Come Undone

Body


Warnings and Disclaimer: please refer to the first part, since I don't care to go through it all again. It all still applies.

Note: Sorry it's taken so long, and, as it usually seems, sorry for the length. I've lately become somewhat obsessed with character-building and I know I tend to be long winded. Nice bit of touching, though. Touching's nice.

Shoulders, Toes, and Knees

"Sometimes... you can cry until there is nothing wet in you. You can scream
and curse to where your throat rebels and ruptures. You can pray, all you want,
to whatever god you think will listen. And, still, it makes NO difference. It goes
on, with no sign as to when it might release you. And you know that if it ever
did relent... it would not be because it cared." - Johnny the Homicidal Maniac,
issue number 5, Johnen Vasquez, 1997ish

"That's it !" Hermione exclaimed under her breath. "I've got it!"

Ignoring the odd glances from the studying students around her, Hermione quickly grabbed her things together, tucked the book she was reading from under her arm, waved at Madame Pince, and ran out the library. She wove her way through the halls, dodging students and teachers alike. Within moments, she was panting, standing before the portrait of Sir Cadogan.

"Hi, Sir," she greeted rather breathlessly. "Is Draco in there?"

Probably the only person outside of Draco that the tiny knight didn't have a vendetta against was Hermione. He smiled broadly as he began strutting about his painted landscape. "My lady," he said as he bowed lowly, "Master Draco is, indeed, within. Shall I summon him for you?"

Doing her best not to roll her eyes at the tiny knight, Hermione nodded. "If you'd please be so kind."

"Not at all!" declared Cadogan, saluting her. Then he was gone, to return just a moment later. "Master Draco says for you to join him," he informed her as he swung open.

"Thank you, Cadogan," she sighed rather dramatically.

"Nonsense, good Lady! 'Tis my pleasure to serve such a lovely maiden as yourself." Again, he bowed very lowly, nearly tipping over.

Hermione raced into the room, where Draco was hunched over a book and taking notes from it. He looked up, marking his place with his finger. "Hiya," he greeted her. "What's going on?"

"Chimps!"

Draco blinked. "Excuse me?" He closed the book he was reading from.

Taking a seat in the chair opposite her companion, Hermione threw down the book she'd been carrying. It landed with a heavy thud. Quickly, she found the page she was looking for and turned it so Draco could read it. "Ya' know how you were having a hard time coming up with something to bond?" she asked. When the boy nodded without looking at her, she continued. "Well... chimps are like... the one creature whose physiology is closest to that of humans. If we could bond a pair of chimps, I'm willing to bet-"

"Hermione, you are a genius !" Draco declared, grinning wildly. "I can't believe I never thought of that!"

"I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore this afternoon," she informed him. "See if he can't find some for us."

The girl's insistence upon helping the boys in their plight amused Draco greatly. It was almost as if she was the one bonded to them, he thought. "Let's go, then," he declared.

After putting their things away, the pair headed off for the Headmaster's office. They discussed as much of their plans as they could without arousing suspicion; they made it sound like they were working on a Potions project together without actually saying what they were doing. When they were almost three-quarters of the way there, they ran into the Potions Master.

"Well, well, well," he hummed rather bemusedly as the pair turned a corner and came into sight. "The emicemic Duo hath arrived."

Both Hermione and Draco rolled their eyes. Snape had taken to calling them the 'Academic Duo' since the two were nearly always studying together. They thought it quite out of character for their professor to show such a sense of humour.

"Sir?" Hermione began, "What do you think about chimpanzees?"

Snape blinked. "In what capacity, Miss Granger?" he asked, doing his best not to grow irritated with such a banal question.

"In the capacity of- Will you come to the Headmaster's office with us?" she asked instead of answering.

Giving the question only a moment of consideration, Snape nodded. "All right. What about?"

"Potions project," they replied simultaneously.

Snape quickly cottoned on. "Ah," he said. "Of course." Since he couldn't stifle a smile at his students' interest in the subject he taught, he walked along behind them.

When the trio arrived at the gargoyle, the professor gave the password. They all stepped onto the moving staircase, coming to the door of the inner-office within moments. They didn't even have to knock before the muffled voice of the Headmaster told them to enter.

"Ah, good afternoon," he greeted them with one of his usual, warm smiles. "What may I do for you?"

