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Title: Soldier’s Welcome (20/?)
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Rating: R
Pairings: Harry/Draco preslash, Ron/Hermione
Warnings: Violence (and plenty of it), profanity, references to sex, takes account of DH but ignores the epilogue, heavy angst.
Summary: It’s the first year of Auror training for Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and…Draco Malfoy, But with Hagrid, Snape’s second Pensieve, rogue Death Eaters, Auror classes, and someone trying to start a second war to worry about, Harry might not have the time to pay that much attention to Malfoy. At first, anyway.
Author’s Notes: This story is the first in a trilogy called Running to Paradise, which takes its title from a W. B. Yeats poem. Each story will be novel-length, and each will cover a year of Harry and Draco’s training as Aurors. Though there are a lot of fics out there about them acting as Auror partners, there aren’t as many about their training, so I hope to cover some original ground there. I’m indebted to a reader named SP777 for suggesting a training fic for me to write.
Chapter One.
Thank you again for all the reviews!
Chapter Twenty—Settling Into Distrust
“More than one thing bothers me about Gregory’s guilt.”
Draco nodded to encourage Potter to go on, while his left hand closed into a sharp grip on the seat of his chair, down by his side where Potter couldn’t see. Potter might not see it even if Draco was using his right hand, since he had his head bowed at the moment and hair falling into his eyes while he pulled at it.
Draco didn’t care. Potter would ask why he was upset if he showed that he was upset, and Draco didn’t have all the words to explain how much it annoyed him that Potter apparently intended to let their near-kiss go.
Sometimes Draco hated his own ability to qualify things. It had been a kiss, as much as any meeting of lips was. But he had to remember that Potter hadn’t initiated it for that reason, and that he seemed embarrassed about it, and…
And a hundred other factors, all of which contributed to the situation being handled in a way that he hated.
“If she was taken by surprise and facing two Aurors at once,” Potter continued in a meditative way, his fingers still playing with his fringe, “how did she manage to escape? It seems like she must have had a warning, or someone helped her. That’s the kind of thing that makes me tempted to say that she wasn’t guilty and the real Nihil is using her as a pawn. Someone could have planted those documents in her rooms.” He leaned back in his chair abruptly enough that his hair flipped behind his head again and turned those unnerving green eyes on Draco, frowning. “On the other hand, why would she burn those documents instead of reporting them the moment she found them? And why attack Dearborn and Portillo Lopez instead of explaining the situation? If someone is framing her, then she has an awfully strange way of responding to the manipulation.”
Grateful to have something to think about that would put the non-kiss out of his head, Draco nodded. “It suggests she had something to hide. Or perhaps that one of the two confronting her was her enemy.”
“Then why not speak to the other one?” Potter grimaced and dug his fingers into his hair, rubbing in a way that made Draco have to bite his tongue. He had almost said that Potter would make himself look like a demented hedgehog, but he would look like that without the rubbing, too. “I can’t imagine that Portillo Lopez or Dearborn would refuse to listen, given how strange the situation was. They might as well suspect one person as another.”
“You forget the young woman who apparently escaped Gregory’s custody and came moaning to Portillo Lopez’s door,” Draco said smoothly. “She practically ensured that anything Gregory said would be taken as an attempt to throw suspicion off herself, where it belonged.”
Potter narrowed his eyes. “That’s convenient, isn’t it?”
“Very.”
Potter bit his thumbnail. Draco dug his hand into the chair again. After several moments of scraping, snapping sounds that made Draco ill to listen to, never mind watch, Potter shook his head and said, “No matter how I think about this, it doesn’t make sense. There’s always some puzzle piece missing—unless everyone is a pawn in some kind of huge chess game.” He looked hopefully at Draco. “Do you think that could be it?”
“No,” Draco said. “Dumbledore was clever, and the Dark Lord was cunning, but they still didn’t control hundreds of people in the immediate vicinity. There had to be people in Hogwarts who weren’t allied with Dumbledore—”
“Like most of Slytherin House, for a start.”
“Can you blame us?” Draco leaned forwards. “He never offered us any special terms or protection that would have made us take notice of him. He left us at the mercy of our families and the Dark Lord.”
Potter’s smile was gentle and bitter both at once. “And would you have listened to him, if he did? Or would you have thought that he was trying to manipulate you into serving him as loyal puppets, the way you thought the Gryffindors were?”
