Poses

[Disclaimer] Characters belong to JK Rowling. No money is being made from this story.

\"Draco, I\'m sure Ron was just asking you because he was curious. He\'s straight. He had some questions, he was trying to be nice to you.\"

\"You weren\'t here. You didn\'t see it. He was leering at me. He wanted more than just some questions answered. Ron wanted a ride.\"

\"Well he would\'ve been disappointed, wouldn\'t he? You don\'t give rides,\" said Harry, smirking at his own cleverness.

Draco stopped his furious packing, interrupting his rather melodramatic escape scene to glare at Harry. Slowly, he raised his middle finger, \"Ride this.\"

\"I don\'t think you\'re giving yourself enough credit, Draco,\" sassed Harry as he gestured to Draco\'s middle finger, attempting to lighten the mood. \"Come on, Draco. It\'s been a week since I\'ve seen you. I\'m here now, I\'ll protect you from the big, bad straight man.\"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and immediately put his hand away. \"One day back and you\'re already on his side and making fun of my prick. I won\'t be tarted off to bi-curious best friends no matter how good a shag you are, because I\'m leaving. They didn\'t say hardly a word to me all week,\" huffed Draco, but at least he didn\'t resume packing.

\"Ginny said that she tried talking to you several times and that you were rude to her.\"

\"Well of course I was rude to the Weaslette. I don\'t need hand-me-down friends!\"

\"Draco!\" exclaimed Harry. \"Evidently you do or you wouldn\'t be here!\"

That was enough. Draco was packing again.

\"Please stay, Draco. Just... try. Try for another week before you go. Stay here. Stay with me. I love you,\" tried Harry. In the back of his mind he knew that Draco wouldn\'t actually leave. As worked up as the Slytherin was, he wasn\'t stupid. Further, after a quiet chat with Molly, Harry knew that the other occupants of Grimmauld place weren\'t what was getting to Draco; instead, it was that painting of Sirius\'s mother. Each time she started to shriek about blood traitors, Draco would blanch and fly up to his room.

The painting made Draco remember-- remember his family and his roots. Draco wondered what his mother would say from a portrait if she could speak to him. Would she wail like that? Or would her blue eyes just look sad as she stood there and shook her head? His dreams were plagued with nightmarish replays of how she might have died. None of them had any real basis in fact; he was assured she didn\'t suffer. Just the killing curse and she was gone, but his subconscious couldn\'t help but speculate.

Draco\'s packing progression halted at those three hard-won little words coming from Harry. At the utterance, he dropped his clothing and folded his arms. Looking skyward he said, \"I love you, too. This is just...\"

\"Hard. I know. I\'m sorry,\" Harry said as he reached for Draco and wrapped his arms around him from behind to whisper intimately into his lover\'s ear. \"I had the week from hell with terrified relatives. As horrid as they were, though, I just kept thinking of you. Worrying about you, wanting to be with you. I missed you.\"

Draco knew there was a reason Harry had to go to Privet Drive. They wouldn\'t just send him for fun, and yet he was feeling prattish and wanted attention. \"You should\'ve come to me then. You almost missed me. I might\'ve left yesterday had cookies not been prepared to my exact specifications.\"

\"Oh, the infamous oatmeal with no raisins cookies. Hermione wrote to me about those last night,\" said Harry. Planting a kiss behind Draco\'s ear, he cooed to him. \"Mrs. Weasley shouldn\'t have chased you around the kitchen with the spatula, but perhaps you could be a bit less-\"

\"The cookies were dry. She obviously did something wrong,\" purred Draco as he leaned back against Harry, arching his back so that he could slide his ass against his lover to manipulate his point.

Harry knew from day one that Draco likely had an opinion on everything, but he had no idea just how spoilt and particular his boyfriend could be. \"She worked hard on those cookies for you...\" his breath caught as he felt Draco moving against him.

\"And the milk was tepid. It wasn\'t warm milk it was... room temperature. Lazy,\" Draco continued, adding his hand between them to coax Harry\'s agreement.

Must-- remain-- in control--- a week! A week and now-- control, Harry, he reminded himself. If Draco entertained the notion that he could get his way through frottage, he had another thing coming. \"She\'s not a house elf, Draco!\"

Wriggling away like an offended cat, Draco continued his trite non-verbal analogy by hissing like one, \"As was pointed out to me. I didn\'t say she was. House elves are at least sorry when they cock things up!\"

Harry sighed and peered down at his unattended erection and then up at Draco\'s meaningful gesture of turning his back to him. Again, like a cat.

