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Soldier's Welcome	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 25565 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
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Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Thirty�Breakthrough

�� Draco was
drowning, struggling. Every time he found his feet and thought that he might
prevent Nihil from taking control of his magic, another
surge knocked him down and then more of his magic transformed. He could feel it
draining away from him, a steady trickle like blood from a wound.

�� I will not allow this.

�� Draco
fastened his mind on the cold disdain that his father had used when he heard of
the Wizengamot�s sentencing him to Azkaban. Lucius had cared, of course, but he
had pushed the emotions down under a fa�ade of indifference and clung to his
pride.

�� It was not
the indifference Draco wanted but the stubbornness that meant their enemies
couldn�t crush them. He gritted his teeth and thought of that. No Malfoy would die
like this, because it would be too undignified.

�� He was not going to die.

�� He brought
up his will and wielded it like a hammer against the magic that was encasing
him, solidifying into place, no longer water but stone. He felt the tide
pressing against him falter. Draco hissed in triumph.

�� He had much
to live for. How was he ever going to persuade Harry to give him what he wanted
unless he stayed alive? How was he going to be an Auror unless he retained
control of his magic?

�� The evil
force that seemed to be coming from both inside and outside his body at the
same time hesitated for a moment. Draco forced his eyes open and saw Harry
stumbling away from Nusquam. Good. At least he was
alive�

�� Then the
magic that was pulling at and devouring Draco came roaring back, and Draco
realized that its cessation had never been more than a temporary pause. He fell
again, and this time, when the waves closed over his head, even the memory of light and air and pride seemed
to have been pressed out of him, and he could not stand.

*

�� Harry
avoided the strike of the first organ-cat more by luck than skill. He�d
forgotten how much better it felt to have someone to fight with. He�d taken for
granted the way Draco stood at his back and the compatible magic that made both
of them stronger.

�� Then remember how to fight on your own, damn
it!

�� Harry
whirled to the side and cast a mild wind charm, remembering Dearborn�s lessons:
Use the advantages of your enemies against
them when you can.

�� The cats
were heavy and faster than he was, but they still weren�t perfect fighters.
Harry�s wind slammed the first one into the second one and they went down in a
messy heap, coiled intestines spilling around them.

�� Nusquam clucked her tongue. �I did tell Nemo
that they needed more testing, but he always wants to use spells before they�re
ready,� she murmured. �And resources, like you.� She glanced at Harry, her deep
blue eyes amused. �No sooner does he know about the well of your power than he
wants to drain it.�

�� Harry tried
to concentrate on what she was saying, but he saw Draco�s eyelashes flutter
just then and his partner heave himself to his feet. Harry turned towards him
with relief. One thing he had learned in the last few minutes was that he hated
fighting alone. If they could�

�� Then Draco
fell over again, and his face went pale, and he gasped the way Harry could
remember gasping when the grief magic was pouring into him and trying to change
him.

�� There was no
hesitation. It was what had to be done, so Harry did it. He flung a �rope� of
his own magic to Draco, the way they�d been practicing when they wanted to
drain each other without exhaustion. He felt it catch on whatever it was in
Draco�s power or spirit that made them compatible in the first place, but there
was no pull. Draco was too far out of it to draw from him, Harry decided.

�� He was
dying.

�� Harry felt
as though his heart was going to explode. He drove his magic into Draco, plunging it into his body like a spear,
and then faced Nusquam and the intestine-cats and
spoke one of the spells they�d found when they were researching magical beasts
with as much force as he could. �Dilabor.�

�� The cats
trembled and quivered; Harry still had to repel one of them, which was charging
at his legs, with a Shield Charm before the spell he had used could take
effect. But then it did, and their fleshy legs and thrust-forward heads simply
fell apart. Harry smiled, though he could feel how much effort it took him to
do so. Most of his power was flowing into Draco.

�� But the
spell had worked as the book said it should. Experimental magical creatures were
less stable than long-established breeds. The spell was meant to find the weak
points in their composition and separate them.

�� Interesting,�
Nusquam said, her face
alight with a deep smile. Harry realized suddenly that, except for blowing into
the globe of light when Draco first collapsed, she hadn�t done anything yet,
and his confidence diminished again. �And now, I�ll test you in my own way,
rather than doing what Nemo and Nihil
wanted.� She raised one of her hands away from the globe of light, spread her
fingers, and then bent them inwards towards her palm.

