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Practicing Liars	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 63257 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any money from this story.

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Chapter Forty-Nine�A Will
of Steel

�� Draco
stepped cautiously through the door of the hospital wing. It was the first time
he had been in to see Harry since the battle, and he tried hard not to feel
resentful about that. He knew it wasn�t Harry�s fault that the Death Eaters
would be trying to find any way they could to hurt him, but at the same time,
they�d been able to meet before this even though it was more dangerous. Why
couldn�t he go to Harry that first night after the battle, even if just for a
few minutes?

�� Harry was
leaning against two pillows when Draco came in, eating from a bowl of porridge
with a resigned grimace on his face. When he saw Draco, he immediately grinned
and put the bowl aside.

�� The grin
relaxed muscles in Draco�s chest and shoulders that he hadn�t known were tense.
He smiled at Harry and walked up, with only one more glance around for people
who were watching things they shouldn�t see, to take Harry�s hand.

�� Not
satisfied with that, Harry leaned over and kissed him.

�� Draco
sighed and let himself melt into the kiss. If Harry was doing this, then it
must be all right, and Harry wouldn�t have to deal with scoldings from Madam
Pomfrey later, or, worse, stares from Professor Snape.

�� How are
you?� Harry whispered to him as he pulled slowly back from the kiss, which was
the softest and warmest Draco had ever received. �I can�t believe they haven�t
let you visit before now.� He snorted bitterly. �Or let me out of this bed.
There�s nothing wrong with me, but it�s
like they can�t believe that, because if you fight and defeat a Dark Lord there
must be something wrong with you or the battle�s not real.�

�� They didn�t
exactly let me come this time,� Draco said.

�� Harry frowned
at him, and though Draco doubted Harry would be angry, he decided that he had
to explain further. �Professor Snape didn�t give me permission or anything like
that,� he added. �I just waited until he left and seemed like he would be gone
a good while, and then I came in.�

�� Harry
blinked, then gave Draco a slow smile that thrilled him and made him uneasy at
once. It was the smile Harry had been wearing when they walked towards the Room
of Hidden Things to hunt for the Ravenclaw diadem. �Good for you,� he said in a
musing voice. �And why not? My friends can visit me, now that Madam Pomfrey
allows it. Why the fuck can�t you?�

�� Because I�m
afraid of your father,� Draco said, with a half-smile of his own. �And because it�s
still too dangerous for us to date openly, with the Death Eaters around.�

�� Fuck that,� Harry said, and rolled out of
bed. Draco tensed, half-excited and half-nervous when he thought that he might
see Harry without his clothes, but he realized quickly that Harry was wearing
loose hospital robes.

�� What are
you doing?� Draco looked around, thinking Madam Pomfrey would swoop out of
hiding at any moment, or Professor Snape would telepathically learn what was
going on and start storming out of the dungeons. Draco knew they oughtn�t to be
able to hear him up here, but the professor would find some way to make his
displeasure known.

�� Getting out
of bed,� Harry said, his tone substituting handily for the unspoken words you idiot.

�� Madam
Pomfrey said you should stay here,� Draco murmured, but his heart had begun to pound,
and his blood ran to his fingertips and toes carrying mild shocks along with
it.

�� And I told
you, there�s nothing wrong with me.� Harry snorted and looked around
impatiently, then picked up his wand from the bedside table and Summoned a set
of school robes from around the corner. �Who should know that better than me? I�m the one in my body.� He took off the
hospital robes and started dressing in the school ones, apparently uncaring
that Draco was standing right there and could see him.

�� Draco
firmly swallowed his own drool and shook his head. �If you date me openly, then
we could both be in danger.�

�� We�ll be
in danger no matter what.� Harry�s words were muffled because of the clutch of
cloth around his face, but Draco could still hear them perfectly. Then he
yanked the robe down to the level of his neck, and his face was flushed and
sparkling with that dangerous smile. �It could take them years to catch all the
Death Eaters. Fuck if I�m going to wait that long to live the life I want, with
my boyfriend and my friends and my�father.� Draco knew no one but himself and
Professor Snape would have heard the slight hesitation before Harry spoke that
word. Draco didn�t think Harry was really reluctant to think about Professor
Snape being his father anymore, but he was unused to applying the concept to
himself.

