Entry tags:

harry/draco, hp, my fic

FIC: All's Fair in Love and Wards Post 2 of 2
Title: All's Fair in Love and Wards (Post 2 of 2)
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): None
Word Count: ~12,500

***

I slept like the dead that first night. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, the happy feeling didn't last. There was another letter waiting for me with my breakfast. Pim said that he had found it on the front steps.

It was different from the others.

Draco Malfoy,
You may have escaped me the other night, but you will die by my hand.

After finishing my tea, I decided it was time to try to see what kind of power I could draw from the wards. I stretched out with my magic and pulled from the wards with my mind. It felt amazing. I could actually feel a change to my magic. This was why Father had always been so strong and confident at home. No one could mess with a Malfoy on his land with this type of magic in place. I Summoned a book from across the room and it flew to me with ease. My moment of glory was shattered when Potter, wand in hand, Apparated before my eyes.

His head whipped around frantically trying to take in his surroundings. "What's going on?"

I had forgotten about the connection. "I was experimenting with the wards."

"Yeah, I could feel it," he snarled. "Why?"

"Why?" Was he really that dumb? "Don't you think it would be a good idea for me to be able to defend myself against my would-be assassin?"

"Oh." He finally lowered his wand. "You should have warned me."

"Then it wouldn't have been a true test, now would it?" I looked him straight in the eye. "What did it feel like?"

"Huh?"

"The wards?"

"Oh, it felt like… like I was being pushed. Pushed towards the wards, towards the Manor. I needed to go."

"Interesting."

"Why?"

"I was pulling. Hmmm. Stand over there and close your eyes." He gave me a wary look. "Oh, just do it."

"Fine." He closed his eyes, but kept his wand at the ready.

I performed a Shield Charm. I could tell the shield was stronger than any I had ever conjured before. "What does that feel like?"

"I can feel the wards moving, changing all around me."

"Open your eyes. Try and curse me." I kept the Shield Charm firmly in place.

"Malfoy."

"Try it. Something simple, like a Stinging Hex."

"Fine." He shot a curse at me and bounced like rain from a Water Repelling Charm. He tried several more times. "Well, at least we know it works."

"It has for centuries." I ended the shield. "You try now. Try drawing from the wards."

"All right. Expecto Patronum!"

I could feel the magic being drained from the wards, then instantly replaced as a great stag Patronus leapt forth from his wand. I had never successfully performed that charm and must admit I had a pang of jealousy at Potter making it look so simple. I had heard the rumors that he had conjured a Patronus that defended over a hundred Dementors in third year. As the stag galloped around my study, for the first time, I thought it might have been true.

"Wow," he said. Leave it to Potter to understate the obvious.

"I'd say that's a successful test. I must admit though, I couldn't believe you went through with the ritual. I can't imagine what they must have said at the Ministry."

"They don't know."

I studied his expression. "Breaking the rules again, Potter?"

"No rules for or against. I simply didn't tell them."

"Aurors are allowed to perform intimate sex magic with their charges?" I challenged.

"We are not going to talk about what happened yesterday, ever."

I laughed. He was so naïve. "Whatever you say."

"Look, you have your wards and your protection, but I have a job and a life, so don't be playing with the wards for fun."

"Fun? Fun! Do you have any idea what it's like to know that someone out there is determined to kill you?"

He gave me a look that could have burnt down the Forbidden Forest to nothing but tree stumps and smoldering ashes.

"Fine, you know." I conceded the point. I supposed he knew exactly what it felt like. Strange how that was the first time I had ever thought of it in that way.

"That's why I agreed to this. Only Bill, Hermione, and Ron know about it. No, there's nothing specific from the Ministry that prohibits it, but you're right, I don't think my boss would be too pleased if he knew."

"I bet."

"We'll catch him. You'll see. I have some really good people on this investigation."

"Hmmph." I doubted they could catch a starving mouse. Still I decided to give him the latest letter. "There's another reason that I tested the wards this morning."

