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Changing of the Guard	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 58627 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- 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.

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Chapter Thirty-Three�Answering

�� Draco
paused for a moment before he entered his flat. He envisioned the chairs he
kept in the main room, and made a silent wager with himself about where Pansy
and Blaise would be sitting. If he was right, he would have gauged their mood
correctly enough to have an advantage over them in the conversation that
followed. If not, then he would have to be on his guard and play defensive for
the moment.

�� His hands
tingled as if he had slept on them as he opened the door. That might have been
simply an effect of the wards, which he had given Pansy and Blaise the ability
to bypass, but he thought it was anticipation. The secret was out now, and no
matter what happened, he and Harry would not be able to act as they had before.

�� And if his
friends were still as rattled as they had obviously been at the meeting, then
Draco could knock down their objections joyously whilst still explaining enough
to soothe their fears and worries.

�� Pansy and
Blaise were sitting across from each other in the two chairs nearest the
hearth, leaving the one between for him. Draco smiled as he closed the door
behind him. Yes, he had thought they would do this. They would want him subject
to attack from two fronts, and that chair was also the least comfortable one,
used mostly for clients with delusions of grandeur who needed to be set in
their places. But the very fact that they had chosen it for him argued that
they were not as confident of their ability to convince him as it might appear.

�� Draco
sauntered towards the chair, not showing his own increasing excitement that
made his belly tighten. I wonder how
people who aren�t Slytherins conduct themselves in situations like this, he
thought as he sat down in the chair and spun slightly to face Blaise and Pansy.
Whatever they do, it can�t be half as
fun.

�� He thought
for a moment of the way Harry would act and think when he was confronting his
Weasley friends, and then knocked the thought away. Harry had insisted Draco leave
him shortly after their lovemaking, and that he was strong enough to deal with
any owls, Howlers, or impatient visitors who might come through his Floo
himself. That he was recovering strength, Draco knew; he had only been set
reeling by the first open disapproval and ridiculous demands on his name in ten
years, and Draco�s protection and show of love had done what Draco hoped it would,
allowed him to recover enough to defend himself.

�� Draco would
not want a partner who needed to be sheltered all the time, and Harry would
have hated to be that person. He had created dozens of personas in an effort to
escape that fate, in fact. But Draco suspected they were more likely to have
the opposite problem, with Harry refusing to recognize his need for moments of
rest. At least this time he had.

�� Did you
mean what you said, then?� Pansy led the charge. �Are you really in love with
him?�

�� Draco
smiled at her, barely managing to quell a laugh. She had waited to question him
until she saw him sinking into contemplation. No doubt she thought she would
catch him dreamily smiling and make him flounder that way. Too bad for Pansy
that he never let himself relax so much around people who might be hostile.

�� And that goes double for anyone who might be
hostile to Harry.

�� Yes, it�s
true,� he said, and carelessly crossed his legs, making the gestures so large
that they couldn�t doubt the expansiveness of his mood. �Why not? He�s
handsome, he�s clever, he�s brave, and he complements me extremely well in the
weaknesses he does possess.�

�� There are
other people who fit those criteria,� said Pansy. She was leaning forwards with
her hands on the edges of her knees. Ostensibly, the pose was neutral, but
Draco darted a glance at her hands and saw the knuckles whitening. �Blaise, for
example. Why choose a Gryffindor? Why choose someone who will cause you
political trouble? I know you, Draco, and I know that you wouldn�t simply
tumble into something like this without due and careful consideration. So share
those careful considerations with us. Tell us what makes Potter so perfect.�

�� Yes, do,�
Blaise echoed. �If I had known you wanted your parents to disown you, I would
have been happy to come back and pose as your boyfriend. No need to go to
Potter, of all people.�

�� Draco smiled
gently at Blaise, which made him draw back into his chair and narrow his eyes.
Well, good. That was the first step in his doubting his own conclusions and
coming to see how ridiculous his statement was.