Draco tilted his head, reluctantly conceding the point. “I still could have used some sort of help during our sixth year,” he muttered.
Potter surprised him completely by reaching out and tapping the back of his knuckles with one finger, not quite a squeeze of the hand but a more intimate gesture than Draco had expected, given what they were discussing. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “I wish I could have helped.” And on he went again, before Draco could recover from that surprise. “So let’s not get ourselves into the same kind of situation. If we start distrusting everyone and deciding that no evidence would be enough to convince us, then we’ll probably alienate people who actually want to help us.”
Draco was silent for some time. On the one hand, what Potter said made sense. And even if Nihil had corrupted dozens of young trainees and was so clever as to put grief magic inside a human body, that didn’t mean he, or she, could do everything.
But on the other, Draco could not shake off the clutch of instincts he’d learned through real-life experience as well as the study of history and politics.
“We can trust ourselves,” Draco said at last. “And probably your friends. And maybe a few of the people who are too stupid to cause trouble or think for themselves, like Aaron.”
“How do you control him, anyway?”
Draco smiled sweetly at Potter. “Consider that a trade secret that you’ll learn along the way, if you’re lucky,” he said, and delighted in the way that Potter rolled his eyes. “But I don’t trust anyone else. Not even the instructors.” My circle of trust would be wide enough if it included simply you and myself. But he knew Potter would scoff at that as too paranoid, so he didn’t say it.
“We can’t just set ourselves up as—as private investigators, taking on a conspiracy all by ourselves,” Potter argued.
“Why not?”
Potter paused. From the way his eyelashes flickered, Draco knew he was considering the possibility. He liked it more than he wanted to admit, too. Draco knew that not from the way he behaved, but simply from his past at Hogwarts.
He leaned nearer and lowered his voice persuasively. “Why not?” he repeated. “We haven’t done so badly so far.”
“Except for the fact that we each spent a few days exhausted,” Potter said flatly. “Oh, and there was the small matter of a false Death Eater attack and the limp human skin on the floor.”
Draco flicked a hand. “Unimportant,” he said. “Minor consequences that we should have been better-prepared for. We are going to plan next time.”
Potter studied him with a jaundiced eye. “You planned when we went to the interrogation rooms, and look what happened.”
“This time, it will be more thorough.” Draco scowled at Potter. Partner or not, trustworthy or not, he had retained his irritating habit of looking harder at Draco’s faults than his virtues. “Anyone could have fallen into the mistakes we’ve fallen into. This time, we’ll do the things no one else can.”
Potter stared doubtfully at him through a few strands of tumbled hair. Draco buried his hand in the chair seat so that he wouldn’t be tempted to smooth it back and let a sneer cross his face.
“Don’t tell me,” he said, “that you’re falling into the trap of thinking you’re the same as everyone else. Not better, maybe, but the same? Don’t make me laugh.”
Potter rose to the challenge with a sharp chuckle. “After everything that’s happened to me? Hardly.”
“Good. And I’m the same way.” Draco tilted his head. “We’ll continue investigating, and not confide everything we’re doing to the instructors. Since they would probably notice if we asked too many questions, I think we should ask questions of their trainees. Too many of them take attention and admiration from first-years as a matter of course for them to suspect us.”
Potter gave him a surprised look, as if he had never expected ideas that good from Draco. Then he nodded. “That sounds like it might work,” he muttered. “And I reckon that we can do research on grief magic, and whether it’s possible to hide something like that in a human body.”
Draco snorted. “We know it’s possible because we saw it happen, Potter.”
Unexpectedly, Potter smiled. “Then would you care to describe the process?” he asked. “Because something like that would be dead useful to know, assuming that we ever wanted to become world-dominating maniacs.” He stood up and turned in a circle, his arms spread wide. “You can cast the spells on me with my permission, so the compatible magic won’t stop you from doing it.” He twisted his head and grinned at Draco over his shoulder.
Draco felt his shoulders tighten. It wasn’t so much because Potter’s grin roused painful memories—though it reminded him of the way that Blaise would sometimes grin when he had played a particularly good prank—as because he suddenly realized how much he had wanted to see that look on Potter’s face, directed at him.
