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Returning to Sanity	By : AchillesTheGeek Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 31212 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter books or films, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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8. Return to Scheming
Tuesday, May 5 1998 – Malfoy Manor
Draco Malfoy was getting rather bored of his own company.
He'd come back from the Lupins' funeral yesterday without his mother. As she had never actually taken the Dark Mark, she was not under the same stringent house-arrest requirements that he and his father were and so she did not have to return to the Manor with him, and had gone back to Andromeda's house instead to help with Teddy. While he was jealous of her freedom, he could see that it was definitely in their favour: by not being in the Manor all the time, she was subtly pointing out to the Aurors that she shouldn't be lumped together with her husband and son, which might help keep her, at least, out of Azkaban. There was always a chance that she would be able to lobby for their release, if it came to that; and at any rate, keep the Malfoy name from being irreparably dragged through the mud.
Draco had mixed feelings about his father. They had had a conference about the state of affairs, and Draco knew that there were two concerns uppermost in his father's mind: staying out of Azkaban and avoiding being a slave to Harry Potter. From Lucius's research in the Malfoy library, it appeared that the latter was a shockingly real possibility.
It seemed that a wizard's magic was the most important thing about him, as far as the ancient pure-blood traditions were concerned, and so had given rise to the heaviest debt known to wizarding law. It turned out that there were some very old, very dark, and very illegal spells that could bind up a wizard's magic. Evidently, the Dark Lord had learnt one of these and used it on them. It occurred to Draco that he had probably learnt it here; a terrible irony that the knowledge which was the source of so much of their power had been used against them to rob them of it. But these spells could be broken. And when a wizard was denied his magic and someone set him free, this created an obligation, the "Dette of Magickale Emantschipation" as the old books quaintly termed it, which was even more important and far-reaching than a Life Debt.
The debt amounted to the fact that, if Potter wanted to, he could claim both father and son as his vassals. And not just their service; they would be unable to lie to him, to plot against him, or even to use magic at all without his approval, if he chose to enforce it. This clearly terrified the older Malfoy. Draco thought he could understand the fears and frustrations that were driving his father: Lucius had been under the Dark Lord's sway for so many years; had had freedom for a few hours; and now, it appeared, was potentially once more bound to a Lord.
But Harry Potter, Draco knew, was no Lord Voldemort. He had said that the only thing he wanted was for them to be free. Draco had watched him for seven years; he knew that Potter would never go back on such a statement. He would not insist on his rights. At first, when they had discussed things on Sunday, he had shared his father's concern; but when he had seen Potter again at the funeral, he realized that he could make it work.
It was, he knew, the slap that had changed his mind. He'd gone to the funeral primed by his father to do whatever he could to get Potter on-side; when he had fallen apart in front of Draco, and it looked like he would just give up, Draco knew instinctively that he had to act, and act drastically. The slap had not been premeditated; but it had hurt, and Potter had not been offended, so Draco was now certain that Potter would accept him as an equal, not insist on his status as a slave.
At that thought, his native Slytherin cunning kicked in. Being accepted by the "Saviour of the Wizarding World", as the Prophet called him, as an equal was no bad thing for wizards who had picked the wrong side of the battle and stood to lose everything. Even, it seemed, his friends. When he'd gone to see Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Greg Goyle at Hogwarts while Potter was out of it, Pansy and Greg had made it clear that, while they sympathized with him, they weren't going to risk openly assisting him in any way. He had not been in touch since.
This left Blaise Zabini as his only remaining true friend. He no longer had a power base amongst the Slytherin snakes; well then, as a Slytherin, he would have to seek another one. He would brave the Gryffindor lions, and seek new strength there. It was going to take a new strategy; amongst the snakes, he could hide his cowardice with bullying, but he might actually have to be brave, and – horror! - Honest, with the lions. It occurred to him that he already had been: the slap had been partly about waking up Potter for his father's sake; but Draco knew perfectly well that there was more to it than that. He'd told Potter he needed him. And that was not Slytherin manipulation; it was the stark, honest truth.
Draco was becoming a bit of a Gryffindor. The thought scared him shitless.

Narcissa Malfoy sipped her Lady Grey tea and considered the issue of Harry Potter calmly and carefully.
Firstly, there was the undeniable fact that she adored Lucius Malfoy. She always had, she expected that she always would. And she knew that he adored her in return. He had always made sure that, whatever happened to him, she would be alright. There had never been any suggestion of her going to Azkaban. She alone knew how much his protecting her had cost him over the years. She desperately wanted to keep him free, and to stop him needing to pay any more for her freedom. She could see only one possibility of achieving this, but was there a limit to what she would do to achieve this? Was welcoming Harry Potter, of all people, into the Malfoy circle too high a price?
