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Rejoicing In Their Strength	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9781 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

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�� Not long
now, Draco.�

�� Lucius
spoke the words warmly into his ear, while slathering a thick potion over
Draco�s shoulders and arms that would make him feel as if he were being eaten
alive in seven minutes. Draco began to shiver and couldn�t stop. Lucius sighed
and said, �I know that you�re not cold. You must try to be courageous. The Dark
magic is nearly purged from your body. You�ve been very good and very brave.
All I ask is that you try to endure a little longer.�

�� That�s what I�m afraid I won�t be able to do,
Draco thought.

�� When he
could feel the sensations like a powerful throat closing in on him and crushing
him flat to fit in a stomach, he snapped his spirit free of his body and went
seeking Potter.

*

�� Frankly, I
don�t think it�ll work.� Celia swiped a hand through her hair, frowning. �From
what Malfoy says, the wards are strong enough to keep out even changed
werewolves. Why should we be able to find a way through them when we�re in
human form?�

�� Draco
winced, but tried to be satisfied with Potter�s quick reassuring glance. When
he stood, all his pack�s eyes automatically followed his movements and Hyacinth
lifted her head from the half-doze she�d been in. Draco settled back against a
tree root and tried to look as casual as he could, even though Potter was the
only one who could see or hear him when they were this far from the full moon.

�� I�m not
asking you to attack through the wards.� Potter paced in a circle, his eyes
abstracted and his hands folded behind his back as though he were holding the
leash of a dangerous animal in them. For all that Draco knew, he was. He only
knew that Potter�s control over his wolf was great; he still didn�t understand
the full extent of it. �I want to know about the weaknesses of the wards
instead, and particularly those areas where it looks as though two or more of
them are patched together to create a seamed cover.�

�� I know
what you mean,� Josh said, leaning forwards. �I�ve studied wards before. But if
we probe at those seams��

�� You�ll
alert Lucius Malfoy. I know.� Potter�s quick reassuring glance was for the
werewolf this time. Draco scowled, not liking to admit how jealous that simple
gesture had made him feel. �That�s why I don�t want you to probe at them, and
leave in an instant if you feel that he might notice and challenge you. Simply identify them. I want to know everything
you can tell me about the points on the house where they�re located, from a
physical description of the stone and metal they�re covering to their direction
relative to the sun and moon.�

�� Celia and
Josh exchanged confused glances. Draco tried to look wise, then remembered that
no one could see him anyway and he might as well be as hopelessly lost as the
rest.

�� He had
figured out, once he had some time away from Potter and the overwhelming rush
of hope and fear and faith, that the time-dependent plan must be to attack as
werewolves when the next full moon came about. But that was a problem, because
the Manor had wards against werewolves, as did any ancient wizarding house.
Those wards would be at the height of their strength when the full moon shone.

�� Potter had
smiled when Draco told him that, but he hadn�t mentioned why. When Draco
pressed him for details, Potter said, �If you act too hopeful, your father
might figure out something is wrong.� He�d bent down towards Draco, his eyes so
bright and so deep that it was difficult to look at him. �Do you think you
would be able to keep the secret of what we�re going to do hidden from his
Legilimency? Be honest, now.�

�� Draco had
admitted that he wasn�t sure, and Potter had reached out and brushed his hand
through Draco�s shoulder in that way that tended to leave a trail of tingles
behind. �Then I�m going to ask you to trust me for right now, and respect that,
eventually, we�ll rescue you.�

�� He wants
us to trust him,� Hyacinth said in her deep voice, her eyes turning wolf-yellow
in the sunlight. She put her head back down on her hands, which she treated
rather like forepaws at times, and blinked around at Celia, Josh, and Leila.
�To trust him absolutely, in the way that we keep promising we do and in the
way that Malfoy has to, and to do what he asks without demanding every single
detail.�

�� I think we
could have figured that out on our own, Hyacinth,� Celia said in a brittle
voice that made Hyacinth�s eyes deepen a shade or two. Draco heard a light
snarl working its way up her throat, and doubted Celia would have said any of
that if she�d been closer to Potter�s second-in-command. �But I at least want
to know the reason that Harry is so
intent on hiding this from us.�

�� Very
well.�

�� Potter
tossed his head back and let his strength go flooding over the clearing. Draco
was glad, once again, that no one could see or hear his response, which
included a needy whimper. The rest of the pack stood up or crowded closer,
eager whines breaking from their lips. Potter held them like that for a series
of endless moments that made Draco think he�d lose his breath from panting, and
then released his strength.

