Chapter Six of 'Ceremonies of Strife'- Passing Days

[lomonaaeren]

Chapter Five.

Title: Ceremonies of Strife (6/50)
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Pairings: Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Lucius/Narcissa
Rating: R
Warnings: Violence, Dark magic, angst, profanity, sex (slash and het), character deaths (not the main characters).
Summary: Sequel to Soldier’s Welcome. As Harry and Draco head in to their second year of Auror training, they are resolved to try and balance the relationship between them with their personal difficulties. That might be a bit harder than they think when the difficulties include necromancy, Azkaban escapees, unicorn ghosts, the risen dead, a secret order of assassins…and the second war, guided by Nihil.
Author’s Notes: This is the second part of what I’m calling the Running to Paradise Trilogy, focused on Harry and Draco’s Auror training. A reader on AFF called SP777 suggested the idea for this series to me. I’d advise you to read Soldier’s Welcome first before you try to read this one, as this story doesn’t spend a lot of time recapitulating the first one.

Chapter One.

Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Six—Passing Days

Harry shook his head at the newspaper. As usual, the Daily Prophet was reporting the story of Nihil’s armies, or at least the sightings of the living dead, in the worst way that it possibly could. It chose the most incredible stories, mixed them together with breathless lines from Rita Skeeter about whose fault this could be, and plopped them on the page with headlines in type six inches high.

“One wonders what they would do if these living dead were already killing people,” Draco said dryly as he sat down at the table.

“I know,” Harry said, and handed the paper off to him to read while he finished his breakfast. Kreacher had learned how to make toast and eggs exactly the way Harry liked them, and he no longer banged his head against the table or the walls because Harry wouldn’t take fancier food. Harry crunched through the last piece of toast and looked up. “Why do you think Nihil hasn’t ordered them to kill people yet?”

“I don’t know.” Draco was looking at the photograph on the front page with a deep frown on his face, perhaps because it showed a near-hysterical witch fainting over and over again into the arms of a wizard who just “happened” to stand ready to catch her. “Perhaps that isn’t their purpose.”

“What else could he want them to do, though?” Harry swallowed the last of his orange juice and leaned back in his chair, tapping the tabletop with his fingers. Draco looked at him with one sharp eye over the top of the paper. Harry grinned and stopped. “I mean, you don’t raise an army of the living dead simply to wander around and give a few susceptible people shivers.”

Draco shrugged and turned back to the story again. “Who can say what thought would occur to a mind raddled by necromancy? You have to be a bit mad to even take up that study in the first place.”

Harry felt the crumbs of the toast turn bitter in his mouth. He stood up more quickly than necessary. “I’m going to go add some things to the training room,” he muttered. They had turned a large room on the first floor of the house into a place where they could practice violent spells and compatible magic and not have to worry about them splintering walls or cracking the floor.

Draco nodded at him, seemingly absorbed in his reading. Harry fled.

But there could be other purposes, he told himself to dispel his guilt, as he climbed the stairs and turned towards the training room at the top of them. Draco’s never practiced necromancy. He doesn’t know, not really.

*

Draco hesitated, and then scribbled out a line in the letter he’d written. He wanted to write to the War Wizards and make it sound as though he were loftily inquiring about a place in their ranks because of a passing interest in their methods, not because he was fascinated to the point of irritation that he was shut out.

Then relax, said his father’s voice in his ear.

Draco frowned automatically, but leaned back in his chair and tried to think about the matter clearly. Just because his father was a bastard didn’t mean it wasn’t good advice. God knew that he needed to put down his words so that no one else could misunderstand them, and a few minutes of rational thought would contribute more to that purpose than an hour of excited babbling.

Why do I want to be a War Wizard so much? Draco thought, imagining that someone from their group had come and asked him that. There are disadvantages. I’ve already begun my training as an Auror, and they would be sure to point that out. War Wizards have dangerous jobs; I couldn’t want to join up because it would be safer than being an Auror. And there’s the possibility that I would have to leave Harry behind, compatible magic or not.

Unfortunately, Draco knew the answer to that question. It was unfortunate because it was not an answer the War Wizards would want to hear.