This was going to be a long summer.

--

These sleeping arrangements weren\'t going to work, Ron decided. He gave his roommates credit, Draco and Harry did wait till after Ron was asleep before Harry crept into Draco\'s bed. However, the shifting of the small bed on the dry hardwood floor and the gentle, rhythmic squeal of the springs was enough to wake Ron.

In the peculiar blue light from the gibbous moon, Ron could make out their position. Pale legs wrapped around Harry\'s darker torso and Draco\'s hands sliding adoringly over Harry\'s face. Their pace was slow, pausing now and then as they smiled and giggled and even simply chatted in the pauses during their lovemaking.

It didn\'t arouse Ron; but he couldn\'t quite tear his eyes away from it. Unlike Harry, Ron didn\'t notice any sort of magical transformation in Draco\'s appearance. He was still as pale, pointed and ferrety as he\'d always been. If anything he looked a bit worse for wear, but losing your entire family and changing your destiny in the span of a couple of months did that to a person.

Ron\'s eyes adapted to the dark and he could see them smiling at one another, their features softened in ways that he hadn\'t really seen from either of them individually. After a couple of sharp movements from Harry, punctuated by the quiet protests of the springs, the boys stilled. Ron heard the quiet smacking sounds of deep kissing and then the whispers began again. Chatting, smiling, catching up. He overheard \"love\" and \"missed\" along with soft murmurs of \"be nice\" that followed mentions of \"Weasel\" and \"Muggleborn.\"

He knew that watching this was intruding on their private time, but it was fascinating. Ron\'s own fumbling interactions with Hermione were usually rapid and heady. Granted, they never had their own room to luxuriate in. Everything they did was necessarily rushed. Watching this, he felt intimidated by the intimacy.

Draco\'s hands were cupping Harry\'s face again and they were just looking at each other for a moment before Harry\'s lower back started to move again. The rhythm started gently and Draco\'s arms moved down and around Harry\'s body as they both gasped and whimpered quietly to one another, clearly attempting to remain quiet.

As much as Ron really wanted to stop looking, it was too compelling. He closed his eyes several times with the intention of giving them privacy only to have them fly open again at another odd sound. Their breathing turned raspy and still they were speaking to one another but with less fluidity. By now the bed was shrieking its protests but the boys seemed not to notice the noise, as they were lost in a tangle of limbs, tongues and bed sheets.

Their vocalizations became a quiet murmur of prayer and curses and Ron\'s heartbeat picked up in empathy. He wasn\'t exactly aroused, nor was he unmoved. As unattractive as he found Malfoy, he wasn\'t particularly enamored of Harry. Not that his best mate was unattractive, it just wasn\'t the way he looked at his friends or boys in general. It just made him happy to see. After putting up with Malfoy for a week it was good for him to see that Harry really did love him and that Malfoy was capable of truly loving his friend back. Or on the other hand, maybe he was just a pervert. No. That wasn\'t it at all. He wasn\'t getting off on this.

He was so lost in his analysis of why he was watching that he missed the last few articulated thrusts that ended in mutual gasps and the final boneless flop of Harry atop Draco who grasped him tightly and tucked his face into his neck. Finally registering that it was over, he let out a low sigh of relief and closed his eyes to block out the final sloppy slurping sounds of their kissing. More whispering, more conversation, but it was becoming quieter, briefer, with longer drowsy pauses in between. Ron turned over in his bed to face the wall and closed his eyes. He decided then that he definitely needed to push for his own room or make some sort of agreement.

--

Draco was chipper over breakfast the next morning. Embarrassingly chipper, in fact. So chipper that Harry had a hard time making eye contact with anyone else in the room. This worked out well since no one else in the room seemed able to make eye contact with him or Draco.

Draco was undeterred by the room\'s silence and simply to be more of a prat, he took to humming as he set his plate. His plate. With the Malfoy crest in the middle and a full set of shining silverware that likely cost what Arthur made in a year.

