𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

Part 6

Wings Eclipsing Night
Part 6: Falling in Love with the Cage
by KC

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry, Draco and all the rest; they'd do a lot more stuff than they do in the books and it'd all be rated R through X. Alas, however, I do not.
Other info: Post-HBP, dark!Harry, veela!Draco. Yes, there is sexxors in here, but not that much.
Summary: Harry gets Draco ready for his first public appearance.

Falling in Love with the Cage

Days passed. Another of Harry's rages came and went, safely managed now that his veela knew how to deal with the mindless anger that turned into a frightening lust. His former costume was still nowhere in sight, and he didn't ask where it had gone. He didn't care. Harry showed no interest in taking him outside, preferring instead to keep him locked inside the bedroom where no one else could see. Usually at Harry's feet, Draco marked maps of forgotten magical locations, occasionally answering Harrys' questions about several pureblood families, including his own. He didn't know why Harry wanted to know about ancient lineages but his master never let him see the papers on top of his desk, so Draco didn't ask.

One morning after breakfast, Harry hooked his fingers in Draco's collar and gently tugged him toward the trapdoor. He didn't have to tug for long. By now, Draco knew the routine. Leaving his plate on the edge of Harry's desk, Draco followed him and came down the ladder, crawling beside him down the hall. As usual, the castle air was cold and the rough floor hurt his hands and knees. He didn't know when Harry would end his punishment, but the discomfort and humiliation of crawling everywhere like an animal had made an impression. Even a Malfoy would balk at telling a lie if he knew this was his punishment.

The halls they passed through were always empty, although the floor and furniture were always clean and he sometimes heard voices echoing from far away within the castle. Harry didn't tell him how the wizarding world was doing without the Ministry or about his efforts to rebuild the world the way he wanted. Whenever Harry left the bedroom, sometimes for hours, he always came back in a dark mood that Draco had to soothe away. His veela side wanted nothing more than to comfort and prove useful to his mate, and while his Malfoy blood desperately wanted to know the political realities outside, he also recognized that worming his way into Harry's trust was even more important. Knowing everything about the outside world would be useless if Harry didn't let him do anything with that knowledge.

Finally Harry led him to a familiar room. For the first time since he arrived back at Hogwarts, the former prefect bathroom looked normal again. Black scorchmarks had been scrubbed from the walls and floor, the broken masonry had been swept away, and the shattered mermaid window had been replaced with colorful stained glass. The fixtures gleamed and the floor had been polished to a smooth finish. Thick towels hung from the walls and fine bathroom accessories probably pilfered from the Ministry or wealthy houses lined the pool. Instead of looking like it had been battered by war, at last the room looked like the private bathing room of a king and his favorite pet.

As had become his habit, Draco sat on the steps leading down into the pool so he could keep his wings out of the water. If Harry wanted to use him, then he could simply turn on all fours and use the steps for a more comfortable position. Today, however, Harry seemed in a far more pensive mood and didn't make any moves toward him except to help wash his hair. After a few minutes of wondering why, Draco worked up the courage to ask.

"Today's an important day," Harry said as he used a small golden bowl to rinse Draco's hair. "I have several meetings to hold in the great hall."

"Meetings?"

"Mm-hmm. I've decided it'd be best if I just take over everything like a king, but Hermione said that kings usually have vassals under them, dukes and lords and things like that. She said it makes running the kingdom a lot easier." From the sound of his voice, Harry wasn't too happy about having to delegate authority.