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The End Shall Come, And We Will Dance Forever	By : makochan0217 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 6654 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimers: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and Warner Bros. I make nothing from this. In fact, I lose money to write this, so… no suing, ‘kay?

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Disclaimers: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, Warner Bros, and some other companies that are NOT me. I make nothing from this. In fact, I lose money to write this, so… no suing, ‘kay?

Warnings: Angst, language, OOC, 7th year timeline based upon OotP – Disregarding HBP and DH, slash

Chapter Eight – Who Are You Kidding, Mister?

Dumbledore smiled when he felt Harry’s familiar magic signature come tromping up the staircase to his office. While he hadn’t invited the young man up for a talk, he knew it was only a matter of time before he came back to visit. Although, the boy’s magic was burning, which indicated he was furious. For the first time in a long while, Albus didn’t know what was wrong exactly, and he was forced to allow the boy in and to calm down before they proceeded.

“Sir, I mean no disrespect, but what were you thinking when you allowed Malfoy to return?” Harry’s green eyes, so like Lily’s, blazed with his fury, and suddenly, this interview made sense.

“Harry, while I must say that Lucius Malfoy may be repulsive, Draco Malfoy is not his father,” he said calmly. “However, I will admit that I did not foresee your fellow students turning on him as they have.”

“What did you expect? The git is running around with no protection, and he just so happens to be the son of one of the most notorious Death Eaters.” Magic crackled and one of his silver instruments that Albus used to test the purity of an object’s power shattered on its table. “He might as well walk around with a sign around his neck, exclaiming how easy it is to take him down.”

“Your level of interest in this matter is surprising, Harry.” The older wizard took a moment to really look at the teen – the blue-black hair that was standing up in places, the green eyes that seemed to shine behind those atrocious glasses, the lightning bolt scar that contrasted so vastly with his golden-tinted skin, the mouth pressed into a thin line, and the square jaw clenched tightly. Everything about him screamed righteous anger. “If I recall correctly, the last time we spoke, you refused to have anything to do with Mr. Malfoy.”

“That was before I knew that he’d become the target for everyone’s anger around here! I know what that’s like! I never wanted that to happen to anyone, not even Dra- Malfoy!”

Albus found himself having to suppress a smile at Harry’s slip of the tongue. It seemed that Severus, wherever he was, had been correct. His two favorite students had more in common than they thought. Now, if only they’d come to terms with things… “That does change things greatly.” He tapped a long forefinger against his lips in thought. “Do you have any suggestions on how to rectify this situation?”

“I-I, uh, er, no?”

“As of now, I would hope that you will take my previous suggestion to heart, Harry. Mr. Malfoy can be pleasant where he wants to please, as I’m sure many people of his acquaintance could tell you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he is, and the Sahara is rather hot sometimes as well,” Harry said drily. The older man just smiled and waited for the boy to continue. “Headmaster, I’ll try to help him, I suppose, but I just don’t trust him.”

“I understand that the two of you have a very complicated past, my boy, but I hope that you will put that aside and try to work together.” For the greater good, he thought to himself. He and his protégé spoke for an hour longer about the subject, but not once in that whole discussion did Dumbledore ever explain to the young man that Draco was actually a double agent for him, much like Snape had been before him. That was not his secret to tell.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“My dear boy,

            I believe that you may have to explain yourself to Mr. Potter to get his assistance.

-AD”

Draco stared at the letter and read over the words for a fourth time as he lay on his cot in the Infirmary. It had been a few hours since he’d woken up and the Headmaster’s phoenix delivered the damnable letter the moment he regained consciousness. Part of him remembered the trip with Potter and Longbottom from the library, but most of him was desperately trying to forget the whole ordeal. He would have to explain to his father what happened. And really, he was tired of what amounted to tattling to the Dark Lord for every incident.

Not that he liked being beaten up, far from it, but he understood the other students’ frustrations with known Death Eaters as more and more attacks occurred. While he wasn’t a follower of that madman, his father was. And everyone knew it.

Besides, what the hell was Potter of all people going to do to help him? Date him? ‘I’d become the Dark Lord’s personal sexual slave before Potter would take a look at me like that,’ Draco thought miserably.

