Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Freedom Bound in Chains	By : TaintedSensibly Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 58477 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Harry Potter characters. I did not make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 53
- 54
- 55
A/N: I hope you feel better, Babyvfan!
Interlude III
Just as Rita had predicted, Witch Weekly sold out within hours of its delivery to stores and a flood of requests for the issue bombarded the office. On the glossy cover was a photo of an elegant sitting room. In the background stood three thin, tall windows with six rectangular panes of the clearest glass, filling the room with light and showing a hint of vibrant summer greenery. The room itself was spacious with cream wallpaper that had a delicate lace pattern done in thin ruby lines. A peaches and cream rug with a pattern woven with thin red thread could be seen placed over a pale-gold wooden floor. To one side of the photograph, one could make out a peach colored armchair with delicately curving legs and an ornate side table with a crystal vase of purple-blue hyacinths. While on the other side, there was the corner of a wooden mantle with subtly and beautifully etched vines.
All of this beauty faded into the background, as the eye was captivated by the photo’s centerpiece. Sitting on a plush, dimpled ivory couch with slender legs and four rounded tops sat two slender boys dressed in fine jackets and shorts. One in in royal blue, the other in dark blue-black and grey, they were holding hands. The brunet with dark, messy hair and black glasses had a faint blush and would glance at the blond occasionally in-between smiling sweetly at the camera. The blond, in contrast, looked cool and composed, his smile more of a smirk. His nearly shoulder-length hair framed his face on one side and sat tucked behind his ear on the other. His spectacular grey eyes never left the camera.
Next to them, leaning against the far left arm of the couch, sat a woman dressed in a floor-length white silk dress that had a lace ruffle draped over her chest. Lace sleeves accentuated her pale porcelain skin and fell just short of her elbows. She held her head at a slight angle, her chin and long throat creating an elegant line. With golden hair piled in neat coils and pinned in place with pearl hair combs, she looked like royalty with cool blue eyes and a Mona Lisa smile. She turned her head only once, to grace the children beside her with a warm look before facing center once more.
Next to her was her perfect match. The man stood tall and fit in a perfectly tailored day jacket that was short in the front and long in the back. His pale hair was pulled back away from his face and shoulders, tied at the nape of his neck. He had a stern expression and a direct stare that mirrored the blond child's. In his hands, a gleaming silver-headed cane rested comfortably.
The magazine title was emblazoned in golden ink along the top in elegant cursive while articles and stories were advertised along the sides, but the one that drew the most attention was the promise of a five page spread on the Malfoy family. Immediately witches and wizards flipped to the centerfold and avidly read the title of the article written in big cursive letters: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter: Wizarding Royalty.
There was a smaller photo on the left side of the page of the two boys standing with gorgeous white horses on a grassy lawn, dark trees off in the distance behind them with a blue summer sky above. The boys weren’t looking into the camera, instead they were focused on the beautiful animals. They stood sideways facing each other with the horses in-between. A big black bow could be see on the back of the brunet’s jacket, his green eyes bright and happy as the stallion nuzzled his cheek. The blond had a calmer air, stroking the horse’s nose, his smile showing bright teeth.
Other photographs were scattered throughout the five page article: photographs of Lucius and Narcissa standing in a garden, of the public rooms in the manor, and of the grounds. The article began, the words typed neatly next to and around each photograph:
This past weekend, I was blessed to be invited into the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy. For the first time in over a century, a journalist was invited within the august and ancient halls.
“I am hopeful that this interview will put such ugliness behind us… Not only did (Barnabas Cuffe, former Daily Prophet journalist) insult my honor, he willfully disregarded the fact that I was cleared of any criminal charges by the Ministry and have done nothing but support the community…” Lord Malfoy explained with quiet pride in his eyes.
After careful investigation, this columnist did confirm that many charities, Ministry projects, and our lovely Hogwarts school has benefited from Lord Malfoy’s generosity. On top of which, he suffered during the war as we all did, losing his one and only son. Cuffe’s baseless accusations were offensive and the violation of Mr. Potter’s privacy was illegal.
