Rickey A (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} rickey_a) wrote,@ 2008-08-26 15:21:00 |
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| Entry tags: | harry/draco, hp, my fic, romeo |
FIC: And an Owl Named Romeo Part 4 (Harry/Draco)
Title: And an Owl Named Romeo - Part 4
Author: rickey_a
Genre: Romance, Drama/Light Comedy (Dramedy?)
Word Count: ~4350 (Part 4) / 26,500 total
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): None
Summary: Draco breeds owls, Harry's an Auror, and an owl named Romeo is going to bring them together.
Author's Notes: Thanks to the wonderful and talented sansa1970 for the beta and to my friends at FFC and I.Smith for their honest opinions, encouragement, and lovely company. :) I'm going to post this story in 5 parts + a short epilogue. The whole thing is almost done and will top out <30k words, if you're worried about length or unfinished WIPs.
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
Link to Part 3
March 3, 2003
Draco,
I have interesting news that I need to tell you in person. Can I stop by tonight?
Harry
March 3, 2003
Harry,
I imagine you'll get a Ministry order if I don't comply. You may call on me at my cottage after dinner.
Draco
Draco had just dispatched Romeo when Lysander flew through one of the hangar windows and practically tumbled to the floor. In an instant, Draco had his wand out and carefully immobilized and levitated the injured Barn Owl over to his desk. The fine feathers on the left side of his face were matted with blood and his wing was obviously broken.
"Got into a scuffle, did you?" Draco tutted and cast a series of diagnostic spells. He cleaned the wounds, healed the scratches, and set the wing in less than ten minutes. Lysander screeched in pain.
"Don’t be a baby. I've seen much worse." Draco Summoned a Pain Killing Potion from his stores and administered three drops to give the bird some relief.
"You'll be all right. Give it a minute to work," he said while tenderly stroking the top of the bird's head. "Maybe this'll teach you not to get into fights. It's okay to fly away, you know." Draco couldn't help but wonder why no one had bothered to teach him that lesson, or maybe someone had, and he simply hadn't listened.
Once Lysander seemed comfortable, Draco set him to perch on a low-lying branch and went about the rest of his duties. At the end of the day, he couldn't bear to leave Lysander at the hangar and brought him back to the cottage.
Anxiously waiting for Harry, Draco managed to eat a few bites of his dinner. The kiss yesterday had been unexpected and unnerving. His original motive for attempting a truce with Harry had been the idea that a public acquaintanceship with the Chosen One would help to open a door or two that had previously been slammed in his face after the war. How could he have possibly anticipated their mutual attraction and Harry's advances? But no matter the strength of that attraction, Draco could not allow it to go any further. It was an absolute disaster waiting to happen. Bards had sung about such epic tragedies. Draco needed to stop this train wreck in its tracks.
Harry arrived shortly after at eight o'clock and actually bothered to knock. He stood in the doorway with a strange expression that Draco couldn't quite decipher. It was almost a smile, but the look in his eyes was predatory. The man was on a mission. While Harry's advances were flattering, they were far too confusing and more importantly, too complicated. Draco had composed his "brush off speech" during dinner. He planned to break it out at the first opening.
"Wow, this is really nice," said Harry, taking in décor that Draco had spent years perfecting.
"You're far too easy to impress." Despite his cool reply, Draco knew that his taste in art and tapestries would be impressive to most anyone. From his father, he had inherited a keen eye for collectables, and from his mother, he had learned how to put a room together, coordinating styles, colors, and textures.
"I don't know that I'm all that easy, but you impress the hell out of me."
Draco swallowed hard at Harry's bold overture. The man knew nothing of subtlety. Draco's prepared monologue sat on the tip of his tongue, but was temporarily abandoned when Harry took notice of Lysander on his perch. "What happened?" he asked full of concern as he slowly approached the injured owl.
"He got into a bit of a skirmish this afternoon. Luckily, he made it back to the hangar."
"What do you think got him?" With one finger, Harry gently stroked the owl's head.
"Most likely another owl. He probably stumbled into someone's territory. It's a little early in the season, but wild owls could be settling down to breed. They tend to defend their territory even more vigorously during mating season."
"Is he going to be okay?" Harry couldn't take his eyes off Lysander.
"He'll be fine. I thought it best to keep him here for the night, but I'll bring him back to the hangar tomorrow."
