Touching the Untouchable

Author’s note: Alright, here we go! Done with the weekend! Let me know if this seems rushed…I am not trying to rush it, but at the same time, I was rather tired of dealing with Saturday and Sunday. Haha

This chapter answers the question about Harry staying in Slytherin with Draco. I hope that the answer is satisfactory to you, my readers. *big sigh* For better or worse, here it is…
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Touching the Untouchable by Graballz Chapter 10 Hard Week


Monday started the week off with a bang. The incident between Harry and Ron was not easily forgotten, nor was Harry’s absence from the Great Hall on Sunday. Rumors flew fast and hard, though, regarding Draco and the talk of Hogwarts was that Harry, in his state of shock over Ron, had somehow hexed his well-known enemy so badly that the Slytherin refused to leave his room over the weekend. Even in the hallways, the tall blonde was tight-lipped about the whole ordeal. No one was quite sure exactly how that particular rumor got started, but it was better than the truth, and even Draco admitted that!

Dumbledore had rearranged their schedules so that Harry and Ron didn’t have classes together anymore, and he hoped fervently that there would be no further cause for confrontation until this matter was cleared up. Harry agreed to take his meals in the kitchen with the house-elves; he truly didn’t mind, since he liked them, Dobby especially. His one regret was not getting to see Draco at the Slytherin table, and Draco stabbed his food with vehemence at every meal when he found out he had to watch the Weasel and the mudblood fawn over each other at the Gryffindor table while Harry was resigned to the kitchen. His fellow housemates interpreted Draco’s sudden anger during mealtimes as frustration over not being able to retaliate on Potter for hexing him over the weekend, since Potter was no longer present during most of the community activities. They still gave him wide berth during these fits of irritation, and sometimes even Pansy and Blaise—Draco’s two closest friends in Slytherin—were snapped at.

Hermione took over Professor McGonagall’s beginning Transfigurations classes. Dumbledore guided her through the lesson plan for the first day, and Hermione radiated with pride as she went to her own seventh-year classes during the afternoons. Harry, Ron, and Hermione each had different meeting times with Tonks and Remus; Dumbledore decided that they should meet with each of the three once a day until something changed for the better. Dumbledore had spoken privately to Draco, asking if he would also like counseling to speak about finding Harry—since that could not have been easy for him—and Draco politely but adamantly refused. He had no desire to reveal his innermost thoughts to a werewolf he had never been completely comfortable around, nor to his strange cousin who was practically a stranger since her side of the family had been disowned by Draco’s parents.

Harry made very good use of his Invisibility Cloak to avoid Ron especially, and to keep up appearances of living in Gryffindor. Dumbledore and Snape had both sat down with the boys, albeit reluctantly, to inform them that Harry must, in fact, live in Gryffindor, and that Dumbledore’s request to Snape to allow Harry into Slytherin was supposed to have been ONLY for Saturday afternoon, but with everything going on, the Headmaster had let it slide (nor did he want to bring THAT up in front of Tonks and Remus, if only to spare Harry from further embarrassment). The boys had nodded and readily agreed. They told their teachers that they wanted to keep their relationship a secret for the time being; the gossip was already furious enough without adding to it.

Draco’s suspicions that Harry was more Slytherin than he let on were confirmed when he continued to show up at Draco’s door night after night, despite agreeing to live (in other words: sleep) in Gryffindor. He wasn’t about to complain, though, and secretly, Draco was relieved that Harry didn’t seem to want to take turns sleeping in each others’ beds; Harry seemed content to visit Slytherin, and Draco didn’t rock the boat. Harry, for his part, probably should have felt more guilty than he did about deceiving both his mentor and Draco’s godfather. However, Draco was, more often than not, his anchor and the savior of his sanity, and Harry wasn’t about to feel guilty for wanting to spend more time with him!

* * * * * *

Harry was also saddened to hear that Professor McGonagall was in a coma in the Hospital Wing, and he begged Dumbledore to be allowed to see her. It was arranged for Thursday afternoon following classes, and Harry, after receiving grudging permission from and under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey, cast several powerful Healing spells, hoping to speed his Head of House’s recovery. Pomfrey assured the dark-haired boy that he did his best and not to be disappointed in the lack of immediate change in her condition.

There was only a slightly tense moment when Harry was leaving as Hermione was coming into the Hospital Wing as part of her daily routine. She had taken to grading the Transfiguration papers while sitting with McGonagall, as if talking to her out loud about her students, and Hermione’s teaching, might help. Hermione had started violently, dropping her entire arm load of papers, and Harry started scrambling to pick them up while Poppy put her arm around the girl and gave her a Calming Draught. Thankfully, Ron was nowhere to be seen. Harry picked up the last paper, kneeling at Hermione’s feet, and looked up at her, his wide green eyes filled with tears.