�� You don�t
understand,� he said. �You who know me so well, Pansy, do you think I would
have tried to force my parents to disown me if I had any other choice? I did
seek other options, and all of them ran against the blank wall of my father�s
refusal to listen. I chose to come out in the end because it was Potter I was dating��

�� Bollocks,�
Blaise snapped. �You were just as stunned as the rest of us when he revealed
himself today. It was in your eyes.�

�� Because of
the sort of person he was,� Draco said, with exaggerated patience. �Not because
his public reputation might help me. He wanted to go under the disguise of
Brian Montgomery at first, and I agreed to that.� He tilted his head against
the back of the chair, appearing to luxuriate in how uncomfortable it was, and
smiled at them. �Consider that. I agreed.
Can you imagine me letting anyone whom I didn�t love remain safe whilst I
took the risks?�

�� The glance
that flickered between Blaise and Pansy over that was brief, but Draco saw it.
They really weren�t very subtle at the moment, he thought idly. He would have
to remember to thank Harry for his sudden decision. If Draco had been in on the
plan from the beginning, his friends would have picked up clues from his
behavior, and he wouldn�t have been able to surprise them so well.

�� But it
might not be safe for you,� Blaise said, taking the lead this time whilst Pansy
leaned against the back of her chair and frowned at Draco. �Perhaps you have
fallen in love. You know I always was pants at Legilimency, so I can�t know for
certain. But I want you to consider this rationally. Don�t let your emotions
override your logic. You�re in enormous danger as it is, proclaiming yourself
gay in a wizarding society like this.� Blaise�s lip curled, and his right hand
made a sharp motion as if he were seizing a rock. �And then there�s the extra
risk of what any number of people, not only your father, will do when they find
out you�re dating Harry Potter. Do you really want that risk? Is it worth it?�

�� Don�t
think I don�t see what you�re doing, Pansy,� Draco said idly. �And it had
better be nothing more incriminating than Finite
Incantatem.�

�� Pansy,
about to begin the second gesture of a spell with the wand she�d drawn quietly
from her robe pocket as Draco listened to Blaise, fell still. Then she shook
her head and spoke with hard tones of exasperation edging her words. �I only
want to find out if he�s cast a spell on you.�

�� A love
spell? Imperius? A lust enchantment?� Draco snorted. �What makes you think he�d
want me to be in love with him, even?�

�� You�re
everything he is, and you have extra qualities that he doesn�t,� Blaise
answered at once.

�� Since you
know him so well after ten years,� Draco murmured.

�� It has
everything to do with logic,� said
Pansy. �You didn�t listen well enough to Blaise�s words, or you would have
anticipated this, Draco. There was no warning of this. No rumors that you were
dating someone new, no strange mentions of Potter in any unusual places, no
speculation that Potter was gay��

�� And now
you know why,� Draco said. �He�s good at hiding. So am I.�

�� But it
doesn�t make sense,� said Pansy. �And frankly, I think it�s more likely that
he�s lying to you than that he�s really in love with you.�

�� Draco held
her gaze. �Really.�

�� Pansy
nodded. She had tensed, as if she were prepared to cast a Shield Charm if Draco
even looked like he was reaching for his wand.

�� How nice
to know that you assume I could never catch the attention of someone like
Harry,� said Draco. He had a simmering coil of hurt gathering in his body, but
it was the cold anger he directed through his voice. He started to rise to his
feet. �Well. That�s clearly left the conversation at an impasse. You think I�m
not in love with him. When I say I am, you accuse me of lying. Or being under a
spell, which is as good as the same thing. And Harry must, of course, have
enslaved me for mysterious purposes of his own. That�s logic, for you. There�s
really no reason for me to stay beside you when you can�t trust me with the
most basic knowledge of myself, and want to put me on leading strings. I do
hope that you will continue to contribute time and money to the rebellion, but
I think it�s for the best if we don�t meet anymore.� He strode rapidly towards
the door.

�� Draco!�
Pansy had never cried his name like that before, the kind of shriek Draco
imagined a mouse would utter before an owl swooped down on it. He paused with
his thumb on the handle of the door, but didn�t turn around.

