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Kinder, Kindler, Kindlier	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 24796 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Kinder, Kindler, Kindlier
- 2-Chapter 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 10
- 12-Part 12
- 4
- 5
- 6
Draco had had a thought.

�� It had
first been sparked when he came to the top of the stairs on the day he had had
lunch at the Manor and found Potter stepping out of Severus�s rooms, smiling at
him. Potter had shaken his head and said, �Afraid that we ran away for an
afternoon of sweaty sex? Sorry. It was tuna fish sandwiches.�

�� Draco had
laughed, partially in surprise that Potter would make a joke, even such a poor
one, and partially because there was no other response to a statement that
ridiculous.

�� But he
watched the way that Potter watched Severus, how his eyes focused so often on
the man�s hands, even when Severus was doing something as ordinary as setting
up displays of beetle eyes. It was the first time Draco had ever seen anyone
look jealous of Potions ingredients.

Potter became still when Severus
glanced in his direction. Never for very long, perhaps not long enough for even
Severus to notice, but he did so, as if he needed to think about what he would
do with that dark gaze on him.

Potter would take a deep breath
when he came in each morning and found Severus in the shop, as if his dreams
were filled with images of what might happen should Severus grow disgusted with
the way he was treated in Britain
and simply leave.

�� Once Draco
looked, he found more sparks everywhere, and he thought that he might know what
had compelled those particular words to spring to Potter�s lips.

�� He would
perhaps have simply played with the thoughts, lighting them and watching them
fall, if not for something else. They were so strange, and Severus seemed so
unlikely to ever give Potter what he wanted, that there was nothing to do but
play.

�� Then came
the morning he arrived late at the shop, because his mother had delayed him to
make a passionate speech about grandchildren and how necessary they were, and
Potter rushed towards him, face white. Draco automatically picked up his wand
and glanced over his shoulder. It was the way he would have expected Potter to
look if there was an attack on the shop.

�� Are you
all right?� Potter demanded.

�� Draco
stared at him. �Of course,� he said, when he could
swallow in the face of Potter�s eyes. They were filled with lightning. The only
other time Draco had seen them look like that was on the afternoon that Potter
defeated the Dark Lord. �My mother lectured me, that�s
all.� He paused, and perhaps the spirit of Hogwarts wasn�t dead in him after
all, because he had to add, �Worried, Potter?�

�� With the threats that are already starting to come in?�
Potter flung back his head and exhaled like a horse that had found its manger
unexpectedly full of hay, closing his eyes. Draco watched the way his throat
worked in fascination. �Of course I was. I didn�t know if perhaps you�d been
ambushed, and the last time I would see you was if
someone sent your head to us.� His fingers shook where they gripped his wand.

�� Don�t you
have a gruesome imagination,� Draco said lightly. His emotions spun and pivoted
within him, and he couldn�t resist a test to see if he was right. He reached
out and put a hand on Potter�s sleeve. �I�m fine.�

�� It worked.
Potter fixed his attention on Draco�s hand, his breath catching. Like I�m a wild and rare animal that he
doesn�t want to frighten away, Draco thought, and moved his fingers in a
small caress across Potter�s sleeve before dropping his hand.

�� Potter
blinked, shuddered as if the caress had delayed impact, and then looked up at
him. �I was worried, that was all,� he whispered.

�� Draco
nodded in response and then strode over to do his own work, which was almost
finished. In truth, Potter only needed to make the new side of the shop a bit
prettier than he had managed so far, and Severus needed to arrange the displays
in a way that would satisfy him instead of make him grumble, and they would be
ready to open.

�� A fortnight
ago, Draco had imagined that his proudest moment would be learning to tolerate
Potter in the close confines of both a building and a business.

�� Now he
looked sideways at Potter and entertained different thoughts, half of them
incoherent and half of them too full of light.

�� But interesting, nonetheless.

*

�� Harry
sighed and leaned his head back against the chair. Dinner at the Burrow was an
exhausting event. Harry always felt compelled to at least try everything that was set in front of him, or Molly would be
disappointed, and it didn�t help that Ron had as big an appetite as ever and
would involve Harry in eating contests.

�� Are you
sure that you wouldn�t like more cake, dear?� Molly held out a plate that was
entirely covered by a slice of white cake with red icing. Just looking at it
made Harry�s stomach heave.

