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ishafelYay! This is it, guys. If I write another longish Potterfic, it will be post-Deathly Hallows! Thanks for staying with me this long--I know that some of you--![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
postingwhore, and phoenixw, and pushdragon, and maybe a few others of you? Have been around for almost five years, one way or another. Y'all rock.
Summary: Surviving the war was easy. Learning to live again will be much more difficult.
Prologue, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight
Harry sort of had his doubts about the whole Malfoy Family Yule thing. On the one hand, Draco was curled up next to him on the couch, the fire was blazing, and he could smell the roast turkey the house elves were cooking. On the other hand, Snape and Lucius Malfoy were in the other room, fighting in the kind of whispers that carried as well as shouting. And Harry hated them both.
He ran his fingers lazily through Draco's fine, pale hair, because he couldn't stand not to touch him. Draco sighed, but he curled into Harry's touch, too. The past few weeks had been hard on him, and Harry knew he still hadn't really come to terms with his father's resurrection—or with Snape's betrayal. Or with the fact that Harry, no matter how much he struggled to conceal it, clearly hated them both.
“You've made him into a cripple!” Lucius was saying, and Harry flinched, even though words never seemed to bother Draco. “You let them keep him pinned in that chair, dependent on you for everything, like he was some kind of pet.”
Harry could remember when Lucius Malfoy had been nothing more than a pampered house cat, with a dish of his own and a bed made out of folded towels. Draco's cheek was against Harry's knee, his face turned away from Harry, but Harry could feel him smiling. And, that was almost harder for Harry than civility: dealing with the realization that for Draco, Lucius wasn't a monster or a legend, that Draco loved his father as much as Lucius loved his son. Draco knew exactly how dirty Lucius's hands were, Draco knew that Lucius belonged in Azkaban and that he was managing to buy his way out. Draco didn't mind, and he expected Harry to look the other way.
Harry was doing it, more or less. There was nothing else he could do, short of killing Lucius; the Malfoy fortune had magically reappeared, and with it a dozen legal specialists who seemed to honestly believe that Lucius deserved his freedom—and was owed restitution for the time he'd served.
Snape said something, low and probably obscene, that Harry couldn't hear; Lucius overrode him. “His best interests? The way it was in my best interests to spend that time as a cat? You told me the spell was irreversible.” Harry could feel Draco tense, straining forward. They both wanted to know how Snape would answer this accusation.
“It's a bit late in the day to be moaning about lies,” Snape said derisively. “I didn't turn you back because I didn't want to, Malfoy. What do you think about that? You landed on your feet anyway. You always do. Draco doesn't. He needs something neither of us are capable of giving him. Merlin knows how, but you and Narcissa and I managed to raise a child a thousand times more decent than any of us. If you think that all he needs is a broom to make him all again, by all means buy him a fucking broom. Throw some more money at the problem. It's what you always do, isn't it?”
Lucius snorted, and Harry winced. He'd heard Draco make that noise a thousand times and until now he'd found it sexy. But Lucius was laughing, and he sounded like Draco, and not at all like the man who'd been responsible for Sirius's death. “Now you sound like Snape,” he said. “That's the man I love. 'I left you as a cat for six months because I liked you better that way, and besides you talked less!'”
“You talked just as much as a cat,” Snape said grumpily, but there was a breathless edge to his voice, so much so that Harry involuntarily wondered what Lucius was doing to him. “You just said less.”
Abruptly, Draco lifted his head and let it fall, quite hard, against Harry's shins.
Harry yelped. “What was that for?” he demanded.
“I think my father might be having sex with--that person--with his child in the next room,” Draco said tragically. “Do you think Snape is going to be my new stepmother?”
Harry kissed the only part of him he could reach, the top of his pale head. “If you were really a decent person,” he said, “you wouldn't mind.”
“Fuck that,” Draco said. “But, Harry, do you think it's true, what my father said?”
“Nothing your father has ever said in his life has been true.” Harry would have liked to take the words back as soon as they came out of his mouth, but he couldn't. He could only wait, and hope Draco wouldn't be too angry. Their relationship was still new, the boundaries undefined. “Sorry.”
