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

Chapter List
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Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� When he
could stand to be in his body, Draco listened to Lucius�s rambling. His father
frequently talked about the full moon�though the details of the spell were
frustratingly vague; Lucius seemed more interested in the technical details of phases, of all things�and cures for Dark
magic and how Draco would walk at his side and smile up at him when he was
completely cured.

�� And maybe that would happen, if I finally go
mad and if Potter doesn�t come for me and if I could ever walk again, Draco
thought.

�� He had had
one glimpse of his legs as his father maneuvered him from one iron frame to
another. One was enough. His bones were tiny fragments scattered through thin
strips of flesh and blood. Draco knew that he couldn�t walk on them. He could
barely crawl, mostly through dragging
himself forwards on his arms, when Lucius put him down in a bed and went to
brew healing potions.

�� Lucius
didn�t seem to care. He put his hands more frequently on Draco�s face now, and
seemed to stare at him with more and more affection.

�� You won�t
be like Narcissa,� he whispered. �I had to kill her to purge her. How I mourned
her, my lovely wife, but it had to be
done. I won�t bear a taint on our family.� His hand was fever-hot when he slid
it into Draco�s hair, or maybe that was Draco�s skin. If he didn�t have a fever
by now, he would be surprised. �But you�ll be free.�

�� Yes, Draco said in the back of his mind,
I will be.

�� For now, he
could only bow his head and endure.

*

�� Meanwhile,
the pack practiced their magic.

�� Either
Celia or Josh was absent all the time now; one of them was always spying on the
Manor, Draco understood. He found himself more tense than usual, but so far,
there was no indication that Lucius had noticed them, which was nothing short
of incredible. He relaxed the most when he happened to be in the glade as one
of them came back from their latest mission and reported on the weaknesses in
the wards to Potter.

�� The three
still there practiced constantly. Potter would sit in the center or the side,
depending on how much attention he thought they needed from him and where Draco
preferred to sit. He would give instructions that made little sense to Draco in
a low voice that was soothing just to listen to, like water trickling through a
distant river. Leila, and Hyacinth, and Josh or Celia, would nod, and then try
to swing their power out over their heads in certain patterns, or try to touch
only one member of the pack and not others, or try to let Draco feel it.

�� They were
beautiful to watch. Draco would catch his breath as their power flooded over
him, thick and prickling, like being rubbed in pine needles. He would watch as
their eyes widened and their bodies trembled with two auras overlapped each
other. He saw Leila blink back tears and Hyacinth speak as calmly as Potter himself
to assure a trembling Celia, who had accidentally jabbed Hyacinth with her
magic, that she wasn�t angry. He saw them flowing through the sunlight with
strength and grace that couldn�t belong to humans.

�� Potter was
more beautiful than any of them.

�� Even when
he sat still and let the rest of his pack take center stage, Draco found his
eyes going back to Potter again and again. The scar and the green eyes and the
way he lounged on his side or his haunches didn�t hurt, but none of those was
the main reason. Draco would have been attracted to a beautiful person, but he
wouldn�t have considered surrendering to them, the way he did with Potter.

�� That�s ridiculous, he told himself, when
the urge became overwhelming enough that he nearly prostrated his astral body
before Potter. You�re not even a
werewolf.

�� But the
impulse remained. Potter didn�t have to show his strength. His control was
perfect. On the rare occasions when one of his people turned towards Draco and
flashed resentful teeth, a snap or a growl settled them. As the weeks turned
towards the full moon and restlessness tormented the pack, Potter simply
increased his intent stares and the way he could walk stiff-legged across the
glade, ready for a fight. The pack would subside into placidity.

So far as Draco could tell, that
placidity was never resentful. Leila, in particular, seemed relieved that
Potter could give her some relief from the pressure of her wolf.

And again, that was all very well.
But that made sense for a werewolf pack, and Draco continued not to be a
werewolf.

�� A steadily
decaying body locked in his father�s Manor, yes, but not a werewolf.