�� How can
you ask that, Mum?� Ginny sounded
half-amused, half-appalled. �Just look at his face. The cake would come up
again as soon as it went down.�

�� Did you
have to say that, Gin?� Ron stood up from the table and staggered carefully in
the direction of the bathroom. Hermione shook her head as she watched him go,
but her face was soft, her eyes fond. Harry smiled at the side of her head. He
was glad that they had found each other, and even his
one regret about that�that being around them made any relationship he tried seem superficial�was long since
cured. Ron and Hermione couldn�t help how much they loved each other.

�� Her eye
perhaps caught by the shake of his head, Hermione oriented on him, and
immediately adopted an expression that was almost pure predator. �How did you
get along with Irene, Harry?�

�� Harry
glanced down and took the chance to stir his finger through the crumbs along
the edge of his plate a few times before replying. He was trying to come up
with a diplomatic answer, but Hermione evidently saw straight through that and
sighed.

�� I wish I
could find someone whose company you would enjoy, Harry,� she whispered.

�� It�s hard
replacing someone like Ginny,� Harry said, tilting his head at Ginny. She was
in a conversation with her mum, but she heard him and smiled thanks over her
shoulder.

�� Yes,�
Hermione said, with the insistent tone that meant she would bring this up for
the rest of the evening if he didn�t answer her now, �but it�s been three years, Harry. That�s enough time
to move on and find someone else.�

�� If all I
wanted was someone, I�d agree with you,� Harry said, facing Hermione and
reluctantly pushing his plate out of the way. Molly would put �just a little
taste� of something on it if he didn�t. �But I need a person who�s not afraid
of my fame or my past and respects me for who I am, not just the scar.�

�� Of
course,� Hermione said. �Irene�s like that.�

�� Harry shook
his head. �She�s nice, Hermione. And with you I�m sure she�s fine. But she
spent the whole evening gaping at my scar, and she didn�t even notice when her
food arrived. I had to say her name twice.�

�� Oh, dear.� Hermione leaned back in her chair, dismayed�but
only for one moment. In the next one, she had tilted her head and had the look
in her eyes of a hawk about to pounce. �I�ve heard that Susan�s single again.�

�� Harry
smiled temperately. His date with Susan Bones three years ago, soon after he�d
broken up with Ginny, had been one of the more pleasant ones he�d been on. But
Susan was looking for immediate marriage, and had taken up with one of the
students who�d left Hogwarts right behind them less than a month after her date
with Harry. �I�ll keep that in mind.�

�� Hermione
folded her arms and gave him a steady, disapproving glance. �You need someone
in your life, Harry.�

�� It�s not
as though I�m a hermit,� Harry said, with a wave of his arm that took the
entire Burrow in.

�� Nearly as good as.� Hermione rapped her fingers against the
table as though she were playing a drumbeat. Harry was afraid the drumbeat was
the opening sound in a charge to take his comfortable life away from him and
give him another one, whether or not he wanted that. �You hardly see anyone
except your customers. And this thing with Malfoy and Snape doesn�t make any
sense.�

�� Harry
rolled his eyes. He loved Hermione, but she was getting on his nerves, which
made him more blunt than usual. �You mean you didn�t predict it. You always
think that things like that don�t make sense.�

�� Hermione
sat straight up in her chair, offended, but Ron had come back from the
bathroom, and he dropped a kiss on her cheek and a hand on her shoulder.
�Don�t,� he said placidly. �If Harry wants to date or get married or find
someone, then he�ll do it eventually, and I�m sure that we�ll be the first to
hear the happy news.� He sat down on the other side of the table looking as
satisfied as though he had solved all the world�s problems.

�� Hermione
deflated and sighed loudly enough that she could have filled all Britain�s
hot air needs for the next century. As Harry smiled at Ron in thanks, she said,
�I know. But I�m just worried, Harry. I always thought you would be married by
this point and have children. You always wanted children.�

�� Harry bit
back another comment about how Hermione was only worried because he was doing
something that was different from her predictions and did his best to smile and
shake his head. �Sometimes what you want changes,� he said. �And I�m not the
same person I was in Hogwarts. Children would be nice, but I�m not going to
hurry into marriage just to have them.�

�� He caught
Ginny watching him wisely out of the corner of her eye. Harry nodded to her.
She knew what he was talking about better than any of them. They nearly had got
married too soon to satisfy other people and their own craving for a family.
Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had insisted that they wait until Ginny was at
least out of Hogwarts, and those few months had made Harry realize that it
would have been a mistake.