And he knew, because he was feeling the emotions, how easily that longing could transform into a fancy for other looks.
He clenched his hands again. Meanwhile, Potter seemed to have decided that something was wrong, because he had turned around fully again and was regarding Draco with a perplexed expression.
“I meant it, you know,” he said quietly. “I do trust you. I would give you permission to try the spell on me if you really wanted.”
Fuck it. The worst thing he can do is refuse me. Draco rose abruptly to his feet. Potter started, but didn’t back up and automatically reach for his wand the way he would if his words about trust were just a pretty act. “What I want,” Draco said, “is for us to discuss what happened when I gave your magic back to you.”
Potter just blinked. “All right,” he said slowly. “I do think that we need to figure out why and how we can drain each other like that, and why it isn’t a common thing with compatible magic.” He rolled his eyes. “What you said about not being normal applies to my magic, too, it seems.”
Draco took a step closer, almost at the end of his patience. How could Potter trust him and be so protective of him, and then turn around and exasperate him so much? “Not that,” he said. “You know very well what I’m talking about.”
By the sudden widening of Potter’s eyes, apparently he had managed to put the near-kiss out of his mind very effectively up until this point. He coughed and looked away as he had when he was with Portillo Lopez. Draco waited. This time, he wasn’t about to run away, but he wouldn’t let himself be goaded into saying something, either. He had done enough by opening the conversation.
“Look,” Potter said. He sounded as if he was stepping off a cliff into a high wind, with the ridiculous expectation that the wind would somehow carry him and bear him up. “I know that you’re offended I forced myself on you. It doesn’t—it doesn’t matter if sometimes I think I see you look at me with attraction of some kind.” Potter’s face was so red by this point that it looked as if it hurt. He was mumbling, but Draco strained his ears so that he didn’t miss one fascinating word of this. “I had no right to kiss you without your permission. I just, it was the only way I could think of to get my magic back.”
Draco stared at him. He didn’t know what surprised him more: that Potter had picked up on the reason behind some of his lingering looks, or the interpretation he had put on it.
Then Potter looked up at him miserably, and Draco decided that the interpretation was definitely it.
“I’m not offended,” he said. “I want to discuss it.”
“Er,” said Potter. He was now staring at Draco as if the high cliff had turned out to be a single stair. “But what else is there to say? If you’re not offended, why bring it up?” Potter scratched his head and looked honestly puzzled.
“Because—we should.” Draco hated to flounder on such a simple matter, but he had assumed Potter would understand the necessity of this as well as he would, and so he didn’t have an explanation ready.
“But neither of us is dating anyone,” Potter said, his frown deepening, “so there’s nothing to explain to anyone.” He paused suddenly, his eyes widening. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed that. You’re not dating anyone, are you?”
Draco gave him a withering look in lieu of the words that he couldn’t summon at the moment.
“Right,” Potter said, with a small nod. “And we’re never going to date each other. So why do we need to talk about it?”
Draco took a step back from him, as struck silent by the words as he had been by the words Potter uttered in hospital. Potter’s simple assumption of the truth was a more effective block than an angry denial would have been. It was clear that the vague longings Draco had entertained simply had no place in his conception of the universe.
And they should have none in mine, either! Whoever heard of Harry Bloody Potter being self-possessed when Draco Malfoy was at a loss? I have my pride.
Draco shook his head and said sharply, “I have no idea. You’re right, we should research grief magic and see if there are books about it. Nihil must have learned it from somewhere.”
Potter nodded and said, “Do you want to work on the compatible magic at the same time, or do this research by itself first?”
“By itself first,” Draco said. “We’ll work on the compatible magic as we have time. Between the investigations and the fact that we have exams coming up in a few weeks, we’ll be quite busy enough as it is.”
Potter groaned and rolled his eyes. “Why the fuck does the Auror program have to take after Hogwarts in scheduling exams near Christmas?”
Draco mentally rolled his eyes in return and let Potter lapse into such commonplaces, while in his mind he rejoiced in his near escape. It was obvious that Potter had no interest in the kind of “discussion” that Draco wanted and would gape at him witlessly if he tried to have it. Draco would have looked like a fool if he pursued the matter.
The same part of his mind that taunted him about being a coward for refusing to look in Professor Snape’s Pensieve laughed and told him that he was being a coward now, too.