Lady Malfoy had this to say regarding the matter: “Draco and Harry’s wellbeing are my top priority. I am very offended that anyone would think differently. I am a Malfoy, but I am also a mother.”
Lord Malfoy went on to admit: “I’ve received multiple death threats and other nasty messages since that unfortunate article. We wish to clear our good name and tell the world that Harry is safe and prospers under our care.”
It is my humble privilege to be able to bring the unvarnished truth to my readers.
Upon my arrival, I was in awe of the manor and grounds. Secure and powerful wards prevented me from approaching closer than a half-mile until Lord Malfoy accepted me. The walk was long but picturesque. Green hills, a lake, and a good-sized wood make up the property. The austere manor seemed to rise from the very ground on my approach, and once past the tall forbidden gates and a second set of wards, I stood amid soft lawns and beautiful gardens.
Lord Malfoy greeted me in a marbled foyer and led me personally to a sitting room (featured on the cover) off to the right. Beautiful art and statuary decorated the halls. Lady Malfoy politely offered tea and biscuits and introduced the boys. They were very composed children and politely shook my hand. When I asked young Mr. Potter what he thought about the situation, he had this to say:
“(The Malfoys) are good to take me in.”
Indeed, Mr. Potter looked healthy and well-kept. His attire was very trendy, complete with jacket, shorts, knee-high silk socks and white dress shoes with a two-inch heel.
Lady Malfoy informed me: “It’s a Trancy original. We took a weekend in Paris not long ago and picked up a few things. As is Draco’s attire.”
Young Mr. Malfoy did indeed look splendid. Out of curiosity, I contacted the legendary French designer and asked him to give an average cost for one of his outfits. “Head to toe, around one hundred and twenty-nine galleons,” Mr. Trancy reported. According to the Ministry, it would take the average witch or wizard two weeks time to earn a single Trancy outfit.
In addition to fine clothes and cultural experiences abroad, Lady Malfoy informed me the boys’ daily schedule was very structured.
“They have lessons in writing and maths in the morning, then lunch, and either dancing or riding in the afternoons, followed by some leisure time before dinner.”
I had learned of nothing that seemed threatening to our Mr. Potter. When asked about his safety, Mr. Potter assured me very earnestly:
“Draco takes care of me.”
Young Mr. Malfoy added to this with a smile: “And Harry takes care of me. Honestly, everything else comes second.”
Their bond was very real and very apparent during the visit. Young Mr. Malfoy put it best when asked about the rare magical twin bond between them.
“It was like we were drawn together. People tell us that (the bond) should’ve taken time, but it began the moment we met. I don’t know where I’d be without Harry.”
According to both an Asclepius in America and a Greengrass Master-Healer, the twin-bond was formed at the end of ’85 and is nearly two years old. It is this bond that renders the boys inseparable and makes the co-guardianship between the Malfoys and Mr. Potter’s guardian necessary. The boys alternate between the two families every other month.
Lady Malfoy explained: “It’s a Black solution regarding a joint-custody. It gives the child an equally strong foothold in the traditions of both parents.”
It was surprising to hear that equality mattered when they are sharing their son with Mr. Potter’s guardian who is married to a Muggleborn and lives in the Muggle world. The Malfoys conservative stance on the separation between the magical and Muggle community is well known.
Lord Malfoy informed me: “(Access to the Muggle world) is not something we could give him. I am not convinced of the benefit of having such knowledge, but it is part of Harry’s heritage and I respect my son’s bond.”
Young Mr. Malfoy added: “We learn a lot with Andromeda and still have access to Muggle London. We grew up there, so it’s familiar.”
It is apparent that the Malfoys care enough about Mr. Potter to arrange it so that he has a connection to his mother’s culture in spite of their political views regarding the matter. Additionally, their son, who unfortunately grew up away from his family, still has a connection to that world. While they do not approve, Lord and Lady Malfoy acknowledge their son’s past.
“You were very vague during the press conference regarding Mr. Malfoy’s disappearance,” I gently pointed out to the protective family. “Are you willing to tell the story now?”
