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Their Phoenix	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 68678 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 1-Their Phoenix
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16
- 17-Part 17
- 18-Part 18
- 19-Part 19
- 20-Part 20
- 21-Part 21
- 22-Part 22
- 23-Part 23
- 24-Part 24
- 25-Part 25
- 26-Part 26
- 27-Part 27
- 28-Part 28
- 29-Part 29
- 30-Part 30
- 31-Part 31
- 32-Part 32
- 33-Part 33
- 34-Part 34
- 8
- 9
- 10
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� This is
very tiresome,� Skeeter said, with a languid roll of her eyes behind her huge
glasses. �Must you?� But she was eagerly holding out her hand as she spoke, and
Harry grasped it.

�� Just a
precaution,� Harry said, showing her his teeth. She could take that for a smile
if she wanted. �To ensure that you report the truth, which I have an interest in seeing spread, and not your own
idiosyncratic version of it.�

�� Skeeter
pretended to look hurt, but it wasn�t even a very good imitation. She�d caught
sight of the phoenixes that entwined Harry�s arms by now, and her eyes were
burning. She mouthed the Unbreakable Vows absently: to tell only the strict
truth that Harry gave her in the interview when she wrote up the article, and
not to use her Quick-Quotes Quill. Hermione acted as their Bonder, and then
Skeeter sat back, plucked an ordinary quill out of her satchel, and waved it
around ostentatiously.

�� I have the
right writing implement,� she said. �And now I think I deserve the story. Talk, Potter.�

�� Harry
leaned forwards, attempting to compose his mind. He needed just the right words
for Skeeter, because even though she would keep her vows�she had to�a careless
phrase could still condemn him in a lot of people�s eyes.

�� But his
thoughts were distracted by the letter that he�d received from Severus and
Draco when he owled them explaining that he intended to reveal the bond
publically, and carefully laying out his reasons for doing so. He�d expected a
screed to come back to him, either a long list of advice or an indignant
refusal.

�� Instead, he
received a single sheet of paper with a single sentence on it, in letters so
precisely inked that he couldn�t even tell which one of them had written it.

�� That is acceptable, and your reasons sound.

�� Harry
wanted to see them face-to-face and talk to them about it. He wanted to argue
and thresh out his reasons, because they were the ones most directly affected
by it�Harry would be affected, too, but he had an inherent protection in his
name�and because they could probably come up with arguments that he, Ron, and
Hermione hadn�t thought of.

�� In short,
he missed them. He�d stayed away from them before, but that was his choice.
This time wasn�t.

�� But Skeeter
was waiting now, her quill poised, and Harry couldn�t delay any longer because
he was, ridiculously, hurt. Draco and Severus had chosen to stay out of sight
for now, in each other�s exclusive company. Maybe that was even for the best,
given how many threats against them there had been. He needed to forge ahead,
and hope everything would work out.

�� First of
all,� he said, �I defeated Voldemort not only with ancient magic, but with accidental magic.�

�� Skeeter�s
mouth practically watered as she wrote that down. �I should have known,� she
whispered to herself. �No ordinary spell could have killed You-Know-Who.� She
looked up. �And where do the phoenixes come in?�

�� They�re
symbols of life and rebirth,� Harry said, obediently reciting the best theory
Hermione had been able to formulate. He didn�t know that that was true; maybe
Fawkes had been hanging around the Shrieking Shack and the accidental magic had
incorporated his image into the bonds that way. Harry wondered if he would ever
know. �And I wanted Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy to survive. Voldemort had
them in the Shrieking Shack on Hogwarts�s grounds. He was going to kill them.�

�� Skeeter
sighed rapturously, and spent a few minutes scribbling, before she nodded at
Harry to go on. �So you rescued them?�

�� Yes. I
wished so strongly for them to live that my accidental magic acted.� Harry
thought back to the moment that the bond had come to life and shook his head.
It was still difficult for him to separate what had actually happened from what
he thought had happened, or what seemed
to have happened. �It reached out to the Dark Marks that Professor Snape and
Mr. Malfoy carried on their arms. It transformed them, and also my scar.� He
pushed back his fringe. �You must have wondered why my scar�s gone.�

�� Looking
flattered because he�d assumed she was intelligent enough to ask the question,
Skeeter nodded.

�� The bond
transformed it,� Harry said simply, and lifted his arms. �It transformed�� He
hesitated for a moment over the names, then took the plunge. �Draco and
Severus�s Dark Marks, too. They carry the marks of phoenixes, and so do I.
Through them, we can feel each other�s emotions, share magic, and tell when
someone else in the bond is in danger.�

�� A bond.�
Skeeter looked as if she were about to faint, but her hand traveled across the
parchment as fast as ever. �Why haven�t you revealed the bonds before now?�

�� I was told
it wouldn�t be politically wise.� Though Harry knew his actions would probably
do it anyway, he didn�t want to alienate Kingsley if he could help it. �Because,
after all, who would want to see the Chosen One bonded to two former Death
Eaters?� He shrugged with one shoulder. �But I think that�s stupid. They�re
bonded to me, and the bond isn�t going to go away, and that�s an end of it.�

�� But no end
to the questions people will ask.� Skeeter gave him a shark�s smile.

