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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
- 4
- 5
- 6
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� What are
you doing in here, Malfoy?�

�� Draco
paused a moment with the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook in his hands,
trying to see if he recognized the voice. He didn�t, which left him with no
choice but to turn around and see who it was. He would have preferred the
option to simply march straight out of Flourish and Blotts with his nose in the
air, but he was coming to accept that the world didn�t always provide him with
everything he wanted.

�� He still
didn�t recognize the person when he turned. It was a tall boy with eyes so
bright and a flush so hectic that Draco would have thought he was a Weasley if
his hair was red. But he was dark-haired and dark-eyed�and, more to the point,
clutching a wand as if he wanted to snap it rather than aim it at Draco.

�� Purchasing
a book,� Draco said, deciding that he should answer the boy�s question with the
maximum of cool scorn, after a leisurely glance up and down him. He had
improved his notions of male attractiveness since he started sleeping with
Severus, but this boy was no prize. Scrawny, and not in the rugged way that
Potter favored, either; more as if his parents didn�t earn enough Galleons to
feed him properly. Surely he must be at
least a Weasley cousin. �Do I know you?�

�� If you
don�t, then it�s because you must have forgotten me to assuage your guilt.� The
boy raised his nose. Not only a Weasley cousin, but a Weasley
cousin with pretensions. �My name is Mark Pepperfield.�

�� Draco
frowned. He had memorized the names of people with a grudge against him during
his Wizengamot trial, when it seemed that anyone who might have a case had
appeared in the courtroom to testify. He was sure he would have remembered a
Pepperfield.

�� I didn�t
do anything to you.� He lowered his voice, a trick Severus sometimes used when
he was angry and wanted to catch someone else�s attention rather than being
turned out, and saw Pepperfield�s eyes widen. �I�m a free citizen of Great
Britain just like you are, pardoned by the Minister himself. Now, sod off.� And
he turned to the front of the shop with what he thought was a rather
magnificent snap of his cloak.

�� You let
the Death Eaters into the school, and they made my little sister have
nightmares!� Pepperfield yelled.

�� It was all
the warning Draco got before something that hurt more than a splash of scalding
water hit him in the back.

*

�� Eric
Scarman was appropriately named, given the scars from torture he had running up
his back and legs. (Harry was quickly coming to appreciate that chasing Dark wizards
was not a profession for anyone vain). But he was a quick duelist, chosen to
�help� the trainees with Curses and Hexes because he could hurl spells with
supernatural speed. Harry had to rely on a combination of instinct and training
to defeat him, and already it had earned him a bleeding finger, a broken bone
in his hand, and several singed eyelashes.

�� Thus, it
was pure luck that he dropped to the floor with shock when the phoenix mark on
his left arm began to burn and missed Scarman�s latest spell.

�� This wasn�t
like the burning that had invaded him when Snape and Malfoy were in danger of
dying because of the bond, Harry thought absently as he scrambled to his feet.
Scarman was commending him, but he couldn�t listen right now. He concentrated
on the pain instead, and identified it as a tingling surge, the same kind of
sensation repeated over and over again.

�� A bell. A
warning call.

�� And if it
was the left mark, and not the right, or both, that meant Malfoy was in danger.

�� Sorry,
sir,� he gasped to Scarman, who was frowning because he hadn�t responded to the
congratulations the way he was supposed to. �I�ve�I have a bond connecting me
to a friend, and I reckon he�s in a spot of trouble,� he improvised
desperately. Scarman would probably think he was talking about Ron. Everyone
knew how close Harry was to his best friends, and a bond wouldn�t surprise
them.

�� Scarman
hissed under his breath and stepped out of the way. �Nothing a Death Eater
would like better than striking at a war hero,� he said. �I wish you luck.�

�� Harry held
back his hysterical laughter as he scrambled for the doors of the classroom. Not Death Eaters, not likely. And if you
only knew.

�� Once again,
the moment he was outside the Ministry building, the burning call sharpened,
and he knew where he was going even though he had no idea of the Apparition
coordinates. He stretched his left arm out in front of him, watched the
phoenix�s claws and beak and wings glow red-gold, and said, �Take me there.�

�� The marks
flared brilliantly and pulled him through time and space as if those things
were a sheer curtain that had been suddenly lifted.

