Disclaimer: Harry Potter is definitely not mine.
Warning: Probably some language, discussion of attempted rape.
Notes: Wow. It has been quite a while hasn't it? Time just slips away. I started reading a bunch of HP fanfics again and it got me motivated to try to revive my stories. That said, I don't promise regular updates.
Also, I want to mention that characters might be a bit OOC in this fic? I'm writing it, but find it difficult to tell… ahaha… yeah. This is an AU. No Voldie, no death eaters. Draco didn't grow-up on lectures of blood status, light/dark, blah blah blah. Still some rich/poor, "I'm a Malfoy so I'm better than you", but it's much more mild. Plus he's been more or less in love with Harry for 9 years?
James and Lily are still dead, probably not important to plot. Just a fact of life. Harry never met the Dursleys. He grew up with Sirius and Remus who are a couple and between the two of them, they make pretty capable parents. Harry still has a saving people thing, but that's just another fact of life.
Both boys are in their 20s. I like to think they'd be a least a bit more mature. I generally read fics like this for the feels and not necessarily total character accuracy. Hopefully you feel the same if this is, in fact, OOC.
xxx
Admired
Chapter Two: Safe House
xxx
Draco woke slowly, light streaming through the window's open curtains. The bed was amazingly soft and the blankets silky and warm. He lay for a moment, eyes still closed, and enjoyed the stillness. Draco loved his parents, but as an adult still living at home it was sometimes nice to just have the grand house to himself. He always had an appreciation for quiet.
Except it wasn't quiet.
Muffled voices from outside the door reminded Draco of what had woken him. His eyes snapped open and took in the room that wasn't his. The space was light and airy and the decor less refined than he was used to. It was warm and homey, unlike the professionally designed stiffness of the Malfoy's home. With this realization came vague memories of the night before. The uneasy feelings, the thrice damned window, the stranger in his room, crazy confessions of sick love and being molested on the floor of his own home. Draco remembered escaping, running, being chased down. His legs ached at the memory; his head and lips too.
Without realizing it, Draco groaned from the pain. At the sound, the voices from the hall stopped and the injured blond felt a spike of dread.
Had he gotten away? He couldn't remember. Certainly this wasn't the stalker's house? Draco vaguely recalled intense relief just before losing consciousness. Relief, strong arms wrapping around his slender frame and worried green eyes. The same green eyes that were peering at him from the now open doorway.
"Harry." The name slipped unbidden from his bruised lips and Draco flinched. He wasn't supposed to do that. He couldn't be overly familiar or the other boy would surely discover his secret. A Malfoy could convincingly hide behind a cold, superior mask, but the moment it dropped he'd be an open book. And of course he remembers now how he had begged for Ha- Potter's help. He had used the boy's name then too, hadn't he?
Draco tried to think of something cutting to say, some way to save face, but could not. How could he insult the one who rescued him from the man who had surely intended to- it was too awful to think about.
"Mal-," green eyes swept over the broken boy on the guest bed. "Draco. How are you?"
The blond nearly scoffed. How was he? He glanced down at his hands as they fisted the blanket pooled in his lap. His wrists were bruised, ugly black and blue splotches, where the intruder had forced his arms to the floor. A choked sob broke the silence and it took Draco a moment to realize it came from him.
Suddenly Potter was there beside him, hands fluttering but afraid to touch. Draco was grateful for the restraint. Although he usually dreamed of receiving kind touches from his long-time crush, he could not bare the thought of it right now. He felt dirty, from more than just his evening, bare-foot run through the gardens and streets. Thankfully Potter lowered his fidgeting hands to his lap and instead began to worry his lip, unsure what to say. Draco wasn't sure what to say either and decided to focus on not having a full on breakdown in Potter's guest room.
"Harry," an older gentleman placed a comforting hand on the other boy's shoulder. Draco cursed himself for not noticing the other person in the room; it was stupid of him. "Why don't you run down to the kitchen and get some tea? Perhaps something light to eat as well?" He glanced at the blond as if seeking affirmation of his desire to eat something. Draco just continued to stare at his abused wrists.
"I- yeah. All right." Potter sounded reluctant to leave his obviously hurting classmate, even if said classmate was often a prat, but retreated the room anyway.
