A/N – My reviewers still rock, no surprise there. And you get another chapter for your coolness. Yay. Enjoy the show, kiddies.
(And TheSecretCharacter, sorry I didn't answer this before. But yes, it's still Lucius/Harry slash. The relationships mentioned are his platonic ones.)
---
"So, Potter, did it hurt?" Draco dropped easily into the chair beside him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry answered shortly, keeping his eyes on his plate.
"The Dark Mark, don't play dumb." Draco held a bowl out to him. "Raspberries?"
"No thanks." Draco shrugged and popped one in his mouth. "Why're you so nice all of a sudden?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Now that you've got the Mark you're a kindred spirit," Draco said with a grin. Harry looked at him sharply, and he explained, "I haven't got mine yet, though. Father said I will after I finish school. So it's only a matter of time." He smiled wryly.
"You just accept it?" Harry asked.
"Every Malfoy since the thirteen hundreds has been involved in the Dark Arts," he said proudly. "Why taint the lineage?" Harry remained quiet, instead taking a raspberry from Draco's bowl.
"Oh, for god's sake, talk to me," Draco snapped. "I'm trying so hard not to hate you. It's more trouble than it's worth, really. But I don't need you to play my villain anymore."
"I'm the villain?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Of course you were. The Boy-Who-Lived, Hogwarts's own celebrity and golden boy, favored by every teacher but Professor Snape, and filled with righteous indignation over my existence." He raised an eyebrow and Harry would've sworn for a second that it was Lucius he was sitting next to. "Surely even you can understand how that got irritating."
"First, I'm not favored by anyone," Harry answered evenly. "Second, you made yourself no easier to live with."
Draco took a breath. "I know. Let's start over." He held out a pale, slender hand. "Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy."
Harry shook it tentatively, but Draco gripped his right hand tightly and used his other to push up Harry left sleeve and gauze. The Dark Mark was bold and grotesque against his skin. "So it's true," Draco murmured, eyes glittering. "How extraordinary."
Harry pulled his sleeve down angrily. "Not how I would describe it."
"Forget what I said about you being Hogwarts's golden boy. Oh, this is amazing."
"Malfoy, just stop." He pushed back his chair, and it scraped loudly against the stone. "I don't want to talk about it." He took Draco's bowl of raspberries and left.
He didn't know where he was planning to go, exactly. He was sick of the dungeons, they weren't allowed outside or upstairs, and as a preventive measure Professor McGonagall was sitting on the stairs talking in low, serious tones to Madam Pomfrey.
"Harry!" Lupin descended the stairs, sidestepping the two women on the bottom step.
"Hi professor," Harry said, smiling. "Raspberries?"
He took a couple gratefully. "How was your summer?" Harry asked him.
"Been fixing up Grimmauld Place." Remus rubbed his eyes wearily. "It can get overwhelming. But I did manage to finally get that wicked painting off the wall."
"Oh yeah? How?"
"By cutting out that portion of the wall entirely, tossing it in the garbage, and plastering over the hole." He smiled a bit. "But you'll have to come with me sometime. There's a few boxes, I didn't open them, that Sirius wrote your name on."
"Oh. Yeah, I'll come with you, next time you go," Harry promised.
"Good, good." Remus pushed his hair off his face. "Severus tells me he's teaching you Occlumency again?"
"You talk to Snape?"
"More a formality than anything else," Lupin assured him.
"Oh. Yeah, more Occlumency lessons. Both he and Dumbledore think I'm a security risk," he shrugged.
Lupin pursed his lips. "They're right, you know. There's going to be a war, Harry, really soon. You, of course, are a key player, but Albus can't very well discuss strategies with you when there's the possibility Lord Voldemort can learn of them through you. So you need to learn from Severus."
God, finally some reason to why he was being jerked around in every direction. He was so grateful for that he didn't even tell Lupin what an intolerable git Snape was. Instead he just promised, "I will."
