Love Is Indispensable
By Rice-Ball247
Summary: Draco Malfoy didn't know anything about love, Harry concluded. The reason as to why he was giving him a chance was beyond his own understanding, but now it seems that Draco is the one teaching Harry how to love. Draco/Harry
Rice-Ball247: Sixth chapter of Love Is Indispensable. Thank you very much to those who reviewed. You made me happy, esp. since the last ... two days have been pretty bad. And my parents nearly filed a 'missing person' report when I didn't come home before 7 pm (I actually fell asleep on the floor at my friend's place). Luckily enough, they didn't go ballistic. This is probably the second longest chapter. The story will be over in about 4 chapters I think. I don't think I'll be making anymore changes.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters involved, JK Rowling does.
Love Does Not Dishonour Others
Six weeks marked the start of the Christmas break, and the number of weeks that Harry and Draco had been dating. Things started to look a lot brighter around Hogwarts, especially since Voldemort was gone and the intense rivalry that existed between Slytherin and Gryffindor seemed to dissipate to nothing but healthy inter-house rivalry. A week ago, Harry had accepted the offer to stay at Malfoy Manor with his boyfriend, Draco, and his family. Since Draco was an only child, Harry figured that it would be just him and his parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.
The cold weather that signaled winter was upon them was obvious by the sudden snow that coated Hogwarts one day. It was fortunate they wouldn't be staying in the castle long though, because the Hogwarts Express was due to come that day, and when they reached Kings Cross Station, Lucius Malfoy would be there to pick them up.
Harry still couldn't deny the cold and awkward feeling that lay active in his stomach. It gave him chills thinking about the elder Malfoy. Could he truly be trusted? Draco seemed to be alright with it, but then again, Harry was dating Draco, not Lucius, so that made the point moot.
Someone was touching his arm, then shoulder before the hand that travelled his body finally settled on his opposite hip. Harry glanced up at Draco with a smile and felt a light pressure on his lips. They seemed to be doing that a lot in public nowadays. Love may not have been proud, but Harry wasn't love, he was just Harry, and he was proud of being with Draco. If anyone else felt embarrassed by their public displays of affection, then, as Harry quite eloquently put it, 'they can just go screw themselves'.
"Ready to leave?" Draco asked his boyfriend, jostling his shoulder gently. Harry nodded and felt the warm arm around him leave his waist – it felt like a part of him had gone missing, and that thought was frightening Harry enough. Draco, ever such a gentleman, levitated their luggage into the carriage that would take them to Hogsmeade and, consequentially, the Hogwarts Express. They shared a carriage with Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ginny, making that six.
Harry patted a threstal on the snout as he walked past, almost giggling at the bewildered look Draco shot him. Harry reminded himself that Draco had seen people die, so it was safe to presume that he could see the animals as well. "They're gentle. Go on and pat them."
Draco did trust Harry, but the animals looked so foul that he didn't dare lay a finger on them. Harry laughed at his childishness and Draco sent one of his infamous pouts (which, as usual, was kissed, much to the embarrassment of the people around them). Ron commented, loudly enough to Hermione, that they were pretty much married, with the way they acted. Even Draco found himself laughing along with Harry's friends.
The ride didn't take too long, perhaps fifteen or so minutes, before they arrived and Hermione and Draco levitated their luggage into the express. Harry and Ron chattered excitedly to each other about what they might do when they got back from the break. After all, it was their last year of schooling at Hogwarts before their generation would be unleashed upon the world. Right now, they were just making plans on how to 'spice up' the boring classes that they had to endure. Surprisingly for Harry, potions had gotten interesting. Since Draco had pointed out that Harry actually did have a talent for potions, Harry tried his hardest and, as loathe as Snape was to admit it, Harry had rapidly become one of his favourite students. In potions, anyway.
The group found an empty carriage and settled in for the hour long train ride back to the station. Harry pulled his robes closer to him and shivered slightly. Hermione saw this and cast a warming charm in their carriage, not so much that it would feel stuffy, but so that the winter chill would be kept outside. Draco murmured his thanks to Granger and pulled Harry towards him, peppering his cheeks and temple with loving kisses. Harry tittered with laughter because it tickled. Everyone in their friendship circle was used to this by now, but it seemed that only Harry had gotten over the rivalry between them. Draco still refused to call Granger, the Weasleys and Longbottom by their first names, and vice versa for Harry's friends.
