Only Natural (remix) (H/D, PG)

[sesheta66]

Title: Only Natural (Harry's remix)
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~ 465
Pairing/Characters: Harry/Draco
Challenges: slythindor100's challenges #70 - to remix someone else's fic. I chose Only Natural by alisanne.
Summary: Original - "The voice of my father still loud as before, it used to scare me but not anymore." Remix is from Harry's point of view.
Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for underage readers. Please observe the ratings, warnings, and age of legal consent for your country. The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.



Harry heard the voice say, "You again?" as Draco entered the Manor's ancestral library. His heart ached as the door shut, blocking him from view.

It frustrated Harry being on the other side of the door. He felt like he was sending Draco to be slaughtered ... one cruel word at a time. He wished he could go in with him, support him, defend him. But the one time he had tried had been an unmitigated disaster. Lucius could be heard for days screaming from the library, and not even the strongest silencing charms worked. He knew it was better this way, but it didn't assuage his guilt.

"Is he still here as well?" he heard Lucius' voice call out. He cringed, knowing that he couldn't stop the monthly barrage of insults and verbal attacks on Draco by his father. Once the portrait had found out that Draco was gay - and living with the man responsible for Voldemort's eventual demise - he had been impossible to approach. He was, after all, only a portrait, which meant he could not be expected to change. He was the ever-loving, sweet-natured Lucius that Harry had known as a child, and there was nothing they could do to change that.

"You are a disgrace to the family name and a fool." Harry's hands were clenched in tight fists, and he was restraining himself from entering the room. He wished that there was some way to avoid this monthly torture, but the accounting book couldn't be removed from the library.

Finally he heard Draco's footsteps approaching just before he opened the door. Harry watched as the pain etched on his face spoke volumes. Draco leaned against the door, eyes closed, no doubt holding back a wave of emotion.

"Okay?" he asked, as he squeezed his shoulder to offer comfort. He knew from prior months that Draco preferred to handle this his way, so he offered support and waited to be asked for more.

"It's just hard. I know he can't change, but I still wish..."

Harry couldn't hold back any longer, pulling him close and willing for the strength to keep his own anger, boiling just below the surface, at bay.

"I know," he said, trying to be rational, "but that's the nature of portraits. They don't change or grow all that much."

Draco cracked a pained smile towards Harry. "True enough. Well, it's done for now. Now it's your job to make me forget all the things he said to me before I have to go back in there next month."

If it weren't so painful, Harry would have laughed at that. As if Draco even had to ask. "Mmm, that I can do," he said, and led the way to their bedroom to start his new assignment.

Comments

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

*hands tissue*

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it. :)

I really loved the way you portrayed Draco's pain in the original, and enjoyed showing Harry's pov.