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Harry Potter The-Dragons-Treasure-reader

Propaganda
HARRY POTTER
AND
THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Book Six:
THE BOUND PRINCE
Series
by Slashpervert and
Sayingsorry_hh
Summary, Notes & Copyright
Summary: Sequel to Harry Potter and The Serpent King. Harry and
Draco survived the war and defeated Voldemort. Now, they are
married, have a child and should be leading a happy life. Yet, issues
from the past create unexpected pitfalls to building their new life in
this time of peace.
Warnings: Language, M/M Explicit Sex, Anal, Oral, Rimming,
Bondage, Dom/Sub, SM, Dubious Consent, Monogamy, Jealousy,
Mpreg, Humiliation, Exhibitionism, Pain, Violence, Blood.
Notes: AU from Chapter 24 of HPB, written before the release of
DH.
Betas: Our gratitude for the editing and proof-reading help of
Aasm614, LBaum and Indie.
Copyright 2008 – Slashpervert and Sayingsorry_hh. The
distribution of this story is for personal use only. Any other form of
distribution is prohibited without the consent of the author(s).
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and
incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead is entirely coincidental. This is a work of parody, as
defined by the Fair Use Doctrine. Any similarities, without satirical
intent, to copyrighted characters, or individuals living or dead, are
purely coincidental. This work has not been endorsed by J.K.
Rowling, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, or any of the other
holding copyright or license to the Harry Potter books or movie. No
connection is implied or should be inferred. This is not a
commercial work. The authors receive no financial gain from its
production or distribution. It is available without charge. This work
is intended for adults only. Some of the content of this fiction is
graphically violent and/or sexual. It is intended for readers age
eighteen or over and anyone underage is prohibited from reading.
– CHAPTER ONE –
Beyond Destiny
Harry felt very, very, very ... happy. Truly happy. Carefree. It wasn't
like anything he had ever felt before in his life. Not even as a child
had he felt carefree. He was married, and a father, and a best friend,
and a member of a family, and he was absolutely delighted that those
were the only things important anymore.
He smiled widely as he made his way through the villa after
dropping Valen off with Ron and Hermione. He'd had a very nice
birthday with his husband, son, and friends. And Draco had
wonderfully given him the the latest Firebolt model as a gift, with a
note reminding him of their one-on-one Quidditch match, of course.
Yes, it was official. Harry was the luckiest man on the planet. His
smile grew even wider when he opened the door to his and Draco's
bedroom and stepped inside, for their rule – that birthdays were for
sex – had not yet been followed, and Harry was very much looking
forward to it.
Draco was in the bathroom, putting on the finishing touches. "Sit
on the bed and close your eyes," he called out when he heard Harry
enter.
Harry raised an eyebrow at that. He'd thought he already knew
what they were going to do. He moved over to the bed and sat down,
closing his eyes like he'd been told and smiled again, though it was
really more of a smirk.
Draco looked into the mirror, smirking as well at his own image.
He was wearing nothing but his silver arm, a black thong and black
eyeliner. He was very ready for his husband. He swaggered back into
the room, put his hands on his hips, and tried not to smile. "Happy
Birthday," he said.
Harry's smirk widened into a grin. "Can I open my eyes?" he
asked.
"Yes, look at me," Draco whispered, hardening already at the
idea.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Harry did open his eyes then, and his mouth dropped open. He
didn't even breathe. He didn't think he would've been able to if he
had tried. He was completely speechless, and Draco looked
completely gorgeous. Unbelievably, entirely, insanely gorgeous.
Draco grinned in spite of trying to stay serious-looking. Harry's
expression was priceless and usually meant he would be sore by
morning.
Harry swallowed, taking in the sight before him. He flushed with
pleasure. He couldn't believe Draco was wearing eyeliner, but he was,
and Harry's cock was hardening quickly. He swallowed again. "You
look," he said, letting out a shaky breath, "so fucking hot."
Draco arched an eyebrow, a smug smile upon his face. "And all
yours," he purred.
Harry licked his lips, hands itching to reach for Draco so that he
could devour him. "How about you come over here then?" he said.
Draco made sure to roll his hips, making his cock move in the
thong as he sauntered toward his husband.
Harry nearly groaned from the way Draco moved. His eyelids
fluttered as he blinked and his cock gave a powerful twitch in his
trousers. He reached for Draco's arms, pulling him down.
Draco smirked, letting Harry take him where he would.
Harry gripped Draco's sides and pulled him into his lap, and then
leant up to kiss him. He left his eyes open, wanting to see every inch
of Draco, and especially unable to stop looking at the black rimming
his eyes.
Draco's eyes were sparkling. He was delighted with the way his
lover looked at him. He kept his gaze focused on bright green as he
opened his mouth to Harry.
Harry did groan then, running his tongue along Draco's lips
before he slipped it inside. He slid his hands around to Draco's back
and then down, fingering along the top of the thong.
"Mmm," Draco hummed, fingers sliding over Harry's shoulders.
"Does the birthday wish from last night still stand?" Harry asked
with a smirk as he kissed and licked along Draco's jaw.
"Whatever you want," Draco gasped as he arched his neck for
Harry.
Harry gripped Draco's sides again and then turned so he could
push him onto his back. "Mmm, tell me what I'm going to do to
BEYOND DESTINY
3
you," he said, lowering his mouth to Draco's collarbone. "Please," he
added, so that it wouldn't be an order.
Draco shivered, remembering his husband's wish. "You want me
on my knees, while you lick and kiss me everywhere," he whispered.
"Then you are going to tie me spread open and fuck me. Then, come
in my mouth." Draco blushed furiously when he said the last part.
Harry smiled wickedly, sucking on Draco's skin before he rose
up. "That's right," he said huskily, licking along his neck. "So, on
hands and knees then."
Draco trembled, loving the feel of it when the compulsion hit
and moved his body to comply.
Harry backed away from Draco when the man started to turn,
and then flicked his fingers to get his own clothes off. He moaned
quietly at the sight of Draco's arse, only that thin, tiny piece of fabric
between it and Harry. "God, Draco, I'm fucking salivating," he told
him, reaching for one of those lovely mounds of smooth flesh.
Draco's cock gave a powerful twitch at the words and the touch.
"Yesss," he hissed, dropping his head, long blond hair falling around
his face.
Harry kneaded Draco's arse and reached below with his other
hand, cupping his balls through the fabric and feeling how hard he
was.
Draco moaned, spreading his legs further apart. Harry's hand so
close to his cock, stroking the sensitive flesh of his balls – was
torture. But the kind he liked.
"So hard," Harry whispered, leaning down to kiss the little
indentations in the small of Draco's back.
"For you, always for you," Draco whispered.
Harry groaned, making his way down with his tongue. He ran his
hands down Draco's thighs and then back up on the inside of them,
rubbing and stroking.
"I love your tongue," Draco whispered, trembling where he knelt.
Harry smiled slowly, licking along the line of the thong. "My
tongue loves your arse," he replied, reaching for the thong with his
fingers and pulling on it.
"Oh, yes, yes," Draco panted in anticipation. Harry didn't do this
often, and Draco loved it when he did.
Harry drew the small piece of fabric aside, Draco's enthusiasm
4
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
turning him on greatly. Then he moved forward, breathing hotly on
the tight ring of muscle before slowly circling it with a gentle touch
of his tongue. "Like this, my love?" he asked.
Draco groaned loudly, his entire body shivering at the touch of
Harry's tongue. "Fuck, yes!" he gasped.
Harry gasped too at Draco's words and pressed his tongue more
firmly against him, spreading him with his hands.
Draco pressed his face into the bed and his arse back against his
lover. He could feel that soft wetness caressing his sensitive hole and
he felt like he could melt.
Harry hummed quietly, squeezing Draco's arse as he sucked on
the skin around his opening. "Is this good?" he asked quietly, tongue
stroking more firmly. "Mmm, Draco, you're like a sweet."
Draco moaned, nearly incoherent with pleasure. "Please, yes," he
answered.
Harry gently probed the hole, eyes closed as he focused on
Draco's noises and the quivering beneath his tongue. He smiled.
Merlin, there was nothing else like this.
Draco's fingers were clutching the bed-covers and, by this point,
he had even curled his toes. His cock twitch within the confines of
the thong with each thrust of Harry's tongue.
Harry licked and sucked for as long as he could while his own
cock throbbed and leaked. He never wanted to stop. Draco was so
open and relaxed that Harry could've probably slid into him without
any lube at all. He kissed Draco's entrance, pushing his tongue past
the muscle again and groaning from deep in his chest.
"Oh, Gods, Harry," Draco moaned again, feeling both excited
and relaxed in a combination that seemed to suspend time while he
waited for the next thrust or caress.
Harry continued to thrust his tongue into his husband, fucking
him with it as he spread him even wider. He knew that if he kept it
up long enough, he would be able to come without even going
anywhere near his own cock, but he knew exactly where he wanted to
come that night. He fucked and sucked Draco's hole for several more
minutes, until he felt like he was going to explode if he didn't stop.
Panting, he rose up, laying a kiss to Draco's lower back again. "I'm
going to tie you up now," he whispered, his lips swollen.
A shiver moved down Draco's spine at those words and he nearly
BEYOND DESTINY
5
came at the idea. "Yes, yours," he managed to rasp.
"On your back," Harry said next. "I want to see your face."
Draco let go of the duvet and rolled onto his back, spreading his
arms and legs and looking up with desire-glazed, dark-ringed eyes at
his husband.
Harry would've sworn he almost came just from that. He held in
his groan and conjured silken ties for his husband's arms, unable to
tear his eyes away from Draco's as he reached and began to wrap one
around his wrist.
Draco watched, panting as his husband tied him to their bed. The
fabric of the thong barely contained his arousal now and it was tight,
but even that added to the excitement.
Harry thought about tying Draco's legs as well, but left them in
the end, knowing he could command their position if he needed to.
He wanted to bend Draco as far as he could, wanted his legs spread
wide in the air, wanted his knees next to his ears. Harry let out a
strangled moan at the thought, running his hands slowly up the long,
pale limbs.
Draco watched the play of thoughts on his lover's face and licked
his lips in anticipation. Harry's hands on his legs made him shiver
again and he unconsciously thrust his hips up.
Harry pulled on the thong with just the tips of his fingers, very
slowly beginning to slide it down Draco's narrow hips, watching the
progress with an expression of near awe.
As Harry removed the strip of cloth, Draco continued to arch up,
holding his hips aloft with the strength of his legs, pressing his feet
into the bed. He watched with half-lidded eyes as Harry's expression
made him feel as if he were on fire.
Harry slid the cloth down and then completely off of Draco, his
heart beating quicker. He made eye-contact with him again, not even
needing to say anything to let Draco know how turned on he was,
and he certainly didn't need to hear how aroused Draco was. He
could see it, plain as day. He moved between Draco's legs, sliding his
hands up them again and then back down, lifting.
Draco was panting now, eyes on Harry. He held on to the silken
ropes that bound him to the bed and waited, aching to be filled.
Harry reached down and placed the head of his cock at Draco's
entrance, deciding to lube it just so they could fuck longer. He lifted
6
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Draco's legs until, indeed, his knees were by his ears. He moved with
him, pressing into him as he did, his eyes still locked on Draco's own.
Draco's eyes nearly rolled back into his head then, his mouth
open as he gasped. "Yes, fuck me," he encouraged.
A hint of a grin graced Harry's lips as he slowly drew back. "Can
you feel it?" he whispered hotly. "Can you feel all of me inside you?"
"Yes, inside me," Draco agreed with the other man as he slid in
again. "Deep inside me; part of me," he whispered.
"Part of you," Harry whispered back, lowering his face until his
nose was pressed to Draco's and their lips brushed on every slow
thrust inside.
Draco felt his lover’s breath on his face and the caress of his lips.
Draco loved the way Harry bent, spread, and filled him as he tugged
on the restraints, using them as leverage to meet those thrusts.
Harry couldn't be entirely sure, but to him, it felt like he fucked
Draco for an achingly, good, long time. It was exactly what he
wanted, to feel every thrust, to hear every moan, every gasp. And
then he could feel the heat, rising quickly, and he stopped thrusting
and held still, not wanting to come yet.
Draco lost himself in the blissful state of being fucked by the
man he loved. He felt open and filled and he trembled with this
arousal. He could feel Harry building to orgasm and, having forgot
the plan, was surprised when he stopped. "Harry," he moaned in
complaint, his cock twitching as well.
Once Harry felt he had got enough of a hold on himself, he
smiled down at Draco, raising an eyebrow.
"Pleeeassse," Draco begged, so close to coming he thought he
would pass out if Harry didn't bring them soon.
Harry gently pulled out of Draco with a quiet gasp, releasing his
legs as well and hoping to remind Draco of what he wanted to do.
Draco shivered, remembering then that Harry was going to come
in his mouth now – after fucking him. It was dirty and kinky, and
very hot. Very Harry.
Harry licked his lips, moving over his husband's body so that he
was on his knees right before his face. He groaned as he reached for
his own cock, aiming it for Draco's mouth as he began to stroke
himself, knowing it wouldn't take very long at all. He didn't know if
he could've thought of anything hotter as he watched Draco's face,
BEYOND DESTINY
7
eyes lingering on the eyeliner again before his gaze moved to those
parted lips.
Draco licked his lips and then stretched out his tongue, wanting
to taste his husband. He could feel Harry's magic crawling over his
body now and knew he would come when his lover did.
Harry moaned as Draco moved his tongue out. "Fuck," he
whimpered, fighting to keep his eyes open as he twitched and began
to come.
His husband's hot seed coated Draco's tongue, lips, dripping into
his mouth and smearing on his cheeks. He arched his own hips and
came too, coating his own belly and shooting hard enough that some
of it hit Harry's backside.
Harry moaned throughout the entire orgasm, watching Draco
and then moaning even louder when he felt Draco's seed on him. He
positively trembled with pleasure and had to grip the headboard to
keep from toppling over.
Draco pulled on the ropes again, wanting to touch his lover. He
swallowed and licked his lips, grinning up at him.
Harry grinned too as he panted. He flicked his fingers, releasing
the bindings with his magic rather than reaching to untie them.
Draco chuckled, scrunching up his nose where he could feel
Harry's come had even stuck there.
Harry slid back until he could lie between Draco's legs and was
level with his face. He licked at his nose. "Nose fetish," he whispered,
still grinning as he then proceeded to lick other parts of Draco's face,
for which he didn't have an excuse.
Draco smirked and scrunched his nose a little as Harry licked
him. He slid his hands up Harry’s arms, over his shoulders and then
down his sides, delighting in the touch.
Harry smiled. "I'm supposed to be a lion, remember?" he asked,
laying little kisses along Draco's lips.
"Yes, my lion," Draco answered, voice smug and possessive as he
said it. He stroked and caressed Harry's sides and chest. "Eighteen
now," he added.
"Yes," Harry agreed. "Maybe now we can go get a car to fuck in."
He laughed delightedly, even though he knew he could have bought a
car and got a license a few years ago.
Draco frowned and rolled his eyes. "Anywhere you want me," he
8
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
sighed.
"Well, that's everywhere," Harry replied.
"Good," Draco said. "Make a list."
"I don't think there's enough parchment in the world, love,"
Harry said, eyes sparkling with amusement.
– CHAPTER TWO –
Returning Heroes
Harry lifted Valen into the air and laughed as the baby smiled down
at him, reaching for his glasses. They were both in the dining room
with Draco, Ron and Hermione. Their trip to France had ended a
couple of weeks earlier, and while the holiday had been nice – very
nice – it did feel good to be home. Though Harry was still tired of
the letters. Those hadn't really stopped.
"Oh, look," said Ron through his mouthful of food as he read the
paper, "thirty-five. Thirty-five times you've been on the front page."
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, lowering Valen again. "You're
still counting?" he asked.
Ron shrugged. "Just seeing how many front page stories you can
possibly make."
Draco smirked, sipping his tea. "What's this one about?" he
asked.
"Well, I suppose it's not exclusively about Harry," said Ron,
frowning as he skimmed the article. "S'bout our year going back to
school and asking if Harry'll be one of them, oh, and, Draco, you're
mentioned too, of course... I didn't know our year was going back to
school."
Hermione suddenly snatched the paper from his hands, frowning
as well. "I never heard such a thing," she said, reading very quickly.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
Both of Draco's eyebrows arched too and he went to look over
Hermione's shoulder at the article. "I heard no one took N.E.W.T.s.
They had to postpone them because of the war."
Right then, Leakey popped in, like he had been doing all too
often, Harry thought, bearing a silver tray with four letters upon it.
"I has letters for Masters Draco and Harry, and Mr Weasley and
Ms Granger," he said.
Harry took his off the tray when the elf came round, holding
10
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Valen in one arm. It looked like a Hogwarts letter.
Hermione gasped in excitement as she took hers and Ron shook
his head at her.
Draco took the newspaper from Hermione and his letter, sitting
down with both.
Harry had to try and open his own letter with one hand, and then
hold the parchment away to read it so that Valen couldn't get to it.
Dear Mr Potter,
It is with great hopes that you wish to complete your education that we, the
staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, invite your class to return
to take your N.E.W.T level examinations. Circumstances are such that no credit
has been taken and you are welcome to attend practical lessons from October first
to October thirteenth. Enclosed is a list of subjects and books to prepare for the
examinations. We very much hope you will be joining us.
Sincerely,
Headmistress McGonagall
Draco chuckled. "Back to school for N.E.W.T.s?" he said in
surprise.
Harry looked up and then pulled the list out of the envelope,
skimming it. "Looks like it," he said.
"But it's almost September!" said Hermione, eyes wide with
worry.
Ron made a face at her. "You act as if you haven't been studying
for N.E.W.T.s since fifth year," he said.
She scowled at him.
Draco smiled. "So, Harry," he said, "do we want to go back to
school?" He arched an eyebrow at his husband.
Harry looked down at Valen and then back up at Draco. "Do
we?" he asked.
"Why not?" Draco asked, shrugging. "We have no other plans."
"Well, we'd have to take him," said Harry, indicating their son.
"But I suppose he wouldn't be any trouble."
"You have to go, Harry," said Hermione. "What a waste of six
years if you don't."
"I didn't say I wasn't going to," said Harry. "I would actually like
RETURNING HEROES
11
to go. We've already all said it would be good to take N.E.W.T.s."
Draco snorted at the idea of Valen not being trouble. "Yes, I
think I would enjoy just being a student again for a while," he said.
"And I suppose McGonagall would let us have our tower room
back."
Harry smiled and nodded. "Unless there's some other accidentally
bound couple using it."
"I wonder who else will return," Draco mused, wondering about
old friends. Most of his were dead or in Azkaban.
Harry shrugged. "Probably a good number. Can't really get a great
job without N.E.W.T.s." He frowned, thinking of Seamus.
"They're only giving us one week for practicals!" said Hermione.
"That's hardly anything at all!"
"Well, we should all be able to ace Defence Against the Dark
Arts," Draco said. "And I seem to have got a lot of practise in
Charms," he added, smirking at his husband.
Harry snorted, nodding. "And Draco is exceptional at Potions.
I'm sure he won't mind helping you if you have questions. Don't fret,
Hermione. We'll all do fine. And you have been studying for
N.E.W.T.s since fifth year."
Hermione looked disgruntled. "I'll draw up some study schedules
for all of us," she said. "And we should set aside at least a few hours a
day for using the library. Honestly. I can't believe they're sending us
these only now!"
Ron took a deep breath. "And now you get to see what we really
went through for six years," he said to Draco.
She scowled at him again.
Draco laughed and nodded. He figured that studying for
N.E.W.T.s would actually be a lot easier than researching Horcruxes
and reading Harry's parents' journals. He was delighted by the looks
on Ron and Harry's faces.
Not even in school had Hermione worked Harry and Ron so much.
She wasn't as hard on Draco, as he didn't really go off into dazes like
Harry and Ron did, but she wasn't easy on any of them. It was like
having their own Professor McGonagall, perhaps even stricter.
However, one thing did make all the work much easier than it had
12
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
been in school. Harry's study breaks did not consist of flying or a
walk on the grounds. Now they consisted of hot sex with his
husband. He enjoyed it quite a lot, and Hermione had thought they
were going off for Potions lessons, although he was pretty sure she
had figured them out by the end, as Harry was still not terribly good
with Potions when she gave them their pre-tests.
Eventually, though, it came time to head off to Hogwarts and
they left for the school with two week's worth of what they needed,
Harry and Draco with much more than Hermione and Ron, as they
had Valen's things in tow as well. They arrived at the school that
evening, through Floo, and Professor McGonagall had a house-elf
collect their things to take up to Gryffindor tower. The elf gave them
her message that they were to join the rest of the school for dinner.
"Sitting with us?" Ron asked teasingly, nudging Draco as they
walked along the corridor.
"I should sit with my House," Draco answered. "Valen can sit
with me," he added with a smirk.
Harry shot him a sideways look, raising an eyebrow with
amusement. "His middle name means lion," he said. "He will so be a
Gryffindor."
"He's a Malfoy," Draco countered, one eyebrow arched in his
classic expression.
"By name," Harry remarked, raising his chin with a sort of sure
smugness.
"By all appearances, too," Draco smirked.
"He has my eyes and my lips," Harry countered with a smile.
They were nearly to the Hall and Draco held out his hands to his
husband for their child. "Then what are you worried about?" he
asked, grinning.
"I'm not worried about anything, love," Harry replied, looking
between Valen and Draco. "Not even sitting at the Slytherin table
would keep him from being a Gryffindor," he said, still amused.
Ron and Hermione were watching them with weary expressions,
having heard this conversation plenty of times before.
Draco gently took the baby from his husband's arms. Valen
squeaked and burbled happily. "Nor does sleeping in Gryffindor
tower make me one," he teased.
RETURNING HEROES
13
Harry smiled and shook his head. "I will be eagerly awaiting his
first letter home from school," he said, reaching the doors now.
Draco arranged his face in his classic "Malfoy" look and took his
husband's hand. He looked to the others, too. "Ready to make an
entrance?" he asked.
Harry snorted.
"An entrance?" Hermione said, raising her eyebrows.
"But, of course," said Ron, grinning.
"Open the doors, Harry," Draco said, hands full. He wanted
Harry to use his magic for him.
Harry shook his head at his husband. Feeling his face flush, he
made a small sweeping gesture with his hands and opened the door
using his magic. He laughed as Valen made quite a show of liking it.
As the four stepped into the hall, everyone inside grew very quiet,
which made Valen's noises seem even louder, echoing around the
room. The murmuring grew until it was like a dull roar, the words,
"Harry Potter," and, "Draco Malfoy," easily discerned. Ron and
Hermione's names could be heard too, and, of course, all over there
was, "and that's their baby." Several people waved at them from the
Gryffindor table, and some even cheered. Harry felt like an idiot, but
a happy one.
Draco couldn't quite keep the smirk off his face. He leant over
and kissed Harry quickly but firmly on the lips before releasing his
hand and, with an eyebrow waggle, turned to head over to the
Slytherin table.
Harry stared at his husband. He hadn't actually thought Draco
would go over to Slytherin. Harry walked with Ron and Hermione to
the Gryffindor table, greeting Neville, Dean, and the rest of their
year, as well as Ginny, who was there for her actual seventh year. He
kept an eye on Draco, watching him and their child.
Draco scanned his table, heart clenching when he realised that,
although he recognised several of the younger students of his House,
there were only two others from his year – Pansy and Theo. Those
two were sitting across from each other. Which one did he sit beside?
Both ideas had problems. Given that his last encounter with these
two and Blaise had nearly got him killed, it was awkward. On one
hand, though, Pansy usually had the worst temper, so he chose the
14
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
slightly less dangerous "friend." He strode up and a sixth year moved
over to make room for him beside Theo.
Harry happily began to chat with his old Housemates and some
of the people from other Houses came up to speak with him as well.
He knew that nothing was actually going to happen to Draco and
Valen in the middle of the Great Hall, but he too remembered being
in Hogsmeade, and being attacked, and so he still watched.
Everyone at the Slytherin table was quiet and staring at Draco
and Valen. Then the whispering began among the first years and
spread around the table. Draco ignored it. "Pansy, Theo," he
acknowledged.
"Ooh, is that Potter's baby?" Pansy asked, reaching across the
table to touch him.
Draco nearly pulled back to avoid that hand, but settled on warily
watching her as she wiggled fingers in front of Valen's face. Valen,
for his part, seemed equally suspicious and was being unusually quiet
as he watched her with big green eyes. "He is our child," Draco
replied, aware that she probably already knew that. "Valentine
Malfoy," he said, loud enough that the rest of the table could hear.
"He looks like you," Theo said with a smirk.
"What's Draco sitting over there for?" asked Ginny, watching
him as Harry was.
"I don't know," Harry said. "Suppose he wanted to catch up."
"But didn't they ...?" said Ron, frowning.
Harry nodded, knowing he was talking about Hogsmeade.
"Do you think they fought in the battle?" asked Neville.
Harry shrugged, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"You're all staring at them," said Hermione, lifting an eyebrow at
them.
Harry looked around and realised she was right, and that they
probably all looked like idiots. "Come on now. Only me," he said to
his friends. "They're my Malfoys."
Ron snorted as he and the rest went back to their plates.
"Yes," Draco answered Theo. "He is a Malfoy."
Valen made a disgruntled noise when Pansy tweaked his nose and
Draco gave her a warning frown.
She pulled her hand back and picked up her fork, eating again.
RETURNING HEROES
15
"So, I didn't think infants would be allowed at Hogwarts. Shouldn't
he be with his nanny?" she asked.
Draco was not explaining that Harry breastfed. That, at least, had
not been in the papers yet. "Special circumstances," he said. "And we
don't use a nanny."
Pansy looked disapproving of that and there were quite a number
of surprised expressions around the table.
Draco shifted Valen to his silver arm, pressing the child to his
chest as he began to eat.
"Why aren't you sitting with Potter?" Theo asked. "Didn't you
change your colours?"
Draco controlled his face, looking unconcerned despite the flare
of anger inside him. "I'm a Slytherin," he answered.
Harry actually thought about joining Draco at the Slytherin table
and had begun drumming fingers on his plate in his unease.
"Mate," said Ron, sounding annoyed as he grabbed Harry's hand
to stop him.
Harry huffed, letting his hands fall into his lap. He thought
maybe he understood why Draco wanted to eat with the Slytherins,
but the last time he and Draco had eaten willingly apart had been in
Hogwarts. So he was being a bit stupid about it, but he wanted his
husband and child next to him, where they belonged. He was pulled
from his thoughts by a tap on the shoulder and looked up to see an
excited-looking second year staring at him, quite close to his face. He
frowned in confusion.
"Hi, Harry," she said. "Will you sign this?" She held out a piece of
parchment and a quill, smiling widely at him.
Harry's frown grew and then looked over to see Ron very happily
signing something of some other student's. He sighed, nodding as he
took the quill. He glanced at Draco and Valen again.
Draco looked over to see Harry signing autographs. He smiled
and was delighted when those green eyes met his. In his arms, Valen
grabbed the fork and tried to eat it. That caught Draco's attention as
he looked down and pried it from his son's grasp. "No, you get yours
after I eat," he told the baby.
Theo was looking at Draco strangely and Draco glanced up and
met the other man's eyes. A shiver of memory moved through him
16
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
and he looked back to his plate.
"I never pictured you as the fatherly type," Theo said, a touch of
heat in his voice as he spoke.
Draco nodded, focussing on his food. Pansy laughed. "No Truth
or Dare games anymore, Draco?" she teased.
Harry smiled back when Draco looked at him, though the smile
was probably a bit strange. And then, disgruntled, he turned back to
the parchment he was signing. It seemed word had spread that he'd
signed one person's parchment, so a whole slew of them gathered
around him.
"Oy!" said Ginny, elbowing Jimmy Peakes out of her side, where
he was pressed as he tried to reach Harry. "You went to school with
him, Jimmy," she said, frowning at him. "It's not as if you've never
seen him before."
Jimmy ignored her. "Will you sign my broom, Harry?" he asked
over the heads of some first-years.
Harry huffed, looking up at the staff table and wondering how
long Professor McGonagall would let this go on.
Draco nearly flushed at the memory of, not only his last Truth or
Dare game a year ago at the Burrow, but at the last one he had ever
played in Slytherin.
Apparently, Theo remembered too because he chuckled beside
him. "Now that would be a shame," the man said. "You had quite a
knack for those dares."
Draco wasn't able to completely control his flush then, which
made the other two laugh even harder. Luckily, Draco was saved
coming up with an answer when a commotion broke out over at the
Gryffindor table.
"All right!" Harry shouted, just so he could be heard over the
voices. "I'm the same bloody bloke you've all seen before! I don't
want to sign anything else!"
"Aww, Harry, just this," said several people.
"No," Harry said firmly. "You're lucky I signed what I did."
And when only a few of the students cleared away, Professor
McGonagall finally stood and shot them a very stern look. "Please,
take your seats," she said briskly, and they did, quite quickly at that.
Harry straightened his glasses and robes.
RETURNING HEROES
17
Professor McGonagall did not take her seat again, however. She
remained standing. "I would like to welcome our guests back," she
said, and there was a loud round of applause and some more
cheering.
Valen startled at the clapping and squeaked nervously, his green
eyes gone large and round.
Draco set his fork down and rubbed the baby's chest and belly,
soothing him. "It's fine," he whispered to the infant.
Professor McGonagall got the Hall quiet again with another of
her looks. "Yes, it's all well and good," she said. "Furthering one's
education is among the greatest things one can do in life."
Hermione nodded in happy approval.
"I would ask that the returning class meet in the library after the
meal," McGonagall continued, "so that the details of the
examinations and lessons may be explained. I would also like to add:
Please do not harass our guests. They are here for learning and only
have a short time to do so. If I see it happening, it will mean House
points. Carry on." She took her seat again.
Just as the Headmistress went to sit, Valen let out a high pitched
squeal that filled the Hall and made his father wince in pain. The
infant was staring off at Harry and waving his little arms.
Harry smiled at him, waving back as there was a collective,
"Awwww," from many of the girls. "Excuse me," he said decisively to
his friends, getting to his feet and striding across the Hall. He stood
next to the Slytherin table, intending to sit, but saw that there wasn't
an empty space next to Draco.
Theo was regarding the Gryffindor but didn't move aside to
make room for him.
Valen was squeaking and wriggling in Draco arms, even more
enthusiastically when Harry approached the table. Draco turned and
held the child up for his husband to take.
Harry smiled as he took Valen, rubbing his nose against the
baby’s, and then he stared at Nott, clearing his throat.
Draco stood, climbing off the bench. "He's hungry," he told his
husband as he stepped up to him.
"Oh," Harry said, turning his attention to Draco again. "Okay. I'll
go feed him then. You going to come with me?"
18
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Draco looked at his half eaten-plate of food. "Yes," he said,
taking Harry's hand.
– CHAPTER THREE –
Old Friends and Lovers
Harry walked with Draco and Valen out of the Hall. He chose an
empty classroom in which to feed Valen, rather than walk all the way
up to Gryffindor Tower and he stared at Draco as he got the baby
ready and sat at a desk with him. "How are they then?" he asked,
raising an eyebrow. "Parkinson and Nott?"
Draco narrowed his eyes, wondering where Harry was going with
this. "Slytherin," he replied.
"That's how they're doing?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes as
well. "You do remember that they tried to kill us, right?"
"That was Blaise," Draco corrected. "I believe neither Theo nor
Pansy ever took the Dark Mark." Actually, he was certain they hadn't
because the Dark Mark was one of the types of magic he could sense
without even seeing it. He didn't feel that when he was near either of
the remaining Slytherins.
"But you said," argued Harry, raising his eyebrows.
"I said what?" Draco retorted, getting angry now and he wasn't
even sure why.
"You said that it was them, and even if it wasn't them, they didn't
try to warn you. They laughed. They knew," Harry replied, wondering
why Draco was taking that tone with him.
Draco looked away, frowning. "It's over, Harry," he said. "The
war is over and most of my friends are dead or in prison. Just let it
go."
Harry snorted humourlessly, not voicing his thought that most of
Draco's friends deserved to be dead or in prison. Valen fussed, seeming
unhappy despite the fact that he was suckling.
Draco walked over to a student desk and sat down, arms across
his chest as he stared at the ceiling.
Harry looked at his husband as he began to rock Valen to settle
him down. "What?" he said to Draco.
20
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
"I don't know what, that's what," Draco snapped.
Harry huffed loudly. "You don't have to snap," he said, trying his
hardest not to snap himself.
"Fine," Draco said with a sigh. "We're supposed to be meeting
the rest in the library soon."
Harry nodded, sulking. He thought his concerns about Pansy and
Nott were quite legitimate.
Draco waited, unable to think of what to say. Was it selfish to be
relieved that he still had two of his age mates alive? They had made
poor choices. Hell, so had he before that amazing first weekend in
the Room of Requirement.
Harry sighed, sitting silently for several minutes as Valen finished
up. He lifted him to his shoulder, patting his back gently.
Draco stood up. "We should go," he said. "We are probably
already late."
Harry nodded again, waiting until Valen burped to stand as well.
He handed the baby to Draco as he pulled his shirt back on.
Draco held the sleepy child against his shoulder, swaying as Valen
drifted off.
Harry fixed his glasses once the garment was over his head and
then moved toward the door, still frowning as he opened it for Draco
and Valen.
Draco sighed and walked through, holding their sleeping child
close to his body.
Harry followed and they went along the familiar route through
the castle to the Hogwarts library. Everyone was already there when
they arrived, standing around chatting. Madam Pince threw some
rather nasty looks in the direction of the small crowd, but didn't
actually say anything.
Ron waved them over when he looked up and saw Harry headed
in his direction.
Pansy and Theo were sitting together and Draco nodded to them
as he walked in.
Harry noticed the nod and simply didn't understand his husband,
but he didn't say anything about it.
"Professor McGonagall's going to be here in a minute,"
Hermione filled them in when they reached the group of friends.
OLD FRIENDS AND LOVERS
21
"Some fourth-year pulled one of Fred and George's pranks in the
entrance hall." She rolled her eyes.
Harry smiled, amused. The twins would be happy to know that
they wreaked havoc on the school, even when not present.
Draco snorted at that. He leant against the end of one of the
stacks nearby. Harry probably had no idea how many hours Draco
had spent in this library over the years, sometimes lurking in the back
while the trio's heads were bent together over some project or
another.
Harry glanced at Draco, completely unsure if they were arguing
or fighting. And if they were, he had no idea why.
McGonagall showed up in a short time, lips pressed into an
appropriate white line. She cleared her throat to get the students'
attention. "Everyone gather here," she said, stepping behind a table
laden with several individual piles of papers.
They all moved collectively to the table, Harry waiting for Draco
to move with him and hoping he wasn't annoying him if he was angry
for some reason.
Draco stepped up beside his husband and looked at the stack in
front of him. He was curious about this process. As far as he knew,
before their own, there had never been a year in which N.E.W.T.
exams were not given.
"I will call you alphabetically," McGonagall told them. "I have
here your O.W.L. marks and marks from your most recent year at
Hogwarts as a refresher to let you know where you stood before, and
I also have files from your career consultations, so that you know
what to aim for when you sit your N.E.W.T.s. And, so, Ms Abbott, if
you please." She gestured for Hannah Abbott to step forward and
take her folder.
"Oh, it will be nice to look through this again," said Hermione.
Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at the same time. They both
knew that Hermione had already memorised everything in the folder
she was about to get.
Draco, like Hermione, had his O.W.L. and other school
information memorised as well. He remembered how it had seemed
so important to him then. Now, it seemed nostalgic.
Once everyone had folders in hand, Professor McGonagall
22
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
nodded. "Now everyone pay attention while I explain what this week
is going to consist of. Where you will all sleep has already been
determined, as you already know, so there is no need to go over that
again. You will attend meals with the rest of the students, but your
classes will be separate from them. Teachers are giving up their
prepping hours for you, so please, take advantage of that time. We
will not be holding separate classes for Houses, of course. You will all
be in the classroom together. I have class schedules for you in those
folders as well, and I believe your first class tomorrow will be with
Professor Flitwick."
There was murmured agreement.
"Very well," McGonagall continued. "Look over your files, and I
will be here if any of you have questions. You may take your seats
now."
Draco shifted Valen a little higher against his chest, reaching with
his other hand to pull out a chair and sit down. He noticed that many
of the other students were watching him and Harry. That wasn't
surprising. Theo and Pansy were watching too, mostly watching
Draco and whispering together.
Harry took his seat next to Draco and the rest of the Gryffindors
followed suit. He had half a mind to ask Nott and Pansy what they
had to say about his husband, but let it go, not wanting to start
anything with Draco or with the other two, especially with their baby
in the room. He opened his folder, examining his marks. It was
strange that it all seemed like it had happened ages ago, but in other
ways, it seemed like yesterday.
Draco read over his record. It was, of course, stellar, until sixth
year. Then his grades had plummeted. Except in Potions. Before that
year, only one other student had higher marks than himself –
Granger. Then the assignment from the Dark Lord had sent him into
his own personal hell – from which Harry had rescued him. He
glanced to his side, watching his husband.
Harry could see Draco looking at him from his peripheral vision
and he turned his head, giving him a small smile and leaning forward
to lay a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Your marks are better than
mine," he said, looking down at the parchment in front of his
husband.
OLD FRIENDS AND LOVERS
23
Draco huffed but smiled. "Yes, most of the time," he agreed. He
looked up to find Theo watching him with an open appraisal. He
blushed and looked back down at his folder.
Harry frowned at Draco confusedly, knowing that his having
better marks than Harry would never make him blush. He looked up
then and caught sight of Theo Nott as well. His eyes flashed at the
other man's look and he unconsciously tightened his fist under the
table.
Draco was actually glad that Granger had made them study for
the last couple of weeks. He had missed a lot in sixth year and would
have been woefully unprepared now.
Harry took a very deep breath. He couldn't very well do anything
because Nott had looked at Draco, though he badly wanted to. Badly.
It was the way he looked. Like he didn't care at all if anyone saw him.
"Harry? Something wrong?" Lavender asked.
Harry took his eyes quickly from Nott and looked at her. "No,"
he said.
Draco felt the shift in his husband's magic and glanced worriedly
at him. On his shoulder, Valen whimpered in his sleep.
Harry took another deep breath, calming himself. He reached up
and gently tucked Draco's hair behind his ear, giving him another
smile and leaning in for another kiss. One that lasted a little longer
than the previous and was directly on the lips. He wasn't doing it on
purpose. Much.
Draco blushed again. It felt strange to have Harry kissing him
there in front of everyone in the school library.
"I love you," Harry told him as he pulled back, resisting the urge
to look back at Nott.
Ron coughed and then looked at Harry in question.
Harry simply shrugged at him.
Draco arched an eyebrow at his husband and glanced around the
room. Many were looking uncomfortable; some smirked. Theo Nott
smiled at him.
Harry felt better and loftily turned back to his own papers. He
had no idea why he'd had a sudden spike of jealousy over a look.
Draco got looks all the time. He supposed it was just that it was Nott,
who he thought, no matter what Draco said, would have let both him
24
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
and Draco die in Hogsmeade that night. He wasn't fond of him in
the slightest.
Harry rummaged around in his bag for Valen's shrunken cot so they
could put him to sleep. He and Draco had just bid the rest of their
friends goodnight, who were going to sleep in the Common Room
on Transfigured beds. Harry and Draco's old tower room had been
taken out, but recently put back for them to use again since they had
a baby, unlike the others. Harry finally found the tiny bed and
Engorged it to full size with a wandless charm.
Draco was tired. It had been a long and strange day for him. He
set aside the folder of his academic records and began undressing. He
looked around the room, remembering the sex and the fights they
had had in there.
Harry undressed too, though he did it with a flick of his fingers.
He gently pulled Valen's cot over to the side of the bed and then
climbed atop the mattress, lying back against the pillows. "You look
tired," he told Draco.
Draco nodded, laying his clothes over the back of a chair. "Long
day," he sighed.
Harry nodded too, eyeing Draco and wondering if he should say
anything to him. He didn't want to fight and didn't know if what he
wanted to ask would start one.
Draco removed his silver hand, laying it and his wand beside the
bed, as usual. He then climbed in under the covers and lay back with
a long sigh.
Harry scooted close to Draco and turned on his side, reaching to
stroke his face with the backs of his fingers. He stared at them against
Draco's skin for a very long moment, thinking. "Did you," he began
quietly, taking a short, but lingering pause, "notice Theo Nott giving
you looks today?"
Draco's eyes were closed and he was relaxing into his husband's
touch when the man spoke. Draco cracked an eye open and arched
one brow. "Which look?" he asked.
"The one where he looked like he wanted to eat you," Harry
answered with a frown. "And I don't mean for dinner."
Draco blushed and looked away.
OLD FRIENDS AND LOVERS
25
"You did notice then," Harry said, still staring at Draco's face.
"Yes, I did," Draco said quietly, still avoiding his husband's gaze.
"He's got some nerve," Harry said, voice clipped. "I was sitting
right there. You'd think he would at least have tried to be a little more
subtle."
"Subtle about what?" Draco asked in a bored-sounding voice. "So
he looked at me? What does that matter?"
Harry huffed, turning onto his back and rolling his eyes. "It was
the way he did it," he said. "It wasn't a 'you're-an-attractive-bloke'
look, it was a 'you're-very hot-I-want-to-jump-you-right-now' look.
And I was sitting right there," he repeated.
"Don't let it bother you," Draco sighed. "He always did fancy
me."
"You don't think it's rude?" Harry asked. "I would never do such
a thing to someone with their husband sitting there. I think it's an
arsehole thing to do."
"I told you. Slytherin views are a bit different," Draco replied.
"That sounds like rubbish to me," said Harry. "You can't all be
the same. And you're telling me you would give someone a look like
that?" He huffed once more, having not intended to get annoyed
again by the look.
"I am telling you that he probably doesn't consider it rude,"
Draco answered. "Most Slytherins don't practise monogamy."
"How can an entire House not?" Harry asked, staring up with his
arms crossed. "Is it a rule to get in?"
Draco snorted. "Cultural norm in upper class families," he sighed.
"Much of Slytherin is ... well, was ... made up of those pure-blood
families of wealth. That is what we learnt."
Harry gave Draco a sideways look. "So what are you then?" he
asked. And then he sighed. "This is stupid," he said. "Never mind."
"I am your husband and tired," Draco replied.
Harry nodded, flicking his fingers to extinguish the candles in the
room. Then he rolled back to Draco to tangle their bodies as he
usually did. "I just didn't like it much is all," he said quietly.
"So I gathered," Draco said, a smirk on his face. He petted his
lover's hair and relaxed.
– CHAPTER FOUR –
Territorial
Professor Flitwick was standing on a chair behind his desk when
Harry arrived with Draco and their friends after breakfast, Valen in
tow as well. The tiny man gave a sort of squeaky yelp and
disappeared when he jumped down. He hurried around the desk and
rushed forward to wring their hands excitedly.
"So very glad to see you all again," he said, beaming. "Please take
your seats. Please."
Harry chuckled as Flitwick scampered away to greet a couple of
Ravenclaws that were entering. He chose the seat he had always taken
in school, and Ron sat one seat down instead of right next to him,
obviously leaving the chair open for Draco.
Draco set up the playpen next to the table. It was spelled to keep
the little boy inside it, but to allow any adult to put the child in or
take him out. He unhitched the baby carrier from his chest and
deposited Valen in the pen with an assortment of toys. Then he took
his seat beside his husband.
Harry thought it was so very odd to sit at his old desk, waiting for
Flitwick to begin the lesson, while also listening to his son babble a
few feet away. But he smiled at the baby, hoping he would behave.
Draco flushed when he looked up and found the entire room had
been staring at Valen. He wasn't used to the attention having a baby
at Hogwarts would get. It was almost a relief to see Theo was not
looking at the baby, but at him with another of those appraising
gazes.
Harry looked away from Valen and his eyes narrowed when he
caught sight of Nott as well. He was giving Draco the Exact. Same.
Look. Harry's eyes narrowed further and he glared. He didn't care if
Theo thought it was rude or not. Harry thought it was rude, and that
was enough for him.
Draco felt the shift in energy beside him and looked at his
TERRITORIAL
27
husband, a frown on his face.
Harry turned his head to look at Draco and raised his eyebrows at
him as Professor Flitwick moved to stand in front of the class.
Draco huffed and got out his parchment and quill to take notes.
Harry rolled his eyes, but did it so that Draco couldn't see as he
took out his things as well, forcing himself to listen as Flitwick began
to speak.
The professor gave them a short speech of welcome, and then
waved his wand. Instructions appeared on the blackboard. "Now take
these down," he said. "And then put those quills away. Wands out.
This will be a practical lesson, of course."
Harry quickly wrote down the instructions, which were for a
Hair-Cutting Charm, and then stood, pulling his wand, even though
he didn't know if he would really need it. He cast a Shield Charm on
Valen's playpen to protect him from the magic, which earned him an
approving smile from Flitwick.
Valen squeaked loudly, batting at the magical boundary.
"Now, as you can see," Professor Flitwick continued, resuming
his place on the chair behind his desk, "we'll be doing Hair-Cutting
Charms today. I have here," he waved his wand again to reveal quite
a number of fake heads with lots of hair, "dummies for you to
practise on, but toward the end of the lesson, I would like to see the
Charm performed on a human partner."
There was nervous muttering about the room.
Flitwick let out a squeak of a laugh. "Not to worry," he said. "I
can perform a Hair-Growing Charm. It's quite a bit more advanced
than the removal of hair, but you'll all be as right as rain in the end."
Draco smirked at his husband, knowing that Harry had quite a
fetish for his longer hair and that he wouldn't be pleased with the
possibility of it drastically reduced.
Harry looked sideways at Draco and reached to gently pull on his
blond locks. "Who's going to be the partner that cuts your hair
then?" he asked as he eyed the strands.
Draco arched his eyebrow at Harry with a smirk. Harry knew
how much magic done on him turned him on.
Harry snorted quietly, running his hand through his husband's
hair and then walking up to the front of the class to retrieve heads for
28
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
himself and Draco.
"Extra points for those of you who actually manage to make it
look like a real haircut!" Flitwick squeaked over the commotion of
everyone else coming to get their heads as well.
Draco reached in and petted his child’s head while his husband
got the dummies for them. He watched the other students. The class
was made up of all those who had lived through the final battle with
the Death Eaters at Hogwarts.
Harry set the heads on the desk and took his seat again. Then he
looked up to watch Professor Flitwick demonstrate the wand
movement explained in their brief notes. It was a sort of quick, short,
straight-across movement with the wand tip. Harry cut a piece of hair
off the dummy with his wand tip, and then experimentally used his
finger, not terribly surprised when it worked just as well.
Draco's cut was more precise, but, of course, he couldn't do it
without a wand.
Harry shrugged and got to work, not knowing what he could
possibly do with the hair in front of him, so he simply settled with
cutting it sort of short with fringe, aiming for the way his own hair
was.
When Harry looked over to compare his own work to others', he
was amused to see that Ron had ended up with a lopsided Mohawk,
which he had charmed to stand up. Hermione had a neat shoulderlength cut with not a hair out of place. Dean had done pretty much
what Harry had, only a bit shorter. Neville's was a bowl-cut-looking
thing and Harry was secretly very glad he was not Neville's partner.
Lavender and Parvati hardly cut anything at all, both of them
focussing more on styling while Hermione threw them disapproving
glances.
Draco did a simple cut not too different from how he used to
wear his own hair. He didn't ever intend to do his own hair and
found the charm a bit boring.
Professor Flitwick roamed around the room as they worked,
giving tips to some and praise to others. He eyed both Neville's and
Ron's dummies with an alarmed look. "Well, boys," he quipped,
"good effort, but I don't think either of you will ever be entering into
the hair-cutting business."
TERRITORIAL
29
Ron laughed and shrugged as Hermione shook her head at him.
The professor praised her and Draco and then watched with
interest as Harry cut the hair with his hands rather than his wand.
Soon, he stood at the front of the class again. "You've all done
very well, I'm pleased to say. Some better than others, but I can tell
that you've all worked very hard to be prepared for your
examinations."
Draco smirked at that. They had worked hard to defeat
Voldemort. Studying for N.E.W.T.s had been play compared to that.
"Now comes the time for you to work on your partner," said
Flitwick. And everyone in the room moved closer to their chosen
friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and in Harry and Draco's case,
husbands. Flitwick looked thoughtful. "You know," he said. "Perhaps
it would be fun to work with someone you wouldn't normally. You
might be more daring than with a friend you want to please." He
smiled cheerfully as the class sighed. "Oh, come now," he said,
waving his short arms. "I'll choose randomly." He Summoned the
class list. "Let's have ... Lisa Turpin and Ernie Macmillan."
Harry frowned, eyeing Draco's hair again as Flitwick continued to
call out names.
Draco glanced quickly at Harry to see his reaction to this plan
and then was careful not to meet his eyes when Flitwick called out,
"Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott."
Harry's mouth dropped open and he stared at Flitwick in
disbelief. What were the chances? What were the chances? He began
glaring again.
Draco felt the spike of anger and closed his eyes. "It's just a
charm, Harry," he whispered.
Harry took a deep breath, glaring up at the ceiling before rubbing
his forehead. God, or whoever the hell was up there, hated him.
Okay, so that was going a bit far. But what were the chances? he thought
again. "I know," he said to Draco, and then he heard Flitwick pair
him with Lavender and almost groaned aloud.
Draco leant over and placed a quick kiss on Harry's cheek before
moving to where Theo stood. The man was grinning at him when he
approached.
Harry huffed, trying to keep eyes on Draco as he remained close
30
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
to Valen. Lavender came over to him, smiling widely.
"Oh, Harry, this is going to be so fun," she said. "Your hair
would be so much better if it were shorter."
Harry frowned at her, but her smile did not falter.
"So, does Potter like it long like that?" Theo asked, cocking his
head to consider how to cut Draco's hair.
"Yes," Draco answered, not sure how to deal with his old school
friend. It made him nervous to be this close to Theo again.
Theo stepped even closer. "Better to pull, I suppose," he said,
voice low.
"Are you going to do the charm or talk?" Draco asked.
Harry very much wished he could tell what Nott was saying.
Lavender was babbling something, but Harry only nodded to her.
"You can do whatever you want," he said, and then she suddenly
grasped his shoulders and pushed him into a chair. He turned the
chair to be able to watch Valen, but he could also see Draco. He
didn't like Nott stepping closer to his husband. He wondered who
the hell Nott thought he was. He'd tried to get Draco killed and now
was coming on to him? He brought his hand up to rub at his
forehead again but Lavender gripped the back of his hair and pulled.
"Don't move," she chastised. "You'll make me mess up."
He sighed, almost groaning again.
Theo grinned, laying a hand on Draco's chest and gently pushing
him back into a chair. Surprised, Draco simply sat without protesting.
Then Theo raised his wand and used the charm, cutting away blond
strands.
Harry knew there had to be some sort of sneer on his face. He
didn't like when Nott touched his husband's chest, or the way Nott
was looking at his husband, or how close he had to be to his husband
in order to do the charm. Harry was suddenly jerked from his
thoughts when he felt something wet and cold run down his neck.
He jumped and turned his head quickly to frown at Lavender.
Lavender whacked him on top of the head with her wand. "You'll
make me mess up," she complained haughtily. "It's easier to cut when
it's wet," she explained.
Theo's magic was nowhere near as powerful as Harry's, but it was
a familiar reminder of past erotic moments and Draco shivered at the
TERRITORIAL
31
touch of it.
Harry rolled his eyes and then glued them on Draco and Nott
again, unashamedly watching them. He only looked away when Valen
babbled loudly and threw one of his rattles against the side of his
playpen.
Draco closed his eyes, feeling the magic so close to him and his
hair falling around him. He knew Nott was cutting it short and that
Harry would probably want to regrow it.
Harry watched the pieces of Draco's hair fall, irritated with it.
Draco looked good no matter what he did with his hair, but Harry
did very much like it the perfect length it had been. He was startled
when he felt Lavender's wand cutting very close on the sides of his
head. "How short are you going, Lavender?" he asked, frowning
again.
"Oh, you'll see it," she said dismissively, pretty much ignoring
him.
Draco sat silent while Theo finished and then looked about at the
blond hair littering the floor. "Cut a lot, did you?" he drawled.
"I liked it the way you used to wear it," Theo answered.
After Lavender had apparently finished cutting, she used her
wand to squirt something else wet into Harry's hair. "What are you
doing now?" he complained, noticing that Nott had cut Draco's hair
very close to, if not exactly, like the way he'd worn it in school. He
scowled, remembering what Draco had said about Nott always
having fancied him.
"I'm putting the finishing touches on," said Lavender, working
the wet into his scalp with her hands. Harry sighed and waited while
she then began pulling at strands of his hair, working her way around
to the front. It felt like she was making it stand straight up. "There,"
she said finally, pulling a mirror out of her purse to hand to Harry.
Harry took it and held it up. His eyes widened with what he saw.
She had, indeed, cut the sides of his hair very short and the back
short, too. She'd left the top a bit longer and had pulled it into pieces
that went all over the place even worse than usual.
"Styled bed head," she told him, smiling.
"Right," said Harry, knowing he would certainly be standing in
line for some regrowth.
32
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Draco glanced over and frowned at what the girl had done to his
husband's hair.
"Now you do me," Theo said with a smirk, and Draco recognised
the line from an encounter years ago. He did his best to ignore the
implication and stood up, waiting for Theo to sit down. Draco was
annoyed and bored with this class. He did the minimum he could get
away with on Theo's hair. He had mastered the charm but had no
interest in grooming the other man.
Harry was pleased when Draco began doing Nott's hair instead of
Nott doing his. He himself applied no style whatsoever to Lavender's
hair when she sat down for him. He simply cut it from her mid-back
to her shoulders, and had no idea what she was talking about when
she told him to try and face frame it, so he just cut her some fringe
and declared himself finished, feeling like an idiot with his own
haircut.
She frowned at him when she looked in her mirror.
Harry shrugged and turned his head to Draco, pointing to his
own hair and raising his eyebrows when Lavender wasn't looking at
him.
Draco rolled his eyes at his husband to indicate he wasn't
impressed with the hair style.
Harry nodded in agreement.
"It looks like everyone is just about finished," said Professor
Flitwck from a corner in the classroom. “And it seems as though
you've all done well once again." He made his way quickly around,
marking a piece of parchment with his quill as he went. "Line up to
have your hair re-grown and to get your mark," he said when he'd
finished.
Lavender got quickly to her feet to stand in the queue and Harry
suppressed the urge to tell her she didn't know anything about hair
either, but he honestly didn't care that much. He picked up Valen and
followed after her.
Theo stood up and moved close again. "You going to change it
or leave it?" he asked Draco. The blond looked into those dark eyes
and his heart sped up. Theo was more attractive now than he had
been two years ago when they last ... played together.
"I will let my husband regrow it if he wants it long again," he
TERRITORIAL
33
answered quietly.
"He make all your decisions for you now, Draco?" Theo asked.
Draco's eyes narrowed. "We make our choices together and I
choose to please him," he answered.
Valen batted at Harry's head as if he could tell there was a
difference, and he probably could. Harry nodded to him. "Yes, I
know," he said, kissing the baby's hair. He looked over at Draco and
Nott. He kept his anger at bay for his son's sake, but he was annoyed
with their closeness again.
"And does he please you, Draco?" Theo asked.
Draco smiled then. "Very much so," he answered and saw
disappointment in the other man's eyes.
Ron came up behind Harry then. "What's up?" he asked, looking
where Harry was.
Harry turned his head and saw that Ron was sporting hair that
made him look like a cockatoo. Only his annoyance kept him from
laughing. He shrugged and Ron raised both eyebrows.
Theo was holding a lock of Draco's hair, wrapping it around his
fingers. "I can't imagine you satisfied with just one lover," he said,
voice husky.
"You have no idea what he is like," Draco answered, smirking,
"and you never will."
Harry clenched his teeth, watching Draco's face and the smiling
and the smirking, and how fucking close Nott was. He took a very
deep breath and Valen made a bit of a worried sound, if babies could
make such a thing. "Hold him," Harry said to Ron, handing him the
baby.
Ron took Valen, frowning at Nott and Draco. "Nott got a thing
for him or something?" he asked quietly, standing close behind
Harry.
Harry didn't even want to answer, lest he yell it.
"Don't blast him across the room here, Harry," Ron muttered,
though it was halfhearted.
Draco felt the prickle of Harry's magic even across the room. He
glanced toward his husband and frowned. Turning back to Theo, he
shrugged and stepped back.
Theo had raised an eyebrow at Draco's last comment. "It's
34
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
disappointing to see the Prince of Slytherin reduced to catering to
Potter's whims," he drawled.
Harry was about two minutes from walking over to Nott, and he
had no idea what he would do once he got there. He tried to calm
himself and looked away, though his entire body positively itched
when he did.
Hermione showed up next, looking hardly any different, and had
apparently been watching from where she'd been standing. She
placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Just calm down," she told him in
a quiet, pleasant tone. "It's nothing and you know it."
Draco frowned, Theo's comment rankling him in spite of his
earlier statements. He held his chin a bit higher. "I choose where I
am," he said haughtily, "and that is with my husband and child." He
stepped back, nodding to Theo, and walked nonchalantly over to his
family.
Ron took a step back from Harry and so did Hermione, both of
them standing with each other as Draco approached. Ron still held
Valen.
"So, what did he have to say?" Harry asked when Draco was
standing next to him. His voice was snippy and he didn't quite meet
Draco's eyes.
"Not much of interest," Draco answered, and reached for their
child.
Ron handed Valen over and glanced at Harry with a worried sort
of frown.
Harry crossed his arms. "I don't like him," he said seriously, tone
still snippy. "I don't trust him, I don't like the way he was acting with
you, and I don't appreciate ... any of it. I don't like him."
"We should talk back in our room," Draco said evenly.
Harry looked away and reached up to run a hand though his hair
in annoyance, but growled when he felt the hardness on top of his
head from whatever Lavender had done to him.
Draco waited while the others got their hair returned to normal.
He didn't have his regrown. He shrunk Valen's playpen and then
stood aside and played with the baby while he waited. He could feel
Harry's anger all the way up to the tower. Once in the Gryffindor
common room, he handed the baby to Hermione. "Will you watch
TERRITORIAL
35
him for a while?" he asked, glancing meaningfully at his angry
husband.
"Of course," she said, nodding and glancing at Harry as well.
Draco kissed the baby on the head and turned on his heel, his
back to his husband as he began to climb the stairs to the room. He
knew Harry was going to start a fight and he wanted privacy for it.
Harry scowled at Draco's retreating back, hurriedly following
after him. He didn't know what he'd done for Draco to act like that.
He'd done absolutely nothing.
– CHAPTER FIVE –
A World of Trouble
Draco reached their tower room, leaving the door open for Harry to
follow him. He went to the window, looking out, and waited.
Harry reached the room seconds later and closed the door loudly
behind himself, unable to help it. He stood and stared at Draco,
crossing his arms once again and angrily leaning against the wall
across from his husband.
Draco was looking out over the grounds and toward the lake. He
sighed but didn't speak yet.
"Well, I'd like to know what I did," Harry said, eyes wide and
expression expectant. "All I did was dislike someone I have a right to
dislike. Someone who, for a number of reasons, I should dislike."
"You are angry at me," Draco said simply.
Harry rolled his eyes, huffing. "Because, Draco," he said, rubbing
furiously at his own face, "you baffle me."
"What am I supposed to do? Ignore my old friends? Pretend I
have always been at your side? Act like a Gryffindor?" Draco asked,
his own anger surfacing now.
Harry laughed strangely, shaking his head. "I never told you to
ignore your old friends," he said. "But friends are people who have
never tried to kill you, like your 'friends' did. And believe me, I know
you've not always been at my side. I remember, quite well, all the shit
you did with your 'friends.' And, have I once, ever, told you to act
like a Gryffindor?"
Draco huffed and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall and
facing toward Harry. "By your definition of who is an acceptable
friend, I do not even qualify," he drawled.
Draco's calm only served to anger Harry even more. "And what
is that supposed to mean, my love?" he asked sarcastically, raising his
eyebrows.
"I nearly killed Ron and Katie," Draco pointed out. "I worked for
A WORLD OF TROUBLE
37
Voldemort. Am I to be damned by my past choices, too?"
"Draco, that's not the same and you fucking know it," Harry said
angrily. "The situation is entirely different."
"Why?" Draco challenged, grey eyes flashing. "Because I fucked
you in the Room of Requirement? That made me redeemable when
my friends aren't?"
Harry's fists shook at that. "You didn't know that the necklace
would go to Katie, and you didn't know that Ron would drink that
mead," he said, his voice shaking too. "You were trying to kill
Dumbledore with half-arsed attempts that we both know were halfarsed. You had a snake on your arm that would've killed you if you
didn't do it. There were threats against you and your family, and you
tried to kill yourself, Draco! I don't know why you're trying to make
excuses for people who laughed when they knew you could've been
killed. Who laughed when they knew it might've been the last time
they would ever see you. I don't have any friends like that, nor do I
want them."
"Blaise, Gregory, Vincent, and Millicent are all dead because of
the choices they made." Draco hissed. "Neither Pansy nor Theo carry
the Dark Mark. They made a choice to not follow Him. But that's not
the issue, is it?"
Harry let out the same kind of strange laugh. "Oh, all that is
certainly one reason I don't like Nott, and the reason I don't much
like Pansy either, but, you're right, it's not the only reason I'm pissed
off. I don't like that Nott seems unable to take a hint. You say he
doesn't think it's rude to stare at you like he wants to fuck you, or
suck you, or whatever. Fill in the blank. But I think I've made it quite
clear that I think it's rude. Now, Nott is either ignoring me, doesn't
care, or he's just incredibly, amazingly, tremendously stupid. It's
probably a touch of all three."
"And what if I like being looked at?" Draco challenged, hands on
his hips and chin held up defiantly.
Harry's nose flared with his anger and he couldn't even speak for
a moment. "Then I guess you like being looked at," he said, voice
deadly quiet as he pushed off from the wall and headed for the door.
He felt like hitting Draco.
"Don't walk out on me," Draco snapped. When Harry ignored
38
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
him, reaching for the doorknob and turning it to leave, Draco strode
forward, reaching over his lover's shoulder to hold the door closed.
"Since when do you run away?" he drawled.
Harry's frame shook and he felt like he could blow holes in the
door with his eyes. "I'm leaving," he said in that same quiet voice,
though it was quivering now, "so that I don't end up doing
something I'll regret later. I'm going to take a shower."
"No," Draco said, mouth close to Harry's ear as he did. "Fucking
hit me if you have to, but you will not ignore me."
Harry closed his eyes very tightly and pulled on the handle.
Draco leant his weight on the door. "What is it that scares you,
Harry?" he whispered. "Is it that I will do something? Or that I might
want to?"
"Draco, please," Harry whispered back, breathing shaky as it sped
up. There was a lump forming in his throat and he couldn't seem to
swallow it down.
"This isn't about Theo," Draco continued. "This is about us.
What Theo does or does not want from me shouldn't matter. What
matters is what you think of me. Do you still think that without our
bond I would not be with you?"
Harry didn't answer. He wasn't sure if he would've been able to if
he'd tried.
"That's it, isn't it?" Draco sneered. "It's not what side you think
they were on. It's that they were my lovers that has you angry. That
they touched me. That they would still touch me if given the chance."
Harry didn't move his body. He only stared at the door for
several moments. "It wouldn't make you angry if Ron always
whispered in my ear?" he asked quietly. "If he looked at me like Nott
looked at you? If he wanted me and made no attempt to hide that he
did? It wouldn't make you even the slightest bit angry?"
Draco grabbed Harry and turned him around, shoving the
Gryffindor's back against the door and scowling at him. "I share you
with the whole bloody fucking world," he said. "How many
autographs were you asked for today? How many hundreds of people
look at you that way? Harry Potter, Hero of the Wizarding world. But
I trust you. You don't trust me."
"I never said that," Harry answered. "I never said I don't trust
A WORLD OF TROUBLE
39
you."
"Then what does it matter how anyone looks me?" Draco
challenged, still angry.
Harry closed his eyes again, shaking, and he had to force himself
to open his mouth. "I don't like thinking of you with someone else,"
he said very quietly. "And it's not the sex. I don't like to think about
the sex, but it's not the sex. I don't like to think of ... anyone out there
... who could love you like I do. I don't like to think of you ... lying
with him or her ... and just ... touching them ... and kissing them ...
and just ... being with them. I don't like wondering if ... I'm doing it
right. You told me that I'll never understand you. And I can't help
that they probably did understand you." He was whispering by the
end, his eyes still very tightly shut. "I'm not a pure-blood, I'm not a
Slytherin, and I wasn't even raised in the wizarding world. That's
what scares me."
Draco sucked in a sharp breath at such a vulnerable admission
from his husband. He stepped close, his body pressing against the
other man's. "I am yours. I have always been yours," he whispered
into Harry's ear. "I was yours long before you claimed me. You were
what I wanted even then. It's always been about you and always will
be."
Harry could feel the tears behind his eyelids and he knew if he
opened them, they would spill out. He slid one arm under Draco's to
hold the back of his neck, which there was no hair covering, and the
other tightly around his waist. "I love you," he choked out, not
trusting himself to say more.
Draco slid his cheek against Harry's, lips caressing his skin until
they were touching his lover's, inhaling his breath. He cupped the
back of Harry's head with one hand while sliding his silver one
around the man's waist, pulling him tight against his own body. "No
one compares to you," Draco whispered against those lips. "Do you
know why I didn't regrow my hair?"
Harry shook his head, holding Draco even tighter.
"I wanted you to shape it to your will, to make me into the image
you want," Draco whispered against his lips. "Shall I be that
schoolboy for you again? Or do you want it long to grab hold of? As
you wish it, my love. I am yours."
40
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
To Harry's ears, it sounded like Draco was talking about more
than his hair. And Harry knew, truly, that Draco would probably do
absolutely anything for him. He knew he would do anything for
Draco as well, but Harry wasn't the one who'd had to learn to get
along with people he didn't like, he wasn't the one who'd had to fight
in the very thick of a war because of his husband, he wasn't the one
who'd given up everything familiar in his life to be with someone.
Harry let out a quiet breath and leant back to finally open his eyes
and look at his husband. He reached both hands into Draco's shorter
hair, stroking the strands of it as he stared at him. "I think you're
gorgeous no matter what way your hair is," he said.
Draco looked into those teary green eyes and smiled softly. "Over
a year ago, I asked you to never doubt me," he said softly. "After all
we have been through together, can you really still?"
Harry was still and silent for a moment before he shook his head.
"No," he whispered.
Draco drew his wand and cast the spell to strip himself. "This is
yours, all yours," he said, still watching Harry's eyes.
Harry pulled Draco gently forward with his hands still in his hair
and kissed him firmly. "I know," he whispered.
Draco opened his mouth to that kiss, tongue caressing his
husband's.
Harry breathed into Draco's mouth and took the other man's
breath in. He moved his hand to the back of Draco's neck again,
pulling their bodies flush against each other.
"Claim me, my lion," Draco whispered, grinding his quickly filling
cock against the front of Harry's trousers.
Harry shivered with a surge of pleasure and he kissed Draco until
he led him to the bed. He lowered him to it, leaning over him as he
continued to kiss him.
Harry in school robes was hot and Draco wrapped his hand
around that Gryffindor tie and held him close with it. "Yes," he
whispered, licking at Harry's lips.
Harry panted through his nose as he plundered Draco's mouth
with his tongue, using his hand to remove all of his own clothes
except the tie, which he left for Draco to grasp. He ground his
erection against Draco's, gasping.
A WORLD OF TROUBLE
41
Draco moaned into his lover's mouth, the feeling of Harry's flesh
against his own making him shiver.
"You mean more to me than anything, Draco," Harry whispered,
moving his mouth to Draco's ear. "More than anything." He slid his
hand down, slicking his fingers as he reached to press them inside his
husband. "I can't even fall asleep without you anymore. I don't just
not want to, I can't. I can't do anything without you."
Draco spread himself for his husband, still trembling at his touch.
"Yours, always yours," he whispered. "Never doubt it."
Harry prepared Draco with careful familiarity, familiarity that
made him feel safe. Draco was his, and he knew it, and had known it,
and he didn't know how Draco put up with him some days. He slid
fingers out and his cock in, kissing Draco with little kisses across his
skin, touching him with little touches that he gently trailed about his
body. Kisses and touches that he liked to think of as his exclusively.
It wasn't just the powerful lust they had for each other, it was love,
and gentleness, and being held and cared for. Harry wanted it to be
his job, and his alone.
Draco surrendered to his husband's loving touches as much as he
did when Harry was more fierce. He reached to card his fingers
through his lover's hair and wrapped his legs around his waist,
arching to meet each gentle slide into his body. "Yes, no one but you
makes me feel like this," he whispered fervently.
Harry took slow, deep breaths that matched the pace he'd set
with his hips. Draco's words were exactly what he wanted and he
shuddered with them.
Power and pleasure thrummed inside Draco as his husband made
love to him. It was slow and delicious. He looked up into the man's
green eyes, his own grey ones unguardedly open and letting him see
his love.
Harry kissed Draco gently again, his body slowly accumulating
sweat as he moved his hips. "Draco," he moaned, arching his back as
he made a particularly good slide inside. "Oh, Merlin, Draco."
"Harry, my love, my husband," Draco responded, moaning. One
hand still held the tie while his silver one slid over Harry's back.
Harry thrust harder, groaning with every movement. "Fuck," he
let out in a very quiet whisper, tensing as he began to come.
42
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Warmth flooded Draco's body, his husband's seed inside and
magic flowing through him. The blond gasped, his own come
pumping out between them.
Harry lowered his head to Draco's skin, panting as he held him.
Draco felt filled and happy. There was no better place in the
world than in his lover's embrace. After a couple of minutes, he said,
"How can you imagine that anything or anyone would be better than
this?"
"I don't know," Harry answered, running his fingers along
Draco's slick skin. "I'm an idiot about some things, I guess."
"Yes, but I love you anyway," Draco smirked.
"I know you do," Harry said, and then sighed and smiled, raising
his head and looking at Draco's hair again. He fingered a strand of it.
Draco arched an eyebrow, smirking still.
"You're a hot schoolboy," Harry said, smirking a bit himself. "But
I like grown-up Draco, too. A lot."
"Schoolboy for a week and then you grow my hair back?" Draco
suggested, waggling his eyebrows.
Harry grinned. "Sounds like a plan," he said, moving inside Draco
a little before chuckling and pulling out.
Draco laughed when he saw that Harry's tie was now stained with
come. "Such a mess," he teased.
Harry sat up beside Draco on the bed and pulled his tie up to
look at it. "Yes, and that's entirely my fault," he said sarcastically, still
grinning.
"It's a good thing I'm an expert at Cleaning Charms," Draco said
from where he still lay on the bed.
Harry snorted. "Yes, very good thing. Or we would've been in a
world of trouble."
"Speaking of trouble," Draco said, grinning at his husband.
"Someone has to go get Valen from downstairs."
"He's probably hungry," Harry said, standing from the bed to pull
clothes on. "I'll get him."
Draco cast the Cleaning Charms on his husband and himself and
then burrowed happily under the covers.
Harry smiled at Draco as he dressed, unable to believe how very
lucky he knew he was. Then he left the room to fetch their child.
