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Their Phoenix	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 68678 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 1-Their Phoenix
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16
- 17-Part 17
- 18-Part 18
- 19-Part 19
- 20-Part 20
- 21-Part 21
- 22-Part 22
- 23-Part 23
- 24-Part 24
- 25-Part 25
- 26-Part 26
- 27-Part 27
- 28-Part 28
- 29-Part 29
- 30-Part 30
- 31-Part 31
- 32-Part 32
- 33-Part 33
- 34-Part 34
- 3
- 4
- 5
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� Harry.
Come in.� Kingsley sounded worn-out, but his smile was still warm as he leaned
back in his chair and spelled the office door shut. �I assume that whatever you
need to talk to me about is strictly confidential?� Another wand movement, and
two bottles of Firewhisky soared out of a hidden cabinet in the wall that Harry
thought Scrimgeour would have been absolutely amazed to know about.

�� Harry
accepted one of the bottles, gave Kingsley a small smile, and sat down in the
chair in front of his desk. �Yes, actually,� he said. �I came to talk to you
about clearing Snape and Malfoy�s names further. Draco Malfoy,� he added
quickly. So far as Harry was concerned, Lucius deserved everything he got.

�� Kingsley
opened his bottle and sipped at the liquid inside without saying anything for
long moments. Then he said, �The evidence that cleared them is
incontrovertible, but also complicated, and it requires a long time to view.
The Wizengamot hates that kind of
evidence. They much prefer a touching story. Politically, I think that I�ve
done about everything I can do for them.�

�� Harry
opened his own bottle so that he wouldn�t seem rude, but held it away from his
lips instead of drinking. �But you could issue a full pardon,� he said quietly.
�I know it wouldn�t make everyone leave them alone, but it would give them
legal freedom to travel around and hold any job they could find, with anyone
who would hire them.�

�� Kingsley
gave him a wry look. �I told some of the Wizengamot they would rue it when your
friend Hermione started studying law. They didn�t believe me.�

�� Harry
didn�t smile back. �I�m not doing this at Hermione�s instigation,� he said.
�It�s for me. Well, for them, technically, but she still didn�t put me up to
it.�

�� That does
change things,� Kingsley said, though he didn�t say why. �And why do you want
them pardoned so badly? Four months ago, the house arrest the Wizengamot put
them under was enough for you.�

�� Harry
winced. He had known this would come up sooner or later, and he didn�t think he
could put off revealing it to at least a few people, especially since he would
need to spend time in the same house with Snape and Malfoy. Besides, he thought
he could trust Kingsley not to talk. He pulled up his robe sleeves and showed
the phoenixes.

�� Kingsley
leaned forwards to look at them, his eyebrows going up. �So that�s what Skeeter
meant when she said that you defeated You-Know-Who with �ancient magic,�� he
murmured.

�� She
doesn�t actually know anything about it,� Harry said. He knew Skeeter didn�t, even from spying in her beetle form, or she
would have made her story much more detailed. Instead, she�d concocted sentence
after sentence stretching the concept of �ancient magic� as far as it would go.
�But yeah. I saw Voldemort about to kill Snape and Malfoy. I willed them to
live. These�� he rubbed his hands over the intertwined birds, and wondered if
it was his imagination that they felt a bit warmer than before ��are the signs
of the magic that did it, and killed Voldemort, too. They created bonds between
me and Snape and Malfoy.�

�� Kingsley
narrowed his eyes. �I see,� he said, voice unusually precise. �And are they
blackmailing you by threatening to reveal this bond?�

�� Harry
blinked, caught off-guard. �What? No!�

�� Can they
cause you physical pain if you don�t do what they wish?� Kingsley was looking
at the phoenixes as Harry had never seen anyone look at them, as if by
themselves the marks were a brand of evil like the Dark Mark.

�� Snape and Malfoy�s marks were the Dark Mark, and you looked at them like
that at first, too. Harry took a deep breath and focused on an image that
Ledbetter had taught him, an iron spiral which dissolved slowly into fiery
particles. It helped to keep him calm by forcing his brain to pay attention to
a complex image for a few seconds, until he felt ready to return to the
conversation. �No. I�m the one in control of the bond, actually, and I can
cause them pain if I want to.�
Kingsley simply looked at him and waited for him to go on, so Harry elaborated
with a sigh. �The marks seemed to have a side-effect, or maybe that�s the bond
itself, where they spend too much time thinking about me. To keep them from blackmailing me or
threatening me in the future, I want to get them interested in other things.
Brewing potions. Quidditch. That kind of thing.� Harry spread his hands. �But
they can�t do that if they can�t go outside the house safely.�

�� Well.�
Kingsley�s voice had deepened, and he nodded twice before he folded his hands
in front of him. �Yes. I think I see the strategic advantage it would mean if
you could be protected from the manipulations of two individuals who have a
unique closeness to you and none of your best friends� loyalty.�

�� Harry
relaxed. Though Kingsley�s interpretation was more political than his, they
agreed on the same thing, and it was good to know he�d have some support. �Then
you�ll do it?�

�� As long as
you give me your word that you�ll consider other restrictions on their
movements if the time comes that they�re doing something wrong with this
increased freedom, and we have evidence of it.� Kingsley put up a hand when
Harry opened his mouth. �And as long as you set up certain barriers against
them. I know that Severus Snape is a hero, in some respects, but he�s too often
willing to let the ends justify the means. And Malfoy may yet follow in his
father�s footsteps. He�s an unknown factor. I want to see a sample of his
independent decisions before I make a final judgment on him. I don�t want
either of them in control of someone I fully expect to become one of my best
Aurors, Harry. Am I clear?�

�� Harry
flushed with pleasure. It was the first indication that he had of Kingsley
approving his abilities personally, instead of just as someone who had to be
treated with respect because he�d won the war. He stood up, holding Kingsley�s
eyes. �I can promise, sir,� he said, �I don�t want anyone to ever control me
again. I�ll fight them if they try.�

�� Kingsley
nodded, a faint smile on his face. �Good. Then I�ll arrange the pardons. It�s
still a large load of legal paperwork at a time when we�re held down by the
paperwork from the Death Eater trials��

�� I wouldn�t
expect it tomorrow, Minister,� Harry said quickly. The last thing he wanted to
create was the impression that he was demanding, or that he expected impossible
things to be done for him just because he was the �Chosen One.�

�� But you do
need them soon,� Kingsley said calmly, �for understandable reasons. All right.
A week should be the most I need.� He held out his hand. �Being bonded to one
person, let alone two other people, is an immense responsibility I wouldn�t
wish even on Snape. But I do trust you, Harry.�

�� Harry shook
his hand hard, and tried to ignore the nagging doubt that the only reason
Kingsley trusted him was because he�d been lucky enough to kill Voldemort with
accidental magic he barely understood. If he listened to doubts like that the
whole time, then he might as well start listening to Snape and Malfoy right
now.

*

�� Potter! A
word.�

�� Draco
practically had to sprint down the stairs to catch Potter, who was stepping out
the front door of Spinner�s End as though it was his mission that morning to
personally conquer the Ministry. Potter turned around, his face set and his
arms folded. He couldn�t have presented a less welcoming front to Draco if he
was purposely imitating Mad-Eye Moody.

�� Draco
jerked himself to a stop at the foot of the steps and tried his best to smile
at Potter instead of scowl at him. So far, he hadn�t got a chance to try
Severus�s advice about being more pleasant because Potter was never fucking around. He got up early for breakfast,
which was his promised hour in the house in the morning, went to Auror training
all day, ate dinner with his friends, and then came back for an hour in the
evening before he went to bed. He�d made his own set of rooms with a
wizardspace addition to the house, and never entered the same room Draco was in
if he could help it.

�� It was
probably enough for the bond, since neither Draco nor Severus had collapsed
with convulsions in the week Potter had been doing that. But neither did it further the bond, and Draco could see
the frustration in the whiteness around Severus�s lips whenever he happened to
glimpse the phoenix mark on his arm.

�� In the
interests of not having Severus explode at Potter in a flurry of insults that
would push their agenda back further than anything Draco could do, Draco would
do what he could. So, now, he pushed a friendly fake smile onto his face and
said, �I never see you around here. I thought you were going to spend more time
with us.�

�� Potter
blinked. �I am.�

�� Draco found
his hands clenching into fists, and quickly opened them and stuck them behind
his back, hoping that Potter hadn�t noticed. �Time talking to us,� he said.
�Time getting to know us. What you�re doing now isn�t that.�

�� No, it
isn�t.� Potter leaned one shoulder on the front door and squinted at Draco
thoughtfully. Draco wanted to comment on the fact that his glasses made Potter
look like an owl. He manfully resisted the urge. �I don�t really want to do
that. It�s enough that you have access to my emotions��

�� Draco
started. He had, in fact, forgotten about that. Most of the time, Potter�s
emotions, now that he was used to them, were a soft dull hum in the back of his
mind, and it took effort to concentrate and bring up the images they had given
him when they were new. He did it now, and saw Potter�s calm, unyielding
determination as a wall of steel.

�� But I
understand that you have to have that to survive. It would be like denying
someone food they needed just because you didn�t like the smell.� Potter ran
his tongue along his teeth. �But that doesn�t mean I willingly have to give you
anything else.�

�� Draco
hissed under his breath. �And you think that�s the way to become comfortable
with us? To live like�like friends?� He couldn�t yet bring up Severus�s
contention that they would need to make Potter their lover, even if it would
make excellent taunting material. �By rushing away from us as soon as you can
and telling us flatly you�ll refuse us anything more than the basic
necessities?�

�� Unexpectedly,
Potter laughed. �And what would you do if I
had to have access to your emotions
to survive, Malfoy? Would you really want to spend any more time around me than
you could help?�

�� Draco
opened his mouth, then shut it. The simple truth was that, no, he wouldn�t.
Especially because Potter would probably take any chance he saw him to try out
new taunts, and the taunts would be worse than ever because he�d have accurate
information from feeling Draco�s emotions.