Harry was used to Draco and his place setting fetish and was unsurprised by the appearance of the Malfoy family china. At this point the rest of the Order was used to it as well, although they had been a bit surprised the first day when Malfoy refused to eat off of anything else.

\"I think I liked it better when you were quiet, Malfoy,\" Ron interjected to interrupt the annoying humming.

Draco halted in the midst serving himself poached eggs and smirked, \"Funny that, I was just enjoying the sound of your being too afraid to make your clumsy bi-curious advances on me in front of Harry.\" He sneered pointedly at Ron whose hand curled into a fist as he started to stand.

Hermione and Ginny who were sitting on either side of Ron, pulled him back down to sitting, \"That\'s not true!\"

\"Draco,\" warned Harry as he pinched Draco\'s thigh.

\"Ow!\" snapped Draco, who leaned in and rested his chin on Harry\'s shoulder and leered at Ron, Ginny and Hermione. He\'d just opened his mouth to say something else to them when he heard Molly clear her throat from the stove situated behind him.

Hermione wished that she were surprised by this behavior. She\'d expected that once Harry showed up to protect him from the occupants of the house the Malfoy bravado would make its reappearance. It made her a bit uneasy. If Draco was willing to use Harry as protection in the kitchen, she wondered just how often Malfoy was going to play this sort of game and to what end. She opened her mouth to comment when McGonagall and Snape swept down the stairs silently into the basement kitchen.

While Harry was normally all for as much snuggling as he could get, he was a bit put out by Draco\'s behavior. He was about to push him away and to tell him behave when Snape came into the room. At seeing the Potion\'s master, he dashed his hands around Draco and pulled him closer.

Draco made no protests about this and likewise settled closer to Harry. On his first day at Grimmauld Place, Snape had showed up at breakfast just like this. Upon seeing him, Draco grabbed up his plate and tea and charged up to the room. The manner wards Draco put on the door were a tad childish and while Snape could have easily gotten through them, the message was clear. Severus was not forgiven yet. So the teacher kept to his regular rounds of Order business and had, other than furtive attempts to make eye contact, left Draco alone.

Minerva was delighted to be here, although her stern face didn\'t reflect that. She wanted to personally deliver this news to Harry, particularly since she felt responsible for some of the tribulations the boys endured. It was hardly her fault that Voldemort had shown up when he did, but she still felt guilty for encouraging the boys to continue in spite of what the dangers were. That said, she was pleased that Draco and Harry were still together and that Draco seemed to have been redeemed, or at least not actively fighting along side the Death Eaters.

She didn\'t believe that Snape\'s presence was necessary for the news that they were going to give, but her colleague insisted. She understood that Snape wanted to make things up to Draco. It would hurt to have Harry reject her the way that Draco had pushed Snape away, however she understood why Draco did it. Part of her wondered if there weren\'t something more going on there. Minerva never asked. How did you broach that subject with a coworker?

\"Mr. Potter,\" she acknowledged brusquely through a spare smile as she stood behind Ron. \"I have some news that I believe you will be rather glad to hear.\" Of course, she knew this was a message she had to impart personally. She was making good on one of her vows from fifth year, one that she had feared she wouldn\'t be able to fulfill now that Snape had permanently banned Harry from further Potions classes.

\"Yes?\" asked Harry as he sat up a little straighter. Good news? That was a switch. In general his life seemed to go from bad to worse, particularly when Snape was around. He took pleasure in shooting Snape a quick grin before he focused his attention back on McGonagall.

McGonagall was smiling; she hadn\'t looked this pleased since she told Harry he could be a Seeker. \"The Ministry of Magic is starting Auror training Monday morning and there is a spot reserved for you,\" she stated.

\"What? Me? An Auror?\" Harry questioned with his eyes bright and wide.

\"Well, you will not, of course, actually be an Auror after this. The training takes three years and you will have to go back to school in September. Besides, you are still too young for that. However, the Headmaster has arranged with Amelia Bones for you to spend the summer training up so that you will be better prepared to face... whatever comes,\" McGonagall said. What was to come was going to be difficult and tragic. It would require many sacrifices on both sides. At least, she reasoned, Harry would be as able to protect himself as possible. Perhaps he would even be able to teach the others. What pleased her most about this arrangement was that she knew how much it would mean to Harry.