“Not the cripple part,” Draco said, twisting around in Harry's lap so that they were face to face. “The broom part. You brought yours, right? Want to give me a ride?”
“In more ways than one,” Harry said, and kissed him. “But you'll have to settle for just the one today. It's too cold to go outside.”
postingwhore, and phoenixw, and pushdragon, and maybe a few others of you? Have been around for almost five years, one way or another. Y'all rock.Summary: Surviving the war was easy. Learning to live again will be much more difficult.
Prologue, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight
Harry sort of had his doubts about the whole Malfoy Family Yule thing. On the one hand, Draco was curled up next to him on the couch, the fire was blazing, and he could smell the roast turkey the house elves were cooking. On the other hand, Snape and Lucius Malfoy were in the other room, fighting in the kind of whispers that carried as well as shouting. And Harry hated them both.
He ran his fingers lazily through Draco's fine, pale hair, because he couldn't stand not to touch him. Draco sighed, but he curled into Harry's touch, too. The past few weeks had been hard on him, and Harry knew he still hadn't really come to terms with his father's resurrection—or with Snape's betrayal. Or with the fact that Harry, no matter how much he struggled to conceal it, clearly hated them both.
“You've made him into a cripple!” Lucius was saying, and Harry flinched, even though words never seemed to bother Draco. “You let them keep him pinned in that chair, dependent on you for everything, like he was some kind of pet.”
Harry could remember when Lucius Malfoy had been nothing more than a pampered house cat, with a dish of his own and a bed made out of folded towels. Draco's cheek was against Harry's knee, his face turned away from Harry, but Harry could feel him smiling. And, that was almost harder for Harry than civility: dealing with the realization that for Draco, Lucius wasn't a monster or a legend, that Draco loved his father as much as Lucius loved his son. Draco knew exactly how dirty Lucius's hands were, Draco knew that Lucius belonged in Azkaban and that he was managing to buy his way out. Draco didn't mind, and he expected Harry to look the other way.
Harry was doing it, more or less. There was nothing else he could do, short of killing Lucius; the Malfoy fortune had magically reappeared, and with it a dozen legal specialists who seemed to honestly believe that Lucius deserved his freedom—and was owed restitution for the time he'd served.
Snape said something, low and probably obscene, that Harry couldn't hear; Lucius overrode him. “His best interests? The way it was in my best interests to spend that time as a cat? You told me the spell was irreversible.” Harry could feel Draco tense, straining forward. They both wanted to know how Snape would answer this accusation.
“It's a bit late in the day to be moaning about lies,” Snape said derisively. “I didn't turn you back because I didn't want to, Malfoy. What do you think about that? You landed on your feet anyway. You always do. Draco doesn't. He needs something neither of us are capable of giving him. Merlin knows how, but you and Narcissa and I managed to raise a child a thousand times more decent than any of us. If you think that all he needs is a broom to make him all again, by all means buy him a fucking broom. Throw some more money at the problem. It's what you always do, isn't it?”
Lucius snorted, and Harry winced. He'd heard Draco make that noise a thousand times and until now he'd found it sexy. But Lucius was laughing, and he sounded like Draco, and not at all like the man who'd been responsible for Sirius's death. “Now you sound like Snape,” he said. “That's the man I love. 'I left you as a cat for six months because I liked you better that way, and besides you talked less!'”
“You talked just as much as a cat,” Snape said grumpily, but there was a breathless edge to his voice, so much so that Harry involuntarily wondered what Lucius was doing to him. “You just said less.”
Abruptly, Draco lifted his head and let it fall, quite hard, against Harry's shins.
Harry yelped. “What was that for?” he demanded.
“I think my father might be having sex with--that person--with his child in the next room,” Draco said tragically. “Do you think Snape is going to be my new stepmother?”
Harry kissed the only part of him he could reach, the top of his pale head. “If you were really a decent person,” he said, “you wouldn't mind.”
“Fuck that,” Draco said. “But, Harry, do you think it's true, what my father said?”
