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Harry's Project	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 11260 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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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Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Six�Harry Is Protective, Draco Is Evaluative

�� WIZENGAMOT
DECIDES AGAINST MALFOYS

�� The
headline screamed at Harry from the top of the front page of the Daily
Prophet. At least, it did in the moment before Harry dropped the paper to
the floor and began to stamp on it methodically. As he did, he began to scream
the foulest words he knew at the walls.

�� Hermione
would have been horrified at the display of temper. But as Harry had explained
patiently to her more than once, doing extremely childish things in private
kept him polite and smiling in public. He knew he could always go back behind
closed doors and do more childish things.

�� This time,
he doubted private action would be enough. The Wizengamot had arranged to close
the Malfoy case again long before they could have given careful
consideration to all the evidence. They usually judged for at least three
weeks to a month, and it had only been six days.

�� No, Harry
was just going to have to do something public.

*

�� Uh, mate?�

�� Yeah,
Ron?� Harry didn�t look up as he worked furiously on the report in front of
him. He and Ron had been assigned a minor case that they�d closed the same day:
finding out whether a group of wizarding children had really been
pranking Muggles to believe they saw ghosts, or whether it was a case of mass
delusion. Mass delusion had been fairly easy to prove, and now it only remained
to file the paperwork that would convince others it had been easy.

��

�� The
expression on your face is scaring me.�

�� Harry
blinked at his desk for a moment, then blinked at Ron. His partner sat
nervously on the edge of his chair, one hand braced on the desk as if he would
shove himself up and away at the first sign of Harry�s temper.

�� Oh,� Harry
said. I suppose he thinks I�ll still pick fights with him. �I�m not
angry with you.�

�� Ron relaxed
with a loud sigh. Harry was aware of his eyes this time as he wrote swiftly,
only pausing to dip his quill in the ink when it absolutely needed it,
but he ignored that. If Ron could ask an actual question, Harry intended to
answer. Anything else would waste precious time.

�� Well?� Ron
said at last.

�� They
closed the Malfoy case.� The report was finished. Harry tucked it into the
appropriate folder and stood with a sharp snap of his spine. �Long before they
could have finished deciding anything. The last proceedings are today. There�s
a period of about one hour when they�re bound to listen to anyone who comes to
them and asks to testify. That was instituted to satisfy poor wizards who might
not have been able to stop working to travel to the Ministry any time earlier.�
Harry ran a hand through his hair, then conjured a mirror to peer critically
into. Let Hermione deride his vanity if she wanted to, but this time, his good
appearance would benefit someone other than Harry. �I�m going to testify.�

�� Ron
whistled. Harry looked at him. �What?�

�� You must
be really far gone on Malfoy if you�re going to testify for him,� Ron
muttered. �Hermione told me that you were, but I didn�t believe it.�

�� Harry
opened his mouth to deny his affection for Draco, then shut it again. He really
couldn�t efface what he felt after their fight the other day. It felt
traitorous, though Draco would probably never know. �Do you mind?� he asked
instead.

�� As long as
you don�t bring him over just to sneer at my family, it�s fine.�

�� I don�t
think he would sneer,� Harry said, remembering the way Malfoy�s family lived,
worse off even than the Weasleys. At least the Weasleys had each other, and
friendly neighbors. Harry tried to imagine what it must have been like for
Draco to be cooped up in his house with mourning, stressed parents, and his
mind rebelled. He shrugged and checked his watch, then began to trot out of the
office.

�� Good
luck!� Ron called after him.

�� Harry
smiled back at his friend. Maybe he didn�t deserve to have Ron, whom he�d so
recently fought with, wishing him good luck, but the Malfoys certainly did, and
it was for them that he�d gone to fight.

*

�� Harry had
two surprises the instant he stepped into the Wizengamot�s courtroom, two
pleasant and one distinctly less so. The pleasant surprises were that the
Wizengamot stared at him as if he had two heads, and that Draco was sitting in
the section of the gallery reserved for witnesses.

�� The
unpleasant surprise was that behind Draco sat Lucius.

�� He was
still the cold, haughty man Harry had seen on the day of the trial that
narrowly avoided condemning the Malfoys to Azkaban, though now one had the
sense his mask was more fragile. But his arrogance was probably greater, to
think he could come here and be heard.

