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Devil's Snare	By : lashton Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 13009 -:- 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
- 1-Devil's Snare
- 2-Hours
- 3-Red
- 4-Purple
- 5-Friends
- 6-Teammates
- 7-Sunrise
- 8-Smell
- 9-Shapes
- 10-Star
- 11-Water
- 12-Breakfast
- 13-Winter
- 14-Rain
- 15-Broken
- 16-Who?
- 17-How?
- 18-Choices
- 19-Birthday
- 20-Ghost
- 21-Middles
- 22-Days
- 23-Orange
- 24-Brown
- 25-Enemies
- 26-Parents
- 27-Sunset
- 28-Sound
- 29-Triangle
- 30-Heart
- 31-Fire
- 32-Lunch
- 33-Spring
- 34-Snow
- 31
- 32
- 33
Title: Devil's Snare
Rating: R
Word Count: 1762
032: Lunch
Paring: Harry/Draco
Summary: Harry is told to bring Draco to the light side of the war at any cost. Post-HBP, D/s, dubious consent, Post-Hogwarts, war!fic.
Disclaimer: Unoriginal characters and situations belong to JKRowling. No copyright infringement is intended.
Table of Contents found at http://www.livejournal.com/users/mahoganyhandle/9713.html

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A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I had planned to finish my 100 fic challenge over winter break, but I fell ill, so I'm not much farther ahead than when I left off. The best laid plans of mice and men, you know?

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A knock came at the door and Pansy strode into the room with a flurry of burgundy robes. A large woven basket levitated behind her.
"Hello, Harry," she said. The curtains flew open, allowing the light to shine in. Pansy turned her wand from them and instead trained it on the wizarding wireless. Reports of the attack on Hogsmeade � a mere diversion from Voldemort's real target � and the Ministry of Magic abruptly ended and soft classical music replaced it. "I've brought you some lunch. The medi-witches have told me that you haven't been eating, so I've come to make certain that you do. You'll need to keep your strength up. The end is nearer than you think." Harry did not respond. "I also thought that we could discuss Draco's position. He hasn't told you much about himself, about his obligations, and about our marriage, has he?"
"I don't want to talk about Malfoy."
"I am not the sort to care about what someone else wants, Harry. And I will not sugarcoat the truth for you. These are things that you must know if you plan to keep sleeping with my husband."
"Pansy�"
"Don't pretend that you do not need or love him. Our marriage is quite secure. I have no fears that you will replace me in his heart�. You may not believe it, but Draco is a man of many passions and has a great capacity to love. He grew to love Severus, despite all that Severus put him through. He grew to love Bella despite his youth, resentment, and misgivings about fatherhood. He grew to love Blaise despite Blaise's considerable faults and worrying loyalties. I have no doubt that he will grow to love you, as well."
"This is not about love. This is about hate. Don't be na�ve and think that, by opening your marriage to me, everything will suddenly be all right."
"I don't recall giving any indication that I thought so. What I said was that you should not despair for love of him. And you shouldn't try to force yourself to hate him, either. Draco does what he does because it is the best path. Oftentimes he has no other feasible option but to obey."
"Snape is a mighty tyrant if he can lord over Malfoy even when he's far away and in hiding," Harry muttered.
"You see: this is why we must have this discussion. You have been under the wrong impression all along. Severus has ever been near. His hold over Draco has never loosened, only tightened with each passing day. He�" she hesitated as agitation crept into her voice and proceeded only when she could speak matter-of-factly. "He almost didn't allow Draco to marry me. Even then, it has taken this long for him to allow us a child."
Harry sat up in bed to peer at her. She fluffed his pillows and arranged them so he could lean back in comfort. "He told you when you could have a child?"
"Caught your attention, did it?" Pansy teased, but her eyes were sad. "Severus is sometimes cruel to Draco, to remind him of his place."
"All right," Harry said. "I'm listening."
"Of course you are." Because she had his attention now, she didn't make much of an effort to explain herself. Instead she went about setting out the lunch she'd brought him. Harry picked at it dutifully when she set it before him, but although the duck was delicious, Harry's thoughts were elsewhere. He only partially acknowledged the fact that his lover's wife was currently waiting on him. "Let's start with Dumbledore's death."
Harry looked up sharply, fingers involuntarily twitching into a fist. Pansy didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't care. "You mean where Snape took Draco after�?"
"Yes;" she replied, "that's exactly what I mean. They did not got back to Spinner's End � that's�"
"Where Snape lives. I know."
"It was too dangerous. Not only the Order was after them; You Know Who also wanted to find them and punish them both for disobedience. Draco failed his task and Severus was supposed to let him die. He was not pleased with either of them, and, I suspect, meant to kill Draco."
"What changed?"
"Dumbledore trusted Severus with everything, up until the moment of his death. Severus was kept abreast of Draco's progress with the Vanishing Cabinet, and, when it became clear what Draco is, was the first to learn of Draco's true power and potential. He took Draco somewhere safe, where he could explore that power at his leisure."
"Where did they go?"