*

�� Take that for destroying my sister�s future,�
Pepperfield was saying, somewhere beyond the pain. He sounded a bit shocked,
but pleased, as if he hadn�t thought the spell would work this well.

�� Draco
clamped his teeth down on his tongue, doing his best not to scream. He knew
people were staring, but no one in the shop so far had moved to help him, so he
didn�t think they would. The very least he could do in the face of hatred like
that was to keep some sign of his pain from his tormentor.

�� There had
been no point in not screaming in front of the Dark Lord. He could always use
Legilimency to learn exactly how much it hurt.

�� And then
boots landed solidly beside his head, and Draco turned weakly over, gasping,
wondering if Pepperfield�s sister or someone else from his family had arrived
to help torture Draco. It couldn�t be Severus. He was never that lucky.

�� But no,
instead it was Potter, who crouched down beside him and put a hand on his left
shoulder. Draco shivered. The pain in the left side of his body ceased
instantly, and then the pain on the right side was gone, too. He was grateful
for the healing, but Potter�s anger was like a marching lightning storm. Draco
didn�t want to be caught out in it.

�� What did
you think you were doing?� Potter did the lowered-voice trick even better than
Severus, maybe because of his name. Pepperfield actually stumbled back into a
bookshelf, and looked as if he were about to drop his wand. �Using a curse on
someone the Minister pardoned?
Someone who had to survive Voldemort ordering him to torture people for almost
a year?� Draco frantically wondered how Potter knew about that. �And what about
you?� He turned a furious glare on
the rest of Flourish and Blotts. It looked as though everyone present would
have poured out into the street, except that they were afraid to move. Potter�s
voice was rising in power and volume now, and every book in sight was jumping,
the pages shaking as if they would tear free of the spines. �Don�t tell me you
didn�t care, that you�ll willingly see anyone tortured for his blood. Fuck me,
you�re as bad as Voldemort��

�� It took a
large effort, as Draco was rather enjoying the show, but he put a hand on Potter�s
shoulder. �They�re going to wonder why you�re so upset,� he muttered.

�� Potter
irritably tried to work his hold off. �Let them. Bloody bastards, hurting
someone because of who he�s related to��

�� Yes, but
do you want them to know about the bond?�

�� He might
have emptied a liter of ice water over Potter�s head. The git froze, and the
image Draco received of his emotions was of lightning halting in place, then
cracking and falling from the skies. Then he sighed and helped Draco to his
feet. �What curse did you use on him?� he demanded of Pepperfield.

�� The
Scalding Arch Curse,� the boy whispered, and Draco shivered. The pain from that
curse built until it exhausted the body�s ability to resist it, if left
untreated. He was lucky indeed that Potter had been there and he hadn�t had to
go to St. Mungo�s.

�� He wanted
to resent that�he was dependent on Potter for physical protection; really, he
was no better than a pet�but Potter�s brow contracted, and his eyes flashed most impressively, and he said, �That�s
Dark Arts!�

�� Draco
shivered again, but this time because he had finally seen what Severus was
always going on about in the last month: how magnificent Potter was when he was
angry. He was tense, too tense even to tremble, and he was leaning forwards. Given
how lean he was, it made him look like a winter-hungry wolf ready to rip
Pepperfield�s throat out.

�� Yes,�
Pepperfield whimpered. Draco wanted to laugh at the way he shook now, too
afraid to look away from Potter�s eyes. �I�I didn�t think. If you knew that he
caused my sister nightmares��

�� Lots of
people have nightmares,� Potter said. �Not all of them go around using illegal
Dark Arts on the people they believe are responsible.� He surveyed Pepperfield
with a coldness that would have done credit to a Wizengamot judge. Draco did
his best not to look smug. �What�s your name?� Potter asked at last, in a tone
of voice that suggested he was barely resisting the temptation to say that
Pepperfield must be called �Idiot Imbecile, of the Mudville Imbeciles.�

�� Mark
Pepperfield,� said Idiot Imbecile, or at least that was what he said when you
left out all the stammering.

�� Potter took
a deep breath. �Then I�ll see you under that name in the Ministry tomorrow
morning, when there�s an official investigation into this,� he said. �Good afternoon, Pepperfield.� And he turned and
escorted Draco, arm still around his shoulders, to the door.

