Complementary

Title: Complementary 12/?
Author: rotschopf
Rating: NC-17 overall
Pairing: Lucius Malfoy/ Harry Potter
Warnings: language, angst, violence, the usual when I write (-:
Spoilers: all books
Beta: none, though Frogg beta\'d on the fly
Disclaimer: nope, still not mine. pity, though
Feedback: hit me! harder!
Summary: What it\'s all about and the final clue

A/N: My biggest thx goes to Frogg, who not only beta\'d on the fly, but
also co-authored this chapter! Big hugs, hon, you\'re the best.

A/N2: Sorry for the -- again -- late update. I won\'t lie to you. If I update once a month, I\'m good. I have to many other WIPs to just concentrate on Complementary. If you want you can join my group to get everything first hand: groups.yahoo.com/group/TDDM

@lupusdragon: thx for the kick. didn\'t help, though ): he\'s just as stubborn
@genita: uuhm... I don\'t know either. (-:
@Rena: the great fight between Ron and Harry has still to happen. but it will. and after that chapter you\'ll know just how much the friendship of Draco means to Harry...
@OrpheliaMalfoy: here you go. let\'s see when you get to read it :P I can promise you one thing: Draco will become involved.
@Hyperbole: yep, it does (-:

To all who have not been named, but left a kind word about the story: Thank you. Your feedback ist wst welcome. *hugs
But now -- on with the bloody thing (-;

Chapter 12: The Learning Curve

~o0o~

Harry yawned. As interesting as it was to learn more about complementary wizardry, he could definitely do with a break.

\"Harry! Are you even paying attention to what I\'m saying?\"

Harry stifled another yawn. \"I am, \'Mione.\"

Hermione frowned, clearly not convinced. \"As I said, complementary wizardry uses wandless magic...\"

Harry tuned Hermione out again, looking out of the window at the brilliant blue sky of a perfect mid-October Sunday. In two weeks, Halloween would be celebrated at Hogwarts. Halloween was also the day he was supposed to turn in his essay about complementary wizardry.

\"Harry!\"

Harry sighed. \"Look, Hermione. As interesting as it is, I need a break.\"

Hermione scowled. \"You only have two weeks left, Harry. And you are not half-way through the books Dumbledore gave you.\"

\"I know, \'Mione, ow. ow. And I\'m very grateful that you and Draco are helping me to get this done. But I can\'t sit inside the whole time on a day like that.\" He stood up and stretched. \"Up for a flight, Malfoy?\" he bantered playfully.

\"Always, Potter,\" Draco smirked and got to his feet.

\"Fine! But don\'t come to me two days before your deadline, Harry. I won\'t have it.\"

Harry embraced the huffing girl. \"I won\'t, \'Mione. I just want to get out now. You know? To blow off energy?\"

Hermione couldn\'t help but smile. \"You seem to have a lot of energy recently, Harry.\"

Harry smiled. \"Yes, I do. I can\'t help it and certainly I don\'t mind.\"

\"Is there something you\'d like to tell me?\"

Harry blushed. \"I have not bonded with Lucius, if that\'s what you\'re driving at.\"

\"I know you haven\'t.\"

Harry frowned and blushed even deeper. \"How?\"

Hermione shrugged. \"The magic around us would\'ve changed if you did. But it hasn\'t, su diu didn\'t.\"

Harry averted Hermione\'s eyes, embarrassed, but Draco smirked. \"Not bad, Granger.\"

Hermione put her hands on her hips. \"One, the name\'s Hermione. Two, just because I\'m muggleborn...\"

Draco grinned. \"Relax and take the compliment for what it is. -- Are you coming, Harry?\"

\"Sure.\" Harry took his broom.

