A/N: Here's chapter ten. Lucius's entering the program causes tension between Harry and Draco.
This is Harry/Draco, post-Hogwarts, though the slash content is extremely light. There are very vague suggestions of other relationships as well.
I've got this all written out, and am posting one a week. There will be 23 chapters total. All that's left is the editing.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Dedication: To Foodie, who still betas me despite my predilection for slash, and for FionaFawkes, who read and reviewed every single chapter, and gave me such excellent feedback. Also, for everyone who's read and loved my Harry/Draco. This one's for you.
-----10
Harry and Draco both waited rather impatiently for Snape to return, but he did not return that night, nor the next. Draco wasn't dealing well with the idea that his father was loose, even in an eight-year-old body, and Harry wasn't handling things much better. By the third day, he began writing letters to anyone he thought might help. Most responded that they didn't see what was so different from him taking in "Malfoy," and it was all Draco could do to calm him down.
Movies went by the wayside as Draco tried to keep Harry distracted. Boardgames, talking about Quidditch, asking him questions about the Muggle world—nothing seemed to help. Harry was angry. And under that anger, Draco could see a thick thread of fear. By the end of the first week, Harry wrote to Severus, exceedingly polite, requesting information on what he might have learned.
The note he got back was terse at best. He told Harry that he had learned nothing of use, but that he was still investigating precisely what it was Lucius was up to, and he would thank Harry to allow him time to do so.
The storm of anger that note set off destroyed most of the furniture and knickknacks in the living room. Draco had had to retreat to his bedroom to keep from being hit accidentally by ricocheting pieces of broken pottery or furniture. It hadn't muffled the sound much, but it had given him a lot of time to think.
He could remember a time when he would have been gleeful at his father's escape, but now all he could feel was worry. For Harry, mostly, because he was so upset, but also for Lupin. The man hadn't liked him, but he'd been quite civil despite that. The idea that his father might be hurting the man, possibly even poisoning him, so that he could escape what even Draco had to admit was a justifiable sentence, did not sit well with him.
Once the noise of things crashing had ceased, Draco made his way from his bedroom to find Harry sitting in the middle of a pile of rubble that had once been his living room. He managed to convince Harry to go to bed, then had done what he could to tidy the room, piling all the broken fragments onto the now-legless coffee table before stumbling to bed himself.
Despite his own exhaustion, Draco got little sleep that night. Maybe they were wrong? Maybe his father and Lupin really might be able to come to some understanding, and that was why Lupin had agreed to help him? But he knew that was unlikely at best. He didn't know what his father was up to, but there was really little chance that he didn't have something up his sleeve. All Draco knew was that they had to do something about it, before anyone was hurt by whatever his father was planning. Whether he liked Lupin or not, Draco knew that no one deserved what Lucius was probably doing to keep him under his control.
The next morning, Draco was prepared to do just about anything to calm Harry down. He hurried to the kitchen and whipped up scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, and two large glasses of orange juice, then moved back down the hall to Harry's room. He carefully balanced the tray between his left hand and hip while he knocked on the door, and waited for a response. Harry opened the door, his rumpled hair and the dark circles under his eyes showing just how little he'd slept the night before.
"Breakfast?" Draco asked in the cheeriest voice he could manage.
Harry looked at him, bleary-eyed. After a moment, he held open the door, and Draco carefully repositioned the tray and moved into the room. It was the first time he'd ever been in Harry's room. He'd seen glimpses of it. Knew how tidy Harry kept it. Knew it was Harry's sanctuary. He tried not to stare around as he moved towards the bed, then placed the tray down and looked back at Harry. "I just thought maybe a change of pace…"
Harry managed a smile, and settled onto his still-rumpled bed. "Thank you, Draco. Sorry about the fit last night…"
Draco shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I understand."
Harry smiled mirthlessly. "I'm the one that should be doing all this. It's why you're here. So I can take care of you, and instead…"
"Stop. You forget I know my father much better than you do, Harry. You have every right to be worried. I completely understand."
Harry sighed. "What if…"
Draco shushed him. "Look, Severus will tell us when he's found something out. You've talked to everyone you can. Now we just have to wait. I know it's difficult, but maybe…"
Harry smiled. "You're right." He pulled one of the plates toward him and took a large bite, sighing in pleasure. "You've become quite the cook, Draco." He looked up and realized that Draco was still standing. "You going to join me?"
