Poses

\"Draco, I am going to tell you something and it will seem terribly-- well, I think you will understand it better than Harry would. Hopefully you will understand my position and why I must ask you to do this.\" Dumbledore spoke across the wooden table in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld place. Everyone was shocked when it was Draco that Dumbledore had sent for after returning from his unexplained absence.

Draco was tense. Dinner had long been cleared away although the muted scent of the meal hung in the air. He was terrified that what Dumbledore was going to ask him to do was going to break his heart. It was just that sort of summer. He nodded his acquiescence.

\"In spite of what I say is my utmost trust in your Head of House, I do realize that he has practical concerns of his own and that they often conflict with the greater good.\" Looking at Draco\'s nonplussed expression, Dumbledore put it in plainer terms. \"In other words, I am well aware that he is playing both sides.\" Dumbledore paused to allow this to sink in.

Again, Draco nodded. Snape told him as much. However, the fact that Dumbledore already knew this didn\'t bode well for his promotion of the idea that Snape should be dismissed. Or, at the very least, Draco should have his own room. Somewhere away from Snape and his influence. He hoped that this fuss was leading up to Dumbledore having come to one of those conclusions on his own. The fact that he was there alone and that he was being told because he would understand it better than Harry led him to believe that this was going to be bad. Very bad.

\"The sad truth of it is that... whilst I realize what a threat his intentions are to you, I have no other means of finding out what the Death Eater\'s plans are. Severus is the conduit of information between Tom, that is, Voldemort and I. Whilst I could strip him of his duties but still keep him around Hogwarts, or even here, it would raise too many eyebrows to do so at this juncture. Now that we are on the brink of the final battle it would put our source too much at risk, and we could miss valuable information. Information that could well save Harry\'s life.\"

Draco exhaled loudly and he gazed at his hands respectfully folded on the table. No, he did not want to put Harry at risk. \"But giving me my own room wouldn\'t alter Snape\'s situation--\"

Dumbledore held his hand up to halt the protest. \"I need you back in Slytherin, Draco. I need you to watch Severus. I\'m not saying that you must provide favors or get that close to him, but I need someone that... \" Dumbledore paused, searching for a genteel phrasing. \"Someone who can keep Severus off-balance enough to reveal more than he intends. I\'m not suggesting you string him along if you\'re not comfortable with that manner of manipulation, but he is... keen to please you. In that regard, you have a power over him the rest of us do not.\"

Those words made Draco cringe. \"Yes, well-- I\'m not...\"

\"I\'m not asking you to do anything you\'re uncomfortable with, Draco. I just want you to observe him. Talk to him if and when he asks that of you.\"

\"Alone? In his office?\" squeaked Draco. He didn\'t know how to react. Dumbledore didn\'t want him to do anything he was uncomfortable with? He wasn\'t comfortable being in Slytherin House at all, let alone left unprotected in Snape\'s office.

\"The house elves will be on alert to keep track of you when you\'re in the presence of Professor Snape.\" Dumbledore tried to be reassuring. He realized he was sending mixed messages. He tried to come up with less suggestive phrasing. It was monstrously important that they get as much information from Snape as they could and as good as the man was at Occlumency, Draco was the only person who could make Snape slip up.

\"Well, why can\'t the house elves... observe him?\"

\"Because Draco, he will not confide in the house elves. He will confide in you. He trusts you, he believes in you and as muddled as he is, I believe he truly does care about you. He is... rather confused. You should have some pity for him. The pressures that he is under are great. He often makes poor choices. I do not believe he is alone in that regard,\" he said, raising his brows. He gave Draco a meaningful look. Sorting out Harry\'s very public Unforgivable blunder at the Ministry was what had kept him from coming to Grimmauld before now. \"I believe he can yet be redeemed. He will need an ear and a friend. I understand that this is a tall order as he has abused you, as well as your trust. I would not ask this of you were the need not so dire, not just for Harry\'s sake but also for the Wizarding world.\"