�� I know.�
Harry pulled his legs up beneath him and tried to settle himself in for what
looked like a long interrogation. At least Hermione was hovering to the side,
keeping a stern eye on Skeeter, and she could interrupt if things got too bad.
�What else do you think the public should know?�

*

�� I do not
believe he will go through with it.�

�� Draco
paused and looked over the kitchen table at Severus. Severus was not looking at
him; he was looking at the plate of eggs and toast in front of him, with a
concentrated attention that told Draco how hard he was working to focus
primarily on that. His fork and spoon picked steadily away, but somehow didn�t
manage to lift many mouthfuls.

�� Draco
sighed, pushed his own plate�already cleared�out of the way, and leaned across
the table to put his hand on Severus�s wrist. Severus glanced up, his eyes
narrowed and his mouth drawn tight. He would say something sarcastic in a
moment, Draco thought, and then the whole conversation would be diverted into
another channel. He had to speak before that could happen.

�� What makes
you think so, Severus? Because he didn�t want to do something in the past is no
guarantee that he won�t do it now. We should have learned that much about him
in the past month.�

�� Severus�s
nostrils flared, and he made a sharp jerk with his hand, as if he were going to
pull it out from under Draco�s restraining grip. In the end, he flexed his
fingers and relaxed them, perhaps because Draco tightened his grasp and gave
him a stubborn look.

�� Harry has
made it clear that he did not choose to have us in his life.� Severus�s voice
was low but savage. He flexed his fingers again, this time digging them into
the table as if they were claws. �He grants us concessions, such as his
emotions and his presence��

�� Those are
too big to be minor concessions,� Draco pointed out. He felt a distant
amusement that he was defending Harry Potter, of all people.

�� Severus
gave him an ugly glare. Draco hung onto his hand. He wasn�t betraying Severus,
but trying to help both him and Harry. He wouldn�t be put off simply because
Severus was in a bad mood.

�� Then he
has made some changes,� Severus said between gritted teeth. �But in all his
changes, he has made it clear that he remains essentially a private citizen. It is too much trouble
for him to reveal what makes him grant us these concessions. It is too much
trouble for him to spend Christmas Day with us. He was glad enough to see us
leave hospital the day before yesterday.� He tried to fold his arms, but he
couldn�t because Draco still had hold of his hand. He flushed in frustration.
�There is a certain edge to our
relationship that will always remain. Beyond that, he cannot pass. And
revealing the bond as he proposes to is an action beyond that edge. Granger may
have talked him into it. She will not manage to make him stay committed to such
an action.�

�� Draco
opened his mouth to retort, but the Daily
Prophet owl swung through the kitchen at that moment, and dropped the paper
on the table. Severus snatched it up and gave Draco a triumphant glance.

�� Do you
see? He has not��

�� They both
caught sight of the photograph on the front page at the same time: Harry
sitting up in his hospital bed, his sleeves drawn back so that the phoenixes
were visible, his robe raised so that the scar across his gut showed, his
expression determined and cautious at the same time. The headline above the
picture screamed: HARRY POTTER: BONDED
TO DEATH EATERS!

�� Draco only
just managed to read the first words of the article before Severus flung the
paper on the table and stalked away in a rage. Draco watched in silence as he
went in the direction of the potions lab. A moment later, the ringing slam of a
door echoed through the house.

�� Draco gave
a thin smile. He knew that Severus was angrier at himself than Harry. He did
not like to be wrong.

�� Given time, he�ll come around.

�� With a
luxurious sigh, Draco settled down to read the article. He expected plenty of
praise of himself, of his selflessness and bravery, and if it was missing, then
he knew what to tease Harry about when he saw him next.

*

�� James Potter�s son. The bane of my
existence. One who controls the bonds that control me. His life is my life, his
death my death. He can cause me pain merely by suffering it, and he is headed
for a career as an Auror! Thoughtless, selfish, foolish�

�� Severus
halted in his pacing and lowered his head into his hands.

�� He could
have done well to convince himself as long as he had his target in front of him.
Harry would have yelled back, and Severus could have built his defenses up
again by seeing the boy�s stubbornness and loudness and other negative
qualities. He had managed an adequate substitute for that by disbelieving what
had come in Harry�s letter yesterday, as well. He could not mean to reveal the
bond. Severus had sent back the single sentence in their letter because he knew Harry could not mean it.

�� And now�

�� Now, he
had. Now, he had willingly made himself a social pariah and, Severus thought,
directly disobeyed the orders of the Minister because he wanted to protect
them, exactly as he had argued in his letter.

�� He has done what I thought he would not. He
has made a gesture that will weaken his standing in the eyes of the public and
almost certainly will weaken his relationship with young Miss Weasley, if not
fracture it.

�� He has given up the things I thought he most
valued for the sake of Draco and I.

�� Severus had
been wrong�so wildly and vividly wrong that the contradiction was flaying him
alive and he could not stand it. He started to take a step towards his Potions
ingredients. He would brew a new potion and see if that might calm him down.

