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Hephaestus	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 16287 -:- 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Seven--In the Name of Forgiveness

The problem with a revelation like the one of Harry�s pain, Draco thought, was that having it did not tell him what he should do with it.
He stood and watched as Harry conferred with his parents, who had arrived in hospital with cheering words and quiet offers of Dark magic to try and repair Scorpius�s hand and face. Harry received them with frigid politeness, and only shook his head when Lucius made a motion with his wand. The same aura that surrounded him when he was metal-dancing surrounded him now, Draco thought. He was the center of a corona of constantly shifting power. If he chose to use that power against the Malfoy family instead of to shape and forge protective sigils, there would be little that any of them could do to stop him.
Luckily, Lucius recognized that fact as well as Draco did, and Narcissa was more interested in what the Healers had actually said than in what they could do to help their grandson recover--so far. They both listened meekly to Harry and then stepped forwards and stood, hand in hand, staring down at Scorpius, who snored with his mouth open. Harry folded his arms and leaned against the wall, his face as implacable in emotion as it was in ugliness.
Draco looked back and forth between them and felt both his old revulsion for Harry�s features as compared with his parents� noble and proud ones and impatience with himself for making the comparison. He had to get beyond this somehow, at least if he wanted Harry to remain with him the way he was certain both he and Scorpius needed Harry to remain.
But how?
Lucius and Narcissa had taught Draco to put up with stupid allies, with people who thought they were more cunning than he was, and with those who thought they could use Draco to advance without paying a price in return. But they had never taught him to adapt to the repulsive. Why should they? No pure-blood, by common agreement, was ugly, and Draco would spend his life among pure-bloods.
Draco blew out air through pursed lips and shifted his stance thoughtfully from foot to foot. It was looking more and more likely that he would just have to react to Harry blindly and hope for the best.
But he didn�t like the idea.
If he could only have a plan�

*
Harry shot a cautious glance at Draco. He seemed to have become a mere spectator to the fate of his son, watching his parents and Harry hold a discussion about what magic would be best to use far more than he contributed to it, and keeping his eyes on them more often than on Scorpius.
His expression was complex, angry and indignant and thoughtful by turns. Harry didn�t know if much was to be hoped for out of him.
He swallowed and turned back to the small boy who needed him now, whatever his father�s opinion of Harry was. Scorpius had awakened again and was wincing softly in pain, shifting his shoulders around on the pillows, apparently afraid to actually cry out. Harry stepped towards him and offered another pain potion that the Healers had given him. Scorpius accepted it graciously and drank it without a pause.
�Is that safe?� Narcissa Malfoy asked sharply.
Harry had trouble deciding how to react to Draco, but no trouble deciding how to react to the elder Malfoys. He knew they were worried for Scorpius�s safety, but they remained as obnoxious as ever. �Yes, Mrs. Malfoy,� he said, and didn�t look at her. He would rather she didn�t see the open contempt shining in his eyes. Instead, he watched Scorpius press back into the pillows again and look around the room. �The Healers cast several spells to make sure that Scorpius wouldn�t react to any of the potion�s ingredients, and this potion has been used safely before with victims of dwarf magic.�
�Victims.�
Harry narrowed his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. Lucius had spoken, and there was a look on his face like a man who sees sunrise after a night of despair.
�Of course Scorpius is a victim of dwarf magic,� Lucius said slowly, his tongue sneaking out to tap his lips and said lips curling up in a venomous smile. �I should have thought of that before. They foolishly allowed him to enter their work zones and touch their power. They should have kept an eye out for a human child whom they must know would be curious about the non-human. Perhaps they even deliberately injured Scorpius. The dwarves must have been envious of the beauty that Scorpius carried and wanted to mar it.� He bobbed his head in a way, Harry thought in disgust, that made him look like a duck waiting for a handout. �Yes, we will be seeing about the dwarves.�
�Mr. Malfoy.� Harry stood straight, or as straight as he could with his bad leg, and pivoted towards Lucius. �This was an accident--one that would not have happened in the first place if Scorpius had not been smart enough to evade the house-elves. No one deliberately hurt your son.�
�You can�t know that.� Lucius gave him a look compounded of smugness and pity. �Who can really understand the mind of a non-human?� Harry started to snap that Lucius himself had already made a claim to second-guess their motives, but the idiot was rambling obliviously on. �And besides, they�re your colleagues. Of course you would defend them. But we can�t rely on your testimony alone.�
Harry felt a dragon-like rage rearing up in him. He had been through something like this before, when the Healers who were treating him after his torture made assumptions about what he wanted and about his state of mind. If he had to go through it again with the Malfoys, he would--
�They didn�t hurt me on purpose.�
Harry let the anger fade out of him and turned to look at Scorpius. Scorpius was holding his head up slightly now--the Healers had begun to cast the spells that would thicken the flesh and muscle on his neck--and looking patiently from one of his grandparents to the other. His fused hand made slow, intense gestures, like the flipper of a seal.
�What?� Lucius demanded. He sounded just as arrogant as he had when confronting Harry. Perhaps he doesn�t save that condescension just for me, then, Harry decided, but for anyone who contradicts him.

