[Fic] "Fault Lines" and "Perspective" -- Harry Potter, G/H/D, Theme 22
Author: Elizabeth Culmer edenfalling
Fandom/Pairing: Harry Potter, Ginny/Harry/Draco
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Theme: #22 - Remembering
Warnings: none
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Fault Lines
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It was a good morning until he reached page two of the newspaper. Then his stomach roiled, and he wanted to start casting Unforgiveables.
Draco folded the paper, dropped it onto the floor, and pulled the serving platter of bacon over to his side of the table. "Potter. Let's buy the Daily Prophet, fire all the writers, and burn the offices to the ground."
"That won't do any good," said Harry. "Give me some of the bacon and tell me what they wrote this time."
Draco sniffed. "Ginny only cooks it because I like it -- therefore, it's my bacon, and I can share it or not as I please. Today I don't please." But he handed one slice across the table, just to keep Harry listening. "It's the usual rubbish. Father dead in Azkaban, mother a Death Eater, hereditary Black madness and obsession -- mostly Aunt Bellatrix, but they threw Sirius in for variety -- the attack on Hogwarts, and wondering how long before I snap and murder you in your sleep. I wouldn't murder you in your sleep even if I did want to set myself up as a Dark Lord; it's tacky, and besides, Ginny would skin me alive."
"I'm glad we're clear on that," said Ginny, setting down a platter of toast and a jar of marmalade. "Ignore them, Draco; they just want an entertaining reaction out of you."
"I know," snapped Draco, "but just once, I wish they'd remember that nobody spends all their time being evil. And this time, there's a side article wondering if I was abused and spent my childhood acting out -- they bring up Father's walking stick, and the way Mother never hugged me in public. It's one thing to say they were terrorists who served the Dark Lord -- that's true, after all -- but they were good parents!"
Harry looked skeptical. "There's more than one kind of abuse -- I looked it up, after the war. The Dursleys never hit me, or really starved me, but I was an abused child by almost any definition. Emotional neglect and verbal put-downs may not be abuse, but they're not exactly good parenting either."
"Father only criticized when I did something stupid, or failed to live up to my potential," said Draco. "When I did something right, he told me that too. And what do you mean, emotional neglect? I wasn't neglected. Mother and Father loved me. You know Snape killed Dumbledore because Mother made him swear the Unbreakable Vow to carry out my task if I failed! If she hadn't loved me, she would never have gone that far."
Harry was clutching the butter knife like a sword, and Draco abruptly realized that had, perhaps, not been the best example to raise.
"I'm still sorry about that," he said quietly. "But you have to see that even if my parents were on the wrong side, that didn't make them bad parents."
"Logically, one might expect people who can see other people as animals or lesser creatures to have limited compassion in all situations, but the human mind is fascinating in its ability to compartmentalize," said Ginny in a dry, precise tone. "Compassion and love are shown to those in the 'in group,' while those in the 'out group' are not worthy of any such consideration. Thus, your parents could love you and murder your Muggle-born classmates at the same time, with no internal contradiction, because you and they were not in the same mental and emotional category." She scraped her knife around the edge of her toast, neatening the layer of marmalade so it covered every square inch and no further.
Harry took a deep breath. "Okay, I get it. Back to the original subject -- no, you can't do anything to the Daily Prophet. It's counterproductive. What you can do, if you feel that strongly about the article, is give an interview to Luna and explain what your family was really like."
Draco considered the idea. On the one hand, it would make the truth public. On the other hand, he hated talking about his family; no matter how he tried to explain things, he only seemed to give gossip-mongers more food for their poisonous theories. On the other other hand, maybe it was time to tell his side of the story so he could finally wash his hands of the whole business and be able to point people to the interview whenever they asked him intrusive questions; that seemed to work reasonably well for Harry.
"Right. Ginny, when's the best time to Floo Luna?"
Ginny swallowed a bite of toast and said, "Ask Harry -- she never talks about work when we go out drinking."
"I'll bring her by the Ministry when I pick you up for lunch," said Harry. "She'll probably want an exclusive on whatever Dark objects you're cataloging today, but I'm sure you'll be able to talk her out of that."
"I hate when you barge in and drag me off in the middle of work; you're always interrupting me in the middle of forensic charms, and everybody stares at you," Draco grumbled, but it was a pro forma objection and they both knew it.
"Well, I'm glad that's settled," said Ginny, clapping her hands briskly. "Now, since I was nice enough to get up early and cook for you today, it's your turn to wash the dishes and do the rest of the housework."