The three all sat down in chairs in front of the desk. Snape gestured for one of the youths to begin. Hermione cleared her throat.

"So... we've been trying to come up with a way to study this bonding potion," she began. "See what future effects it might have, what the side-effects are, you know, all sorts of things."

"Of course," the Headmaster noted, nodding for her to go on.

"I think I found a way we could do it," she declared, smiling triumphantly.

"Chimpanzees!" Snape muttered, understanding the point of the question that had been posed to him in the hallway.

"Brilliant!" Dumbledore declared with a laugh. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before! When do we begin!?"

Draco and Hermione exchanged glances. It was Draco who spoke. "When we find some chimps," he said.

The expression on the Headmaster's face turned from delighted to focused in an instant. Steepling his fingers, he twisted his mustache between them, concentrating hard. "Do you have any idea what sort of parameters you're looking at?"

"We need two male chimps," Hermione stated, "who are fully mature. But they've got to be sort of young, too, so they don't like... kill each other."

Dumbledore nodded. "I used to have a friend who worked for the Department of International Magickal Cooperation," he said, "who specialised in the importation of nonnative species. He worked as a liaison with the London Zoo, as well sho should be able to give me information, if not the animals directly. The other issue is how to explain what we need them for. The Ministry will likely want to know what we want with two, non-magickal animals."

"Tell them the truth," Draco shrugged. "We want to run tests on them, comparing the results of different potions on human and non-human subjects."

The Headmaster considered this for a moment. "Too risky," he declared, shaking his head.

"The Ministry will want all the results," Snape informed the two students, who were rather crestfallen. "Chimpanzees are heavily protected by Muggles and wizards alike, you know."

"Then we'll have to go about it another way," Dumbledore said. The tone in his voice indicated that no further questioning was necessary.

"How long will it take to get all the ingredients we need, Sir?" Draco asked the Potions Master.

"Several weeks," he sighed laboriously. "Most of them must be imported from Hyperborea directly."

"One of my former colleagues owns an apothecary in the Chinese sector," the Headmaster added in.

Snape seemed rather interested in this information. "London?" he asked.

"Of course. Now!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Back to duty! I've got some chimpanzees to locate!"

**

When the door slid open and voices entered the room, Harry looked up, rather surprised to find Draco and Hermione engaged in an obviously amazing conversation. His partner grinned at him as he set his bag down.

"Good news, love," he stated, sitting in his usual chair, while the girl took the third. "We're getting a pair of chimps to bond!"

"Great," Harry replied.

"Of course it's great!" Hermione added. She was much more enthused than the other Gryffindor. "Then we can know what's really going on with you!"

For some reason, Harry found he couldn't feel as excited about it as he had months ago. It had been a strange day and he wasn't ready to have that conversation. He just nodded.

Hermione was getting uncomfortable. Draco's smile had soured and Harry was clearly not in the correct mood for this sort of discussion. Sighing, she got up. "I'll see you guys later, then. I'm going to go talk to Snape about how he's going to import from Hyperborea."

The boys gave their good-byes and she left them in tense silence. Once she was gone, Draco sighed. "All right. What's wrong? I thought you were all into this."

"I am," Harry replied.

"But?"

"But nothing."

There was something other than their potion on his partner's mind, and Draco knew it. Deciding they could talk about that at any time, he changed his line of questioning. "What's the matter? You're not right."

"Nothing," he lied, wondering how long he could play that off before he broke down and told the other boy the truth.

"Then why won't you look at me when you say that? What's going on?" Draco's concern was growing the longer Harry sat there without saying anything. "Did something happen at Quidditch practise?"

That made Harry's head snap up. "No," he defended with a glare.

"You're lying," Draco replied.

For a long moment, Harry remained silent. It was clear at that point that Draco would not relent until Harry told him everything that had happened; he couldn't fight it anymore. How he could go about telling the story was another matter. No matter what way one looked at it, it was an injustice, he thought.

"I quit the team," he muttered uncomfortably.

"Why?" His voice had softened by then, so he wouldn't frighten the other boy into silence.

Since the beginning of the year, Quidditch hadn't been the escape it had always been. There was much discontent among the team, most of it directed toward him. It seemed that most of Gryffindor still viewed him as a traitor, despite the support of his former dorm-mates and the Creevey brothers. It had been tolerable up until that afternoon. Whispered discussions whose topic was Draco Malfoy usually ceased once Harry got within range. That day, however, the team had turned on him.