They spoke to each other for the duration of the ride and when the Hogwarts Express finally pulled into the station, Harry scrambled up to gather their luggage. Draco laughed as Harry nearly dropped one on his foot, so he used 'Wingardium Leviosa' to levitate them out. Wizards. Honestly, always so lazy.
Harry chattered happily with Draco as the departed from the train, but as soon as he stepped foot outside, he caught sight of Draco's father and his breath caught in his throat. Here he was, in the flesh, Lucius Malfoy. Harry braced himself for the displeasure that Mr. Malfoy would be careful to ooze, simply for him, but it never came. To his pleasant surprise, Lucius greeted him with a deep bow and then promptly embraced his son.
Harry wondered if, the moment he'd stepped off the Hogwarts Express, he'd actually stepped into an alternate universe. Shaking his head, Harry forced himself to smile as Draco began to speak to his father rapidly about the school year so far and how he and Harry were coming along. Lucius' grey eyes flickered over to Harry and regarded him for a moment, before he glanced away. Harry's heart stuttered in his chest. Lucius Malfoy was an intimidating man, indeed.
Malfoy Manor was a grand structure. Certainly, a lot smaller than Hogwarts, but definitely the biggest house Harry had seen outside of it. Located in the region of Wiltshire, Malfoy Manor was on an impressive estate, abundant in both size and elegance. The fact that it was snowing added an almost cold touch to the manor, making it seem more out of ethereal, yet at the same time, earthly. Harry felt quite out of place, standing before the picturesque building, but the moment he felt Draco's hand in his, the horrible feeling washed away.
Lucius, despite his past, had learnt to accept some muggle inventions, and anything that was of muggle conception, hence the convenience of using a car. Harry and Draco were seated in the backseat of a sleek, silver Lexus, no doubt, one of the Malfoy family's many cars.
A large, perfectly straight driveway, boarded on both sides by high, manicured yew hedges, led right up to the front door, carved, Harry could see, in ornate wood and protected by magic. Mr. Malfoy raised his wand from his place in the driver's seat and the enormous wrought-iron gates opened without protest or sound, a sign of good maintenance. They drove on through, Draco looking rather nervous (Harry smiled at that) and Harry looked on in amazement at the grandeur.
"Do you like the scenery, Mr. Potter?" Lucius asked him cordially, eyeing him through the rear-view mirror. Harry nodded enthusiastically. To his delight, a small smile appeared on Lucius' lips and the man turned away. Unbeknownst to Harry, Draco watched this small exchange with a sinking heart and frowned, glaring out his window.
There were albino peacocks roaming about the front yard and garden, something which Draco had pointed out before they left, so that Harry would be able to have some knowledge of his home before they got there. Harry stared at the magnificent creatures, all beautifully groomed and strutting about with a grace only they could have. Certainly, any animal without such grace and majesty would not be allowed on the Malfoy estate – Mr. Malfoy would not have allowed it. It was almost hard to see the creatures, however, because they almost blended in with the whiteness of the snow.
"You should see it in spring," Draco remarked as Harry stared at a frozen fountain in the centre of what he presumed to be a garden. "Mother actually doesn't like to use magic on her garden. She'd rather let nature take its course, which is lucky, because you can appreciate the beauty more when the time comes. I'll bring you back here again, if you want."
Harry's heart warmed up to the promise in Draco's words and smiled back at his boyfriend.
Mr. Malfoy parked the car, slightly off side to the front door and Harry heard the boot click open. He and Draco got out on their respective sides of the car and levitated their luggage out of the boot. Mr. Malfoy insisted that he be the one to take the luggage, stating that it would be an insult to his guests if he didn't act the part of the perfect host. Harry felt himself slowly becoming at ease with Lucius. He didn't trust the man completely, but so far, he'd been pleasant and civil – more than Harry could have asked for. Draco took Harry's hand and shot him a wink. The two boys followed Lucius up to the front doors, which magically opened upon stepping onto the porch.
"Harry, Draco will take your luggage up to your room," Lucius told them, dropping the levitated bags so that Draco could take them. He turned to his son and said, "His room should be the one across from yours."