I love power.

It had to be something less naked than that, Draco acknowledged reluctantly, something that would seem to do honor to the War Wizards’ reputation and purpose. They were supposed to intervene in those situations where the enemies were too strong for the Aurors to handle. They were supposed to be the guarantee against war, and the Ministry hadn’t used them more often because there was the fear that they would become bullies, crushing all opposition. Using them in ordinary Dark wizard work, or for that matter their spells, would be like using a hammer to crush a gnat.

Or so the books and pamphlets and letters Draco had read had said.

He still wanted their spells, though. He still thought those spells could be useful in ordinary Auror work, and besides, he wanted to feel them thrumming through his wand and his bones. What would happen when they were multiplied by the force of the compatible magic that he shared with Harry?

Draco shivered simply sitting there. The only thing that could compare to the golden feeling overtaking him when he thought of being a War Wizard was the thought of sex with Harry.

They might not be so different. Even that makes me feel powerful.

Draco licked his lips and focused on the letter. What excuse would make his intentions clear and yet not offensive? How could he write so that the War Wizards would be prepared to grant him an interview and never dream that he thought of something else than serving the country day and night, to the last drop of his blood? (Draco did not for one second believe that all the War Wizards were really that sincere, but their propaganda made it clear that they wouldn’t consider candidates who couldn’t speak the language).

And then the perfect thing occurred to him. He nearly laughed out loud as he took out a fresh sheet of parchment and began to write.

Dear Wizard Cardogan:

I am writing to you because I am concerned that the Aurors’ spells may not be of enough use in defending the Ministry against the living dead, and I am interested in what more you can teach me and Auror trainees like me.

The Ministry had already been attacked once. No one could say that it wouldn’t be attacked again, especially when Nihil seemed to have a grudge against several of the Auror instructors, and him, and Harry. And Draco was asking only for teaching in individual spells, not admission into their ranks—which, in truth, was all he wanted.

There, Draco thought as he sealed the letter and got up to persuade Harry to go to Diagon Alley so they could find a post-owl. Let’s see what response that produces.

*

“I am sorry, mate.”

Harry raised one eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. Ron said the words with a downcast expression that Harry could believe easily enough. But he didn’t know if Ron was apologizing because he was upset for having displeased Harry or because he was really sorry.

And would I have demanded an absolutely sincere apology from Draco? Harry thought. Or an absolutely sincere holding of his temper? I know that he’ll only do it because I asked him to, and not because he has any desire to be friends with anyone named Weasley.

Besides, it was probably a bit much to assume that Ron would change his mind all at once, and then punish him if he didn’t. Harry decided to accept this in the spirit it was given. Ron had cared enough to come here and do it in person instead of trying to foist it off on a firecall or an owl, after all.

“I forgive you,” Harry said. “But why in the world did you say something so stupid, Ron? You were able enough to accept him when he was my friend. Why is his being my lover so different?”

Ron stared at the floor, and said nothing.

“You can’t think that I’m going to get back together with Ginny,” Harry said, and frowned when he saw the way Ron flushed. “I mean, you can’t, can you? Why? We’ve already said everything that we had to say to each other, and you know I would have stayed with her, but she was the one to throw me out, and then act as if she had some kind of power, or should have, over me still. Why would I want to go back to her? Besides, I’m happy with Draco. You can’t imagine.” He heard the way his voice broke on the last words, and coughed in embarrassment.

Ron finally looked up, and his eyes were bright and steady, but his voice was a mumble. “Friends are one thing, mate. I’ve never thought that I was more important to you than Hermione, or the other way around.” Harry thought about reminding Ron of the fights they’d had in Hogwarts, but that would just start another row, and so he was quiet. “But a lover—I’m afraid Malfoy will be more important to you than we are. I’m afraid that there’s nothing we can do, and he’ll take you away from us.”

It took Harry a long time to find his voice, especially because he could more or less guess what it had cost Ron to say that. Finally he whispered back, “Ron, I’ll never let you or Hermione go, not without a fight—a much worse fight than I went through when I gave Ginny up. You have to know that, because I know that you feel the same way about me. And you don’t think Hermione is more important to you than I am, do you? I just know that she’s important in a different way.”