�� But the
memory of what Harry had looked like in the photograph in the Prophet stopped him. Injured, nervous,
weak in the way that Severus would have castigated him for looking in Potions
class or Defense Against the Dark Arts, when he had been convinced that this
thin boy would never defeat the Dark Lord.

�� Yes, all
those things, and still defiant with it.

�� Severus
shut his eyes.

�� For the
first time, he had to acknowledge that Harry had inherited several of Lily�s
fine qualities: her utter determination to stand up for the persecuted, her
disinterested selflessness, her ability to see through bluster and anger and a
bad public reputation to the goodness and the vulnerability beneath. Combine
that with his father�s stubbornness, and Severus knew that he could call Harry
Potter or his best friends Mudbloods, and Harry would yell and growl at him and
still come back.

�� He had
someone to depend on.

�� The
revelation shattered convictions he hadn�t even realized he still held, and
left him desperately scrambling for new ones to replace them.

�� Severus
shuddered and took a deep breath. Simply because Harry had come through on this
one aspect of making the bond public did not mean he always would. Severus had
to be cautious. Once, he had trusted someone completely and he had had to learn
that complete confidence was a fool�s dream.

�� But the
hope that this could be something permanent remained, deeply-seeded in him now,
and Severus knew it would not be so easy to rip the roots up.

�� He opened
his eyes and moved briskly towards the Potions vials. Now that he had made the
decision to accept what Harry had done, he could brew. He needed the
distraction. He had come as far as he could for the moment towards complete
acceptance of Harry. He was not required to keep slogging on.

�� Brewing
would serve as a distraction from something else, as well: how that image of
Harry in the newspaper photograph had become a bright locus of want in his mind.

*

�� Draco!�
Harry heard the intense happiness in his voice, and knew it was making Ron and
Hermione and Ginny, all gathered around his bed, stare, and he didn�t care. He
leaned forwards, stretching out his hand. �How are you? Where�s Severus?�

�� Must we
always come as a pair?� But the light tone to Draco�s voice, as much as the way
he practically pranced into the room, told Harry he was teasing. His fingers
swept across Harry�s palm before he shook hands in the normal fashion. Harry
flushed.

�� He could
feel, besides the heat in his cheeks, Ginny�s hard stare from the side. He
didn�t sigh, but only because he was concentrating hard on not doing it. She�d
agreed to let him publicize the bond in a dull voice, saying that of course it
was the right thing to do and so he had to do it. But she hadn�t liked it.

�� In all
seriousness,� Draco went on, settling on the side of the bed itself as if he
had a perfect right to sit there, �he�s sulking because he predicted that you
wouldn�t do everything you said in your letter, and then you did. That�s why
you got as curt a response as you did.� He leaned a little closer, and let
Harry see a light in his eyes that Harry hoped no one else noticed. �Given my
choice,� Draco murmured, �I would have written a much longer letter. A much,� and his voice slowed and grew
languid, �longer one.�

�� Harry was
glad that Hermione was there, because she interrupted briskly, and spared him
an awkward moment where he would have sat there staring, hypnotized, into
Draco�s eyes. �All right, Harry, here�s the letter from Kingsley. I don�t know
if you want to answer it too quickly. If you keep him waiting, that shows
you�re in control, and not jumping to his beck and call.�

�� Is it
addressed to me under his name, or under the Ministry seal?� Harry tore his
gaze away from Draco and dropped his hand. He heard Draco chuckle softly. He
was glad that the sheets still covered his lap, and that no one could see his
body�s light shiver.

�� Under the
Ministry seal.� Hermione�s lips were pressed tightly together as she passed him
the letter, shaking her head. Harry tried to return her frown with a smile�it
might not be as bad as they thought�and then opened the envelope.

�� It was
exactly as bad as they thought. In fact, it was worse.

�� Harry Potter,

�� As you have seen fit to act against the
Minister�s direct advice and against the public good, the Ministry can see no
reason to retain you in the Auror program. We need Aurors who will be careful
of both their personal safety and the safety of others, and respectful of both
sides of political questions.

�� Harry shut
his eyes, and spent a long moment carefully not looking at Kingsley�s signature
at the bottom of that document. It didn�t matter if he hadn�t actually written
it; he had signed it, and that was enough.

�� He felt
someone take the letter from him, and assumed it was Hermione. Not until Draco
spoke did Harry realize it had been him. �They�re trying to pressure you to come
back into the fold. Surely you realize that?�

�� Of course
Harry realizes that,� Ginny flared, fighting back against the condescension
that even Harry could hear in Draco�s voice. �You can stop speaking to him like he�s stupid. Surely you realize that.�

�� Harry
opened his eyes and took a deep breath, patting Ginny�s arm absently when she
wound it around his waist. Oddly, Draco�s reaction had steadied him. Yes, this
was a threat, a political countermove to his first political move, and it was
useless to sit there wishing that things could have been different.

�� So what do
you suggest we do about it?� he asked Draco, and made sure to look directly at
Draco�s face. Draco was studying the arm Ginny had around his waist with a
bland expression, but his eyes slid back to Harry when he spoke.

