Blood Ties.

The sky was just beginning to turn deep musk-grape purple with the coming dawn when Draco and Harry stumbled back into the Astronomy Tower. Harry leaned heavily on the blond with a drunken smile curling his lips, his power and body drained by the hours spent in debauchery with the Dark Lord. Draco struggled to fight off the feelings of revulsion that crawled over his skin as Harry kissed his ear with a sharp chuckle, flicking his tongue over his skin.

"Did you enjoy watching our Master take me, Draco?"

Snape stepped from the shadows and moved over to relieve Draco of his burden, noting the shadows that swarmed over the pale face and settled within his silver eyes. He guided the weary stranger to lean against a wall, hands lightly touching and inspecting with a cool detachment.

"Is he injured, Draco?"

Harry reached up and trailed his fingers through Snape's hair, the touch far too familiar and suggestive, and Snape barely restrained a shudder. He hoped desperately that they could deal with any injuries swiftly and return Harry to normal, for he did not like this version one whit.

"No...Just exhausted from the show."

Draco's voice was heavy with a multitude of emotions, not to mention a fatigue that had settled upon him once they were back on Hogwarts' grounds. The thought of future nights spent like the last made him cast a glance at the nearest window with a sad longing.

"Good. I think we should get him to bed, then. At least tomorrow is Saturday and he can sleep."

For a moment Draco was too caught up in his own, now frighteningly familiar, desires for self-destruction, to remember his part in the game. Then he forced himself to move close to the softly purring thing that inhabited the body of his lover, leaning in to whisper against his ear as a tear tracked its way unchecked from his right eye.

"Draco."

The memory of what Harry had said when he'd revealed this power word almost broke him inside, and then Harry dropped back against him with a shriek of pain. It was like no sound that should ever come from a human being, and Draco was trapped by it, ripped apart within as he sank to the floor with Harry's convulsing body cradled in his lap.

"Sev...Severus! What's wrong with him!?"

Snape knelt and pressed a hand to the side of Harry's face, ignoring Draco's fear in favor of trying to soothe Harry's passage back to the light.

"Shhh...The pain will pass, Harry. Remember...It was not you who did those things tonight. We discussed the possible side-effects of this."

Draco could only swallow around his horror and hug Harry tighter, his revulsion gone as swiftly as Harry's evil twin, his head dipping into that beloved neck as he sobbed softly. Harry was trembling and crying, his hands clutching first at Severus and then Draco, mumbling mindlessly.

"It wasn't me...wasn't...God! I...I did..."

Snape's voice shook as he gripped the sides of Harry's face and bent forward, pressing close to hiss gently.

"You did nothing, Harry."

An eternity passed as the three of them huddled there and recovered from the first real test of the plan. One could say things went well, but that was as terrible an idea as the thought of rape as a reward for good behavior. Nothing about the situation was good, or right, but they all knew it was necessary. Necessity can shatter the fragile soul.

"Okay. Okay, I'm better now. Can...Can you help me down to the shower, Draco? I want..."

Harry couldn't continue, but Draco well knew the intense need to wash after having those vile hands on you. He eased Harry to his feet and waited as he and Snape shared a long hug, then helped Harry down into their dorm for a shower and rest. There would be plenty time later for talk, if Merlin willed.

~~:~~

Blaise and Zacharias had given only token complaints when Draco had thrown them out not long after guiding Harry into the dorm room after his shower. A single glance at the drawn face on the dark pillow, and Draco's shadowed eyes seemed to convince them that the situation was serious. He locked the doors with a convoluted series of charms, draped the Silencing spells and then crawled into bed with Harry. It surprised and warmed him when the sleeping man rolled over to curl against his side, one hand tightening in his pajama top as if afraid he might try to escape.

They both spent the better part of the day asleep, though Draco woke often to gaze down at the sleeping brunette and watch him sleep. He was glad that his heart knew how to distinguish between the heartless beast Harry had been the night before, and the real Harry lying beside him now. His fears now only lay with the thought of being able to be intimate with him after seeing Voldemort taking him so brutally on that throne of bones.

'If he can do it for you, why shouldn't you be able to do it for him?'

The thought made him wince and he lowered his head to kiss the furrows from Harry's brow, breathing in his fresh scent and feeling a surge of love rise to dizzy him. He loved Harry, and Dumbledore was definately right on at least that one count. Love was stronger than anything.

"Draco..."

He lifted his head, blinking as Harry murmured his name sleepily and then opened those beautiful green eyes to look up at him, lips curling into a slightly wary smile.

"How are you feeling?"

Draco studied the curve of Harry's mouth and saw the questions floating in emerald, stroking a lock of ebony from Harry's brow.

"Physically, I'm fine. Guess my mind and emotions will heal up, too. But..."

The most gut-wrenching expression of uncertainty and fear had gripped Harry's face and he stared up at Draco, looking very much like a child who's been bad and worries he will no longer be loved. The openness of the vulnerability, and what it told Draco about Harry's past, almost brought tears to his eyes, but he fought them off in favor of dipping his head to kiss the trembling lips.

Ever so gently he traced their curve and pressed between to explore Harry's mouth, remembering the first true kiss they'd shared and giving back all the tenderness and reassurance that had been given to him. His hands cupped the sides of Harry's face as he sighed into his mouth and caressed his tongue, causing a shiver to bolt down Draco's spine when his lips closed around it and he suckled.

Briefly, the image of Harry sucking on a another tongue, this one black and forked, flashed in Draco's mind, but he shoved it away and allowed himself to enjoy the response of Harry to his kiss. It was a miracle that he could respond after what he'd been through, and thus the gift shouldn't be soiled by Draco's own mutinous thoughts.

A pure, cleansing heat coiled down through him to settle and tighten at the base of his cock and he smiled into the kiss.

'Well, heart and body know the difference. Mind will just have to step in line.'

He broke the kiss gradually and leaned up, looking deeply into Harry's eyes as he murmured.

"I love you."