Left in the room with the older man, Draco waited for him to break the silence. He knew Remus Lupin of course. They were neighbors and more-or-less related. As a child, Draco had been a bit afraid of him because of the scars on his face; the results of wounds inflicted by a rabid dog that had never healed properly. Now Draco knew better, that despite the fearsome scars and poor taste in fashion, Lupin was unerringly kind and very intelligent. He was invited to guest lecture at Hogwarts several times. Currently he sat on the edge of the bed and placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. Draco twitched but allowed the contact.
"Draco," he spoke softly. "I realize this must be difficult, but can you tell me what happened last night? You gave us quite the scare."
Draco wasn't sure he could talk about it. Hell, he wished he could just banish the entire incident from his mind. He knew he would have to though. Draco wasn't foolish enough to think that he would go away after one failed attempt. Afterall, he'd already been patiently following Draco for a month. That thought sent a shiver down his spine. Apparently he had been being watched, lusted after, longer that he thought he had been.
Sensing Draco's growing distress, Remus opted for a different approach. "What about your parents? Sirius has tried getting in contact with Narcissa, but his calls aren't going through."
"France." Draco answered, glad to have something easy to talk about. No doubt his parents' reaction when they found out would be awful, but at least he had some time to brace himself for it. "They're taking a weekend holiday to the villa in France. They can only be reached by the landline there." He trailed off and bit his lip, an action he regretted immediately. Regret appeared to be a theme for him lately. "I was stupid," he continued without Lupin's prompting. "I'd felt that something was wrong, had been wrong a while, but I ignored it."
He paused to collect himself and Remus didn't interrupt. "I thought I was being paranoid, so I let the house staff off to be alone, prove I was being ridiculous." Nails bit into his palms and the blanket strained as his fists continued to clench. "That bloody window! I came out of the shower and he was just there." Draco squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for what happen next. " I tried to run, made it to the foyer, but…" He tried to swallow around the lump in his throat, body shaking as he absently rubbed the bruises on his arms. A pink tongue darted out the dampen dry lips and prod the cut there. "Caught me, pushed me down. I hit my head and…" The blond trailed off to collect himself again, calm his rapid heart. Remus' hand dropped from his shoulder to rub reassuring up and down his back. Eventually his breathing evened out again.
"I got away. Ran out of the house and I had to climb the gate. I don't remember running here, just that I suddenly was and Har- Potter opened the gate for me… I think I passed out then?" Draco finally turned his wide, pain and panic filled eyes to meet Lupin's. The older man's soft brown eyes held small flecks of gold, he absently noted. "He chased me the entire way. If Potter hadn't opened the gate, then he'd have.. The things he was saying… He'd been following me for a month! Called me his… his a-angel." Draco gagged and choked over the words.
Before the panic could set back in, Lupin began shushing him and stroking his back again. Draco barely knew Lupin, but the man was gentle and comforting. Trustworthy. The panic receded again. "He was crazy," he whispered.
xxx
Harry Potter. Harry Potter! Harry Potter!
Draco. His angel, his soulmate, his other half, his! Draco was his!
He had it all planned out, the perfect courting to properly woo Draco and claim the beauty as his forever. Everything was going so well! Or so he had thought. A month watching over his angel and he hadn't noticed Harry bloody Potter, seducing his angel away. Leading his beautiful boy down the wrong path! That- That… Snake! How dare he?!
Draco. Poor, innocent, perfect Draco. His angel was too pure to notice the devil leading him astray. Who knew what vile things, no doubt disguised as sweet nothings, were being whispered into those delicate ears. Things that encouraged his precious angel to run from him, attack him, flee into the deceitful arms of HARRY FUCKING POTTER!
Oh, but that boy, no, beast, was good. The Admirer never saw him coming until it was almost too late. It wasn't though. Too late, that is. He could still fix this.
Sure, the public and the media loved that green-eyed monster. Heroic deeds? Please. As if anyone, especially that demon, could be that noble. Did nobody think it was awfully convenient that he was always there to save the day? Probably orchestrated all those disasters himself. It's easy to save a child from a burning building when you were the one to set the blaze!
And now that faker was out to trap his angel in a web of lies. A evil plan to steal his heart and virtue. Worst of all, while Potter set himself up as Saint and Saviour, he was also somehow casting the Admirer as Villain. Poor Draco had no clue he was being deceived.