– CHAPTER SIX –
Quidditch Games
Harry cheered along with the rest of his friends as he watched the red
and green blurs streak past on the Quidditch pitch. He was happily
observing the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and was quite
proud to see that Gryffindor was in the lead. He couldn't help
smiling smugly as the team he'd mostly trained played. They still
played very well.
"Keep circling, Ginny!" Ron shouted from next to Harry. "Keep
him on his toes!"
"Baddock, move it!" Draco shouted at the Slytherin Keeper.
Harry grinned at Draco, who was sitting on his other side. "Weird
to be watching instead of playing?" he asked. "It's driving me mad. I
want to get out there and do it myself."
Valen sat in Draco's lap, his back against his father's body. The
baby was squealing along with everyone else.
Draco leant over and whispered in his lover's ear. "I can think of
several things I want to do," he said.
Harry raised an eyebrow, smiling. "And what would those be?" he
asked.
"Well, there was the 'under the bleachers' scenario, and in the
locker room. Just to name a few," Draco whispered, giving Harry's
ear a lick.
Harry swallowed and took in a shaky breath. "You've also yet to
be on your knees before me when I beat you in that Quidditch
match," he said.
"I think you are mistaken in that outcome, my love," Draco
purred. "Because I am going to catch that Snitch this time."
Draco's voice in Harry's ear was incredibly sexy and he was
hardly even looking at the players on the pitch anymore. "Oh, we'll
see," he said. "Which comes first?"
Valen squealed so loud that Draco winced and he saw one of the
44
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Slytherin team dodge a Bludger. The baby was literally bouncing up
and down in his lap now. Draco laughed, smiling at the enthusiastic
child. Then he leant in again to Harry. "Maybe someone could hold
him while we take a break under the stands?" he suggested.
Harry licked his lips and then leaned around Ron. "Hermione?"
he said.
She looked over at him.
"We have to go do something. Watch Valen for a few?"
Her expression turned from questioning to knowing. She looked
like she might want to say something sarcastic, but merely held out
her hands.
Harry turned back to Draco and took Valen from him to hand to
her, fighting the wide smile trying to break out on his face.
Draco kissed the top of his child's head and handed him over,
getting to his feet and making his way down the row of seats.
Harry followed after Draco, probably looking like an excited
puppy, but not really caring what anyone else thought.
Draco made his way down the stairs and under the stands. He
was grinning as he did. Finally, he turned and leant against one of the
support beams, one eyebrow arched.
Harry took a moment to look at Draco Malfoy, his hair cut short
again, standing all alone under the stands while the crowd roared
above them. The picture was almost exactly like the one Harry'd
imagined, only they were at Hogwarts instead of the World Cup, and
Draco was even hotter.
"Well, Potter," Draco drawled. "What did you want with me?" He
tried to make it sound like he would have in fifth year.
Harry's eyes glittered as he took a step toward Draco. "I wanted
to ask you something," he said.
"What could you possibly ask me?" Draco drawled, hands on his
hips.
Harry grinned, but not too widely. After all, he wasn't married to
the man – boy – standing before him. "Well, you know it's going to
be an interesting question. I am missing a Quidditch match."
"So am I, Potter," Draco snapped, doing his best to try not to
smile. "So get on with whatever it was you wanted to say."
Harry smiled some more, a touch of amusement in it that he
QUIDDITCH GAMES
45
knew would have annoyed Draco. "Well," he began, "it's sort of a
simple question, I suppose." He paused for a moment. "I heard you
swing both ways. Is it true?"
"What in Merlin's name could you be prattling about?" Draco
sneered, trying to look suspicious.
"Come now," Harry chided. "Are you telling me you don't know
what I mean?"
"You can't possibly have any clue what you are asking about,"
Draco insisted.
Harry snorted. "I thought you were supposed to be one of the
smart ones," he said, and he was as amused as he was aroused. "I'm
asking if you like cock. I'm not really sure if I can make it any plainer
than that."
Draco was very aroused and it was difficult not to reach out and
grab Harry immediately. But this was a game he wanted play out.
"And what's it to you, Potter?" he sneered.
Harry shrugged. "Answer me and I might tell you," he said.
"It's not a secret," Draco said, licking his lips. "I play a bit."
"Play a bit?" Harry repeated, eyeing Draco suggestively.
"So what's this about?" Draco insisted.
Harry let out a small sigh. "To be perfectly honest," he said, "I'm
curious. And I've ... noticed some things about you."
Draco raised both eyebrows. "Such as?"
"You watch me," Harry answered. "Well, you've always done
that, but I mean you watch me."
"Your ego is out of control," Draco snapped, heart beating fast as
if this were really back then and he had been found out.
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Defensive, hmm? Now why would that
be?"
"I should be back in the stands," Draco said quickly, pretending
to push off the support like he was leaving.
"But you haven't even let me finish," Harry said, stepping in front
of Draco so that he couldn't push off the support without touching
him.
"Move, Potter," Draco hissed.
Harry leant closer and placed his hands on the support beam on
either side of Draco. "I said you didn't let me finish," he said, voice
46
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
quieter now that he was closer.
Draco's eyes widened and his heart was thumping so loud he
wondered if it could be heard over the cheers. He swallowed, eyes
meeting Harry's, and he could feel the other man's magic prickling
over his skin.
It was amazing to Harry how incredibly real these games always
seemed. "I said I was curious," he continued. "And you said you play
a bit, and if that means what I think it does, then it seems to me that
we're pretty well-matched. Why do I ask you in particular? Because I
know you watch me and I decided there was a pretty good chance
you want me. Plus ..." he trailed off, his gaze lowering to Malfoy's ...
Draco's mouth. He shook his head to clear it, surprising himself with
thinking Draco's surname. He looked back up and met his eyes again.
Draco trembled and licked his lips. "Curious?" he asked, voice
dropped deeper now. He could feel the other man's breath on his
face. He felt the surge of desire, fear and longing that had been there
for all those years and, unlike his former self, let it show in his face.
"Curious," Harry repeated even more quietly. He brought their
faces a little closer. "You game?" he whispered.
"Yes," Draco whispered, grey eyes completely captivated by his
lover.
Harry slowly brought his mouth to Draco's. He let his eyes fall
shut and kissed him as if he'd never done so before. He didn't let
their bodies touch, and his arms were trembling with the effort of
keeping his weight resting against the beam rather than against
Draco.
Draco gasped against those lips, their taste still intoxicating to
him. Suddenly, his hands were sliding around Potter's waist and up
his back, pulling the other man against his own body.
Harry added a slight flick of his tongue as he kissed Draco,
bringing his own hands trailing down the beam to rest on the blond's
hips.
Draco's tongue traced the inside of Harry's lips, while his hands
slid over his back, one heading up into his hair.
Harry let out a small sound of pleasure and pushed Draco a little
harder against the pillar, feeling the heat of their bodies pressed so
tightly together. He began to slide his hand slowly forward, moving it
QUIDDITCH GAMES
47
towards the front of Draco's trousers.
Draco was so aroused that the slightest touch of Harry's hand
made him moan into his mouth and grip his hair with his right hand.
Harry squeezed Draco's cock, rubbing him as he began to kiss
more forcefully. The hand in his hair made his eyes roll back beneath
his eyelids and he groaned.
Draco was pressed to the support beam and he could feel the
vibrations of the people above, the sound of the crowd and the
announcer – all just adding to the intensity of the fantasy that it was
fifth year and Harry was seducing him. He slid his silver hand down
to squeeze Harry's arse and then thrust his hips against his hand.
Harry pulled back from the kiss, panting. He leant in and kissed
Draco again, and then once again before he could stop himself
enough to actually get a word out. "Let me suck you, please," he
whispered, bringing his hand up and then sliding the tips of his
fingers into Draco's trousers. He slid his cheek along Draco's and
then moved down to nip at his jaw.
"Oh, Gods, yesss," Draco agreed. "Suck me, Potter."
Harry sucked and kissed Draco's skin, sliding his hand further
inside the man's trousers and into his shorts to grasp his cock. "I'll
suck you so hard," he promised, looking into Draco's eyes again as he
pumped his hand as best he could. "Slide my mouth over you, lick
you. Will you tell me if I'm doing it right?"
"Yes, Potter," Draco gasped. "On your knees, now."
Harry kissed Draco one last time before sinking to his knees in
front of him. He took his hand out of Draco's trousers and used both
to push and pull them down to his ankles, staring up at him as he did.
The sight of Harry on his knees was so arousing that Draco had
to grip the beam for support. His cock was jutting out from fine
blond hair. He was so aroused that the foreskin was already pulled
back some.
Harry moved forward and kissed Draco's thigh, moaning softly as
he gripped his straining erection, pulling the foreskin all the way
back. He bought his mouth a few inches over and licked slowly up
the length, then ran the soft, slightly sticky head over his open lips.
"Yesssss," Draco gasped, head falling back to rest against the
beam.
48
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
"Mmm," Harry hummed, sliding his free hand around to grasp
Draco's arse as he lowered his mouth, sucking up the moisture.
Draco gripped the beam with his silver hand now and reached his
right hand to thread into Harry's thick hair again. "Yes, suck me,
Potter," he gasped. "You were meant to suck my cock."
Harry took Draco further inside. He moaned in agreement,
squeezing Draco's arse as he moved his mouth smoothly over him.
That warm wet mouth enclosed his cock and Draco moaned so
loud that it was a good thing the crowd was still cheering.
Harry bobbed his head over Draco's cock, unable to take his eyes
off him. He pulled away and licked back up the length, panting and
flushed as he pumped his hand over the shaft. He sucked away the
pre-come again, his own cock as hard as Draco's.
"Potter," Draco gasped, watching the other man and trying to
decide if this game included more than the original fantasy.
Harry looked up at Draco, his mouth still over his length, but
then pulled back, giving the head another lick. "Yes?" he asked, voice
low and hoarse.
"How much do you want my cock?" Draco asked, trying for
bravado, but his breathlessness got a bit in the way.
Harry swallowed and licked his lips. "Quite a lot," he answered
after a moment, tempted to lick Draco yet again.
"You gonna suck me off, or do you want me to fuck you?" Draco
asked.
Harry's breathing sped up as he stared at Draco. "I've never been
fucked before," he said, his cock twitching.
Draco grinned at his kinky husband playing the virgin. "I think I
will have you finish sucking me off now," he said, voice husky. "And
then I will fuck you in the locker room after the game."
Harry groaned quietly. "I'm up for that," he said, and he was.
Quite literally.
"So back to it, Potter," Draco demanded, pulling the other man's
hair to urge him on.
Harry moved forward and brought his mouth down on Draco's
cock again, using it to hide his delighted smirk. One hand he used on
his husband, and the other he used to rub himself, so turned on that
he wouldn't need anything more.
QUIDDITCH GAMES
49
"Yes, wrap that beautiful mouth around my cock," Draco
growled. "Suck it and use lots of tongue."
Harry grinned to himself, moaning deeply as he did as told. He
sucked hard on Draco's cock and swirled his tongue around the
ridge, using it against the underside as he moved forward.
"Yes, you are so hot, on your knees, sucking me," Draco
continued, knowing the words would turn them both on even more.
Harry moaned again, pressing his hand against his own crotch as
he sucked even harder on Draco's cock, panting with his efforts. He
let out a loud groan from his chest as he came, faltering as pleasure
flooded his body.
Fire flared over Draco, his head falling back and smacking into
the pole even as he came inside his lover's mouth with a shout.
Harry continued sucking until he'd taken in every drop he
possibly could. Then he gently pulled his mouth away, remaining on
his knees as he pressed his forehead to Draco's leg.
"Fantastic!" Draco gasped, carding his fingers through Harry's
hair.
Harry smiled, looking up at Draco again. "Very," he said with an
eyebrow waggle.
– CHAPTER SEVEN –
Beat Me
After collecting and cleaning themselves, Harry and Draco calmly
made their way back to their seats with enough time to see the end of
the match.
"And Slytherin wins," came Luna's dreamy voice over the crowd.
"Though Harper might want to check his broom. The way it was
wobbling indicates a Samsisal infestation."
"What?" Harry asked, frowning at that news. "But Gryffindor
was in the lead!"
"Yeah, well, if you hadn't gone off to shag you'd know what
happened," said Ron
"We didn't shag," Draco said smugly, corners of his mouth
turning up.
Ron wrinkled his nose. "I don't much care to know what you
did."
Harry rolled his eyes and then turned his head to smirk at Draco.
"Slytherin won," he said, arching an eyebrow.
"So I heard," Draco smirked as well. "That will be twice in one
day soon."
"Oh, no," said Harry. "It only means that I will have to play
harder."
"Show me, Potter," Draco drawled.
Valen was asleep in Hermione's arms, apparently worn out from
so much excitement.
"Very well," said Harry, getting right back to his feet.
"Oy, where you going?" Ron asked.
"You'll see," said Harry, grinning. "You mind watching him for a
bit longer, Hermione?"
"No, he's fine," she said, looking half-amused.
"Potter," Draco said. "I have your gear and broomstick in the
Gryffindor changing room." He grinned, waiting for the other man's
BEAT ME
51
reaction.
Harry stared at Draco. "Seriously?"
Draco chuckled. "Yes," he said, waggling his eyebrows. He had
planned this weeks ago and he'd even had new uniforms made in
their old House colours.
"Well, I suppose I should go change then," Harry said coyly,
heading towards the Gryffindor locker room. He smirked at Draco
over his shoulder.
Draco headed for the Slytherin locker room where he had left his
own gear. He had also been secretly practising in the last couple
weeks. He came out a couple minutes later in his full Quidditch
uniform, holding his Firebolt in one hand and the box with the
Snitch in the other.
After spending a few minutes with the downtrodden Gryffindor
Quidditch team, Harry dressed quickly, delighted to see that Draco
had even gone as far as to get him Gryffindor robes, his name in gold
lettering on the back. He blushed and headed out, feeling like they
were both idiots, but exceptionally happy about it.
"What are you doing, Harry?" Ginny asked when he came around
the corner clutching his broom and making for the door.
"Playing Quidditch," Harry answered, pushing the door open and
stepping back outside.
Draco had been met with similar questions by the triumphant
Slytherin team, so he was not too surprised to find a crowd had
followed him from the dressing rooms. He waited in the centre of
the pitch for his husband.
Harry smiled when he caught sight of Draco and moved to meet
him, aware of being followed by the small crowd from the changing
rooms as well. He could also see that many of the students who had
been leaving their seats were pausing at the sight of them dressed to
play and standing in the field.
Draco was grinning ear to ear when his husband met him on the
pitch. Most everyone, including both teams, was watching them. It
was very exciting.
"So, Malfoy," Harry began, grinning as well, not only because he
was about to play Draco, but also because, Merlin, the blond looked
hot in Quidditch robes. "You going to release the Snitch, or should
52
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
I?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.
"You can have the honour," Draco drawled. His eyes were
sparkling as he looked into his lover's green ones.
Harry took the box from Draco and set it on the ground. He
opened it up and ignored the struggling Bludgers and the red Quaffle,
reaching straight for the winged, golden ball. Harry held it tightly in
his hand and straightened back up. "Prepared to lose?" he teased,
mounting his excellent new broom.
"Prepared to see you on your knees again, Potter," Draco sneered
back, but the smile never left his face.
"We'll see," Harry countered, holding the Snitch out in front of
himself and Draco. He tensed, ready to kick off from the ground and
feeling that old competitive drive creeping into him. He released the
ball and then met Draco's eyes, silently counting to ten.
Draco felt the rush of energy, desire and magic. His eyes glittered
with it as he focused on the Snitch, broom ready.
"Ten," Harry said aloud, kicking up from the ground to soar into
the air.
Draco felt Harry's magic flare even before he kicked off and was
right with him.
Harry wasn't terribly surprised when there were cheers, but he
tuned them out, eyes darting around for a flash of gold. He kept an
eye on Draco as well, in case his husband might see something before
him.
Draco flew high, looking down and hoping to use both the sun
and Harry's body language to spot the Snitch. It was amazing being
high in the air above the crowd again. He'd always loved that part.
Harry looked up at Draco, smiling at him, and found himself
thinking of how good the man looked again. "Any luck, Malfoy?" he
called, flipping around for a moment so that he was hanging from his
broom with arms and legs. It was something he wouldn't have done
in a regular match, but he couldn't resist just a little showing off in
front of Draco.
Draco couldn't help a smile at his husband's antics. But the
Gryffindor made a mistake there. He was so busy showing off that he
missed the Snitch that flew behind him. Draco made like he was
flying over to Harry and then darted past him in pursuit of the
BEAT ME
53
winged ball.
Harry gasped and quickly turned back around, fumbling in his
haste. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath, streaking after Draco.
Draco put all his concentration into the dive as the Snitch moved
downward. It was a dangerous move but he was not letting Harry
beat him after all this time.
Harry was gaining on Draco. He could see the Snitch as well and
stretched his arm out, flying nearly side-by-side with his husband.
Draco's heart was beating fast, the wind in his hair and his robes
flapping. He could feel Harry's magic even if he couldn't spare the
attention to look beside him. He focused his will on that Snitch,
picturing the image of Harry on his knees in the centre of the pitch.
And, as he did, his fingers crept closer to the target.
Harry strained his arm, reaching until his fingers were sliding
against Draco's.
Draco shifted forward, putting his weight dangerously toward the
front of his broom and then he felt the wings against his skin just as
his fingers closed around the golden ball.
Harry's eyes widened as he scrambled with empty air. He barely
had enough time in his shock to tug up swiftly on his broom, pulling
out of the dive.
Unfortunately, Draco was so excited that he'd got the Snitch that
he forgot to pull up. He found himself spinning dangerously in the
air as he tried to avoid ploughing into the ground.
Harry looked back over at Draco and gasped, seeing him lose
control of his broom. He took off in a burst of speed toward him
and held his arm out, shooting a spell to slow him down without
even truly registering what he was doing. He put himself between
Draco and the ground so that his husband hit him instead. It sent
them both rolling along the grass, and didn't feel exactly pleasant, but
left them relatively unharmed when they'd stopped, tangled in a
sweaty heap.
Draco had the wind knocked out of him and it took him a minute
of not being able to inhale before he drew in a big shuddering breath.
He grinned at his husband, who was lying half atop him, and held up
the Snitch for Harry to see.
Harry looked at the little gold ball and shook his head, still
54
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
panting. "You caught the Snitch," he said in a voice of disbelief.
Draco was grinning as he staggered to his feet and held it in the
air. "Yes, Potter, I beat you!"
Harry rolled onto his back, propping himself up on his elbows.
And just then, the noise from the stands seemed to click back on. He
looked up to see that even Ron was cheering for Draco. He raised his
eyebrows, shaking his head again and moving his eyes back to the
triumphant blond.
Draco was laughing, the largest grin Harry had ever seen spread
across his face. The wings were fluttering on the golden ball he held
up high. There was cheering and Harry was looking up at him from
the ground. It was better than his best fantasy of beating Potter.
Harry took in a large breath and let it out in a long sigh, unable to
be completely disappointed, because Draco looked absolutely
adorable. He pushed himself up and got to his feet, though he knew
he would be on his knees in a moment.
Draco looked into the stands and saw Hermione holding Valen.
Their son was bouncing up and down and pulling the woman's hair,
apparently having woken up. Then Draco looked at his husband. His
husband. He had finally proved himself against Harry. And he was
about as turned on as he could get by both what he had done and
what he intended to do.
Harry held his arms out in a surrendering gesture. "Where do you
want me?" he asked, smiling only a bit in a resigned sort of way.
"You know what I want," Draco said, waggling his eyebrows.
Harry smirked. "Yes, I believe I do," he said.
Draco looked around at everyone. He drew his wand and cast
Sonorus on himself. "Harry has something to say," his voice boomed
out and the crowd settled down. He grinned at his husband then as
all eyes and ears were turned to them.
Harry sighed again, smiling tightly at Draco. His face flushed
brightly but he dropped to his knees in front of him. He cleared his
throat and then cast Sonorus as well, pausing before he began, "Draco
Malfoy, you are the best. You beat me fair and square and your
genius knows no bounds." He smiled at him with narrowed eyes.
Draco chuckled, the charm still active. "Only as good as my other
half," he said, grinning at him.
BEAT ME
55
Harry grinned back and laughed with the crowd, his voice
echoing around the pitch.
After stuffing the Snitch in his pocket, Draco held out his hand
to his husband.
Harry reached his hand for Draco's, using it to pull himself to his
feet again.
Draco held their clasped hands up and people cheered, then he
stepped in and kissed his husband.
Smiling against Draco's lips, Harry kissed him back happily.
Draco tilted his head, lips opening and tongue thrusting into his
lover's mouth. He loved it. Loved that everyone could see them.
Harry let out a sound that would have been small had his voice
not been magically magnified. As it was, it was a loud, muffled, "Uh."
"Always," Draco whispered, and it carried into the stands.
"Always yours."
Harry smiled softly. "Yours," he whispered in return.
Pulling back, Draco looked into Harry's eyes. "To the showers?"
he asked.
Harry raised his eyebrows at Draco and then ended the spell for
both of them. "To the showers," he agreed, ignoring the muttering of
the crowd.
They walked hand in hand to the locker room. "Yours or mine?"
Draco asked.
Harry smirked. "Which one did you always fantasise about?" he
asked, voice already growing deeper.
"Yours, usually," Draco smirked. "Come in while you are
changing and...."
Harry licked his lips. "Fuck me senseless?" he finished. He turned
and faced Draco. "Shall I go in first then?" he asked, rubbing the skin
of Draco's hand with his thumb.
"Yes," Draco grinned. "Go take a shower."
Harry grinned slyly, turning again to head into the Gryffindor
changing rooms. He began undressing, laying his robes on a bench
before heading into the shower area and turning on the hot water. He
remembered what Draco had said about watching him wank in these
showers and felt his cock twitch.
Draco went to the Slytherin locker room, and stripped quickly.
56
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Then he swallowed the potion he had brought with him before
walking over to the Gryffindor side.
Harry stood under the water, waiting for Draco with his heart
beating quickly. He could already tell this was going to be fucking
hot.
Draco had one problem with his plan. His silver hand would be
visible. So he had borrowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak as well,
wrapping the hand in it for the moment. He stood naked now in the
Gryffindor locker room, watching Harry shower.
Harry wondered if he was supposed to actually shower, or if he
was supposed to just wait for Draco. Where was Draco anyway?
Harry waited another minute before soaping up, as Draco still wasn't
there. There was probably not too much of a point to shower before
sex, but he was sweaty and already there, so he did.
Draco had been hard before, but watching Harry in the shower as
he washed himself made his cock twitch in anticipation. There was
something delicious about Harry unguarded and unknowing.
Harry looked around himself for Draco again, rinsing off. No
way would he just stand outside or something so long. Harry
wondered if Draco was already inside.... He rubbed his own hand
across his chest and stomach a little slower, just in case his husband
was watching him.
Draco smirked as Harry's hands touched himself. The blond
mirrored the movements with his right hand on his own body.
Harry pushed his wet hair off his forehead and then rubbed his
neck and collarbone free of soap, still moving slowly. Then he moved
his hands down his chest again and to his hips, rubbing the skin
around, but not touching his erection.
Draco's plan was to wait until Harry was out of the shower to
touch him. But he was seriously reconsidering now. He stepped
carefully into the tiled area, walking closer but trying not to make a
sound.
Harry continued to touch himself, but when there was still no
sign of his husband he finished quickly and shut the water off,
Summoning a towel from where they lay folded.
Stepping back, Draco waited for Harry to get to the locker area
where the benches were.
BEAT ME
57
Harry dried off and didn't bother to wrap the towel around his
hips. He rubbed the towel on his hair as he exited the showers.
Draco stepped behind Harry. The minute he brought the towel
down from his hair, Draco's hand was there, grabbing a handful.
Harry gasped and jumped, having honestly not expected the
move. He tried to turn and struggled.
Draco brought his naked body against Harry's back, releasing the
Cloak now so that he could use his silver hand as well to control
Harry body movements. No longer a surprise, he could speak and
break the Invisibility, too. "On your knees, Potter," he sneered in his
lover's ear.
"Malfoy," Harry hissed, knowing that Draco wanted him to fight
and then give in.
Draco twisted Harry's hair hard and pressed his knee into the
back of the other man's, forcing him to kneel beside one of the
benches.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Harry growled, hissing through
his teeth as Draco moved his body.
Draco put his weight into it, forcing Harry to bend over the
bench, and rested his knee in the small of the man's back, holding
him in place. He used his free hand to smooth over Harry's arse.
"Whatever the fuck I want, Potter," he answered.
Harry growled again, pushing back against Draco. "This was not
the agreement, you prick," he said in a hard voice.
"Actually it was," Draco said, smirking. "Different bet, though."
He laughed.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Harry asked, trying yet
again to push Draco away.
"Two years ago," Draco said. Then he switched hands in Harry's
hair so that he could use his right hand. He brought that hand down
for a hard smack against Harry's arse.
Harry had to try very hard to keep his groan from escaping and
was glad that his 'struggle' allowed him to squirm.
Draco's cock twitched hard with the sound and feel of that slap
against Harry's arse. He hit him several more times before running
his hand over the red blush on those cheeks.
Harry hissed quietly, panting heavily through his nose. "Fucking
58
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
pervert," he said, voice trembling with his arousal.
"Oh, yes, Potter," Draco drawled. "I can see that you are. Look at
that hard cock hanging between your legs. You love being beaten by
me."
Harry actually flushed, though he didn't quite know why. He was
struck again with how real this was.
Draco Summoned his wand and tied Harry's wrists to the bench,
then stood up and walked around to the front so that Harry could
clearly see his erection. "I'm going to fuck you, Potter," he said. "But
first I am going to make you beg for it."
Harry looked up at Draco with lust-darkened eyes, which he
couldn't help, but also scowled heavily at him. His breathing sped up
once again and he pulled on the ropes binding him.
Chuckling softly, Draco stepped back behind Harry again. He
began spanking the man once more, striking those lovely cheeks
repeatedly with the flat of his hand until they were bright red.
Harry clenched his teeth but couldn't help gasping and crying out
in the end. The sting was painful, but his cock was so fucking hard
and leaking onto the floor.
"I think you would come just from spanking, if I kept it up long
enough. What do you think, Potter? Or should I fuck this hole?"
Draco asked in that false, sweet, teasing voice he'd sometimes used in
school.
Harry didn't answer, not ready to give in, but wanting Draco to
fuck him. But, of course, he couldn't tell Draco to fuck him. He
pretended to struggle again. "You wouldn't, actually," he said, gasping
and not meaning to.
Draco ran his fingers teasingly down the cleft of Harry's arse.
"Wouldn't fuck this pretty virgin hole?" he asked. He used just the
pad of one finger to rub gentle circles against the sensitive puckered
flesh of Harry's entrance.
Harry swallowed, gasping again as he fought to keep from
pressing back. He didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say
anything. Instead, he lowered his forehead into the crook of his arm.
"Oh, so you don't want my thick cock in your beautiful arse?"
Draco purred. He removed his finger and silently Summoned his
wand, casting a non-verbal lube spell as well. Then he brought the
BEAT ME
59
slick finger against the puckered opening.
"Ngh," Harry let out strangely, his cock twitching with the words
and the touch.
"That hardly constitutes proper begging, Potter," Draco drawled,
the tight muscle relaxing enough to slide the tip of his finger inside.
"You will have to do better than that," he added.
Harry took in a shuddering breath. "I won't beg you for
anything," he tried to sneer, but it came out as another gasp instead.
"We'll see about that," Draco answered, working his finger in and
out of his lover's opening. Meanwhile, he stroked those sensitive red
cheeks.
Harry arched his back, torn between moving away from the
touch, as he should have done, or moving into it, as he wanted to.
Draco continued to stroke Harry's red sensitive flesh as he
worked another finger into him. He prepared him as if Harry were
still a virgin, stretching carefully, then twisted his fingers to rub
against Harry's prostate.
Harry's face flushed again, but with pleasure. "W-what are you
doing?" he asked shakily, because as a virgin, he wouldn't know.
Draco smiled, and began stroking Harry again as he pumped
those fingers. "Feels good, doesn't it?" he purred.
Harry didn't answer but let out a quiet moan that he was unable
to hold in.
"That's it," Draco encouraged. "I bet your cock is aching to be
touched right now." He worked a third finger in, twisting again.
Harry let out another moan, squirming on Draco's hand. His
cock was aching, and leaking even more, heavy between his legs. He
could hardly stand it, but it was so good.
"You look perfect on your knees," Draco said, voice low and
husky. "And your hole feels tight and slick. You want me to fuck you
now or leave you here for your fellow Gryffindors to find like this?"
"No," Harry let out in a gasping breath, and it was so strange that
Draco leaving him in the locker room seemed an actual possibility.
"You can't leave me here."
"Oh, but I can, Potter," Draco purred, amusement in his tone.
"Can you imagine it?"
Yes, Harry could imagine it. And it was not a very nice picture,
60
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
but, Merlin, Draco was hot. He felt very much like starting to beg.
Draco moved in closer, rubbing the slick head of his cock over
the warm sensitive flesh of Harry's arsecheeks. He slowly withdrew
his fingers from the bound man's entrance.
Harry whimpered with Draco's withdrawal and flushed yet again,
trembling and panting.
"Yes, you look so wanton like this," Draco said softly. "Your
body is aching for me, isn't it?"
"Please," Harry whispered very quietly, his face still buried in his
arm.
"Please what, Potter?" Draco asked, continuing to slide the head
of his cock over Harry's reddened arse.
"Please ..." Harry began very quietly, squeezing his eyes shut from
Draco's touch. "Please ...."
"Please leave you here, hard and aching to be touched?" Draco
asked.
Harry was silent for a long few moments. "Please fuck me," he
whispered finally, wondering if he might come without being touched
anywhere.
"More," Draco said, sounding breathless. He slid the head of his
cock down the cleft of Harry's arse.
Harry groaned. "Please fuck me," he whispered again. "Please let
me come. Please, Malfoy."
Draco grinned. "You want me, Draco Malfoy, to stick my cock in
your arse and fuck you?" he asked, remembering the first time he had
asked that of the man in front of him.
Harry bit his lip tightly. "Yes," he answered after a moment. "I
want you to fuck me."
Draco slicked his cock more and then rubbed the head against
that clenching hole. "Beg me," he said quietly.
Harry groaned deeply, pulling on the ropes again because he felt
like he needed to move something. "Please," he said. "Please put your
cock in me. Oh, God, please, Malfoy. Please, I want it so fucking
much."
That made Draco tremble. "Yes," he answered, licking his lips
and pressing the head into Harry's opening. He loved that moment of
pushing past the tightness and into warmth.
BEAT ME
61
Harry threw his head back and arched, gasping. "Oh, yes, please,"
he whimpered.
"Oh, yessss," Draco gasped, his lover's magic crackling over his
skin. He pressed slowly inside until he was completely buried in the
other man.
Harry let out a long moan, holding completely still. "God,
Malfoy, you're so ... thick," he said in a strangled voice, unable to
resist just a little dirty talk.
"And you are perfect around me," Draco added, and drew back
slowly, feeling Harry's hole clenching around the movement.
Harry hissed, using his muscles to squeeze Draco tighter. "Mmm,
yes, yeah," he gasped, making fists with his hands.
Draco moaned now, sliding forward again into Harry. "Oh,
Gods, yes, so tight, so good," Draco gasped, fingers squeezing
Harry's sore arse as he did.
"So good," Harry echoed, referring to both Draco's slide into
him, and the delicious sting of his hands on his arse.
Draco agreed, swallowing hard as he trembled. "I beat you,
Potter," his said, beginning to rock into Harry's sore arse with each
thrust now.
"Mmm, yes. You beat me," Harry agreed, pressing back against
Draco.
Draco picked up the pace then. The sound of his body slapping
against Harry's was loud in the room. "Oh, yes, inside you," he
gasped.
Harry growled and hissed and groaned as he met each of Draco's
thrusts. "Fuck, yes," he answered him. "So good inside."
Draco reached for his wand, releasing the ropes that bound
Harry. He wrapped his arm around the man's body, while his silver
hand slid around his lover's hip and closed over his wet cock.
"Oh, fuck," Harry gasped, reaching his hand back to grasp
Draco's hair as he came extremely close to coming.
"Mine, now and always," Draco gasped against the side of his
lover's face as he pumped the man's cock in time with his hips.
"Yours," Harry agreed, gritting his teeth as his seed began to
spurt out of him. His hand tightened in Draco's hair and he let out a
strangled cry.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Harry's body clenching around Draco's cock and warm liquid
drizzling onto his silver hand would have been enough to bring him
over the edge, but Harry's magic surged with him and Draco cried
out at the intensity of his release.
Harry closed his eyes, panting and then sighing in content
pleasure. "Merlin, you're perfect," he whispered.
"Yes, Potter," Draco whispered against his ear. "Perfect for you
and now you know."
"No one is more perfect for me," Harry said to him, smiling. And
after a moment of quiet contentment with his gorgeous husband he
asked, "You think one day we can get married and have a baby?"
Draco chuckled, kissing the side of his face. "Well, said potential
baby is probably screaming his bloody head off right now for his
Daddy Harry," he whispered.
Harry smiled again. "Yes, probably," he said, dropping his hand
from Draco's hair.
Draco kissed Harry's shoulder, nipping slightly at it. Then he
gently pulled out from his husband's body, smiling at the bright red
skin.
Harry let out a small noise as Draco pulled back. "You know," he
said, "I really should spank you like that one day."
Draco groaned, his arse clenching and groin tingling at the very
idea. "Oh, yes, you should," he answered, patting Harry's arse with
his right hand.
Harry let out another sound and then grinned, pushing himself
up and Summoning his clothes from where he'd put them when he'd
first changed.
Draco stood too and picked up his wand. "I haven't showered
yet, and I very much need it," he said. He cast a Cleaning Charm on
his husband so he could get dressed. "My clothes are in the other
locker room," he said. "Should I meet you inside?"
Harry nodded, kissing Draco on the cheek. "One thing, though,"
he said. "What bet from two years ago were you talking about?"
Draco laughed then, unable to answer for a minute because of it.
"The prank," he managed.
Harry rolled his eyes and snorted. "Well, you certainly didn't need
to use that to get me in here," he said, grinning.
BEAT ME
63
"So I still have it for another time?" Draco smiled, raising his
eyebrows.
Harry snorted again. "Sure," he said, eyes alight behind his
glasses.
"Good." And then Draco picked up the Invisibility Cloak he had
dropped earlier and wrapped it around himself. With only his head
showing, he leant in and kissed his husband.
Harry smiled as he kissed Draco back, swiping his tongue over
his lips before pulling away. "See you later, Malfoy," he said
suggestively, waggling his eyebrows a few times.
Draco nodded, smiling, and then pulled the hood over his head,
disappearing from sight to make his way back over to the Slytherin
locker room.
– CHAPTER EIGHT –
Surviving Friendships
The blond hung the Cloak on a hook and removed his silver hand to
set it with his things. Then Draco stepped into the hot shower,
sighing as he did. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back into the
spray and feeling the water coursing down his skin.
"I don't know if I will ever get used to the idea of you without
both hands," came a male voice.
Draco used his right hand to push hair and water from his eyes
and looked to where Theodore Nott leaned against the entrance of
the shower. "Not something you need to worry about," he answered.
Theo's gaze very deliberately looked the naked blond over.
"Almost accents how flawless the rest of you is, doesn't it?" he said,
smiling.
Draco arched an eyebrow at his ex-lover. "What do you want?"
he asked, reaching for the soap and beginning to wash himself as if
Theo's gaze didn't register. His heart had sped up, though, and he
had to work to keep his reaction off his face.
"Do you remember that time in this very shower?" Theo asked,
smiling.
"I lost my hand, not my memory," Draco replied, trying not to
look like he was hurrying.
"Oh, really?" Theo asked. "Because you fawning over Potter
makes me wonder."
"He is my husband, Theo," Draco replied coolly.
"I heard what he did to you," Theo said. "They say he magically
bound you and that you didn't have a choice."
"I have always had a choice," Draco answered, rinsing now.
"If he ordered you now," Theo asked, "would you have to obey
him?"
"That's not the issue," Draco said, turning off the water.
"Our own prince a slave to that Gryffindor and you tell me that
SURVIVING FRIENDSHIPS
65
isn't an issue?" Theo said, a hint of anger in his voice now.
"Let it go, Theo," Draco said, using a towel to dry his hair and
then wrapping it around his waist.
As Draco began to walk past Theo to get to his clothes, the other
man stepped into his path. "Tell me you aren't attracted to me now,"
he said, voice low.
Draco swallowed and didn't look into the other man's eyes. "Get
out of my way, Nott," he snapped.
Theo stepped even closer so that he had Draco nearly trapped
between the door jamb and his body. "So it's Nott now, not Theo?"
he smiled. "Trying to distance yourself?"
Draco sighed deeply and then raised his grey eyes to look into
Theo's dark ones. "Theo," he whispered, "I am not doing this. That is
the past."
"You haven't denied it, though," Theo pushed, raising a hand to
cup Draco's chin. "You still want me."
"No," Draco said, voice catching as he did. "I find you attractive,
yes. But I do not want this. Not now, not again."
Theo winced, frowning. "I don't believe you," he said. "I see the
way you still look at me."
Draco silently Summoned his wand while the other man's
attention was on his face. "Did you try to kill me, Theo?" he asked
quietly.
The question surprised Nott, and Draco could see it in his face as
he let go of the blond's chin. Theo wasn't meeting his eyes now. "No,
no I didn't," he hissed.
"But you knew Blaise sent in our location, didn't you?" Draco
asked, watching his old lover carefully.
Theo backed up then and he glanced nervously at the fact that
Draco was holding his wand now. "He didn't mean for you to get
hurt," Theo said. "He said that Potter was controlling you. That we
needed to get you away from him."
"He did, did he?" Draco drawled, wand pointed directly at Nott.
"And if Potter was killed?"
Theo was on the defensive now, swallowing thickly at the harder
sound of Draco's voice. "Then you would be free again," Theo said.
"Well, as usual, Blaise was wrong," Draco answered. "I would
66
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
have died."
Theo's eyes widened then. "Draco, I swear, I didn't know," he
said.
"That is obvious," Draco said dismissively, and walked over to
where his clothes were hanging. He set his wand down within easy
reach and began to get dressed, essentially dismissing Theo with the
action.
"Draco?" Theo asked.
"Yes?" the blond replied in a bored-sounding voice.
"Draco, look at me," Theo said, stepping closer again.
Draco had reattached his silver hand and was now pulling on his
trousers. He stood and faced the other man once more.
Theo's eyes met his again. "I'm sorry," he said.
Draco's eyes widened. They didn't say "sorry" in Slytherin. One
might admit to polite "apologies" but never "sorry." Draco swallowed
hard.
"We were wrong," Theo continued. "We realised that soon
enough, Pansy and I. Blaise didn't and he paid for it. But after that
night, Pansy and I never supported that side again."
"I understand," Draco said, "and I am glad you didn't follow him.
You would have died. Believe it or not, I am glad the two of you
survived."
Theo's eyes looked suspiciously moist then. "Do you hate us
now?" he asked, sounding more like he had when they had first met
at eleven than Draco had heard in years.
Draco gave a sad smile. "No, Theo, I don't hate you," he said. "I
couldn't hate you or Pansy. Hell, I'm not even sure I could hate
Blaise. I know what it was like. Remember?"
Theo closed his eyes, releasing a shuddering sigh then.
Draco waited while Theo tried to pull himself together. Finally,
Theo opened his eyes again, seeming calm but without the bravado
of earlier.
"I would be your friend again, if that is possible," Draco said.
"But it will never be more than that. Do you understand? I am in love
with my husband. And he doesn't share. He will have a hard time
even accepting you are not our enemy now."
Theo raised his chin a bit proudly. "I understand," he said calmly.
SURVIVING FRIENDSHIPS
67
He held his hand out then. "Friends?"
Draco smiled, flashing on the memory of the first day he and
Theo had come to that agreement. They'd had a big argument in the
common room. Theo had thought Draco was only a spoilt brat. He
hadn't known the blond's magical ability or intelligence. They had
ended up in a heated debate over the merits of Plato. It had sealed
their friendship and set the grounds for later physical explorations.
Draco took the man's hand now, the way he had taken the boy's
hand then. "Yes, I would like that," he repeated the line from the
past.
"Good," Theo said, smiling. He released Draco's hand, then
turned and strode out of the locker room. Draco watched him go and
found part of himself again that he thought he had lost in the war.
He smiled too as he hurriedly got dressed to meet his husband.
Harry stood by and opened the door to the Potions classroom for
Draco and Valen. He followed them in and saw that mostly everyone
was already there. Harry'd had to feed the baby, and so it had made
them a little later in coming.
He saw Slughorn sitting behind his desk, hands on his great belly,
and when the man saw them entering, he jumped up eagerly. "Why,
Harry and Draco," he said in a way that made it sound like Harry and
Draco were very old, good friends. He made his way over to where
they were beginning to set up Valen's things.
"Hello, Professor," Harry said, straightening up from situating
Valen's toys in his playpen.
Draco frowned but nodded to the Professor. The man had
ignored Draco during sixth year and now treated him like he had
been one of his favourites?
"You know – and now might not be the best of times – but I've
got some friends interested in speaking with you both," continued
Slughorn, paying no attention to Draco's frown. They say you've
been so awfully hard to get a hold of!"
"Yes, well that's intentional," said Harry. "We get dozens of
letters every day. It got very old very fast."
Draco wasn't even sure why he had come to the Potions class,
other than to help Harry. He didn't think that Slughorn had anything
68
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
new to teach him.
"Ah, well, yes. I do get many letters myself," the professor said
next. "I know how it can become overwhelming. Perhaps a chat after
class?"
"Perhaps," said Harry, secretly hoping to be able to sneak off.
Slughorn smiled happily. "Good, good," he said, and then
reached over to ruffle Valen's hair. "I'm sure he'll be a joy to have in
class," he said as if he were entirely sure of it. "He already has the
look of brilliance about him. Let the records show that I had him
pegged when he discovers a potion to cure all sickness!" He chortled.
Valen burbled in response.
Draco hid his smile behind his hand and turned his attention to
pulling out parchment, a quill, and ink.
Theo and Pansy were sitting nearby. Theo nodded to Draco and
the blond responded in kind. Pansy was giving them both a strange
look and then leant over to whisper in Theo's ear.
Harry noticed, and didn't respond to the gesture outwardly. He
just couldn't understand how Draco could ignore that Nott and
Pansy had tried to kill him – both of them. Or at least known about it
and not said a word. He sighed, rubbed their son's head fondly, and
then took his seat next to Draco as Slughorn moved toward the front
of the classroom again.
Theo shook his head, clearly not wanting to talk to Pansy about
what she had asked him.
"Well," said Slughorn, turning to face the students. "I'm certainly
happy to have you all back. Some of my very best students are in this
year." He gave a little wink to the Gryffindor section, and seemed to
be including Draco in this. "But I'm sure you've all heard enough
about that." He smiled around the room, holding the flaps of his
jacket. "Now, do you all remember a certain potion? One that I
showed to you, but which you never made?"
Hermione raised her hand. "Felix Felicis?" she said.
Slughorn grinned. "Very good, Ms Granger. I did show you that
one. But that's not the one I'm thinking of. Anyone else have a
guess?"
Draco sighed but raised his hand.
"Ah, yes. Draco?" Slughorn asked.
SURVIVING FRIENDSHIPS
69
"Amortentia," the blond answered.
"And that's the one," said Slughorn. "Very good, Mr Malfoy," he
praised. "Amortentia. The most powerful Love Potion in the world,
and what you will be tested on in your N.E.W.T.s. Can anyone tell
me a distinctive property of this potion?"
Hermione raised her hand again and it went like that for several
minutes as Slughorn asked questions about the potion, but then they
were finally able to retrieve their ingredients from the student store
cupboard and begin their work.
Harry covered Valen with another protective charm and then set
about counting out his frozen Ashwinder eggs.
Draco focused on following the instructions. He was amused to
be making the potion after all the research he had done on love
magic when they were studying the room in the Department of
Mysteries.
"It's hard to believe how this stuff smells when it's finished," said
Lavender, whose face was screwed up as she cut open a flobberworm
and squeezed out some of the mucus within.
Parvati nodded next to her. "Mine smelled like chocolate and
fuchsia. Oh, and spice." She smiled at the memory.
"Mine smelled so much better than that," said Lavender. "Mine
was like a sugar cookie and-"
"It smells different to every person," said Hermione. "So of
course you would think yours smelled better."
Lavender and Parvati gave her small frowns, but Hermione didn't
seem to notice as she focused on the ingredients before her.
Draco was adding the Ashwinder eggs and leaned over his
husband to reach for the quill. He smirked. He knew what his
smelled like. He would never have told anyone back then, but it
smelled like Harry. Which was rather like fresh air and green grass.
He looked at the man in question and almost messed up the potion
because of the momentary distraction.
Harry flushed a little at his own memory. He liked the Quidditch
smell and the treacle tart okay, but he also remembered the flowery
smell that was Ginny's perfume. He was eager to get the potion
finished to see if the smell had changed. It had to have changed, but
he wanted to know.
70
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Valen seemed to be getting pretty excited, jumping, squealing and
wiggling his hands and feet.
The room was eventually filled with simmering potions and
swirling mist and, all at once it seemed, Harry got a great whiff of
treacle tart, a broomstick handle, and ... something like vanilla and
cinnamon. He smiled and sighed a little. It was definitely Draco's
smell. He wanted to lean over and smell the real thing, but couldn't,
as he was stirring for the last step of the potion.
Draco was smiling at the dreamy look on Harry's face.
Harry turned his head to Draco as he continued stirring, not
having any clue what his own face looked like. "It smells really good,"
he said with a smile that spread slowly across his lips.
Draco arched an eyebrow. "What does it smell like to you?" he
asked.
"You, of course," Harry answered, still smiling. "And Quidditch,
and my favourite dessert, but you're the best."
"I thought I was your favourite dessert," Draco teased. Their
potion was done and appeared to be working.
Harry snorted. "You are rather delicious," he said, kissing Draco
on the cheek and giving him a little lick that no one would've been
able to see. "What do you smell?" he asked, grinning.
"Same thing I smelled the last time," Draco answered, smirking
and reaching a hand under the table to caress his lover's thigh.
Harry's grin widened. "Did you smell me the last time?" he asked.
Draco flushed and nodded. "Told you, always you," he
whispered.
"There's certainly nothing to be embarrassed about," Harry said
softly as he began leaning in towards Draco. "I find it rather
delightful."
"Except that it turns me on," Draco whispered.
"Nearly everything turns you on," Harry whispered back,
knowing how hypocritical his statement was.
Draco smirked but didn't argue the point. Back in sixth year, he
had actually considered a way to slip the potion to Harry but had
decided against it.
Harry turned his head away from Draco when Valen let out a
particularly loud yell. He laughed at the baby's excitement. "What do
SURVIVING FRIENDSHIPS
71
you think he smells?" he asked.
"If it is what he loves, then probably trouble," Draco laughed.
Harry laughed some more at that. "Yes. If anyone would smell
trouble, it would be him."
Draco had enjoyed Potions class in spite of the fact that it reminded
him of how much he missed his godfather. It somehow felt wrong to
listen to the cheerful voice of Slughorn in place of Severus's stern
one. He still had nightmares sometimes of that moment when the
man had sacrificed his own life for Draco's. His thoughts were on the
past as he held his husband's hand and carried his son with his silver
one. The boy was growing bigger daily and he found the silver hand
could take the stress of holding him better.
Harry, too, had enjoyed Potions class. He knew it was very sappy,
but he'd liked brewing a Love Potion with Draco, and knowing that
the potion had smelled like his husband. He turned his head and
smiled at Draco and then caught sight of Valen, who was chewing
and slobbering on his own little fingers. "He's been drooling so much
lately," Harry mused, reaching over Draco as they walked to wipe at a
drip at the corner of Valen's mouth.
"He chews on everything now," Draco said, getting used to
having to clean his silver hand of said drool. "You want to take him
for dinner tonight?" he asked.
Harry frowned inwardly. He had absolutely no idea why Draco
sat with the Slytherins. It wasn't as if they were actual students
anymore, and even then he wouldn't have had to sit with them, but
Harry didn't say anything against it. "Sure, I'll take him," he answered.
Draco handed Valen to his husband when they reached the Great
Hall, leaning in to kiss Harry as he did.
Harry kissed Draco back with Valen in his arms, smiling against
his lips before heading over to join Ron, Hermione and the others at
the Gryffindor table.
Draco straightened his robes and strode into the room, head held
high and manner as haughty as it had ever been. He smiled as others
moved aside to make room for him at the table beside Theo and
across from Pansy again.
– CHAPTER NINE –
Nott
"Did you enjoy Potions today, Draco?" Pansy asked from across the
Slytherin table, smirking.
Draco arched an eyebrow, suspicious of her apparent good cheer.
"Yes, did you?" he asked politely. Beside him, Theo was looking
suspiciously at Pansy as well. He passed the bread to Draco without
comment.
Draco had been sitting at the Slytherin table since they'd arrived
at the school, so no one really paid it too much attention like they
had on the first day. Harry still watched him, though. He couldn't
help himself. He was still jealous of Nott, and Pansy too, for that
matter, but he couldn't help that either. He was jealous of their pasts
with Draco more than anything. They'd been his friends and ... lovers
for longer than Harry had, and he still couldn't help thinking about
how they might know Draco better than he did, as irrational as it was.
"Yes," Pansy said. "You certainly are all domestic with Potter,"
she added. "Not how I ever pictured you, Draco."
Draco shrugged. "I always wanted a family," he said, and she
winced. He hadn't meant it to bring up old hurts. He had broken it
off with her at the beginning of sixth year, long before he'd ever
kissed Harry. But it probably didn't feel good to her anyway.
"You finally beat him," Theo said beside him, obviously trying to
change the topic.
Draco smiled. He had been getting a lot of attention over that
and he enjoyed it. He glanced at Theo, meeting his eyes and nodding.
Harry sighed, looking away and down at Valen. He kissed his
blond hair and smiled.
"He's dripping on your shirt," said Ginny.
"Yes, he drips on everything," Harry replied. He took a napkin
from the table to wipe at Valen's face as the baby tried to get away
from the cloth.
NOTT
73
Draco remembered then how comfortable Theo had always
made him feel. In fact, he had been sitting with Theo the first time he
had ever seen that Love Potion. He remembered Slughorn chiding
them about how they knew nothing of obsessive love. And they had
found that funny.
Draco blushed and looked down at his food. He had been staring
into Theo's eyes without realising it.
Harry finished wiping Valen off and glanced quickly at Draco
again. He'd thought about sitting at the Slytherin table with his
husband a few times, like he had been going to do that first time, but
didn't want to make Draco feel like he couldn't do anything by
himself. Maybe Harry did treat Draco like a child, as Ron had said
before. He frowned, sighing quietly.
Draco felt warmer and his heart sped up. He glanced shyly at
Theo. Had the other man's eyes always been that amazing shade of
brown, like milk chocolate?
Theo's mouth dropped open when Draco looked at him this
time, licking his lips.
Draco suddenly had the urge to lick those lips himself. He could
remember their taste even now and wondered if they would still be as
hot.
"You know, I bet he'll be getting his first tooth soon," said
Hermione from across the table. "Babies usually start that around his
age."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," said Harry, frowning at what a
tooth might feel like if Valen were to bite him while eating, which
he'd already done with his gums. And that hurt bad enough. He
glanced absently at Draco again. He frowned once more. Maybe it
was just him, it was probably just him, but Draco and Nott seemed to
be looking at each other quite often. Almost every time Harry looked
over. No, I'm not going to do this again, he told himself.
Draco forced himself to look away. He tried to concentrate on
his food. But his gaze kept returning to the beautiful man sitting next
to him. His attention shifted and he looked down Theo's body. The
other man had certainly filled out since they had last been together.
How would it feel to touch him?
Harry continued to watch Draco. His husband was hardly
74
HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
looking away from Nott. At all. And they weren't even talking to each
other. Draco was looking at Nott more than Nott was looking at
Draco. Harry's frown grew.
Draco shifted closer to Theo, his thigh against the other man's.
Theo snapped his head in Draco's direction, eyes widening in
surprise. "Draco?" he whispered.
The blond leaned in to whisper against the other man's ear and
felt the shiver his breath caused in Theo. "Meet me tonight," he said.
Harry's eyes widened and he clenched his hand under the table.
His breathing sped up. What was Draco doing whispering in Nott's
ear? Why would he need to whisper in Nott's ear? Draco knew how
Harry felt about it. He knew. Why would he do that?
Draco's heart was beating fast. He wanted Theo. He wanted to
know what he was missing.
Theo had gasped and closed his eyes. He hesitated and then
whispered, "Where?"
"You know where," Draco answered, voice deep with promise. It
had the desired effect as Theo shivered again.
Harry was scowling now, and very hurt. Did Draco not care at all
about what he had told him? Harry couldn't believe that, but he
couldn't think of any possible excuse for what Draco was doing right
in front of his eyes. He was openly flirting – more than flirting. He
was giving Nott that look that Harry knew very well. That look.
Valen whimpered and Ron looked over at Harry, concern etched
in his features. "Harry?" he asked.
Harry's heart gave a painful beat and he felt frozen to the spot.
Draco was oblivious to his husband's reactions, only seeing Theo
now. He slid his hand under the table and over the other man's thigh.
Theo jumped, giving Draco a look of confusion.
Harry's eyes widened further and Valen began to squirm. His
breath sped up even more. The possibility that Draco was playing a
very, very un-funny joke couldn't be it. Harry didn't know what the
hell his husband was doing. He looked to be groping Nott under the
table. Groping him.
Even Ron was staring wide-eyed at Draco, his mouth open.
Harry didn't know whether to leave the room or to walk over to
Draco and demand an explanation, but he certainly couldn't sit at the
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table and watch it.
Theo shut his mouth and was looking at Draco with a mixture of
desire and surprise.
Draco smirked. He knew that look meant that Theo would meet
him where he had asked. He released Theo's thigh and went back to
eating, a smug look upon his face.
Pansy had watched the entire exchange with a small smile.
Harry was shaking now. Draco hadn't even looked up at him.
Not even once. It didn't make any sense. Harry stood up from the
bench and handed his child to Hermione, ignoring his friends'
befuddled questions. He walked across the Hall to the door,
expecting Draco to follow him.
Draco looked up when Harry left the room. He considered going
after the other man but then realised that would mean an argument
and he might not get to meet Theo.
He continued eating for a few more minutes. Then he leant over
to Theo again. "Follow me," he whispered. Then he got up and left
the room.
Harry had stood and waited outside the doors for Draco, growing
steadily more angry and hurt as the minutes ticked by. A few angry
tears of frustration managed to escape him and he was utterly
confused. Completely confused. He could not work it out. Had he
done something? No, of course he hadn't. Draco had been fine right
before they'd sat down, and he'd never acted that way before.
Harry was just about to turn back into the Hall and make Draco
follow him when the doors opened and the person in question
stepped out.
Damn, Draco thought. He hadn't counted on Harry waiting for
him. He took a deep breath and turned to face him, trying to look
normal. "Where's Valen?" he asked.
Harry couldn't believe Draco would ask him that while his eyes
were red with tears and his face still wet. "Did you not see me get up
and leave?" he asked.
"Yes," Draco said, frowning. "Are you upset about something?"
He hadn't even noticed that Harry was crying.
Harry closed his eyes and didn't speak for a moment. "Why did
you do that in there?" he asked, unable to even spit it out how he
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
wanted. The lump in his throat felt too thick. "You know we already
talked about it. You know what I told you."
"Do what? Have dinner with my House?" Draco asked.
"You're going to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking
about?" Harry asked incredulously.
"How would I know?" Draco asked, arms crossed defensively
across his own chest.
Harry looked down as yet another tear fell but then looked back
up angrily, his eyes burning. "You were ..." he gestured wildly in
Draco's face, "with Nott!"
"Talking with Theo?" Draco asked, smirking.
"Why are you acting like this?" Harry hissed, unable to help it
when that smirk spread across Draco's face. "Why the fuck are you
acting like this?"
"Potter," Draco drawled, "you are the one throwing a tantrum in
the hall. Over what?"
Harry's eyes widened again. He didn't even know what to say to
Draco.
"I am going for a walk," Draco declared, and strode out of the
entrance hall, toward the Slytherin dungeons.
Harry couldn't even think of words to say to stop Draco. He
stood completely still, trying not to start crying again as he watched
his husband simply walk away from him with no explanation.
Draco made his way into a deeper part of the dungeon, to the old
store room. He used a simple spell to unlock it. Someone, long
before Draco had come to Hogwarts, had placed a sofa at the back.
He sat down and waited for Theo to join him.
Harry stood looking at the spot where Draco had been standing, just
staring. None of this made an ounce of sense. He didn't even look
away from the spot when the oak doors behind him opened.
"Harry?" came Hermione's voice after a moment. He heard her
footsteps as she came towards him. "Harry ... what's...?" She finally
came around to the front of him and gasped quietly. "Harry, what's
wrong?" she asked, staring at his face.
Harry closed his eyes.
"Where's Draco?"
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Harry's eyes opened again. "He went to take a walk," he meant to
say scathingly, but it came out as a near sob.
"What's wrong?" Hermione repeated, her voice more firm.
"Where's my son?" Harry asked, ignoring her previous question
and making to stride around her.
She grabbed his arm. "Ron has him," she said. "And he's
perfectly fine. Please tell me what happened. Ron said he saw...."
"Draco flirting with fucking Nott?" Harry spat.
Hermione's eyes widened with his tone and she seemed
speechless for a moment.
"Yeah, I saw it, too," he continued, more tears coming no matter
how many he wiped away.
"That's ridiculous," Hermione said. "I'm sure he wasn't."
"I'm sure he was!" Harry said loudly.
Hermione glanced at the doors they were standing in front of.
"Everyone can hear you shouting," she said. "Come with me and we
can-"
"I'm going to get Valen," Harry cut her off.
"Look at you," she said, her grasp on his arm tightening. "He's
with Ron and he's fine. Do you really think you should take him right
now?"
Harry closed his eyes again.
"Listen to me," she said. "I know why you're upset, but does any
of this make any sense?"
"No," Harry hissed. "That's why I don't – don't -" He reached up
and pulled his hair.
"Come on," Hermione said, rubbing his shoulder. "Let's not talk
where everyone can hear us."
"I don't want to talk abou-"
"Just come here and listen to me and then we can go and find
Draco."
"I don't want to find him," Harry said, choked up again.
"Just come here, Harry," she said in a soothing voice. "Please just
come here?"
He protested when she began to tug gently on his arm, but did
follow, not knowing what else he should do.
Hermione pulled Harry up the staircase in the entrance hall, but
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
didn't go too far with him. She stopped in a corridor on the first floor
and faced Harry.
"What?" he spat. "This is pointless. I don't need to talk about it."
"Would Draco flirt with Theodore Nott?" she asked him
seriously.
Harry scowled very heavily, his heart and fists clenching. "He
did," he said.
"Would he?" she pressed.
"He did," Harry said again.
"But, Harry, you know as well as I do that he wouldn't. Draco
loves you more than anything. Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," Harry spat. He suddenly felt like he wanted to kill
something, and his eyes watered.
Hermione rubbed his arm. "I think someone slipped Draco a
Love Potion," she said seriously.
"What?" Harry asked, voice high.
"He was fine before dinner," she went on. 'You two weren't
fighting and he would never do that to you even if you were fighting."
Harry frowned, wiping at these damned tears!
"He sat at the Slytherin table next to Nott, who I've noticed has
been ... staring at Draco," she said. "We were making Amortentia in
Potions. Doesn't that make more sense than Draco suddenly acting
so very different for no reason at all?"
Harry sniffed. "You think Nott gave Draco a love potion?" he
asked.
"Doesn't that make sense?" she repeated.
Harry was silent for a moment. "Yes," he said. It did make a hell
of a lot more sense.
"See?" she said. "All he has to do is take the antidote and he'll be
fine."
Harry sighed shakily with relief, wiping at his face with his hands,
but then he paused. "Nott gave Draco a Love Potion," he said.
Hermione's brows furrowed.
"Theo fucking Nott gave my husband a Love Potion," Harry
growled. "I'll kill him." He turned abruptly, heading back for the
Great Hall.
"Harry!" Hermione gasped, moving quickly alongside him. "You
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can't start a fight!"
"Why not?" Harry spat. "Nott slipped Draco a Love Potion!"
"Because you can't!" Hermione exclaimed, reaching to grab hold
of him.
"Fine, he and I can just sit down for a lovely chat," Harry said,
not slowing his pace.
"Harry," Hermione groaned.
Harry ignored her, speeding down the steps. He strode quickly
across the entrance hall and then though the oak doors. Several heads
turned towards him when he entered and he began immediately for
the Slytherin table – but didn't see Nott there. His eyes narrowed.
"Where's Nott?" he asked the nearest Slytherin student, who looked
to be in about fifth or sixth year.
The boy looked at him with narrowed eyes, but seemed cautious
as well. "I don't know," he said. The surrounding Slytherins looked at
Harry similarly.
Harry scowled. Nott wasn't in the Hall then. Harry went
completely still for a moment. Neither was Draco.... Draco and Nott
weren't in the Great Hall and Draco was currently under the world's
strongest Love Potion. Harry's eyes widened and he gasped, turning
and heading right out of the Great Hall again. He could see Ginny
holding Valen at the Gryffindor table as Ron seemed to be getting
worriedly to his feet, but he didn't stop.
He moved quickly out into the entrance hall again and headed in
the direction Draco had gone when he'd left. He recognised the path
to the dungeons.
Harry could hear Hermione and Ron following, and could hear
Ron asking Hermione questions, but he still didn't stop. His heart
was beating frantically and he could only imagine the sorts of things
Nott and Draco could be.... He sped up, running though the halls
and down staircases.
– CHAPTER TEN –
Betrayal
Draco hadn’t really considered the idea that Theo wouldn’t show.
Yet, as he waited, he did begin to worry. He got up and paced the
tight space of the storeroom. It seemed a long time before the door
finally opened and his old lover was standing there.
“Draco?” Theo asked, looking into the gloom.
“Here, Theo,” Draco answered, walking to him. He reached a
hand out and cupped the back of the other man’s head, bringing his
mouth down on Theo’s.
Theo gasped at the kiss, mouth opening as he did. Draco wasted
no time, thrusting his tongue inside and pressing himself against
Theo’s body.
Theo’s hands fluttered, as if he was unsure what to do, but then
he wrapped his arms around Draco, hands sliding over his back.
Draco walked backwards, pulling Theo with him toward the sofa
without breaking their kiss.
Theo did break the kiss to gasp and whisper, “Draco. I'm not
complaining, but didn’t you say...?”
Draco didn’t let him finish, closing his mouth over Theo’s again
and grabbing the man’s hair to control the kiss. He felt Theo
surrender then and kissed him so hard it might have hurt. Drawing
his wand, Draco cast the Disrobe Spell on himself and then on Theo.
Theo shivered and pulled back again. “Fuck,” he whispered.
“Yes,” Draco agreed, hands running over Theo’s flesh now, his
mouth closing on the man’s throat, nipping and sucking. He pushed
Theo down and back on the sofa, one knee between the other man’s
legs, pressing his erection against Theo’s thigh. “You are so hard for
me, aren’t you?” Draco asked when he felt the other man’s arousal
against his own thigh.
“Yes, you,” Theo answered, thrusting up against Draco’s body.
“Should I fuck you, Theo?” Draco asked. They had touched and
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81
sucked each other before, but never that.
“Yes,” Theo groaned, one hand grasping at Draco’s hair, the
other sliding over the flesh of Draco’s arse.
“Spread your legs,” Draco told him, and the other man complied
quickly, one leg on the floor and the other bent and braced against
the back of the sofa.
Draco cast the Lubrication Spell, reaching slick fingers down to
find Theo’s opening. He pressed one inside, feeling the man’s body
tighten.
“Draco, yes,” Theo gasped, lifting his hips.
Draco had never been inside any man besides Harry and he
shivered now. He wanted Theo; he could feel that. Harry wouldn’t
want him to do this. Something about it was bothering him. He
paused, trying to clear his head, but beneath him, Theo moaned.
Draco felt a surge of desire again and positioned himself, the head of
his cock pressing into the other man.
Harry was panting as he moved quickly from cold stone corridor to
cold stone corridor, Ron and Hermione still following. They'd both
called for him to wait, but had seemed to have given up on that.
Harry continued to run and then paused very quickly. He could see
someone up ahead and began down the dark hallway, unable to tell
who it was.
When Harry approached the figure in the hall, he saw that it was
Pansy Parkinson and frowned confusedly. And then he heard the
moans. He went completely still for about a second, and then walked
quickly past Pansy to the door that she had been looking into. And
then he went completely still again. Draco was entirely naked and on
top of Theo Nott.
He was fucking him. Harry's husband was fucking another man.
Harry knew he had taken a potion, but he wasn't prepared for the
ache that seemed to rip through him. "Draco," he gasped, hardly able
to get the word out.
Draco pushed slowly inside Theo's body, both of them moaning as
he did. Theo was clutching his shoulders, eyes rolling back into his
head. The man's body clenched around Draco's cock and he
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shuddered. "Theo," the blond gasped, pulling back and pressing in
again.
Theo grabbed Draco's hair with one hand and pulled. "Yes,
more, Draco!" he cried out.
Draco was pumping his hips now, thrusting into the man
writhing under him. He heard the sound of someone yelling but
ignored it.
Theo's eyes grew wide and he looked toward the door. "Draco,"
he said urgently. "Draco, I hear Potter."
By the door, Pansy was smiling at Harry.
Ron and Hermione caught up then and Hermione walked up to
him, panting. "Harry, what ...?" Her eyes went very wide when she
looked into the room as well. She took a step back, covering her
mouth.
After another moment of complete stillness Harry regained
control of his body and let out a loud sound like a snarl. He leapt
forward, prepared to throw Draco off of Nott and then kill the man
with his bare hands.
"Harry!" Ron shouted. And he must have been anticipating
Harry's move, for he leapt forward too and grabbed him, sending
both of them crashing down.
Harry scrambled on the floor, trying to get away from Ron and
cursing that he was there. "Get off him!" he roared, not knowing if
he was talking to Nott or Draco, even though Draco was technically
the one on top. Harry kicked his legs. "Let me go, Ron!" he growled,
hating how Ron always seemed to fucking jump on him. "Draco, get
off him!" he shouted.
The compulsion hit Draco before he was even aware of what was
going on. He rolled off the couch, falling to the floor, shaking.
"I'll fucking kill you, you fucking bastard!" Harry screamed at the
door from the ground. "I'll fucking kill you!"
Nott was scrambling to sit up and looking around for his wand,
which seemed to have disappeared with his clothes.
Draco felt dazed and confused. "Theo," he said, reaching a hand
toward the man.
At that moment Harry found that trying to Summon people with
Accio didn't work, as he tried to Summon Nott.
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83
"Harry!" Ron shouted. "Calm the hell down!" He was panting
and flushed as he tried to hold on to Harry.
"Harry, he's right! Stop!" Hermione let out in a strange shout.
Harry struggled and struggled until he finally threw Ron off him
by will, sending him rolling to the side. Harry scrambled to his feet
and rushed through the door.
Theo had managed to find Draco's wand and was holding it in
front of him as Harry advanced. "Stop, Potter," he said.
Harry laughed at him. It was slightly hysterical, but still a laugh.
"Or what?" he asked.
"Don't hurt him," Draco said, gasping and getting to his feet to
stand between the two men.
Harry clenched his teeth. "He slipped you a Love Potion, Draco,"
he said, eyes hard.
"You're just jealous," Draco countered, eyes narrowed as he
stood between Harry and Theo.
Harry's face contorted in anger and he made to get around Draco
at Nott.
"If you are going to hurt someone, hurt me," Draco said,
stepping in his husband's path again. "This was my idea."
"He slipped you a Love Potion, Draco," Harry growled through
his teeth. "Did his cock feel nice, Nott?" Harry asked, looking over
Draco's shoulder. "It better have because it's the last one you'll ever
fucking have."
Nott held his chin up defiantly. "I did not give him a potion of
any kind," he declared, still holding the wand.
"You liar," Harry hissed. "You're a fucking brave one, too."
"Theo wouldn't do that to me," Draco said. "You're just jealous
because I want him. Because he was my lover before you were."
That stabbed Harry like a knife in the heart and he tried not to
show it. "Nott," he said, voice very low. "If you don't tell him that
he's under a Love Potion, I will tell him to move and then I will tear
you apart."
"Is it really that hard to believe he might still want me?" Nott
asked. But he didn't sound as sure of himself now. "I don't know why
he changed his mind, but I swear I didn't use anything on him."
"And I swear that if you hurt him, I will never speak to you
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
again," Draco said, eyes narrowed in anger as he faced his husband.
He could feel Harry's magic crackling over his skin and it was hard to
breathe but he forced himself to hold his ground.
Harry's entire body shook with those words, but now he knew
Draco was under a Love Potion. He knew it beyond a shadow of a
doubt. "You are not making this any easier," he said to his husband.
"Draco, you really are under a Love Potion!" Hermione cried
from the doorway. "Come with us to Professor Slughorn and he can
give you the antidote."
Harry only glared over Draco's shoulder still.
"I think Potter is the one behaving irrationally here," Draco
snapped. "Potter agrees not to hurt Theo or I am not going fucking
anywhere with him!"
Harry couldn't help that his eyes watered from hearing those
words from Draco's mouth, but he blinked rapidly as he rubbed his
forehead. "Are you planning on keeping this up?" he growled at Nott.
"Because I will make him come with me if I have to, and then I'll kill
you."
"You should listen to him if you're not completely thick," Ron
said stonily. "You're not really much for him to deal with."
"What the fuck do you want from me?" Theo shouted. "I didn't
do anything to Draco. Are you saying that I gave him the potion we
made in class today?" His eyes narrowed. Only those in the
storeroom heard him mutter "that bitch" under his breath.
"Yes, I'm saying you gave him the potion we made in class
today," Harry said, hands clenched. "And what the fuck are you
talking about?"
Draco looked back over his shoulder at Theo, having caught the
meaning of what the other man was angry about. "Theo?" he asked.
"You don't think I feel this way because of a potion?"
Theo winced, clearly beginning to consider the idea. "Draco," he
said, faltering. "I think they may be right. Remember, you turned me
down last time. Now, tonight, suddenly you want me."
"What last time?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed, and then he
looked at Draco. "Yes. See, Draco? You are under a Love Potion.
You are my husband. You're mine. I'm yours."
Draco was confused. He looked longingly back over his shoulder
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85
at Theo. "But, Theo, how can you say that?" he asked.
Theo winced. "That tears it," he said. "You don't even sound like
you, Draco. Go with Potter, take the antidote. If you still feel this
way about me after, let me know." Nott was shaking, and he lowered
the wand.
Harry felt another ache when his words didn't affect Draco at all.
Words that usually made Draco's eyes turn soft. Harry clenched his
teeth again. "We have to go to Slughorn. And then we have to get
Valen. Ginny has him."
Draco was torn. Something in the way Harry looked pulled at
him. Then at the mention of their child he was frowning. He looked
back over at Theo as if waiting for Theo to tell him to stay.
Theo looked like he was in pain. He slid down from where he
had been standing and sat on the couch. "Can you bring my clothes
and wand back, Draco?" he asked.
Draco blinked, still confused. "Don't you want me to stay with
you?" he asked his old friend.