“Nothing your father has ever said in his life has been true.” Harry would have liked to take the words back as soon as they came out of his mouth, but he couldn't. He could only wait, and hope Draco wouldn't be too angry. Their relationship was still new, the boundaries undefined. “Sorry.”
“Not the cripple part,” Draco said, twisting around in Harry's lap so that they were face to face. “The broom part. You brought yours, right? Want to give me a ride?”
“In more ways than one,” Harry said, and kissed him. “But you'll have to settle for just the one today. It's too cold to go outside.”
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no subject
Date: 2007-06-21 03:54 am (UTC)I think you did a great job of describing how difficult it was for Draco to adapt to the changes. I loved the humor of turning Lucius into a cat. I thought it was someone else at first so I was surprise it was him. (although in hindsight it really was obvious.)
Overall, good story.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-27 09:56 pm (UTC)But I wanted to say thank you, for having read it, and for the criticism, which is entirely valid. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-21 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-23 08:20 am (UTC)I'm glad to be here. You are a very good writer, and I like to hear about your rl as well ♥
no subject
Date: 2007-07-27 02:19 pm (UTC)I hoped Lucifer might be Lucius but it seemed too good to be true, and your fic tends to be bleak so I thought I was bound to be disappointed. Well! I love the observation that Draco has talked to his father in cat form far more openly than he ever did in human form. And Lucius and Snape's relationship is just delicious - you really give a sense for how old and deep and taken-for-granted their bond was. Which you needed to do in order to make us suspend our disbelief at seeing Lucius forgive Snape for leaving him trapped in cat form. The most surprising moment for me was learning that Lucius had killed Bellatrix in an outburst of protective paternal rage. Very powerful and unexpected.
The Harry/Draco is wonderful too, of course. You had to keep Harry fairly simple (the persistent, optimistic Gryffindor) in order to make this Draco's story. You don't clarify whether Harry's attraction began after he began to spend time with Draco, or whether he got himself allocated the position of parole officer to satisfy a prior interest. I'm curious - which?
This story is packed with wonderful observations about Draco. His feeling of failure, his refusal to hope for anything more than a miserable life. I love how you always make him sympathetic without compromising his canon faults, his cowardice especially, and his snobbery. You never gloss over the impact of his injury either - the scene with him dragging his chair up the stairs of Grimmauld Place is haunting.
This has been such an enjoyable read. You never write anything obvious and the only expectation I have of your stories is that I will leave them thoroughly entertained and thinking about canon slightly differently.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-27 09:54 pm (UTC)Harry was curious about Draco, about how he was coping--whether he was coping--and it was a combination of pity and curiosity (and maybe just a tiny hint of attraction) that made him take on Draco's case. He didn't really see Draco as a person at first, but the one thing the war taught him, finally, was to listen. So when Draco started to talk, Harry heard him. And Harry was lonely, too.
This was so much Draco's story that I think it's easy to overlook Harry--the fact that Harry was so reluctant to go home alone that he saw going to Snape's every night to hang out with Draco as a better option.
I adore Draco as a canon character, because that would totally be me: clever, wrongheaded, and a complete coward. There's no doubt in my mind which house I'd end up in. Someone (I think it was cassandraclare) wrote something once comparing Draco and Lymond. It made me laugh, because to me Lymond so clearly seems like a Harry
Potter type. Margaret Lennox, I could see as a Malfoy, maybe.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-30 06:29 am (UTC)sorry that I write again.
I have now translated the epilogue. And I'm still excited. The cat, Lucius and all that.
But I have a criticism: I thought it's a pity that Draco could not walk at the end. I mean with prostheses or so. And it's sad that he has not found a job.
Both have been suggested: Walking with prostheses and the job.
I was hoping for an epilogue. A year later. With harry at his Side. And some successes for Draco. Walking around etc.
Don't want to write a sequel? Draco would have deserved it. After these terrible two years. And we'll love it. I'm sure.
However, I would like to repeat: this is a good fanfiction. I really enjoyed it. Both. Translating and reading.
Thank you. In the name of the German readers, who know only the first two chapters, yet.
Best wishes, Sonja
PS:. Sequel? ;)