The Lion and the Serpent

Hand in hand, Draco and Harry walked together. The road in front of them swerved wildly, leading into the mountains. Snowy peaks glistened under the bright cloudless skies.



“I can\'t believe you sometimes,” Draco smirked. “Kidnapping me like this... in the middle of the reception... to here... where are we again, exactly?”



“The island is unplottable,” Harry said. “Not too many people know about it. I think we are the only ones here.”



“How...” Draco started, and then saw the Phoenix Rod, tucked into a pocket of Harry\'s backpack. “Hmmm... shouldn\'t you have returned this to um... the Department of Confiscated Objects?”



“Forget it,” Harry said mischievously. “It\'s going to be a family heirloom.”



“Which reminds me,” Draco said. “Did you ever release Arthur Weasley from the Imperius?”



“Ooops,” Harry said. “I knew I was forgetting something important..” Seeing a stunned look on Draco\'s face, he laughed out loud. “Just kidding.”



Draco looked at Harry happily. Darkness gone from Harry\'s eyes altogether, they were their usual brilliant green. Even his face looked younger. He looked like himself again, not like someone who\'d been touched by eternity. Just a regular nineteen year old... almost.



Draco noticed a brief shadow cross Harry\'s face.



“What\'s wrong, love?” he asked instantly.



“Oh. Nothing. Just feeling a bit tired,” Harry said, looking a little embarrassed. “Sorry.”



Over a year of not eating, not sleeping, while trying to save the world, would do that to anyone, Draco thought.



“Let\'s lie down then,” Draco suggested.



“What... here? Now?” Harry asked dubiously staring at the tall wild grass by the roadside.



“Why not?” Draco said. “If you need to rest, rest.”



“I was going to take you hiking...”



Draco shrugged. “The trail will still be here tomorrow. And next summer. And fifty years from now, too.”



Harry smiled, a little shyly, still looking unconvinced. Without saying another word, Draco collapsed on his back in the grass, and opened his arms invitingly. Harry chuckled, and lowered himself down, leaning against Draco\'s shoulder. Gently and cautiously, Draco\'s hands slid underneath him, unbuttoning Harry\'s shirt, and sliding it off his body.



“Hey,” Harry protested half-heartedly. “You ...you had an ulterior motive!”



Draco snorted unapologetically. “I\'m not some fake half-Slytherin like you, Harry. I always have an ulterior motive.”



“Oh. Well then.”



Draco\'s hands were then under Harry\'s abdomen, unbuckling his belt, and pulling it out. Harry lifted his body slightly, allowing Draco to unbutton his trousers and disrobe him completely. Fully nude, Harry lay face down in the grass, while Draco watched him.



Draco\'s heart was beating wildly in his chest. He knew that for as long as he lived, he would never cease to be amazed at the simple wonder of it: his lover, his mate, was alive. Right here. Right next to him. Fully present, without anything holding him back. Without anything standing between them.



Draco placed his hand on Harry\'s body, allowing his fingers to travel along his spine. Harry laughed quietly at the sensation.



“Harry,” Draco murmured apologetically. “There\'s something I want a great deal... very badly... but you might find it distasteful.... I don\'t know...”



“What is it?” Harry asked with a smile in his voice. “You will need to tell me.. remember, I don\'t read your mind anymore.”



“I want you to submit to me..”



Harry lifted himself on the elbow and looked at Draco thoughtfully.



“Just one time,” Draco added hastily. “Just once is all I ask.”



Harry gazed at him with curiosity. “Why... what do you want to do to me?”



“Does it matter?” Draco asked quietly.



Harry thought about it for a minute, then shrugged.



“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “God knows, you\'ve earned it. How... how do you want me? ... kneeling, or...”



“This is just fine,” Draco assured him, and placed his hand on his back which tensed almost instantly.



Harry sighed and lay face down again, his arms by his sides. Slowly and gently, Draco stroked his short hair, his tense shoulders, and his scarred back, eliciting a soft, barely audible growl from Harry\'s throat: a growl of a creature who could yield on occasion, but who would never be tamed. Undeterred, Draco continued caressing Harry\'s back, slowly and gently, and speaking quietly, from his own experience:



“I want you to find that place, Harry... where it really doesn\'t matter what I do to you.. pain, pleasure, attention, abandonment, bondage, freedom..... submission makes them all the same. You know?”



Harry didn\'t answer. He was breathing evenly, his entire body slowly relaxing and surrendering under the soothing touch of his lover\'s hand.



“Doesn\'t matter,” Harry whispered his agreement. “Do anything you want.”



Draco believed him. Gently, he massaged his forearms, and finally took Harry\'s left hand in his.



“Asklepio,” Draco said. His own left hand convulsed with the sudden cutting pain, as the words of the blood quill glowed and burrowed their way onto Draco\'s skin. Draco froze, stilling himself against the agony, but then, almost instantly, the serpentine Mark on his body moved. A wave of warmth and pure pleasure washed over Draco\'s body, drowning the pain of the injury. He closed his eyes blissfully... of all the irreversible, cruel things he\'d done – at least he managed to fix one of them.



Harry turned his head and looked at Draco disapprovingly.



Draco blushed furiously. “Are you angry?” he asked cautiously.



Harry laughed a little and reached out to Draco\'s face. “No,” he said softly. “I\'m getting better at .. accepting this...”



Draco looked at him. “What?”



“Forgiveness,” Harry said, looking at his hand, unmarred and unblemished. Quietly, he buried his face in Draco\'s shoulder again. They lay silently for a few minutes.



“Still want to do the trail?” Harry asked suddenly.



Draco smiled. “Only if you are up for it.”



Harry reached out with his hand, searching for his clothing.



“Never better.”



-------------------------------------------------- the end ---