�� Exactly,�
Potter said. �I�m trying to make things more comfortable for all of us, and
it�s more comfortable for me not to be around you.�

�� That
sounds rude,� was the most Draco could come up with. He was thinking now of
what would happen if Potter should open the bonds the other way and learn about
his and Severus�s emotions, and he didn�t like it at all, even though it had
seemed so reasonable only a week ago when they were first talking about it. He
scowled at his left arm. I think this
phoenix mark is messing with my head.

�� Potter
shrugged. �I don�t really care.� His face brightened and turned mischievous,
the way Draco had seen it right before he tried a dive in Quidditch. The vision
in Draco�s head was of a brilliant scarlet-robed Quidditch player, in fact, and
he tried not to shiver as the happiness ran through his body. Yes, that was
pleasant for more reasons than its intensity, and he would give a lot to make
Potter experience it on a regular basis. �Besides, I�ll have some news that
will make you more comfortable
tonight, too.�

�� What?�
Draco demanded, shuffling closer. �Severus hasn�t said anything.�

�� It�s
really strange how you call him by his first name, you know,� Potter
complained, and then rushed on before Draco could say anything indignant about
sharing the same cell together. �No, I decided to tell you first. I thought you
should get to have a secret from him
once in a while.�

�� What makes
you think he has secrets from me?�

�� The way he�s
always brewing in the lab, with the door closed?� Potter tossed his head in the
direction of Severus�s lab, hard enough to make the fringe fly off his
forehead. The door was, Draco had to admit, closed at the moment. �Don�t tell
me that doesn�t make you wonder.� His
grin was pure slyness, pure Hogwarts, and Draco found himself smiling back
before he could comprehend what he was doing.

�� He tried to
stop at once, but Potter continued blithely, �You�ll have a pardon today. Or
maybe tomorrow, knowing the way the Ministry works. A full legal pardon. You
won�t be under house arrest anymore.� He grinned even more widely at Draco.

�� A pardon?� Draco blurted, and he knew he
sounded absolutely shocked and gauche, and he couldn�t do anything about that
either.

�� Potter
nodded. �Thought you might like to know,� he said, and tapped Draco on the
shoulder with a closed fist before he looked at his watch, muttered, �Ledbetter
will rip my head off,� and ducked out
the door.

�� Draco stood
there, blinking. He wasn�t sure what was more wondrous: the fact of the pardon�

�� Or the fact
that Potter had wanted to share a secret with him before he shared it with
Severus, and touched him in a friendly manner.

�� That was nice, whether or not he meant it to
be.

*

�� Severus had
had enough of Potter�s cowardly behavior. It was almost a fortnight since they
had made the agreement to live together, a week since the pardon, and Potter
still ate his breakfast and dashed out of the house as if his arse were on
fire. Then, when he came home at night, he stayed in his own rooms, the doors
locked, until he slept. Sometimes, if they pushed especially hard, Severus or
Draco would be favored with a single irritated look.

�� Potter no
doubt considered he was keeping his end of the bargain. But it did not lend
itself to his easy seduction, and so Severus held a different viewpoint.

�� He went
that evening to the polished wooden door that marked the entrance to Potter�s
wizardspace, and knocked. In one hand he held a single bottle of the elf-wine
that had been James Potter�s favorite. If he could not gain entrance to
Potter�s sympathy through appeals to the natural Gryffindor sense of fairness,
Severus was not above bribery.

�� The door
opened on the sixth knock, and Potter stuck his head out. His hair was matted
flat along the side of his head, and his eyes held a particular glazed look
that Severus was familiar with, having seen plenty of his students fall asleep
over their homework in his time. He steeled himself against the temptation to
think of Potter as a child. He was not, and neither was Draco, not after the
horrors they had witnessed. They were more than of age in the wizarding world,
both eighteen, and Potter was training for a career that involved battling Dark
wizards. Draco showed flashes of maturity almost daily now.

Severus would not allow the
frustration he could feel through the bond, rushing and boiling like a
Pepper-Up Potion, to discourage him, either. He solemnly held out the bottle of
wine.

�I�m too busy to drink right now,�
Potter said dismissively, and started to shut the door.

Severus snarled before he could
stop himself. He�d intended to maintain a pleasant demeanor with Potter all
evening, but that would not work if Potter refused to be the least bit pleasant
to him. �I was considering
conversation among the possibilities,� he said. �But, of course, if you are too
busy to learn more of one of the people you will spend the rest of your life
tied to�� He shrugged and turned away, trying furiously to control his own
bitterness.

�No. Wait.�

Potter�s frustration had subsided
into the tingling chill that Severus recognized as his uncertainty. He turned
back and waited.