�� Finally he
settled on the only thing that might give him the clue to the mystery. Potter
knew a lot about the magic of his kind. Perhaps he had deliberately set out to
enchant Draco, though why he should wish to do that when Draco was already
eager to be rescued�

�� That�s why you�ll ask him, Draco told
himself sternly, and waited for his opportunity.

*

�� Potter had
sent his pack into the forest today, with instructions to spread out, then to
extend their power and see how long it took them to find each other. He had
said nothing about Draco going with them, so Draco chose to stay.

�� Potter lay
in the sunlight, turned unselfconsciously on his side with his face sheltered
under one arm. Draco swallowed as he drifted down to the grass next to him. A
sharp ache filled him. He couldn�t feel the grass or the warmth of the air or
the small white flower that he reached out and brushed a hand over, but he
could feel that.

�� Potter,�
he whispered.

�� Potter
rolled his arm off his face as slowly as dripping honey. His eyes opened
likewise slowly, revealing a thin ring of gold around the green. It was less than
a week to the full moon, Draco reminded himself. He had no excuse for staring
with delight and wonder, as if Potter�s showing his eyes like that was some
sort of conjuring trick.

�� I do wish,
Draco,� Potter said in a voice that was deep and seemed to dive under Draco�s
tamely floating body, �that you would call me by my first name, the way that
you call the rest of us.�

�� I don�t
know their last names,� Draco said, and stopped. What an idiot he sounded like.
There was no reason for him not to ask the last names of the rest of the pack,
if that was so important to him. It would be far simpler to do was Potter
requested and call him by his first name.

�� Except that
that would open a door he couldn�t shut.

�� Except he
had no idea why.

He shivered and licked his lips.
Then he said, simply because he wanted to hear what it sounded like and not
because he wanted to obey, �Harry.�

A new and softened smile crept over
Potter�s lips then. He raised himself on his arms and knees and gave a lazy
shake that made him resemble a dog shaking off water. Draco told himself so, in
a half-panicked attempt to stave off whatever was creeping towards them.

Harry gave him an amused glance and
moved towards him on all fours, as naturally as he would on two legs.

�� I don�t
understand this,� Draco whispered. �I don�t know what�s happening.� He
shivered, he was sure, so that his edges blurred, but he didn�t move away.

�� I told
you,� Harry said, as if he were answering the question Draco had asked, �that
werewolf magic is a magic of the body.� He shut his eyes and took a long sniff,
as if he could draw all the scent that Draco shed into his nostrils and use it
to refresh himself. When he opened his eyes again, the ring of gold had
expanded. �It alters our senses, increases our strength, and burns out minor
magical talents in favor of its own existence. And it alters our constitution.�

�� Draco
managed to clear his throat with an effort. He would not allow himself to be so
disconcerted simply because Harry chose to look at him with those shining eyes.
�That�s the same thing as saying it increases your strength.�

�� No.� Harry
came closer to him still, his fingers scraping softly in the grass. He was near
enough now that Draco should have backed away to maintain a polite distance,
but he sat still. �It increases our health.
We heal faster. We immediately lose any disease we had when we become
werewolves, and it takes a lot to make us sick after that. Leila thinks it�s a
protection against eating meat from animals who might be unhealthy.� Harry
rolled his shoulders, as if to say that he didn�t know enough to disagree.
�And, combined with our senses, it lets us notice things about ourselves that
we didn�t know before. Leila thought the injury she received a long time ago
had mostly left her unaffected, but now she knows it impaired her movement.
Celia tells me that she thought she was sincerely ignoring some taunts from a
woman who didn�t like her. Now she knows she hates the woman and has fantasies
of revenge about her.�

�� I don�t
understand what this has to do with me,� Draco said.

�� Of course
you don�t,� Harry said, but the rumble of his disgust was almost affectionate.
He sat back on his haunches again and cocked his head. Since it didn�t actually
put that much distance between them, Draco remained on his guard. �Being a
werewolf makes it harder to lie to yourself, at least if you strive to keep
your human side,� Harry continued in a soft voice. �I know, now, that I would
like to continue associating with you after we rescue you from Lucius, at least
if you want to.�

�� And what
I�m feeling�� Draco made a gesture between them, trying to indicate the almost
solid attraction that tied him to Potter like an iron chain.

