There is a smut scene near the end.
Tonks and Harry walked all the way from the Manor proper to the apparition point. The Manor was an impressive sight. It reminded Tonks of the house in old "Brideshead revisited" reruns. Because her father was Muggle-born, she was very much acquainted with Muggle popular culture and could move freely in it. However she did not display the eerie fascination with electric appliances that Mr. Weasley, or come to think of it Draco, did.
Malfoy Manor did have the brooding, imposing quality of the TV mansion, it also had the feeling of magic, of knowing that pretty much anything could happen. The topiary was a sight to behold, full of mythological creatures: dragons, unicorns, thestrals. That was nothing unusual in a magical estate. But, if you didn't watch out carefully, the figures moved and could catch you unaware.
She recalled fondly the show, the brooding quality of the raven-haired Jeremy Irons character, and the flighty, blond melodramatic air of Anthony Andrews. There were homoerotic qualities there, and unresolved sexual tension. Add the looming, all-pervading parents, the uncanny resemblance to the Manor, the competitive atmosphere of college life, and no wonder that she couldn't shake that mental image off her head.
Resolutely shaking her head, Tonks turned to Harry and said: "Harry, I watched you yesterday as you strutted and pranced your way to Voldemort. To all observers, it seemed as if you feared nothing at all, you practically faced Voldemort and his Death Eaters all alone, Harry."
"However, I was one of three persons privileged to know the truth; that you faced You-know-who not alone at all, not unprepared but with one ace on the hole."
Harry looked abashed, and Tonks continued, "Let there be no mistake on one point, Harry. I know you are a hero, and you would face your death resolutely if it helped the Light. But there was another hero yesterday, an undercover one, an unseen one that definitely tipped the scales in our favor."
"Harry, you come back to your usual life as a hero, and Draco comes back to a feuding, menacing atmosphere that barely tolerates him."
Harry retorted, "What do you want me to do, Tonks? Should I fawn over him?"
Tonks answered, "No one said anything about fawning. However, it would be nice if you mentioned Draco's deeds from time to time. Tell me Harry, did you acknowledge his contribution to my parents' rescue?"
Harry fidgeted and said, "Er, no."
Tonks continued, "Do you ever acknowledge him, praise him?"
Harry answered, "No."
Tonks continued relentlessly, never minding that Harry appeared highly uncomfortable with that line of questioning. "Does he ever praise you?"
Harry wryly thought of Draco's witty retorts: "With a body like this, they will be at your feet in no time, Harry." "Quick thinking in your reply to McGonagall, it saved us detention, Harry"
"You wrote the Potions essay very well, Potter."
Harry answered, "Yes, he does."
Tonks went on, "Do you ever praise Ron?"
Harry returned, unfazed, "Yes, I do."
Tonks replied, "Then I suggest you seriously examine your relationship with him. It appears clear to me that Draco has been able to put the past behind him, and you have not. If you honestly can't find it in your heart to overcome the past half-dozen years, then by all means stop your friendship but continue dealing with him professionally, for the sake of the war."
"Harry, Draco will not be content with second best forever. There will come a time when he will deal with you, and it won't be pretty." "Harry, you need Draco as a friend and ally."
"Let me rephrase it this way. You've been best friends with Ron for six years, and he has helped you immensely. Yet never has he held your life in his hands and saved it, like Draco did for you." "But you begrudge him even the acknowledgement of this act."
"Let's analyze your temper tantrum when he called you an attention whore. You realize that Voldemort was about to Crucio Bellatrix for her purported disobedience in killing my parents. It was only because Draco successfully distracted his attention that he remained unscathed for the moment."
"Yet you fly off the wall and were ready to strike down Bellatrix, only poor pitiful me, by colliding with you, thwarted that. You're aware of what would have happened if you had struck down Bella, the Dark Lord's favorite, in front of him and the DE's?"
Harry gulped, and suddenly found something very interesting in the ground. Tonks continued, "Yet again Draco saves the day by distracting the Dark Lord from Crucioing you with the kiss proposal."
Tonks went on, "It was brilliant! Harry, for these people, crucio and torture by dismemberment hold no surprises. They're cynical, embittered creatures that have inflicted every kind of pain. But for them, the idea of Bellatrix kissing you was very intriguing and new."
"It distracted them enough for me to get to Wormtail, grab him and make my escape."
Tonks continued relentlessly, "But let's go to the very beginning. Draco and I had a plan, a very devious one, of getting my parents to safety, but you just barged in and completely thrashed that plan!"
"What you did was very childish and immature, and you compounded that mistake by behaving like a prat, unaware of the deadly consequences of your tantrum."
Harry asked plaintively, "Why are you telling me this, Tonks?"
Tonks responded, "I'm telling you because the others will only praise and compliment you, they'll tell you how brilliant you were. Even if they were aware of all that transpired, they would still belittle Draco's efforts and make you seem like nobility personified. Scratch that, there are two persons who aren't afraid to tell it like they see it. Unfortunately, no sooner would they start that you would be shrieking like a self-righteous banshee and wouldn't listen to what Draco or Ginny have to say."