Draco huffed and fell back against the chair and stared at the ceiling. All of this being a hero stuff was... well he\'d rather leave it to other people. He\'d decided that much over the last few days. It was once appealing, but he just wasn\'t cut out for it. Leave that rubbish to Gryffindors, as far as he was concerned. \"Snape asked me to join up with the Death Eaters and be a counterspy with him. I just...\"

\"Did he?\" Dumbledore leaned forward, although he didn\'t sound surprised. \"He proposed that to me before this mess. I am grateful that you did not accept that option. It would be an enormous undertaking and while I believe you are strong, it would be too lethal a risk. Severus came to me frightened and already marked. It is quite another thing to go into the lion\'s den with the direct intention of spying. Aside from which, I believe that severing your contact with Harry would be detrimental to you both. No, I would prefer it if you restricted your spying duties to your Potions professor. To that end, I have reinstated you in Potion\'s class.\"

Draco sat up and glared at Dumbledore. \"So I have no choice. The lecher gets his way?\"

\"Draco, I am not asking you to do anything but be there and listen to him. If he touches you in an inappropriate way, Dobby is empowered to-\"

\"Dobby? Dobby hates me. He was my old house elf.\" Banging his fist on the table to punctuate his point, he looked every inch the petulant toddler Dobby had once feared.

\"I do not believe that Dobby bears any animosity towards you for what you did as a child. Even if he did, he adulates Harry and he would not hurt someone important to him. He is the only house elf at Hogwarts not bound to serve whomever makes an order. I\'m afraid I have little choice. I can have Harry ask him to watch you personally...\" Dumbledore hadn\'t moved much during their conversation, but simply watched Draco, remaining sympathetic and yet firm.

\"Harry is not going to like this.\" On this point Draco was certain and he took the opportunity to look smug.

\"I do expect a rather vocal rebuke from your other half on this matter. But understand that this is for his protection as well as important to the War. I will also be talking with Severus about his behaviour . You will not have to endure another episode such as you have.\"

\"He threatened me. He would have petrified me and....\" Draco\'s tone was strained and he gripped the table in front of him till his knuckles turned white.

To retard Draco\'s outburst, Dumbledore peered at him over the rim of his glasses, a gesture that silenced students as it signaled impatience. \"I am not denying that his behaviour was reprehensible, Draco. I just have no one else that could get through to him. No one I could send in your place. Your relationship with him was once very close and he wishes that again. The elves will be watching and Dobby will be there. You will be safe. Should things still go beyond your comfort level, I do believe Mr. Potter has devised a means to vent his frustration.\"

Draco\'s eyes widened at Dumbledore. Of course, Draco had only heard about what happened to Snape and the priapic hex a couple of days ago. Not to mention the Unforgivable he\'d thrown at Bellatrix. He couldn\'t believe that Dumbledore was going to give Harry a pass and encourage further destructive outbursts. Then again, Dumbledore often did indulge Harry. Usually the notion made Draco feel bitter, but this time it just made him worry. \"Perhaps.\"

Sensing Draco\'s disenfranchisement, Dumbledore attempted to explain. \"This is war, Mr. Malfoy. War is hell. Sometimes you must do what you will to get by. I dislike it being this way, but we are running out of options. I\'m sure you understand.\"

\"Oh, I understand, Headmaster. I understand all too well.\" Slapping his hands on the table, Draco pushed himself up. After a curt nod, he excused himself from the room.

--

\"So? What did Dumbledore say?\" Harry was lying on their pushed together beds in his pajamas.

Though it was rather late, Ron was intentionally absent from the room. The idea both thrilled and frightened Draco. He and Harry had not done anything beyond snuggling since the incident. It wasn\'t for lack of hormonal interest on Draco\'s part; it was that the memory of Snape touching him was still too fresh.

Draco fiddled with the fussy collar of his robe, trying to unclasp the frog closure. \"Dumbledore said, \'I\'m old and senile, would you please run Hogwarts for me?\'\" His old man voice wasn\'t a solid imitation, but he\'d hoped it would bring more of a smile to Harry\'s face than it did.

