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Learning Life Over	By : Meander Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 69712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 50- Mouse, Cat, and Lion

�� Draco
turned and looked down at Harry, who was lying in a corner of the bed in his
room, mouth slightly open as he snored. Harry�s hair looked as disheveled as if
mice had been playing in it, and tangled across the pillow. His lips still bore
a trace of the ferocious kissing they�d endured the night before.

�� Draco
ignored the temptation to climb back in beside him, wake him, and show him,
once again, exactly how much he mattered. They�d done that quite a bit last
night, and Harry needed his rest.

�� He turned
back to the window that gave an enchanted view of the gardens, and sipped at
the cup of ice water Trippy had brought him with a faint smile on his face.

�� Besides, it
had been several days since he�d cast the nightmare curse on the Dursleys. It
would have started to fade. Draco needed to return to Privet Drive and show
them exactly how many of those nightmares would be coming true, and how
many would lead to something even worse.

*

�� Harry
opened his eyes slowly. A flood of sunlight lay on his face, and he thought
that was the only thing that had awakened him. His muscles stayed relaxed
puddles of warm mush, and he could have stayed there for hours more.

�� Except for
one thing: Draco wasn�t in the bed.

�� Harry
raised himself on one elbow and stared curiously around the room. Almost at
once, air rushed together in the middle, and Trippy stood before him, with a
low bow. She held a tray of food in one large hand and a letter in the other.

�� Master
Draco�s compliments, Master Harry, but he had to run an errand,� she squeaked
now. �He left this breakfast for you. And Mistress Narcissa is outside the
gates.� She extended the letter. �She sent this letter for you.�

�� Harry tried
to pick up the envelope, but Trippy retracted her hand and proffered the
breakfast instead. �Master Harry is to be eating up, first,� she said sternly.

�� Harry
looked over the tray. He noticed the usual pancakes, eggs, and strawberries
that he and Draco tended to eat in the mornings, but among them were several
cakes of grain, apples from the orchard, and pieces of bacon. He shook his head
in amusement. Apparently Draco thought he needed to keep his strength up.

�� And he�s
right, isn�t he?

�� Thoughtfully,
Harry picked up an apple and bit into it, running the fruit around in his mouth
before he swallowed. Last night, they�d had sex several times, but Harry had
done more exhausting things as an Auror. It wasn�t the physical exertion that
he needed to save his strength for.

�� The
emotional, though-

�� Last night
was the first time Harry would have said that he and Draco made love instead of
fucked.

�� He knew the
cause of that on his part. But the overwhelming tenderness in Draco�s eyes,
which never left even when his face twisted in pleasure, made Harry wonder if
there was something about Draco he didn�t know.

�� He started
eating. He was determined not to rush through the breakfast. Yes, he didn�t
want to keep Narcissa waiting, but it would do no good for her to demand an
audience and think she could get one any time she wanted, either.

*

�� Draco
concealed his arrival at the home, but not his entrance. When he examined the
Muggles� front door, he found several thick locks. He snorted and whispered Alohomora
a few times. They all opened with faint clicks.

�� The door
swung inwards, and Draco heard a brief, frantic scramble, which reminded him of
cornered rats. His mouth lifted in an expression somewhere between a sneer and
a snarl. You might think you can escape, but I�m blocking the only exit.

�� A roar and
a bang sounded, and Draco felt the discharge from some Muggle weapon pass him
closely enough to make his robes riffle. He clucked his tongue, and looked up
to see Harry�s uncle aiming the weapon at him again. A gun, Draco knew, from
tales his mother told.

�� He briskly
swept his wand in a circle, thinking the incantation for the Disintegrating
Curse, and the gun tore itself apart into sparks of steel, then fragments of
air, then nothing. Vernon backed away from him, sweating and breathing heavily.
Next to him stood Petunia, carrying, absurdly enough, a skillet. Dudley was
trying to hide behind his parents.

�� Is that
the best you can do?� Draco asked.