�� And he had
been so frantic, so nearly mad, in those days when the case closed for the
first time. Harry was cautious, now, of what he might say to the Wizengamot�as
he would conceive it, his enemies, in close reach for the first time in five
years.

�� Lucius
continued staring forwards as if nothing less than the destruction of the world
could shake him from his contemplation of those enemies, but Draco, alerted by
the stares and murmurs from the Wizengamot, turned around. Harry felt a surge
of painful, guilty delight when Draco�s eyes met his. He really hadn�t planned
on meeting him here, since he hadn�t been aware Draco would testify on his own
behalf. But would Draco realize that?

�� He couldn�t
tell what Draco had realized. Shock had transformed his face into a blank
slate, and he simply stared as Harry took a seat a few rows away.

�� An ancient
witch Harry knew vaguely cleared her throat. �Mr. Potter,� she said. �What are
you doing here?�

�� I�m here
for the testimony proceedings, of course,� Harry said blandly. He paused a
moment, then gave her the smile. It had an effect even among the male
portion of the Wizengamot, who almost unwillingly relaxed. The witch blushed,
surprisingly becomingly for her age and, in Harry�s eyes, her sex. Harry leaned
back in his chair and made a show of anxiously consulting his watch. �I�m not
late, am I? I�ll be happy to compress my testimony if��

�� Oh, no, of
course not!� The witch clapped her hands. �Please, Mr. Potter, say whatever you
want.�

�� Harry had
become accustomed to listening for faint emphases and insinuations in people�s
speech where he�d never heard any before. A lift of stress or the fall of a
certain tone could tell him whether a man actually intended to sleep
with him, or if someone was truly convinced by the smile. And this
witch�s emphasis on �you,� plus a slight dart of her eyes at the Malfoys, told
Harry the truth.

�� Oh, of
course, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy are scheduled to speak first,� he said, in a
tone of polite chagrin that drew Lucius�s eyes to him at last and made the
witch flush again, not so becomingly this time. �I am sorry for being so
rude. Please, let them go ahead.� He sat back in his chair with a bow of his
head to Draco and Lucius. If he showed he respected them, the Wizengamot was
more likely to agree on their own respect.

�� But, Mr.
Potter�� the witch began.

�� No,� Harry
said clearly, feeling Draco�s eyes on him. �I acted on an impulse I felt was
right, but I also intruded myself into a situation where I didn�t think
of the rights of others. I like to think I�m learning better than that at last,
no matter how many mistakes I make.�

�� Draco�s
eyes were practically burning into the side of his face. Or perhaps that sensation
was only the desire Harry had to turn and look at him. He didn�t look. He
didn�t want Draco pinned on the spot as he would be if the Wizengamot noticed
Harry taking an interest in him. He kept his gaze intent on the Wizengamot
instead.

�� The witch
cleared her throat in bafflement. �If you�re sure, Mr. Potter.�

�� I�m more
than sure,� said Harry, and winked, and turned up the light in his smile.

�� Flustered,
the witch nodded and turned to the Malfoys. �Then if you would please go ahead
with your testimony, Mr.�ah�Draco?�

�� Draco rose
to his feet. Harry told himself it was permitted to watch him as he came
forwards to the front of the witnesses� gallery, though perhaps his eyes
shouldn�t have lingered quite so long on Draco�s arse. Then he closed
his eyes and listened intently as Draco spoke.

�� His voice
was quiet, simple, persuasive�at least to Harry. �For the last five years, my
family has lived in not only poverty, but absolute isolation. Our neighbors are
uniformly hostile to us. We have to use wards simply in order to retrieve the
paper in the morning. We�re forbidden from leaving Britain, so we cannot change
our situation by departing into exile, as I know some people think the proper
punishment for Death Eaters.� He spoke the words �Death Eaters� without
flinching.

�� Good for
you, Draco, Harry thought, feeling a strong shiver of protective anger
course through him. I know some people in this room worked with Death Eaters
during the war, even if they had no idea they were doing so. Don�t allow them
to see how the words affect you, if they do.