�� He and
Ginny would have suited each other. But Harry wanted more than suitability. He
wanted passion. He wanted a challenge. He wanted someone who wasn�t exactly
like him, but similar enough that he could have lots of brilliant rows and then
reconciliation afterwards. Hermione had at least taken enough notice of that
that she was no longer trying to set him up with people who had been
Gryffindors.

�� He wanted�

�� A clear
picture formed in his mind, and he shut his mouth and swallowed loudly. Ginny
gave him a curious look, and Hermione sat up as though she thought he was about
to make a life-changing announcement.

�� What�s the
matter?� she asked, when Harry kept silent.

�� Why should
anything be the matter?� Harry asked. At least, he thought he asked that. He
was sitting with his head bowed, his fingers pressed against his temples. His mind
was filled with a relentless buzzing that at once made his thoughts feel
clearer and kept him from focusing on much else.

�� I know
that look.� Hermione leaned forwards. �I know you. You realized something. What was it?� She was practically begging by
the end of the sentence. Harry managed to snort in spite of everything else.
Hermione couldn�t stand for knowledge to be in someone else�s hands and not her
own, even for one minute.

�� Ron put a
hand on Hermione�s shoulder and rubbed gently. �Leave him alone, Hermione,� he
said again. �I think this is something he needs to absorb on his own.�

�� Harry
nodded gratefully to his best friend and made his excuses to get out of the Burrow
and away from everyone as soon as he could�and not just because Hermione was
looking as though she would set ambushes for him in the corridors until he told
her what she wanted to know. He really needed cool air and the sight of the
stars overhead and room to think.

�� He wanted
someone like Draco and Snape. Or Draco or Snape. The
thought had come to him so suddenly, but it felt familiar and right. Maybe the
idea had been hanging around his head for years, maybe he�d always known what
he wanted, but it hadn�t come clear until he knew the proper people to give it
a shape.

�� Harry felt
his breath coming short, the way it had when he first had the revelation, and
he sighed and shook his head. That was
ridiculous. It wasn�t as though Draco and Snape were suddenly going to sit up
in their beds, shiver all over, and know that he wanted them.

�� Or someone like them, he stubbornly
confirmed to himself. They were probably inspirations, role models, for his
idea. Not the real thing.

�� How in the world can they be the real thing?

�� Harry
thought of the way that Snape still nodded to him coolly in the mornings, how
they had never had a single civil conversation except the one the other day
that had ended so strangely. Harry�s revelation that he would give up his fame
so Snape could do something with it evidently didn�t impress Snape.

�� And why should it? Harry ran a hand
through his hair and paced in a circle, glad that the Burrow was at a distance
from the other houses in Ottery St. Catchpole and no
one was likely to come up and see the Savior acting crazy. I did so little for him in the past, and even what I�ve done since then
is just making up for the poor treatment that he�s received from other people.
There�s no reason for him to be grateful.

�� He did say thank you.

�� But Harry
snorted bitterly. That was a gesture of
gratitude at the most. Not an overture of love.

�� His
situation with Malfoy was even more hopeless. They were getting along now, but
that was a long way away from love. Harry could just imagine what would happen
if he mentioned anything about dating in front of Malfoy. His nostrils would
flare, his eyes would widen, and he would edge slowly away from Harry, being
careful not to taunt or otherwise anger the wild Gryffindor.

�� They have to be inspirations, because
there�s no way I can be with them, and fighting for one hopeless cause in a
lifetime is enough.

�� Harry
paused as he realized there was something else that didn�t make sense. Snape
and Draco were different people. But Harry�s feelings didn�t seem to
distinguish between them.

�� I want them both. Or I want them equally.

�� Harry made
a disgusted noise and dropped his head into his hands. Wasn�t that a sign that
he didn�t really want them,
he just wanted someone like them? Snape and Draco were real people. They didn�t
deserve to be treated like�like interchangeable sex objects. Harry was
imagining what they could be or what he wanted them to be, he was piling
impossible demands on them in his mind, and he couldn�t even have the courtesy
to think that they would react differently and demand different kinds of love.

�� At least I know what I want now, Harry
told himself firmly, to relieve the hopelessness that seemed to trickle out
from his heart and flow along his limbs like clinging mud. That has to be worth something. And I can find someone who fits that
picture better than they ever could, and who�s interested in me to boot.

