Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Freedom Bound in Chains	By : TaintedSensibly Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 58478 -:- 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
- 62
- 63
- 64
Diagon Alley
“You boys look lovely in your school robes,” Narcissa said in approval as the boys came over after their fitting. “Let me take your jackets.”
It was nothing but the truth. The robes were tailored perfectly to their forms. Harry was still very thin, even with the nutrient potion he still took once a month to try and reverse the damage of long-term starvation. Despite his small stature, however, he looked healthy. His hair was thick and glossy, his eyes bright, his skin a golden hue from playing baseball most of the summer.
Draco stood a few inches taller and was slightly thicker than Harry, but he was by no means a big child. He possessed a slender build with whipcord muscle underneath his scarred skin. His hair had been bleached pure white and his cheeks and nose were slightly burnt from his time outdoors.
“Thank you, Narcissa. They feel very comfortable,” Harry answered with a happy blush and handed over their day coats.
Narcissa folded them and cast a spell to shrink them to the size of matchbooks before placing them into her pocket. Looking over, she met Madam Malkin’s eye, silently telling her that she’d be paid later. Harry could still get a bit sensitive if a lot of money was spent on him, so she was in the habit of paying out of his sight.
Turning a charming smile to the boys, she asked, “Are we ready to go?”
Draco eyes were still cold from his exchange with Pucey and his answer came out a clipped, “Yes.”
Narcissa ignored Draco’s attitude. “Lucius is waiting for us at the bank. He had some business there and he also wanted to let Harry see his Potter vault now that he is eleven.”
Harry put his hand in the blond’s - calm love - flowing through the bond.
Draco melted. He squeezed Harry’s fingers in thanks, his eyes thawing.
They had a little bit of a walk. Gringotts was at the very end of Diagon Alley and the crowd was even thicker than it had been that morning. Draco kept his face perfectly blank as people gasped and pointed at them. A few even dared to take pictures, not that it would do them any good. Draco and Harry never went out without Narcissa or Andromeda placing a Distortion Charm on them, so any photographs taken would come out blurry as hell.
Harry kept close to Draco, but he wasn’t too overwhelmed. His thighs still throbbed hotly with every heartbeat and it made him feel secure even in the press of people. He felt utterly confident that Draco would handle anything that came up. Instead, he was more focused on the new school robe he wore.
The robe material was soft and smooth under Harry’s fingers. It was, of course, the most expensive school robe Malkin made. It sort of swished as he walked, reminding Harry a little of a gown. A smile peeked out at the corners of his mouth. It also had built in pockets so they could store their new wands.
Harry’s attention was drawn upward as they reached the bank. He gaped at the intimidating building, lips parting. It was tall, white, and crooked one way and then another, standing several stories tall. Two burnished bronze doors stood open with a goblin in a uniform of scarlet and gold standing to the side. It wielded a short spear and looked at everyone walking past with the most ferocious glare.
Narcissa ignored the creature and Draco followed her example. The three of them stepped into a marbled entrance hall about ten degrees cooler than the outside. Another set of doors, these silver, stood just inside with large words inscribed in cursive on them:
Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take but do not earn must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned. Beware of finding more than treasure there.
The silver doors made a groaning sound as Narcissa waved her wand at them and they slowly opened inward. Two more goblins stood just inside the second entrance, looking nearly identical to the goblin standing guard outside. As they walked passed, the goblin next to Harry gave a wicked grin full of very sharp teeth.
Draco pulled him forward and Harry saw a vast marble hall. Hanging from the ceiling, there was a huge, gold chandelier with crystals hanging from it, sending light to every corner. Long counters stretched along its length along both walls with several different doors leading off to the vault passageways. At each booth, a goblin sat to deal with customers. There must have been a hundred of them.
Lucius had been sitting at a bench by the doors, waiting for them. He greeted his wife with a shallow inclination of his head. Narcissa mirrored the gesture. She and the boys followed him toward one of the empty counters.
“Lucius Malfoy and family. We’d like to escort Harry Potter to his vault,” Lucius drawled.
The goblin was dressed in an old fashion suit and stared up at them as if they were disgusting. “Wands please and Mr. Potter’s vault key.”
