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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.

Chapter List
- 33
- 34
- 35
Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Thirty-Four�Avalanche

�� But what
made you decide to come out now?� Therris�s fingers were twitching as he leaned
forwards, uncurling from the quill as though he wanted to reach out and touch
Harry�s hand to prove he was real.

�� Harry
supposed he had more tolerance for someone reacting like that towards him than
someone who flinched away from him as if he were covered in disgusting slime. But
whatever reaction he received, he would simply have to endure. He kept a small
smile on his face and a calm, relaxed tone in his voice. �I chose to come out
because I wanted to support Draco. There�s no one more important to me right
now.�

�� You didn�t
plan on a specific date or time?� Therris leaned even closer and sniffed twice.
He really did look like a ferret, Harry mused, and then wondered whether Draco
would want to hear that comparison even if it was true, and funny. �That seems
quite strange, if you really are taking every effort to ensure the wizarding
world knows about it now.�

�� Harry
snorted, and let some of his own humor show through. He hoped Therris wouldn�t
be able to tell if the laughter was slightly frantic. �I�m working with what�s
going to happen anyway,� he said. �If I weren�t Harry Potter, I would still
have revealed myself to support Draco. But since I�m who I am, everyone will be
interested in reading the story. I�d rather they read my side of the story, not
something made up of rumors and half-truths.� He looked straight at Therris and
smiled. �The sort of thing some of your colleagues are in the habit of
printing, for example.�

�� Therris
nodded without taking offense. Harry permitted one muscle in his back, out of
the reporter�s sight, to unclench. Good.
He had read the man�s professional jealousy whenever he�d written in his
letters about his job correctly, then. Therris was more loyal to his own career
than to the Daily Prophet.

�� Therris
tapped his quill thoughtfully against the parchment he had already covered with
scribble after scribble containing, Harry hoped, Harry�s words. �And what do
you plan to do now? You�ve told me a little about your decision and what you�ve
done for the past ten years and your relationship with Mr. Malfoy. But there
must be another step, mustn�t there?� He looked at Harry expectantly.

�� Yes,� said
Harry. His throat was clogged as though he�d tried to swallow a whole carrot
for a moment. He coughed and forced his way on. He had known this confession
would come when he�d chosen to contact Therris. Somehow, he had not thought it
would be so hard. �I plan to fight for the rights of gay and lesbian wizards
and witches to live as they will, to hold jobs without prejudice, to associate
with each other in the street without incurring disgusted looks, and to act
like normal members of the wizarding community.� He smiled for a moment,
remembering some of the more eccentric people who had gathered around Nusante
in his house not two hours ago, and Elizabeth. �As normal as they want to be,
in any case.�

�� And you
don�t think the Wizengamot and the Ministry will oppose that?� Therris demanded.

�� On the contrary.�
Harry met and held his eyes. �I expect them to fight me for even the simplest
things, those they might grant if I wasn�t going to lean on them so hard. But I
don�t want us to be seen as the simple beneficiaries of gifts. We have to fight
for and earn our rights if they�re going to be ours. I�ll do that.�

�� You aren�t
frightened of the forces that the Ministry and the Wizengamot could bring
against you?� Therris�s voice had deepened and softened. Harry thought, seeing
the gleam in his eyes, that it was only his native interest in a dramatic
story, but that was all right with Harry. The more he could build up a public interest
in the story, the harder Counterstrike and Lucius Malfoy and his and Draco�s
other enemies would find it to hide in the shadows and do them damage from
there.

�� Of course
I am,� said Harry. �Heroes are afraid, but they keep on fighting. And, well, do
forgive me for mentioning this, but I don�t fear the Ministry, or even the
Wizengamot, as much as I feared Voldemort.�

�� Therris
laughed, a true, open, relaxed sound. He nodded, wrote down Harry�s last words,
and then held out a hand. Harry clasped and shook it. �I look forwards to
covering the story,� said Therris. �And to finding out how you confront the
naysayers. There will be naysayers, of course.� For a moment, his look was very
direct.