�� You have
no right.� Vernon spoke more calmly than he had the other day, as if he
thought intensity, and not volume, would make Draco leave him alone. �We
haven�t done anything to you and the other freaks. So what if Potter lived here
once? We don�t know where he is. We haven�t seen him for more than ten years- �

�� Didn�t you
listen?� Draco whispered, stepping inside and kicking the door shut behind him.
�Stupid Muggles. I can only be thankful that Harry didn�t inherit your
stupidity in any form. I know exactly where Harry is. I�ve come to take revenge
for his abuse, not torture you for information on his whereabouts.�

�� We didn�t abuse
him,� said Petunia, and fought her way forward again, though she lowered
the skillet when Draco stared at her. �If he told you that we beat him or did- things-
to him, he�s lying.�

�� It was
emotional abuse,� Draco said softly, �and verbal abuse, and neglect. I think
that�s quite enough. It made him close himself off for decades, and it�s still
affecting him. And, as a matter of fact, no, he didn�t talk willingly about it.
He did his very best to make it sound as if it were nothing at all. But he�s mine
now- � he was not about to tell Harry�s Muggle family that he was in love with
Harry before he got to tell Harry himself �- and I can see how deep the scars
went. That�s what you�ll be paying for, not anything you�ve done since.�

�� It�s wasn�t
abuse,� Petunia repeated. �So we didn�t treat him exactly like our son. Well,
he wasn�t.�

�� Draco had
had enough. He Body-Bound them so they couldn�t interfere or run, and then
turned to Harry�s uncle. He was the one screaming about freaks, and probably the
one who would have intimidated Harry most, accounting for sheer size. And now
he had almost hurt Draco. The torture would start with him.

�� Draco cast
a mild pain curse- at least, the Ministry accounted it mild. It would make
Vernon feel as if someone were slowly, slowly pulling the toenails out of his
feet. Draco watched with academic interest as his face turned green.

�� Then it was
Petunia�s turn, and, since she denied she�d abused Harry, Draco thought she
should feel exactly what starvation was like. Her face turned pale, too, as the
curse struck her, and she gave a low whining sound.

�� Dudley had
beat Harry up, Draco knew, and chased him, and tried to keep him from having
friends. Draco used a spell of his own devising, one which alternated the fear
of pursuit with invisible fists that struck bruises. Dudley stood there,
shivering, longing to get away and not able to, whimpering when a fist caught
him in the corner of his mouth and his cheek, and then wailing when they went
to work on his back.

�� Draco
twirled his wand between his fingers and watched, with a smile.

*

�� Harry
checked Narcissa�s letter several times for spells, even though Trippy was
ready to iron her ears at the mere thought of letting a dangerous envelope pass
into a master�s hands. Finally, satisfied that she had meant to send a simple
letter and not hurt him, he slit open the seal.

�� The letter
was simple and to the point, though Harry frowned over it.

�� Dear Mr.
Potter:

�� I assume
that you wish to stay with and love my son for the rest of your life. The light
I saw in your eyes at the dinner party the other night certainly seemed to
suggest so. And I know that Draco has often spoken of his desire to spend his
life with you.

�� What you
may not know is that Draco, himself, can endanger those chances. He has played
you false about something very important, and he is edging nearer and nearer to
an investigation by the Ministry, or, perhaps, an Azkaban sentence. I do not
wish to see that happen, but, should I interfere, my son would simply accuse me
of trying to mold him to my own wishes again.

�� I have
set my own house-elf, Breezy, to watch him. If you would summon Breezy, simply
speak her name aloud. She can tell you the details of what Draco has been
doing. She wears a charm that insures she speaks the truth.

�� Yours in
our mutual love for my son,

�� Narcissa
Malfoy.

�� Slowly,
Harry lowered the letter and shook his head. He couldn�t imagine what Draco was
doing that could merit an Azkaban sentence, and decided that Narcissa had
probably been exaggerating, again, in an attempt to worm her way back into
Draco�s life.

�� On the
other hand, could summoning Breezy cause trouble? Even if the house-elf tried
to hurt him, he had Trippy with him to help.

�� He raised
his voice and called, �Breezy!�

�� At once a
house-elf smaller than Trippy appeared with a crack. She was wringing
her hands, and she looked at him and squeaked desperately, �Master Potter is to
come quickly! Master Malfoy is torturing the Muggles!�

�� Harry was
on his feet before he quite knew what he was doing, and his wand was in his
hand. He cast a spell that would detect magic, and the amulet hanging around
Breezy�s neck brightened and began to glow white. The spell told him that it
indeed made sure she was speaking the truth.