\"Monday morning? That\'s... that\'s tomorrow!\" said Harry as he disentangled himself from an increasingly clingy Draco. \"I start tomorrow. Tomorrow!\" he said again, trying to contain his excitement. He looked across the table at Ron and Hermione who seemed pleased for him, even if Ron did look slightly put out, as he always did whenever Harry got something that he did not. Finally he turned his head towards Draco who was clearly sulking. \"Auror training!\" he enthused as he prodded his boyfriend.

\"Shouldn\'t we all be receiving Auror training?\" Draco asked. \"The golden boy\'s escaped the Dark Lord loads of times. It\'s the rest of us who could use training up,\" Draco pointed out. Ron\'s ginger brows rose at what he thought was an excellent point and he twisted around to look hopefully at McGonagall.

Looking down at the children in puzzlement, she couldn\'t fathom why the others were anything less than thrilled for Harry. Then it hit her. Jealousy. It had been too long since she\'d been that age. \"I\'m afraid it took quite a bit of effort for Dumbledore to get Harry enrolled, but I am certain that Harry will be happy to teach you all what he learns. He\'ll be back here in the evenings, although he may be tired. Perhaps when the school year starts, he\'ll have time.\"

\"Auror training!\" enthused Harry to no one in particular, pointedly ignoring those who were brooding at his good fortune.

\"I\'m so proud of you, Harry!\" said Molly who gave him a quick hug from behind.

\"Congratulations, Harry,\" added a beaming Hermione.

\"Good show!\" continued Ginny.

\"Yes, that\'s... really great, Harry,\" grumbled Ron.

\"So I\'m going to be left here all alone with these... people all day?\" asked Draco, mostly to Harry.

\"I am afraid so, Mr. Malfoy. Although I could come by if you wish,\" offered Snape.

\"He\'ll be fine!\" snapped Harry before Draco could give his answer.

\"I believe that\'s his choice to make, Potter,\" sneered Snape.

Draco folded his arms angrily and just glared around the table, clearly displeased with every facet of this situation. Everyone looked right back at him, waiting for him to give an answer. \"Pfft.\"

\"Pardon?\" asked Snape as he stepped forward.

Draco glared at the corner of the wooden table and flexed his jaw. Finally he looked over at Harry as if he\'d just betrayed him in some horrible way. \"That won\'t be necessary, Professor Snape,\" he growled through his teeth.

Harry gave Draco a guilty smile and reached out to take his hand. He wanted to be sympathetic to his boyfriend, but he was wounded that Draco wasn\'t happy for him. Then again, being left behind with people you hated couldn\'t be particularly fun either. \"I\'ll be home every night.\"

\"Very well, then. Although I would like to talk to you about your dropping Potions class at some point before the school year starts, Mr. Malfoy. I realize that our relations are a bit strained at the moment, but you have a brilliant...\" started Snape.

\"I don\'t want to talk about it,\" Draco broke in.

\"You will have to deal with me next year either way, Mr. Malfoy. I am your Head of House,\" drawled Snape as he moved to sit next to Draco. At Harry\'s narrowed eyes, Snape perked a brow and looked smug. It amused him to know how irritated his position next to Draco would make Harry.

\"Not that it matters since I have my own room,\" retorted Draco as he scooted closer to Harry again. Harry pulled Draco to him protectively, returning Snape\'s smugness with a triumphant grin.

\"No, you will not have your own room,\" intoned Snape, whose face went blank in order to keep his annoyance with Draco\'s recoiling in check.

\"But I\'m not safe in Slytherin, all of those Death Eaters children....\" Draco squalled.

\"Have been withdrawn from attending Hogwarts, Dra-Mr. Malfoy,\" stated Snape.

\"What?\" Draco asked for the entire room. Curious eyes were upon the two Slytherin. All of the Death Eater children withdrawn? Was the war that near?

\"Those who would harm you will not be returning to Hogwarts. Some have enrolled at Durmstrang and I believe some are... training,\" Snape said with as much care as he could muster, knowing this would likely bother Draco.

\"Oh,\" was all Draco could say. \"So Crabbe and Goyle?\"

\"Withdrawn.\"

\"Parkinson? Nott?\"

\"Are not returning,\" explained Snape.