�� Harry
screamed. He could hear his joints popping and his arms bending in unnatural
directions; he could feel his knees
trying to ram themselves through the back of his legs. He crumpled, while his
body began to tear itself apart and the pain increased to the point that he
knew not even the Cruciatus Curse could have matched it.

�� But he kept
pushing magic into Draco, because if he died, at least his partner might be
able to survive.

�� And then
suddenly the magic was flowing back towards him instead, pushed, hurled into
his body, and Draco was rising to his feet, his eyes ablaze.

*

�� When he
needed it, there was power there.

�� Draco didn�t
realize where it must be coming from at first. He simply reached out, grasped
the power greedily, and rammed it down the throat of the person he was
struggling with. As moments passed, he had come to feel more and more as if someone was holding him down, pressing
his wrists to his side and pressing the air out of his chest. But he could
fight now, and he did, forcing his enemy up and away.

�� The power
flowing over him ebbed, and Draco surged up, still gathering the magic, whipping
it around him like a shield. The grief magic shredded as if it were paper, and
Draco heard a distant shriek.

�� The magic
was coming from Harry, he realized then. Of course it was. When one of them needed
saving, the other was always there.

�� And on that
note, Draco felt like laughing, because he thought he understood why Harry�s
magic made their enemy flee. Harry had already survived one assault like this.
Of course Nihil wouldn�t be able to convert his
magic, when Harry had gained full control of it again.

�� Draco wound
Harry�s power over and around and through his, and the alien magic slid away
with a snarl. Draco continued chopping, because he wanted to be sure that their
invisible enemy wouldn�t get any more bright ideas, and then he was opening his
eyes in the room they�d entered and where he�d last seen Harry under attack by Nusquam.

�� Portillo Lopez�s office, he remembered,
and then turned and saw Harry screaming on the floor.

�� He didn�t
take time to think. It really didn�t matter what
Harry was suffering from, just that he was. Draco threw the magic that
Harry had handed him back at him, tossing it like rope, smooth coils of
strength, filling up the empty place that Harry had left when he reached out to
Draco.

�� The air between
them began to hum and vibrate. Draco had thought of them as connected by ropes
of magic before, but this was the first time he had thought that might be
literally true. He could see the white-golden cords if he squinted, binding him
and Harry.

�� A bolt of
red light cut towards them, and nearly split them apart.

�� If I can see them, so can other people, Draco
realized, with a shock that was like being slapped, and whirled to face Nusquam. She raised one eyebrow at him and lifted her hand.
The golden ball of light had dissipated, but a new one of red was coming into
view, growing and expanding as Draco watched. He was sure that it would grow
big enough to swallow both of them if he didn�t do something about it.

�� Harry was
recovering, the Dark magic that Nusquam had inflicted
on him falling to pieces, but he still wasn�t back on his feet, which left
their defense up to Draco. He snatched his wand and barked, �Tua mors!�

�� Nusquam had only one moment to look astonished before the
air around her turned golden-bronze, like the inside of a desert sun. Draco
threw his hand across his eyes to hold off the afterimages and turned back to
Harry. He heard one thin, shrill gasp and then no more. He wasn�t worried.

�� Nusquam wouldn�t scream while she was the victim of that
spell, because it was a spell that inflicted pain so intense one couldn�t scream.

�� He knelt
down next to Harry and realized that Harry was shaking all over despite the
dismissal of the curse. Draco frowned and traced his wand in a line from Harry�s
shoulders to his ankles. �Are you all right?� he asked, wincing as bright red
streaks appeared in the wand�s wake. The streaks showed how much pain Harry was
in; the closer to scarlet they were, the higher the
agony. These looked like spilled blood.

�� Not
really,� Harry admitted. He laughed breathlessly and leaned against Draco�s
shoulder, staring up into his face. Draco blinked when he realized that Harry�s
eyes shone with joy. �But you�re all
right, so that doesn�t matter.�

�� Draco put a
hand over Harry�s shoulder and squeezed down hard for a moment. Then he said, �I
think she used a twisted healing spell on you. We should get you to Portillo
Lopez as soon as possible.� He lifted Harry carefully to his feet, restricting
the flow of magic into him but not cutting it. He thought the addition of extra
magic was probably the only reason that Harry wasn�t curled up in pain right
now.

�� What did
you do to her?� Harry whispered, staring ahead of him in awe.