�They didn�t hurt me on purpose,� Scorpius repeated firmly. He turned to Harry and extended his fused hand without a pause. Harry took it and folded it neatly in his own. He had to blink back tears. Scorpius seemed to know that Harry wouldn�t hesitate to touch him, whilst his own family�s record on that wasn�t impeccable. �I just wanted to see what was going on, and I waited until the dwarves were all busy. Then I picked up the ember. And the fire came.� He looked solemnly at Narcissa; he seemed to dislike Lucius�s expression instinctively. �The fire hurt me. They didn�t hurt me.�
�Dear child, you might have been mistaken--�
A sound so loud that at first Harry mistook it for the crackle of one of the scars along his leg resounded throughout the room. And then he realized it was Draco, clearing his throat and stepping away from the wall. He looked profoundly uncomfortable, but he still did it.
�Scorpius is right,� Draco said. �You know exactly why what happened did. You know why Scorpius was clever enough to slip out of the house without any of the elves noticing and make his way to the forge. And you know why he was curious enough to pick up the ember, and overrule the instincts that would have told him the fire was hot.� He closed his eyes and let his breath out slowly. �I think this was mostly an accident, but if it was anyone�s fault, it was ours.�
Harry would have liked to say something then, but he couldn�t, because of the surprise and the pleasure choking up from his heart and filling his throat.
And to see Draco face his parents, his pulse throbbing rapidly in his throat and his hands closed into fists at his sides�
Harry leaned back, still holding Scorpius�s hand, and prepared to watch.

*
Draco didn�t like doing this. His parents were looking at him as if he had lost his mind--less for supporting Scorpius�s word, he knew, than for mentioning family secrets in front of Harry or defending non-humans. But even though he still didn�t really know what to do with his new empathy for Harry, he knew this was a good first step.
And besides, Scorpius was right. And he would feel more guilty if he stood around and tried to conceal the reason he was right than if he opposed Lucius and Narcissa, which he had done before and survived. And he didn�t like feeling guilty.
�Draco,� Lucius said at last, his voice a measured pulse of anger. It was a highly effective, intimidating technique. There had been a time when he could make Draco quail with just that voice and a direct look. Of course, he seemed to have forgotten that Draco was no longer ten years old. �You know our reasons for those actions, and you know the promise we made each other.�
Never to mention the spells to anyone else. Draco knew. Whilst most of the spells were not technically illegal, it was illegal to use them on anyone under eleven years old, when a wizarding child�s brain was considered mature enough to handle them. But Harry was not an Auror and never would be, and Draco thought that trusting him was not out of the question. He swallowed once and said, �I wouldn�t say anything about it if you weren�t blaming the dwarves unfairly, Father. But you are.�
�Draco.� Narcissa knew, and her gentler, more chiming voice could have melted Draco�s resolve if it was malleable. She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, gently stroking up the underside. Her nails left a tingling line of sharpness behind. �Most of us are family here.�
And family loyalty always comes first. But Draco could imagine what would happen if he adhered to that precept now. Harry would become defensive about the dwarves and his metal-dancing--understandably, since a lawsuit by the Malfoys could sink his company--and Draco would lose all chance of reconnecting with him. Besides, Draco didn�t think that denying his father the opportunity to go to court was tantamount to a betrayal.
Still, it was something he had never done before. His parents had given him support and sympathy in the wake of Harry�s torture; they were the only ones who had listened to his side of the story and agreed that he had done the right thing. Under normal circumstances, Draco would have given them what they wanted without hesitation.