�� The rest of
the pack looked faintly embarrassed, except for Hyacinth. She gave Potter a nod
and a smile that made Draco think she�d wag her tail if she possessed one in
this form.

�� So far,�
Potter said, looking from one to the other of them with a gaze that made them
lower their heads, �Hyacinth and I are the only ones who can do that reliably.
I felt you trying to do it on the last hunt, Leila, but you got distracted and
it faltered.� Leila gave him a hesitant smile. �That sharing of strength links
us as a pack. We�re more likely to act in concert when we can respond to each
other�s power. But because the rest of you tend to follow at my heels instead
of carrying your strength around you constantly in a fanned-out umbrella, then I�m
the one who has to do the most thinking and acting. And you imitate me instead
of being able to act independently.�

�� Celia
started to protest. �Hyacinth was able to run ahead during the hunt and break
the doe�s back��

�� And she
was the only one.� Potter looked at her until she sighed and nodded. �I want all of you able to do that, to carry out
your own decisions in wolf form and let us know, through the medium of that
connected strength, what you�re doing and which direction you�re moving. It�s vitally important that you learn how to
do that before we can rescue Draco. And I don�t want to tell you more than that
because it�ll lead into discordance between your wolves�which want to do what I command�and your human selves�which
are used to comparing a leader�s decisions with your own inclinations. For the
moment, you have to work with your power and extend it to each other as well as
to me. And trust me.�

�� Behave
like wolves with the intelligence of humans,� Leila muttered.

�� Isn�t that
what we are, after all?� Potter tossed her a smile.

�� No, Draco could have said. There was
also the side of the wolf that was mindless hunger and didn�t act like a pack
beast. But simply by choosing to be here and following Potter, Draco suspected
that most of them had grown past that stage and didn�t need to be reminded that
it existed.

�� Most of them, maybe. He glanced sideways
at Hyacinth.

�� That was
another reason Potter refused to explain his plan, he reckoned. The belief that
a werewolf could balance control of the human and control of the wolf wasn�t a
common one, and was the reason that so many of them became weaklings or
monsters, from Potter�s point-of-view. He was trying to maintain an even more
delicate balance at the moment, forcing his pack to put their beliefs into
practice. Over-explaining it would ruin that element of belief that was crucial
to achieving the sharing of power. Potter needed to make it sound simple, not
complicated, although it was an aspect of the complicated things that he asked
his pack to do every day.

�� And I think that I understand it, even
though it hurts my head. Draco ran a hand through his hair, wishing
absently that he could feel things. It would make it easier to feel like he was
accomplishing something when he was angry or upset.

�� It seemed
that Potter had noticed his distressed expression. He said quietly, �Celia,
Josh, step into the woods and practice walking silently. It�ll be best if you
go near the wards around Malfoy Manor with as little magic as possible. Leila,
if you would read this?� He held out a heavy book that Draco hadn�t seen the
last time he was here. �Hermione gave it to me, and I can�t understand half the
moves it suggests for finding the seams in wards and exploiting them.�

�� Leila
accepted and opened the book. �Where would you be without my vocabulary?� she
teased.

�� A place
that I don�t like to think about,� Potter said, turning her joking statement
into a serious one, and giving her a dazzling smile that caused Draco to glance
away. It didn�t matter that Potter was doing all this to rescue Draco; he knew
that Potter still cared more strongly about his pack. Draco wasn�t a werewolf,
after all.

�� Leila, not
smiling now, nodded back to Potter, a formal bob�� of her head that looked like a bow, and began to read.

�� Potter
turned to Hyacinth.