Now consider the blossoming relationship with her sister. They both needed each other, that was clear. And they were both very much enjoying getting back together, that was also clear. She enjoyed Teddy; it was lovely to have a child to fuss over again, it was such a help after all the unremitting angst of the War. And, of course, Mr. Potter turned up again. As Teddy's godfather, he was always going to be part of that scene.
Then there was her son's happiness to consider. She could not deny that there was something between him and Mr. Potter. They had had all this talk about shields and bonds and debts. She knew all the theory. She also knew the evidence of her own eyes over the years: her son had always had an obsession with Harry James Potter. He had never stopped wanting to be his friend, ever since Harry had spurned his hand back when they were both eleven. To be certain, that obsession now manifested as hatred; but every witch knew the mantra, "if you can't kiss him, hex him": and that, she was sure, applied here. She could sense that her son's walls, the elaborate defences he had built up over the years to hide his emotions, even from himself, were tottering.
The shield and debt might be real enough, but Narcissa considered that the bond might well have happened without them. And, she decided, it was a desirable thing. On the whole, no, Mr. Potter was not too high a price. There was, of course, the question of an heir; but then, they could always adopt Teddy. It would not be the first time such a thing had happened in Malfoy history, she knew, though it was never discussed openly.
So she had manipulated as best she could to get them together. She knew that the thought of Potter gave Lucius heartburn; but she knew him well enough to see that he understood the power that the boy wielded, quite unknowingly. Imagine if that power could be harnessed, could be directed by the Malfoys!
What could they not achieve then!

Lucius Malfoy was worried about his son.
Draco was not coping very well with their enforced confinement in the manor. He was glad that the Aurors had allowed him to accompany his mother to the Lupin funeral; it had given Draco something to do other than staying in his room, which seemed to be all he spent his time doing since the Battle.
He knew that they were both in a limbo that would only stop when the Ministry got round to holding trials for former Death-Eaters. And the limbo was probably better than the Hell to follow. He knew that things were pretty grim: he was as likely to escape another sentence in Azkaban as a Muggle was to escape a body-bind curse. It was this thought that had led him to all but abandon his son for the time being: he hoped that by showing the Aurors that there was a coolness, a distance between them, his son might be able to avoid the same fate.
As for himself, he had been cautiously owling a few old friends, suggesting that perhaps a little influence might be brought to bear. But he knew he had to be subtle; very subtle. The Aurors swore blind that his correspondence was not being monitored. They probably even believed it. Lucius did not. He knew far too well how the Ministry operated.
But Azkaban was only one of his problems. What to do about Potter? This Magical Emancipation Debt worried him greatly. It seems that he might have only traded one form of slavery for another. And how to take Potter being a Gryffindor into account? The Dark Lord was at least predictable. Lucius had worked out his measure; after all, he had managed to maintain his position as Voldemort's favourite Death Eater for nearly twenty years, until his failure to obtain the prophecy.
Draco thought that, because it was Potter, things would be different. That Potter really wanted them to be free. Lucius ruminated about that. If Potter had been a Slytherin, he would have known how to deal with things, known how to strike a deal with him to his face, and manipulate him behind his back. But Gryffindors were always so unpredictable. One simply could not count on them to act in their own best interest; and this unnerved him.
Draco even seemed to believe that Potter might keep them out of Azkaban. If so, what an irony that it was him! Here in front of him was the very real possibility of a second term of imprisonment in Azkaban, and loss of his standing in the wizarding world; and his best hope to avoid it seemed to be the boy who had caused his first prison sentence, and his loss of standing with the Dark Lord.
He sat, sipping a fine vintage port, one of the few muggle things he really enjoyed, and let his thoughts wander. He had long ago discovered that his best plans happened this way, when he just relaxed and let them grow in his mind, rather than try to reason things out.
This time was no exception. The plan, when it came, was beautiful, and breathtakingly simple. And the best thing was that it actually hinged on Potter being a Gryffindor. He looked at it from all angles, rolled it around in his mind just as he rolled the port around in his mouth, testing it from every angle. Were there any flaws? Arthur Weasley, of course, obviously knew something about Haussmann shields; tricky; but he knew nothing of Dark Magic, so that should be safe. Hermione Granger; yes, but she could be managed.
