part of the family and so his
opinion is not important�though of course Draco won�t let him find out what he�s
really doing; that would defeat the purpose.

�� And that
scene will probably be from the perspective of both Lucius and Draco.
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For Their Unconquerable Souls