"Oh?"

"Here." I walked over to the desk and handed him the latest death threat. "This came this morning."

He scowled as he read it. "How did it get here?"

"Like the others. An owl must have dropped it on the front steps."

"I'll take it in for analysis."

"I doubt you'll find anything."

"All the same, I'll have it checked out. This is my investigation."

He was about to leave and I couldn't resist taking a swing at him. It was a longstanding tradition. "Potter."

"Yeah?"

"Who else knows you’re a poof?"

His entire posture tightened. "Leave it, Malfoy."

"Does the Weasley bint know how much you love a hard cock rubbing against yours, or maybe she does and takes a little Polyjuice? Does she become one of her brothers for you?"

The Stinging Hex hit me so hard that it knocked me off my feet and to the floor. He had drawn additional strength from the wards.

"I'm going to find out who attacked you, and then I'm going to be rid of you forever," he growled.

The idea of being rid of Potter forever sounded wonderful except for the fact that it seemed virtually impossible. Our lives were intertwined, now more than ever. Somehow I couldn't imagine it being any other way.

"Don't mess with the wards unless it's an emergency," he snarled, and then Disapparated.

It wasn't until after he had gone that I realized how hard I was. I had myself a good long wank and fantasized that it was Potter bringing me off. I was so fucked.

***

A week went by without any additional notes or attempts on my life, and therefore without Potter. Greg asked me to go with him to Arrows versus Cannons on the weekend. A good Quidditch trouncing sounded like just the thing to take my mind off of my problems.

It was working until about twenty minutes into the match I caught sight of Potter with my Omnioculars. He was sitting in the Cannons VIP stand with Granger, Weasley, and one other wizard that I didn't quite recognize. I watched them as the Cannons scored a goal. I replayed the scene several times. The other man hugged Potter after the score. My mouth went dry and sour.

Greg must have noticed my reaction, because he said, "Don't worry so much over one goal. Horntoad is playing Seeker and he hasn't lost a Snitch all season."

I handed my Omnioculars to Greg and replayed the scene of Potter for him. "Do you know who that is with Potter?"

"He looks familiar. Why do you care?"

"I don't."

"You're sure acting like you do."

I hadn't told Greg about the death threats, Potter, or the wards. I hadn't told anyone.

"For some reason I think I know that guy but I can't place it," I said, trying to act like it was nothing.

"Oh, I know where I've seen him, Quidditch Weekly."

"Quidditch Weekly?"

"Yeah, there was an article on the most common Quidditch injuries. He's a medi-wizard with the Cannons."

The rest of the match was ruined. I kept looking at Potter and his medi-wizard friend, watching every inadvertent and casual touch. I didn't even see Horntoad catch the Snitch ten feet in front of me. The Arrows won, but I was utterly defeated. Potter had a boyfriend and for some insane reason, I cared.

I tried not to think about Potter or my assassin for the next week, but failed almost every night with dreams of Potter naked beneath me.

The following Friday night, I awoke, not from a racy dream of Potter, but from someone attempting to break through the wards. I was on my feet in a flash. Potter, wearing only boxer shorts, Apparated directly in front of me, which was much like my dream except for the terrifying reality that someone who wanted to murder me was outside the Manor grounds trying to get in.

"I was almost asleep when I felt the wards move," he said.

"I was asleep." I tried to ignore the fact that he was practically naked. My dick, however, had other ideas.

"I want to go outside and see if I can catch them."

"Perhaps you should have worn clothes," I shot at him.

"Perhaps I was trying to get here as fast as possible to save your sorry arse."

I went to my wardrobe and pulled out my old Hogwarts trousers and shirt. "Here." I also threw a pair of shoes at him. They were too big, but would have to do.

"Wait here," he instructed.

I sat on the edge of the bed and said nothing. He Disapparated.

My stomach churned and twisted as I waited. I hadn't felt any disturbance in the wards since Potter left. A few minutes later, I could feel him drawing power from them. I wasn't sure what spells he was casting, but he was definitely doing something while I sat on my bed like a small child doing nothing. It was exasperating.

