The Lord Appellant 6/37

[herumtreiber]

Title:  The Lord Appellant 6/37
Chapter:  Rape interruptus
Author:herumtreiber  
Genre: Slash, romance, adventure, dark!fic
Pairing: Draco/Blaise, one sided Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17 for violence
Warnings for the fic: It's a dark fic, rape is mentioned several times. Dementors appear and not for show. Character death (not Harry, Draco or Blaise). Evil!Ron, powerful Hermione, Pansy and Bellatrix. Sympathetic to Slytherins.
Epilogue compliant? No
Chapter length: ~1,632 words
Disclaimer:  I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from  writing  these stories.
Summary: After the events of HBP, the Minister of Magic wants to finish the Malfoys but Draco uses a Wizengamot procedure to fight back. Veelas and Siddhe appear in the story as Draco uses political means to contest the pureblood's allegiance to Voldemort.
Notes: I wrote this before DH was published, so please no picayune comments about canon.


Table of contents



Rape interruptus

When they arrived to the richly furnished room, the sconces were lit; there was warmth and joy on the Slytherin side while the Gryffindors looked morosely on. Harry was sitting on one side, sulking and looking murderous.

Draco entered first, and Blaise was next. Collectively, there was indrawn breath. Draco, still wearing his jeans and T-shirt from before, looked fetching one moment and heart-clenchingly angry the next. The Slytherins knew that when Draco let his temper fly, they had to pick up the pieces afterwards. Yet there was an added sense of majesty, of determination, to the boy they knew and respected, and some loved. When they looked at him, they saw more than a person, more than a title; they intuited brutal purpose fighting with fairness, compassion losing to survival.

Draco barked, "You four! You will take the four minions far away from here. If they remain they will become as permanently stupid as they are right now, although there is not much noticeable difference."

Crabbe asked, "Can we rough them up?"

Everyone looked interested in the answer. What Crabbe had asked for was if the prisoners were to be raped. Even Harry pricked up his ears, waiting expectantly for the answer. Blaise looked anxiously at Draco and hoped for a right answer, any answer that wasn't the most likely one.

Savoring the expectation, Draco drawled icily, "You most certainly can. However, if you do, I expect you to tape it. I will abide by whatever action you take, but not death or obliviate."

"I know they planned vile acts against me, but due to the Godspeed of my friends, of you, they failed: should we not let them see Slytherin's mercy?"

"Whatever you plan on doing to them, remember they have kin and friends who will find out, and maybe come after you. A good deed could stand us in good stead someday. And of course, you'll have to be the ones doing the deeds, because we all know how devilish Slytherin I am!"

With this Draco finished, pouting theatrically. Nearly everyone laughed, including Harry's dumb-as-nails sidekicks. Blaise sighed and smirked a little, thinking about Draco's typical Slytherin ways to insure that his friends behave, offering a putative advantage in the future to influence the present.

Would his friends follow? Blaise knew this particular group of Slytherins and knew them to be brutal about survival, they would not gladly help others, unless another survival plan dictated they did; not really girl scout material.

But he also knew that this group had been to hell and back, and that was due to the strength and weakness of one Draco Malfoy. He had led the Slytherins since he arrived at Hogwarts, and they'd managed to survive the Chamber of Secrets being reopened, the return of Voldemort, the operation at the Department of Mysteries, and the assassination of Dumbledore.

He had failed in some of his schemes, time and again; what held the Slytherins' attention and respect is that he rose, and went back to work, and swore he'd do it better.

And all this time, he had been trapped by the Bond. What could such a man do without the yoke of the Bond?

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

When the others had gone, there was a marked change of mood in the room. Everyone looked worriedly at Draco, there were some who knew he was a Veela and were worried about his reactions to his nominal mate. Blaise prepared to enjoy the fireworks, offering a prayer to his gods.

Harry started to say something, when Draco held up his hands and shut him up, saying "Do not speak yet Potter! What you have done is odious! As a result of your actions the balance of power in our relationship has shifted, and it is not in your favor! So tread very carefully here."

Harry answered haughtily, "I see no need to speak so carefully, here, in the presence of a man who treats treason so carelessly as to be surrounded by traitors. What does it feel to know that Blaise betrayed you and gave me the wards?"