�� Are you
sure?� Draco could feel his body throbbing with his desire to be with Harry,
but he didn�t want Harry to make a decision that he would regret later,
especially since he cared so much about the safety of the people he loved.

�� Harry
nodded firmly. �There�s been too much hiding and sneaking around, and like I
said, it might take them years to decide I was �safe.� And then a Death Eater
they didn�t know about or didn�t realize was missing could still come through
the wards.� He turned around and took Draco�s hands in his. �If I�m just a
little more cautious and try to make sure that I�m always keeping behind strong
defenses, there�s no reason that I can�t have what I want.�

�� Draco had
to close his eyes so that he could deal with his own happiness. He�d been
sitting in the Slytherin common room that morning, trying to picture how he
would live through years of sneaking around and being with Harry only on the
sly. It might sound exciting when you first thought about it, but he knew he
would hate the reality.

�� Mr.
Potter! What are you doing out of bed?�

�� Draco could
feel Harry�s guilty jump through their connected hands, but Harry only turned
around, shaking his head and smiling, when the mediwitch swept into the room.

�� Sorry,
Madam Pomfrey,� he said. �I know that you�re just trying to protect me. But I�ve
been here for four days now, and you know there�s nothing physically wrong with
me. I want to walk and get some exercise.�

�� And what
if someone jumps out at you from a dark corner and undoes all my good work?�
Pomfrey folded her arms and glared at Harry. Draco didn�t know how he kept
upright under the force of that look. Draco himself would have climbed meekly
back into bed under a glare a tenth as strong.

�� On the other hand, I didn�t defeat the Dark
Lord, Draco thought. Walking out of the school to a battle that half of you
thought was certain death must be harder than resisting Madam Pomfrey.

�� That could
happen anywhere,� Harry said calmly. �Someone could sneak into the infirmary
and try the same thing.� Madam Pomfrey promptly stared about as if daring any
potential intruders to come out and face her wrath. Draco gnawed his lip to
keep from bursting into snickers. �I don�t want to live my life in fear. I�ll
be careful, but I�m not going to be paranoid.�

�� Madam
Pomfrey was about to say something else, but just then her glance fell on their
joined hands. She caught her breath. Her eyes widened.

�� Draco
braced himself for some negative comment. He would have to get used to that.
Even if no one tried to kill him for dating Harry, people would hurl insults of
all kinds�people who were disappointed they couldn�t have Harry for their own,
people who disapproved of Draco�s family, and people who assumed that, as the
shining hero of the light, Harry should have no ties to darkness whatsoever.

�� But the
mediwitch only shook her head, muttered something to herself that could have
been a complaint, and went on with her original argument as though nothing had
happened. �There are some people who will have certain things to say about you
being out of bed, young man,� she told Harry sternly. �No matter how you might
try to excuse it.�

�� I know
that.� Harry�s smile was still on his lips. �And I don�t expect them to excuse
it. I expect them to listen to me and then make their decisions based on that,
not just on what they think is best
for me.�

�� Madam
Pomfrey did some more staring. Harry did some staring back, with no sign that
he was ever uncomfortable.

�� I never,� Madam Pomfrey said at last, and
went into the back of the hospital wing to mutter to herself some more. Draco
wondered if she had never had anyone stand up to her before. Considering how
frightened everyone was of her disapproval, maybe she hadn�t.

�� Draco shook
his head, dazed, as Harry towed him into the corridor. Once they got there,
Harry faced him, put his hands on Draco�s shoulders, and smiled at him
tenderly.

�� It�s up to
you how we go about this,� Harry said, �because it�s going to affect your life
more than it does mine. People who won�t dare speak to me about it will think
they can talk to you.� His face darkened, and one of his hands dropped away
from Draco�s shoulder to grip his wand. �It is
going to be my problem, but they don�t know that yet. What kind of
announcement do you favor?�

�� Draco�s
heart was going very fast. The corridor walls blurred around him and seemed
unreal. It was the way he had felt right after the news had come that Harry had
killed the Dark Lord. He had wanted this, hoped for this, so much that he didn�t
know how to deal with his vision coming true. He half-expected to close his
eyes and open them again in bed, with the dream fading and tattering around
him.