"That's good." Harry seemed to be considering something. "Where do you take an injured owl anyway? That'd probably be something good for me to know."
"Most of the owl dealers are fairly adequate at their animal healing, but I healed him myself."
"Really?"
"Really," Draco replied as if insulted. "It's fairly important for an owl breeder to be able to care for his owls. Don't you think?"
"That makes sense," Harry said, and then turned his attention back to Draco. "I'm glad he's going to be all right. Let's talk about why I'm here."
"Why are you here?" Draco asked sharply.
"I'd say we have some unfinished business from yesterday."
"I sent Romeo back to London. I assumed we were all caught up," Draco said, trying to feign nonchalance and mentally preparing for his speech once again.
"Come now." Harry circled behind him and leaned forward into his personal space. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
"Immaterial."
Harry laughed. "Immaterial. You sound like an attorney."
"Do I need one?"
Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and nuzzled against his neck. "Are you still on that? I thought I made things clear."
"No, but let me make them clear." Draco wrenched himself from Harry's grip and turned to face him. "I have not seen Rabastan Lestrange since the Battle of Hogwarts."
"I know that, and you know perfectly well that's not why I'm here."
"There is no other reason, Harry. You're an Auror. You're tracking Lestrange. Oh, and there's an owl that once lived in my hangar that decided to bond himself to you. That's it."
"Yes, I'm tracking Lestrange, and thanks to you we're going to bring him in, but—"
"What do you mean?"
"You told me that it was Lestrange who devised the spell on Voldemort's name. He had performed a more complex version on his own, but we captured the orb that he was using to receive the messages.
"That's impressive."
"You were right all along. It was never the owls."
"It was the spell."
Harry nodded. "Hermione's since deactivated it. We almost had him in Madrid. He slipped away by the skin of his teeth, but we've cut him off from his possessions and his gold, and tracked him back to Britain. He's desperate. Now who might he know with enough gold to help him start over somewhere else?"
"I also told you that he wouldn't dare come here."
"We think he'll try. That's why we have some of our best people on the grounds. And now that we have that all out of the way, I'll tell you why I'm here, and it has nothing to do with Lestrange, or spells, or owls."
"Whatever you're thinking, don't say it."
"Why not?"
"You'll regret it."
"I'll regret not saying it." Harry pulled him into his arms. "I've thought about you, Draco. A lot. I want you."
Draco tried to break free, but Harry held him securely. "You only think that because I'm the only other gay wizard you know. I'm convenient."
"The last thing you are is convenient." Harry kissed the curve of Draco's neck and spoke in between long kisses and sucks that Draco didn't have the willpower to stop. "What you are is smart and sexy. You're also more complicated than Advanced Arithmancy, but…" Harry paused to suck on Draco's earlobe. "I want you."
There were reasons why Draco had chosen his life of solitude, and he had intended to enumerate them. Unfortunately, all his thoughts were lost in the pleasurable haze that was the caressing of Harry's hands over his backside. Mustering some backbone, Draco stopped letting his dick do the thinking and pushed Harry away. "I don't want this. I like my life the way it is. I want to be left alone."
"No one wants to be alone, not really," Harry said, walking forward and backing Draco against the wall.
"I do," Draco said in feeble protest.
"Then it's time for a change." Harry rested his hands, one on either side of Draco's shoulders, against the wall.
"Not like this. You're a great big ball of chaos. I… I can't…" Then Harry kissed him. Oh that wicked mouth. It demanded total compliance, and Draco's resolve caved at the first probe of Harry's tongue. Caving was actually an understatement. It was the equivalent of an emotional avalanche.
His planned speech was tossed away in favor of Harry's hungry kisses and his firm body pressed against him. Draco succumbed to the landslide. There was no possible way to fight it. Years of hating Harry Potter, yet desiring him at the same time, fueled his response. Deep down he did want it. He wanted it so badly that he was going to skewer his pride and serve it up like kebabs.
Draco's hands trembled as he began the difficult task of parting Harry from his clothing. It happened as if in slow motion. Shoes were kicked across the room. Harry helped to divest himself of his own clothes and then proceeded to unbutton Draco's shirt while kissing his way down the naked path left by the parting cloth. He cradled Draco's bollocks through his trousers while he undid the button and zip. The trousers pooled around Draco's feet and he stepped out of them. Harry quickly moved on to Draco's pants.
