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The Stag and The Snake	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9713 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
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Chapter 18 – Plans and Heart Attacks

Their return to the flat was less than private, Draco's co-conspirators jumping up the second they stepped inside. Their eyes fell to Harry's ring finger, and their faces broke into matching expressions of joy. “Let me see, let me see!” Sirius cried at once, hurrying forward while Draco watched Harry shyly hold out his hand for Sirius to inspect. His face was a little pink with embarrassment, but coupled with the shy smile that hadn't left his face all afternoon...Gods, it was adorable. Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and squeezed lightly.

“Serpentine?” Sirius asked as he looked down at the cut green stone embedded in the silver.

“Infinite Stone,” Draco corrected with a small smile. Sirius chuckled, and he noticed Harry's brow crinkle with confusion. Draco was uncertain whether or not Harry was aware of the natural magical properties of the crystal, but he did not appear disconcerted by Sirius's reaction, more curious. The older man straightened up, and Remus took his turn to inspect the ring.

“Draco wouldn't let us see what he'd picked for you,” Sirius clarified as Remus stepped back. Remus chuckled a little at the faint indignation that laced Sirius's words.

“That is because you two fold like a cheap suit,” Draco eyed Sirius as he said it, and the man smiled apologetically. “If you let something slip, I still wanted this bit to be a surprise.”

“They did remarkably well, considering,” Harry said with a chuckle, retracting his hand and fiddling a little with the ring. Draco felt a warmth in his chest at the sight, amazed at how perfectly the entire afternoon and evening had gone.

“This calls for a celebration, and I have just the thing!” Laughing along with Harry at Sirius's exuberance, they followed him into the sitting room, while Sirius summoned a bottle with a flick of his wand. Draco had to bite back a snort of amusement. He recognized it at once, though he could tell by Harry's blank expression that he did not. “Madam Rosmerta's Finest Ice Champagne!”

“It's sparkling wine, Sirius.” Draco corrected with a smirk, while the older man shrugged.

“Same difference,” he grinned while Remus chuckled, summoning glasses while Sirius popped the cork with a tap of his wand, and the foaming beverage was tipped into each of the four glasses. Sirius pressed a glass into each Harry and Draco's hands, then lifted his high.

“To love!”

“To health!” Remus lifted his to join Sirius's.

“To romance!” Draco's glass lifted.

“To...” Harry paused, and he turned to glance at Draco. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, his eyes shining with such complete adoration that Draco felt his breath momentarily catch. “To healing.” He lifted his glass to join the others.

The evening was something Draco would never forget. Sirius pressing Harry for details of exactly how Draco had proposed, Harry being rather tight-lipped about the matter, but smiling bashfully each time it was brought up. Sirius's face getting redder and redder with each glass of wine he consumed, while he struggled to recount his own proposal to Remus—which, from what Draco gathered, involved less rich food and romantic notions, and more nudity.

“So—so then, I took Remus and my brand-spanking-new Black inheritance to the fanciest hotel in Muggle London, and we—” Sirius's slurred words broke off as Remus elbowed him harder than was probably necessary.

“Oh be a good sport Remus, it's a good story!”

“It is not something these two need to hear!” Remus had gone redder than Draco had ever seen him before. Sirius started again, though Draco missed a lot of the story as Remus struggled to shut his Bonded up. Sirius punctuated the story with so much choked laughter that his words had ended up rather garbled. The story ended with a vague something that had left James Potter rather traumatized, though what it was wasn't entirely clear. Remus had gone very red as his Bonded spoke, hiding his face in his hands with a groan while Harry laughed so hard that tears had begun to streak his cheeks.

“I think,” Remus said, his face still rather pink, “that it might be time for bed.”

“Aw really?” Harry grinned cheekily at him, “I wanna hear the rest of the story!”

“Trust me Harry,” Remus said, going rather red again. Draco covered his mouth to keep from laughing, though it didn't work as well as he'd hoped. “You don't want to know.”

Remus shunted the pair towards their room while he brewed Sirius a very strong cup of coffee. Still giggling delightedly, drunk on the events of the day more than the drink that had been pressed on them, they were all too happy to retire and have a celebration of their own.