"No, not if it is a Love Spell," Nott admitted. "Go, take the
antidote and let me know how it turns out." He held out Draco's
wand and the blond took it without thinking. Then he grimaced and
called their clothes to them. Draco stood and watched, feeling hurt as
Theo started dressing himself.
Harry was clenching and unclenching his hands as the ache inside
him seemed to grow. "If you didn't do it," he said to Nott, "then who
did?" He looked behind himself to Pansy, thinking about Nott's
words from a moment ago. His eyes narrowed when he realised
Pansy was no longer in the doorway. "Why would Pansy Parkinson
slip Draco a Love Potion for you?" Harry asked, still itching to hit
Nott at least once.
Draco scowled, glancing between Harry and Theo. "I am not
under a Love Spell," he declared. "I don't know what you are talking
about."
Theo had finished getting dressed. He eyed Harry warily but
stepped up to Draco, looking into his eyes. "Get dressed, Draco," he
whispered. "Take the damn antidote. I will have a talk with our
mutual friend."
Harry narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. He stood,
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
waiting for Draco to get his clothes on.
Draco reached his silver hand for Theo, wrapping it around the
back of his head and pulling him forward into a kiss. Theo froze,
neither fighting nor encouraging the kiss.
Harry's mouth dropped open. "Draco, stop," he hissed, shaking.
The compulsion forced Draco to draw back and drop his hand.
He hissed and glared at Harry. "You enjoying ordering me around,
Potter?" he asked.
Theo shook his head. "Shut up, Draco," he said. "You will only
regret it later." Then he faced Potter. "Can I leave now?"
"Go," Harry said through his teeth, eyes tearing up again.
Theo turned sideways, working his way past the Gryffindors
without touching any of them. He gave Draco one last look when he
reached the door. Then he turned and strode toward the Slytherin
Common Room.
Draco took a few steps as if he would follow the other man.
Harry didn't move for a moment and quickly wiped his eyes on
his sleeve. "Draco, we can't go up to Slughorn if you don't have
clothes on," he said.
Hermione inched into the room and rubbed his back. "Only a
few more minutes," she said soothingly.
Draco scowled and then angrily began putting his clothes on.
Harry waited for his husband and was secretly thankful for
Hermione's touch. He wanted to run up to Slughorn's office. Draco
couldn't get the antidote quick enough.
When Draco was dressed, he crossed his arms over his chest,
wand still in hand, and glared at the three of them.
Hermione winced as she looked at Draco, looking like she was
feeling very sorry for him. "Oh, Draco," she said under her breath
with a sigh. She walked out with Harry while Ron waited by the door
for Draco to follow.
Draco walked behind the Gryffindors as they all headed to
Slughorn's office.
Harry had to endure the entire trip with Draco walking behind
him and not holding his hand. Even that hurt. He felt relief when
they were nearing the office, but there was a strange smell that grew
stronger the nearer they got. Harry's nose was wrinkled up by the
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87
time he was standing in front of the office. He knocked.
A few moments passed before Slughorn came to the door. He
opened it up, pinching his nostrils. "Harry!" he said in a nasally voice.
"Came to have that talk I mentioned earlier?"
"No," said Harry, glancing behind himself at Draco. "I actually
came for an antidote."
"An antidote?" Slughorn asked, sounding disappointed.
Harry nodded. "For Amortentia," he said.
Slughorn's face fell quite a bit. "Amortentia?" he said. "Why
would you need an antidote for that?"
Harry sighed quietly, looking down. "Someone slipped some to
Draco. He's under it right now."
"Oh, Harry," said Slughorn, and Harry did not like the sound of
that. Hermione rubbed his back some more.
Draco hung back, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at
everyone. He didn't think he was under the influence of a potion. But
even if he had been, he wasn't happy about being forcibly interrupted
in the middle of sex. He was embarrassed and angry.
Slughorn opened his door some more and stood back to let
Harry see inside the room. Filch was on hands and knees, wearing
some weird plug on his nose as he scrubbed at the floor, scowling.
Harry looked back at Slughorn, confused.
Slughorn sighed. "That's the antidote," he said. "On the floor."
Harry's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
Draco shook his head. "This is ridiculous," he declared, voice
sullen and angry.
Ron frowned at Draco from over his shoulder. "You are really
going to hate it if you don't stop talking," he told him quietly.
"What do you mean that's the antidote?" Harry asked, voice filled
with horror.
– CHAPTER ELEVEN –
Compelled
Slughorn winced before Harry. "Well, I came back here after dinner
and was going to put the supply of Amortentia antidote away, as we'd
finished with that ... but it slipped from my grasp and, well, there you
have it." The man gestured toward Filch, who looked like he wanted
nothing more than to hit Slughorn.
Draco scowled. "So this is obviously a waste of time," he huffed,
and moved to leave.
"Harry," said Ron in warning as Draco turned.
Harry turned quickly, too. "Draco," he groaned. "Please don't
make me force you to stay."
"Theo and Pansy were right, you do think you have the right to
order me around," Draco snapped, scowling at Harry now.
Harry groaned again, covering his face with his hands.
"Draco, you really are going to be very upset when you snap out
of this. Please just stand and wait until Harry can fix it," said
Hermione, frowning and looking at Harry concernedly.
"First, I don't take orders from you," Draco said to Hermione.
"And second, even if it were a potion, the antidote is obviously not
available. So I don't know why I have to remain here."
Hermione sighed.
"You don't have any?" Harry asked, desperate as he turned back
to Slughorn.
"The only antidote I have is ... on the floor," Slughorn answered.
"You can't make some more?" Harry asked. "I can't leave him
like this!"
Slughorn winced again. "Well, I could, but ... the ingredients take
... months to stew," he said, sounding truly sorry.
Harry's mouth fell completely open and a small disbelieving
sound escaped him.
"Now, now, Harry," Slughorn said quickly. "I do know of a place
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where you can order Amortentia Antidote pre-made ... though I
suppose that might take a few days."
"I don't have a few days!" Harry spat.
Draco shook his head. He was seriously considering trying to
leave again. The problem was that Harry could compel him to stay
even if he did try.
"Are you ... well, are you sure he's been slipped Amortentia?"
Slughorn asked.
"Yes, I'm sure!" Harry snapped, trying to think of what to do.
"You could see what the Headmistress might have to say...."
Slughorn suggested.
"I want the potion taken off him!" Harry insisted. "I want it off
him!"
Draco rolled his eyes and huffed. He looked down the hall
toward where the Slytherin dorms were and wondered how Theo was
doing. He wanted to go to him.
Harry covered his face with his hands again, feeling mad with
frustration.
All of them stood looking at each other for several moments, but
then Hermione stared strangely between Harry and Draco. "Harry...."
she said thoughtfully.
"What?" Harry asked, feeling utterly miserable and still very
angry.
"Could you bring him out of it?" she asked. "It actually seems like
it might be ... simple compared to everything else you've done...."
Harry looked up at her, frowning, and then to Draco.
"I have had enough of this," Draco said, then turned again and
began walking away.
Harry groaned. There was nothing else for it. "Draco, stop," he
said, wincing.
Draco growled, held in place by the compulsion. "You three talk
about a potion," he sneered, "but the only one I see controlling me
now is Potter."
Harry closed his eyes for a moment. "Come here," he said to his
husband. He didn't want to order him around, but he couldn't simply
let Draco leave to roam around the castle looking for Theo Nott
while not at all in his right mind.
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Draco fought the compulsion, sweat breaking out on his
forehead and pain running down his spine when he did. It didn't
help. His body walked obediently to Harry.
Harry took a very deep breath, already knowing what he would
probably have to do to bring Draco out of it with his magic. And he
didn't like the thought of it at all. It even scared him. "Draco, snap
out of it," he ordered, having to try that just in case.
"Sod off, Potter," Draco responded angrily.
Harry closed his eyes again, but then looked over at Hermione
and Ron. Hermione looked back at him with a pained, knowing
expression and Ron actually looked almost the same. Slughorn
seemed confused, but Harry wasn't explaining it to him. "Ginny has
Valen," Harry said quietly to his friends. "Can you -"
"Yes, Harry," said Hermione.
Harry sighed and clenched his teeth. "Come on, Draco," he said,
turning in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.
Draco found himself following the other man before he even had
a chance to resist. "What are you going to do?" he hissed.
Harry didn't answer him, only continued down the corridor, eyes
on the ground.
"You make me into some kind of living puppet and you have the
nerve to accuse Theo of using a potion on me?" Draco accused.
Harry took another deep breath, telling himself over and over
that it wasn't really Draco talking.
There was a reason Draco had been placed in Slytherin. He
spotted the weakness and pressed. "So how is your binding me not a
Love Spell, too?" he asked.
Harry trembled. "Because it's not," he said quietly, unable to help
it, but he didn't stop moving.
"Your magic has controlled me since that day," Draco pointed
out. "How is that different?"
Harry was heading upstairs now, still trembling, and there was no
Draco to tell him that it was okay, because Draco was the one talking.
"I know you don't really mean that," he said, trying to keep calm. He
was on the verge of not allowing Draco to speak.
"How would you know what I mean?" Draco sneered.
Harry's eyes teared up. "Shut up," he said, quickening his steps. If
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his magic didn't work, he didn't know how he was going to take days
of this.
Draco winced and felt the compulsion forcing him to keep silent.
He seethed, unable to do anything but follow Potter now.
Harry wiped at his eyes, keeping his head down as he led Draco
up to the tower. He ignored the looks people gave them in the
common room and began toward the boys' staircase.
Valen saw his daddies and began squealing and reaching for
them.
Harry winced as something like sharp pain shot through him at
the sight of those green eyes and those little hands reaching out.
Ginny looked at both Harry and Draco expectantly as they stood
there.
Draco crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to reach for his
child or say something but the compulsion prevented it. He glared at
Harry.
Harry couldn't completely ignore Valen. He couldn't. He walked
over to Ginny and picked Valen up, kissing his head. "Ron and
Hermione are coming now," he said to her. "They're going to watch
him for a bit. Draco and I need to do something."
"Okay...." she said, looking confused as she glanced at Draco.
Draco held out his hands, unable to even ask for Valen.
Harry frowned at him, unsure if he should give the baby to Draco
or not. He finally did after a few moments, even though he wanted to
go up to tower right then so that they could fix all of this.
Draco held his child, feeling some of his anger lessen with the
contact. He kissed the little boy's forehead.
Valen, for his part, patted his Daddy Draco but was looking at
him curiously. He burbled out what sounded like a question.
Harry clenched his teeth for a second. "You can talk," he said
quietly so that Ginny wouldn't hear. He didn't feel like answering any
questions that would evoke.
Draco scowled at Harry in response. Then he turned his attention
back to his son. He really didn't know what to say to the baby at this
moment. "I love you," he whispered to him.
"Can you take him until Ron and Hermione get here?" Harry
asked Ginny, who was looking very confused still.
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"Sure...." she said slowly, holding her arms out to take the baby
again.
Draco glared at Harry, trying to decide whether or not to attempt
to refuse him again. Making a scene in front of their child was the
only thing that stopped him and he reluctantly handed the boy to
Ginny.
Harry took one last deep breath, turning to the boys' staircase and
making his way up to the top.
The order to follow Harry was still in place, so Draco was forced
to hurry after him. He was so angry he was red in the face.
Harry closed the door when Draco was in the room, and then
placed Locking and Silencing Charms on it. He hardly wanted to turn
and face the blond, but finally did, slowly.
"Release me," Draco hissed.
"You're under a Love Potion," Harry said as if trying to explain,
feeling like he was doing something wrong.
"So you insist," Draco drawled, arms crossed over his chest again.
"Yes, I insist," said Harry. "And in order to bring you out of it, I
have to.... You're going to have let me.... We're going to have sex."
Draco shook his head. "And does what I think matter in this?" he
said.
"I have to do it," Harry said, looking down.
"And my refusal means nothing here, I suppose," Draco said.
"Are you going to refuse?" Harry asked, voice quiet, though he
hadn't meant it to be.
"I haven't actually been asked, have I?" Draco drawled. "You
have done nothing but order me around since you came crashing into
that storage room."
"Will you please just do it?" Harry asked, surprising himself when
he found he was begging.
"Do what, Potter?" Draco drawled.
"Will you please just have sex with me?" Harry asked, looking the
floor. He knew he could simply get all of this over with if he ordered
Draco on the bed and to spread his legs, but that felt wrong.
"And what will you do if I refuse?" Draco asked.
"I – I'll have to make you," Harry replied quietly. "But I don't
want to."
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"So this isn't a real choice then," Draco scowled. "You just want
me to agree to make it easier on you."
"I want you to agree so that it's easier on both of us," Harry told
him. "Draco, you don’t – you don't know what you're saying."
"You want this, you do it," Draco hissed. "I am not going to
make this easy on you. If you wanted easy, you shouldn't have
ordered me in the first place."
Harry closed his eyes, feeling tears there. He didn't open them
again for several moments, but then said shakily, "Draco, get on the
bed. Face down."
"Can't face me, can you?" Draco sneered as his body complied
with the command.
Harry didn't answer but trembled more. He removed his own
clothes and then his husband's.
Draco shivered as Harry's magic both compelled and stripped
him. His body was responding in spite of his anger.
Harry swallowed heavily as he climbed on the bed and lubed his
fingers. He brought his shaking hand to Draco's entrance, pushing
the fingers inside him.
"Just going to fuck me and that will solve everything?" Draco
sneered. "I'm not dead, Potter."
Harry prepared Draco quickly after that, not mentioning to him
that he would be dead without this in a few hours. He lubed his own
cock, positioning himself over his husband.
Draco gritted his teeth at the feel of Harry's fingers pressing into
him. Harry really was going to rape him. He was shocked. He hadn't
thought the other man would go through with it.
Harry's breathing was shallow as he pressed the head of his cock
to Draco's opening. He stayed that way for a moment before he
began to slide inside him, wanting it over with very, very badly.
Draco's body responded to Harry's magic, opening to the other
man, while the blond began to silently cry.
Harry closed his eyes, beginning to cry as well. He could feel the
tension in his husband. Draco really didn't want him. Harry was
forcing himself on him. It was worse than Draco going cold.
Draco buried his face in his arm. He had never felt ashamed to
be taken by Harry before. He could feel the other man's magic
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crackling over his skin and it actually hurt. Hurt like it did sometimes
when Harry was angry.
"Please, Draco," Harry whispered, lowering his forehead to the
back of Draco's neck as a few tears speckled his pale skin. "Please let
this work."
Draco didn't respond. He had never felt so powerless before and
it hurt more than he realised. His body was aroused but he felt
separate from it.
Harry shook as he thrust into Draco, his eyes squeezed tightly
shut. He had an erection, but it was like it didn't make any difference.
There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And he actually began to
wonder if he would be able to come at all. It didn't even feel like he
was with his husband. It felt like a different person beneath him. He
thrust and thrust and thrust and was trembling so badly after several
minutes that he could hardly do anything else. Draco was not
pushing back against him, Draco was not gasping his name, Draco
did not want him and Harry couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand it
even knowing that Draco wasn't in his right mind. He pulled out of
him, unable to reach completion. Tears fell from his eyes as he fell to
the side, gasping and trying to breathe.
"Release me," Draco whispered from where the compulsion held
him.
Harry cried harder. "I release it," he gasped, throwing his arm
over his head.
Draco shuddered and rolled off the bed, falling to the floor. He
lay there curled around himself, still crying.
Harry lifted his head and then dropped to the floor on the
opposite side of the bed, crawling around to Draco's side. His body
screamed for him to reach for Draco, but he didn't know – no, he did
know that Draco didn't want him. "Draco, please," he whispered to
him, unable to use his voice even. He couldn't remember ever feeling
so hurt and confused and ashamed in his life.
Draco had been crying silently but Harry's words seemed to
release something and he sobbed now. "You did it, you really did it,"
he moaned, unable still to believe that Harry had forced him like that.
"But I had to. Draco, I had to," Harry protested, tears streaming.
"You have to know I'm right. You have to. You love me."
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"Had to rape me?" Draco asked, looking up then, pain clear in his
eyes.
Harry's eyes went very, very wide and he shook violently, feeling
sick. "No, I didn't," he whispered. "I didn't."
Draco shuddered. "You did," he whispered. "I said no and you
did it anyway."
"No," Harry said, voice very high in the end. "I was trying to fix
it through the binding." He brought his knees up to his chest,
wrapping his arms around them and then burying his face there. "I
said I didn't want to." He felt even more ill.
"Fix what? That I wanted someone else?" Draco got shakily to
his hands and knees, then held on to a bed post to pull himself to
standing again.
"You don't understand," Harry sobbed. "You took the potion
and you don't understand. Listen to yourself, Draco."
Draco scowled and walked over to the door, taking his dressing
gown off the hook and pulling it on. "Let's just assume for one
minute that you're right. That I am under the influence of a Love
Potion. Explain to me how that justifies your using me like a puppet
and then raping me."
"No, it's not like that," Harry sobbed. "You don't understand," he
whispered.
"I'm asking you to explain it, Potter," Draco snapped, still
standing by the door and looking down at his husband. "Because last
I heard, Love Potions aren't fatal."
"You're not you," Harry said with his eyes shut tightly, feeling like
he was speaking more to himself. "You're not you right now."
"Because I would always be okay with doing whatever you tell
me?" Draco sneered.
"You know it's not like that," Harry whispered, moving his head
between his knees, because the world felt like it was tilted the wrong
way. "You know I don't treat you like that. You know I don't."
"Yet, isn't that what you did?" Draco asked, voice cold. "You are
supposedly rescuing me from a potion that takes away my free will,
but using your magic to coerce me to your will."
"No, Draco, because you would never do this to me!" Harry said,
suddenly shouting. "Would you rather I not do anything and let you
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
go off when you're not thinking straight?! And then there's the fact
that you'll die without me! This isn't you! And you're the one who
doesn't want to take to binding off! You! But you're not you!"
"What did I do to you, Potter?" Draco sneered. "I had sex with
someone else. Someone I was already attracted to and who is a
former lover. How is that worse than rape?"
Harry lifted his head, clenching his fists. "Now you're putting
words in my mouth," he said, glaring. His face was still wet with
tears. "My husband knows how I feel about our relationship. I
already had this conversation with you, Draco, and you wouldn't do
this to me. Merlin, I wish you'd stop."
"A Love Potion may make you desire someone you wouldn't
otherwise, but it does not make you into an entirely different
person," Draco snapped back.
"Apparently, it does!" Harry shouted. "Because, Draco, if you
were asked who you love right now, who would you say?"
Draco's eyes narrowed. "Right now I am angry with you. But you
seem to be under the delusion that I stopped loving you sometime in
the last few hours."
– CHAPTER TWELVE –
Ever After
Harry stilled, his eyes narrowing as he thought. "You're saying you
still love me?" he asked. Amortentia should have been enough to
override any feelings of love Draco had for Harry.
Draco frowned, trying to puzzle out his emotions. He had been
feeling such an intense passion for Theo that he had forgotten
everything else – husband and child, especially. But he could not
remember a moment since he was eleven in which he had not been in
love with Harry Potter. And his anger at his husband was real
enough. Being in love with Harry had never stopped him from being
angry with him before. Yet, here were these other feelings about
Theo. He was genuinely confused now. Draco walked over to the
window, looking out at the now darkened sky. "Yes," he whispered.
Harry could see that Draco was confused and leapt upon it,
though he was unsure if it would do anything. "And do you honestly
think, after everything we've been through, after everything we've
done, that I would try to control you? That I would really use the
binding to manipulate you? Draco, you know I wouldn't. You know I
have far too much respect for you to ever do that. I wouldn't do that
to anyone and you're my husband! You mean more to me than
anyone else!"
"Then why?" Draco asked, still not turning around. "My having
sex with him doesn't injure anyone. Why barge in there and humiliate
me like that?"
"Because it's not you," Harry said. "And it doesn't injure anyone,
but it hurt me," he added quietly. "And I know you would never do
that to me. You would never do anything you knew would hurt me.
Never anything like that."
"And are you less hurt by what you did?" Draco asked.
"I didn't want to do that," Harry said, pushing himself to his feet.
"And maybe I shouldn't have, but I swear I only did it to bring you
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back. I promise I would never hurt you. Not ever. I love you more
than anything, Draco. I swear it."
"And refusing to fuck you on demand?" Draco asked. "Because,
face it, Harry, I wouldn't have been in danger until morning."
Harry closed his eyes. "I didn't think you would let me at all –
even when you needed it. I only wanted to get you back as soon as I
could. I didn't even know you still loved me under the potion. You
shouldn't be able to, but I think it's because of our binding. That's
why I tried to use the sex, but I ... couldn't come."
Draco was quiet for another minute, staring off into the darkness.
"I have told you before," he whispered. "Nothing can stop me loving
you." Draco turned and his face was hard, despite his previous
words. "But, Harry, if you ever force yourself on me again when I say
no, then I swear I will walk away, no matter what the consequences,"
he said.
Harry knew it would be impossible to explain to Draco in his
current state, and so he nodded to him. "Do you still think you're not
under a Love Potion?" he asked.
Draco tried to step outside the maelstrom of conflicting
emotions and analyse his own situation. He could still feel the desire
to run to Theo but he forced himself to be apart from that. It was
hard, but he closed his eyes and focused, breathing deep. "I know
that I turned Theo down last week," he said. "But today I pursued
him. I can remember that. He even tried to remind me of it actually. I
know that I have never broken my agreements with you. But today, I
didn't even remember them. That, combined with the fact that our
class brewed the potion today makes it a possibility." He turned his
back to Harry again and looked out the window.
Harry sighed, only a little shakily, and stared at Draco for several
minutes. "Would you like to be controlled by something?" he asked
cautiously. "Or would you like to be able to think straight?"
"I am controlled by something, regardless," the blond answered.
"You made that clear today in a way I had not allowed myself to
think about."
"Fine," Harry replied. "I'll take the binding off then, but not
unless you're thinking straight. Even if there's a chance you're under a
potion, don't you want to be sure?"
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"So what are you suggesting we do about this?" Draco asked, his
tone suspicious.
"Draco ... our binding ... fixes things," Harry said slowly. "You
know it does. I think it would fix you if you were under a Love
Potion. It even makes you immune to the Imperius Curse, and
apparently, it allows you to still love me and at least try to think
normally even under Amortentia, which is something you should not
be able to do."
"You don't think I would still love you without it, do you?"
Draco asked, frowning.
"No, no, that's not what I mean," said Harry. "I mean ... I think
we should use it.... Now. And if not now, then soon at least. We'll
have to anyway."
"Do you think your 'cure' would only work if you fuck me?"
Draco asked.
"That's ... the only way I know how," Harry said quietly, nearly
wincing at Draco's use of the word 'fuck'. It seemed so harsh to him
at that moment. Fucking is what he thought of when they were going
to ... fuck. Really fuck. Not ... this.
Draco was still angry and he knew it. The idea of Harry topping
him after what he had done was so upsetting that he clenched his jaw
and fists. He had to take several deep breaths to get control of
himself again. "I will try it, but on my terms," he said.
Harry looked to the floor. "Whatever you want," he said quietly.
"I bind you and you agree to remain bound until it is done,"
Draco said.
It hurt Harry to think that Draco really didn't trust him that
much, but he nodded. "Whatever you want," he said again.
"Lie on the bed," Draco commanded, Summoning his wand.
Harry took a bit of a deep breath and turned to do so, climbing
atop the mattress and lying on his back.
Draco cast the Rope Spell, tying his husband's hands and feet to
the four posts of the bed. Then he went over to his trunk to look for
something.
Harry took yet another breath, watching Draco with his brows
furrowed.
Draco cast the Gag Spell next, the magical cloth wrapping around
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his lover's mouth.
Harry's heart sped up, but it wasn't with sexual excitement. He
knew he could get out of everything Draco had just done, but it was
the thought of Draco doing this to him period that made him
nervous.
"I know what you are thinking," Draco said quietly. "After all, I
taught you how to get out of bindings in the first place. This isn't
about whether or not you can get out of them. It's about whether or
not you will surrender control to me."
Harry swallowed and nodded.
Draco stood beside the bed, looking at Harry. For a moment, he
felt like his old self, before the binding; as if this was one of his
fantasies of punishing Potter for all he had suffered. Not all his
fantasies before they were together had been nice ones. He had spent
a lot of time being angry at Harry during those last couple years at
Hogwarts. He reached a hand out now and trailed it down Harry's
body, from chest to groin.
Harry swallowed again, his breathing speeding up as Draco
touched him. He would force himself to let Draco do whatever he
wanted – even if it wasn't completely Draco.
Draco was slightly amused to see that Harry wasn't hard yet. The
man must've been scared if being tied up in bed hadn't aroused him.
"You don't trust me now, do you?" he asked quietly, slipping the
cock ring he had retrieved over his husband’s genitals.
Harry's breathing sped up even more, but he nodded. Yes, he
trusted Draco. This other person he wasn't so sure about. But he
didn't make any move to get away from him.
"Get hard now," Draco said.
Harry closed his eyes. After a moment, he willed an erection, but
it felt different than any other time before.
"You can do that no matter what," Draco said, "even when I'm
crying. But you can't get off without me, can you?"
Harry shook his head no. He couldn't get off without Draco.
What had happened earlier had shown him that.
"Good," Draco said. Then he climbed between the other man's
legs. The sight of Harry bound and gagged, cock hard and waiting
still excited Draco. He reached both hands up and then ran his nails
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down Harry's inner thighs – hard enough to be painful but not cut
the skin.
Harry made a strangled sound in his throat and pulled on the
ropes unintentionally, growing even more nervous.
Draco's laugh was deep and harsh. He smiled at the red marks he
had left. "If you want me to stop, I will," he said. "But then I leave.
Do you understand?"
Harry didn't know what his face could possibly look like in that
moment, but he nodded once again, bracing himself.
Draco's eyes narrowed. He was still unsure if Harry would keep
his promise. He reached up and pinched the reddened skin of Harry's
right thigh, twisting it hard.
Harry made another similar sound, squeezing his eyes shut as
they teared up from the sting.
Draco moved closer, the front of his thighs against the inside of
Harry's. He reached up with both hands again and ran his nails over
Harry's chest, missing the nipples but scoring the flesh on either side.
Harry cried out through the gag, arching at the painful feel of the
nails, his heart beating madly as he panted through his nose.
"Fifth year was the year I was the most angry with you. Did you
know that?" Draco asked, continuing with his nails down Harry's
sides.
Harry whimpered in response, his eyes still closed.
"I still wanted you, but I hated you for it," Draco said. "The Dark
Lord had returned, Umbridge was making all her decrees and you,
you still didn't see me. My father ... well, things got a lot worse with
him, too. I blamed you for it all and I wanted to hurt you." Draco's
hands continued down the outside of Harry's hips and thighs now.
Harry was still panting harshly, and listening to Draco's words as
raptly as he could manage in that moment. He wondered if Draco
would've told him these things if it hadn't been for the potion.
Draco began a series of hard pinches back up Harry's body,
almost idly as he continued to talk. "There were three people who
kept me from self destructing that year. Do you have any idea who
they were?"
Harry was wincing and whimpering with every pinch. He almost
didn't want to know what Draco would say next.
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"Severus Snape, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson," Draco
named. "While you were turning the school upside down, they were
the ones who kept me from losing what sanity I had left. Theo
actually physically stopped me from killing myself twice that year."
Harry teared up again, but not from the pain. Confusing and
conflicting thoughts and images were filling his mind so rapidly that
he felt they might spill out onto the blankets. He didn't truly know
what to think.
"Accio candle," Draco said and caught the lit candle that floated
from the sconce on the wall. "That was the year my father explained
what being a Death Eater's son would mean, the things I would be
expected to do." Draco smiled at the Gryffindor red candle and then
held it out above Harry's chest.
Harry listened to Draco's words with tears in his eyes and then
they widened considerably when Draco held the candle above him.
Was his husband going to pour wax on him? Hot wax?
Draco laughed at the widened eyes and turned the candle
sideways, allowing the wax to drip onto his lover's skin.
Harry cried out at the sting of the burn, writhing as he
automatically tried to get away from it.
"I didn't want to become a Death Eater," Draco continued,
ignoring Harry's cries and allowing the candle to continue dripping as
he talked. "I told Theo I would rather die than become one. He
talked me out of it. Told me we would do it together."
Harry was still writhing beneath Draco, still crying out as Draco
burnt him with the wax. He felt like his brain was going to explode.
Draco wasn't supposed to be like this, and yet he still forced himself
to endure it.
"Then my father was sent to prison and Voldemort put that
damn snake on my arm," Draco hissed. "And I couldn't tell anyone
about it without risking getting them killed, too. Do you have any
idea how alone I felt?"
Harry didn't know what response Draco wanted and the wax still
hurt. He honestly didn't know what was hurting him worse, the
burns, or hearing Draco's words.
Draco looked down then and saw the red wax drips all over
Harry's chest, looking like blood. He sucked in a sharp breath and
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drew the candle back. He held the candle over his own lap now,
drops falling onto his pale thighs. "I pushed them both away and
never told them why," he said. "I knew I was going to die and anyone
who cared about me would be in danger."
Harry's eyes widened again when Draco poured the wax on
himself and he wanted to stop him, and Draco's words were still
making Harry's head spin. He'd never heard about any of this before.
"Draco," he tried to say through the gag, but then shut himself up,
knowing it was no good. He could only sit there and wait for Draco
to allow him into his body.
Draco tilted his head back and brought the candle up so that the
wax fell and ran down his own chest now. "I hadn't planned on you.
On kissing you. Let alone what would happen after. Can you imagine
what that must have been like for them?"
Tears were rolling down Harry's face and into his hair now. He
could hardly watch Draco. And he didn't fucking care about Pansy
and Nott. He was still so angry with both of them. He didn't know
what right they thought they had to try and come in and forcefully
change anything in his and Draco's life, no matter what their previous
relationship was with him. And they should have had the sense and
decency to behave as adults rather than do what they had. Harry
wanted to beg Draco to stop.
Draco sat with wax dripping down his body, covering his chest,
shoulders and even falling into his lap now. It was painful but, as
usual, that was also arousing to him. "I understand why they were
angry with me," he said. "I would have felt betrayed by them if they
had done what I did. Like Severus, they thought you had done a kind
of Love Spell on me as well."
To Harry, it sounded like an excuse. This whole fiasco would not
be easily forgiven. Not in the slightest. Harry was tied to a bed and
gagged as his own husband spilt hot wax on him and his own body
while also telling morbid stories of his suicide attempts and how
utterly like hell his life had been. All because of a potion that Pansy
had slipped Draco. No, it would not be easily forgiven. If ever.
"Blaise is the one who turned us in that night last year," Draco
continued. "He told Theo, at least, that he was trying to free me from
the spell you had put on me."
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Harry didn't care what they had thought. If they'd had any sense
they wouldn't have done what they had. Tears still continued to fall
from his eyes. He wished Draco would just fuck him and come back
to him before he went absolutely mad.
The candle was nearly melted away now, most of it covering
Draco at this point. The red colour stood out in sharp contrast with
his skin. He blew out the candle and tossed it aside. He hadn't been
aware that he was crying but his face was wet with tears again. He
looked at Harry, grey eyes sad. "You may be good at love, Harry, but
you are not a very forgiving person," he said.
Harry closed his eyes, openly sobbing now. Harry didn't know
how Draco could say such a thing. Harry had forgiven many, many
people in his life. Draco, the most important person in the world to
him, was one of them. But all of this was a step too far and he
couldn't find an ounce of forgiveness in him for what he was being
forced to go through at that moment.
Draco looked down at himself then, surprised to find even his
hard cock had red wax on it. He looked back up at Harry. "You still
want me?" he asked.
Harry nodded without hesitation, still crying as he looked up at
his husband.
Draco cast a Lubrication Charm and reached for Harry's cock
then, sliding his fingers along its length.
Harry shivered, knowing that if he closed his eyes, he could
imagine that he was in a different situation. He did, picturing Draco
smiling and panting as he sat atop him, cock hard and leaking as he
prepared to take Harry inside his body.
Draco spent a couple of minutes stroking Harry and then
stopped and climbed up to straddle his lover.
Harry could feel himself aroused and was so grateful he felt
nearly high with it. His heart sped up as he continued the scene in his
mind, seeing his Draco instead of the one the potion had given him.
Draco reached behind and spread lube over his entrance. He
didn't even bother to actually prepare himself. "Look at me," he said.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut tighter before he actually opened
them, knowing that he had to do as Draco said. He didn't want to
look at Draco with the red wax all over him and the burns, his face
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105
wet with tears. He didn't want to, but he did.
"You still want me?" Draco asked. "I haven't told you anything
that wasn't true before."
Harry nodded again, and would have added a yes, but he kept
quiet with the gag in his mouth.
Draco moved back then, Harry's cock pressing against his tight
entrance. "Then look at me and really see me," he said, pushing down
so that Harry's cock breached him.
Harry let out a quiet groan, his eyes still open as Draco moved
onto him. He felt another surge of thankfulness for still being
aroused.
Draco was tight and it hurt more because of that. Which was
what he'd intended. He winced as he pushed himself down, not
giving himself time to adjust.
Harry knew that Draco hadn't given himself enough time and he
tried very hard to ignore it. He tried to imagine that they were playing
a game of theirs, tried to imagine anything that would make him
come.
"You know what really hurts?" Draco asked, his voice a harsh
whisper.
Harry felt a flash of fear at those words as he continued to stare
at Draco.
"That you would ever force me after what Father did," he said,
"and that even after all that, I still want you."
Harry's body went completely still for several moments as tears
and more tears fell from his wide eyes. He began breathing so fast
that it was like he wasn't breathing at all and he couldn't even see
through his tears.
Draco began to rock, slowly sliding his body up and back down
over Harry's cock. He watched Harry cry as he did.
Harry cried and cried as he stared at Draco, though he wasn't
staring at anything. He felt like he was going to be sick again. He
didn't know how he was going to come. He didn't know how he was
possibly going to. All he could do was lay there and let Draco do this
as horrible visions passed through his mind.
Draco looked at his lover. His husband. "Look at me," he
repeated. "See me here with you, no matter what potion was given
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
me. No matter what happened in the past."
Harry was still crying as he tried to do as Draco said. He had to
do as Draco said, or Draco wouldn't come back. Harry had to come.
He nodded, sobbing as he did.
Draco Summoned his wand and ended the Gag Spell. "Tell me
you love me," he said. "Tell me none of that matters."
Harry could hardly speak, but he opened his mouth. "I love you,"
he choked out. "N-none of it m-matters. I love you no m-matter wwhat."
Draco released the ropes and cock ring too. "Show me," he said.
Harry reached badly trembling hands for his husband, sliding
them up his thighs and then around to his back as he gently thrust up
into him. "I love you," he whispered. "No matter w-what. I ppromise. I swear it on a-anything."
"Heal me, cure me, do whatever you want, just make it not hurt
so much inside," Draco gasped.
Harry pulled Draco down to him, grasping his back tightly as he
continued to thrust into him. "I will do anything for you," he
practically growled, feeling nearly insane with the protectiveness that
washed through him. "Anything, Draco. Always. Always, always,
always."
"Claim me, make me feel the way I did before today," the blond
gasped.
Harry held Draco very close in his arms, whispering, "I love you,"
over and over again in his ear as he rocked with him for what felt like
a long time.
Harry's magic began to warm over Draco's skin and spread out
from inside him, seeming to take away the ache. "Yes, please, yes," he
begged as Harry's cock slid in and out.
Harry moaned quietly, grasping Draco tighter as he felt the
pleasure in his body rising. "Yours," he told him. "Completely yours.
Only yours. Always yours." And then he gasped, crying out as he
came inside his husband.
The rush was always intense but this time it seemed to burn
through his blood, making Draco convulse around his lover's body.
He cried out in that way that was both pleasure and pain.
"Oh, Merlin, yes," Harry whispered once he'd caught his breath.
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"Oh, please say it's you," he said, still gripping Draco for dear life.
Draco was still shaking and crying. In fact, he let go of the pain
now, crying even harder than before. "Yes, yours," he said.
Harry let out a very long moan as he tried to sigh, but his feelings
were too strong for that. "Oh, God," he groaned, running his hands
over Draco's skin and through his hair like he hadn't seen him in
ages.
– CHAPTER THIRTEEN –
Forgiveness
The wax still covered Draco, flaking off as Harry touched him. His
face was pressed against Harry's neck, making the other man's skin
wet with tears. "Gods, that hurt," he whispered.
Harry let out something between a laugh and a sob, kissing the
side of Draco's face over and over and over.
Draco concentrated on taking deep breaths to centre himself.
Finally, he lifted his head to look at his husband.
Harry looked back at Draco. He didn't even know what to say to
him besides, "I love you. I love you. I promise I love you."
"You aren't angry with me?" Draco asked, looking into those
green eyes.
"No," Harry said quickly. "No, how could I be?"
"I fucked another man and then tortured you," Draco answered,
voice calmer than he felt. His stomach clenched at the memories of
the last few hours.
Harry winced. "No, you didn't," he said, stroking Draco's face.
"And that was far from torture."
Having experienced torture at the hands of several of his own
relatives, Draco might have agreed. But he didn't like that he had hurt
Harry. He looked down between their bodies. "I gather you don't like
hot wax," he said.
Harry sniffed, his nose stuffy. "I didn't know it was something to
like," he said. "And I don't really think that helped much. But I'm not
angry with you. Merlin, I'm just glad that worked."
"For future reference," Draco said, "I do like hot wax." He sat up
then and Summoned his wand, finding he had to cast two different
Cleaning Charms to get all the wax off them. He hadn't moved his
body off of his lover's. "Stay hard in me," he said.
Harry stared at Draco and nodded to him.
"I want you connected to me while we talk," Draco said. "Can
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109
you do that?"
Harry didn't know exactly why Draco wanted it, but he nodded
anyway. "Yes," he said.
"Do you understand that I didn't say anything that wasn't true,
even if I was under the influence of that potion?" he asked.
Harry's face faltered. "Not even – not even the stuff about me?"
"Can you name something that wasn't true in what I said?"
"You said that – that I like ordering you around," Harry said,
voice quieting as he spoke. "That I'm not a forgiving person."
"You never forgave Severus," Draco said.
"Yes I did," Harry protested. "Did I ever like him? No. I can't
help that. But I forgave him for what he did to me." Harry teared up
again and he turned his face from Draco.
"Stay focused on me," Draco said, squeezing his muscles to
remind his lover of how they were still literally connected.
Harry looked at Draco again, but was unable to deny the hurt.
"You never told him. Or even me, that you had," Draco said
softly.
"I didn't want to make you t-think about it," Harry said, his voice
broken.
"I think about him every time I make a potion or walk these halls
or a hundred other moments," Draco admitted. "He was kinder to
me than my father ever was."
"That's part of why I forgave him," Harry whispered. "It's hard to
forget how he ... was, but I know he cared about you. And I know he
cared about our side in the war. And he gave his life for you. I
forgave him, even though he never told me he was sorry."
"I don't think someone has to ask for it to be forgiven," Draco
said. "I never asked Theo or Pansy or my mother to forgive me. And
I did hurt them."
"I did forgive him, Draco," Harry said, not knowing what Draco
didn't understand about that. "I did. And I am sorry that I didn't get a
chance to tell him. I ... used him in my memories to kill Voldemort,"
he said quietly.
Draco smiled at that idea. "He would have found that particularly
ironic," he said.
Harry was silent as he continued to look into Draco's face.
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"I wouldn't have said those things ... in the way that I said them,"
Draco went on. "But it's probably better that you know about my
past and why I can forgive my old friends. Theo, apparently, already
forgave me. Though Pansy is another issue."
Harry's face hardened. "I'm sorry," he said. "I can respect that she
helped you before, but what she did to you today I will not forgive.
She has no excuse that I will call acceptable, and if you think she
does, I don't understand that."
Harry's magic crackled over and inside him and Draco winced.
"So you think she gave me the potion?" he asked.
"Yes," Harry said. "I thought Nott did, but I saw him and I can
tell that he really didn't know what was going on. Though I am not
very happy with him at all either. Pansy was down there ... watching.
She knew. She had to have done it."
"She was?" Draco asked. He hadn't seen that.
"Yes," Harry answered. "In the corridor outside the room."
"I saw her and Theo arguing during potions," Draco said. "I
think they were disagreeing about me."
"I don't care what reason she comes up with, even if it's the true
reason," Harry said. "There's not a single thing I can think of that
justifies it. I – you said I – You said I ... raped you."
Draco's face went still and he looked at Harry. "You did," he said
softly.
"But I – " Harry began, eyes filling with tears again. He wouldn't
be surprised if he ran out of them soon.
"I love you, Harry. But I won't lie to you about this," Draco said
softly. "What Pansy did, if she did it, was wrong. But so was what you
did."
"But I -" Harry said again, letting out a sob. "But you weren't –
you weren't acting like – like you. I would never have done that to
you if-" He couldn't talk anymore. He'd thought Draco was going to
make him feel better, but so far he had only made him feel worse.
Draco really did think all the things he had said about him.
"I think that was part of what was going on. But I also know you
were jealous. Any time anyone else has ever touched me, you have
fucked me as soon after as possible." Draco made a kind of half
grimace, half smile. "My lion," he said.
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111
"Part?" Harry spat through his teeth. "You think I would have
done that if you had really not wanted it? If I hadn't thought that I
was doing something to help you?" He was shaking and could not
believe Draco. His husband did not know him as much as he liked to
claim.
Pain crept up Draco's spine again and he winced. He wondered if
keeping connected had been a bad idea. He had hoped it would show
his trust in Harry, despite the difficult things they needed to talk
about.
"You're not going to answer me?" Harry whispered. "You think I
would rape you because I was jealous? That did not enter my mind
once while that was happening, Draco. I swear to you. And I ... can't
believe you would think that of me."
Draco shuddered again, trying to breathe through the pain in
order to answer Harry. "I ... don't think ... you ... thought that's ..." he
gasped, before continuing, "what you ... were doing."
"I don't want to hurt you," Harry said stonily. "And I can tell that
it's hurting you to stay like this."
Draco chuckled weakly then. "Exactly," he said, leaning forward
against Harry's chest. "It’s not always what you mean to do that
happens," he added.
"I don't even know what you mean," Harry said quietly. "I know
exactly what I was trying to do, and it has nothing to do with what
you're saying. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to do it at all. I felt
jealous when it was you Nott was flirting with. Not when you'd taken
a potion and then had sex with him. Then I was ready to rip him
apart because I thought he had slipped you the potion. I thought that
he was manipulating your brain with magic and using your body to
get off without your permission. I was not jealous."
Draco sighed, realising that this was not a time or place, if ever, in
which Harry was going to understand what he was trying to tell him.
"Hold me, please," he said, face resting against Harry's shoulder now.
Harry frowned, but wrapped his arms around Draco anyway.
"I love you, Harry," Draco continued. "And I know you love me
– that you thought you were doing the right thing."
"But you weren't you," Harry said, voice growing even quieter as
he closed his eyes. He didn't feel like crying anymore. "There was
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nothing else."
Draco moved up then, allowing the other man's cock to slide
from his body. He moved to lay beside him, head propped up on one
hand. He reached his other hand up to stroke Harry's face. "I wasn't
exactly sane at the time, but I was still me," he tried to explain. "I was
in a lot of pain. Like you guessed, the binding didn't stop because of
the potion, and the two didn't react well together. The conflict was
overwhelming."
"But I didn't do it because I was jealous," Harry said insistently.
"I didn't. And what about the other stuff you said to me? You really
think it all? You really think I like to control you?" He was doing
nothing but whispering now, and even that was broken.
Draco took a deep breath and let it out in a long shuddering sigh.
He was tired, sore and still feeling confused. The true answers were a
lot more complex than he thought Harry could handle then, if ever.
The binding Harry had put on Draco certainly had aspects that were
disturbing to him. But they had saved his life during the war. "I do
not think you like controlling me," Draco said. "And I do believe you
thought you were doing the right thing."
"Then why did you say that?" Harry let out with a dry sob.
"I was angry," Draco said, again feeling like he was only telling
half truths. But he wanted to comfort Harry and he wanted to feel
comforted again. He didn't know how to get past so much pain and it
scared him.
Harry wiped at his face with his hands. He didn't know what he'd
been expecting from Draco when he was himself again, but it hadn't
been this. Not this technical explanation for things he'd said. "Do
you think I'm a horrible person, and love me anyway?" he whispered,
staring ahead instead of at Draco.
Draco winced. "You really don't believe that. You can't possibly
still be thinking so black and white after everything," he complained,
sitting up and looking at his husband. "Harry Potter, my lover and
husband, look at me," he insisted.
Harry slowly turned his eyes to Draco, his entire body aching for
something from his husband, but he didn't know what it was.
Draco moved closer so that he was looking directly into those
green eyes. "Harry, I am in love with you. I was in love with you at
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113
eleven when I didn't know your name. I was in love with you at
twelve when I carved your initials on my bed. I was in love with you
at thirteen when you were invisible and throwing snowballs at me. I
was in love with you at fourteen when I made 'Potter Stinks' badges
while secretly terrified that you would get hurt in that bloody contest.
I was in love with you at fifteen when I was so mad at you I nearly
hated you. I was in love with you so much by sixteen that I would
rather have died than become a Death Eater. So fucking in love with
you that I kissed you in that bathroom. I was so in love with you at
seventeen that I married you and died no less than three times to
help you destroy that madman. Now, finally, at eighteen, you no
longer have that damned prophecy hanging over your head and you
think I could be any less in love with you? Do I think you're perfect?
No. Do I think that I would rather be dead than without you? You
know it. You have to know by now that I love you more than
anything."
Harry shook as Draco spoke, eyes gathering tears once again, no
matter that they had been dried up a few minutes ago. He reached for
Draco, unable to think of words to say.
Draco shivered the second Harry reached for him again. "Gods,
yes," he whispered.
Harry pulled Draco into his arms, squeezing him tightly as silent
tears streamed from him. He hadn't even known there was so much
liquid in his body.
"My lion," Draco whispered, kissing his husband's chin and lips.
"I need you and want you.”
Harry nodded, which was the only thing he could manage right
then, because he still couldn't speak.
"Please tell me you love me," Draco begged then.
"I – l-love you," Harry gasped, breathing oddly.
Draco shook then, realising he had been afraid. He rubbed his
face and body against Harry's, needing the physical contact to
reassure himself still.
Harry continued to hold Draco, running hands over his skin. "I
love you," he whispered to him in a strangled sort of way. "I love you
so much. So fucking much." So it wasn't exactly the greatest, most
meaningful thing he could've said, but the word fit his feelings right
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then and he hoped it got across what he'd meant it to convey.
"Yes, please," Draco answered, crying again. He really needed to
hear that right now. Not just the words of love, but Harry sounding
like Harry again. He looked with watery eyes into his husband’s.
"Always," he whispered.
"Merlin, longer than that," Harry answered, holding Draco's face.
Draco smiled, tears still running down his face. "Yes, forever and
always," he answered.
Harry brought his lips to Draco's, kissing him fiercely before he
pulled him into a tight hug, cheek pressed against his husband's as he
squeezed him.
Draco laughed softly, more out of happiness than amusement.
After a minute, he whispered, "Love, I think we need to get Valen
before he destroys your House."
"Valen," Harry said. "Merlin, Valen. Our son. You're my husband,
and he's our son, and I'm your husband, and I never want to hear the
words Love Potion ever again."
Draco was amused then. He kissed his husband's lips quickly.
"Exactly," he said. "Now, I will be right back with our child."
Harry let out another one of his moaning sighs, nodding as he fell
back against the pillows with hands on his stomach. He was
exhausted.
Draco was tired too, but pulled himself out of the bed and found
his dressing gown on the floor. He put it on, belted it and went to the
door. Summoning his wand, he removed the Locking and Silencing
Charms his husband had placed on it. The minute he did, he winced.
The sound of Valen's crying could be heard all the way up the tower.
He gave his husband a kind of pained smile and opened the door.
Harry sighed again. He and Draco would have to give Ron and
Hermione their honeymoon as a wedding gift with as much as they
watched Valen.
Draco took the stairs two at a time and was very aware of the
unhappy stares he was getting from the assembled Gryffindors in the
common room. He wasn't used to coming out in his dressing gown
either, but there was no way he was taking the time to get dressed
after all this. He saw Hermione holding the screaming child and gave
her what he hoped was an apologetic look.
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115
She seemed frazzled and looked at Draco warily. "Draco?" she
asked slowly, obviously trying to calm Valen as she rocked him,
which was not easy to do as he was trying to get at Draco.
"Even under the potion, I was still his father," Draco said. He
sighed and held his hands out for his child. Valen was still screaming
but now it was that urgent noise he made when he saw something he
felt he just had to have.
Hermione looked very relieved and handed Valen over to him.
"Is Harry all right?" she asked.
"He will be," Draco said as the child grabbed hold of his robe
with one hand and his hair with the other, pulling both. He winced,
thinking that his husband and child were a lot more alike than they
looked. Valen was making little unhappy squeaking noises but was no
longer howling.
Hermione sighed. "I won't ask now then," she said, looking over
her shoulder at Ron, who was sitting in a chair, looking as frazzled as
she had looked a moment ago.
"We will need to talk about it tomorrow," Draco agreed. "And
when you have twins, you will get payback with us," he added with a
smirk.
Hermione raised her eyebrows, shaking her head at him but
smiling a little.
Draco nodded to both of them and began back up the stairs,
making little cooing sounds to his child, trying to calm him down.
Harry was still lying on his back, but he sat halfway up when he
heard Draco enter with their son.
Draco closed and locked the door, before bringing their now
sniffling, squeaking child to Harry. "He's hungry, scared and tired,"
he said. "Something I guess we both can understand right now."
Harry took Valen from Draco, having already performed a
Cleaning Charm on himself while Draco had gone down to collect
the baby. "Yes, we understand you," he said in a hushed voice to his
little face as he held him to his nipple. He winced when Valen
gummed him.
Draco took his robe off and hung it up, then cast yet another
Cleaning Charm on himself. He came over and sat down on the bed,
watching his family. Valen kept peering at him from where he
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
suckled Harry. "Still here," he assured the child, reaching to pat his
back.
Harry sighed, rubbing Valen's head. "I don't like you to be
scared," he whispered to him. "And I really wish you would stop
biting me. Daddy Harry's nipples hurt."
"He does need to grow teeth," Draco said on his son's behalf. He
lay down beside them then. There was no way he would give this up,
for anything.
Harry smiled at Draco. "Yes, he needs to grow teeth," he agreed,
"and I think he's starting to. How long are babies supposed to be
breastfed?"
"As long as you can handle it," Draco said. "Opinion varies a lot
from what I read."
"And aren't we supposed to give him baby food or something?"
Harry asked. "He's six months old."
"Yes, he can start eating soft food now," Draco said. "He will
probably still nurse for a while, though."
Harry nodded. "Maybe when we get home," he said to Valen,
"we'll get you some." He sighed, sitting back with him. "I love you
both so much," he said after a few moments.
Valen had fallen asleep, mouth still on Harry's nipple. Draco
smiled at his exhausted family. "Yes," he said softly. "Do you want to
sleep with him in the bed or should I put him in his cot now?"
"Let's ... sleep with him tonight," Harry said quietly. "If you don't
mind."
Draco smiled, lifting his son so that Harry could lie down and
then placing the baby beside him. He curled around the other side
with his legs against his husband's and his arm over the child and
around Harry. He faced his husband, sleepy but still watching him.
Harry looked into Draco's eyes for several silent moments. He
could feel sleep tugging at him, but kept his eyes open. "We're not
perfect," he said to Draco very quietly, "but this is."
"Yes," Draco agreed, smiling.
– CHAPTER FOURTEEN –
In the Morning
Draco hadn't slept well and found himself awake before the sun was
even up. He lay beside his husband and child, watching them in
slumber. He had never loved anyone like he did Harry. Theo and
Pansy had been his friends. They had been sexual with him, but he
had never been in love with them. It had always been Harry. And yet,
that love had driven him nearly crazy before he had finally told
Harry. Theo had hit a nerve with the accusation that Harry controlled
him. It worried him sometimes how much of himself he had
surrendered to his husband.
Harry dreamt as he slept. He dreamt of horrible words and
feelings and terribleness, but he didn't remember it when he awoke.
He only had a headache and the memories of probably one of the
worst days of his life. He slowly opened his eyes and sighed heavily,
looking automatically at Draco, and then down at Valen nestled
between them, but his eyes moved back to his husband.
"Hi," Draco said softly, as amazed now as he had always been at
that first glimpse of those green eyes every time his husband woke.
"Hi," Harry said back, blinking slowly. His head throbbed and he
used his own magic to soothe himself, closing his eyes again.
Draco leant forward and kissed Harry's forehead.
Harry sighed again, softly this time. He felt the pain receding – in
his head anyway. There was something else in the rest of him, but it
didn't feel like physical pain.
"I love you," Draco whispered.
"I love you," Harry replied, opening his eyes once again to stare
into Draco's.
"I wish we could just go home," Draco said.
Harry looked at Draco for a long moment. "Maybe we should,"
he said quietly.
"You don't want to finish N.E.W.T.s?" Draco asked.
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Harry was quiet for another moment. "Yes," he said. "I want to
but ... I don't know. I don't feel good." He didn't know how else to
explain it.
Draco opened his mouth to speak several times, but couldn't find
the words. Was he supposed to apologise for doing what he had
done under the influence of the potion? Would talking about it make
it worse? Had he overreacted to what Theo had said, or was the
binding really a problem? He did believe Harry thought he had done
the right thing. What he didn't understand was why it still felt wrong
to him.
Harry didn't speak at all while he waited for Draco to, and not for
a few moments after that either. "I'll stay, though," he said finally, still
very quiet. "If you want to do the tests I'll stay."
"Our problem is what do we do about Theo? And Pansy?" Draco
asked softly. "I don't believe either of them understood what they
were doing the way you do."
"I'm not very concerned with them," Harry said, apparently
unable to talk any louder than he was, because he couldn't even make
his voice sound normal.
"And what do you want, my love?" Draco asked, reaching long
fingers out to stroke the hair off his husband's face.
"Theo and Pansy aren't our problem at all," Harry said, and it was
possible that his voice was growing quieter. "I still ... I'm still thinking
about ...." He went completely silent for almost an entire minute.
"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, his voice a whisper. He was getting
quieter then. "And, if not that, are you afraid of what I could do to
you? If I wanted to?"
Draco was surprised by the question and it showed on his face. "I
have never been afraid of you," he said.
"Do you promise?" Harry asked, tears brimming his eyes. And,
Merlin, he hoped all of this wasn't going to start again.
"I swear I have never been afraid of you," Draco answered. He
realised as he said it that what frightened him most was his own
reactions to Harry.
Harry closed his eyes, his chin trembling as he tried to hold his
sob in. "Draco, I promise," he managed, "I promise I will never –
never force you to do a-anything ever again. I promise. Just please –
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119
please don't e-ever be afraid of me."
Draco teared up too, now. He picked up the sleeping infant
between them and set him in his cot beside the bed. Then, rolling
back over, he wrapped his arms around Harry.
Harry sobbed against Draco's skin, trembling. "I promise I-I wwon't ever again. I s-swear it."
"You were doing what you thought was right," Draco soothed.
"Because you love me."
Harry continued to tremble and sob. "But I promise," he gasped.
"I'll never o-order you to do a-anything again. I don't want you t-to
think th-those things about m-me."
"That's not the problem, Harry," Draco said, whispering against
Harry's hair as he held him.
"Then what i-is?" Harry sobbed, not understanding.
Draco pulled back, lifting his lover's face. "I scare me, Harry," he
whispered. "I scare me because there are times when I really want
you to control me, to order me around and to use me. Everything I
accused you of. Sometimes, that is exactly what I want."
Harry stared at Draco with tears rolling down his face, still not
understanding. "Why?" he asked.
"I don't know," Draco admitted, shivering at the admission.
Harry's chest heaved and he trembled even more, intense fear
flashing through him that this was something unfixable. "Maybe we
should find a way to take the binding off," he said in a terrified
whisper. "I want you more than it."
Draco frowned. He considered lying to Harry then, telling him
that there was no way to do that. "And what would have happened
yesterday without it?" he asked instead.
"But this isn't yesterday, Draco," Harry whispered, speaking
quickly, like it was urgent he get his words out. "This is now.
Everything yesterday happened because of the binding. Zabini sent
Death Eaters because of the binding. Nott and Pansy let him without
saying anything because of the binding. Pansy gave you that Love
Potion because of the binding. And now you're saying you want it for
some ... reason and you don't know why. I want you more than it. I
want to fix this. We have to fix this. I want you more than it."
Draco frowned and looked away. He trembled. "I would be in
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Theo's bed right now, not yours," Draco whispered. "Amortentia is
too powerful to resist."
"I know what you're doing," Harry said. "This is what it all comes
down to. Do we keep the binding or do we take it off? Because you
know me, Draco. You know you wouldn't have been in Theo's bed. I
wouldn't have let it happen, even if I would've had to lock you in our
room for a few days and watch you until the antidote arrived. I
wouldn't have tried to fix it myself if I hadn't thought I could with
the binding. I wouldn't have been able to force you and you not able
to fight back. None of that would have happened. You don't want to
take the binding off, but you don't know why. That's what this is,
isn't it?"
Draco closed his eyes, trembling still. "Yes," he whispered, barely
audible.
Harry held Draco to him tightly. He didn't know what the right
thing to do would be. Should they keep the binding for the weird
unknown reason? Or should they take it off because it was
unhealthy? "I don't understand, Draco," Harry whispered to him. "I
don't understand and I don't know what to do."
Draco was still shaking and holding Harry as if he would
somehow lose him if he let go right then. "Love me," he whispered.
"I couldn't stop doing that if I tried," Harry whispered back,
holding the back of Draco's head.
Harry still felt very tired. He didn't quite understand why, but his
eyelids felt heavy and so did his body; like someone had strapped a
bag onto his back and was steadily filling it.
He and Draco hadn't had sex that morning. Harry thought they
might have if.... But they hadn't. And ... he hadn't felt like it. He
didn't feel like it had anything to do with Draco. It felt like something
else. He'd been content to hold his husband, but he hadn't felt like
making it anything more. He didn't know if it was the sudden
weariness, or ... if it wasn't. He couldn't tell; not right then anyway.
As he'd lain there with Draco, confused, and scared, and unsure
about ... something, he'd tried to think of what to do, but the
problem was he didn't know exactly what to fix. Maybe it was the
binding, but maybe it was something else. He had no idea.
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121
Hermione and Ron kept throwing both Harry and Draco worried
glances. Harry was actually very surprised that Hermione hadn't
prodded him more than she had. When they'd come down into the
common room after getting dressed and then feeding Valen,
Hermione had asked Harry if he was okay. He'd said he was fine, and
then she'd fixed him with one of her stern, knowing looks. He'd only
answered it with a blank stare and a dull, "What?" Her face had fallen
and she and Ron had been whispering to each other since.
In fact, Harry thought he could hear Hermione's whisper at that
moment behind him as he walked to the Great Hall with his friends,
child, and husband, but he didn't turn to look. He didn't really feel
much like eating and would've rather gone back to bed, but here he
was. Tired.
Valen was squirming so badly that it was hard to hold on to him.
Draco huffed and disentangled the baby from his hair again. He
knew that Valen was upset by Harry's mood. The child always reacted
to Harry. For his own part, Draco felt tired and scared. Harry hadn't
made love to him that morning and Draco could not remember the
last time that had happened. It was how they started every morning.
Harry said he wasn't angry now but Draco still felt guilty. And now
they had to go to the Great Hall, where Theo and Pansy would be.
Draco had no idea how he was supposed to face Theo after the night
before. And how angry should he be at Pansy? He sighed, closing his
eyes and then wincing when Valen yanked on his tie so hard it hurt.
Harry hadn't even thought about Nott and Pansy at all that
morning besides the one time Draco had mentioned them, well, not
directly at least. He found there was still some sort of anger at them
both, but he also felt like he didn't have enough emotion for them.
They didn't even deserve his emotion, not even his anger. But he did
think of them now, because he didn't know if Draco was going to sit
with them. He didn't know, and he wasn't going to ask, wasn't even
going to say a single thing to him about it. Harry didn't know how he
would feel about any place Draco sat. Literally. It was like the only
thing he could feel was confusion. About everything. There wasn't
any room for anything else.
Draco stopped at the entrance to the Hall. He was tempted to
skip breakfast altogether and go on to class. He looked nervously at
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his husband. "Harry?" he asked.
Hermione and Ron had stopped, too, and were looking at Harry
and Draco in a worried sort of way again, but Harry waved them on
with his hand. They went through the doors after a moment,
Hermione letting out a small sigh with a frown on her face.
"What?" Harry asked Draco quietly.
"I want to be with you," Draco confessed.
Harry frowned, confused, but that wasn't surprising to him.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Draco winced at the look in his husband's eyes. He hadn’t seen
that kind of despair since before Voldemort was killed. "I don't know
what I'm supposed to do," he admitted.
"About what?" asked Harry. He didn't know what to do either.
About anything.
"I need you," Draco said. "I can't stand that I have done this to
you."
Harry stared at Draco for a moment but then looked away from
him. He didn't know what his face looked like. "You didn't do
anything to me," he said, not even knowing what tone of voice it was
that he had just used.
That flat tone sent a chill of fear down Draco's back. "Wait here,"
he said, and then entered the Hall, heading directly to Hermione and
Ron.
Harry didn't know what Draco was doing and he closed his eyes
as he remained where he stood, letting out a quiet breath.
Ron nudged Hermione when Draco approached them and she
looked up. The frown that had been on her lips when she'd entered
the Hall hadn't left her.
Draco strode up to their friends. "I know we put you through a
lot last night," he said. "But I really need you to watch Valen. We're
starting him on solid food, so give him some of the porridge."
Hermione very much looked like she wanted to know what was
going on, as did Ron. She opened her mouth and let it hang that way
for a moment before she sighed. "Okay," she said quietly in a
resigned tone. "Just...." She shook her head. "Okay."
"Thank you," Draco said and then turned and left the Hall. He
didn't even look to the Slytherin table.
– CHAPTER FIFTEEN –
Reassurance
Once outside the Great Hall, Draco grabbed his husband's hand and
began dragging him up the stairs.
Harry frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked, following, but
not as quickly as he could have.
"Are you still mine?" Draco asked.
Harry stared at Draco for a long moment, like he had been doing.
He felt like he needed to think about every single thing that came out
of his mouth, just to make sure it wasn't the wrong thing. "Of course,
I am," he said finally.
"Then come with me," Draco answered.
Harry gave a few small nods after yet another moment and
followed wherever Draco was going.
Draco led them up the stairs to the seventh floor.
As Draco had led him, Harry had known where they were going
to end up before they got there. He stood, looking from the blank
stretch of wall where the door was hiding, to the tapestry across from
it with the ballet-dancing trolls.
Draco let go of Harry's hand and paced back and forth several
times. When a door appeared he opened it and pulled Harry inside. It
was set up with a bed, like it had been when they'd first made love.
Harry took in a quiet breath, holding it in as he just stared at the
bed. He could remember every single second of their first times in
here. Every single second of them. But was it supposed to fix them
now? Now, when he knew something needed fixing but not what it
was?
Draco frowned. He had actually imagined the sofa when he'd
asked the room, but the room apparently had other ideas. He
released Harry's hand and walked over to the fireplace, staring into
the flames.
Harry stood where he was, still staring at the bed. He slowly
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turned his head to Draco. "Are you okay?" he asked him.
"No. No, I'm not," Draco said without turning.
Harry was almost surprised with himself when he didn't know
what to say to that. He walked over to Draco automatically though,
and pulled him against his own body.
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and began crying. He
hadn't known what to do when he got to the room. He just felt like
he needed to be alone with Harry, and going back to where they'd
started had 'felt right.'
Harry could have walked them over to the bed, but pulled Draco
to the floor with him, holding his head against the place where his
neck met his shoulders.
Draco sobbed against Harry's neck as he brought them to the
floor. He needed his lion back.
"Shhhh," Harry hushed quietly, rocking with Draco from side to
side. He stroked his hair, unsure why exactly Draco was crying and
unsure what he himself was feeling. But he did know that he loved
Draco, more than anything, and what hurt the most was that his
husband was hurting.
"I wouldn't have, I swear it," Draco was murmuring into his
lover's neck. "I need you, Harry."
"Shhh," Harry hushed again. "You wouldn't have what?" he
whispered as he continued to rock Draco gently.
"Hurt you like that, said or did those things," Draco whispered.
Harry was silent for several seconds. "I know," he whispered
finally. He knew that Draco wouldn't have said those things. But
would he have thought them? Harry couldn't help wondering if
everything Draco had said about him was true. Maybe all of it was
and he didn't know it.
"We made it, we survived it," Draco said. "It's supposed to be
better now. No more fear or pain. Right?"
"That's the way it's supposed to be," Harry agreed, closing his
eyes as he held Draco tighter.
"Then why does it hurt?" Draco asked, clutching Harry tighter.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut so tight he shook to shut them
tighter. "I don't know," he whispered. "But I don't want it to."
"I need you, Harry, I have always needed you," Draco said, lifting
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teary eyes to look at his husband.
Harry opened his eyes to look at Draco, bringing a hand up to
slide it along the side of Draco's head and into his hair. "I need you,"
he told him. "I love you."
"Yes, please," Draco whispered, sighing at his touch.
"What do you want?" Harry asked very softly. "What do you
want, Draco? I'll do anything for you. Anything you tell me. All you
have to do it say it. That's it."
"Show me you love me," Draco whispered, blushing and looking
down.
Harry leant forward and pressed his forehead to Draco's, using it
to lift his face so that he could kiss his flushed cheeks. He breathed
against Draco's lips, just sitting like that on the floor with him before
he brought their mouths together to kiss his husband slowly.
Draco trembled. After all this time, he still trembled at his lover's
touch. He opened his mouth and slid his tongue out to meet the
other man's.
Harry didn't know when he'd begun to press forward, but Draco
ended up on his back with Harry flush against him, petting his hair
and face.
"Yes, please," Draco begged, hands caressing Harry through his
clothing.
"I want you to tell me what I promised you, Draco," Harry
whispered to him as he kissed his lips. "What did I promise I would
do with the rest of my life?"
"Love me, grow old with me," Draco whispered back, kissing his
husband's lips and chin.
"And I will never go back on that," Harry said firmly. "For as
long as you want me, I will never go back on that."
"Always wanted you, always will," Draco answered, right hand
cupping the back of Harry's head.
Harry brought their mouths together again. "And I've wanted you
since you showed me you were what I needed. Merlin, Draco, do you
have any idea where I'd be without you right now? Voldemort would
have won. Our friends would be dead. I would be dead or worse.
Draco, you saved my life as much as I saved yours. I wouldn't be
anywhere without you. I would be nothing without you. I feel like
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nothing without you. I don't want you to think I would ever hurt you.
I don't want you to think I would ever treat you as anything below
my equal. I don't want you to ever think that." He left the word
'again' unsaid.
"Complementary opposites," Draco said, smiling as he stroked
Harry's hair. "The lion and the dragon."
Harry brought his hand to the pendant lying inside his shirt. "The
lion and the dragon," he agreed quietly. "I love you more than
anything, Draco. My dragon. My life."
Draco tugged at Harry's tie, loosening it. "Only you make me feel
this way," he said, looking into Harry's eyes.
"What way?" Harry whispered.
"Like anything is possible," Draco said. "Whole, desired, perfect.
In your eyes, I am everything I want to be."
"That's the way I want you to feel," Harry said. "I want you to
lean on me. I want you to feel safe with me. I want you to feel like
you can depend on me for anything."
"I do, I swear I do," Draco whispered fiercely.
Harry could hear in Draco's voice that he wasn't lying. He could
see it in his eyes. "Please don't let anything ever make you think
otherwise. There's nothing in the world that could change it. I'll
always be here with you."
"I believe in you," Draco said, fervently, eyes watering again as he
looked into his husband’s emerald ones.
Harry let out a shuddering breath. "That means more to me than
you could possibly know," he said, holding Draco's face.
"I know," Draco whispered. "I know more about you, Harry
James Potter, than anyone else. I am part of you."
"And will always be," Harry whispered back. "I believe in you
too, Draco."
"Show me," Draco said, needing the reassurance of more than
words.
Harry kissed Draco yet again, pressing down against him as he
clutched at his clothes.
Draco moaned into his lover's mouth, one leg wrapping around
the back of Harry's as his hand gripped his hair.
Harry kissed Draco firmly. He could feel his husband's erection
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against him, and for some reason, it was reassuring. He stripped them
both, not moving from Draco on the floor.
Draco gasped as Harry's magic flowed over him and then naked
flesh pressed to him.
Harry slicked his fingers and brought them below as he kissed his
husband, but then he tensed, hesitating and not pushing in.
"Please, Harry," Draco begged, spreading his legs wider.
Harry took a deep breath, nodding as he slid a single finger inside
of Draco. He added another, after a moment, with the first.
"Yes, more," Draco encouraged, his hands running over Harry's
body as if to touch every part of him.
Harry nodded again, pressing his face into Draco's neck as he
prepared him, and then himself. "I love you," he whispered, sliding
his erection against Draco as he grasped it to enter him.
"Yes, yes," Draco whispered, "oh, my lion, claim me, please."
Harry was already panting slightly as he breached Draco, letting
out a quiet moan of pleasure and longing, and ... from the feeling of
being where he was supposed to be.
"Yes, perfect," Draco gasped, legs wrapping around Harry's waist
now.
Harry remained pressed inside Draco for much longer than he
usually did, letting himself feel him. Draco's legs and arms around
him made him feel exactly what he needed to feel. Like Draco
thought of him as his protector, like Draco counted on him. He
wanted to feel the responsibility of being that for someone. He did
for Valen, but he wanted it from Draco, too.
"Yes, Harry," Draco encouraged, his own arousal pressed
between their bodies and his husband's magic crackling over and
inside him. "Oh, yes, I need you."
Harry moaned again as he made his slight withdrawal, picking up
a pace that was difficult to explain. He didn't know if he was going
fast or slow, hard or gentle, but it was perfect, and maybe it was all of
it. That's what he and Draco seemed to be. All of it.
Draco gasped and moved with every thrust, pulling himself up
onto his husband's cock, hands pulling at his hair and sliding over his
skin. "I want this, I want you," Draco whispered. "I was meant for
you. It's what I felt then and what I feel now."
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"Meant for you," Harry responded, moving with Draco rather
than on him or anything else. "Merlin, fuck, yes," he whispered.
"Oh, bring us, love," Draco said, moaning. "I want your magic
and your seed inside me."
Harry gasped, Draco's words alone sending him over the edge.
He closed his eyes, crying out shortly as he came in quick bursts
inside his husband.
Power, love and magic filled Draco and he cried out wordlessly as
he spasmed around his lover's body.
Harry groaned as Draco tightened around his cock, sparks of
intense pleasure making him twitch. He took in deep breaths, face
still pressed to Draco's skin.
"Yes, perfect," Draco sighed, still holding Harry tightly.
"Mmm," Harry moaned, feeling so much better than he had
when he'd woken up that morning.
Draco relaxed, legs sliding down Harry's now and a crooked
smile on his face.
Harry lifted his face to see Draco smiling like he was and it made
his heart clench in a very not-painful way.
Draco looked at Harry then, smile on his face and his eyes soft.
"I am yours and you are mine," Draco said, fingering the pendant
around his husband's neck. "Never doubt it."