I felt him cross the wards a split second before he Apparated in front of me.

"Well?" I demanded when he simply stood their looking rather odd in my clothing.

"He had gone by the time I got out there. I cast a few revealing spells to try and find any clues to who he was or where he came from, but came up empty. I was able to determine one thing."

"What's that?"

"Whoever it is doesn't have the Dark Mark."

"Spectacular."

"Hey, it could have been one of your old cohorts with a score to settle with you or your father. I'm certain we haven't found everyone who ever took the Mark. Hermione helped develop the spell to detect it. There's no trace of one. Well, other than yours," he added uneasily. "In any case, there are a few names we can scratch off the list."

"So now you know what I've known from the beginning. I don't need some silly list to tell me that it's one from your side who thinks I don't deserve to live."

"But that doesn't make sense. Why go after you and not your father?"

I wasn't sure of that answer and guessed. I would turn this around. "You really are dense, aren't you? Killing me is twofold. It also makes my father suffer."

We stood there in silence, both of us trying to work through the problem in our own minds.

After a few minutes, I asked. "Now what?"

"Not sure. I'm guessing he's surmised that he can't get through the wards. I think you should be extremely careful when you leave the Manor."

"Like I haven't been?"

"Look, I know you're scared, Malfoy."

"I am not scared." He gave me a disbelieving look, so I elaborated. "I'm prudently cautious."

He rolled his eyes, and then drew his wand and turned as if he were about to leave, but then turned back to face me.

"Oh, umm, I better return these." He started to remove my borrowed clothing.

"Yeah, your boyfriend might not like it if you came home wearing someone else's clothes."

"Boyfriend?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"Yes, that medi-prat from the Cannons."

"What? That was just one date – a fix up. Wait. How did you find out about that?"

I suddenly felt very stupid. "I was at the game. You looked quite cozy for a first date."

"I didn't see— what? You're mad!" He finished removing my clothes and threw them at me.

"You're welcome," I said.

"What? How about thank you for coming to save me in the middle of the fucking night?"

"You're the one who insisted on masturbating your way into my wards."

A bright red flush crept across his neck and over his face. He stood there in faded blue boxers, but with his wand clutched in his hand, he looked imposing, powerful even. I could feel the wards moving as his wild magic merged with them. Potter radiated sexual magnetism. I wanted him… again.

I took two deliberate steps toward him. His eyes narrowed at me, and then he Disapparated. Damn.

I had lost my fucking mind.

***

A new letter arrived the next day.

By hook or by crook, you'll be dead in my book.

Great. Now he had resorted to nursery rhyme death threats. The last thing I wanted was to see Potter in person, so I had Pim take it to him at the Ministry. Pim returned with a message from Potter telling me to be careful, and that the Aurors were working on it.

Fucking useless.
***

Strangely after the death poem, no more letters or attempts on my life came for over a month. I began to wonder if he had given up. It was also good to have a break from Potter. I had obviously broken down from all the stress. How else could my brief obsession with the Half-Blood git be explained? The horrible part was that through the wards I could feel his absence as if some tangible thing. I refused to admit that I missed Potter's company, but the wards seemed to crave his proximity.

It was late November. I wrote a correspondence to Mother and Father, to let them know I would be coming to France for the holidays. The last thing I wanted was for them to come to the Manor. I'm not sure if my father would think me a coward or simply mentally incapacitated for allowing Potter into our home and our wards. I was hoping they would never find out. One month down and twelve to go. Oh, and that little matter of a homicidal maniac out for my blood.

I decided a little bit of early Christmas shopping at Diagon Alley was in order. It had been over a month since my last trip to London. After a quick stop at Gringotts, I headed over to Amelina's Antiquities. Perhaps I could find a fine piece of jewelry for Mother and maybe even a talisman for myself. There had to be something more helpful than relying on Auror Potter and his team of lackeys.