But it was beneath the dignity of a Malfoy to listen to small voices in his head, and therefore Draco did not have to.
*
“Mate, can I talk to you?”
Ron was standing over him with a determined expression. Harry had expected it, because Ron was really bad at being subtle. Throughout the evening, he’d been sneaking sideways looks at Harry and taking deep breaths and then releasing them with a little huff as his brow wrinkled. Harry had deliberately chosen the homework for his least challenging class, Auror Conduct, because it would matter less if Ron interrupted his concentration while he was doing it.
“Of course,” Harry said, and moved his homework away across the table. He hoped the expression on his face was neutral, the way he meant it to be. This was going to be hard.
But then he thought of the way Hermione was making Ron fend for himself, and he thought of Draco’s support. And he thought of the way Ron had dragged Ginny into this private argument.
He could do this.
“Look,” Ron said, forcing Harry to pay attention to something other than what was going on inside his own head. He had his hands clasped in front of him, and Harry thought he was trying to look serious and stern. He looked like Dudley begging his mother to be allowed to stay up instead of going to bed. Harry firmly bit the inside of his cheek so that he wouldn’t laugh. Ron frowned at him and shuffled from foot to foot. “I know I did a few stupid things. But I want you to be happy, I swear.”
“Involving Ginny wasn’t the way to do it,” Harry couldn’t keep from muttering.
“Why not?” Ron leaned forwards. “Look, I know that you and me and Hermione couldn’t just stay together forever and not change anything, because sooner or later Hermione and I are…well, we’re already dating, and.” He cleared his throat. Harry had to bite his cheek again. At least the way Hermione had treated Ron meant he was reconsidering whether their wedding was that certain. “Things change,” Ron went on in a slightly louder voice. “So you should be near us, but you couldn’t marry her. I was looking for someone you could marry. Ginny’s my sister and Hermione’s friend. It would be perfect.”
Harry shook his head.
“But you were happy for a little while,” Ron said. “What changed?”
“Things I don’t want to tell you about yet,” Harry said, because that was easier than trying to lie. “I don’t want to date her anymore. If you still have that in your head, you should get rid of it now, because I have no intention of talking to her except for a few polite phrases ever again.” He wanted to look away from Ron as he remembered some of the words Ginny had spoken, but then he reminded himself he had a right to be angry about that. He held Ron’s gaze instead.
Ron’s jaw dropped. Then he shook his head. “Maybe you feel that way now, Harry,” he said, voice so condescending that it set Harry’s teeth on edge, “but in a few months, you won’t—”
“Fuck you,” Harry hissed, with venom that he’d had no idea was going to bubble out of him. He stood up and moved one step towards Ron before he forced himself to stop. He would punch or hex Ron in this mood, and that might be the end of their friendship. He’d fought too hard to be himself and yet keep his friends. He wouldn’t be the one to ruin this, even if Ron was.
Ron, meanwhile, just stared at him with round eyes and mouth, too stunned to speak, and let Harry have the minute he needed to think things through and choose his words.
“You can’t be sure about my feelings like that,” Harry said at last. He tried to make every word heavy and forceful, the way he would talk to Draco if he called Hermione a Mudblood. Ron couldn’t be under any mistaken impression about this, or at least it couldn’t be Harry’s fault if he was. “You can’t say that I’ll change in a few months and become what you want me to be. Never. I hate it when you say that, and I hate that you think I’m just acting to spite you when I do what I want. All right?”
“But you could be happy,” Ron said, and now he looked injured. “I’m just doing what I think will make you happy.”
“Well, you’re wrong about that.” Harry controlled himself as carefully as he could, envisioning the way Draco could look cold and disdainful. That was better than shouting. “I don’t want that again. I don’t want you to think you’re the only one who knows what will make me happy. I know that better than you. Do you understand?”
Ron looked mutinous, which Harry knew meant he didn’t agree, but he gave a single angry shrug and turned away. “Between you and Hermione,” he muttered, “I don’t know who’s worse. I was trying to help.”
“I appreciate the intention,” Harry said, “not the action. Do you understand the difference?”
“And now you sound like bloody McGonagall.” But Ron’s voice was a bit more relaxed, and he gave Harry a tense smile before he nodded. “Yeah, I do.” He hesitated, then asked, “How much time are you going to spend with Malfoy this evening?”