�� Draco
looked over his shoulder and saw that the bronze glow had dimmed to a single
outline of the right height to enclose a human figure. �I used a spell that isn�t
Dark Arts,� he said smugly.

�� I don�t
know what that means,� Harry admitted, leaning on him. Draco lowered his head
and sighed into Harry�s hair. This was
nearly enough, even though Harry hadn�t made any open apology yet. He trusted
Draco to take care of him, trusted to his superior strength at the moment, even
though he had saved Draco in this battle as much as Draco had saved him.

�� It�s one
of the spells the Ministry would declare
Dark Arts if they knew it existed,� Draco admitted. �It sets fire to the magic
in your body and replaces it with pure mortality. You can think of it as really
fast aging, if you like. Without our magic, a wizard isn�t any different from a
Muggle.�

�� I never
thought I would hear you say that,� Harry muttered, hopping a bit and then
flinching. Draco moved closer so that Harry could put more of his weight on
him.

�� I�m
talking about a matter of magical theory here, not of blood,� he explained.
Harry snorted. Draco chose to ignore that and continue. �So it�s as though the
victim is suddenly stripped of the magic that allows us to live longer than
Muggles, and then all the years are piled on at once. Like I said, it would
definitely be illegal if they knew about it, but since they don�t, I can�t get
into trouble for using Dark Arts.�

�� Harry
started to respond, but suddenly stared over Draco�s shoulder. �Should it be
doing that?�

�� Draco
twisted around. The human-shaped outline was gone, but the pile of ashes that
should have been left behind had failed to appear. Instead, there was a single
slender piece of what looked like metal, spinning in place and flashing with
the remnants of the spell�s light.

�� Then it
fell to the ground with a bright tinkling noise. Draco waited for some moments
before he drew his wand and spelled it into the air where he could get a better
look at it. He didn�t walk up to touch it, however, and not simply because
Harry needed his support.

�� Yes, it was
a long, slim piece of metal, an oversized needle. It was brilliant and pale, as
if it was made of platinum.

�� It looked innocent, or at least more innocent than a pile of ashes
would have�and far more innocent than the organ-creatures that Nusquam had appeared with.

Nevertheless, Draco shuddered.

*

�� This time,
the instructors had little option but to believe them, because they had the
piece of metal and the remnants of the organ-cats�not to mention the body of
the young woman pinned to the wall�to show them. But they hadn�t said anything
original about it, not that Harry could hear. They simply talked on and on,
coming back to the unknown facts of how Nihil and his
followers were getting inside and why the Ministry�s wards never picked up on
Dark Arts when they were about.

�� So Harry
didn�t pay attention to them, because he didn�t see why he had to.

�� He kept his
gaze locked on Draco instead, who was sitting with his knees propped up in
front of him and his elbows resting on them. His head drooped, and he took
slow, careful breaths. But when he looked up and found Harry watching him, he offered
him a fake smile and tried to sit up the rest of the way.

�� Harry shook
his head. Draco hadn�t taken any permanent damage from the attempt to transform
his magic into grief magic, it seemed. And Portillo Lopez had managed to heal
Harry�s wounds without much problem. As Draco had said, it was twisted healing
magic that Nusquam had used, and regular healing
magic could counteract it.

�� But Harry
wasn�t worried about Draco�s body as much as his mental state.

�� Three years
ago, Draco had been unable to kill Dumbledore when he thought the safety of his
family depended on it. But he had used a spell that he knew would kill Nusquam tonight�even though they hadn�t found a body and so
they didn�t know if it had really worked. He hadn�t hesitated. He had spoken
coolly about the spell afterwards.

�� That didn�t
mean he wasn�t suffering.

�� Harry
wished Ketchum would stop arguing with Dearborn about how it was possible for
their enemies to get in, decide whatever it was they were going to decide, and
let them go so that he could comfort and confront Draco.

�� Finally
Portillo Lopez brought her wand down in the middle of the table. The bang of it
startled the others and brought Draco�s head up. Harry had seen her getting
ready to do it, which was the only reason he didn�t jump. Aunt Petunia had
banged a frying pan that way sometimes.

�� Leave the theoretical
magical considerations for the classroom, gentlemen,� Portillo Lopez said. She
was on her feet, and the scarf wound about her hair dangled half-loose as she
surveyed them with hard eyes. �No matter how they accomplished it, our enemies are able to get inside the building. We
need to deal with the consequences of that.�

�� Harry found
himself smiling. There was a reason that Portillo Lopez had become his favorite
of the instructors, even though he didn�t always do well in her classes. Hestia
was nice, but she couldn�t take charge in a situation the way Portillo Lopez
could.

