Title: Identical Opposites
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 2,663
Pairing: Sirius Black/Draco Malfoy
Warning/s: Death, torture, swearing, slash, femmeslash
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Clearly.
Summary: A perfect balance, she says, pulling a new book off of the library shelf. Identical opposites. Harry thinks he understands.
A/N: Wow. Yeah. I totally don't have any excuses for this one. Except that I have fallen in love with fragile!Malfoy, and wish to stick him in every story that I write.
Harry knows that Malfoy is fragile, just as surely as he knows that the moon rises at night.
He has known this since they found him on one of their raids, in the Death Eater's version of Azkaban, half-dead from his injuries, fading in and out of consciousness because of the fever, and more than half-mad from torture, both physical and psychological; so weak.
He has known this since Dumbledore asked him to sit with Malfoy until he woke up, so that Harry could keep him calm, maybe explain everything to him.
He has known this since Malfoy woke up, eyes wide with terror and hope, torn between fleeing, laughing, and curling up in a ball to escape whatever torture came next.
He has known this since Malfoy had his first panic attack, after someone in the street called him a Death Eater whore; collapsing to the ground, shaking and coughing up blood, twitching away from everyone who tried to touch him, and crying for what seemed like hours.
He has known this since he first realized that Malfoy was also Draco, whenever that was.
Sometimes it feels like he knew it before, too.
Harry knows that Sirius is strong, just as surely as he knows that the sun rises during the day.
He has known this since the moment they first met as Godfather and Godson.
He has known this since he saw the old pictures of him; smiling and laughing, often seen with his arm around someone's neck, or near his motorbike, so alive.
He has known this since Sirius first walked up to him in public and said hello, a moment of triumph and joy, and they both had had tears in their eyes.
He has known this since Sirius came back from a mission, his arm almost shredded to ribbons of crimson flesh from a spell, only to smile and wave jauntily with the other arm when he saw Harry.
He has known this since someone called Sirius a traitor to both sides, and Sirius ignored them, until they started to insult Harry; Sirius had jumped on the man so fast that Harry barely even saw him begin to move.
He has known this since he first realized that Sirius was also Auror Black, whenever that was.
Sometimes it feels as if he had never even begun to suspect.
Harry knows though, that Draco can be strong.
Like the time that a crazed Muggleborn woman held a gun to Draco's head, shouting that she would kill him for being the son of the man who killed her lover, the hand that held the gun shaking, and he had just talked to her as if everything was perfectly normal until Harry and Ron could stun her.
Like the time that they had found a dead woman who had been raped, beaten and left in an alley to rot, and even Harry couldn't make himself go near her, but Draco just walked up, whispered a few spells to clean up the blood and hide the bruises, shut her wide, staring, terrified eyes for her, and carried her body back to be buried, all without saying a word.
Like the time his father came marching down at them, with six Death Eaters at his side, a perfect match to Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Neville, and Luna, and then Lucius Malfoy (that unforgivable bastard) had torn off his mask and raised his wand to kill his son, when Draco pulled a knife out of seemingly nowhere and thrown it into his father's heart, killing him before he could even get the words out.
He knows that Draco is as fragile as glass, but sometimes, he is like tempered steel, and Harry never knows what to do.
Harry knows though, that Sirius can be vulnerable.
Like when Peter Pettigrew (that cowardly slime) was finally caught, and brought in for questioning, with everyone watching, and though he confessed to being the one who killed all those Muggles in the street, and though he proudly declared himself to be Death Eater, and though he confessed to being the one who betrayed James and Lily Potter, he still managed to look Sirius in the eye and tell him that it was his fault for trusting Peter, and Sirius had gone white as a sheet, shaking, eyes wide, until Harry managed to convince him that he did not blame Sirius for his parents' death.
Like when Harry was hit by a spell that made him appear to be dead for three days, and until they had realized that he was still alive, Sirius had sat beside his body and wept endless tears, and even when it was revealed to be nothing more than a spell, Sirius had sat next to the bed that Harry lay in, waiting for Harry to wake up again, as if he could not believe it until he saw Harry, alive, with his own eyes, whispering stories about his family all the while, until his voice ran out.