"Never," Harry whispered, rubbing their noses.
Draco lay under his husband, relaxed and happy. "Should we
move off the floor?" he asked.
Harry brushed his lips against Draco's. "Sure," he said to him
softly.
"Mmm," Draco responded to the soft caress, forgetting anything
else.
Harry smiled, pressing his lips a little more to Draco's, kissing
him. He didn't particularly feel like moving. He probably would have
been able to do it with his magic, but he wished the floor was softer
below them and the room did it for him.
Draco laughed when he felt the change in the floor. "As you
wish, my love," he whispered. "I am content to be with you
anywhere."
Harry let out a slow breath, lifting his head to stare at Draco. He
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129
gave him a barely-there smile, his eyes soft.
Draco reached up, running long fingers through Harry's hair. He
knew they had important things to talk about but he didn't want to
change the mood.
Harry knew the same thing Draco did, but also didn't want to
bring it up. He considered, for the several minutes he lay touching
and being touched by Draco, pretending like none of this had
happened and they were just going about their business, but he knew
that when they left the room that it wouldn't be a reality. It always
seemed so with the Room of Requirement. "Draco," he whispered
after yet another minute had gone by. He didn't know what to say,
but he thought his meaning was evident in his tone.
"Yes, my love?" Draco said, shifting a bit.
Harry lifted his body but pulled Draco with him so that they were
still close as they both sat up. "What now?" he asked, holding his
husband's hand in his and staring at it as he moved his fingers and
touched the skin.
"You love me forever?" Draco asked in a teasing voice and then
sighed. "Where do we begin?"
Harry smiled. Sort of. "Yes, and, I don't know," he said.
Draco tried to pull himself together to focus. "I know we need to
talk with our friends about the magical repercussions of what
happened," he said.
"Hermione's just worried. And Ron. But I guess we can talk to
them about that," Harry said quietly, still playing with Draco's hand.
"What happened ... well, it was an unusual reaction to the
potion," Draco said. "It might teach us more about the nature of our
binding. Information that could be used ..." he took a deep breath,
"to modify it."
Harry looked up then. "Modify it?" he asked.
Draco didn't meet Harry's eyes, watching his lover's hand on his
instead. "My father knew a way to end or transfer the concubine
spell," he said.
Harry frowned. "But that way could have killed you," he said.
"And we don't want to ... transfer it." His frown grew.
Draco nodded. "When he ... was dead, and we took over the
Manor, I went through his desk, including his notes."
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
"What was there?" Harry asked slowly.
Draco flushed, his fingers entertaining Harry's. "It can be
removed, with the blood and consent of both those involved," he
whispered.
Harry stared at Draco. "You've known since we moved in?" he
asked.
Draco closed his eyes, hand tightening on Harry's. He nodded.
Harry pulled Draco forward so that he was practically in his lap.
"I never meant to do what I did," he said quietly. "I never meant to
take that much power over you. I never wanted that power over you.
I did want you to be with me, but that night ... that night was ...
intense. This has always been your decision, love. I will keep the
binding if you want to. I will take it off if you want to."
Draco shuddered at being held so close and lovingly. "I know,"
he whispered. "But we complicated the binding when we added the
second one after killing Father."
"What did that one do?" Harry asked. "I thought it meant we
were married. Magically."
"Yes," Draco smiled, looking at Harry's face then. "What do you
think that means?"
"What do I think what means?" Harry asked, raising his
eyebrows.
"What do you think it means to be magically married, to be
blood-bonded like that?" he asked.
Harry frowned again. "That we're ... equal? But that doesn't make
sense, because the first binding gave me the power to compel you."
"Blood-binding means that our magic is connected," Draco said.
"That we can do things together that someone not blood-bound isn't
able to do," he said.
"It connected our magic only because of the first binding?" Harry
asked.
"Partial connection with the first binding," Draco said. "But
adding the marriage vow, you enabled me to respond to your magic
at another level."
"So what does that mean?" Harry asked. "What would it mean for
us if we were to take the first binding off?"
"I don't think we can remove one without removing both,"
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131
Draco said, frowning. "They are layered magic. One sealed upon the
other."
Harry's eyes widened. "But I don't want to take our marriage off,"
he said. "That could mess everything up. That could even mess up ...
having another baby."
"Yes," Draco agreed, "now you understand part of why I didn't
tell you."
"But then what do we do?" Harry asked, frowning.
"The only way I can think of would be to end the binding and
then ... make a new one," Draco said.
Harry frowned again. "Make a new one?" he asked. "A new
marriage binding?"
Draco nodded, eyes intent on Harry's. He didn't know why it
frightened him but the idea of ending the binding terrified him.
Harry nodded. "And it would be the same as the first one?" he
asked.
"The point is to choose what we promise this time," Draco said
softly, then blushed. "And it would require all the elements, including
a witness."
Harry flushed too. "We can do that," he said quietly, staring into
Draco's face.
"Who?" Draco whispered, licking his lips and actually becoming
aroused again at the idea of someone watching them.
"I don't know," Harry answered. He didn't know exactly how he
would ask any of their friends, either.
"It's not like you haven't fucked me in front of people before,"
Draco teased him.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yes," he said, "but I've never asked
either. Excuse me, good friend. Would you like to watch my husband
and I fuck so that we can bind ourselves again?" He rolled his eyes.
"That will be perfectly peachy."
Draco chuckled. "I think some of them rather enjoyed it last
time," he said.
"I hardly think we need a crowd," Harry said, raising an eyebrow
again. "And I still can't believe I did that."
Draco blushed, his body responding to the memory as well. "I
can," he grinned. "You're a pervert, husband of mine."
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Harry let out a small snort. "I guess," he said. "But so are you."
Draco waggled his eyebrows and pressed himself against Harry to
show him how much it excited him. "Never any doubt about that,"
he purred.
Harry smiled, sliding his hands down to grasp the very start of
Draco's arse. "I don't think taking the binding off would be so bad,"
he said. "It would mean I can tell you to fuck me without saying
please."
Draco's eyes widened at the idea and he nodded. He scooted up
so that Harry could better reach his arse. "I still want you to fuck me
every day," he said.
"I'm sure that can be arranged," Harry said with a bit of a sly
smile. "Will we still be able to fuck six times a day? You know, with
the soreness and all."
"You are powerful, Harry," and Draco shivered as he said it, "I
have no doubt that you will be able to keep healing us."
"And no more going cold," Harry said. "We won't have to worry
about forgetting."
"I will worry if you forget," Draco whispered, beginning to rub
himself against Harry's hip.
"Why?" Harry whispered back, gently kissing the edge of Draco's
jaw.
"Because I want you," Draco said. "I still want you all the time."
He punctuated this with kisses over his lover's face.
"You think I don't want you?" Harry asked, a little incredulous in
tone. "Merlin, Draco, all you have to do is say the word to get me in
your trousers."
Draco swallowed hard, so aroused now he was having trouble
talking. "Word," he whispered with a smile.
– CHAPTER SIXTEEN –
Brilliant
Harry grinned, bringing his lips to Draco's as he leant his weight into
his hip and against Draco's cock. "What do you want?" he asked,
getting more and more aroused himself.
"I want to fuck you," Draco said.
"Good," Harry replied, cock twitching.
"On your knees, Potter," Draco whispered, his voice low.
Harry shivered, pulling back from Draco. "Where?" he asked.
"On the bed," Draco said, since he didn't include rug burn in his
long list of kinks.
Harry pushed himself to his feet, crossing to the bed quickly. He
climbed atop the mattress and grasped the headboard, just as Draco
liked him to do, and he certainly didn't mind it himself. He licked his
lips and then looked over his shoulder.
Draco grinned, climbing up behind his lover and sliding his
hands over his arse and thighs.
"Mmm," Harry hummed at the touch, letting his eyes fall shut.
Leaning forward, Draco nipped at the soft flesh of one cheek.
Harry twitched and took in a small breath, not having anticipated
the move.
Draco suddenly got the urge to lick and bite his lover's arse and
proceeded to do so, leaving small red marks in his wake.
Gasping, Harry twitched with each nip, his cock heavy and
leaking.
Draco squeezed and spread his lover's arse with both hands,
sliding his tongue down the cleft.
"Oh, fuck," Harry whispered, arching his back with the feeling.
"Oh, yes, I am going to fuck you," Draco answered, his voice
deep with his desire. "But first, I know what you really want."
Harry nearly whimpered listening to Draco's voice. "Yes," he
moaned.
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Draco worked his way down to his lover's opening, pausing to
breathe over the sensitive tissue.
Harry shivered yet again. "God, Draco, you're so hot," he
groaned. "I'm so fucking hard."
Pointing his tongue, Draco gently teased that puckered opening
with it.
Harry lowered his face to the bed while still hanging onto the
headboard, panting with arousal.
Draco pushed his tongue into the centre of that ring and pressed
his lips to the flesh around it. He slid his right hand down Harry's
thigh and between his legs, gently cupping his lover's balls.
Harry gasped at both touches, swallowing as he gripped the
headboard tighter.
Pressing his tongue deeper, Draco moved it in small circles.
Harry whimpered, his heart beating fast. "Oh, fuck, Draco," he
gasped.
Draco did just that, using his tongue to fuck Harry's hole.
Harry whimpered again, feeling like he needed to press back into
Draco's face to get more of anything, of everything. "Please," he
moaned. "Oh, fuck, please."
Draco withdrew his tongue, licking the quivering opening. "Yes?"
he asked.
Harry lifted his head to look behind him, and the sight of Draco's
face sent him moaning again. "Mmm, fuck me, please," he told him.
"Please, fuck me."
"Yes," Draco said, grinning and then giving a last slow lick before
Summoning his wand and casting the Lube Spell. He slicked his cock
and then pressed fingers inside his lover, quickly preparing him.
"Merlin, yeah," Harry gasped, pushing onto Draco's fingers.
Draco chuckled, withdrawing his fingers and replacing them with
his cock. He grasped Harry's hips with both hands and slid forward
without pausing.
"Fuck," Harry gasped, pressing back against Draco's cock now.
"Your cock belongs here," he told him. "Always fucking will."
"Yes, inside you," Draco growled, pulling back and thrusting in
again. "Going to fuck you hard, hold on."
Harry's entire body trembled with those words and he was almost
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surprised he didn't come. He gripped the headboard until his
knuckles were white, his heart beating even faster. "Yes," he said,
closing his eyes, ready for it.
Draco began to use both his hips and his grip on Harry's hips to
thrust hard, pulling the other man onto his cock as he did. He loved
the sound and feel of his flesh slapping against his lover's.
"Fuck!" Harry cried out, wondering if he might snap the wood
beneath his hands. He took each of Draco's hard thrusts as openly as
he could, letting him fuck the hell out of him and loving every single
second of it.
Sweat poured down his body as Draco slammed into his lover,
the sensation a mix of pain and pleasure which always made him feel
more alive. "Yes, mine," he growled.
"Yours!" Harry shouted, somehow managing to spread his legs
wider in that moment.
Draco was panting, gripping Harry's hips so hard he would bruise
as he felt himself tensing, knowing he would come soon. "Bring us,"
he shouted.
Harry grunted with the thrusts into his body. He reached his
hand down to his own cock, only having to give it a single rough
stroke before he was coming over the bed, arching and crying out
with his release.
Draco thrust hard and held himself buried inside his husband as
he threw back his head, crying out with his release. Magic flowed
over and through him and he wept with it. No way in hell was he
giving that up.
Harry slumped, panting and sweating, his mind still blank from
orgasm.
Draco slid his hands around Harry's waist, holding his lover with
his face pressed to his back.
Harry took in a shaky breath and let it out just as shakily.
"Draco," he whispered. "You're the only one who makes me feel this
way."
"Yes, only me," Draco whispered, kissing his husband's spine.
"You're all I ever want," Harry said. "If I have you, I'm happy."
Draco pulled out slowly, as he kissed his way down Harry's spine,
stopping at the small of his back. He sat back, admiring the view.
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Harry smiled gently and sighed, looking at Draco over his
shoulder again.
Draco ran his hands over Harry's arse and down his crack,
coating them in his own come as it leaked from his lover. "I could
fuck you a million times and still want more," he whispered.
Harry swallowed, letting out another shaky breath. "I could take
it a million times and still want more," he whispered back.
"As much as I would prefer to stay in here fucking you all day,"
Draco whispered, his spent cock still managing to tingle at the idea.
"I think our son is probably wreaking havoc by now."
"I know," Harry said, lowering his arse to the bed and turning.
"And I feel bad leaving him with Ron and Hermione so much."
Draco picked up his wand and cast Cleaning Charms for both of
them. "To class, my love?" he asked.
Harry nodded, leaning forward to lay a kiss on Draco's lips.
When Harry and Draco had dressed and hurried through the
corridors, everyone else had already cleared out of the Great Hall.
When they approached the Defence Against the Dark Arts
classroom, Harry could hear a baby crying inside and winced,
glancing at Draco before he opened the door and stepped through.
Draco rolled his eyes and prepared to face a room full of their
annoyed peers. He followed his husband inside.
Hermione was sitting, trying to calm Valen, whose face was red
with his screams. Harry guiltily made his way over to her, throwing
Lupin an apologetic look as he did. He reached his arms out for the
baby and Hermione handed him over quickly.
Valen only seemed to cry harder for a minute, as if he was
making sure his daddies knew how unhappy with them he was.
Draco stood behind his husband so that the infant could see them
both.
"I know," Harry said in a soothing tone, holding Valen's head
against his shoulder as he rocked with him. Then he noticed that Ron
seemed to have bits of ... porridge in his hair. Harry gave him a
strange look and Ron only gazed back blankly.
Draco reached up and added his hand to his child's back. "We're
here," he whispered. "Don't worry, we wouldn't leave you."
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Valen seemed to calm with both parents touching him. He
blinked green eyes at Draco, hiccoughing now.
Harry sighed, kissing Valen's hair and then made his way over to
Ron's other side to sit.
Draco joined his husband at the table. He looked around and saw
quite a number of frowns. He noted that Pansy was sitting with a
Ravenclaw woman. He had to look to the back of the room to spot
Theo, who did not look at Draco, staring down at his book instead.
Draco sighed.
Harry didn't look for Nott or Pansy, but his own two best friends
were staring at him and he could feel it. He looked over to see both
of them giving him curious frowns. He sighed. "Later," he said
quietly to Ron, who turned and gave the message to Hermione. She
frowned a little more but then turned her head to face the front
again.
Lupin was standing at the front of the classroom. "Welcome,
Harry and Draco," he said. "Now that things are a bit quieter, let's
proceed. How many of you can cast a Shield Charm?" He seemed
pleased and surprised to find the entire class raised their hands. "I
suppose you have had more experience than most preparing for
N.E.W.T.s," he said with a sigh. "How about a Patronus?"
Not as many raised their hands, but everyone Harry had taught in
the D.A. did. Harry hadn't had to cast a Patronus himself in a very
long time, but he was still very confident he could do one.
Draco blushed then, looking down and not raising his hand.
Harry looked at him and raised his eyebrows. He'd had no idea
Draco couldn't cast a Patronus Charm; he'd always assumed that he
could.
Remus looked surprised as well. "Well, that's an important one to
work on. Let's divide up for it. Anyone who hasn't cast one before
should pair up with someone who has," he instructed.
"Do you want to work with me?" Harry asked his husband as the
rest of the class began to bustle around into partners.
Draco was still blushing. "Will he let you put him down?" he
asked, indicating where their son was still clutching his husband.
Harry looked down at Valen, and at his little hands balled into the
material of his robes. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I think he's
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scared we'll leave again." He rubbed his little back.
Draco nodded. "You want to direct me?" he asked.
Harry looked back up at Draco. "Sure," he said.
Draco was nervous as they moved over to the practise area. "Cast
a Shield Charm on yourself and Valen," he said, worried about a
misplaced spell.
Harry nodded, doing so quickly and smiling as Valen shivered
against him. "The incantation is Expecto Patronum," he said. "But in
order for it to work you have to think really hard about a very happy
memory. One of your happiest."
"I know the theory," Draco said, and smiled. "So many to choose
from, now."
Harry smiled too. "Well, you should be able to pick a good one
then," he said.
Draco's mind flooded with images and sensations. He found it
hard to concentrate. He decided to use their wedding and breathed
deep several times before casting the charm. He felt a rush and his
spine tingled before a glowing image appeared from his wand. He
gasped and laughed at the image – of a lion.
Harry beamed, watching the very large, shining cat stalk around
Draco. "Brilliant," he said happily.
Most of the class had stopped to watch as well and quite a
number of them laughed. "Well," Remus said, voice full of his
amusement, "very good, Draco."
Draco blushed scarlet and rolled his eyes as his own private
image of Harry was made visible for all.
Valen squealed happily and began reaching for the PatronusLion. "Kitty!" he yelled. Draco's eyes went wide as his son spoke his
first real word.
Harry gasped and looked down at Valen, his mouth falling open.
Valen was doing his best to wriggle out of Harry's arms as he
continued to call out to the magical beast.
Harry laughed loudly and happily. "Yes, son, it is a kitty," he said,
kissing his head and then looking over at Draco.
Draco laughed loudly and freely then. Many of the others looked
as shocked by this as they had by the image. Few people had ever
really seen Draco laugh. He reached for his child then, the Patronus-
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Lion still curling around his legs.
Harry handed Valen to Draco, still amazed with their son.
"Absolutely brilliant," he said, kissing Valen's head again. "How did
he know that?"
"He's heard me call Sredni a kitty," Draco said. Valen was
clutching Draco and cooing at the image still.
"You're so smart," Harry said to the baby, smiling and ruffling his
hair. He looked at the lion then and cocked his head. "Hmm," he
hummed before he raised his hand and used the memory of when
Draco had first told him he loved him. It felt odd when the magic
seemed to shoot straight out of his skin rather than a wand, and he
watched the flowing magic erupting into ... most definitely not what it
was supposed to. It was not a stag, but a ... dragon. Not as big as an
actual dragon, but most definitely a dragon. He let out a faint,
amazed-sounding laugh, watching the animal before him.
The room erupted in more gasps. Few people had seen Harry do
wandless magic, let alone something so impressive.
"Amazing," Remus said from where he watched.
Valen squealed and began bouncing excitedly. Draco blushed, not
only at the image, but at what it did to his insides. It made him feel
hot and had him trembling.
Harry blushed too when his dragon approached Draco's lion and
rubbed its head into the lion's mane. He smiled sheepishly, looking
up and meeting Draco's eyes.
Draco was bright red and smiling and he felt his own magic
shiver in response as the lion began rubbing itself against the dragon.
Harry had to hold his laugh in at the look on Draco's face, and
the redness of it, though he wasn't sure if his own face looked any
different. He sidled up to his husband and child and gave them both
kisses, though Draco's was a bit longer and on the lips instead of the
cheek.
There were murmurs and laughter then as the others in the room
watched the Patronus images intertwining at the feet of the two
kissing wizards.
"Um," Remus started, swallowing. "Well, those are very strong
images," he said, attempting to get the attention of the class.
Harry smiled and pulled back from the kiss, trying to ignore the
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embarrassing fact that everyone was staring at them.
Hermione and Ron were watching too as Hermione's Patronus,
in the shape of an otter, was chased around their legs by Ron's Jack
Russell Terrier.
"Well, that's probably enough of that," Remus interjected, turning
slightly red now.
Harry nodded, still sheepish, but happy. "My Patronus used to be
a stag," he told Draco as the dragon began to fade.
Draco grinned even wider. "Really?" he asked, so aroused he was
barely able to think.
"Yes, I shot it at you once, remember?" Harry asked, amused.
Draco closed his eyes, trembling. "Oh, yesss," he answered.
Valen was burbling loudly.
Harry knew that tone. And of course Draco would be aroused
after the powerful magic from Harry, but Harry didn't know what to
do about it.
Draco pushed the baby into Harry's arms. "I'll be back," he
managed and then headed out the door of the classroom.
Harry raised his eyebrows as he watched Draco leave, and then
he looked down at Valen and smiled amusedly. "I think Daddy Draco
liked that magic more than you did," he said, kissing his nose.
– CHAPTER SEVENTEEN –
Understanding Friends
Draco managed to find an empty classroom and leant against the wall
inside, quickly unfastening his trousers and sliding his hand in with a
sigh. This had been an ongoing problem for him during school
before, but the Patronuses had been more intense than he could
handle. He closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall as he
pulled on his erection, trying to bring himself off quickly so he could
return to class.
"You never could control your reaction to magic," a woman's
voice purred beside him.
Draco startled. He eyes flew open and his hand froze.
Pansy laughed. "Want some help with that?" she asked.
"Get away from me," he growled.
She stepped closer, reaching her hand for the front of his
trousers. "You used to have me help when you got this way," she
insisted.
Draco grabbed her wrist with his silver hand. "I said not to touch
me," he hissed.
“You aren’t still mad about yesterday?” she asked.
Draco pulled his hand out and stepped away from her, letting go.
"You mean for nearly destroying both my marriage with Harry and
my friendship with Theo?" he asked.
"Aww, the potion was just a nudge, Draco," she said. "You know
you wanted Theo, I could see it. Hell, even your Potter could see it."
"I will not debate this with you," he hissed. "You are bloody
lucky we didn't report you and have you thrown out."
"Well, why didn't you?" she asked, following him.
"Don't push it anymore, Pansy," Draco warned. "I still could."
"Not very Slytherin, Draco, going to the school like that for an
in-House issue," she complained.
"We aren't students any more," he said, coldly. "Grow up. And
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leave me and my family alone." He'd managed to make his way to the
door and opened it, striding back. His arousal was gone now. And he
didn't realise he hadn't refastened his trousers until he was already
back in the room.
Harry had been trying to get Valen to say 'kitty' again. He looked
to his side when Draco was there and gave him a single eyebrow
waggle. "You good now?" he asked.
Draco glanced around to make sure no one was really looking.
Unfortunately, several people were. He sighed and refastened his
trousers anyway, trying not to blush as he did.
Harry grinned, looking down as Draco did his trousers up.
"Guess so," he said, answering his own question.
Draco rolled his eyes. "So what have I missed?"
"Not much," Harry replied. "Some more tell-me-now-looks from
Hermione and Ron. I guess we probably do look like a couple of mad
people."
Draco nodded, grateful that few people knew of his 'problem’
with Harry's magic. Pansy, Theo and Blaise had known he was a
sensitive. It wasn't something he shared with most people. And the
sexual component of it, even fewer.
Harry nodded too, turning back to face Remus at the front of the
class.
Draco stayed close to Harry the rest of the day and surprised a few
people when he sat with his husband at the Gryffindor table. There
was a lot of whispering going on and from what he caught, most of it
about their Patronus display. He tried to focus his attention on
feeding bits of mashed potato to his son, though Valen did still
mostly need Harry. It was a messy process and Draco was once again
grateful he was good at Cleaning Charms.
Harry could hardly believe Valen. He was teething, had said his
first word, and was eating real food. All at bloody once. He was too
focused on the baby to really worry about what anyone else was
saying and was glad Draco had sat with him, mostly because he didn't
trust Pansy. He didn't trust Nott, either, but mostly her.
"Do you two want to come up in our room and talk?" he asked
Ron and Hermione as they all were making their way up to the tower.
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143
"Well, it would be rather nice to know what's going on,"
Hermione answered, throwing them a sideways look.
"Especially after yesterday," Ron frowned.
Draco nodded, letting Valen teethe on his silver fingers. Drool
dripped onto his sleeve and he made a face at the child.
Harry sighed, nodding as well.
When they had made their way to the common room, Hermione
was the one that led them up the boys' staircase and into Harry and
Draco's room. Harry closed the door behind everyone and then
moved to sit on the bed. Hermione did, too, and crossed her legs
under herself while Ron leant against the near wall.
Draco sat leaning up against the headboard with Harry. He fished
the teething ring out of the baby's cot and tried to switch his fingers
for it. Valen protested with a shriek and Draco relented with a sigh.
Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry and Draco expectantly.
"What do you want to know?" Harry asked.
Hermione frowned at him. "Well, we've been worried," she said.
"This morning you were.... And now you seem...."
"Fine," Ron finished.
"Well, I do feel a lot better than I did this morning," Harry said.
Draco smiled, blushing and not looking up at that.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "So you are fine?" she asked. "Both
of you?"
"I feel okay," Harry answered with a small smile himself.
"It was the potion and Harry was able to burn it out of my
system," Draco said. "And the potion had some strange side effects
when combined with the binding."
Hermione looked to Draco. "I thought something was strange,"
she said. "Under a love potion as strong as Amortentia it was a
wonder you even paid attention to anyone other than Theo Nott."
Draco frowned at the infant gnawing on his silver fingers. Just
because they were silver didn't make it comfortable. "Son, can I have
my fingers back?" he asked the infant who just gnawed harder. Draco
tried to turn his attention back to the discussion. "I think we learnt
something about Harry's magic we didn't know before," he said.
"That it can't be overwhelmed by a potion, even one that powerful.
The two combined and it was ... decidedly uncomfortable."
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Hermione raised an eyebrow. "It hurt?" she asked.
"It made me angry," Draco answered. "There were conflicting
emotions that were too much like how I felt before Harry and I got
together."
"And that's why you were acting like that," Hermione said,
nodding.
Harry frowned, not mentioning the other things that Draco had
said.
"I wanted to go to Theo, badly," Draco admitted, looking down
at the bed. "But I was also still caught, not only by the compulsion,
but with my feelings toward Harry as well. It was like a war inside."
Hermione glanced at Harry as Draco spoke. He was frowning,
but not angry.
Ron made a strange face from where he stood. "So, was it Nott
that slipped you the potion?" he asked, sounding almost annoyed.
Hermione rolled her eyes at this.
"No," Draco said. "It was Pansy."
Ron seemed disappointed.
"I told you, Ron," said Hermione. "He's been trying to get me to
let him hex Nott all day," she explained.
He scowled at her.
Harry's eyes widened. "Why?" he asked Ron.
"Well – well – because," Ron spluttered.
"It was going to be on your behalf," Hermione said to Harry and
Draco.
Harry couldn't help but be slightly amused at how far they had all
come since they were last at Hogwarts. Ron had gone from trying to
fight Harry for being with 'Malfoy' to protecting and being concerned
about their relationship.
"While I appreciate the sentiment," Draco said, smiling, "I would
rather there was no retaliation for this."
Harry nodded in agreement. "I'm not going to pretend like I'm
not still pissed off," he said, "but it's pointless to start anything. It's
done and Draco and I are fine."
"You're sure?" Hermione said, looking concerned. Harry
wondered just how bad he had looked that morning for his friends to
be so worried.
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145
"Theo was not to blame. And Pansy, well, she has her reasons. I
don't justify her behaviour, but I would rather handle it myself,"
Draco explained.
Ron frowned. "Yeah, well, Theo was-"
Harry shook his head, knowing what Ron was going to say. He
didn't feel like getting into all of that again. And the fact that Nott
had been coming on to Draco still brought a twinge of anger. He
simply couldn't help it.
Draco sighed. "Nott was a close friend and he has lost a lot," he
explained. "He wasn't doing anything in that storeroom that I didn't
ask him to do."
Hermione nodded. "I suppose if Pansy did it, then it's really not
his fault," she said.
"He and I talked last week and had come to an agreement about
things," Draco said. "I think Pansy was angry about that."
Harry looked at Draco. "You didn't tell me that," he said.
Draco didn't look at his husband but nodded.
Harry stared at Draco curiously.
"My only question is: Why did they try to kill us?" said Ron,
eyebrows high on his forehead. "If, you know, they're your friends."
"I ... was wondering about that as well," Hermione said, staring at
Draco.
Draco sighed. "Blaise told them that I was under Harry's control.
He described our binding as something like a cross between a Love
Spell and an Imperius Curse," he explained. "Which, in some ways, it
is."
"Doesn't mean I'm using it that way," Harry muttered.
Draco took a deep breath. "They believed that if Harry was killed,
it would end the binding on me," he said. "Which is also true. They
didn't know how I felt about Harry before the binding. That had
been my secret."
"Well, I think it's rather stupid of them," said Ron bitterly.
Hermione sighed. "It was perhaps rash," she said delicately,
speaking to Ron, "but you and I would've done anything for Harry if
we'd thought he was under something like that. I don't think we
would've tried to get anyone killed, but I can sort of see their
reasoning."
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"Yes," Draco agreed with her. "I had been publicly dating Pansy
and secretly involved with Theo. Then suddenly, at the beginning of
sixth year, I dropped them both. At the end of that year, in which I
had been acting strangely to them, I am suddenly bound by Harry.
Look at it from their viewpoint."
"Like I said," said Hermione, "I can see the reasoning. I don't
agree with what they did, but I understand it."
"The potion is a different thing," said Ron.
There was where Harry agreed. He gave a small nod.
"I explained to Theo some of how I feel about Harry and that I
wanted him to accept it," Draco said. "I hadn't talked with Pansy.
And I don't think Theo would tell Pansy without my permission. She
still didn't know any different from what Blaise had told her."
"At the very least," said Harry, his voice unpleasant even though
he wasn't purposely making it so, "it was the wrong way to handle
things. Both situations were handled the wrong way. Both could've
got Draco hurt. And so I'm angry that it happened." He didn't add
that Nott and Pansy were lucky he wasn't more than that, or that he
wasn't going to act on his feelings.
"I don't blame you for that, Harry," said Hermione. "I agree that
it wasn't handled correctly."
"Only by your ideals of correct," Draco said. "It made sense to
them and from how they were raised."
Harry lifted an eyebrow. "You don't act that way," he said. He
refused to believe that Pansy and Nott could both think that killing
an entire group of people and using an illegal potion was acceptable
behaviour. He didn't care how they'd been raised.
Draco shrugged, remembering doing some pretty awful things
before he'd finally confessed his feelings to Harry. "Not anymore," he
said.
"I think what he means," said Hermione, seeming to get what
Draco was saying, "is that some things would probably affect them a
lot less than they might us. They have to know it's wrong to kill
people, but are perhaps ... more immune to the ... guilt, having been,
well, raised to be Death Eaters. And, like Draco just said, he's not
always been the way he is now."
Harry frowned.
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147
Draco nodded, smiling at her. Odd sometimes that Granger
understood him so well. "Apparently, it upset Pansy and Theo
enough that they didn't join the Death Eaters," he said. "They hadn't
known it could get me killed, too."
Harry was still frowning. "Well, it doesn't mean that I'm ready to
be best mates with either of them." he said.
Ron nodded.
Hermione sighed. "No one said you had to," she said. "I'm just
trying to see the possible motives for their actions. Was it right? No.
But maybe they didn't really think about it. Especially if that's the way
they're used to doing things. Don't take what I'm saying to mean that
you should go and make friends, I'm just trying to see the logical side
of it."
"Thank you," Draco said to her. "I don't think they are beyond
learning, any more than I was."
Hermione nodded. "I don't see why not."
Harry sighed. He couldn't disagree, so he didn't.
Draco looked at the now sleeping child in his arms and then to
his husband, a small smile on his face. "Thank you," he said to him.
Harry looked at Draco and couldn't help but smile at him.
"Anything, love," he said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. He didn't
like Nott and Pansy, but he could tell Draco did, or at least that he
cared about them. He didn't want his husband to have to give that
up.
Draco blushed and then hefted Valen up with his arms and laid
him in the cot.
Hermione smiled at both Harry and Draco and then hopped
lightly of the bed. "I suppose we'll let you get to sleep, or have your
alone time, or whatever it is," she said with a small laugh. She
grabbed Ron by the arm. "Just glad you two are all right."
Harry smiled in return. "We're all right," he confirmed.
Draco nodded and sat on the edge of the bed.
Hermione nodded too and pulled Ron out of the room. He called
a hasty, "Night!" before the door was closed behind them.
Draco sat patiently waiting to see what Harry would say or do
now.
Harry sighed, scooted up behind Draco, and pulled his husband
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back so that he was resting against Harry's chest. "It's crazy how she
does that, eh?" he said.
"Yes, pretty remarkable," Draco agreed, sighing happily into
Harry's embrace.
"I think it's how she puts up with Ron," Harry continued in an
amused tone. "She knows how to change people's minds."
"Ah," Draco said, rubbing his head against Harry's chest where
he lay against him, hoping his husband would get the hint and play
with his hair.
Harry smiled and snorted quietly, bringing his hand up to run it
through the silky strands.
"Ahh," Draco sighed at the touch. "You once promised me to
never stop playing with my hair."
"That I did," Harry agreed.
"And you always keep your promises," Draco said, sighing
happily into his husband's caresses.
"Yes," Harry agreed, still smiling.
– CHAPTER EIGHTEEN –
Helpful
There were only a few days left of their stay at Hogwarts, and as
N.E.W.T.s grew nearer, Hermione grew more and more frantic. She
had actually been conducting herself much more calmly than Harry
had expected so far, but that old unnecessary Hermione panic was
beginning to settle in. That morning she had snapped at anyone who
happened to disturb her reading, and then later in Herbology, she'd
nearly knocked Ron to the floor in order to get the best plant.
Harry stood with his own plant, trying to catch one of the wildly
waving tentacle-like ... things moving about. They were supposed to
be milking them or some such nonsense, but it wasn't exactly easy to
do, and he'd been squirted in the face three times already. Neville was
the only person in the class who was doing exceptionally well. Even
better than Hermione was doing. He hadn't got squirted once and
had filled his container nearly to the top.
Draco stood back with his hands on his hips, laughing at the
white sap dripping down his husband's face.
Harry stared at Draco with narrowed eyes, knowing what it
looked like he had been doing. He cast a Cleaning Charm but found
that the stickiness of the liquid seemed to stay put. He huffed. He
would have to take a shower after this.
"Argh!" Ron let out as his plant shot some of its goo at him. "I
hate these bloody things!"
Draco nearly doubled over with laughter at that.
"Oh, shut it," said Ron, pulling his wand to do a Cleaning Charm
on himself. "I hope you get squirted."
"You two just aren't doing it right," Hermione snapped at Harry
and Ron, in deep concentration as she bent over her own pot.
Draco rolled his eyes and approached the plant carefully,
explicitly following the directions given in the Herbology book, and
he managed to milk the tentacles. His hands were sticky when he
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
finished, but he hadn't been squirted. "You just have to have the right
touch," he drawled, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Harry.
Harry waggled his eyebrows as well. "And you and I both know
you've got that," he said.
Ron shook his head at them.
Draco looked past them to the back of the Herbology enclosure
and saw Theo staring angrily at the plant in front of him, sap on his
shirt. He sighed, shaking his head. Theo had always been good at
stuff like this but Draco recognised the other man's mood and knew
he was part of the problem.
Harry turned his head and looked behind him to where Draco
was looking. He sighed quietly and then turned back to his husband.
Draco smiled sadly at Harry then. "Do you need help?" he asked.
"No, I can do it," Harry answered, and then he looked over to
where Valen lay asleep in his playpen, checking on him.
Draco arched an eyebrow and made sure to stay out of squirting
range of the tentacles.
Harry snorted at him. "Well, I guess you can help if you're just
going to stand there," he said.
Draco eyed him warily, fully expecting he would regret offering.
He walked up behind Harry and reached his arms around so that his
arms lay against Harry's. He took the man's hand and showed him
how to grasp the plant in a way that calmed it rather than excited it.
With Draco's help, Harry finished a lot quicker, and thankfully
didn't get squirted again, though he had come close.
Ron on the other hand got squirted two more times before
Neville finally came over to help him.
"Harry," Draco whispered in his husband's ear. "I want to help
Theo with his."
Harry frowned the smallest bit. He sighed again, but it was more
letting out a long, quiet breath. "Okay," he said with a nod, tilting his
head to the side and back a bit to kiss Draco.
Draco kissed his husband and then stepped back, making his way
to the end of the structure where Theo had apparently given up and
was just staring off in space.
Draco stood beside him for a moment. "Having trouble with it?"
he asked casually.
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Theo glanced sideways at him, frowning. "Do you actually care?"
he sneered.
"Actually, yes," Draco answered calmly, and that got him a
suspicious look. "I know you are good at this stuff, so what's the
problem?"
Theo stared at him for a moment, seeming perplexed as to how
to answer the blond. "I don't know," he answered sullenly.
"Maybe you are a bit frustrated with other things and the plant
needs a gentle touch?" Draco suggested.
Theo grimaced. "Never had any complaints before," he
whispered.
Draco smiled a bit. "No, none that I remember," he said.
Theo looked up again at him, startled then. "I didn't know about
the potion," he said.
"I know you didn't," Draco said. "It's not your style."
Theo smiled sadly. "Not that I would turn you down if you really
wanted.... "
Draco smirked. "Yeah, always did well together," he said. "Not
where I am now." After a second he added, "And for the record, I
pulled away to protect you long before I got involved with Harry."
Theo's eyes widened and he looked away quickly.
Draco gave Theo a few minutes to get his emotions under
control, then asked, "So, think you can handle the plant?"
Theo was calm again when he looked back. "Yes, I think I can
handle myself well enough."
Draco reached out and gave Theo's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Good," he said, then turned and made his way back to his husband.
Harry had watched out of the corner of his eye and looked up
when Draco was approaching. He raised an eyebrow by way of
question.
"He can handle it now," Draco said quietly.
Harry nodded. "Okay," he said simply.
Draco leant against him, whispering against his ear. "Thank you,
love," he said.
Harry smiled and nodded again. "No need," he said.
Draco looked over and saw that Theo was indeed doing fine with
the plant now.
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After another few days of classes, the big morning finally arrived. The
same examiners that had been there for O.W.L.s were sitting at the
extended staff table for breakfast, and Harry thought Hermione
might die of nervousness. She'd brought all her things with her to the
meal and sat reading bits of parchment and books, her eyes flying
over the pages.
Ron was looking very nervous as well and not eating much. He
only sat looking at the 'brain food' Hermione had piled on his plate.
Harry was, of course, a little jittery, but wasn't too concerned
with the tests. He thought he would actually do pretty well. He knew
Ron and Hermione would, too, and was amused with both of them.
Draco only had one book at breakfast and it was more to calm
his nerves than to actually study. He was reading an old treatise on
Magical Theory. His son kept reaching for the parchment and he
shifted to hold it out of reach.
As breakfast finished, the students began clearing out to go and
do as they pleased, as it was a Saturday. Ginny had agreed to watch
Valen while the exams were taking place and collected him, along
with the few bottles Harry had prepared.
Everyone in their year remained in the Hall but moved from the
tables, Hermione trying to cram a few last-minute facts in. Professor
McGonagall waved her wand and the House tables rearranged
themselves against the walls. After another wave, there were suddenly
dozens of evenly spaced desks.
"Please, take your seats," she called to them all.
Harry looked to Draco standing beside him. "Kiss for good
luck?" he said with a smile.
Draco smirked, and whispered, "Always," before leaning in to
kiss his husband.
Harry grinned against Draco's lips and then moved with everyone
else to the desks. He took his seat and waited as the examination
papers were passed out. It took a very long time, or at least it felt like
it did. He had some trouble with a few of the questions, but did fly
through the Defence Against the Dark Arts test. He thought he did
rather well with Charms and Transfiguration as well, and he even
didn't think he did too badly with Potions.
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He'd looked over at his friends and husband a few times, but
couldn't gauge how they were doing from where he sat.
Draco was concentrating so hard that he had those tell-tale ink
spots on his lips again. He was so focused that he startled when time
was called.
Harry looked up and then quickly made sure he had written down
his name. He felt restless and had been tapping his quill for the past
few minutes. It was not easy to sit through so many tests at once, and
his hand hurt from the writing, but he supposed it had to be done
quickly with the special circumstances and all. He stretched as the
papers were being collected.
Slughorn was the teacher in the Hall with them, as Potions had
been their last test. "Your practical exams will start tomorrow
morning," he announced. "All of you are to report back here, same
time."
There was muffled acknowledgment before everyone began
getting to their feet. Harry stretched again before he stood.
Draco frowned at his ink-stained lips and cast a Cleaning Charm
before getting up and stretching as well. He smiled at his husband as
he walked over to him.
"So," said Harry, pulling Draco to him by the front of his robe,
"how do you think you did?"
"Pretty good," Draco answered, leaning in to kiss his lover.
Harry smiled against Draco's lips before pulling back. "Yeah, me
too," he said.
Ron approached then, looking relieved, but nervous at the same
time. "I left three blank in Potions," he said. "And one in Charms.
And one in Transfiguration. And two in Herbology. That's seven!
Seven questions I left blank." He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes
with the heels of his hands.
"Well, I left two blank in Potions," said Harry. "And one each in
Herbology and Transfiguration. You'll be fine, Ron. Probably do
better in the practicals."
Draco didn't mention he had answered all of the questions and
spent time going over the answers before he turned in the test. Last
time, he had done better in the written than in practicals. "It should
be fine," he said. "Let's go relax for a bit.”
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Harry nodded, looking over at Hermione, who seemed to be in
deep conversation with Professor Slughorn over her exam. Harry
shrugged and made his way out of the Hall with Ron and Draco.
They sat in the Gryffindor common room with everyone else.
Hermione had shown up a little later and bothered all of them with
her panic as the hours passed.
They'd gone to breakfast the following morning, and after the
meal, it was almost exactly the same as the previous morning. All of
the students cleared out and the examiners took their places at the
table Professor McGonagall set up for them. Instead of setting up
dozens of desks though, the 'eighth' year students were led into the
room usually occupied by first-years waiting to be sorted.
Harry leant back against the wall as he waited for his turn.
Draco leant his hands on the wall on either side of his husband
and smiled at him.
Harry grinned. "Yes?" he said.
"Kiss for luck?" Draco asked, lips closer to Harry's now and body
just inches away.
Harry slid his hands into Draco's robe pockets and pulled him
closer. "At this rate," he said, "we'll be the two luckiest blokes in the
world."
"I know I'm already the luckiest man alive," Draco whispered
against his lover's lips.
"Let's kiss anyway," Harry whispered back, moving forward so
that his lips were pressed fully to Draco's.
Draco tilted his head, pressing his lips and body against Harry's.
"Mmm," he hummed happily into his lover's mouth.
"Merlin, you two don't stop," Ron grumbled from next to them
as Hermione listed spells under her breath.
"Mmhmm," Draco answered, his tongue pressing into Harry's
mouth now. This was his favourite kind of stress relief. Who could
be worried about exams while kissing Harry?
Harry smiled goofily, opening his mouth for Draco. They
snogged until McGonagall stepped in to call the "E"s through the
"H"s and Hermione let out a strange noise.
"Good luck," Harry said to her over Draco's shoulder.
She either ignored him or didn't hear him, still muttering to
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herself. Ron shook his head.
Draco shrugged, knowing the only help for Hermione was the
test over and the results back. He was in no hurry himself. One of
the advantages of being wealthy was that his future did not depend
on how he did on the N.E.W.T.s. He would like to do well, but it was
a personal challenge not a public one for him.
Harry spent the rest of the time quizzing Ron on wand
movements, but then the "M"s through the "P"s were being called
and Ron sighed.
"You'll do fine," Harry assured him. Then he turned to Draco.
"That's us," he said.
Draco smiled confidently, giving his husband another quick kiss
and then striding after the examiner.
Harry followed and was then immediately led to a very old
woman for Transfiguration.
Though Draco was in the room with him, he wasn't able to pay
attention to him. Although he did think he was doing well, it didn't
mean it was easy. O.W.L.s had been difficult, but the N.E.W.T.s were
exactly what they stood for: nastily exhausting. He changed a desk
into a pig, like Professor McGonagall had in that first lesson, an
entire pile of different shirts into an entire pile of different trousers,
the point of which was to see if one could correctly duplicate the
materials and shape them differently, and the hardest of all, a chair
into a chimpanzee. And that was only Transfiguration.
Defence wasn't as bad – like he'd expected, though they were
very difficult spells, and the examiner even made him do more, just
so he could see the wandless magic. He'd had a little trouble telling
the difference between two potions, but it wasn't too bad. He
managed to not get squirted while milking his plant for Herbology
and did very well with Charms, getting extra points for the very
powerful Cleaning Charm he had displayed.
He was very tired by the time he was done and even forgot to
look behind him and see if Draco had finished too as he made his
way out of the Great Hall.
Draco was tired enough that he didn't want to lift his wand again
when he left the exam room. He suspected he did very well,
particularly in Potions and Transfiguration. His weakest area during
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
O.W.L.s had been the Defence. He felt he'd done better now,
especially since he could call a visible Patronus. He was relieved when
he finally made his way to his husband's side.
"You do all right?" Harry asked, yawning after.
Draco shrugged and nodded at the same time. "Sure, but very
glad it's done," he sighed.
"Me, too," Harry agreed, taking Draco's hand as he began
walking away from the doors. "Now we just have to deal with
Hermione until the results come in through the post."
Draco winced. "Maybe we could run away until they are back?"
he suggested.
Harry chuckled. "Maybe that's not a bad idea," he said.
"Let's go get Valen and go to bed early," Draco suggested,
wrapping an arm around Harry's waist.
"Mmm," Harry sighed. "Yes, lets."
– CHAPTER NINETEEN –
Truth Will Out
As Harry had predicted, Hermione was quite worried when the tests
were finished, and even though he and Draco had gone to bed early,
it hadn't meant they could escape her for the rest of the next day.
She went on and on about possible questions she might have
missed, spells that hadn't been as strong as she'd liked, and the fact
that her pig had been sporting a brown spot that she insisted had
looked like the wood of the desk from which it had been changed.
Harry was actually happier to listen to Lavender and Parvati's
chatter about the party they had been working on the entire week at
Hogwarts with Padma and her Ravenclaw friends. In fact, this party
was the only reason most of Harry's year was staying for another day,
as they didn't actually have to be there. The teachers sort of knew
about this party, and were only allowing it because Hermione was
very adamant about setting an age line at the door. They were using
the Room of Requirement for it.
Harry had been wanting to go home, but in the end, had decided
to stay. It was probably going to be the last time he would see
everyone in his year together and that had made him want to remain
at Hogwarts for one last night.
Ginny had agreed to watch Valen, yet again, with much thanks
from Harry and Draco. She seemed to like watching him, though, so
that took away some of the guilt.
Harry had showered, dressed in some clothes that he thought
made him look quite good, and had even attempted to style his hair.
He was ready to go and only waiting with Draco and Ron for
Hermione.
Draco was dressed in his best casual clothes and had used a
styling charm on the still-short hair. He grinned at Harry. "Ready?"
he asked, thinking about not only the party but how Harry dressed up
made him want to undress him again.
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Harry grinned back. "Yes," he said.
"Just wait until she's down here," Ron complained. "We can all
go down there together."
Harry knew Ron just didn't want to wait for Hermione by
himself. He shrugged, but they didn't have too much longer to wait.
Hermione came down a few minutes later, looking quite nice with
her hair tamed rather than pinned up or all over the place as usual. It
certainly looked like Ron approved.
Harry snorted at him.
"Very nice," Draco said approvingly as well. "Shall we go?"
Hermione smiled at Draco, taking Ron's hand. "Yes, I'm ready,"
she said.
Harry took Draco's hand and the four of them exited through the
portrait hole, making their way down to the seventh floor. It was
strange to be going to the Room of Requirement for a reason other
than to fuck Draco Malfoy, even though he had been in the room
plenty of times before he had been there with his husband.
Draco was thinking similar thoughts but he tried to keep it off his
face. He smiled at his husband, though.
Harry smiled back, looking sideways at Draco.
They reached the room within a few minutes and didn't hear the
music until they had actually passed through the door. Someone must
have wished for the room to be soundproof. It wasn’t exactly loud,
but it wasn't quiet. There were already several people there. The
room was very large, much larger than when Harry and Draco had
used it, and there were small little tables and chairs scattered about
the place rather than a couch or bed. Harry also couldn't tell where
the music was coming from. It was like the very walls were
thrumming with the sounds.
Draco looked around approvingly and saw that most of their
class was already in the room, as well as a few of the older 7th years.
"Hey, you lot," said Parvati happily, striding up to them. "Drinks,
food and other stuff is over there." She pointed to a table against one
of the walls.
"What have you got?" Ron asked.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Alcohol, of course, Ronald."
Hermione made a bit of a disapproving face, but sighed and went
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159
with him as Ron crossed to the indicated table.
"Drinks first?" Draco asked Harry. "Or dancing first?"
Harry smiled. "Doesn't matter to me," he said. "Though if we
combine them, don't say it's completely my fault if we fuck on the
floor."
Draco blushed and rolled his eyes. "Dancing first then," he said,
pulling his husband toward the dance floor where a few brave souls
had already begun to dance.
Harry followed happily enough, pausing when Draco did. "So,"
he said, "how are we supposed to dance to this music?" He did a
weird, goofy-looking move, and knew that it was weird and goofylooking, but it made him laugh, so he didn't care.
Draco laughed too but started dancing. He knew he was good at
it. Pansy once told him his hip movements on the dance floor should
probably be illegal in public.
Harry watched Draco for quite a few moments, his mouth a bit
slack. Then he realised that he should probably not just stand there.
He tried to mimic Draco, knowing he must've looked a complete
idiot, but he didn't care about that either, because the man dancing
like he was having sex with the very air was his and he felt rather
warm with the thought.
Draco was loving the way his dancing affected Harry. And once
he got into it, Harry wasn't doing too badly.
Harry could hardly stand it after a while. His hands itched to
reach for Draco and so he did reach for him, pulling his body against
himself. "You are very good at this," he said, voice low.
Groaning at his lover's touch, Draco began grinding his hips
against the other man's, holding him close.
Harry bit his lower lip, moving with Draco. His eyes slid halfclosed and were only focused on the blond before him.
Draco loved dancing but it was never as good before as it was
with Harry. He swayed and moved, using his hands and body to pull
Harry along with him. Like his husband, he was so lost in the feeling
he was oblivious to the rest of the room.
Harry didn't know when he'd started attacking Draco's neck with
his lips. He couldn't help it. At least he'd made it through a song and
a half. He was clutching Draco's arse through his trousers, and they
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were grinding together, and it was just all too much.
Draco groaned and tried to think. "Harry," he gasped. "Maybe we
should slow down?"
Harry blinked several times, panting. He realised how close he
was to pushing it a little further. "Yeah," he said breathlessly.
Draco swallowed hard and pulled back, his erection causing his
trousers to feel particularly tight. He grinned at Harry. "Maybe we
should try socialising with our friends before I drag you back to our
room?" he asked in low voice.
Smiling crookedly, Harry let out a husky laugh.
Draco decided a break from dancing might be a good idea and
led them over to the refreshment table. "No getting drunk or I won't
be able to stop you," Draco warned with a smirk.
"Oh, yes, because it's all me," Harry replied teasingly.
Draco leant in again, licking his husband's ear. "Because I cannot
resist my lion when he pounces," Draco whispered.
Harry shivered. "But my dragon's the one who starts the fire," he
said.
Draco chuckled and handed Harry a glass of punch, nodding
over his husband's shoulder at Neville and Luna standing nearby.
Harry turned his head. "Hey," he said to them, gesturing for them
to come over.
"Hi, Harry, Draco," Neville said, nodding to them both.
Luna smiled and was looking up at the candles floating around
the room as if there was something interesting about them.
Harry didn't ask. "Having any fun?" he said to Neville.
"Oh, sure," Neville answered. "Not as much fun as you two
maybe," he added good naturedly.
Harry blushed a bit and almost wanted to congratulate Neville for
it.
Draco grinned and noticed how close the two seemed to be
standing. He wondered if Luna knew that Neville was attracted to
her. "To the end of wars and exams," he said, holding his glass up in
toast.
Neville grinned and raised his drink, glancing fondly at Luna
beside him. "To Dumbledore's Army," he added.
Harry grinned widely and raised his drink as well. "No better
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161
place to toast it," he said.
Luna smiled again. "Yes," she said, taking a gulp out of whatever
was in her cup.
Harry and Draco chatted with other friends and with Ron and
Hermione. Ron was already buzzed and smiling pleasantly around the
room. They talked a little about Ron and Hermione's engagement,
and some about Fleur, who was not that far from delivering her baby,
and chit-chat in general. The laughter grew louder as the party
progressed and Harry was eventually buzzed himself.
He had no idea who had proposed it or how it had happened, but
he found himself sitting on the floor in a very large circle, getting
ready to play Truth or Dare again. He wasn't in the mood to protest
anything, so he didn't. Those playing, which was a good many of the
people attending the party, agreed to the rules and were magically
bound in the game.
Draco wasn't drunk. But he had had enough that he wouldn't
have considered it a good idea to fly or Apparate the moment. He sat
with one arm around the shoulder of his husband. He was curious to
see what the game would be like with all the Houses represented.
Lavender cleared her throat and Harry figured it must have been
her that had started the game. "I'll go first," she said. "Terry."
Terry Boot looked up from his fingernails and raised an eyebrow.
"Truth," he said before she could ask.
Lavender sighed, but then smirked a bit. "Were the rumours true
that it was you who wanked off on Filch's desk in fifth year?"
Terry's eyes widened and he flushed deeply. There was a long
moment before he nodded.
Ron laughed loudly.
"Ron," Terry called out in response. "Truth or Dare?"
Ron stared at him for a moment. "Dare ..." he said slowly.
"I dare you to sing the Weasley is Our King song," Terry said
with a grin.
Ron's ears reddened and he shot a narrow-eyed glance at Draco.
He, too, waited a long moment before beginning, in monotone,
"Weasley is our king, Weasley is our king. Weasley was born in a bin,
he always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley is our king."
There was laughter then and even Harry had to chuckle a bit.
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Draco got quite a laugh out of it. He had written the thing and it
had been one his favourite pranks that year.
Ron, ears still red, looked at Draco again. "Draco," he said.
"Truth or Dare?"
Draco arched an eyebrow and wondered which was the safer
choice with Ron. "Truth," he said.
Ron thought for a moment and then grinned. "Were you really
terrified when you saw Harry's head floating in Hogsmeade in thirdyear?"
Harry shook his head a bit in sympathy for his friend. Ron was
just not very good at this game.
"It was certainly disturbing but I think I was more angry than
frightened," Draco found himself admitting.
He looked around then and settled on Luna. "Truth or Dare,
Luna," he asked.
"I suppose I had better pick truth," said Luna in a matter-of-fact
tone.
Draco smiled, hoping to find out if his suspicions were correct.
"Who in the room are you most attracted to?" he asked.
Harry raised an eyebrow at the question and smiled a bit. It
seemed that his husband liked to play matchmaker.
"Well," said Luna without missing a beat, "I suppose it would be
Neville. He really is very nice and I'm rather impressed with his
knowledge on our world's plant life. It can be a very important thing
to know." She nodded.
Neville's eyes widened and then he blushed, looking down
quickly.
Draco smiled and snuggled a little closer to his husband. Maybe
that would push Neville to do something about it, he thought.
Luna smiled with raised eyebrows around the room. "I'll pick
you, Susan," she said. "I've always thought you had pretty hair. It
reminds me of a Racklespurt's and they're loved for their hair."
Susan simply looked at Luna for a few moments before she said,
"Dare."
And that was the way it went for quite a long while. Ernie
Macmillan had admitted to wetting the bed at fourteen, Su Li had to
run around the room as if she were a goose (another of Luna's dares),
TRUTH WILL OUT
163
Parvati had told everyone it had been her who'd clogged up the
Gryffindor girls' bathroom, and there were other weird, embarrassing
questions and dares. Finally though, someone called on Harry.
It was Zacharias Smith asking.
"Dare," Harry picked.
"I dare you to ... kiss Hermione Granger," Zacharias said,
smirking.
Harry's eyes widened and it was then that he remembered just
how much of a jerk Smith was.
Draco frowned and made a face but held his tongue.
Harry reddened slightly and rolled his eyes, turning to Hermione,
who was making a face as well.
"Why have you got to be such an arsehole?" Ron asked Smith
through his teeth, his ears red again.
"A dare's a dare," Smith replied loftily.
Harry rolled his eyes again. "Nothing against you, Hermione," he
said, "but this is like kissing my sister."
She sighed, her cheeks a bit pink. "Yes, I know," she said.
Harry leant in and kissed her quickly and it was the stupidest
thing anyone could have come up with. Smith was, indeed, just trying
to be an arsehole.
Hermione rolled her eyes in Smith's direction when it was
finished.
Harry sat back next to Draco, a tad disgruntled. "Michael," he
said. "Truth or Dare?"
Michael Corner raised an eyebrow. "Dare," he chose.
"I dare you to ... take four shots of Firewhiskey," Harry said
simply, getting a bit bored with the game.
Everyone watched as Michael took the shots with his face
screwed up. "Pansy," he said when he had come back to the circle,
and Harry thought his voice was maybe already a little slurred. "Truth
or Dare?"
Harry looked across at Pansy, watching her.
"Dare," she said, holding her chin up as if to challenge anyone
who thought she wasn't up to it.
Michael smirked a bit stupidly. "I dare you to flash everyone," he
said.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Harry made a face, rolled his eyes, and looked away.
Hermione looked very disapprovingly at Michael.
"How juvenile," Pansy drawled and lifted her shirt briefly,
showing off her breasts as they were scantily covered by a lace bra.
Then she pretended to be looking around for her victim.
Draco was not fooled by the act. The minute she dropped her
blouse, something in the set of her face told him that he was going to
be next.
"Oh, Draco darling," she cooed, "Truth or Dare?"
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned them back on Pansy.
"Truth."
"Draco, did you enjoy fucking Theo in the dungeon last week?"
she asked sweetly as she smiled.
"Fuck you," Harry let out angrily. Hermione put a hand on his
arm.
A few people eyed him warily.
Draco quickly glanced at Harry and then to Theo. Theo closed
his eyes, fingers gripping his trousers. The spell would not let Draco
answer anything but honestly. "Yess," he hissed.
Harry clenched his teeth. He honestly hadn't been expecting
anything other than Draco to say yes, but it was the fact that it was
being brought up again – by the person who had caused it no less.
And the fact that he had been letting it go when they could have
easily got Pansy unable to take N.E.W.T.s, and in trouble with the
Ministry even. "Fuck you," he said again to Pansy. "And fuck this
stupid fucking game."
He pushed himself to his feet, feeling like he needed to get out
lest he do something he might regret.
Draco scrambled to his feet as well then, following Harry amidst
gasps and whispers.
– CHAPTER TWENTY –
Sticks and Stones
Harry left the room fumingly angry, and began down the corridor.
He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but he needed to walk.
Draco strode after his husband, not touching him but matching
his pace. He was angry at Pansy too, for hurting both Harry and
Theo. But his primary concern was his husband.
Stopping suddenly, Harry leant against the wall, closing his eyes
and taking deep breaths.
Draco was breathing hard and deep, trying to get himself calmed
down. He reached out then, cupping his husband’s cheek with his
right hand.
Harry sighed heavily with Draco's touch. "Why did she – What
was the point of -" He couldn't even get a sentence out.
Draco didn't know if Harry really needed an answer but he tried.
"Just to hurt because she feels hurt," he whispered, knowing it
because it was how he used to feel. He stepped closer to his lover.
Harry didn't say anything, just pulled Draco against him.
Draco trembled when Harry pulled him closer, the other man's
anger and magic swirling over him even as the blond responded to
his body. "Yours," he gasped.
Harry nodded firmly, letting Draco's body against his own calm
him.
Draco rubbed his face against Harry's as he pressed him to the
wall, arousal quickly climbing.
Harry grasped the back of Draco's neck with one hand and
pressed the other to the small of Draco's back. "Will you dance with
me?" he whispered against his ear. "Right here? I don't care if there's
no music."
Draco mirrored his lover's hand movements, fingers of his right
hand in Harry's hair and his left at his waist, pulling him away from
the wall and moving with him. He let the memory of music play in
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
his head as he did.
Harry closed his eyes, so incredibly sick of being angry and hurt
that he just didn't want to even think about feeling that way. He
moved with Draco in the silence, dancing with him in the dark,
empty corridor, their breaths and the small noises of one body
against the other echoing against the stone.
Draco began to hum the tune in his head, face pressed to the side
of his lover's so that the low sound was shared between them. Eyes
closed, he swayed and moved, losing himself in the perfection of
dancing with the man he loved. No one else mattered.
Harry moved his mouth against Draco's neck, holding him more
tightly against himself with his hand.
Draco kept his feet moving and his body swaying as he began to
lick and nibble at Harry's ear.
Kissing the skin under his lips, Harry's fingers gently tugged and
pulled at the material of Draco's shirt.
Draco's hand at Harry's neck reached into thick dark hair,
tightening as he began to nip and suck at his lover's neck just below
his ear.
Harry pushed Draco against the wall then. He didn't shove him
into it or pin him with force, only pressed completely against him. He
brought his lips to his husband's, kissing him languidly as he
continued to pull at Draco's shirt until it had come untucked.
Tilting his head, Draco returned his lover's kisses as his silver
hand slid down to cup Harry's arse.
Harry moaned quietly, pulling back for only a moment to lift the
shirt off of Draco and let it fall to the floor. He slid his hands up the
naked chest to rest upon broad shoulders and then back down as he
brought his mouth to Draco's again.
Draco felt the stone wall against his back and his lover's hot
hands on his skin, trembling with his arousal. It was exciting being
right out in the halls like this. He didn't know if Harry was aware of
what he was doing or if he should say something.
Harry sort of knew where they were, but it was as if his ability to
care had completely escaped him. He might have Apparated had they
been at home, but they were in Hogwarts and he couldn't. So he just
went with it. He reached for his own shirt hem.
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167
Draco slid his silver hand up, helping his husband off with his
shirt. He had to release Harry's hair to help but was then rewarded by
access to more of that lovely skin.
Pressing his chest against Draco's, Harry breathed hotly into his
mouth as he reached his hands down to the fasteners on Draco's
trousers.
Draco moaned, hand reaching again for Harry's hair and his
tongue thrusting into his lover's mouth.
Harry worked quickly then, fingers flying as he worked the
trousers open and pushed them and the shorts down to Draco's
knees, which was as far as he could get them without leaving his
husband's lips.
Draco gasped, the feeling of being so exposed making him even
harder. "Oh, yes," he encouraged, sucking on his lover's tongue and
lips as much as possible.
Harry's voice was a very low hum as he quickly tugged off the
rest of his own clothes. He didn't know why he'd stripped them both
manually. He'd simply felt like it, but he removed the trousers around
both their ankles with his magic. The clothing landed next to them
on the floor and Harry was grinding into Draco, hands on the wall
beside him.
Draco moaned, his cock sliding against Harry's and his hands
roaming over the man's back and arse.
Harry hardly made a sound except to breathe and he was already
beginning to sweat, even though it wasn't particularly hot in the
corridor. "Lift you up or turn around?" he rasped against Draco's
mouth, cutting off any answer Draco might have given with a kiss,
but he forced himself to let up again.
Draco's head was spinning – the kisses, the caresses and the
words mingling. "Yes," he answered, trying to indicate that Harry
should choose.
Harry was confused for a moment, but then took the answer to
mean that Draco would like it either way. He brought hands to
Draco's legs, hoisting him up and holding him there with his body.
He remembered being fucked this way in their bathroom at home. It
wasn't particularly the most convenient position, but there was
definitely something about being pressed so tightly against a wall,
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
something about being supported wholly by your lover. And there
was something about being the support as well, the one doing the
holding.
Draco gasped, legs wrapping around Harry's waist and arms
around his shoulders. He moaned at the feel of cold stone against his
back and hot flesh pressing into him. "Fuck me, yes," he whispered
against his lover's lips.
Harry pressed against Draco even more tightly as he let him go
with one hand, bringing it below to prepare him. A low moan broke
his silence as he pressed slick fingers into Draco.
Draco moaned louder now as Harry's fingers pressed inside, his
own cock pressed to his lover's stomach, sliding against the sensitive
skin. "Oh, please, yes," he begged.
Harry slicked Draco's entrance and his own erection within a few
quick moments and then he was guiding his cock up, sliding into
Draco in one thrust as he panted.
"Fuck, yes!" Draco growled as his lover's flesh and magic filled
him.
Harry gasped, trying to get a hold on himself and on Draco as
sensation spread throughout his body. He gripped Draco's sides
tightly, beginning to move against him.
Draco pressed his face into Harry's neck as his lover fucked him
against the wall. The rough stone scraping against his back actually
added to his arousal and he moaned again as Harry thrust into him.
Harry made small growling noises as he thrust into Draco, using
what felt like every muscle he possessed in his body, including his
tongue as he turned his head and licked Draco's ear.
"Yes, my lion, yes," Draco gasped, loving the feeling of being
taken by his husband.
Harry groaned as his mind spun. It was exactly what he wanted –
to feel nothing except Draco in that moment. Nothing but Draco
around him, nothing but Draco's smell, nothing but Draco's voice,
and noises, and hands, and body, and everything. "Fuck," he let out
in a breath, thrusting harder.
"Yes, claim me, fill me," Draco chanted, feeling Harry's magic
rising with each thrust.
"Fuck," Harry let out again, louder as he spilled his seed inside
STICKS AND STONES
169
Draco, bracing one hand against the wall for support.
Draco cried out as he came, Harry's cock and magic bringing
him. "Harry, yes," he gasped against his husband's skin.
Harry groaned again, sliding awkwardly to the ground with
Draco. They landed in a tangled heap, panting.
Draco still clung to Harry, not wanting to let go yet. "Yes," he
said, "nothing and no one moves me like you do."
Harry hugged Draco tightly against himself, kissing his shoulders.
"No one does anything for me like you do," he whispered back. "No
one could ever be like you. We could have the most imperfect
relationship in the world and it would still be more perfect to me
than anything else could ever be."
Draco nodded, not knowing if what Harry had said actually made
sense to him but that it meant he wanted him. He hugged him tightly.
Harry remained on the floor with Draco for a few more
moments, holding him, until he jumped when a throat was cleared.
He turned his head, expecting to see a person standing in the
corridor, and was instead met with the sight of The Fat Lady's friend,
Violet, sitting in the painting of a field of flowers.
"Never in all my days have I seen behaviour like that," she said
haughtily, though there were pink blotches on her face and neck and
she certainly hadn't tried to interrupt them during the sex.
Harry made a face, Summoning his and Draco's clothes from a
few feet away.
Draco laughed, kissing Harry quickly before taking his clothes
from his husband.
"Guess we're lucky it wasn't anyone else," Harry muttered as he
got to his feet, performed Cleaning Charms on both himself and
Draco, and slid his boxers on indignantly. "You don't have to watch
us get dressed, you know," he snapped at the woman peering from
the wall.
She huffed and disappeared from the frame, off to tell The Fat
Lady, no doubt, what she had witnessed.
Draco grinned at his husband, blushing a bit. "Let's go collect our
son," he said as he pulled up his trousers.
Harry smiled and nodded, pulling on the rest of his clothes and
then holding his hand out for Draco to take.
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Dressed now, Draco slipped his hand into Harry's and then
tugged him close again for another kiss. "Home tomorrow," he
reminded him happily. He had had enough nostalgia for the moment.
Harry sighed, and there was relief in it. "Home," he agreed.
They walked together up to Gryffindor tower, and Harry walked
over to take Valen off Ginny's hands.
"Back early?" she asked, handing over Valen's toys, blanket, and
nappies as well.
Harry shrugged. "Just tired, I guess."
Valen squealed as he practically leapt into Harry's arms. He was
good with others, like Ginny, but always got excited when returned
to his dads.
Draco smiled, taking the rest of the things from Ginny. "Thanks
for watching him," he added.
"No problem," Ginny answered, leaning in to kiss one of Valen's
hands before Harry and Draco took him upstairs with them.
Draco followed his husband and son, lost in thought about the
events of the night. It had been a mistake to let their guard down
around Pansy. Maybe he spent so much time around Gryffindors he
had become too trusting.
Harry sighed as he lay Valen down on the bed to change him into
pyjamas. "Going home tomorrow," he told him as the baby began
playing with his own feet. "Can't wait to get away from this mess."
Draco sat on the other side of the bed, watching them. "Yes,
home," he said softly. Then after a minute. "I didn't want to answer."
Harry frowned, focussing on getting Valen's arms out of his shirt.
"I know," he answered, quiet as well.
Draco looked away, out the dark window of the tower. "The
answer was just about the physical, not ... not that I am happy about
what happened."
"I know," Harry said again, finally finished with dressing the
baby. He sat down next to Draco with Valen in his lap. "I know you
wouldn't ever do anything like that to us, and I know you didn't."
Some of the fear he was carrying eased then, and Draco crawled
across the bed, leaning in to gently kiss his husband and then to kiss
the top of Valen's head. The little boy reached for his silver hand and,
when Draco let him, began gnawing on it.
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171
Draco looked into Harry's eyes. "What do you want to do about
Pansy?"
"I don't know," said Harry. "I figured you wanted to handle it."
Draco nodded. "But not by reporting her. Then there would be a
hearing. That would involve public disclosure of what happened ...."
Harry made a face. "No," he sighed. "I don't want that."
"Exactly," Draco said. "I will find a way to deal with her, but not
that." He was relieved, not wanting to have to deal with the public
humiliation of recounting the experience.
Harry nodded. "You do whatever you want," he said, hoping
Draco didn't think he had to do anything on account of him.
Valen had fallen asleep in Harry's lap, clutching Draco's hand in
his fingers and drooling on it. Draco smiled down. "We make
decisions together, don't we?" he asked, looking into his husband's
eyes again.
"Yes," Harry answered. "But I know I don't want it blowing up in
public, and aside from that, what else could I do about it?"
"We handle it the Slytherin way. We let it go for now and wait
until there is a way to get the upper hand," Draco explained, smiling
at the trust his husband showed in him.
"The Slytherin way," Harry repeated, kissing Draco softly. "Deal."
"Anything else Slytherin you want?" Draco asked, voice low with
his pleasure.
Harry hummed in pleasure of his own. "Let me put Valen to
bed."
– CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE –
Tangled
Harry was glad to be home. His back-to-school experience, while it
had had its moments, had not been all that pleasant. He was happy to
be back in his own bed with Draco, and was happy to simply feel
relaxed. He found he'd been tense at Hogwarts nearly since the day
Draco had sat with people Harry didn't trust. And it had only grown
worse. Now he was home, and had been for a couple days, and he
felt tremendously better.
He was trying to feed smashed bananas to Valen, who kept
spitting it out and playing in the mess.
"Oh, paper," said Hermione from where she sat as a house-elf
appeared with it. She tried to give him a Sickle for it, but the elf
quickly disappeared. Ron looked to the ceiling, letting out a long sigh.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him as she began to read.
Draco sipped his tea and smiled at the antics of his husband and
child. Valen now had banana in his hair and had managed to get
some in Harry's as well.
Harry huffed as Valen slapped the tray of his highchair and flung
bits of yellow mush on his glasses. "You are impossible," he said to
the baby, removing the frames to clean them off. He glanced at
Hermione, who was reading the paper with a strange expression on
her face. "What's in there?" he asked.
"Oh," she said as if startled. She flipped to another page and
folded the paper in half. "Not anything really." Her voice sounded
almost too casual.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
Draco frowned, considering whether or not to challenge
Hermione when Leakey appeared beside him carrying a tray laden
with mail. He frowned when he noticed a couple of them were red.
Harry groaned when he saw the Howlers. "What now?" he asked.
Hermione eyed the tray, biting her lip.
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Draco immediately began pulling out the red envelopes. "Merde,"
he complained when one opened at his touch and began screaming
that he was a "whore" who didn't deserve to be with Harry Potter.
Harry's, Ron's, and Hermione's eyes widened as the screaming
continued.
"What the hell is this?" Harry asked as Valen began to cry.