\"Harry, don\'t even think--\" Draco managed to say before Harry jumped out of the window again. \"He\'s insane. Absolutely insane.\"

\"Perhaps you should just go and try for yourself?\"

\"Are you nuts? I don\'t want to break my neck!\"

Hermione chuckled. \"Well, I guess you\'re not the great flier, then, you always claim to be.\"

Draco narrowed his eyes, feeling the anger boiling up in his veins. He wanted to retort something nasty, but Harry\'s voice interrupted him. \"What\'s up Malfoy?\"

Draco threw Hermione a last scathing look before he jumped out of the window himself. Now he knew warryarry kept doing it. Those few seconds of free fall before he could get the broom under control and the resulting adrenaline rush made him feel more alive than ever. He followed Harry\'s path, spirraling and rolling through the air. He came to a halt right next to Harry, who was grinning widely at him. \"Wow.\"

\"Feeling alive?\"

\"More than ever.\"

\"Now you know why I do this.\"

They flew in silence, synchronising their flight patterns to perfection. Finally, Harry landed in a spot by the lake, secluded and hidden from prying eyes from the castle.

\"What\'s wrong?\" Draco asked when he noticed the rather dark look on Harry\'s face.

Harry shrugged. \"I don\'t know. It\'s just... I haven\'t seen your father for almost two weeks now. Either he\'s with Dumbledore or he doesn\'t want to be disturbed.\"

Draco nodded. \"If it\'s any consolation... I didn\'t see him much either. But I know something\'s up. He\'s changing.\"

\"In what way
\
\"He\'s distant. He never was with me. But now he keeps his hood up almost all the time when I see him. As if he\'s hiding something.\"

Harry sighed. \"He\'s hiding from both of us, then, I guess.\"

Draco studied Harry\'s face. There was more to the topic than Harry admitted. \"You\'re in love with my father, aren\'t you?\"

Harry looked at Draco in panic, but relaxed when he found silent support in the blonde\'s eyes. \"Yes, I guess I am.\"

\"Does he know?\"

\"Gods, no! Draco, please, don\'t tell him.\"

\"You know I won\'t. You\'re my friend, Harry, and I don\'t betray my friends.\"

Harry smirked. \"What about the people in Slytherin?\"

Draco snorted. \"They were never my friends. Even when I still was in Slytherin, I didn\'t trust them as far as I could throw them.\"

Harry laughed, but grew serious again. \"Do you trust me?\"

He looked up at Harry. \"Yes, Harry. Yes, I do.\"

Harry embraced the blonde. \"Thank you.\"

Draco returned the embrace uneasily. \"You know you\'re going to be my step-mother?\"

\"Draco!\"

He laughed. \"What? It\'s true.\"

\"Is not.\"

\"Is too.\"

\"Is not.\"

\"Is too.\"

\"I\'m not a girl!\"

\"But you\'re going to bed my father.\"

Harry turned beet red. \"I\'d rather not talk about that.\"

\"Why? Sex is something quite natural and beautiful.\"

\"And you would know that?\"

\"Yeah. I mean, I\'m no virgin anymore.\"

\"Boy or girl?\"

\"Both. Preference for boys, though.\"

\"Does your father know
\
\"Yes. He expects me to marry, though, and produce an heir.\"

\"Did he love your mother?\" Harry asked quietly. \"Don\'t get me wrong. It\'s just... I feel like I\'m intruding or something.\"

Draco sat up against a tree, pulling Harry between his spread thighs. \"Yes, he did love my mother with all his heart. You know, the facade my parents kept on the outside was void when we were at home.\"

Harry laughed bitterly. \"See? Another life I would\'ve turned into misery if Voldemort hadn\'t gotten to it before me.\"

\"Harry James Potter, don\'t you dare start talking like that!\"

\"But it\'s true, Draco. I\'m making people miserable. Or I get them killed.\"

Draco turned Harry around in his arms, looking at him intently. \"That is not true, Harry. That\'s not your doing. It\'s Voldemort\'s doing. He killed Diggory. He lured you into the Ministry. Bellatrix killed Sirius, not you. The Weasel will come around. And you sure as hell don\'t make my life miserable. Quite on the contrary.\" To prove his point, he kissed Harry softly on the lips.

