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The Same Species As Shakespeare	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 16108 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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
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Thank you again for the reviews!

Chapter Four�Not
Wisely But Too Well

�� Potter.�

�� Harry
started. He must have fallen into a doze, or at least a trance, not to have
noticed when Malfoy awakened. He looked up now, and found the other man�s eyes fixed
on him. Malfoy looked as if he didn�t know whether to be annoyed, embarrassed,
relieved, or grateful.

�� Yes?�
Harry asked quietly.

�� What are
you doing here?� Malfoy looked in several directions, as though expecting to
see a pack of Weasleys ready to pounce on him. �Why hasn�t my father been
informed?�

�� He may
have been,� said Harry, leaning back in the chair and trying not to look too
intently at Malfoy�s hands. His wrists flexed and fell in strong, sensual
motions that made Harry�s mouth dry out. He had caught, more than once, a
glimpse of Malfoy through the windows in his office as he bent over a piece of
parchment and scribbled plans for a new manor house. The difference between
seeing that through glass and seeing it so close now was like the difference
between being told about chocolate and eating it. �I didn�t go and inform him.
I brought you to St. Mungo�s from the party and I�ve been watching over you
since.�

�� Why?�
Malfoy raised his eyebrows at him. �Surely you don�t think that man, whoever he
was, will try something again so soon after the last attempt?�

�� We can�t
be sure,� said Harry, making a quick decision that he could tell Malfoy the
relevant particulars of the case, since he was involved in it now. Not
everything, of course. It would be a poor Auror who let details escape into a
place where the criminal�s ears could hear them. �We don�t understand him,
frankly. At first we thought he only wanted to smear your name. You must have
read the stories of him letting dangerous magical creatures free, making loud
speeches in denunciation of Muggleborns, and trying to steal those items from
Knockturn Alley.�

�� Quite.�
Malfoy grimaced. �Someone would begin
to resurrect my past just as I start to emerge from its shadow.�

�� Many
people do seem eager to believe it,� said Harry, barely restraining the impulse
to tell him no one in the Auror department did. Telling him that would require
explaining about the connection between their wands and Harry�s ability to
sense Malfoy�s. �I don�t, but then, I like to think I know you better than most
people do.�

�� Malfoy
laughed. The sound was sharp and lashing, like the bark of a hound eager on a
hot scent, but Harry could hear the old sorrow behind it. He hadn�t spent so
many hours observing Malfoy for nothing. �Because we were old school chums
together?� he said, and curled his lip. �Don�t make me laugh. My throat still
hurts.� He winced and lifted a hand to his neck, stroking the places where the
bruises had been with light fingertips.

�� I meant
since then,� said Harry. He could choose to be less than cautious with his
personal infatuations if he wanted. It wasn�t the same thing as revealing Auror
business. And Hermione would no doubt make a fuss if he still wore the ring,
because she wanted to protect him and didn�t trust Malfoy, but the ring had
remained tucked firmly in Harry�s pocket. �I�ve�kept up with you.�

�� Malfoy
watched him with sideways, speculative eyes. �Out of suspicion.� His voice
wavered, implying that he was willing to be convinced otherwise. Harry had
rarely wanted to do something more.

�� At first,�
Harry said. �And then I realized how many beautiful things you were doing.�

�� Malfoy
blinked at him and turned to meet his gaze directly. �Wouldn�t you despise what
I�m doing? Building manor houses for the pretentious rich who can afford them
and want to pretend they�re pure-bloods?�

�� I would
despise it if you were only doing it for wealth,� Harry said. His heartbeat had
sped up, but he doubted Malfoy could tell. He was sitting down, after all, and
his voice and face remained calm. �But you�re an artist. I can tell how much
these houses matter to you, even the ones where the owners would be happy with
a malformed copy of the latest Muggle fashion. I can admire an artist, in the
same way I could admire Professor Lupin when he taught Defense Against the Dark
Arts, or Viktor Krum when he played Quidditch.�

*

�� Draco�s
startlement had already melted into satisfaction, and a bit of impatience with
himself for failing to anticipate this reaction. Of course Potter would have to
wonder why Draco had decided to become an architect instead of huddle in the
Manor with his father. That would fit the spoiled schoolboy he�d always known,
whose pride was more important to him than anything else.

�� But Draco
had changed. And Potter had become a bit of an aesthetics expert. Draco
wondered for a moment who had taught him that, what lover, because Potter had
always been so physical that he wouldn�t have learned such an appreciation for
beauty anywhere else.