He knows that Sirius is stronger than steel, but sometimes, he is like fragile glass, and Harry never knows what to do.
Harry knows, of course, that Draco is his friend now. Draco has proven himself so many times that not even Ron doubts him anymore.
He proved himself when he killed his father and took a hex for Luna, one that would have made her see things that weren't there, and would have meant that she would never want to move from that spot, but Draco didn't believe in them, and so he went with them easily.
He proved himself when he pulled Ron out of the way of his Aunt Bellatrix's curse, throwing one of his handy little knives into her artery, so that her blood; pure, red blood, spilled out and over, spraying onto Draco's face and hands.
He proved himself when he stayed up late with Hermione, teaching her curses that his father had taught him, and helping her look up the counter-spells.
He proved himself when he brought Ginny back from a Death Eater camp, and put her in Ron's arms like she might break, pale and thin and covered in blood as she was, and Ron looked at him as if considering his options, before shifting his grip on Ginny so that she sat on his hip, and pulling Draco in for a tight hug, whispering an unsure 'thank you' in his ear before taking Ginny down to Madam Pomfrey.
Draco has proven himself to be his friend, and Harry is really almost surprised to find that he doesn't mind it.
Harry knows, of course, that Sirius is his family now. Sirius has proven himself so many times that not even Snape doubts him anymore.
He proved himself when Harry had a nightmare in which Voldemort killed everyone in front of him; Draco and Ron and Hermione and Hagrid and Ginny and the twins and Dumbledore and everyone else, waiting for the end to kill Sirius, and laughed over the heap of bloody, broken bodies, and when he woke up screaming, Sirius was first to reach him, cradling him like a child, rocking him back and forth, humming softly until Harry was finally calm again.
He proved himself when he came up to Harry, clearly embarrassed and shifting nervously from side to side, like a child, until finally showing Harry the packet of documents that would allow him to become Harry's legal guardian, much like Snape was now Draco's, and had hurriedly explained that Harry didn't have to sign the papers and accept unless he really wanted to, obviously both surprised and relieved when Harry had laughed and hugged him, saying that there was no one he would rather have as a guardian than Sirius.
He proved himself just by smiling at Harry every day, making sure that even though there was a war; Harry still had fun and acted like a normal teenage wizard.
Sirius has proven himself to be his family, and Harry is not at all surprised to find that he likes it.
Harry knows that men fall in love with other men sometimes, and women fall in love with other women.
He has seen Seamus and Dean, who don't pretend or claim that they aren't together, and he has seen Remus Lupin and Snape, who make it very clear that they are most definitely together.
He has seen Ginny and Luna, one of whom blushes whenever someone teases her about her partner, and the other, who just gives a dreamy smile, leans over, and kisses her girlfriend.
Of course, he has also seen Ron and Hermione, who were always fated to be dating, but never knew it until recently.
Sometimes, when he watches them, any of them, whether they are just walking and holding hands, or kissing each other out beside the lake, he is jealous, because they are so in love, and he might never be.
But somehow, the idea of Sirius falling in love has never before occurred to him, and now that it has happened, he is completely unsure of what he should do.
And somehow, the idea of his godfather falling in love with his newest friend has never occurred to him, and now that it has happened, he is completely unsure of what to think.
Harry knows that Sirius needs someone that he can protect, as surely as he knows that Voldemort is evil and will die. Before he became a warrior for the Light, before he became a soldier, Sirius protected him from the world, and Harry knows that Sirius still does, in a way, but it isn't the same, and they both know it. Harry no longer needs protecting from the world at all times; Sirius will not be able to watch over him when they fight, and they can both save themselves.
He knows that Sirius needs to protect someone, and he thinks that he understands, just a little.
Harry knows that Draco needs someone who will protect him, as surely as he knows that Dumbledore is good and will win. Before the Death Eaters took him, before he was broken, his friends protected him from the world, and in a way, Harry knows that they still do, but it isn't the same and they all know it. Draco needs to be protected from the world at all times; his friends will not be able to be there with him wherever he goes, and he cannot always save himself.
He knows that Draco needs to be protected, and he thinks that he understands, in a way.