�� My
interest, pressing on you.� Harry shrugged without lifting his hands from the
earth. �Sorry about that.�

�� Draco
swallowed. �That explanation doesn�t work, though. I felt drawn to your power
even before you realized I�d found you.�

�� Did you,
now?�

�� And Harry
leaned forwards, and Draco leaned to meet him at the same time even though
their faces couldn�t touch, and he knew he was lost.

�� They didn�t
kiss, of course. Instead, Harry turned his head sideways and rubbed it up and
down through the image of Draco�s face, causing another flow of tickling
tingles over Draco�s imagined skin. He should have looked ridiculous, he
probably did, but his expression was grave and intent. Draco saw his fingers
flicker and blend into each other as he reached up and laid a hand along the
side of Harry�s cheek.

�� Harry held
his gaze. He didn�t blink�maybe his eyes didn�t get dry as easily now that he�d
become a werewolf�and Draco didn�t have to. So the interchange of their glances
went on and on, and finally Harry ducked his head and reached out to hover his
hand just above Draco�s knee.

�� Well,
now,� he said, the depth of his voice not enough to hide the happiness. �Well,
now.�

�� Draco
reached out to him in turn, and they sat, intangible hand clasped in intangible
hand, until Harry heard the sounds of the pack returning.

*

�� Draco lived
for the moments he could snatch alone with Harry in the forest. Watching the
pack wasn�t enough anymore, and neither was rejoicing in the beauty of a place
outside the Manor�s walls. He wanted to spend time with Harry, listen to his
voice, and imagine a variety of impossible scenarios that he knew could never
come true.

�� Harry had
taught him to hope, and have faith. Now he taught Draco to dream.

�� He lay in
the sunlight and whispered about the time when Draco would feel it, too, before
breaking off into a description so that Draco could imagine it falling on his
skin now, the way it hadn�t done in months. �You remember the way it presses on
your skin like a hand when it�s strong enough? And when you shut your eyes and
turn your face towards the sun, you feel as though someone was stroking your
cheek? And the warmth increases until you want to get away from it, but at the
same time, you don�t want to, because it�s delicious, like lying awake in bed
on a sunny morning, and you want it to continue forever��

�� He picked
up leaves and fanned them out for Draco so that he could count the veins and
see the delicate fuzzy edges. It was the next best thing to touching them.

�� And he sat,
leaning against a boulder, and fanned his power out so that Draco could bathe
in it, like being surrounded by a thick and fuzzy wolf-pelt.

�� Draco still
didn�t entirely understand why this was happening to him, but he was at peace
with the fact that it was. Whether it was a combination of the way he smelled
and his own unique attraction to power, or just the fact that Harry could see
and hear him and make him feel less alone, or because Harry had asked for the
truth about Draco�s injuries and then not laughed, Draco didn�t care. He
suspected it was a combination of all those things, but he didn�t need to prove
it. He gave himself blissfully up to watching Harry, to listening to him, and
to wishing he could touch his skin, stroke his hair, kiss him.

�� When he
finally voiced that wish aloud, Harry gazed at him for a long moment with wild
eyes and said nothing. But the next day, he beckoned Draco away into the forest
immediately, hardly even bothering to make his usual excuses to the pack. Once
again, he sat on his haunches facing Draco, his eyes so close that Draco shivered
with excitement.

�� I�m going
to try something,� Harry whispered. �It�s theoretically possible. I never
thought of trying it, but I�m the strongest werewolf in the pack. If anyone
here can do it, I should be able to.�

�� He
stretched his hands out in front of him and closed his eyes. Draco watched
half-uneasily, wondering what could take so much effort out of Harry, and if it
was a good idea to encourage him to do it. Hyacinth would kill him if Draco did
something to harm Harry. He was sure she could probably burst through the wards
on her own and tear the rest of his body apart if she was angry enough.

�� Harry�s
aura of power returned, hovering around his hands, concentrating on his fingers
until Draco thought he could see them grow fuzzy, like his own. Harry rubbed
his palms together, and the forest of charged air around his fingers became
visible. It was as black as the fur of his wolf.