The subsequent argument pushed aside the last of Draco's outrage, at least for the moment.
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And here is the original version, which I scrapped for various and sundry reasons, the most important being that I wanted an actual story rather than a character study, and I wanted to at least attempt subtlety. But I am a packrat and I didn't want to delete a finished ficlet, so I'm posting it for the sake of completeness.
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Perspective (an alternate response to theme #22: remembering)
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The world remembers that Draco made the attack on Hogwarts possible. The world remembers his father assaulting the Ministry, his father's trial, his father's death in Azkaban. The world remembers his mother, his aunt, and his uncle standing next to the Dark Lord in the final battle.
Draco remembers letters and sweets, faithfully owled to him every week. He remembers rare words of approval and the brief nod of respect that accompanied them. He remembers arguments, lectures, and the way that disapproval hurt more than any blow ever could, because he knew he'd failed his parents' trust. He remembers love. It was quiet, and restrained, but he never doubted its presence.
Harry remembers that Draco yelps and laughs when someone runs a hand along the side of his ribs; he does that, now and then, sometimes in public. Ginny remembers that he likes bacon for breakfast; she cooks it for him on weekends, and whenever she happens to see sunrise during the week. Harry remembers to drop by his office and make sure he comes up for air and eats lunch, which Draco accidentally-on-purpose forgets to do because he doesn't like facing his coworkers' measuring stares. Ginny remembers to buy hair gel when it's on sale, which Draco always forgets to do because he's not used to shopping for household necessities, or watching his money.
Draco remembers reaching out his hand on a train and being turned away. He remembers a bone-deep ache in his arm, from slow-healing nerve damage, and his fury when nobody believed it was real. He remembers insults and curses flung in the corridors. He remembers victory after victory snatched away on the Quidditch pitch. He remembers being punched, strangled, and kicked in the shins. He remembers hatred and disgust, and no sign that anything would ever change, that he could ever fix that first impression.
Draco looks at his life and wonders at the changes. Sometimes the world collapses underneath you. And sometimes miracles happen.
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End
And that's all 30 themes! I have a 31st 'tag' ficlet, however, which I will post tomorrow, also for the sake of completeness. :-)
Fandom/Pairing: Harry Potter, Ginny/Harry/Draco
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Theme: #22 - Remembering
Warnings: none
---------------------------------------------
Fault Lines
---------------------------------------------
It was a good morning until he reached page two of the newspaper. Then his stomach roiled, and he wanted to start casting Unforgiveables.
Draco folded the paper, dropped it onto the floor, and pulled the serving platter of bacon over to his side of the table. "Potter. Let's buy the Daily Prophet, fire all the writers, and burn the offices to the ground."
"That won't do any good," said Harry. "Give me some of the bacon and tell me what they wrote this time."
Draco sniffed. "Ginny only cooks it because I like it -- therefore, it's my bacon, and I can share it or not as I please. Today I don't please." But he handed one slice across the table, just to keep Harry listening. "It's the usual rubbish. Father dead in Azkaban, mother a Death Eater, hereditary Black madness and obsession -- mostly Aunt Bellatrix, but they threw Sirius in for variety -- the attack on Hogwarts, and wondering how long before I snap and murder you in your sleep. I wouldn't murder you in your sleep even if I did want to set myself up as a Dark Lord; it's tacky, and besides, Ginny would skin me alive."
"I'm glad we're clear on that," said Ginny, setting down a platter of toast and a jar of marmalade. "Ignore them, Draco; they just want an entertaining reaction out of you."
"I know," snapped Draco, "but just once, I wish they'd remember that nobody spends all their time being evil. And this time, there's a side article wondering if I was abused and spent my childhood acting out -- they bring up Father's walking stick, and the way Mother never hugged me in public. It's one thing to say they were terrorists who served the Dark Lord -- that's true, after all -- but they were good parents!"
Harry looked skeptical. "There's more than one kind of abuse -- I looked it up, after the war. The Dursleys never hit me, or really starved me, but I was an abused child by almost any definition. Emotional neglect and verbal put-downs may not be abuse, but they're not exactly good parenting either."
"Father only criticized when I did something stupid, or failed to live up to my potential," said Draco. "When I did something right, he told me that too. And what do you mean, emotional neglect? I wasn't neglected. Mother and Father loved me. You know Snape killed Dumbledore because Mother made him swear the Unbreakable Vow to carry out my task if I failed! If she hadn't loved me, she would never have gone that far."