\"Oh.\" Draco closed his eyes and nodded with solemnity. Of course. Were his father still alive, he would have been withdrawn for seventh year as well. He\'d probably be in the Dark Lord\'s presence right now, being marked, preparing for battle. He shivered and looked up at Harry and then up to his lover\'s scar. In spite of the fact that all of those people aside from Goyle had attacked him, he worried for them. Although mostly for Crabbe and Goyle. Poor simpletons. They really had no clue.

\"So you should be quite safe back in my care,\" pointed out Snape.

The words sent a shiver through Harry\'s spine. \"Oh certainly. Great care that is. Maybe Voldemort himself will show up and you can walk him to Draco\'s room personally this time!\" exclaimed Harry.

The occupants of the room flinched at Harry\'s blunt recitation of Voldemort\'s name. All except Snape, who glared at Harry. \"That was an unfortunate error in judgment that no one regrets more than I.\"

\"Oh, I bet Draco regrets it much more than you do,\" hissed Harry.

Snape\'s eyes narrowed and his mouth opened to speak when McGonagall cut him off. \"I think that it is time for us to take our leave, Severus,\" she spoke.

Draco found a spot on the wall to glare at while Harry and Snape\'s eyes bore into each other venomously. \"Yes, I think it\'s time for you to leave, Snape,\" growled Harry.

\"I was just getting comfortable, Potter,\" Snape growled back.

Minerva moved around the table to Snape and put her hand on his shoulder. She\'d drag him out bodily if she had to. The rest of the room was agog at the spectacle. \"Severus, we\'re leaving. Now.\" Her tone brooked no debate. \"Now.\"

After a beat, Snape pushed himself out of the chair that skidded back loudly over the stone floor. \"Mr. Malfoy, I will be back to talk to you about our issues.\"

\"There\'s nothing to talk about,\" answered Draco, whose nostrils flared and eyes rolled. No Harry during the day and now Snape promised to badger him.

\"Very well,\" answered Snape. Feeling McGonagall\'s hand tightening on his shoulder, he knew it was time to retreat. For now.

\"Tomorrow morning, Mr. Potter,\" chirped McGonagall. \"Be ready by eight. Arthur will be bringing you to the Ministry with him. I expect you to be well rested, so do not stay up too late tonight.\"

In spite of everything going on, Harry beamed. \"Eight. I\'ll be ready. Thank you, Professor.\"

Giving a nod, she turned on her heel to exit, followed closely by Snape, who exited the room in a theatrical flare of robes.

--

Draco excused himself early from dinner. After spending the day listening to Harry recount the horrors of a week with the Muggles, he\'d had quite enough of the stories that left him feeling angry and helpless and the company he was forced to keep. As it was, his contempt for Muggles and Muggleborns was only glossed over by necessity. He realized that Harry wasn\'t a pureblood, but it was an indulgence he allowed himself rationalizing that he was at least famous. And adorable. And he made the loveliest noises when--

And at that point his train of thought derailed and somehow his hypocrisy seemed logical. Harry was Harry, not a half blood. Granger was a Mudblood, end of story.

He wandered around the drawing room silently, looking over the items leftover from the previous summer\'s cleaning. His fingers grazed over the once bedeviled writing desk as he swept to the Black family tapestry. \"Lumos,\" he whispered, which unintentionally lit up the room. Draco\'s eyes quickly darted around the room that was part of his past, his family. The house in itself was a dim shadow of memory. Now and then a disembodied elf head or some trinket would trigger a jolt of familiarity. Better days. Family. His father. His mother. The guilt of their passing would twist his stomach and he\'d retreat to his room to read until it passed.

In an odd turn of events, Sirius Black\'s lack of a formal will resulted in the house defaulting to the closest in the bloodline who had not been disinherited, which meant that Draco Malfoy was the proud new owner of not only the Manor but also Grimmauld Place. My summer home, Draco mused in one of his morbid moments.

He glanced over the mostly empty glass shelving and his memory flashed on his father swatting his hand away from the glass. His wailing, his father\'s stern voice and the hard slap of his father\'s hand on his and the tacit agreement of the room that Draco was out of line. Draco closed his eyes and shook his head. There had been terrors on the shelves. He knew that now. But his toddler self didn\'t understand and no one explained. Reaching out, he slid his fingers over the glass. Innocuous seals and daggers were all that was left, remnants of the Noble House of Black.

