Slithering, a sequel. Part 53

[twisted_miracle]

Title: Slithering, a sequel - 53
Author: twisted_miracle
Team: death eaters
Word count: 100x4
Characters/pairings: Harry/Draco
Rating: Rated PG today, NC-17 overall
Challenge: talk
Disclaimer: They aren't mine, they belong to the clever Scottish lady. I just bend them and love them. Please don't smack me for playing. It isn't like I am going to earn any money from this!

Author's note: Comments are love!
Second Author's Note: I fell in love with Neko Case because Frayach suggested I give her music a try. What a gift! I miss interacting with Frayach.

Summary: Draco talks to Aunt Andromeda. At length.

Author's third Note: This is a sequel to "Slither In," which starts here: http://dracoharry100.livejournal.com/286839.html
and ends here: http://dracoharry100.livejournal.com/460335.html

Sequel "Slithering"
part 1: http://dracoharry100.livejournal.com/1207586.html
Part 52: https://dracoharry100.dreamwidth.org/238500.html#cutid1


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Aunt Andromeda might claim distance from her Slytherin roots, but when Draco finally looked up, he was impressed by her perfect poker face. Surely she was surprised to hear Teddy’s godfather was the reason for Draco’s deluge of tears? But she looked so calm, patiently awaiting Draco’s explanation.

Draco swallowed, and tried to decide whether or not to confess his shame. There was probably no one safer, he realized. After all, she was his blood, but she loved Harry. She was probably predisposed to view them both in the most favourable light.

Taking a deep breath, Draco prepared to speak.

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Aunt Andromeda nodded, and words fell from his mouth.

Draco admitted his fears. His disgust. His loss of place in the world. His ignorance in how to find or make a new one but for the surety that it required obtaining the perfect wife.

He explained how Mum pushed him at Harry, touched on his confusion regarding all the sleep-talk, described their miserable trip to Azkaban.

Finally, Draco confessed to the loveless sex, the crushing lust. Admitted an all-encompassing desire that filled him with terror when he was away from Harry and made him cruel when they were near others.

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Exhausted from the torrent of emotional confession, Draco slumped against the back of the couch.

“I’m sorry,” he said, embarrassed all over again. He couldn’t look her in the eye. “I shouldn’t have burdened you with all of that… emotional frivolity.”

“On the contrary,” his aunt declared firmly. “You should have, and I am glad you did. And hear this: emotions are not frivolous.”

She looked at her watch, then stood up and held out a hand to him. “Come, child, Teddy will be awake any moment. You should meet him. Let’s share a pot of tea while we wait.”

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Following his aunt as she led him back toward her kitchen, Draco silently marveled. This aunt of his was quite unlike everyone else. She was utterly no nonsense, honest, firm and strong, but at the same time she was both loving and generous. She rewarded honesty and returned it. Yet, one still got the sense that she could not easily be fooled.

She was almost like McGonagall, if Draco thought a Gryffindor could be trusted to treat him — or any Slytherin student — with fairness. He almost giggled. Then he stopped. Dumbledore had been biased beyond belief, but had McGonagall? Truthfully?

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Continued: https://dracoharry100.dreamwidth.org/242161.html#cutid1

Comments

[lyonessheart]

Interesting switch to McGonagall in the end. Here I can only offer my personal opinion, that she has displayed as much prejudice towards Slytherin in the books as Serverus Snape has towards the Slytherins. The entire housesystem is a recipe for disaster ;)

Maybe she has learned from the war though and Draco has seen that in this Universe. I can't tell.

I still hope that someone will call Harry out on his abuse of trust, but maybe Andromeda will be the one to set both of them on the right path. They are not in a situation where they are good for one another, and even though my heart is set on Drarry, for these two I see years ahead where they grow into their own skins - before a healthy relationship is possible.

[twisted_miracle]

I agree that the House system is a mess. I haven't read the books in ages, and my impression of McGonagall could be skewed by fanfic, but my sense of her is pretty much how I described Andromeda above. Feel free to remind me of what I have forgotten!

[lyonessheart]

I think as with most characters in the books we don't know enough about Minerva to say that for sure. Take the exception for Harry to play as a first year for example - she overstepped the rules because she saw an advantage over Slytherin, that is blatant favoritism. Interaction with other houses is not displayed in the books and I believe that with reason. The books themselves are coloured with favorable bias towards the Gryffindors :)

But as this universe is set after the war, I have the hope that Minerva has learned from Serverus sacrifice and now treats all of the students equally, no matter what their house.

[twisted_miracle]

Yes, I agree, that does look like blatant favoritism. However, another way to view her breaking the rules and putting Harry on the team is that she saw this half-destroyed child, no one loves him, he has no real family, and gave him a place to belong and to shine.

She also gave him a link to his Dad, who Hermione points out was also a talented Seeker.

Also, Harry was the youngest Seeker in a century, not ever. So someone else did this before. Probably multiple times over Hogwarts' history, since the school is 1000 years old, iirc. So she broke the rules, but it wasn't unprecedented.

I am reading a fanfic right now about Dudley going to Hogwarts and it starts in Minerva's head and it's making me think about what it would have been like to observe these children as their teacher.

[lyonessheart]

But to give him that link, she would not have had to put him on the team. She could have given him the detention the rulebreaking would have warranted and still told him about his father's talent, and that he would be a good seeker next year.

And we have no idea when they came up with the rule that first years are not allowed their own brooms (which came across as a prerequisite for being on the team) and then and I cite "I have to talk to Dumbledore and see that we can bend the rules for first graders" giving him a brand new broom. No this was all about her seeing a chance to get one over Serverus Snape and not about Harry.

he had already begun to grow close to Ron and I doubt that she knew much about Harry's homelife. She only saw one Day in the life of the Dursleys. She knows that "No one loves him" is an interpretation, just like mine is, that she is as biased as Serverus Snape was.

[enchanted_jae]

Well, just talking about it probably helped.

[twisted_miracle]

Oh wow, yeah He needed that SO much. Way more than he knew. Andromeda is gonna be such a good influence. I love her so much. She's a great blank slate, almost. We know so little about her! I get to make up the rest. :D