But how could Harry smile? A caustic response meant that Draco was uncomfortable with something, likely something he\'d been told. \"Oh. Well... did he ask to see me?\"

The sly old dog... No, he hadn\'t asked to see Harry, had he? He was going to leave Draco the unpleasant task of informing Harry about this arrangement. \"No, he didn\'t.\" Draco rustled through the wardrobe and pulled out his pajamas and a dressing gown. He left the door to the bathroom open, but moved out of Harry\'s view to change.

This was how it was since Draco came back. No more sleeping almost naked and he no longer changed clothes in front of Harry, either. It hurt a little, but mostly it stoked his anger towards Snape.

\"I see. So, does that mean I get to guess what he really said?\" Harry wiggled back to allow Draco room and held the covers up for him when he returned donning his many layers of sleep clothes.

Sliding into bed, Draco snuggled up to Harry. \"He reminded me I was sorted into Slytherin and that is where I\'m going to stay. Further I\'m supposed to observe Snape and get him to confide in me since he still cares about me.\"

\"Excuse me?\" Pulling back to look at Draco\'s face, Harry couldn\'t discern the seriousness of that statement. \"That\'s not funny, Draco.\"

\"Note the absence of laughter.\" The stern expression on Draco\'s face validated what he\'d heard.

\"No.\" Harry pulled Draco tighter to him, crossing his arms over his lover\'s back protectively.

Draco buried his face in Harry\'s neck before asking, \"No?\"

\"No.\"

\"Well, good then. At least that\'s settled.\" Draco wanted to believe it was that easy, but it wasn\'t.

\"I forbid you to talk to that man,\" Harry whispered into Draco\'s hair.

\"I\'ll write that down.\"

\"Draco, you can\'t!\"

\"What, write it down? Well, that\'s true, I can\'t write at the moment. My hands are rather full,\" he said as he squeezed at Harry\'s back.

\"Draco, I\'m serious.\"

Draco sighed heavily against Harry\'s neck. Releasing Harry from the embrace, he flopped onto the pillow. \"I don\'t want to. There\'s just no one else.\"

\"Don\'t I get a say in this?\" Harry caressed Draco\'s cheek, trying to reassure him he wasn\'t angry with him, but with the situation.

\"I suppose not, since Dumbledore ambled over here late and then didn\'t call you in for a meeting.... I would have thought he would\'ve been here to talk to you about the Unforgivable, at least. But no, he just shows up to dump this on me and leaves me to tell it to you. That\'s just so Slytherin.\" Draco was relieved that he wasn\'t blamed. \"He also said he expected an earful from you, which leads me to believe it\'s non-negotiable; although you\'re free to complain. I\'m going back to Slytherin House and I\'ve been reinstated in Potions.\"

\"Then I\'m taking Potions as well. AND... I\'m coming to your room every night to make sure nothing happens to you.\" Harry\'s arms tightened around Draco, cutting off his air. Draco squirmed until the grip lessened.

\"Oh sure, just come on in. I\'ll leave the back door open for you.\" Though he rolled his eyes, he really hoped Harry would.

\"I have my Invisibility cloak and the Marauder\'s Map. I\'ll be in your room,\" he assured Draco.

Draco was touched and a soft smile played over his lips. \"You\'d do that for me? Sneak in every night?\"

\"Of course. Besides, all of the smelly people in your room have been withdrawn.\" Harry leaned in and kissed the corner of Draco\'s grin.

\"It will certainly be quieter.\" Draco frowned as he wondered where Goyle was and if he was all right. Not that Draco could do much about it even if he wasn\'t. The War was going to happen either way. His thoughts were so far away from his proximity to Harry that he jumped when he felt Harry\'s hand snake under his nightshirt. \"Oh!\"

\"Sorry...\" Harry winced. He\'d thought he\'d been rather obvious in his approach. He was trying to be respectful and take things slow. Though he started to draw his hand away, Draco placed his hand over Harry\'s and nodded.