Potter ran a hand through his hair,
looked down the corridor as if a clock hung there that he intended to count the
hours on, and gnawed his lip. Then he nodded decisively and swung the door open
further. �Come on in,� he said.

Severus kept his face neutral as he
stepped across the threshold. He had not expected an invitation to Potter�s
rooms tonight. At best, he had hoped Potter would condescend to join him in
Severus�s own library or study.

�I�m sorry it�s a mess,� Potter
said, pushing ineffectually at the stack of papers on top of one desk. The room
had three desks altogether, several shelves loaded with books and more papers,
and two hard wooden chairs; Severus surreptitiously drew his wand and cast a
Cushioning Charm on the seat he intended to take for his own. Beyond the
largest set of bookshelves was a doorway that Severus suspected led to Potter�s
bedroom. Everything seemed to be decorated in shades of brown and white, though
the overwhelming mass of parchment might well contribute to that impression.
Potter looked around helplessly, then took the other chair. �What did you want
to talk about?�

�Your plan of refusing our company
would be a good start,� Severus said dryly, conjuring a pair of glasses into
which he could pour the wine. He would not trust anything in Potter�s rooms to
have escaped the dust infestation.

�� Potter sat
back a little and shifted, his arms folding. Severus would have been able to
mark his rising defensiveness by those gestures even if the bond had not
conveyed it to him. Dark stone, this emotion was, pocked with holes like those
found in pumice. �I was leaving you alone,� he muttered. �It seemed to be the
best arrangement for everyone involved.�

�� Severus
sneered. �You made �the best arrangement� without consulting us, Potter?�

�� Strangely,
Potter relaxed at that, and Severus remembered that it was an outburst of temper
that had persuaded Potter to invite him in, too. �Well, yeah,� Potter said.
�You obviously want more out of me than I can give, and if anyone hands you
anything, you demand even more. Malfoy�s already complaining that people still
look at him suspiciously when he goes out in public, as if the pardon could
help with that.� He rolled his eyes.

�� Severus
held out the wineglass, and Potter accepted it, his eyes darting back and forth
between the liquid and Severus�s hand, as if he might have dropped in a poison
with Potter unaware of it.

�� Draco is
still young, and has much to learn,� Severus said smoothly. �As do you, Potter,
particularly about what other people want from you.�

�� Potter
snorted and folded his arms again. The wineglass snagged in the folds of his
shirt. Severus winced as half the wine slopped out on the floor. Potter slammed
the glass onto the table he�d been studying at earlier and stood up. �I know
plenty about what the Ministry wants from me,� he said, the bond tarry with
bitterness, �and Malfoy, and you. More. I
told you that. More and more, all the time.� He spun around and glared at
Severus. �Fuck you. You�re not getting more than the absolute minimum you need
to stay healthy.�

�� Severus
caught his breath in spite of himself. He had never seen Potter angry without
thinking him insolent and wanting to punish him for it. But the barrier between
student and professor was not the same as the one between them now�or rather,
the one that Potter was trying to put there. And Severus had given himself
permission to notice Potter�s attractiveness.

�� He was
beautiful.

�� In a
scrawny, underfed, overworked way, Severus acknowledged a moment later, not
wishing to grow soft. But there was still a kind of beauty there, hard and
lean, like a hound bred to the hunt.

�� Sleeping with him will not be such a
hardship after all.

�� You can�t
tell me, Snape,� Potter was going on in a hectoring tone, �that you would be
happy with people invading your head and eating your emotions and demanding
more of you still. You can�t��

�� No.�
Severus rose to his feet. He would not take a lesser role where Potter was
concerned, in any sense. Potter simply glared at him, unimpressed, and Severus
wondered whether the action had been wasted. �But that is because I handle such
situations in a different way than you have. When my life was in danger, I
bowed my head and endured. When the Dark Lord rummaged in my mind, picking
through my memories and fouling them with his touch, I hid my true feelings
behind Occlumency barriers. And when I was a spy, when I had no choice but to
be a spy, I carried that burden.�

�� Potter
sneered at him. �Well, I don�t want
to,� he said. �The war is over, and now I should be able to live my life the
way I want.�

�� Severus
sneered back. He was quite confident that he was still the teacher in the
matter of that particular facial expression. �No one can do exactly as they
want, Potter, not even the Ministry�s Golden Child.�

�� And I
won�t!� Potter yelled. The bookshelves began to rattle ominously. �I�ll obey the
laws and I�ll do publicity if Kingsley absolutely insists, and I�ll bite my
tongue when Ron says something wrongheaded and when Mrs. Weasley sends food
home with me that I�ll never eat. But I won�t
become friends with you, I won�t obey you, I won�t be your pet or whatever else it is that you want!�

�� His eyes
shone furiously, and now all that lean beauty was engaged against Severus.
Potter really looked as if he might lunge forwards and bite him at any moment.
Severus caught his breath again. His estimation of his permanent position in
relation to Potter underwent a drastic change. It was clear that nothing would
be permanent when it came to their life together.