�� Isn�t that
also obvious?� Draco rolled his eyes overdramatically when Harry shook his
head. Harry found himself grinning and relaxing. �You make this public, too. The Ministry wants the Boy-Who-Lived to do
exactly as they say, or they�re going to take his job away from him�the job
they�ve spent so much time saying he�s perfect for. Shacklebolt�s just cursed
himself in the foot, only he doesn�t know it.�

�� Oh, that
would infuriate him,� Ron said,
sounding proud and smug. �I bet he hasn�t considered how the public will react.
They�ve been told not to worry about the remaining Death Eaters, that the
Chosen One will protect them, and now he isn�t going to get the chance to do
that! The Ministry�s turning its back on all its own propaganda.�

�� Harry got
to see something then he had thought he would never see, largely because it
couldn�t exist: Draco regarding Ron with respect.

�� Is this
the best thing to do?� Hermione was looking anxiously between all of them,
biting her lip. �I mean, if it gets the Minister angry��

�� I don�t
bloody care, at this point,� Harry said roughly, and ignored the gasps about
his language from both Ginny and Hermione. �What else do I have to do, what
else do I have to suffer, to get him
to treat me with some consideration? And you and Severus, too,� he added to
Draco. �He saw the Pensieve memories of what you�d done and suffered, but he
keeps acting as though you don�t matter! Well, you do.� He flung Kingsley�s letter to the floor and wished he was well
enough to get up and stamp on it. He did feel all right, lying here, but
whenever he moved around, he got queasy and had to stop.

�� Draco
preened a little, tilting his head back and stroking a hand through his hair.
Then he caught himself and murmured, �When people want to, they can ignore the
evidence of their own eyes.�

�� I know
that,� Harry said. �But you�ve proven over and over that you�re not evil, and
as for me�you�d think defeating a Dark Lord was enough, but I reckon not.� He was hissing by the end of it,
and his eyes were fixed on the letter. He could see Kingsley�s face again when
he�d asked Harry not to tell anyone about the bond and agreed that they could
prosecute Pepperfield after all. So reasonable. So nice.

�� All that
time, he hadn�t really planned to support Harry if something came up that
touched on the bond. Apparently he was panicked about what people would do if
they found out that the Chosen One was bonded to two Death Eaters.

�� He should have been panicked about we would do, Harry thought, with a heavy,
cold kind of rage that was completely unfamiliar to him. But he thought he
needed to start feeling emotions like this if he was going to protect Draco and
Severus properly. I�m going to do
something pretty bloody drastic to counteract this shite, that�s what I�m going
to do.

�� There�s
also this letter,� Hermione said, almost timidly, and held it out to him.

�� Harry
snatched at it, then realized Hermione�s eyes were wide, and did his best to
calm down and smile an apology at her. He studied the letter, but didn�t
recognize the handwriting or the seal, a swan sailing with wings spread wide
and two young cygnets beneath them. He opened it, knowing Hermione would have
already checked it for hexes.

�� Dear Mr. Potter,

�� You grow more interesting day by day. Now
you are bonded to the son of a woman I knew well at Hogwarts, and to the
descendant of an ancient family whom I had more regard for than they may have
deserved. A fine family, the Princes. You might ask Severus Snape�who should
have taken his mother�s name�whether he remembers me.

�� You can count on my support against any
ridiculous moves the Ministry pulls. I have often observed that the Ministry
does not know its head from its arse.

�� Brynhildr Swanfair.

�� Harry
blinked, tried to search his memory, and had to shake his head. He didn�t
recognize the name, and he didn�t know how much her support was worth. He
extended the letter to Malfoy, who gasped when he saw the seal. That might be a
good sign or a bad one. Harry turned back to Hermione.

�� Do you
think we should call Skeeter again?�

�� I don�t
see that there�s a better option,� Hermione said. �Especially since she might
feel cut out of things if we went to someone else. And we want as many people
to know about this as soon as possible. We already know that the Daily Prophet will print a special
edition for her articles if they need to.� She rose to her feet. �Do you want
me to contact her?�

�� Please.�
Harry turned to Draco. His face was nearly as pale as the letter. Harry
frowned. �Is it a bad idea to rely on Swanfair for support?�

�� I don�t
know that we can rely on her,� Draco
said. �But�this is significant news. Her family was once as rich as my family
was. They�ve lost some money, but none of their prestige. Brynhildr Swanfair didn�t
send her children to Hogwarts because she felt it wouldn�t have provided them
as good an education as she could give them with tutors. And she held herself
apart from the Dark Lord�s army because she didn�t think he was stern enough.�

�� Does she
use Dark Arts?� Harry wasn�t about to give Kingsley material for a solid
accusation against him.