�� You�re
right, Maryam.� Dearborn rubbed his forehead. He
looked haggard, and Harry wondered if that was because Draco, his mentee, had
been the victim of yet another attack. �Forgive me. It�s time to admit that we
can�t handle this on our own.� He lifted a hand as if he anticipated
objections, though from what Harry could see, none of the others had opened their
mouths. �We should tell the Head Auror that we have two trainees who require
bodyguards. If they did manage to kill this woman calling herself Nusquam, then Nihil and the rest
will probably try to take revenge. If they didn�t, then they are still likely
to be involved in further attacks. These madmen have proven that they will halt
at nothing to get rid of them.� He looked at Draco and Harry, his voice hopeful
but his eyes hopeless. �Neither of you can remember anything that might explain
these attacks?�

�� Draco shook
his head. �Just that they must have infected us at some point
because they tried to take control of my magic now and Harry�s magic over
Christmas holidays, sir. And we don�t know how they did it, or when they
did it. Who knows if they�ve done it to other people? They probably did it to
the fake Death Eaters.�

�� I think I
know how they did it,� Portillo Lopez said quietly. �You said that the woman
who faced you held a globe of light?�

�� Harry
nodded and put an arm around Draco�s shoulders. Draco was starting to look
overwhelmed, and Harry wanted to show that he was there to support him.

�� Draco shot
him a startled glance. Harry gave him a glare for being stupid back and turned
to face Portillo Lopez again.

�� I examined
your magic when I examined you, Trainee Potter.� Portillo Lopez�s face was
grim. �And from the testimony Trainee Malfoy gives, I believe you were infected
through light.�

�� Harry
blinked. �Infected through light?� he asked. �That doesn�t make any sense.�

�� Harry!�
That was Hestia, her voice shrill. �You will
show respect to Battle Healer Portillo Lopez.�

�� Harry gaped
at her. Hestia was normally the last one who cared about such things.

�� It is all
right, Hestia,� Portillo Lopez shook her head slightly, never looking away from
Harry. �I find the theory hard to accept myself. But I found traces of�I can
only call them traces of reflections in
your magic, Trainee Potter. Something you saw gave you the infection, which Nihil or Nusquam let lie dormant
until they wanted to use it.�

�� But that
means�� Ketchum sounded as if he were strangling. �That means they could strike
anywhere, at any time. We can�t stop seeing
things.�

�� Yes,� Portillo
Lopez said. �And we must call on the Minister now. I believe that Trainees
Malfoy and Potter should be moved out of the barracks and into a more secure place,
to be determined by the Head Auror and us. They may still continue to attend
classes, but they need rooms where they can relax in true peace, without fear
of grief magic or experimental beings. And I wish them to have bodyguards that
will accompany them to classes as well.�

�� Harry stiffened.
�Won�t people say that�s special treatment because I�m the Boy-Who-Lived,
Battle Healer?� he asked.

�� It�s
special treatment because you have so nearly been a murder victim multiple
times.� Portillo Lopez examined him coolly. �Send any complainers to me. I will
deal with them.�

�� She would,
too, Harry thought, from the look in her eyes. He leaned back against the wall
and went back to not listening, because now Ketchum and Dearborn were arguing
about who should be appointed as bodyguards and all the names were names of
people he didn�t know. He shut his eyes, the better to focus on his thoughts.

�� If he was
going to be sharing a room or rooms with Draco, then it became even more urgent
to actually bring up what was on his mind tonight. He wouldn�t tolerate living in the same small space with
someone who was rude to him or someone he was accidentally hurting.

�� And he didn�t
want to ignore Draco�s pain, either.

*

�� Draco
looked around his rooms distrustfully. The instructors had pinned him and Harry
in here for tonight, until the �secure place� and the bodyguards could be
arranged tomorrow. Two third-year trainees were on guard at the door now.

�� It was all
so foreign. Here he had assumed that he would be treated as a pariah by the
Ministry for all his years in the program, until he forced them into respect,
and now they were treating his life like it was a precious object.

�� Maybe that�s only because I�m with Harry and
they don�t dare treat us differently.