~*~

An almighty roar of noise broke the sleepy silence of the morning, and Harry and Draco shot up in bed. Harry couldn't make out the words, but he knew that voice anywhere—Lucius Malfoy. Why on Earth was Lucius sending them a howler at such an ungodly hour? Draco looked much paler than usual as they jumped into a pair of pyjamas and their dressing gowns. They stepped out into the kitchen hand in hand, wondering what all the fuss was about.

“What happened this time?” Harry asked the second he stepped into the kitchen. The identical thin-lipped expression on Remus and Sirius's faces told him that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Sirius didn't say a word, and instead pushed the morning's Prophet over to them. Harry felt his jaw drop.

BREAKING: SOLE MALFOY HEIR AND THE BOY WHO LIVED TO BOND

The Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal the surprising engagement of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Made official yesterday, 14^th September.

Following his rescue three months ago, Mr Potter has rarely been seen in public. Many close to him cite his recovering mental state, though little is known of his capture, captivity, and subsequent rescue. In light of what he was purportedly exposed to, the fact remains that no experienced healer can lay claim to keeping Potter under observation during his recovery.

“His guardians did not even bring him in,” says Michael Kirkpatrick, Trainee Healer for Mind Damage. “This leads us to believe that Mr Potter's weakened mental state was either greatly exaggerated, or the protectiveness of his guardians barred him from accessing the necessary treatment he needs.” Madam Poppy Pomfrey, Matron for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry admitted to treating Mr Potter immediately following his rescue, but declined our request for an interview.

Many of our older readers will remember the shocking announcement of Mr Potter's Coupling to Draco Malfoy in the winter of 1982, and later their Bonding announcement in the summer of 1999. The Malfoy family was noted for its Dark affiliations during the peak of You Know Who's reign of terror. While later the Malfoys were exonerated for reasons unknown, it is well known that the request came at the hands of the late Albus Dumbledore. Following the Coupling announcement, many were shocked that the Saviour of the Wizarding World appeared to be set to marry into a family of Death Eaters—also reportedly part of You Know Who's inner circle. However, Mr Potter seemed to be in the clear following his kidnapping and rescue.

“It was well documented that the contract had been nullified when Mr Potter had been kidnapped,” says Deidre Potts, of the Ministry Archives. “One can only guess why Mr Potter would feel compelled to follow through with the engagement now.”

Many experts believe a particularly well-placed Confundus Charm or love potion could explain Mr Potter's misguided affections. However, it is possible the answer is less magical, and more psychological. It has been reported that following Mr Potter's rescue, he is rarely seen out of the company of Draco Malfoy, and it can be confirmed that the Malfoy heir has been living with Mr Potter since his rescue. This has led many to believe that Mr Potter's dependence on the young heir to be much deeper and possibly dangerous than anyone could have anticipated.

“The entire situation deeply concerns me,” says Matilda Beckett, of the Auror Office. “Mr Potter's sudden reappearance coincides with the sudden death of Professor Severus Snape, of Hogwarts School. He was last seen alive at the Malfoy's annual Beltane Ball, and it is believed that Mr Malfoy was at the very least witness to the Potion Master's untimely death. I cannot reveal all the details, but the man's murder was not even brought to trial. It is not a far stretch to assume that gold must have changed hands in order to prevent anyone going further with this investigation. If I were Mr Potter, I would tread very lightly. There is no telling what someone from a family like the Malfoys might do if things don't go their way.”

One can only hope that Mr Potter will come to his senses before it's too late.

Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondant

(See p. 7, 9, and 14 for exclusive interviews with longtime friends of Mr Potter)

Below the headline was a clear photograph of him and Draco from the day before, locked in a very heated embrace.

“How in the hell did she find out?” Harry pushed the paper away with disgust. “And what's that rubbish about Draco? She made it sound like you're abusing me or something!” He turned to Draco, who had been sitting quietly the entire time, his face unnervingly calm.

“That's what Rita Skeeter excels at, unfortunately,” Remus said with a frown, rolling up the paper and using a banishing charm to send it zooming across the flat and into the fire.

“Do I even want to know what those...What was it? Interviews with my longtime friends said?” Harry spat the words bitterly, while he glared down at the scrubbed tabletop.

“Probably not,” Sirius grimaced and pushed a cup of coffee towards each of them along with a plate of sweet rolls. Harry plucked one off the plate, picking it apart sullenly, but not actually eating it. “Mostly it was quotes taken out of context from a number of your old classmates.” Harry felt such a deep rage that for a moment, he felt as though he might be sick. By the use of mostly, he wondered if Ron had offered the bitch an exclusive interview.