Hermione bit her lip again, handing the paper out slowly.
Harry took it from her, opening to the front page. His eyes were
immediately drawn to the photo of himself and Draco, one from
when they had given their first interview. The headline was bold
enough. "Potter's Happily Ever After: A Hoax?"
Draco strode from the dining room and into the sitting room
with the handful of red envelopes and threw them into the nearest
fireplace, incinerating them. Then leant against the mantle, shaking.
"Go," Hermione said to Harry, taking the baby spoon out of his
hands as she got to her feet.
Harry stood from his chair and followed after Draco, finding him
in only a few seconds. He hadn't even realised he'd taken the paper
with him.
Draco's eyes were closed and he was doing his best to take deep
breaths. He could feel Harry behind him but didn't respond yet.
Harry took a few more steps and then wrapped his arms tightly
around Draco's waist.
Draco sighed, his right hand coming down to rest atop Harry's.
"Someone told?" he asked in a whisper.
"Someone must have," Harry replied quietly, squeezing the paper
still clutched in his hand.
Draco groaned and buried his face in the crook of his arm.
Harry sighed this time, closing his eyes as he wondered if the
week at Hogwarts would ever leave him alone.
Draco finally pulled it together enough to turn in Harry's arms,
noticing the paper in his hands. "It's in the paper?" he asked, though
he was pretty sure he knew the answer already.
Harry sighed again, brought the paper up, and read the headline
aloud. "It has to be where the letters are coming from."
Draco winced, closing his eyes. "I swear whoever told is going to
pay," he hissed.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Harry clenched his teeth. "This is all Pansy's fault," he said.
"Whoever told the paper is a dick, but she's the one who said it aloud
to a room full of people."
Draco knew it was true. Yet, he had known Pansy for a very long
time and knew enough about her to understand how she felt. He
frowned. He was going to have to find a way to make sure she didn't
hurt Harry or him again.
Harry walked away and sat down heavily on the couch, face in his
hands. "It'll die down eventually," he said, voice muffled.
Draco sat down beside him, taking the paper from his husband's
hands to read it. It didn't give the names but said that two sources
had confirmed he had had an affair with Nott. It figured. He beat
Harry at Quidditch and there was nothing in the paper. But the thing
with Nott makes the front page.
Harry didn't know what else to say. All he knew was that he was
extremely angry with Pansy Parkinson.
Draco finished the article and then tossed it aside, turning to face
Harry again. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of
something to say to his husband. After a minute, he gave up and
reached a hand to take Harry's in his own.
Harry laced his fingers with Draco's and brought his face out of
hiding. "It doesn't matter what everyone else is saying, right?" he said.
Draco wished he believed that. He grimaced. "Well," he said, "it
doesn't hurt us directly."
Harry frowned and sat up more. "What's that supposed to
mean?" he asked.
"Could the paper hurt you when they claimed you were crazy?"
Draco asked.
"But it didn't make me crazy," Harry replied. "I don't give a damn
what everyone else thinks about me. My friends never thought I was
crazy."
Draco smiled crookedly. "Well, I suppose when you put it that
way," he said, "it doesn't much matter." But it might be a while
before it was safe to open the mail.
Harry sighed again and wearily leaned back against the couch.
"Shall we go back to our breakfast?" Draco asked.
Harry nodded, taking his glasses off to rub at his eyes for a short
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moment. "Valen's probably covered the place in bananas."
That rest of the day had been something Harry hadn't wanted to deal
with in the least. Howlers weren't their only problem. By midafternoon, a concerned Mrs Weasley had shown up on their doorstep
as the representative for the rest of the family. Harry had had to
reassure her that he and Draco were fine, and that they were not
thinking about splitting up as the paper had said. He'd also had to
explain what the "affair" was, and had left out as many details as he
could manage, making it sound as if it had been more of an accident
than a deliberate attempt to break him and Draco up.
He stood in their bedroom with Draco, changing Valen's nappy
and dressing the baby in his pyjamas for bed as he kicked about,
drooling on his fingers.
Draco was feeling more unhappy than he had in a while. He'd
had to give the elves the order to destroy all red envelopes. The rest
of the mail had to be sorted through. He had burned them one by
one. Most had been addressed to him and were in the same mode as
the Howlers. There were a number of owls addressed to Harry
encouraging him to divorce Draco immediately. Some even offered
to help Harry 'get even' with him. He had stayed out of the talk with
Mrs Weasley but had the gist of it from Harry. Now he managed to
get himself undressed and fall exhausted into the bed.
Harry picked Valen up and lowered him into his cot with a few
toys, knowing he would fall asleep in a short while; it was already past
his bedtime. Harry stripped with his magic and lay down on his side
of the bed, then he turned toward Draco and propped his head up in
his hand.
Draco's eyes were closed but he was awake. He finger-walked his
right hand over to touch Harry. He was still wearing his silver arm as
well, having not got around to removing it yet.
Harry smiled at Draco's hand, but then returned to staring at his
face. "Tired?" he asked needlessly.
"Mmhmm," Draco answered, but opened his eyes to look at his
husband.
Harry stared at Draco for a bit longer. "Our anniversary is only a
week and a half away," he said, quietly.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
"Yes, our official wedding anniversary," Draco agreed, sliding his
hand gently up and down Harry's arm.
Harry nodded. "What do you want to do for it?" he asked.
Draco's first impulse was to say "hide," but he knew that would
only upset Harry. "Spend it with you," he said instead.
Harry snorted. "Well, I should certainly hope so," he said. "What
do you want to do about the binding?" he asked after a couple more
moments.
Draco took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "You really
want to change it, don't you?" he asked.
Harry winced. "Honestly? Yes," he admitted.
"Well, our anniversary would probably be an appropriate time to
do that," Draco agreed. "If we are setting up a new Great Rite, it
would be a good idea to figure out ahead of time what it is we want
promised this time."
Harry nodded again. "What do we want?" he asked.
Draco grinned. "Well, I have no complaints about how you're
always able to get hard for me," he said with an eyebrow waggle.
Harry grinned as well. "I rather like that, too."
"Most of what I want is in our wedding vows or inherent in the
binding itself," Draco said, hand sliding up his lover's side now,
caressing his skin. "What would you want promised from me?"
"The same thing, I suppose," Harry answered quietly. "I don't
want another concubine ... thing."
Draco grimaced at that but moved his hand in circles on Harry's
chest. "I want to be fucking you every day until the day I die," he
said, "but I suppose I will have to trust you to make that happen."
"Is that what it is?" Harry asked, scooting closer to Draco. "You
don't think I want to fuck you until we die?"
Draco turned his head, staring up at the 'H' carved in the canopy
frame. "I wanted you for so long and you didn't want me," he
whispered. "What if you stopped?"
Harry breathed a sigh and pulled Draco against him. "I want you
for the rest of my life," he whispered. "I want to make love to you
every day, I want to raise Valen with you, and have more babies with
you, and do everything else with you. I love you. More than anything.
It's not going to just go away. It won't ever go away."
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Draco gasped, close to crying. It sounded so utterly perfect to
him. He smiled, turning grey eyes to look into green. "More babies?"
he asked with a smile, his heart speeding up.
Harry leant forward and kissed Draco gently. "I already said we
could think about it, and I have thought about it, and yes. I want
more children with you."
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him tight as he
kissed him. "Yes," he whispered against his mouth.
Harry kissed Draco in return. "Yes," he whispered back. And
then with a small amused smile, "As many as you want."
Draco laughed. "It's a very big house, Harry."
Harry snorted again. "Yes, but if we plan to fill the house with
children, I'll be pregnant until I'm eighty!" He laughed as well, feeling
warm with the obvious happiness in Draco's eyes.
Draco smirked. "Well, at least a couple more," he said, licking
Harry's lips.
"I can agree to that," Harry replied, letting his tongue meet
Draco's.
"Mmm," Draco hummed, mouth closing over Harry's as he
began to rock his body against his lover's.
"I'll promise to fuck you every day," Harry whispered between
kisses, and gasps, and moans, "if you promise to let me."
"Oh, please," Draco gasped into his mouth. "I want you now and
always."
"Always," Harry agreed, raising his hand to cast a Silencing
Charm on Valen's cot. He grasped Draco tightly and rolled with him.
"Ride me, please," he gasped.
Draco trembled, the words adding to his arousal like fuel on a
fire. "Prepare me," he whispered, sliding up Harry's body so that his
lover could reach.
Harry slicked his fingers, reaching for Draco's arse as his
breathing sped up. He pushed them inside, stretching carefully but
quickly.
Draco watched his lover's face the entire time, his legs straddling
the man's waist and his hands bracing himself on Harry's shoulders.
"Going to ride you hard, my love," he whispered.
Harry groaned, his cock twitching. "Hard," he gasped, moving his
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
hands to grasp at Draco's sides.
Draco reached his right hand back, grasping his lover's cock and
positioning himself against it. He didn't break eye contact at all as he
very slowly lowered himself on to the thick flesh. He loved being
filled this way and was panting by the time his balls rested against his
lover's belly.
Harry let out a very long moan, sliding his hands across every
inch of Draco's skin he could reach as looked up into his eyes.
"Fuck," he gasped. "Fuck, Draco, so good."
"Yes, you inside me," Draco agreed, then rocked forward, letting
Harry's cock slide most of the way out before slowly sinking back
down again with a delighted sigh.
Harry's eyes rolled as he let them fall shut. "Merlin, Draco, yes,"
he hissed through his teeth.
"Yes, going to ride you for a hundred years and then still want
more," Draco gasped, repeating the slide a bit faster now.
Harry moved his hands to Draco's sides again, helping to push
him down as he raised his own hips, gasping with pleasure.
"Forever," he panted.
Draco began to rock faster, his and Harry's bodies moving in
rhythm with each other as he fucked himself on his husband's cock.
"Yes, forever and always," he gasped.
"And nothing will change it," Harry growled, opening his eyes
again to watch Draco's body atop his own.
Draco's hair swayed with his body and he was beginning to sweat
as he rotated his hips as well. He loved the way Harry's body felt
under and inside him. He could feel the muscles in his lover's body
and his own responded enthusiastically. "Yes, Gods, yes," he gasped.
Harry thrust quicker himself, and Draco's movements were
driving him nearly mad with sensation. "Fuck!" he cried out,
beginning to come.
Power erupted inside Draco, flowing up his spine and down his
limbs. He threw his head back in a scream of pleasure, his own come
painting his lover's chest.
Harry watched Draco reach orgasm with his mouth slack.
"Mmm, so beautiful," he said, his voice half a groan.
Draco shuddered, his body clenching around his lover's cock still
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as he slowly came down from his high. He looked down at Harry,
eyes shining with his love, and smiled.
Harry smiled back, gently sliding his hands up and down Draco's
sides. "We renew the binding on our anniversary then," he said
quietly. "And I will continue to fuck you for as long as we both shall
live." He grinned.
"Then we will have to live a very long time," Draco said, "because
there will never be enough times with you."
"Yes," Harry agreed. "We've already established that we will live a
very long time. We do have to have all those grandchildren after all."
Draco sighed happily, slipping off of his lover's cock and lying
down beside him. "Yes, lots of grandchildren," he agreed, mind filled
with images of the life he wanted.
Harry turned and kissed Draco's head, reaching to stroke his hair.
"You know, I never did grow this back," he said, tugging on a strand.
"Do you have a preference?"
"My preference is whatever is best for you to play with," Draco
answered with a smile, fingers of his right hand idly playing with the
mess on his husband's chest.
"Believe me," Harry said, smirking, "I could find a way to play
with anything. I like it both ways, honestly."
"Grow it for me tomorrow, while fucking me," Draco said with a
grin.
Harry grinned back. "Sounds promising," he said with an
eyebrow waggle.
"All right," Harry said, folding his hands in his lap as he stared at Ron
and Hermione. He glanced at Draco for a quick moment where he
was sitting next to him on the sofa.
"'All right' what?" Hermione replied, raising an eyebrow.
Harry didn't know the exact way he should ask their friends to
watch his husband and himself fucking. "Well," he said, "Draco and I
are going to take both bindings off," he began.
Hermione frowned. "Why?" she asked.
"They're connected. We can't remove one without the other, and
the first one is a bit of a ... hindrance."
Draco took a deep breath and released it with a sigh. "They are
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
layered magics," he added. "But we want to re-consecrate the
marriage binding immediately after removing the others."
Understanding flickered over Hermione's face and she flushed
the slightest shade of pink.
"What are you telling us for?" Ron asked, obviously confused.
Harry sighed. "Well ..." he said slowly. "We sort of need someone
to ... witness it."
Draco smirked, waiting for their friends' reactions.
Hermione flushed a little more.
"But, in a binding don't you have to ..." Ron trailed off, making a
face.
"Yes," said Harry. "And it's not like you haven't seen it before."
"Not by my own choice," Ron protested indignantly.
Harry couldn't help a small laugh. "You got to witness the
beginning of Valen's conception," he said. "Don't you want to add
another memorable moment?"
"You really are twisted, you know that?" Ron said to him.
"It only requires one witness, but we would be honoured if the
two of you would be there," Draco said more seriously.
Harry dropped the joke and went more serious as well, though
there was still a small smile on his lips. "All kidding aside," he said,
"Draco's right. We really would be honoured."
Hermione opened her mouth, letting out a small puff of breath
before she spoke. "And we would be honoured to be your
witnesses," she said.
Ron's ears went red. "Yeah, I – Yeah," he said after quite a long
moment.
Harry smiled at them both. "Thanks," he said. "I know it must be
at least a little awkward, even if you have seen it before."
Hermione shrugged it off but Ron nodded in agreement with
him.
Harry chuckled quietly.
"We want to do this for our wedding anniversary," Draco added.
Harry nodded. "Next week," he said.
"Well," said Hermione, face still flushed, "next week it is then."
Harry didn't know why he didn't feel too embarrassed. It would
probably kick in when it came time for the act. "Thank you, both," he
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said again.
Hermione let out a strange sort of laugh. "You're welcome, I
suppose."
"I suppose," said Ron, still looking uncomfortable.
"Well, we trust you both," said Harry. "And we'd be happy to
stand in for you if you two decide to do anything like this for your
wedding," he said teasingly, though he figured they would if Ron and
Hermione really did ask.
Ron pulled yet another weird face and Hermione raised her
eyebrows.
Draco chuckled and then felt the shift in magic as their son woke
from his nap. He looked up at the cot just before Valen started to
cry.
Harry sighed. "And duty calls," he said, getting to his feet to
retrieve the baby.
Draco was still nervous about removing the bindings but felt
calmer now that they had a plan. He had already begun rereading up
on formal bindings. He smiled happily as his husband lifted their
child into his arms.
Harry was lying on the floor, playing with Valen on a blanket. He
glanced up at his husband sitting on the sofa, who seemed rigid and
perhaps a bit paler than usual. He'd been so nearly all week, ever
since he'd started planning out their binding. Harry was worried
about him. He knew taking the binding off made Draco very
nervous. He was nervous about it himself, but Draco seemed much
worse and Harry didn't know what to do about it. He knew the
current binding was more of a problem for them than a help, and so
he didn't want to offer to keep it. He reached up and rubbed his
husband's leg, giving him a small smile.
Draco was frowning and muttering Latin under his breath. He
had ink stains on his fingers and lips again as he took notes and
tapped his quill to his lips when he was thinking.
Harry sighed, letting his hand drop.
"Have you even found how to take the binding off, Draco?"
Hermione asked from where she sat looking through a wedding
catalogue. "Your anniversary is tomorrow."
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Draco scowled but nodded. "I am just working on the
incantations now," he said, sighing.
Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "You never said you knew
how to do it."
Harry frowned and raised himself up to sit next to Draco on the
couch. He leant in and gave him a small kiss on the corner of his
mouth.
Draco took a deep breath when Harry touched him. He loved the
intense magical connection they shared and he didn't want to give it
up. "No, I didn't," he said.
"So you do know how to do it then?" Hermione asked, looking
interested but also wary of Draco's touchy mood. "Bindings are such
an interesting subject. It's like making your own magic."
Draco looked up at her, considering his words. "A Great Rite
combines the magical energy of two people so that they are
intertwined. I am not even sure that kind of binding can be undone
and redone. But the Concubine form only bound me to Harry. The
problem is that we layered Great Rite on top of the other form. I
believe that we can reverse the process, remove the Binding Promises
and then re-establish the equal form. But it hasn't been done before,"
he explained.
Harry hadn't even known that. "You don't even know if it will
work?" he asked.
"It hasn't been done," he said, looking Harry in the eyes. "At
least, not written about."
"Well, that's really quite understandable," said Hermione. "Both
bindings were unconventional. I've, of course, looked things up on
bindings myself, back when it first happened. You didn't use
incantations either time."
"Then why do we need to use incantations this time?" Harry
asked. "If it works without them?"
"Because of what happened last time," Draco said. "The
incantations are a controlled form of magic. Your natural magic is
not. We could end up with another accident with unpredicted results
if we aren't careful."
"We don't want that," said Harry. "It would make the entire thing
pointless."
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Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Or worse," Draco whispered.
Harry turned his head to look at Draco, as did Ron and
Hermione. "What?" Harry said, frowning.
Draco winced. "You are a lot more powerful than you were either
of the other two times, Harry," he said. "A mistake with your magic is
potentially a bigger mistake now."
Harry took a deep breath. "Then we'll do the incantations," he
said.
Draco leant over and gently kissed his lover.
"It'll be fine, Harry," said Hermione. "Just as long as it's
controlled."
Harry nodded.
Draco smiled and rubbed the ink stains off Harry's lips.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO –
Unbound
When Harry awoke on October 31st, it was to a husband in an even
worse state than he had been in for the past week. And Harry still
didn't know what to do. All he could think of was to try and make
him comfortable, but he didn't know if it was working.
Bill had come and taken the baby for the day to his and Fleur's
place, so there was really nothing standing in the way of removing the
bindings. Harry and Draco were only going to wear their matching
silk dressing gowns down to the hall in which they'd had their
wedding, since they were only going to be dressed for a short while.
Harry stripped off the clothes he had been wearing and pulled the
gown on, belting it. He turned and looked at Draco.
Draco's hands shook as he used them to belt his black dressing
gown. He picked up the parchment that had the ceremony written
out and his wand, turning to face his husband. His husband. What if
it didn't work? What if they couldn't re-establish it? His stomach was
churning now as he thought again of all the things that could go
wrong.
Harry stepped up to Draco, cupping his face in both hands. "It
will be fine," he told him in a quiet voice. "Nothing's going to go
wrong."
Draco closed his eyes, taking another breath and then opening
them again. He looked into those green eyes, feeling the anchor of
their magic and love. "I need you," he whispered.
"I'm right here," Harry whispered back. "Doing this doesn't mean
I'm going anywhere. Draco, I need you, too."
"I know," the blond whispered. Knowing and believing didn't
seem to be working together today.
Harry sighed quietly and pressed a kiss to Draco's lips. "I
promise," he said gently.
Draco kissed Harry back, trembling as he did. He turned his head
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slightly, opening his mouth. He could feel Harry's magic in the kiss
and it was the sweetest thing he knew.
Harry slowly pressed his tongue inside Draco's mouth, letting his
hands trail from his face to rub small circles on his back.
"Mmm," Draco hummed happily into the kiss. Today was their
first wedding anniversary and he would have much rather spent it in
bed making love.
Harry pulled back from the kiss before it got too heated. "We go
and get this done," he whispered, still holding Draco closely, "and
then we can shag through the floor."
Draco chuckled in spite of his nerves. "Yes, my love," he
answered.
Harry nodded, holding Draco even tighter before Apparating to
the hall from their bedroom, where Ron and Hermione stood waiting
for them.
The room had been set beforehand. There was a brazier with fire
and the same small marble table. Although this time, they also had a
soft pallet set up for the consummation part of the ritual. The table
was there for tools like the small knife that lay on it now. There were
two chairs set against the back wall so that Hermione and Ron could
witness without being too intrusive. Draco set his wand and the scroll
on the table.
Ron and Hermione didn't say anything. Hermione simply
grabbed Ron's arm and led him over to the chairs.
Harry did flush, like he'd known he would, but tried to ignore the
fact that he and Draco weren't alone.
Draco took both of Harry's hands in his and looked him in the
eyes. "You are sure you want to do this?" he asked, voice shaking.
"Yes," Harry answered, gaze unwavering as he squeezed Draco's
hands.
Draco's hand shook as he reached for his wand and waited for
Harry to raise his. "I, Draco Validus Malfoy, intend to remove our
binding promises. Do you, Harry James Potter, agree?"
Harry took his wand from the table as well. "Yes," he said,
making absolutely sure none of his own nervousness was showing
through. He wanted to be strong and certain for Draco. "I, Harry
James Potter, intend to remove our binding promises," he said. "Do
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
you, Draco Validus Malfoy, agree?"
Draco swallowed. "Yess," he hissed. He took several deep
breaths to calm himself. "Then remove and return your ring," he said,
having to actually remove his left hand. He cast the charm and
handed Harry the silver hand.
Harry took a deep breath as well, taking the hand before he
reached to remove his own ring, which he hadn't done since it had
been placed on his finger. He put the small circle of white and yellow
gold in Draco's palm.
Draco set the ring on his side of the small table and then raised
his wand again. "Incidere adigare, Uti Magicus," he intoned, flicking
his wand toward the ring.
"Incidere adigare, Uti Magicus," Harry said as well, flicking his
own wand at Draco's silver hand.
The fire snapped and Draco shivered at the shift in magic. "Pick
up the knife and cut us both," he said, setting his wand down and
holding out his right hand to Harry.
Harry nodded, taking the small blade in his hand. He drew it
across his left palm, watching the trail of blood follow in its wake.
Then he took Draco's right hand, doing the same to it.
"Incidere Adigare, Uti Sanguis," Draco intoned, reaching his
bloody hand to take Harry's.
Harry entwined their fingers. "Incidere Adigare, Uti Sanguis," he
echoed.
Draco shivered and the fire in the brazier leapt. He looked into
his lover's eyes, fear clear in his own. "Incidere Adigare, Uti Coitas,"
he said.
Harry tried to calm Draco with his own look as he squeezed his
hand again. "Incidere Adigare, Uti Coitas," he said.
Draco released Harry's hand then, and untied the dressing gown,
letting it slide off his shoulders and to the floor. He was shaking
visibly now and he was grateful that Harry would be topping during
this part.
Harry nodded, mirroring Draco's movements, wanting to pull
him into his arms and tell him that it was going to be all right again.
Draco glanced at the pallet beside them. He didn't know if he
could just lie down or not. He waited for Harry to initiate this.
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Harry could tell that Draco needed help with this, needed him to
take control. He took Draco's hand again, holding it tightly as he
lowered him to the pallet, taking his own place above him.
Draco looked up at those green eyes as a way to ground himself.
He spread his legs and bent his knees.
"It's okay," Harry whispered, leaning down to kiss Draco as he
moved slick fingers to his entrance, pushing them slowly inside.
Draco trembled, opening himself to his lover's touch and tongue.
Harry nodded again as he kissed Draco, reaching to prepare his
own erection quickly. He took a very deep breath as he began the
gentle slide inside of his husband.
Draco gasped as Harry pressed inside, trying to relax. He was
tense and he knew it was interfering with his ability to enjoy his lover.
Harry set a slow pace, making his movements as calming and
soothing as he knew how, moving his lips to the other man's jaw and
neck. He could feel the tension in Draco's body.
Draco missed Harry's babbling, but he had warned his lover
against that during the ceremony. Words had results. He reached his
hand up to entwine in Harry's hair and wrapped his legs around the
man's waist, anchoring himself in the touch.
Harry did keep very quiet, concentrating on Draco. The only
sounds came from their breathing and the noises of their bodies
moving together.
Draco's body was responding now, his cock pressed between the
two of them and Harry's magic crackling as he drew closer to his
orgasm.
As Harry's panting turned to gasps of breath, he felt a spark of
pain up his spine instead of the usual pleasure. He gasped a little
louder, confused, but unable to stop his orgasm.
Draco's orgasm hit like a curse, pain flaring out in waves from
where he and Harry were joined. It felt like every nerve in his body
was on fire and he screamed.
Harry cried out as well, eyes wide as his body seized up with pain.
"Out," Draco tried to shout but he was screaming so badly by
this point he didn't know if he said the word or not. He used his
hand to shove at Harry, trying to separate them.
Harry quickly pulled out of Draco, backing away from him as
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
painful sparks continued to shoot through him. But he didn't know
why Draco was screaming like he was.
Draco curled himself into a ball, still screaming and crying now.
"Draco," Harry gasped, terrified with his reaction.
Draco rocked and cried, pain in every part of his body still.
"Draco," Harry said again, voice shaking. He reached out a hand
to touch him.
The moment Harry's hand touched him it sent a fresh wave of
pain radiating out from the contact. Draco screamed again and
scrambled away.
Harry's breathing sped up with his fear. He noticed that Ron and
Hermione had gotten concernedly to their feet and were watching
from where they stood. "Draco, what is it?" Harry asked, afraid to
move toward him.
Draco was taking deep breaths, trying to calm down. The pain
was receding now but fear was replacing it. "Pain," he gasped.
"Still?" Harry asked.
"When you touched me," Draco said, shaking now. The pain was
a dull ache in his body but he was coming to a terrible realisation.
Harry went very still. "When I ... touched you?" he echoed. "It
hurt when I touched you?"
Draco forced himself to sit up, looking at Harry with wide eyes.
"Yes," he whispered, afraid to say it. Afraid that it might be true.
"It wouldn't ... It wouldn't hurt now, would it?" Harry asked,
heart beating frantically.
"Give me a minute," Draco said, trying to calm down. "Then we
will test it."
Harry swallowed, trying to keep his breathing even.
"Hermione," Draco said, voice still raspy from screaming.
She quickly made her way across the room as soon as her name
left Draco's lips, looking fearful.
Draco reached a shaking hand up. "Touch my hand," he said to
her.
Frowning, she slid her fingers over the top of Draco's, watching
his face.
It felt like a simple touch. He could feel the woman's magical
signature but that was normal for him. He sighed, withdrawing his
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hand with a nod and turning back toward his ... toward Harry. His
hand shook violently as he held it out to him.
Harry swallowed again. His hand was shaking as well as he
reached out and touched Draco's.
Draco was ready for it this time and it still made him gasp sharply
and pull his hand back, hissing.
"Oh, no," Harry breathed. "No."
Draco began to cry again and he sank dejectedly back down on
the pallet, face in his hands.
Hermione's eyes were wide as she stared from Draco to Harry.
"No," Harry said again, voice shaking very badly. "No, there has
to be something we can do."
"Reversed polarity," Draco managed to get out between sobs
now.
Hermione's eyes widened further and Ron even came over then.
Harry's own eyes filled with tears as he began trembling.
Draco fell back onto the pallet curling into a ball again and
sobbing harder. It meant their magics had gone from being
synchronised to having a negative reaction to the other.
Harry's impulse was to go to Draco, to reach for him, to do
something, but all he could do was sit there and cry uselessly.
"That doesn't – I mean – You can fix it, can't you?" Ron asked.
Draco moaned and began rocking on the pallet.
"We can fix it, right?" Harry said in a strangled voice, multiple
tears streaming down his face. "We can fix it?"
Draco felt bereft and lost, the loss of Harry's magic and touch
making him inconsolable. He didn't have an answer to the question
and it horrified him.
Harry gripped his hands in his own hair, pulling it as he lowered
himself, crying silently, hardly breathing at all.
Ron and Hermione stood by them, looking like they didn't know
what to do. Hermione finally lowered herself to the pallet, reaching a
hand out to tentatively touch Draco's shoulder. "Shhh," she hushed,
looking at Ron and then nodding to Harry.
Ron nodded back, gripping Harry's shoulders. "Just calm down,
mate," he said quietly.
Draco was shaking. Hermione's touch startled him but then he
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
tried to calm down. Breathe, he told himself. He felt shattered and he
didn't know if there was a way to fix what he had done.
Hermione Summoned both Draco's and Harry's dressing gowns.
"You can both just get dressed, and cleaned up, and then we can all
find a way to work this out, okay?" she said gently.
Draco forced himself to sit up and take the robe from her. He
Summoned his wand and cast a cleaning spell on himself. He
shivered again when he realised doing so for Harry right now would
not be a good idea.
Harry was still shaking as he too sat up, unable to look at Draco.
He cast a Cleaning Charm on himself as well and then pulled his
dressed gown on, his eyes red and still brimmed with tears.
Draco glanced at Harry and saw that he wasn't even looking at
him. He dropped his gaze again, staring at his feet as he sat on the
edge of the pallet.
"Okay," said Hermione calmly. "Now, what is it about the spell
that went wrong?" she asked.
Draco shivered again and took a deep breath. "It reversed our
magical polarity," he said. "Harry's and my magic were always ... very
compatible. Now they are incompatible."
Hermione frowned, as Harry trembled and looked up. "And it's
only hurting you because ... you're a sensitive," she said.
"I think so," Draco said, voice shaking. "It doesn't hurt you?" he
asked Harry.
Harry shook his head no. "It hurt when I ... came, but not now,"
he said.
Draco's brain seemed to be recovering from the shock and he
was thinking through the implications. "So I can't touch Harry's
magical field, or have my magic interact with him, without a shock to
my own magical field," he said slowly.
"It ... seems that way," Hermione said quietly.
"But what do we do?" Harry asked, his voice almost a whisper.
"The binding won't work if our magic can't work together,"
Draco whispered, staring at the floor again.
"Then how do we make it work together again?" Harry asked,
almost frantic.
"I don't know," Draco said in a small voice.
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"There has to be a way," Harry insisted, eyes wide. "There has got
to be a way."
Draco looked pleadingly at Hermione. He didn't know a way and
knew that if there was, it was likely to take time to find it.
Hermione bit her lip. "I will do whatever I can to help find a
solution," she said, meeting Draco's eyes. "I'll go through every single
book I can think of."
More tears slipped from Harry's eyes.
Draco looked at Harry again, tears filling his eyes. "Can you two
leave us alone for a minute?" he asked.
"Of course," Hermione answered quickly, taking Ron's hand and
leaving the room with him.
"I can't touch you," Harry let out in an unintentional sob when
they were gone.
"I know," Draco whispered. "But ... but can you look at me?" he
asked, sounding lost as he looked up at Harry.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut before he lifted them to Draco's
face, letting out another sob as he did.
"I love you," Draco said, shuddering with his own heartache
again.
"I love you, too," Harry replied, wanting so badly to pull Draco
to him.
"I'm sorry," Draco said, his throat feeling like it would close up.
Not touching Harry was like not breathing.
"Please don't," Harry whispered.
"Don't?" Draco asked.
"Please don't say you're sorry," Harry told him. "It isn't your
fault."
Draco looked away, eyes landing on the scroll, the knife, his silver
hand and Harry's ring. "It was my research," he said. "I made a
mistake."
"You couldn't have known, and I wanted to do it," Harry said. "If
it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
Draco looked back, sorrow and longing in his eyes. "It was
supposed to help me, I know that," he said softly, hand clenching
with the need to reach for Harry.
Another tear slipped from Harry's eye and he angrily wiped it
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
away, looking down. "Did it work then?" he asked quietly.
"Is the binding removed?" Draco asked, then took in a deep
breath. "Oh, yes," he said mournfully.
Harry covered his face with his hands, rubbing them against his
eyes to keep himself from crying again. "I can't take this," he
whispered.
The urge to reach for Harry was so overwhelming that Draco had
to grip his thigh with his hand to control it. "I'll find a way," he
whispered.
Harry's breathing quickened. He had never gone a day, in a year
and a half, without making love to Draco, and now he couldn't even
touch him. He wanted to scream.
"We should get dressed and get Valen," Draco said quietly, not
knowing what else to suggest next.
They weren't supposed to get him for another few hours, but
Harry nodded, getting to his feet as he continued to rub his eyes.
Draco rose too, wiping his eyes with the half empty left sleeve of
his dressing gown.
Harry looked at the ring on the small table and then picked it up.
"I'm still your husband," he said firmly. "Whether or not there's a
binding."
Draco smiled sadly and then reached for his silver hand, touching
it gently at first to make sure he didn't react badly to it. Then he
smiled again, picking it up and reattaching it.
Harry put his ring back on. "And I love you," he said. "Just as
much as I did this morning."
"Always loved you, always will," Draco said, nodding and feeling
his heart clench again.
Harry nodded as well. "And we'll find a way to reverse this," he
said.
Draco nodded and then had to clench his hands again with the
urge to take his husband’s hand to walk from the room. Not just sex,
but how many times a day did they touch each other without even
thinking about it?
Harry groaned, thinking the exact same thing. "Let's just
Apparate to our room, get dressed, get Valen, and then...." He trailed
off. He didn't really know what they would do after Valen.
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Draco nodded, not knowing what to say. He had never felt
awkward around Harry, not like this. "In the room," he said and then
with a sigh Apparated himself to their room. Their room. How
would they sleep in the same bed now?
Harry sighed as well, following. Before, they would have gone
together. This was going to drive him mad.
Draco sat down on the bed and sighed, watching as Harry
appeared.
Harry stared at Draco for a moment, and then crossed to the
closet, not wanting to simply stand and look at him. It was like
holding sweets in front of a child who wasn't allowed to have them.
"You should go without me," Draco said. "I can tell Hermione
and Ron where you have gone, then start work in the library."
Harry picked some clothes out and then came back into the
room. "All right," he said quietly, nodding.
Draco pressed his lips together. Had they ever parted without
kissing goodbye before? Not in a very long time. He nodded to his
husband.
Harry swallowed, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
"Love you," he said, unable to leave Draco without at least
something.
"I love you, too," Draco whispered.
Harry bit his lip, nodding again as he Apparated downstairs to
use the Floo.
After Harry left, Draco threw himself onto the bed and buried his
face in the pillow.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE –
Bereft
When Harry got to Bill and Fleur's new house, they were surprised by
his arrival, of course, and had even been able to detect that
something wasn't right. How bad did he look?
Valen seemed to be able to sense something as well, and seemed
confused by it. He could probably feel that the binding was gone. It
made Harry ache even worse. When he got back home,
unsurprisingly, nothing had been found yet, and they couldn't find
anything for the rest of the day, either. Harry'd been dreading having
to go to bed. He didn't know what to do about it, but the time came
far too soon, it seemed, and he and Draco were standing in their
room again, staring at each other.
"I should sleep in a guest room," Draco whispered, voice flat.
"No," Harry said quickly, making a jerky movement.
Draco winced. "Then how?" he asked in a low voice.
"I at least want you in the room with me," Harry whispered,
looking to the floor.
"I want ..." Draco swallowed hard, his emotions threatening to
overwhelm him again. "Yes," he agreed and then walked around to
the opposite side of the bed. They had sex so often, they had long
ago given up on pyjamas. Now he wondered if he should wear
something. He sighed and took off his robe, climbing into bed.
Harry raised his head, looking at Draco again. "Should I make it
into two?" he asked quietly.
Draco lay on his back, looking up at the 'H' on the underside of
the canopy. He looked toward his husband, every part of him feeling
like it ached to touch his lover. "Worried you can't keep your hands
off of me?" he tried to tease.
Harry sighed, managing at least a little smile. "Yes," he replied.
Draco turned on his side, facing Harry, and hugged the pillow. "It
hurts so much not to touch you that I almost think it would be worth
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it," he whispered.
"Draco, you were screaming," Harry said in a voice of reason,
though he completely understood what he meant.
"Yes," Draco said with a sigh. "Not the kind of pain I can
handle."
Harry bit his lip, still standing by the bed. "I don't want to roll on
you," he said quietly.
Draco rolled out of bed and called for a house-elf. Leakey
showed up a minute later. "Leakey, do we still have lumber left over
from the Manor repairs?" he asked.
"Yes, Master Draco," the elf answered.
"Bring me a board, about the length of my bed and no wider than
I am," he told it.
Harry frowned, raising an eyebrow.
Draco smiled and the elf returned quickly with a piece that fit the
request. "Lay it in the centre of the mattress, on top of the covers,"
he said, and the elf did. "That's good," he said and Leakey left. Draco
looked at his husband. "Do you think it will work?"
Harry sighed. "I suppose it might," he said, taking his robe off as
well before leaning over to knock on the board.
Draco climbed back into the bed, pulling the covers up and once
again clutching the pillow. His eyes roamed over his husband's body,
making him shiver with need.
"Merlin, Draco," Harry groaned, recognising the look. He
climbed into bed as well and covered his face with a pillow. "I'm
going to go mad!" he said into it.
"Yes," Draco agreed, voice hoarse now.
Harry groaned again and kicked his feet in frustration. He
would've already had Draco pinned to the bed.
"Touch yourself," Draco whispered, already reaching for his own
cock beneath the covers.
Harry swallowed, bringing the pillow away from his face as he
looked over at Draco. He bit his lip, trailing his hand down his own
chest to lightly grasp his half-hard flesh.
Draco drew the covers down his own body so Harry could see
him as he slowly stroked himself. "I spent six years unable to touch
you, thinking about you, and touching myself," he whispered.
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Harry hadn't pulled the covers up, so he simply lay there, stroking
his cock to hardness while watching Draco. He moaned softly, and
would've told Draco he could touch him as much as he wanted, but,
of course, he couldn't.
Draco watched Harry, licking his lips unconsciously. "You are so
beautiful," he whispered, "lying there wanting me. I can't believe how
lucky I have been. I have had more happiness with you in the last
year and half of my life, despite the war, than I could ever imagine."
"So have I," Harry whispered back. "Merlin, I want you so
much."
"Yes," Draco agreed, "want to feel the touch of your hand in
mine, your lips caressing mine, your body on top of me, your cock
inside."
Harry moaned again, body aching. "I can't stand it," he whispered
as he continued to stroke himself. "I can't stand that you're right
there and I can't have you."
"Yes," Draco hissed. He remembered how it had felt before and
he had the small comfort and torment of knowing, this time, Harry
wanted him, too. He sped his hand up faster. "I'm going to find a
way, I swear it," he said, gasping now.
Harry was arching into his hand, closing his eyes so that he could
imagine he was inside Draco's body. He stroked himself furiously,
coming a moment later with a deep sigh.
Draco had forgotten the flare of Harry's magic and gasped in
pain, still coming in spite of it, as Harry did.
Harry took slow breaths as he lay still. "I know you will," he
whispered.
Draco lay panting, half from the orgasm and half from pain. He
Summoned his wand, cleaning himself. "Good night, my love," he
whispered.
"Good night," Harry whispered back as he cleaned himself as
well. He closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep for quite a while.
Draco was a wreck. He had tossed and turned all night. He lost count
of the number of times he'd rolled toward Harry and clunked into
that piece of timber. He had a splinter in his right hand now and was
sitting up in bed, watching his husband. He ached so bad with the
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loss that he wanted to scream.
With a sigh, he pulled himself up, put on his silver arm and his
dressing gown. Then he stood beside the cot, watching his baby.
Valen opened his eyes and looked up at Draco, babbling a greeting.
Draco managed a smile at that and picked up his son. "Let's let
Daddy Harry sleep," he whispered and carried the child into the
adjoining sitting room to change him.
Harry hadn't slept well either. He'd actually slept hardly at all.
He'd spent most of the night awake, watching Draco toss around in
bed. He'd wanted to touch him so badly, even to just push him a bit
so that he didn't roll into the board. He didn't know what would
happen if they didn't find a way to fix what they'd done. He lay awake
in bed, having heard Draco get up and take Valen into the next room.
He pretended to be asleep. He didn't want to see the look in Draco's
eyes. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. One night
without his husband's skin on his own and he positively itched from
it. It was enough to make him fidget and bounce his knees when he
sat up. Harry sighed, getting to his feet and pulling on his own
dressing gown. He crossed the room to the door, pulling it open and
stepping through.
Draco had laid a blanket on the floor and put Valen on it. He sat
beside it, changed the baby, and sent the wet nappy to the laundry
with a flick of his wand. He whispered and talked to the child as he
did. "So, what mischief will you get up to today, my son?" he asked
the baby.
A small grey furred head butted against Draco's right hand and he
scratched behind the cat's ears. "You too, you beast," he said.
Valen squealed and started babbling again, the word "kitty"
amongst his noises. Suddenly, before Draco, or the cat, realised it,
Valen managed to lunge forward, actually sort of crawling, and
grabbed a handful of the cat's fur. Sredni hissed and Valen squealed
in triumph. Draco reached to grab the cat before it could retaliate.
Harry gasped from where he'd managed to watch. "Did you see
what he just did?" he asked Draco unnecessarily.
Draco grabbed the cat by the scruff of his neck. Sredni was
hissing. The blond then pried his son's hand out of his cat's fur and
set the cat back out of range. It ran under the couch, still hissing.
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"Good move, son," Draco said approvingly. He looked over at his
husband with a smile. "Good morning, Harry," he said.
"Morning," Harry replied with a small smile of his own, moving
to sit on the floor with Valen. "You're getting too big for your own
good, kid," he said to him.
Valen lifted his head to look at Harry, reaching a chubby hand,
grey cat hair on it still, toward his father. "Dada!" he yelled.
Harry laughed and his smile grew. He picked Valen up and kissed
him. "Say it again," he said. "Dada."
"Da da da da," the baby chanted, smacking Harry's face to
emphasise his point.
Draco leant back on both hands and laughed.
Harry laughed louder, kissing Valen again. "You don't do
anything half-arsed, do you?" he said. "You grow teeth, you eat, you
crawl, and you talk all at once." He put Valen back on the floor, still
smiling.
Valen seemed to be looking around for the cat. Draco chuckled.
"Did you see the move with the cat? Seeker's move," he said, pride in
his voice.
"Oh, completely," Harry agreed, watching their son.
Valen began inching toward the couch, as if the slow moves
could possibly sneak up on the quick cat. He was chanting "kitty"
again.
Draco laughed and moved the infant back onto the blanket. "I
am not sure who is more in danger in this, Valen or Sredni," he said.
"If I had to put money on it, I'd say Sredni," Harry said, looking
up at Draco.
Draco's eyes met his husband's and he nearly reached for him
then, having to fist his hands again to keep control. "I love you," he
whispered, voice full of need.
Harry's face fell. "I love you, too," he said quietly in return,
fiddling with his own fingers.
Valen scooted across the blanket to Harry, pulling on the fabric
of his robe. "Dada," he said, making the little smacking noises he
always did when he wanted to nurse.
Harry looked down and smiled again, raising his eyebrows. "Well,
all right," he said. "I guess you can eat." He pulled his arms out of the
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sleeves of his robe so that his chest was bare and then lifted Valen
back into his arms.
Draco watched as his son's mouth latched on to his husband's
nipple and he shivered. He had never felt so envious of anything in
his life. He looked down, picking at the splinter in his hand.
Harry continued to stare down at Valen for a few moments
before looking up at Draco again. "Don't worry," he said, despite
how he himself was feeling. "We'll find it."
Draco nodded and got to his feet. "I'm going to ... shower and
dress," he said, not knowing what else to say.
"Okay," Harry said, nodding. Even that hurt. He wouldn't be able
to shower with Draco.
Draco felt the same way, having rarely even showered or bathed
without Harry. He had known before that they spent nearly all their
time together, but the loss of touch made it so much more sharp.
Sharp and painful, he thought, allowing himself to cry in the shower.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR –
On the Edge
Harry was, indeed, going insane. An entire week had gone by and no
one could find any answer to Harry and Draco's problem. Harry had
taken to pacing, and itching, and sniffing, and playing with his
fingernails. Anything to distract him from what he really wanted: to
reach out and touch his husband. There had, of course, been a few
slips, but Draco would yelp when they accidentally touched and then
Harry would feel like screaming and ripping his hair out. They'd
looked through tons of books already, but the problem was that what
they'd done had never before been recorded. Why? Why did they
have to get in these fucking messes? Harry didn't know. And it wasn't
fair. Wasn't he supposed to be having a happily ever after? That had
been what was supposed to happen. But, no. Of course not. He was,
after all, Harry Potter.
He sighed and downed his drink before giving the old woman
sitting at the table across from him a rather fake smile. He really
wanted to roll his eyes at all the fake. He and Draco were attending
an evening party given by the Minister, an evening party mostly filled
with the wizarding world's ancient, rich, uppity hags and hermits,
who sat counting their money and over-pricing their products. He
was only there because Draco, in the process of rebuilding
investments, had wanted to come. Harry could understand why his
husband had wanted to go, but it didn't mean that he was happy
about being there. He was bored, and not in a very good mood, and
sick of the whispering surrounding himself and Draco. It had to be
about the article that had appeared in the paper and, to add to it all,
they hadn't been able to touch.
Draco had been saved the struggle of not touching his husband
by the fact that they weren't seated next to each other. He was seated
across and two down from Harry. Draco was talking with Reginald
Forblis, a man who had a "brilliant idea" to build a wizarding
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201
shopping centre. Personally, Draco wasn't too excited by the concept,
but he made it a policy to keep an eye on new ideas that came into
the rebuilding projects. The blond glanced up again to where his
husband sat squirming and trying to be polite. Under normal
circumstances, he would find an excuse to go to the loo, drag his
lover into an empty room and give him a nice reward for his
patience. In fact, Draco was so taken with the idea of sucking Harry
off in Scrimgeour's house that he completely missed part of what his
dinner companion was saying while he had been staring, and nearly
drooling, over his husband.
Harry looked up to see Draco staring at him like he was, and he
wouldn't have been surprised if his eye began twitching. He couldn't
remember ever having wanked as much as he had in the past week.
Not even when he'd first discovered what wanking was.
Draco blushed when Harry looked back and looked down. He
shouldn't have been embarrassed to look at his own husband like this
but with not being able to touch him, it felt like teasing. He tried to at
least pretend to follow the conversation with the contractor.
Harry sighed and looked away as well, shifting around in his seat
again.
"Harry," said a loud, boisterous, important sort of voice from
next to him. It was Griffin Skower, grandson to Mrs Skower and
owner of Skower's cleaning supplies, who'd been trying to engage
Harry in conversation since he and Draco had arrived.
"Yes?" Harry asked politely.
"Do you still play Quidditch at all?"
"Well, I haven't played a real game in a while, but, yeah, I
suppose," Harry replied with a shrug. He didn't look over at Draco
again, but Quidditch made him think of their match, which made him
think of what had happened before and after that match, which only
made him think of the frustrating fact that there would be no sex
waiting for him when he got home.
Draco was used to being aroused by his husband, but the lack of
ability to do anything about it was driving him insane. Dinner was
over and it was time for the socialising to continue. This was often
where he made some of his best deals, but he was doubtful of his
own ability to concentrate tonight.
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"Good man. Good man," Skower continued, smiling. "My son
just turned ten, you know. We had a pitch built at our estate for his
birthday. He just loves the thing, and I'm a bit of a fan myself."
Harry smiled vapidly and nodded, wondering if he was going to
get to the point.
"Have you met my daughter?" Skower asked suddenly.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Erm ... no," he said, thrown by this.
"Well, she would just be so envious of my being here with you.
She just finished school last year."
"Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
"Oh, no," said Skower, sighing. "Her mother wanted her to
attend Beauxbatons. It's where the Mrs went, after all."
Harry still had no idea what the point of this was.
Draco glanced over at Harry who seemed to be socialising again
and then turned back the contractor. He told the man to owl him a
proposal and he would consider it. Forblis frowned, wanting to go
into more details immediately.
"My daughter, Natalie, is a big Quidditch player as well," Skower
continued still. "She's followed the Wasps since she was just a tiny
thing." He chuckled. "She'll be having a game with a few of her
school friends next weekend. Would you be interested in coming?"
"Er ..." Harry said, trailing off. What was he supposed to do?
"She would just love it if you were there. She really can't even
pass up buying a magazine if you're in it, even just a mention of your
name." He chuckled again. "Would you like to see a picture?"
Something about this felt very odd to Harry. It was as if Skower
was trying to ... set him up with his daughter or something.
Draco finally got away and made his way closer to Harry.
Normally, he would just walk up and put his arm around his
husband's waist. Instead, he stood off to the side, trying to catch
Harry's eye.
Skowers pulled the picture out before Harry could even reply and
shoved it in his face. His daughter was a very pretty girl, who winked
at him, but Harry looked back up at the man holding the photo,
giving another fake smile. He noticed then that Draco wasn't in his
seat and then he saw him standing a bit away.
"Perhaps we can talk later," Harry said, getting to his feet and
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203
making his escape.
Skower sighed. "I'll hold you to that, Harry," he said with a wink
like his daughter's.
Harry laughed falsely and then gave Draco a raised-eyebrows
look when he was sure Skowers couldn't see.
Draco had to cross his arms to keep from immediately reaching
for Harry as he approached. He arched an eyebrow. "What was that
about?" he whispered.
"I have no idea," Harry said. "He was trying to get me to meet his
daughter or something."
Draco scowled, eyes narrowed.
Harry sighed. "You know it's because everyone here thinks we're
getting a divorce," he muttered.
Draco's mood hadn't been good, but it was positively nasty now.
"We are leaving," he hissed.
Harry reached to touch Draco's arm, but then stopped himself.
"I'm not going to meet her, Draco," he said, though he really didn't
have any qualms at all about leaving.
"We are still leaving," Draco said, voice low and harsh. He
glanced over to where the Minister and his wife were. "We should say
our goodbyes," he added, grinding his teeth in frustration.
Harry sighed, nodding. He made his way over to Scrimgeour with
Draco.
Minister Scrimgeour frowned but thanked them for coming.
"Nice to see you two out together," his wife added.
Harry twitched slightly at that, but nodded, smiling politely again.
When they were making their way back to leave, Skower grabbed
Harry's arm. "Going off?" he asked.
Harry couldn't believe how determined this man was. "Er, yes,"
he said, glancing at Draco.
"Well, what about that weekend?"
Harry pretended to be disappointed. "I actually have something
planned already, I'm afraid," he said.
Skower’s face fell. "Well, perhaps another time then."
"Perhaps," said Harry.
"Here. I'll give you my address so you can Floo over." He pulled
his wand and used it to Transfigure his spoon and fork into quill and
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
ink pot. He scrawled his address onto a napkin and handed it to
Harry with another wink. He paid Draco no attention whatsoever.
"Whenever you like then, Harry," he said.
Harry chuckled strangely and tucked the napkin in his pocket,
stepping quickly away from the table.
Draco was seething mad by the time they made it out of the
room and to the entrance hall where guests could Floo home. His
arms were crossed over his chest and his fingers digging into his arms
so hard the silver hand would no doubt leave bruises.
"I can't believe him," Harry said, eying Draco.
"Home, now," Draco growled, standing in front of the Floo and
waiting for his husband to go through first.
Harry raised his eyebrows before he grabbed some powder from
the mantle and threw it into the flames in the hearth. "Malfoy
Manor," he called, and then began spinning in the fire to their
entrance hall at home.
Draco followed immediately after, stepping out of the fire at the
other end.
Harry stood waiting for Draco and then stepped back when he
arrived, his eyebrows still raised.
Draco strode across the entrance hall, picked up a vase – a very
expensive one – and hurled it at the wall, where it shattered into small
pieces. One flew out, catching him on the cheek.
Harry gasped quietly, staring at the pieces on the floor and then
up to Draco. He could see the cut on his cheek and closed his eyes,
covering them with his hand a moment later. He would've healed that
cut if he'd been able.
"Don't leave the Manor," Draco hissed and then Apparated out
of the room.
Harry brought his hand down from his face quickly, frowning.
Just then, Ron came running into the room.
"What hap-" He stopped short, seeing the broken vase on the
floor.
Harry didn't tell Ron why the vase was shattered, even though he
looked confused. "Where's Valen?" he asked, and the worry must
have been showing on his face, because Ron's face suddenly looked
worried.
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205
"With Hermione in the library," he said. "Where's Dra-"
Harry cut him off. "Is Valen all right for now?" he asked.
"Yeah ..." said Ron slowly.
Harry nodded. "We'll be down later," he said, Apparating to their
bedroom.
Harry didn't see Draco around anywhere. He wasn't in the sitting
room either, or the bathroom, or his lab. Harry sighed, remembering
that one time before when he'd been unable to find Draco, after
they'd realised that Draco couldn't fly with his old construct hand. He
Apparated again, heading for the east turret.
Draco was standing in the space between two merlons, looking
out into the night. He heard the pop behind him but didn't turn.
Harry's eyes widened. "I thought you would be here," he said
very quietly.
Draco shivered and he wasn't sure if it was from the cool night
air. "I can't take it," he said, voice low so he wasn't even sure if Harry
could hear him.
"It's only been a week," Harry said, still quiet but stepping a little
closer. "We'll find a way," he insisted.
"I meant it, you know," Draco said. "That I couldn't live if I
couldn't have you."
"But I'm right here," Harry said nervously. "You still have me."
Draco trembled again, looking down at the concrete walkway
below. The walkway where the moat would have been in previous
generations. He still hadn't turned around to look at his husband.
"Draco," Harry said, stepping even closer. "I'm right here."
"Right there, but out of reach," Draco said. Anger flooded him
again and he was shaking once more.
"Then we'll find the way to reverse what we did," Harry
continued. "Draco, we will. I promise we will."
"And if we can't?" Draco asked, voice shaking, too.
"But we will," Harry said, a violent shiver going through him with
the possibility of Draco's words.
Draco was shaking so bad now that if he stayed on the edge of
the tower, he was likely to fall by accident if not on purpose.
"Promise?" he asked.
"Yes," Harry breathed, nearly overwhelmed with the need to pull
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Draco into his arms again.
"And Harry Potter always keeps his promises," Draco said, trying
to reassure himself. He stepped back from between the merlons,
losing his footing and falling to his arse on the stone floor of the
tower.
Harry leapt forward in panic as Draco got down but then sighed
with relief. "Are you okay?" he asked, unable to help him up.
Draco was crying now, tears falling quietly as he looked up at
Harry. "No," he said.
Harry sunk to the ground with him, getting as close as he dared.
"Merlin, Draco, this hurts so much," he whispered, fighting to keep
his own tears away. "Because I don't want to watch you like this. I
don't want you to cry and feel like you have to throw yourself off a
tower. Draco, I love you. I love you more than anything in the entire
world. And I promise that all of this will be okay. I promise."
"Kiss me," Draco whispered.
Harry was silent for a moment. "But I ... I don't want to hurt
you," he whispered back.
"I don't care if it hurts," Draco said.
Harry swallowed and licked his lips, frowning as he leant forward
and pressed his lips to his husband's.
Draco grabbed Harry's face with both hands, holding tight as the
pain shot through his body. He couldn't hold on for even an entire
minute but he forced himself to try. Then he fell back, writhing on
the ground and shuddering.
Harry began to cry, shuddering himself as he watched Draco. He
had thought, for a fleeting instant, that that kiss wouldn't hurt him.
Draco breathed deeply, trying to get himself back under control.
The pain was like Cruciatus. He could have handled anything less, he
told himself. He would have, if it meant he got to touch Harry. He
had tried but failed.
Harry continued to cry, burying his face in his hands.
Draco wiped his tears away and looked at Harry. "I'm sorry," he
whispered. "I shouldn't have made you do that."
"Oh, God," Harry groaned through his sobs. "I'm going to the
library," he said through his uneven breathing, lifting his tear-streaked
face. "I'm not leaving there until I find something."
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207
"No, go feed our son," Draco said, managing to get to his feet.
"I'll go to the library."
"I'll feed him in the library," Harry said, sniffing as he stood as
well.
"I love you, no matter what happens, I love you," Draco said.
Harry wiped the sleeve of his expensive robes across his eyes. "I
know," he said thickly. "And Griffin Skower's daughter can kiss my
arse."
"No, she can't," Draco said, half growl, half laugh.
Harry managed a tearful laugh, too.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE –
Cold
After another week of no touching, Harry was sure he had crossed
the line between going mad, and being mad, because he was pretty
sure he was mad now. He paced even more, and couldn't sit still, and
the fact that Draco was always in the same room with him made
everything so much worse. But he couldn't bear to have the blond
out of his sight, so there really was no in between.
If he wasn't reading with Draco, he was chasing Valen around,
who, after the first night of crawling just a little, had astoundingly
gained speed and ability faster than Harry would have thought
possible. Harry had taken to putting magical barriers on the doorways
when Valen was in the room. Which, of course, hurt Draco when he
accidentally walked into them since they were invisible. Harry
wondered if he would be bald by the next weekend with all the hairpulling stress.
Ron and Hermione were really trying to help Harry and Draco
tremendously as well, but it was hard for them, as they wanted their
wedding in the summer and had a lot of planning to do. Plus, Ron
insisted on paying for it himself and was trying to find work, which
was stress enough for him. Hermione had already been talking with
some people she'd met in the Ministry while she'd been helping
Scrimgeour with the Muggles during war-time, so they were swamped
with their own problems.
Harry sat at the dining room table for dinner that night, once
again trying to feed Valen his baby food while not getting the gooey,
sloppy food on himself.
"Let me feed him," Draco said with a huff. "I'm done, anyway."
He sent his plate back to the kitchen.
Harry turned his head and frowned at Draco. "We just got in
here," he said. "How can you be done already?"
Draco rolled his eyes and held his hand out for the baby spoon –
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silver, of course. "Just let me feed him," he insisted.
Harry narrowed his eyes. "You didn't eat any of it, did you?" he
asked.
"I ate, now give me the fucking spoon," Draco snapped and
Valen's eyes widened, looking like he was about to cry.
"No," Harry said, trying to keep from snapping himself. "I'll feed
the baby and you're going to feed yourself. I know how you get, and I
know you didn't eat anything just now, and I know you didn't eat
lunch or breakfast today because you were in the library. I know you
haven't been eating well all this week, but I didn't say anything. You
are going to eat now, though."
Draco stood up, his chair falling back with a slam and he stormed
out of the room.
Harry growled in frustration. He didn't know where Ron and
Hermione were at that moment, so he picked Valen up and followed
after Draco with the baby. "Draco, stop!" he called. "I'm not going to
start a fight with you over something so bloody stupid!"
"Good," Draco snapped as he headed back to the study.
Harry followed him there too and placed Valen on the floor once
he'd reached the room. "Why are you being like this?" he asked.
"He will get into the books again," Draco said, watching the
infant head straight for the nearest bookcase.
"You're avoiding my question," Harry said, walking over to Valen
and redirecting him anyway.
"I ... I don't know what you want from me," Draco stammered.
"I'm doing the best I can. I just can't ...." His voice broke and he
turned away.
Harry covered his face for a moment. "I know you are," he said
quietly. "But I don't – I don't want you to – God, this feels like the
fucking serpent all over again, Draco. I don't want to go back to
that."
"At least I could still touch you then," Draco said, back still
turned.
Harry groaned, dropping into a chair. "I love you," he whispered.
"And I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"I know," Draco whispered and then looked down to where his
son was pulling on his trousers. The baby still had food on his face
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and in his hair. Draco bent down and picked up the little boy. "Sorry,
Valen," he said softly and winced when the boy patted him with
sticky fingers.
Harry looked up at his husband and child, wishing he could wrap
his arms around them both. He got to his feet. "Will you eat better
then, love?" he asked quietly.
"I will try harder," Draco said, taking his wand and casting a
Cleaning Charm on Valen.
Harry sighed, figuring that was as good as it was going to get. He
nodded, knowing it would hurt to tell Draco he would kiss him if he
could.
Draco led the way back to the dining room, Valen seeming
happier. He put the child back in his high chair and sat down beside
him, picking up the spoon and starting to feed his son.
Harry sat in his chair again, having lost his own appetite. He
picked his fork up and began to eat anyway, though, simply because
he couldn't not after what had just happened. He didn't know what
he would do if Draco got worse. There was no binding anymore.
Harry couldn't make him do anything.
"Dada," Valen said and threw spinach at Draco's face. Draco
huffed, reaching for a napkin to wipe himself. "I said I would eat,
don't you start too," he complained.
Harry couldn't help a small smile and a light chuckle at that. "We
can't help it," he said to Draco. "We love you."
Draco smiled at him then, too. It wasn't a full smile, but it was
still real.
As days and weeks went by, there still came no answers from any
books. Draco had cleared half the library already and hardly did
anything but read. Harry couldn't believe it had been forty-two days
since he'd truly touched his husband. He hadn't thought it possible.
They'd been eating breakfast with Ron and Hermione when
Leakey had appeared with an "urgent message" from Bill. Fleur's
water had broken and she was already at St Mungo's. And so they
had all hurried to get showered and dressed and had arrived at the
hospital. Their hurry wasn't needed though, since they'd now been
sitting there for an hour already. The waiting room was filled with
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nervous and excited Weasleys and Delacours. Fleur's parents and
sister had arrived a short while ago by Portkey. Harry sat in one of
the slightly uncomfortable chairs, having hidden three magazines in
his robe from Draco. They featured articles on their supposed falling
out, and he really didn't want his husband in any sort of mood. Harry
was feeling rather down himself. He was very happy for Bill and
Fleur, but couldn't help thinking about his and Draco's own inability
to have children while in their current predicament.
Draco had gone over to pay his respects to Fleur's family and was
speaking with them in French. He gestured toward Harry and Valen,
telling them who they were. Apparently either Fleur had talked about
them, the news coverage had reached them, or both, because they
were excited and wanted to talk to Harry. He led them over.
Harry smiled and looked up when Draco moved toward him.
Fleur's mother was very, very beautiful, and sported the same long,
blonde locks as both her daughters, and her age was barely
detectable, not that she could be very old anyway. Her father was a
handsome man, but more average-looking with light brown hair and
a clean-shaven face. Harry had seen them both at Bill and Fleur's
wedding, but hadn't actually ever really talked to them.
Draco interpreted for Harry, though Fleur's family did speak
some English. They ooh'd and ahh'd over Valen, saying how
beautiful he was. Valen started pulling on Harry's shirt, saying "dada"
and making his little sucking noises.
Harry stared down at his son and shook his head at him. "Always
while I'm in the middle of something, eh?" he said. He got to his feet,
holding Valen to his chest so that the magazines inside wouldn't fall
out. "I suppose I'll go find somewhere to feed him," he said to
Draco. And to Fleur's family he gave a smile and shook their hands.
"Pleasure to meet you again," he said.
Draco looked longingly after his husband and then caught
himself. He noticed sympathetic looks from some people in the room
and frowned. No one outside of Hermione and Ron really knew what
the problem was. Then he noticed a magazine on the floor of the
room – with a picture of the three of them and a big lightning bolt
striking them and sizzling before repeating again. He frowned,
picking it up. The headline screamed "Potter-Malfoy Break-up!"
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Then he made the mistake of opening the magazine and reading the
article. Within minutes, he was ripping it to shreds while others in the
room stared at him.
"Guess he doesn't like the writing ...?" said Fred.
Mrs Weasley glared at her son.
Hermione quickly moved forward and began picking the pieces
of the magazine up as the woman at a desk not far away gave Draco a
very dirty look, as if she might say something to him.
George opened his mouth to say something next but Ron shook
his head seriously enough to shut him up.
Draco looked at Hermione, opened his mouth to say something
and then closed it again. He closed his eyes and took several deep
breaths. "I'm going for a walk," he whispered to her.
She sighed quietly and nodded. "Okay," she whispered back,
touching his arm briefly.
Everyone was still staring at him.
"Thank you," he said and then strode out of the room, heading
for the front door of the building.
Harry came back into the waiting room after a few minutes,
holding a happily squirming Valen. Then he noticed the staring. He
raised his eyebrows.
Hermione got to her feet, crossing to him quickly and taking
Valen out of his arms. "Draco said he was taking a walk," she said
quietly.
Harry frowned.
She held out a badly crinkled up magazine then, one that had
obviously had a Reparo done to it. He read the headline and groaned.
He'd thought he'd got them all. "Where did he go?" he asked.
"He left the building," she said, biting her lip.
Harry groaned again. "Will you-"
"Yes, I'll watch him," she said before he could ask.
Harry nodded, turning to head out as well.
Draco had just begun walking. He was several blocks away when
he realised things looked familiar. He snorted in unpleasant humour
when he remembered this was where he had gone that night so long
ago when he had walked out of St Mungo's with a construct hand
and ended up being beat by several Muggle men. He walked further
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and came to the park where Harry had made love to him, trying to
save him. Did save him. He stood looking at the spot in the snow,
feeling sad that even that rough touch was something he now longed
for. He sunk to his knees then, fingers digging into the snow as he
began to cry.
Harry quickly strode out the door and began making his way
down streets, wondering at the strange looks people were giving him.
Then he realised it was probably because of the billowing robe he
was wearing over his clothes. He ignored it though. It was too bloody
cold to take it off. He wrapped his arms around himself as he
continued to search for his husband, wondering if Draco had
anything on over his clothes.
And then he too began to recognise his surroundings. Thinking
he might know where Draco was, he made his way to that same park
and could make out a familiar blond sitting in the snow on the
opposite side.
Draco was shivering, fingers red as he dug through the snow to
the dead grass underneath. He was sobbing now and anyone who
saw him would probably think him mentally unbalanced. He snorted
at the thought. He knew he was losing it but didn't know what to do
about it.
Harry crossed to his husband, feeling his own eyes tear up when
he could see him clearly. "Draco," he said in a voice hardly above a
whisper.
Draco didn't respond at first but then looked up in confusion,
before he realised Harry was standing there.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, and his voice cracked as he
said it. A few tears got out but he quickly wiped them away. He knew
they were standing in the exact spot where they'd had sex.
Draco blinked. His face was pale except for red splotches on his
cheeks and nose. He was shivering. "I ... I went for a walk," he said
softly.
Harry took his robe off and held it out. He would've wrapped it
around Draco himself, but didn't want to hurt him. The thought only
made another few tears fall. "I see that," he said shakily.
"I couldn't see the grass," Draco said, knowing he wasn't making
any sense, unsure if he was even capable of it.
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Harry sniffed, both from crying and the cold. He shook the
offered robe to try and get Draco to take it. His husband's words
scared him and he didn't know what to say.
Draco lifted his hands, which were red and wet, and dropped the
snow. He blinked at them and then looked at the robe. "That's
yours," he said. "You need it or you will get cold."
Harry frowned. "Just – just take it," he said, sniffling again. "And
... we should get back. Fleur could deliver any minute."
Draco nodded, reaching shaking hands for the robe. He had the
powerful urge to grab Harry's hand as he did. Maybe if he just hung
on until it killed him or fixed the problem? He paused, trying to think
through the idea but then shook his head, grasping the fabric and
getting slowly to his feet. His legs felt numb and cold. It reminded
him of what it was like when they forgot ... before... when they were
still bound.
"Let's go back," Harry said, still frowning worriedly at Draco.
Draco was still holding the robe but hadn't put it on yet. He
nodded slowly and then draped it over his shoulders.
Harry's frown grew and he was almost tempted to make Draco
walk ahead of him, but he settled for standing beside him. "Come
on," he said, feeling like he was coaxing him.
Draco nodded and began to walk, looking around confused.
"Where?" he asked.
Harry's eyes widened. "What do you mean where?" he said, his
fear growing. "St Mungo's. Where we just came from."
Draco hadn't been paying attention either time he'd walked from
the hospital and couldn't remember which way it was. "You lead," he
whispered.
Harry nodded, his eyebrows furrowed, and began to walk ahead.
He stayed close enough so that Draco was in his line of vision.
They walked that way until they had reached the disguised entry
of St Mungo's. Everyone was still sitting in the waiting room when
they got there, and they all turned their heads to stare at Harry and
Draco. Harry threw a look to Ron and Hermione, but didn't say
anything to anyone in the room.
Draco sat down in one of the chairs, staring unseeingly at the
floor.
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Mrs Weasley, who was in the chair next to the one Draco had sat
in, laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, dear?" she asked
quietly.
Draco startled at the touch. Practically no one besides his son had
touched him in the last month. He was so used to being touched and
held by Harry, he hadn't ever realised how few other people ever
touched him. He blinked, looking at her with a confused expression.
She looked confused as well and then looked to Harry, frowning.
Harry frowned back at her, still not knowing what to say. He
wondered if he should just get Draco home.
Draco blinked again, looking at the hand on his shoulder with a
small smile.
Mrs Weasley patted him a bit, returning the smile, but still
obviously worried.
Ron sidled up to Harry. "What's up?" he whispered.
"I don't know," Harry whispered back fearfully. "He's just acting
...." He didn't even know what.
Draco went back to staring at the tile floor.
As everyone continued to stare at Draco and Harry, a distraction
was given in the form of Bill, walking into the room with a huge
smile on his face.
Mrs Weasley patted Draco again and then simply couldn't contain
herself. She and Mr Weasley, and pretty much everyone else as well,
jumped to their feet.
"Boy," Bill declared, beaming.
The room erupted in cooing and aww'ing and lots of hugging, but
Harry only stood staring at Draco.
Draco startled at the noise, but didn't really register what had just
been said. He looked up and found Harry staring at him. He looked
into those green eyes and felt such longing that physical pain seemed
pale in comparison.
Harry made his way over and took Mrs Weasley's vacated seat as
everyone crowded around Bill, babbling with excitement, Mr Weasley
brandishing a blue teddy bear around. "Are you okay, love?" he asked
Draco. He seemed to be asking so much of the same question.
Draco didn't take his eyes off Harry, watching him as he sat
down. He cocked his head at the question. "No," he whispered.
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And Draco hadn't once given him any other answer. Harry's
hands began shaking then, because he didn't know what to do. He
really did not know what to do. And his husband was falling apart
before his very eyes. Never in a million years would he have thought
this would happen to them. Not after everything they'd been through
already. "This isn't fucking fair," he whispered, closing his eyes as he
felt yet more tears coming to them. He felt like kicking the table in
front of him and very nearly did.
"No, not fair," Draco agreed, thinking that he would have rather
died, going cold like before, than have to live with this aching
emptiness inside.
Harry wiped his face, the happy chatter in the room not
something he felt like dealing with at that moment. "Do you want to
just go home?" he asked, his voice choked.
Draco looked around for their son, and spotted him in the arms
of Hermione. "Valen," he whispered.
Harry nodded, getting to his feet. He walked over to Hermione
and reached for the baby.
She frowned at him as she handed Valen over. "Harry?" she said
softly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just- Draco and I – We're just going to go home," he
managed, trying to keep himself from crying again.
"Go home? But – but Fleur just-"
"I know," Harry interrupted. "Just tell her and Bill we said
congratulations. I – we just need to get out of here or something. I
don't know what's wrong, and I don't know what to do, and -" He
couldn't help it. He was crying. "We-we're just going to go h-home.
See you la-later." He turned, heading back over to Draco and leaving
Hermione standing there with tears in her own eyes.
"L-let's go," Harry said, wiping his face yet again.
Draco stood up. Valen seemed confused, looking between the
excited people in the room and his very sombre parents. "Dada?" he
asked.
Harry kissed Valen's forehead, trying to give him a smile. "It's
okay," he whispered to him, making his way over to the Floo.
Draco walked numbly beside his husband and child.
Harry took some Floo powder and threw it into the flames. He
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held Valen's head securely to his shoulder as he stepped inside,
calling Malfoy Manor, before he was speeding home.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX –
Last Chance
Draco stood, staring into the flame for a full minute. Finally, he
reached and picked up some of the Floo powder, but found himself
stuck again as to what he was supposed to do next. Harry and Valen.
Home. He threw the powder and managed to say "Malfoy Manor" as
he stepped into the flames.
Harry had been nervously waiting for Draco, and sighed very
shakily when he finally appeared. Then he realised he didn't know
what to do next. "Do you want to go to the library?" he asked, voice
still very thick from crying. He felt so fucking miserable.