Lysander gave a loud hoot, startling Draco back to reality. Harry – naked Harry sodding Potter – had him undressed and pressed against his own sitting room wall. Harry's hands were unrelenting as they constantly moved, seeking out new flesh to touch. The Chosen One even ran his fingers over his Dark Mark, pausing only for a moment, and then moving on to caress Draco's stomach. Draco was harder than a broomstick and close to embarrassing himself.
"Let's take this to the bedroom," Draco said through labored breaths, while Harry sucked on his left nipple.
Harry kissed his way up Draco's chest and neck before he whispered, "Lead the way."
Draco maneuvered himself off the wall, but Harry kept kissing him as they staggered down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.
They fell across the width of the bed, and Harry wasted no time taking both their cocks in his strong Auror hand. Draco moaned shamelessly. It had been months since his last sexual encounter, and that had been a very unsatisfying hand job in the alley outside a local pub with a wizard who was probably twice his age. This was something else. This was like having a Ergol's Euphoria coursing through his veins. Harry kissed down the center of his chest to his stomach, and then dropped to his knees on the Persian rug. Harry Potter was going to suck his cock.
Harry licked up and down his shaft several times before finally taking the head in his mouth. It was Elysian. Draco held the edge for as long as humanly possible and then toppled over, crying out his release. He opened his eyes just in time to witness Harry swallow. The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, The Defeater of the Dark Lord, had just sucked Death Eater Cock. Draco rested for a moment, and when the world didn't come to an end, he shifted his head up to the pillows, making room for Harry to lie next to him.
Draco took Harry's erection in his hand and gently stroked the pre-come over the top of the head with his thumb. Wandlessly, Harry conjured lube and spread it over his cock. Draco doubted he had learned that in Auror training. Their hands mingled for several strokes before Harry moved his down to cup his bollocks. Merlin, Harry had a spectacular pair.
Harry moaned quietly as he thrust up into Draco's fist. The contorted faces he made were amazing to watch as Draco stroked him harder and faster. Harry's moans grew louder and louder as he neared his climax. With one final thrust and earsplitting moan, he tossed his head back, squeezed his eyes shut, and came. The sight of it was so positively beautiful and primal that it took Draco's breath away. Awed, Draco pressed a kiss against Harry's temple.
Looking around the moonlit room, Draco realized his wand was still downstairs. He wiped his hand on the coverlet and left Harry panting on the bed.
The air was frightfully cold against his skin as he made his way down to the sitting room. Lysander gave a disapproving hoot when he entered the room. "What would you know? You've never had to go without a mate," Draco said. Romeo would understand, he thought to himself with a smile. He retrieved their wands and their clothes and cast a Warming Charm on the room for Lysander. Before returning to his bedroom, he put out the fire in the hearth and extinguished all the downstairs lamps.
Harry had crawled under the covers, but was still awake, waiting for him. His green eyes were lit by the moonlight streaming in through the window. Draco set their clothes on a chair and handed Harry his wand. It felt strange in his hand, and there was an odd tingle as Harry took it.
"Thanks," Harry said, and set the wand on the bedside table, indicating that he hadn't any intention of getting out of the bed.
Draco set his own wand on the table next to Harry's and sat on the edge of the bed. "You don't have to stay," Draco said, meeting Harry's eyes.
"I don't want to go. What do you have to say to that?"
"How do you like your eggs?" Draco teased.
Harry lifted the covers, and Draco slid under them. Warmth instantly cocooned around him, and Harry kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Draco."
"Good night," Draco replied.
Within minutes, Harry was asleep. Draco, however, wasn't so lucky. Anxiety swelled as he watched Harry and contemplated the tragic mistake he had made in trade for one night of pleasure. Hours and millions of thoughts later, Draco finally succumbed to exhaustion.
There were no eggs for breakfast. Draco woke to Harry hastily pulling up his trousers.
"It's late. After nine. I need to get to the Ministry." He leaned forward and kissed Draco on the forehead.
Sleepily, Draco nodded, secretly grateful that he wouldn't have to deal with any awkward morning after conversation.
"Send me an owl later?" Harry asked.
Draco nodded again. As soon as Harry had spun around and Disapparated, Draco closed his eyes and collapsed back against his pillows. His owls could wait another hour or two.
It was almost eleven when Draco awoke and managed to crawl to the shower. He scrubbed the scent of Harry from his body as he replayed the night over and over in his head. To say that it was the most intense sexual experience of his life was a disservice. It pained him to know that it would never happen again. He had to stop it. Now.