---
They walked back to class together, where Lupin was to teach defense. Harry wished him luck and went to find a spare beanbag. As luck would have it, the only one left was next to Ron Weasley.
Harry resignedly dropped his bookbag next to it and sat down.
Ron looked over. "Sorry, I don't appreciate being so close to a Death Eater," he said coldly.
"Pretend I'm not here, then."
"I saw you getting all cozy with Malfoy at lunch. Are you sleeping with him too?" Ron continued.
"He was getting cozy with me, not the other way around," Harry snapped. "Would you just get off my back? I'm not living my life by your rules."
"My rules? But Harry, this is serious. Those are everyone's rules."
"Not mine." Harry looked to the front of the classroom where Lupin was getting ready, and quite deliberately avoided Ron's glare.
---
"If I start, you know, screaming in my sleep, feel free to wake me up," Harry said awkwardly as they got ready for bed.
"Mm, depends what you're screaming," Xanthus said with a wicked grin. "Nah, mate, just kidding, we will."
"He won't," Justin interjected. "He'll let you carry on and listen for anything good. I'll wake you up, though."
"Thanks."
"Oh, let him sleep. Then he can tell us what the Dark Lord's got planned for him," Draco smirked. Justin went pale, and Xanthus looked at him curiously.
"Shut up, Malfoy." And he went to bed.
---
Harry? Harry Potter. My most powerful ally. It will be soon, are you ready? Prepare yourself, it will be bloody. But so very worth it. Soon.
"Harry," someone above him hissed. He opened his eyes and found himself looking into the slate-gray eyes of Lucius Malfoy. He placed a hand gently over Harry's mouth and pulled him out of bed. "We need to talk. Come on." Harry disentangled their fingers, but followed him out of the dungeon.
"I shouldn't have awakened you, but I wouldn't have a chance to see you otherwise," he explained as they crossed the Great Hall. "I just felt like the letter wasn't enough."
"No," Harry agreed shortly, "it wasn't."
Lucius bent to kiss him, but Harry turned his head away. "I don't blame you for being angry with me," he said quietly. "In here."
He opened a door to a cozy room and led Harry to a pair of armchairs. He lit the fireplace behind them and sat opposite. "I don't even know where to start." Harry watched him impassively. "It wasn't an impromptu plan, to kidnap you. But the Dark Lord no longer wanted you dead, but as an ally. A successor."
"I know."
"I really wanted to hate you. You were such a gangly awkward thing only a few years prior."
"But I grew up," Harry supplied.
"You grew up quite nicely." He paused, and Harry watched how his angular features caught the firelight. "And you're powerful, so very powerful. That, to me, is even more erotic. So." He fell quiet.
"I can't trust you," Harry told him. "You lied to me so often I can't keep straight anymore what you're sincere about."
"I'll put it in simpler terms. I am first and foremost a Death Eater. That won't change. But I care about you and I'll try not to hurt you, taking Lord Voldemort's will into account."
Harry remained silent for a long time. Then he said quietly, "Okay."
Lucius pulled him into his lap, covering his jaw in kisses. Harry reached out and gently tugged the silver collar. "Ow, don't," Lucius protested. "These," he raised his wrists as well, "are a sort of tracker, and to prevent me from using dark magic. I can barely cast Expelliarmus," he scoffed. "It's a human rights violation."
Harry smiled. Still Lucius. "Isn't there some way to get them off?" he asked. "I've got my wand."
"It's not your wand you'd need, it's Ursula bloody Urteil's." He reached to smooth his hair, and Harry slipped off his lap.
"Why're you here anyway?"
"I've been long suspected of Dark Arts, of course," he began, staring into the fire, "and you first confirmed it to the Ministry a couple years ago." Harry winced. "And again when you stormed in while Dumbledore was at the manor. I deserved the rage, but not the possibility of more time in Azkaban that followed." A half-smile. "Dumbledore offered me sanction in exchange for telling him of Voldemort's plans during the war."