�� What Muggles?�
he whispered, even as his stomach began to churn and he thought he knew. �Who
are they, Breezy?�

�� The
Muggles who live in Surrey, Master Harry Potter, sir!� Breezy mourned. �Master
Harry Potter�s family.�

�� Harry
Apparated without a thought.

*

�� Draco had
moved on to the second round of spells by now. Vernon was experiencing exactly
what it meant to be pressed to death, enormous weights crushing his lungs and
chest. Petunia struggled against the pain of her bones being broken one by one.
Dudley had fainted from the application of slight pain, so Draco had cursed him
to bad dreams instead of peaceful unconsciousness. All their faces were flushed
red, marked with tears and snot.

�� Have you
learned?� he asked, and then paused. Petunia stared at him hopefully for a
moment, then moaned as Draco shook his head. �I don�t think so, not yet,� he
murmured.

�� Magic
rushed past him. The Muggle house rose from its foundations, quaking, then
settled back with a boom that made the pictures on the walls vibrate and the
cutlery in the kitchen fall with a crash. Draco whirled, wondering if the
Aurors could really have sensed the magic being used in front of Muggles and
come to confront him.

�� DRACO!�

�� No. Worse. Harry
had found out what he was doing, and come to confront him.

�� And here he
came, through the front door as if it wasn�t even there, his hair billowing
around him, his eyes bright and fierce and burnished green. His wand was
clutched in his hand, but he didn�t exactly need it, Draco knew. His magic was
roaring all around him. It could kill Draco if Harry wanted it to.

�� Draco took
a step backwards in spite of himself.

�� Then he
realized Harry wasn�t looking at him, but at the Muggles, taking in their
bruises and their wounds and their stricken expressions. His own face went so
pale that Draco could see the vivid line of the scar on his forehead in
contrast. He closed his eyes and whispered a few spells, making passes with his
wand so rapid that his wrist looked like a blur.

�� Draco felt
his curses and the Body-Binds dissipate. More of Harry�s magic caught the
Dursleys before they could slump to the ground, and leaned them against the
wall. A moment later, Harry was healing those of their wounds he could heal,
still ignoring Draco completely.

�� Draco took
a step back and eyed him warily. He wasn�t sure what would happen, or, for that
matter, how Harry had found out.

�� Then he
recalled those cracks he�d heard the time he Apparated to the Dursleys� house
and back, and closed his eyes in self-loathing. Of course. It had probably been
Breezy. The detection spells he used would have picked up any trace of
wizarding Apparition, but house-elf magic was fundamentally different. He had
never even thought that Narcissa would do without Breezy for any length of
time, much less the length it would take to find out who the Dursleys were and
spy on him, but it seemed she would.

�� Harry put
his relatives to sleep, and then turned and looked at Draco. Draco could see
him trying as hard as he could to shove anger and disappointment and hurt
behind emotional shields, but Draco had shredded those enough that Harry
couldn�t do it any more.

�� You did
this,� Harry whispered.

�� Hurt had
become most prominent, it seemed. Draco moved a step forward. Harry backed away
from him, a wary eye on his hands, as if he thought that Draco would cast pain
curses on him next. Draco felt as if his liver had tugged itself away from the
rest of his body and fallen into small chunks inside his chest. He had trouble
breathing.

�� It was for
you,� he whispered. �Harry, you were abused. And you would never have taken
vengeance. You told me that. But they had to pay- �

�� So you
thought you could make up for their hurting someone defenseless by hurting
people who were defenseless compared to you?� Harry�s voice was horrified and
raw. The air around Draco danced like a heat shimmer, as Harry�s magic reacted
to his trembling emotions.