"I'm not wanted," he finally replied.

"Ye noe not wanted," Draco repeated.

"I'm a traitor, you realise," he drawled in an imitation of his partner. He stood up and began pacing before a window.

It was no secret that most of the Hogwarts student body hated Draco Malfoy. Several professors felt he wasn't worth having in class, despite his intelligence. The two had survived Hogwarts so long only because they'd been separated from virtually everyone else. So much of the population still viewed Draco as a prospective Death Eater and Harry as the Saviour that their union was a travesty. How could Harry have allowed Draco to stay by his side? they would demand. How could he have sold himself like that?

The Gryffindor had stopped to stare out over the snowy grounds. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't realise his partner was standing directly behind him until he felt his hands on his arms. It was all he could do not to shove him away.

"You're angry at me," Draco muttered, feeling his companion tense at his touch.

"No," Harry sighed, slumping a bit, "I'm not angry at you." He was just very disgusted with everyone else's view of him.

Draco let his hands drop back to his sides. Knowing Harry's mood wouldn't break until he'd had ample time to sulk, he flopped down on his bed to wait it out.

"Draco, I'mry.&ry."

The blonde boy looked over to his partner, who was staring at him with tears in his eyes. Draco had hardly noticed them in his own. "Come here, love," he cooed, opening his arms to the other boy.

Harry made the picture of desperation as he shuffled across the floor to sit on the bed. He leaned in against Draco's chest, burying his face in his robe. His hands gripped the other's waist firmly. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Shh," he hummed, stroking his lover's hair from his face. "You've got nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault."

Since Christmas, a wall had dissolved between them. Harsh words had become extremely infrequent, bouts of temper even less than that, and whatever ill will had once been between them had been pushed aside. Their private time together involved them spending endless hours in one another's arms; physical, bodily contact was the only thing that could help them remain mentally sound. Even their friends could no longer help the animosity that was being directed toward them from so many other sources. Blaise and Pansy were doing a fabulous job spreading rumours about the pair.

At that point, it seemed everything in the world was going against their union. They had done their best in trying to embrace it, but that they had, it seemed no one else wanted them to. Hermione, Colin, Severus, and Dumbledore were the only people who weren't obnoxiously opposed to their union. Though they had not exactly made their newfound relationship public knowledge, it seemed a plethora of new enemies had arisen over the weeks following the winter holidays. It was becoming increasingly difficult to not take out their frustration on one another; in an effort to maintain the peace between them, most of their time together was spent in silence. On the few occasions that they did have conversations, they ended with a fight or kissing until they fell asleep.

"Draco, I don't wanna do this anymore," Harry sobbed against his lover's chest. "I'm so sick of fighting with everything and everyone all the time."

"I know, love," he sighed back, wiping the tears from his face.

"Sometimes I wish we could just face Voldemort so they could see we're not supporting him."

Draco's throat tightened. Though he had thought that very thing on so many occasions, he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. The tears had stopped by then, so he rolled Harry over so he was laying on his back. He stretched out next to him so he could rest his head on one hand and run his other hand along his lover's torso, under his shirt.

"It'll be okay, Harry," he stated rather decisively. "It won't be like this forever."

Harry nodded a bit. "Yeah," he sighed, "I know." His eyes closed, he was so enjoying the fng ong of his lover's fingers on his skin.

"I love you, Harry."

The Gryffindor opened his eyes. Draco was looking him over, a soft frown on his face. "What's wrong?"

He sighed heavily. "Everything. I hate it when you're like this; I never know what to say or do to make you feel better."

For the first time since before Quidditch practise, Harry smiled. "Yes, you do," he replied, then pulled the other boy down so he could kiss him deeply. When he let Draco go, he just continued to lay on Harry's chest. "Something else is bothering you."

"I'm getting frustrated," he said, voice rather low.

Harry giggled a bit. "Welcome to my world, love."

Despite himself, Draco smiled. "I mean... I'm getting... frustrated. Sexually."

All humour left Harry's being at that point. "Oh," he breathed.

"I want to... I mean... it's like my whole body keeps screaming to be put back together with yours, but... I know it's not right. At least not right now. So what do I do?" he sighed, propping his head up again. The fingers inside Harry's shirt tweaked a nipple. Both shivered. "I don't wanna like... take advantage of the situation because we're not really ready for it..."