Massaging his fingers over the supple skin in random patterns, he gave Draco a tender tummy rub. Harry delighted in the way that Draco\'s eyes fluttered closed and his breathing deepened as he relaxed into the touching. He couldn\'t help but notice that this treatment was having a definite affect below Draco\'s belt line as the silvery silk pants tented. They\'d tried a few times before tonight. Harry was trying not to get his hopes up for much to happen given the upsetting news about the next school year.

Draco\'s head mashed into the pillow as his back arched and his hips dipped into the mattress, driving Harry\'s hand down his abdomen. He bit his lip and let out a soft whimper as he felt Harry\'s fingers massaging down his body and deftly slipping under the waistband. He was shivering with the hesitant teasing of Harry\'s fingers gliding past his prick to snake over his thighs.

\"Are you... ready... do you... want me to?\" Harry was so tense; he wanted to touch Draco so much, but each time that he did it and Draco got upset, it split his heart in two. It seemed like there was so little he could do now, and the guilt of knowing that he was partly the cause of Draco\'s anguish towards sex ate at him. Not that he would ever say.

\"Yessss,\" answered Draco in a wavering voice

Harry traced the pads of his fingers dexterously over the ridges of his prick. He wanted to see it, but given the fact that Draco hadn\'t even removed his dressing gown, he decided to leave it for now. Taking great pleasure in the way that Draco was responding, the pointed features flushed as his hips thrust forward, forcing his length more into Harry\'s hand, he encircled his fingers around it.

Draco\'s platinum hair splayed over the plain cotton pillow as he pressed his face against Harry\'s and nudged his head up to kiss him. Harry\'s hand was soft, very soft. Not calloused like... No. He couldn\'t think about him. This was Harry. He needed to concentrate on whom he was with. \"Kiss me, Harry.\"

Kissing Draco, Harry became anxious as he felt his lover starting to tremble. He tried to keep the kiss light, touching their tongues in gentle strokes, but Draco kept deepening it in a frantic gambit to keep the sexual energy going. Fuck, thought Harry as he felt Draco starting to soften in his hand.

\"I\'m sorry. I\'m so sorry, Harry,\" Draco murmured against his lips. Tender lips. Youthful lips. Lips so unlike the scaly dryness of Snape\'s. He was so frustrated-- he wanted to cry. His prick was still semi-hard and he tried to press it into Harry\'s hand and then slid his own hand down to knead it.

\"Draco, Draco, stop... it\'s all right.\" Harry kissed over Draco\'s face. It hurt. It hurt him so much, but it wasn\'t Draco\'s fault and seeing the anxiety in those grey eyes tugged his heartstrings. \"Please stop. It\'s all right.\"

\"But... but you\'re...\" Harry pulled his hips back too late. Draco\'s hand was already stroking his erection. Putting his hand over Draco\'s, he shook his head. \"No. Don\'t... not like this. I want to... I\'m going to wait. Until you... I want us... together.\" He pulled Draco\'s hand up to his lips and kissed each knuckle individually. \"When you\'re ready... I want us to come together, Draco. I don\'t care how long it takes. I love you.\"

Draco\'s eyes prickled with tears. He was both upset and touched. \"I love you, too. I just... I don\'t know when... I don\'t want you to... I mean...\"

Harry pressed Draco\'s elegant hand to his face and then kissed his palm. \"I don\'t care how long it takes, Draco. You\'re worth it.\"

--

Harry was the first to wake that morning and he slipped out of bed carefully so as not to awaken Draco. The previous night\'s misadventure irked him, but Harry decided now that the blame fell squarely on Snape\'s shoulders. All he felt towards Draco was extreme sympathy and his guilt for his part in it. He wanted to help his lover to get past this. He would treat him better. Harry vowed that he would be there as much as he could. To that end, he decided to treat Draco to breakfast in bed.

Draco hadn\'t left the room much since he\'d gotten back, and while Molly advised that Draco should be encouraged to be more social, Harry wasn\'t about to push the matter. He wasn\'t going to push Draco into anything; he was going to protect him.