"And you're going to?"
"I'm sure Severus has enough Veritaserum ready for the next decade," Lucius promised. "So I'm cornered. Unless you've got an idea?" He raised an eyebrow.
"No." Harry stifled a yawn, and Lucius noticed.
"You could spend the night here," he offered.
Harry studied him. "No thanks, I'm going back to my room."
"You haven't forgiven me yet."
"Give it time." He left.
---
Where is your weakness, Harry? Such a strong character, but surely even you have a breaking point, Voldemort murmured. If you are not willingly loyal to me, I will break you, Harry.
Parents dead, godfather as well. And still you stand. But surely you could not take much more. Harry felt him sifting through his thoughts, tried to make his mind blank but Voldemort only laughed. We are allies now, I will learn everything about you. The Weasleys, disgrace to wizards everywhere? Perhaps. The Mudblood with the bucked teeth? Hm.
He felt a sharp pain in his temples. "Get out of my head, you monster," he thought, panicked. "No further, just leave me alone…." He tried to wake up, but his muscles refused to cooperate, he couldn't move –
Lucius, Voldemort said softly. So the feeling is mutual. How surprising. Another sharp pain, his head was pounding…. Of course, at the moment he is indisposed, but you know that already, don't you. An amused tone. I didn't realize the relationship was so sexual. But that only makes the feelings stronger, more of an advantage for me.
"Stop," Harry pleaded. "Get out of my head. Why should it matter to you?" He was shaking, he could feel it.
Do you love him? Voldemort asked, mocking.
"No, stop it, goddamn you."
Yes, you do, I see it, he said smugly. Why so defensive?
"Leave Lucius alone!"
He felt a hand clapped over his mouth and he choked. He sat up, panicked, coughing.
"Potter, breathe." Draco pulled back and poured him a glass of water.
"Was I - ?" He took the glass gratefully.
"Mumbling, more like, until a minute ago." Draco took a seat at the foot of Harry's bed. "They slept through it somehow," he nodded toward the other two beds. "But care to tell me what happened?"
"No," Harry answered shortly, setting the cup down. "I just want to go back to bed."
"Not yet. What the hell happened between you and my father?" Draco demanded.
"What makes you think anything happened?" Harry asked, hoping his tone was convincing. "Think I'd keep the company of an elitist arrogant git like him?"
"Yeah, I do, and he's not a git," Draco answered. "First he's Lucius and not your father. Then you were yelling about him in your sleep. Oh, and the midnight rendezvous earlier? I was awake for that too."
"Goddamn." Draco smirked at him. "Do you just lie awake and listen to me breathe, Malfoy?"
"Not you, no. Now what happened over the summer that I'm not privy to?"
"You can ask him yourself," Harry answered, slipping on his glasses since Draco wouldn't let him sleep now.
"That would be fruitless, wouldn't it? Like he would admit to sleeping with Harry Potter."
Harry felt his chest tighten. "But – you – "
"Lucky guess," Draco said smoothly. "Now what else happened?"
"You're okay with it?"
"I'm sure I'll be thoroughly disgusted with you shortly. Until then…?"
He was cornered, and Draco already knew the worst of it. "He kidnapped me, taught me Dark Arts. Then he took me to Voldemort and now I've got the Dark Mark."
"You sound so complacent," Draco noted. "Did you want it?"
"Malfoy, right now I'm not sure what I want."
"Oh." He blinked. "You told the weasel and the Mudblood, didn't you? And that's why they're not speaking to you."
"Uh-huh."
"Poor Potty," Draco said in a sing-song tone, "hasn't got a friend in the world except my father."
"He's not my friend."
"Didn't know Gryffindors could appreciate an extended one-night stand."
"It's not – oh, forget it," Harry said angrily. "Go back to bed."
He rose. "Sweet dreams, Potty. But next time be a bit quieter about them."