Careless Whisper

Disclaimer: Still hers, not mine. I’m jealous.
A/N: I have nothing to report at this time.

Careless Whisper
Ch 08 – Desafinado


Turning one last time around the world he had created, Harry called out to Lucius Malfoy. “Malfoy, I’m going to wake up now. You lose. And I will find a way to make sure you lose for good,” the Gryffindor called to the entity he could not see.

Then, concentrating as hard as he possibly he could, he squeezed his eyes tightly and thought to himself, I will wake up, I will wake up. Opening his eyes, he quickly closed them again as the light of the hospital room blinded him.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his lover stir. “Oh, thank Merlin.” He watched as the man’s eyes opened then closed just as quickly. The blond reached down and stroked the cheek of the only man he had ever loved. “Harry, it’s okay. You’re safe now. I love you. I love you so much. I promise you’ll never have to question that again.”

The eyes of the raven-haired man opened just enough for a hint of emerald to be visible as a smile spread across his face. Opening his mouth to speak, Harry was attacked by a coughing fit. Neville rushed in with a glass of water. “Drink slowly, there, Harry. Haven’t used your voice ifew few days. Feels a bit scratchy, I’m sure,” he said. Harry nodded and drank the water greedily.

Once he had downed a second glass, the Boy-Who-Lived (again) was able to speak. “Draco…Your father…I…Why did you…”

Draco smiled, “A lot has happened since your little adventure, Harry dear. Where should we start?”

Harry looked up at him. “Do you really love me? After all I’ve done to you?” His eyes were shining with threatening tears; he couldn’t bear the thought of losing the man before him again.

Draco sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around the Gryffindor. “All you’ve done to me? Honestly, Harry, I’m the one that needs to ask for forgiveness here. I took you for granted all the time. I never took the time to explain the war, or listen to you, or love you the way you wanted. All I’ve ever done is push you away, Harry. But I love you and I’m willing to try forever to make it up to you,” he pleaded in true lover’s fashion.

Harry only pulled the man in for a soft kiss and just as suddenly pushed Draco away. “Gods, my breath must be awful! I’m sorry, Draco. I’ll brush my teeth before I try that again,” he said, taking a sudden interest in the sheets.

Draco laughed and lifted Harry’s chin so that he could capture the man’s lips with his. “Don’t be silly. You’ve always had bad breath,” he said against Harry’s lips.

Neville coughed in the background, signaling to the two men that they need not forget the presence of others in the room. Holding up his wand, he gestured to Draco, as if to say that it was time for a once-over. Draco allowed himself to be ushered from the room with Ron and Hermione so that Neville could do his job.


*****


Knocking on the door, Draco let himself into the room where Dumbledore was keeping a watch over his mother. “How is she, Professor?” he asked tentatively.

Dumbledore patted the chair next to his. “I can see that Harry is awake. Your mother is holding her own, although I’m not certain how to break this bond. It would have been much easier had we caught it sooner,” the old wizard said.

Draco nodded in understanding. Still, he had faith in the friendly headmaster before him. He couldn’t recollect a time when Dumbledore had ever been wrong about anything before.

The two sat in silence, watching over the slumbering woman before them. Several minutes later, Dumbledore looked at Draco and said, “Well, my boy, I would imagine there is an anxious Harry Potter wondering where you are right about now. Rest easy, Young Malfoy, we will find an answer to this predicament, I promise you that.”

Draco nodded and left the room.


*****


Neville checked Harry over to make sure he had suffered no permanent damage from his ordeal. Sitting down next to Harry, he pulled out the man’s chart.

“Harry, I’m sorry, but I do have to ask you a few questionsirstirst, I need to know the combination of pills and alcohol you drank on Friday.”

Odd how interesting a sheet can become when one is faced with something they would rather avoid. Harry fiddled with a tattered edge on his sheet as he avoided Neville’s eyes. “Valium and Jack. I don’t know how much. A handful, I guess…”

Neville nodded and wrote something down. “Ok. Why did you feel the need to do that, Harry?”

Harry laughed at his friend. “Honestly, Neville. Have you been around for the past year? Obviously I couldn’t face life without Draco…”

“No, Harry, I mean why then? Why that particular day? What made you decide that Friday was the day?”

Harry looked at Neville quizzically, as if remembering. “I was at the Meat Market. That club near Piccadilly. This song came on. I can’t remember the name just now…’Careless Whisper.’ It summed up the way I felt. I went out on Friday and bought the CD. I pt ont on repeat and just lost track of what I was doing. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t sit down and say, ‘I think I’m going to off myself today’ it just sort of happened. I guess I wasn’t paying attention. I just kept drinking and popping pills until I felt better, only I never felt better.”