The four of them handed over their wands and Lucius produced a small golden key with a capital P in cursive on the end. The goblin examined all of these for several long minutes. Harry glanced at Draco and Lucius, but neither of them seemed bothered by the wait, so he decided nothing must be wrong.
Eventually, the goblin hopped down and asked them to follow. They made their way toward one of the doors at the back that led to the vaults. The chained gate was locked and secured, but the goblin waved his gnarled hand and it opened easily. They all received their wands back, but the goblin kept the key. They were led into a rough stone passage that had a cart and tracks. It was a tight fit in the steel cart, so Harry had to sit on Draco’s lap.
They shot forward, Harry giving an involuntary cry. Draco’s arms tightened around him to keep him in the cart. It was like riding a broom that you had no control over. They went up and down and zigzagged in crazy directions. Vaults whizzed past. They even shot through a huge cavern with a huge, chained dragon sleeping at the bottom.
When their cart came to a violent halt, Harry and Draco were grinning while Narcissa looked a bit green. Lucius lifted his eyebrow at her as he offered his hand. She took it with a haughty tilt to her chin, making Lucius’s lips twitch into a quick smile.
They climbed out and walked toward a huge golden vault door with the number 687 inscribed on it. As the goblin was opening the door, another cart zoomed by with a huge, bearded man who was screaming. Draco chuckled while Harry giggled.
The Potter vault swung open and they all looked inside to see piles and stacks of coins like a pirate treasure filling half the room. The coins were taller than the boys in some places, and there were a few chests that contained some photos and documents as well as a couple journals. Lucius stood to the side and spoke softly to Narcissa as the boys explored.
Harry had come to accept that he’d had a family before the Dursleys and that they were good people unlike what he’d been told, but he still didn’t quite feel attached to them. It was just something he couldn’t completely wrap his mind around. After all, he was a freak who deserved nothing. He couldn’t imagine anyone except Draco wanting him. However, he happily helped Draco look through the few chests for things of James and Lily. For Remus’s sake. The man still deeply grieved the loss of his best friends and Harry cared about him, but they didn’t find anything. Most of this was from James’s parents or even older heirlooms.
“I heard everything of theirs was lost in Godric’s Hollow,” Lucius murmured when Draco mentioned it.
Draco frowned. Just how much damage had the house taken? Now wasn’t the time to grill Lucius, however. He took Harry’s hand and asked his boy, “Are you ready to go?”
Harry looked up at the blond through his fringe. “Should I give some gold to Lucius and Andromeda for taking care of me?”
“I take care of you,” Draco gently corrected and shook his head. “No. This is ours for after school and we move out on our own.”
Harry accepted that, trusting him to know best. “Yes, Draco.”
They were leaving Gringotts and heading toward the bookstore when a loud booming voice called out to them from the street. “Arry!”
The man was standing in front of them. He’d been searching for something in his pocket in the massive patchwork leather overcoat he wore when he’d seen them. It was the massive man who had been screaming in the bank cart.
He walked back up the steps, stopping four down from them and still he towered over them, standing twice as tall as an average man. He had to have been nearly twelve feet! He was wide, too, nearly three times as wide as a normal-sized person, with a long mane of shaggy black hair. He would have been terrifying but for the fact joy suffused his face, a grin clear even through the thick, bushy beard that covered nearly half his face.
“Havne’t seen ya since you were a little ‘un!” he boomed.
“You knew Harry when he was a baby?” Draco asked, head back to look the man in the face.
“Took ‘em from Godric’s Hollow, I did! Such a small thing!” the man’s joy transformed into a very real sorrow. Tears began to glitter in his beetle black eyes. “I didn’ know what they’d do to ya there. Makes me right sick just thinkin’ bout it. Pr’fessor McGonagall said they were the worst Muggles, but with You-Know-Who’s followers still runnin’ about, thought it was the safest place for ya.”
As - unease confusion - jumped through the bond, Draco stared in wonder at the strange being before him. The hairy man seemed to be completely unable to not speak his true feelings and he was clearly in the know about sensitive topics. Draco was instantly intrigued. He’d never heard a first hand account of that night before.
“Rubeus Hagrid,” Lucius said with a sneer, introducing the man since he clearly was unable to remember to do so himself. “Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.”