�� It was
revenge. Payment.� Draco wondered why he didn�t sound more convincing. He�d
been very convinced of his own righteousness five minutes ago. �They abused
you, Harry.�

�� It wasn�t
that bad!�

�� A surge of
anger returned to bear Draco up. He moved closer to Harry again, who seemed too
preoccupied with staring at him this time to notice. �It was,� he said. �I
don�t care if they didn�t leave physical scars, Harry. They left emotional
ones. You know how deep they run, because you�re the one who�s lived
your life.�

�� I made it
through,� Harry said, lowering his head. His eyes had gone so dark it hurt
Draco to look into them. �So that means it wasn�t that bad, nothing compared to
what other people suffer. At least I didn�t die. And I left them on my
seventeenth birthday and I was done with them forever, Draco. How could you- what
right did you have to dig up my past like this? None.�

�� You did
suffer,� Draco argued. �And no one else was going to do it, just like no one
else was going to help you when you were an Auror, Harry. This is what they
deserve, the pain and fear they inflicted on you.�

�� Harry put a
hand over his eyes. �Draco,� he said, �no. You can�t make up for pain by
causing pain. You can�t torture someone because they tortured someone else. It-
it doesn�t work that way. All it does is taint you with their crime, too.�

�� Didn�t you
kill the Dark Lord out of vengeance?�

�� Harry gave
a massive, whole-body flinch, and Draco realized he must have touched a buried
nerve, Harry�s fear that he would become like Voldemort.

�� Then Harry
dropped his hand from his eyes, fixed his gaze on Draco, and said, in quiet
tones, �Arguably, yes. But I never did anything like that again. I worked with
the worst criminals and still managed to get them whole through trial and to
prison, even when I had to protect them from my own partners. I never lost
myself again, Draco, because I promised myself I wouldn�t.�

�� I never
made a promise like that,� said Draco, feeling angry and embarrassed and
half-defensive, a mixture of emotions he hadn�t experienced since trying to
explain to Severus why he could too help the Death Eaters in battle.

�� But you still
tortured them,� Harry whispered. �And lied to me while you were at it, but
that�s the smaller part, compared to the fact that they suffered.�

�� And so
did you!� Draco scrambled for some kind of relief like a climber about to
fall off a cliff.

�� But that�s
over and done with.� Harry stared at the Dursleys for a moment. �They�ll have
new and traumatic memories. Unless- � He paused, and then abruptly cast Rennervate
on all the Dursleys. Vernon and Petunia awoke, but lay still, too petrified to
move. Dudley started blubbering again on seeing Harry.

�� Draco felt
Harry�s magic gather. He pointed his wand at a spot between all three Muggles,
and whispered, �Obliviate.�

�� Their faces
smoothed into passive expressions. Draco thought Harry would grab his arm and storm
from the house, but instead he jerked his head, and Draco followed him out the
front door.

�� He isn�t
touching me. He doesn�t want to touch me. Draco had that confirmed when he
tried to take Harry�s shoulder, and Harry ducked away from his hand without
even looking at him.

�� I
shouldn�t have done that, not if I wanted to remain true to my principles,�
Harry said, his eyes on the ground. �But there you are. I can�t stand to see
someone I�m in love with taken to Azkaban.�

�� Draco tried
to swallow, but both spit and breath were gone from this throat. �You�re in
love with me?� he asked, while his mind said, Hell of a way to find out.

�� Yes.� And
Harry gave a laugh that frightened Draco. �No idea what I want to do in the
future, now that I�m not going back to be an Auror, but I told myself that was
all right, that I could wait and you�d support me while I searched for another
path. And now I find out that I�m in love with you, but I can�t trust you, and
you have to inflict pain for past hurts that are done with and paved over, and
I can�t retreat behind my walls again, and- � He took a breath that sounded as
if it were brushing through broken glass in his throat. �Everything�s a mess,�
he whispered. �I should have suspected it would be. Nothing in my life goes
right. My luck�s not that good.�

�� Draco
reached for him again. The moment his arm brushed Harry�s robe, though, Harry
leaned away. �Don�t you touch me,� he hissed.

�� I�m in
love with you, too,� Draco told him. �Harry- I meant what I said about not letting
you go- �

�� Stop me
leaving, then,� Harry snapped at him, and Apparated.

�� And Draco
had not the least idea where he�d gone.

**********

�� SLQ: Yes,
as you can see, quite a large fall.

�� What
happened to Seamus is a mystery for another time.

�� Gloria: I�m
glad that you liked the realizations. I deliberately didn�t want Harry and
Draco to fall in love during sex, since I�m wary of making love and sex look
like the same thing.

�� Dean and
Neville will be returning, yes.
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Learning Life Over