�� It just
doesn�t make sense,� Blaise said to his back. His voice still held an edge of
the demand that Draco believe him, but now there were nervous harmonics to it,
too. Draco smiled at the door. �You�d abandon us for him? Even though you�ve
known us for years and him for only a few months, at the most?�

�� Draco
glanced over his shoulder. �You�re right,� he said. �It doesn�t make sense that
the people who claim to be my best friends would make me choose between them
and the man I�m in love with.�

�� Blaise
closed his eyes. Pansy rose to her feet and hovered, not quite daring enough to
move away from her chair yet. �You don�t�� she said, and then stopped and shook
her head, starting over. Draco was grateful. Sentences that started with �you�
in the middle of an argument were not often a good idea. �We didn�t know you
were capable of falling in love this fast, and with someone you�ve despised
since you were a boy,� she said. She extended her hands towards him, clasped,
in what was not quite a gesture of peacemaking. �You can understand our
confusion?�

�� I can,�
said Draco. �But you�re also demanding that I place your confusion above my own
feelings, that I abandon Harry because it turns out you don�t know me as well
as you thought you did.� He leaned an elbow on the door, because pressing his
back to it would seem too defensive.

�� Pansy
winced, but then gave him a faint smile. �That�s about the size of it, isn�t
it?� she said. �And it doesn�t sound so flattering, in those terms.� She
hesitated, searching his face. �As far as you know, you�re not under any spell
or any potion?�

�� As far as
I know,� Draco said solemnly. �If it turns out I�m wrong, you have my
permission to curse Harry, assuming you can get to him faster than I can.�

�� And as far
as you know, you�re in love with him?�

�� Draco
shrugged. �I�ve never felt anything even remotely similar, but if it was indigestion,
I think I would know by now.�

�� Pansy
laughed, sounding as if it were very much against her will. Blaise stepped
closer to her side, his own face taut. �Pansy��

�� No,� said
Pansy, her gaze clear and untroubled. Her hands reached out for Draco�s again,
but she was extending them to hold his now, and Draco strode up to her and took
them. �If he�s our friend, we have to trust him, and privilege his
understanding of his own feelings.�

�� Thank
you,� Draco murmured, and kissed the back of her hand.

�� Blaise
clapped his shoulder then. �It�s a great thing,� he said when Draco looked at
him. �Assuming it�s real.�

�� Draco
raised an eyebrow, and said nothing. For the moment, he had them on his side,
and that would be enough.

*

�� Harry had
owled Nusante, but he did not actually expect to hear from the other man from
hours, and even then he thought it likely that he would only respond with a
Howler. Nusante had been caught so completely off-guard by Harry�s emergence
that he had reacted emotionally instead of logically. It would take him some
time to recover from embarrassment, possible jealousy, and disappointment, and
begin thinking about the future of the rebellion instead of what his future in
it would be.

�� There was
another factor Harry planned to keep in mind, too, which made him doubt whether
he could reconcile Nusante and some of the more outraged men and women who had
supported him to his own reappearance. They had been children when the war with
Voldemort happened. To them, Harry had literally become a legend, someone they
had never known, as Draco had, as a student who got red-faced when he shouted
or nearly fell off his broom when he played Quidditch or got bad marks in
Potions. They would demand that he not be human because, as far as they knew,
he wasn�t.

�� But if he
had to endure that, he would.

�� There was
Draco.

�� It was for
his sake that Harry had summoned up strength after a few minutes of resting
with his head on Draco�s shoulder and told him to go talk to his friends, that
Harry would be fine. Draco gave him several doubtful glances which turned into
lingering kisses and soft touches, and Harry thought they might have made their
way to bed if he hadn�t grabbed Draco�s wrist and squeezed it warningly.

�� You�ve
done what you could to spare me having to face everyone at a time when I was
vulnerable,� he said. �But it�s best for me to control the Ministry�s and the
wider public�s reaction as much as I can. For the moment, we shouldn�t appear
together, or they might come to the conclusion that we can�t act separately.�
He gave Draco a smile that he hoped wasn�t as watery as he felt. �And we need
to show them that we�re powerful on all levels,
in all ways, so they�ll be more
likely to fall in line with us.�

�� Draco
laughed, and then said, �Are you going to confront your friends?�

�� Harry
released a shaking breath. �Not immediately,� he said. �I need to tell them
about Metamorphosis as well as the fact that I�m gay and dating you.�

�� They may
feel betrayed that they didn�t hear it from you first.� Draco had been still,
his gray eyes searching Harry�s face. Harry wished he wouldn�t do that. It made
him want to hand all his burdens over to Draco, in the unknown luxury of having
someone who could actually comfort him instead of make him wind himself up more
tightly trying to please them and be what they needed.