Ron stood up and paced in a circle around the sitting room. Harry leaned forwards and looked at him. He was glad, just now, that Draco had gone to Diagon Alley to shop for something mysterious and wouldn’t be back for a few hours. He didn’t want anyone to interrupt Ron and make him speak before he was ready.

“Hermione doesn’t want to take me away from you,” Ron finally said, and stopped and faced Harry now as if he was determined to get all the words out at once. “I know Malfoy wants to take you away from us. It’s in the way he smirks, and the way he came down and put that arm around your shoulder the other day.” Harry didn’t point out that “the other day” had been a fortnight ago. He knew anger did strange things to Ron’s sense of time. “And it’s in the way he talked to Ginny and my mum. I’m just afraid that we’re going to lose you to him, and you won’t even notice. You’ll think that you’re spending just as much time with us as you ever did, but it won’t be true.”

Harry blinked. He had to admit, that was not a view of things that had occurred to him before. And it did fit with Draco’s character that he would want to keep Harry all to himself and would be pleased if Harry’s friends stopped visiting. That was something Ron might well have noticed that Harry didn’t.

But Ron was forgetting one thing, the way Ron and Draco had both forgotten it when they fought. Harry thought it was time to remind him again.

“Ron,” he said gently, “I have a will of my own. If it turned out he was doing that, I would fight my way back. And if he cared more for angering you than he did for loving me, then I would drop him.” Not without tearing my heart from my body, he wanted to say, but didn’t, because he thought Ron wouldn’t have been as open with him about his feelings for Hermione.

He also didn’t say that he thought this would never happen, because Ron was watching him with bright eyes, and that was clearly what he needed to hear. “Really, mate?” he breathed.

“Yes,” Harry said. “If that happened. Which I don’t think it will.”

It seemed that the assurance was enough for Ron. He immediately relaxed and smiled, and said, “Good. That was—that was what I was worried about. Losing you, and you seeming glad to go.”

Ron was flushing by now, and Harry was feeling uncomfortable himself. He wanted to hear the words “I love you” from Draco, but he didn’t often talk with Ron about their friendship. And he didn’t now. He stood up, patted his shoulder, mumbled a few words, and then sent Ron out the door.

Ron reached it just as Draco was coming back in. Harry tensed, but although they sneered at each other, Draco stood aside to let Ron pass, and Ron hurried off without speaking any insults.

Harry sighed in relief, and then smiled at Draco. “No answer to your letter yet?” He knew Draco had written to the War Wizards, and he had to admit he was curious to see what they would say.

Draco shook his head, looking disgusted. “They sent me a pamphlet and a letter ‘thanking me for my interest.’ But nothing more than that.” He touched Harry’s shoulder, with a light, quick motion that for some reason made Harry have to close his eyes to absorb it. “I take it Weasley apologized?”

Harry nodded. “Yes. He was afraid of losing me to you, that was all.”

“Well, he should be,” Draco muttered.

Harry laughed, and leaned towards him, and kissed him, and then they had more interesting things to do than argue about Ron.

*

Harry’s birthday was celebrated with his friends, of course. Draco knew he had gone over to the Burrow the night before, but it seemed Granger couldn’t be there, and she had borne Weasley with her somewhere, so he had a second birthday party at Grimmauld Place.

Draco sat as patiently as he could through the opening of those friends’ presents: dull books from Granger, a pair of Quidditch gloves from Weasley, and a poster of the Chudley Cannons from Weasley, too. Harry had glanced at him more and more as the celebration went on. He knew Draco had a gift for him, because Draco had said that, but he didn’t see it in the small pile on the table.

Draco simply smiled at him, and said nothing. When the celebration finished and it seemed as though Weasley might start jeering at him for not getting Harry a gift, he stood up, said, “My present had to be contained in a different place, because I couldn’t wrap it,” and went to fetch the shining glass cage from the top of the house.