�� I believe
you are overexcited, Potter,� he began, intending to calm him down so that they
could have a productive discussion of the bond.

�� Potter
snarled at him, and then Severus was abruptly standing outside the door to
Potter�s wizardspace, though he knew he had not walked there and the wards on
the house should have prevented him from Apparating even if he desired to do
so.

�� Forcible Apparition, he decided, after a
moment�s stunned stillness. That must be
another side-effect of the bond. It is true that it would help Potter greatly
in pulling us out of danger, should we venture into it.

�� He could
have knocked and forced another confrontation, but he preferred to retire to
his own rooms and consider why that tactic had not worked.

�� And how he
was to choose one that would.

*

�� Hermione
shook her head. �I�ve considered it from every angle, Harry. I don�t think that
anything Snape said in that original letter to you was untrue.� She brightened
and pushed the books she had on the table across to him. �But I don�t think the
bond requires anything additional. You can read these if you like, though. They
should explain everything to you.�

�� Harry
rolled his eyes. �I�m not going to be able to understand them, Hermione.�

�� She looked
disappointed. �But with just a little practice, anyone can read books like
these and��

�� Thanks for
helping me, but no.� Harry stood up. He had already seen Ginny peer into the
Burrow�s kitchen, where he and Hermione had retreated with the books after
dinner was done, twice. He wanted to go out to her and reassure her. She looked
almost sick with worry.

�� Hermione
sighed and waved her wand so that all the books floated together in a pile.
�All right, but I think it would be better if you could research this for
yourself.�

�� Harry
smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. �Don�t worry, Hermione. I trust you absolutely.�

�� Flushing
and obviously pleased, and as obviously trying to hide it, Hermione still gave
him a minor lecture about adult responsibilities. Harry nodded patiently to
every fourth word, always a good proportion in a situation like this, and
finally Hermione left the kitchen. Ginny stepped inside immediately.

�� The
expression on her face made Harry hold out his hand. �We should walk in the
garden,� he said, the first thing that came into his mind. �It�s not a bad
night.�

�� For the
middle of November, no, it isn�t,� Ginny muttered, but she let him lead her.

�� Harry cast
several Warming Charms as they stepped out into the snow. Ginny could have cast
them herself, he knew that, but she relaxed as they took effect and gave him
that sideways smile he loved .Harry took her hand, and they walked for several
minutes before Ginny cleared her throat and turned to face him.

�� Harry
looked down at her, and tried to fight back his shock. She looked fragile at the moment, with her pale
cheeks and her freckles standing out like dots of blood, which wasn�t a word he
had ever applied to Ginny. He wanted to take her in his arms, but he wondered
if she would take it the wrong way. He settled for clasping her hands instead.

�� What is
it?� he whispered.

�� Look,
Harry,� Ginny said, her voice infinitely sad, �if you want me to leave you
alone so that you can concentrate on Snape and Malfoy, then you need to let me
go. At least tell me honestly.� By the end of the sentence, the sick look had
left her face, and her cheeks were a little flushed.

�� Harry
blinked at her. �Why would you say that?� he asked helplessly. �Ginny, I love
you. And what I feel for them is so far from love that��

�� I read
about bonds like this.� Ginny turned away from him and wrapped her arms around
herself as if the Warming Charms had had no effect. �They�re usually used in
marriages or adoptions. Adoptions are different, where there�s already an
overwhelming amount of one kind of
love. But they�re used in marriages because the sharing is so deep that it
always leads to romantic love.� She glanced at him sideways. �And I thought you
must be interested in sleeping with them because you haven�t wanted to sleep
with me.�

�� Harry ran
his hand through his hair and stared at his feet. Then he sighed and said, �Gin,
I haven�t slept with you yet because I was worried that I would mess it up.�

�� Ginny
looked at him with her lips parted, and Harry thought she�d never seemed so
appealing.

�� I�m
nervous,� he said. �I�ve never done it before.� He was talking quickly now, and
he knew his cheeks were burning with embarrassment, but saying anything was
preferable to Ginny thinking he was like that
with Snape and Malfoy. �And I don�t have the bonds open so I can feel their
emotions, and I�m trying to stay away from them as much as I can so we don�t share more than we have to, and��

�� He had to
stop when Ginny clapped her mouth onto his. Harry opened his at once, in sheer
relief, and shivered as Ginny�s tongue twined with his.

�� But that
changes everything,� Ginny whispered, stepping away from him and squeezing his
hands. �Don�t you see? I thought you really wanted the bond with Snape and
Malfoy, or that you were being pulled into it despite yourself, and that you
didn�t really want me.� Her smile turned sly. �And now that I know you�re
nervous, I think we should go make you less nervous.�

�� Harry
hesitated one moment. He still wasn�t sure, his stomach was fluttering and
cramping, and he�

�� But Ginny�s
face fell, and Harry couldn�t bear to see her look like that.