�� Someone
stepped in front of them. Draco scrutinized her narrowly, but he didn�t know
anyone outside his family with hair that pale�it was almost white�and big blue
eyes full of tears, either. He sighed in irritation. Why must there be so many innocent victims in the world?

�� I don�t
understand,� the woman whispered. �How could you support him and think well of
him, after all he did?�

�� I�m
training to be an Auror,� Potter said. His voice had got colder yet. His anger
was back to a mutter on the distant horizon, which signaled a storm coming
rather than one actually there. Draco was glad he�d retained that measure of
control. Maybe they could get out of the shop without burning all the books in
sight. �That means protecting innocents no matter how much I might disagree
with their personal politics. And Mr. Malfoy has paid as much of a debt as he
had to pay.� The woman went on staring, and Potter made his voice thinner until
it was practically a hiss. �Get. Out. Of. Our. Way.�

�� She finally
did squeak and scurry then, like the mouse she was, and Draco strutted out at
Potter�s side.

The pain in his back was completely
gone. Pepperfield being tried, or at least scolded, by the Minister himself
would put a damper on other people who might think to attack him simply because
of what he�d done in the past.

And the Chosen One, the Minister�s
current pet trainee Auror, had practically staked a claim to him in public�and
done it in such a way that Draco thought he might come to consider him a friend
in the future, rather than just someone who went out of his way to protect
everybody he came across.

What wasn�t to strut about?

*

�He cannot have used the Scalding
Arch Curse.�

Harry fought the urge to roll his
eyes. Snape was being difficult, as usual, in this case because he was staring
at Draco�s back expressionlessly. �That�s what Pepperfield claimed he used, and
Draco said he felt something like that, too.� Draco, under Snape�s hands,
twitched violently. Harry frowned at him. Really, everyone was behaving
strangely today. �Maybe it was something else, but it would have to be
something that resembled the Scalding Arch pretty bloody closely.�

Snape transferred the
expressionless stare to him. �And how would you know what spells resemble the
Scalding Arch?�

Harry blinked like a lizard and
tapped his fingers against his Auror trainee�s robes. �Learning all about
curses is a part of my exalted program of education, remember?�

Snape simply grunted and turned
back to Draco, then began tapping his wand in a series of jerky motions. Harry
sat back in his chair and watched intently. He still didn�t know if Draco
needed to be taken to St. Mungo�s. If so, then it would suggest the bond hadn�t
worked as well as Harry thought. His touch could only relieve pain, not take
away a curse.

If not�

Harry nibbled his lip. Snape hadn�t
mentioned healing as one of the side-effects of the bond. On the other hand,
saving Snape and Draco�s lives had been the first thing he ever willed the bond
to do. Maybe it made sense that part of that was still hanging around.

�� Draco
suddenly gasped. Harry grabbed his hand, and Draco squeezed hard enough that
Harry thought he was competing with Ledbetter in the
�smash-Harry�s-bones-to-a-pulp� contest. He looked at Snape. �What is it?�

�� Nothing
unexpected,� Snape murmured. �Sending a Seeking Spell into the muscles in
search of pain is not painless, though it is easy.�

�� Harry
narrowed his eyes. He�d never heard of a Seeking Spell, and would have to
remember to ask Hermione. For right now, he would trust Snape, who would
probably not want to hurt the man he loved. But he might do something that
wasn�t the most comfortable thing simply because it was expedient, and Draco
didn�t deserve to suffer like that. So Harry would still ask Hermione.

�� Causing
pain to find pain,� he contented himself with saying now. �That sounds
counterproductive.�

�� Another
blank stare, and then Snape stepped back from Draco, shaking his head. �I must
research the bonds further,� he said. �I did not know that this was possible.
For that matter, I did not know that it was possible for us to summon you when
we were in danger from something that had nothing to do with the bond itself.�
He looked at Draco. �Or did you consciously call out for Potter?�

�� Draco sat
back up at last and shook his head, tugging his shirt down. Harry surveyed his
motions critically. His instructors had just begun the courses on seeing shock
and critical, hidden injuries, and Harry still wasn�t very good at them. But as
far as he could tell, Draco was all
right. �No. I wished someone would help me. That�s all.�

�� Then I
must study,� Snape said, and stalked away with his robes flowing impressively.
Harry waited until the potions lab door had closed behind him before he
snorted.