"But if I don't like... feel you right up against me, I'm gonna go insane," Harry added.

"Yeah," Draco agreed with a grin. "That's exactly what it's like."

"No, you dolt," he laughed, "I'm telling you to- shit. Take off your clothes."

Draco was not impressed. He sat back and glared at his partner. "Har, har," he said.

But Harry would not be perturbed. He just began stripping himself while he explained, "Look, I see what you're saying and... I agree. Now isn't the time. But if I don't feel as much of you against me as I can right now , I am going to freak out and do something I shouldn't."

"Like what ?" Draco demanded.

"I don't know!" he sighed dramatically. He was, by then, wearing nothing but his boxers. Then he pulled Draco in close and began working on the buttons of his robe. "But if you're really as frustrated as I think you are, you'd listen to me."

"We're not having sex," Draco informed him.

"No," he agreed, "we're not. We're... cuddling."

Losing all apprehension, Draco laughed. "We're cuddling !?"

"Yes," Harry replied, nose in the air. "It's the best I can come up with, so if you-"

"No, no, that's fine," Draco sang back. He was still grinning. "I don't know that I've ever cuddled before in my life. This'll be an adventure!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Take off your trousers."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not wearing anything underneath," Draco spat.

Harry grinned. "Oh! Great! That'll make this much more effective, then."

The blonde boy was not impressed. "Make what more effective?"

"You'll see." He put his hands on his lover's shoulders. "Turn around. And take your damn trousers off!"

Clearly, he was not going to win this battle. Glaring at his lover, Draco got under the covers, then slipped out of his trousers. "Okay," he spat. "Now what?"

Harry climbed under the blankets as well, making sure he didn't look at the other boy's lower half. "Roll over," he demanded. When Draco did as he was told, he was instantly being spooned.

"Oh," he sighed, relaxing without having to make an effort. He could feel the other boy's half-hard penis pressing against his backside, but since there was a layer of material between them, he wasn't afraid.

"I won't do anything you don't want me to do, but you've got to trust me," Harry informed him, whispering in his ear. If there was one thing he knew made Draco hot, it was to whisper in his ear. No matter what he said, it always had the same effect.

"I trust you," Draco breathed back. He was, by then, a puddle.

Holding his breath, Harry wrapped his right arm around his lover's waist to splay his hand on his belly. His left hand curled around Draco's shoulder, massaging it a bit. "Okay," he said as he let out his breath, "if I do something you don't like-"

"You'll know. Now get on with it." Involuntarily, he pushed his ass back against his lover. His own cock grew harder.

Making sure to take his time and not make Draco upset with him, Harry began by running his fingertips over his chest, stomach, and thighs, making sure he didn't touch his erection just yet. He wanted to be entirely sure he had his partner's permission first.

"All right... now you're just frustrating me more. If you don't touch me like right now-"

All of Draco's words stopped when Harry's hand wrapped around the base of his cock and his fingers went around his sac. He moaned loudly, pushing himself back against his lover and jerking forward against his hand at the same time.

"Ah, fuck!" he gasped, surprised at his own noise.

Harry smiled against his lover's neck, then bit it. Another moan followed when he contracted his hand and began licking the spot he'd just bit. It was quite a different experience than wanking ever had been before because this time, he was getting twice as hot and still being twice as far away from orgasm as he'd never been before. He ground his own erection into the small of his lover's back through his shorts.

"Let me face you," Draco gasped, then. He was afraid that if they remained in that position much longer, he'd want to cross the line he'd already drawn.

Both boys moaned in disappointment when they detached so Draco could roll over. Once he was on his back, Harry's hand gripped him again. He grinned deliriously, letting his eyes flutter shut. "You're pretty good at this, you know," he mumbled, giggling a little. "Wanker."

Harry smiled. "I've never wanked myself through you, though," he said.

Despite the situation, both of them started laughing. Draco wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck and smiled up at him. "If wanking feels like this, I can't wait to actually have sex," he said.

"You know, Drac-"

"That wasn't a suggestion," he interrupted. Harry's hand squeezed, and he arched his back so he was pressed up fully against his lover's body.