�� Harry
Apparated back to his flat, and set about trying to imagine ways that he could
meet someone who would give him what he wanted.

�� He spent
more time banishing pictures of what Snape and Draco probably looked like when
they were aroused, but at least the exercise gave him a few names by the time
he went to bed.

*

�� A change
had taken place in the last few days. Severus could sense it.

That worried him.

He did not know, and could not
tell, what it was.

�� That
annoyed him.

�� The work
went on as normal. Potter was adding the finishing touches to his part of the
shop. Draco had begun to take out advertisements in the Prophet, the Quibbler, and
any other paper that would not refuse to accept Malfoy money. Almost all of
them took the advertisements despite a scornful tone to the acceptance letters,
as Severus had known would happen. The human principle of greed and their love
of goods no matter how produced was one reason he had managed to make a living
in the last few years.

�� Draco did
not mess up his potions. That was not the problem.

�� Potter�s
magic seemed as strong as ever, their wards a gleaming array of layered
defenses that Dumbledore might have had trouble getting through. That was not
the problem.

�� The
displays at last marched around the front room of the shop in neat ranks, and
Severus did not think he would have to rearrange the shelves again, no matter
what last-minute crates his suppliers sent. That was not the problem.

�� What is?

�� He moved
throughout the shop as silently as the Bloody Baron had once patrolled the
dungeons, checking on Potter�s work and Draco�s. Draco gave him a dazzling
smile and promptly began to brew with more zeal than before. There were some
students Severus�s presence had always been able to inspire.

�� Potter
tensed his jaw and continued working without any faltering, but with a heavier
grip on his wand. Severus paused, head cocked, and
wondered if it was only the ghost of the professor he had once been that urged
him to consider the source of the problem as here.

�� He watched,
but Potter never looked around or slowed his movements. The wards were lining
up along the inside of the windows now, defending the building from an attack
by admitted customers as well as random strangers. Severus had to admire the
defensive thinking.

�� Of course,
Defense Against the Dark Arts had always been Potter�s
best subject.

�� What was he poor at? Severus asked
himself as he prowled in a slow circle around the young man. Potter�s face was
flushed now, and he refused to look up, a smattering of sweat on his cheeks. Of
course, this was intense magic, but Severus was inclined to think it was more
than that. What will make him crack and
speak?

�� Will you
go away, please?� Potter sounded as if it were an effort to make the words that
polite. He was glaring ferociously at the ward in front of him now, which shone
blue and gold, and hunched his shoulders against Severus�s inquisitive stare.
The motion which he used to slice off the end of the ward was vicious.

�� Why?�
Severus asked quietly. He would not attempt to justify himself, because it
would be too easy to get into a shouting match with Potter, and that would
dissipate his discomfort by moving him back to familiar ground. Severus did not
know what the change was, not yet, but it had something to do with Potter�s discomfort, and that meant that
discomfort should be allowed to remain until Severus had figured out how to account
for it.

�� Because you�re making me nervous?� Potter glared at him
from behind tilted glasses that had almost slipped off his nose. �And I won�t
construct good wards if I�m nervous.�

�� Do I make
you nervous, too?� Draco�s voice asked from the doorway that divided Harry�s
section of the shop from theirs.

�� Severus
gave him a glance of approval. Draco lounged against the doorway, eyes distant,
face aloof, but he could not fool someone who had known him for so long. Draco,
too, had sensed the strange difference and had come in to speak about it.

�� When
you�re hovering around me like this.� Potter hunched his shoulders again and
glared out at them like a turtle who knew that Severus wanted to harvest its
shell. �My customers usually have the good sense not to do that.�

�� Does
working in the same place with us make you nervous, then?� Draco�s voice was
light and surprised. �I had thought you were more adult than that. Do excuse me, Potter. I won�t make that
mistake again.�

�� Potter
snarled under his breath and took his glasses off completely to wipe his face.
Severus had to look more closely at Potter�s dirty, work-stained hands.
Otherwise, he would make a fool of himself by staring at those green eyes that
he had not known were so bright.

�� Leave me
alone, please,� Potter said, with an irritable toss of his head. �You can be in
the same building, but not right around me.� He gave Severus a pointed glare,
and this time Severus looked up unwarily and caught the full force of green.

�� Draco
tilted his head, and Severus became aware that he might be staring. He cleared
his throat and said, still harshly, �Are you sure that you have created that
last ward aright, if my presence so bothers you?�

�� Damn it, I
don�t know,� Potter muttered, and turned back to the ward. He examined it, then sighed. �No. Go away, please.� He gestured with his
wand, and the ward unwove and dropped into a coil of light at his feet, an
effect Severus had never seen before.