�� But to
become that would be to truly betray Draco and what he had sacrificed to
support Harry. Somehow, Harry managed to straighten and smile. �They heard the
first part before anyone else did. The second part�they�ll be angry in any
case. Let me worry about this,� he added more insistently when Draco opened his
mouth. �Please. I�ll tell you if you can do anything to help.�

�� Draco had
stood gazing irresolutely at him for a moment, then nodded, kissed his cheek,
and departed to Apparate to his flat.

�� Harry
allowed himself five minutes to wrap his arms around his torso after he heard
the door close and wonder how in the world he would do this. Then he closed his
eyes and listened for the merciless voice.

�� Nothing.
And still nothing.

�� I�ll have to do this on my own, then.

�� He stood
and went to owl Nusante, Narcissa Malfoy, Ron and Hermione, Kingsley, the witch
named Caroline Garrett Draco had told him about who�d stopped him in the Ministry,
and another of Horace Longbottom�s long-time letter friends, a reporter on the Daily Prophet named Malcolm Therris who
produced less drivel than the others. Each letter would contain a different
request, a different explanation. He doubted that any of them would be enough
to satisfy the people who received them, especially Therris, though he would
probably follow up on the invitation Harry extended to him to visit the house
for an interview as soon as possible.

�� His hands
shook when he wrote out some of the letters. Annoyed, Harry stopped and thought
of the way Horace would write them, and his writing steadied. He didn�t think
he made more ink-blots than was natural in the margins, and he was sure he�d
spelled all the words correctly. Then he sent the owls flying and sat down to
wait.

�� Less than
twenty minutes later, his Floo in the library flared, and the head of a wizard
with glasses and thinning blond hair appeared in the flames. He glanced up at
Harry as if to make sure he had the right address for a long time before he
spoke. Then he said in a high, cracked voice, �Harry Potter? There�s�this owl
you sent me.� He paused, and then spoke in a tone that conveyed disbelief and
excitement all at once. �Really?�

�� Really,�
Harry said with as welcoming a smile as he could manage. He�d been sprawled on
the couch in front of the fireplace; even if he had to face the public as
himself and not a persona, there was no reason he couldn�t use the lessons he�d
received over the years in body language and facial expression to make himself
appear as relaxed as possible. He sat up and stretched his arms casually along
the back of the couch. �I�m gay and want to explain my reasons for saying so
and my relationship with Draco Malfoy to the public. And you�re the reporter
I�ve chosen to interview me. Aren�t you lucky?�

�� Therris�s
face smoldered with the look of a werewolf about to make a kill. �I�ll be right
there, Mr. Potter.�

*

�� Draco had
got Pansy and Blaise out the door via a system of threats and vague promises,
under which they went away satisfied that he would notify them before making
any important move even though he not exactly said he would do so. Of course,
they had probably also been lying when they said that they wouldn�t watch Harry
from the corners of their eyes and be prepared to attack every slight mistake
he made. By means of such oil did Slytherin friendships run.

�� He was glad
for every moment he�d spent at it when he turned around and saw his Floo
flaring. The face that formed in the flames was his mother�s, and even through the
green color, Draco could make out that she was pale.

�� Draco,�
she said. �I have just received a letter from Potter in which he stated his
intention to make your relationship public by going to the Daily Prophet and asked if I would support his actions.� There was
a long pause, during which Narcissa opened and closed her eyes in a series of slow
blinks. �Did you agree to this course?�

�� Draco knelt
down slowly in front of the fireplace, using the motion as a chance to recover
from his own shock. By the time he was level with his mother, he thought he
had. �I agreed to whatever Harry feels comfortable doing,� he said. �It was his
decision to show himself, and though I didn�t expect that either, it turned out
well enough.�

�� Narcissa
shook her head slowly. �Lucius is going mad already, Draco.�

�� Of course the news would have reached him. Draco
knew better than to think that his father didn�t have spies in their group,
whether or not he had access to the person who had informed Counterstrike and
the Ministry of the rebellion�s first meeting. �What about, specifically?� he
asked. �Harry is the one who�s putting himself in the most danger, after all.
The wizarding world has already had some time to come to terms with the idea of
me as gay.�

�� Narcissa
shut her eyes and sighed. �I do not think you have ever understood how much
your father cares for you,� she said.