The Slytherins were thinking that this was becoming another Potter-Malfoy screaming match, where they'd start hurling insults, and then throw hexes and punches, and Draco would invariably lose. They were dead wrong.

Draco was pissed off, he was royally pissed off. There was a dark aura about him. Anyone who saw him like this would never doubt the existence of the Child of Dark.

His grey eyes glowed like finest silver.

He said, "What do you know about treason and trust? You whose great true friend is Ron Weasley, who resents you so much for your wealth and fame it sickens me! Your other close friends are from among the Weasel's family. Though they mean well, you cannot have with them the deeper relationship you have with Weasel, who is jealous of your adventures. With Granger you have a good working relationship, so long as it doesn't go against her principles. She will have your skin when she knows how you messed up big time here. The Weaselette was only with you because she wanted to fall for the hero. If she knew the real politics, she'd probably be after me."

"So don't talk to me of trust, stupid half-blood!"

Draco took out his wand and pointed it at Harry, and did what he'd dreamt of doing for so long, he roared, "Crucio!"

Harry was completely surprised. He actually never expected to be hit by a Crucio from Malfoy. The pain was overwhelming, much more than everything the Dark Lord ever did. There was a deep accompanying emotional pain, too, for he recognized that Draco was telling him the truth. His best friend was considerably resentful of him. His other friend would help him, as long as it didn't go against her rules, which were obstinate at best; and his on and off girlfriend wanted to be with him for the fame. It was horrifying, coupled with the physical pain, it was devastating.

The Crucio lasted two minutes, two minutes in hell for Harry. Draco walked near to Harry and, directing his wand towards him, said, Ennervate!

Harry looked warily around and kept quiet. Draco seemed pleased. He directed his eyes to look for Harry's eyes, and then uttered the spell, "Legilimens!"

After three minutes, Draco broke the spell saying, "What inane and useless thoughts, Potter!" "If I were you I would take an immense obliviate and begin again, hoping for better luck this time."

Harry was crying, his hair and clothes were in complete disarray and there was snot on his face. He was sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around his sides, moving from side to side. He had expected to fight with Malfoy, but never had he expected to be treated so harshly, so impersonally.

Draco continued, "Stand up, half-blood!"

Harry thought about refusing just for the sake of it, but he remembered the Crucio and the immense pain, and also the Legilimens. He stood up.

For the next spell, Draco did not need his wand, he could cast it both wandlessly and voicelessly, which could prove crucial in the future. He thought: Imperio!, and then "Lick my boots, Potter, then you can go."

Harry tried to fight the curse like he'd done with Voldemort, but this one was like the blond caster himself: relentless, cold and demanding to be obeyed. His mind folded in the path of such an explosive force, and he did as he was told.

Everyone was surprised when Potter kneeled and licked Draco's boots. They made derogatory comments and took snapshots.

Blaise was really worried. If there was one person who could unhinge Draco Malfoy, it was Harry Potter. He wondered what more Draco had planned. So he heard with relief the news that they were finished with Potter.

Draco said, "Blaise, take him home. He is to leave exactly as he is, the Cloak is mine now, or we can explain to the authorities how he came to be here."

As Potter was leaving the room, Draco made a sign for them to stop and then said, addressing Potter, "Dumb ass, I was going to let you go, after a good tongue-lashing, but you insulted Blaise. No one insults him in my presence. You had to be taught a lesson. You can thank your role in the war that the lesson was so painless."

Draco went to his room and laid down. As he was falling asleep, he heard someone enter and saw Blaise, who confirmed that Potter was back in his department.

Draco said wistfully, "I know you want me to be wise, Blaise, and I tried, I tried really hard, but Potter is so self-righteous and stubborn, he won't change by himself."

"I also know that if I keep it all bottled up inside me, it will grow and I'll become very dark. I just have to let go once in a while."

"There is a part inside me that rebels against wisdom, it wants action, and blood. I wonder if it is because of the Bond or how my brain is constructed, but it is there."

"I'm counting on you Blaise, to realize if I'm turning too dark. I don't want to become like my father or Voldemort. If that should happen, just dispose of me promptly and go on."

Blaise muttered good night and made to open the door, but he lingered a while and was able to hear Draco's whisper: "Because if I am too dark then I wouldn't love you, and that thought does not bear thinking of."

7. La foi absolue