�� But
assuming it was real, and Harry was really giving him his choice, he felt free
to make a choice he would never have made otherwise.

�� I�I want
to go into the Great Hall, and let everyone know you�re mine,� he said.

�� Harry�s
hand squeezed him firmly, and Harry bent towards him, showing the daring smile
that Draco had seen lurking behind his eyes all this time.

�� Good,�
Harry said softly.

*

�� Harry
couldn�t feel the stone under his feet. If this was what �walking on air� felt
like, then he never wanted to again. His lips hurt from his grin, and he paused
outside the door of the Great Hall and exchanged half-crazed looks with Draco.
Draco nodded.

�� Harry
opened the door, and they stepped through it.

�� People�s
heads turned; it was the middle of dinner, which was one of the reasons that
Draco had dared to come to the hospital wing and see him. It made Harry angry
to think about the way Draco�d had to sneak around and not come into the
infirmary when he had the most right to see Harry out of anybody, but then he
calmed himself. There was not going to be any more of that. What they were
doing right now would put a stop to it.

�� Some of the
students started to cheer. McGonagall rose to her feet�she�d been sitting in
Dumbledore�s old chair�and peered at him, beaming, as if she thought that she
should make a speech.

�� Then people
caught sight of their clasped hands.

�� A low, ugly
mutter traveled the length of the room. Harry ignored it outwardly, but he felt
the way Draco�s hand flinched in his, and took hold of his wand. He paraded
towards the Gryffindor table as if he hadn�t a care in the world, and compared
to the time when Voldemort was alive, he didn�t.

�� But all the
time, he was watching and waiting for the first attack.

�� It came
from among the Gryffindors, something that irritated Harry but didn�t surprise
him. One of the seventh-years stood up and confronted them, bristling with
indignation. Harry didn�t know him well, but he thought his name was Cormac
McLaggen.

�� What�s
this?� McLaggen was trying to make his voice sound menacing, but he only
achieved loud. Harry tilted his head back and sneered at him. He almost wished
he wasn�t wearing the glamour, because that would make his sneer more like Snape�s
and more effective.

�� It seemed
to be pretty effective anyway. McLaggen�s confidence faltered; his jaw fell
slack, and suddenly he was staring at Harry as though he had never seen him
before. Harry took advantage of that and shoved past him even as he spoke,
determinedly pulling Draco towards the Gryffindor table.

�� What does
it look like? Like I�m dating Draco Malfoy?� Harry turned to face Draco and let
his love shine through his eyes and his smile. That would convince people who
would try to put the evidence of their linked hands aside. �Well, it�s true. I
am.�

�� There was a
storm of protests and snickers and complaints then, mostly from the Gryffindor
table. The Hufflepuffs sat blinking, as if unsure how to react. The Ravenclaws
were either calling out in interest or joining the Gryffindors in jeering. The
Slytherins were silent, but Harry knew that would make Draco more nervous than
any amount of catcalling.

�� Harry,
mate,� Seamus said, his voice louder than the rest in Harry�s immediate area. �What
are you thinking?�

�� That I�m
in love with Draco,� Harry said, daring and giddy and feeling as though it was
no trouble at all to say things he would have been embarrassed about four days
ago. Voldemort was gone. If he could
survive the battle with Lord Snake-face, then he could survive anything. �And
that he�s a bloody good kisser.�

�� That made
some people who were trying to decide how to jump laugh, and Harry could feel
the mood of the table become a bit friendlier. Seamus paused and cocked his
head as if he hadn�t expected that answer and didn�t know how to react.

�� Then
someone else cleared his throat. Harry turned and looked up. He had wondered
what Ron would do.

�� Ron was on
his feet, and his face was bright red, but he was clutching the table and
sticking out his chest like someone determined to see this through to the end. �It�s
true,� he said. �It�s all true. Harry told me and Hermione a while ago. He�s
been dating Malfoy, and he�s�he�s not so bad for a Slytherin.� He said those
words in a way that told Harry he couldn�t imagine the bitterness of them to
someone like Ron, who had argued with Malfoy so many times.