�� You�re
being very careful not to say the word love.�

�� I do not
think you would call his emotion by that name, no.� Narcissa continued to speak
with her eyes shut. Draco would have thought it a way to deny that the
situation was real, but his mother was not so great a fool. More likely she
wanted to disguise her own reaction from someone who could read her as well as
her son could. �It is�a mingling of loyalty and possession, Draco. Do what you
can for the Malfoy name, and he will repay you by doing what he can to see that you inherit it with
the reputation spotless. He has felt he owes you a debt for decades, because of
the bad decisions he made in serving the Dark Lord that tarnished the name. Thus
he has been patient and tolerant with you, and even his suggestions of marriage
have not increased until recently. But now the balance has tipped. He will feel
that you owe him a debt, and that you
should redress it in any way possible.�

�� And if I
refuse to acknowledge such a claim?� Draco asked. He let his pride inform his
words, making them steel covered with ice. His parents had taught him the tone,
and if they had thought it would never be used against them, they should
reconsider now. �If I say that he has no authority over me any longer, since he
has disowned me?�

�� He will
remove the obstacle he feels responsible for your disowning,� Narcissa said,
and opened her eyes to look at him again. �He feels certain that he knows what
it is now. I saw his face when he heard the message. He never looks like that
but when he is certain.�

�� If he
hurts Harry��

�� I would
not put it past him to try,� said Narcissa. �However, I think he has learned at
last that such an action would only confirm you in your stubbornness, and increase
your pride in your opposition to him. I think he will target you instead, but
subtly.� Her eyes had a shine of careful fear in them now, which made Draco
more than a little alarmed when he thought of how much terror she must be hiding.
�Oh, my son, be careful.�

�� I�m not
afraid of Father,� Draco said, which was not a lie. He was afraid of what Lucius
could do, but that was not the same
as being afraid of the man who had raised him and looked up at him in pride as
he flew for the first time.

�� I know,�
said Narcissa. �And I think he will use that fact to his advantage.�

�� Draco
clenched his jaw. He could do nothing but brace and respond to Lucius�s attack
when it came; he had more active steps that demanded his attention. �And will you
stand by Harry�s side, as he asks?�

�� I do not
know yet.� Narcissa smoothed a hand down her skirt and didn�t look at him.

�� Mother,�
Draco whispered.

�� It may
very well be natural and the best outcome for you to challenge Lucius by
yourself,� said Narcissa. �I am not sure that having Potter at your side will
make it better for you.�

�� Draco
clenched his jaw again. He remembered the way his mother had slowly come over
to his side after she had learned who Harry really was. And she had already
done much for them by warning him of Lucius�s reaction. It would be cruel to
ask her to do more than she was ready for.

�� I
understand,� he said. �Thank you. And I do
love you, Mother, even if it doesn�t seem like it sometimes.�

�� Narcissa
smiled back at him, and closed the Floo connection.

*

�� Thrnbrooke,
Mangacat, FallenAngel1129, avihenda, Hi-chan, Jessie, bigkt: Thanks for
reviewing!

�� SoftObsidian74:
Nusante is human, I think, but maybe not very likable at the moment.

�� And thank
you! I honestly don�t think Harry would ever have come out without Draco. He
might not have decayed into the reverse Pensieve, but he would have kept on
lying and using his personas to avoid conflict.

�� Lunatic
with a hero complex: Don�t worry, I understand your anger perfectly. I think
that the wizarding world built up such a hero in Harry they can�t let go of
him, but that doesn�t mean it�s normal or right.

�� Christabell:
Thank you! You�re right, they did have to leave the magical connection behind
eventually, or their relationship never would have functioned on a normal
level.

�� Sol: As you
can see, Harry does worry about his friends� reactions, but he wants to handle
this his own way.

�� Andria
Meredith: Hopefully, you will someday like Nusante again. I can understand why
you don�t right now, though.

�� Hopefully
Harry can vent without further alienating his friends.

�� qwerty: No
explosions yet, but some are coming up. And Nusante and Harry may eventually be
reconciled.

�� Werewolf
Mistress: Maybe Voldemort should have won! But I did try to explain some
factors behind Nusante�s reaction in this chapter.
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Changing of the Guard