The Lion and the Serpent

It didn\'t take long for their findings to be confirmed. Of course, as with most curses, the only cure was to reverse the curse, returning the injuries to the original victim.



“All at once, or one by one?” Draco asked. Hermione just looked at him apologetically.



“Do I need to be here when you apply the counter-spell? I mean... could I go to my quarters?”



“You could be anywhere in the world, Mr. Malfoy,” Pomfrey said dryly. “However, given the severity of the injuries, it is in your best interests to remain in the infirmary.”



“Actually, the original injuries were external not that severe,” Draco said nonchalantly. “However, they were quite personal in nature... so...” he shot a meaningful look at Hermione.



“Excuse us for a moment,” she said, and dragged him out of the infirmary.



“Draco, you need to stay there,” she said. “Your body can go into shock from that much pain and damage at once.”



“Then you will have to take care of me,” he said bluntly. “Because I am not letting her see that!”



Hermione\'s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I get it. You don\'t want to embarrass Harry. Guess what? I don\'t care if our precious slave owner wakes up to some well-deserved embarrassment.”



Draco blushed furiously. “Well, I care,” he said defensively. “He\'s my Master. And this is between me and him. Nobody else.”



She was about to say something spiteful, but Draco beat her to it:



“You can do it, Granger,” he smirked. “You have six years of experience covering up domestic violence...”



The furious look in her eyes made Draco glad his had his collar on to protect him.



“Manipulator,” she spat.



“Thanks. Will you help?”



“Against my better judgment.”



She stuck her head back into the infirmary and asked Pomfrey to give them half an hour to prepare.



When they returned to Harry\'s quarters, Hermione went to work. Draco watched her nervously, as she prepared the potions. She caught him fidgeting, and snapped at him,



“What are you waiting for? Strip.”



He shrugged, and removed his clothes without even a twinge of embarrassment. In the bedroom, he threw the blankets off the bed, and collapsed face down, burying his face in the pillow. She joined him shortly, bringing several vials.



“Drink,” she ordered. “The numbing potion, the blood-replenishing, and the heal-all. I didn\'t have much time, but I do believe I have improved the latter two...”



She then proceeded to rub thick, sticky substance into his back, sides, and buttocks generously. He tensed slightly, but then allowed himself to relax into her hands.



“What\'s that?” he asked.



“Healing ointment, and anti-scarring salve,” she explained. “I want your body to be ready before the injuries arrive.”



“Okay,” he murmured meekly, and pressed his face into the pillow again. “Thank you.”



She sighed deeply. “You are welcome, I think...”



“Hey, Granger...” he said suddenly. “I hope you are not serious about giving up your healing apprenticeship.”



Her face darkened and she looked away.



“Granger?”



“Can\'t do it, Draco,” she said quietly. “Not after all this. A healer does no harm. I\'ve done too much... compromised too much to go back.”



“Isn\'t it like saying that Harry shouldn\'t be teaching anymore, because he conjured Dark Marks on his students without permission slips from their parents?” Draco asked innocently.



She gave him an incredulous look and laughed out loud. “You really have a way with words, Draco. You should be a lawyer.”



“Maybe Harry can get me some law school candies,” Draco smirked, and then gasped at the sensation of ache spreading through his entire body. The pain was subdued, coming in waves, gripping and letting go. He felt the sensation of his skin parting, and trickles of blood running down his back. He glanced at the sheets and saw red spots of blood collecting on them. Feeling his body give in to the damage without the intensity of the pain that should have accompanied it was somehow more scary, and he winced involuntarily, fighting back the wave of nausea in his throat.



Hermione saw the look on his face and smiled reassuringly. “You are doing great,” she said. “It\'s not for long. The ointment is working.”



Her wand was pointing at him, and she was uttering one healing spell after another, and the ache began to recede gradually.



He felt lightheaded and dizzy, and found himself drifting off.



“You can sleep,” she assured him, and stroked his hair soothingly. “I\'ll look after you.”



He took her permission to heart, and allowed the blissful oblivion to claim him.



He woke up to the realization that strong arms were holding him. Lips were on his mouth, kissing it, gently sucking on his swollen lower lip, soothing it with every caress. He opened his eyes dreamily, to see Harry\'s face in front of him.



Am I dreaming? He thought.



The arms tightened around him.



“If you are, so am I.”



Harry...



“Right here.”



He shut his eyes, buried his face in his chest, hugging back as hard as he could. He was numb and speechless, afraid to move, or say anything and be awakened. But Harry\'s hands continued to hold him, stroke his aching back and his hair, gently and tenderly, and he finally permitted himself to believe that it was real.



When Draco finally found the strength to speak, just one painful, accusing word left his lips,



“Why?”



Harry mumbled something incoherent.



“Tell me,” Draco begged.



“First time... was just an impulse,” Harry said reluctantly. “I stopped the punishment as soon as the bond was satisfied... and when I looked at you.. bleeding... like that... on the floor.. subdued...I had never caused this much pain to anyone before....what else could I do? I wanted it to stop for you instantly.”



“So you put all of that inside of you?” Draco growled. “Didn\'t anyone ever tell you that your internal organs are necessary for being alive?”



Harry sighed. “I wasn\'t planning on being alive much longer ... a couple of weeks, at most... and I hardly ate anymore anyways... and so I thought.. whatever else I would do to cause my death, this would be my backup plan. It seemed fair... and, again, I wanted instant results, for your sake.”



“Idiot,” Draco said incredulously. “Had it ever occurred to you that a single kind word from you would have been worth more than instant results?”



“Not really,” Harry whispered and buried his face in Draco\'s shoulder.



The lay next to each other quietly for a while, not letting go of each other.



“My turn,” Harry said suddenly. “I am not asking why... but.. won\'t you regret it?”



“What do you mean?” Draco asked. “Regret what?”



“You could have had your whole life back,” Harry said. “All of it. Now.. You are stuck with me. No freedom. No rights. Dependence... I never planned for it to be a permanent arrangement, you know.”



“Well, sorry to disrupt you elaborate plans for self-destruction,” Draco smirked. “But really, you are being overly dramatic. I expect you\'ll be mostly decent to me...”



“Be serious for a minute,” Harry insisted. “No privacy in your thoughts... being punished... having no legal property of your own... Being completely helpless?”



“I don\'t mind being helpless before you,” Draco murmured. “So no. No regrets at all.”



Harry just sighed deeply, and his hands wandered around Draco\'s body, stroking his fading injuries, soothing the ache in his back. Draco watched his guilt-ridden face and wondered if any of his words were reaching Harry at all. It didn\'t seem so, at the moment. He supposed it was lucky then that back in the Forbidden Forest, his desperate, nonsensical babbling had gotten through to Harry, somehow. He smiled bitterly.



“I never heard you say anything,” Harry responded to his thoughts. “Back there, I couldn\'t hear anything. I just felt you there – and reached for you.”



“Figures,” Draco muttered. “That\'s so you. I have this brilliant speech prepared, about Ron, and Light, and all – and it doesn\'t even matter...”



Harry\'s hands grasped Draco\'s face firmly, eliciting a gasp of pleasure and surrender from him. Then Harry spoke, firmly and clearly:



“You are my light now. Nothing else, no-one else.”



---- to be continued ----------