As I rounded the corner, I felt a strange pull. It was the wards, but not an intruder. It was Potter pushing at the wards. I could feel it like my own heartbeat. I barely had time to contemplate what he might be doing at the Manor when I heard my name called from someone down the street. There were a fair number of people milling about shopping, so I couldn't see who had called. I walked toward where I thought the call had come from, but didn't recognize anyone. I thought I might be hearing things, but then I heard it again more clearly this time.

"Draco!" It was a woman's voice. Instinctively I clutched my wand inside my cloak pocket.

Suddenly Potter Apparated in front of me, his Auror robes swirling around, as he turned with his wand ready for action.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Malfoy, go home!"

"What? I will not be bossed around like some—"

"Shut up and Apparate! Now!"

There was a flash of green light. It missed me by mere inches. I pulled out my wand and was about to cast a Shield Charm when I realized that Potter had already Stunned my assailant.

I followed Potter over to the cloaked body. The hood had fallen away from her face.

"I don't believe it," I said under my breath.

"Mulva Crabbe," Potter stated. He picked up her fallen wand and then conjured his Patronus, presumably to alert the Ministry.

"I can't believe Crabbe's mother would try to kill me." The memory of Vince screaming his last breath surrounded by Fiendfyre flooded my mind.

"Apparently she blamed you for his death."

"Why not you?" I asked.

He gave me a strange look, but said nothing. Aurors began to appear all around us. It was rather chaotic. They took Mrs. Crabbe into custody as they tried to control the gathering crowd. I lost sight of Potter for several minutes and was unsure of what to do.

It was Weasley, Ron Weasley, who grabbed my arm and led me away from the crowd.

"Come on, Malfoy, I'll take you to the Ministry," he said.

"Where's Potter?" I asked, and cursed myself for the tremor in my voice. I was shaking like a scared little girl in front of Weasley of all the retched humiliations possible on this earth.

"He needs to interrogate Mrs. Crabbe. He asked me to get your statement and make sure that you get home okay."

"Why you?" I asked, and noticed he had an Auror badge. It appeared that Potter wasn't the only one who had received a promotion.

"Because he trusts me," he said in a most serious tone.

"Trusts you to do what?"

"Not to Hex you into a million pieces. There's a queue as long as the Nile of Aurors who'd like to be put in a room alone with you for an hour. Now come on!"

I was so shaken from the day's events that I found myself cooperating with Weasley. It was about halfway through the extremely straightforward interview that I thought about what Weasley had said at Diagon Alley. Potter had wanted someone to look out for me.

"Why?" I asked, the question a non sequitur to the discussion of the letters from the last two months.

"Why what?" asked Weasley.

"Why would he care if some Auror got his wish to kick me around during an interrogation?"

"Interview," Weasley corrected.

"Why?"

Weasley seemed to be conflicted about answering my question. He diverted his eyes and sucked in his lips. I had to wait a moment for his explanation.

"Look, Malfoy. I'll be honest and say I don't understand it. Harry… Harry's a complicated person."

"What does that have to do with me?"

Weasley finally made eye contact. "He wants to protect you. He's been working day and night these past weeks."

"What do you mean?" Nothing he was saying made any sense.

"He dropped all his other cases. He's been going door to door investigating everyone on his list of suspects, and I'm sure you can appreciate the length of that list. He hasn't taken a break, except maybe to eat and sleep. He's been relentless. If it were my case, trust me, I wouldn't lift a finger. You made your bed."

"So why did Potter?"

"Why would he bother for the likes of you? You'll have to ask him yourself."

I nodded. It occurred to me that I would have to do that or the curiosity would eat me alive. Weasley and I finished a few minutes later and I was allowed to go home.

***

I paced the floors of the Malfoy library all evening. Pim kept nagging me to eat, or at least sit for some tea, but I couldn’t settle down. It was as if I had taken a potion to induce anxiety – a potion named Harry Potter.