I was surprised when it was Mr. Malfoy himself who told his story. He spoke in a very direct manner, showing maturity beyond his seven years.
“I was taken straight from here August 15th, 1981, to New York to keep me hidden from my parents, I guess. I lived in an orphanage for a few years. I was taken care of there, but there was a fire and it burned down. It was chaos after the fire and someone took me right off the street. I was held by the kidnappers for a year before Harry and I met. Harry was going to be adopted by a family on the Muggle black-market, but that fell through so he was brought where I was. I couldn’t escape before, but now that we had each other, we managed to run away. We lived on our own for almost a year before a wizard on vacation recognized Harry.”
It was this vacationing wizard who earned the Malfoy reward for young Mr. Malfoy’s return, and who, according to Lord Malfoy, still wishes to remain anonymous. When asked what Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter ran away from, young Mr. Malfoy said this.
“(I was) mostly an errand boy. I was given jobs to do and stuff. I can’t really go into detail about it, but basically I was free labor.”
It was clearly a difficult life that no child should have to experience: stolen from his brith family, taken off the street and forced to work - Mr. Potter’s story must be equally tragic. The Malfoys refrained from comment, explaining that Mr. Potter’s situation was still under investigation.
The Malfoys should be celebrated not attacked for embracing their son’s magical twin. It was due to the boys’ fateful meeting and the formation of their twin-bond that allowed them to escape their dark circumstances and eventually return to us. Understanding this, Lord and Lady Malfoy treat both boys equally by providing them with a high-class education, wealth beyond any child’s dreams, and the best possible medical care.
Young Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter are being raised as princes, and it is my humble opinion that no children deserve it more after such tragic beginnings. Anyone who would try to deny Mr. Potter such a life or who would question the boys’ rare and powerful bond should be ashamed of their willful ignorance.
Written by: Rita Skeeter
…
Dumbledore sat back in his padded chair behind his messy desk and began to chuckle. Slowly his laughter built until it filled the room and bounced off the walls. Witch Weekly fell from his limp fingers and slid off his lap to plop on the floor. Startled, Fawkes ruffled his feathers and trilled, head tilted nearly upside down questioningly.
Several minutes passed before Dumbledore managed to rein his laughter in. He bent, still chuckling lightly, and picked up the magazine. He looked again at the glossy and gorgeous pictures and shook his head in bemusement. Rita had outdone herself this time. Witches and wizards the country over would fantasize about the little princes, high society would scramble to try and match the images therein, and Trancy would never be more busy in his life.
More importantly, anyone who knew of Lucius’s dark connections could not now question his guardianship of Harry. Should they try to do so they’d be smeared and marked as prejudiced and evil themselves. Lucius had just raised himself and his family to royal status just as the article proclaimed, and if Dumbledore knew Lucius at all, the man would use the public’s blind good will to cover a whole host of sins. It was honestly a masterpiece.
“Well played, Lucius. Well played,” he murmured as he set the magazine aside.
He only hoped that in these next four years Harry would be protected from Lucius’s true darkness and enjoy the benefits of living the life the article portrayed. In the meantime, Dumbledore would be watchful. Harry was too important to be compromised.
…
Lucius set the magazine aside, eyes practically glowing with triumph. Narcissa gazed back at him with heat in her eyes. She watched him stand and stride toward her. She was jerked to her feet with a sharp, controlled movement. Their mouths crashed together, tongues battling. Lucius bent and swept her into his arms, never breaking the kiss.
Narcissa’s heart pounded fiercely. She hardly noticed the transition to the bedroom. All she knew was one minute she was in his arms, kissing the life out of him, the next she was being dropped on the bed, her hair tumbling free and falling around her. She watched hungrily, mouth swollen, panting, as he began to strip - first his jacket, then his undershirt, finally his pants. A spell banished her dress to the floor.
Her body arched up against his, opening to him as he thrust inside, and she gave a wanton cry that he answered with a growl.
…
Andromeda stood beside her husband who sat at the table reading. Impatiently, she waited for him to finish. It seemed to take ages. When he still didn’t say anything after finally closing the magazine, she demanded, “Well?”