Draco felt his cheeks warm. "I wasn't sure if I should."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Sit down and relax. We can talk about what to do once we've both eaten and taken a shower. Who knows, maybe I am just blowing everything out of proportion."
◦♦☼♦◦
They spent the day talking and watching movies, Draco hoping to distract Harry from the worry about his friend. He didn't like Lupin himself, but anyone who was hoodwinked by his father deserved all the sympathy he could spare. After a second movie and lunch, they both set about recreating Harry's home in the Sims. It was lots of fun to try and figure out where certain rooms would be located, and choosing wallpaper, flooring, and the perfect furniture for each room. It was scary how easy it was to find some pieces of furniture, while for others there seemed to be nothing even close to what they were looking for.
They managed to finish the house just in time to start dinner, and were in the midst of making a stew when someone knocked on the front door. They both looked at each other for a moment, but when the knock came again, Harry hurried to the front door, Draco trailing slowly behind. Surely Severus would have owled, or even flooed. And no one else was really interested in helping Lupin escape his father's interest…
When Harry opened the door, and Shacklebolt stepped in, neither of them knew quite how to react.
"Kingsley," Harry said cautiously.
"Harry." He glanced at Draco, and Draco wondered if Harry would send him from the room.
"We were just about to sit down for supper. Stew. Would you like to join us?"
"I can't stay. I thought you should be informed, though. Lucius and Remus have vanished, along with Camilla Parkinson."
Draco felt his jaw drop in horror. "You have no idea where they are?" he asked, not even noticing the squeak in his voice.
Shacklebolt turned to him, his eyes flat. "No. Actually, it was part of the reason I came here tonight. Do you have any idea where your father might go to hide out, Malfoy?"
Draco blinked. Did he know of any places his father might hide? "I…I suppose he might hide out at one of our estates…"
Shacklebolt scowled. "We could have figured that out on our own, Malfoy. Am I going to have to take you down to the Ministry to interrogate you there?"
Harry scowled and stepped between them. "He was hardly being argumentative, Kingsley. Believe it or not, Draco's grown a lot in the past few months. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I have. Now, if you want our help, you know we'll help. But don't treat us like we're the enemy. Got it?"
Shacklebolt examined Harry for a long minute, and for a bit, Draco thought that they were both going to be dragged down to the Ministry. Then Shacklebolt nodded. "Fair enough, Harry." His lips twisted into something that almost resembled a smile. "I guess I'm just a bit on edge, what with all these Death Eaters loose."
Harry crossed his arms and glowered at Shacklebolt. "Just so long as you remember that there are Death Eaters, and there are leaders. Most of the people that have been released so far were kids, Kingsley. Like me. Kids who never had a chance to be anything besides Death Eaters because of who they were. I know all about that kind of thing. I still don't get why all of you feel that I have no idea what I'm doing. I probably know better than the rest of you."
Shacklebolt nodded. "Suppose you would at that, Harry. Remus's disappearance, though… Anything you could think of that might be helpful—if you could just send it my way, I'd be grateful."
"We'll do that, Kingsley." He took a step closer to the man, and put a hand on his shoulder, his voice softer when he spoke again. "He'll be okay, Kingsley. He's been through a lot. There's very little Malfoy could throw at him that he wouldn't be able to find his way out of eventually." Draco couldn't help but wonder what that meant. He assumed that Harry was referring to Remus, but he hadn't known that Kingsley and the other man were that friendly.
Shacklebolt's lips thinned. "Right. I'll keep you updated, then." And he apparated away.
The two were silent for a long time after that, but finally Harry led the way into the kitchen, and they began to eat. Harry stood up to pull the milk jug from the fridge when Draco finally broke the silence. "So, do you think they'll find them?"
Harry looked up. He'd obviously been lost in his own thoughts. "Oh, I'm sure they will. I mean, how far can they get, really? Remus is a werewolf…" Harry trailed off obviously worrying over his friend.
"I'm sure he's fine, Harry," Draco said, trying to reassure him.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know what your father's done to him, Malfoy, but if he has hurt him…"
Draco looked at him in surprise. Harry hadn't called him that since the day at Azkaban. "I know you're worried, Harry…"
Harry plunked the jug onto the table a bit harder than necessary, and milk sloshed out. He sank into his chair, his head in his hands. "He's the only one I have left. If I lose him…"
"What about your friends? You still have them."
"Remus isn't a friend. He's family. He and I have fought about it a few times. He won't let me take care of him. But even now, after he's been declared a hero, he still can't find a job, and he won't accept my help. Well, no more. I'm sick of it. It's not charity, wanting to be sure that my family is okay. He's coming here. And that's it." With that, Harry picked up his fork and began eating with gusto.
