Life Debt

Draco was full-on sobbing when they appeared... wherever they were. He couldn't control the flood of emotions from the last... decade. They collapsed to the floor, and Harry hugged him and didn't let him go. Harry was his master and his reason for living, but the mission was over with, now. So, what were they? What was he? Harry came for him... he came for him and saved him. Harry was so mad... and clear-headed. Harry was as alive as Draco had ever seen him. What could Harry need him for? Harry didn't need him to protect him or care for him. Draco could even pinpoint the exact moment that Harry ceased needing him... the moment the brand was on his arm.

Draco was looking at Harry desperately, and no sound came out of his mouth. Fuck... the gag order was still on him.

"I rescind all orders that I gave you," Harry said, quickly.

"Master... please..." he begged, unable to know what he was asking for. He didn't know how to handle being alone. He was still gasping for air as he cried into Harry's chest.

"Shh... I'm sorry for all the orders that I gave you. I really am, Draco. Shh... Draco... listen to me!" Harry said, and Draco cried from the pain of the Mark. "Shit! I'm sorry. Please breathe... please calm down...."

Draco gripped him hard and didn't let go. "Master...."

"You don't have to call me that... come on, Draco. I had to put on that show. I had to get you free. I'm so sorry you were hurt and scared," Harry said.

"I understand, Master," he whispered into his chest.

"Draco... please look at me."

Harry was going to look into his mind, again. He didn't look up. Harry would have to make him. Draco didn't want him to see how hurt and broken he was.

"No... please... Master...."

"Draco, please stop calling me that... I don't want to order you anymore."

Draco crawled further into his chest. "I'm sorry, Master... please... please...."

"I-I don't know what to do, Draco! Come on... I need you to tell me what to do!" Harry wailed, and Draco could feel Harry's heart going faster.

Draco stopped crying. Harry was his responsibility. He was what mattered. Did Harry really need him? He didn't know, but he glanced up and saw tears coming out of Harry's eyes.

"Draco... please... come back... I can't do this without you!" Harry cried, distraught and panicking.

Far from the cruel, resolute leader when he took on Voldemort and the Wizengamot, Harry was cracking.

"You... need... me?" Draco whispered.

"What? Yes! Yes, you fucking idiot!" Harry half-shrieked. "You think I can handle what happened on my own!? The mind healers tried to get in, Draco. They attacked my wall... I almost... and everything is so... bright and loud. They chained me down... I couldn't get out... I couldn't save you... find you... trapped... I was so scared...."

Draco's mind stabilized. He had a job to do. He released his death grip on Harry and sat straight up, looking at him. Harry breathed easier and still had tears in his eyes.

"Draco... I can't get through this without you. I'm sorry for hurting you in front of all those people."

"I know. I know you had to. I had to hurt you, too, for V-Voldemort."

"Oh, Draco... please be okay. I shoulda just escaped with you right after the bastard died."

"I'm... fine... but it was a lot. They wouldn't let me s-sleep."

"And that fucker Yaxley..." Harry growled, angrily.

Draco nodded. "He's gone. They all are. We're free, Harry."

Harry nodded and then gripped Draco's forearm. "He's gone... but you're not free, though. You mentioned that you could break the bond with Voldemort, if he didn't stop you. You can...."

Draco's insides froze. "No."

Harry blinked. "Draco?"

"I won't. I won't renounce you," he said, vehemently.

Harry stared at him. "It's just to release you from my Mark, Draco. It's not forever. I promise... I'll still need you."

Draco shook his head. "I won't do it."

"Draco...."

"I won't. I can't... I can't let you go," Draco murmured, looking down.

"Draco... you wouldn't be letting me go," Harry whispered. "I don't want this power over you. Where I can accidentally tell you to do something and it hurts you."

Tears came out, again. "No... I need you. I don't want to leave your side... I don't want to spend a second away from you," Draco stammered out, desperately. "Please... please... don't send me away. I'll do anything... please!" He tried to hug Harry, again, but Harry stopped him and took his hands.