�� But
Potter�s past lovers didn�t matter. Convincing Potter to take the last few
steps closer to Draco did.

�� He looked
down at his blankets and let himself blush. Of course, he cleared his throat
harshly, because Potter wouldn�t expect him to like being embarrassed. �I wouldn�t call myself comparable to any
of the great architects of the past,� he said. �Morgana Hundel, for instance��

�� I don�t
care about them. I care about you.�

�� Draco
jerked his head up and stared at Potter.�
Luckily, his real reaction and the rehearsed one would be the same thing
this time.

�� Potter had
turned a brilliant red himself. He cleared his throat awkwardly. �I mean, I
don�t care about their work,� he said. �I barely know their names, and I�ve
never seen anything extraordinary in their houses when I�ve looked at them. I
saw you become what you did, and I could connect with the beauty in your houses
from the first time I looked at it.�

�� Awkwardness,
repeated words and all, the confession made Draco feel as if he were holding a
mask sculpted of solid gold.

�� Then��
Draco said, and had to stop speaking for a moment, because gladness was choking
him. That was all right; Potter would take it as only a sign that other
emotions had overwhelmed him. �Then I might be able to tell you what I can�t
tell anyone else, even my father.� He shivered and shook his head. �In the last
few years he�s become a stranger to me. All he ever does is brood on the past
and wonder what he could have done to change it, instead of trying to move
forwards the way I�m doing.� There. If my
father thinks of trying to warn Potter off because he�s �concerned� over what
he likes to call my �obsession,� that ought to put paid to Potter�s listening
to him.

�� Of
course,� said Potter. �You might tell me anything.� He was leaning forwards,
and there was a tremulousness in his face that made Draco want to scream aloud
with triumph. For the first time, Potter looked vulnerable to him, to something Draco might do, rather
than to harm in general. When Draco hurt him, he would endure all the more pain
because of who it was. Then Potter seemed to realize the way he looked and
leaned back in the chair, clearing his throat again. �I mean,� he said, almost
stammering, �Aurors are trained to take confessions, but also to hold what
other witnesses say to them in absolute secrecy. You don�t need to be afraid
I�ll tell someone else what you say to me.�

�� Oh, Potter. Such a Gryffindor. It doesn�t
become you to vow anything but the truth. If Draco could have any thoughts
about Potter tinged with fondness, it would have been these, the ones that
pointed out Potter�s weakness so conclusively. Draco leaned forwards and
lowered his voice, in part to disguise the husk of joy in it. �Good,� he said.
�I�ve been afraid of this impostor for some time now. I wondered if he wasn�t
only trying to smear my reputation but to end my life.� And he had sometimes
wondered that. It was Potter�s fault if he took that statement to imply that
Draco was worried.

�� Why?� Potter�s
eyes were enormous. �I can see why you didn�t approach the Ministry. We haven�t
exactly treated anyone with your last name fairly in the past.� He smiled
grimly, probably remembering the months Lucius had spent in Azkaban before the
Wizengamot deigned to notice that he�d spent most of the war as a quiet
spectator, and even managed to help a few of Voldemort�s prisoners to escape.
�But what did he do to threaten you specifically?�

�� I�ve
received my share of odd owl post since the war,� Draco said. �But lately,
there have come a few death threats that aren�t in the old style.� Those
letters didn�t actually exist, of course, but Draco could �create� them easily
enough. And they would be just the bait Potter needed to feel sorrier for him.

�� Potter winced.
�I�m sorry,� he said. �I�ve got some like that myself. You can almost get used
to living with your life constantly in danger, and then something changes and
you realize you were only used to one version
of that danger.�

�� Startled,
Draco stared at him for long moments before he realized that Potter would of
course have received threatening post from fans who wanted to be with him, as
well as the Death Eater associates who blamed him for killing their Lord. But
he spoke as if the problem had continued for more than a few months. The Prophet had never indicated it had.
Perhaps they�d simply lost interest in the story?

�� Draco felt
a flash of rage at the idea. Yes, he had to indulge the people who fell for
Potter�s fame or his deeds; they couldn�t know that the debt he owed Draco was
older than all that. But threats by post were too personal, too much of an
intrusion on the territory Draco had claimed for himself. At least they could
challenge Potter with wands in their hands and fight him on ground that Potter
was a master of. Draco had chosen intrigue as his weapon partially because of
Potter�s lack of skill at it.