Just that little gesture, pushing himself as close to Harry as he could, brought a new level of intimacy to the act that hadn't been there moments before. Their interaction had definitely become friendlier since Christmas, but they weren't really lovers until that moment. There had always been some measure of humour involved, before. The kisses they were sharing were passionate, real gestures of affection, not motions to make the action more enjoyable. And the longer they lay there, rubbing together, the more violently they moved.

The teasing was growing old by then. Both were too close to orgasm to maintain the easy pace. Harry began trailing his fingers up and down the length of his lover's erection, drawing a steady stream of pre-come from it. His own shorts were soaked, as was Draco's hip.

"Harry?" the blonde boy gasped, gazing up at his partner with huge eyes.

"Yes, my love?" he breathed back.

But Draco never got the chance to say anything else. Their mutual orgasm hit at last. Harry groaned deeply into Draco's neck, while the other boy actually screamed. He cried out Harry's name like a mantra as he spilled himself over both of their bellies. As they came down, they sobbed and held on tight to one another, as though letting go would have signified the end of the world.

For a long time after, they lay kissing and touching each other. Each was lost in his own thoughts, but both were thinking of the bond between them. Though it was not the first orgasm they had experienced as a bonded couple, it was the first that had been between them both, induced by both of them. Never before had they ever touched one another in a sexual manner. That they had, the true meaning of their bond became more clear.

"I kinda want to write a letter to Lucius," Draco giggled deliriously. "Thank him."

"For what?" Harry asked without taking his mouth from the other boy's shoulder.

"Bonding us," he replied.

Sighing, Harry leaned back so they could look at one another more comfortably. He rolled between his lover's legs, settling between them so he could hold his face in his hands. "Do you really like being together like this, Draco?" he asked, terribly curious.

The boy smiled. "I wouldn't change it for anything." *** *****

"Okay," Snape said as he entered his classroom, the three students glancing up at him as he did, "I've got it all here."

"Did you get the Midnight Oil from Fred?" Hermione asked the boys.

Draco produced a rather large vial from the inside of his robe. "Enough for four people for three days," he replied, grinning proudly. "We should be able to complete this pretty accurately if it works like it did last time."

The three students helped the professor take the ingredients out of the bags and lay them on one of the tables. Harry and Draco then set up the cauldron while Hermione built the ice-fire in a grate in the centre of the floor.

"Before we go further," Snape interrupted, looking over the recipe in his hands, "we must decide who will begin the work. Because whoever begins must finish."

Draco nodded decisively. "I will," he stated. "You and Harry can cut up ingredients and you-" he grinned at Hermione "-can keep me entertained."

"I'll be keeping you entertained, all right," she stated, pulling a stack of books, parchment, and quills from her bag. The two boys groaned. Snape stifled a smile.

"Come on, Hermione," moaned Harry, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Can't we get a break for a little while? We are doing this for school, you know."

"Yeah, extra credit because you suck at Potions," she retorted. "If not for this project, you'll likely fail!"

"Don't listen to her, Harry," Draco told his companion. "You'll pass Potions if I have to study with you every single night."

"You do," Harry pod oud out.

"Like I said," Draco replied, grinning again.

Everything was set up. Work was ready to begin. Hermione was checking a list she'd pulled from her bag while Snape was checking the list of ingredients. Harry and Draco looked at one another.

"We gotta run to the bathroom real quick," Draco informed their companions. "We'll be right back." And he dragged Harry out the room.

"Draco-!" he began when the door to the boys' bathroom had shut behind him.

"I wanna talk before we start this," he said, whirling his companion around so they were facing each other.

"What is there to say?" he asked, a bit skeptical.

Draco frowned softly. "That no matter what we learn from this, we are who we are."

Harry blinked.

Draco sighed and went on. "If it turns out there's a way to undo this-"

"There's not," he interrupted, voice stony.

"I said if . And if there is, I want to make it clear that I don't want to know about it."

Harry blinked again. He opened his mouth, closed it, and frowned. "Okay. Noted."

Then it was Draco's turn to frown. "I'm serious. I hadn't exactly planned on turning this into a confession, but... I want to make it clear that I want to remain like this."

"Draco-"

"No. Just hear me out. I... I know the circumstances surrounding this whole bond-thing are pretty fucked up. I won't deny that. I just... want you to know that I love you without the bond. Okay? So let's go back, now." And he blushed and turned away, back toward the door, but found he couldn't move for his lover's hand on his shoulder.

When he turned around, Harry was smiling at him. "Before we go... I guess I should tell you... I won't even try to look into undoing it."