�� Harry
opened his eyes, his body shaking with the effort, and reached out to place a
hand on Draco�s arm.

�� This time,
Draco felt it, and not as a series of
tingles.

�� He
shuddered, and cried out before he could stop himself. Harry�s hand burned with
fever heat, fire heat. Draco could feel all the lines on his palm, and the
roughness on the edge of one nail where he�d gnawed it. Looking down revealed a
blaze to the skin that he had to shield his eyes from.

�� But he
didn�t need to see right now. He could see anytime. The miracle, which
paralyzed him, was that he could feel Harry.

�� Harry
leaned forwards, bowing his head, and Draco reached up and touched his hair.
The power had gathered there, too, but Harry�s head was ordinarily so frizzy that he hadn�t noticed it. Curls rasped
against his fingers. Draco shuddered. He had a feeling that his face had
changed to reflect his tears.

�� Harry said
nothing about it. He lifted his head and pressed his lips against Draco�s.

�� Draco could
not remember the last time someone had kissed him. He shut his eyes again and
concentrated on the slow slide of Harry�s lips, the shy tap of a tongue, the
feeling of dry and chapped skin.

�� Oh, God,�
he whispered.

�� Harry
leaned away from him, and the aura of power dropped away, melting back into his
skin. Draco knew that he would feel nothing if he reached for him now. He
hooked his arms around his knees so that he wouldn�t be tempted to try it and
shut his eyes.

�� I was
right,� Harry said, so drained that even his voice sounded less triumphant than
it should have. �Werewolf magic is a magic of the body, right? If I�m strong
enough, I ought to be able to give you a taste of the body.� His voice turned
wry. �I wouldn�t want to try the mind or the soul, but the body I can do.� He
hesitated, then added, �I�m sorry I couldn�t make it last longer.�

�� That�s the
first time someone�s touched me kindly in months,� Draco whispered. He refused
to open his eyes. �Don�t you dare apologize for not being able to give me more
than a miracle.�

�� Harry said
nothing for long moments. When Draco looked again, fearing that he might have
unwittingly offended him, he saw Harry gazing at him with a look as bright and
fresh as spring.

�� You�re
welcome,� he said.

*

�� And so the
time wore on until the full moon.

�� Draco still
couldn�t find out any details of the spell. He fretted to Harry about it, and
Harry told him not to worry about it. He had just made his arms real and held
Draco in them for a full five minutes, so Draco felt more inclined to trust him
than he otherwise would have.

�� I don�t
like it, though,� Harry admitted, as he sat up and brushed leaves out of his
hair. Draco had discovered a tendency in himself to watch the simple motions of
Harry�s hands with lust and admiration, and he had to stare at the ground to
prevent an embarrassing expression from overcoming his face. �I do wish we had
more details. I think our plan is going to work no matter what, but if we knew
in what direction Lucius�s insanity is likely to explode��

�� Would that
matter?� Draco had to ask, long and bitter experience of his father�s madness
driving him. �He would be utterly unpredictable when the spell was disrupted
even if you knew what he was originally planning to do.�

�� Yes,�
Harry said simply, lifting his head, �but it might be easier to protect you.
And that�s really all I care about.�

�� Draco
stared at him. His eyes were glowing in the sunshine, and once again he had the
look of a wild animal, though this time it was more as if he were one lying
down outside a place where he had to wait while a companion walked into danger.
Maybe a member of his pack, Draco thought dazedly. He could at least hope that Harry would think about a
member of his pack that way.

�� Why?�
Draco whispered. �You know this is mad and it won�t last once you rescue me.�

�� I don�t
think we can be sure of that,� Harry said calmly. �We don�t know what your
condition will be.�

�� But it�s bad.� Draco slapped a hand on the forest
floor beside him and didn�t even have the satisfaction of an impact, but he had
to find a way to convince Harry. �You�ll be revolted by the sight of me, or by
how long it takes me to recover.�

�� Harry
growled. Draco swallowed and found himself holding very still, though Harry
could have lunged at him in full wolf form with teeth bared and it wouldn�t
have done anything. Some human instincts were unconnected to a physical body,
he decided.