Finally turning away from the shelves to what he\'d come in to see, he looked over the enormous tapestry. His eyes followed the lines up the family tree, or at least his mother\'s side, till he caught the line stemming from Phineas Nigellus. His brows furrowed. Phineas Nigellus. The portrait that had snickered at him in his room from day one of his being here and had in as much as called him a blood traitor. It had been easy enough to avoid the entryway and Mrs. Black\'s wrath. Nigellus, however, was always in his room and had a subtle way of degrading him.

Ignoring his distaste for Nigellus, he traced the family line down through the generations with his outstretched hand. He smirked at the line out to the Weasleys. Certainly this had to irk Ron. Go back far enough and Draco had to be related to nearly everyone. His musings had taken him so far from his goal, perhaps protectively so, that he\'d almost forgotten it until suddenly his finger was trailing over his parents\' names.

He glanced to Sirius\'s name and then over to his aunt Andromeda\'s name. Blacked out. According to the tapestry, they ceased to exist. Gone. His father would have erased his name without a moment\'s hesitation. This wasn\'t the Malfoy family tree, however. It was the Black family, his mother\'s family. She never knew what hit her or why. What would his mother say about his relationship? Would she have burned him off the tapestry for his betrayal? His finger slid over his own name and frowned that it would all end with him. Would his sexuality have been enough to make his mother burn him away?

Draco thought he\'d made his peace with his mother\'s memory. He liked to believe that she would have approved and encouraged him. Now he was faced with the family she came from. This hadn\'t been her house, of course. She\'d never lived here. These were her roots, though. Her name wasn\'t burned off of this tapestry, so either she was good at faking her beliefs or she had bought into it. No. He was playing with himself. He knew what she bought it all and as much as she\'d want to see him happy, she would not have been pleased with his relationship with Harry. Nigellus knew. That was why he snickered. Draco\'s hand dropped from the tapestry and he pressed his lips together and closed his eyes.

Harry had seen enough of Draco\'s masochism. He\'d followed his lover up the stairs from the kitchen after he\'d left and spied on him in the drawing room. In truth, he thought Draco had signaled him to go up to their room. Finding out quickly that was not the case, he was intrigued with exactly what Draco was going to do in this room. Now it appeared that what Malfoy was going to do was break down. Harry moved across the room and tenderly wrapped his arms around Draco\'s waist from behind and whispered reassurances.

Draco leaned back against Harry. He was surprised that Harry was there, but grateful all the same. Placing his hands over Harry\'s on his abdomen he turned his head to the side and kissed the side of his face. \"Thank you.\"

\"Come on. Let\'s get out of here. Come to bed.\" Harry interlaced his fingers with Draco\'s and pulled him towards the door.

\"Yes. I\'m tired,\" said Draco. \"You have a big day tomorrow.\"

\"Draco-- I know you don\'t...\"

\"Like your friends? Want to be left here?\"

\"Yes, that.\" Harry looked into Draco\'s eyes, trying to read his emotions.

\"Pfft. Well.\" Draco dropped his gaze to stare down at his feet and then gave a shrug. Finally, he looked up past Harry and sighed. \"Nothing for it. You\'re the golden boy. The hero. I\'m the... homeowner,\" he snarked at his position of owning two homes, neither of which he could actually live in without being attacked.

\"What?\"

\"Oh, this place, the Manor, I\'m a boy of leisure, didn\'t you know? So many houses, so little time. It\'s silly this place went to me. You should have it.\"

\"What?\" asked Harry again. It was English, clear enough, but somehow the words weren\'t making sense.

\"This house. You should have it. I should give it to you. I don\'t need it. I\'m sure Sirius would\'ve intended for you to have it.\"

\"You want to give me a... house? This house?\" asked Harry.