\"Draco...\" Harry whispered. \"What are you doing?\"

\"Giving you a kiss, I suppose.\"

\"But why?\"

Draco flinched, but did not look away. \"Aside from my father, you, and maybe--maybe!- Dumbledore are all I have left. I won\'t stand by and watch you hurt yourself,\" he whispered.

Harry smiled. \"But you\'re not in love with me.\"

Draco released his breath. \"No, I\'m not.\"

\"Brothers in arms?\"

Draco grinned. \"Yeah, brothers in arms.\"

~o0o~

Harry hurried to clean up his Potions\' desk. He wanted to meet Draco and Hermione in Draco\'s rooms to add the final facts to his essay.

\"Mr Potter.\" Harry froze. He turned around to face the Potions\' Master. \"A word if your precious time allows it,\" he drawled, sarcasm dripping off of every word.

Harry gritted his teeth. \"Of course, Professor.\"

He followed Snape into his office behind the Potions\' classroom. \"What can I do for you, Professor?\"

Snape glowered at him. \"Don\'t get smart with me, Mr Potter. Do you think I don\'t know what\'s going on?\"

\"What do you mean?\" Harry was truly confused.

\"I\'m speaking of the presence of a Death Eater in Hogwarts which seems to be your doing! Are you out of your mind, Potter?\"

Harry\'s eyes flared with anger. \"Lucius is no Death Eater anymore. You should know that!\"

Snape leaned back, smirking at Harry. \"My assumptions are correct, then. I know that Lucius Malfoy isn\'t a Death Eater anymore. But you took my bait anyway.\"

Harry clenched his fists. \"What do you want?\"

Snape shook his head. \"Ten points from Gryffindor for insolence.\" He folded his hands on the desk. \"What on Earth possessed you to bring Lucius to Hogwarts?\"

\"I didn\'t. I was acting at Dumbledore\'s disposition.\"

\"How did you get involved with Lucius? Of all people?\"

\"I don\'t see how that is any of your concern, Professor.\"

\"Another ten point from Gryffindor.\"

Harry braced his hands against Snape\'s desk, staring venomously at the Potions\' Master. \"Fine,\" he growled. \"I didn\'t believe what the papers wrote about Lucius, so I sent him a note.\"

\"Typical.\"

Harry ignored him and went on. \"We met and recognised each other as complements. And that is all I have to tell you.\"

He turned to leave, but Snape\'s cold voice held him back. \"Sit down, Potter, we\'re not done yet.\"

Harry was beyond caring how many detentions he would receive or how many points he would lose. He returned to the desk. \"We are!\" he snarled. \"I will not discuss Lucius Malfoy with you, nor anything else concerning me, Draco or my complement.\"

He stormed to the door and stopped dead in his tracks at Snape\'s soft, but cold comment. \"He will never love you, Potter.\"

He glared at Snape. \"How can you know that? You don\'t even know what love is.\"

Snape stood up, slamming his hands on the desk. \"I will not be spoken to in such manner, Mr Potter. How can I know? Because Lucius Malfoy doesn\'t have a heart. He is dead inside. How you can be his complement eludes my understanding. But if you\'re clever, Potter, you will stay away from one of the most evil creatures in this world!\"

Harry smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes. \"That\'s where you wrong, Professor. The man I learned to respect e Nae Narcissa\'s death differs from the Death Eater you describe like night from day. He is a pureblood and a Slytherin to the bone, but he.is.not.evil. He loves his family beyond anything else.\"

\"You can\'t possibly believe this, Potter.\"

\"I can. Because I\'ve seen it. And if you didn\'t have Dumbledore\'s approval to be here, I\'d be abl fol follow your advice by just avoiding you, sir,\" Harry said, the \'sir\' spat out as an invective rather than the term of respect it was supposed to be. \"I believe this discussion is over.\" Harry ignored Snape\'s enraged spluttering and demands to remain where he was, and left, slamming the door shut.