“I think it doesn’t have anything to do with us,” Ted answered calmly. He took her hand and tugged her gently into his lap. Holding her, he said reasonably, “Lucius has a bad reputation. It makes sense he’d make a move to counter it. He always did care about social and political power.”
“We’ve already thirteen requests to give an interview,” she huffed. “They should have discussed giving an interview with me first. Or warned me at least!”
“True.” Ted nuzzled her neck. “I don’t think doing one is a good idea. The boys are going to be even more sought after. They’ll need a place where they can get away. Fame is so artificial and temporary. We can provide them with something freer, truer, if we stay away from all that.”
Andromeda said nothing, tears suddenly stinging her eyes.
“Dromeda,” he said gently, turning her so he could see her face. “You can do this. You’ve done it before.”
She shook her head helplessly. “It’s not like blood purity, Teddy. I always did think there was something off about that. Two boys together just isn’t natural. How can they even stand it after…” She couldn’t say it. What grown men had done to those boys was unspeakable.
Humming, he pulled her long, soft brown hair into a low ponytail. “They can stand it because it’s not the same. If it were remotely similar to what happened to them, they’d never even conceive of it.” Ted kissed her check. “What they have between them is love, Dromeda. As simple and complex as that, and love is so far removed from what happened to them. They saved each other. Sanity, hope, a future… They only have those things because of each other. They’d trust their bodies to no one else.”
Smiling tearfully, she dropped her arms around his neck. “It sounds beautiful when you say it, and it seems innocent now when they are young, but they will grow to be men. Together.” She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
He sighed and pulled her against his chest in a sheltering embrace. “Give it time, Dromeda. You’ll see what I see.”
It was a long standing promise between them. She remembered sitting across the library table from him at Hogwarts. They’d have heated debates about the merits of blood purity, sexism, Wizarding tradition, Muggle culture, religion - things most people shied away from talking about. Whenever they’d come to a standstill, he’d give her an irrepressible grin and say, “Just give it time. You’ll see what I see.” And she always did, in time.
His vision was so enlightened, artistic and beautiful. It shone with higher truth, and she always saw it in the end. She only hoped his vision would ring true once more because she loved those boys. She loved them both more than she had ever expected to. She hadn’t realized there was space in her home, in her family, until those two had slotted in, completing them, and she knew if she didn’t come to terms with the truth of their relationship, she’d lose them forever.
…
Tonks shook her head as her classmates crowded around her, demanding to know if she’d ever been to Malfoy Manor, and was it just like it was in the photos, and was Draco as regal as he seemed in the pictures, and was Harry as cute, and could she give them their letters, invitations, gifts…
She just smiled mysteriously the way her mother had taught her. In time, she knew they’d grow bored or angry at her lack of response and leave her alone. In time, they’d learn that she wouldn’t humor questions or requests regarding her brothers. So, for now, she smiled mysteriously, saying nothing at all.
…
Remus smiled as he read the article. It seemed like such a nice fantasy - rags to riches, slaves to princes. His smile didn’t last long, however. He still remembered the cold atmosphere when he’d met Lucius and accepted his reward; he remembered the tension between Draco and his father. Remus couldn’t help worrying. Draco had assured him that things were getting better at the manor and this article certainly painted a pretty picture. Still, he couldn’t wait for September to end. Draco and Harry would return to Andromeda for October and Remus would be able to watch over them.
…
Pandora came home, still in the Unspeakable mindset. A high-pitched screech cracked her mental barrier. She dropped her bag by the door and stepped out of the small entranceway, turning into the living room. Her beloved Xeno had a cape tied around his forehead and was chasing their daughter who shrieked and swung clumsily at him with a broom handle.
Spotting her, Xeno gave an unabashed smile and came around the couch, pulling her into his arms. “Pan! Welcome home.”
“No! Run, Mummy! The snorkblast will get you!”
Pulling the cape from her husband’s head, Pandora smiled. “And what is the adventure this time, my darlings?”
