FTtSoL 08
Title: Faster Than the Speed of Love
Author: Feygan
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco/Charlus, slash
CHAPTER FIVE
Living through the war had left deeper scars than Draco had realized. There were things that made him jump in fright and it was only the magic in his sheets that let him sleep at all. It felt as though he was contracting in on himself, all the parts of him pulling away from his flesh to become shriveled and microscopically small.
The only thing that kept him from losing his control and screaming from the rooftops in the madness only a complete loss of *everything* could bring was the warm rush of the soulbond.
It tied him to the world, and his world was Charlus. Just knowing that he wasn't alone here was enough to let Draco pull himself out of the dark hole he could feel himself falling into.
And on top of everything else, there were things he kept finding out about his own body.
He'd known that he wasn't human anymore, that he was a veela, his blood something unclean and strange. But knowing and *knowing* were two very different things. He simply hadn't expected to feel so different, alien, and not just because of the changes in the mirror.
He had been changed on the inside too. The way he looked at things or reacted to things that happened in his life, it was all different. He was different. And it terrified him when he let himself think about it.
So he was relieved that Charlus never gave him a chance to brood. He was constantly pulling Draco afer him, urging him to get involved with dfferent things in this new life. And Draco really tried.
It made him particularly pleased to realize that he was fond of Hadrian. The little squashed looking baby found a place in his heart and grew there, becoming more of a person everyday. And Draco found himself loving he baby as his very own and it was completely natural.
As anchors to this new and strange life, Charlus and Hadrian did a good job.
They gave him a reason to keep going forward day by day. He was grateful for that, as he had nearly given up the idea of experiencing new tomorrows.
He was actually very surprised by how natural Hadrian felt in his arms and by how comfortable he was listening to that little voice. Raised an only child, he had been sure that babies were nothing he wanted anything to do with. Except Hadrian was adorable and laughing and just having him nearby forced Draco to remember at all moments that he was alive.
The future spun out unwritten, and it was his duty to ensure that Hadrian saw as much of it as possible.
"I won't let the bad man get you this time," he whispered against Hadrian's downy head, the soothing scent of powder filling his nose. Hadrian was a warm weight in his arms, already gaining solidity even after a few months of life.
Draco wasn't completely certain about the history of the Black family, but he was sure that Hadrian Potter had died before he was twenty-seven years old at the hands of the Dark Lord. He was one of the reasons that James Potter had been so fierce in his convictions that Voldemort be stopped.
"I see that my grandson already has you wrapped around his finger."
Draco didn't jump. He turned to look at Nigel Potter--another of the Dark Lord's victims--and smiled. "He's a surprisingly well-behaved baby. I always thought that they cried all the time and there would be no reason to bother with them, but Hadrian is a remarkably good baby."
"He is a Potter." Though he came across as coldly urbane in the company of outsiders, amongst family--which he seemed to consider Draco as his son's soulbond--Nigel was hearty and robust. He was filled with family loyalty and already Draco could tell that there wasn't anything Nigel wouldn't do for the good of the Potter line.
It made Draco wistful for the man Lucius could have been. The man he'd thought his father was when he was a child and the world hadn't looked quite so hopeless and dark.
"Charlus told me that you wouldn't go with him today," Nigel said, coming to stand close to the rocking chair where he could gaze down into Hadrian's face.
Draco's shoulders wanted to hunch in on themselves, but he held himself still. "I didn't think I was ready yet to leave the house. Too many people around makes me feel uncomfortable. I didn't want to be bad company."
Nigel frowned. "You have spoken to that healer of yours since you left hospital, haven't you?"
"Yes. He says it's only a matter of time. I've been visiting with the mind healers once a week." He hated the sessions, but he knew that they were something he needed. Even with all the truths he was hiding, he still needed help to straighten out the tangle living in his head.
"Good. We need to make sure that they're doing the best that they can for you," Nigel said. "You are a member of the Potter family now. You will be treated with respect."
Draco jiggled Hadrian lightly. "Thank you for taking such good care of me." He meant it too. Considering the way his life had gone, he wouldn't have been too surprised to end up in some flop house in Knockturn Alley. Instead he was welcomed at Potter Manor and somehow he'd been given Charlus and Hadrian.