�� You�ll
need to go into the most isolated part of the forest for this,� he told her.
�If you spread your power too near the edges of the woods, you know that other
wizards will feel it. And we don�t want to make the Muggles uneasy and inspire
someone to come investigate rumors of large dogs running wild. Concentrate as
hard as you can. Remember that you need to be able to prevent it from soaring
out like a net to touch everything in
sight.� He stroked the back of Hyacinth�s neck. �My power is greater than
yours, but your range is wider, and you need to gain that fine edge of
control.�

�� Hyacinth
nodded with a slow blink of her eyes, as if she were absorbing Potter�s words
on a deeper level than mere speech. In a moment, she had risen to her feet and
padded away into the woods�more silently than Celia and Josh could yet move,
Draco noticed.

�� Potter
looked straight at him and beckoned.

�� You want
me to follow the big bad wolf into the forest?� Draco asked lightly, but he
floated to his feet with a sense of relief. He still wasn�t completely
comfortable with the pack. They were rescuing him only because Potter demanded
it, he knew. At least he had the sense that Potter was more interested in him
as a person.

�� Or victim, he reminded himself, but
still his hope was fresher and brighter as he followed Potter around the trunks
of oaks and pines until they could no longer see Leila reading the book.

�� Potter sat
down on a stump, and Draco drifted down onto the grass in front of him. Potter
held his eyes for long moments, and said, �You�ve told us about all the weak
places that you know of in the wards?�

�� Yes,�
Draco said. �And I have to tell you, my father knows about the weakness of seams
and how to counteract them, and he has wards that specifically fight
werewolves.�

��

�I know that,� Potter said. �I
don�t distrust you. I simply wanted to make sure that nothing else had occurred
to you since we last spoke.� He slid to the foot of the stump, propping one
elbow on it and putting his hand beneath his chin as he stared at Draco.

Draco cleared his throat uneasily.
It made sense that Potter would share serious moments with his pack, since he
had known them for so long and had all sorts of history with them that Draco
didn�t know about. But his trying to have moments like that with Draco pleased
and frightened and irritated him.

Of course, after so long with
Lucius, Draco sometimes wondered if there was anything he didn�t fear anymore.

�� Potter,
why do you care so much?� he had to ask. �Would you care this much if one of
your friends, or someone you were indifferent to in school, came to you and
asked for help?�

�� If it were
one of my friends, I would feel guilt, because I should have been aware of it
and noticed the changes in their behavior,� Potter said quietly. He was staring
Draco in the eye again. �If it was someone I had been indifferent to, I would
care once I figured out what was wrong, but not so much.�

�� Then why
with me?� Draco tried to look haughty. �Is it because you enjoyed seeing me
struggle against my pride before I finally decided to accept your help?�

�� How could
that be, when I didn�t know you were fighting a struggle or that you hadn�t
already told the truth to someone else?� Potter tipped his head forwards so
that his hair fell across his eyes. Draco was at once relieved and a bit
disappointed. �No. I care more because�because before I knew something was
wrong, you watched us hunt, and you were fascinated. And you�re fascinated now,
I can see it. You notice every time I do something that has a hint of the wolf
to it. You respond. I can�t help but
enjoy someone who enjoys my pack.� Potter looked up, his face wistful. �My
friends have been wonderful, but they just don�t look at it the same way you
do. Hermione pities me and wants to work on a cure. Ron believes in me but only
because I was already his friend, not because he really thinks that a werewolf
can change. A few people they�ve hinted the truth to are horrified. I�ve
accepted reality, because the wolf is so powerful in you that it�s like
learning to live with a new limb�or the loss of one. Everyone else still sees
the wolf as something extra attached to me that they�d like to pull off.�

�� He leaned
forwards and reached out to put a hand on Draco�s knee before he remembered.
�Except you.�

�� Draco let
his eyelashes veil his eyes. He had to remind himself that, unlike everyone
else he had watched in his astral form, there was a chance�there must be a
chance�that he and Potter would meet in the flesh someday. When that happened,
Draco didn�t want him to be disappointed.