Giving it all up as a bad job, the blond struggled to lie back down and drew the covers up to his chin when he was successful, wincing as all the moving pulled tight and sore muscles. Hopefully, Pomfrey would just assume he was asleep and leave him alone.

However, he saw the truth in the Headmaster’s words. Perhaps it was time to come clean to someone other than the old man. ‘I could do worse than Potter, I suppose.’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucius frowned at the latest letter from his son. It was the same, and, yet, it was not. Draco said that he was making progress in speaking with Dumbledore, but he was nowhere close to getting information about the old coot’s actions or anything of interest about Potter. The Dark Lord would be angry. And Lucius would be the one to suffer.

Until he could get his long fingers wrapped around his useless heir’s throat, the Malfoy patriarch had someone else to take his frustrations out on. His beautiful, proud, pathetic wife took everything that Lucius gave her and still came to his bed. In fact, in the twenty-two years of their marriage, Narcissa had never refused to fulfill her wifely duties. And then some…

A sound made his head snap up, wand at the ready to take out whoever was so stupid to disrupt him. He nearly sighed in relief when he saw his sister-in-law in the doorway of his study. “Bella, to what do I owe this intrusion?”

“Lucius, have you heard from my favorite nephew as of yet?” The woman, who normally was so hysterical with her insanity, looked positively glowing. However, it was a perfectly ordinary glow, almost as if… Well, if she was, then good. If not, he would write it off as her mind healing from all the vitriol her mother fed her while growing up. (It was that treatment that broke the poor woman, and thus made her ineligible to become Lucius’ wife. Pity, really, as Bella and he were much more suited to one another. However, Rudolphus and she were a good match as well.)

“Yes, and no,” he said, frowning at the parchment again. “He has nothing to report about Potter, sadly, except that the boy is slowly distancing himself from the rest of their yearmates, aside from Longbottom.”

“Longbottom?” Bella’s dark eyes gained a malicious edge and her smile turned cruel.

“Yes, the child of Frank and Alice Longbottom, Neville. He’s really quite a waste. Slow, dumpy, quiet, average looks… It really is a pity that someone like that should be a pureblood.”

“Hm, that actually might be useful, Lucius dear,” she cooed. “If I remember correctly, little Longbottom was born at the end of July that same year as Potter and Draco. It was one of the reasons that I got to play with his parents.” Her eyes took on a faraway look of pleasure. “I will relay this to Our Lord. I’m sure that he’d be interested in something so… droll.”

The blond nodded, staring at the letter once again, but, this time, with a pensive expression on his patrician face. It seemed as if his son wasn’t so useless after all. When the door to his study shut, he turned to begin a reply.

“Perfidious Albion, Somersetshire, England, UK

“October 1^st, 1997

“My son,

            “I will admit that at first I was unsuccessful in seeing what good it is that Longbottom and Potter are becoming closer. However, after a discussion with your dear aunt Bella, I recalled Longbottom’s past importance. Keep an eye on both, but remember what your main priority is.

            “Do not fail to make your next report within the week.

“Your Father,

“Lucius Malfoy”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neville knew there was something going on with Harry, something the other boy was trying to avoid thinking about or discussing. He wasn’t stupid, far from it. True, he was slow to process things, but it was generally because he liked to have all the information that he could gather before he acted. Unlike his fellow Gryffindors, he was cautious.

However, this big something, it had to do with Malfoy. There was no mistaking it after the way his friend had nearly exploded as they left the hospital wing.

Neville had no idea how he really felt about the situation, and so he remained quiet as he thought it over. Malfoy had become different the last year and a half. He no longer insulted everyone he saw, but sadly no one else looked past the blond’s cold exterior. Even Harry, who acknowledged that the other boy had changed, missed that his rival had begun acting differently in sixth year, not this year. Well, maybe Harry had missed it. Sometimes, it was hard to tell with the green-eyed boy, since he played so many of his cards close to the chest.

When Harry had begun actively seeking him out, Neville decided to use his quiet nature to his advantage and watch the other Gryffindors. It was then that he discovered that Ron and Hermione weren’t only pushing Harry away so that they could spend more time together as a couple; they were actively trying to suppress something in their “friend”. What that was, the brown-haired boy hadn’t discovered yet, but he was determined to find out so that his friend was happy.