Eventually I settled in my favorite chair by the fire with an oversized snifter of brandy. Pim forced shortbreads on me. I was going to decline, but my stomach growled in protest. The taste of butter and sugar melted in my mouth. It helped to cut the bitterness of my sitting in wait for Potter. Yes, I was waiting for Potter, and he would show. I was as certain of that as of my pureblood ancestry.

The wards shimmied around eight o'clock. Pim announced him a few minutes later. I stood to greet him, swirling my third brandy of the evening in its glass.

"Hullo, Malfoy."

"Hello." I didn't trust myself to say anything else.

"Umm, that looks good." He gestured to my glass.

I walked over to the bar and poured him a brandy. He took special care to take it from my hand without touching our fingers.

We sat on the sofa. The fact that we were seated the same as the night we performed the ward's ritual wasn't lost on me. Potter blushed when he looked over at me and quickly took a large sip of brandy.

"So what's happened with Mrs. Crabbe?" I asked, attempting to diffuse the tension.

"She's in custody. They'll set a Wizengamot hearing date quickly."

"How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"To come to Diagon Alley."

"Oh. I went to the Crabbe house this morning. She was on my list. She wasn't home so I went inside for a quick look around."

"Breaking the rules again?"

Potter shook his head, but he had a smile on his face. "You going to turn me in?"

I laughed. He blushed and took another sip of his drink.

"I found a letter to you— a draft of a death threat like the others. Then I heard her coming in, so I put on my Invisibility Cloak."

"Rather handy that."

"Very. Anyway. She came inside for only a moment. I don't know why, but I saw her holding a note on Gringotts letterhead, and as she left I heard her say, 'Today's the day, Draco.' I went to the Manor, but Pim had told me you'd gone to Diagon Alley."

"Gringotts?"

"Yes, she confessed under Veritaserum. She had paid one of the Goblins to inform her immediately if you came into the bank."

"A bit of dumb luck, and then Harry Potter to the rescue!" I finished my brandy.

"I was doing my job. I thought you'd be happy that it's all over."

"Oh, I'm happy. I'm perfectly pleased as pomegranate punch."

He stared at me, and I couldn't read his expression. Was he angry? Strangely, it didn't seem so. Angry I understood. Angry I could relate to.

I spelled it out for him. "You've got your man, or woman as the case may be, and you still have full access to the Manor for the next year. I’m thrilled."

"Malfoy?" he asked softly and edged closer.

"What?"

"Be honest. Aren't you relieved?"

"Were you relieved when you killed the Dark Lord?"

Suddenly, his skin turned a dull gray, and his eyes became glassy. "Do you know that you're the first person to ever ask me that?"

"Well?"

"Yes," he said, and moved so our knees were touching. "Are you relieved?"

"Yes," I whispered.

He leaned over so close that I could smell the brandy on his breath. "Ron said that you had asked why I cared."

"Do you care?" I challenged.

We both froze. I wanted to kiss him despite the fact that it made no sense whatsoever.

"Do you? Care?" he whispered, so completely vulnerable. I'd seen him in some of the most dangerous and terrifying situations one could imagine, and he'd never looked that vulnerable. Did I look the same?

"No," I said flatly, and he immediately pulled back.

"Why didn't you identify us when Greyback brought us to the Manor?"

The question came out of nowhere.

Potter's voice grew colder. "I've always wondered. You knew it was us. Why didn't you turn us in?"

"I… I…" I'd never been able to answer that question myself. How could I have possibly given Potter an answer?

He shook his head. "Goodbye, Malfoy." He stood to leave. He placed his snifter down on a table, and turned to me. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm going to France," I blurted out.

"What?"

"I'm going to France to spend the holidays with my parents. As my Auror Representative, you need to be alerted to any travel outside the country. Surely you don't have any objections."

"No," he said impassively. "Have a nice holiday. Send an owl to the Ministry when you return."

He paused, and while it was obvious that he wanted to say something more, he simply stood there awkwardly.

"Goodbye, Potter."