�I don�t care,� he said. His throat felt stuffed with cotton or straw. He turned to Harry. �We cast spells to make Scorpius smarter than his age would technically allow,� he said harshly. �It�s one reason he listened to his intelligence above his instincts and picked up that ember in the first place.�
Harry leaned back for a moment, his eyes gone dark. Lucius�s face closed, and he stepped away from Draco, folding his arms in a gesture of negation. Narcissa remained where she was, gaze traveling slowly between her husband and her son, but Draco saw no support in her firmly planted feet.
He was caught between the lover he hoped to win and the parents he still had to please, since Lucius�s money was what Draco and Scorpius lived on. He had to do this alone--perhaps as alone as Harry had been when he was lying in hospital after his torture. He swallowed and kept on soldiering straight ahead.
�I love my son,� he told Harry. �I never would have allowed the spells if I thought they would harm him. But I love my family name, too, and I couldn�t allow Scorpius to be--average in any way. I�m just glad he was beautiful, so we didn�t have to use any spells to enhance his appearance. Spells that work the flesh and bone are more dangerous than ones that affect the mind, sometimes. They have to be worked in on top of growth spurts, whilst the mind accepts the unusual intelligence as a genuine attribute.� He took another breath to let himself continue.
Quick as a snake, Harry interrupted him. �And now?�
�Now?� Draco blinked and stared at him.
�Do you still think your son is beautiful? Now.� And Harry leaned deliberately back and gestured at Scorpius�s burned and mutilated face.
Draco stared at him. Scorpius looked back, sucking on his lip in a way that he only did when he was worried. But his face, more like Lucius�s than Draco�s, remained smooth and calm.
Despite the burns. Despite the shallow cauldron of crisped and burned and pounded flesh. Despite the missing hair. Despite the flipper-like hand that he leaned confidingly into Harry�s.
Despite all that, Draco could still see the resemblance between Scorpius and the other members of his family.
And the look Scorpius wore now--desperate behind the resolve, trying furiously to act like a Malfoy when he wasn�t certain he could be good enough--was the essence of what Draco had felt during his sixth year and when Harry was hurt.
�Yes,� Draco said, and he had not known his own voice was capable of that softness. �Yes, I do.� And he stepped forwards and feathered his fingers down Scorpius�s face, concentrating intently until they came to rest in the twisted and tugged-down corner of his lip. He smiled into Scorpius�s eyes and lifted his fused hand in his own. He had tasted worse things at his parents� formal dinner parties than the smoothness of that skin under his lips. �He�s lovely.�
Scorpius�s eyes shone like the sun.

*
Harry thought his heart would burst with pride.
It was obvious how much of an effort it took for Draco to touch Scorpius, and Harry suspected that effort would be unequal to touching him, still. But it was Draco and Scorpius�s relationship that was most important, given the strong bonds of blood and love that connected them. Harry could stand it if Draco never loved him again; he might have snapped and gone after Draco with his bare hands if Draco had continued to flinch and look doubtfully at his son.
And Draco�s change was more profound than Harry had thought it would be, he realized when he looked up at the other Malfoys. Lucius was staring at Draco as if he couldn�t comprehend this any more than he could the defeat of the Dark Lord. Narcissa stood with her head tilted back, in almost the same pose Draco had used when confronting his parents. But her eyes were wide, the pupils dilated, and she looked straight at Harry, as if the sight of her son touching her grandson was more than she could bear.
How sad, Harry thought. They care so much for appearances they can�t even appreciate what�s happened here, what it means for Draco to change his mind like that. I wonder if they would have enchanted Scorpius not to mind their behavior and surrounded him with glamours, if it�s true that the hospital staff can�t do much for his hand and face?