Draco nodded and gestured for Harry to follow him. He felt a frown on his lips, however, when Harry opted to stare after his father when he walked off. Harry seemed to snap out of his trace seconds later and took the time to gaze around at manor's entrance hall. Truly, it was as gorgeous on the inside, if not more, than it was on the outside. The interior was sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet with a fleur-de-lis design underfoot. Harry subconsciously tried to stay light footed, as if he was staining the floors by merely being inside the house.
The furniture was mostly wood, all expensive with ornate carvings, as well as gilded glass. Harry wished he knew if he was able to touch the furniture – it would have certainly come out as a stupid question, but he bet that the amount of times that Draco sat on the chair in the entrance hall – something he was sure was only there for décor – was next to zero. Vaguely, as he passed a tall standing cabinet, made entirely of gilded glass, he wondered if Draco even touched the furniture in his home on a daily basis, or knew they existed.
Harry would have known were everything was in Privet Drive (except for in Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley's rooms), but here, he might as well have been lost. Silently, he followed Draco through the house until they reached their allocated rooms. Draco opened the door for Harry and brought his luggage in while Harry took the opportunity to look around.
"This is where you'll be staying while we're here. I hope you find everything to your liking," Draco said, and Harry wondered if it was automatic. Grinning, Harry flicked his wand in the direction of the door and shut it, before grabbing his boyfriend by the lapel of his robes and flung the both of them onto the bed. Harry heard Draco groan underneath him while he kissed him. Draco's tongue flicked out and licked his bottom lip and before he knew it, he was underneath the blond.
"Yes," Harry purred out decisively, "The bed is very…very…nice."
"Nice?" Draco laughed, cocking an eyebrow as he bounced up and down, at the same time straddling Harry's waist. "All you can say is nice?"
Harry shot him a playful glare and kicked him off. "I'd feel weird saying something more descriptive. Like…beautiful. I mean, who the heck would describe a bed as beautiful?"
Seconds later, he found himself on his back yet again, Draco atop him, pinning him down. He shuddered as a hot breath coated his lips, moving down to his neck to caress the skin there with soft lips. "When you're moaning and writhing underneath me on this very bed, begging me for more…"
Harry felt himself clam up as Draco began to suck at the flesh on his neck. His cheeks were almost painfully hot, flushed a deep red as Draco continued his ministrations. Suddenly, the door opened and Draco flung himself off a ravished-looking Harry, ending up on the floor with a disgruntled 'oof!'
Narcissa Malfoy's eyes glinted with amusement as Draco stood up and brushed himself clean. "Mother! How did you-"
The blonde woman glanced around the room and raised an eyebrow at her son. She spoke only one name, "Lucius."
"Oh."
The woman sighted Harry and he instantly felt a lot smaller. Would she be nicer than Lucius, or nastier? He recalled meeting her in his fourth year, during the Quidditch World Cup, and she hadn't said a thing to him, but she had regarded him as if he were the dirt that had gotten under one of her expensive heels. She smiled, but Harry did not feel any warmth behind it. It felt awfully fake, rather cold. He definitely felt a lot smaller now.
Draco noticed the interaction between his mother and his boyfriend and quickly stepped in between them. "Mother, if you would…" he trailed off, hinting for her to leave them be. Narcissa raised an eyebrow before striding forward with elegance and grace, and enveloping her son in an affectionate embrace that Harry thought would have been impossible for a woman of her persona. A wave of envy swept through him, not because Narcissa was embracing his boyfriend, but because his boyfriend had a mother that actually cared and loved him. Harry felt no resentment towards his parents – they'd been the ones to save him, protecting him with their lives that ended up as the ultimate sacrifice – but sometimes he wished that his mother was here to comfort him, or his father to talk to.
Narcissa broke apart from her son, planting a kiss on his forehead before she turned, nodded in acknowledgement to Harry and promptly left the room. Draco rubbed the back of his neck as an awkward silence followed.
"Erm…well…that was my mom," he told Harry, who laughed, despite the coldness he'd felt from the woman.
"I think I saw a resemblance," Harry sniggered, ducking when Draco snatched up a pillow from the foot of the bed and lobbed it at him. "Your aim is completely off, by the way. It's a wonder how you play Quidditch."
"Really?" Draco mused, raising an eyebrow as he slid onto the bed again, velvet covers gliding silkily beneath them as he crawled over to where Harry sat. "My aim is bad?"