�� Draco gave
him a pitying glance. �Of course she
does. That doesn�t mean she�s fool enough to practice them openly. But she can
influence political events at levels that I don�t think you could touch for
years.� He gave the letter a private smile and turned it over to run a finger
over the seal. �Swanfair. Well. Severus will
be surprised. I had no idea she was friends with his mother�s family. He
doesn�t talk much about them.�

�� With good reason, Harry thought, and
then immediately felt ashamed. That was a thought the old Harry, the one who
hated Severus, might have. He was trying not to be that old Harry any longer. �Why
don�t you take the letter with you? Maybe Severus will pick up some hidden
message or warning in it that we missed.�

�� Draco�s
eyes darted up to his. He looked offended for a moment, then amused, then
thoughtful. In the end, he nodded and tucked the letter into his robe pocket. Harry
was glad that he seemed to have understood the silent message Harry wanted to
convey: that if Severus needed solid proof, this time, from someone other than
Harry, he would have it.

�� This one
says that they�ll start a Howler campaign against the Minister.� Ron was reading
another letter with a look of great glee. �And she says that Swanfair suggested
it.� He lowered the letter and grinned at Harry. �I think you�ve got a powerful
friend if you want to accept her help, mate.�

�� That�s just it, Harry thought. I�m not sure I do. But Kingsley is forcing
my hand, and so I have to go ahead and act like I don�t care about being kicked
out of the Auror program. Kingsley has to realize I�m not going to crawl just
so that he�ll readmit me.

�� Let�s
start out accepting it, and see what happens,� he said.

�� No use
pretending to himself: he valued the slight smile Draco gave him when he heard
that pronouncement more than the squeeze of Ginny�s arm about his waist.

*

�� Draco
paused. He had Apparated into a street near their house in Hogsmeade�he and
Severus had been careful never to choose the same one twice�and had turned the
corner a moment ago. He had not expected to see anyone standing outside the
gate of the front garden, staring at the wards as though he resented them for
holding him away from a prize. At the very least, an attacker should have
hidden when they heard Draco�s footsteps.

�� But this
man turned and stared at Draco as if he were
the intruder. Draco whistled through his teeth when he recognized him.

�� Kingsley
Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic.

�� After a
moment, Draco decided that he wasn�t about to let the man intimidate him. He
was trying his level best to intimidate Harry and force him into giving up the
things he was doing for the good of the bond. How could Draco do anything else
but keep up his part of that defense? The three of them had to stand together.

�� Draco
lifted his head and gave a lofty nod, as if he had just this moment deigned to
notice the Minister. Then he strolled down the street towards him. Now that he
was looking for them, he could make out the bright robes of Aurors standing on
guard behind convenient trees.

�� Good day,
Minister,� Draco said when he got up to the gate, working hard to achieve the
affable tone his father used to greet inferiors. �Is there something I can help
you with?� He extended his hand so the wards could �taste� him and heard them
fade away. He didn�t turn his gaze or his bland, inquiring smile away from
Shacklebolt, though.

�� I need to
know at whose instigation Harry Potter decided to act against me.� The Minister
had a broad politician�s face, cold and closed, with lines of old anger around
the eyes. The Aurors inched a few steps nearer. Draco forced himself to stand
bold and proud. He was close enough to home that he could duck immediately
inside the wards if danger threatened.

�� His own
instigation,� Draco said. He wanted to protect Harry, yes, but shielding him
from the truth would only make him look weak. �He was the one who came up with
the plan to tell the newspapers about the bond. Unless you�re referring to
another incident I�m not familiar with.�

�� Shacklebolt�s
face closed even more. Then he leaned forwards and adopted a tone that was
probably meant to be persuasive. �The Ministry retains a staff of experts
skilled in unusual subjects, Mr. Malfoy. I�m sure this doesn�t come as a
surprise to you, since who else would need so much esoteric knowledge to use
for the good of the wizarding community?�

�� And who else could exert so much pressure? But
Draco nodded and smiled as if he were the toddling babe the Minister had
evidently mistaken him for. �Of course.�

�� One of our
experts has used the available information about your bond,� Shacklebolt said,
�to construct a scenario that reasonably approximates what happened. He thinks
he may know enough to break the bond.�

�� Draco went
still. He realized that he couldn�t conceal his shock or his fascination a
moment later, but he could stand there and consider the matter in silence, so
that was what he did.

�� The bond
was complex. He had seen that when Severus used the Hidden History Potion. But
that did not mean it was incomprehensibly
complex, or that no one could unwind the braids of it and find some way to
clip it short.

�� He tried to
imagine living without Harry�s emotions, without the necessary closeness to him
and Severus�no, he and Severus were lovers, and they had enough between them to
sustain a relationship in the absence of the bond. But they could be free of
Harry�s resentment at having ended up with them. They could be free of his pity
and his protection.

�� And Draco
ran at once into a single, silent, overwhelming objection: he didn�t want to.

�� Your offer
is very generous, Minister,� he said, meeting Shacklebolt�s eyes. Shacklebolt
looked triumphant as Draco said those words. Draco wanted to laugh. Does he think an admission as good as an
agreement? �But I�d be interested in knowing why you�re making this offer
instead of one to try a woman who, let us remember, tried to kill Harry.�

�� One of the
Aurors, the one who stood closest to the Minister�s back, stirred uneasily.
Draco deliberately gave no sign that he�d noticed, but he thought it
interesting, and would remember it.