�� It�s not
the best thing in the world,� Ron went on, eyes on the ground. �But Hermione
and I both know that Malfoy�s been true to him, and he�s going to go on being
true.� He shot Draco a darting look that said he had better be true if he knew what was good for him. Draco sneered back
and started heaping his plate with food, as if he hadn�t a concern in creation.
�And Harry deserves to be happy. He fought You-Know-Who for us. Who deserves to
be happy more than him?� He took so deep a breath Harry was afraid he was going
to faint, then turned and stuck his hand out to Draco.

�� Draco
stared at it. Hermione, standing up behind Ron and leaning against his back
with bright eyes, waited. So did most of the school, Harry thought, or at least
all the school inside the Great Hall.

�� Draco
reached out and shook Ron�s hand.

�� Harry
caught Ron�s hand the minute Draco let it go and crushed it in a firm grip. He
couldn�t speak, but he made sure Ron got the full benefit of his look.

�� Ron blushed
more fiercely and sat down, muttering something about how �it was just the
right thing to do, honestly.� Hermione hugged him and kissed the top of his
head, which made him look as if he wanted to die on the spot.

�� For the
rest of the meal, Harry and Draco managed to eat without any more insults, or
any hexes, being sent their way. The rest of the Gryffindors kept giving them
puzzled glances�and, in the case of McLaggen, annoyed ones�but for their first
public appearance as a couple, Harry reckoned, it didn�t go too badly.

*

�� Explain
your thinking to me.� Severus kept his voice to a low, level tone, something he
had discovered years ago inspired far more fear than yelling did.

�� Harry
leaned against the door and looked up at him. He almost seemed amused, which
irritated Severus more than anything else the brat had managed to do so far.
This was serious. Did Harry realize
that he should not have taken such a step without consulting Severus first?
Severus was his father, the one primarily responsible for his safety, even if
most people in the school did not realize that at the moment. If Harry had been
too mad with freedom to think about the possibility that he would object to
this, Draco at least should have summoned him the moment Harry came up with the
idea.

�� Draco�s
blindness in this matter troubled Severus almost more than his son�s.

�� I was
thinking that I�ve been doing what other people want my whole life,� Harry said
casually. �I wanted to do something that would make me happy for a change. And acknowledging my relationship with Draco
does that.� He nodded to Severus. �And I�d like to do the same thing when it
comes to my relationship with you, if you�re agreeable.�

�� At least he did not announce it to the
school already, perhaps by pointing at me and calling me �Dad� in public, Severus
thought, reeling. He would have liked to reach out and put a hand on the table
next to him, but that would have been weakness.

�� The Death
Eaters�� he began.

�� Fuck the
Death Eaters!� Harry said.

�� Severus
felt his face stiffen. Finally, for the first time since he had cornered his
son and demanded to know what he was doing, Harry�s smile faded. He shifted his
feet and hunched his shoulders defensively.

�� Severus did
not wish to put his son in fear. He knew Harry�s childhood too well at this
point, despite the lack of detail, ever to wish for that. But Harry would listen to him, and he might as
well start learning now that part of a proper parent-child relationship was
obedience.

�� I will not
tolerate such language,� Severus said, biting off each word. �Nor do I believe
that your Head of House would have, so do not give me her permissiveness as
your excuse.� He had thought briefly of referring to Harry�s Muggle relatives
and their likely tolerance, but only briefly. �Now. The Death Eaters remain a
danger. You cannot deny that.�

�� But how
long are they going to remain a danger?� Harry insisted. He took a step
forwards, and his courage seemed fully returned now, with dismaying quickness. �It
could be years before they capture and arrest them all. I don�t know how many
boltholes Voldemort had, but I bet it was a lot. I�m not going to put my life
on hold until then. And besides, even if they didn�t know about you and Draco,
they could always try for Ron and Hermione. There�s no reason for them not to.
Yeah, you could say that you lot have the closer relationships to me, but I don�t
think people like Rabastan Lestrange would care about that.�

�� Severus
nodded reluctantly. Harry�s words made sense, and they answered the desire of
his own heart, which compelled his agreement.