Passing by the drawing room on his way down to the kitchen, Harry paused at seeing the mass of blankets and greasy hair sticking up on one end of the couch. Every muscle tensed as he realized Snape was still there. He had been warned that Dumbledore\'s visit was going to include Snape showing up, but he hadn\'t been clued in that Snape was going to stay the night. He tried to comfort himself that Draco must not have seen the man the night before or he would\'ve said something about it. Still, he was going to give Snape a piece of his mind now that he knew what he\'d done to Draco.

He was just starting towards Snape when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Appearing rash and wild as he whirled around, his eyes fixed on Remus. The man\'s empathetic expression did little to sooth the rush of nervous energy Harry generated on seeing Snape. He was riled and ready to fight. Remus\'s hand moved to Harry\'s bicep and he tugged. It wasn\'t a violent move, but it brooked no argument. \"Come along, Harry. Get some breakfast. We\'ll have a chat.\"

\"I don\'t want to \'have a chat,\' Remus.\" Harry attempted to wrestle away from the grasp, but Remus dragged Harry down the steps.

\"I know you don\'t want to, Harry, but you will. Right now.\" Remus\'s tone was so paternal that Harry conceded. Besides, he wasn\'t going to hex Snape right in front of Remus again. He\'d be stopped. Remus directed Harry to one of the chairs.

\"I was going to take breakfast up to Draco.\" Harry took a chair and sulked at being caught. He had so much he wanted to tell Snape. Although most of the message he wanted to give was liable to come through his fists.

\"Is he waiting for it?\" Remus took a spot across from Harry and poured himself a fresh cup of tea. It was midmorning on Saturday and the Weasleys plus Hermione had gone for the day to Diagon Alley for shopping and ice cream. Molly had left the food out and charmed to stay fresh for those who weren\'t awake when they\'d left.

Harry shook his head. He picked up the plates left out for him with breakfast and began to arrange food on them.

Seeing that Harry wasn\'t going to be kept from Draco for very long, Remus decided to cut to the chase. \"As unpleasant as it is, Harry, Snape is an integral person to this war. By now you have figured out that he\'s not completely... that his habits and behaviour occassionally lend him to the Death Eater side of his personality. We are not ignorant to the dual nature of his loyalties, but at the moment that is the only way we can keep up with what they are doing. This is a chess game, unfortunately.\"

\"And I\'m the pawn?\" snapped Harry as he slammed the eggs onto the plate and tossed the utensil back onto the bowl.

\"No one\'s the pawn, Harry. Perhaps chess is a bad analogy. The point is, it\'s a game of strategy and what we\'re trying to do is to give you every advantage we can buy you for the final battle.\" Remus maintained calm in spite of Harry\'s petulance.

\"Oh no, I think chess was spot on. Maybe then I\'m the king and Draco is the pawn? You\'re letting his attacker not only live but stay the night?\" Jumping up from his seat, Harry paced the kitchen before he remembered he was going for a tray and then headed to the proper cabinet to retrieve one.

\"Harry...\" Remus\'s tone was exasperated, but he couldn\'t help but feel pity for Harry his plight. His eyes followed Harry as he paced and then settled on getting the tray. \"No one wanted Snape to stay the night. He came to talk to Albus, and when that was through, Snape insisted that he was too tired to go home.\"

\"Oh please. Too tired? Too tired to Apparate? Or use his Portkey? It\'s talking to Draco he\'s after and that\'s not going to happen.\" Harry started to slam the tray down, but Remus\'s hand shot out before it hit the table and nodded towards the hallway to remind him of Mrs Black\'s portrait. Bringing his index finger to his lips reinforced the message for Harry to keep quiet. Harry gave a pained expression, but nodded his acknowledgment.

Point made, Remus withdrew his hand. \"I realize that the hope to talk to Draco is likely his reason for staying the night, and I realize how bothersome that is to you. I kept him at bay last night and I will again today.\"

\"Today? What? How long is he going to stay?\"

\"I don\'t know, Harry. Knowing Severus-- I\'m afraid he can be rather tenacious when he wants something. He wants to straighten things out with Draco.\" Remus took another sip of his tea, but kept a wary eye on Harry.

