Samsara's Curse (Drarry Slowburn)

THE MOON'S LOYAL STAR

Harry didn't even wait for Hermione or Merry to catch up before he made a break for the study. Hearing the door swing open, Draco whipped around, probably thinking he was about to be attacked by an Agris. Harry attacked him, instead, with a suffocating hug, toppling over the quilted armrest.

Without explanation as to why Harry was so clingy all of a sudden, Draco was a little confused. "What's gotten into you?" he asked affectionately.

But Harry couldn't tell him—not entirely—and that absolutely crushed him. He couldn't say that he was afraid of losing him, as that would spur on more questions, and they would likely be ones Harry couldn't answer.

Merry, who had just walked in with Hermione close behind, seemed to be forming a plan, but it was one she hadn't fully worked out yet, so she didn't say a word.

The Gryffindor completely blocked Draco's view of Hermione and Merry by the entrance. Draco was rarely inclined to look away from Harry, anyway.

He put down the scroll he had been reading and tenderly kissed Harry on the cheek, none the wiser of their audience. Harry gazed at Draco with adoration, lost in own tumultuous thoughts. The Slytherin's mere existence tended to bring him back down to Earth.

Merry had an indifferent expression, like one you'd expect from a being who's lived for nine centuries. It was nothing she hadn't seen before.

Hermione, on the other hand, was dazed. Harry told her before that he loved Draco, but seeing evidence of that was a different matter. The way Harry doted on Draco without fear of being reprimanded or hit was in stark contrast to how he acted around Ginny, while they were married.

Thinking about everything in hindsight, she was relieved. Harry deserved this. He deserved a real, healthy relationship where disagreements didn't end in physical altercations. Whenever he and Draco bickered, it was never about anything serious, and they'd bounce back from it without issue. They even seemed energized by the back and forth.

"Possibly. . ." Merry finally spoke up, causing Draco to frantically pull himself away from Harry, cheeks flushing. He stood stiffly as if caught red-handed while Merry resumed, unaffected, "I might be able to temporarily remove Samsara's signature . . . so that you can relay to the boy what I've told you."

Harry's face brightened, "Why didn't you just say that?"

Merry nervously smoothed down the wrinkles on her cotton smock-frock, "Because I've never done it before. It's highly risky."

Harry shrugged, "What's life without a little risk?"

Draco held up an interjecting finger, clearing his throat, "As the person directly involved, I prefer low to no risk."

Harry rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, Buzzkill.

"What could go wrong?" Hermione asked, wanting to compartmentalize a list of worst case scenarios and their possible solutions.

"Mainly, there's a chance I'll lose control of Samsara's signature, and he establishes a connection with either of you," Merry explained, gesturing to Hermione and Harry. "He might peer into your memories and find out what we've kept from him."

"But won't he just do that to me when you return his signature?" Draco inquired.

Merry nodded coldly, "For that, I intended to fortify your soul in the same way I did with Samsara's. I'm assuming it worked, since you've been asking questions that his memories can easily answer."

"Why can't you do that for all of us, then?" Hermione asked, trying her best to be polite.

Merry took offense anyway, "Because it's incredibly draining. If I create soul barriers for each of you, I won't have enough energy to remove Samsara's signature, even for a few seconds."