�� Harry
grinned back at him, unsure of where he was getting the courage from. Surely
the thought of Draco alone couldn�t be enough. Maybe he had invented another
persona without noticing and called it forwards, or maybe he was playing the
merciless voice again, which was braver than he was.

�� That is you.

�� Harry batted
the thought away. He couldn�t afford to be distracted right now, thank you.

�� A great
many of them,� Harry said calmly. �Probably more than we�ll have supporters.
But I fought for seven years to rid the world of Voldemort. I�ll fight for
three or four times that to support this movement, and longer if I must.�

�� Therris
ducked his head. For a moment, he had looked genuinely moved. Harry suspected
he was trying to hide it. �The world will go mad,� he murmured.

�� Good,�
Harry said. �It�s been too long since they�ve had something more substantial
than Celestina Warbeck�s latest love affair to talk about.�

�� Therris
turned and stepped into the fire without another word. He wasn�t a courteous
man, Harry thought, but, in his own odd way, he could be trusted. He wanted to
spread the story and do it well, and that would mean ensuring he was as polite
and true to Harry�s words as possible, so Harry would trust him enough to grant
another interview.

�� Kreacher
stepped into the room then with an owl perched on his arm and a letter in his
hand, looking disapproving. �Owl is being fixed here and will not go away
without a reply from Master Harry,� he grumbled, and pushed the envelope into
Harry�s hands. At least it wasn�t red and smoking, Harry noted before he ripped
it open.

�� He had
expected Ron and Hermione to write first, but this was from Nusante�probably only
reasonable, since he would have got over the first shock of Harry�s public revelation
and moved on to dealing with the consequences. The paper was ripped in some
places with the force of his underlining.

�� Do you know how much it hurts, to know that
one of the heroes I�ve looked up to since I was a child shares something with
me�and hid it? That�s one reason I�m
so bitter. It�s very, very personal. You were always an example of courage to
me. And now I learn that you�re not really that brave after all, or you would have done something about the unjust treatment we
suffer years ago. Or did you figure that it didn�t really matter as long as no
one managed to find out who you were?

�� I don�t like liars, and I don�t like people
who deny what they are. All those politicians who try to persecute us at the
same time that they�re getting blowjobs from men and telling themselves it �doesn�t
count��are you proud to have something in
common with them? Did you just turn your head away whenever there was a tale of
someone being discovered and having to flee the country? Did you care at all
about the people who had to use some sort of trick to cover their tracks
instead of feeling able to tell their families the truth? Have you heard of
Metamorphosis? I always despised the man who owns it, whoever he is, because he
was adding in the spread of lies, but at least he�s done more to help and aid
the people like you and me than you have.

�� Harry felt
his lips twitch spasmodically, and he took a moment to picture Nusante�s face
if he ever heard who actually ran Metamorphosis. Then he focused back on the
letter, choosing to ignore the fact that his hands were shaking.

�� There�s nothing you can do to make this up
to me, except fighting from now on.
You have to. There�s an enormous debt owed us from the ten years when you did
nothing. If you have a lot, you should give a lot. You have fame like no one
else in our world, strength, courage, and powerful magic. If you go back into
hiding, I�ll never forgive you, and I�ll do everything I can to root you out.

�� No fear of
that,� Harry breathed, but he doubted Nusante would believe him until he saw
the interview, and probably not even then, not until Harry had stood between some
curse-wielding Auror and a helpless witch or wizard.

�� Consider this restitution, if you like, the
best kind you can make. No, the only kind
you can make. I know other people who will never forgive you if you back away
now.

�� Raymond Nusante.

�� And Draco
is one of those people,� Harry murmured, and folded the letter, and sat with
his head bowed for a moment, composing many replies in his head and discarding
them all. Nusante wouldn�t accept apologies at the moment, he thought; in fact,
any letter that tried to explain or excuse Harry�s actions was likely to anger
him.