�� He�s
acting as though I�m shedding poisonous particles that will kill all his
delicate potions ingredients,� Harry muttered.

�� Draco
tossed him a curious glance. �You forget we can feel your emotions,� he said.
�Severus knows that you distrust him and feel protective towards me at the
moment. I don�t think he likes it that one part of your feelings changed and
the other didn�t.� He paused. �Why do you still feel protective of me? And why
are you calling me Draco?�

�� Harry
jumped and started to accuse Draco of reading his thoughts after all, and then
remembered he had said the name aloud. That was when Draco had twitched.

�� And Draco�s
cheeks were pale again now. It seemed he understood the reason for Harry�s
momentary flash of apprehension and hated it. Harry sighed. �I�m still not used
to this,� he muttered. �But the main answer to your questions is that I saw you
as someone in need. Someone I could do something for. Snape isn�t like that.�

�� He needs
your emotions to survive.� Draco�s face was the curiously blank one now.
�You�re bound to his soul and his magic, and him to yours.�

�� Harry
rubbed a hand over his face and flopped against the back of the chair. �Yeah,
but he�s still�I don�t know. I don�t think he�ll ever need me. Me as a person, the one person who can make a difference in
that situation. If he was bonded to you, then he would need your emotions and
your soul and your magic, in my place. It wouldn�t matter to him that it was
you and not me. Except that he might think it was a little easier, not being
tied to someone he hates.�

�� You like
being needed.� Draco�s voice was curiously low and clear. Harry again looked at
him, but he was shite at reading Slytherin faces.

�� Well,
yeah. I do.� Harry shrugged. �But too many people needed me for generic
reasons. They needed a hero and a savior, and not Harry Potter. But today you
required protection, and that was something I could do, based on my training. Not something that happened when I was a
baby, not something I barely remember. And�� He hesitated for a moment, then
decided that he might as well be honest, since he�d started talking about this
already. �I was destined to fight Voldemort because of a prophecy, you know?
But not me, at the same time. It
could as easily have been Neville Longbottom.�

�� Draco made
a noise like Dudley choking on a chicken bone.

�� Yes,
really.� Harry grinned at him. �But Voldemort decided on the half-blood, like
him, and not the pure-blood as the dangerous one.� He shrugged, thinking about
what Dumbledore had told him, on that long-ago afternoon when he was still
grieving for Sirius and trying to deal with this flood of new information about
what his role in life was. �So the prophecy needed a hero, too. Not me.�

�� But maybe
I needed any Auror,� Draco said. �Not you. So how do you reconcile my need of
you and Severus�s lack of need?�

�� I don�t
know,� Harry said. �Maybe just because I�ve learned how to protect people from
the Aurors and I didn�t learn anything about accidental magic; it simply
happened.� Draco looked dissatisfied, but Harry decided to change the subject.
He�d said more than he should have on a subject he didn�t understand that well.
�What were you looking for in the bookshop?�

�� Draco
reached over to the table next to the couch where Snape had treated him and
displayed the book. Harry smiled at the title, 301 Ways of Protecting Yourself from Curses. �Matthewson is good,�
he said. �But a bit of a beginner�s text.� He was reading much more challenging
books in Auror training now.

�� I know,�
Draco said, and folded the book close to him. �But I never sat my NEWTs in
Defense. I wanted one that could remind me of basic concepts I�d forgotten.�

�� Are you
going to take your NEWTs?� Harry relaxed back into the chair. He was proud of
himself for finding common ground they could talk about, without constantly
talking about the bonds or Snape.

�� Draco shook
his head. �I know what I want to do,� he admitted. �Create a new discipline
that combines Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I need more
information than I have right now to do it.�

�� Harry
blinked. �But Potions and Defense are fine on their own,� he said. �I can�t
think�what would you do when you combined them? What do you want to
accomplish?�

�� Draco
scowled at him and hugged the book more tightly. �I don�t know yet. I just know
that I want to combine them.�

�� Well,
think about it,� Harry said.