After another half an hour of mulling things over, he reached a conclusion. The plan would work. It was perfect. It would keep him out of Azkaban, and Potter out of his hair; and with a very little luck, achieve both at no cost to him or Draco.
A very good evening's work.
He left the fire in the grate to die down by itself, and went to bed.

Wednesday, May 6 1998 – Malfoy Manor
Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley arrived at the manor at half-past nine, as arranged. Lucius smiled to himself; their punctuality showed that she took him seriously. This was very promising. He offered them tea and toast, which was politely declined.
He led them to the library, taking care to avoid rooms that might have unhappy memories. To this end, he had specifically had them Floo into Narcissa's study. While this room was less imposing than his own study, it had the advantage of a Floo connection and a straight route to the library. Also, it meant that he could hide the books he definitely did not want Granger to find in his own study.
He didn't want to suppress knowledge of the Magical Emancipation Debt entirely; that would leave him open to the risk of her finding out about it from some other source. But he wanted to leave her with the impression that it had to be an oppressive burden if it was to be taken up. Potter had to be made to agree to let them off immediately and completely; and, he being a Gryffindor, the best way to do that was to take his words about setting them free at face value, and make it clear that this Debt was the opposite of that.
Lucius had a terrible feeling in his stomach. Almost anyone else Lucius knew would have jumped all over such a display of weakness. He was in effect throwing himself on Potter's mercy. He had to remind himself that he was not dealing with a Slytherin, who would not have shown any. Potter would have mercy; he would live up to his words about setting Draco free. He had to believe it. He kept repeating it to himself over and over as the morning went on.
Granger's gasp of amazement when they walked into the library was very gratifying. He went over to the section on Shields, and was momentarily grateful to the house-elves who had manage to rearrange the books so that it was not obvious that half a dozen books were missing, currently sitting on his study desk.
Grateful to a house-elf? Lucius, control yourself! He berated himself.
Near the shelves a table had been drawn up, with three comfortable stools. On the table were three books with slips of paper inserted as bookmarks at relevant points.
"These are all the books that might contain something of interest about shields," he said, indicating three shelves packed tight with very old books. Ron groaned; Lucius hid a smirk. He indicated the top shelf, where the books were significantly less dusty. "These are the books that I have had a chance to read since Saturday. The ones I have put back on the shelf don't appear to contain anything of much further help; these three, however," pointing to the books on the table, "were quite instructive. So perhaps we might start understanding what this Shield means for my son and your friend by sharing what we have found so far? Then there are these other books for us to continue researching."
Hermione smiled at him. She loved being in this place, so full of ancient books, and talking with someone who so obviously loved them too.
"Arthur told us a little more on Sunday," she began. "He said that a Haussmann shield can only be created when two or more people's magical cores get aligned with each other. He said that normally, this only happens inside a bonded relationship, but that there are rare cases of friends being able to create one; but the friends ended up being bonded in all cases he knew of."
Lucius blanched. "This is news to me," he said, truthfully. His research had uncovered the Debt of Magical Emancipation, and he had not considered the bonding issue at all. It made him rather sick to think of it – Harry Potter as "Restorer of his Magicke", as the books put it, he probably had to live with; Harry Potter as a son-in-law was a step too far. "That is, the idea of bonding. But I don't know if it would apply in this case. After all, Mr. Potter and Draco were neither bonded nor friends. Their history is rather acrimonious."
"Perhaps we were not friends, Father. But we shook hands on Saturday and parted as such," drawled a familiar voice, as Draco Malfoy entered the library. "Good morning Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger,' he said to the two visitors, his voice dripping with an icy politeness.
"Draco," Ron said, nodding his head in acknowledgement, the tension in his voice at odds with the informality of using his former classmate's first name. "Perhaps, if you're going to be Harry's friend, we should be friendly too, and use first names?"
"And, my son, do you think that you and Mr. Potter will end up bonded? Is that an acceptable outcome?" Lucius continued, as though Ron had not spoken.
Draco was a bit shocked. The subtle difference between being friendly and being friends was not lost on him. If the offer had been friendship straight up, he would have scorned the idea out of hand; he would have had to, with his father there, he was never going to openly accept friendship from a blood-traitor before the head of his family did. And his father had made his opinion clear – as clear as he ever would –by ignoring the words.
Being friendly was another matter. It was obvious that the Weasel was making this offer for Harry's sake, not Draco's. Well, he could be civil, he supposed. But he knew the Gryffindors well enough to know that 'friendly' would become 'friends' all too soon. It was all moving too fast – he had to be friends with the Weasels? And bond with Potter? In the Gryffindor Tower on Saturday, all had seemed right and natural, even the kiss on the cheek; but in the cold light of the Manor, he wasn't at all sure any more.