�� How dare you,� Harry said. His voice was low
enough that Draco had to concentrate very carefully on the individual words. Of
course, at the moment he had plenty of incentive to concentrate. He could
imagine all too well what would happen to his state of mind and body if Harry
was angry enough to turn his back on Draco. �You think that I�ve watched people
change into wolves without flinching and been able to get used to the way their
bodies warp, and somehow still carried along this obsessive concern for purity
and whole limbs? I don�t care. It won�t end, unless you want it to end because
the big bad wolf is too dirty and marred for
you. I want to protect you. I like you. I�m going to continue to do both.� He
paused, and Draco had to look away because his eyes were too fiery to meet.
�Unless you want it to end,� he repeated with slow deliberation.

�� Draco shook
his head. �Of course not,� he said. �I want to be rescued.�

�� And
after?� Harry�s voice was low and ugly. �Would it be too much effort for you to
associate with werewolves? Too much of a trauma?�

�� Stop it!�
Draco snapped, turning to him. �Of course it won�t. You know that I�m attracted
to you, and I�ve given all my reasons why. They include the fact that you�re a
werewolf as much as they exist in spite of it.�

�� Then stop
speaking as if I could be any shallower.� Harry twitched in a way that made
Draco think he was trying to flatten his ears. �I�m attracted to you. It�ll go
on being that way. We�ll rescue you, yes, and after that we�ll continue to be
with you.� He held out a hand, and the fuzzy aura surrounded it that meant he�d
made it real for Draco. �Or just me, if you don�t want the rest of the pack.�

�� Draco
reached out and put his hand in Harry�s without hesitation. Harry closed his
eyes at the sensation, as if he were
the one who had been deprived of friendly physical contact for months. Draco
had to smile in spite of himself at the ecstasy on Harry�s face.

�� I don�t
even know if I can survive at this point,� he said. �I might die of my wounds
as you rescue me. It seems a little premature to be arguing about who�s going
to abandon who.�

�� Then don�t
bring it up again,� Harry said, with frozen dignity that he immediately
undermined by taking Draco�s hand into his own and rubbing it as if he could
warm the fingers. He bowed his head so that he could look at their hands
exclusively.

�� Draco bowed
his head, too, and let it rest on Harry�s shoulder, even though he couldn�t
feel that part of him. He was in the mood for comfort of many different kinds.

*

�� Do not do
anything stupid.�

�� Draco
blinked and turned around. He�d come to the clearing as usual that morning, but
found Harry out for a run with the pack. He�d settled down on the grass to wait
for him, and thought that the rest of the werewolves were gone.

�� Now he
realized that Hyacinth had been resting in one of the houses, so still that
Draco hadn�t seen or heard her. She came out now on all fours and stared
directly at him. It was only a few days before the full moon, and so the beast
saw him through her eyes, Draco knew.

�� I�m not
planning to,� Draco said defensively. �I plan to survive until you rescue me,
and then I don�t really care what my father does.�

�� I can�t
hear you,� Hyacinth said. She shook her ragged clothes the way a dog would when
shedding water, and fixed her nostrils, more than her eyes, on Draco. �I can
hardly see you, for that matter. But I know you are there, and I thought it
best to warn you. You are important to Harry, and therefore to me. If you do
something stupid, you are likely to die, and Harry would not survive that. Not
the way he is now,� she added, as if she had seen Draco opening his mouth to
dispute that. �Not as the lord of the balance between human and wolf. He would
become a monster, giving in to the wolf�s bloody instincts, because it is the
only refuge available to someone with a grave disappointment and our condition.
I know,� she finished, with a sound of burned bitterness in her voice.

�� Draco
licked his lips. �I really can�t do much about whether I live or die, you
know,� he said. He knew that she couldn�t hear him, but in case Harry came
back, he wanted to show that he was willing. Just not able.