�� There are
complications to the political situation it would not be diplomatic to discuss
in public,� Shacklebolt said, from behind a stiff mask of a face. �Griselda
Huxley has her own set of supporters, and we need everyone involved in the
building of the wizarding world��

�� I think,�
Draco said, with as gentle a bite as possible in his voice, �that you need
Harry�s help more than you need the help of a random Mu�Muggleborn who happened
to save a few others during the war.�

�� Shacklebolt
half-shook his head before he caught himself. Interesting. Draco was suddenly glad he was the one who was having
this conversation, as frustrating as it was and as inexplicable as
Shacklebolt�s actions were. He was less politically na�ve than Harry (seaweed was less politically na�ve than
Harry), and Severus had a bad habit of letting his preconceptions blind him
when he was angry. Draco could notice the interesting things that Shacklebolt
said and did and carry them away in his head for later reference.

�� I want to
know if you�ll accept the offer,� Shacklebolt said, leaning forwards. �To break
the bond or not.�

�� I�ll have
to discuss it with my bondmates, of course,� Draco said. �Even if I want to be
free, they may not want to be.�

�� My man
feels sufficiently confident to try unbinding you no matter what the other two
say,� Shacklebolt said.

�� Draco gave
Shacklebolt a polite and pitying smile. �When at least one partner in the bond,
Harry, has good reason to be wary of you? I don�t think we�ll try it that way,
thanks all the same. Call again when Harry is released from hospital. It�ll be
more diplomatic to discuss this with
all three of us at once.� He turned and began to walk up the path to the front
door.

�� Jenkins,�
said Shacklebolt, with a sound like a sigh.

�� Draco heard
the beginnings of a chant in Latin, and felt a strong shiver run through him,
at a level deeper than the bones. The
bond. They�re trying to untie the bond.

�� Draco
dropped to the ground and rolled towards the foundation of the house, where
Severus had placed the strongest wards. The magic gripping him faltered and
fell apart. Draco got to his knees, not daring to lift his head above a certain
level in case the picking started again, and called, �Severus!�

�� Out he
came, so silent and dark that Draco felt an apprehensive tremor move through
his own body. He started to stand up and catch Severus�s arm; in his present
temper, he might use Dark Arts, and that could end badly for everyone. But the
magic gripped him and made the phoenix mark on his arm flare again, so he
dropped back to a crouch.

�� Either
Jenkins couldn�t use the magic on more than one person at once, or Severus was
moving too fast for him to do so. At any rate, Severus Stunned the Minister and
one of the Aurors, and spent a few minutes dueling with the other before he
laid him flat on the ground and used an Expelliarmus
to summon his wand. Then he turned around and knelt in front of Draco. His
face was absolutely white.

�� Are you
well?� he whispered.

�� Draco
reached up and laid a hand cautiously on his shoulder, then relaxed. The pain
he�d felt before had retreated to a faint stinging in his phoenix mark. �Well
enough,� he said. �He was attacking the bond and not me personally, Severus.
Maybe that had something to do with it.�

�� Do not minimize this.� Severus spoke with a
force that caused Draco to shut his mouth hastily. �I have done more reading
about bonds of this sort. Unbind them, and everything that happened as a result
of them is also undone. You and I would once again be in danger of death,
Draco, because we would once again bear the Dark Mark. And the Dark Lord would
have returned.�

�� Draco shut
his eyes and started to shake with reaction. Severus stooped over him, with
murmurs too soft for Draco to make out the individual words.

�� What
happened? I got here as soon as I could.�

�� Draco
looked up in disbelief. Harry was running towards them, wrapped only in a loose
robe that rippled and billowed around him, revealing the slightly paler scar on
his stomach all too well. He reached out an arm, needing the contact at the
moment too much to ask for details, and Harry dropped to his knees and looped
his arms around Draco�s shoulders and Severus�s both. Draco felt Severus tense
and then calm again.

�� The bond
was alive with raging wildfire as Harry snarled in a low voice, �Kingsley tried
to unpick the bond, didn�t he? I heard this high scream in my ears, and then my
phoenix marks levitated me out of my bed and tugged me towards the house. I
didn�t know what was going on, but��

�� That is
what happened,� Severus said, in a heavy tone that made Harry shut up and turn his
head in Severus�s direction. �And now we must decide what is to be done. The
Minister is Stunned and lying on our doorstep. That will not last for long.�

�� Draco
nodded. Harry didn�t move, though. �When I thought you were in danger,� he said
in a low voice, staring somewhere between them, �when I thought I might lose
you, I didn�t know what I would do.�

�� Severus
froze, staring. Draco reckoned that he was simply incapable of responding to
something like that at the moment.

�� So it was
up to Draco to take the active part in the bond again, and he did, tightening
the hold of his arm around Harry and murmuring into his ear, �Shacklebolt will
ask you if you want to be free of the bond. I know he will. What are you going to answer?�

�� Harry
turned to look at him. His eyes were shining with that reckless light that
Draco had seen cause trouble for him in the past.