Pansy paused, giving Harry a measuring look, then said, "He took Draco to Dumbledore's house in Whitefield Park."
Harry gagged, gripping the table until his knuckles turned transparent and his fingertips bent back at painful angles. His breath was loud, streaming through his flared nostrils, jaw clenched so tight that his teeth ached. "He what?" he snarled. Pansy repeated herself, not bothered by Harry's temper. "How dare he�"
"You may believe that you are Dumbledore's heir, Harry, but you are not. Dumbledore chose his heir several years before his death and never doubted or regretted that decision. Severus is Dumbledore's heir, and he had every right to claim and use that property."
"He had no right!" Harry bellowed. "NONE AT ALL! After what he did to�" A mediwitch knocked once then bustled into the room, asking if everything was all right. Harry forced himself to calm and send her away. She shuffled out reluctantly, lips pursed as if she had a thing or two to say to Pansy for upsetting him, but wouldn't dare. Pansy put a silencer on the room.
"You cannot allow your emotions to guide you," Pansy warned him. "If you do, this war will be far more difficult on you than it needs to be." She watched Harry for a moment, quietly, with the same unassuming manner that Malfoy often used. Harry wondered who was copying whom. "Should I continue, or have you heard enough?"
"Not nearly enough," Harry reluctantly admitted. "How long did they stay at Whitefield Park? What did they do there � what did Snape do to him?"
"They stayed in hiding for a few years while Mother Malfoy � Narcissa, I mean � negotiated with the Ministry of Magic on Draco's behalf. You know how well that turned out�. As for what they did there�. Severus punished Draco for his willfulness. He� systematically destroyed him. I cannot say more than that. Draco was never very forthcoming about what went on between them, but you have seen the result." Harry nodded his agreement.
She continued, "While in hiding, Severus also pushed Draco to master his latent abilities. He often locked him in a room with some ancient artifact of Dumbledore's and wouldn't let him out until he'd figured out how to work it, or destroyed the wards keeping the house safe and unplottable and made Draco erect them again. I should say, he made Draco resurrect the dead spells, rather than layer new ones. Sometimes he tortured him, or exposed him to powerful Dark magic, or drugged him."
"What about Bella?" Harry croaked. He pushed his food about his plate, his appetite lost. He could hardly believe the extent of Snape's madness, of Malfoy's torment at Snape's hands, and it chilled him to think that he was merely scratching the surface. "She was born when they were in hiding."
"She was Draco's responsibility from the very beginning. Severus allowed the House Elves to help him care for her, but he put forth no effort himself. His marriage had been a scheme to acquire the Labrusca estate, a grand ambition. He had no desire to father children and wouldn't be bothered to raise her. Draco was available, and dependent on him for survival, and subservient. That was neither the first nor last abuse he inflicted. With time, Draco grew to love her and could not imagine leaving her to suffer Severus's abuse and neglect. I think he feared that Severus would kill her to be rid of her." Silence stretched between them a moment. "After Draco learned to control his power sufficiently, Severus suggested the Partnership."
Harry snorted. "I have a hard time believing Snape suggested anything."
"Nevertheless, they bound. Shortly after, charges against Draco were dropped. Before he'd let Draco return home, Severus returned to the Dark Lord's side to reconcile."
"There's something missing from that story," Harry said, perhaps a tad accusingly. Pansy remained unaffected. "What are you not telling me?"
"It's not what I haven't said, but what you haven't asked." Harry stared at her thoughtfully. "Draco was locked away for weeks on end with the most powerful or dark artifacts in the world," she said. "Mastery over them did not come easily."
"How did Snape get access to them?"
"Some of them were Dumbledore's. That is the wrong question."
Harry took a moment to think. If he had been locked away with something ancient and powerful, something like Mordred's Star, what would he have done with it? In the past he dove right into the danger, thoughtless of the consequences, but he'd wised up considerably since his reckless schooldays.
"Did something� happen to him when Snape locked him up?" asked Harry tentatively. Pansy smiled.
"It is a simple matter, Harry, to tell which wizards have felt the blight of Dark magic. They do not walk away unchanged." Harry mulled over that silently. "Well," she said, rising. "That was quite an eventful lunch. Rest now. Try not to keep listening to that wireless. The news won't change much between now and a few hours from now. I'll send you some supper. Hospital fare is simply horrible."
"Pansy�" She glanced at him in between casting a few cleaning charms. The basket repacked, and leftovers were placed under a preserving charm.
"Draco sends his love," she said as a book flew into Harry's hand. Magical Theory: Creatures, Curses and Charms the spine read. Harry flipped through it curiously. Marginal notes in crimson and dark green ink caught his attention, and he peered at it intently. The different colored notes were written in different hands, though both were painfully familiar: one elegant and detailed, and so unmistakably Malfoy's, and the other, light and spidery, belonging to the Half-Blood Prince.
Pansy was at the door already, and Harry rushed out, "Thanks," just as she closed the door behind her. The book � from Malfoy, truly? � felt heavy in his hands. This had been a most eventful lunch indeed.
- 31
- 32
- 33
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Devil's Snare