�� Severus did
not move. He was too close to the source of the secret, and Potter�s
discomfort, now. It was as impossible to step away from this as it would have
been to give up a secret he had pursued during his years as a spy.

�� Draco moved
in from the other side, and Potter�s sharp twitch showed that he was aware of it.
Still, he concentrated on the ward, and from the way it glittered and spun,
Severus doubted that their presence was really
adversely affecting Potter�s concentration.

�� When the
ward finished, but before Potter could turn around, Draco reached out and laid
his fingertips in the middle of Potter�s back.

�� Potter
jumped like a spooked cat and spun about. Severus had time to give Draco a
glance he would understand: Is this worth
the risk?

�� Trust me, Draco�s tilted head said, and
Severus silently agreed to do so, then faced Potter
again to watch the show.

�� What�what��
Potter seemed to strive to catch his breath. He
adjusted his glasses again, then stabbed an accusing
finger at Malfoy. �You�re a menace. What
if you had done that when I was in the middle of creating the ward?�

�� But I
didn�t,� Draco said, with that little-boy innocence that Severus knew had
fooled more than one professor who should have known better. �I waited until
you were done. Now, are you going to tell me why such a small touch discommoded
you so much?�

�� Only you
would use a word like discommoded,� Potter muttered, and took off his glasses
to wipe them.

�� I would be
interested in the answer to Draco�s question,� Severus said, and Potter looked
at him in frustration. Severus lifted an eyebrow. �If you are that jumpy, it
might affect several of the more delicate potions as they are brewed.�

�� I�m just
not used to people touching me,�
Potter said, in too loud a voice, and then tried to recover himself with a
shake of his head and a silly smile. �I mean, my fans always try to get too
close, and I haven�t dated regularly in a while, and my friends tend not to do
that kind of thing, you know?�

�� So that
means that you object to this, then,� Draco said, before Severus could consider
what to say in response to that ramble, and reached out to lay his hand on
Potter�s shoulder, moving it with exaggerated slowness so that Potter had every
chance to see it coming.

�� Severus saw
it. He knew it was there. Potter
watched Draco�s hand with a sick longing, and his eyelids fluttered when it
came to rest.

�� He thought
he knew, then, what Potter�s problem might be. He simply did not know how to
deal with it.

�� And then, a
moment later, his perception of the problem changed, and he did not know how to
deal with the vision that resulted. Potter had reacted nervously to Draco�s
presence, but also to Severus�s own.

�� That meant�

�� The flutter
of the eyes, the longing, might be not only for Draco but for him.

�� Severus
knew what he thought on most subjects, having lived longer in mental years than
most people around him had been alive in physical ones. He could give weary and
cynical answers to most questions, or muster hopeful ones if that seemed more
likely to please a customer. But this was not something he had ever considered,
and so he could only stand and stare.

�� Potter
seemed to realize he had betrayed himself. He pulled himself up and glanced
between Draco and Severus as if he were trying to decide how fast they would
throw him out.

�� Look,� he
said, when Draco only stared at him as if he enchanted and Severus held fast in
his own dumb paralysis, �I don�t plan to ever press you on anything.� His voice
was soft, but Severus didn�t know if that was because Potter was trying to
placate them or because he was struggling with his own panic. �I know that you
have your own lives, and I�m the one who insisted on a place in your business.
You don�t have to pay any attention to this.� He brightened suddenly, and stood
up straight, in a way that made him look, disturbingly,
more attractive than he had done so far. �In fact, that�s the best solution,
isn�t it? We all ignore this until it goes away.�

�� I hope it
never goes away,� Draco whispered, and moved closer to Potter. He gave Severus
a look as he moved, and Severus suddenly had to confront another possibility
that he would not have said existed if anyone had questioned him about it. (And
someone would have had to question him about it. Severus would never have
imagined this on his own).

�� You would
think that, wouldn�t you, Malfoy?� Potter glared at Draco, making it clear
that, whatever attraction he felt, it had not softened his intolerance of
insults�or, in this case, what he thought were insults. �You enjoy laughing at
me, and I bet it makes your day that��

�� That
someone I could easily desire desires me?� Draco asked, and his voice had the
kind of smothering softness that made Potter pause and stare at him with his
mouth open. �Hmmm, yes, it does indeed.�

�� He leaned
forwards while Potter was still gaping and put his mouth against Potter�s in
what Severus recognized as a light, testing kiss.