~o0o~

Still fuming, he made his way to Draco\'s room. He was almost finished with his essay, and Draco wanted to read through it again before Harry turned it in to Dumbledore.

\"Harry! Harry wait!\"

Harry turned around and saw Dean running towards him. He smiled. He yet had to talk to Dean and now was as good a time as any. \"Hey.\"

Dean stopped, breathing heavily. \"I-- I just wanted-- to say-- I\'m sorry.\"

Harry laughed. \"Breathe, Dean.\"

The dark skinned boy smiled, his breathing evening out. \"I wanted to apologise, Harry.\"

\"No need to. I know that Ron talked you into it.\"

\"Ron and Seamus, actually. They are quite mad at you.\"

Harry\'s temper rose again. \"I don\'t get it. Draco is really nice if you get to know him. Hell, I trust Draco with my life.\"

\"I know, Harry. And that\'s what itches Ron. That there\'s another \'best friend\'. A friend, he still considers an enemy.\"

Harry sighed. \"Ron has trusted my judgement so far. Why doesn\'t he now?\"

Dean shuffled his feet uncomfortably, looking at the stone tiles rather than at Harry. \"Well, Harry...\"

\"What is it, Dean? Come on, talk to me.\"

\"Ron thinks... you and Malfoy... well, he thinks youandhearedatingeachother.\"

\"Come again?\"

\"He thinks you and Malfoy are dating each other.\"

Harry erupted into fits of laughter. \"What? Did he hit his head or something? How did he get this ridiculous idea?\"

Dean blushed. \"Well... you two are spending a lot of time together. And you didn\'t like each other before. So, Ron thought that this is the only explanation for it.\"

Harry shook his head. \"No, I\'m not seeing Draco. We just discovered that we are a lot more alike than not.\" He thought fondly of the blonde, having accepted him as a brother rather than a friend. \"What do you think?\"

\"I don\'t know, really. I mean, Malfoy hasn\'t been nasty for a long time, but... I guess I\'m just cautious.\"

\"Do you trust me?\"

\"You know I do.\"

\"Then trust me with Draco. He\'s alright. A bit snotty and arrogant sometimes, but okay.\" \'More than okay,\' Harry added silently. thinking of how close they had gotten over the past weeks, spending almost every waking hour with each other. He truly thought as a brother of Draco, their kinship, in retrospect, sealed with a brotherly kiss.

\"I guess I have to trust you, then, Harry.\"

\"Thank you. I will talk to Ron. I hope he sees reason.\"

\"I hope so, too. I so don\'t want to be in the middle of your arguments.\"

Harry laughed. \"You won\'t be. At least not where I\'m concerned.\"

Dean grinned, too. \"Cool! I have to go. I\'m meeting Seamus for his Charms\' essay. See you around, Harry.\"

\"Yeah, see you.\"

~o0o~

Harry sighed as he put away his quill. His essay was done. As interesting as it had been to research everything about complementary wizardry, he was just as glad that he was done. He just couldn\'t hear or read the words \'wandless magic\', \'complement\', \'bonding\' or \'dreaming\' anymore. His wand was just fine for doing magic, he hadn\'t seen his complement once since the second night at Hogwarts and his dreams were more vivid than ever.

\"Tired?\" Draco asked, concern tinting his voice darker than usual.

\"Yeah. I\'m pretty worn out. The argument with Snape was more than enough.\"

Draco chuckled. \"Give me your essay and go to dinner.\"

\"Won\'t you join me?\"

\"No, I\'m not hungry. Besides,\" he held up the role of parchment, \"I have some reading to do.\"

Harry grinned. Out of impulse, he leaned over and kissed Draco on the cheek. \"Thanks, bro. For everything.\"

\"Just make sure to transfer the money to the right vault,\" Draco bantered, but he smiled. It felt good to have someone close enough to call him brother.

\"Git!\" Harry gave back teasingly before he stood up and sthtenhtened his clothes. \"I\'ll see you later.\"

Dracst wst waved his hand dismissively, already deep in thoughts about the essay.