“This evening?” Harry blinked. “None. Why? It’s not like Draco and I are joined at the hip,” he added.
Or the lips.
But he had started playing a new edition of the game he used to play with thoughts of Ginny, called, “Let’s Not Think About My Mouth Touching Draco’s,” and he could put that image out of his mind with relative ease.
“Want to study for the Conduct exam together?” Ron’s voice was low, and he glanced down as if he expected rejection in a way that was really irritating, but Harry recognized it for the peace offering it was.
He nodded and moved his homework so that Ron had a place to put his papers on the same table. Ron beamed.
Harry smiled at him. Sometimes, it was good to remember he did have a friend under that annoying exterior.
*
Who is Nihil’s pawn? I’m sure that he didn’t have only one. And if he really is Gregory, or if Gregory is close to him, then surely another instructor must have agreed to act as the conspiracy’s eyes and ears now that Gregory is gone.
Draco watched Ketchum from under his eyelids. He had already finished the written exam for Battlefield Tactics, but he had to wait for Potter to finish before he could navigate the practical part, which included a maze. Ketchum was moving from desk to desk, cheerfully offering help and checking for cheating at one and the same time.
It could be him. No one can be that unnaturally cheerful all the time, and his observation skills, though he’s using them right now on students, could be useful to Nihil in other ways.
The only thing that kept Draco from being certain Ketchum was a cats-paw was the fact that he spent so much time with his trainees and in preparation for his classes, including constructing the obstacle courses he had his students run. Little as he liked the Mudblood, Draco had to admit he was a dedicated teacher. Someone would notice if he was spending large amounts of time doing other things, the kind of duties Nihil would demand of his followers, because of the quality of his work falling off.
Unless he has built his duties to Nihil into his other work for years.
Still, Draco thought they could do worse than to approach one of Ketchum’s trainees. So far, their efforts to speak to Portillo Lopez’s had been a failure, because all of them were madly busy—and it seemed that the Battle Healer had the irritating habit of choosing modest people who could not easily be flattered and wooed. Gregory’s trainees were slinking around at the moment, doing their best to show that they had not been compromised. Dearborn, of course, had no other trainees that he mentored except Draco.
Ketchum’s, then.
Draco turned his head so that he could regard Potter. He was just pushing back from his desk and handing the completed exam to Ketchum, his face pale and haggard. Draco narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Potter had looked like that for two days now. Draco had put it down to the stress of the examinations at first, and then he had remembered that Potter had started looking downcast one evening shortly after an owl had come into the dining hall.
They had a moment to speak together while Ketchum declared himself satisfied with Potter’s paper and walked away to signal to his trainees to activate the spells on the maze. Draco turned to Potter. “What’s the matter?” he whispered.
“Nothing.”
Draco stared. A single brusque word, and it shut him out of Potter’s life far more effectively than all the stammering denials of their kiss had done. He felt as though he had bumped his head on a stone wall he had expected to be soft and yielding.
He opened his mouth, and Potter shook his head.
“Sometimes, friends keep secrets from each other,” he said, eyes bleak. “This is one of them.”
Ketchum signaled them to enter the maze before Draco could tell him that his secrets were usually dangerous and best shared. Potter set his mouth and proceeded to give Draco nothing to complain about by performing brilliantly. There was no doubt that they would earn an O for the practical portion of the exam.
Then he slipped away before Draco could corner him.
Draco stared after him. He doesn’t owe me every detail of his life, but he owes me many of them. And this is something I want to know.
He will tell me.
But he may need to be coaxed…
Chapter Twenty-One.
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Date: 2009-10-07 01:43 am (UTC)I wants to know what this letter said now. So much is going on! *bounces* I can't wait :)
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Date: 2009-10-11 06:36 pm (UTC)Harry would probably be more open to the notion of dating if he thought he was handsomer and thus that Draco would appreciate him as much as Harry could see himself appreciating Draco.