Lysander was healing well, but would be unable to fly for some time. The brisk walk from the cottage with Lysander on his shoulder was invigorating. It strengthened his resolve regarding Harry.
Draco didn’t arrive at the hangar until after noon. His owls were certainly self-sufficient, for they were able to come and go from the hangar as they needed, but this was the latest he had ever gone into work. Feeling guilty, he treated all the adults to voles before moving on to handling the owlets.
Once his daily chores were done, he sat at his desk and began to write a letter to Harry. The ink flowed quickly from his quill to the parchment. All his feelings were bursting to the surface, and he couldn't write fast enough. It wasn't his most elegant composition, but Harry wasn't one for words. Besides, it was one simple idea: goodbye. Draco tied the missive to Aries' leg. The Eagle Owl had the largest wingspan and would get to London the fastest. Draco wanted this done. As he watched Aries fly away through the hangar window, he knew there was no turning back. He had made his decision.
Throughout that afternoon, Draco valiantly tried not to think of Harry and their previous night's passion. His mother sat across from him and carefully poured two microscopic drops of milk into her tea. "Your mind seems occupied, darling. I'd say it's a man."
"What? No. I've got to get back to the hangar and check on the owls," he lied, knowing she'd probably see right through it.
"You're always checking up on your owls. No, this is something else. You're smitten with him whoever he is. A mother knows, darling, a mother knows."
Draco watched his mother take a graceful sip of her tea. She wouldn't say another word until he relented; he knew her tricks well. She was a seasoned veteran at emotional manipulation. He loved his mother, but damn her intuition and tenacity. Draco munched on a cucumber sandwich and fought the silent tension hanging between them.
Tea with his mother was a typical event, at least a few days a week. Not typical was Harry Potter Apparating into his sitting room, right through his wards. Fucking Aurors!
"What is this?" Harry demanded, Draco's recent letter clutched tightly in his hand. He waved it in Draco's face.
His mother had the nerve to look unalarmed. Instead, she smiled in vindication.
"Get out of my house! How dare you—"
"How dare I?" You've got to be joking. What is this rubbish?" Not noticing Narcissa seated on the settee directly behind him, Harry unfurled the parchment and began to read out loud. "Last night was a mistake. We should end all corresp—"
"I said GET OUT!"
"NO!"
"Was the letter not clear?"
"Clear? Ha! What could I possibly conclude from it? That you'd like me to believe it was all some Slytherin plot to get me into bed? So you'd be able to say 'Harry Potter sucked my co—"
"POTTER!" Draco held out his arm and vehemently gestured to his mother, who looked like she was enjoying herself far too much.
Harry whipped around and gaped at Narcissa. "Oh, fuck. I mean… I…"
"Doesn't sound as if you got that far," Narcissa said.
"Mother!"
"Oh, God." Harry blushed twelve shades of red, and clearly at a loss, kept shifting his gaze between Narcissa and Draco. When he found his voice, he said to Draco, "You need to work on your hand signals."
Draco laughed despite his best efforts not to. He couldn't help it. Harry let out a sigh and pleaded with his eyes. The conversation was unavoidable. He should have known that Harry wouldn't let it go with a short 'goodbye forever' note.
"Mother, I hate to cut our tea short, but…"
"Of course, darling. I'll leave you to your intruder." She rose as if under a levitation charm. Draco never understood how she always managed to do that. She pecked Draco on the cheek. "Your father and I are expecting you for dinner tomorrow."
"I won't forget."
"See that you don't."
"And, please, don't mention this to father." Draco cringed at how much he sounded like a scared little boy.
"I think you underestimate your father, darling."
"Just… please."
"All right. I'll see you tomorrow evening." She turned to Harry. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Potter.
Harry's blush returned at her words. "I'm sorry if I off—"
"Not to worry. I can assure you there is little left in this world that I haven't heard or seen."
"That's enough, Mother," Draco said gently.
She let out an exaggerated sigh and then serenely glided out the front door. It had barely clicked shut before Harry restarted his ranting.
"You need to explain this," Harry said, waving the parchment.
"I thought it was rather self explanatory." Draco returned to his seat and took a sip of tea. "Now it's cold."