Harry was clutching the butter knife like a sword, and Draco abruptly realized that had, perhaps, not been the best example to raise.
"I'm still sorry about that," he said quietly. "But you have to see that even if my parents were on the wrong side, that didn't make them bad parents."
"Logically, one might expect people who can see other people as animals or lesser creatures to have limited compassion in all situations, but the human mind is fascinating in its ability to compartmentalize," said Ginny in a dry, precise tone. "Compassion and love are shown to those in the 'in group,' while those in the 'out group' are not worthy of any such consideration. Thus, your parents could love you and murder your Muggle-born classmates at the same time, with no internal contradiction, because you and they were not in the same mental and emotional category." She scraped her knife around the edge of her toast, neatening the layer of marmalade so it covered every square inch and no further.
Harry took a deep breath. "Okay, I get it. Back to the original subject -- no, you can't do anything to the Daily Prophet. It's counterproductive. What you can do, if you feel that strongly about the article, is give an interview to Luna and explain what your family was really like."
Draco considered the idea. On the one hand, it would make the truth public. On the other hand, he hated talking about his family; no matter how he tried to explain things, he only seemed to give gossip-mongers more food for their poisonous theories. On the other other hand, maybe it was time to tell his side of the story so he could finally wash his hands of the whole business and be able to point people to the interview whenever they asked him intrusive questions; that seemed to work reasonably well for Harry.
"Right. Ginny, when's the best time to Floo Luna?"
Ginny swallowed a bite of toast and said, "Ask Harry -- she never talks about work when we go out drinking."
"I'll bring her by the Ministry when I pick you up for lunch," said Harry. "She'll probably want an exclusive on whatever Dark objects you're cataloging today, but I'm sure you'll be able to talk her out of that."
"I hate when you barge in and drag me off in the middle of work; you're always interrupting me in the middle of forensic charms, and everybody stares at you," Draco grumbled, but it was a pro forma objection and they both knew it.
"Well, I'm glad that's settled," said Ginny, clapping her hands briskly. "Now, since I was nice enough to get up early and cook for you today, it's your turn to wash the dishes and do the rest of the housework."
The subsequent argument pushed aside the last of Draco's outrage, at least for the moment.
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
And here is the original version, which I scrapped for various and sundry reasons, the most important being that I wanted an actual story rather than a character study, and I wanted to at least attempt subtlety. But I am a packrat and I didn't want to delete a finished ficlet, so I'm posting it for the sake of completeness.
---------------------------------------------
Perspective (an alternate response to theme #22: remembering)
---------------------------------------------
The world remembers that Draco made the attack on Hogwarts possible. The world remembers his father assaulting the Ministry, his father's trial, his father's death in Azkaban. The world remembers his mother, his aunt, and his uncle standing next to the Dark Lord in the final battle.
Draco remembers letters and sweets, faithfully owled to him every week. He remembers rare words of approval and the brief nod of respect that accompanied them. He remembers arguments, lectures, and the way that disapproval hurt more than any blow ever could, because he knew he'd failed his parents' trust. He remembers love. It was quiet, and restrained, but he never doubted its presence.
Harry remembers that Draco yelps and laughs when someone runs a hand along the side of his ribs; he does that, now and then, sometimes in public. Ginny remembers that he likes bacon for breakfast; she cooks it for him on weekends, and whenever she happens to see sunrise during the week. Harry remembers to drop by his office and make sure he comes up for air and eats lunch, which Draco accidentally-on-purpose forgets to do because he doesn't like facing his coworkers' measuring stares. Ginny remembers to buy hair gel when it's on sale, which Draco always forgets to do because he's not used to shopping for household necessities, or watching his money.
Draco remembers reaching out his hand on a train and being turned away. He remembers a bone-deep ache in his arm, from slow-healing nerve damage, and his fury when nobody believed it was real. He remembers insults and curses flung in the corridors. He remembers victory after victory snatched away on the Quidditch pitch. He remembers being punched, strangled, and kicked in the shins. He remembers hatred and disgust, and no sign that anything would ever change, that he could ever fix that first impression.
Draco looks at his life and wonders at the changes. Sometimes the world collapses underneath you. And sometimes miracles happen.
---------------------------------------------
End
And that's all 30 themes! I have a 31st 'tag' ficlet, however, which I will post tomorrow, also for the sake of completeness. :-)