It had been three days since they’d escorted Malfoy to the hospital wing, and Harry’s magic still occasionally flared, knocking over stacks of books in the library or tipping over a suit of armor in the halls as they went from class to class. It actually got worse when they were around the Hufflepuffs during meal times or when the Slytherin was mentioned. Once, while they were in the Gryffindor common room, Ernie Macmillan insulted Malfoy as Harry walked by, and suddenly, his Potions essay caught on fire.

That had been yesterday. Today was Friday and the first day back for the blond since his attack. He looked healthier than he had for the first time since returning to Hogwarts. He was no longer deathly pale and bruised, his hair was perfectly coiffed, and his eyes seemed to have new life. Neville felt better just looking at his old tormentor, and he vaguely wondered if Harry would notice the change.

It didn’t take long. But, that was only because Ron couldn’t keep his fat mouth shut when it came to Malfoy – not even at breakfast.

“Looks like Ferret Face is back in action,” the redhead spat viciously. Dean and Seamus scowled in sympathy from either side of him. “I still don’t see why the professors aren’t kicking him while he skips days of classes. Who knows, maybe he went home to help with the latest Death Eater attack.”

Neville looked at his Housemates in disdain. “Do you really think that he left school, in the middle of the week, when he’s the most noticeable student right now, aside from Harry?” He made sure that when he asked his question that he sounded like his normal, timid self.

“It would be stupid of him to do such a thing,” Hermione said pompously. “Although, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“I heard from Susan Bones that a few fifth years were bragging about running into him earlier in the week in the Hufflepuff common room,” Lavender added.

“Yes, and when Padma walked Terry to the Infirmary Wednesday, she swore that she saw Malfoy in an enclosed bed,” Parvati said.

“I wonder what he said to the Hufflepuffs to make them attack him,” Dean said.

“It’s Malfoy. You need a reason?” Ron asked around a mouth full of food.

That caused Harry to growl, and Neville squeezed his friend’s arm before he launched across the table to throttle the other boy. “Harry, I think I left my Defense essay up in the dorm. Would you help me check?”

Green eyes blinked owlishly at him before sliding shut. He watched as Harry took a deep, calming breath before nodding. “Sure thing, Nev,” he answered, sounding reasonable and somewhat amused. “See the rest of you in class.”

They rose from the table, amidst various replies, and had made it nearly out of the Great Hall before the smooth voice of the lone Slytherin reached out to them.

“Potter, Longbottom, a moment, if you please,” Malfoy said politely. Neville nodded, pulling an oddly quiet Harry with him, as he walked towards an empty meeting room. “I would like to thank you for assisting me Tuesday. I understand that I was not exactly the most gracious that day.”

“Don’t worry about it, Malfoy,” Neville said. “We know that you were in a lot of pain then.”

“Not that you’re exactly known for politeness or anything like that,” Harry added jokingly.

“I suppose not,” the blond replied. Uncharacteristically, he cleared his throat a few times before continuing. “I-I would… like to speak to you… privately, mind you… sometime within the next day or so.”

“Can’t do it now?” Harry asked, frowning at the hesitation in the usually proud Slytherin’s voice.

“I’d rather not.”

“Both of us, or just Harry?” Neville asked.

“I would prefer to speak with Potter alone, but I understand if neither of you would trust me in a situation such as that.”

Both Gryffindors exchanged looks, trying to figure out what the other boy wanted. Yet, they understood that they wouldn’t find out until they spoke with him. Neville just wasn’t sure if he could let Harry go alone.

“When?” Harry asked.

“Whenever is most convenient for you,” Malfoy answered. His grey eyes seemed to be holding something back, but it wasn’t anything that the brown-haired boy could catch.

“Fine, tonight after dinner, Room of Requirement on the 7^th floor, and Neville will be there.”

“That’s fine with me.” And with that, the blond breezed back into the Great Hall to finish breakfast.

“Wonder what he wants,” Harry mused, never taking his eyes off of the blond.

“I guess we’ll find out tonight,” Neville replied.

TBC
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The End Shall Come, And We Will Dance Forever