"Cold tea? That's what you have to say?" Harry tossed the parchment at Draco, and it fluttered to his feet. "I don't believe you. Last night was—"
"Last night was extraordinary. I'll give you that. But it was sex: when it's bad, it's still pretty damn good."
"Shut up. Just shut up. I've had sex, Draco. Last night was something else. I know it. You know it. Possibly all of Wiltshire knows it."
Draco let a smile slip. Damn Harry's sense of humor. "That's all well and good, but the fact remains that any relationship between the two of us is a bad idea of epic proportions."
"Don't be so dramatic."
"Need I remind you that you're the one who Apparated directly into my sitting room raving about sucking cock? And in front of my mother, no less!"
"I didn't know she was there!"
"I'd say that makes it even more dramatic."
Harry buried his face in his hands and screamed. He took a steadying breath before removing his hands and taking a seat on the settee. "Please, Draco, tell me why you're running from this?"
"From the king of the runners."
"I did not run. I would have taken the assignment anyway."
Draco shrugged and looked away.
"Please, tell me," Harry said with the softest voice he had used since he'd arrived. "Give me one good reason."
"I'll give you several. Would you like them alphabetically or ranked by danger to the natural order of the universe and destruction of life as we know it?"
Harry smiled, but his eyes looked so distressed that it melted away the last of Draco's stony façade.
"Be realistic about this," Draco said. "We are an impossibility."
"What?"
"Let me finish. What happened last night… yes, it was incredible, but you're not really attracted to me."
"That's—"
"One more word, and I will toss you out." Draco paused to ensure Harry's compliance. "You're not. You're attracted to the idea of me. You've been lonely. Hell, I've been lonely. Why do you think I gave in? Two lonely gay wizards do not make this a good idea. The truth of the matter is, you will never trust me. Your friends will never trust me. They'll never accept me. The wizarding world will never accept me. I am an impossibility. We are an impossibility. I'm sorry, but we have to end it here, before we're in too deep."
"I'm already in over my head."
"I'm sorry, but this can only end badly. And when it's over and the dust has settled, you will still be the Savior of the Universe and I… I will be the Death Eater that almost destroyed Harry Potter's life." Draco waited a minute to see if Harry had a rebuttal. Apparently he had rendered the great Harry Potter speechless. If he had only known, he could've made a play for Harry's cock back in sixth year. Today, however, the sight of Harry's crushed expression made him sick to his stomach. He justified it by telling himself he knew that he was doing the right thing and sparing himself miles of heartache later.
"I need to attend to my owls. You'll see yourself out." Draco didn't dare look back as he walked to his front door. His hand trembled as he turned the knob. The walk to the hanger was preferential to Apparition in his agitated state.
When he reached the hangar door, he scanned the grounds to see if Harry had followed, but there was no sign of the other man. Draco collapsed in his desk chair and buried his face in his hands. He wanted peace and quiet. He was resigned to his life of solitude. Well not truly solitary, he had his owls.
March 5, 2003
Draco,
I'm at a loss about what I should say. As you've pointed out to me many a time, I'm rather inarticulate. So I'll simply address your points. You said we are an impossibility. That's not true. It can't be, not when we were able to overcome our past to even be together in the first place. I doubt there are two people on this earth with more reasons to hate each other than the two of us, but somehow that isn't what I'm feeling at all. When I look at you, I don't see a Death Eater. I'm no longer thinking of our past. I'm thinking of what could be possible in the future.
You said that my friends would never accept you, that the wizarding world would never accept you. I don't care about the world, but I know that my friends want me to be happy. They want me to find love, and if it's with you, then they'll eventually see you as I do. If I can get beyond the past, I have no doubt they will too, even Ron.
You said that I'm not really attracted to you, that I'm simply lonely and attracted to the idea of you. Yes, I'm lonely, but I like the Draco Malfoy that I've come to know this past year, and dear Merlin, I'm attracted to you, so attracted it hurts. I ache for you, Draco. I ache.
You said that I could never truly trust you. Come to my house tonight, now, as soon as you get this letter, and let me prove to you that I do.
Isn't what we felt the other night worth the risk?
Please come.
Harry
Harry attached the letter to Romeo's leg. "You're named after a tragic lover. Funny that only dawned on me now." He stroked Romeo's back feathers. "I'm tired of being tragic. Take this to Draco and peck some sense into him while you're there. Yeah?"
Romeo gave a series of loud trills, and Harry opened the window for him.
Continue with Part 5