�� And why should I try? An unfamiliar
surge of refusal overcame him, to the point where his teeth stung as if he had suddenly
taken a huge gulp of a lemon fizzy drink. He
isn�t the one who�s owed those words. And he�s already said that the thing he
really wants is to see me fighting, not explaining.

�� So in the
end Harry took up one of those pieces of parchment he kept for his best
official correspondence�some was still required even with the weak Harry in
hiding, notably concerning the Charity�and wrote back to Nusante. He watched
the owl take flight feeling something like peace.

�� The letter
said simply, I will fight.

*

�� Draco came
out of the Apparition with a small jolt and then looked around sharply. No
matter that he had been invited here and chosen to accept the invitation, he
still didn�t entirely trust the person mentioned in his letter, and wouldn�t
until he saw Harry.

�� Luckily,
Harry waved at him from a far corner of the garden he�d landed in. Draco raised
a hand in reply and trotted towards him, turning his head from side to side to
get a good glimpse of his surroundings. They were tangled and overgrown,
flowers and thorns and vines and trees and bushes run wild. He wasn�t entirely sure
if he was in an abandoned Muggle place or a wizarding estate barred from
house-elves. He only knew that he couldn�t see a house no matter where he
looked, and that one clear path led from the Apparition point towards the small
square of stone in which Harry stood with Caroline Garrett at his side.

�� Garrett
extended a hand when Draco was still some distance from her, making him walk
faster than he really wanted to so he could clasp it. He bent over and kissed
her wrist, which made her smile. She looked larger than he remembered from the
Ministry, as if it without the confinement of walls and roof she could expand
in all directions. She wore a yellow robe at the moment, which looked less
awful on her than it should have.

�� Welcome,
Master Malfoy. I�m glad you remembered my offer of help.� She turned and faced
Harry, and thought her face remained mostly calm, Draco could see twitches of
excitement running around her eyes and lips, which kept pulling into a wider
smile. �And now that we�re both here, Mr. Potter, wherever here is, I assume
you�ll tell us about your plan?�

�� Draco
looked at Harry in surprise as he stepped past Garrett to put an arm around
Harry�s waist and kiss his cheek. He had assumed Harry had contacted Garrett,
but that the meeting place and the plan were hers. Harry should only try to do
so much, after all. He still wasn�t used to acting on his own yet.

�� But Harry
gave Draco a perfectly steady smile and then faced Garrett. �Yes,� he said. �I
did intend to invite one more person, but he refused to accept.� He bit the
inside of his cheek in a gesture Draco hadn�t seen before. Was it Harry�s? he wondered, gazing at him with a rapt interest he
didn�t bother to disguise in front of this ally who knew they were gay and had
chosen to meet with them still. �He�ll need some time to get over suddenly having
his leadership taken from him.�

�� Draco
rolled his eyes. �Nusante, you mean? Don�t worry about him, Harry. He�ll either
come around or stay out of the group and let us lead. What can he really do
about it, given who you are and who I am?�

�� Harry shook
his head slightly. �There are some of his very close friends in our group, and
they might prefer to follow him. I simply don�t want to divide our strength,
when we�re still vulnerable to pressure and force from the outside.� He turned
to look at Garrett. �As for this location, it was part of an old estate I
purchased from a man who moved out of the country several years ago. I had no
use for most of the property, and I haven�t kept it properly tended. But this
suits me.� He made a wide circle with his arm at the countryside. �It offers
good hiding places, for one thing, in case someone ever chooses to come after
us.�

�� Draco drew
back enough to give Harry a long look. He hadn�t known that Harry had secret sanctuaries
as well as secret identities. Given those, he really could have vanished if he
wanted after exposing himself as gay in front of the entire wizarding world,
and Draco would not have known how to find him even if he was dosed with Veritaserum.