�� Draco
sneered. �What? Concerned that if I succeeded, they might make you learn
Potions in your training?�

�� I�m going
to start that next year,� Harry said, and threw in an exaggerated shudder and
eyeroll so that he could get around the tension that was starting to hover
between them. �Unless you think you can develop it that fast, then I don�t have
anything to worry about.�

�� Draco
hesitated. Then he said, �I could help you study for the Potions part of your
exams.�

�� Why?�
Harry said. Draco stared at him, and he added, �I just�why do you want to?
Don�t you think that it�s best we keep out of each other�s lives as much as
possible?�

�� Honestly?�
Draco was speaking very softly now, so softly that Harry had trouble hearing
him even when he leaned forwards. But he paused, so Harry had to nod to show he
was interested in his answer. �No. Of course not.�

�� Harry
frowned and played with the edge of his shirt. �Why not?�

�� A flood of
words broke out of Draco, as if he�d been longing to talk to someone about
this. Of course, Snape probably isn�t the
most sympathetic person if you want to make an intimate confession, even if
he�s great in bed, Harry thought wryly. �Because this bond is something
powerful, and important, and special. If it can heal a curse like the Scalding
Arch Curse, then it might be able to affect our lives even more than that. I
want to know what the bond is, and does. I want to know you better.� He
hesitated, and color stained his cheeks. �I want to know you better as a
person, too.�

�� Harry shook
his head. �But we�re happy the way we are now.�

�� Draco
rolled his eyes. �You think that because you�re never here for Severus�s
mid-morning rants about the way you run out of the house.�

�� Harry started
to ask why Snape would want him around more, and then sneered as something
Draco had said before connected with these words. �He thinks the bond is
powerful, just like you do,� he said flatly. �He wants to use it to gain power,
doesn�t he? Or prestige. Or acknowledgment of his greatness at potions. Or
maybe just power over me. I�ve never been certain what Snape wants.� He shook
his head and stood up. Bitterness coiled through him like oil, destroying all
his pleasure in being able to laugh with Draco and talk like a civilized
person. �I should have known.� He strode towards the door.

�� Draco
leaped up and intercepted him. �You don�t understand everything,� he said.
�Yes, we do think that we could become powerful through this bond. That�s a
reason we chose to share our magic, remember? Because this particular spell
would ensure that our combined strength was available to all of us, and not
merely to one.�

�� Harry
looked at him. �I remember that. And I thought Snape was actually being practical. Should have known it was
another Slytherin��

�� No. Listen.� Draco pressed his hands
into place over Harry�s wrists. �Yes, Severus wants power. So do I, for that
matter. I was raised to expect it, as my father�s son, and Severus joined the
Death Eaters to pursue it. It�s just mad to think that we wouldn�t try to take
advantage of the bond.

�� But that�s
not the same thing as taking advantage of you.
We really do need your emotions to survive, not because we wanted to peep into
your head. You know that from the effects that not feeling them had on us.�

�� Harry
jerked his hands out from under Draco�s. His head was reeling, between the
anger and the contempt and the confusion. �But I don�t want you to want power
at all.�

�� Draco stood
up straighter and looked him in the eye. �You don�t get to control what we feel
and do any more than we get to control you,� he said quietly. �This is what we are. What if we said that we didn�t want
you to become an Auror because there�s a chance that we could die if you lose
your life in the pursuit of Dark wizards?�

�� Harry
ground his teeth together. �But protecting someone else is good,� he said. �In a way that wanting power isn�t.�

�� Draco
rolled his eyes. �You used your power with the Minister to get us those
pardons, didn�t you? You used your magical power to heal me today and keep the
people in the shop from attacking me again, didn�t you?�

�� I never
asked for that power,� Harry began.

�� But you
still have it, and you use it.� Draco snorted. �I refuse to believe that merely
wanting power can somehow cause more problems than the use of it.�

�� The worst
leaders are the ones who want to become leaders,� Harry said, though with the
vague sensation he was wading into deeper philosophical waters than he was
prepared for.