"You don't need that Mark to do that. Draco, I don't want you to leave my side, but I won't have you be... subservient to me, forever. I want us to be equal."

"We're not. You're the hero... the savior. I'm... the bad guy... a coward," Draco said, lowering his head.

Harry pulled his head back up with some force. He was pissed, and Draco froze from the expression in his eyes. "Draco, you are not a coward! What the hell did we just do? You took on Greyback, Yaxley, and Voldemort! and you put your father in his place! I didn't do that! You did! Not me... not my Mark. You chose the hard path... and paid for it. Do you know how much it hurt hearing you scream when they tortured you instead of me?! You took on that torture for me! You are the bravest person I have ever known."

Draco trembled and more tears came out. Harry pulled him into his chest, and Draco latched onto him.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy. That hasn't changed since we left the Manor. I want you... I need you... okay, love?"

Draco felt the fear and anxiety in him slowly subside. Harry... loved him. There had always been the unconscious threat that Harry was... faking it. That he just strung Draco along to escape. But here they were, free from Voldemort and the Ministry, and Harry was still here and still cared about him.

"Draco... please... talk to me."

He curled up Harry's arms and met his eyes. "I love you, too, Harry. I'm sorry...."

"You don't have to be sorry. I was flipping out in the hospital. Blew out all the windows in the building. I just want you to know that you're safe here with me. We can take care of each other."

"I don't have anything... I can't... I only have you."

"No, you don't. You are Lord Malfoy... one of the richest blokes in the country. You are going to sue the Ministry into the Dark Ages... and you have friends. My friends are now your friends, and they will defend you. They were there today, weren't they?"

Draco nodded.

"They are my family and they will accept you. I won't let anything happen to you... like you won't let anything happen to me."

He hugged him, again. He didn't know what to say.

"Draco... please take this Mark off your arm."

Draco tightened up. He couldn't. Harry was his life, and he would never say that he wasn't. He couldn't say it. It wouldn't be true. That's what the Marks were. You can't just get rid of it, even if you wanted to. You had to mean it.

He met Harry's eyes, again. "I will never say those words, Harry."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Draco...."

"No. There's no point, Harry. I can't say it, because it wouldn't be true. There's nothing you or I can change about that.

"Can I order you to do it?" he asked.

Draco shook his head. "You made that oath in Court. Would it have worked if you didn't mean it? It's magic Potter, not just words. I made the oath... knowing that I couldn't take it back."

Harry stared at him for several minutes. "You got rid of Voldemort's...."

"It was a change in ownership. And... I never really... believed in him. I believe in you."

"I'm sure that Voldemort could free you...."

"Maybe he could... but I have no idea how to do it. He didn't release his servants... he killed them," Draco said, truthfully.

"You said he could... so I can."

Draco looked at him and said, "So... reject me. Declare that I am not yours and abandon me."

Draco looked at Harry, who didn't like what he had said at all. He trembled at the thought.

"See? And you have to mean it. Mean that I am not yours anymore. Forsake me. You can't, can you?" Draco challenged.

Harry was dumbfounded, but he finally sighed. "This isn't over, Draco. You deserve to be free."

Draco shrugged. "I don't mind being bound to you."

"I do."

"I think that the life debt was why I could submit myself to you."

"Draco... the life debt is paid. You saved me. My mind, body and soul! There is no life debt, except that I might owe you, now."

He considered it but shook his head. "It's not the same."

Harry grimaced. "Draco... I don't want to hurt you." He leaned in and kissed him hard on the lips. Draco responded. It was chaste compared to what they had done before.

"I trust you, Harry," Draco said. He kissed him, again, and curled up into his chest. Tired and exhausted from his incarnation and torture, he fell asleep in Harry's arms. He didn't even wake up when Harry carried him to the couch.