Draco grinned. "Good."

**

By the time the two boys made it back into the Potions classroom, their company was growing impatient.

"Three days with you lot will last long enough without you two disappearing at odd moments and delaying-" Snape began, but was cut off by Draco's snort.

"We're here and we were only gone a few minutes, anyway. And besides, Sev, given that this whole thing is what has made our lives the way they are, I don't think a little discussion on our part is going to cause much harm."

Forgoing a response, Snape snorted and went to the cauldron. He peered into it and looked at Draco. "Whenever you are ready," he whispered.

Silence fell over the small congregation like a blanket. Harry and Draco looked at each other while Snape and Hermione watched them. The chimps in the cages shrieked, rattled the bars, and went silent. The clock ticked.

"Okay," Draco sighed at last. "Lets do it." He sat down on the settee that was placed before the cauldron and crossed his legs.

Snape had arranged the ingredients on the table according to the order in which they would be added to the cauldron. Closest to where Harry stood, just beside his lover, were the initial ingredients. He looked at Draco, who smiled softly.

"Seven ounces distilled water," Draco requested, voice clear and crisp in the silence of the stone room.

"Check," Harry said, grinning, as he handed the bottle to his partner, who dropped its entire contents into the cauldron. The water froze on contact with the cold metal of the cauldron.

"A half a dram of Dragon's Blood oil," the blonde intoned.

"Check," Harry said.

The Dragon's Blood went into the cauldron. It slid over the surface of the ice. "Now the elderberry wine," he said.

"Check."

"Quit saying that," Draco laughed as he dumped the wine over the other ingredients. The ice was beginning to break away from the cauldron's sides. "Now give me the feather and the words."

Harry handed his lover a sheaf of parchment and a magpie's tailfeather. "And here's the spoon."

"You're sure that's ash, Harry?" Snape called out.

"Positive, Sir," he replied, rolling his eyes.

Draco dropped the feather into the cauldron while he said, "Un propter hoc indignatio ." And then he began stirring clockwise. His strokes were relatively slow; he didn't want to spoil the first step. "Now what?" he asked.

Hermione looked over the recipe. "Now you stir for an hour."

Draco nodded and sighed. "My arm's gonna fall off by the time this is done," he muttered.

*****

"Draco? It's time," Harry whispered in his lover's ear.

Draco turned, the weariness evident in his face. He smiled, the circles under his eyes almost disappearing. "Good. We're almost done, then."

Thirty minutes earlier, they had added the last of the ingredients, save the flesh and blood of the chimps, and removed the cauldron from the fire. The boys approached the cauldron, Draco standing opposite Harry, who was beside the ingredient table. They grinned at one another.

"This is it, love," Draco informed him in hushed tones.

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, "this is it."

"Wait!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting bolt-upright in the Potions Master's chair. She had fallen asleep there some hours earlier, unable to handle another dose of Midnight Oil. "You can't do it without me!"

"That's the last time you ever get away with saying that to us," Draco informed her, giggling a little deliriously.

But Hermione's sleep-addled brain didn't pick up the innuendo. She rubbed her eyes as she took up a position on a third side of the cauldron. "Where's Snape?" she asked.

Just then, the man in question appeared from behind a door. "The final ingredients must be added," he informed the lot of them as he shut the door behind him.

They all looked at him like he was stupid.

"Oh. Of course." He smiled a bit sheepishly and stood opposite to Hermione. "Whenever you're ready, then."

Draco cleared his throat as Harry handed him two jars, each containing a bit of the chimps' flesh. He unscrewed the jars and took a deep breath. "Conligare en viscera ," he spoke in a clear, crisp voice. The potion in the cauldron turned black.

As Harry handed him the uncapped vials of blood, he said, "Conligare en sanguis ." The potion turned bright red.

"Vita et mors portio ." The potion began swirling, mixing red and black in equal measure.

"Duo fieri unis ." And it turned a bright, blinding white and swelled to just the brim of the vessel, made as if to overflow, then it retreated, shrinking to about six ounces of liquid altogether. It was still and the surface was glassy.

"That it?" Harry asked, peering skeptically into the cauldron.