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Date: 2009-10-07 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 02:54 am (UTC)Ron should try not to act so defensive when he’s “apologizing”, but at least he didn’t blow up this time. Guess he was so shocked by Harry’s reaction he actually listened. It’s easier to sympathize with Ron now that he’s explained his actions more, and well, while he was wrong in bringing in Ginny, he doesn’t know how much she’s hurt Harry. I still think it was a stupid move :P
I feel like stroking Draco’s hair while telling him to be patient with Harry. At least he knows better than to force the non-kiss issue but I feel bad for him: in Draco’s mind (based on Harry’s words) they won’t ever date because Harry is, and never will be, interested. On the other hand, Harry thinks that Draco would never be actually interested in him. I wonder how you’ll get past this.
But on the other, Draco could not shake off the clutch of instincts he’d learned through real-life experience as well as the study of history and politics.
I don’t know why I liked that sentence so much. It’ll be really hard for him to trust anyone, so I see a tense relationship with any ally they make at first. I agree with Harry that distrust should have a limit but I don’t know, I just hope his experiences in the war drilled some caution into him… I remember how frustrated I was with him in the seventh book because he wasn’t.
I also liked the mention of Blaise. (I do want Draco to make some other friends… or get in touch with some of the old ones. He’ll need Harry too much, more than Harry needs him (unless things change). And he probably won’t bother Harry with it but it’ll be unfair to him, in a way). And the mention of sixth year. They’ll have to bring Hogwarts’ years sooner or latter.
Finally, I want to know more about Nihil, his plot and his followers; I want to know what the hell is in Snape’s Pensieve; I want to know what Draco did to manipulate that Aaron guy; I want to know what was up with that letter (Ginny? But if that’s the case, why not tell Draco about it?) and I want to know how will Draco make Harry tell him.
To sum up, great chapter!! :D
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Date: 2009-10-11 06:53 pm (UTC)Ron hasn't yet given up on the idea that things don't really have to change now that they're out of Hogwarts. So he thinks that Harry should date Ginny because it seemed to make him happy in the past. But yeah, not being defensive any more would be a great start.
At the moment, though Harry does believe that, he also doesn't get why the kiss is such a big deal to Draco; he feels a bit guilty for making it such a big deal to himself. So he's trying to downplay what he feels so that Draco isn't tempted to get offended.
I'm afraid Chapter 21 shows that Harry has not become much more cautious.
Harry is going to come to that conclusion himself, and push Draco to make other friends.
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Date: 2009-10-07 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 03:58 am (UTC)Good on Draco for insisting on talking to Harry about the 'sort-of' kiss. But, wow... what a slap down he got! At least an angry denial would have had emotion in it. Just one of Harry's typical assumptions, calmly stated came out SO harsh.
However, it is nice to know that Harry is thinking about it still.
And good on Harry for standing up for himself against Ron. People who think they know best what is good for you - even after you TELL them you disagree - just ICK! Glad he set Ron straight.
Still loving this story!!
Clare
*who is seriously wishing poor Draco good luck.*
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Date: 2009-10-11 06:54 pm (UTC)Harry thinks that he's a bit silly for making such a big deal about it, so the statement about "we'll never date" is trying to make it a reality for him as well as for Draco.
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Date: 2009-10-07 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 09:45 am (UTC)And now I want to know about that letter as well! Coax him, Draco, coax him! XD And YAY thinking about Draco's lips! *grins*
Are you enjoying teasing us about that pensive? ...yes, I thought so *glare*
Amazing chapter that made having a cold and sore troth not so bad for a little while! :) Thanks!
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:10 pm (UTC)Harry would never have responded like that if he knew how deeply Draco would be hurt, but Draco is a bit too good at hiding his emotions.
And yes, I am a Pensieve-tease. *is shameless*
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:16 pm (UTC)Yeah, he is *sad nod*
*glare* You better show it to us in this first part of the trilogy!!!
Hee! XD
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Date: 2009-10-07 12:21 pm (UTC)So glad you updated, was on cold turkey already ;)
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:21 pm (UTC)Harry was mostly irritated with himself and his own reaction. He thinks he's making a big deal out of things when he shouldn't. He doesn't know that Draco is going through essentially the same process.
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Date: 2009-10-07 05:19 pm (UTC)And Harry continues the parade of adorable cluelessness right up until he (metaphorically) smacks Draco in the face with "We'll never date" LOL And then he hops back on his favorite denial train! Oh dear! Is it bad I find the 'let's not think about Draco's lips' cute? If Harry doesn't stop being so adorable, I'M going to want to jump him! And I'm sorry but Draco(your version of him anyway) is much more my type;) LOL
Not much plot wise yet but hopefully we'll find out more when they start investigating. I can't wait to see it. I really like how they work together. I really don't want Ketchum to be evil-_-;; I think Draco just doesn't like him though. And I like that your Draco can acknowledge the man's teaching skills even if he doesn't like him personally. It's very mature and says a lot about how far Draco has come.