�� I need to know more about him. At the
moment, we�re still too unequal. I might be more emotionally stable, but Harry
has his magic and his secrets to hide him, surround him, protect him. He could
fight off an army�but I�m not part of the army, and I want him to realize that.

�� Harry
shifted uncomfortably against him. Draco realized after a moment that his
fingers had closed hard on Harry�s arm, and he softened their grip as much as
he could given the revelation that had just struck him and made soft petting
motions. Harry relaxed, briefly kissed his neck, and then addressed Garrett. �You
were telling me that you had studied matters of, ah, unconventional sexuality.
Would any of your publications and research give you the power to act as a
voice for us?�

�� Draco
stiffened. He couldn�t help it. Garrett was straight as far as he knew, and he
thought it should be people actually affected by the rebellion who took the
roles of leading it and speaking for it.

�� Garrett,
though, only smiled. �They make some people more likely to listen to me,� she
agreed. �The Aurors have often brought me in as an extra voice on those cases that
contain some bizarre amalgamation of murder and rape, and I�ve worked with the
Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures on bestiality.�

�� Being
homosexual is comparable to neither,� Draco hissed. He might have to accept
Garrett�s help, but hearing the way she approached the subject made him more
and more certain he couldn�t accept her attitude.

�� I was not
saying it was.� Garrett had lost her smile at last, and she spoke with a weight
of seriousness in her words that made Draco reluctantly compelled to listen. �I�ve
made a name, but you should know what kind of name it is. When people hear me
speak, they expect me to give them quick, easily understandable bits of information.
They want to know why someone rapes, or why someone has sex with an animal�or why
someone has sex with a man when he�s a man himself.� She straightened her
shoulders and looked sideways at Harry. �And though I don�t consider them
linked, you should know that many people in our society do.�

�� Harry
simply nodded. Draco stared at him for a moment. Where had this calm, confident
man come from, the one who wouldn�t let any revelation put him off his
determination to do battle? Draco didn�t know, but he did hope that this
persona, or way of dealing with the world, was one Harry would keep for a while.

�� I wouldn�t mind taking him to bed at all
when he was in this mood.

�� Then you
still might be able to help us,� Harry was saying. �Prepare the small bits of information
about homosexuality for people who will listen.
I�ve studied Muggle tactics, Muggle history. This is an area where they�re far
in front of us, unfortunately.� His face grew somber for a moment, and Draco
experienced another tug of curiosity in his belly, wondering whether Harry had
ever considered fleeing to the Muggle world and simply remaining there. �Tell
them that it isn�t always about simply having sex, that you can�t deny your
sexuality like a bad dream, that many people have had experiences with their
own sex and yet somehow managed to survive unscathed.� Harry paused for a
moment, as if considering something, and added, �You might remind them
Dumbledore was gay. It was known at one point among some of the wizards I
associated with, but most people seem to have forgotten it. And that makes two
of their precious war heroes outcast in the same fashion.� His voice altered,
becoming light and cynical at once. �It does seem to be one of the hazards of
the profession.�

�� You�re
more than that,� Draco whispered impulsively into Harry�s ear. �More than what
you did during the war, more than what you did to defeat Voldemort.�

�� Harry
smiled, and tiled back his head so it briefly rested on Draco�s shoulder. �Even
that would have been impossible without you,� he said, and stole a kiss.

�� Garrett
waited patiently until they were finished, then nodded. �But you did mention
something more definite in your letter, Mr. Potter,� she said. �What was that?�

�� His letter hadn�t mentioned anything
specific. Of course, Draco thought, watching as Harry bowed his head and closed
his eyes, bracing his feet as if against some heavy push, perhaps Harry knew
that Garrett would require that hint to come at all, whilst Draco was much more
likely to trust the plan from the beginning.