"Now we put it in their water," Draco said. He took the ladle his professor had handed him and took almost all of the potion from the cauldron. Carefully, he carried it across the room, to where the cages containing their chimpanzees sat. He ladled about half into the water-bottle of each beast and stepped back to watch as they skeptically sniffed at their tainted water. As if to test the water, they each began drinking, but cautiously. Then they apparently decided nothing was amiss, because they went back toing ing at one another through the bars of the cage.

"It should be less than twenty-four hours before they begin to notice the change within themselves, now," Snape informed his students.

"Probably less than that," Draco noted offhandedly. One of the chimps was hissing communicatively while the other watched in fascination. "They've got a more inherent knowledge of themselves than humans do."

"Aye," Snape agreed with a slight nod. "But they won't communicate their feelings like humans, either. It will be a lot of guesswork and careful observation from here, you realise."

The three students nodded thoughtfully.

"We should set up a schedule," Hermione thought out loud, "to monitor the changes in their behaviour. I'll volunteer for first shift, since I got some sleep."

Snape, rather impressed with Hermione's diligence in assisting her friends in their plight as well as her astute decision-making skills, decided that he should make a stronger effort at not bearing down on her so severely in the future. She was proving herself an invaluable ally in the war for wisdom regarding Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy's bizarre bonding of flesh and blood. He would make it a point to make sure she remained that way.

"Good. We're going to bed, then. We'll take-"

"Third shift, which will begin tonight, after dinner," Snape interrupted Draco, who glared knives at him. "You'll take the remainder of the day to rest. You've been awake for three days straight."

"Three and a half, if you wanna be technical," Harry yawned. "Cool. Thanks, Sir. I appreciate the use of the room and your services and all that cal. And thanks, Herm, you're a real pal. Lets go to bed, Draco."

"Sure thing. Ditto, guys." And the two leaned on each other as they walked back up to the portrait of Sir Cadogan, whom they were genuinely beginning to miss.

***

"How long has it been?" Harry sighed as he stood up and stretched.

"Since what? Anything chan Sin Since they so much as fucking blinked? I don't know. Ages," Draco snapped back. After observing the silence and immobility of sleeping chimpanzees for nearly three hours, he was becoming quite irritable.

"Since we administered the potion, dolt," he sighed back, fighting off another yawn. Though they'd slept for a few hours that day, it wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough until they could just go to bed and sleep the following day away.

"Oh." Draco checked the watch that Snape had given him as a Christmas gift. "Twelve hours."

"They should wake up together, then."

The door creaked open and then madness ensued. It was as though an alarm had gone off and the apes were shrieking, jumping toward one another before any of the observers even realised what had happened. Snape stood in the doorway, transfixed, while Draco began dictating to a furiously scribbling Harry. This was the most the two had moved since they'd been bonded. According to Hermione and Snape's testimonies, the pair had done nothing more than eat and fall asleep.

Then suddenly, the wall of wire that separated the two cages was gone. The boys looked over to Snape, who was replacing his wand inside his robe. Then they were drawn to look at the apes, who were then sitting, docile, in the centre of the cage. They were simply sitting beside one another, doing the things chimps generally do.

"Well!" Snape huffed as he let the door shut behind him. "I'm suddenly extremely disappointed that I never got to see you privately before the wall between you went down."

Both Harry and Draco glared. It was the latter who said, "If you'd really to to watch us scream and leap at one another, you should come by after an entire day of us being apart. I'm sure you'd find that amusing."

Choosing to ignore the bait, Snape went to his desk. He began shuffling through papers while he spoke. "You are excused for the evening, Mr. Malfoy. Potter, you may go, as well. I'll take over for the remainder of the evening."

"Thank you, Sir," they intoned simultaneously as they gathered their parchments and quills together.

"Oh. And your work on this project has been quite exemplary."

Stunned, they stopped walking and looked at one another as if to ask, 'Did Snape just give us a compliment?' Then they grinned.

"Thanks, Sir!" and they ran out the door.

**

"Psst! Harry! You awake?"

"Is this a test or a trick question?" he retorted with a laborious sigh. Hours of attempting to sleep without success was irritating him to the very core of his being.

"Oh, yeah," Draco muttered. "I forgot for a minute there... I think the delirium has set in."

"I think it set in hours ago when we laid down to sleep and you've been keeping me awake all this time!" he cried rather indignantly.

"I've been thinking," he said, as though this clarified everything and excused him, as well.