Tonks mused, "You seem to take it all in stride, like walking in the Dark Lord's lair and capturing two of his top lieutenants was something you did every day. You don't understand the kind of effort that Draco put into this."
Harry asked Tonks, "I've been meaning to ask: How did he know about your parent's danger?"
Tonks answered in a low tone, "Everybody knows that Draco has informants. He has met several Death Eaters to exchange information; it's feasible that more than one knows they were dealing with Draco Malfoy. Malfoys can be very persuasive sometimes, and with the kind of power that Draco now wields, the combination is very strong."
"Harry, that's why you must resolve your issues with Draco, deal with him as a friend, or an ally, but do it honestly and forthrightly, He will respect that, even if the results hurt him. But don't make the mistake of taking him for granted, because if he turns against you, then our cause is surely lost."
"As for that kiss, I can see that you are not ready to discuss it. I will respect your wishes and won't ask again about it, I won't badger you about it like Hermione and Ron would. Just know that if you ever want to discuss it and want an honest, tough opinion, here I am."
"There is something I want to mention. Draco and I would have dealt with the DE's at my parents' and never would have gone to DE headquarters. Because of your addition, we had to pretend to capture you and were taken to Voldemort's lair. Now that place is heavily warded, more so than Gringotts or Hogwarts. There is an anti-portkey ward that makes it impossible to portkey out of there."
Harry was astonished, "But we… I mean…"
Tonks continued unperturbed, "In magic there is always a loophole, you just have to look hard enough. Because at the time Lucius was with Voldemort, he was instrumental in setting the wards. Being a Slytherin, he created an escape route that would let him portkey away, if he ever needed it. The route was keyed to his blood, Malfoy blood which Draco shares. He used this feature to create the portkeys that took us out."
"Because Voldemort now knows about this weakness, he has corrected it. Draco thought about saving this surprise for when it was really needed. But you forced his hand, and now we have no sneaky way out of his lair."
"Also I wanted to tell you this. I know that you eavesdropped on our conversation, so you know about what prompted his change. The offer of knowledge and a new beginning. The point I'm trying to make is this: I barely ever saw Draco, yet I was able to discern the signs of discontentment, rebellion, doubt. I took the chance in offering him my hand, unknown at the time. My relationship with him was practically nonexistent compared to the intensity of your relation with Draco."
"Yet you detected nothing. And I cannot help but wonder if Draco had been sorted into Gryffindor, would you have cared enough to look beyond the façade? I think you would have. So you remained blind to the person behind it because he was a Slytherin and a Malfoy. Knowing this fact should prove to be sobering, if you ever start spouting off about Slytherin prejudices."
Tonks looked at Harry's bewildered and hurt face, and continued, "Right now you think I'm very mean. But I don't want you to continue to lead an unexamined life. It might be time for you to constructively review your life, and I don't mean wallow in guilt over Cedric's, Sirius' and your parents' deaths. You could have done nothing to prevent them; they were out of your hands."
"But you can try to understand yourself a bit better." "There's also the fact that I think Draco deserves some happiness. He didn't have to reinstate us to the Black family but he did, and returned our Black magic. There was a fleeting moment when his magic washed over mine, and I was able to detect depth and feeling."
"There's a last point I want to discuss with you. Dumbledore has appointed Draco Head Boy."
Harry snorted, "Good! Great for Draco, now he'll have more excuses to take house points from us."
Tonks stared unbelievingly at Harry, "Is that all you can see? Merlin, are you naïve!"
"Free from Lucius's maneuverings and insane ambitions, with the Malfoy fortune at his command, already with a great deal of authority, Draco is in the enviable position – according to Dumbledore – of shaping the attitude of Slytherin House in the coming war. Given the Slytherins' penchant for hierarchies, Draco's charismatic aura and his status as an undeniable free agent, his word carries a lot of weight in the House. When you add to that the power of the Head Boy, you get a formidable weapon. For ultimately that is what Draco is in Dumbledore's eyes."
"What you failed to see in your naïve gushing about Draco's appointment is that it puts him under a lot of strain. Not only Slytherin, but all of Hogwarts will observe him closely."
"I wonder if this is truly what Albus wants, a burned out Malfoy who no longer troubles him and questions him."
"For if Draco will try to sway the Slytherins, Voldemort can surely anticipate this. His cadre is full of middle-aged persons, with mediocre magical abilities at best. It is in the crop of wild talent of the current generation that he will seek his ultimate weapons. There are many Death Eaters' children in Slytherin who will fight tooth and nail for the position of the Slytherin Prince, which has been left vacant by a blood traitor, as they see it."
"They will stop at nothing to vanquish Draco, for if they do this, they will win the battle for Slytherin and earn favor with the Dark Lord."
"Draco will be besieged by enemies within and without. Frankly, I doubt even he can survive." "Narcissa advised him to transfer to Beauxbatons, but like certain Gryffindors whose company he seeks, he is very stubborn and wouldn't budge at all."