"No," Draco said, voice a kind of harsh whisper.
"Then what?" Harry asked, staring at him.
Draco dropped his gaze, staring at the floor again.
"What, Draco?" Harry asked again, hoisting Valen up in his arms.
The blond continued to stare at the floor. After a minute, he
managed a small shrug of his shoulders.
Harry just stared at Draco, completely lost for words.
Valen started crying.
Harry began shaking and continued to stare at Draco. Then he
turned slowly and walked from the room, needing to do something
besides just stand there. Valen was crying, so that was what he
needed to fix. He needed to fix it.
Draco sank to his knees on the floor and then forward so that he
was curled up on his hands and elbows. He couldn't even cry
anymore. He felt empty. Terribly empty.
Harry made it to the very bottom of the staircase before he had
to sit lest he fall down. He sat taking very deep breaths, still shaking.
"Leakey," he called amidst Valen's cries.
The elf appeared and looked alarmed. "Master Harry, is you all
right?" he asked.
"I'm fine just – just can you please get some of Valen's toys from
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our room?"
Leakey nodded, his expression unchanging.
The elf disappeared and reappeared a minute later with an armful
of toys. "Master Harry?" it asked.
"What?" Harry whispered, his face covered by a hand.
"Master Draco is ill?" the elf asked timidly.
Harry was startled with the question. "I -" He went silent for a
long moment. "I ... don't know," he said very quietly, but he felt like
he did know. There was something very wrong with Draco. He was
losing it.
"Yes, Master Harry," Leakey said, looking nervous.
Harry brought his hand from his face and looked at the elf,
frowning. "Is something the matter?" he asked.
Leakey blinked. "Master Draco is not well," the elf said.
"What, right now?" Harry asked, frown growing as he got to his
feet with Valen again. His legs still felt a bit wobbly.
"Master Draco is not well more and more," the elf tried to
explain. "When Master's not well, Manor's not well."
"The Manor?" Harry asked. "What do you mean the Manor's not
well?"
Leakey looked around worriedly. "Manor needs Master," he said.
Harry was still slightly confused. "I – I'm doing all I can," he said.
"I don't know what the answer is. I don't know where to find it. I – I
just don't know."
Leakey nodded and popped away.
Harry let out a long, shaky sigh, turning to walk back into the
entrance hall.
Draco was still curled up on his hands and elbows, face pressed
against the marble tile.
"Draco," Harry said in a strange voice as he saw him. He began
trying to take deep breaths again, so completely lost for what to do
that he couldn't think. Everything in his brain felt jumbled and
scrambled up.
The blond's long hair, regrown by Harry, pooled around his head,
obscuring his face. He felt numb and barely heard Harry.
Harry felt as if he were about to sink to the ground again, but
then there came a sound from the fireplace and Hermione was
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stepping through. She gasped when she saw Draco and walked very
quickly over to him.
"What happened?" she asked Harry.
"I don't – I don't know – I – I-" Harry looked around the room
as if the answer would be written on the wall somewhere.
Draco didn’t move. Didn't even acknowledge either of them.
Valen squirmed.
Hermione went to her knees beside Draco, looking very, very
worried. "Draco," she said quietly but firmly.
"Can't," the blond whispered, unmoving.
Harry still couldn't think straight, had no idea what to do.
With a determined expression, Hermione grabbed Draco's arms
and pulled him into hers, simply hugging him. "Draco," she said.
"Draco, you can't do this. I know it's easier to say, but you can't."
Draco trembled as she hugged him. The touch seemed to open
something inside him and he began to sob.
"Shhh," she hushed, beginning to rock him as if he were an upset
child.
More noise from the fireplace indicated someone else's arrival
and Ron was there a second later. He looked confusedly from Harry
to Draco to Hermione. "What...?"
Draco's hands came up and wrapped around Hermione, his face
buried against her shoulder as he wept.
Ron, still looking confused, came up to Harry and relieved him of
the squirming baby.
Harry let Ron take Valen and then just stood there, listening to
Hermione's hushing and Draco's sobs.
"Can't live this way," Draco gasped, still crying.
"I know," Hermione said, biting her lip. "I know."
Harry's eyes filled with tears.
They all stayed in the entrance hall for several minutes, until
Valen was fussing and aggravated.
Hermione looked up from the floor, Draco still held against her
body. "I think you should get some sleep," she said gently. "The rest
of us will take care of everything for now; you just need to rest."
"I have bad dreams," Draco whispered.
Hermione frowned. "Do you have any Dreamless Sleeping
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Potion?" she asked.
"Yes," Draco admitted, lifting his head. He was suddenly aware
that he was holding the woman. He gently pulled back and sat up.
Hermione nodded. "You can take some of that for tonight," she
said. "I'll help you to bed. Come on." And she began getting to her
feet, pulling Draco with her.
Draco got up and glanced at his husband, not meeting his eyes.
He allowed himself to be led to his room.
Harry watched Draco go with Hermione, the tears that had fallen
having dried now.
"Are you ... okay?" Ron asked.
Harry was silent for a moment. "I don't know," he answered.
Hermione held Draco's arm and shoulder as she led him up the stairs
and to his and Harry's bedroom. She stopped in Draco's lab to collect
one of the Sleeping Potions, and then steered him into the bedroom.
Draco sat on the edge of one of the two beds in the room, staring
at the other one.
Hermione sighed quietly, staring at the other bed as well. She
held the potion out to Draco.
Draco took it from her but didn't drink it. "I want to thank you,"
he said quietly.
"You don't need to," she answered. "Really." She reached out and
squeezed his shoulder.
"No, I do," he insisted. "I need you to know that I appreciate you
as my friend and as someone who will take care of my family."
She sat down next to him then, turning to face him. "Of course I
would, Draco," she said softly. "Ron and I both would."
"Good, because I have to try ... something. Something to fix
this," he whispered. "And if it doesn't work ...."
She went very still and stared at Draco. "What are you talking
about?" she said, fear in her voice.
"I have an idea. I have to try it. I really can't live this way," he
said, grey eyes looking into hers. "But if it doesn't work, then I won't
be here to pick up the pieces."
"Draco, what are you going to do?" she asked, her eyes wide.
Draco unstopped the potion and drank it in one slug. "Will you
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watch Valen for us tomorrow?" he asked.
"I – yes, but -" She pursed her lips, still looking scared.
"I'm not telling you the details," he said, yawning and reaching
down to pull off his shoes.
She sighed shakily, nodding as she got to her feet. She opened her
mouth, but then paused for a moment, seeming to think better of it.
"Good night," she said quietly.
Draco lay back on the bed, the potion working too fast for him
to even undress before he was asleep.
Harry came up to bed with Valen after nearly an hour of sitting
silently in the library while Ron and Hermione went through books.
He'd thought that Hermione had been acting a little strange, but
hadn't even felt like asking her.
He laid Valen in the cot between the two beds and then sat on his
own, staring at Draco's clothed body. And he couldn't even undress
him. Both his touch and his magic would send him screaming. Harry
began to cry silently. He didn't know what time it was when he went
to sleep himself.
When Harry woke up, neither Draco nor Valen were in the room.
There was a note addressed to him lying in the cot.
Harry's breathing sped up as he reached for the slip of parchment
with trembling hands.
Dearest Harry,
Don't panic. Valen is fine. Hermione is watching him.
I need to find a way to resolve our problem. I absolutely cannot live this way
any longer. So I want to try the only thing I have been able to come up with. You
won't like it. You will probably even be angry with me for making you do it this
way. It's not something I felt would help to give you a choice about. If you did, and
it didn't work, you would feel guilty. So this way, you have two choices. Do it my
way or let me die.
I am in the Room of Offering. It has been set to only allow myself and you
into it. No one else. Leakey will be helping me set this up but then even he won't
be allowed back in.
I need you to fix what we broke. You are the most powerful wizard I have
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ever heard of and I believe you can do it. You need to force my magic back into
alignment with yours. Yes, it will hurt beyond what I could willingly endure. So I
am having myself bound to the altar. You know what you need to do. You did it
when you claimed me back in the Room of Requirement.
If it doesn't work, I need you to know I wanted this regardless. I love you
and I know I have made it clear that I would rather die than not be your lover. If
the worst happens, you will be guardian of the only Malfoy heir and the Manor
will let you continue to control it until he comes of age. Tell Valen how much I
loved him.
I love you always,
Draco
Angry tears were falling by the time Harry finished reading and
his body was shaking violently. If he did what Draco was apparently
telling him to do, he could kill his husband. Kill him. He grabbed the
cot, as it was the closest thing to him, and threw it as far and as hard
as he could. It knocked into his own dresser across the room with a
crash. And then he dropped to the floor, sobbing into his arms.
Several minutes passed before he could even get a slight hold on
himself, and he was still shaking and crying as he stood and began
dressing. He at least had to see Draco, had to see what he had done,
and where he was. Draco's words rang in his head as he moved. He
let out another sob. How could Draco ask him to do this?
Another surge of horrible feelings, frustration and rage shot
through Harry and he tore down every article of clothing he could
reach from the closet until he was panting and his eyes were red.
With one last sob and a very deep breath, he Apparated himself
directly into the Room of Offering, not knowing what he would do
when he got there.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN –
Never Without You
Torchlights flickered and the fire in the centre pit flared when Harry
Apparated into the room. Draco's heart leapt with it. He could feel
Harry's anger in his magic and it stung.
Draco was laid out on the altar in much the same way he had
been long ago – naked and tied by both legs and one arm to the
insets in the marble. His wand and silver hand were not in sight. This
time he had a gag as well. It had a thick roll of leather, like a bit, that
was secured to his head with a harness. It would allow him to bite
into it, and hopefully not his tongue.
When Harry's eyes landed upon his husband, tied, and bound like
he was, it was like someone began playing a film before his eyes. He
could see Lucius and the others, could hear Draco's and his own
screams, could see all the blood on the floor.
He trembled again, moving forward. "God, Draco," he let out,
his voice trembling like his body. "I can't do this. I can't."
Draco looked into those green eyes but wouldn't have said
anything even if he could have.
Harry bowed his head, his mind racing as he tried to think of
what to do. Was Draco really serious about dying if Harry didn't do
what he told him? Would he go to that extreme? He looked into
Draco's eyes and could see the truth of it in them. If Harry didn't fix
him or ... then Draco was going to kill himself. Harry could not
believe the choice he was facing in that moment. "How can you ask
me to do this?" he whispered, knowing Draco wasn't going to answer
him.
Draco let Harry see the raw need in his eyes, hoping he
understood.
Yet another tear ran down Harry's cheek as he looked at Draco
again. He was serious. He really wanted Harry to do this. As he let
the thought sink in, Harry dropped his eyes from Draco's gaze and
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then closed them. He didn't say it aloud, but if what he was about to
do didn't work, he would never forgive himself. He clenched his
hands and his entire body before he opened his eyes again and gave
Draco one weak nod.
Draco had been holding his breath, heart beating loud in his own
ears. He sighed in relief when Harry nodded.
Harry began to strip manually rather than with magic, using the
time to think of what he was to do. Draco wanted him to bind him,
but he knew that he and Draco both didn't want it to be like the
binding had been before. He would have to make another marriage
binding. But how could they bind each other if Draco couldn't agree
to the provisions? Would words even help at all?
As Harry discarded his last piece of clothing, his heart was
beating madly. He had to close his eyes in order to help himself get
aroused. He couldn't will an erection anymore. He reached a hand
down to stroke himself, trying to imagine that he was anywhere else.
Watching Harry strip was arousing in and of itself. But watching
him touch himself made Draco moan, writhing on the marble altar as
his own cock twitched.
Draco's sound actually helped Harry along and he sped his hand
up, filling his mind with the most filthy memories and thoughts he
could. He stroked himself until he was completely hard and his heart
was pounding, and then he had to open his eyes again. His heart
picking up even more speed, he moved to the end of the altar and
then climbed atop it, shaking as he made every effort not to touch
Draco, no matter if he was going to have to touch him in a moment.
Draco was eager for Harry but the moment Harry climbed onto
the altar his skin began to prickle with the man's magic. He gasped
but tried to concentrate instead on how much he wanted his
husband.
Harry took several deep breaths, trembling again. "I love you," he
said. "I love you more than I've ever loved anything. More than –
Merlin, anything. And I've never stopped once since we've been
together. And I'll never stop. You're my husband. You're my life."
Draco agreed with his eyes, nodding vigorously.
Harry closed his eyes once again, slicking his fingers and
preparing his own cock first, before steeling himself and pressing
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
fingers into Draco's entrance quickly, prepared for the screaming.
Even knowing it would be like this, Draco still couldn't really
prepare for the way Harry's touch ripped through his body like a
Cruciatus Curse, making him arch. He bit hard into the gag, trying to
control his screams.
Harry was trying to fight the urge to pull his fingers out and run
across the room to relieve Draco of the pain, but he only continued,
moving as fast as he could. He used his free hand to stroke himself,
to make sure he stayed hard.
Draco's entire body felt on fire. He was writhing around those
fingers, crying out around the gag. He was very glad for the gag,
because without it he would have been begging Harry to stop.
Harry couldn't believe what he was doing. He was almost
tempted to run across the room anyway, but he screwed his eyes as
tightly shut as he could get them and replaced his fingers with his
cock, sliding into Draco quickly. It had been so long, and such an
aching loss, that some strange part of his brain found pleasure in
being inside Draco again, but it wasn't what he was focussing on. He
only wanted to get it over with, telling himself that it would work,
that it had to work. He was desperate for it.
Harry's fire filled him and it burned. Regardless of the gag, Draco
screamed, struggling against the ropes that held him to the altar.
Harry could tell Draco was trying to get away from him, but he
couldn't stop. Not now. He couldn't. He began trying to will his
magic to bind them, to bring Draco's magic back into harmony with
his own. And he began thinking of the provisions they had prepared.
Draco wanted Harry able to get hard for him, and so Harry wanted it,
too. He thought of their wedding vows, having memorised them.
Draco couldn't hold still, no matter how much he tried. He
closed his eyes and panted through his nose.
Harry was crying as he thrust. He couldn't feel any changes, and
Draco was still struggling under him. He once again wondered if he
should abandon this, if he should pull out of Draco and try to make
him see reason, but he didn't know why he couldn't. He continued
thrusting into his husband – until an odd and nearly terrifying
thought struck him. He had been able to kill Voldemort with his
power, with the love inside him. If it had been enough to kill the
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most powerful wizard in the world, would it be enough to put
Draco's power right? Or would it hurt him even more? Hurt him to
the point of ... Harry didn't know and he was sobbing as he
continued to push his hips forward, knowing that whatever it was he
was doing was not working.
He had to try.
He opened his eyes, attempting to make a connection with
Draco.
Draco opened his eyes too, feeling a pull from Harry as he did.
He knew he was crying now. It wasn't working and he was
desperately afraid.
Harry forced himself to look into Draco's eyes. Seeing them filled
with such physical pain, such fear, such hurt – and all of it caused
from him, made Harry want to rip himself to shreds. He had been
the one to want the binding taken off the most. He'd coaxed Draco
into it, had somehow probably fucked everything up, and now Draco
was screaming and writhing, tied to an altar in the room where his
own father had tortured him, and done those horrible things. Harry
tried to make himself use the spell, tried to think it, but he could
hardly manage the frantic movement of his hips.
Draco concentrated on his lover's eyes. Those green eyes
captured him the way they had that day years ago in the robe shop.
He had wanted him then and now he wanted him with an intensity
that went beyond the pain he was feeling.
Harry could see a flash of the deeper feeling in Draco's eyes. He
was gasping, and still crying, but he held onto that spark and used
Legilimens to push himself into Draco's head, into his body. He filled
Draco both physically and magically, attempting to pour himself into
him, to push away or reverse the magic that was resisting.
Draco felt the searing power of Harry's magic forcing its way past
his own resistance. The pain was blinding, screaming in every nerve
in his body. His mind clawed for a foothold on sanity, trying to reach
back to his lover, to help him find a way to bring him back from the
precipice he felt himself about to topple from.
Harry was shaking as the screams grew louder, trembling as
everything about Draco's body told him to back away, to retreat.
Please, Draco, please, he thought desperately. I love you. Please let this work.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
He couldn't allow himself to think about what would happen if it
didn't work. Wouldn't allow himself to think of it. As with Voldemort,
he began using memories. Memories of them kissing, touching,
making love, even just holding hands.
Draco felt what Harry was doing and he tried to do the same. He
let Harry into his own memories. Memories of the first time he saw
Harry and his overwhelming need to connect with him. His
disappointment when Harry had refused him. His eagerness to play
Quidditch, just to be near him. Over and over again, he showed
Harry how much he had always wanted and loved him.
Harry gasped at what he was seeing, and could actually feel
Draco's ache for him inside his own body. Harry let Draco feel his
own ache for him in return, hoping that somehow, the two feelings
would be able to connect to each other, to bring them back together.
Love as power pushed through the pain, filling Draco with his
husband's desire for him. He reached for that connection, the lifeline
he needed. He opened himself up, forcing his own magic to
surrender to Harry's.
Harry pushed harder with his own magic, reaching for Draco's
like reaching for his hand, trying to entwine it like he would grasp his
fingers.
Harry's love, made manifest in power, was a glorious and
frightening thing. It had destroyed the Dark Lord and it could do the
same to him. But Draco did what the other couldn't, he embraced the
love, surrendering his own magic in complete trust to Harry.
Harry gasped again, his eyes wide as he held on to Draco in every
sense, pulling Draco into himself as he gave himself over. He reached
down blindly, drawing a finger across to make a short cut in the skin
near Draco's hip. Then he cut his own hand with magic and pressed
the wounds together.
Draco was moaning again but the pain had shifted into that edge
of pleasure. Harry's magic pulsed with each thrust into Draco's body
and the blond was now arching into his husband's touch.
Harry was not only gasping with pleasure, but also with utmost
relief. "Yes, Draco," he groaned, knowing now that it was working.
Draco tried to speak around the gag, frustrated but happy as well
as he felt his body doing what had always been his desire, reaching
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229
for Harry, welcoming him inside.
"Oh, Merlin, yes," Harry whispered as he kept his left hand
pressed to the cut on Draco's hip. He began doing what he had been
trying to do earlier, using his magic and thoughts to bind them, able
to share them with Draco through their connection.
Draco arched his hips to meet Harry's thrusts inside him,
trembling and gasping. "Yours," he tried to say around the leather in
his mouth.
Though Draco's voice was muffled, Harry could understand what
he was trying to say. "Yes," he agreed. "Yours."
Draco was weeping again, relief and pleasure mingling to make
him tremble.
Harry moved a hand up and passed it over Draco's face,
removing the gag there with his magic, wanting to hear him speak
clearly, and to be able to kiss him.
"Harry," Draco gasped, licking his swollen lips.
Harry couldn't hold himself back and practically lunged forward,
closing his mouth over Draco's as he set about freeing his arms and
legs as well.
Draco clutched at his husband, his hand sliding over skin as he
groaned into his lover's mouth. Touch! They could touch each other
and it was electric and fantastic!
Harry groaned as well, slipping his tongue past Draco's lips. He'd
not realised how truly good it was to just kiss Draco until that very
moment. How good everything truly was. He tried to touch every
single part of him.
Draco's tongue slid along Harry's, lips pressed to the other man's
as he wrapped his legs around his husband's hips, pulling himself
even further onto his cock.
Harry slid his tongue along Draco's as he pulled his mouth away,
kissing his face and jaw, then his ears, still thrusting inside him.
Merlin, inside him and Draco wasn't screaming or writhing in pain,
but was arching up and moaning, and Harry was in heaven.
"Yes, my love," Draco gasped. "Fuck me, fill me!"
"Inside you," Harry moaned, sweating and beginning to cry yet
again from everything he felt right at that moment.
"Harry James Potter," Draco gasped, "I am your husband, your
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
lover, and I always will be!"
"Always," Harry agreed, feeling himself about to come. "Draco
Validus Malfoy, I am your husband, your lover, and I will always be,"
he groaned.
"Always," Draco echoed and felt the rush of power as the
Manor's magic flared, too.
Harry gasped one last time, spilling his seed inside of his husband
and crying out his name as pleasure burst through his body.
Harry's magic filled him and spilled over as Draco clutched his
husband and came between them. "Yes, oh, yes," he sobbed.
Harry was sobbing too and holding Draco as tightly as he could
manage in their current positions, tears combining with sweat, sweat
running with blood and their seed. "Mine," he whispered.
"Yes, yours and you are mine," Draco agreed, feeling the truth of
it again in their magic.
Harry nodded in agreement moving his hands over every bit of
Draco, finally sliding them into his hair and bringing his mouth down
over his husband's. "Fuck, I've missed this so much," he whispered.
"Yes, touch me, everywhere," Draco gasped against his husband’s
lips.
Harry kissed Draco again, trailing a hand from his hair, down his
side, and down his leg as far back as he could reach, feeling
everything he possibly could.
"Mmm," Draco hummed, trembling and using his hand to touch
his lover as well.
"I would've gone mad without you," Harry told him between
slow slides of his tongue inside Draco's mouth. "I would've gone
completely mad."
"I was nearly there," Draco answered and then sucked on his
husband's lower lip.
Harry moaned, beginning to get hard again while still pressed
inside Draco. "I never want anything like that to happen ever again,"
he said needlessly. "Never."
"Never," Draco agreed. "Take us to our bed."
Harry Apparated with Draco as soon as the words were out of
his mouth. And was then confused for a moment when they landed
on the floor between the two beds they had made.
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231
Draco laughed, despite the fact he was now on his back on the
floor under Harry. "We forgot the two beds," he said.
Harry laughed as well, kissing Draco again. "We should remedy
that, because you are sleeping with me tonight," he said.
"Tonight and every night," the blond agreed.
"Merlin, I don't even want to move to do it," Harry said, his voice
nearly a moan as he began to suck on the skin of Draco's neck.
"Please, fuck me again," Draco agreed. He felt like he had a
month's worth to catch up on.
"Again, and again, and again, and again," Harry whispered, lifting
his head, his hips already pressing forward.
Draco wrapped his legs around his husband's hips, arching up to
meet him. He could feel how slick he already was with his husband's
seed and it felt wonderful.
"I love you so much. Feels so good," Harry groaned.
"So good, with you," Draco nodded, kissing and nipping at his
lover's lips and chin.
"Fuck, yes," Harry moaned. "Oh, fuck, yes." He panted, and
thrust into Draco, burying a hand in his hair again.
Draco moaned, loving the feeling of his husband's cock sliding
inside him, his words of desire adding to his own. "I want to fuck
you, too," he gasped. "To feel myself inside you."
Harry whimpered at that. "Merlin, yes, fuck me," he moaned,
smiling at the knowledge that the words wouldn't force compliance
from Draco.
Draco chuckled, so happy he was laughing while being fucked.
"Deeper love, fuck me into the floor," he gasped.
Harry thrust harder, as deep as he could go and wishing he could
somehow go even deeper. He felt like a wave of heat washed through
him, making him gasp and moan Draco's name as he came for a
second time, shuddering.
There was nothing more amazing to Draco than the way his own
body and magic responded to his husband, bringing his orgasm and
spreading the waves of pleasure through his entire body.
Harry lowered his head to Draco's skin, his chest heaving against
the blond's. "I never want to go," he managed, panting, "another day
without that for the rest of my entire bloody life."
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"Never again," Draco agreed, relaxing now.
"Mmm," Harry let out with a sigh, kissing Draco's neck. He
would have constant contact with him for the rest of the day if he
could manage it.
"I think I might have another splinter," Draco said, chuckling.
Harry smiled, chuckling as well. "After the splinter is gone, I want
to have a shower with you," he said, "because, fuck, I've missed that,
too."
"Only if you remove it with your magic," Draco insisted, smiling
and clenching his body around Harry's again.
Harry shuddered, grinning. "Deal," he said.
"Splinter’s not the only thing in my arse right now though,"
Draco laughed, still pinned by Harry.
Harry laughed goofily, pulling back so that his cock slipped from
Draco's body.
Draco groaned, feeling stiff now. He managed to sit up, but still
couldn’t shake the grin off his face. He reached a hand for Harry's.
"Never let go," he whispered.
Harry pulled Draco forward by his hand. "Of you?" he whispered
back. "Never."
– CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT –
Another
In the bathroom, Draco reached for his wand and realised he had left
it and his silver hand in the Offering Room. He shrugged and bent
over the sink counter, wriggling his arse. "Is there a splinter?" he
asked, looking mischievously over his shoulder.
Harry smirked, walking up behind Draco and placing both hands
on the gorgeous arse displayed. "I suppose I should have a look," he
said, waggling his eyebrows with a grin. He bent down to inspect
closely, and couldn't resist laying a kiss to the skin in front of him.
Draco watched, still shivering at his lover's touch. He spread his
legs a little wider.
Harry licked his lips at the move, and at the incredibly, amazingly
hot sight of his come in Draco's arse. "Ah, here it is," he said, his
voice deep. He ran a finger lightly over the small sliver in Draco's
skin, using his magic to get it out rather than his fingernails.
The small spark of magic did what it always did, sending a tremor
up Draco’s spine and making his cock jump in response. Yes, the
binding was working again.
Harry looked up at Draco, giving him a crooked smile.
"Done?" Draco asked, smirking. "Or are there more?"
"I could give it another look," Harry replied huskily, bending his
head over Draco's arse again, though instead of looking for splinters,
he licked Draco's skin.
Draco moaned, head dropping forward to rest his forehead on
the sink.
Harry smirked, dropping to his knees and spreading Draco apart
with both hands. On the very verge of performing a Cleaning Charm,
he paused for a moment, and his eyes flickered up at Draco, though
he couldn't see his face at all. Curiously and slowly, Harry moved
forward, licking Draco's entrance with the very tip of his tongue.
Draco, too, expected the Cleaning Charm and was startled when
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
his lover began to lick his sticky entrance. He moaned, legs trembling.
Harry flushed, licking more of Draco after the moan. He let his
eyes fall shut, spreading him even more.
"Oh, Godsss," Draco gasped, the sensitive opening quivering and
his cock filling.
Harry had no idea what it was about what he was doing that was
so hot, but then again, he had no idea why he thought a lot of things
were hot. He licked and sucked Draco’s entrance clean of his own
come and then thrust the slick muscle inside, pressing forward.
Draco moaned and trembled, wondering at how amazingly lucky
he was to have the sexiest, kinkiest husband possible.
"Mmm," Harry moaned, the taste of both Draco and himself in
his mouth. His own cock had hardened and he wondered exactly
how many fucks they could manage in one day.
"Yes, yes," Draco chanted, "you fucking amaze me!"
Harry smiled widely at that, pulling back. "Enough to be fucked?"
he asked. "Or would you like to come this way?"
Draco's head spun with options, all of which sounded perfect.
"Yes, love, yes," he answered.
Harry raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure what Draco was saying
yes to, and that was enough to tell him Draco was already too far
gone. He smiled widely again, leaning in to resume the licking and
thrusting. He reached between Draco's legs as he let go of his arse
with one hand, grasping his cock.
"Oh, Gods," Draco moaned again, knowing Harry would make
him come soon.
Harry kissed his husband, and licked him, and sucked him, and
stroked his cock until his lips were swollen, his wrist feeling slightly
uncomfortable, and his entire body felt flushed with pleasure.
"Mmm, fuck yeah, come," he moaned, breathing over the hole as his
own cock throbbed.
Draco's grip on the sink almost hurt as he came, crying out and
nearly collapsing as his knees buckled.
Harry stroked Draco through his orgasm, holding him up with
one hand. His own cock was still hard between his legs and he
trembled on the very edge of completion.
Draco released the sink and sank to his knees. He reached for his
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lover then, fingers wrapping around Harry's shaft and mouth closing
over the glistening head.
Harry gasped, so close that that was all it took. "Draco!" he
shouted hoarsely, throwing his head back as he came, hard, into
Draco's mouth.
Draco licked and sucked and drank in Harry's seed and magic,
feeling its power and pleasure.
Harry lowered himself to the tile floor, staring up at the ceiling
and feeling so sated, he wasn't sure if he would be able to move.
"Brilliant," he breathed.
Draco knelt beside him, gasping and grinning. "Yes," he agreed.
"Wonder if we can break our own record?"
"Let's attempt it," Harry said happily, his eyes half-open as he
stared up at Draco.
"Bath or bed?" Draco asked, still not moving yet.
"I don't care, as long as I can touch you," Harry replied, though
he did feel very tired.
"I want you a million ways," Draco said softly. He managed to
get to his feet and stagger over to the bathtub, starting it filling.
Harry smiled. "I want you a million and one," he teased, hands on
his chest as he breathed deep.
Draco sat beside the bath, waiting for it to fill. "Can you make it
over here?" he asked, chuckling.
Harry smiled goofily again, making himself sit up. "Of course,"
he said. "You're over there." He pushed himself to his shaky legs,
climbing into the bath despite the fact that it wasn't filled yet.
Draco smiled, just as giddy as his lover, and slid into the large tub
as well. He hissed slightly as his sore flesh came in contact with the
hot water.
"Aww, my poor baby," Harry said with a grin, pulling Draco to
him.
"Mmm," Draco sighed, relaxing into his husband's arms.
Harry slid his face along Draco's, happy to simply hold him. Even
just that gave him tremendous pleasure. "Speaking of babies," he said
quietly, "ours is with Hermione, right?"
"Yes, probably getting spinach in her hair," Draco answered,
smiling at the image.
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Harry hummed amusedly. "And Fleur's baby as well," he said,
suddenly remembering. "She had a boy."
"What did they name him?" Draco asked. His memories of the
visit to St Mungo's didn't include much after he walked out.
"I have no idea," Harry said truthfully. "I suppose we'll have to
ask when we go downstairs. She's probably already out of the
hospital, or will be soon."
"I wonder who he will look more like, Fleur or Bill?" Draco
asked, the feel of the warm water and his lover's body making him
feel absolutely content.
Harry shrugged, petting Draco's hair. "Didn't see him," he said,
"but he'll probably be a good-looking kid either way."
"Yeah, not as pretty as ours," Draco said, "but nice."
Harry chuckled. "I agree one hundred percent," he said. And then
after a moment, "Do you think .... Do you think I can get pregnant
again?" he asked quietly. "After this new binding?"
Draco looked up at his lover smiling. "Oh, I so very much want
to find out," he said, waggling his eyebrows.
Harry smiled and snorted. "I'm sure you certainly will," he
replied, waggling his eyebrows in return.
The idea was arousing to him and Draco turned in Harry's arms,
letting him feel that. "Maybe we should go back to bed," he
whispered.
Harry's eyes widened. "To try and get me pregnant?" he asked,
raising his eyebrows until they were high on his forehead.
"Yes," Draco said, expression serious and full of his desire.
Harry's eyes were still wide. "Are you – I mean – are you sure?"
he spluttered.
"Do you doubt it?" Draco asked, gently kissing his lips, and
rubbing against him.
Harry kissed Draco back just as gently. "I -" He paused. "No," he
said. "Are you sure you want another baby? No turning back if we do
it."
"I am the one who wants a houseful, remember?" Draco
whispered.
Harry nodded, smiling softly as his heart began to pick up speed.
"Okay," he whispered back.
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237
Draco kissed him gently and then pulled back, getting to his feet
and stepping out of the tub. He reached for a towel, since he didn't
have a wand to dry himself.
Harry dried himself with a charm, his heart beating even faster,
his eyes on Draco.
Draco smiled, cock still hard and jutting from his body. He
reached his hand out to his husband.
Harry slid his hand into Draco's, squeezing it and taking deep
breaths. He let out a soft, amused sound when he saw that there were
still two beds instead of one.
Draco arched an eyebrow and waited for his husband to fix their
bed.
Harry raised his right hand, making a small sweeping gesture and
watching as the two beds hopped over and made themselves into
one, blankets and all. He smiled, pulling his husband onto the
mattress with him.
Draco groaned, pinning his lover to the mattress. "I am going to
fill you," he promised.
"Oh, Merlin, yes," Harry responded, arching up.
Draco bent his mouth to one dark nipple, licking it gently and
watching as the flesh pebbled. "Yes," Draco whispered. "And you
will use your power to make another baby for us and feed it with
these lovely nipples." He brought his lips over the sensitive flesh
sucking gently and teasing with the tip of his tongue.
Harry gasped, laying his hand gently atop Draco's head, his eyes
half closed as he watched him.
"Mmm," Draco hummed, sucking harder while his hand reached
to tease the other nipple with the tips of his fingers.
"Yes," Harry whispered, arching his neck as his cock twitched.
Draco pulled and released Harry's nipple with a pop and then
smiled, moving over to the second one. He slid his hands down his
lover's body, teasing the hair on his belly as he repeated his caresses
there.
Harry sucked in a breath through his teeth, groaning as his
fingers tightened in Draco's hair.
Draco's fingertips traced the scar on his husband's belly. "A girl,
held safe in here until she is ready," he whispered, breath ghosting
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
over his lover's wet nipple.
Harry nodded. "A girl," he agreed.
Draco pressed a knee between his lover's legs. "Spread yourself
for me, Harry," he whispered, then sucked again on that sensitive
nipple.
Harry let out another moan as he opened his legs wide and pulled
them up slightly, reaching down for his own arse with his hands and
spreading himself apart.
Draco released his lover's nipple and gave it a final lick before
lifting his head and smiling up at him. He knelt between Harry's
knees and reached for his cock, sliding his hand softly over the shaft.
"Slick yourself for me," he told him.
Harry's breathing sped up as he used his magic to cover his
entrance with lube. "Mmm, fuck me, Draco," he said, smiling once
again at being able to say it that way. "Fill me with you."
Draco moaned, never able to resist Harry and not wanting to do
anything else but be inside of him. He moved forward, pressing the
already slick head of his cock against his lover's opening. "Yes, my
love," he gasped and then pushed gently into him, shuddering as he
did.
Harry let out a very long groan, having missed Draco being inside
him more than he could believe. He clutched at his back, closing his
eyes.
Draco's eyes fluttered closed, focussing entirely on the feel of his
lover's body taking him inside. "Oh, Gods, love," he gasped. "Inside
you, where I belong."
Harry wrapped his legs around Draco to enforce his words.
"Where you'll always belong," he said, tears behind his eyelids. They
were making a baby. Since he was willingly using his magic to do so,
this time he could tell what the small waves of power were, and knew
that they would grow towards the end. He was filled with awe and
amazement, holding his husband tightly.
Power rippled in his body and Draco gasped, feeling both Harry's
magic and the Manor's swirling around them now. "Yes," he gasped
and leant forward, bracing himself with his hand as he began to flex
his hips, sliding out and then in more deeply.
Harry moved to meet Draco's thrusts, still clutching him with
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239
both arms and legs. "It's working," he gasped. "Merlin, I love you. It's
working."
"Yes, deep inside you, love," Draco whispered, feeling the wave
of magic and desire mingling in their bodies. He kept the rhythm
slow, like the last time, feeling the power building as he did.
Harry moved his hand up to rest against the back of Draco's
head, letting the pleasure take him over while at the same time
making sure his own magic kept doing what it was supposed to. He
even tried to make sure the baby was a girl, willing it to be so.
Draco began to rock faster, each slide deep inside, making the
magic crackle over and inside him. He gasped and moaned, lost in it
now.
Harry could feel the waves crashing, same as last time, as he drew
closer to coming. "Yes," he gasped. "Draco, oh fuck, Draco."
"Oh, Harry," Draco gasped, feeling the power building fast as he
plunged forward, as deep as he could.
Harry came between them then, crying out and feeling the
pleasure fill him until it was like it could spill out. He shuddered with
it, panting heavily.
Power roared through him, Harry's release bringing Draco's and
spilling his seed deep inside his husband. His head snapped back and
he cried out in ecstasy.
Harry let out a small whimpering sigh as he relaxed against the
bed, completely exhausted, and so happy he could almost float away.
Draco's arm gave out and he collapsed on top of Harry, panting
and sighing.
Harry smiled, hugging Draco very tightly. "I love you so much,"
he whispered.
Draco shuddered, still gasping for breath. "I love you more than
anything," he said, kissing his lover's chest.
"Mmhm," Harry hummed in agreement, stroking Draco's hair
again.
Draco's hand trembled as he slid it between their bodies, smiling
as he found the slick remains of Harry's release. He pressed fingertips
to that spot he had first felt Valen. Eyes closed, he breathed deep,
concentrating and then shivered when he felt it.
"It's there," Harry whispered, smiling. He could tell from Draco's
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shiver.
"Yes, she is," Draco whispered too, awed still by what they had
done.
Harry's smile grew and he held Draco tightly once again. "I can't
believe it," he said. "Another one."
"Love-made flesh," Draco whispered, caressing that spot.
"Love-made flesh," Harry repeated, his eyes soft.
They lay like that for a while and Draco could never remember
feeling more satisfied and complete. Finally, he raised his head,
looking at his husband. "Harry," he whispered, "maybe we should let
them know we are better."
Harry grinned. "And pregnant," he said.
"Yes," Draco grinned, his eyes shining in delight.
"Valen will be able to feel it," Harry said, suddenly feeling very
giddy again.
"I don't know if he will understand what it means, but probably,"
Draco answered, still smiling up at his husband. He braced his hand
on the bed again and moaned softly as he slid back from his lover's
body.
"We'll have to teach him," Harry replied, sitting up as Draco
moved back.
Draco sat back on his knees. "My wand and hand are still
downstairs," he said. "Clean me?"
Harry nodded, doing a charm for Draco and then one for
himself, unable to stop smiling.
Draco gasped, sated but sensitive. He smiled happily at his
husband. "Missed your magic, too," he said.
"I missed everything," Harry said, moving forward and laying a
kiss to Draco's lips.
Draco's eyes half closed, trembling at the soft kiss.
Harry pulled back only slightly. "Let's get dressed, and then go
and get your hand and your wand, and then we can go tell Ron and
Hermione," he said, voice quiet and still very happy.
– CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE –
Love Them All
Harry Apparated with Draco down into the Offering room to
retrieve his things, and then left with him quickly. He held his
husband's hand firmly in his own, having been so miserable for such
a long stretch of time that he felt like he'd never been happier. And
he was pregnant! Again! His smile was so wide his teeth were
showing as he stepped through the door of the library with Draco.
Ron and Hermione were both looking through books, big stacks
of them all around the couple. Valen sat in his playpen, a toy that
made music clutched in his hands.
Hermione turned her head at the noise of them entering.
"Draco," she said, sounding startled, and then her eyes moved to
where Harry's and Draco's hands were joined.
Draco smiled happily and nodded, pulling Harry closer and
wrapping an arm around his waist. "It worked," he said.
Her face lit up with a grin and she pushed herself up from the
couch, walking around to pull both Harry and Draco into a hug. "I
was so worried," she said.
Ron stood as well, smiling widely as he picked up Valen and
brought him over.
Draco took his child in his other arm and pressed him into a hug
with Harry, feeling whole again to be holding his family. "Dada,
dada," Valen babbled excitedly.
Harry kissed his son and his husband. "Yes, both of us have
you," Harry said softly to the baby.
Hermione was still beaming and looked like she wanted to jump
up and down with happiness. "How did you do it?" she asked.
"Harry did it," Draco said, still not letting go.
"We ... did another binding," Harry said to her in explanation.
Her eyes widened, as did Ron's.
"But couldn't that have ...?" he said.
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Harry nodded. "But it didn't," he answered.
"Harry's magic is amazing," Draco beamed proudly, the hand on
his lover's waist sliding around to press that spot and his eyes
twinkling as he looked down at him.
Harry hummed with happiness, pressing yet another kiss to
Draco's lips before turning his head back to Ron and Hermione.
"How's Fleur?" he asked.
"She's getting out of St Mungo's this evening," said Ron.
"Everyone's supposed to be going to Mum and Dad's tomorrow to
see the baby. They're all really worried about you two."
"We'll all go," Draco declared happily.
Harry smiled and nodded, moving with Draco and Valen to sit
on the couch. Ron and Hermione moved with them. "Do you know
his name?" Harry asked.
"Christophe William Weasley," said Hermione happily. "Bill
insists that it's Chris."
"Christophe," Draco said, nodding and then smiling at the
nickname. He looked down at his son. "You will have someone to
play with soon," he told him.
Harry grinned. Valen would have two children to play with soon.
"I wonder what we'll name ours," he said, smiling crookedly.
Hermione and Ron both looked confused.
"Something pretty," Draco answered, rubbing his husband's belly
and waiting for the other two to catch the gesture as well.
Hermione's eyes widened again as she watched Draco. "You're
not ...?" she said.
"I am," Harry replied, eyes sparkling. "In fact, I've been so for
about fifteen minutes now."
Ron and Hermione seemed completely speechless.
"A girl," Draco said proudly.
"Y – you're – going to have another baby?" Ron asked.
"Another baby," Harry confirmed with a nod. "And I am actually
fairly certain it's going to be a girl."
Draco kissed his lover's cheek, beaming with happiness. Valen
squealed and babbled, patting both his daddies’ faces.
"That's ..." Hermione said, smiling and shaking her head. "That's
... amazing. This morning you couldn't even touch and now you're
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having another baby? I don't even know what to say.
Congratulations!"
"It is brilliant, isn't it?" said Harry.
Ron only sat there, smiling widely again. "I like Valen," he said.
"So I'll probably like this next one as well."
Harry laughed.
Valen seemed to respond to hearing his name, bouncing excitedly
in his daddies' arms.
"Would you like a little sister?" Harry asked him.
Valen burbled at Harry and began pulling on his shirt, making his
little sucking noises.
Harry snorted and then raised his eyebrows. "You know," he
said, "you either give it up, or you'll be sharing in a few months and
I'm sure that would be just wonderful for Daddy Harry's nipples."
Ron made a face, looking amused as well, though.
Draco smiled. "He is eating more solid food now," he said. "He
just likes your magic milk better."
"Yes, well, I suppose anything would be better than that mushy
stuff, huh?" Harry said, kissing Valen's nose and getting to his feet,
holding his hand out for Draco.
"See you two later," Harry said happily, walking to the door again
with Draco.
Ron and Hermione gave each other amused looks as they
watched the family leave the room.
Draco quickly led them to their suite and settled his husband and
child – children, he thought – on the couch. Then he walked over to
the piano, smiling as he sat down and lifted the cover.
Harry hadn't stopped smiling yet and was still smiling as he took
his shirt off for Valen and turned his head to watch Draco play. It
was one of his favourite things in the world.
Draco played a love song, of course. He let his emotions flow
though his hands and into the music, finding himself crying as did.
As Harry watched Draco, he found tears coming to his own eyes.
The music was beautiful, and difficult to describe with any other
words. It was more a feeling than a sound, and it amazed him that it
could bring such a reaction.
Draco finished the piece and raised his right hand up to touch his
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cheeks, feeling how wet they were. He looked over at his family, eyes
shining both with tears and joy. "I love you," he said quietly.
"I love you," Harry said back "More than anything in the world."
Draco closed the piano and went to the couch, kneeling at
Harry's feet and hands resting on his husband's thighs. "Yes," he
agreed.
Valen had fallen asleep on Harry's chest again.
"Merlin, Draco, this is going to be brilliant," Harry said softly.
"I'm so happy right now I can't even ... God."
"Yes," Draco said, getting to his feet and reaching for Valen. He
hefted the small boy in his arms, Transfiguring a chair into a small
cot and laying the child inside it. Then he turned back to Harry.
"Order me to do something," he said.
Harry quirked one corner of his mouth up. "Kiss me," he said.
"Oh, but I want to do that," Draco smiled, but didn't move to
kiss him.
Harry let out a happy laugh.
"So the compulsion is gone and we know that even weeks
without sex didn't kill me. Just felt like it," the blond said.
Harry's face fell and he reached to pull Draco into his arms. "It
was awful," he said quietly.
"Yes, but it's done," Draco whispered, sliding into his lover's
embrace. "We are bound now but not with those provisions," he
said. "But I still want you every day for the rest of my life."
"You have made that very clear, my love," Harry said gently,
kissing Draco's hair.
"Including now, again," Draco said, raising his eyebrows.
Harry smiled and slid his hands down Draco's back. "Certainly,"
he said, kissing Draco's lips.
"So, you said you wanted to be able to order me and not have me
obey," Draco said, grinning. "What did you have in mind?"
"Hmm," Harry hummed, looking at Draco mischievously. "So
many things to choose from." He slid his hands further down to
grasp Draco's arse.
"Yes," Draco answered breathlessly, trembling at his husband's
touch. "Anything."
"Strip," Harry told him, voice already gone husky. "Strip and then
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245
let me suck your cock."
Draco stood stretching and then began to slowly unbutton his
shirt.
Harry licked his lips, his eyes on Draco's hands. "I know I tell you
this all the time," he said, "but you are so unbelievably sexy."
"I know," Draco answered, smiling smugly. He opened the shirt
and then unbuttoned the cuffs, shrugging out of it so that it fell off
his shoulders and slid down his arms.
Harry licked his lips again, itching to reach for Draco but wanting
to watch him undress. "I would never stop fucking you if I didn't
have to," he said.
"Never again," Draco said, whispering it like a prayer. Then he
kicked his shoes off and began to unfasten his trousers, watching
Harry as he did.
Harry grinned up at Draco. "I mean literally," he said, eyes
darting back to the pale hands.
Draco opened his trousers and then slid his right hand inside,
fondling his growing erection.
"Mmm, take it out and stroke yourself," Harry said, scooting up
so that he was sitting at the very edge of the sofa.
Draco gasped, using his silver hand to push his trousers and
shorts down over his hips as he caressed his own cock.
"Oh, fuck, yes. Like that," Harry said, swallowing. It was highly
possible that they were going to break their record. "Make it nice and
wet for me."
Draco moaned, spreading the pre-come down his length as he
caressed himself.
"Come here," Harry said after another moment, his own cock as
hard as rock, his body trembling with lust.
Draco stepped out of his trousers to stand naked in front of his
husband.
Harry reached out both hands and grabbed Draco's arse, pulling
him even closer. He grasped Draco's gorgeous, leaking cock, giving it
a long, slow lick from root to tip before he sucked the head into his
mouth, moaning in sweet satisfaction.
Draco released his own cock when Harry took hold and brought
his hand up to grip his lover's hair instead. "Yes, suck me," he
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
encouraged. "I love your lips wrapped around me."
Harry would've replied with a, "Me too," but found he would
much rather keep his mouth right where it was. He answered instead
with a swirl of his tongue, sucking as noisily as he could.
"Can I fuck your mouth?" Draco asked, resisting the urge but
wanting more.
Harry grinned around Draco's cock, looking up at him as he
panted through his nose. He nodded, ready for it.
Draco gripped Harry's hair and brought the silver one up to hold
his shoulder and then he began to rock his hips, pushing himself into
his husband's mouth.
Harry moaned, letting his eyes fall shut as he allowed Draco to
push in as far as he could take him, trying to take even more of him.
"Fucking that beautiful mouth," Draco gasped, doing just that. "I
love fucking you, love that you do this to me!"
Harry absolutely loved what he could do to Draco as well,
thought it possible that he loved it even more than Draco did. He
delighted in being able to turn his husband on so strongly, adored the
fact that Draco wanted him all the time, every second of every day,
revelled in the feeling of so much love and desire. His head spun with
it and his cock throbbed with intense arousal.
Draco continued thrusting into his husband's mouth until he felt
his body coming to its release. He stopped then, pulling Harry's hair
tight. "Stop," he said.
Harry let out a whimpering sound, pausing despite not wanting
to.
Draco Summoned his wand, casting the Muting Spell on the cot.
"Such a beautiful mouth," he told his lover. "But I want to fuck you
again."
"Yeah," Harry groaned, still panting. "Fuck me hard." He flicked
his fingers to quickly remove his own clothes, gasping.
Draco smiled at the suddenly naked man, pulling him to his feet
and pressing his mouth over Harry's.
Harry kissed back hungrily, pulling Draco against his own body.
Draco plunged his tongue into his lover's mouth, groaning as he
felt Harry's cock press against his thigh and his own brush the man's
hip.
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247
Harry licked Draco's tongue with his own. He pulled their
mouths slightly apart so that he could drag his tongue along Draco's
lips, feeling the softness of them.
Trembling, Draco backed up until he reached the armchair. His
fingers continued to cup the back of Harry's head, pulling at his hair.
His silver hand slid down his back, cupping his arse.
Harry kissed Draco again, pressing his arse back. "Need lube?" he
asked, slicking his hand and pressing it between their bodies to stroke
Draco's erection.
Draco growled, pulling back and abruptly turning the two of
them before bending Harry over the arm of the chair.
"Fuck, you're so hot when you growl," Harry practically growled
himself, putting his arse on display in a way he knew had to look
terribly good.
"Yes, and I am going to fuck you until we both scream," Draco
promised, coating his fingers in the lube Harry had applied to his
cock.
"Fuck, yes," Harry breathed, his arse clenching in anticipation.
"Do you know how much I fucking love you fucking me?" he asked.
"There's nothing like that cock in my arse, nothing like the feeling of
your come in me."
Draco couldn't wait. "Better lube yourself then because I am
going to fuck you deep and hard," he promised, rubbing the head of
his cock against the other man's opening.
"Oh, fuck, just do it," Harry groaned, bracing himself. "Fuck
me."
Draco pressed in then, a smooth slide into his lover's spasming
body. He threw his head back with a gasp at the sensation. "Yesss!"
he hissed.
"Fuck!" Harry shouted, a shiver shooting up his spine and then
through his entire body. It hurt, but, fucking hell, that was what he
wanted. It was hardly fucking if it didn't hurt.
Draco grabbed both hips then and slid back, feeling his lover's
flesh tighten in resistance as he did.
Harry groaned deeply, his cock twitching and heavy between his
legs. "So fucking thick," he told Draco in that same type of groan.
"So perfect in my arse."
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"Yes, perfect arse," Draco said, thrusting hard into him again,
fingers digging into his flesh.
Harry gasped and cried out, throwing his head back as colours
seemed to explode behind his eyelids, like some of Fred and George's
fireworks.
Draco rocked, thrusting hard and fast into his lover's shuddering
body. He could feel that amazing power as Harry's magic crackled
over the two of them.
"I'm gonna come!" Harry announced loudly, pushing back. "Oh,
fuck! Fuck!" He shut his eyes even tighter, gripping the chair so hard
he figured either it was going to break or his fingers were.
"Yes, bring us!" Draco shouted, sweating as he thrust as hard and
fast as he could make himself move.
Harry's seed exploded out of him then, painting the chair cushion
with hot, sticky stripes of it. He shuddered and gasped, his arms
going limp so that he was slumped.
Draco thrust in deep, holding on tight when Harry's orgasm
flooded him with magic and he filled his husband with his seed. The
blond's back was arched and he shuddered violently in the grip of
pleasure so intense it hurt. He panted, his head spinning.
Harry let out small moans on every breath. He turned his head so
that he wasn't breathing directly into the chair. He couldn't even
think enough to string a sentence together.
Draco let loose his grip on Harry's hips, a little concerned that he
might have hurt him, especially with the silver hand. He grasped the
arm of the chair to hold himself still.
"Merlin," Harry finally managed, his body still limp.
"Just me," Draco teased, laying kisses in the centre of his lover's
sweaty back.
Harry smiled, both at the words and the kisses. "Better than
anyone I can think of."
Draco didn't want to pull loose from his lover's body but knew
he couldn't stand much longer. It had been a very long, amazing day.
He gently withdrew, sliding to his knees then as it caught up with
him.
Harry turned his head and then his body, wincing and groaning
with the soreness. He sat down in the chair strangely, his legs thrown
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249
over the arm of it. "Draco?" he said, a bit concerned.
Draco leant forward, resting his face against Harry's belly, smiling
softly. "Yes, love?" he answered in a whisper.
Harry sighed quietly, laying a gentle hand on his husband's head.
He smiled softly as well, both amused and delighted that Draco
seemed to like him pregnant so much.
Draco felt that small spark of magic. She was different from
Valen already. He kissed the spot. "I can feel you," he whispered to
her.
Harry sighed happily again, petting Draco's hair, taking in the
beautiful sight of his husband speaking to his belly, even if it was still
flat.
"Shall we go to our bed?" Draco asked from his place on his
knees.
"Yes, I think so," Harry answered. "We should collect the
offspring that is already here." He smiled.
Draco got shakily to his feet and then helped Harry up. He
Summoned his wand and cast Cleaning Charms for both of them,
happy to be able to do that again, too.
Harry kissed Draco softly after, shaky as well, but not really
caring. He never wanted to let him go.
Draco transformed the chair-turned-cot so that it now had
wheels and pushed it into the bedroom as he pulled his husband
along with him.
Once inside the room, Harry climbed into the bed and under the
covers, feeling the very definition of content, only wanting Draco to
lay with him.
Draco looked at their sleeping boy for a minute, overcome with
the joy he felt as he did. He leant in and laid a gentle kiss on Valen's
head. The infant stirred but didn't wake. Then Draco turned, smiling
at his husband as he climbed into bed with him.
Harry pulled Draco against his body, sighing. "I can't imagine
loving any baby as much as I love Valen," he said, "but I'm sure I
will."
"We will love them all," Draco assured his husband, smiling up at
the "H" on the now reformed bed.
Harry snorted happily at Draco's words, looking where he was
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
looking. "Yes," he said. "You've now managed to impregnate that
boy from the robe shop twice, and are, apparently, conspiring to do
so again."
"Yes," Draco grinned. "Making lots of heirs after all."
"Ah, of course ... of course," Harry said amusedly.
Draco curled around his lover, holding him tight with one hand
resting on his stomach. It was a familiar pose and it felt so amazingly
good that he nearly wept again.
Harry closed his eyes, laying his hand over Draco's. "I love you,"
he whispered.
"Yes, always," Draco answered sleepily as he drifted off.
Within a few moments, Harry had drifted off as well, the soft
smile still on his face.
– CHAPTER THIRTY –
Say It
Harry and Draco were lying in their bed with Valen, lazy and content.
They'd hardly moved from the place in a week, having spent it
playing with the baby, making love, or talking about the new baby. It
was still such a relief to have all of it back, to be able to touch again.
Harry raised Valen above his head, smiling up at him. "Kit-ty," he
tried to get him to say. "Come on, Valen. Say it for Daddy."
Draco snorted. "The child is smart enough to know you are not a
cat," he teased, but then leant close, rubbing his face against Harry's
shoulder in his own familiar imitation of one.
Harry smiled, kissing Draco's forehead. "I wasn't wanting him to
think I was a cat," he said. "I just wanted him to say it." Harry sat the
baby down atop his stomach, holding Valen's little hands.
Valen could sit up now, even if he was a bit wobbly. Propped up
against his daddy's legs, he did pretty well. He burbled and squeezed
Harry's hands.
Draco considered his son. He knew that the child had been aware
of a problem when the binding was broken and was clearly much
happier now that it had been fixed. He assumed it was because of his
son's inherited sensitivity. "He's happy we are bound again," Draco
prompted, not knowing if his husband had picked up on the child's
behaviour.
"He has seemed better," Harry agreed. "I think he was scared
before."
"He was probably pretty frightened. He can sense magic. That
means he could feel when the binding was removed and the way our
magic was reacting," Draco explained.
"That couldn't have been good for you, huh?" Harry cooed,
pulling Valen down against his chest and chuckling as the baby
attempted to give him a slobbery kiss.
Draco smiled as Valen slobbered on Harry. "And I think he knew
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about the potion, not really what it was but the fact that I was under
one," he added.
Harry frowned. "I know," he replied. "He was scared then, too."
Draco nodded. "He kept looking at me with this confused
expression." He paused a minute, lips pressed into a line as he
worried about his next words. "Scared you pretty badly, too," he
whispered.
Harry looked away, back to Valen. "I guess," he answered quietly.
Valen squirmed. Draco sighed and reached to rub the infant's
back. The baby seemed to settle down, laying his head on Harry's
shoulder and watching Draco with sleepy looking green eyes. "Want
to put him in the cot?" Draco asked.
Harry kissed Valen's hair, sitting up to put him down for his nap.
Draco lay on his side, head propped up on his hand, watching
them and trying to think of a way to talk to his husband about
something he knew made him uncomfortable.
Harry sighed as he lay down again, scooting close to Draco and
facing him. "What are you thinking of?" he asked.
The blond frowned, reaching a hand out to gently stroke Harry's
hair from his face, fingers trailing back along his cheek as he did. It
was glorious, this ability to touch him – touch that had not just been
denied him for the last two months but for six years before they
became involved. "I suppose I want to apologise," he said softly.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Apologise for what?" he asked,
wondering if Draco was still talking about what had happened back
in October.
Draco had been raised to never say that he was sorry. That it was
a sign of weakness. He had to take several breaths to go on. "I am ...
sorry I hurt you, that I didn't talk to you about Theo and that I did
what I did with him."
Harry pulled Draco even closer. "You couldn't help what you
did," he whispered. "I didn't blame you for that then, and I don't
blame you now."
"I didn't tell you he had talked with me in the showers before that
because I didn't want to upset you. You were already pretty worked
up over him," Draco admitted.
Harry bit his lip. "Yeah, I guess I was," he agreed. "Draco, don't
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253
ever hold something back because you're afraid it will hurt my
feelings. If you want to tell me, then tell me."
Draco did what he always wanted to do when Harry bit his lip, he
leant in to give him a gentle kiss but then drew back to look into his
eyes again. "I said some awful things then and I did hurt you," he
said.
Harry looked down. "I ... was hurt, yes," he admitted quietly. "It
was just so much all at once."
Draco never liked it when Harry got that look and he was
tempted to stop talking right then. Yet, though he would rather just
let it go himself, he was worried that doubt might linger for Harry.
He reached out again, fingers trembling slightly as he gently cupped
Harry's cheek. "I can find other people attractive and still want you,
want you so much that I choose you over the world," he whispered.
"I know that," Harry whispered back. "I never really thought any
different."
"Then why the jealousy?" Draco asked, realising that he was still
not directly addressing the issue that he was trying to talk about, but
still curious about the answer.
Harry frowned, thinking. "I don’t ... I don't even know," he
answered. "It was partly because of what I told you before. He ...
understands a certain part of you more than I do. It's complicated, I
guess. Logically, I know you would never leave me, never, but ... even
the thought of you ... wanting to, even for just a second, to get what
he can give and I can't. I – I don't know, I just hate it. And the other
part was that I was angry that he would even try to ... do whatever it
was he was trying on you. Not jokingly, not half-heartedly, but really
try to get you. I felt like ripping him apart."
Draco couldn't help but smirk at that last part, imagining his
"lion" doing just that. "Such a territorial thing you are," he teased.
"And, for the record, Theo was my friend but I was never in love
with him. Never. It wouldn't even cross my mind to leave you."
Harry took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding and
hugging Draco around the middle.
Draco nuzzled his lover's face then, kissing his forehead, not
even realising for a moment that he did so on that famous scar. He
took a deep breath, forcing himself not to do what they usually did –
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have sex instead of talking when they got upset. It probably helped
that they were pretty sated at the moment. "I also wanted you to
know that I am sorry I resisted you when I was under the potion," he
said.
Harry stared at Draco confusedly. "But ... you couldn't help it,"
he whispered, looking down again. He hated thinking about what
he'd done to his husband, forcing him without thinking of another
way.
"And I don't blame you for what happened then, either," Draco
insisted.
Harry stared at Draco in confusion again. "But it was my fault,"
he said quietly.
Draco had had months to think about this and compare it with
their other experiences. "I think given our history, with me saying 'no'
when I needed you, it was an understandable reaction."
"I'm still sorry for doing it," Harry told him seriously.
"Are you unhappy with me over what I did then and ... and to fix
the binding?" Draco asked, the issue having bothered him.
"I was scared," Harry answered. "I didn't know what you were
going to do if it didn't work, but I'm not ... unhappy with it. You
weren't exactly thinking straight."
"No, I wasn't," Draco admitted, flushing a bit at that. "I am so
much better with you than without you."
"I would have to say I am, too," Harry whispered, kissing Draco's
nose. "And I guess we both do some pretty crazy things when we
don't have our better halves."
"So, we forgive each other?" Draco asked, not being able to stop
caressing Harry's face as he did.
Harry smiled. "I'd say yes," he answered.
Draco smiled, warmth and relief flooding him. "Oh, my love," he
whispered and leant in for the kiss he had been holding back.
Harry readily met Draco's lips, closing his eyes as he pressed
forward again.
Draco's fingers slid back into Harry's hair, and he moaned softly
at the touch and taste and feel of him.
Harry kissed a path down Draco's chin and neck. "I love you," he
whispered, "more than anything." He rained kisses across Draco's
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255
collarbone and back up his throat. "You gave me yourself, and our
son, and now our daughter. So what if we're crazy. Look at
everything it's brought us."
"Yes, everything," Draco agreed, shivering in delight.
"Everything," Harry repeated. "Everything that matters." He
pushed Draco onto his back. "And nothing and no one can take that
away from us," he said, looking down at Draco.
"Nothing and no one," Draco agreed, hands sliding over the skin
of his beloved.
"Mmm," Harry hummed, still kissing over Draco's skin. Then he
paused and looked down at him again. "You know what I've just
thought of?" he asked.
Draco grinned up at him. "No," he admitted, "but the look on
your face tells me I want to."
Harry smirked. "We haven’t called our Patronuses since that day
in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"I have you for a protector," Draco whispered, but his heart sped
up at the idea.
"Of course you do," Harry agreed. "But I'm not talking about
using them for protecting."
Draco trembled; just the memory of Harry's Patronus was
arousing to him. "Yes, show me," he agreed.
Harry grinned and sat up, straddling Draco. He cast a Shield
Charm over Valen's cot so that they wouldn't wake him and then
held his hand out, bringing up the thought of just a few days ago
when he'd been able to touch Draco again, and the dragon shot right
out of his very skin, stretching and unfurling its wings.
Draco laughed, the warmth of Harry's magic making his body
shudder.
Harry Summoned Draco's wand next, handing it to him slyly. "I
think my dragon's lonely," he said, voice deep as he traced patterns
over Draco's chest.
"Oh, I wouldn't want such a pretty dragon to be without his
lion," Draco purred. The memory he used to cast the Patronus was
when they conceived their new child. A bright glowing lion with a
bushy mane appeared before them.
"He is beautiful," Harry agreed, smiling down at his husband. He
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turned his head to watch the shimmering Patronuses circling each
other, nuzzling and rubbing their faces together.
Draco shivered beneath his husband. Every time Harry's
Patronus rubbed against his own he could feel the caress of the
magic. "Oh, ohhhh," he gasped.
Harry was aroused watching Draco. "You can feel it?" he asked
breathlessly, his hands pressing and stroking.
"Yesss, your magic," Draco whispered. "I always felt your magic
but the link ... the binding ... makes it more intense!"
"The new one?" Harry asked, smirking again as he made his
dragon pin the lion down.
Draco laughed at the reversal, the dragon holding down the lion.
"So hot," he said, then answering the question. "Both times, but
Great Rite ... with it both ways, yes."
Harry chuckled at Draco's near incoherency. At a mere order in
his mind, the dragon lapped at the lion's face with its long tongue.
Draco's head fell back with a moan, neck arching and the lion
mirrored the move.
Harry bent to lick as well, but he went for Draco's neck instead
of his face. "Think it's possible for my dragon to fuck your lion?" he
whispered, feeling Draco's hard cock underneath his arse.
Draco couldn't have made a coherent response to that. His
Patronus seemed to reply for him, crouching so that its chest was
pressed to the bed and hind end in the air.
Harry flushed, wondering what someone might think if they were
to walk into their bedroom right then. He climbed off of Draco and
moved between his legs as the dragon moved up behind the lion,
stretching its long neck to rub its face in the lion's mane.
Draco arched his hips up when Harry moved, not wanting to give
up the contact with him and his lion was responding enthusiastically
to the dragon.
Harry slicked his fingers and quickly pushed two inside, eager to
see just how much pleasure he could give Draco.
Draco responded by eagerly spreading his legs, gasping and
whimpering.
"Oh, I'm gonna fuck you," Harry promised in a whisper. "It'll feel
so good you'll cry."
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257
The animals next to them seemed to be waiting for them, simply
arching and rubbing.
"Yes, oh, yes," Draco responded, nearly crying now with how
much he wanted it.
Harry withdrew his fingers and slicked himself before taking
Draco's legs and resting them over his shoulders, lining up.
The dragon lovingly continued to rub its face in the lion's mane,
scooting up closer as its wings stretched in excitement.
Draco watched in fascination, still trembling at the power of the
magic and his husband's touch. "Yes, claim me," he encouraged. He
had never even heard of someone using the Patronus Spell this way.
But then again, there was no one else whose magic worked like
Harry's.
Harry let his head fall back and slid his cock inside, releasing a
slow hiss of pleasure as he buried himself in Draco's body. And on
some base level, he knew that the dragon was sliding inside, too.
Draco couldn't have really explained the feelings. He could feel
his body penetrated by his husband – and he could feel the other
wizard's magic combining with his own via the Patronus as well. He
moaned in delight, hands grasping Harry's shoulders as he arched
into him.
Harry could swear the lion was purring. He slid back smoothly,
making it slow and sensual so that Draco could feel every inch. He
wanted to see if he could draw out noises from his husband as well.
As Harry and his Patronus moved, Draco's gasps gave way to
moans and whimpers as he surrendered himself, no longer even
aware of what sounds he made or the way he writhed beneath Harry.
"Yes, Draco," Harry groaned, entranced with the sounds and the
warmth of Draco's body. He held on to Draco's legs and bent to kiss
him, and the dragon stretched out its tongue and licked the lion's ear.
It was like being licked with Harry's magic and Draco gasped. His
Patronus lion laid its head back arching into the thrusts of the
dragon.
Harry moved his own tongue into Draco's mouth with that gasp,
allowing his legs to fall down to the bed.
Draco held on to his husband, moving and sliding with him,
wrapping his legs around Harry's hips and his tongue twisting with
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him.
Harry began to rotate more instead of thrust, getting close
himself. The dragon emitted a low rumbling sound, its wings
twitching and stretching again.
The sensations were overwhelming and Draco loved that,
moaning louder and gasping. He could swear he felt what his
Patronus lion felt along with his own body – and they both were
close to coming.
Harry broke the kiss, panting now. "Yes," he whispered. "Oh,
fuck, yes." His breath caught and he let out a sort of short keening,
sliding all the way inside before spilling his seed, slick and hot. The
dragon's wings unfurled completely and it threw its head back, silver
flames flying from its nostrils.
Searing and blindingly pleasurable heat accompanied that release
of magic and Draco screamed in delight, his entire body giving a
violent shudder with his orgasm.
Harry gasped as Draco's arse clenched impossibly tight around
his cock, on the verge of being actually painful.
Draco shook and moaned, thrashing through their release and
holding his lover tightly.
Harry slipped down to lay against Draco completely, face pressed
to his neck as their Patronuses began to rub again.
The lion lay down, apparently as sated and worn out as Draco
who lay under his husband panting. That's when he heard the cooing
and babbling from the cot.
The dragon joined the lion on the floor curling in its wings. Harry
raised his head with some effort, looking in the direction of the cot.
They could hear Valen and he was clearly happy, making burbling
noises that almost sounded like singing. Draco chuckled. The child
was certainly a sensitive.
Harry shook his head. "I believe we broke the charm," he said,
smiling.
Draco smiled up at him. "Yes," he answered breathlessly. "Or he
did."
Harry laughed. "It is absolutely insane that he's less than a year
old and that wouldn't surprise me."
"Well, he does have your wild side as well as my sensitivity,"
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Draco observed. He smiled at the Patronus images before dispelling
his own.
For a split second, the dragon actually glared at Draco accusingly
before Harry sent it away as well, performing Cleaning Charms for
himself and his husband in the same wave of his hand. "Yes he
does," he said in response to Draco's comment, crawling across the
bed to fetch the baby in question.
Valen's eyes were wide and he babbled even louder when he saw
Harry, holding his hands out. "Dada!"
Harry grinned at Valen and lifted him from underneath the arms,
kissing his forehead before plopping him down on his bottom.
The baby wobbled but stayed upright and Draco reached a hand
out to steady him. "You could feel the magic, couldn't you?" he asked
the baby.
"You certainly could," Harry said suggestively, kissing Draco's
cheek.
Draco rarely blushed these days but he did then. "Oh, yes," he
agreed.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE –
Good News
It felt so very good to be happy again. It felt good to have things the
way they were supposed to be, because it hadn't felt like that since
they'd gone back to Hogwarts to take their N.E.W.T.s, but it did
now, and Harry was relieved. He'd woken up in a nice mood to a
husband in a nice mood, and his son in a nice mood as well. Their
happiness had spread to Ron and Hermione too, who both seemed
very glad to have their friends back.
They had spent a few days lying in bed, but eventually they all got
ready to spend some time at the Burrow, where the entire clan of
Weasleys was meeting, as Ron had said. When they arrived by Floo,
they could hardly step out of the fireplace and into the room. The
kitchen was filled with ginger-heads and happy chatter.
When everyone noticed who was trying to get through, the room
quieted.
Draco stepped out and then held his hand out for Harry as the
man Flooed through with their son in his arms.
Harry smiled and took Draco's hand as he stepped over the grate.
He could feel the eyes on them, and knew everyone was staring at
their hands.
"Well, what's everyone standing around for?" said Mrs Weasley's
voice from somewhere in the sea of tall sons. She stepped out from
behind Percy. "It's only Harry and Draco." She smiled at them, taking
Valen from Harry, as she often did when she saw them. Her voice
was cheerful, but Harry could detect the awkwardness in her
movements, and in all the others.
Draco smiled. When Valen was taken from Harry, Draco pulled
his husband closer, kissing him gently in front of everyone.
Harry made a small humming noise as Draco kissed him.
"Finally," said Fred into the silence.
Harry snorted, pulling back.
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261
Draco smiled happily into Harry's eyes. Then turned smiling to
face the "red horde."
"You two really aren't fighting then?" George asked.
"Never were," said Harry.
"The rumours of the demise of our relationship were definitely
not correct," Draco said, not letting go of his husband.
"What was going on is complicated," Harry added, "but it never
had to do with wanting to split up. Believe me."
Noise from the fireplace indicated Hermione's and Ron's arrival
then and Harry stepped further into the room, pulling Draco with
him.
Draco looked around and was struck by the memory of how
uncomfortable he had once felt here. These strange people, "the red
horde," had become his family, too.
Ron brushed the soot out of his hair and off his clothes, smiling.
"Where's my nephew, eh?" he asked with a grin.
Hermione smiled, looking around the room as well. They must
not have seen the new baby in the hospital since they'd come home
so early for Harry and Draco.
The Weasleys parted to reveal Fleur sitting at the table with what
looked like a small bundle of blankets in her arms. Harry had never
seen her look so happy.
""Ere," she said, beaming.
Draco grinned, walking forward with their friends. He made a
kind of bow to Fleur, greeting and congratulating her in French.
"Merci beaucoup," she said, smiling at Draco. She tilted the little
body so that they could see, and pulled the small hat from his head.
"Awww," said Hermione. "He's beautiful!"
And he was. His eyes were very blue. A lot of newborn babies'
eyes were blue, but because both Bill and Fleur's eyes were that
colour, it was likely they would stay that way. His features were small,
and he almost looked like he should be a girl. His small bit of fine
hair was a very, very light red and slightly golden, almost blond.
"He is," Harry agreed, smiling as well.
Draco had to admit, it was true. Not as beautiful as Valen, of
course, but stunning. "Hello, Christophe," he said.