�� Potter
stood there, and blinked so hard that Severus choked his laughter. Then Potter
reached up, gripped Draco�s shoulders, and maneuvered him slowly backwards,
away from him. He didn�t wipe his mouth, but he looked as though he wasn�t far
from it. He stared at Draco, then at Severus.

�� And how do
you feel about it?� he asked. His voice was so tense that there was no room for
any other emotion in it, not even the hope that Severus had wanted to hear.

�� Wanted to hear.

�� And that
was when he admitted to himself that this was happening, and that perhaps the
pleasure he had felt when Potter had spoken of giving his power to Severus and
when Draco had volunteered to set up a Potions shop with him was not entirely
intellectual.

�� I
am�surprised, but willing to continue,� Severus said. He thought about taking
the risk Draco had, about touching his mouth to Potter�s, and then strangled
the impulse. He had taken enough initiative during his younger days, and almost
every decision he had made had been wrong. For once, if someone wanted him, let
them come and court him. Potter would
kiss him first. �I had not anticipated this.�

�� I realized
it the other day,� Potter said and licked lips that had already swollen,
despite the gentleness of the kiss he and Draco had shared. �I didn�t know�I
had no idea that you might ever feel the same.� He placed a hand in the middle
of Draco�s chest, because Draco was straining to move closer to him again, and
looked him in the eye. �Do you really think it could work, with three people?�

�� Of course.� Draco said that as if Potter had asked the
stupidest question in the world. �I�ve been with more people than that at
once.�

�� Potter gave
that little jerk of his head Severus had seen earlier when he first stepped
into the same room. �And you really think it could work?� he asked, voice
slipping and straining. �With us?�

�� Who else
would it work with?� Draco�s voice was soft and eager, and he slipped past
Potter�s weakened guard and leaned against him, chest to chest, eyes shut, for
a moment. Then he turned and reached out for Severus. Severus let himself be
drawn closer, concentrating on the way Draco looked at
him instead of his own uncertainty and panic. �We�ve all shared experiences
that most of the wizarding world could only dream of. We�ve been together for
years in the past, and we watched each other change. We belong with each
other.�

�� Potter
shook his head, but it was not a gesture of negation, at least if the stunned
smile on his lips could be believed. �That sounds
like it makes sense. I�m not sure it really does.�

�� Then we�ll
make it so,� Draco said, and turned and kissed Severus.

�� Shock
captured him again, and Severus knew he did not make as good a showing as he
wished during his first kiss in years. Draco did not seem to care. He pressed
close against Severus as he had pressed against Potter, murmuring and sighing
and moving his fingers slowly up and down Severus�s shoulders as though he
wanted to learn the shape of the muscles and flesh under the robes.

�� Severus
reached up at last and captured Draco�s clever hands, because he could not let
this continue if he was to retain his dignity. �What made you like this?� he
breathed against Draco�s mouth. �I can see why your rivalry with Potter might
have transmuted into desire, and Potter has always been incomprehensible, but
you cannot be blind to the faults of an alliance with me, Draco.�

�� Draco
laughed merrily. It was a sound that Severus had not heard out of his throat
since the war. �You don�t know your own attractions, sir,� he said, stepping
back but giving Severus a look that made it seem as if he, or at least his
hands, had lingered. �Does he?� he added, addressing Potter this time.

�� Potter
shook his head, and the burning in his eyes was almost as good as the kiss that
Severus wanted. �He doesn�t,� he said. �It�s hard to see your own intelligence
and courage and pride and stubbornness and skill from the outside. Well, maybe
not your skill,� he added after a moment of thought. �It seems as though you
put too much of your pride into that, sometimes.�

�� Courage?� Severus asked, the only word he could manage. The
rest were sticking in his throat as though Potter�s admiration were glue to hold
them there. Then he took a few deep breaths and the glue came unstuck. �You
must be confusing me with someone else, someone who came from your House��

�� Hogwarts
should only be important for the passion it can give us, instead of take away,�
Potter said, and moved a step closer. �I was talking about the real bloody
courage it takes to spy on someone like Voldemort, and continue working for
Dumbledore even when you knew he was
being a manipulative arse. And if you shared those memories of my mum with me
because you thought you were dying, well, it still means something. You weren�t
afraid of someone else seeing them. You knew that you wouldn�t appear at your
best, and still you shared.�

�� What
memories?� Draco asked, alert as always for something he did not possess,
looking back and forth between them.