Harry did a poor job of concealing his rage. His face flushed and his lips tightened as he set the dishes onto the tray with an affected carefulness. \"That is not going to happen.\"

\"No, it isn\'t. I\'ll be watching Severus to make sure he does not perturb you.\" Remus glanced back up the stairs, but he knew he\'d hear it if Snape roused.

\"I thought Dumbledore wanted Draco to watch Snape.\" His tray set, Harry glowered at Remus, too overwhelmed with resentment to be picky about who was on the receiving end of his ire.

\"At school, yes. And in general.\" He set his teacup down.

Harry hoisted up the tray and leaned it on his stomach for balance. \"Then why are you going to watch him?\"

\"For you.\" Remus spread his fingers on the table and then folded them.

He all but dropped the tray. \"What? Why?\"

\"Because it will ease your mind to know that someone is watching him. This is outside of Order business, Harry. I don\'t want you to mention it to Albus or even Draco. This is between us. I think that as capable as Draco is in some capacities, he\'s still very young and Snape... is clearly more wily than even Albus gives him credit for.\" Of course, Remus\'s other reasons, that he didn\'t want to see Harry get into any further trouble because of his inability to control his temper, went unstated.

\"I... I don\'t know what to say. Other than... thank you.\" He was too flabbergasted to say much more than that. He hadn\'t dreamed that anyone in the Order really took Snape as the serious threat that he was, but at least Remus was on his side. He was awash in gratitude he had no idea how to express.

Remus smiled a quiet understanding of Harry\'s subtext. He hoped that it was enough to keep Harry from doing something else that was reckless, but there was so much of James in the boy, he wasn\'t sure. \"It\'s my pleasure, Harry. Well, not really a pleasure to deal with Snape,\" he said, smirking. \"But you know what I mean.\"

For the first time that morning, Remus caught a glimpse of Harry\'s lopsided grin. \"I do.\" Suddenly he wasn\'t in an urgent rush to leave the room, but wanted stay to show his appreciation.

There was never a time where Remus felt more like a father to Harry than right now, and he was loath to let that end as well. \"So, classes Monday?\"

Shaking his head, Harry dropped his gaze to the platter in his hands. \"No. I don\'t think so. I want to spend more time with Draco. And really... after... well, the thing with Richard... \"

This surprised Remus. \"I thought you were enjoying yourself. It was your dream to be an Auror.\"

Harry sighed heavily. \"It was. But... I wasn\'t enjoying myself. No one... talked to me. They were all scared or intimidated or something. I\'m not sure I\'m cut out to work for the Ministry. They\'re just so... I mean... how did they not see that Richard was a spy?\"

Remus chuckled. \"Yes, you\'d think with a last name like \'Spien\' they\'d be more wary. It\'s a governing body and like any governing body it is subject to corruption at worst and misguided policy at best. I can understand your hesitancy, however. You have time to think about it, still. Anyone who doesn\'t talk to you is missing out. I know a bit of something about how that feels. People can be unintentionally cruel. I have the feeling that in your case they were intimidated by your accomplishments. Can\'t blame them that.\"

\"That makes sense... about the Ministry. I don\'t know about the accomplishments, though. I didn\'t really achieve much by myself,\" he said, lighting up with a modest blush. He felt another spark of kinship with Remus over feelings of isolation. He wished he could make it better for him.

\"Nonsense, Harry. You\'re a special boy no matter what. A bit reckless, but you have the exuberance of youth. Much like your father. James would be proud of you.\"

Harry was aglow at the notion. \"Really?\"

\"He would be just as proud of you as I am.\" Remus gave him an affectionate smile and then gestured towards the stairs. \"Now go on, get to your boyfriend before those warming charms wear off.\"

Beaming at Remus, Harry nodded and said, \"Thanks again. I\'m... I\'ll try to keep making you proud.\" With that, he headed up the stairs, still giddy from the praise, particularly since he\'d felt like such a failure for the past few days.

Remus watched him go, satisfied that he\'d cheered Harry up. He still felt anxious, however, dreading what was to come.