Harry felt his breath catch in his throat when he found himself face to face with Draco, their noses just touching. "Draco…"
He saw his boyfriend's laughing eyes before the blond pulled away. Harry then realized that his heart had quickened to the pulse of a rabbit being chased by a wolf. "Dinner is in an hour," Draco informed him. "Get settled in, yeah?"
"Y-yeah," Harry managed to croak out, hoarsely, before Draco shot him another smile and departed from his room. The door closed and Harry collapsed against the pillows, huffing. His heart had never sped up like that before. And Draco had been the one to do it.
Damn!
He knew, from the very start, that he'd end up lost. Dinner. Right. It would have started in an hour, and Harry presumed that Draco would have gone to look for him, only Harry had no idea where he was, or where he was going. The manor was so big that not even the smell of food could be sensed from a long way away. He patted his stomach, as if it would comfort the grumbling section of his body, but it only made him realize just how hungry he was. In his excitement, he'd skipped lunch and had only eaten a small portion of his breakfast, lest he throw up in from his excitement.
A glance at his watch told him that dinner should have been over by now. He continued to walk down a long hallway, keeping his sight set pointedly in front of him and ignoring the occasional portrait that would either stare or yell at him. Lucius Malfoy should throw them out. Such unrefined characters! He recognized an elegant looking vase, made entirely of glass, but looking as if it were made of ice or crystal. He was tempted to touch it, but on the chance that he might leave a fingerprint, he decided against it.
His heart leapt to his throat when he heard Draco's voice coming from one of the rooms nearby. In his haste, he hurried to it, but stopped just outside when he heard a shout in Draco's voice.
"No! Absolutely not!"
There was a pause, perhaps in shock, because Draco never rebelled against his parents; he always obeyed them, never dared to answer back.
Then there was a loud, scathing remark from Narcissa, and her choice of words caused Harry to wince. "You will Draco! You will tell him tonight. I do not want that Potter boy staying in this house. I don't know what caused your father to accept him – he's from much lower a class! He probably doesn't even have a single galleon to his name!"
"That's an exaggeration, and you know it, mother," came Draco's low snarl. "I don't care if he didn't have a knut to his name. I love him. Just as he is."
Harry had to grip the wall beside him to gain his bearings. Sure, he'd heard Draco say that to his face, but to hear him saying that to someone else, especially his mother, who probably hated Harry, made the entire situation seem almost unreal.
"And for your information, mother, he has both the Potter and Black vaults in Gringotts. He's about as well of as we are," Draco sneered. Harry could almost picture him, face set in a menacing snarl. "Don't you dare touch him. Or I'll leave this house and never come back."
"D-Draco! Surely you don't mean that!" Narcissa's voice rose octaves and caused Harry to wince yet again. He wondered where Lucius was in this argument. On what side, as well as literally – he didn't hear a single word from the man.
The answer came seconds after the thought and from right behind him too.
"Mr. Potter? What are you doing?" Lucius Malfoy's voice was smooth, like velvet but not cold like Narcissa's. It was almost as if he rather liked having Harry under his roof. Harry pivoted on his heel to see the head of the Malfoy household standing behind him, a wine glass filled with an amber coloured liquid in his hand. Instantly, the voices in the drawing room ceased and there was a tense silence in the hallway. Then, Lucius side stepped Harry, gesturing for him to follow as he opened the door.
Draco whirled about, shock horror written on his face as he saw Harry's expression. As much as Harry would have tried to keep the hurt expression off his face, he couldn't. He at least seemed to be crestfallen. Draco shot his mother a filthy glare before striding over to Harry and pulling him towards his chest.
Harry had to keep his head down, hidden in the crook of Draco's neck as he listened to his boyfriend's comforting words. A warm hand stroked the back of his neck, occasionally playing with the unruly hair at the nape of his neck. The position would have been comfortable, had the situation been under entirely different circumstances.
"Narcissa, care to explain why you are slandering our guest?" Lucius' tone was frighteningly cold, and Harry could hear the disappointment and disapproval in his voice. Briefly, he wondered if Lucius did love Narcissa and made a mental note to ask Draco if their marriage had been an arranged one, or one of love. Most likely, it was the former, judging from the uncaring expressions on each spouse's face. Draco pulled Harry into a seat, trying to make the brunet comfortable on his lap. Harry didn't resist, even with Draco's parents in the room. The soothing reassurance that Draco provided was so welcome that he hadn't the heart to turn him away.