Hagrid’s eyes narrowed as he stared down at Lucius. “You best be takin’ care o’ our ‘Arry, ‘ere, Malfoy. There’s a mighty lot of people who care ‘bout him.”
“Thank you, Hagrid,” Draco interrupted, seeing the tightening of Lucius’s lips and knowing what that meant. “They’re taking very good care of us.”
Hagrid turned his attention to Draco, his face softening. “I reckon they are with you lookin’ out for ‘em. Pr’fessor Dumbledore told me ‘imself you’d never let anythin’ hurt ‘Arry.”
“We’d love to stay and chat, but we still have quite the amount of shopping to do,” Narcissa cut in cooly.
“I’d like to treat ‘Arry to lunch, if I could?” Hagrid suddenly asked. “Seein’ it’s his birthday an’ all. I’d a made ‘em a cake if I knew I’d be runnin’ into ‘em ‘ere.”
“Lunch sounds like a great idea,” Draco answered with a big smile. He gave Lucius and Narcissa a pointed look. “Why don’t we take a little break? You could get some things done and pick us up at the Leaky Cauldron in an hour.”
Hagrid looked like he’d won a very special prize.
At first Narcissa protested, making excuses, while Lucius gave Draco a cold, disapproving stare. Draco shot down every excuse and met Lucius with indifference. A few minutes later, Draco and Harry were walking beside Hagrid back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry shot Draco a look. He knew that expression. Draco had a purpose. He wanted something from Hagrid. Anticipation determination - strummed through his veins. Being useful to Draco, helping him, gave him the biggest rush. It reassured him that he could be good; he was more than a freak who cursed everyone around him. So Harry smiled up at Hagrid and chatted with him cheerfully all the way to the pub his goal burning in his mind. He needed Hagrid to be at ease so that Draco could get what he wanted from him.
As they settled in at a table, Hagrid sat in a huge chair as thick and wide as a tree trunk. Draco gave the massive man a smile, casually stating, “It’s lucky we ran into you today.”
“Had an errand to run for the Pr’fessor, I did,” Hagrid said in a whisper that was as loud as a normal speaking voice. His dustbin-sized hands patted his breast pocket. “Had to pick up an important item.”
Curious as he was about that, Draco was more interested in the night Voldemort attacked Harry. “Headmaster Dumbledore must trust you a lot. And the Ministry, if they sent you to get Harry.”
Hagrid guffawed, a short booming laugh. “The Ministry don’t approve of people like me. It was Pr’fessor Dumbledore who sent me. Knew before the Ministry did that somethin’ had happened. Felt the Fidelius Charm fall as he’s the one who spelled it there.”
Harry, now knowing Draco wanted details of that night, made his eyes big and his voice soft. “What was it like? What did you see, Hagrid?”
Hagrid gave Harry a worried look. “I shouldn’a mentioned it.” He cleared his throat gruffly and tried to change the subject. “Ya look so much like yer father, ‘Arry. Woulda recognized ya anywhere. Got yer mum’s eyes, though. She was a right beautiful witch.” He gave a loud sniff, tears in his eyes. “I tended the grounds when they were in school. Full of life, they was. By the end, they were so in love.”
Harry had heard similar tales from Remus. He was the one who had found them in America and brought them back all those years ago. The Malfoys may have forbidden contact between them, but Andromeda hadn’t felt the same way. Remus had visited as often as he could the months they lived in London. He couldn’t replace Liam, their adopted brother in New York, but he had come close.
“Thank you, Hagrid. I know. You may remember Remus Lupin. He’s a good friend and he told me a bit about them,” Harry said, pushing his glasses up his nose. A shiver went down his back as Draco caressed his thigh under the table. “I know it’s hard, but I’d like you to tell us what happened that night. Others have told me what they know, but none of them were there like you were.” Green eyes intense, he added, “Please?”
Hagrid looked from one small boy to the other, but he kept coming back to Harry’s unwavering stare. “It wasn’t a good night, ‘Arry.”
“I know.” Harry felt his heart pound in his chest. “But I need to know what it was really like. I deserve to know.”