Politesse sat beside it, guarding it. He stood up, wagging his scorpion tail gently, when he saw Draco. Draco nodded to him and picked up the case. The creature inside lunged at the walls and hissed at him, annoyed.

Draco carried the cage very carefully down the stairs. The ceremony of binding Harry to this creature had to be done just right, or it would fly madly away at best, take some other master at worst. It was the reason Draco hadn’t opened the cage since he bought it in Knockturn Alley.

He brought the cage into the dining room, and heard Granger stop talking with a gasp. Weasley’s jaw hung open, which Draco preferred to his chatter. Harry was the last to turn around, slowly, as if Draco’s gift was so important to him that he wanted some anticipation before he saw what it was.

Draco smiled as he set the cage down on the table. Yes, that was as it should be. If he was the most important person in Harry’s life, then his present should be the most important one Harry received.

Harry opened his mouth with a great gasp, but didn’t say anything. He moved forwards instead, staring at the cage reverently.

Inside crouched one of the tiny creatures that Draco had heard were being smuggled into the country, and had received confirmation of when he ventured into Knockturn Alley. It was, to all appearances, a small dragon, though with long, slender horns to crown its head, a fringe of spikes around its neck, a longer tail proportionate to its size, and no ability to breathe fire. Its scales glowed blue-green, with flashes of gold on the flanks and the wings. Its eyes were pure gold, and, at the moment, shone with menace as it flung itself at the walls of the cage, screaming in a high voice.

Harry recovered first, the way Draco had thought he would. “I reckon there’s some way to tame it,” he said, smiling at Draco.

“Of course there is,” Draco said, and returned that smile with an interest that made Harry blush. He ignored Granger’s spluttering about illegal animals from across the table. Really, these fire-dancers—named for their color, and not their breath—were only illegal as long as they weren’t bonded to a master. Once they were, they could be as docile as any other pet.

He held out his wand, and Harry extended his hand without protest. Draco murmured a simple charm. Harry’s hand began to bleed in the web between his thumb and his forefinger.

Draco stepped back and opened the lid of the cage.

The fire-dancer flung itself into the air, accompanied by a shriek from Granger. For a moment, it hovered, turning its head from side to side. Draco smiled. It was a beautiful thing, even when it bared its long fangs and brought a gleam of unexpected and shining white into its colors.

But then it smelled the blood and immediately dived, digging hooked claws into Harry’s shoulder and arm to balance itself. Harry gasped, but held still. The fire-dancer shot out a long, forked tongue, and began lapping impatiently at the blood, hissing all the while as if displeased that it was such a small amount.

When it finished, though, it lifted its head to Harry and uttered a gentler hiss. The cut had sealed itself already. The fire-dancer leaped to Harry’s shoulder and shoved its head against his chin like a cat. Harry lifted a hesitant hand and started stroking the soft, smooth scales.

“He’s beautiful,” Harry said, and his voice was soft and dazed, and Draco smiled at him in triumph.

“Isn’t he? He’s called a fire-dancer, Harry. I found him in a shop that had a shipment of them, unbonded, that it wanted to get rid of. And I thought he would be the perfect gift for you, since you speak Parseltongue and you need someone to keep you out of trouble.” Draco shared a smile with Harry that was purely private. “The way that I have Politesse.”

Harry nodded. He seemed utterly absorbed in the fire-dancer, which was investigating his cheeks with its tongue. Granger was the one who spoke next. “Those things are dangerous, Malfoy.”

Draco smiled pleasantly at her. “How do you know? In fact, bonded fire-dancers are perfectly legal, because they never hurt anyone save at their owner’s command. They can’t breathe fires, so they’re in no danger of causing the kind of damage that a real dragon could. And they can keep an eye on their owners a lot more easily than some other pets, because they can fly and they can track the vibrations of their owners’ heartbeats.”

“But it drinks blood!” Weasley blurted. Draco sighed; the git had recovered enough to be annoying. “That means it has to be a Dark creature!”