�� Yeah, we
should,� he said, and basked in her brilliant smile.

*

�� Potter was
having sex.

�� Draco
clenched his fingers into his sheets and stared at the ceiling, not sure which
he hated more: the feelings of pleasure and astonishment darting through him,
or the persistent erection between his legs.

�� He had felt
Potter�s anger before without knowing what had caused the anger. Likewise his
fear, his exhaustion, and his annoyance, though in the case of the latter two
emotions, Draco thought Auror training was a good source for them. But there
was no way that he could mistake these feelings for anything else. They were
too intense, and the visions that came to him were mixed up with flashes of the
Weasley girl�s face.

�� Draco
gritted his teeth. �I don�t want to seduce Potter,� he whispered, as though
speaking the words aloud might force the feelings to subside. �That was
Severus�s idea. I don�t.�

�� But the
jealousy was there anyway. If Potter
was going to feel like that, then Draco thought he and Severus should have been
the ones to cause it. Not least because Potter would no doubt come back to the
house later grinning like a maniac, and with his hair standing on end because
Weasel fingers had touched it, and with his skin marked with the bruises and
bites of an energetic Weasel orgy.

�� Severus
knocked sharply on the door and opened it before Draco could do more than drag
a sheet over his legs so that his arousal wouldn�t be so blatantly obvious. Then
Severus stepped into the room, and Draco realized he was erect, as well.

�� Potter
is�� Severus began.

�� I know.� Draco rolled away, pounding a
fist into the pillow. �And I didn�t think it would affect me so badly, but it
does,� he confessed in a whisper. If they were supposed to be allies, then he
thought they should be honest with one another, not trying to hide secrets that
Severus could figure out at a glance in any case.

�� Then,�
Severus said, �we might do something about it.�

�� Draco
glared over his shoulder. �I didn�t think we could force the bonds open and
make him feel what we�re feeling.� His words trailed off into a gasp, his body
arching. Potter had either come to orgasm or something very like it. And mixed
with the pleasure was wonder, lending a blue-white glow to the formless sea
Draco was drowning in.

�� Severus
shook, too, and his face turned pale with effort to hold himself back. �We
cannot,� he said, when the crest had passed and they both had their voices
back, �but we might show him that we are not to be left out.�

�� Draco
raised a curious eyebrow, and Severus strode up to the edge of the bed. Draco
sat up, having a vague notion of what would happen next, and Severus bent down
and kissed him.

�� It was
unlike the other kisses Draco had had before, with Blaise and Pansy; it seemed
like a million years since he�d been close enough to his friends to fool around
with them like that. But he didn�t think it was faded memory that made this
particular contact of lips so intense. Draco shuddered and sat up further, his
hands flailing for a moment before Severus grabbed them and settled them on his
shoulders.

�� Draco
clenched his fingers deep, sensing wiry strength and muscle. Severus�s tongue
hit his again and again, curling in a way that made Draco decide he was no
expert.

�� Still, he
knew more than Draco, and enough to make Draco shiver and press himself close,
suddenly thinking of other things that he could do with his erection than will
it to subside. Severus pulled back with the most color Draco had ever seen in
his cheeks, and a pleased look that turned his eyes to deep wells. Draco
snorted a bit as another flash of Weasley�s face intruded. He felt more pity
than jealousy when it came to Potter now. Potter didn�t have this.

�� It wasn�t
love that made Severus press him to the bed, but it was knowledge, and deliberate
slowness. That showed in the way his fingers pulled Draco�s robes off.� Draco had always been in a hurry with Blaise
and Pansy, afraid that someone would catch them.

�� Severus was
unafraid, and that drew Draco to him
as much as anything else. One couldn�t call his face handsome, Draco thought,
as he bent over Draco after he�d pulled the trousers off and unbuttoned his
shirt, but it had a concentrated focus of attention. Draco�s cock hardened
more.

�� I am
fortunate,� Severus said, not quite under his breath, and stuck his tongue out.
It didn�t come anywhere near Draco�s cock. Draco moaned anyway. Severus shot
him another pleased look and then lowered his mouth at last.

�� Draco
tensed at once. �Going to�� he said. He�d never been this aroused, and besides,
he was eighteen.

�� Severus
murmured something around his cock, which worsened the problem, but then he
pinched behind Draco�s balls, and the pain cut through the pleasure. Draco
caught his breath and did his best to hold himself still. He�d only ever got
Blaise to agree to blow him once, and Blaise had complained the whole time
because Draco thrust haphazardly and nearly choked him.

�� Severus
couldn�t seem to stop experimenting, turning his head from side to side and
licking in a different direction each time. Sometimes he ran his tongue along
the bottom of Draco�s cock; other times he mouthed the head. His eyes were
half-shut, as if evaluating the taste.

�� This is like making a new potion, for him, Draco
thought.� He wondered if he should be
offended, but the thought was unexpectedly endearing. It was something he knew about Severus, and that lessened
the sense of strangeness that came from sleeping with someone older, someone
he�d never slept with before.