Fleur smiled at that, and Bill, who was standing to the side, shook
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his head amusedly.
"He is, isn't he?" said Mrs Weasley fondly. "Oh, I still can't
believe I'm a grandmother."
"Well, you are, Nana Molly," said Fred, elbowing his mother
playfully.
Draco nodded and smiled over at Ron. "Who knows, soon there
may be babies everywhere."
Ron's ears reddened, and Mrs Weasley beamed over at him.
"Well, there are going to be three soon anyway," said Harry,
looking up and grinning widely.
Draco blushed then, grinning as well. He waited, letting his
husband tell the news.
"What do you mean, Harry?" asked Mr Weasley, looking
confusedly at Ron and Hermione, obviously thinking something was
up with them.
"Oh, no, not me," said Hermione quickly, shaking her head.
"No, not her," said Harry with a laugh. "Me."
There was silence in the room for a moment.
"You're pregnant again, mate?" asked George, his eyes wide.
"Yep," said Harry happily. "Since yesterday."
Draco smiled wider and nodded. "A girl," he said softly.
"My, goodness, you're serious," said Mrs Weasley after a minute,
a smile spreading across her face. "Oh, after everything that's been
going on and – Well, we've just been so worried and – That's
wonderful news!" She pulled Harry and then Draco into tight hugs,
holding Valen in one arm.
Draco stiffened but allowed himself to be hugged. He was getting
used to being touched by other people, but was still most
comfortable with Harry and Valen. Valen squealed, happily patting
the faces of his parents as they were hugged.
"Dada, dada," he chanted.
"You are getting so big," Mrs Weasley said to Valen as she pulled
back. "I'm sure you're going to be a very good big brother."
Harry smiled. "Yes, I'm sure he will be," he said.
"A very good big cousin as well, I 'ope," said Fleur.
Harry looked over at her, a strange sort of smile on his face. "I
suppose he is a bit of a cousin, isn't he?" he said.
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263
"Oh, no bit about it, Harry," said Mrs Weasley, kissing Valen's
forehead.
Draco looked at the baby in Fleur's arms. "Can I hold him?" he
asked.
She nodded, passing the baby to Draco. "Congratulations to you
both," she said to them.
Harry smiled again as the congratulations spilled from everyone.
Draco nodded too, gently holding the little boy in his arms and
cooing to him in French.
"Look at the baby," said Mrs Weasley to Valen, moving a little
closer to Draco with him. "Do you see him?"
"Baba," Valen repeated, reaching little fingers toward the baby.
Mrs Weasley smiled and nodded. "Yes, a baby," she said. She
moved a tiny bit closer. "Like you. But you're bigger than he is. You
have to be easy with him."
Valen reached his hand out and gently patted the smaller infant's
head. "Baba," he said, happily.
Everyone laughed and Harry sighed happily, leaning over to kiss
Draco's cheek.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO –
Christmas Memorial
The month of December seemed to speed by. Soon, Christmas was
very nearly upon them, which also meant the anniversary of the
hundreds of deaths the previous year. It was difficult to think of
Seamus, and Dennis, and it was especially hard on Hermione, who
had never been given the opportunity to tell her father that she was
getting married, and would not get to share with him anything about
her new life and the family she would build.
There was going to be a public memorial service held in the
Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Harry had been asked to be there,
even though he would have gone anyway. Hermione picked up her
mother to attend the memorial as well, and they all arrived at the
Ministry by Floo. They met the Weasleys there in the very large
crowd, even larger than it might have been under normal
circumstances, as close Muggle family members were allowed to
attend with the aide of wizarding relatives.
Draco held Valen tight against him with his silver hand and his
right held Harry's left. He was worried about the crowds exciting the
infant. So much magic could easily overstimulate a sensitive like
Valen.
Unsurprisingly, reporters covering the event moved close to
Harry and Draco as soon as they arrived, but hadn't been much of a
problem – yet. Harry hoped they had enough sense not to turn the
entire thing into a big circus surrounding their relationship.
Valen squealed and babbled at the flashing cameras, reaching to
try to take one from a reporter who got too close. Draco's hands
were full, but he stepped back.
Harry gave the photographer a warning look, squinting from the
quick, bright flashes of light.
"Come on now," said Sirius, who was also there, despite having
been 'dead' during the actual attacks. "Give them some bloody
CHRISTMAS MEMORIAL
265
breathing room." They snapped a few shots of him.
Draco let go of Harry's hand and reached to put his arm around
his waist, gathering him closer. He never liked the crush of reporters
when they went out.
The closer Harry and Draco moved to each other, the more
flashes went off, and Harry pulled up the side of his robe to cover his
face. They had their damn shot and he didn't want his presence to
ruin everything else. Sirius, Remus and the others tried to block the
reporters off, standing in front of the family.
With the help of their friends, they made their way to the staging
area. At least the reporters were kept back by Ministry personnel
then.
"They're like a bunch of sharks," said Ron, looking over his
shoulder.
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "I know."
Hermione stood close next to her mother, who was looking,
quite understandably, overwhelmed.
While the room continued to fill, the cracks of Apparition and
the whooshing sounds of people arriving in fireplaces kept sounding
throughout the Atrium. The Minister climbed the steps of the stage
that had been erected and pressed his wand to his throat. "Fellow
wizards and witches," his voice boomed over the crowd. The noise
level in the room died down considerably until the only sounds were
a last few pops and cracks. "And family," Scrimgeour added. "It is
with great pride that I stand before you all today, in remembrance of
those lost to us ...." He went on about the unity among wizards, the
tragedy of the incident, and some about the war and the triumph over
Lord Voldemort.
"And with that said," the Minister continued, his voice carrying a
note of finality, "it is my pleasure to give you Harry Potter." He
clapped and the crowd followed with their cheers and applause.
Harry took a deep breath, having actually grown pretty used to
speaking in front of large crowds over the previous months. He
didn't really think he was all that important to be giving so many
speeches, but everyone always seemed to want him to do so. He gave
Draco a chaste kiss before turning and heading up the stairs as well.
Scrimgeour nodded to Harry and moved back to give him his
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
place at the podium. The noise died out again as Harry stepped up,
opening his mouth.
Draco settled Valen on his knee, trying to get comfortable in the
small wooden chairs set up for the families. Just as Harry opened his
mouth, Valen yelled, "Dada!" into the quiet.
Harry smiled and there was a chuckle and some murmuring
through the crowd. He took another breath, opening his mouth
again. "What happened on this day a year ago was terrible – more
than terrible," he began. "A tragedy in every sense of the word. It's
not an easy thing to forget, because, it's not easy to forget sons and
daughters, mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, grandparents,
friends. And it's hard, because we don't want to forget them in the
slightest, and I know that it's hard not to think about what happened.
But I don't think we're here to remember what happened to our
friends and family. Well, we ... are here for that – in a sense, but
what's really important is that we remember how amazing, and
caring, and brave the people were that we lost.
"What were they like? What did they give? What did you love
about them? Those are the things that mean something. Don't let
them, as people, be swallowed by the way they were taken.
"I like to believe that, once we've made the full journey to the
other side, we can look down on those we left behind. Do they want
us consumed with thoughts of that night? Hatred for those that did
it? Or would they want us to live on? To make a new life? I know
what I would want.
"Yes, I remember that day, but more than that, I remember the
people and what they meant to me – and still do. Let's carry them on
with us, inside our hearts and minds, through stories of them, and
fond memories. We can take them with us as we continue to rebuild
our world." He nodded and stepped back.
There was applause and tears and Draco clapped his right hand
on his thigh. His silver hand was busy trying to hold a squirming little
boy. Draco looked fondly toward Hermione and her mother,
acknowledging them with a nod.
There were tears in both Hermione's and her mother's eyes, and
some flowing down their cheeks, but they smiled at Draco and
hugged each other.
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267
The Minister clapped Harry on the shoulder as he took another
step back, making way for Head Auror, Edgar Barclay to speak.
Harry headed back down the steps, taking his seat next to Draco and
Valen.
Valen launched himself bodily at Harry, nearly managing to fall
when Draco was caught by surprise. "Dada, dada," the baby yelled.
Harry smiled and laughed, taking Valen into his arms. "Shhh," he
said. "I hear you."
"Harry, that was beautiful," said Hermione from his other side.
He smiled at her and she kissed him on the cheek, hugging him.
Valen imitated her, giving Harry a big smack of a kiss on the
other cheek.
She and Harry both laughed, Hermione wiping under her eyes
with a tissue that Ron handed across to her.
Draco smiled, feeling happy despite the occasion that brought
them there. It was hard to keep Valen calm and busy in such a crowd
while they waited through the speeches. Then there was the reading
of the list of the dead, which different people took turns at until they
were all spoken.
Hermione was one of the people to read, and her voice caught as
she read the name, "James Morgan Granger," but she didn't break
down and continued through the list.
Harry listened with the rest of the crowd, helping Draco to keep
Valen from wanting to get down and crawl, and from screeching into
the quiet.
Draco's hair had been pulled out of its tie, and his clothes were
rumpled and slobbered on. He was more than ready to go by the time
the minute of silence was up.
There were a few more parting words from Scrimgeour before
everyone began getting to their feet.
Harry could already see reporters waiting where it was roped off.
He sighed and turned to face their friends. "Everyone's still meeting
up at our place for dinner tomorrow, right?" he asked.
"Of course, Harry," said Mrs Weasley, patting his arm.
"And, Mum, you've got to bring the pudding," said George. "It's
not Christmas without that."
"Yes, yes, I know," said Mrs Weasley, gathering up the few half-
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
full boxes of tissue that she had brought to hand out.
Draco eyed the reporters, not in the mood to deal with them and
trying to figure a way quickly through.
Valen was still behaving rather excitedly and Harry was thinking
the exact thing Draco was. "I think we're just going to have to run for
it," he said.
"Wish I could just hex them all," Draco muttered, but nodded.
Harry nodded as well. "See all you lot tomorrow," he said, taking
Draco's right hand.
Hermione and Ron were taking her mother home and would be
going home themselves later.
Everyone said their goodbyes and Harry and Draco began
towards the fireplaces lined up on the wall. Questions were thrown at
them immediately and photos were taken by the dozens. Harry
ignored it all, doing his best to manoeuvre his way through the sea of
people with cameras and quills.
Draco did his best to shield their child from the crowd but Valen
started to cry before they made it to the nearest fireplace. He actually
did threaten to hex one reporter when the man stuck his camera in
Valen's face and took a picture of the child crying.
"Fucking arseholes," Harry muttered when they'd finally made it
home. He'd wanted to throttle the man, and a few others.
Draco nodded, rocking back and forth, trying to soothe the
confused child. "Maybe if you fed him," he said. "He might calm
down."
Harry held out his arms for the baby, nodding.
Valen was whimpering instead of shouting now and immediately
tugged on Harry's shirt.
"Come on, love," Harry said in a quiet voice to Valen, nodding
for Draco to follow as he moved into the sitting room across from
the entrance hall. He spelled his shirt and robe away and settled
himself on the sofa with the baby.
Draco dropped onto the sofa next to him, head falling back with
a groan.
"I know," Harry said, turning his head to his husband.
"I should buy the Prophet and fire that bloke with the camera,"
Draco said, eyes closed.
CHRISTMAS MEMORIAL
269
Harry let out a small laugh. "Could I watch?" he asked, turning
eyes on their son, whose own eyes were a little red.
"You can even be the one to fire him if you like," Draco said,
smiling slightly at the idea.
Harry snorted again. "Really though," he said. "What makes them
think it's all right to stick a camera in a baby's face and shout in his
ears?"
"Vultures," Draco sighed. "And after all that crap they printed
about us splitting up. Better not have anything like that tomorrow."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I don't plan on leaving the Manor," he
said.
"I suppose we could refuse to read the paper tomorrow," Draco
sighed.
"Oh, you mean in the paper," Harry said in understanding. "I
don't know why our personal lives are so interesting in the first place.
I couldn't care less about anyone else shagging or married or any of
that."
Draco smiled at that. "You have always been news," he said.
"They even listed your name in the Prophet when you started
Hogwarts."
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I have always been in the paper," he said.
"And I was told by Hermione as soon as I met her how many books
I was in." He smiled in amusement.
Draco realised it was quiet and looked over to see Valen passed
out with his mouth open against Harry's chest. "Do you want me to
carry him?" he asked. "I think it is time for bed."
Harry smiled up at his husband. "If you want," he said. "I'm not
big enough for my back to be killing me yet."
Draco groaned as he got to his feet, more tired than he realised.
He leaned over and gathered the little boy into his arms, using the
silver arm to take most the weight. "Come on, my hero," he said to
his husband.
Harry got to his feet as well, smiling at Draco's words as he made
his way upstairs with him.
In their room, the blond laid the baby in his cot and then fell into
the bed with a moan. "Take my clothes off for me?" he asked,
smiling up at Harry.
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Harry grinned, stripping Draco with his magic before stripping
his own trousers, shoes and socks off and slipping into bed.
Draco shivered at the magic and then climbed sleepily under the
covers. "It seems longer than a year," he said softly.
"I know," Harry agreed, pulling Draco against him. "There's just
been so much."
Draco sighed contentedly in his lover's arms. "I can remember it
all clearly enough but it does feel like it has been forever."
Harry nodded. "I know," he said again. "Even me and you."
"That has been years," Draco whispered, teasing him.
Harry smiled. "Sort of, I guess," he said. "I did wank over you."
Draco chuckled, remembering the untold number of times he'd
wanked over Harry before finally kissing him.
Harry sighed contently, running fingers through Draco's hair. "I
love you," he said quietly.
"Yes, I love you. Always, my lion," Draco said, drifting off in his
lover's arms.
Harry smiled and kissed Draco's forehead. "Always," he
whispered, closing his eyes as well.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE –
Christmas Morning
Harry awoke on Christmas morning to the beautiful sight of snow
falling outside the windows, covering the grounds and everything else
in a thick blanket of white. He smiled, raising his arms above his head
to stretch, and then turned to watch his husband.
Draco was sprawled, still asleep, on the bed, his one arm draped
over his lover.
Harry grinned sleepily and then moved forward to kiss Draco's
lips, very, very gently. He could hear Valen babbling in his cot, but
didn't move to get him just yet.
Draco smiled, not awake yet but responding anyway, his arm
tightening around Harry's waist.
Harry let out an amused sound, reaching to push a strand of hair
from Draco's face.
Draco turned his face into that hand. "Mmm," he hummed.
Harry brushed his lips against Draco's again, moving his hand
from his husband's face to trail it down the skin of his back.
Draco lifted his arse up a bit as the fingers reached it. "Yes," he
whispered, eyes still closed but lips kissing back now.
Harry hummed happily then. "Good morning, love," he
whispered.
Grey eyes blinked and the blond smiled. "Hello," he said softly,
arching his arse even more in invitation and rubbing his half hard
cock against the bed as he moved.
Harry waggled his eyebrows and moved his fingers into the crack
of Draco's arse, swiping them through quickly.
"More," Draco begged, eyes on his lover as he spread his legs.
Harry cast a Silencing Charm on Valen's cot and then lifted
himself so that he was nearly sprawled over Draco's back, sliding his
fingers past his entrance again.
Draco moaned, pushing up against his lover's body and fingers.
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The fingers of his hand gripped the sheet under him.
"Mmm, happy Christmas, Draco," Harry said huskily, licking the
shell of Draco's ear as he slicked his fingers and slid one inside his
husband.
"Fuck, yes!" Draco gasped as his lover pushed the digit inside.
Harry grinned, reaching to rub the finger against Draco's
prostate. His flicked his tongue over Draco's ear again, his cock
twitching.
"Oh, yes," Draco agreed, bending his knees now so that he was
open for his husband.
Harry added two more fingers slowly, moving his head down to
rain kisses over Draco's shoulders. "Gonna fuck you," he whispered
against his skin.
"Yes, fuck me," Draco responded. "I love your cock stretching
and filling me."
"Yeah, fuck," Harry groaned. "Me too." He slid the fingers out as
slowly as he had pushed them in, rubbing Draco's entrance with
them. A smirk spread across his face with the teasing.
Draco whimpered but loved the teasing, too. In fact, there wasn't
much that Harry could do to him that didn't excite him.
Harry worked a tingle of magic into the tips of his fingers, sliding
his tongue over the bumps in Draco's spine near the back of his
neck.
Sparks flew up his spine and down his shaft and Draco was
moaning louder, trembling. "Gods, yes," he encouraged.
Harry moved his tongue to Draco's shoulder blades, pulling the
teasing fingers away to slick his own cock. He raised up on his knees,
spreading Draco apart with one hand as he grasped his erection and
breached his husband, watching the slide inside his body.
Draco moan was long and low, full of both contentment and
need. He held himself up on his knees, bracing on elbows while his
hair fell around his face.
Harry gasped quietly when his body was pressed against Draco's
arse, his cock in him as far as it could go. "You're so fucking
gorgeous," he moaned, sliding his hands over the small of Draco's
back, running thumbs over the two little dimples.
Draco moaned in delight, the words and caresses intoxicating.
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273
His body clenched around the thick cock inside him and his cock
twitched with it.
Harry bit his lip as he slid out slightly, feeling Draco around him.
He let out a shaky breath, shuddering with the pleasure.
"Harry, yes, fuck me," Draco begged, enjoying the words as well
as the sensations.
Harry thrust back in, harder, growling as he did.
"Yes, hard and deep," Draco encouraged, pressing his face
against the bed and holding tight.
"Tell me what it feels like," Harry gasped, thrusting hard again.
"Your cock is thick and hard, stretching me," Draco gasped. "I
can feel your magic pulsing with your heartbeat, inside me and over
my skin."
Harry groaned. "So tight and hot," he panted. "Feels so good."
"Yes, just for you," Draco gasped, rocking back into each thrust
now.
Harry gripped Draco's hips, eyes glued to the body below. "Yeah,
fuck yourself on me," he moaned, the pleasure in his body building.
Draco was rocking hard now, doing just that and moaning as he
did. His whole body shuddered with every thrust and he could feel
his cock heavy below him as it brushed the sheets each time he
rocked forward.
"Fuck," Harry gasped in a strained way, gripping Draco tighter as
he came with a jerk inside him. He threw his head back, chest
heaving.
Harry's magic always brought him too – Draco's sensitivity
combined with the blood-binding. The blond spasmed hard, his body
clutching his lover's cock and every muscle tightening.
Harry shuddered again as Draco's arse seemed to pull at his cock.
"Ooh," he let out, his voice deep and hoarse.
Draco laughed, still shuddering with his orgasm and feeling high
from the magic.
Harry smiled, his mouth open as he continued to pant. He pulled
out of Draco gently and rolled onto his back beside him.
Draco turned his head, still trembling in his kneeling position. He
smiled at Harry. "Happy Christmas, love," he whispered.
"So far, so good," Harry replied with a loopy smile.
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Draco grinned back at him and pushed up with his hand so that
he could sit back on his knees. There was a large sticky spot where he
had released onto the bed. He Summoned his wand to clean it.
Harry sighed happily, waiting for his Cleaning Charm. He waved
his hand to take the charm off the cot, and when he looked over, he
saw that Valen was standing in it with support from the sides, staring
at them. Harry raised his eyebrows, wondering just how long the
baby had been looking.
Draco followed his husband's gaze and his mouth dropped open
at the sight of their child – standing. Then he began to laugh.
Harry's eyebrows were still raised as he began laughing as well.
Draco laughed so hard, he fell back onto the bed – into the wet
spot he had yet to clean.
Harry turned eyes from his son to his husband, his laughing
renewed at the sight of him.
"Eww," Draco complained between bouts of laughter.
Harry laughed harder, his body shaking with it as he clutched at
his sides.
"Git," Draco complained, still chuckling, as he shoved his lover
over, and then rolled out of the wet spot.
Harry reached over and shoved Draco back, sighing happily as he
regained control of his breathing.
Valen squealed loudly, seeming eager to join the laughter of his
parents and regain their attention.
Draco rolled his eyes and cast Cleaning Charms on himself and
the bed, all the while smirking at Harry.
Harry huffed. "None for me?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Do you deserve it?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow too.
Harry raised both eyebrows. "After that terrific shag? I deserve a
lot of things," he teased.
Draco nodding, smiling, and cast the charm. Valen let out a high
pitched squeal that was clearly a demand for attention.
Harry sat up and pressed a kiss to Draco's lips and then crawled
across the bed to their son. He lifted him out of the cot and sat him
on the mattress between himself and Draco. "You stood up," he said
happily. "High five." He grinned and held his hand out to the baby.
The baby held up both hands.
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275
Harry laughed, pressing his hand to one of Valen's.
Draco lay back, beaming happily at his little family.
"The question, however," Harry said, reaching to tickle Valen, "is
how long were you standing there?"
"I think it may be time to add a new room to our suite," Draco
said dryly.
"I think so," Harry agreed, smiling at Valen's laughter as he was
tickled.
"I suppose it would be safer to move the potions lab further away
from the bedroom anyway," Draco mused, smiling as he watched
them.
"Mmhmm," Harry agreed, still grinning as he picked Valen up
into his arms and kissed his head. "We can decorate the room, too,"
he said.
Draco's eyebrows rose. "You want to set up a full nursery then,"
he said with a smirk.
Harry smiled at Draco. "Well, he can't sleep with us forever," he
said. "And he needs his own room. Plus, he's not the only one who's
going to need it."
"You want to see the old one first?" Draco asked.
"Sure," Harry answered. "Mad how many things I still haven't
seen in this place."
"Most of it, I think," Draco said. "For example, these rooms were
set up for me to use while I was home from school. This isn't the
Master Suite. That is considerably larger."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that have been where your
mum and dad stayed?" he asked. "Be odd to sleep there." He didn't
mention that it would be odd to sleep anywhere that Lucius had.
"Yes, it was," Draco said, face serious as he considered. "And
mine was the nursery in the same wing. But if you want to leave that
wing closed, we can."
"What? You don't?" Harry asked. "I mean, I guess I don't really
care. I guess I just ... sort of thought it would be weird."
"Generations of my ancestors have lived in this house going back
to 1098. I guess I am not particularly worried about using rooms that
belonged to others before me," Draco shrugged.
"Well, do you want to move in there or something?" Harry asked.
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"We can at least look at the rooms," Draco said. "It would be
easier to redecorate them than it would be to redesign this suite."
Harry nodded. "Like I said, it doesn't really matter to me. Just as
long as we get to keep our bed." He smiled.
Draco grinned. "Definitely," he said, waggling his eyebrows.
"Dada," Valen said, patting Harry's chest and making smacking
noises.
Harry smiled again and looked down at Valen. "I suppose I'll feed
you, and then we can go downstairs and see what Father Christmas
brought us," he said happily. "I bet you got lots of presents."
Draco smiled, having helped shop for most of them. He climbed
out of bed and pulled on some casual clothes.
Harry snorted at Draco from where he sat feeding Valen on the
bed. "I'm putting pyjamas on," he said. "I have to get some sort of
use out of them."
Draco laughed and got the garish red set out that Hermione had
bought Harry, setting them on the bed.
Harry snorted again, finishing up with Valen within a few more
minutes, and then he stood to pull the pyjamas on. "He needs
changing," he said, passing the baby to Draco as he reached for the
clothing on the bed.
Draco snorted and rolled his eyes, but took his son and changed
his diaper. "Ewww," he complained. "It smells worse since he started
eating solid food too."
Harry laughed, messing his hair up further as he slipped the top
over his head. "Why do you think I gave him to you to change?"
"Git," Draco complained, sending the mess to the laundry and
fastening a new nappy. "Your Daddy Harry is a git," he told their son.
"Git," Valen repeated.
Harry laughed again. "I am not a git," he said to Valen. "And
Daddy Draco is a prat."
"Pat," Valen repeated, bouncing in Draco's arms as he picked
him up.
Harry grinned and kissed both Valen and Draco. "Yes, that's
right," he said.
"Careful or I may take back my present to you," Draco warned
his husband.
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277
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he said. "And what is this
present you speak of?" He opened the bedroom door for Draco.
Draco raised both eyebrows and gave his husband a teasing
smirk, walking through the door.
Harry grinned, following.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR –
Childhood Memories
Harry, Draco and Valen moved down the stairs and into the main
sitting room, where the huge tree stood in all its glory, a mountain of
presents underneath. Ron and Hermione were already there, looking
like they'd just woken up as well. Hermione beamed when she saw
the pyjamas Harry was in, and Harry was amused to see Ron in the
same pair.
"Happy Christmas," Harry said to them, smiling.
"Happy Christmas," they responded in unison.
Draco greeted them in kind, putting Valen down when the baby
began to try to wriggle out of his arms. The small boy began to crawl
with determination toward the tree and the pile of presents.
Harry smiled, crossing to the tree and dropping to the floor next
to it. They'd had to put charms on the decorations since they'd put
the tree up, as Valen kept trying to pull them down.
Draco smiled and shrugged at their friends, moving to sit beside
Harry on the floor.
"Look, Valen," Harry said happily, pulling out one of the brightly
wrapped gifts. He set it on the floor in front of the baby.
Valen sat back on his bottom with a huff and reached for the
package with both hands, immediately trying to bring it to his mouth
to eat.
Harry laughed. "No, son," he said, ripping the paper and showing
Valen where to pull. "Here. Rip it off."
The boy began ripping and chewing on it.
Harry made a face, reaching to pull out the soggy paper Valen
had got in his mouth.
Draco chuckled. "I think you may need to unwrap them for him,"
he drawled.
"Obviously," said Harry, ripping off the rest of the paper to
reveal a stuffed dragon that they'd bought from Fred and George.
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279
The eyes of the thing were magic and glowed different colours.
Valen squealed in delight and reached for the eyes.
Harry smiled widely, watching him.
"Ooh, open our presents to you both before you do anymore,"
said Hermione.
Ron grinned. "It's sort of a joint gift."
Draco looked among the gifts, trying to spot which one was not a
baby toy in gaudy paper.
Hermione simply pulled her wand and Summoned the packages.
There were two of them and she handed one each to Harry and
Draco. "They're both for the two of you," she said. "From Ron and
me."
Ron nodded in agreement.
Harry glanced at Draco before beginning to rip the paper off the
package he'd been given.
Draco figured he better rip the paper too or be beat out by Harry,
so he did his best to open his quickly as well.
Inside one of the packages was a big photo album with the
inscription, Our Family, on the front of it.
Draco unwrapped a very nice-looking camera, still in the box.
"Wow, guys," Harry said happily.
Ron and Hermione both grinned. "Figured you could get some
use out of it today," said Hermione.
Draco laughed, blushing when he realised how well this would go
with the present he had for Harry. "Thank you," he said.
Harry nodded, examining the picture of the camera on the box
before he looked up. "Yeah, thanks. It'll be brilliant for today." He
began trying to get the box open with his fingernails. "Open ours
now," he said, Summoning the gifts like Hermione had done.
Ron looked extremely excited when a long package flew into his
arms.
Draco laughed at the look on Ron's face and the curious
expression on the young woman's.
"Open them," Harry encouraged, still trying to peel the tape off
his own box.
"You go first," said Ron to Hermione, looking like a giddy little
boy.
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Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes, but was smiling.
She began to open her present and gasped happily when she saw
what it was. "Oh, I've been wanting one of these!" she said. "And you
got the latest version!"
Harry grinned. "Yes, we thought so," he said. "And yes, we did."
It was a quill, done in Hermione's favourite colour, which was blue.
The quill corrected spelling and grammar mistakes, could write down
what you told it to, refilled itself with ink, and changed the colour of
the ink if you wanted it to do so. It did other things as well, but Harry
hadn't read the whole list that had come with it. He only knew that
she would like it.
Draco nodded, enjoying the look of delight on his friend's face.
He marvelled at the long path they had taken to this point.
"Thank you," Hermione said happily, and turned her head to
Ron, who looked as if he might begin bouncing in a moment. "Aren't
you going to open it?" she said.
Ron took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said, beginning to slowly
remove the paper at one end, but then he couldn't contain himself
and ripped it off. His eyes widened when he saw the box he had
unwrapped. Inside the cardboard was a broomstick, the same model
as Harry's. "Merlin, you didn't!" he said, looking disbelieving.
Harry grinned very, very widely. "Happy Christmas, Ron," he
said.
"I suppose we will have to get up our own Quidditch matches
come spring," Draco drawled, smirking.
"Yeah, and it'll be just in time for me," said Harry, glancing down
at his own stomach.
Ron was still looking shocked. "This is – this is just – I can't even
-" he spluttered.
"That reminds me," Draco said, reaching to pat his lover's
stomach. Valen was chewing on the toy dragon's eyes. "When is the
wedding going to be? Because it should be after April."
Harry snorted. "Yeah, unless you want a beach ball in your
wedding," he said.
Hermione laughed. Ron was still staring at his gift, and was
opening the box, so Hermione took the question. "We were thinking
about having it in May. Possibly even June now."
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281
"June would be good," Draco nodded. "I'm not letting Harry out
of the house the month of April or until she comes out. Maybe not
for a while after." He looked up at Harry with a smirk. "Just to be
safe, this time."
Harry nodded. "No basements."
"Very understandable," said Hermione. "So you're going to do
the birth here then?"
"Yes," Draco nodded emphatically. "Harry's magic, the Manor's
magic, and all the comforts of home."
"Only you?" she asked. "Or are you going to have a midwife?"
Harry shrugged, looking at Draco.
"Madam Pomfrey has volunteered to help," Draco said.
"Ah," Hermione said, nodding. "The baby's going to be so
pretty."
Harry smiled.
Draco had begun to help Valen unwrap presents, figuring at this
rate they would be here until guests arrived for dinner if he didn't.
Harry turned back to Draco and Valen then, finally getting the
camera out of the box.
"There's already film in it," said Hermione.
Harry nodded. "And I can just take a picture?" he asked.
She nodded again and then he held it up to his eye. "Valen," he
called to get his attention. "Look over here."
The boy looked up, mouth open as the held the slobbered-on
dragon in both hands. He blinked in surprise when a flash went off.
Then dropped the dragon and began crawling toward Harry.
Harry smiled and snapped another one as the baby crawled, then
lowered the camera when Valen reached him.
Valen reached right for the camera with sticky wet fingers.
Harry pulled it out of his reach and then held it out for Draco to
take.
Draco snorted and took the camera. Valen squealed in protest
and started crawling for Draco. "Quick, open another magical toy,"
the blond said.
Harry reached for a random package, as mostly all of the toys
they had got for Valen were magical. He ripped it open quickly,
seeing that it was, well, a thing with buttons on it that made music
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with a charm and pulsed with enchanted light. He placed it on the
ground, pressing the buttons. "Valen, look!" he said, acting as if the
toy were the most amazing thing he had ever seen.
The noise and flare of magic caught the boy's attention and he
looked confused for a moment before changing course to head for
the toy. Draco took a picture. Luckily, the baby's attention stayed on
the toy as he began pushing buttons.
Harry smiled, pressing buttons with him for a few moments
before sitting up and leaving him to it. He began helping to open
Valen's presents. "I don't think he cares," he said amusedly.
"I think you bought him enough presents for ten kids," Draco
said, smirking.
Harry snorted and shrugged. "It was just all neat-looking," he
said. "I couldn't decide. And it's not like you weren't there."
"What are you going to do with it all?" Hermione asked.
"The pile of toys in our room is getting pretty big," said Harry.
"We might be moving Valen into his own bedroom in a bit."
"Yes," Draco agreed, blushing in memory of why.
Harry smiled at the blush.
"Probably a good idea," said Hermione. "Especially with another
one coming."
Harry nodded, piling the opened toys near where Valen was
playing.
"Let's open the rest later," Draco said. "He is over-stimulated
already."
Harry shrugged and began gathering up the paper. "Where's my
present?" he asked Draco with a smirk over his shoulder.
"Where's mine?" Draco retorted with an arched eyebrow.
Harry's smirk turned into a smile. "Under the tree," he answered
in a teasing voice. "Do you want it?"
"Always," Draco grinned.
Harry Banished the wrapping paper and Summoned Draco's gift.
He crawled over to him and kissed his lips softly, pressing the
package into his hands.
Inside was a small slip of parchment that read: October 5th, 1998.
The day Draco Malfoy beat Harry Potter's arse (In more ways than one). It was
scrawled in Harry's handwriting. Underneath the parchment were
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283
two golden Snitch cuff-links.
Draco laughed in delight. "Perfect," he said.
Harry grinned and laughed as well. "Good," he said, kissing
Draco again.
Draco passed the gift box to the other two, so they could see, and
then got up to retrieve his gift for Harry. "Sit on the couch," he told
him as he lifted the large box from behind all the other gifts.
Harry raised his eyebrows, moving to do as Draco said. He had
no idea what his husband could've got him.
Ron even took a second to look up from his broomstick.
"You will both probably want to see this, too," Draco said,
blushing as he set the box in his husband's lap and sat beside him.
Green paper wrapped in red ribbon covered a large flat gift box at
least a foot across, and as long, and nearly two hand spans thick.
"What is it?" Harry asked, feeling the box through the paper. He
smiled curiously, reaching to untie the ribbon.
Ron and Hermione watched with interest.
"My parents gave this to me when I was accepted to Hogwarts,"
Draco said. "I don't think this is what they had in mind for it,
though." Inside the box was a large worn-looking book with a dark
brown leather cover and gold-gilt lettering which read, “Memoria
Schola.” Draco smiled and lifted the book out of the box. He took
his wand and cast a silent unlocking spell before opening the cover.
His full name was lettered in elaborate script on the first page with a
photo of his eleven-year-old self in his school uniform, smirking at
them.
Harry's smile widened as he stared at the book. "Is this a book of
you?" he asked, absolutely delighted with the picture before him.
"Supposed to be a scrapbook for school memories," Draco
answered, remembering that Harry didn't read Latin. He turned the
page and there was the letter from Albus Dumbledore, inviting him
to attend Hogwarts. Next was a Daily Prophet article about the
Hogwarts new school year which mentioned 'The Boy Who Lived'
would also be attending that year. Pasted next to the article was an
empty wrapper for a Pumpkin Pasty.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "What do you have a Pumpkin Pasty
wrapper in here for?" he asked. And then his eyes widened in
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understanding and his grin grew even wider. This was his wrapper
from on the train.
Draco blushed and continued to turn pages. Harry saw they were
filled with scraps of mementos from school. A scroll Draco had
written for Potions class with an “O” for a grade and a note from
Snape to see him after class. Photos of some of his Slytherin
classmates. Then another Daily Prophet article about 'The Boy Who
Lived.' Next, a piece of parchment that had been crumpled up but
then flattened out, with badly scrawled writing that stopped at a
mistake. The handwriting was rough and it was Harry’s – a class
assignment for Charms from first year which he had started and then
thrown out.
Harry looked like Ron opening the broom. "This is brilliant," he
said in wonder, fingering the page lightly.
"And pretty adorable," said Hermione, looking over Harry's
shoulder at the book. She gave Draco a smile.
Draco blushed even brighter. As he continued to turn the pages,
it became clear that every article ever printed about Harry while they
were at Hogwarts was clipped and pasted into the book, interspersed
were other things about Draco, including the letter and badge from
when Draco had been named prefect, his Inquisitorial Squad badge,
and his O.W.L. exam results. Yet, the scrap book was predominated
by articles about and mementos of Harry. There were also numerous
'candid' photos, the work of Colin Creevey. Even the infamous
Quibbler article was there.
"This is absolutely the most perfect thing ever," Harry said, his
eyes soft as he observed a simple picture of himself scratching his
nose and then taking a bite of food at the Gryffindor table. "You
even have the horrible articles that Rita Skeeter did." He chuckled.
"Everything," Draco said. "I had to threaten horrible things to
Colin if he told I bought those photos off him."
"You bought them off him?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Merlin," said Ron amusedly. "That's why the little bugger wanted
all the pictures."
"Well, Colin was obsessed with Harry," said Hermione, equally
amused, "but it explains his rather ... persistent nature."
Draco was red-faced but smiling. "Yes," he laughed. Then he
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285
turned the pages again. Later sections included articles about their
relationship. The handwritten copy of their original binding promise
was there, of course, followed by their wedding invitations, and
interviews with the Prophet. There was the Ministry of Magic
recruiting poster, as well as copies of every photo taken for that
shoot. The last section of the book was near as big as the rest,
containing every article published about the defeat of Voldemort, the
famous couple and their child. Well, every article up until the ones
about their supposed breakup.
"You kept everything?" Harry said, awed. "I had no idea."
Draco nodded, ears red from having revealed this to his husband
and their best friends.
"I think it's brilliant," Harry said again, smiling and kissing
Draco's cheek. "Perfect."
Draco grinned, closing the book and reaching to cup his lover's
face, kissing him back.
Harry smiled against Draco's lips, sliding a hand to his shoulder.
Valen squealed and threw a toy at the tree.
Harry looked over. "Yes," he said, "throw your toys at trees." He
shook his head, closing the book in his lap and getting to his feet to
get the baby. "Where did that camera go?" he asked.
Draco picked up the camera and handed it to Harry.
Harry didn't reach out for the camera and picked Valen up
instead. "Take one of us," he said to his husband.
Draco nodded and took the picture, then turned and took one of
Hermione and Ron, who, not expecting it, were kissing.
They pulled apart and rolled their eyes at Draco, but laughed, and
then Ron moved forward and recaptured Hermione's lips, who
laughed again, pushing at his chest.
"Nice," said Harry amusedly.
Draco snapped another picture and then turned to get one of
their child in mid-throw with another toy.
Harry snorted, watching the toy hit the tree again. It was a good
thing it was charmed. "Let's get one of us," he said, moving over to
sit next to Draco on the couch with Valen. He reached for the
camera, smiling. "You kiss one cheek and I'll kiss the other," he said,
holding the camera out so that he could take the photo. He kissed the
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right side of Valen's face, waiting for Draco.
Draco did as his husband asked, the baby accidentally hitting him
on the chin a moment after the picture snapped.
"You know," said Hermione, watching them, "there's a button
you can press to make it float and take the photo for you."
"Really?" said Harry, examining the buttons. "Let's take one of us
all then."
Draco reached to hold his son's hand for the next shot and
dutifully posed for the portrait.
Hermione scooted closer to Draco and then reached across him
to help Harry. "This one," she said, pressing the button for him.
He watched as the camera zoomed out of his hands and began
situating itself in the air. He moved closer to Draco as well, and Ron
closer to Hermione and they all smiled for the picture, which was
taken a moment later. The camera zoomed back into Harry's hands
then. "That's really clever," he said.
Hermione nodded. "Yes, I thought so too," she agreed. "They
just came out with it not too long ago."
Draco thought of Colin and the mischief he could have got into
with one of those cameras. Not to mention all the illicit pictures of
Harry he might have got from the deal.
They continued to take pictures, and Valen got back down on the
floor to torment Sredni for the short while the cat was in the room,
until finally he had fallen asleep among his new toys and the
wrapping paper that Harry hadn't managed to get. Harry took a
picture of him as he slept with one little arm thrown over the dragon.
It was the exact sort of Christmas morning that he would've loved as
a child, and the exact sort of Christmas morning he wanted for his
own.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE –
That Tears It
Later in the day, Hermione and Ron left to fetch her mother again
and the Weasleys began showing up. Mr and Mrs Weasley arrived
with Ginny, and Fred and George showed up not long after that. Bill
and Fleur came with their baby, of course, and Percy brought along
his new girlfriend, Julie Framer, who worked in the Department of
Magical Accidents and Catastrophes at the Ministry. Sirius and Lupin
were there as well, and Tonks arrived with none other than
Donaghan Tremlett, bass player for the Weird Sisters.
Aside from the fact that Ginny, and Fred and George for that
matter, were really very interested in talking to the band member,
everyone there seemed to be acting just the slightest bit nervous. Not
anything to be very suspicious about, but it was like they all had a
secret of some sort. Harry didn't know what it could be, and honestly
didn't know if he wanted to find out.
Draco had been cornered by Julie Framer, who was very
interested in the "magical accident" that had led to Valen.
"So you believe the Manor's magic was an instigator?" she was
asking. "Wouldn't that imply a sentience in the building?" she asked,
looking around at the walls of the room.
Percy stood in on the conversation as well, nodding with Julie's
questions.
Harry could see Draco from across the room as he stood talking
with Remus and Sirius. But he turned his head when there was a
small tap on his shoulder. Hermione was standing there.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Just come here for a second," she said, and took his hand to lead
him out into the hallway.
Draco watched his husband leave with Hermione, curious but
busy explaining his theory of magical architecture to an interested
audience. Valen was busy crawling back and forth between Fred and
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George. Or was it George and Fred?
"What?" Harry asked when Hermione turned to face him.
She huffed and pursed her lips for a moment.
"What?" he said again.
"Well," she began slowly, "I'm only going to show you this
because I know you won't react like Draco will, and well, I figured
you wouldn't want him to see it."
Harry let out a groan. "Oh, Merlin, what?" he said.
She sighed and reached inside her robe, pulling out a folded-up
page of the Daily Prophet and handing it to Harry.
"Potter and Malfoy Put on Brave Face! But Valen Suffers!" the
headline read. Beneath was a picture of the three of them on the
stage, alternating with one of Valen crying.
Harry's eyes widened before they narrowed considerably. "What
the hell do they think they're doing bringing our child into this?" he
said angrily, breathing heavily through his nose.
Hermione winced. "I know," she said. "That's why everyone's
acting a little ... strangely."
Harry looked up from the page sharply. "They don't actually
think -"
"No," said Hermione quickly. "Well, I don't know about Percy's
girlfriend and that Weird Sisters man that Tonks is with, but none of
our people. They're just ... well, there's been so much, and there was
that entire month that you two didn't touch, and it's just been in
every single magazine you can think of. And according to one article
I read, the whole mess has even started being published in the states.
Some New York magazine or something. They're just a little
worried."
Harry sighed heavily, folding up the page roughly and stuffing it
into his pocket. "I'm glad you told me," he said. "I don't want him to
see it."
Hermione nodded, giving his arm a squeeze before they both
headed back into the room.
Draco glanced up, raising his eyebrows inquiringly at Harry when
he returned to the room. Across the room, Fred and George had
started timing how fast Valen could crawl to chase a cat shaped toy
they had made.
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289
Harry couldn't ignore Draco, as that would seem suspicious, so
he made his way over to him, kissing him on the cheek.
Draco smiled up at him, eyes questioning.
Harry tried to think fast. "She just wanted to ask me something,"
he said lamely.
Draco looked suspicious but rolled his eyes, knowing Harry
would tell him privately if he asked. Then he smirked. "Our guest
here was asking the theory behind your magical pregnancy," he said.
"She wanted to know if we thought that kind of magical accident was
a one time fluke."
Harry smiled and chuckled, glad to get out of the questioning for
the time being. "Something tells me that it wasn't a one-time fluke,"
he said, and even Percy looked amused.
"Shall we call our guests together for this?" Draco asked, arching
an eyebrow.
"Well, most of them already know," Harry answered. "But sure."
He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
Draco called for Leakey and had him bring Malfoy vineyard
champagne he had picked out for the occasion. They passed glasses
around to their guests and filled them.
Harry didn't take any, of course, and had a glass of water instead.
"Everyone," he called out to the room, smiling as heads turned
toward him. "Now most of you already know the news," he said, "but
some of you don't. And those of you that do know, aren't wondering
why I have a glass of water while all of you get to drink champagne."
The many ginger-heads in the room smiled and grinned.
"Draco and I are having another baby," Harry continued, smile
growing. "I'm pregnant."
Draco beamed, enjoying the looks of surprise on the faces of
those who hadn't known.
Sirius looked shocked, looking Harry over, especially at his smallfor-now midsection. "You mean I'll get to see it this time?"
Harry snorted. "A pregnant man, yes," he said.
Hermione's mother's eyebrows were raised very high. Harry
figured Hermione had told her how Valen had got there, but it was a
large bite to swallow for a wizard. Probably even larger for a Muggle.
Julie Framer's mouth had dropped open and her eyes had gone
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wide. Tonks got so excited she spilled champagne on her date and
had to have her glass refilled. Remus hugged Sirius, beaming as
proudly as if Harry were his own son.
Harry laughed happily at the reactions and raised his glass. "To
friends, and family, and having a bloody good Christmas," he said.
Draco grinned, tipping back his drink. Valen squealed and
reached for Fred's glass as the man tried to drink, too.
Fred laughed, carefully taking the glass out of Valen's reach.
"Starting early, I see," he quipped.
Harry laughed as well, sipping his water.
"He wants to do anything we do," Draco said. "Have to be
careful with that." He pulled Harry into his lap then, kissing him.
Harry kissed Draco back, and everyone seemed very happy with
the sight. Harry knew why, but tried to put that bloody article out of
his mind.
Draco's hand came to rest automatically on his husband's belly as
he kissed him, not caring who watched.
Harry sighed happily through his nose, resting his hand upon
Draco's.
Soon, everyone was moving from the sitting room and into the
dining room. Mrs Weasley took over feeding Valen for the meal, and
she and Ginny laughed at the faces he made as he was fed different
things. The room was filled with happy chatter and the table laden
with very good food.
Harry was listening to a conversation between Ron and the twins
about Ron starting work with them until he could find a real job.
Julie had been talking more about magical theory with Draco. She
smiled and patted his hand. "I'm glad to see you are taking things so
well. Especially after what they said in the Prophet today."
The people sitting around stilled suddenly, as did Harry.
"Erm, well, but that really wasn't – it wasn't anything important
or -" Percy spluttered on his girlfriend's behalf, glancing around.
Draco's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he looked quickly at
Harry, catching that guilty look. He tried to smile. "Oh, I haven't seen
the paper today," he said quietly. "Mine seems to have been
misplaced. What did it say?"
Julie frowned then, seeming to catch on too late to what the
THAT TEARS IT
291
problem was.
Harry swallowed, turning his head to look at Draco as no one
volunteered the information.
"Who has the paper?" Draco asked with a loud sigh.
Harry sighed as well, wishing that they could have at least got
through dinner. "I do," he said, frowning.
Draco looked around at his tense guests. "I gather it is something
in the nature of what we have been seeing since October?" he asked.
"Well, it's ..." said Mrs Weasley, obviously trying to think of a way
to make it sound better. "I suppose it's that," she said finally. "It's
really nothing to get upset about, though. We know it's all rubbish."
"Well, let me say it aloud anyway," Draco said, standing up. "I am
in love with my husband. I have been in love with Harry since I was
eleven. I intend to spend the rest of my life with him and am quite
happy about that. At no time since we became lovers have I ever
considered living my life without him."
Harry smiled at that, but sighed as well.
"Oh, we never thought anything like that," Mrs Weasley assured
him, though Harry did know that everyone had been worried.
"It's a little different this time," he said quietly to his husband.
"You went to such lengths to hide it, do you want to tell me now
or wait until later?" Draco asked with a sigh.
Harry knew that if he didn't show Draco right then, he would
probably be thinking about it throughout the night. He reached into
his pocket and pulled out the folded page, handing it over slowly.
Draco actually trembled. Whatever it was had upset everyone
else. He slowly opened the paper, watching the headline and then his
face fell into a grim mask as the photo shifted and showed his child
crying. "Forget firing the bastard," he hissed. "I will close the fucking
rag."
People looked nervous at the outburst and Harry slid his hand
onto Draco's back concernedly.
Valen's eyes were wide and staring.
Draco rolled the paper up and tossed it aside. He took deep
breaths. "Tomorrow. Today is Christmas," he said.
Harry moved a little closer to Draco and gave him a small kiss on
the corner of his mouth.
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"You – you're really going to close the Prophet?" Ron asked. "How
are you going to do that?"
"Buy it," Draco said, kissing his husband's cheek and sitting back
down again.
"About damn time," said Sirius into the silence, and conversation
slowly picked up again.
"Are you serious?" Harry asked, looking at Draco.
"Yes," Draco answered. "It was bad enough the way they
harassed you. But no one messes with our child, our children, and
gets away with it."
Harry smiled. "I agree one hundred percent," he said. And in a
lower tone, "You are very hot right now."
Draco chuckled, smiling and turning his gaze to look into his
husband's eyes. He let him see how much just those words in that
tone aroused him.
Harry waggled his eyebrows a few times, kissing Draco quickly
before turning back to his food.
Draco was left trying to get his breathing under control and
shifting in his seat with his trousers uncomfortably tight. He tried to
focus on being a good host to his friends.
Harry, too, was getting very aroused as well. He sort of wished
that he had waited for a more appropriate time so that he and Draco
could slip away unnoticed, but the fact that they were both turned on
in a room full of people while they sat right next to each other made
it all even more arousing. "Excuse me," he said, putting his fork
down and getting to his feet, letting his robe hang around his waist.
"Loo."
Draco's heart sped up as he watched his husband walk stiffly
from the room. In his mind, he saw Harry touching himself and it
just made him harder. He glanced around before finally deciding he
didn't care if it bothered his guests. They should be used to it by now.
He got up stiffly from the table. "Excuse me," he said as well, and
walked quickly from the room in search of his husband.
Harry had known that Draco would follow him and simply leant
against the wall outside the door, hand pressed to the front of his
trousers as he rubbed himself while waiting. But as soon as he saw
that blond hair, he grabbed Draco and pulled him against his body,
THAT TEARS IT
293
bringing their mouths together hungrily.
Harry's ambush did catch Draco by surprise and he almost yelped
into his mouth. His hands came up automatically, grabbing his lover's
hips as he began thrusting against him.
Harry moaned, grinding hard into Draco. "I'm so fucking turned
on," he whispered.
"Yes," Draco agreed, trembling. "I'm yours!"
Harry was already panting as he nodded feverishly. "Mine," he
growled, licking from Draco's chin to his ear. "I'm gonna fuck you,"
he whispered into it.
"Yes, fuck me," Draco agreed, loving it when his husband was
aggressive. "My lion," he gasped.
Harry Apparated with Draco to their room and then pushed him
down on the bed, stripping his lover and himself before he was upon
him again. "My hot, sexy husband is going to buy the Daily Prophet
and kick their fucking arses," Harry said huskily, reaching to stroke
Draco's cock, "but not before I fuck his." He licked and nibbled
sharply at Draco's neck.
"Oh, Gods, yes," Draco gasped, arching up. If he'd known Harry
would get this excited by that ... well, he might just have to kick more
arse.
Harry moved back to Draco's mouth and thrust his tongue
inside, just as he slicked his fingers and slid two into Draco's
entrance. "So fucking hot," he groaned, beside himself with lust for
the man beneath him.
Draco opened himself completely to Harry, gasping in pleasure.
He gripped the bed with his silver hand and his lover's hair with the
other.
Harry reached to stroke his own cock roughly, coating it in the
lube. "Pull it," he demanded breathlessly, and he grasped Draco's legs
and threw them over his own shoulders. "My hair. Pull it."
Draco twisted his hand in Harry's hair, pulling hard. He nipped at
his lover's chin and shivered, waiting for him to thrust inside.
Harry groaned again, positioning his cock before he slid inside in
one smooth movement, gasping and moaning.
Draco's head fell back, feet actually hooking around Harry's neck
as he pulled himself up onto his cock.
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"Oh, fuck," Harry gasped, meeting Draco's hips with quick, hard
thrusts of his own. "Fuck, yes!"
"Yes, yes," Draco chanted, feeling his lover sliding deep inside
him. He pulled on Harry's hair again, bringing his face down to kiss
him.
Harry met Draco's lips in a wet, sloppy kiss of utter perfection,
tongues sliding together, mouths moving frantically, their teeth even
clinking, but Harry was sure it couldn't get any better.
Draco's body shuddered around the cock inside him, Harry's
magic making him moan and wriggle with abandon as he kissed him.
Harry thrust and thrust into Draco until he could feel himself
getting closer. He twined his tongue with Draco's again as he slid
inside him as far as he could and came very hard, moaning deeply
into Draco's mouth, managing a few more thrusts.
White heat and pleasure curled through Draco's body, making
him shudder and cry with it – mouth and body open to his lover as
Harry filled him with come and magic.
Harry let Draco's legs down from his shoulders with a quiet
moan, barely holding himself up as he continued to pant heavily.
Draco gasped and shuddered, legs wrapping around the backs of
Harry's thighs, holding the man in place. "Oh, yes," he whispered.
Harry kissed Draco slowly, smiling. "Very much yes," he said.
Draco ran his fingers through Harry's hair, smiling up into those
green eyes. "I take it you approve of my plan," he drawled, then
smirked.
"Quite," Harry confirmed. "Do you like my approval?" He
smirked right back.
Draco grinned, tightening his body around his lover's. "Very
much," he whispered.
Harry kissed Draco again, shivering. "No one messes with our
kids," he said when he pulled back from the kiss.
"No one," Draco echoed, reaching between them and pressing a
hand to his lover's belly.
Harry smiled, sighing quietly.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX –
Snakes, Unicorns and Fairies
The next day, Draco's solicitor made an offer to buy the Daily Prophet
on behalf of his client. When the current owners refused to sell,
Ebenezer Wyndham III, Solicitor, suggested that there may be a
lawsuit on behalf of his client. Three days later, Draco Malfoy owned
the paper. The next day, half of the personnel were fired, including
everyone who had had a hand in that Christmas article. They decided
to reorganise the paper instead of closing it. Draco then made sure
that every other reporter in town knew what he had done. He had
officially given notice to the press that his family was not open for
their sport.
Harry was very happy with the way Draco had handled things
with the paper, and still couldn't quite believe that they owned it. It
was very strange, but he wasn't complaining. He liked that they
wouldn't have to worry about crap articles anymore – well, from the
Prophet at least, but he doubted if anyone else would have the guts to
publish anything else negative about them.
Harry turned his head to look at the very large pile of toys in their
room as he lay in bed with Draco and Valen on a particularly lazy
day. They'd tried shrinking them, but Valen went through the toys he
played with daily so fast that it was only a pain to shrink them, plus
they kept getting lost that way – sometimes being found at
inopportune moments in decidedly uncomfortable positions.
Also, Harry and Draco had been unknowingly watched again
during, well, sex, and Harry felt rather odd about it. He didn't want to
be watched by their baby while thrusting into his husband. They also
had a tendency to say some rather ... obscene things during sex, and
Valen was getting to the point where he repeated a lot of words.
Harry looked from the pile of toys to Draco again. "Maybe you
should show me that nursery today," he suggested, running his
fingers through Valen's hair.
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Draco had been reading the "New and Improved" Daily Prophet
and looked up. He smiled. "We could do that," he said. He made a
face at his son. "Before he starts asking strangers to fuck him?" he
teased his husband.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "No, let's wait until he actually does
that," he said sarcastically.
"Whenever you want to go exploring, I'm ready," Draco
answered.
Harry stretched, groaning with the movement. "Let's go now," he
said, pushing himself up.
Draco grinned at that familiar groan. Their little girl was growing
fast and there was already a small round firm area on his husband's
belly. He got up and pulled on some casual clothing.
Harry dressed in loose-fitting junky clothes that he had managed
to keep safe from Draco's purging of his school things. He liked their
worn feeling. "Let's see it," he said, picking Valen up.
Draco shook his head at his husband's clothing and smiled,
taking his hand and leading them to the other side of the Manor.
By the time they had reached their destination, Harry had had to
free his glasses from Valen's fingers three times, and was pulling
black strands from those same fingers, which had just been gripped
in his hair.
Draco shivered as they walked down the hall to his family's main
wing of the Manor. He hadn't set foot in this place in over two years.
Candles flared as they walked, the Manor itself seeming to lead them.
Finally, they stood in front of an ornately carved door. There were
snakes and flowers carved into mahogany, the snakes moving among
the flowers.
Harry raised his eyebrows at the door. He had to admit that it
was beautiful, but it was certainly not something that he had ever
pictured any door of his looking like.
Draco smiled, stroking one of the little garden snake images. "I
wonder if they respond to Parseltongue," he whispered.
Harry looked at Draco. "Maybe," he replied. "What should I
say?"
Draco laughed. "What do you usually say to snakes?" he asked,
having never tried to talk to one before.
SNAKES, UNICORNS AND FAIRIES
297
"Hello?" Harry said jokingly, but he stepped up to one of the
snakes and hissed just that. "Hello," he said, holding out his finger like
Draco was doing.
The snakes got excited then, curling and writhing on the door.
Valen squealed, reaching as if to catch one.
Harry smiled. "I wonder if you've ever been spoken to?" he continued to
hiss.
The snakes excitedly told him that it had been a very, very long
time.
Harry raised his eyebrows, surprised when they spoke. He looked
at Draco. "They talk?" he asked. "Well – hiss in your case, I
suppose."
Draco nodded, eyes wide. "What did they say?" he asked in awe.
"That they haven't been spoken to in a long time," Harry
answered. "A very, very long time," he corrected.
"Probably generations since there was a Parselmouth in here,"
Draco whispered. Valen was bouncing excitedly and patting the door.
"If you like the door," Draco said to his husband and child, "you will
love the room."
"I'm sure we'll talk more," Harry told the snakes with a small
smile, stepping back to let Draco open the door.
Draco smiled, turned the handle, and pushed the door open. The
room was dark for a minute and then lights flared in glass-covered
sconces. Suddenly, the walls themselves seemed to move. It took
Harry a moment to figure out that figures had been painted directly
on the walls and were now stirring to life like portraits. Unicorns
pranced on one wall, and a dragon unfurled its wings on another,
while fairies flew across the ceiling.
Harry looked around the room with almost as much wonder as
Valen. "Wow," he said quietly, walking over to examine the unicorns,
complete with both parents and their golden foals.
Draco smiled at the room, while their son began babbling to the
figures on the walls.
Harry put the baby on the floor, still looking around himself. "It's
beautiful," he said. "And certainly big enough."
"This is just the play room," Draco said, indicating toys on the
shelves and the large toys like the rocking horse. The paint had faded
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a bit but the room was spotless, which meant the house-elves had
kept it clean despite the fact that it had been unoccupied for over
seven years. "The place was meant for a large family, so there are also
children's bedrooms and a nanny's room attached."
"Merlin, you even had your own miniature suite as a little kid?"
Harry asked.
Draco chuckled, not realising that this would surprise his
husband. "Well, I was an only child in a nursery meant for many," he
said, shrugging.
Harry nodded, looking away from the walls and to his husband.
"No need for a nanny's room," he said.
"No," Draco smiled, "and there is a connection between the
magic of these walls and the Master bedroom that lets the fairies
cross over if there is an emergency and the parents are needed."
"Really?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. "They could both
sleep here then if we wanted them to."
"Yes," Draco said, smiling. "And we wouldn't have to worry
about being watched by curious children."
Harry snorted. "That is one of my main concerns," he said
amusedly. "Do you think he would cry if we left him to sleep in his
own room?" he asked, eyeing Valen.
Draco frowned and sighed. "Probably," he said. "But maybe the
fairies will talk to him?"
"They can talk?" Harry asked, looking up at the ceiling. "But I
thought they couldn't."
Draco blushed. "My nannies told me that, too. And they said that
dragons and unicorns didn't talk either. But I swear, the ones in the
nursery talked to me."
"What like – like really talked to you?" Harry asked, raising an
eyebrow.
Draco rolled his eyes and the blush deepened. "Well, I thought
they did," he said.
Harry smiled. "Well, maybe they do," he said. "This place is really
old. Maybe they're charmed to talk to the children in the room."
Valen had crawled right up to the wall and was trying to reach the
unicorns.
"Maybe," Draco said, smiling at the little boy.
SNAKES, UNICORNS AND FAIRIES
299
"What's the rest look like?" Harry asked.
Draco picked up the child again and led Harry into the adjoining
room. A crib was there, decorated with lace. A mobile of little winged
creatures rotated above it, softly whirring. The fairies from the play
room seemed to have followed them into here and were flying in
circles above their heads. The room was quiet and pretty.
Harry looked around this room as well, and did think it was really
quite pretty. "This would be nice for the new baby," he said. "But it
seems ... a bit girly for Valen. I mean, I know he's just a baby, but
still. Was this your room?" He raised an eyebrow again.
"When I was tiny," Draco said. "There is another room on the
other side. That was the one I remember sleeping in." He led them
back through the playroom, fairies following, and into a room with a
small bed.
The next room was obviously meant for a larger child. There was
a bed that was quite good-sized, but low to the ground. The room
was painted a pale blue, and silver seemed to be the secondary
colour. The blankets and curtains were done in those colours as well.
There was an expensive-looking bookcase spanning the length of one
wall, next to what looked like a very comfortable window-seat. There
was also a little child-sized desk, and a small, dragon-hide reading
chair as well. Harry walked further into the room, examining some of
the posters on the wall. Quidditch players zoomed around in them,
pulling off various plays and special moves. He also noticed the
family picture of a much smaller Draco with Lucius and Narcissa
Malfoy. He tried not to scowl at the tall, smirking blond man looking
back at him, and he almost felt like taking the picture off the wall and
shaking it to get the man to take his hand off the boy's shoulder.
Draco was looking around, lost in memories as he did. He
noticed Harry's scowl. "He's dead, Harry," he whispered. "The photo
doesn't hurt anyone."
Harry hadn't realised that anything had been showing on his face.
"I – I know," he said quietly, stepping away from the wall and up to
his husband.
Draco sighed and sat down on the bed, letting Valen crawl out of
his lap. The little boy was still watching the fairies who had followed
them to this room as well.
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Harry sat down next to Draco, looking sideways at him.
"This room bothers you," Draco said, still watching his husband's
face.
Harry sighed. "It's not – it's not the room. I just -" He stopped.
He didn't know what it was. It was just the thought of Lucius and the
things that he had done to Draco. Harry didn't even know when all
of that had started, nor did he want to ask.
"I was happy most of the time, when I was small," Draco assured
him. "My mother loved me. My father was proud of me. My teachers
thought I was bright and my nannies thought I was pretty."
Harry smiled and took in a breath to let it out slowly. He turned
his head and gave Draco a small kiss on the lips. He didn't want to let
his husband know what he was actually thinking about, and he
figured Draco could tell, so he only nodded.
"More today or had enough?" Draco asked, sliding his arm
around his husband. Valen lay on his back beside them, burbling
happily at the swirling fairies.
"We can keep looking," Harry said, smiling at Valen. After a
moment, he said, "I think he would do fine."
"So the question is can you handle the Master Suite, or not,"
Draco asked, kissing his husband's forehead.
Harry was quiet for a long moment. "Well, I think so," he
answered. "It's just a room, right?"
"Yes," Draco smiled, leaning in to kiss his husband.
Harry closed his eyes and kissed Draco back, sighing.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN –
Crying in the Dark
When Harry and Draco stood up from his old bed with Valen, Draco
led them into the Master Suite. Harry was still iffy about it – a little.
He did like the nursery and how close their children would be to
them, and the fairies on the ceiling would be extremely useful, he just
wasn't so sure about sleeping in Draco's parents' room.
The room itself was very beautiful and ornate. It was done in
blues and silvers, like Draco's old room. And once he'd had a good
look around, and really thought about the positioning of the
children's rooms, and how incredibly nice the suite was, he supposed
it wouldn't be so bad. And Draco didn't seem particularly bothered,
so within the next few days, they redecorated the room and moved all
of their things into it. They stood pretty much ready for their first
night after the move, but Harry could only wonder how Valen was
going to react to sleeping without his parents.
Draco had used a spell to refresh the paint in the nursery and
moved most of Valen's toys into his rooms. He had also set up a
beautiful set of rockers in the boy's bedroom so that Harry could
nurse their child – soon to be children – in the room and then lay
them down after. The second rocker was so Draco could sit with
them as well. The blond was doing that now, rocking contentedly as
he watched Harry feed Valen.
Harry sighed quietly looking down at the baby. "I don't want him
to cry," he said with just the slightest bit of a pout.
Draco smiled. "We can set up a spell to hear him if you like," the
blond said.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Harry replied, petting Valen's hair. "Do you
think it'll be weird for us to sleep in there?" he asked.
"Not just being away from Valen we are talking about now,
right?" Draco asked.
Harry was silent for a moment, but then realised that his silence
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was giving him away. "I guess," he said with another quiet sigh. He
hadn't wanted to bring it up.
Valen was already asleep in Harry's arms and Draco realised that
he was delaying putting him into the cot. The blond stood and
walked forward, gently taking the boy from his husband and lying
him down. He cast a spell that would allow them to hear Valen
wherever they were in the Manor. Then he reached his hand out to
Harry. "Let's go to bed," he said softly.
Harry bit his lip as he stared at Valen. He slowly reached his hand
out and took Draco's, getting to his feet.
Draco quietly led them out of the nursery and across the hall to
their new bedroom.
It was rather strange to be sleeping in a new room period. It
wasn't all because it had belonged to Lucius. Harry stood inside the
doorway, staring around for a moment.
Draco actually had pleasant memories in this room. He
remembered lying on the bed, watching his mother get ready for
parties and the smile she would give him when he told her she was
beautiful. The room was redecorated now, but the vaulted ceiling was
still there and he looked up, smiling.
Harry glanced over at Draco. "Well, you ready for bed?" he
asked, walking over to the bed in the huge bedroom.
"Always ready for you," Draco smirked, and stretched, kicking
off his shoes.
Harry chuckled, removing his own clothes with magic, but not
yet laying down..
Draco sat down on the edge of their bed, smiling at the fact that
Harry had made them move the old bed from their other room. He
looked up at his husband. "Yes?" he asked.
Harry gave a small shrug. "Nothing," he said.
Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sure," he drawled, lying back
still dressed and waiting to see what was up with his husband.
Harry raised his eyebrows at Draco. "You going to bed with your
clothes on?" he said.
"I thought you would enjoy removing them," the blond said with
a smile.
Harry smiled wryly. "Or you would," he said, flicking his fingers
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to strip his husband.
Draco gasped, never tired of the feel of his lover's magic as it
swept over him. He now lay naked and grinning at him.
Harry smirked and lowered himself over Draco's body, kissing
him, but not so much that he was telling him he wanted sex right at
that very moment.
Draco relaxed, trying to slow himself down and wait for Harry to
tell him what was going on inside that thick head. He reached up and
stroked the man's hair, caressing his scalp with long fingers.
"Want the truth?" Harry asked quietly, stroking the side of
Draco's face.
"Yes," Draco said, arching an eyebrow but continuing his
caresses.
"I guess it's just because this was your dad's room," Harry
admitted. "It's kind of weird, I suppose."
"It was also my mother's room, and my grandparents' rooms,"
Draco said softly.
"It doesn't bother you at all?" Harry asked. "I guess – I guess
that's what I don't want. I don't want it to bother you."
Draco frowned, considering. "I only have good memories of this
room," he said. "I used to sit in here with Mother while she got
dressed and talk with her."
Harry smiled. "Oh," he said simply, not wanting to voice the
other things that had been passing through his mind.
"He didn't do it here," Draco said after a minute.
Harry's face fell and he couldn't find any words. He hadn't
expected Draco to just come out and say it.
"You have actually spent a lot of time in the rooms he did,"
Draco added, fingers still caressing his husband's hair.
"What?" Harry asked, looking seriously at Draco.
"You are thinking about the times he touched me sexually, are
you not?" Draco asked.
Harry felt a prickle of anger inside himself, and he didn't give
Draco a verbal answer.
"We didn't do that in here," Draco assured him.
"In the other ones then," Harry said lowly. He made a strange
face, his eyes hard.
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"The study and my suite," Draco said softly, watching his lover's
face and trying to figure out the best approach to talk about it. Was it
better to explain it all or leave it? Let Harry ask what he wanted or
volunteer information? It was a touchy subject for his husband and
Draco had really never talked about it with anyone else.
Harry let out a breath then that sounded relieved even to himself.
He looked away from Draco's face. "It's disgusting," he said, still
speaking in a low voice. "Not you, but him. I thought so before, but
now, looking at Valen – I – there aren't even words to describe how
– I can't even imagine the thought ever crossing my mind to ever do
anything like that to him. I don't understand how anyone could ever
do that to their child."
"It was done to him," Draco said softly. "He thought it was the
way it was supposed to be done."
"There are no excuses for it," Harry said. "No excuses for that
ever."
"I wasn't excusing it," Draco said with a huff. "I was explaining
it." He frowned. "You don't think I would ...."
Harry's eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath. "No," he said
firmly. "Draco, no, I would never think that."
"Good," Draco said firmly. "But I can't pretend I hated my father
while growing up."
Harry sighed. "I'm not saying you have to hate him," he said. "It's
just ... I hate him. Hated him."
Draco closed his eyes and tried to breathe. Harry wasn't the only
one upset by this conversation. He tried to sort through his own
feelings. How did he feel about his father now? It was a tangle inside
and he didn't know how to pull it apart. The things he had done with
his father had not upset him at the time. In fact, far from it. The
shared intimacy had seemed to make things better between them.
Now, he understood it was wrong and he wouldn't do that to his
own children. Was it wrong to have enjoyed it? To have benefited in
several ways from it? He didn't know the answers and suspected that
even asking would just upset Harry.
Harry sighed. "We don't have to talk about it," he said. "I – I
didn't even mean to bring it up."
"You didn't bring it up," Draco pointed out. "You were worrying
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305
about it without saying, so I did."
Harry sighed yet again. "I guess," he said. He didn't know where
they were supposed to go with this or if they were supposed to go
anywhere with it at all.
"If you have questions," Draco said softly, "I would rather you
asked them."
Harry frowned. Did he have questions? Most of the time, he
didn't want to think about this. Most of the time, he didn't think
about it. He stared at Draco under himself, reaching fingers into his
hair. "Is there anything you ... want ... to tell me, love?" he asked
tentatively, because he knew he wouldn't be able to ask questions
himself. He wouldn't even know where to start, what to ask, what not
to.
Draco closed his eyes. He never brought up this topic with Harry,
and usually, when it came up, Harry would shy away from it. "You
want to know what happened? Or how I felt?" he whispered.
Harry's frown grew, his eyebrows furrowing. His heart sped up
with the thought of hearing what Draco might tell him, but he tried –
really tried – to push that away. "I – I want to hear what you want to
tell me," he said quietly. "If that's everything ...." He nodded and
continued stroking his husband's hair.
Harry's magic crackled with his emotions and Draco frowned
too, unsure of what he could tell him. He took several deep breaths,
looking up at the "H" in the canopy as if it was some kind of talisman
he could ground himself with. "I remember being small and wishing
my father were as affectionate as my mother. Mother would hold me
and pet me and I always loved that." He smiled and glanced at Harry.
"Like you are with my hair."
Harry smiled back at him, even though he could feel the heavier
conversation coming up. He nodded for Draco to continue.
Draco sighed. "He was always so busy. My mother told me how
important he was and how he was making sure of our future. Most of
the time, it felt like he only paid attention to me when I did
something exceptionally well or made a mistake he felt needed ...
correction."
Harry swallowed, but didn't interrupt. He really hoped he could
take this. He would force himself to take it if it was what Draco
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needed.
Draco felt his stomach flip as he got closer to what Harry was
really asking about. "When I did well, I was given presents and
praised. When I didn't ... well, he punished me. I thought I would do
anything for his approval."
Harry still stroked Draco's hair, even when he felt the
nervousness inside himself rise to try and overwhelm him. The soft
strands under his skin seemed to be helping to keep him calm.
Draco could feel his husband's distress, but his touch did help.
"When I turned eleven, he took me to my own suite, and told me
how proud he was that I was going to be a man soon. He hugged me.
I know that doesn't sound like much but it was unusual."
Harry nodded, drawing in a small, quiet breath. He would try not
to get angry. He knew Draco would be able to feel it if he did.