�� Draco
rocked back on his heels and stared at him. �That�s the greatest piece of shite
I�ve ever heard,� he said. �Who do you think will be the better leader, the
person who�s trained for it and thought about the consequences of his decisions
and tried to find some way around the most obvious problems? Or the one who
sits back and wrings his hands and worries because he might be making the wrong
choice? Would you want Albus Dumbledore leading Hogwarts if we had a war
against another Dark Lord, or Neville Longbottom?�

�� Harry shook
his head. �It�s still not the same thing. Dumbledore didn�t want power. He was just there to defeat
Grindelwald, and after that everyone treated him like a hero.� He would keep
some of the things he�d learned about Dumbledore�s fallibility to himself; he
didn�t see why Draco needed to hear him speak ill of the dead. �He didn�t wake
up one morning and ask himself if he wanted to conquer the world. Voldemort and
Grindelwald did.�

�� But once
he had power,� Draco said calmly, �he fought to accumulate it. Unless you think
he never tried to sabotage the Ministry and was grateful when they tried to
take away his control of Hogwarts.�

�� Harry
hesitated. Then he sighed and shook his head again. �I don�t know where to draw
the line,� he said. �I don�t know what constitutes wanting power and what
doesn�t.� He rubbed his forehead, wishing he still had the scar to blame
headaches on.

�� Then it�s
rather short-sighted of you to scold me and Severus for wanting it.� Draco
sneered lightly at him, but Harry could tell that expression didn�t have the
same force it would have had when they were in school. Then he frowned. Should I be worried that I know that much
about him? �Leave it to go forwards. If we start causing harm, then stop us.�

�� Harry
thought about it, and found himself surprisingly all right with that. At least
he trusted Snape and Draco more than he would have someone like Lucius Malfoy.
And if he had misjudged them horribly and they woke up one morning cackling
about bloody purity and threatening to kill half the wizarding population of
Britain, then he could use the bonds to stop them.

�� I�ll do
that,� he said, and yawned.

�� Draco
raised one eyebrow. �Is my conversation that boring?�

�� No, my
sleeping periods are that short,� Harry said wryly. �Can you believe that I
thought Auror training would be easier than going in for a seventh year at
Hogwarts?�

�� Again,
rather short-sighted of you.� Draco folded his arms as if he thought he had
scored a point.

�� Piss off,�
Harry said amiably. �If I�m not going to interfere with your choices, then
don�t interfere with mine.� He started for the door.

�� Harry.�

�� Surprised
but pleased�it was the first time either of them had used his name without
sounding sarcastic�Harry turned around. Draco was looking at him with a serious
expression. He bit his lip and said, �When I start helping you with Potions,
then can you help me with Defense Against the Dark Arts? I need to know that,
too, if I�m going to combine them, but I�m not as good as you are at it.�

�� Harry
stared at him for a moment. Then he began to grin. �Was that a touch of humility I hear, Malfoy? Getting back in
touch with your childish side?�

�� Draco made
an extremely complicated gesture at him that should have been impossible whilst
he was still holding a book. Harry laughed. �Sure. I can help you with that.
It�s a fair return.�

�� Draco
relaxed. �Good. I�ll see you later.� And he turned and walked out of the room.
Though Harry studied him carefully, he couldn�t see any of the stiffness or
flinches that would have meant the Scalding Arch was still affecting him.

�� He rolled
his eyes and shot the closed potions lab door a disdainful look before he left.
�Why can�t you be more like him?� he
muttered.

*

�� Severus
stared down at the calculations on the parchment, and then shook his head.

�� Granted, he
was working from experience of healing potions, rather than from an expertise
on bonds or a familiarity with healing spells. A Healer from St. Mungo�s would
know more.

�� But because
he hardly intended to tell a Healer, a stranger, about the bonds that linked
him to Draco and Potter, he would have to become an expert on bonds himself.

�� Severus
rubbed the phoenix on his arm and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. He
had heard the whole of Draco�s and Potter�s conversation. They had hardly tried
to be quiet, and the lab door bore spells that would conduct sounds to his
ears, mostly so that he could hear if someone tried to invade�which was all the
more likely now that he and Draco were going out in public again and receiving
outraged letters from those who thought they shouldn�t have been pardoned.

�� And he had
realized, with bitterness and with a long argument against accepting the
obvious in his own mind, that he had indeed gone about seducing Potter in the
wrong way.