�� Malfoy?�

�� He was
staring, Draco realized. He shook his head and continued, �He only sent me
three letters, and it�s possible that they didn�t come from him. But he spoke
of how my face would be torn soon, and how all the success I�d achieved since
the war was worth nothing, because he would make
it be worth nothing. Those letters came in the space of three weeks soon
after he started committing crimes with my face, and I hadn�t received any for
a year before that. The timing is too much of a coincidence.�

�� With
satisfaction, he sat back and watched Potter lap the lies up. The more hooks
Draco had in his mind, the easier he would be to control.

*

�� Harry was
inwardly swearing at himself for not suggesting that Kingsley speak to Malfoy
sooner. Of course the impostor had to have some sort of personal animosity to
Malfoy to persist for so long; he�d been committing crimes the same way for
more than seven months, instead of switching to another persona when he
realized that his crimes weren�t getting Malfoy arrested. But partially because
the Aurors were more likely to treat Malfoy as a suspect than an innocent
victim, Harry had always persuaded Kingsley not to request an interview.

�� Of course
Malfoy would be in danger from that animosity, and Harry wanted to fling curses
at the mere notion of the bloke they were chasing writing threatening letters.
Now they had an actual attack to go with it. The man was growing desperate,
perhaps simply for attention, and had stepped up his methods. Merlin knew what
he would do next if not stopped.

�� I�ve
thought�� Malfoy began, and then paused, looking away.

�� What?�
Harry asked at once. He felt he knew every line of that mobile face after
watching it as Malfoy slept. He knew that that twitch around the mouth meant
something important.

�� I�ve
thought of asking for protection from the Ministry,� Malfoy whispered. �But
could I trust the person assigned to me any more than I could trust the man
impersonating me?�

�� Harry
leaned forwards. If fate had taken many things away from him, he thought, his
parents and a normal childhood and then a life free from the taint of celebrity
afterwards, at least it had given him this.

�� Do you
think you could trust me?� he asked.

�� Malfoy�s
eyes fixed on him. He appeared to be giving the question serious consideration,
something Harry was grateful for. Agreeing too quickly would have made Harry
wonder about his motives.

*

�� He fell for it. Oh, Potter, your struggles
as you try to get out of the trap are going to be so beautiful.

�� Draco
started thoughtfully at Potter for a long moment, then thoughtfully at the
hospital bed. He cleared his throat as if he were going to speak, and then
shook his head.

�� You don�t
think you can trust me?� Potter�s voice was flat and gentle. If he was
disappointed, he was hiding it well, but Draco thought that was only because he
wasn�t looking into Potter�s eyes at the moment. He would see confusion and
hurt if he were.

�� I think I
might be able to,� said Draco. �But the Ministry would never let you protect
me, would they? Not their top Auror, whom they need for so many other cases.
And I�d want protection at both my office and the Manor. I know I�d be
reluctant to let someone I cared for live in the home of a notorious Death
Eater.�

�� Potter
laughed. Draco frowned. The sound caused an involuntary reaction in him, a jerk
below his waist as if his cock was stirring. That would have to be attended to.
Draco couldn�t have a sexual relationship with Potter until he had decided if
that was the best means of revenge or not.

�� To be
honest, this particular case of your impostor has been driving Kingsley mad,�
Potter murmured, leaning forwards until Draco could feel his breath on his
cheek. He was sure Potter had no idea how close he had got, or that he would be
able to pull away even if he knew. �We simply can�t find any leads, and we
can�t tell what his motives are, so we can�t know where he�ll appear next. The Prophet mocks the Auror department for
it when it isn�t busy trying to get out of the lawsuit the parents of the Child
Catcher�s victims brought against it. I think Kingsley might be willing to let
me go for a few days if it means that we�d be more likely to solve the case.�

�� But having
me with you might make you less likely to solve the case,� said Draco. �It�d be
depriving the Ministry of your investigative skills, and maybe the attacker,
whoever he is, would back off when he realized I had protection.� Potter would
be suspicious if he raised no objections and didn�t sound as if he were
half-reconsidering his own idea. Besides, it was true that the Aurors couldn�t
find their own arses without Potter. He had no particular merit, he didn�t
deserve all his success, but his peculiar luck seemed to turn up the trails of
criminals more often than not.

