Revenge of the Dragon and Lion

Draco was at his desk when Harry came in. He stood. "Hello Harry. Are you ready?"

Harry's resolute green eyes met his own unblinkingly. "Of course I am, Draco. I miss her too."

"Missing her is not enough to warrant this kind of action, Harry. You know that."

Harry said nothing, but Draco could see the look in his eyes. So he simply pointed at a spot on the map on his desk; a moment later they were gone from the study.

Finding the man had not been that difficult. Draco's connections allowed him to know things that most wizards were incapable of finding out. So it was no surprise to Harry that it was only a scant three hours later that they had the man restrained in the dungeons of the Manor. Neither Draco nor Harry knew the man's name; neither cared, they intended to have him forget it soon enough.

The man was hooded and gagged; he had never seen the faces of his captors. This was more for intimidation effect than anything else; he certainly would never be able to tell anyone who kidnapped him. Draco turned to Harry, "This is your last chance, Harry; do you want out?"

Harry gave him a bitter smile. "I'm on your side, remember?"

Draco certainly did remember. In his quest for justice he had approached both Harry and Ron. To his continued surprise, Ron had been the one that was difficult to convince. Harry had been on his side from the beginning; but Ron, who had never quavered at the idea of violence before, to Draco's knowledge, had claimed that Hermione would never have wanted something like this done in her name.

Harry's reply had been memorable, to say the least. "It's no less than he deserves, Ron. Screw compassion and let's get the bastard."

"Harry! He is a human being, you know. Well, probably. She wouldn't approve."

"It may have taken her some time, but Hermione did understand why killing Voldemort never bothered me. She'd understand this as well."

Ron had simply shaken his head and said no. And that was the end of it.

The worst part of it all was that Draco thought that Ron was probably right. Oh, Hermione would understand the odd bit of vengeance, but long term torture and eventual murder were not on her list of acceptable revenge tactics at any time.

Draco didn't have Harry's endless rage to rationalize his actions. He didn't really have any emotions at all lately, in fact. So when he thought about Hermione and what she would have or would not have approved of, and his actions in light of that, he came to a very simple answer.

He didn't care.

His son was well cared for, by people who loved him, he had made certain of that. He had made an oath, and since there wasn't anything else in his life worth sacrificing this oath for, he chose not to sacrifice it. Harry's reasoning he was unsure of, but his help he gratefully accepted, as this job would be made more difficult if he was alone in it.

After all, a spell that would keep his wife's murderer in pain long enough for him to get a decent night's sleep was a bit much for even a wizard of his caliber to conjure up on a nightly basis.

After a slight pause, Draco replied to Harry with venom in his voice. "Then let's earn ourselves a couple of Kisses, shall we?" And they set to work.

Three Months Later

"State your names and occupations for the record, please."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, self employed via financial interests."

"Harry James Potter, professional Quidditch coach."

"Mister Malfoy, Mister Potter. You are both charged with kidnapping, committing prolonged torture, and murder. Do you claim to be guilty of these offenses?"

"Yes."

"Indeed I do, very much so, sir."

"Have you anything to say in your defense, Mr. Malfoy?"

....

"Have you anything to say in your defense, Mr. Potter?"

"The devil made me do it? How's that, sir?"

"I am therefore forced to declare you both guilty in the eyes of the Wizengamot. Since you both turned yourselves in, and because of extenuating circumstances you refuse to have mentioned, I am somewhat hesitant to declare a harsh sentence. However, I am afraid according to wizard law I have no choice. You are both sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment in Azkaban, under the special watch of their High-Security Hit Wizards. So it will be."

Albus Dumbledore did not watch the two young men leave his courtroom. His head was bowed and there was no twinkle in his eye.