�� A serious
assault on my mother�s life occurred two years ago, when she went to Diagon
Alley to draw money from what remains of our Gringotts accounts,� Draco said in
a soft, firm voice. �She was cursed in the middle of the street, in font of a
pair of Aurors. Yet they insisted on �detaining� her to make sure she hadn�t
cast the curse, whilst the perpetrator escaped. Meanwhile, she almost bled to
death in front of them, as they shouted questions at her.�

�� Harry wanted
to spit, and his eyes flashed open. Why didn�t Draco tell me this story
earlier? That would explain why he was so reluctant to accept Auror protection,
and it would be another reason why he distrusted me.

�� Gentlemen,
ladies.� Draco lifted his head, once again reminding Harry of a stag cornered
by werewolves. He hadn�t chosen this situation, and left to himself, he
probably would have avoided entering the Wizengamot�s courtroom ever again. Yet
he had made the best of it. God, the bravery it must take him to appear
here�

�� An
irreverent part of Harry�s mind noted that, yes, it was definitely Draco�s
personality that was attracting him, before and even in opposition to his
looks.

�� I make no
claims for our crimes during the war,� Draco went on. �Those were decided to be
not enough to imprison us in a trial by this same august body two years before
our monies and lands were taken from us.�

�� Uneasy
shifting from the Wizengamot, as if they had forgotten that they themselves had
decided to give the Malfoys justice when the question of Death Eater activity
actually came up. Harry shoved his hands in the pocket of his robes, so full of
pride he could burst. The temptation to stand up and stalk to Draco�s side was
very strong, but he wanted to keep still because this was also Draco�s moment,
Draco�s alone.

�� I do say
that, whatever old grudges may have been left and whatever place we have taken
because others cannot reach the Death Eaters locked in Azkaban or buried in
various cemeteries��

�� Startled
shifting from the Wizengamot.

�� We have
suffered enough.� Draco bowed like an actor about to walk off the stage.
�Please consider my words carefully, and look past my name and my face. Thank
you.�

�� He turned
and made his way to his seat with fragile dignity. Or was it fragile? Harry
thought, watching him, enchanted. Someone who could make such a speech after
five years of loneliness and grinding weight had to have an inner core of solid
steel, no matter how battered he might look on the outside.

�� Thank you,
Mr. Malfoy,� the witch who had spoken to Harry said, looking a little dazed.
�Mr. Lucius?�

�� Lucius
bowed his head to listen to his son. Draco was urgently whispering into his
ear. Harry lifted his eyebrows in curiosity, wondering if Draco was giving his
father certain words to say. At least that ought to prevent his testimony from
sounding completely disjointed and rambling, as Harry had feared it would.

�� Then Lucius
cleared his throat and said, �I have decided against giving witness of my own.�
His voice creaked slightly. Harry thought he sounded more like Sirius than the
confident, drawling patrician he had heard speak on more than one occasion
before the war. �My son said all that I wish to say.�

�� Harry
caught his breath. He was almost certain Lucius would not have thought of that
on his own.

�� Then he saw
Draco�s eyes fixed on him, and he saw hope shining unshielded in them for the
first time.

�� Draco had
held Lucius back because he thought his father�s testimony might damage their
cause, and to give Harry a chance to speak the words that, unwanted or not,
would probably prove most powerful with the Wizengamot.

�� Harry felt
a little high as he got to his feet. What mattered most to him in that
moment�far more than the chance to speak to the Wizengamot and play the hero
for the Malfoys�was the fact that Draco was trusting him to help them.
He couldn�t have known Harry would be here and yet, in the space of a few
minutes, he�d decided to trust him.

�� Of course,
the shine in those eyes, as bright and cold as daggers, had its dangerous edge,
too. This was a test harder than Pansy�s wards had been. If Harry screwed this
up, Draco was likely to decide that all offers of help were useless, and never
see Harry again.

�� The thought
made Harry squirm with pain.

�� He didn�t
allow it to show on his face as he swaggered to the front of the witnesses�
gallery and looked the members of the Wizengamot square in the eye. He wore the
smile, and he had all the persuasive powers he�d developed over the last
several years at his disposal. Usually, they were aimed at getting people to
give him something he wanted.

�� They would
do the same thing this time, but the thing won would not be so selfish.