But that was a suspicion Harry didn�t like to entertain of anybody, so instead he moved back a little so Draco could sit on the hospital bed and stood up to confront Lucius and Narcissa. When he moved towards them, they moved away. Well, good. Harry didn�t think he really wanted them near Scorpius right now.
Especially if he�s smart enough to figure out what their expressions mean.

�I think I�ve told you everything the Healers told me,� he said in a quiet, friendly voice. �They�ll do what they can to restore Scorpius, but he won�t ever look completely the way he used to again. Why don�t you go home and think about that? It might do you good.� He stretched out, his right hand planted on the bed, his bad leg half-dangling as his left one supported his weight. He was sure Lucius and Narcissa would realize he was forming a barrier between them, Draco, and Scorpius, but he didn�t think they would realize he was using their own instinctive disgust against them.
Lucius leaned towards him. He probably meant to look menacing, but Harry�s standards for menace had changed after Greyback. �Listen to me, Potter,� he whispered. �You have not the slightest idea of what it means to us to see our grandson damaged like this--�
Harry raised one finger and traced it deliberately along the ridge above his eye. �Oh, yes I do,� he whispered. �And I understand that at the moment, all you�re seeing is that �damage.� You can�t even be glad Scorpius survived, any more than you could be glad he was born healthy. You had to alter him, didn�t you? And right now you�re thinking more about what will make you feel better than what he needs. To me, that�s the perfect example of the selfishness I despised in Voldemort.� He discovered then, to his intense satisfaction and delight, that the name still made Lucius Malfoy flinch. �He wanted to remake the world in his image, and you want to remake your family. I won�t let you. Scorpius is going to live free and happy, two things I value more than you ever could. Go the fuck away now, Lucius, before I show you a few of the tricks that I learned for taking care of Death Eaters.�
He kept his voice perfectly friendly and soft, but his magic flexed around him and rose in a pattern that Harry had seen manifest a few times before it tore loose and killed his torturers. A pair of spangled, shining butterfly wings made of red and silver light unfolded from his shoulders and strained at the edges into sharp projections like teeth. Harry had watched Greyback�s head sheared off his shoulders by one set of those teeth and heard his howl of pain.
Perhaps that memory was visible on his face, because Lucius stiffened once, then turned away with a casual wave of a hand, as if he had meant to all along. He marched to the far end of the room, Narcissa following behind him like the foam on a wave, and turned to deliver his parting shot in a low, vicious voice. �Strange that you�ll fight so strongly for someone who once abandoned you, Mr. Potter.�
�This is about right and wrong,� Harry said, �not about revenge.� He paused thoughtfully, and the wings stretched further from his body, their edges completely spiky now. �Though it could be, if you continue to test me.�
Lucius turned and slipped out of the room, every muscle of his body bristling with dignity.
Narcissa waited. Her eyes caught Harry�s, and she gave him a slow, deep glance that offered pity and scorn both at once. She might as well have spoken aloud.
Don�t count on anything from our son. He�s still our son whether he can accept Scorpius or not. That�s not a guarantee that he�ll accept you.

Harry looked serenely back. The Malfoys might think of him as weak because he didn�t watch out for every chance and try to manipulate people like they did, he thought, but his kind of way of being in the world had an advantage that their essential selfishness didn�t. Harry could act in a way he knew to be right for the sake of others who had done a good thing, whether or not that good thing affected him. The Malfoys were bound in helpless blindness until someone touched them directly.
Narcissa�s back was as stiff as Lucius�s by the time she turned away.
Harry waited until he was sure they were gone before facing Draco again. His body and his expression were as calm as they could be, considering that what Narcissa had impressed on him was true.
I have no idea if Draco can ever love me again or not. It�s one thing to touch a beloved son and another to take a scarred lover to bed.