The Admirer turned to face his ever growing shrine. Most of the photos were candid shots taken from far away, however, he had returned to his angel's room for a few more mementos. His presence was known now, he did not have to hide his actions as carefully. Real photos of Draco with his friends and family hung proudly amongst the others now. On pedestals sat a few more souvenirs: the comb entangled with white-gold hairs, the handwritten note, a half empty lotion bottle and a toothbrush recently used. Best of all was a pair of green silk pants, not clean from the drawer, but plucked from the laundry.
Draco.
Draco. Draco. Draco.
Angel.
"I'll save you."
xxx
At some point, Potter and his godfather, Draco's cousin Sirius Black, had wondered back up to the guest room. Judging by the cold tea on the tray in Potter's hands, they'd been listening for quite some time. Draco was glad he wouldn't be forced to give a repeat telling for them, but was also horribly embarrassed by his behavior. Panic attacks and emotional breakdowns were not befitting of someone carrying the Malfoy name.
Hoping that ignoring the two lurking in the doorway would make them go away, Draco addressed Lupin instead. "May I use your shower?" He still felt dirty, although not entirely in the physical sense.
Lupin looked ready to agree, but Black objected. When the other three turned to him he only shrugged. "Police might be able to get something off of him. Evidence. Might be too late now though. We ought to have called them last night."
Draco paled. The police? Surely that wasn't necessary? Except it was. He knew it was, but he honestly just wanted all of this to go away. Draco didn't want to have to tell that story again. First the police, then his parents would want to hear it from him and the police were sure to attract attention. The media would find out eventually, the Malfoy's were rich and beautiful, making them popular with all sorts of news outlets. Who knew what the gossip rags would say? And with Golden Boy Harry Potter involved the story was sure to explode. Draco wondered how quickly his father could return from France to start threatening people or paying them off...
Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to pass out again and surrender himself to the sweet bliss of unconsciousness. Instead he offered the number needed to contact his parents.
Soon Lupin and Black, bickering like the old married couple they basically were, left the room to make some phone calls. The last he heard before they left him alone with Potter was Sirius begging Remus to make the call to Narcissa. His mother would be pleased to hear that she still struck fear into the heart of her dear cousin.
Awkward silence reigned between the two boys. No doubt Potter wanted to get away from the one who so often mocked him and his friends, but was honor bound to remain by the side of his most recent charity case. Draco was just trying not to fidget or say something he'd regret. He still couldn't bring himself to slip on his Malfoy mask and sneer at the one who saved him for the second time in his life. The blond, lost in his self deprecating thoughts visibly startled when Potter finally broke the silence.
"You scared me half to death you know." Grey eyes lifted to meet concerned green. "It was lucky I was still up to open the gate, but that is generally how my life works. As you well know." Potter gave a insincere laugh and buried one sport callused hand in his dark, unruly hair. Draco winced at the reminder of his average behavior toward Potter. "It's just... you were acting so different than you do at university... you still are. I didn't even realize you knew my first name or the word 'please'."
Draco assumed that Potter was going to make a point eventually so he didn't interrupt. Besides, if he tried to defend himself now he'd probably say something stupid like 'I don't want to act that way, but how else can I hide that I might be a little bit in love with you?' or even worse, 'Of course I know your name! I've collected every article printed about you!'. Which probably wouldn't make him sound any better than his own stalker. At least he wasn't sneaking into Potter's room at night. His little crush was completely innocent. The Weasel's little sister does the same thing although far less subtly and Potter doesn't seem to mind it much.
"And then you were there, bruised and bleeding, half naked with your clothes torn. You were limping, out of breath and it looked like..." He didn't need to say what it looked like, they both knew what nearly happened. Potter took a steadying breath, his eyes looked glassy. "When you collapsed into my arms I didn't know what to do. I started screaming for Sirius and Remus; I'd never seen them move so fast." He offered a strained chuckle. "Probably scared a few years off of their lives too. Remus checked you over, but there wasn't anything serious. He wanted to call a doctor anyway, but we weren't sure what you'd want to do if you were... that maybe you didn't want anyone to know..."
There was a silence again, strained and hesitant. Neither knew what to say. Nothing could prepare either for a situation like this.
"It's probably insensitive and selfish of me to ask, and you don't have to answer, but..." He seemed to be gathering his legendary courage. "You really weren't...?" Potter was just as incapable of saying the word as Draco was, but the blond knew what he meant. He looked directly into Potter's eyes and willed his own not to say too much. Quietly he answered, "No, I wasn't."