�� I have
been to the Malfoy house,� Harry began in calm, ringing tones. �Not invited,�
he added, when frowns decorated several of the listeners� faces. �I forced
myself into their home because I wanted to see for myself if the rumors of how
they lived were true. They are.

�� Their life
is not normal. I have heard some people say that the punishment given
them is right and just because they are finally seeing how the average wizard
lives. But the average wizard has a job outside the house to travel to, friends
and neighbors he can visit, public diversions to entertain him when he grows bored.
The Malfoys have none of that. They cannot shop for the most ordinary things
without being assaulted, as Mr. Malfoy�s testimony should have revealed.�

�� He leaned
his elbow on the railing and scanned his audience with sharp, serious eyes.
�Imagine living in a small house for five years, sirs, madams. Imagine that you
could not leave except at high risk to your life. Even staying inside the house
is not totally safe, as the malicious and the idle regularly test your wards
just to see what will happen. You cannot leave Britain. You cannot take shelter
in a friend�s house, because the friends you thought you had turned their backs
on you. You cannot be sure that you will wake up in the morning. Perhaps
someone will succeed in setting the house on fire at last, or breaking through
your wards and cutting your throat. Imagine wizarding Britain rejoicing in
such an occurrence, rather than seeing it as murder.�

�� He lowered
his voice. �And this after you were exonerated for your crimes during
the war.�

�� Uneasy shifting.

�� That has
been the life the Malfoys have lived for the last five years.� Harry tossed his
head in the direction of the chairs where Lucius and Draco sat. �That they have
retained the ability to do more than cower behind defensive spells is a testimony
to their strength. That strength should be rewarded, not punished further. I
ask that you keep the Malfoy case open and investigate it. Reopened cases are
normally never closed so quickly. Ask yourself whether you are satisfied to
shut this one now�now that you know the truth.�

�� Anything
more would have been dangerous, he knew, especially considering that he�d come
close to accusing members of the Wizengamot of having some delight in the
Malfoys� suffering. He bowed once and then sat down.

�� Once again,
he did not turn to see how Draco was looking at him. It was too much of a
temptation. He kept his eyes on the Wizengamot instead, and watched how they
turned to one another, noting the amount of indignant whispering, of hasty
whispering, of shamed whispering. He itched to cast an eavesdropping spell and
listen to their conversations more distinctly, but wards were set up in the
courtroom against such things. Besides, all he needed now was for someone to
notice him doing that and ruin the rock-solid integrity he�d just been trying
to display.

�� Finally,
the Wizengamot turned to face the gallery again, and the old witch cleared her
throat uneasily. She avoided Harry�s eyes, and her first verdict was delivered
in a mumble.

�� I�m sorry,
madam,� Harry said, and gave her a taste of the smile for her trouble.
�I can�t hear you.�

�� I said��
She coughed. �I said the Malfoy case will remain open for the present, whilst
we investigate the mechanics of the transfer of the Malfoy lands and monies.�

�� Harry could
hear a rustle from the side, as though someone had fallen against his chair. He
kept looking forwards with the same determination Lucius had shown a short time
before, giving the Malfoys the privacy to recover from their weakness. He
bowed. �Thank you, madam,� he said. �I�m delighted that you�ve reconsidered.�

�� The witch
looked as if she might want to reassure Harry that it was his testimony
and not the Malfoys� which had kept the case open, but Harry had already turned
to slip out.

�� Draco
caught him in the corridor to the lifts.

�� Potter.�

�� Harry
turned, braced. He wasn�t sure that he wouldn�t see contempt on Draco�s face.
After all, Harry had swooped in and played the conquering hero after
Draco said he hated that. Even if he�d done it less obnoxiously than usual, it
still put the Malfoy family somewhat in his debt.

�� But Draco,
who stood with his head cocked to the side and his arms folded in front of his
chest like a protective barrier, ran a slow, appraising gaze up and down
Harry�s body. Harry licked his lips, his throat suddenly burning as if he�d
swallowed an entire gulp of hot mustard, and shivered.

�� The shiver
seemed to decide Draco. For all Harry knew, he might otherwise have departed
without speaking a word, but now he came a few steps nearer. Harry locked his
legs to keep from showing further weakness and met Draco eye to eye. Draco
didn�t loom, but he was effectively keeping Harry�s attention pinned to
him. He didn�t even know where Lucius had disappeared to, and he didn�t care.