“I suppose ya have the right,” Hagrid acknowledged reluctantly. Taking a deep breath, he blew it out, ruffling the hair on both of the boys’ heads. “I was in me cabin when I got the summons from Pr’fessor Dumbledore. He told me to fetch ya, Harry. To keep ya safe and bring ya to ‘em. I can’t ride a broom on account of my size, but I had a motorbike I was fixin' up for a friend. It was dark as pitch and I figured I’d not be seen, so I flew it to Godric’s Hollow.
“Ya see, I could find the house easy, as the charm was broken. I remember it bein’ so quiet. There were no lights on in any of the houses. Not even street lights. There was that horrible mark, just floatin’ in the sky. Green and sickly, the skull and snake. The Dark Mark. You-Know-Who would put it up above his targets, like a signature. It was fadin’ even as I watched, blowin’ away. The house was dark and kind’o fallen in toward the center. I was mighty scared you was hurt, ‘Arry, but I was afraid to go in and make the house fall down because of my size, but outta the dark doorway came a man holdin’ ya. You were such a tiny thing!” He sniffed again.
“Who was the man?” Draco asked lowly, riveted on Hagrid’s story.
“Sirius Black,” Hagrid admitted, anger rumbling in his voice. “I didn’t know what he’d done at the time. He looked crazy upset. He was cryin’ and screamin’. I was worried about ya, ‘Arry, so I told ‘em to hand ya over. That Pr’fessor Dumbledore was gonna keep ya safe now. He didn’t wanna let ya go, but he was goin’ on about getting revenge. I told ‘em ya needed takin’ care of. There was blood. On yer head there.” He gestured with his huge hand toward Harry’s whole head, which wasn’t helpful, but both boys knew Hagrid meant the lightning bolt scar that sat slightly to the left on his forehead. “It was bleedin’ and ya wouldn’t wake up, so he gave ya to me. Told me to take care o’ ya. Fit in one hand, ya did. Then he told me to keep the bike and he just dissapeared. Apparated somewhere. The next day he went after poor Peter. Killed ‘em and all them Muggles.” As if remembering he was talking to Harry and Draco, Hagrid’s eyes went wide and he rushed to assure them, “He’s in Azkaban now. He got what’s his. You don’t have’ta worry about that!”
“Who was he? Why was he there?” Draco asked, surprised by the emotion in the massive man’s voice.
Hagrid gave a tired sigh. “He was best friends with ‘Arry’s dad. Like brothers, they were. Him and Remus and Petter. Thick as thieves. Black was the Secret Keeper,” he confessed and looked sadly down at Harry. “Told You-Know-Who where to find ya. Betrayed your dad and mum.”
Black must have been a terrible person. Harry couldn’t imagine betraying Draco - protective devotion. He leaned against Draco’s side and said firmly, “I’m glad he’s in Azkaban then”
Draco grabbed Harry’s hand, pulling it into his lap, and squeezed it. “Where did you go after you had Harry?” he prompted, pushing the story along.
“Flew to Surrey. Carried ‘Arry in my arm the whole way. The bleedin’ stopped and I cleaned ‘em up as best I could.” Hagrid reached out to pat the top of Harry’s head.
Harry tensed, expecting to nearly crumple under that giant hand, but Hagrid was surprisingly gentle.
“I’m sorry, ‘Arry. More sorry than ya will ever know that I left ya there.” Hagrid returned his hand to the table and straightened his back as if to brace himself for some horrible truth. “Pr’fessor Dumbledore was waitin’. He turned all the lights off, made it nice and dark. No one saw as I pulled up. Pr’fessor McGonagall was there, too. She told us she didn’t like the looks of those Muggles. Like I said, Pr’fessor Dumbledore figured it’d be the only safe place fer ya. Said there was special wards there on account of the woman being yer mum’s sister. Even still, it was mighty hard to let ya go. Pr’fessor Dumbledore placed ya in a protected basket and left ya on the stoop with a letter. We waited to be sure the woman would take ya in and she did, so…” Fat tears wet Hagrid’s cheeks. “We left ya.”
Hagrid’s sincere distress compelled Harry to reach out and pat the man’s massive hand. “It’s okay, Hagrid. I’m not upset.”