"Would you care to tell me what you've been thinking about that's sooo much more important than sleep, then, please?" he snapped. He was growing increasingly irritated with himself, and his inability to not let Draco affect him. "Because, in case you've also forgotten, we haven't gotten any of it in almost four days. Except for that lame-ass nap this after, which only made us both more tired-"

"Will you just shut up so I can tell you what I'm trying to tell you?" Draco interrupted. He was marginally less annoyed than his partner.

"Go on, then," he sighed.

Before beginning, Draco heaved a deep breath and let it out. "I was just thinking about these last few days and... we have jushievhieved something only one other man in five hundred years -to our knowledge- has achieved. Does that not strike you as fantastic? Are you not impressed with what we've done?"

"What have we done? We bonded a couple of apes. Apes !"

"We bonded, Harry. Those were the key words: we bonded. We made the very same stuff that created us! Now we've seen- now we'vedone the thing that's made us what we are! Don't you feel like some mysteries have been solved?" he asked, his excitement finally fading into worry.

Sighing, Harry hoped he wouldn't regret anything he said during the conversation. "I guess... it does kind of seem flattering that they'd spend all that time and money and energy on us, doesn't it? And not just flattering... kind of... sick, too. They were so prepared to kill us, but... how could they not have known what that stuff would do? Didn't they know that-? Look at the goddamn words!"

Draco grinned. "Yeah. I noticed that, too. It's a poem. I never would've thought to use such a thing in the context of a spell before."

The clinical manner in which Draco dealt with their bond always impressed and amazed Harry, who never seemed to be able to control his emotions in that capacity. Every three weeks, like clockwork, Draco would give his partner a presentation of the research he'd gleaned in that time. His skills at addressing an audience were to be envied by even the most adept public speaker. Because not only did he manage to convey his information adequately, he also managed to keep Harry's attention by maintaining a sense of humanity throughout. And it was such a statement that tickled his humour and made him giggle and decide to give the conversation a chance.

"The whole thing was really quite fantastic like that, though," continued the Gryffindor, laying flat on his back and tucking his hands behind his head. "I mean... it's one thing to see a recipe and the instructions for a potion written out, you know. But to actually create the thing you're reading about is something else entirely. It takes a lot more passion, I guess, than I ever gave it credit for. Potion making in general, that is."

"Passion, eh?" Draco snickered.

"Laugh it up," Harry replied lightly, the tone of his lover's voice rolling right over him. "I know that that's what it is. I don't know that I ever would have realised that if we hadn't done what we've done. And I don't just mean the proving of the theory, but... to work together for the same purpose... that's something we've never really done before. Not like that, anyway. And I watched you and... when you work, you get this look on your face like you're this... mad scientist or something, and you're creating a monster, but it isn't really a monster, because it's your heart and-"

"Are you trying to start a fight, Harry, or are you merely unaware that you're insulting me?" Draco interrupted before the tangent could become any more obscure.

"I'm sorry! That's not what I was trying to say!" he cried. "I'm just saying... you're really... you've got a lot of passion for the things you do, but... since I wanted to hate you for so long, I guess I didn't see that. I thought you sucked up for your marks, but you don't. You deserve them more than anyone. Even Hermione. And... for whatever it's worth... I promise I'll do better at studying with you and-"

"Harry," he interrupted, laughing, "you don't have to go on like this! Stop, in fact!"

"Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you, though? Inarticulate as I am..."

"Hey! You just used a big word!"

Harry smiled, the insult no longer so insulting. "You learned it to me, after all."

"Git." Draco shoved his partner.

"Yeah, but... you smiled," he said.

"You're a sop, too."

"Yeah. But you're still smiling."

*****

As always, thanks and cheers and kisses and ah... something else that I can't think of at the moment. It's not over, MWAHAHAHAHA! I'll continue torturing you pathetic readers of my trash fiction with the ever-growing mass of nothingness that is this story! Mwahahaha! *ahem* Apologies. I'm feeling silly. Light! It's cheers and kisses and light ! Or darkness *insert spooky music* if that is so your thing. Personally, I think both are vital. But then... I live in a black room and grow house plants. So there you have it. And you're not pathetic. After all, I'm the one writing this shit. So I be the pot, I guess. And besides, once you go black, you never go back. heh heh heh heh.

And also, appy-polly-logies for the jacked-up, cut-off version that's been posted forever. I hope it's not gonna do that again.