Instead, he leaned into Draco's warmth, trying his best to block out the arguing voices of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. His head shot up in surprise, no, shock was more like it, when a loud, shattering noise called everyone's attention. Narcissa Malfoy looked the picture of a wild banshee, hair about her and face snarling in anger.
"I will not have such filth," she pointed an accusing finger to Harry, "in this house! Either I go, or that Potter boy does!"
Lucius regarded his wife with cool eyes once the ultimatum was made, and then turned back to his son. "Well, Draco, it seems that you must come to a decision, one that will ensure you will never see one of your parents ever again. Your mother will leave if you keep Harry…" he trailed off, glancing offside to give his wife a reproachful look. "And I will never see you again, if you don't." (1)
The sound of Narcissa's screech barely registered in his ears while Draco's form seemed to relax immediately. Harry knew he loved his mother, very much, and this caused him to tense, but if Draco were to chose between his mother and his father, it would most likely be the latter and it was probably that alone that helped Draco make his decision.
"Harry. I choose Harry."
Another loud scream, again from Narcissa, yelling at Draco and calling him a 'blood traitor'. Lucius immediately silenced her with a glare that would have had the hardiest of deceased men turning in their graves. Lucius reminded her that he was on Draco's side, not hers, and for her to have made the ultimatum in the first place alienated her from the Malfoy family. After all, Draco was the heir to the Malfoy fortune, not Narcissa.
Despite all that had transpired through the night, Harry felt a spike of rage at this. He stood up and stepped between Lucius and Narcissa, both looking as if they would draw their wands that very moment and hex each other to bits.
"Stop! Please!" Harry pleaded, glancing frantically between the two Malfoy's. Across from him, Draco had already leapt up to catch him (he'd failed in that, obviously), his mouth hanging open in shock. "Mr. Malfoy, that was completely sexist and uncalled for. No family deserves to be torn apart, no matter how different the members are. The separation of a family – I would not wish it upon even my worst enemy, and you understand the magnitude of that. Mrs. Malfoy, I did not intend to bring any calamity to your home," there was a short pause, but Harry wanted to be certain of his words before he spoke; and when he knew they were true, he did, "But I will not leave your son under such circumstances. That is a promise."
There was an awkward silence, but it was broken by Narcissa's loud sob. She collapsed to the floor in a heap, face buried in her hands while she wept. Draco glanced hopelessly between his father and Harry, and then his mother, but Harry urged him to Narcissa's side. Giving him a weak smile, Draco went to his mother, embracing her.
"Mother, I do love you, and Father too. But know this; I've never loved anyone like Harry before, in my entire existence. I will not leave him, that is my promise," Draco told her, but his eyes were trained solely on Harry.
Harry was astonished when he felt something wet trickling down from his eyes and before it was too late, he realized that he was crying. And he wasn't sad, at all. Lucius placed a strong hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly while Draco turned back to his mother and kissed her cheek.
"I love him."
Harry could not say anything to that. He wasn't in love with Draco, he knew that much. But he was so close to it that it confused him too much to think.
"Love does not dishonour others, mother. If you were ashamed of the relationship between Harry and me, I would have left. That is the truth," Draco told her solemnly. Narcissa finally nodded and Draco helped her up. She took shaky steps towards Harry, and for a moment, he thought she would have slapped him. But no feeling could have described the happiness he felt when she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him like a mother would her son.
He returned the gesture, smiling at Draco over her shoulder.
If this is what a family felt like, he wouldn't mind staying at Malfoy Manor. Not at all.
(1) Thank you to GrlWithoutAName for pointing this out; I'm sorry for forgetting to include this. I've altered it, but the original came from Pride and Prejudice, where Mr. Bennett says to Elizabeth, "Your mother will never speak to you again if you don't marry Mr. Colins, and I will never see you again if you do." or something to that extent.
Err...I'm very tempted to ask anyone who lives in the Northern Hemisphere and knows a fair bit about Britain: when do the Christmas holidays start? For how long? When does it start to snow (wherever Wiltshire is) and does it snow there? I'm not a very good research person, but hopefully, you guys overlooked that and enjoyed it anyway. Please review :)