�� But he
answered with the confidence and maturity of someone more than twice his age.
�It�s unthinkable.�

�� Draco
turned his head so that his cheek rested on Harry�s shoulder and shut his eyes.
He did that partially because he would betray more than he meant to if he kept
them open now, and he was not quite ready for that�at least not until Harry was
ready to open the bonds the other way and feel their emotions.

�� But he did
it partially because he had seen Severus bow his head and sigh slowly through
his parted lips, like a weary traveler coming home at last.

*

�� What were
you thinking?�

�� Harry
hadn�t realized how easy it would be to slip into a hard, interrogating mode.
Ledbetter and Scarman and the other instructors had told him it was hard to
question prisoners, especially when one thought they might have acted from good
motives. Harry had listened to their tales in awe and wondered if he could ever
do it himself.

��

But it turned out to be no trouble
at all when he was facing someone who had tried to hurt his bondmates. Severus
had Transfigured his hospital garment into a proper robe so that he wouldn�t
look ridiculous, and Kingsley was currently sitting in Harry�s bedroom,
suitably far from the door and rescue, under a partial Petrificus so that only his face could move. Harry stared at him
with arms folded and waited for an answer.

Kingsley closed his eyes slightly
and said, �We had received�persuasive evidence�that your decisions were no
longer your own, that you were acting under the mental control of someone else.
Probably Snape. I thought using shock tactics might make you aware of how
out-of-character you were acting, and wake up to questioning the control. But
when that did not work, and when we found that your�bondmates�were unwilling to
consider their own self-interest, we knew we had to destroy the bond.�

�What was this evidence?� Harry
asked quietly. He thought about pacing back and forth, the way he really wanted
to, but decided it would be more effective if he stood still and stared at
Kingsley instead. Sure enough, Kingsley started to shake slightly a moment
later, as if he were trying to fight the Petrificus
to fidget. �Who gave it to you? Why was it persuasive?�

Kingsley raised his head. His
expression was neutral now. Harry wondered if he was beginning to understand
what the consequences of his rash actions might have been. �We have had experts
studying the bond,� he said. �And your Auror instructors have observed you.
Your behavior has changed significantly since you started associating with
Snape and Malfoy.�

Harry took a deep breath to control
his irritation. �Of course it has,�
he said. �I have to watch out for them and protect them.� He thought he heard a
shuffle from the corridor where Severus and Draco were eavesdropping on the
conversation. He hoped they would be quiet and not burst in.

�� In
unexpected ways,� Kingsley said, glaring at him. �And Auror Jenkins, who
studied the bond, uncovered a strong trace of Dark magic in it.�

�� Because it
was made from Dark Marks and my scar,� Harry said. �Honestly, you don�t have
any more than that?�

�� As he had
hoped would happen, his scorn stung Kingsley into volunteering more information.
�Bonds such as this one tend to give one partner a measure of control over the
others,� he said. �Given the change in your behavior and the way that your
�bondmates� can summon you at a moment�s notice��

�� I�ll thank
you to speak of them with respect,� Harry said quietly.

�� And that�s
what I mean!� Kingsley roared, going red. �You�ve changed. You were focused on your Auror training and devoted to
your girlfriend. Now you spend more time with your �bondmates� than anyone
else, you�re going to live with them, and you defend them as you never used to.
Someone must be in control of a bond like this, and the most likely choice is
that it�s a Death Eater skilled in Legilimency. Once he�s in control of you,
then he could start influencing you against the Ministry. He�s already started,
prompting you to have that interview with Skeeter and��

�� Harry
pulled his fringe back from his forehead and his sleeves up from his arms. �The
bond took my scar and gave me phoenix marks on both arms, where both Draco and Severus only have one,� he said
through gritted teeth. �I�m the one in control of the bond if anyone is. Did
you know that I can�� He cut himself off. He wasn�t about to tell Kingsley that
he�d almost willed Draco and Severus to die in the Hogwarts hospital wing.

�� I�m
spending more time with them, and exhibiting the other �suspicious� behavior,
because I�ve finally realized the risk of staying at a distance from them,� he
continued. �I don�t want them to die. So, yes, I�ll spend time with them, and
live in the same house with them, and think about them as well as about Auror
training in the future.� Then he cocked his head thoughtfully to the side. �Not
that I�ll have to worry about that, since you�ve kicked me out of Auror
training.�

�� Kingsley
flexed his arms as though trying to break out of his bonds. Harry raised an
eyebrow and strengthened the hold of the Petrificus
on his lower body. �We can�t have someone in the Ministry who has your
power and your potential hostility to us,� Kingsley said. �I saw that when you
demanded a trial for Pepperfield. Once, you wouldn�t have cared who hurt
Malfoy. We know that you were rivals with him throughout your school career. We
thought we could count on that same tension to make you oppose pure-blood
decisions like the ones the Malfoys want to force through. If we can�t��

�� Harry
closed his eyes. He felt disgusted with the universe. �I�m not going to support
pure-blood legislation because Draco�s my bondmate,� he said. �And I�m not
going to let someone hurt him because I used to dislike him. God, Kingsley, do
you ever stop being a politician for one moment and think? Did you think about what would happen if you let Huxley
attack me and go unpunished, for example?�

�� That
wasn�t�as planned,� Kingsley said with some difficulty. �Huxley was one of
those who had expressed concern to us, but she said only that she planned to
speak to you about it and ask you to reconsider living with two Death Eaters.
We didn�t know that she would attack you. Please accept my apologies over that,
Harry.�

�� Harry
opened one eye and looked at him sidelong. �But you�re not sorry enough to try
her.�

�� Kingsley
flushed more deeply. �If we did, she would reveal some information that would
cause further upsets for us if it got out.�

�� You
realize,� Harry said, �that every word you speak only gives me further reason
to turn against the Ministry. It seems to be an astonishingly badly-organized
and ill-run place.� He wondered for a moment where he was getting these words,
then smiled sourly. I suspect that�s what
comes of paying attention to my teachers for once.

�� We had to
do something,� Kingsley said. �I�m sorry that the situation got out of control,
but, Harry, surely you see that we had to do something?� His voice was gentle,
pleading.

�� No,� Harry
said. �You could have come and talked to me about your concerns, but that
doesn�t seem to have occurred to you at any step of the way!� He was shouting
by the end. He took a deep breath and did his best to calm down.

�� I did try
to do that when you accused Pepperfield,� Kingsley said. �Your attitude
convinced me that you wouldn�t be receptive.�

�� Harry
surveyed him coolly. �That was a pathetic attempt.�

�� Kingsley
set his jaw. �You�ve got to understand what sort of message it sends to the
public, your living with two Death Eaters,� he said. �You�re powerful, Harry. We have to control the messages you send. This is the wrong one.�

�� And that�s the reason this happened, Harry
decided. He can�t see me, the person. He
only sees Harry Potter, the vehicle of interpretation. Someone interpreting me
wrongly panics him and sends him veering in mad directions. He also seems prone
to think that a few people getting upset means the whole of the wizarding world
getting upset.

�� A vicious
idea came to him suddenly. Harry paused and wondered if he should warn
Kingsley. Then he decided to give him one more chance.

�� I won�t
stop living with Draco and Severus,� he said. �I won�t stop protecting them. I
won�t agree to let you unpick the bond. But if I work with you closely on other
things and work my way back into the Auror program and act chastened when you
need me to, will you try Huxley and Pepperfield? Properly? And agree to stop
persecuting Draco and Severus?�

�� Have you
forgotten what Snape did?� Kingsley whispered. �He killed Dumbledore. And you stand here calling him by his first
name. As if he were an old friend. As if you�ve forgiven him.�

�� Harry
studied him again. Kingsley�s teeth were grinding, his voice barely let go
between them. Harry had thought it was a good idea to have a Minister of Magic
who had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but at the moment he
recognized some of the drawbacks.

�� Dumbledore
made him swear an Unbreakable Vow,� Harry said. �You know that. He�s the
greatest hero of the lot of us. You know that.�

�� Kingsley
shook his head. �I can�t accept someone as a hero who once wore the Dark Mark
on his arm in all sincerity. I can�t, Harry. I�m sorry.�

�� I�m sorry,
too,� Harry said. He would have liked to stay with the Ministry. Losing its
protection would mean less protection for Draco and Severus, and a harder and
more winding road to get his bondmates respected by the public. But he wasn�t
about to stay close to someone who had damaged them, and couldn�t even promise
future protection for them to make up for it. �You won�t agree to my bargain?�

�� Kingsley
shook his head.

�� I�m
sorry,� Harry repeated, and then turned for the door.

*

�� He�s the greatest hero of the lot of us.

�� Severus did
not know how he was going to recover from the shocks of this day.

�� Harry
really had got the article into the paper, the way he promised he would. He had
come to their rescue again when he felt the bond being tampered with, and
refused to have it removed. He had let Severus and Draco listen in on what
could have been a confidential conversation with the Minister, wherein he
fought for them like a bulldog. And now, this.

�� Draco and
Harry both wanted the bond deeply enough to fight against those who would try
to take it away. Severus had not yet had the chance to fight, but at least he
knew for certain what his own feelings were on this matter.

�� I want this.

�� Then Harry
opened the door of his bedroom, stepped out, shut the door, cast a spell on it
that would prevent Shacklebolt from hearing anything they were saying, turned
back with his eyes blazing bright, and said, �Do you think it�s too vicious if
I call Skeeter right now and let her
see the Minister tied up in our house?�

��

*

�� Alliandre:
Very true. Harry still has some obstacles in the way, of course, not least of
which is his conviction that a relationship between three people just doesn�t
work.

�� I�m glad
you noticed how Harry�s fighting for them strengthens the bond! It�s certainly
the one thing at the moment which most attracts Snape to him, and probably also
Draco.

�� Draco is
starting to mature now that he has people who care for him.

�� BloodLust
777: Draco is being very naughty, isn�t he?

�� DTDY: Yes.
It�ll still take him some time to come to terms with Snape�s.

�� DarklessVision:
Thanks! I think you�ll find Harry growing more perceptive as the chapters go
by.
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Their Phoenix