Hagrid nodded and dug in his pocket, sniffing.
“Thank you for telling us the story,” Harry continued, trying to soothe the man.
Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief as big as a towel and a round package tumbled onto the table wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. Draco reached out to hand it back to the man, but as soon as his hand closed around it he felt a hot pulse of magic throb up his arm. It was like a soft kick to the stomach. Hagrid was too busy blowing his nose like a trumpet to notice the way Draco’s whole body froze.
Harry darted a glance at Draco’s face, looking for that terrible blankness that preceded one of Draco’s horrific flashbacks, but instead the blond’s eyes had gone silver the way they did when he was utterly focused on one thing to the exclusion of all else. Harry stood and walked around Hagrid to stand at his other side, making the man turn his head to look at him, away from Draco and the way he was clutching the package on the table.
“Do you need another drink, Hagrid? Or something to eat?” he asked politely. “I feel bad asking you to talk about it. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“Don’t ya worry about me, ‘Arry. I’m okay,” Hagrid protested and blew his nose a final time.
Draco was barely aware of Harry and Hagrid’s conversation. The round package was warming under his hand. It called to him. It was like his wand, but different from it. It felt more powerful, but also like it would only do one thing. For some reason it made Draco think of a gun even though instinctively he knew its purpose wasn’t to cause harm.
He was tempted to unwrap it, but he was smart enough to realize unwrapping something that powerful in the middle of the pub would be extremely stupid. His mind raced, but he already knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it. Stealing it would only get him in unnecessary trouble. It’s not like Hagrid wouldn’t know who took it, so Draco forced himself to hand it over.
“You dropped this, Hagrid,” he said, voice rougher than he expected.
Hagrid’s eyes went wide and he quickly stuffed the package back into his pocket. “Sorry ‘bout that. Ya shouldn'a seen that.”
Draco nodded in perfect agreement as Harry came back around to retake his seat. “It was very magical,” he admitted, wrapping an arm around Harry and pulling the smaller boy against his side. He met Hagrid’s gaze, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Wonder what it is.”
Hagrid leaned forward, whispering. “Pr’fessor sent me to pick it up from Gringrotts. Only thing in the vault, it was. I reckon it’s mighty important, so it’s best the likes of you and me stay outta it.” He straightened again. “Right! Let’s eat!”
Just then Tom, the barkeep, brought over their shepherd’s pies. They talked of simple things, mostly Hogwarts related. Harry even tried to explain baseball to the man, but it was a lost cause. Before they knew it, the hour was up and Narcissa and Lucius appeared.
“Don’t concern yourself with the tab,” Narcissa politely informed Hagrid. “It’s been settled. I hope you have a pleasant rest of your day.”
Hagrid turned and scooped Harry up into a hug. Harry’s feet dangled off the ground nearly three feet. Draco tensed, but he slowly relaxed as he sensed no fear or pain from Harry. “Good luck to ya, ‘Arry. I’ll be seeing you again at Hogwarts.”
“Bye, Hagrid,” Harry said with a smile once his feet were on the ground. “Thank you for lunch. I look forward to seeing you again.”
Hagrid gave another big grin before making his way out of the pub.
Draco took Harry’s hand possessively.
“Now that your… curiosity,” Lucius drawled with cool disdain, “is assuaged, may we continue to purchase your school supplies? The day grows late.”
Draco gave his father a sweet smile. “Absolutely, Lucius. Let’s go.”
Lucius cut his son a cold glare before turning on his heel and leading the way back out onto the alley, his robes flaring about his feet. His cane made a sharp taping sound with every step, emphasizing his displeasure.
Narcissa took up the rear this time. When she caught Harry’s worried look, she gave the boy a discrete wink and smiled when it made the tension in Harry’s shoulders melt away. She had come to terms long ago with what it meant to have Harry Potter as her adopted son. The boys would make associates out of a wide range of people and would naturally deviate from the more expected Malfoy allies.
Lucius had yet to fully resign himself to that fate. She understood his discontent, but it was far better to face reality and adapt as quickly as possible than to resist and possibly lose Draco’s confidence. Likely the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts was just the beginning, and, as unacceptable as the half-giant was as a person, there was a strategic advantage to becoming his associate that Narcissa could recognize. The least of which was the man’s loose lips and close relationship to Albus Dumbledore.