“Hermione, I am so, so sorry. You won’t ever know just HOW sorry I am, and I don’t ever deserve your forgiveness. You’re the closest thing I had to a sister, and I let you down. I know you probably hate me, and I don’t blame you. Please believe me when I say that I am so sorry…to both you and Ron. Anyway, I…I have to go,” Harry stammered, handing the papers to Poppy and running out of the Hospital Wing. Hermione just stood there, shaking, with Poppy’s smooth arm around her shoulders for support.

“Come on, then, little one. Let’s get you situated,” Poppy resorted to her calming pet name for the over-emotional Hufflepuffs who broke into hysterics at being in the Hospital Ward. Hermione allowed herself to be led into Minerva’s private room, and Poppy helped get her set up at the table with her stack of papers and a red pen. Hermione suddenly reached for the nurse’s hand, looking her in the eye.

“Madam Pomfrey…I can’t forgive him. Not yet. I know it’s been almost a week…and Tonks and Remus are really helping, but it’s still so soon…I hope I can…someday…Does that make me a bad person?”

“No, dear, of course not. You were all traumatized by what happened, and it is natural that it will take time to heal. Forgiveness, though, is the ultimate sign that you have truly healed, and it is important. Hold on to that hope, and you will make the right choice,” Poppy paused.

Being the nurse, Dumbledore had informed her of Harry’s attempted suicide, just in case he should come into her care from having tried it again or something like that, and of how Draco and Snape had handled it. She knew that the three students were seeing professionals, but she wasn’t sure whether Ron and Hermione had been informed of it, though. That aside, it was strange enough to think that young Malfoy and Potter were getting along, instead of trying to hex each other into next week. Merlin knows Poppy had patched each of them up more often than not over the years whenever they had gotten into a spat. She decided against saying anything to the female Gryffindor, opting instead to give her hand a squeeze. Hermione smiled thinly in thanks and released the nurse’s hand. Poppy closed the door behind her, hearing Hermione greet Minerva.

* * * * * *

After showing Harry the letter from his mother on Sunday, Draco had clammed up and refused to talk about it, citing that there was nothing to talk about. When prodded, Draco told him that he loved his mother and hadn’t seen her since before his father died. Harry had frowned but let the subject drop. He figured that Draco trusted him well enough that, if there WAS something he wanted or needed to talk about, he would come to Harry. The Gryffindor did pick up on Draco’s nonverbal cues, though. Draco seemed to grow more apprehensive as the week passed, turning back into his old emotionless self, even when it was just the two of them, and Harry tried to respond in the manner that would best help Draco: ignore any emotions that were shown. It had been Draco’s own request, but it was tearing Harry apart not to be able to soothe his boyfriend’s distress. They knew it was rather fast to apply such a label to their new relationship so soon, but “dating” or “seeing each other” just weren’t adequate to describe their feelings for one another.

Because he was a Gryffindor, when he was upset, Harry responded best to hugs and affection, and there had been no shortage of that with Draco. The boy had been uncannily in tune with how to best help Harry and always had a smile or intimate touch ready for him when they were alone. Harry was grateful that Draco understood why he needed those signs of closeness, and he longed to give Draco those same comforts. During the day, in front of people, they dutifully acted their roles as “Potter” and “Malfoy” while giggling silently to themselves (even if Draco would never admit that a Malfoy could giggle) at what no one else knew.

Draco emphatically stated that, as a Slytherin (who doesn’t ‘do’ emotions, as he told Harry in Dumbledore’s office), Harry’s best response would be to just ignore Draco’s weaknesses. Harry suspected, though, that if the Slytherin in Draco hadn’t been ingrained so deeply, Draco would choose to be responded to like Harry: with hugs and kisses. Every so often, Harry thought he caught a glimpse of a plea to be held, but when he brought it up, Draco denied it. The blonde was ever-difficult to read! Finally Harry threw caution to the wind late Thursday night and, during one of the Slytherin’s rants that ‘nothing was the matter, Potter!’ Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, pinning his arms to his sides and hugged him for a good five minutes. Draco had struggled for a second, and then relaxed into Harry’s arms. Harry released him, and he stayed snuggled under Harry’s chin. Harry knew then that he had been right; Draco DID want to be held and hugged when upset—some of the time. Harry learned, and Draco became more adept at telling his dark-haired boyfriend, when Draco wanted to be hugged and when he preferred his emotions not be acknowledged.