\"Well, sure. It\'s not like I\'m giving you anything of value. I don\'t know this house and it\'s barely even a shack. But then you won\'t have to go to those Muggles every summer. You\'d have your own place,\" said Draco. He took up Harry\'s hands and looked back into his eyes. \"Yes. I want to give you this house.\"

Harry bit his lip, feeling overwhelmed. He looked around the drawing room. It wasn\'t exactly the cheeriest of places. But it would be his. Then Draco went on about how he wouldn\'t have to stay with the Muggles. No. He had to go there. He couldn\'t have another home. It would break the blood of protection. \"I... I can\'t accept it.\"

\"I don\'t need it, Harry.\"

\"I know you don\'t. I just can\'t... take it.\"

Draco sighed. \"I want to do this for you. You... those stories...those people. I don\'t want you to ever have to deal with that again. I know what all those people have done to you...\"

\"Draco, stop.\" Harry pressed his fingers to Draco\'s lips to hush him.\" It\'s not that. I appreciate it, Draco. It\'s just that-- I have to stay with the Dursleys-- you didn\'t want to know any of this.\"

Knocking Harry\'s hand from his lips, he said, \"I didn\'t want to know then because I had to go home at some point. The path I was on-- and I didn\'t know Occlumency-- at this point, who would I tell?\"

Harry gave this some thought. \"That\'s true. I haven\'t... exactly explained it to anyone before. It\'s simple, really. When my mother died, she died protecting me. The grand mystery of my survival has to do with my mother\'s love. That love is bound to blood and home. Petunia Dursley is my mother\'s sister and is therefore of my blood, so calling the Dursley\'s my home enables me to keep that protection. If I accept this as my home, then it voids that. So I can\'t.\"

\"Oh,\" was all Draco could come up with to say after a moment\'s thought. He\'d paled considerably and then nodded his understanding. \"So if they died, it would void that protection?\"

Harry ruffled his hair nervously and pushed his glasses up his nose. \"Well, I hadn\'t thought of it that way, but yes.\"

\"I see. I... shouldn\'t know this.\"

\"What? Why not? Are you going to kill the Dursleys?\"

Draco shook his head and then turned to look back at the tapestry.

\"Are you having doubts?\"

\"I-- no. I don\'t-- no? Yes. No? I... \" Draco gestured to the tapestry. \"It\'s who I am.\"

\"That isn\'t all you are. It wasn\'t all Sirius was.\"

Draco squinted at the tapestry and then turned back to look at Harry. \"I don\'t want to be a scorch mark.\"

That took Harry\'s breath away. \"What? What do you mean by that?\"

\"Toujours Pur. Forever pure. That\'s the family creed. But... \" Draco\'s fingers tightened around Harry\'s hands and he looked desperately lost for a moment. \"But that doesn\'t leave room for love, does it?\"

\"It doesn\'t exclude it. I\'m sure your father loved your mother.\"

Draco looked dour and shook his head. He doubted his father loved anything overmuch. Or maybe it was just easier for him to believe that. It certainly made his betrayal neater. \"I love you. I love being a Malfoy. Or I did. I just...\"

\"You don\'t know what it means?\"

\"Not anymore.\"

\"You\'ll figure it out.\"

\"You\'re so certain of that. I wish I had... someone to talk to about it. Like your godfather,\" confessed Draco in hushed tones.

Harry smiled tightly. \"I wish he were here too.\"

\"I don\'t feel right knowing how you could be killed. What if...\"

\"What if what?\"

\"Something happened? I\'m not a Gryffindor.\"

Harry rolled his eyes. What could possibly happen while Draco was here? \"Well, that would explain why I haven\'t seen you around the dorms.\"

Draco squeezed Harry\'s hand too tightly in warning. \"Don\'t be me about this. You know what I mean. I\'m strong, but not like Dumbledore. If I were captured....\"

\"You won\'t be.\"

\"I don\'t recall you being particularly good in Divination, Harry.\"

Harry sighed. \"Well, then perhaps I don\'t know that for certain. But now that I\'ve entrusted you with this secret, you can\'t be putting yourself in harm\'s way. Which means that no you must stay here. No running away while I\'m gone.\"

\"Oh, now I get it. You only told me to keep me here,\" sauced Draco who released Harry\'s hands to wrap his arms around him. \"Sneaky. Rather Slytherin, really.\"

\"The hat wanted me in Slytherin. I argued with it.\"

\"That explains so much,\" teased Draco who had to duck Harry\'s playful swat.

\"Seriously. Promise me no big theatrics while I\'m gone, Draco. Please. I won\'t learn anything worrying about you all day.\"

Draco sighed and started them towards the door again. \"Fine, fine. I\'ll let your toadies abuse me all day so long as you make it up to me at night.\"

Harry rolled his eyes as he followed Draco. Abuse him. Honestly. \"That\'s all I ask.\"