Neville nodded and continued to write for a moment before looking up to ask Harry one last question. “I hate to ask you this Harry, but would you object psy psychiatric evaluation? It’s standard procedure after something like this. I can try to make it so that nothing goes into your official medical record, but I do think you should talk to someone.”

Harry only shook his head negatively. Now that Draco was back, he would be damned if he had an ‘psychiatric evaluation.’ “Where’s Draco?”

Neville shrugged. “Harry, it’s not healthy to be so dependent on one person. It’s no wonder Draco feels like all he ever did is fail you. It’s impossible to maintain the level of perfection someone like you would require…”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Neville. You don’t know what this year is like. To have love and then have it snatched away…” Harry seemed to lose his gusto as he realized what he was saying.

“Don’t be a fool, Harry. People lose loved ones every day. You think I didn’t love Ginny? She was destroyed by some damned Deatheater in front of my very eyes. Struck down by Avada Kedavra. But I didn’t go kill myself, Harry. I didn’t go and dwell on what was no longer mine. Yes, I miss Ginny. I think about her every day of my life, but at least I was able to have a life once she was gone…you need to be able to have a life if anything ever happens to Draco,” Neville urged his friend softly.

The raven-haired man sat silently for a moment, considering everything his friend had said. Neville was right of course. It had been selfish of Harry to dwell on his pain. Other people could get over loss, he should have been able to as well. Never mind that Draco was back in his life again. Harry did need to have something to do besides love Draco. “Alright, Neville. I’ll do anything you think I should,” he whispered.


*****


Ron and Draco were sitting in the hall, their heads together furiously whispering about the current situation. “Ron, we have to do something. It’s my mother. And my father! Imagine what could happen if he ever were to gain any sort of power. We have to figure out a way to break this bond without destroying my mother as well.”

Ron looked at his friend. “I agree, but how? Dumbledore doesn’t even have a clue as to what to do. If only your mother would wake up. Once I’ve spoken with Harry, I’ll go to the office and see if I can’t find some things in the older books about marriage bonds. I know you want to be here with Harry just now…” Ron paused.

Draco looked at him suspiciously. “What?”

“I was right. I knew you still fancied him,” he said smiling.

“Merlin, how can you joke at a time like this?” Draco shook his head, but smiled at Ron to show his gratitude.


*****


Neville ushered Draco back into Harry’s room so that the two could talk. The Slytherin sat down next to his lover’s bed and took his hand.

“I’m so sorry any of this ever happened, Harry. I hurt you over and over again, and even while you were in the hospital I managed to put you in danger by letting my father get into your head,” the blond said gently.

“Yes, my genie must have misunderstood, I wanted you in my bed. Seriously, Drey, what has been going on? I know you told me about Blaise. But what’s this nonsense about Narcissa being bonded to your father? Why hasn’t she done anything before? I don’t understand,” Harry said.

Draco shrugged. “We’re working on it. We don’t know anything about it. It was some ancient spell. Mother didn’t even recognize the language of it. We probably ought to get her out of here so he can’t wander into anyone else’s dreams…”

The two men sat in silence, reveling in each other’s presence a w a while, each pondering the current situation they found themselves in. Suddenly, Harry sat up. “Drey, if I could draw Lucius back into my head and I destroyed him there, do you think that would get rid of him? Do you think your mother would be safe that way?”

Draco shook his head fervently. “Harry, you just came back to me. I am not going to let you purposely put yourself in a position for him to mistreat you again. In fact, I need to work on getting Mother back to the Manor so that you can rest without him getting inside your head again,” he said as he made to stand up.

“Wait!” Harry grabbed his hand. “At least talk it over with Ron, and Dumbledore too if he’s involved. He usually is when it’s something like this.”

Draco nodded and left the room.


*****


Dumbledore glanced up as Draco entered the room. After a quick recap of everything that had been said between Draco and Harry, Dumbledore nodded. Gently stroking his beard, he said, “Yes, it is not surprising that the Savior of the Wizarding World would want to help us again and I wonder if it’s not a good idea. However, I think it more important for you to get to the Ministry to see to it that those relics of Blaise’s are not destroyed. It seems to me that they may indeed serve some purpose in our cause. Or perhaps it did not strike you as odd that Narcissa should know the location of these specific relics when there are hundreds still in existence?”

Draco nodded and after a brief pause, Dumbledore spoke again. “Well, don’t just stand there, Young Malfoy. Get yourself to the Ministry!”