Draco shot his mother an amused look as they entered the bookstore and Lucius stiffly informed them he would meet them at the counter before striding off. Narcissa’s lips twitched and she guided them easily to the shelves dedicated to Hogwarts’ school books. There were several other kids and parents, but Narcissa easily maneuvered them to the front.
The list was pretty extensive:
Magical Drafts and Potions, Standard Book of Spells Grade 1, Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, A History of Magic, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration, Magical Theory Grade 1, and finally Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
That was eight books in all and they weren’t exactly easy reading.
“Do we really need two of each?” Harry asked, nervously pushing his glasses higher up his nose.
Draco considered that. “In class, we’ll likely need to use our own textbooks, but we could share the supplemental texts.”
Harry smiled happily at that.
“It’s not as if we don’t have the money,” Narcissa scolded lightly, putting back one copy of both Fantastic Beasts and Magical Theory. “I also suggest reading Hogwarts: A History.” She grabbed one and placed it in their basket.
Moving away from the crowded school section, she led them toward a less busy aisle. “Why don’t you browse the shelves for some pleasure reading,” she suggested. “I’ll grab Lucius and meet you in a few minutes at the counter.”
Draco nodded and took Harry’s hand. He led him deeper into the store. “You did great with Hagrid, Harry,” he said warmly. Finding a shadowed corner, he pushed Harry against the wall.
Green eyes looked up at him with unconditional trust, - pride happy - sizzling through the bond. Draco felt a type of hunger begin to burn through his core. “Such a good boy,” he practically growled.
Harry was panting now - anticipation desire love - burning deep in his gut. He watched with wide eyes as Draco slowly, deliberately leaned forward, silver eyes burning into his own. Harry gasped as their lips touched.
With torturous gentleness, Draco slowly licked at Harry’s lips before sliding his tongue softly inside. Then, leaning his full weight against the smaller boy, he grabbed a fistful of Harry’s hair and kissed him hard, sucking roughly on Harry’s tongue before lashing the roof of Harry’s mouth with hard, fast strokes. Harry moaned, deep in his chest, and clung to Draco’s shoulders.
Mouths breaking apart, dizzy from lack of air, they leaned against each other, panting. Harry’s glasses had fogged and both of their lips were red and swollen, a thin, glistening strand still connecting them. Draco pulled back, breaking the connection. He randomly grabbed a few books off the shelves and made his way toward the counter, a cocky strut in his step.
Harry, blushing, followed after the blond, wiping his glasses clear on his robes before sliding them back on his face. His whole body tingled, the bites on his legs and in between throbbing with heat.
Narcissa lifted an eyebrow at the books Draco had grabbed: Moste Potente Potions by Phineas Bourne and Fifteenth-Century Fiends by Belvedere Babcock. She didn’t say anything, however, and neither did the clerk, who was too busy staring at Harry to really notice anyway.
They made their way to the apothecary next. Lucius remained as cold and indifferent as ever. They quickly bought the necessary ingredients for First-year students as well as two top-of-the-line potion cases. Herbology gloves, earmuffs, and other tools were also purchased there. They were just leaving, the little bell above the door chiming, when they ran into Hagrid once more.
The half-giant was grinning ear to ear. In his hand, he carried a massive birdcage. Within it, a large white owl with a sprinkling of black dots stared back at them with huge golden eyes. “Happy birthday, ‘Arry,” the man boomed, ignoring the Malfoys completely.
Harry stared at the caged owl, too surprised to feel much of anything.
Draco gave Hagrid a surprisingly warm smile. “Thank you. Your gift is beautiful.” He accepted the cage, having to hold his arm completely extended. The owl was surprisingly heavy and his eyes widened a second before Narcissa cast a feather-light charm on the cage.
“Thank you,” Harry whispered - deeply grateful. He lifted a finger and ran it over one of the slender bars.
“She seemed mighty eager to be out’ta that store and I figured I had a few birthdays to make up fer,” Hagrid said cheerfully and gave the boys a wink. “Specially as seeing I didn’t even get’ter pay for lunch. Well, I best be off. I’m sure the Pr’fessor is anxious fer me to get back.” He reached out and gently ruffled Harry’s already messy hair before striding away.