�� It was not
enough to want to seduce him. Unlike Draco, who had been starved of position
attention and required a large dose of concentration during lovemaking in order
to soothe him and bring out the best in his personality, Potter was used to
people looking at him and wanting him for various reasons. The little speech
Severus had eavesdropped on showed that well enough.

�� He would
not be flattered by the attention of a man old enough to be his father, a man
he had ample reason to despise. He had not lived with Severus as Draco had and
come to know him that way. (He was still not truly living with him). He would not be impressed by Severus�s Potions
knowledge, and he had shown that Severus�s teaching methods were not
well-suited to him, even if he had been inclined to take advantage of that
knowledge.

�� And he
hated the very notion of seeking power, so he would hate the very notion of
exploiting the bond to its fullest potential.

�� Severus
shook his head. So he must show Potter compassion, respect, and�it
appeared�frankness. He now had a much better idea of why Potter had invited
Severus into his rooms when Severus�s temper flared. That was what he was
familiar with in their interactions, and so he had assumed that Severus was
only being honest when he was angry or disgusted.

�� And it
could not be calculated compassion,
respect, and frankness. Potter would pick up on that. He would assume that
Severus was feigning everything in order to get close to him and gain power,
and that might even cause him to move out of the house. At the very least, he�d
never allow Severus another chance.

�� Severus
rubbed his hand across his mouth.

�� I must actually feel those things for
Potter. I must actually wish to demonstrate my honesty.

�� And as yet, I do not think I can.

�� Severus
took a deep breath. Bitterness like Muggle coffee coiled in his mouth whenever
he admitted defeat. But he had to do it now. There was no way he could set out
on the kind of campaign he had planned and win Potter�s affection and interest,
which would be necessary to cement any physical bond.

�� So he must
wait until he did feel some interest
in Potter�s life, and not simply in altering Potter�s life so that he would
spend more time with Draco and Severus. He must wait until he thought more
often of Potter�s random flashes of beauty, his strength, his dedication to
protecting the innocent, and his other good qualities, than he did of his
negative ones.

�� If I can actually do this�

�� Then I would make a good partner for him.
But I have to think about that, rather than about molding him into a better
partner for myself.

�� Severus
shut his eyes. Albus had laughed at him once when Severus said that it was easy
to show sympathy for another person, and harder to criticize them objectively
and help them improve.

�� Ah,
Severus,� he said. �If you only knew how hard it is for many teachers to show
interest in individual students and not simply in those who are like
themselves, you would not say that. Professors aspire to an ideal that we
rarely achieve.� He had sighed then and stared at the wall. �Merlin knows I
have my own pets.�

�� And Potter was one of his pets. But Albus still
endangered his life and hid information from him and assumed that he would have
to die in order to save the world.

�� Potter had
never had whole-hearted support from anyone except his two best friends.
Severus had seen enough glimpses of the boy�s home life during the Occlumency
lessons not to fool himself about Potter�s Muggle family.

�� Someone who could actually support him and
care for him would be invaluable. But I cannot do that if I try to do it.

�� It was a
paradox.

�� Severus
straightened his spine.

�� But I have always enjoyed a challenge.

*

�� Yami
Bakura: Yeah, not sure how long these chapters are going to be and if I�ll be
able to keep up the current pace of updates. Let�s hope I do!

�� Ginny is
going to have her own reasons to back out of the relationship with Harry.

�� ColdWater:
Hopefully Draco and Snape seem a little less like bastards after this segment!
(And so does Harry). Glad you�re enjoying it. It�ll take them some time to
change their minds, and there will be some missteps along the way.

�� Nikte: You�re
welcome!

�� That�s an
interesting speculation on why Harry�s selfish. I agree that he�s trying to
earn some pity. However, his friends are likely to pity him anyway, since he�s
bonded to two people they all dislike.

�� And he
honestly doesn�t see why he needs to take responsibility, other than by
granting Snape and Draco what they need to survive. They�re grown men, with
their own interests and their own lives, as he sees it. Part of that is
selfishness; part of that is humility. He doesn�t think they would be interested in him, to any extent.

�� LiteraryBeauty:
If it helps, Severus will begin recognizing the problematic aspects of his
attitudes, at least as far as Harry is concerned.

�� DTDY:
Honestly, at this moment the worst thing Draco or Snape could do is act against
Ginny.
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