�� Having you
safe would be a good thing,� said Potter. �And Kingsley might ask me to remain
in hiding at first, under a Disillusionment Charm, so that our enemy wouldn�t
know you had protection. He�d be likely to reveal himself then.�

�� Draco
drowned a growl of discontent. He wanted as many people as possible to see
Potter following at his heels like a tame dog. But he could put up with
temporary inconveniences to achieve his grand victory over Potter. God knew
he�d been doing it long enough. It wouldn�t do to make his eagerness cause him
to fail in sight of the goal.

�� If you
think he�d agree,� he said, looking up, �maybe you could suggest it.�

*

�� Harry was
sure he could have taken down the impostor without his wand just then, if the
bastard had chosen to appear in the room. The relief and the triumph of Malfoy�s
agreement made his feet lighter and his magic surge within him.

�� I will,�
he said. �But it would help if I could explain things in more detail to
Kingsley. Do I have your permission to tell him about the threatening letters?�
In reality, he planned to do so anyway, because it was important to the
investigation, but without Malfoy�s permission, he would make sure Kingsley
confined the information to those Aurors who could keep silent about it.

�� Malfoy
swallowed. Harry wondered if he was thinking about the people�and Harry was
sure they existed�who would pay for information like this. Harry had to keep
from snarling as he thought of them. He wanted to stand guard over Malfoy at
the moment and protect him from the whole world. He should be left to create
art in peace, without having to worry about someone trying to steal his
reputation.

�� You want more than that, laughed his own
conscience.

�� Harry
ignored that. Yes, he did, but it would be wrong to press Malfoy for closeness
when he�d just barely survived an attack. It would be enough to stay in the
same home with him, and watch his houses come to life under his hands in the
office.

�� You can
tell him,� Malfoy whispered. �Just�don�t spread it widely, please?� He looked
up at Harry with appealing eyes. �And if I answer questions about it, then I
would like you to come with me.�

�� Harry
nodded. He would have reached out a hand and placed it on Malfoy�s arm, but he
was sure it would shake and give him away.

�� If Hermione and Ron could see him at the moment,
they would have to admit he�s more than a soulless monster, he thought. They love me, I know they want the best for
me, but the prejudice against the Malfoy name is still strong in them.

*

�� Draco kept
his eyes tamely on the floor as Kingsley Shacklebolt questioned him. Potter had
asked Draco if he was well enough to leave St. Mungo�s and go to the Ministry,
but Draco had refused, thinking Shacklebolt would probably be more powerful on
his own ground (and that he might also have access to spells that would
facilitate the detection of lies and other tricks, which would be noticeable if
he tried to cast them in St. Mungo�s).

�� The Head
Auror took a seat opposite him and frowned. �Harry tells me that you�ve asked
for protection, and why,� he said bluntly. �I wanted to ask you some questions
before I simply assigned my best Auror to you for an indefinite period.�

�� Draco saw
Potter shift uneasily. He was standing near the door; he�d offered to leave
during the interview, but Shacklebolt had said it wouldn�t be necessary, and
Draco preferred him nearby, so that he could intervene, as he doubtless would,
if Shacklebolt said something too awkward for Draco to handle.

�� He is so much the same, Draco thought,
with a hunger he couldn�t name directly. He would have to watch that, too. He
did not want unknown emotions upsetting his plans. Uneasy under praise. He revels in it, I know he does. I suppose the
modesty is a show he�s kept up for the masses so long it�s become instinctive.

�� How threatening
would you say the letters you received were?� Shacklebolt asked.

�� Draco
allowed himself to glance over his shoulder as if he suspected that the
attacker was behind him. When he turned back, Shacklebolt had a tinge of
sympathy about his eyes, and Potter looked as if he had a hard time not
stepping away from the door and reaching for Draco.

�� The first
was more odd than anything else,� said Draco, and shivered. �Some phrases about
tearing my face, tearing it to shreds and then burning the shreds. I suspected
it was from a disgruntled Death Eater and Vanished it. As you no doubt know,�
he added, arching his neck a little, �not many former Death Eaters have
achieved the same success I have.�

�� I know,�
said Shacklebolt grimly, in a tone that made it clear to Draco he wouldn�t have
achieved that success if Shacklebolt had been able to intervene. �And the other
two letters?�

�� Threatened
my success,� Draco said. �They were full of threats against my business, and
then the same weird sentence about tearing my face away, which was all that
told me they were from the same writer. The hand changed each time.� He saw
Shacklebolt and even Potter come alert, as if his lie had told them something
important. So sorry not to be of help to
your investigation, he thought. If
Potter had ever been of help to me, perhaps I wouldn�t need to do this. �I
Vanished those as well. My father would react�badly�if he saw them lying
about.� He lowered his voice confidentially. �Ever since my mother�s death,
he�s been a bit less than sane.�

�� Potter
nodded, as if that confirmed an old theory of his. Shacklebolt was staring at
him, obviously deep in thought. �And you think Harry could protect you against
these things?�

�� He was
very impressive tonight,� said Draco, and let his voice warm, though his eyes
only stole to Potter for a moment. He was staring at the floor again. Draco
wondered how long it would take that modesty to wear away when they were alone
together. Surely he must have some pride in his lovemaking skills, to keep the
lovers he�d had; no one would want someone who cringed and fawned all the time.

�� Draco
forced his brain to move on from that, though, because dwelling on Potter�s
past lovers was like swallowing vinegar. �Not only did he manage to save my
life, when I had no idea this enemy was behind me, but he�s quick of insight.
When the impostor knocked down a pillar, Potter realized at once that he had to
protect the crowd from the falling stone, not hold the roof up. The only way
that could happen would be if he�d looked at the pillars and known they were
ornamental from the first.�

�� Potter
flushed brilliantly. Draco knew this �insight� came from Potter�s close
attention to his houses, and so did Potter. Draco tipped Potter a slow wink as
Shacklebolt looked away to write something down, as much saying, I won�t tell if you won�t. Potter looked
reluctantly enthralled.

�� And you
won�t accept anyone else from the Ministry?� Shacklebolt said.

�� I haven�t
seen that anyone else would risk their lives for me,� Draco said shortly.
Though his delight in finally getting close to Potter outweighed it, he did
feel some irritation that someone had nearly killed him that evening. A trained
Auror at his back would be no bad thing. But someone like Weasley? Of course
not. He couldn�t accept that.

�� Shacklebolt
settled back in his chair with a sigh. �Harry made other arguments when he
visited me, even more convincing,� he said. �Very well. Harry, this is your
case for the immediate future. Make sure that you act as a bodyguard for
Malfoy, and accompany him everywhere.�
He gave Potter a glance that Draco didn�t know the significance of.

�� But Potter
apparently did, because his lips thinned before he nodded. �Yes, sir.�

�� Does that refer to some past mistake? But
Draco decided it didn�t matter if it did, because he had everything he needed:
Potter willingly at his side, giving him time to work out plans.

�� Draco had
known for years that he needed this. What he did not yet know what he should do. Immense, rich vistas of vengeance opened
out in front of him.

�� And Potter
was gazing at him trustingly. Draco smiled back, ignoring Shacklebolt�s
presence in the room, and effortlessly concealing the thought running through
his mind at that moment, which was, Do I start
with wrapping my hands around your heart or your soul?

*

�� avihenda:
This story does have an odd pace, different from my usual one, but chapter 3
was especially important to set up the Lucius-Snape dynamic.

�� Jilliane:
Hopefully in this story, Hermione will not be all that bossy. She is a lot more
realistic about Draco than Harry is.

�� Yes, this
story is all about relationships. It�s also one that focuses on the same theme
distributed among several characters, to see how they separately work it out.

�� And yes, I
do plan to present entries from Narcissa�s diaries.

�� Thanks for
reviewing.

�� linagabriev:
Lucius was referring to Snape and Draco escaping from Hogwarts. As for
Narcissa, Bellatrix did kill her, but the reason and the method haven�t been
fully revaled yet.

�� Snape is
still underestimating Harry, because he cannot get over his own past. He thinks
Draco will always win.

�� Draco has a
number of different emotional reactions to Harry, including ones that don�t
mean what he thinks they do.

�� FallenAngel1129:
Thanks! I will warn you this story falls to a very deep nadir before it gets
better.

�� Thrnbrooke:
Thanks!

�� Mangacat:
Lucius might still try that, but now Draco has poisoned the well by trying to
convince Harry that Lucius is the insane one.

�� SP777:
Well, this particular story is angsty at the request of the recipient. Still, I
think comedy is much more difficult to sustain over a novel-length story unless
you�re writing a parody. The only novel-length comic story idea I�ve come up
with is one that still involves a lot of action-adventure, and not one I�m
ready to write yet.

��
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The Same Species As Shakespeare