“I was protecting Prince Draco and Prince Harry from snorkblasts!” Luna cried proudly and leapt from the couch.
Xeno released Pandora and gave a quick lunge, catching his daughter before she hurt herself. He laughed, spinning her around.
“Papa told me that in some stories it’s the princess who rescues the prince, so I wanted to practice!” Luna continued to explain, laughing.
“Papa is absolutely right,” Pandora said, coming forward and placing a calming hand on her husband’s shoulder and her daughter’s head. “But a living room is not meant for adventuring. Yes? A place for everything…”
“And everything in its place,” Luna and Xenophilus finished obediently.
“Good. Now give me kisses and get cleaned up for bed,” she instructed her daughter.
Luna smacked her mum on the cheek and ran from the room, her long white braid coming half undone and her dress a wrinkled, paint splattered mess.
Pandora sighed. “She’s a wild thing, Xeno. You need to try harder.”
“I know, Pan,” he admitted, voice gentle. He tugged her against him once more and swayed from side to side, dancing to music only he could hear. “It’s just she’s going to be grown so soon. I want to play while I still can.”
“A place for everything…” she said again, ruefully. “I’m sorry, Xeno. You’re right.” She let him hold her a moment longer before pulling away. “I’m going to go put her to bed.”
“Have fun,” he advised seriously.
She smiled, kissing his cheek, and turned to go up the stairs.
“Tell her a story about the princes. She’ll love it,” he added.
Laughing, she climbed the stairs. Xeno was correct. Luna sat perfectly still and let her brush out her hair and re-braid it for bed without once trying to get away as she spun a story where Prince Draco rescued Prince Harry from a dark curse.
“First, Prince Draco had to ford a sparkling, golden river and then call down all the power of the deep woods. Every animal that hunts, every tree that had captured lightning in its core, every poisonous leaf - all of it attacked the dark curse until it broke and faded like smoke. Prince Harry was saved. Ever after, the two princes sailed peacefully on the golden river and walked in the deep woods together, holding hands.”
“Is it okay there’s no princess in the story, Mum?” Luna asked, climbing under covers and blinking her grey-blue eyes up at her mother.
Pandora gently placed a kiss on her forehead. “In some stories, yes. And in some stories, the princess rescues the prince. In others, a princess will rescues another princess.”
Luna smiled a sweet smile. “I like how many stories there are.”
“Me, too, darling. Now sleep and dream a new story that no one has ever heard before,” Pandora said softly, watching as Luna’s eyes grew heavy and fell closed. “They all begin the same, but after that anything can happen.”
“… once upon a time…” her daughter murmured, already half-asleep.
Smiling tenderly, Pandora rose and walked softly from the room, leaving her daughter’s door cracked to let in a bar of light.
…
Severus stared at the bright pictures captured in Witch Weekly. It was almost impossible to wrap his mind around the stark contrast of the boys’ dark inner worlds and the images of light and elegance portrayed in the magazine.
It was no wonder the boys’ sanity was so fragile. Only a child’s flexible and resilient mind would be able to exist amid such contrasts without going insane. His eyes were inevitably drawn to the green-eyed child in the picture with the horses. The smile on that face seemed like a miracle. He traced it with his fingertip, still aching from the dark past inside the boy’s mind.
His eyes shifted to the blond. Seven-years-old and solely responsible for the sanity and happiness of another soul. Severus couldn’t really imagine it. Such a burden would lead full grown adults into resentfully lashing out. Much as Severus had when he’d been a teenager. Somehow the burden didn’t seem to weigh Draco down at all. In fact, Harry’s happiness was mirrored in Draco’s eyes.
Severus had to admit, Draco was a remarkable kid. He still had a lot to learn and would need help shouldering the responsibility he’d taken up, but that was where Severus was determined to succeed. He wouldn’t fail this time.
“I won’t let them die, Lily. I’ll protect and guide them as long as I’m able,” he vowed.
Closing the magazine, he went to his bookcase and slid it safely in between two of his favorite potion journals.
Chapter end.
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Freedom Bound in Chains