�� One of the
reasons I like watching you so much is that I�m attracted to power,� he
confessed. �It�s not�it�s not pure and detached in the way that you�re making
it sound, Potter. I want power, too. It�s one of the reasons that I waited so
long before I talked to you about my situation. I wanted the power of keeping
the secret and fooling you with lies.�

�� I don�t
care,� Potter said. �Other people with better motivations than yours still
can�t bring themselves to respond the way you did. I think�I think I care more
about the consequences in this case than the reason behind those actions.� He
eased closer, his stare direct into Draco�s eyes again.

�� Draco
looked away and said lightly, �I�m not a wolf. You don�t have to try and prove
to me that you�re dominant.�

�� I don�t
want to.� Potter left it at that, and Draco had to wonder if he meant that he
wasn�t trying to prove he was dominant or that he was doing it even though he
didn�t want to.

�� I think Potter has better control of his
wolf than that, Draco decided, because anything else would be too
frightening, and asked, �What do you think will happen when you rescue me?�

�� We�ll give
you what you want, of course.� Potter eased back on his heels, and when Draco
looked at him again, he was gazing out into the forest, his arms folded so that
his hands hung down on his knees. �We�ll take you to the Ministry if you want,
or St. Mungo�s if you think that would be better. Or we can take you to a
friend�s house if you have anyone who would shelter you.�

�� St.
Mungo�s would probably be best,� Draco admitted, though he winced at the
thought of what the Healers would say when they saw his wounds. He didn�t think
some of the things Lucius had done to him could ever be healed. But at least he
would be free, with the chance to find magic that might help him. �I won�t be
walking out of the Manor.�

�� Potter
looked back at him with a softened face. �Of course not.�

�� They sat in
silence for some time after that, when Potter had asked again if Draco
remembered any additional facts about the wards and Draco had admitted that he
couldn�t think of anything. Potter folded his arms behind his head and basked
in the sunlight with his face pointed directly at it and his eyes closed. Draco
watched him, and took in the strength that crackled around him as best he
could, an antidote to the horror that waited for him in the back of his mind
and the memory of his muscles.

�� If he cares about me inappropriately, I also
care about him inappropriately. Draco knew he would be quite content to
remain by Potter�s side and watch him act the beautiful, dangerous wild animal
for years.

�� And he had
no idea why.

*

�� The cure
is almost complete, Draco.�

�� Draco
looked down at the shreds of his left leg and wondered if he should try to
learn something from Lucius, something that might help Potter when his pack
came to raid the Manor. Unfortunately, Lucius�s madness almost never wandered
in directions that would be comprehensible to anyone else, and Draco could
hardly think through the pain that enveloped him in a shroud.

�� He did
manage to pluck up the courage and the words to say, �Why do you think you�re
so close to the antidote to the Dark magic, sir?�

�� Lucius
smiled and stroked his hair. Draco had to look away. He would see the father
who had held him when he was born and praised his first efforts at magic if he
kept gazing at Lucius now.

�� I have at
last removed most of your tainted magical core, and replaced it with the
stronger, purer magic that will save your life,� Lucius explained. His hand
never stopped petting Draco, moving from his hair to his face. His fingers
dipped into the hole in Draco�s cheekbone, and Draco shut his eyes and tried
not to cry out. He had to remain in his body long enough to listen to this,
pain or no pain. It was the closest Lucius had ever come to stating his goals
outright. �There are a few patches of dark, stubborn power that I cannot yet
eliminate without killing you.� Lucius�s fingers curved downwards and jerked,
and Draco heard the sound of the hole ripping wider. �But do not worry,� Lucius
finished, seeming not to understand that his fingers had expressed his anger
and that Draco was more than worried. �Those patches should be done away with
in a few weeks� time. There is one particularly powerful spell that I can only
perform on the night of the full moon, and we must wait for that.�

�� Draco let
his spirit leap free from his body as Lucius dragged him towards the spiked bed
set up in the corner of the room. He had discovered information that would
prove helpful to Potter and the rest of his pack. He clung to that triumph and
endeavored to forget about the agony that was coiling through his physical
being, far behind and below him.