�� Why did
you really come here this morning?� Draco asked, close enough that his breath
caressed the side of Harry�s face, yet far enough away that Harry didn�t know
what his breath smelled like.

�� I saw the
announcement in the paper,� Harry said, unable to lie, unable even to make his
words sound prettier as was now second nature around everyone but Ron and
Hermione. �It made me so angry that I decided to come here and try to convince
the Wizengamot to keep the case open.�

�� Did you
know you would convince them?�

�� Harry
frowned, beginning to recover his balance. Draco�s question made no sense. �Of
course not. How could I?�

�� Draco
raised an eyebrow, which somehow made the appraisal in his eyes more cutting,
and Harry was lost again. �I thought perhaps you had spoken to some members of
the Wizengamot in private first.�

�� I didn�t
have time,� Harry said. �There was a case I had to finish, and then I came
straight here.�

�� Would you
have?�

�� If I�d
thought of it, yes.� Harry shrugged. �I really wanted to persuade them.�

�� Would you
have told me about it?�

�� Harry bit
his lip savagely. �I�I don�t know,� he said.

�� Draco
tilted his chin at a precise, chilly angle. �Why not?�

�� Because�because
the balance is so delicate around you!� Harry burst out. It was such a relief to
speak the words bubbling in his head at last. He had tried to talk about them a
little to Ron and Hermione, but they hadn�t understood, and Harry didn�t trust
the only other possible audience, Pansy, enough to confess this. �I don�t want
to offend you. I don�t want to make you think that I�m trying to play hero just
to impress you, and telling you about influencing the Wizengamot could be seen
as that. But on the other hand, not telling you could be construed as
lying. It�s so delicate, offering my actions up for judgment and keeping myself
on offer, yet trying not to press you to choose. I probably would have followed
my gut on telling you. And I would have told you if you asked.�

�� You don�t
want to lie to me?� Draco asked.

�� No.�

�� Why not?�
Draco moved a step closer and lifted his hand as if he would cup Harry�s cheek,
but kept his fingers a few inches away from skin-to-skin contact. It drove
Harry crazy, and he thought he knew, now, how Draco must have felt during the
conversation in his office the other day, when Harry had been the one to
control such a delicate touch. �You could tell me that your motives for
pursuing this case are completely different now�not boredom any more�and it
would make you look better in my eyes. Maybe I�d even believe you.�

�� Harry met
his gaze, and his answer welled up, born of frustration and want and Draco�s
gut-tingling, heart-clenching presence. �Because I want to have you on honest
terms or not at all.�

�� Draco�s
eyebrows shot up. �And that means,� he whispered, �that you don�t want me to
choose you simply based on gratitude for your actions towards my family.�

�� Never,�
Harry said, and managed to fold his arms and turn his head a little to the
side. �I want you to choose me because you�� He laughed suddenly, and though
the laughter was strained, it didn�t make Draco back away. Harry was prepared
to count that as a victory right now. �I can�t even say why,� he muttered. �Not
without seeming to prejudge you.�

�� Say what
you mean,� Draco whispered.

�� I want you
to choose me because you want me,� Harry said.

�� Draco
smiled. Then he stepped away from Harry and made his way down the corridor,
calling jauntily over his shoulder, �I haven�t decided yet!�

�� Harry
thought he should have felt angrier, to have such an intense conversation end
in an answer so flippant. And there was no guarantee that Draco would choose
him, after all, with Harry discouraging the strongest reason he�d have to do
so.

�� But still,
Harry leaned against the wall and smiled.

*

�� Yume111:
Thanks! Harry is doing better now that he�s thinking about what he wants
instead of just assuming he�ll get it. And Draco now knows he�s in a position
to deeply hurt Harry if he rejects him.

�� Anna,
MewMew2: Thanks for reviewing!

�� Mangacat:
Thank you! The conversation at the Ministry was a fun scene to write. And now
there is another conversation at the Ministry, one in which Draco is more in
control.

�� SilentInvictus:
Thank you! If it helps, this story is updated every three days�and will only
have two more updates after this one, as there are only two more chapters.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Harry's Project

Chapter Six�Harry Is Protective, Draco Is Evaluative