�� Severus did
not intend to gratify his curiosity at the moment. This was his and Potter�s
time, and he was going to conquer or be conquered, but he would not let
Potter�s words remain there, unchallenged, as if they were true. �You should be
careful, Potter,� he said, voice low. �You�ll be forgiving me next.�

�� Potter
shook his head. �I forgave you long ago. Do you think I could have stood up for
you at the Death Eater trials if I didn�t?�

�� Severus
sneered at him. �It does not require forgiveness to be noble, to give the salve
to your conscience that you so often love to apply.�

�� Part of him
was appalled at his behavior, and from the way Draco�s eyes widened, so was he.
Did Severus want to lose this chance?
Draco�s face clearly asked. Potter wanted them for reasons unknown, and Severus
was trying to fuck it up?

�� But Severus
knew what he was doing, at least as well as someone who had just had change
launched into his life and watched that life crack up, down, and sideways could
know. He was not easy to get along with. He was vicious, violent, and vengeful.
True, he had been forced to subdue some of those traits for the past few years,
because no one would have frequented his shop if he did not, but lovers were a
different proposition altogether. They would know him for who he was or not
know him at all.

�� He had made
the mistake once of believing that he could hide what he did and what he
honored from the person he loved. He would not do so again.

�� I know that, you git,� Potter said, his
voice sharpening with frustration. He moved forwards again, his hands
twitching, and Severus wondered if Potter would touch him and what it would be
like if he did. �I forgave you because I wanted to, all right? And because I knew after those memories how much you had gone
through. You fought more to save me than I ever realized, and more to
save the world.�

�� Those words
made Draco choke a little, but they relaxed Severus. Yes, he could see Potter
forgiving him for that reason, and at least it sounded real, unlike the illusions that he had allowed himself to cherish
for too long. He nodded and said, �If that is the case, then I will grant you
the privilege of trying to stay with me.�

�� Potter�s
face lit up, and then he lunged forwards and gave Severus his kiss.

�� It was not
the searching, passionate one Draco had given him. It was rough, enthusiastic
but unskilled, and Severus was forced to wonder suddenly exactly how far Potter
had got with all the women he had once dated. Potter�s arm curled around his
neck and dragged him closer, and even the brush of his skin felt papery and
unexpected. Severus kept his lips closed with an effort. This was, by several
orders of magnitude, more than he had ever thought he would get from Potter,
and such a gift should be rewarded.

�� But there
was no reason to make it too easy for him. Severus stepped back, knowing his
lips looked bruised, and nodded. �Acceptable,� he said. �But what else can you
do besides kiss?�

�� Potter�s
eyelashes trembled, and his gaze darted down to Severus�s groin for just a
moment.

�� I did not
mean that,� Severus snapped, wishing he could roll his eyes without Potter
taking it wrongly. Merlin, would they have to train the boy to have appropriate responses in public? He would
have thought Potter would have mastered the art of that by now, since he had
been the wizarding public�s favorite feast for so long, but it was possible
that he had spent enough time hiding to avoid lessons in etiquette. �I was
asking how good you are at living with another person?�

�� I don�t
know,� Potter said, and his voice sounded like himself again, his eyes fastened
to Severus�s face as if he were seeking the answer to a Potions exam. �I
haven�t done it since Hogwarts. I�m out of practice at dating, even.� He turned
around and looked at Draco, as if he had suddenly realized he and Severus were
leaving him out, and Severus stifled an unworthy jealous thought. He would have
to grow used to sharing with someone if they were truly to pursue this mad
arrangement. �But I�d like to learn,� Potter said. �For your
sake. Both of you.� He craned his neck back at
Severus and blinked, and it took Severus a moment to realize that Potter was
waiting for him to say that was acceptable.

�� I�m hard
to please.� Draco had lifted his nose in the air and struck a pose that Severus
would have found irritating, but he knew why Draco took it. He was trying to
disguise his own uncertainty, his own insecurity. He folded his arms and gave
Potter a slow look, like someone sizing up a winged horse.

�� Potter�s
eyes turned sharp. �And so am I. I just hope we�re not hard to please on the
same things, or we�ll never get along.�

�� How is
that different from our history so far?� Draco muttered, and Severus decided
that he should intervene, or they might destroy this fragile connection between
them before it had even started.