He drew his wand and Disapparated. I felt his absence in the wards immediately.

I had another brandy and passed out on the sofa.

***

Throughout my visit with my parents, Potter remained at the front of my mind. I tried to understand what had happened, not only with the wards, but also while we were students at Hogwarts and the war.

I spent five weeks in France. I hated it, despite my mother doing everything within her persuasive powers to put me in a festive mood. I couldn't take it any longer and returned to Britain on the eve of December 31st. It was a new millennium, and I yearned to start it at home.

Pim hadn't even finished unpacking my things when Potter showed up. I should have known. I had hoped to have at least a few days to collect myself. I was in my sitting room having tea, when I sensed his Apparition across the wards. I dispatched Pim to bring him to me.

"I felt you return through the wards," Potter offered as an excuse.

"I presumed the Ministry was on holiday. I was going to send an owl in a few days. I'm sorry if I viol—"

"I wanted to see you," he said urgently.

"Surely you have better things to do on New Year's Eve. There must be at least a dozen millennium parties with Harry Potter on the guest list."

"Later," he replied, ignoring my taunt.

"Well, if it's not protocol, then what is it?"

"I didn't like the way we left things. I came back, but you had gone to France the next day." He ran his hand through his hair. "Do you know how many times I thought about going there to talk to you?"

"But you didn't."

"I didn't, but I did wait for you to come back. I've been waiting."

"Why?"

"Because you make me feel things. I…" He closed his eyes. "I want to find out what…" He opened his eyes and stared at me, begging me to let him off the hook.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"Why did you save me from the Fiendfyre? I've always wondered that."

"Dumbledore wanted to save your soul, and Snape went through an awful lot to make sure of it. I couldn't let you die."

"The Savior," I taunted.

"No, that wasn't what was going through my mind at all. I only knew that I didn't want you to die. I didn't want that. I never wanted that."

"That's why I wouldn't identify you."

He looked down and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. "I asked Bill about the ritual. There's nothing in the potion that acts as an aphrodisiac or enhances physical reactions."

"Ah."

"It was you. You turned me on. I've been with other men, but…"

I took a step toward him. "I've been with other men, too."

"I know." He took a cautious step toward me. "There's something about you that makes me— I wonder what else there is. You can't just be that horrible prat I went to school with, the spoiled brat with the Death Eater father."

"Is this the Gryffindor approach to seduction? I can't tell."

He smiled. Oh fuck. I smiled back.

"There's more to you than meets the eye. I felt it. Not just the wards, but…"

Yet again, he couldn't finish his sentence. Still I found him charming. "Would you like to find out?"

"Yes. God, yes." He quickly covered the last few paces between us, took me in his arms, and kissed me. I could feel the magic being drawn from the walls that surrounded us, and then replenished as it traveled through our bodies and down into the floor.

The next few minutes passed in a blur. I wasn't exactly cognizant of how we undressed or when we went through the door to my bedroom, but there was an inordinate amount of kissing and touching. The smell of his arousal and the feel of his warm skin under my hands fueled my desire. I desperately wanted him, and was in reverent awe that he wanted me. Harry Potter wanted me. The moment I accepted that notion as fact, I started calling him "Harry". No, I didn't say it out loud, but that was the name I called him in my head. It was the name I wanted to cry, when he pushed me backwards onto the bed and took my cock in his mouth. It was the name I thought of when I studied his face as he entered me.

It was fast and rough that first time. How could it have been anything else? The second time, we went slower and tried to draw out the pleasure. He fucked me in no fewer than five positions. Obviously, he was trying to prove to me that he knew what he was doing. I didn't care. It was glorious, and I came while he was inside me. After, I noticed the clock on the wall.

"Happy 2000," I said. "I wouldn't mind doing this all year long."

Harry laughed, and then he fucked me hard until he came.

It was a new year, a new century, a new millennium, and a new world.

If someone were to ask me about the turn of the millennium, I would have to say that I don't remember too much of it. I was asleep in Harry's arms.

*The End*