Draco would have disdained to answer, except that Harry was looking at him inquiringly, and Draco knew that he would have questions of his own about the way the fire-dancer had lapped at blood. “Only the first meal,” he said. “The one that bonds it to its owner. After that, it eats meat and fish, and nothing else unless its owner tells it to.” He turned to Harry, and away from Weasley and Granger. “What are you going to call him?”

Harry, his eyes locked on Draco, offered a smile that was different from the one they’d shared before. This was smaller, but also deeper. Draco licked his lips and was glad that the table was in the right position to hide his reaction to that smile from Weasley and Granger.

“Flash,” Harry said. “Because it would be repetitive to call him Draco.”

Draco accepted the tribute with a slight turn of his head and a flutter of his lashes that he could hear making Weasley gag. That was a secondary benefit, of course, compared to the way that it made Harry’s eyes glow.

*

Harry flipped through his necromancy book, growing more and more frustrated. It seemed that all the other rituals, beyond the simple one he had used to see the vision of Sirius, were so insanely complicated that he could never gather all the ingredients he needed without alerting Draco as to what he was doing.

Flash, sleeping on top of a cabinet in the attic, opened one eye and then closed it again. Harry had noted that he often did that, as if he wanted to make sure that his owner was always within touching distance.

Harry smiled at him, and for a moment let his gaze linger. Draco had given him a magnificent gift. Harry had thanked him, he hoped, properly and at length that night, and yet it still didn’t make up for it. Harry could never have afforded Politesse. He’d been given him by someone who, he thought now, was probably fleeing from the Ministry and had to give up all his exotic animals before he was caught with them and condemned. Draco had bought Flash with his own money.

And this is the way you repay him. By studying necromancy.

Harry winced and took a deep breath. Sometimes, he thought of explaining to Draco how important the dead were to him, why he thought it was so unfair that Sirius and Remus and so many others hadn’t got the chance to live out their lives, but then he remembered. Draco hadn’t known those people, or he had known them and hadn’t cared for them, like Remus and Fred. Harry didn’t think he could make him understand, and one of the things he feared most in the world was for Draco to look at him with blank eyes or a face full of hatred.

Flash opened one eye again, and then fluttered up from the cabinet and landed on Harry’s shoulder, wreathing his tail around Harry’s neck. He had a strange noise that he made when Harry was upset, not quite a purr, but probably the closest to it that a reptile could make—a low buzz. He did it now. Harry stroked his back and tried to take his thoughts away from necromancy. Draco would be back soon. He should go down and wait for him.

He flipped one more page, idly.

And then stopped.

On this page, which he had never looked at before—the book was thick—was an illustration. It looked as though it had been hastily done, and Harry didn’t think he would have recognized it if he hadn’t seen it before.

A wheel, with the leaves of deadly nightshade twined around the axle and through the spokes.

The symbol that the Battle Healer Portillo Lopez carried hidden on her skin.

CHapter Seven.

Comments

[allycat-aria.livejournal.com]

Oh

my.....

Now Harry will have to tell Draco about the book! Yes! Ijnteresting about Lopez. Maybe she's one of the dead, and no one ever knew it.

Flash is very cute. Did Draco ever name the Politesse? I wonder if the dragon will deliver letters like an owl. What a way to surprise people!

[(Anonymous)]

Its name is Politesse. x3

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Well, if he decides to tell him.

And Politesse, as the comment pointed out, is called Politesse. His species has so far gone unnamed.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm glad to see Ron's trying to get along (which indicates he actually is growing up). Though I expect there to be more hiccups in the future, the fact that he and Draco are being civil is nice to see, even momentarily.

Harry has a pet! Can't wait to see what happens when Flash and Politesse meet. Or what on earth they'll do if they're in the room when Harry and Draco have sex. I'm not promoting bestiality, but the pair of pets staring at each other and their 'mating' masters in confusion is always good for humor.

Poor Harry. Necromancy is really going to bite him in the butt, especially when he shows Draco the book he's got--well, I assume Harry will show Draco the symbol in the book. He'd be silly not to, but then again, Harry's convinced himself that necromancy is a good idea, so I won't put not telling Draco past him.