The other boy sighed in relief. Draco knew why Potter had to ask and that he wasn't trying to make it about himself. It was common knowledge that Potter had a 'saving people thing' and Draco understood that Potter wouldn't be able to live with himself if something so horrible happened so close to his home; to someone he saw regularly no less. Of course he couldn't save everyone when they needed it, it wasn't arrogance per se... just a Potter thing. Rumor had it his parents were the same way.
Softly, almost to himself, Draco whispered, "Thank you." It was only in his mind that he added 'Harry'.
xxx
Potter had wandered off to fetch fresh tea when Sirius strolled in with his usual nonchalance. Draco admittedly didn't know his cousin very well. For a patriarch, Black was surprisingly skilled at avoiding his family. Of course there weren't many Blacks left to avoid. Draco's mother wouldn't mind seeing more of her cousin, they practically lived next to each other after all, but it was generally a mistake to let Sirius and Lucius anywhere near each other. And there was something about a childhood trauma involving the then united trio of Black sisters and the hopelessly outmatched duo of Black brothers. Neither would go into details, but from what Draco understood, Sirius and Regulus never stood a chance.
Not one to beat around the bush or dwell on any one thing for too long, Sirius unceremoniously sprawled himself across the foot of the guest bed. Unable to help himself, Draco scowled and lifted his brow in an imitation of his father. Sirius only snorted and continued to make himself comfortable while muttering about the wonders of cloning technology. Once content, Black began to share his news.
"I understand the need for discretion, since the media are fucking vultures, and called in a favor with Mad Eye at the station. He's sending over Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks, you know, your Aunt Andy's girl? They'll do their best to keep this quiet."
Draco was somewhat stunned. Sure he and Black were related, but one could hardly call them close. The blond figured that he was too much like Lucius for his cousin to actually like him and Potter had probably complained about Draco's less than friendly behavior. Draco wasn't sure why Sirius was being so accommodating to him, but rather than looking a gift horse in the mouth, Draco choked back his Malfoy pride and thanked someone for the second time that day. When Lupin came back up he might as well go for a third.
Surprised to receive honest gratitude from a Malfoy, Sirius took a moment to savor it before accepting. "Anyway, they'll stop by here first to talk to you and see if they can't get some samples from your skin or nails. Afterwards they'll want to head back over to your place. If you're up to it, they want you to go along, see if you can point out anything this guy might have touched."
Draco's head was spinning. Could he really go over it again and then go back home to relive it, step by step? He wasn't entirely sure he'd ever feel safe in his home again. All of this sounded like something from those cop shows his father refused to admit he watched. Although Draco was pretty sure he only watched them to study criminal's mistakes so he would know how to get away with it; whatever 'it' was. Hopefully his stalker didn't do the same.
Potter came back with the tea then and it helped sooth Draco's nerves. Meanwhile, Potter gave his sprawled out godfather an unimpressed and long suffering look, but there was amusement there too as the men started up a playful banter. Draco knew what they were doing and although he usually enjoyed some solitude, for now he appreciated the company. Next to wander in was a frazzled looking Remus Lupin, fresh off a phone call with one Narcissa Malfoy nee Black. He looked his long time friend and love of his life dead in the eyes.
"I'm leaving you. I can't believe you just put me through that with no warning." Sirius only cackled.
"If I had warned you, you wouldn't have done it, and I certainly wasn't going to put myself through that. Cissy is scary when she's worried, especially when it's over this one." He jabbed a finger in Draco's direction and gave a very real shudder. "Like a goddamned bear."
Draco, amused despite the past several hours and the ones still to come, gave one of his rare delighted laughs. He loved how his beautiful and elegant mother always managed to strike terror into the lives of the men.
As the banter continued and the phone call was discussed, none noticed the way Harry was transfixed by the blond's small, albeit devious, smile and laughter.
xxx
I know I said this chapter would start with Harry's POV, but I changed my mind and had him talk his feelings out instead. I suppose if people are interested in his POV I can write up a little side story about it?
Anyway~ It has been a long while since I wrote anything other than papers for my classes. Hopefully you enjoyed.
I will try to update this and my other fic 'Struck!' soon.
~Ash