Lucius marked the hesitation in answering, and continued, "I thought not. Now, there is another issue that we need to consider. When a wizard loses his magic for some reason: in our case, because of the Dark Lord's curse, and someone restores it to them, there is a debt accrued."
"Like a life debt?" interjected Hermione, unable to contain her usual exuberant thirst for knowledge.
"Sort of," Lucius answered. Best not to give it all away too soon, he thought to himself. "But the details I have found so far are rather sketchy." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his son's eyes go a little wide, and then settle back to their usual state, masking his surprise well. Good, he thought. Draco has worked out to keep his mouth shut. "So, it seems that we have three avenues of research: the Shield, the bond and the debt. Now, do you wish to review the books I have discarded, or shall we move on to the books I have not read yet?"
"I'm sure we needn't revisit them, if you think so," Hermione answered, smiling.
Lucius did not miss the slight condescension in her smile. It showed him that her Gryffindor nature was guiding her to trust the information he was giving her, which pleased him enormously. "Thank you," he said, a small bow of the head masking the slight grin at her falling in beautifully with his plan. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the small blue book that contained the hints he was desperate for her to find; so he suggested that they continue reviewing separately and made sure she started on the shelf it was on.
Draco and Ron decided to bow out of the research. Ron had noticed a Wizard's chess-set standing next to a window in a little alcove, and challenged Draco to a game. Draco readily accepted; a good, or even a bad, game of chess would be the most exciting thing to happen in the Manor since they had come under house arrest.
For an hour or more, they sat in two odd couples, Lucius and Hermione reading, and occasionally sharing, some insight they had found, while Ron and Draco played chess. Ron was delighted to find that Draco was a worthy opponent; caught up in the joy of playing a game that actually stretched him for once, he found himself actually starting a very quiet conversation with the younger Malfoy.
"Must be horrid, cooped up in here." He began.
Draco looked at him closely, but there was no hint of animosity in the other's eyes.
"Yes." He replied. "Getting out for the funeral on Monday was the only thing to relieve the boredom."
"Bit sad when a funeral is the highlight of your week," Ron replied, with a low chuckle.
Draco was surprised. It appeared that the Weasel actually had a sense of humour. He'd never suspected it; but then most of their conversations at Hogwarts had involved yelling and hexes, which perhaps was not the ideal way to find out what each other was really like.
"I suppose so," he agreed. "Look, um, I have to ask – how is Harry? How did he take that stuff about bonding?"
Ron in turn looked at Draco closely.
"You actually do care about him, don't you?" he said, his voice gentler than Draco could have imagined. Draco wondered if perhaps they might end up friends after all.
"I guess I do." He replied, surprising himself, both that he did care, and that he was being so open about it with a Weasel. This Gryffindor thing seemed to be kicking in with a vengeance.
"Well, he's a bit scared about it all. I mean, he hasn't said so, as such; but he did talk about how his uncle used to rant about gays being depraved, I think that frightened him about maybe being gay himself. His uncle is a nasty piece of work, and Harry's always been afraid of him."
Draco was curious. The "Boy-Who-Lived-Twice" afraid of a mere Muggle? He would have to look into this. Later; Weasley was still talking.
"Harry did ask if this was going to end up with you two married. I guess that's one thing we came here today to find out: what you think about that."
Draco looked straight at the red-head. He instinctively wanted to give a smart retort: the Weasel was asking him about his feelings. He was a Slytherin for Merlin's sake; he didn't discuss his feelings with anyone! But the idea of Harry being afraid had begun to obsess him: it was just wrong!
What did he feel? He didn't know. Very unnerving, he'd always known exactly what he wanted before. Part of him recoiled at the idea; part of him was desperate to find out more, to right the wrong done to Harry (yes, Harry, not Potter, he told himself); and wasn't that just a surreal thought?
"I guess I don't know either," was all he came out with, as honest and up-front as he could be. Weasley – Ron – held his gaze, and nodded, accepting the honesty and the fact that this wasn't a "no".
At this point Hermione found the passage that Lucius was waiting for. He knew she had; she gave a huge shriek that made Weasley nearly fall off his stool.
"What have you found?" he asked, in what he hoped was a politely interested tone.