Harry doesn't disapprove, not exactly, but nor does he approve. He is simply unsure of what to think about the whole thing, and so, he does the only thing that he can think of at the moment; he goes around and asks people.
When he asks Hermione, she points out, ever the psychoanalyst, how they balance each other out perfectly, personality-wise and looks-wise; Draco, who is fragile, but can be strong, and Sirius, who is strong, but can be vulnerable. Hair like soft moonlight and hair like the midnight sky. Draco, calm and quiet, and Sirius, loud and excitable. A perfect balance, she says, pulling a new book off of the library shelf. Identical opposites.
Harry understands a little more, but it isn't quite enough yet.
When he asks Ron, he reminds Harry, ever blood-line conscientious, that Sirius and Draco are second cousins once or twice removed, and are two of very few people on their side who grew up in strict, old, pureblood houses; like Remus, who's family was more lax and very low down on the social scale, and on the side of the Light in any case, and Snape, who refuses to speak of his childhood, family, or anything even remotely related to the two, although it is safe to assume that they were a Dark family and Snape is lucky to have managed to find another path.
Sirius and Draco have shared something, something that no one else can ever really understand; not Ron, who's family is loud and cheery and breaks every rule in the pureblood set, or Hermione and Dean, who are Muggleborns and know so very little of Wizarding customs, other than what they have read in a book or heard in class. Not Neville, who's family is pureblood and old, but on the Light side, or Seamus, who is a half-blood and doesn't give a Knut for any of the Wizarding customs, or Luna, who's father has always been in disgrace in the pureblood community for running the Quibbler, and whose mother blew herself up. Most definitely not Harry, who was raised with Muggles and knows even less about Wizarding customs and traditions than Hermione and Dean.
Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle understand more than any of the others, but their families are some of more lax ones. Blacks and Malfoys are two of the oldest families in the pureblood world, and their children are never just molded to fit the family; they are smacked and twisted and burned and maimed and destroyed, then rebuilt, so that they do not disgrace their family.
The very thought makes Harry sick to his stomach, and he makes a mental note to be kinder to the four Slytherins, next time he sees them.
Sirius and Draco, Ron points out, are probably the first of their families in a really long time to disgrace their families this badly. Harry reminds him about Andromeda Black, who married a Muggleborn and had Tonks, but Ron shakes his head, no, because switching sides so that you are against your family, and then becoming openly gay on top of it all, is the worst kind of disgrace, according to pureblood customs.
Harry understands even more now, but still not enough to know what to think of it.
Remus explains to him about pureblood customs, and Harry is amazed to learn that cousins marry all the time in the wizarding world. He is also amazed, and slightly disturbed, to discover than there are spells for male conception and female conception that doesn't need a partner of the opposite sex to work, so that an entire family will not die out because of one gay son or daughter.
Sirius has very few family members with whom he gets along, Remus says calmly, watching Snape adding herbs to next week's Wolfsbane potion. And you can't deny that Draco is very attractive, or that Sirius is equally handsome.
Which is true; Draco is almost pretty, with his feminine looks and long, soft hair, while Sirius is practically the definition of handsome, all tall, sturdy muscles and big strong hands. Harry has to admit that, in the most practical and stereotypical way, they look good together.
Harry thinks that he might, just possibly, understand enough now.
When he goes looking for them, to tell them that he understands this now, that he's fine with it, he doesn't find them. Not really.
They're in the library, and Sirius has Draco wrapped up tightly in his arms, as though he's cradling the younger boy, protecting him from the whole world and hiding him away. Draco's thin arms have wound around Sirius' neck, his thin, pale face buried in the curve of Sirius' neck, legs entwined with his lover's, as if he is doing all he can to keep the older man here.
For a moment, Harry just watches as they lay there, breathing and living and just existing in perfect rhythm. Then he turns, and shuts the door carefully behind him.
Harry knows that they are perfect together, just as surely as he knows that Lucius Malfoy deserved to die, just as surely as he knows that the Light will win, just as surely as he knows that both Sirius and Draco deserve to be really, truly happy, no matter what that takes.
And Harry understands.
D'awwww.
I wrote something kinda fuzzy an' warm.
How adorable.
Please review? Darlings?
- Suzu