"At any rate, please watch his back. He is after all the Lord of my House, my cousin, and a newfound friend."
They had reached the Apparition point a few minutes ago and had continued their discussion. After her last sentence, Tonks waved her hand, winked and apparated away to Auror headquarters.
Harry, deep in thought, apparated to the Burrow.
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When Harry got to the door, he was assaulted by a living wall of flaming red-colored hair. Draco had fire-called them last night and explained that Harry would stay the night.
Thankfully Ron, Hermione and Ginny had kept quiet about their eavesdropping activities. They knew that Harry had joined Draco and Tonks and gone out of the house, but they didn't know where.
Harry just related the main features of the plan, without going into considerations like Voldemort's anti-portkey ward and how they circumvented that, Draco polyjuicing into Bellatrix, and their torrid kiss.
He was still reeling from Tonks' talk, and the interpretation it shed on Harry's actions. He wished Tonks would have been more neutral, but was chagrined to realize that she was right in that no one would dare correct him, or offer tough advice, they would never expect their fragile hero to withstand criticism.
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In the afternoon, after he'd retrieved a vial of potion out of his trunk and given it to one of the Weasleys, with an express command, Harry packed his few belongings, taking care to put that special item near the bottom of the trunk.
At the end of last term, he'd overheard Dean telling Seamus that the actor Ryan Phillippe in the movie "Studio 54," resembled Malfoy. Harry's curiosity had been definitely piqued. He managed to buy the DVD, and whenever the Dursleys left the house, he dutifully went to Dudley's room to watch it.
He had to agree with Dean, Phillippe's lean physique, toned body, chiseled features and eyes wide apart made him look like Malfoy, and watching the actor on the screen, he couldn't help himself. He had to pinch his nipples, touch himself and moan Draco's name. Unavoidably he'd lean back into the bed, open his pants and take out his cock, smearing his pre-cum all over the head and his fingers.
Then he'd lift them to his mouth and start licking them, and he'd sniff, and imagining that it was Draco's scent, he would lose whatever shred of control he'd managed to retain.
He'd kick off his shoes, take off his pants and boxers, and softly touch his cock, never taking his eyes off the screen. Imagining that body, Draco's body, with him, caressing him, making him wanton with need. He'd keep stroking his cock with his right hand; he'd use the fingers of his left hand to barely touch his upper thighs, then his entrance, always visualizing that it was Draco's fingers that were doing the teasing.
There always came a time when he could not stop himself. He'd mutter a Lubricio spell and cast an Engorgio on his wand and forcefully shove it up him. And always there was in his mind the platinum blond hair, the grey eyes communicating his want, his need to possess him, answering Harry's need to be possessed, used, and loved.
One time, the Dursleys had come back earlier than usual, and it was only Harry's rapid use of wandless magic, undetectable to the Ministry, to clean himself and get dressed that kept Vernon and Dudley from having to endure the sight of Harry spread-eagled in Dudley's bed, with come all over his stomach and being entered by his own wand.
And for a little while, all the problems would fade away and he could bask in his desire to be near Draco, to succumb to the heavy pull of their attraction, and it would seem ok, to finally give in to his feelings for the blond. But inexorably the world made itself known, and its plethora of duties for the Golden Boy. If they knew he was bisexual, the Wizarding World would denounce him. Ron and Hermione would turn away from him, horrified. The Weasleys would surely cut him off.
He'd had the hope that the Wizarding world would prove to be a more tolerant place than the Muggle one, but long discussions with Dumbledore and Ron dashed those hopes. Dumbledore intimated that awful things would happen if the Wizarding World thought Harry had let them down, and that they looked at gays with utter contempt.
Dumbledore was working on the assumption that Harry would marry Ginny and have lots of children. Harry was not averse to the idea, and he'd discovered that he really loved Ginny; he looked up to her and respected her advice. He also coveted her body.
But this attraction for Draco was something else entirely, where Harry's passion for Ginny was nourishing and steady, like the pull of gravity, Draco could fill Harry with untamed energy in a matter of seconds, leaving him exhilarated and exhausted.
That kiss with Draco, it had been everything he'd look for in a kiss: intense, draining, wet, full of longing and want, tough, yet not without tenderness. Was it because it was technically Bellatrix' body? Would it feel the same with Draco's? The thought of pressing his chest against Draco's flat, toned one and kissing him again made him hot and bothered.
He knew that Draco was attracted to him, he could tell by the flirtatious banter and his looks full of yearning; but he couldn't give in. He couldn't face the inevitable rejection of the entire world, friends and family. But he also couldn't face the thought of not being near Draco. So he compromised and tried to keep his relationship as steady and straight as he could, yet also subtly encouraging Draco. All this while juggling his girlfriend Ginny and his runaway hormones that threatened an instant hard-on upon catching sight of Draco's lean body. He never gave a thought that this might be unfair to either Draco or Ginny.
tbc