* * * * * *

On Friday, it was time for Draco to return to Malfoy Manor to learn about his official duties as the Lord Malfoy. Even though Lucius had actually died the previous August, the Ministry was so backed up on paperwork that it had taken three months to transfer the title, deeds, bank accounts, and Merlin-knows-what-else from Lucius’ name to Draco’s. Now that it was complete, though, Draco was wary of seeing his mother. He still loved her, of course, and he was worried about her. He knew exactly how much his parents had loved each other, and he could have only imagined the depth of his mother’s grief after his father died and how she was coping with not having either of them around. Snape and Dumbledore had both counseled him against going home during the interim period before his and Harry’s seventh year, knowing (but not sharing that knowledge with the already on-edge blonde) that Narcissa would not take kindly to her son. Snape had learned that little tidbit through the grapevine, and he wanted to protect his godson more than he would ever admit, even if it meant keeping him from his own mother. Draco was suspicious but didn’t question them. With everything that had happened, though, his head was already spinning, and he just didn’t have it in him to protest. It was then that Albus Dumbledore had also advised Draco to be nicer to Harry; it had proved to be a worthy distraction from his family problems, and now Draco was immensely glad that he had taken Dumbledore’s suggestion.

Unlike her son, who was an only child, Narcissa Black was the youngest of three girls in her family. Bellatrix was the first witch born to their parents, and she spent two years in the limelight before Andromeda came along. Bella was, by nature, a cold and stoic child, but Andromeda committed the unforgivable sin of taking away Bella’s position as the “one and only.” She became even more harsh and merciless as Andromeda grew up; the second daughter was practically the exact opposite of her older sister: huggable, warm, and friendly to everyone, including half-bloods and Muggles. Once they were adults, that unconditional acceptance was what got Andromeda evicted from the Black family tree: marrying a Muggle. Narcissa came along two years after Andromeda; Bellatrix resented her youngest sister, but not as much. Narcissa stood out among the three as the most beautiful (and the most spoiled) child, with blonde hair and blue eyes—very uncharacteristic of the aristocratic Black family’s dark good looks; with beauty came power, as both Bella and Narcissa realized, and Narcissa was able to wrap their parents around her little finger, something Bella had never done. Bella had come to grudgingly admit that Narcissa could hold her own, and she respected her youngest sister for it.

Both Bellatrix and Narcissa Black had been Slytherins at Hogwarts, and both had met their future husbands, Rodolphus LeStrange and Lucius Malfoy, while in school. Lucius and Narcissa made quite a striking couple with their matching blonde hair and cold eyes, even though Lucius had grey eyes and Narcissa had blue. Lucius was also the heir to the Malfoy estate, the largest wizarding estate. Oh yes, with Beauty came Power, especially for those two. It was clear to anyone who looked at them that they adored each other; for as cold as they appeared, it was quite evident that they were very much in love. Lucius loved his agelessly beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated wife; Narcissa loved her influential, rich, and devastatingly handsome husband.

When Lord Voldemort first rose to power, Lucius had been one of the first in line to take the Dark Mark, endearing himself and his supportive wife to the Dark Lord. As ruthless and cruel as Tom Riddle was, he was also, at first, sexist. He did not want any ‘weak woman’ to be an official follower of his—and Tom Riddle considered all women to be weak—which was why Narcissa didn’t take the Mark when Lucius did. However, Bellatrix had changed the Dark Lord’s mind about disallowing women into his ranks of Death Eaters by being unnaturally sadistic as she perfected her art of torture, but before Lucius could bring his wife to Voldemort, Narcissa became pregnant. Their only child, Draco Malfoy, was the perfect blend of magnificence, power, and manipulation.

When Voldemort returned, Lucius was ready to pick up where they left off, but Narcissa begged to be allowed to take the Mark with her son, when he was old enough. Voldemort agreed, which was why Narcissa hadn’t taken the Mark herself, but she had been very loyal to Lucius and the Death Eaters, with one exception that her husband knew nothing about. In a brief moment of panic (that a sane person might refer to as ‘clarity’), Narcissa rightly feared for her son’s soul if he were to actually kill another human being and join Voldemort’s rank. She ran to Severus Snape, the man she and Lucius named as Draco’s godfather and pleaded with him to help Draco. He made an Unbreakable Vow to her, which she later regretted and never told anyone about, especially not Lucius. When the horror of her single moment of weakness stole over her, she had encouraged Draco as much as possible that Albus Dumbledore was an old fool who had wronged Lucius, and that he, Draco, as a Malfoy, needed to exact revenge to right the wrongs of the past. It was all a pack of lies intended to spur Draco on and allow Narcissa to atone for her sin. It seemed as though she would be able to cover up her little mistake, and no one would be the wiser.

Narcissa has been utterly surprised and sickened when the Dark Lord informed her that Snape had actually carried out the boy’s task, and knowing absolutely nothing about the secret plan between Snape and Dumbledore, she never got over the guilt of what she had done. In Slytherin, weakness was the only sin, and Narcissa’s weakness had caused her son to fail. She was incapable of accepting responsibility for her actions, though, and that was when her mind was poisoned against her son. He was supposed to have been Marked, like his father, and supposed to have been strong and proud and loyal.