“Is murder always a crime?” Sirius laughed softly to Harry's question, but shook his head a little.

“I think it might be best to ignore this article. Responding to them directly will likely add fuel to the fire, and there's no guarantee that what you say will be reported accurately.” Harry grimaced at Sirius's words, but recalling the press fiasco in his fourth year, he knew that that would probably be best. As hard as it was to sit back and do nothing, he didn't want to do something stupid and make it worse.

“Yeah, easier said than done,” Harry muttered, folding his arms across his chest. Draco was still quiet, staring down at the tabletop similarly to how Harry had, his gaze pensive. After a few minutes of tense silence, he looked up towards Sirius.

“I'm assuming by our wake-up call that my father has seen the article?” Draco's voice was even, and when Harry turned to look at him, he noticed that he was carrying a cold, closed-off expression. The unreadable expression disturbed Harry almost more than the article had. Harry reached for his hand, and Draco clutched to him in a vice grip.

“He's a little upset,” Sirius frowned, pressing his thumb and forefinger to his chin thoughtfully. “Don't misunderstand, he doesn't disapprove of Harry, not that he'd ever admit it. He's rather upset about that Skeeter woman dragging the name of Malfoy so effectively through the dirt.” Sirius smiled bitterly, staring down at the table. “I believe he is angry with us for not advising you,” he nodded at Draco, “to use more discretion in your proposal.”

“What should we do in the meantime?”

“I thought that was obvious,” Harry turned to Draco, arching a brow. “We have a Bonding Ceremony to plan.”

~*~

Draco should have known better than to assume that he and Harry would be able to plan their celebration without interruptions.

In the days following Rita Skeeter's nasty article, he received a number of letters from Prophet readers, which he only stopped opening after Remus had noticed a particularly nasty curse attached to one of them. Nonetheless, the words seemed to have been scorched into his mind.

You are a wicked boy and a murderer and will get what's coming to you.

Harry Potter deserves better and if you know what's good for you you'll let him go.

How dare you take advantage of him after all that poor young man has been through!

Draco huffed in frustration, tossing the letters into the fire every time. The words stung, but Harry's anger on his behalf muted the pain somewhat. “How dare they!” Harry spat, virtually shaking with anger every time another letter showed up for his fiancé. “Fucking vultures. If they had any idea what you did for me...” Harry would dissolve into a nonsensical rant, while Draco looked on with an amused smile. The word murderer made him more sick with anger and shame than he wanted Harry to see, and he always waited until he could politely excuse himself to their room or the loo before he allowed himself to crumple. He could not—would not let Harry see how deeply the word had cut.

After Draco helped Remus destroy the third curse-laced letter that had come for him, he sank heavily into one of the armchairs, watching the parchment writhe and shriek as it curled into ash. “I'm starting to wonder if it would be such a bad idea to address the article before it gets any worse.” Remus frowned a little, but Draco pressed forward before the older man could interrupt. “For all we know, the next thing will be someone breaking into the flat and hurting me, or Harry, or one of you.” He raked a hand through his hair at the thought of it. “I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to any of you.”

Remus sank down into the armchair opposite him. He regarded Draco with quiet contemplation for a moment before he finally spoke. “I have a journalist friend, she usually publishes her work abroad, but I can see if she would be willing to conduct an interview with us.” He paused, his gaze shifting to the fire in the grate. “We'll need to discuss whether Harry would be comfortable talking about what happened, and how much we're all willing to reveal.”

“I'll tell them every dirty detail if it clears this whole mess up,” Harry's sudden voice made Draco jump, and he turned to see his fiancé glaring towards the remnants of the cursed letter. “We can't get anything done with all these mad rumours making the press. And maybe—” he cut himself off and shook his head. Draco wondered if Harry was thinking of a certain gangling ginger. Perhaps Weasley would come to his senses if he knew all the details. He hoped for Harry's sake that he would.

~*~

“I was very surprised when you contacted me Remus,” said Clemency Eaton, a polar opposite to Harry's vivid memories of Rita Skeeter. Dressed in simple plum robes, her dark brown hair was cut very short, and she wore an easy, kind smile. Unlike Rita, her smile reached her wide, hazel eyes, and Harry immediately felt as though he could trust her. “Of course Mr Potter, your story is a dream for any journalist, but you've always been rather private, have you not?” She shifted her gaze from Remus to Harry, and even under her calculating eye Harry still felt much more at ease than he ever had in the presence of the devil woman.