�� We�ve been
hiding too long,� Harry said quietly. �We�ve even hidden the meetings of the
core group, as if we didn�t have a perfect right to gather and talk about
matters important to us if we like.� He looked up, and Draco wasn�t sure he
liked the fire that had entered his eyes. �I want a public gathering. A party,
and a festival. Somewhere you can present your speeches, Madam Garrett.
Somewhere that anyone who attends it would know he or she stands in �danger� of
encountering homosexuals. Somewhere that would remain absolutely safe, because I
would make sure it was, along with other people.� His eyes blazed, and his
voice carried such conviction that Draco thought it might be enough to make
Garrett ignore the sheer insanity of what he was saying.

�� There was
no way Draco could ignore it, though.

�� Are you
mad?� he demanded.

*

�� Harry
turned to face Draco. He had thought he might have a problem from the moment
when Draco�s hand had tightened on his. He seemed unnerved by the idea that
Harry had a plan of his own at all, never mind the fact that the plan was so
daring and public.

�� But then
Harry shook his head inwardly and told himself that was ridiculous. He was
simply on edge. Dozens of Howlers had come yesterday, and though they couldn�t
cross the wards, he could hear the owls colliding with the spells and
occasionally smell singed feathers or hear the edge of a yelling voice through
an open window. There was no answer yet from Ron or Hermione. The interview
with Therris had been printed on the front page of the Prophet this morning and looked less impressive than he remembered
it. He had received a heavy, careful letter from Kingsley begging him to reconsider
coming out, to announce that this was a deep practical joke, perhaps arranged
with George Weasley. The letter had hastened to assure Harry that Kingsley had
no moral objections to Harry�s orientation. But he would have to have legal
ones if Harry kept on as he had been.

�� Draco didn�t
deserve to have that anger taken out on him. Harry would just have to master it
and keep it under control, and he could use the techniques he had used to
create his personas to do that, even if he could no longer retreat under a
persona when Draco was near him.

�� It�s
dangerous, I know,� Harry said quietly. �That�s why we�ll publicize it as
having the possibility of physical injury, and we�ll have an Age Line to ensure
that no children or teenagers can enter��

�� That won�t
be enough,� Draco said darkly. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides.
�And if anyone does accept that, there will still be people who claim we�re
endangering and corrupting their children.� He shook his head violently. �Pure-blood
sons and daughters don�t stop being children to their parents just because they�re
of age, Harry. I ought to know.�

�� We can�t
prevent the stupider things people think of us,� Harry pointed out. A hot
prickle ran up and down his spine. But this was an argument he needed to have with Draco. He wanted to
force a confrontation, instead of allowing Counterstrike and the Ministry to do
everything. He was tired of simply reacting.

�� And he
needed the assurance that he could disagree with Draco about something not
related to sex or his personas and have Draco not immediately abandon him.
Harry had spent the last ten years resisting the temptation to confrontation. His
personas could do it well enough, because their goals and cares were usually
different from his, and most of the time he�d built the courage for the
exercise into them. But he�d bent to the needs of his friends and family and
even the needs of the public in some ways.

�� His relationship
with Draco had to be different.
Everything had to be different from this moment forwards. Draco could help
forge that path, but Harry needed a partner, not a guide.

�� Draco
stared into his eyes for long moments. Then he made an explosive sound and
stepped closer to Harry. Harry felt himself half-relax. It was yelling and
hurtful words he feared, more than physical confrontation. He could heal from
bruises; he was many times magically stronger than Draco. Words would echo in
his mind for decades and make him regret or suffer as wounds never could.

�� Harry,�
Draco said softly, �you�re forcing it into people�s faces now, not simply
taking it public.�

�� That�s the
kind of language they�ve used,� Harry
said flatly. �And I won�t demand that any gay wizard or witch who�s about in
London come to us then. They�ll have the choice. I�ll take measures to protect everyone,
just as I did at the Theater-in-the-Round.�

�� We won�t
have much attendance with the danger so high,� Draco muttered.