Narcissa and Lucius said nothing about their new pet. Narcissa simply took Harry’s arm, Lucius took hold of Draco’s, and they Apparated home.
“Draco, a word,” Lucius said, eyes chilly. He turned on his heel and climbed the main stairs without looking back.
Draco gave a sigh. “Unpack our new things,” he told Harry.
“Yes, Draco,” Harry answered obediently. He eagerly accepted the birdcage, the owl disgruntled and fluffed up from Apparating.
Draco brushed the boy’s cheek with his fingertips before turning and following his father to his study. He already knew what the conversation would be about. The study door was open and Draco saw that Lucius was pacing, which was new. Usually the man stood at the office window stiff as a board with his hands clasped at the small of his back.
Draco stepped inside, gently shutting the door behind him. It shut out the light from the hall and cast the room in shadows. He leaned against the door, expression bored.
Lucius sighed out a loud breath before turning and facing his young son.
Draco had grown in the four years he’d been in Lucius’s custody, but he was still so small, so young. Draco thought he knew so much and could handle any problem thrown his way, but he’d been sheltered whether he knew it or not. By his age, by his traumatic past, by the Malfoy name, by his bond to Harry Potter, he hadn’t truly faced an adult situation or the consequences of one since he’d entered the Wizarding world. But they were coming, consequences and situations both, and soon it’d be too late to turn back. Soon Draco would be in Hogwarts and farther away from Lucius’s sheltering mantle.
A knot of frustration and panic choked him, Lucius’s hands fisting at his sides. What could he say to convince his son to turn back? To give up this foolish belief that he could triumph against the Dark Lord?
Draco sighed, a softer sound than his father’s, and pushed away from the door. He strode forward, grabbed Lucius’s fisted hand, and walked him to one of the armchairs in front of the desk. Lucius didn’t resist, maybe curious about Draco’s intentions. Draco very rarely touched people, except for Harry. The skin to skin contact made Lucius go quiet and take notice.
With Lucius sitting and Draco standing in front of him, they were very nearly eye-to-eye. Due to the Malfoy curse, Draco was a younger copy of his father, nearly identical. Grey stared into grey; the moment lingered as each weighed the other.
“You’re pretty self-interested. I can trust in that,” Draco said softly. “I’m your only chance at a legacy. Your greatest fear is the Malfoy line dying with me, because of you.”
Lucius felt cold, howling rage griping his insides with frozen claws.
“Focus!” Draco hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Listen.” He waited for Lucius’s breathing to even out before continuing. “You’re so caught up in this vision of the future, you can’t see what’s right in front of your face.”
“What’s that?” Lucius breathed without inflection, a thin layer of black ice encased over a dangerous emotional storm.
“I don’t give a fuck about your legacy. Never have,” Draco stated with brutal honesty, but before Lucius could react, he added, “That doesn’t mean you won’t have one. I don’t need to care for it to exist, do I? As long as I’m alive, as long as there is the potential of me having the next male Malfoy, your legacy exists no matter what I think or feel.”
Lucius grinned humorlessly. He knew that very well, actually. It was a reality he faced every day.
“So let’s help each other,” Draco gave a bloodthirsty grin of his own. “I will vow to take into consideration the Malfoy legacy from this point on with the intent of furthering it. In exchange, you will cease this constant fight against reality. I am bound to Harry Potter and he is bound to me. I will take on the Dark Lord be it through Harry or beside him, and I plan on winning that fight.” Grey eyes beginning to burn silver, Draco reached forward to grip his father’s jaw. “In exchange for my vow to care about your ridiculous legacy, you will vow to get on board with my plan to defeat Voldemort. Truly and whole-heartedly get on board, without reservation and without this obsession of breaking my bond with Harry. You’ve had four years, Lucius. Give. It. Up.”