�� You still
should not have made the revelation in so public a fashion,� he said. He regretted,
as he had regretted few things in his life, his decision to skip dinner that
evening to catch up on his brewing. He had thought�foolishly, of course�that Harry
was bound to stay in the hospital wing for at least another day and night.

�� Why not?� Harry
blinked and stared at him.

�� I could
have taught you how to manage it more diplomatically,� Severus said through his
teeth. Harry, he knew, really did not understand, but in some ways that honest
ignorance was more infuriating than all the play-pretend innocence in the world
would have been. �And I should have been informed.�

�� With
respect, sir,� Harry said, standing up taller with his eyes flashing, �it wasn�t
your decision. It was my decision, and Draco�s. If he agreed to it, then there�s
nothing you could have added, and he did. And I would have waited and kept it
secret if Draco had wanted to. But he didn�t.� Harry halted and stared up at
Severus expectantly.

�� He said I could not expect him to behave
like a normal child, Severus reminded himself as he fought to control his
temper. Too stubborn, too independent,
too used to raising himself. And I agreed to take up the challenge of raising him
and relating to him in any case.

�� When he
thought he could speak in a dignified manner and would not choke on his rage,
he shook his head and said, �It was still foolish.�

�� But why?�
Harry folded his arms. �I could have told you, but I wouldn�t have changed my
mind because of what you said.�

�� So sure of
that, are you?� Severus asked in the same low voice as before, with a sidelong
glance.

�� Harry
blinked. �Er,� he said. �Yes?� At least he sounded a bit less certain now.

�� Severus
stared at him while inwardly sighing. He would have to lay down some rules, but
he could not expect Harry to know what they were beforehand. Harry did not
appear to think this would endanger him greatly, and Severus knew he would risk
life and limb for Draco without a thought, so he might not have obeyed even if
Severus had made him aware of a rule
to tell his father about all life-changing decisions beforehand.

�� But in the future it will be different, he
promised himself.

�� You never
did answer me,� Harry interrupted, before Severus could launch into a lecture. �Do
you want our relationship to be public or not? This is your decision to make, this time,� he added generously. �I won�t do
it without your say-so.�

�� Severus
shut his mouth and stared at the bright, beaming face, alight with hope. He
knew the answer Harry wanted. It was the answer his own heart would give.

�� But could
they risk it? Despite his intense maturity in a few aspects of life, Harry was
still a child in important ways. He thought of the short-term consequences. It
was up to his father to think of the long-term ones.

�� On the
other hand, considered soberly, Harry was right. There was no guarantee of
absolute safety. Harry might conceal everything not currently public and still
lose his friends, or Draco. And to be denied Harry�s bedside while he was dying
because they had never let anyone know that Severus had a right to be there was
a vision to haunt Severus�s nightmares.

�� He inclined
his head, slowly. Harry�s eyes widened.

�� You mean
it?� he asked.

�� I do,�
Severus said, and swallowed to clear the blockage of his throat. �Mind, we will
do it in a much more controlled fashion than you announced your�tie to Draco.�
He was still not sure what the most soothing word for that particular
relationship would be.

�� Then he
could not have spoken if he wished, because Harry was embracing him.

�� Thank you,�
he muttered.

�� Only once,
but it made Severus have to place one hand on Harry�s back and shut his eyes.

*

�� k lave
demo: Thanks! Harry does still have the legacy of his abusive childhood to deal
with, but it�s much better than it was now that he has support.

�� Ganesha:
Thanks! There will be a couple of extra epilogue fics for this story, but they
probably won�t be posted for a while.

�� polka dot: Sorry,
no sex in this story. Maybe in a later fic.

�� Madamdragon:
One more chapter after this, and then it�s done.

�� SP777:
Thanks!

�� I can understand
the feeling, but I wasn�t too irritated with the canon ending. That�s why we
have fanfiction, after all.

�� anciie:
Thanks! The ending will be more �normal� than the rest of the fic, but I hope
you�ll still like it.

�� DTDY:
Thanks!

�� jacob:
Thank you! That moment is one of my favorites as well.

�� Sneakyfox;
Thanks for reviewing.
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Practicing Liars