�� I think
you�ll be surprised.�

�� Draco
stared at him for a moment longer, and then shook his head. �What happens if
Aurors do show up?� he asked.

�� I face
them,� Harry said.

�� No.�

�� Harry
frowned and opened his mouth to argue�what was Draco going to suggest, that
Nusante do it?�but Draco seized his hand and held it against his chest. �We face them,� he said. �Your plan is
mad, but I do admire it, in some ways.� His breath was quickening, and he
licked his lips before briefly leaning in to kiss Harry. �I assume you�ll have some
press coverage, to make the Aurors look as bad as possible.�

�� Harry
smiled. He was giddy and knew it, and he was aware, in the part of Harry Potter
that was always alert, of Caroline Garrett watching them with a wide grin. He
didn�t care. Draco was with him.

�� Yes,� he
said. �And I intend to show us in as good a light as possible. We�ll defend ourselves,
but without injuring them. This�ll be an ambush, but not a physically violent
one.�

�� Draco
narrowed his eyes. �I�d like to see you manage that.�

��

�� We�ll manage it,� said Harry, and turned
to face Garrett. �I�ve chosen a place to host this party, and the owner will accept
the damages.� The owner was, in fact, him, but he didn�t see why anyone needed
to know that right now. �Can you have a speech ready in three days?�

�� I can,�
said Garrett. �If you are sure this is wise. If you are sure you wish to punch
wizarding society on its collective jaw.�

�� Harry
smiled, and ignored the cold sweat breaking out on the nape of his neck and the
trembling in his limbs. He had Draco�s touch on the small of his back to
counteract them.

�� We�re
going to show them,� he said, �that they can�t ignore us, and they can�t
silence us, and they can�t make us go back into hiding.�

�� Draco�s
hand twitched, hard, his nails scraping along Harry�s flesh in a short flash of
pain that Harry reveled in. It helped anchor him in this body, in this moment,
behind these eyes.

�� We really are going to do this.

�� We will fight.

��

*

�� Lunatic
with a hero complex: Thank you! If you enjoy conflict, I think you�ll be very
happy with Chapter 35 And 36, for that matter. Possibly 37; it depends on how
long the depiction of the party takes.

�� Jessie:
Thank you! I do think I�ve improved as a writer since I wrote �Building With
Worn-Out Tools�; that was a year ago now, but there are aspects of that story I
still enjoy.

�� My LJ address
is http://lomonaaeren.livejournal.com

�� Thrnbrooke:
Yes, it will.

�� SoftObsidian74:
At the moment, Draco�s friends won�t try to sabotage anything, at least. The
situation is too uncertain, and they know it.

�� The
confrontation with Harry�s friends is in either Chapter 37 or Chapter 38 (I
know where I�m going, just not how long it will take to get there).

�� I think you
will want to kick Lucius when you find out what his plan is.

�� Mangacat:
This is another sort of building tension chapter. They�re important so I can
have all hell break loose in the next few.

�� FallenAngel1129:
Thanks for reviewing!

�� Yume111: I
let Nusante explain himself in this chapter. As he says, his reasons are almost
entirely personal, but it�s a complex reaction, hard to portray through Draco�s
or Harry�s eyes.

�� Harry is
playing a casual part at that moment, rather than actually threatening Blaise.
If he can make Blaise sit up and pay attention, then he will cause fewer
problems later. That�s the strategist in Harry.

�� Draco is
hurt by his friends� lack of trust, but if he needed to he would have walked
away from them. He is dead serious about Harry being the most important person
to him right now.

�� Harry wants
Draco�s trust, and consulting with an interviewer beforehand is a test of this.
He�s testing their bond in this chapter as well, to make sure he can disagree
with Draco without being emotionally blackmailed. As well, it traces back to
what he said to Draco about the two of them needing to act independently for
some actions, so that their enemies don�t think they�re weak.
- 33
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Changing of the Guard