*

�� That is
wonderful news.�

�� Draco
stared, not understanding. He had expected his warning about the night of the
full moon to anger or worry Potter, who surely didn�t need any more
complications added to what sounded like a very complex plan already. But
instead Potter was prowling back and forth in front of him with his eyes
brilliant with enthusiasm. He spun around to face Draco, and he spun on his
heels in a movement that no human had ever performed so gracefully�though Draco
had to admit that he couldn�t imagine a wolf performing it, either.

�� Don�t you
see?� Potter asked. �If Lucius is involved with a powerful spell that night, he
will have less attention to spare for us.�

�� I don�t
know,� Draco said. �When the attack begins, he could drop the spell and focus
on you, and he�ll be all the angrier for being interrupted. Or he might kill
me.�

�� He had to
turn his face from Potter, because he knew emotions that he didn�t want to show
would be flickering across his expression. He was no longer able to regard his
own death with indifference, which was the thing that he hated most about
having hope.

�� He might,�
Potter said. �Or the spell might go wrong when he gets distracted and do
something unexpected and horrible to you.�

�� Draco
stared at him in shock. Potter didn�t sound at all concerned, and Draco didn�t
understand that. �You�I thought you cared about what happened to me,� he said,
his voice coming out with difficulty. �If only because I respond better to you
than so many other people would.�

�� In a
moment, Potter abandoned his pacing and knelt down in front of Draco with
terrifying swiftness. His eyes were bright and tender, and he swiped at Draco�s
cheek with one hand. Draco recoiled before remembering that this form didn�t
show the hole in his face, and that Potter couldn�t hurt him even if it did.

�� I�m
sorry,� Potter whispered. �Part of the problem is knowing how much I should
explain to you and how much I shouldn�t. And I don�t want to favor you over my
own pack, while being conscious of the impulse to do so.� Draco narrowed his
eyes, wanting to discuss how that had
come about, but Potter was babbling on. �I think our best chance lies in
Lucius�s madness. No matter what he does that night, I don�t think he�ll
respond rationally, while my pack should be able to respond more than rationally if we all learn to
extend our strength to one another.� He paused reflectively.

�� And I
would do anything to avoid seeing you hurt,� he said. �Anything.�

�� Draco bowed
his head. The forest was whirling around him. Potter�s green-golden eyes, his
intense stares, the lowered tone of his voice�Draco had once imagined the last
two things in a distinctly different context, with a distinctly different face.

�� It would be typical of my life that the
closest I�ll ever get to the protective and possessive lover I�ve dreamed of is
Harry Potter, he thought dazedly.

�� Draco?�
Potter�s voice was tender again, but a bit louder.

�� Draco
swallowed and opened his eyes. �I�m fine,� he said. �What have you discovered
about the wards?�

�� Potter
paused and then began to explain, but all the while, he sat far too close and
kept reaching out his hand so that his fingers brushed through Draco�s astral
form, causing infuriating tingles.

�� Draco, who
knew that this didn�t have a chance of lasting, reckoned that he would just
have to endure that, too.

*

�� Mangacat:
The thing Draco finds unnerving is that Harry is not necessarily acting completely
like a hero. There�s some of the monster mixed in there, too.

�� polka dot: I
haven�t fully plotted out Ron and Hermione�s roles because they�re not that
important to the fic, but it�s a very short time after the war, so they couldn�t
be full-fledged Aurors.

�� PantiesAreOverrated:
Thank you!

�� Thrnbrooke:
He will certainly do his best.

�� mrequecky:
Squicky things.

�� SP777:
There�s a specific story reason for Harry�s ability to speak to snakes being
gone, though of course I can�t tell you what it is.

�� I haven�t
seen that movie, no.

�� yaoiObsessed:
Thank you so much! I�m sorry that I can�t answer more of your questions, but
that would spoil a large part of the story. There are only two more chapters
remaining, though, so most of them ought to be answered fairly soon.

�� FallenAngel1129:
Thank you!
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Rejoicing In Their Strength