"Oh, sorry, Ron." She answered, "This is a very old book called Protections and their Associated Obligations. It's hard to read, but it appears to confirm that what it calls a Shield of Haussmann can only be created between people who have a significant relationship with each other. Apparently the shield is a form of mutual protection; it takes very strong wizards to cast it, which means it's very hard to break and will shield the casters from most spells as long as they are in physical contact. But there's also a section that looks like it might be the debt you were talking about, what it terms a…" – and here she struggled over the words; as Lucius well knew, not only were they spelt very strange, but the font was a very old, German one, and hard for modern Britons to read - "a 'Dette of Magickale Emantschipation' – I guess that's a 'Debt of Magical Emancipation', right?"
"I should think so," Lucius confirmed. "And does it go into detail about that?"
Hermione read on. "It has something to do with" - and here she flipped to another section of the book, and read out, "Should it be that a Wizard has his Magic taken, and restored, by any means, the Restorer shall obtain a Dette over the Wizard, in respect of the Wizard's Magicke. And back here"- she returned to the page she had been reading before:

"The Shield of Haussmann.
Establishment .
It is known that a Shield, established, evidences a Meeting of Magick of two or more Witches or Wizards. A case has been recorded of Four Participants, but two were Veelas. It is not known whether other magickal Creatures can form a Shield.
Should a Shield become established over a Dette of Magickale Emantschipation, it evidences a Binding of Wizard to Wizard, Magicke to Magicke, Soul to Soul. Such a Binding shall endure unless it be not Sette.
Extent.
A Shield can be Temporary or Endurant. A Temporary lasts only while a Need is pressing and dies with the Moment; an Endurant appears to remain without Limitation or Circumscription of Efficacy.
Some think that a Shield established on a Dette shall be Endurant or not as the Dette is Sette or not. Others suggest it depend on the Number of Participants equally as their Disposition."

"Blimey," said Ron, "what does all that mean, then?"
"And how can a binding be set?" Draco asked.
"Well," drawled Lucius, "the usual way to seal a bond is by … consummation."
"So," said Draco, swallowing hard at the thought, "since we haven't done that, the bond is not set? We can avoid it?"
"Perhaps," said Lucius, cautiously. Don't appear too eager! "But there's still this debt. Does the book tell us more about that?"
"I don't really think that's so important," she replied.
"NOT IMPORTANT?" Ron exploded. "How do you work that out?"
"But don't you see, Ron? Harry's been so worried about forcing people into things. All he needs to do is forgive the debt and then, since the bond is not set, everything will return to how it was before! Come on, let's go and tell him!"
She jumped up and began to race out of the room. Lucius got up, pleased at this turn of events, but rather surprised: he'd always pegged her as the more level-headed of the two, but she was the excited one, Weasley just looked... bemused? Pensive? Lucius wasn't quite sure how to describe it.
But it didn't matter. His plan was going well. He ushered then back to Narcissa's study and they Flooed away.

Hermione and Ron couldn't go straight to Shell Cottage; because it was still under a Fidelius charm, they could not say its address in front of the Malfoys. Accordingly, they Flooed back to the Burrow. As soon as she came out of the Floo, Hermione picked up some more Floo powder, obviously itching to proceed to the cottage, but Ron held her hand, restraining her.
"We have to tell Harry straight away!" she said, breathlessly, fighting his hold.
"Um, no, Hermione, we need to think first," said Ron, steering her to the old settee in the corner. "Yes, there's stuff he needs to know, but frankly, I don't trust Lucius Malfoy an inch."
"But Ron, you heard what it said in the book!" she said, still fighting him.
"Yes, but I also saw a few things. Like, how come you found the book that explained so much within a few hours? Hmm? Lucius has had days; don't tell me he hasn't at least skimmed over anything that might be interesting."
Hermione stopped fighting. "You might have a point," she conceded.
"I do have a point," Ron said adamantly, "And his face, when you found it: he wasn't surprised by what was in the book, I'll swear to it. Actually, he looked impressed; like he'd set you a puzzle and you'd solved it in record time."
"Hmm," the witch replied, thinking quickly. "So, what should we say to Harry then?"
"The truth," Ron suggested.
"Of course the truth!" Hermione snorted in reply. "But if we tell him everything he will charge in head first and we will never get the chance to find out more before he insists on trying to free them."
They chewed over everything they had learnt, especially what Ron had seen from Lucius, and what Draco had told him.
It was nearly one o'clock when they arrived at Shell Cottage.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have set up a thread for replies at http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/56042-review-replies-for-returning-to-sanity/ . I will generally try to reply to posts before posting a new chapter.
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Returning to Sanity