But just knowing he has this in him makes me more disposed to give him another chance.

*
Draco watched Harry look at him, and knew exactly what lay beneath the surface.
He�s wondering how long this will last. He�s wondering what I can do concerning him. He�s wondering if anything I give to Scorpius can be given to him at all, or if it�s all reserved for my son.

The problem was, Draco himself didn�t know the answer to that question any more than he knew what to do next with his new courage. He had to have plans, but he couldn�t come up with any. The knowledge he needed to make them was knowledge of himself, and that was either absent or changed in the last few minutes.
I hate not having a plan.

Maybe, in lieu of anything else, Harry would accept words.
Draco took a deep breath and reached out to clasp Harry�s hand. That was fine; that was safe. Harry�s hands hadn�t been burned, or reshaped, and were still pink and healthy. Draco stared at them as he said softly, �You�ll stay with us so that Scorpius can learn to exist and get around his injuries?�
�I�m going to learn that anyway,� Scorpius said patiently, and Draco started. He had a bad tendency to forget all about his son when he was listening to a conversation and hadn�t spoken in a while, which was inexcusable when he wasn�t an ordinary child and was liable to understand more of the words flying around the room. �But Mr. Potter can teach me.� He looked comfortably up at Harry. �Or Harry. Can I call you Harry?�
�Of course,� Harry said, and slid one hand up the burned cheek without flinching at all. Draco, watching, knew he would need to learn to do that.
But maybe it doesn�t matter if I can�t be perfect at it the first time. Maybe it�s all right if I take some time to practice it and learn.

And maybe Harry can even teach me that.

And maybe�and maybe�
Draco slid one hand quickly up Harry�s arm towards his shoulder, and his face. It was as close as he had come of his own free will since Harry was tortured. He froze with his fingers still a few inches away, but Harry looked down at them, then up at Draco, and his eyes were bright with wonder.
�I�d like to call you Harry, too,� he said quietly.
Harry squinted thoughtfully at Draco. Draco had no idea what course he would choose before he smiled and folded his hand over Draco�s.
�You can for a while,� he said lightly. �You don�t have to forever.�
Draco understood the implication behind those words. This is a good first step, but I can�t rest on my laurels. I�ll have to show him that I�m ready for forgiveness and that I actually want him for a lover.

Draco nodded, never looking away. �Understood.�

*
qwerty: Luckily, Draco has caught himself before that happens.
DTDY: This story is pretty short- only two more chapters after this one- so they can begin working through their pain instead of experiencing it.
k: Thank you!
SoftObsidian74: Thank you! Harry and Scorpius will not be healed overnight, and will make their own demands. Draco has adapted to his son�s. It remains to be seen if he can adapt to Harry�s. He still can�t bring himself to touch Harry�s face, so it might be a long while before he could have him as a lover.
Ladynight: Draco would complain that Harry has an unfortunate tendency to hang emotional complications on a simple shag. ;)
Dezra: Draco will start learning now.
And I actually think you�re already on my mailing list�
Myraa: Draco is going to work on this. The main problem is that he wants a guaranteed solution for guaranteed results, and it doesn�t work like that. He�ll have to get used to this before he can make progress.
So glad you�re enjoying the story, and you�ve been added to the update list.
Slytherdor: Draco�s actions in this chapter went a long way towards making Harry forgive him.
Luvdonite: Thanks! Harry will actually be stronger now that he has accepted things with Draco might not work out and he still doesn�t need to stay with him.
linagabriev: I understand, and Harry probably does interfere in Scorpius and Draco�s relationship more than he should. On the other hand, he thought there was a strong chance that Draco wouldn�t give Scorpius a mirror at all, and would make other mistakes. By taking the choice out of his hands, he sort of forced Draco to deal with reality.
Draco is trying! His tries are not always graceful, but will be better when he gets over the idea that he has to be perfect the first time.
Buumkin: Thank you! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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