Can't wait for the next update.
-Jolene

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Ron and Draco are going to have lots of problems in the future, but then, most people who are thrown into close proximity and don't like each other that much do. At least now they have one reconciliation in the past that Harry and Hermione can point to if they start getting ridiculous.

Flash and Politesse will usually be banished from the room when Harry and Draco 'mate.' :)

Given what Harry discovers about the symbol, he may decide that it's okay not to show the book to Draco.

Thank you!

[daftfear.livejournal.com]

INTRIGUE. 8D

Can I have a firedancer? *covets* They're pretty.

Harry and Draco both worry me with their respective obsessions -necromancy and war wizards.... but I'm glad that Ron has relaxed slightly... enough to apologize. I feel like they're all walking on thin ice, still... and one misstep could be disaster. EEP.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Draco's obsession is probably less dangerous than Harry's at this point, but he might start going to dangerous lengths in pursuit of it.

[invincible-sum.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, intriguing. And I love that Draco's given Harry a cute little animal protector now as well! I must say that the name "Flash" is as Harry-ish as "Politesse" is Draco-ish LOL.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Glad you liked it. I was going to go with something like Ignis, but I can't say Harry using Latin like that.

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

This was a great chapter in so many ways. I'm glad that Ron was able to tell Harry what was really bothering him. I'm glad that he and Draco are making an effort to not be openly antagonistic towards each other. I LOVE Flash, and can't wait to see what he can do... I'm enjoying reading about Harry and Draco's growing intimacy.
And I wish Harry would STOP LOOKING AT THAT NECROMANCY BOOK. Although it's very interesting that he found Lopez's tattoo in it.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Poor Ron. At least he has the ability to talk through his problems now, which he didn't have a few years ago.

ANd Harry can't thank Draco enough for Flash, believe me.

[la-mariane.livejournal.com]

Wow! I love Draco's gift to Harry.
And the last line was so surprising : why would a Healer carry a necromancer's symbol ? Ot why would a healing symbol be in a necromancy book ?

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

There's a reason for that, as you'll find out in the next chapter.

[elgraves.livejournal.com]

Wow that was unexpected. Now Harry has a dilemma: tell Draco, Ron and Granger what he found out thus telling them about the book or not tell them and potentially putting them in danger. I hope he does the right thing. He is a little too obsessed about the dead. There has to be a reason why people don't practice necromancy.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

There are many reasons, but Harry has ignored them- and the book tends to assume that you know about the dangers of practicing necromancy and must want to practice it anyway if you're reading that particular book.

[aubergineautumn.livejournal.com]

Great chapter- the new creature, the way Draco "loves power" and Harry's secret. Can't wait for the next chapter!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Flash is a lovely pet, but Politesse still makes me uneasy! It must be the idea of generous strangers handing over a valuable creature for free- I don't trust that!

Also, whatever happened to Auror Gregory? Will we ever find out?
It's as if she just vanished after saving Harry.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Well, as Harry speculates here, he thinks Politesse was probably the property of someone who would prefer to give up the creatures rather than be caught with them.

Auror Gregory is out there, but not currently playing a big part in the story.

[(Anonymous)]

Lots of interesting set-up here, and I wonder what role little Flash will take in the story. I must say your Ron is one of the most annoying Rons I've ever read! Just the way he says "mate" all the time makes my teeth grind! I wouldn't be surprised if he and Harry have a permanent break sometime. PS - I'm hoping for some awesome-sex-with-compatible-magic, but maybe this story will be more plot driven. In any case, I'll be reading.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Harry and Ron will stay friends, but not necessarily as close as they were in Hogwarts.

There will be sex scenes, I promise! But sex is very rarely what drives my plots.

[yanagi-wa.livejournal.com]

What a lovely pet. I just hope Harry doesn't get himself into trouble over his obsession. Great work

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[callistianstar.livejournal.com]

Oh I love Draco's present. You described it perfectly.

Great job with the way you've had these obsessions affect Draco and Harry. It was really cool how you had Draco make a derogatory comment against Harry's obsession without Draco knowing he had offended Harry. Of course that will make it less likely that he'll ever confess to necromancy, at least until his creations make his confession for him.