"And…Lucius?"
Harry looked up, a disgusted look on his face. "What about him?"
Draco swallowed. "Have you read those papers I had to sign, Harry?" Harry shook his head. "The only way an 'adoptee' can be sent back is if they fail their tests, or are arrested again. What if this turns out to be a false alarm?"
Harry snorted. "You don't honestly think they went missing three days after Lucius took the bloody potion just on a whim, do you?"
"Honestly? No. But you never know, Harry."
Harry looked sourly into his plate. "Well, we'll see, won't we?"
Draco sighed. "I guess so."
◦♦☼♦◦
It was a bad evening for both of them. Harry paced the living room, glancing at intervals at either the fireplace or the front door before continuing in the track he seemed determined to wear into the floor. Draco had pulled out a puzzle to work on. He would have liked to read, but his worry and Harry's pacing were too distracting for him to concentrate on a book long. It was well past midnight before Draco insisted Harry go to bed, and Harry rounded on him.
"You really don't care, do you? All my friends are right. You couldn't give a damn. Your father is on the loose, and he's going to destroy everything I tried to save. And in doing so, he's going to hurt and possibly kill someone I love!" Harry's eyes were wide in outrage, and Draco knew that he was just out of his mind with worry, so he tried to soothe Harry, which only made Harry's fury worse.
"Harry…"
"No! Damn you! I thought you'd changed, Malfoy. I thought I was making a difference, but if this is how I'm repaid…"
Draco, unable to contain his own worry any longer, broke. "Fuck you, Potter! Do you think I'm enjoying this? Do you honestly think I give a toss as to what Lucius is doing? It's you that's got me worried. I've never seen you so upset. I don't give a damn about Lupin. It's the effect on you that's scaring me. Do you know what'll happen to me if you give up on me? Do you?"
Harry stopped, stock still in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. He eyed Draco for a moment, then turned away. "I—I didn't mean it that way, Draco, it's just…"
"Just that you've been pulling away from me ever since we saw Lucius with him at the Ministry."
Harry turned and looked at him again. "Remus…he's the only family I have left, Draco. I can't lose him."
Draco laughed harshly. "And look at my family, Harry. Do you honestly think I'm in any better shape?"
"Your father isn't being held against his will!"
"How do you know that Lupin is?"
"Because," came a dark voice from the fireplace, "he was given a potion, Draco. Through his Wolfsbane."
Both Harry and Draco whirled to look at Snape, who was dusting himself off, carefully avoiding both sets of eyes.
"How do you know that?" Draco asked.
Snape glowered at him. "They were found just moments ago. I was able to detect the effects immediately."
Harry stepped forward. "Where are they? Is Remus all right? What's going to happen now?"
"Mister Potter, please calm yourself. Lupin is fine, as always. If your godfather couldn't get him killed, nothing will harm that mutt."
"Snape—" Harry growled.
Draco cut Harry off before he could say something they'd probably both end up regretting. "Can we see them?"
"The Aurors have taken Mrs. Parkinson into custody, but they are still trying to determine Lucius's part in all this. Shacklebolt asked me to relay the message that both of you should remain here for the moment. He will contact you with more information when he has it." He looked at their rumpled clothes, and of the still broken objects littering the coffee table. "Perhaps both of you would do well with some sleep?" Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Snape cut him off with a wave. "Potter, you will do him no good in this state. I tell you again, he is fine. You can go see him in the morning if Shacklebolt hasn't sent word, I assure you."
Harry sighed, and seemed to deflate. "All right. Thank you, Professor. I appreciate your coming here to let us know. Would you like to use one of the guest rooms? It's a long way to Hogwarts."
Snape grimaced. "Thank you, but no. I think I've had my fill of strange places tonight. I will be far better served to return to my own rooms. Good night, gentlemen." And with that, he stepped back into the floo, and was gone in a burst of green flame.
Draco swallowed, then snuck a look at Harry. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
Harry nodded. "Snape's right. We should have been in bed a long time ago. You especially. We'll both pay for this tomorrow."
It was a long trek down the hall to their rooms. How did one apologize for the things one said when one was worried, Draco wondered to himself. Harry didn't seem to be much happier. When they reached their doors, Draco struggled to find the words, but finally simply bid him good night, and quickly closed the door behind himself.
Tomorrow would be soon enough, surely.