After Snape killed Dumbledore, he and Draco had disappeared; Narcissa wasn’t sure if Snape was protecting him from the wrath of the Dark Lord or if Snape meant to take care of Draco himself. She didn’t have much time to wonder about that, though, because Harry Potter had come around and killed Voldemort about one month later. After he was dead, a very shocked Narcissa found out that Dumbledore was not dead after all—he had merely been in hiding—and shortly after, Snape reappeared at Hogwarts with Draco, even though school wasn’t set to start for a few weeks. It was during that time that Lucius had been sentenced to the Kiss and executed, and because Draco was not a Death Eater, the Ministry began the exchange of the Malfoy inheritance from her wonderful husband to her spineless son.

He hadn’t returned to the Manor before school started; that was fine with Narcissa, since she wasn’t sure she could even look at him without cursing in disgust. She was ashamed to call him her son. Grieving for Lucius, Narcissa realized that she had wanted to take the Dark Mark with her husband, but Voldemort had refused; her smart, handsome, and powerful husband would never know that his beloved wife wanted so badly to be included in everything he did, since she hadn’t taken the Mark while he was alive. By the time the Dark Lord was ready to relent, Draco was almost of age, and Narcissa was convinced it would be a spectacular ‘bonding’ event for them to take the Dark Mark together; Draco had managed to ruin that as well. In Narcissa’s mind, Lucius’ last memory of his family was of his son the coward, and she was sure that Lucius, feeling betrayed by his offspring, had projected that sentiment onto her as well, and the husband whom she had worshipped thinking that she had been disloyal to him was more than she could bear.

She had always known he would look like his father, and she became very embittered during those first three months without Lucius. A plan had slowly formed in her mind; recalling the revenge she told Draco to exact on Dumbledore, Narcissa set out for just that: revenge for her husband’s death. It wasn’t Draco’s fault that Lucius was dead, but it WAS his fault that their “moment” had never come to pass and that her husband had never seen his family stand with him, united under one Mark. She wasn’t sure exactly how to get to Harry Potter, since he had been the one to actually kill the Dark Lord (which was how they had even captured Lucius), but that was a secondary goal. She would deal with Draco first. In the meantime, the Ministry informed her that the estate was now firmly in Draco’s hands, and she had spied her opportunity. Narcissa Malfoy was not a Slytherin for nothing, nor was she an idiot. She sent a letter to Draco at Hogwarts, requesting him to come home so that she could enlighten him as to his duties as Lord Malfoy. And enlighten him, she would…
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Author’s note: Alright, so I realize that the whole “Draco knows how to deal with Harry” and “Harry knows how to deal with Draco” thing might be a little far-fetched since they’ve only technically been together less than a week…but it just seemed like the right place to put it. What do you think? Too unrealistic?

And a quick note about Narcissa: yes, she was featured prominently in this chapter. In other fics that she is mentioned, she always seems like the loving mother that Draco is devastated to lose or she’s a vegetable in St. Mungo’s. I’m going for something a little different, and a “plot twist” that I have not seen done in other stories…so I hope you like it when it gets here. If not, let me know and I’ll figure something else out.

Since I love Draco, I want to know more about his family. There is a lot of information on Lucius, and I think he is portrayed in other stories equally as a loving father to Draco and as a heartless bastard. Narcissa, though, isn’t mentioned as often, and there isn’t as much background on her. I rather enjoyed stringing it together, though. The facts are all correct; the feelings are all superimposed by me. And I know this chapter was more exposition than dialogue (so what else is new…haha) but hopefully there will be more action in the next chapter.

And as you can tell, I’m going for the “Lucius WAS a heartless bastard” approach (with regards to Draco) and Narcissa…well, you’ll see. I’m hoping that I got all of the canon details correct.

If you have any questions regarding Lucius and Narcissa’s relationship, or how that relates to Draco, please ask! I tried to explain here, but I know it can be confusing, so just ask!


Yami—Hopefully you’ll still love the story after this. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about Harry and Hermione and how they’re going to work things out. BUT Harry just had his “stupid” moment, and now Draco’s is coming, since they’re both teenage boys and are not perfect, as much as we would like them to be. Haha


thrnbrooke—I think this explains why Draco is worried. His father is dead, and he loves his mother, so he’s worried about her and how she is coping. Remember, he doesn’t know how she feels about him; it’s a combination of feeling guilty for not going home before school (when Dumbledore and Snape told him not to—but didn’t tell him why) and being apprehensive about how she will be. After all, his mother has always been a strong presence in his life, but she’s had Lucius around, even when Lucius was in Azkaban. But now he’s dead, and Draco’s nervous about how she’s holding up. I hope that was evident in the chapter itself…


Danine—Thanks! *giggle* It was inspired in part by your stories, actually. I left a rather long and emotional review of “The Game” lol and “eep!” indeed.