�� We must
decide what we are going to do,� he said. �We can hardly go on ordinary dates
without someone noticing, and the wizarding world would go mad when they found
out who you were dating.� He nodded to Potter.

�� Potter
grimaced in resignation. �I know. I�ve usually resorted to glamours
to disguise myself when I was on dates before, but I wouldn�t want to do that
with you, not forever. Besides, my dating two men will be enough to get the Daily Prophet upset.�

�� I think we
should meet the challenge,� Draco said stubbornly. �Glory in it. You can�t make
them leave you alone, so you might as well flaunt what you have in their faces
and show them that no one else gets to have so much as a taste.� He was looking
back and forth between Severus and Harry with an expression that Severus
recognized, somewhat uneasily. Draco had always been unwilling to share his
skills with others in his House; it was to be expected that he was possessive
of his lovers, but Severus still hoped that it was not excessive.

�� No, I
can�t make them leave me alone,� Potter said. �But my private life is just
that�private.�

�� You�ve
tried to make it that, and see the good it�s done you.� Draco gestured with one
sweep of his arm. Severus would have chided him for trying to encompass too
much, the way he had sometimes done in his Potions essays. There was nothing
there for Draco to point at, too much that could not
possibly shelter within his gesture. �We should be aggressive from the
beginning. Make it clear that they can stare at us in envy or hatred or
disgust, as long as they never do anything more than stare.�

�� Potter�s
eyes narrowed. Severus thought about intervening again, and then decided not
to. Perhaps one time had been necessary, but he could not always play the role
of a parent to an erring child.

�� You might
think that you want the attention I get, Malf�Draco,�
Potter said, his voice old and dusty. He looked down and rubbed at his chin,
which was, Severus noted, beginning to sprout a fuzz of beard. �But you don�t,
once you�re in the middle of it. It�s the attention of sharks, snatching at
you, wanting to eat anything they can. No one really understands or envies you
the way you�re imagining.�

�� Draco paused, perhaps impressed by the metaphor Potter had used,
then shook his head and pressed on. �But I don�t want to hide forever,� he
said. �And it sounds like you want to.�

�� Potter gave
him a harsh glare, but he blinked a moment later. �Not forever,� he agreed.
�But for the first time we eat together, I�d like it to be a private dinner,
here in�� He paused and turned to Severus with an expression on his face that
Severus didn�t understand. He looked as though he had lost something, but surely
not even Potter could lose track of his own thoughts in the middle of the
sentence.

�� What do I
call you?� Potter asked.

�� Severus
spread his fingers and then placed them together in a motion that had served
well to conceal his hesitancy in the past, while he struggled for the words to
speak. He had been thinking of Potter by his surname even after the kiss, and
he was almost sure that Potter would not long put up with that.

�� By my
first name,� he said, before he could spend time dithering. �That is what Draco
calls me, after all. And do you believe we could become comfortable with each
other if we were held at a distance by last names?�

�� No,�
Potter said. �But you and Draco have been�friends for a long time.� He had
visibly tried to find some better word than �friends� for it, and could not. �I
thought you might want me to wait before I used that name.� He ducked his head
and flushed with desperate, nervous embarrassment, in a way that Severus did
not want to admit was charming.

�� And we�ll
be more than friends soon,� Draco said, with a leer that should have been
illegal. �I think you can use his first name.� He paused delicately, and
Severus was not sure what he would say next, but in truth, he should have been
able to predict it. �Harry.�

�� Potter
glanced up, and though he did not make a sound, the sight of his eyes was as
good as hearing a gasp of pleasure.

�� Thanks,�
he said. He grinned then. �I�ve been struggling to call you by your first name
anyway, Draco. I�m glad to think that my effort won�t be wasted.�

�� He turned
to Severus then, and visibly nerved himself as if about to teach a class full
of descendants of Neville Longbottom. �Severus. What would you say to a dinner
here in your private rooms?�

�� Severus
felt a small shock through his body when Potter spoke his name. It took him a
moment to identify it.

�� It was like
hearing the toll of a bell, the long-awaited summons calling him home, at last.

*

�� angelmuziq: Thank you! Harry is a
bit childish here, but he was so taken by surprise that I think that�s
understandable.

�� Eve: Thank
you! I really appreciate the compliment.
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Kinder, Kindler, Kindlier