~o0o~

Draco shook his head. Reading Harry\'s script was pure torture. He had to restrain himself from just copying the essay, afraid that Dumbledore might not be able to read it.

\"Okay, here we go again,\" he murmured, starting to read out loud. \"Complementary Wizardry by Harry J. Potter.

\"What are complements?
Complementary wizards are basically wizards that complement, complete and counter each other. Their magic is compatible to one another, as is, most of the time, their sexuality. There are different types of complements. The most common form is the dual form where two individuals from different backgrounds complete a magical circle. The single form is mostly found in twins whose magical aura was separated and is absolutely non-sexual.

\"Recognition
Complements recognise each other by the surge of energy that erupts when they first touch each other bare skinned. Based on the colour of the surge, they are duals or singles where blue stands for dual and green for single.

\"Dreams as guidelines
After the recognition, both complements experience dreams together which give rough guidelines as to how the bond should be accomplished.

\"Dangers of incomplete bonding
One wizard in the circle is always the magically weaker one. After the recognition, the bond is still incomplete, but a small link was created through which the more powerful wizard drains energy from his bondmate. If the bond isn\'t completed, the weaker wizard will die due to magical drain.\"

Draco started out of his reading when he heard a thud and a muffled cry. He got up from the floor and checked his father\'s rooms. His father was lying on the floor, half-way to the bathroom. \"Father!\" Draco was at his side in a second. He turned his father over and let go with a strangled scream as the hood slipped from his face and head. Lucius\' hair was matt and grey instead of silver. His grey eyes were dull and his faad tad taken on a haggard expression, blue veins visible under the transparent skin. His lips were colourless, the tender skin there dry and chapped. \"Father,\" Draco repeated softly. \"Can you hear me?\"

Lucius eyes opened fully, obviously trying to focus. \"Draco?\"

\"Yes. By Salazar, what happened to you?\"

\"Nothing,\" he rasped. \"Just ill.\"

\"Should I get Severus?\"

\"No, no. It\'s alright, dragon. Everything will be alright soon. Help me up, please.\"

Dracoisteisted his father, helping him up and into the bathroom. On the outside, he didn\'t let his worry show. But he was terrified. His father wasn\'t ill. He was dying! \"Father?\"

\"Just a minute, Draco.\" Draco heard the flush of the toilet and the rush of the water while his father was washing his hands. When Lucius came out of the room, he had pulled his hood up over his face again. \"Please help me to sit down again.\"

\"Are you sure you don\'t want to at least see Madame Pomfrey?\"

\"I am sure, Draco. I am already being taken care of. I will be alright soon.\"

\"As you wish, father.\" Draco knew that his father was lying. But he also knew that Lucius had silently commanded him to keep quiet about his condition.

He helped him sitting down in front of the fire. \"Anything else?\"

\"I love you, Draco. Never forget that.\"

\"I know, father. I love you, too,\" Draco whispered in return, tears brimming his eyes.

\"Go now, dragon. I\'m sure, Harry is waiting for you.\"

Draco left his father, unable to stay a second longer and not rip the hood from his face and ask him what was going on. Something was very wrong with him and Draco had every intention to find out what.

~o0o~

Harry had just finished his desert when Draco came into the Great Hall, hurrying towards him. Harry could see that Draco fought tears and stood up. \"What\'s wrong?\"

\"I have to talk to you. Now.\"

Harry followed Draco, ignoring Ron\'s biting remark about \'lovers\' quarrel\'. \"Draco, what\'s gotten into you? Where are we going?\"

\"Somewhere private.\"

He set a determined pace to the next empty classroom. Harry hadn\'t closed the door completely yet when he found his arms full of a sobbing blonde. \"Draco!\"

\"He\'s dying, Harry! He says he\'s ill, but I can see it\" He\'s lying to me!\"

Harry hugged Draco tightly, stroking soothingly over his back. But his mind raced. Whom was he speaking of? It only could be Lucius. Nothing else would upset Draco like this. \"What happened, Draco?\"

\"I...\" Draco eased out of Harry\'s arms. He wiped the tears from his cheeks, sniffling. \"I was reading through your essay when I heard a thud and a cry from father\'s room. I found him, lying on the floor. I turned him around. And-- and-- he looked-- dead-- like a corpse.\" Draco hiccuped between sobs.