Lucius reached up and took Draco’s small hand in his own, pulling it away from his face. “I don’t doubt your resolve, Draco. A Malfoy’s will is a diamond-headed spear. It is what has driven the Malfoy family forward and kept our line alive even under this impossible curse.” His eyes went silver-edged, mirroring his son’s. “It is not your will that I question, it is your assessment of your capabilities. It is not possible for you to defeat one such as the Dark Lord. His power… It is unlike anything you have ever seen. How can you expect me to believe you can defeat him when he will most likely return by possessing Harry’s body? Even their wands are the same, Draco!”
“I will do whatever it takes to save Harry,” Draco answered simply, tone casual. “If that means toppling governments or creating my own army. If that means mastering every Dark Art there is or possessing Harry myself. I will use every thing, every skill, every one at my disposal to do it, but I will save him.” He slid his hand from Lucius’s grasp. “That includes you.” Draco gave a cocky, closed-mouth smile. “So. Are you ready? To join me? To throw all this energy you waste trying to ‘save’ me from Harry into actually destroying Voldemort? Because I could use your expertise in Dark Magic.”
Lucius felt time slow to a crawl. His heart pumped like the pistons of a runaway train. Adrenaline saturated his system.
Draco wasn’t wrong.
The first year he’d had his son back, he had been obsessed with revenge. Railing at the world, he’d hunted down the one responsible for his son’s disappearance, blaming them utterly for what had been wrought on his son’s mind and body, blaming them for the destruction of the Malfoy line.
The second year, he’d shifted his focus to ways to break the bond between Draco and Harry. He’d scrambled for arguments that would convince Draco to break it. He’d researched rituals that could accomplish such a thing without utterly destroying Draco’s mind or magic in the process. He’d failed at both.
By the third year of Draco’s return, Lucius had begun to truly panic. As the evidence of Harry’s connection to the Dark Lord became more and more apparent, he’d become utterly certain the Dark Lord would return, spelling Harry’s - and through him Draco’s - certain doom. Every plan Lucius could conceive of eventually developed too many flaws or depended on too many happenstances to be relied on. It always kept boiling down to trying to convince Draco to willingly dissolve the bond, which was a fool’s quest. Draco would not relent.
So.
Lucius stared into his son’s eyes and saw his fate. He could give in. He could make an Unbreakable Vow with his son in exchange for one from Draco. Or he could continue to work to preserve Draco’s life at odds with his son.
Lucius knew if he chose the latter, he’d eventually lose Narcissa as well. His wife had long ago cast her fate with their son’s. However, if he chose to work with Draco’s insane plan and lost… Well, everything would be lost, but the same could be said of the latter choice as well.
If he chose to continue to work against Draco’s ultimate goal of Harry’s salvation, and Draco lost as Lucius feared he would, what would he really be able to preserve? How much of Draco could possibly be saved if the Dark Lord gained ascendancy and dominated the Wizarding world? The very best Lucius could hope for would be to convince the Dark Lord to keep Harry Potter alive and imprisoned, a type of slave to the Dark Lord’s whim, just to keep Draco alive. To be honest, Lucius didn’t even believe that was possible. Draco wouldn’t allow it. His son would kill Harry himself and die with him before allowing that.
So really what did Lucius have to win by choosing the second option? The truth of the matter was that there was more to be won by choosing to join his wife and son. His only real choice, as impossible as it seemed was…
“Very well,” he rasped, heart thundering in his chest. “Yes. I surrender. I will make the Vow.”
Eyes half-lidded, Draco gave a slow smile. “That’s good,” he said sweetly and offered his hand. “Dobby!”
There was a compact pop as the elf appeared next to Draco. Dobby stared up at Draco with clear devotion. “Yes, Master Draco sir?”
“I’d like you to bring Narcissa here. Immediately,” Draco told him.
Dobby disappeared and not five seconds passed before Narcissa appeared with a grimace as she was travelled into the room by elven magic.
She staggered, catching herself on the back the arm chair across from the one Lucius sat in. ‘Draco needs you. Will you come?’ the elf had asked in a rush. She’d barely gotten out her answer of ‘yes’ before the world had turned inside out. She caught her balance quickly, however, as she noticed the way her son and Lucius had clasped forearms and seemed to be having some silent contest of wills, staring each other down.
“Narcissa,” Lucius said gravely, never once looking away from Draco. “Please be our binder.”
Chapter end.
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Freedom Bound in Chains