Author: Feygan
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco/Charlus, slash
CHAPTER FIVE
Living through the war had left deeper scars than Draco had realized. There were things that made him jump in fright and it was only the magic in his sheets that let him sleep at all. It felt as though he was contracting in on himself, all the parts of him pulling away from his flesh to become shriveled and microscopically small.
The only thing that kept him from losing his control and screaming from the rooftops in the madness only a complete loss of *everything* could bring was the warm rush of the soulbond.
It tied him to the world, and his world was Charlus. Just knowing that he wasn't alone here was enough to let Draco pull himself out of the dark hole he could feel himself falling into.
And on top of everything else, there were things he kept finding out about his own body.
He'd known that he wasn't human anymore, that he was a veela, his blood something unclean and strange. But knowing and *knowing* were two very different things. He simply hadn't expected to feel so different, alien, and not just because of the changes in the mirror.
He had been changed on the inside too. The way he looked at things or reacted to things that happened in his life, it was all different. He was different. And it terrified him when he let himself think about it.
So he was relieved that Charlus never gave him a chance to brood. He was constantly pulling Draco afer him, urging him to get involved with dfferent things in this new life. And Draco really tried.
It made him particularly pleased to realize that he was fond of Hadrian. The little squashed looking baby found a place in his heart and grew there, becoming more of a person everyday. And Draco found himself loving he baby as his very own and it was completely natural.
As anchors to this new and strange life, Charlus and Hadrian did a good job.
They gave him a reason to keep going forward day by day. He was grateful for that, as he had nearly given up the idea of experiencing new tomorrows.
He was actually very surprised by how natural Hadrian felt in his arms and by how comfortable he was listening to that little voice. Raised an only child, he had been sure that babies were nothing he wanted anything to do with. Except Hadrian was adorable and laughing and just having him nearby forced Draco to remember at all moments that he was alive.
The future spun out unwritten, and it was his duty to ensure that Hadrian saw as much of it as possible.
"I won't let the bad man get you this time," he whispered against Hadrian's downy head, the soothing scent of powder filling his nose. Hadrian was a warm weight in his arms, already gaining solidity even after a few months of life.
Draco wasn't completely certain about the history of the Black family, but he was sure that Hadrian Potter had died before he was twenty-seven years old at the hands of the Dark Lord. He was one of the reasons that James Potter had been so fierce in his convictions that Voldemort be stopped.
"I see that my grandson already has you wrapped around his finger."
Draco didn't jump. He turned to look at Nigel Potter--another of the Dark Lord's victims--and smiled. "He's a surprisingly well-behaved baby. I always thought that they cried all the time and there would be no reason to bother with them, but Hadrian is a remarkably good baby."
"He is a Potter." Though he came across as coldly urbane in the company of outsiders, amongst family--which he seemed to consider Draco as his son's soulbond--Nigel was hearty and robust. He was filled with family loyalty and already Draco could tell that there wasn't anything Nigel wouldn't do for the good of the Potter line.
It made Draco wistful for the man Lucius could have been. The man he'd thought his father was when he was a child and the world hadn't looked quite so hopeless and dark.
"Charlus told me that you wouldn't go with him today," Nigel said, coming to stand close to the rocking chair where he could gaze down into Hadrian's face.
Draco's shoulders wanted to hunch in on themselves, but he held himself still. "I didn't think I was ready yet to leave the house. Too many people around makes me feel uncomfortable. I didn't want to be bad company."
Nigel frowned. "You have spoken to that healer of yours since you left hospital, haven't you?"
"Yes. He says it's only a matter of time. I've been visiting with the mind healers once a week." He hated the sessions, but he knew that they were something he needed. Even with all the truths he was hiding, he still needed help to straighten out the tangle living in his head.
"Good. We need to make sure that they're doing the best that they can for you," Nigel said. "You are a member of the Potter family now. You will be treated with respect."
Draco jiggled Hadrian lightly. "Thank you for taking such good care of me." He meant it too. Considering the way his life had gone, he wouldn't have been too surprised to end up in some flop house in Knockturn Alley. Instead he was welcomed at Potter Manor and somehow he'd been given Charlus and Hadrian.