\"Do you want to go and see Madame Pomfrey?\"

\"No. No, he told me not to say anything to anyone.\"

\"Draco, he could be in serious danger.\"

\"I know. But what am I supposed to do? I already disobeyed him by telling you.\"

\"That\'s different.\"

\"How?\"

\"I\'m his complement. I am supposed to know.\"

\"Harry, promise me. Don\'t tell anyone. Please.\"

\"Draco...\"

\"Please.\"

Harry looked at the shivering blonde. On the one hand, he wanted to go to Lucius and demand some explanations. On the other hand, he respected his wishes. He sighed. \"Alright, Draco. I won\'t tell anyone. But you have to promise me to tell me if things get worse.\"

Draco hugged him. \"Thanks, bro.\"

Harry blushed. \"I thought I was your step-mother?\"

\"Don\'t.Even.Go.There.\"


~o0o~

Harry smiled. Halloween was just great. Draco and he had gone flying earlier, only to be called nuts by Hermione and Dean. The air had been freezing cold, and Harry had been really grateful for the hot chocolate they both had received when they sneaked in to the kitchen.

Now, they were sitting in the Great Hall, enjoying their dinner. Ron was glaring daggers at Draco and him, obviously still believing they were seeing each other. Granted, Draco didn\'t help matters with practically sitting in Harry\'s lap, grinning like a madman, but in Harry\'s opinion that was no reason to act like Ron did.

He sighed inwardly and let his mind wander. So much had happened over the past few weeks. He had discovered that every wizard and witch had a complement and that Lucius Malfoy was his. He had developed a kinship with Draco that he never had felt around Ronany any other boy of Gryffindor. And he had found out a lot of things about himself, explored the Slytherin within himself.

\"Harry?\" Draco clicked his fingers in front of Harry\'s eyes. \"Are you okay?\"

Harry grinned. \"Yes, I am. Just thinking.\"

\"About what?\"

\"About what happened the past weeks. I mean, if you told me at the beginning of term I would sit at the Halloween feast with Draco Malfoy in my lap I\'d called Madame Pomfrey.\"

Draco laughed. \"I second that.\"

Harry\'s face darkened. \"How is he?\"

\"Weak. And this weakness is driving him mad.\"

Weak. The word echoed in Harry\'s mind like a mantra, and he just knew he should make a connection. Weak. Harry blinked. The pieces fell into place. \"Oh my God.\" He shoved Draco away, not listening to the protest of the blonde. \"He\'s the weaker one. Not I.\" He ignored Draco\'s gasp and bolted for the door.

He ran up the staircases with just one thought in mind. Lucius was the weaker wizard in the connection. And he knew it! Harry\'s temper rose. How could he be so stupid? He should have known when he wrote his essay. Hell, Draco should have known when he re-read the essay and found Lucius the other day.

Harry panted the password to the sphinx and almost stumbled over his own feet when he entered. Quickly he strolled to Lucius rooms, not bothering to knock, and opened the door.

Lucius turned around, the hood down on his shoulders. He looked haggard, ghostly pale. \"Good, evening Harry.\"

\"What the fuck do you think you\'re doing, Lucius?\" Harry yelled.

\"Language, Mr Potter.\"

\"Don\'t you dare, Lucius, to language-Mr-Potter me now. What the hell are you playing at? Why are you trying to kill yourself?\"

~o0o~

tbc...


P.S.: Before anyone buggers me about Draco being out of character:
bisexual men have a way with each other and I\'m trying to show that way.
And he will only be this way with Harry, so don\'t worry. You get nasty
and arrogant Draco soon enough.