“Yeah, I suppose. I mean, I get enough press by sneezing in public. I'd rather not add fuel to the fire if I can help it.” Clemency laughed, nodding in understanding.

“Now tell me, how would you like to do this? Of course, I won't print anything you're not comfortable with, and perhaps first you would like to tell me any topics you'd rather not discuss?” Harry's eyes widened at the question. Was this woman for real? He exchanged a look with Draco, who nodded once, encouraging him to continue.

“To be honest, I think the more we cover the better. I don't want there to be any doubt about what Draco has done for me.” Draco squeezed his hand, while his parents exchanged a look. Harry felt his stomach twist with momentary anxiety. This would be the first time that they would hear specific details of his capture, and Harry wondered how they would take it. At the back of his mind, he felt a niggling root of fear—would they see him differently after they knew everything? He took a steadying breath and focused his attention on their guest.

“Excellent,” that familiar journalist's gleam sparkled in the woman's eye, and she pulled out a scroll of parchment and a quill. Its shape reminded Harry of a Quick Quotes Quill, except it was a vibrant, electric blue. Seeing Harry's dubious expression, she smiled. “Not to worry Mr Potter, this is a Transcription Quill, not a Quick Quotes Quill. It will copy your answers to my questions word for word, with none of the flowery filler its cousin is known for.” Harry felt himself relax, while Clemency smiled at him, perhaps in an attempt to reassure him. “Now, shall we begin?”

“Yeah, okay.”

For the better part of three hours, Clemency Eaton grilled Harry on every tiny detail of the Lughnasadh Ball, his kidnapping, and his captivity. Harry was amazed how calm he felt telling the story. With each question he answered, he felt as though that part of the experience dissolved from his mind. It was much more therapeutic than he had expected it to be. He had to force himself to keep his eyes forward at all times. With each revelation of the lengths Snape went to in trying to force Harry to accept his proposal, his parents and fiancé looked more and more distraught.

As he spoke, the images of his captivity flitted across his field of vision. It was as though someone had begun playing a film. Snape telling him about how the curse worked, restricting the food he brought, threatening to starve Harry if he continued to refuse, Snape pushing him down and forcing his mouth on him, transfiguring his robes into uncomfortably tight and revealing ones, while his eyes roved over his form hungrily. Harry shivered, banishing the memories with each word he spoke.

When it came time to describe Harry's final breaking of the curse, Clemency turned her attention to Draco, who was much more emotional than Harry had been as he spoke. Harry squeezed his hand gently as Draco relived his actions, and he could feel his partner's palm slick with sweat. It hurt Harry deeply to see that Draco was still so traumatized by what he had been forced to do. As the story moved to their recovery, Sirius and Remus shared in the telling, and as evening gave way to night, Clemency shuffled the thick sheaf of parchment, looking rather pleased.

“Well, I'm sure this will shut up more than a few biased readers.” She said brightly, then turned to Harry and her triumphant expression softened. She reached forward and grasped one of Harry's hands in both of her own. “Thank you very much for sharing your story with me, Harry. I am truly sorry for what you went through. You are an incredibly courageous young man, and it is clear to me that you two love each other very much.” She smiled faintly, “I wish you all the happiness in the world.”

“Er—thank you, Ms Eaton.” Harry felt his face colour slightly. “When do you think the article will be published?” She smiled, that mischievous glint returning to her eye as she let go of his hand.

“I'll need to contact a few publications to see who would be interested in running the story—not that I expect them to refuse. You've given me enough material to write a book, so I'll have to go over everything and I should have the article ready to go before the week is out. Do you wish to read it before I send it off?”

“No, I trust you.” Harry felt as though the concept of trusting a journalist's word in any capacity was something of an oxymoron. After meeting her however, he could see why Remus would suggest her—she wasn't interested in tearing people to pieces, she only wanted the truth.

“Well then,” she smiled, “I'll be sure to let you all know when it will be released. Good day.” She gathered up her parchment again and tucked it inside her robes, then disappeared into the Floo a moment later. Harry slumped back against the sofa, feeling more like he'd had a particularly difficult Quidditch training session, instead of talked for a couple hours. Everyone was very quiet, and Harry knew that they, too, were worried about the outcome of The Interview.