�� He has
never been so strongly drawn to anyone,� Hyacinth said. She sat back on her
haunches and licked at the curve of her elbow. Draco blinked. The action was
completely unselfconscious. He didn�t think she would have done that last
month, when she was struggling so hard against her wolf. �Celia and Josh don�t
understand it. Leila has only a minimal grasp of the reason and insists on
questioning him. But I know that you
have the potential to make Harry happy. That is enough for me.� She glanced up
at him, and her eyes had gone entirely yellow, except for swimming flakes of
scarlet that made Draco think she�d swallowed blood. �See that you do it. Do
not try to claw your way free unless you have no choice. Do not despair. Do not
tamely give in to your father.�

�� Again,
Draco tried to answer, but this time he was actually bereft of words. Hyacinth
paused, tilting her head, her eyes bright and curious.

�If you are worried about not being
able to survive the final rescue,� she said, �you should not be. The werewolf
changes all it comes into contact with. It heals them. If you are deeply
wounded, then we can make sure you survive.�

And then Hyacinth turned her head
to the far side of the clearing and whined in welcome, so Draco turned around
without trying to get her to explain what she meant. He didn�t want Harry to
think that he�d been doubting him again.

Harry stood there with the rest of
the pack behind him. Despite the fact that they were all on two legs, Draco
could see the animal in them, how the rest of them were oriented on Harry and ready
to move at a word. Hyacinth rose to her feet without prompting and stepped
closer, her eyes bright and fixed on Harry, her nostrils quivering.

�Draco,� Harry said, smiling at
him. Draco caught his breath and was afraid that he whimpered like another
wolf. Harry was irresistibly
attractive when he smiled, all his power surging through it as if it alone
could compel obedience. �Watch.�

He dropped his head back as if he
were sunbathing and spread his arms. The rest of the pack responded at the same
time, but spread their arms in different directions�to show that they were
capable of acting independently, Draco supposed. Harry closed his eyes and gave
a short howl.

�� Five
different auras of strength spread out, mingling like sprays of water from
different faucets. They whirled around the clearing and encircled Draco, who
found himself shivering as he watched the results.

�� Hyacinth
sprang into the air and came down as lightly as a leaf on Harry�s left side.
Leila had jumped at the same time, and though one of her legs gave way slightly
and slowed her�probably the result of that old wound Harry had mentioned�she
still managed to avoid Hyacinth even as she jumped past her and came down on
Harry�s right.

�� Celia and
Josh leaped forwards with a speed that Draco knew was impossible even for
werewolves, somersaulted three times before they hit the ground, and ended up
on all fours in front of Draco. Their mouths were wide in exultant, ferocious
smiles, but not exactly the same smile. What Harry wanted to happen had come
true, Draco realized with wonder. The pack acted all at once, aware of each
other�s movements, but not in a way that would make them depend on each other. Not exactly the same.

�� Equal, but
not identical.

�� Harry
opened his eyes and smiled at Draco more brightly than before. If the power
pulsing through the glade hadn�t already rendered him speechless, that smile
would have.

�� It did
what I thought it would do,� Harry said. �The practice, I mean. It not only
allows us to act together, it increases our
strength, our speed, and our magic. We�re being fed from four directions at
once, and so all together we�re more than the sum of our parts and more than
make up for the strength we expend.� He closed his eye in a slow wink at Draco.
�That was why I wanted to know about the weak places and seams in the wards on
the Manor. I know that you have defenses against werewolves, and even packs.
But those are meant for ordinary werewolves
and ordinary packs. What do you think is going to happen when the force of a
pack five times as strong as usual hits
them all at once?�

�� Draco still
couldn�t speak.

�� But he could go up to Harry and put his arms
around him in wonder and delight�

�� And because
of the strength in the clearing, it was no trouble at all for Harry to make his
arms real enough to pick Draco up and spin him around in a wild dance that
ended in a kiss, while the rest of the pack howled in triumph.

*

�� yaoiObsessed:
Thanks! At the moment, it does seem likely that Draco will last, since it�s
only a few days to the full moon.

�� Whitmore:
Thank you!

�� BennyPeace:
Thank you so much!

�� Mangacat:
Probably not easy, but I do think the plan is at least viable.

�� FallenAngel1129:
Thanks!

�� Thrnbrooke:
Here it is.

�� dana_aeryn:
Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much.
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Rejoicing In Their Strength