The talk with Ron went rather well:) It's going to take a lot to pound some sense into him but Harry did make some progress.
Oh! I just wanna hug Harry! He's so pitiful when he's worried and hiding something. And he totally sounded like he wanted Draco to know what was wrong and help him but didn't know how to ask<3 And I LOVE Draco thinking that Harry's secrets are usually dangerous!!!! It's SO true!!!
And last, I think my favorite thing may have been Draco thinking that the circle of trust would have been big enough with just him and Harry but having the sense not to say it out loud<3 It's such a sweet thought but said in the wrong way or the wrong time it can become something twisted and controlling. I love that your Draco(in this story any way but a lot of the others too) tends to always stay just this side of that line. He's possessive enough to be romantic without it dipping into creepy. Of course I also love that he's a conniving bastard. LOL I'm one of those weird people that finds it sexy;)
Wow. Long review is long. Can't wait for more. This really is my favorite of your stories.
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:23 pm (UTC)I'm glad you think Harry is more adorable than frustrating! He does listen to Draco when Draco explodes at him about something else in Chapter 22, but he would probably still resist if Draco tried to bring up the non-kiss again. He's trying to convince himself that it's not a big deal.
Yeah, Draco doesn't like Ketchum because of his blood. He might still be evil, of course! But Draco's suspicions alone are not enough reason to think so.
Harry is determined to be more independent- at exactly the wrong times, sometimes.
I quite often write obsessive Dracos, but this one is not meant to come off that way. Harry might not agree when Draco starts feeling jealous and more openly possessive of him, though.
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Date: 2009-10-07 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 08:38 pm (UTC)But I try to be better 'cause I know how hard it is to write a story. I think to write down your ideas so that it makes all sense and one can read it without difficulty is the challenge. I've read a lot of stories and a lot of them are based on good ideas but the author can't verbalise the pictures in his/her head.
I know the problem. I can't write a story for the hell of it!
So I'm very impressed with your work. And while I don't always have good critique I try to encourage you with a few simple sentence from me....
I LOVE this story and all of your work. But I especially liked how Draco tries to hold back and is completly shut down by Harrys "And we’re never going to date each other. So why do we need to talk about it?". I really feel with your characters and particular with Draco in this chapter. It's sad and at the same time I squeal 'Cause it's a step (tiny babystep) forward aand you keep it enthralling.
I look forward to the next chap (and a anything else your writing)
*hugs* Nikki
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:32 pm (UTC)Glad you like the way I phrase ideas. I think I should describe more, but I have a tendency to over-description when I start thinking that, so I usually keep the details cut back.
Harry is, I hope, going to have cause to regret that statement soon enough.
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Date: 2009-10-07 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-08 12:57 am (UTC)Everyone's so touchy in this chapter. Ron can't keep his nose out of Harry's life, Harry is now playing the "don't think about Draco and kisses in the same sentence" game, and Draco is playing the "Harry is denying me everything, pity me!" game. Wonder when everyone will be happier again. Probably after exams are over. Midterm season is awful, but final exam time is more like can-I-kill-myself-now time.
Oh, and my favorite line. "But it was beneath the dignity of a Malfoy to listen to small voices in his head, and therefore Draco did not have to." Loved it! Such a classic Draco-ism. If only the small voices would shut up when you ignore them...
Can't wait for the next update.
-Jolene
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:33 pm (UTC)Chapter 22 clears the air a bit, though I don't know if I would exactly call it happy.
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Date: 2009-10-08 03:01 am (UTC)Mucho love.
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Date: 2009-10-11 07:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-08 09:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-09 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:46 pm (UTC)Gregory supposedly corrupted trainees, but that evidence seems in some dispute.
Gregory will definitely have a lot of impact on the plot. And thanks for commenting.
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Date: 2009-10-09 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 07:46 pm (UTC)Thanks! I promise there were no real clues to Harry's behavior in this chapter. That had to wait for the next one.