�� He glanced
over to Harry, who had been unusually quiet ever since the door shut behind
them. He started when he realized that Harry�s eyes were fixed on him and he
was nodding slightly, as though he�d finished a private conversation with someone
else. He took a long stride towards Draco.

�� Draco
backed up a step and watched him cautiously.

�� I want to
ask you a question,� Harry said. �And I want to tell you something.�

�� Draco
raised his eyebrows and waited. But it seemed that Harry wasn�t actually going
to say anything until Draco acknowledged him, so he nodded and said, �All
right. What is it?�

�� I want to
ask if you�re suffering because you tried to kill Nusquam.�
Harry stepped towards him again. �I know that you have problems killing.�

�� Draco
swallowed and ran his hand over his face. He didn�t want to talk about this. He�d
assumed that Harry wouldn�t even think of it, as inconsiderate as he�d been
lately, and he could deal with his feelings in peace.

�� But no.

�� Trying to
put a lid on the resentment that bubbled up in him, Draco took a slow, deep
breath and said, �I thought about this a lot, carefully, before I entered the
Auror program, because I knew that I would probably have to kill Dark wizards
at least once if I fought them. And I�ve come to terms with it. If someone is
threatening me and�my partner, then I have no hesitations about striking. I�ll
think about it a lot for the next few days, but she was hurting us. That made
her fair game.� He hesitated, then added, �Besides, I
don�t think she�s really dead.� The instructors hadn�t been able to agree on
the significance of the platinum needle that Draco found, but that didn�t
matter. He couldn�t have killed someone so powerful and dangerous so easily.

�� Harry
nodded. �All right. Now for what I
have to tell you.� He was suddenly a lot closer to Draco, and Draco was
still blinking and wondering when that had happened when Harry began, his voice
low and powerful.

�� I hate the
way you�re treating me right now. You�re acting as though I can never be good
enough for you. I hate that. My
manners and my looks and my habits aren�t the most important parts of my
personality. My personality is. So
either you admit that you�re doing it and apologize and stop, or I curse you.
And don�t think I won�t find a way around the compatible magic to do it, too.�

�� Draco
opened his mouth. Then he shut it. After what had happened that night, all his
elaborate justifications for his behavior were floating somewhere far below the
surface of his mind.

�� You could
walk away,� he said instead.

�� Harry
lunged suddenly, and then Draco�s robes were in his fists and his face was open
and raw and determined in a way that
Draco couldn�t look away from.

�� Walking
away is not an option,� Harry hissed. �Never. It�s just
not. Not with the way that I feel about you.�

�� Which is
what?� Draco asked. Harry kept silent, though his face turned red in
frustration, and Draco smirked. He hurt mentally, but at least he might have
the consolation of winning this victory over Harry. �You don�t know, do you?�
Draco asked, softly, tauntingly. �You can�t say it. So that must mean that your
feelings aren�t nearly as strong as you think they are, after all��

�� One of
Harry�s hands rose and traveled through Draco�s hair. Draco yelped as Harry
pulled on his head.

�� Pulled him
straight forwards and into a kiss that made Draco�s lips bleed and his tongue
spasm and his mind stop running in astonishment.

�� Harry
pushed Draco into him and himself into Draco, their mouths ramming together,
teeth clicking. Then Harry stepped back and ripped his hand free of Draco�s
hair. Draco swayed without his support, and nearly fell. His mind was bursting
with tiny stars, and he couldn�t think of a thing to say.

�� Especially not when he saw the fire in Harry�s eyes.

�� What does
that fucking tell you?� Harry asked flatly.

*

�� Mia:
Thanks! I hope that you don�t mind some of the misunderstandings being
punctured in this chapter. One of the main reasons for Draco�s behavior was to
make Harry fed-up enough to do something.

�� SP777:
Draco thinks he�s already given a lot and now he gets to take. Of course, Harry
was not going to put up with that.

�� And yes,
there are three.

�� hieisdragoness18:
Thanks! I promise that it�s not always going to be gross.

�� Alliandre: I assure you, I was definitely thinking of the
French and not the German meaning of Politesse�s name!

�� And Harry
may have just jumped over a lot of steps in order to get to where he wants him
and Draco to be.

�� Tree802:
They did it instinctively, I think, which shows how well they really do work together.

�� Mr Spears: Thanks!

�� MewMew2: I�m
very pleased that the characters take on such reality in your mind. Thanks for
reviewing.

��
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