�� And then
Severus curled his tongue around Draco�s erection like a sheath and drew it
backwards in a single long, agonizing stroke. Draco lost himself, and bucked,
the come drawn out of him in perfect accordance with the movement of Severus�s
mouth. Severus coughed once, but Draco didn�t care. He was limp with afterglow
by that time, and he was conscious of how nicely that complemented the pleasure
still rolling through him from his bond with Potter.

�� Interesting,�
Severus said, climbing the bed to sit beside him. He was only a bit more
flushed than before, but his phoenix mark shone brilliantly. Draco wondered
what that was all about, until Severus seized his chin in strong fingers and
turned his face upwards.

�� This time,
the kiss was more savage, and Draco curled his leg out of the way so that
Severus could have more room for his erection. Severus hissed and tilted his
head back. Draco reached out with shaking fingers and began to undo his robes.

�� He paused
at the sight of Severus�s cock: purple-red, long and thin. He didn�t think
there was any way he could get it down his throat without it stabbing him to
death. He raised apprehensive eyes to Severus�s face.

�� Severus
gave him an amused smile with a dark tinge to it that Draco had never seen
before. �Do not worry about it, now,� he said. The tone promised that he would
ask for Draco to suck him later. �Use your hand.�

�� Draco spat
into his hand, remembering vaguely that it had been more pleasant for him when
Blaise did that, and started to stroke Severus. Severus shut his eyes again,
but made no sound. Draco narrowed his eyes and stroked harder. Still no sound,
though he did part his knees more, and the lines in his throat strained out.

�� I bet that Potter�s little Weasley is
screaming for him, Draco thought, and reached around to slide his fingers
along the crease between Severus�s buttocks. He didn�t care what kind of noise
it was, but Severus was going to make
a noise.

�� Severus
made a sharp, whuffling sound of surprise, and his eyes snapped open. Draco
smirked at him and licked his fingers where they gripped Severus�s cock.

�� And then
Severus came, and Draco caught a blast of it on the cheek before he could
scramble safely out of the way. His hand had slipped off, too, but that didn�t
seem to matter. Severus still shook his way through it, and once uttered a soft
grumble. Draco noted it. It�ll be louder
next time.

�� Severus
opened his eyes at last, and murmured, �A pleasant diversion.�

�� Diversion? Draco drew himself up. �If
you�re only using me as a substitute for Potter��

�� I have
never slept with Potter,� Severus said, his voice amused. The extra color was
already leaving his cheeks, but he did take Draco�s arm in a grip that was
delightfully iron to draw him close for another kiss. �How would I know what
he�s like?� Severus continued, when the kiss was finished. �No, Draco, this was
done because we both needed it, and because I seek to strengthen the bonds
between us. And because I find you attractive.�

�� Draco
grinned in spite of himself, and then allowed Severus to maneuver him so that
they were both lying down on the bed. Draco was tucked between Severus�s chin
and ankles, though with difficulty; he�d grown some in the past year, and
Severus was no longer that much taller than he was.

�� After
Severus had fallen asleep, Draco lay staring thoughtfully into the darkness.
The bond with Potter had subsided into the small, random flashes of glittering
light that meant Potter was asleep and suffering transient emotions in his
dreams.

�� This isn�t how I thought my life would turn
out.

�� But for the
first time, Draco began to think that he didn�t need to spend years being
bitter about that.

�� No, he
wasn�t in the Manor rebuilding his name and being groomed to take Lucius�s
place in politics, as he had always thought he would be by his eighteenth year.
No, he didn�t have adoring followers hanging on his every word. No, he wasn�t
yet recognized for all the immense talents he could feel bubbling up in him.

�� But he
hadn�t done too badly in his first encounter with a judgmental lover, and he
could accommodate the bond.

�� And as he
lay there, the first thoughts of what he really wanted to do with his life, and
his pardon, began to filter slowly through his head.

*

�� Severus was
waiting for the shutting of the door that would indicate Potter�s coming home.
He hadn�t returned at all last night, though this brief period of time didn�t
seem to have affected the bond. And now he was trying to sneak up the stairs in
the light of dawn, as if he thought that would mean no one had noticed.

�� Severus
shifted carefully away from a sleeping Draco, though he paused a moment to look
at him. Draco�s hair was pushed away from his face and backwards in an extreme
crown, like the ruff of a lion�s mane. His hands clasped a corner of pillow,
and his mouth was ridiculously open. But he did not look as vulnerable as
Severus had expected him to look. He was emerging from his long childhood into
manhood at last.

�� By contrast, he thought, as he opened
the door of the bedroom and stepped out onto the landing to confront Potter, I think Potter will look exactly as
vulnerable as he should.

�� But in this
as so much else, Potter refused to conform to his expectations. He was bouncing
up the stairs no matter how quietly he tried to walk, his eyes brilliant and
his cheeks still flushed, as if he had that moment risen from young Miss
Weasley�s bed. Severus curled his lip.