~*~

While Draco was anxious to make that foul Skeeter woman eat her words, their impending Bonding Ceremony gave him plenty to think about in the meanwhile.

They had relocated temporarily to the Malfoy Manor, given that they had more space to organize and plan. Harry was extremely reluctant to spend time in a place that had been the backdrop to his kidnapping and near-death, but with Draco practically glued to him at all times, Harry seemed to be much more at ease. While the upcoming nuptials filled Draco with a mixture of mind-numbing fear and insane joy, he could not deny that watching his fiancé argue heatedly with his father was his new favourite form of entertainment.

“Mr Potter, do be reasonable! The Malfoy family has an image to maintain, and in light of Ms Skeeter's most recent smear tactic, it is important that we make this an event to—”

“The last two events here either involved me getting kidnapped or nearly killed. Excuse me if I don't want to tempt fate!”

“You will regret your ridiculous paranoia when you look back on your Bonding if you insist on such a small affair!”

“I don't need to invite the entire wizarding population of the northern hemisphere to our Bonding. It's our day. I won't let you turn it into some sort of press circus.” He stared Lucius down, and Draco struggled to swallow his laughter.

“Having key Ministry officials attend your Bonding would be an excellent opportunity for you to make important contacts for later in your life. It's practical, Mr Potter.”

“Yeah, no.” Harry let go of Draco's hand to cross his arms across his chest stubbornly. “This is a Bonding, not some Ministry Gala. I'm sorry Mr Malfoy, I won't have it.” Grumbling about stubborn Gryffindors, Lucius stood and stormed out, slamming the door loudly behind him. During the exchange, his mother had looked on with her lips pressed into a thin line. Draco knew she thrilled that he was finally settling down, and he guessed that she was reluctant to say anything that might tempt the couple to call it off.

“Am I interrupting?” Draco and Harry spun towards the overlarge fireplace, Remus's head sitting in the fire with a smile on his face.

“Yes, please do!” Harry said with a grin, clearly thrilled at any distraction that would put off another argument with his Father-In-Law to be. In a moment, Remus tumbled onto the hearth, with a copy of the Daily Prophet in one hand, and a small scroll of parchment in the other.

“Well, it's been printed,” he said, still smiling. Draco felt himself relax a little. Remus handed the paper to Draco, and Harry leaned in close to read it. The Truth at Last: Harry Potter's Harrowing Years in the Hands of a Madman. Below the title was a more conservative photograph of himself and Harry hand-in-hand, the angle clearly showing off the ring that he had given him the week before. The article that followed filled Draco with an elated, light feeling. True to her word, the article detailed everything from the ball, to Harry's capture, his confinement, the curse, and his rescue in exact detail. Now that it had been made clear that there was no trace of the curse left on Harry, they were free to discuss it with no fear of Harry being hurt, which made Draco feel as though it added legitimacy to their story.

Draco passed the paper to his mother when they'd finished, and he eased back against the leather sofa. Finally, the truth. Draco hoped that they hadn't made a massive miscalculation in laying themselves bare like that. He glanced up at Remus, noticing that he was still holding the small scroll of parchment. “This also came for you Harry.” Remus passed him the tiny scroll, and Harry broke the seal quickly, his brow creased with curiosity and worry. His eyes darted back and forth across the page, and his expression quickly melted into a small smile of amusement. Before Draco could ask, Harry passed it to him, and Draco recognized the untidy scrawl at once.

Harry—

Mate, I'm so sorry. Hermione made me read the article this morning, and I can't imagine what that must've been like for you. Come by soon and we'll talk. Bring Draco if you like, I promise I won't try to curse him this time.

Ron

Draco chuckled as he set down the letter, “a Weasley owning up to his mistakes. Now I've seen everything.”

A/N: An Infinite Stone is a real thing, not something I made up. It's a form of serpentine, so I thought it was appropriate, haha. (For anyone interested in crystal healing, while traditional serpentine is/was used primarily to protect from snake bites, an Infinite Stone is believed to draw out physical pain from the body, as well as to help the mind move forward from emotional trauma.) ( http://crystal-cure.com/pics/infinite-stone.jpg )
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The Stag and The Snake