�� He would
have to steadfastly ignore that Potter, at the moment, looked more attractive
than he ever had.

�� Snape,�
Potter said, stopping in front of him with a faint smile. Suddenly, that smile
vanished, and his glance darted to the door behind Severus, as if it had just
occurred to him that Severus had come from a bedroom not his own. His eyes
widened, his cheeks reddened, and he turned confusedly away.

�� Enjoy
yourself?� Severus asked casually.

�� Potter
cleared his throat several times, swallowed, and then said, �Yeah, I did.� He gave Severus a defiant glance,
as if to say that he knew they�d sensed him having sex with his girlfriend, and
didn�t care. �Did you?� And he was already pushing again, already giving
Severus an insolent smile.

�� Very much
so,� Severus said, and lowered his voice into the range that he had observed
was effective for confusing Potter the other day. �Draco has an enthusiasm for
sex that will serve him well in the future, when he becomes even more skilled.�

�� Potter
still had that infuriating smile. �So
you two are together now?�

�� If you
mean �Are you lovers?�, then yes,� Severus said, and had to repress his sneer. Together was as repellent as any other
word he had heard for the process of joining two bodies, accompanied, like all
the others, by sniggers and winks and nudges.

�� One advantage this bond might confer upon us
is that the joining of three bodies is rare enough to bring us into a space
without such juvenilia.

�� Well,
good,� Potter said, and winked at him, in exactly the way that Severus had
wished to avoid. �Maybe that�ll improve both
your tempers. And it�ll give you something to think about that�s not me.�

�� And with
that, he bounced off up the stairs, radiating golden happiness, and leaving
Severus to stare after him in incredulous frustration.

�� Not only
was Potter not jealous of Severus and Draco�s attentions to each other, in the
way that Severus had intended him to be, but he seemed happy for them, with all the unacceptable soppiness that implied.
And of course he would be. He seemed to assume that Severus and Draco becoming
lovers meant neither one would want him.

�� No matter
what Severus did, Potter seemed to duck under the possible snares, or spring
out of them, or bounce around them. He refused to grant them any lengthy time
in his presence, and also seemed to assume that arrangement could endure
forever. He disliked people being in his head, but put up with it instead of
complaining endlessly about it the way Severus knew Draco would have�and thus
offering an exploitable weakness.

�� For a
moment, Severus was assailed by a deep longing to use his knowledge of Potter�s
emotions to taunt him. But he shook his head impatiently and drowned the
thought. No, that would only drive Potter further away.

�� For the
first time, he considered what might happen if they could not capture Potter�s
attention or make him seek to deepen the bond.

�� Sev�rus?�

�� Severus
turned around. Draco stood naked in the bedroom door and scowled at him. �You
let the bed get cold.�

�� Draco�s
hair was still mussed, but his eyes were open now and glinted as he looked at
Severus, and his hands were reaching out instead of clenched around a pillow.
Altogether, Severus decided that he preferred the alert version of Draco. He
strode up to him and lowered his head for a kiss to prove that.

�� Draco�s
mouth was warm, his tongue eager.

�� It may not matter if Potter does not ever
come around, Severus thought, after a breathless moment. I have Draco, and he is more than
compensation for Potter.

�� The vision
of all three of them united still remained in his mind, he thought, as he
reached out to press Draco back into the bed, and he would still try to make it
come true, if only because of the benefits it would give him. Potter would find that Severus could be as indomitable in his
actions as Potter himself.

�� But it need
not happen immediately.

�� Something more enjoyable will, instead, he
decided, and bit down on Draco�s collarbone.

*

�� Yami
Bakura: Thanks. I do mean to show that all three of them are necessary to this
particular bond.

�� ColdWater:
Thank you!

�� Anne: Thank
you very much! I hope that you continue to be able to read and understand all
the characters, even the ones you don�t particularly sympathize with. And you
can tell me what unifying factor you�ve noticed in my style if you like; the
worst I might do is disagree.

�� Caldonya:
Thanks! But Harry is going to do his best to soothe Ginny�s unhappiness.

�� tf: Be a
while before they get any further than they have. The most they can do right
now is help Harry relax around them a little.

�� GraversParadise:
Thank you!

�� DTDY: Well,
he�s a bit nicer?

�� Dezra:
Thank you for the compliment. However, lots of people have made assumptions now
about who�s going to bottom and whether someone will be submissive, and so far
they�ve all been wrong. I don�t do strict D/s dynamics in ordinary fics, and if
I were going to do that, I would have warned for that. The sexual positions these characters take have nothing to do
with their personalities or the amount of power they have in the relationship.

�� Nikte:
Thanks! It�s interesting that you think Harry is selfish, as other people have
said they feel he�s giving up too much.

�� I think
this chapter has gratified one thing you asked for? But probably not the other.
;)

�� chantalmalfoy:
Thanks for reviewing.
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Their Phoenix