"After that, he started being more affectionate, touching me more
often. Having me sit in his lap," Draco said. He shivered then, not
sure if he should go on at this point, feeling shame now that he didn't
feel then.
Harry clenched his teeth for a few seconds, breathing through his
nose. He felt the flash of anger despite trying to quell it, but leant
down and kissed Draco's forehead. "It's all right, love," he whispered.
"You can keep going."
"I ... I was sitting in his lap in his study and he was ... touching
me, not there, but in ways that felt good," Draco whispered. "I
became aroused."
Harry nearly felt like crying. His hand shook now as he passed it
through Draco's hair.
Draco couldn't look at Harry now, face flushed with shame. "He
told me it was normal, to feel like that. He said it was his job as my
father to teach me about such things, that his father had taught him –
and that we didn't talk about it with others ...."
Lucius Malfoy was a sick, twisted, screwed up man. He sickened
Harry even more with every new detail he heard about the man, but
maybe Draco needed this more than he let on. They were married,
they weren't supposed to have secrets, right? Even secrets that were
partly known but not discussed. Harry lowered his head to Draco's
shoulder, pressing his lips to his neck in a soft kiss, trying to comfort.
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307
Draco shivered, his mind still focused on the memory. "He
showed me how ... how to touch myself. He touched me and had me
touch him. Later, of course, I told you, there was more."
Harry had heard this before and it angered him just as much as it
had then. Still, he kept himself in check, listening.
"I know you don't understand this part, but it didn't feel ... bad. I
was finally getting attention from him and he was so nice to me when
we were like that. It was all I knew, Harry. I believed what my parents
told me."
"You were eleven," Harry whispered shakily, cupping Draco's
face. "You were just a kid. Every kid believes what their parents tell
them, Draco. It's not your fault."
Draco sighed again. "I know what you saw of him and how you
feel about him," he whispered. "But the way he was, well it wasn't
always like that. It felt good when he touched me. And he was less
angry then. It wasn't until the Dark Lord came back that things
became ... frightening."
"You can tell me," Harry nodded in encouragement. It was
strange .... Already this – this truth was better than ... imagining the
worst possible.
"I don't think my father had thought it was possible, for the Dark
Lord to return, and now he was forced back into service. He became
angry and seemed even more likely to take it out on those around
him," Draco said. "Voldemort ordered him to get that Prophecy. I
know that. Can you imagine what He would have done if my father
had refused?"
"Yes," Harry answered. He knew very well what could happen to
someone who refused Voldemort.
"I think Father hated you not only because of what you stood for
but because he believed you were responsible for bringing the
monster back," Draco tried to explain, feeling odd to be justifying his
father's actions but wanting Harry to see what it was like for his
family.
Harry frowned at that, finding it completely out there to suspect
him of bringing Voldemort back.
"And I blamed you for some of my father's anger, since it always
seemed to get worse for me when my father was angry at you,"
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Draco admitted.
Harry wondered if it was strange to feel guilty for something he
wouldn't have, and couldn't have had control over. "I'm sorry," he
said quietly, staring at Draco's pale neck.
Draco reached to lay a hand on the back of Harry's head, fingers
stroking his lover's hair. "That last year before he went to Azkaban, it
was terrifying."
"Fifth year," Harry whispered. His mind automatically flashed to
Draco's words while he'd been under Amortentia, another thing he
despised thinking about, yet he still listened.
"Yes," Draco agreed. "Father at his worst, Umbridge in charge of
Hogwarts and you running around pissing everyone off." Draco
huffed, almost a laugh. "Father was convinced that the Dark Lord
would win and that if we were to survive, we had to please Him.
Which included teaching me more Dark Magic and how to be a
Death Eater."
"What did he teach you?" Harry asked softly. Of course he didn't
want to know, but ... whether he liked it or not, this was part of his
husband, that part of him from before the end of sixth year, the part
of Draco that Harry knew nothing about.
Draco frowned. "I was privately tutored, you know that," he said.
"Did you ever think of who my father would hire to teach that to his
only son?"
Harry shook his head confusedly. He had no idea.
"My father rarely even let me speak to anyone who wasn't a pureblood and agreed with my parents’ ideals until I went to Hogwarts,"
Draco pointed out.
"Then you had no one," Harry said, having known this from bits
and pieces of things that Draco had told him before. "No wonder
you were the way you were in school."
"I didn't even know Snape wasn't in agreement with the monster
until after Dumbledore's death," Draco explained. "In fifth year Aunt
Bellatrix became my tutor."
"God," Harry whispered, pulling a face. He didn't know how
anyone in their right minds could possibly want their child to be
taught by that mad woman, but he supposed Lucius had no right
mind.
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309
"Exactly," Draco whispered. "If she wasn’t mad before she went
in, Azkaban certainly took whatever was left of her sanity. I think it
did my father’s as well,” he added then sighed again. “Well, back to
about fifth year. I couldn't take it. All of it. The first time I lost it,
Pansy talked me off the Astronomy Tower."
It was so different to hear this in calm, in Draco's actual voice,
without so much hurt. Harry found it strange that – while he still
didn't much care for Pansy Parkinson – he was grateful for that
interference in Draco's life.
"Theo stopped me from drinking a poison," Draco continued.
"They both took turns watching me and talking me through some of
the worst of it. I think Pansy even threatened Crabbe and Goyle with
dire consequences if I managed to off myself, because they got pretty
twitchy as well."
Harry had slipped off a little to Draco's side and hugged him
tightly around the middle. "I had no idea then," he said, feeling guilty
again, because he had despised Draco. "You hide yourself too well."
"Slytherin," Draco reminded him, smiling slightly. "I had no
reason at all to suspect you would even want to know. It wasn't until
I thought I had nothing left to lose that I kissed you."
"Hadn't you heard about my 'saving people thing'?" Harry asked.
He raised his head. "I would have tried to save you," he said, bringing
a hand to his husband's face. He suddenly found tears in his eyes and
didn't even know how they'd got there. "I don't know where I would
be if you wouldn't have kissed me," he whispered, voice choked. "If
you wouldn't have been strong enough to survive all that."
Draco shivered, moved by Harry's reaction. He had never
thought anyone would really understand what it had been like but
Harry, the person who mattered most, his Harry had listened and, at
the very least, accepted. "You are much stronger than you think you
are," he whispered, "always were."
Harry kissed Draco gently. "Maybe I would have been fine," he
breathed against his mouth, "but I don't want a part in any world
where you're not mine."
"Good," Draco answered, kissing his husband, hand pressing
against the back of his head to deepen the kiss as Harry added a bit
of tongue to the kiss. The sound of Valen crying startled Draco and
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he broke the kiss, laughing.
Harry automatically looked to the side when he heard the crying,
but then remembered where they were and where Valen was and he
slipped off of Draco, crawling backwards on the bed and sitting
perched on his knees.
Draco listened to the sound. "He might be hungry and maybe a
little scared of the new place," he assured his husband.
Harry frowned. "Do we let him cry?" he asked.
Draco shook his head. "No, I'll go," he said, sitting up.
Harry let out a small sigh of relief, smiling and nodding.
Draco grinned and pulled on his dressing gown. He gave his
husband a quick kiss and went to the nursery across the hall.
Valen was standing and holding the side of his cot when Draco
walked in. The little boy squealed happily and held his hands out,
"Dadada!"
"Yes, Daddy Draco," the man agreed, lifting the child and
holding him. "And this is Valen's room now."
Valen burbled at him and Draco could almost understand the
words. It was like hearing someone speaking a language one was only
starting to learn.
Draco hummed a lullaby to his son, walking back and forth in the
room until the child settled down, and then he laid him back into the
cot. "I would never let you cry yourself to sleep," he whispered to the
sleeping infant.
Harry smiled softly, the spell allowing him to listen to Draco with
the baby. It was one of the most perfect things he could imagine. He
had been about to get up and join Draco, but he chose to sit and
listen to them, crossing his legs under himself and absently fingering
the pendent around his neck.
Draco leant in and kissed Valen softly. "Good night, son," he
whispered, and made his way back to his own room.
Harry smiled at Draco as the blond entered, holding out his hand
to him.
Draco slid his robe off and took his husband's hand. "He's asleep
now," he told him.
"I heard," Harry replied, pulling Draco against himself again as he
lay down with him. "He'll be okay. As long as he knows we'll always
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311
go to him and that we're not far."
Draco blushed, having forgot the spell. "Yes, no crying in the
dark," he agreed, remembering both their childhoods as he said it.
Harry nodded, completely understanding the meaning of the
words. "I agree," he said.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT –
Won't Let You Fall
Harry was sitting back in a chair, his feet propped up on the low table
in front of him. There was a book open, the spine of it resting on his
stomach as he read. It was Hermione's book – a Muggle mystery, and
it was actually quite good. It was the third in the series and Harry had
already read the first two. Hermione had got him on it while he'd
been bored and unable to move around much, and he was glad that
she had.
Draco had spent the last several hours locked in his study, going
over the latest building proposals, budgets, and Ministry paperwork.
But he'd finally decided it was time to take a break. Hermione and
Ron were at the Burrow, going over wedding plans with Mrs
Weasley. Draco found his husband in the main sitting room, nose
buried in a book and their child playing with small, very expensive
marble statue of Salazar Slytherin that he had somehow got down off
the shelf where it was kept. Draco crossed his arms over his chest,
leaning in the doorway and watching for a minute.
Harry turned the page. It was just getting to the good part. The
policeman was going to turn the corner to find the killer with his
dead sister's body in the next room. He just knew it.
"That statue is by Florent Wurple. It's near priceless, you know,"
Draco drawled.
Harry looked up. When had Draco come into the room? "I
haven't got any statue ...." He trailed off, catching sight of Valen.
"Oh," he said, flushing at his absentmindedness.
Draco sighed and walked into the room, crouching beside the
child who was happily chewing on Salazar's head. The statue was
making a face of disgust. He reached a hand out. "Give it over,
Valen," he said.
Harry watched Valen and Draco, finding it slightly amusing that
Draco was asking a baby to hand something over.
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313
Valen continued to suck on the head of the statue and Draco
reached out to try to pry it from the little boy's hands. Valen squealed
and held tighter. "That is not Valen's toy," Draco told him sternly.
Harry watched their son's face scrunch up in anger, and he quite
agreed that Draco should be stern with him in getting back the statue
he wasn't supposed to play with, though it was Harry's fault that he
had it in the first place.
"Valentine," Draco said in a more forceful tone. "Give me the
statue." The infant stopped sucking on Salazar's head and wore the
expression he got when we was about to start screaming.
"Well, just take it from him," said Harry. "I don't think he's going
to give it freely."
Draco frowned up at Harry. "And why don't you?" he snapped.
"You were the one supposed to be watching him."
"Well, I'm sorry," Harry snapped back. He shut the book sharply
and began trying to push himself out of the chair.
"Never mind," Draco retorted. Valen began to shriek – an ear
splitting noise that Draco was surprised didn't shatter glass. "That is
enough of that," he demanded, and reached to pull the statue from
Valen's hands. He finally got the sticky marble from the baby and
stood up, walking over and setting it on the mantle, hopefully out of
reach of the child.
"Arse," Harry muttered under his breath, even though it was
indeed his fault.
Valen was still screaming and Draco was tempted to cast a
Silencing Charm to save himself a headache, which, by this point, was
too late. Instead, he walked back to the child and picked him up.
Harry sighed, watching them. "Just give him here," he said,
holding his arms out.
Draco was bouncing the crying baby up and down. He frowned
and then sighed, walking over and handing the boy to his husband.
Harry held Valen against his chest, his belly in the way, and began
making hushing noises and trying to soothe him with his magic. He
had stopped feeding him every time he cried, trying to get him to
switch completely to solid foods.
Valen stopped screaming, but was still crying and hiccuping.
Draco shook his head and turned away, hands coming up to massage
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his temples.
Harry petted Valen's hair, rocking him. "You can't play with
those things," he said quietly. "They're Daddy's, not Valen's. You
have lots of your own toys to play with."
Draco sighed and strode over, sitting on the sofa near the chair
and watching them.
After a few more minutes, Valen had settled down and Harry
looked over at Draco. "I'm sorry," he frowned. "It was my fault that
he got it."
Draco's lips turned up on one side. "Yes, but it was kind of
funny," he said. "Chewing on Salazar's head."
Harry smiled as well. "Yeah, I guess," he agreed, kissing Valen's
hair and then putting him back down on the floor.
"I thought it had been out of his reach. I wonder how he got to
it," Draco mused, watching the boy and then reaching to lay a hand
on his husband's arm.
Harry shrugged, looking to the shelf where the statue now stood.
"I don't know."
"I have had enough of the accounts for one day." Draco began
rubbing his temples again. "What do you want to do?" he added.
"I don't know," Harry sighed. "And you have a headache. Do you
want me to take care of it?"
Draco smiled wryly. "Sure," he answered, knowing the response
his body would have to his lover's magic.
Harry snorted. "Well, come here then."
Draco slid forward, and went to his knees beside the chair,
resting his head on his husband's belly.
Harry smiled, laying a hand to the side of Draco's head that
wasn't on his stomach, performing a Healing Charm.
Draco moaned as the magic pulsed, his head immediately better
and the rest of his body shivering pleasantly.
"Good now?" Harry asked, stroking blond hair.
"Very good," the blond purred, face still pressed to Harry's belly.
"Very good," Harry repeated, smiling again.
Valen crawled over to them, pulling himself up using both their
legs. He had started doing this lately and it always made Draco smile.
"Come to make up?" he asked his son, whose green eyes looked back
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315
at him with complete innocence.
Harry chuckled, watching the little face.
Draco reached to push blond hair off his son's face. "It's getting
long," he said. "Maybe we should take him for a hair cut?"
"If he'll sit and let them do it," Harry said with a small laugh.
"But, yeah, he probably should get it cut soon."
Draco huffed and sat back on his heels, then back up onto the
sofa. Valen watched him and held a hand out to him. "Dadada," he
said.
Harry stared at Valen and then looked to Draco, raising his
eyebrows slightly. "Can you go to Daddy Draco, Valen?" he asked,
sitting up more in the chair.
Draco grinned, leaning forward and holding out his hands to
Valen. "Yes, Valen," he said. "Come to me."
Valen looked between the two men as if unsure of what he was
supposed to do.
"Go on," Harry encouraged, nodding. He smiled excitedly up at
Draco.
Valen seemed to take courage from this and then stepped to the
edge of the chair, still holding Harry's trouser leg and looking at
Draco.
Draco smiled warmly at his little boy. "You know you want to,"
he told him. "And I know you can."
Valen then slowly let go of Harry's trousers and swayed for a
moment, seeming to consider whether or not to grab them again.
Harry gasped quietly, holding his hands out to catch Valen if he
should need the help. "We won't let you fall," he said. "Go on."
Valen glanced again between them and then his little chin seemed
to lift bravely and he moved. It was as much a teetering fall as
walking, but he took two steps and fell into Draco's hands. The
blond swooped his child up, grinning and praising him.
Harry beamed. "You did it!" he said happily, clapping his hands.
"Yes, our boy is fantastic!" Draco shouted, laughing and holding
him up in the air so that Valen was laughing, too.
At that moment, the baby inside gave a kick, as if proving that
she could do something too, and Harry began laughing as well.
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Harry was petting Valen's hair, sitting on the couch with Draco, and
watching their two best friends as if they were a tennis match. As of
late, it had become quite an often-happening activity.
"I don't understand you," Hermione said heatedly to her soon-tobe husband. "I don't understand why you can't just pick."
Ron rolled his eyes, tearing them away from the broomstick
magazine in his hands to look up at her again.
She waggled the three pieces of different coloured paper in front
of his face.
"What?" Ron said, voice pained and whiny. "What, Hermione?
What?"
"Pick a colour," she insisted. "We have to! We don't have forever
to get everything ready, Ron!"
Ron flung the magazine onto the coffee table and snatched the
papers from Hermione's hands, bringing them up to his eyes to stare
at them in greatly exaggerated interest. "Two of them are the same
damn colour!" he exclaimed after a few seconds.
"They are different shades of blue," Hermione countered, eyes
narrowing.
Draco wasn't sure whether to duck for cover or watch the
fireworks. When their two friends got going it could be quite a show.
Personally, he could actually tell the difference in shades and paper
quality. On the other hand, he didn't much care either and could
sympathise with Ron on that point. Draco knew better than to
express that view in front of Hermione, though.
"Fine," Ron huffed. "This one." He tugged one of the blue
papers from the others and slapped it on the table.
"You picked that at random," Hermione accused.
"I choose that one," Ron said firmly.
"You didn't even choose it with any care!"
Ron slapped the other papers down as well. "That's what I've
been trying to tell you!" he said. "I don't care. Why am I supposed to
give a shit what colour we have at tables or whatever the bloody hell
you're doing with these stupid pieces of paper?"
Hermione drew herself up indignantly; her eyes were slits now.
"It is your wedding, too," she said. "I'm not supposed to be planning
this entire thing by myself!"
WON’T LET YOU FALL
317
"Any time I actually want to help, you take over!" Ron retorted.
Harry raised his eyebrows. He was glad his and Draco's wedding
hadn't been nearly as much of a hassle.
Valen squealed loudly, jumping up and down in Harry's lap,
though it was unclear as to whether he was upset or excited by the
fight.
Draco looked curiously at his offspring and then looked once
more at the two friends, letting his eyes unfocus enough to pay more
attention to the magic than the words. Their magical signatures were
certainly flickering. If it had been Harry and himself, they would
probably have been shagging on the carpet by now.
"You only want to help," Hermione snapped, "when you know it
will aggravate me! Any other time you're off doing whatever you
please while I get all of the invitations situated, and send off to order
all of the flowers, and decorations, and I still have to go with our
mothers to get my dress and to pick out the other dresses and you
don't know what kind of work all of that can be! What do you want
to honestly help with? The cake!"
Ron's ears had turned red now. "I'm running for you all the
time!" he cried. "I can't even get a second to bloody focus on
anything! Nothing but which lace, which glass, which wine, which
colour? I don't know!"
"Er, I would go with the lighter blue myself," Harry offered in an
attempt to lighten them up.
Draco was wondering if he needed to suggest to Ron that
shagging Hermione senseless was probably the better way to help
relieve tension. The thought amused him, and he couldn't help but
smirk, trying to pretend to read his book to cover it.
Harry glanced sideways at his husband, but their friends didn't
seem to notice Draco's expression.
Hermione huffed at Harry's remark. "Sorry," she said, rolling her
eyes and turning away from Ron quite pointedly.
Harry chuckled. "I've been used to it for quite some time now,"
he said. "And I really would pick the lighter blue."
Ron let himself sink into the couch cushions. "Go with that one
then," he said to Hermione.
She shook her head, stony expression in place.
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"Hermione," Draco said softly, and waited until she looked at
him. "Ron is who he is and he loves you. Pick the colours that work
for you and let him run the errands. He will back you and that's
what's important."
"You know," said Ron to Draco, "I like you more and more."
Hermione rolled her eyes yet again, but did seem to be settling.
"You just frustrate me," she said to the redhead.
"I know," Ron answered. "But I love you." He smiled innocently
and batted his eyes.
She balled up one of the paper samples and threw it at him.
Harry snorted at both of them.
Valen squealed again and Draco did laugh this time.
– CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE –
A Slytherin Gift
Harry yawned, scanning the Daily Prophet as he sipped tea. The word
'Quidditch' caught his eye in one article and he paused to read, then
sighed when he saw what it really was. Terentius Gamp, owner of the
Appleby Arrows, was getting married. Harry could not care less.
He took the corner of the page, about to turn it, when he saw the
name of the woman he was marrying. A prickle of anger flowed
through him at the sight of the name, but he pressed it down. He
looked up at his husband, who was feeding the baby. "Draco?"
Draco was trying to convince his son that eating mashed carrots
was better than wearing them – with mixed results. "Mmm?" he
hummed as he pretended to fly the 'broom' that was really a spoon
into Valen's mouth.
Hermione and Ron looked up absently from their meals.
"Did you know Pansy's getting married?" Harry said flatly.
Draco paused, spoon just in front of Valen's mouth, who looked
up at him, apparently confused with his father's abrupt stop in the
game. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened
them and returned to feeding his son. "That makes sense," he said in
a bored-sounding voice. "Most pure-blood marriages are arranged for
the year after finishing Hogwarts."
Harry lifted an eyebrow.
"Who's she marrying?" Hermione asked, looking between the
two men.
"Terentius Gamp," Harry answered. "He owns the Arrows."
Ron pulled a face, wrinkling his nose. "Merlin, that bloke's got to
be at least forty years old."
"Her father would want someone with money and influence,"
Draco said matter-of-factly.
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know how anyone could be
happy that way," she sighed.
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Harry agreed.
"I doubt her father is concerned with her happiness," Draco
drawled. "Or at least, not in the way you think. He wants the
continuation of his family line and the power they hold."
"Well, that's not very fair to her, is it?" Hermione responded.
Harry could think of other ways Pansy's father had not been very
fair to her. He shivered in disgust.
Valen squeaked and made a grab for the spoon and Draco let him
take it. "Don't complain to me when your hair is all sticky with it
later," he told his son, who seemed to be either attempting to feed
himself or paint his face – he was not sure which. Draco sighed and
turned back to the adults at the table. "Fair isn't really an issue to
most wizards of their standing," he said. It could be frustrating to
explain things like this to these three.
Hermione sighed again. "We know," she said.
Harry wondered who Draco would have been forced to marry if
things had been different. He shook his head. "Well, the bloke's
definitely got money and power. He owns the Arrows and a chain of
apothecaries."
Draco picked at his food, rolling a sausage around on his plate
with his fork. He was thinking about the Love Potion, of course, and
what Pansy had done to them. Especially the way she had made sure
the 'incident' with Theo had been made public. It had contributed to
a lot of their problems and had been one of the reasons he'd bought
the Prophet.
Harry set the paper down and leant into Draco, pressing his lips
to his temple. "What?" he said against the skin.
"I think I will send them a wedding gift," Draco said suddenly.
Hermione looked over with furrowed brows and Ron paused
with his spoon halfway to his mouth.
"What?" Harry said again, pulling back to stare at Draco.
Draco speared the sausage and nibbled on it. When he
swallowed, he turned his face to Harry's. "I think we need to send a
message."
Harry was confused. "With a wedding gift?" he asked.
"We send a gift and I know Pansy will want to talk. It will ...
confuse her," Draco explained.
A SLYTHERIN GIT
321
"Probably," said Ron, finally taking that bite. "Confused me."
"So, you want to talk to her?" asked Harry.
Draco arched an eyebrow. "We bought the Daily Prophet and fired
half the staff over what they wrote. Do you think we should really let
Pansy do what she did and not make sure she is warned that anything
in the future will be met with some type of punishment?"
Unconsciously, Harry laid a hand on his stomach. "No, it would
be good," he agreed, and remembered when they had talked right
after the mess at Hogwarts.
Draco smiled then, that look he got whenever he was reminded
that Harry was pregnant. He leant in, placing his hand atop his
husband's and kissed him gently.
Harry smiled too. "I suppose you're sending a gift then," he said.
"A very expensive one," Draco replied. "The kind that will make
her family and her groom notice."
"What are you going to tell her when she talks to you?" Harry
asked, pulling back to look at Draco again.
Draco considered the answer for a moment, especially in light of
Ron and Hermione in the room. "I know things about her she is not
likely to wish me to share with others, especially her potential
husband," Draco answered.
"So, you're going to send her a wedding gift to get her to talk to
you, and then blackmail her," Hermione offered.
"Harry married a Slytherin," Ron quipped.
"Hey, are we forgetting what happened last October?" said Harry
seriously. "How are we supposed to be sure something like that
wouldn't happen again? Or worse even."
Hermione raised her hands in front of her.
Draco arched an eyebrow at his husband. "So you approve?"
Harry sighed. "I suppose so," he answered. "It's true. What if she
did try something else?"
"Then she will be very, very sorry by the time I am through with
her," Draco replied, voice deep with the anger he felt when he
remembered how much pain she had caused them.
Harry felt a little tingle of arousal. "Good," he nodded.
Draco loved the spark he saw in his lover's eyes at that and
responded with a kiss.
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Harry grinned and kissed him back, whispering, "Sexy," very
quietly into his mouth.
Draco was just contemplating dragging his husband back to bed
after breakfast when he heard Valen squeal and felt the plop of wet
mashed carrots against his back.
Ron laughed loudly and Harry leant around Draco to take a look
at the smiling, extremely messy baby.
Valen did indeed have carrots in his hair as well as all over his
face. He grinned at his Daddy and reached both sticky hands for him.
"Dada!"
Harry shook his head, performing a Cleaning Charm before
reaching to take Valen out of his chair. "Look what you did to your
Daddy Draco," he said, grinning as well in amusement.
Draco sighed, figuring sex would have to wait until after the boy
went down for a nap. "I'll go make arrangements for the gift," he told
Harry, getting up and kissing the top of both his husband and his
son's heads.
Harry nodded, holding Valen as he watched Draco leave the
room.
It took a little research, but Draco found the absolutely perfect gift to
send. It was a portrait of Aeneas Darcy, famous Seeker for the
Arrows, 1923-1943. The portrait was by a well known painter, Caelia
Waldron, the same woman that had painted Headmaster Dexter
Fortescue’s portrait at Hogwarts. It was very expensive, of course. It
was the sort of gift that would never go unnoticed or unremarked
upon. Draco expected Terentius Gamp would be eager to meet the
'old friend' of Pansy’s who would send such an extravagant present.
Gamp sent a letter by owl inviting Draco and his husband to
dinner at a very upscale wizarding restaurant later that week, saying
how excited he was to meet someone so important to his wife to be.
Pansy’s hastily scrawled message arrived within the hour after
Gamp’s, asking Draco to come to visit her “as soon as possible.” She
suggested tea at the Parkinson Estate – and to “feel free to Floo” her
with a reply if he could get away immediately. The message had been
sent by express courier of one of her family’s house-elves. Draco
made her wait until the next day before replying via his own courier
A SLYTHERIN GIT
323
that he would be there Thursday afternoon, in time for tea. The
dinner with her fiancé was supposed to be Friday evening. He figured
she would be absolutely distraught by the time two more days passed.
Draco had been to the Parkinson Mansion before, of course, but
it had been many years. They had been children then and friends.
Now he stood at the door and contemplated the knocker shaped like
an eagle’s head. “May I announce you?” it asked.
“Draco Malfoy to see Miss Pansy Parkinson,” Draco told it. A
few minutes later, Pansy herself opened the door. She was dressed
for afternoon tea, as was Draco.
“Draco,” she said, sounding a bit breathless, “I am so glad you
could make it.” She stepped back, gesturing for him to enter.
He allowed her house-elf to take his cloak but didn’t reach to take
her hands as would usually be the proper greeting for a friend. Draco
nodded in acknowledgement and she stood awkwardly for a minute
before sighing and leading him to the sitting room.
He waited for her to sit and watched as she poured the tea for the
two of them. She added sugar and milk in his, apparently
remembering the way he took it. Her hands shook enough that the
cup rattled as she passed it to him.
If she thought he would make it easier and start the conversation,
she was mistaken. Draco waited, his face impassive as she set her
own cup down and twisted her fingers in the fabric of her skirt.
Finally, she looked up. “You sent a gift,” she began. “I … I hadn’t
expected that.”
Draco waited a few heartbeats, letting her squirm before he
answered. “I would think it customary for an old friend to
acknowledge your wedding,” he drawled, and was pleased with the
flush on her face.
“We haven’t spoken … in a long time,” she stammered.
“Not since Hogwarts,” he said simply.
Her flush spread and she didn’t meet his eyes. “That silly game, I
know. You know, I really shouldn’t drink in public,” she explained
with a false laugh.
Draco knew she was trying to pass off the Truth or Dare incident
as if she had never given him the potion. And now that she had
received the gift, she was confused and worried that he would seek
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revenge. Draco knew the way she thought. Looking back on it, he
realised he should have seen it coming then.
He hadn’t sipped his tea yet. He lifted it and sniffed it pointedly.
The gesture was not lost on her and she swallowed hard. He didn’t
think she would be foolish enough to slip him something now and he
could tell both by smell and by looking with his 'sense' that it wasn’t
tampered with. He sipped it then, eyes rising to meet hers.
She looked away quickly, fingers returning to twist her skirt hem.
She cleared her throat. “Ah, well Terentius was delighted with the
gift, of course,” she continued, trying to make her voice light but only
managing a bit too high of a pitch.
“Yes, I received his note,” Draco replied.
“Will you be accepting the invitation to dinner?” she asked.
“Yes,” Draco said, sipping the tea again.
Her breath caught and he could see her pulse speeding up in the
vein at her throat. “Whatever possessed you to send such an
extravagant gift, Draco?” she asked with that same false laugh. “I
don’t know how you knew he wanted it.”
Draco arched an eyebrow, pleased with the opening. “Oh, I
know a lot of things,” he said. “These days, between my family
money and our reputations, there isn’t a lot that is out of Harry's or
my reach.”
She quelled at that and he was pleased to see her register the
implied threat.
“Did you know we bought the Daily Prophet?” he continued.
She paled and looked up. “No ... no, I didn’t,” she replied.
Draco could see her coming to the realisation that it meant he
controlled the news – and with that could ruin her reputation or that
of her family or her fiancé, if he wanted it to be so. “Will your father
be at the wedding?” he asked suddenly and was gratified to see her
eyes widen in surprise.
“Well, of course,” she stammered.
Felix Parkinson had never been publicly connected with
Voldemort, so he had maintained his position and wealth. Draco
knew that. He also knew that the man had supported the cause
financially. But that was not the information that he was hinting at
now. Draco set his empty cup and saucer down on the table and
A SLYTHERIN GIT
325
folded his hands, looking at her. “What have you told Gamp about
me?”
She seemed to have trouble switching gears and blinked before
pasting the fake smile back on her face. “Oh, you know, that we
dated back before sixth year,” she answered.
“You let him think I was the first?” he asked, and watched the
look of horror on her face.
“But … well, of course,” she stammered.
“What would Gamp's reaction be if he knew the truth, do you
think?” Draco drawled.
She flushed scarlet and looked as if she had seen a Dementor
sitting there instead of her old beau. “Draco, please, you can’t mean
to ….”
Draco had been the second. Pansy’s own father had been her
first. Just as his own father had molested Draco, of course. They
both knew this about each other. “Why would an old friend want to
come between you and your husband, Pansy? That would be a
horrible thing to do, wouldn’t it?” Draco asked in a mock offended
tone.
The blow hit home and Pansy’s mouth worked silently for a
minute. Then she burst into tears. “Draco, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t
think ... I was so angry and he .... You changed so quickly and we
thought ….” She couldn’t seem to finish a sentence. She slid to her
knees on the carpet and looked up at him. “Please, don’t. I’m sorry.
If you do this, it will ruin my father, ruin me. No one will want me if
they know.”
Draco’s eyes narrowed and his brows lowered. He reached out
and took her chin in one hand, forcing her to look at him. “You tried
to ruin my marriage,” he hissed, “and damned if I don’t know why,
too.”
She flinched but didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry, Draco, I swear it.”
“I know you are,” Draco sneered. “You're sorry that it didn’t
work. Sorry that you got caught. You wanted to punish me for
turning away from you, turning my back on you. You wanted to
punish Potter because of … everything, both before and during the
war. Don’t you think I know the what and why? Why do you think I
didn’t report you then? Why do you think you weren’t thrown out of
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Hogwarts and arrested for what you did to me?”
She was still crying and shaking. “Why?” she asked, obviously
confused herself. She apparently couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t
retaliated then.
His face softened just a little. “You saved my life back before
everything. You were there when I needed you. I turned my back on
you in sixth year. And you never knew why. It doesn’t make what you
tried to do with Blaise that night or what you did during N.E.W.T.s
acceptable.”
She seemed unable to ask again but waited, watching him like she
was terrified of the answer now.
“This is your only warning, Pansy. If you ever, ever try anything
again I will personally destroy you. Do you understand?” Draco
hissed and she trembled.
“I promise. I will do nothing,” Pansy stammered.
He sighed and released her face. She fell back, still on her knees
and trembling. Draco closed his eyes for a moment and was calm
again when he looked at her. “We were friends and I don’t have
many of those left from then,” he said softly. “I would like to see
those of us who survived be happy with our lives – even you, Pansy.”
She was crying again, but it was clearly in relief now. “Thank
you.”
“No, I don’t want it. You behave yourself and we are clear.
Anything else and I will make you wish you had never been born,” he
said, sounding and feeling tired now.
She seemed to get control of herself then, wiping her face and
getting to her feet. “I understand,” she said softly.
Draco got to his feet now and she walked with him to the door.
As the house-elf brought his cloak, he considered the young woman.
“I think it would be good for both our families if we did have the
dinner. Gamp and I have business interests that would be
advantageous. I doubt if Harry will want to attend, but I will meet
with your fiancé.”
She nodded. “I understand,” she repeated.
He allowed himself a small smile then. “Congratulations, Pansy.
And I do hope that your marriage will be a happy one.” Draco left
then. He couldn’t wait to get back to his own husband.
– CHAPTER FORTY –
Good Fortune
Harry had been nervous since Draco had left and spent the day
playing with his hands and tugging on his clothes, running his fingers
anxiously through his hair.
Hermione kept telling him that there was nothing to worry about,
that Draco wouldn't have gone if he'd thought it would be dangerous,
and Harry knew that too, yet he still worried.
He'd just put Valen down for a nap and was coming back down
the stairs. Being pregnant, he was supposed to Apparate as little as
possible.
Draco Apparated to the front of the Manor and stepped into his
home, shaking out his cloak and handing it to Leakey. He smiled as
he saw his husband trying to make his way down the steps. "Stay
there and I'll meet you halfway," he said.
Harry sighed in relief, smiling at the sight of Draco, and stayed
put.
The blond climbed up to him, stopping on the step just below
Harry and looking up at him. He bent and kissed the small mound of
his husband's stomach.
Harry put a hand on the back of Draco's neck, his smile growing.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Draco pressed his cheek against Harry's belly. "She understood
the message," he said a bit sadly.
Harry's face fell at Draco's tone. "Well, that's good?" he said.
The blond lifted his head, turning his face up to Harry's, looking
into his eyes. "She will never be a danger to us again," he said firmly.
Harry nodded and pushed Draco's hair back. "That's all I
wanted."
Draco stepped up beside him, putting an arm around Harry's
waist. "Let's go to our room and talk about it there," he suggested.
Harry nodded, turning back around to start climbing again.
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Draco helped him, supporting Harry's back as they went. "Is
Valen asleep?" he asked, glancing at the hissing serpents on the
nursery door.
"Yes," Harry answered. "I just put him to bed."
Draco led his husband into their own room and, pulling him into
his arms, bent to kiss him.
Harry closed his eyes, his hands pressing into Draco's back. "Are
you going to the dinner?" he whispered.
"I think it would be good for business," Draco answered. "And a
connection with her future husband would ensure she remembers the
promise."
Harry nodded again. "How did you get her to promise anything?"
he asked. "Did you tell her you owned the Prophet?"
Draco pulled his husband over to the bed and sat down with him.
"I did," he said and then paused, not knowing whether to explain the
rest.
Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's chest, leaning in to kiss
his face and neck. "And that's all it took?" he asked.
Draco shook his head. "I swore to protect my family, no matter
what, you know that," he said, hand coming to rest on Harry's belly
again.
Harry nodded, kissing Draco's pulse point before pulling back to
look at him.
"I implied that I would tell her husband and possibly even the
public about her past," Draco said. "About her father."
Harry's eyes widened. "Merlin," he said quietly.
Draco's fingers caressed the swell of his husband's belly. "I hope
I never have to use the information, but I will if she tries anything
again."
"What's she afraid would happen if you told?" Harry said quietly,
staring down at Draco's hand now.
Draco frowned, making a kind of disbelieving face at Harry.
"What do you think would happen? You can't think that Gamp
would marry her if he knew?"
"If he loves her," Harry responded. "It's not Pansy's fault her
father was a sick old bastard. The man deserves to have his life
ruined and he doesn't deserve her willingness to try and please him,
GOOD FORTUNE
329
to keep him safe."
Draco sighed, realising they had reached another of 'those'
conversations where Harry was unlikely to understand the culture he
came from. "First, it's an arranged marriage, so I doubt that he loves
her. He may like her, but they probably don't even know each other
very well at all."
Harry sighed and shook his head. "I just don't understand," he
said. "How is that living? Always worried about what you look like,
always guarding your secrets, never allowed to do what you really
want to do, to fall in love with and marry the person you actually
want."
Draco rubbed his other hand on Harry's back soothingly, leaning
in to kiss him quickly before replying. "I know you feel that love is
what matters most. And certainly, I must agree with you or I
wouldn't be here," he smirked at that. "But not everyone believes that
way. Pansy wants this match. She wants the money and the power
and the sense of belonging she thinks she will get from it."
"Thinks she will get from it," Harry stressed. "It isn't real. No
matter if you believe it or not, love is the most important thing."
"It is her choice to do this," Draco said. "She could walk away
from her family, from the money and power, if that mattered to her."
Harry shrugged. "If she met someone and fell in love, for real, it
would."
Draco smiled again, his own love for Harry so overwhelming that
he knew he would if he had to make a choice. He liked his wealth but
would choose Harry and their children over it. "And since she has
never been in love or been truly loved by someone else, she doesn't
think the way you do. What she wants now is to get away from her
father without giving up her position in society. Gamp is a way to do
that. And, who knows, maybe they will love each other."
Harry sighed, turning his head to look at Draco. "Maybe," he
agreed. "I don't even know why I care."
Draco chuckled at that. "You are just that loving and amazing
that you even feel for someone like Pansy. She will never tell her own
husband because she doesn't believe that people like you exist,"
Draco explained, fingers caressing Harry's cheek as he did. "I didn't
either, you know. I just had the good fortune to fall for you anyway."
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Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you did," he said.
"How glad?" Draco teased, sliding his hand back into his lover's
hair.
"Too glad," Harry teased back, pulling Draco down with him
onto the mattress.
Draco caught himself so he wouldn't put too much of his weight
on Harry's belly, crouching over him. He kissed his husband with
long, slow, slick kisses.
"Mmm," Harry hummed as his tongue slid with Draco's, hands
travelling the length of his back.
"I want you to know, to feel how special you are, Harry," Draco
whispered. "You have given me a life I didn't even dare imagine. You
accept me even with my flaws, even when you don't agree or
understand. You love me through it all." He looked down into those
green eyes. "It sounds trite but it isn't. I want to make love to you now
and over and over again until I am too old to do anything but lie in
bed with you."
Harry didn't know how Draco managed to make him fall more
and more in love with him every minute. "You make me feel," he
whispered, "like the most important person in the entire world."
"You are," Draco grinned, sliding his hands up under Harry's
shirt, one immediately going to his belly and the other to tease his
nipples.
"You are to me," Harry told him, stripping away his own clothes
with a smile.
Draco loved that spell and thrilled at the power when Harry used
it. "I want to kiss every inch of you," he said, working his way down
Harry's neck.
The smile didn't leave Harry's face and he slipped his fingers into
Draco's hair. "Feel free," he whispered, tilting his head.
Draco hummed happily, licking and sucking his way down,
moving to even kiss his way down both of Harry's arms, kissing each
fingertip when he got there.
Harry bit his lip as he watched, eyes soft and happy. Every kiss
was a burst of pleasure and love both, sending tingles over Harry's
skin and even inside it, down deep.
Draco worked his way back to Harry's body via the sensitive
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331
underside of Harry's arms, enjoying the way his lover squirmed when
he reached armpits that tickled. Then he moved back to his body,
kissing his chest and stopping to suck at each nipple. His finger
caressed Harry's skin, too, mapping every contour of bone and
muscle.
"How do you do this?" Harry asked, leaning and arching into the
touches.
"How could I not?" Draco answered, smiling up at him. "I adore
you, every part of you." He was kissing that swollen belly now,
actually nuzzling it with his face, too.
Harry wasn't sure he could stop smiling. "It's like you haven't had
me every day for longer than a year."
"Not every day, and never enough to show you how I feel,"
Draco whispered, lips caressing Harry's hip bone now, then the
other, not yet touching his lover's arousal but working down his legs
next instead.
Harry wiggled his toes, still watching Draco's lips moving over his
skin. "You show me," he whispered. "You're amazing at it."
Draco traced the lines of those long lean legs. Then he lifted
Harry's foot in his hand and kissed his wiggling toes.
Harry grinned. It tickled, but he stayed put, letting Draco do
whatever he wanted to do to him.
Draco gently but firmly gripped Harry's foot and then began to
lick his toes, grinning mischievously at him.
Harry did squirm then and laughed. "Draco!" he protested.
"I wonder if sucking your toes will make your cock twitch the
way sucking your fingers does?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow.
Harry wondered if anything could make his cock twitch like
Draco's words did. "You think?" he breathed, his eyes darkening.
"Let's find out," Draco said, sucking several toes into his mouth
and swirling his tongue over them.
Harry laughed and moaned at the same time, which was really a
rather strange sound. And his cock did jerk hard, as if it could do
anything else with Draco looking at him like that.
The blond sucked and licked Harry's toes with the same passion
he would normally use on his lover's cock.
"Okay," Harry gasped, dribbling pre-come onto his belly.
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"Please."
Draco was delighted to have discovered another of Harry's kinks.
He released the foot, but only to give the other similar treatment.
Harry groaned and arched up. "Please, Draco, please," he begged,
his head thrown back now, mouth open.
"Please what?" Draco asked, running his tongue over the
sensitive underside of Harry's toes.
Harry tried to think about something other than the burning heat in
his groin. "Please!" And the begging was sort of demanding now.
"Something!"
"Turn over," Draco told him.
Harry did so quickly, flipping atop the bed and panting.
Draco began kissing up the backs of Harry's legs, fingers
squeezing in the wake of his mouth.
Harry's body flushed and heat rushed straight to his cock, making
it twitch and spurt clear fluid onto the sheets.
Draco pushed his lover's legs further apart, kneading his flesh as
he moved up. He lovingly kissed the crease where Harry's upper
thighs met his arse.
"Oh, God," Harry moaned somewhat squeakily. "Please, yes,
Draco, yeah."
Draco smiled, kissing the rounded flesh and then nipping at it.
Harry licked his lips. "Good ... at ... kissing arse as you are at ...
kicking it?" he gasped.
"You like that, don't you?" Draco asked, thrilled himself.
"Rimming?" Harry laughed breathlessly. "What was ... your clue?"
Draco chuckled darkly. "No, my, as you put it, kicking arse," he
answered, but spread his lover's arse as he did.
Harry released another loud groan. "You're so ... fucking hot," he
panted. "So fucking hot when ... you do."
Draco understood this was about more than sex. No one had
protected Harry when he was young, so to have a husband who did
meant a lot to him. "Good, because protecting this arse is my
pleasure," Draco purred. "As well as licking it," he added with an
illustrative lick along that crevice.
Harry breathed hotly against the sheets, grasping them as he lifted
his hips and arse to that tongue.
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333
Draco flicked his tongue against the quivering hole, letting it
move quickly and lightly back and forth.
"Fuck," Harry hissed, closing his eyes tightly. "Oh, fuck, I love
you, love this. Don't stop!"
Draco did pull back then. "Up on your knees, my love," he said,
patting his arse affectionately.
Harry whined his complaint at Draco doing exactly what he'd just
told him not to, but pushed himself up, looking over his shoulder
impatiently.
"I adore how eager you are for me," Draco gasped, reaching to
part and lower his mouth to his husband's arse again.
Harry's head dropped back down and his muscles clenched,
including those beneath where Draco was licking. "I adore your
mouth," he moaned.
Draco found that ironic given their history but revelled in it now.
He pressed his lips to his lover's hole and thrust his tongue into him.
Harry groaned and gasped, pressing back and arching. He tossed
his head from side to side and let Draco slide his tongue in and out
of his body until he felt as if he were about to blow up and be
nothing but fucking dust in the air. "Fuck me!" he shouted, arms
straining and body glistening as he trembled.
Draco's entire body shuddered with desire and he sat back,
moving up to position himself. "Lube," he suggested to Harry.
Harry willed the lube and slicked himself with it in less than two
seconds. "Go," he whimpered. "Go, do it."
Draco didn't question it, pressing his cock into his husband's
body with a moan of delight, hands clutching Harry's hips as he did.
"Oh, yeah," Harry whispered, squeezing around every inch of
Draco inside him. "Move."
"Yes," Draco agreed, rotating his hips now to slide in and out in
that circular motion that brought the most contact for both of them.
"Fuck," Harry hissed again, jerking forward and back with every
movement. "Merlin, fuck me."
"Yes, now and always," Draco gasped, trembling as he lost
himself in the pleasure of Harry's heat and magic.
"Oh, God," Harry whispered, reaching back with one hand to
grasp Draco's thigh. "Want you to fill me up."
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Draco moved one hand around Harry's waist, cupping the curve
of his lower belly. "Think I did," he laughed, panting as he moved
faster, thrust harder.
Harry laughed with him. "Do it again," he breathed, closing his
eyes as he got closer and closer with every thrust.
"As you wish," Draco gasped. It was delightful that Harry could
order him now and it was something that was hot but didn't
automatically compel his body.
Harry jerked forward one last time, making a strangled noise that
cut off when he began to come. He gripped Draco's thigh tightly, his
fingers digging into his skin.
Fire pulsed through him and Draco's cock shuddered its release
as his husband's body clenched, seeming to pull his orgasm from
him.
"Yes," Harry groaned, slipping limply down to the damp bed
under him.
Draco's arms and legs trembled as he held himself up, not
wanting to collapse on his pregnant husband. He moved shakily to lie
beside him.
Harry turned, making humming noises as he scooted in close to
Draco.
The blond reached to wrap arms around Harry, kissing his face –
forehead, cheeks, nose – with little kisses while he panted between
them as he caught his breath.
Harry sighed through his nose, closing his eyes. "No one could
ever make me feel as good as you do," he whispered.
"No one else," Draco agreed, petting his lover's back.
Harry smiled softly and pushed his lips into a pout for a kiss.
Draco reached a finger up to run over those lips, smirking.
Harry cracked one eye open, kissing Draco's finger instead.
Grinning, Draco leant forward and used his tongue, tracing
Harry's lips in the same way he had traced below before.
Harry shivered, flicking the tip of his own tongue against that wet
muscle.
They lay there kissing and touching, soft in the afterglow until a
fairy squeaked on the ceiling.
Harry's eyes rolled toward it and he sighed again. "Valen's up," he
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335
said hoarsely.
"Mmm," Draco hummed, looking up at the nursery fairy. "I
suppose you want me to get him?"
Harry smiled sweetly.
Draco huffed and shook his head. "Git," he teased as he got out
of bed.
Harry watched Draco's arse. "I only do it for the view," he
grinned.
Draco rolled his eyes and reached for his dressing gown, enjoying
his own view of his naked husband. "Of course," he agreed.
Harry chuckled, cleaning himself and their bed before putting
arms behind his head.
– CHAPTER FORTY-ONE –
Preparing for Spring
Days passed, and they turned into weeks and those turned into
months and took with them the morning sickness, but brought the
crankiness and the strangest cravings for bread with ketchup on it.
And that was it. Sometimes with a pickle on the side. Or sometimes
Harry wanted Muggle food, which Hermione would wonderfully
fetch from her mother through Floo. Harry was also getting larger,
and by March, he was sure that he had not been so big with Valen at
this stage.
He'd been out shopping with Draco since he had got pregnant,
but had not gone in quite a while, and now, no one could question
the fact that they were going to have another child. They were
shopping for Valen's birthday present with the baby, because, really,
there could be no surprises for a one-year-old, as he wouldn't really
understand. They were simply looking around Diagon Alley as well,
for things to get the new baby.
"So what do we get The Terror of All Cats," Draco teased, one
arm around his husband and the other holding their son as they
strolled and looked in windows. He had hated the attention they got
when people thought they were breaking up, but now basked in the
smiles and stares at their little family.
Harry snorted. "Perhaps we should let him pick it out?" he
suggested. "We could just go inside a shop and get him whatever he
plays with best."
"Now that does sound dangerous," Draco said, raising both
eyebrows.
Harry snorted again and smiled at the little boy in his husband's
arms. "Eh, not really," he said amusedly.
"Lead on," Draco said, the words "my lion" implied even when
not said.
Harry smiled again and led them along the cobbled street, looking
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337
through windows and mostly able to ignore the staring, though he
had to admit it was a much more pleasant type of staring than it had
been before. He stopped in front of a building with a large sign
hanging from it reading: Tooker's Toys. "Let's go in here," he said,
stepping up to the place.
Just as they were about to go into the store, they heard someone
call their names and Draco looked up to see Robert Dwyer
approaching and waving. "Wow, look at the two of you, or should
that be the three of you," he said, smiling.
Harry smiled when he caught sight of Robert. Since Draco had
bought the Prophet, he had found he rather liked the man and he was
a good hard worker who did the job right. "Four," he said, patting his
stomach.
Robert's smile grew. "I had wondered," he said. "Nothing in the
news yet about that. Did you hear I'm the Editor at the Prophet now?"
"Really?" Harry feigned surprise. "Well, congratulations," he said,
holding out his hand.
"Yeah, I had been about to get sacked, too," he said. "Apparently,
I wasn't nasty enough to keep up with the Prophet's way of doing
things. Then suddenly my boss is sacked and I was promoted." He
smirked and looked at Draco. "Came right after Christmas," he
added.
"Well, if anyone deserves the job it's you," said Harry. "It was just
about to the point where I'd only read your stuff anyway. The rest? A
load of rubbish, the lot of it."
"Nice to hear," Robert said. "Don't suppose you would give me
an exclusive on your newest ... accomplishments?" His eyes flickered
to Harry's belly as he said it.
Harry raised an eyebrow, smiling. "What do you say?" he asked
his husband.
"No one better for the job," Draco agreed, nodding. "Want to
take pictures of us shopping for Valen?"
Harry snorted yet again. No matter how long he was famous for,
he was sure he would never really get used to it.
Draco smiled and they went into the shop, with Robert pulling
out his camera.
The air in the small space was full of whirring and whizzes and
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the colours were bright and vibrant. There were toys all over the
place. There were buckets filled with winking teddy bears, shelves of
dolls that could do anything imaginable, wizard chess sets, little
battling action figures, and Harry had no idea where to start, or what
on earth Valen would choose.
Valen squealed and began babbling. He pulled at Draco's shirt
and bounced, eyes wide with excitement. Draco laughed, grateful
once again for the silver hand's strength that kept hold of the
wriggling boy.
"How do we let him pick?" Harry asked, not so sure about
putting the baby on the floor of the place. Plus, there were other
children around and Valen might get stepped on.
Valen's eyes seemed to focus across the room and he reached
with both hands, yelling, "Vroom!" Draco tried to look where his son
was reaching and walked forward to try to figure it out. "Vroom,
vroom!" Valen shouted.
"Vroom?" Harry repeated, thinking of a car. But that didn't fit at
all.
Draco laughed when he saw what his child was reaching for.
"Natural born Seeker," he said with pride, nodding his head toward
the tiny broom floating in the window.
"Broom," Harry said in understanding, absolutely delighted with
what Valen was reaching for. "Bring him over here, yeah?" he said to
Draco, walking over to the tiny little broom himself.
"Oh, that's the newest model," the shopkeeper said, smiling but
also blushing as she looked at Harry's belly. "It's got all the newest
safety features."
Harry smiled at that, reading the list of said safety features that
was posted next to the little broom. "Can we take this one down to
have a look?" he asked the woman.
"Um, sure," she said and looked at little Valen who was still
chanting "vroom." "But there isn't a lot of room in the shop for it,"
she cautioned.
"Oh, well, just to see it," Harry said, taking the broom from the
window and examining it. It did look quite good, and was very
sturdy. He could feel the invisible seat on it. "I think this would be
brilliant," he said to Draco, beaming.
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339
Robert snapped a picture of Harry holding the broom up and the
infant reaching for it. Draco laughed and nodded. "Perfect," he said.
Harry beamed some more. "We'll take one of these then," he said
to the woman.
She also managed to talk them into a couple other things,
including a toy Snitch to go with the broom. Draco merely nodded to
anything Harry wanted to buy, grinning.
Harry hadn't needed too much talking into. Mostly, the witch
suggested things and Harry took them. When they were getting ready
to leave the shop, it was with quite a few items more than what Harry
had intended to get, and it had only been the thought of Dudley with
all of his birthday presents that had stopped him from buying it all.
He still left with more than he had thought he would buy, but it was
much more reasonable. He could hardly wait to get Valen home to
try the broom out, but then he spotted the window of a children's
clothing store that he hadn't been in since the last time he'd been to
Diagon Alley, which had been months ago.
There was a tiny little dress on display and it was adorable, and
Harry could swear he was turning into a woman. He scowled at the
thought, but the dress was very pretty. And he wanted it.
"Yes," Draco said, before his husband could even ask. "She needs
lots of pretty things to wear."
Robert laughed. "She?" he asked.
Harry flushed slightly at the fact that Draco had known he
wanted the dress, but he smiled at Robert. "Yes, she," he said. "We're
just about one hundred percent positive."
Draco snorted at the "just about" comment but nodded, opening
the door to the shop and waiting for his husband to go through.
Robert followed, grinning. "How can you tell?" he asked.
"Well," said Harry once inside, "I think I made her a girl. It's
what Draco and I wanted since we've already got a son."
"You can choose that?" Robert asked, sounding shocked.
"I don't know about other people," Harry answered, "but I think
I did, yeah. With Valen, we both wanted a son, and this time, I
actually tried to get the magic to make a girl."
"So, not an accident this time," Robert confirmed. "That's
amazing."
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Harry smiled. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" he said, making for the dress
in the window. It was a very light pink with bows, and silken ruffles,
and lace, and he reached out a hand to touch it, expecting to feel
uncomfortable material, but it was as soft as anything could be –
everything about it. Even the lace.
"Fit for a little Slytherin Princess," Draco teased.
Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled as well. "Fit for a princess
anyway," he said.
The shopkeeper was, of course, delighted with her eager
customers. By the time they left the shop, they had bought enough
lace to make Madame Pudifoot's look drab.
"Do you think we're going to have the most spoilt children in all
of Britain?" Harry asked in an undertone, frowning at how much
they'd bought again. "Is it too much?"
"Probably," Draco answered, but smiled. "I don't think the
clothes will much matter yet."
Harry sighed. "I've got to learn self-control," he said. "It's like
I've gone mad! I never used to care about any of this."
Draco chuckled. "I think it makes sense for you to want to give
your children the things you never had," he soothed.
"I know you probably want to get home," Robert said. "But I did
have a couple of questions before you go. Do you want to get
something cool to drink and sit down?"
"Sure," Harry answered. "Why not?" He supposed the broom
could wait an hour or so.
"Why not some ice cream?" Draco suggested. "It's warm out for
March."
"That actually sounds really good," Harry said, imagining a
sundae with everything on it.
Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. "This little girl will surely be
sweet if the way he eats ice cream is any indication," he said, smiling
and patting Harry's belly.
Robert laughed and walked with them to Florean's rebuilt ice
cream parlour.
Once there, Harry, indeed, got himself a sundae with everything
on it. Well, mostly everything. He didn't want any of the bloodflavoured syrup, and couldn't believe anyone would order a Bertie
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341
Bott's Bogie Bean Surprise. He felt like vomiting just thinking about
it.
They set Valen into a high chair and watched while he cheerily
splattered chocolate ice cream over himself and everything around
him. Draco was once again grateful for his skill at Cleaning Charms.
"Definitely your son," he drawled.
"Hmm?" Harry said, distracted with the drip of ice cream he'd
just spilled down his front.
Robert laughed along with Draco and shook his head. "So you
had questions?" Draco prompted, taking a neat lick around the edge
of his ice cream come.
"The most obvious question," Robert began, "is when is she due
and does she have a name yet?"
"We think she'll be born in April," Harry answered, "going by
how long I carried Valen. But we don't have a name for her yet."
"So will she and Valen have other siblings?" Robert asked, clearly
delighted with the situation.
Draco smirked, eyes on his lover and licking his ice cream cone
suggestively when he caught Harry's eye.
Harry swallowed, his spoon halfway to his mouth. He cleared his
throat. "Sorry?" he said, turning eyes from Draco and his ice cream
back to Robert.
Draco chuckled and Robert looked confused, not having caught
what the blond had done. "Do you plan more children as well?" he
clarified.
"Oh," Harry said. "Um, well, we have talked about more already.
I suppose we'll have to see what happens with this one to be
completely sure."
Draco smirked and laughed as his son dumped the now mostly
empty bowl of ice cream on top of his own head and then cried
because it was cold. "Well, you should have thought of that first," he
told the child, removing the bowl and shaking his head at the ice
cream covered blond hair.
Robert took a picture. "You seem so happy," he said.
Harry had been chuckling at the scene. He was very glad they
weren't Muggles, or they would have a very large mess. He sighed at
Robert's question. "I'm not sure if I've ever been happier in my life,"
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he said.
"I'm glad to hear that," Robert said. "Is there anything you want
to clear up about what happened last fall?" he asked carefully.
"Yes, actually," Harry answered. "All of it was false and stretched
far beyond what it really was. Draco and I have never once
considered leaving each other. Never once since we got together have
we stopped loving each other." He took a sort of large breath then.
"And where it all started from is a, well, a long story. And I know
that sounds stupid, but it really is. The details are personal, though I
will say that Draco did not have an affair and all of it has nothing to
do with the two of us divorcing. We never wanted that, nor will we
ever. I love my husband."
Draco nodded. "I have been in love with Harry since I was
eleven. Nothing could change that," he added.
Robert smiled, writing it all down carefully. He had an Everfill
quill like the one they had given Hermione.
Harry smiled as well, feeling as though a weight was lifted, even if
some people wouldn't believe it. It was out there at least.
"Well, my son," Draco drawled, "I think you have made enough
of a mess for now." He cast a couple of Cleaning Spells, getting most
of the ice cream off the child, though the elves would probably still
have trouble with the stains in the child's clothes.
Robert was smiling again. "I know I am a sap for saying this," he
said, "but your story still amazes and delights me. If you ever decide
you want an authorized biography done, please don't hesitate to
contact me."
Harry smiled. "You'll be the first to know," he said, sticking out
his hand.
Robert shook their hands again and said goodbye. Draco picked
up their child and then smiled down at his husband. "Home now?"
Harry pushed himself up from his chair with slight effort, picking
bags up in his hands. He smiled at Draco. "Yeah, let's go," he said.
Robert's article, complete with the photograph of ice cream covered
Valen, was the best article ever written about them. Maybe the best
thing the Daily Prophet ever published. They were so pleased and they
couldn't wait to put a copy in their family album.
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343
Valen loved his broomstick. He flew all over the place with it,
when Harry and Draco let him, and Harry was amazed at how he
seemed to know so well what he was doing. He was just a baby! His
and Draco's amazing baby. Valen's very first birthday came in the
next couple weeks and Harry could hardly believe they'd had him for
a year. And now he knew what Mr and Mrs Weasley meant when
they said things like, "It seems like just yesterday Ron was losing his
first tooth," or "I swear it feels like just the other day I had two
armfuls of Fred and George," because Harry felt like Valen had
grown so very fast.
They threw a little party for him with their close friends and
family and watched him get his cake everywhere, including some
splattered on the wall. But it had been fun, and everyone sat and
wondered for nearly the entire time if Harry was going to start
contractions or something, but nothing of the sort happened. He
only grew bigger, until he felt like he couldn't move without feeling
like his back was going to snap, so, like he'd done with Valen, he'd
gone to either sitting all of the time, or just staying in bed a lot.
That particular morning he was staying in bed. Draco and Valen
were with him, like they often were and Harry's shirt was pulled up to
show the huge mound of his belly. The baby was kicking and they
were happily watching and feeling.
Valen was petting Harry's belly like his Daddy Draco did now.
"Baba," he said happily, pressing his face against the swell.
"Yes," Draco laughed and smiled up at Harry from beside their
son. "She is your sister. That's what you feel," he told the boy.
Harry grinned widely. He thought it was the cutest thing in the
world that they had taught Valen what was inside Harry's belly. And
he wanted to touch it nearly as much as Draco did now.
"So have you thought of names yet?" Draco asked in a casual
tone. He kissed Harry's belly again and then slid down the bed to rub
his feet.
Harry sighed. "Well, I would've told you if I'd thought of one,
wouldn't I have?" he teased. He really couldn't think of a decent
name. Every time he tried to think of one, he could only think of the
names of people he already knew, and that wasn't what the goal was
supposed to be. "We could do what we did with Valen and get that
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book out again," he suggested.
"Well, if she arrives when I think she will, we could call her
April," Draco said. "Springtime."
"Hmm," Harry hummed. "April," he repeated. "April Malfoy. It
has a certain ring." He smiled. "Can you say April, Valen?"
"Apil," Valen said, sounding more like apple than April.
Draco nodded, working his thumbs into the arch of Harry's right
foot. "And her middle name?" he asked.
"You do like April then?" Harry asked, still smiling at the way
Valen had said it. "I like it. And I have no idea for a middle name,
just as I didn't for the first."
Draco looked down, wondering if his idea would be okay with his
husband. He frowned, focussing on the foot massage while trying to
think of a way to bring it up.
Harry was still staring at Valen, but then looked at Draco and
raised his eyebrows at his frown. "What's up?" he asked.
Draco release Harry's foot. "Narcissa," he said quietly.
Harry stared at Draco for a moment and smiled at him again.
"April Narcissa Malfoy," he said. "I think we've found her name."
Draco smiled up at his husband. "You let me get away with too
much," he said softly.
Harry chuckled. "I think it's a very pretty name," he said. "And it
has nothing to do with letting you get away with anything. You let me
get away with just as much. Probably more. And I like the name
anyway."
"Baba Apil," Valen said firmly and patted his father's belly again.
Harry laughed. "Oh, kid, you amaze me," he said, ruffling Valen's
hair.
– CHAPTER FORTY-TWO –
April
On the afternoon of April 19th, Harry and Draco sat with Ron and
Hermione, chatting and discussing the upcoming wedding. Valen was
zooming around the room on his broomstick, laughing happily.
"And like we already said," Hermione was saying, "we've decided
on June 15th. You do think the baby will be here by then, don't you?"
"I should certainly hope so," Harry answered, looking down at
his huge belly.
"She will be here soon," Draco assured his husband, patting his
belly affectionately. "She has been quite active.”
"Yes she has," said Harry, thinking of how many times he'd been
woken in the night by their daughter lately.
Hermione smiled. "Are you excited?" she asked.
"Course," Harry answered, grinning.
Draco grinned in response. They all knew how he felt about it.
Harry smiled and then sighed, leaning back. "How many guests
did you say again?" he asked.
"Well, we said we don't know yet," said Ron. "We're still trying to
think of everyone on my side, and trying to figure a way to invite her
people because they're all Muggles."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at the term "her people".
Draco shrugged and sat back, arm around his husband while he
watched his friends. He wondered if this would be another of their
now infamous fights. Half the time they sat down to work on the
wedding, Ron and Hermione ended up in an argument.
"What?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.
She rolled her eyes at him.
Ron sighed. "You're too touchy sometimes," he said. "You know
that?"
Just as Hermione opened her mouth to retort, there was a
contracting feeling in what felt like a low part of Harry's belly. He
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went very still, making a small noise of contemplation.
Draco's hand still rested on Harry's belly and he startled as well,
feeling both the tremor in Harry's body and the surge in magic. He
sat up quickly, looking at Harry's face while his heart thumped hard
in his chest.
Harry looked back at Draco, remaining very still. "Maybe it's just
a false one," he said.
Hermione and Ron looked over as well.
Draco's eyes shone with excitement and he slid Harry's shirt up
to reveal his extended belly. The shirt barely covered him anyway.
The blond pressed his face against the skin, hands pressed on either
side. "April," he said, "you just moving around or are you making the
move?"
Hermione clapped her hands together. "Oh, my goodness!" she
said.
Harry waited, and as the moments ticked by, he was thinking
more and more that it wasn't actually time. He relaxed again, sighing
and shrugging.
Draco could feel something but wasn't sure if it was just April
about to have one of her active days or if she was really pushing with
her magic. He rubbed his cheek against his lover's flesh, enjoying the
sensations.
"Aww," Hermione let out. "It's not it?"
"I don't think so," Harry answered, sighing again.
Hermione and Ron both looked disappointed.
Draco wasn't sure himself and then he felt a pulse again, the
energy rippling out from April.
Harry stilled once more, feeling as well, in the form of slight pain.
"Or maybe ...." he said.
Draco grinned, laying lots of little kisses across the swell where
his daughter was moving.
Hermione gasped again, smiling and looking like she was about to
bounce.
"Are you going to ...?" asked Ron, eyebrows raised.
"I – I don't know," said Harry. "I feel something."
"Definitely," Draco said smugly. "Floo-call Madame Pomfrey?"
he asked Hermione.
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She nodded, getting quickly to her feet.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to relax again.
Draco hummed a lullaby against Harry's belly, looking up at his
husband with a gleam in his eyes.
Harry took another deep breath, looking down at Draco and
smiling at the quiet song leaving him.
While Hermione called Madame Pomfrey, Draco petted and
soothed his husband. "Do you want to go to our room?" he asked.
"I think I'm -" he paused for another short, small pain. "I think
I'm okay for right now, but I suppose I should go."
"Unless you would prefer she was born in the sitting room,"
Draco said, smirking.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, that would go just lovely with the
carpets."
Ron made a face from across them.
Draco chuckled and cast the charm to lighten his husband, lifting
him into his arms.
Harry'd grown so used to being lifted by Draco in the previous
weeks that he didn't even pay it any attention. "Valen's ...." He
gestured to the boy flying about. "Can you and Hermione watch
him?" he asked Ron.
"'Course," Ron answered, seeming a little nervous and definitely
excited.
"Okay," said Harry. "Tell Hermione and Madam Pomfrey we
went to our room."
Ron nodded, standing and quickly crossing to the door to hold it
open for Draco.
Draco was excited and calm at the same time. It felt so wholly
different than the horrid circumstances of Valen's birth. Now, he
used his wand to open the door to their room and gently lay his
husband in their bed. "Water?" he asked.
"Sure," Harry answered, laying a single hand on his stomach.
Draco fussed about getting the water and then the potions he and
Madame Pomfrey had chosen for the birth and recovery. He opened
the drapes so that the sun brightened the room and then, finally
settled down at Harry's side.
Harry gave Draco a small smile, sipping the water. "Only a little
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bit longer," he said.
When Harry set the glass back down, Draco leant in for a kiss,
silver hand cupping the back of Harry's head while the right petted
his belly. Losing himself in the kiss, he was surprised at how soon the
knock at the door came.
Harry looked up. "That'll be her," he said. Then called, "Come
in."
Draco shifted back on the bed, giving Madam Pomfrey room and
yet staying close to Harry. The woman was smiling when she came in.
"Do you think she is ready?" Pomfrey asked.
Harry nodded. "I'm having pains," he said. "They're not too bad
yet, but they're there."
"Well, you just settle in and try to stay comfortable," she said
patting his hand. "I will be right here," she said, settling into a nearby
stuffed leather chair and picking up a book to read.
Draco smiled and tugged on Harry's shirt. "Let's get you more
comfortable," he whispered.
Harry nodded, getting his shirt off. It really was so extremely
different from when Valen had been born.
Draco also untied the loose Muggle sweat pants his husband
wore and pulled them down and off, before pulling the sheet up to
make him covered and comfortable again. "You should try to rest,"
Draco said, stroking Harry's hair again.
"I am resting," Harry said, amused with Draco's treatment of
him. "If you mean I should get some sleep, well, I'm too excited to
sleep."
Draco cast a furtive glance at Pomfrey and smiled. Although still
clothed, he slid under the covers with his husband. He moved a hand
over Harry's belly, gently rubbing in circles. "Anything I can do to
help you relax?"
"Just stay here with me," Harry answered as another pain hit.
Draco just petted and murmured soothing things to Harry, part
of his focus on the shifting flesh and magic of the child under his
hand. He felt her grow more and more restless.
The pains seemed to grow worse faster than they had when Valen
had been born. Quite soon, Harry was clenching his teeth every few
minutes. He figured he could probably use his magic to take the pain
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of it away, but didn't want to take the chance of doing something he
shouldn't.
Madame Pomfey came over when he started panting again. "Oh,
she seems to be in a hurry," she said, amusement in her tone. "Are
you ready Harry?"
"Yes, I think so," Harry answered once his body had relaxed
again. His heart sped up dramatically with both excitement and
nervousness, even though he supposed there wasn't anything to be
truly nervous about.
Madam Pomfrey gently folded the sheet down until it was below
Harry's extended belly. She cocked her head, looking at Draco who
had closed his eyes and had his fingers splayed against Harry's flesh.
"Yes," he whispered. "She is eager and beginning to get frustrated,"
he said with a smile.
Harry took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly as he
nodded.
Draco reached across Harry to the bedside table and picked up a
potion from the specially prepared box of them. "Drink this, love,"
he said.
Harry waited for the next pain to pass, which was a particularly
strong one that made him make a small groaning sound. He reached
for the vial in his husband's hand, putting it to his lips and tipping it
back.
"This should keep blood loss down," Draco explained and then
eased Harry to an almost sitting position, sliding in behind him so
that Harry leant back against Draco's chest – the same position they
had been in when they brought Valen into the world.
Harry nodded, feeling highly comforted with Draco behind him.
Draco gently stroked Harry's hair back, pressing his own face
against the side of Harry's head. He looked to where the witch stood
with a small smile on her face. "You two ready?" she asked.
Harry waited a short moment before nodding once again, taking
Draco's hand.
Draco squeezed his husband's hand and waited. Madame
Pomfrey cast a sterilizing charm on her own hands and Harry's belly,
before focussing herself. Then she drew the tip of her wand along the
same path Harry had cut nearly thirteen months earlier.
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It was the oddest sensation. Harry was numb, but he could feel
the pressure of the cut. And it was very strange to watch himself
being cut open, but not feeling the pain.
Madam Pomfrey looked calm but serious as she made the cut.
Draco knew she had been practising the spell and learning more
about surgery from St Mungo's. Now, she took a deep breath and
lifted the small flesh bundle from Harry's body, laying it on his chest
as she turned to cut the cord and reseal the wound. "Open the birthsac," Draco encouraged, releasing his lover's hand.
Harry reached trembling fingers to the bundle, watching in sheer
awe as he dug his nails in and tore, getting the first glimpse of what
was, very much so, their daughter. He made a sound of amazement,
his mouth open. As soon as the air from the outside hit the little
body, April began to positively wail. It was a sound that Harry
thought shouldn't even be able to come out of something so little.
Draco winced at the ear-splitting sound, then began to laugh.
Even Madam Pomfrey looked startled, pausing in the work at
repairing Harry's belly before continuing.
April's hair was as dark as Harry's, not the very light blond of her
brother's. Her eyes were currently screwed tightly shut as she
screamed, so Harry couldn't see their colour. He removed the tiny
little girl from the rest of the sac, ignoring the blood and fluid, and
lifted her into his arms, taking in her every feature.
Draco spelled away the mess and looked to Madam Pomfrey
who, sweat on her brow, stood up and sighed in relief. She smiled at
Draco and nodded. Draco relaxed too, knowing that meant Harry
would be fine. He turned his attention back to their child in his
husband's arms.
Harry tried to use his magic to soothe her, and it seemed to work
after a bit, though with Valen it usually worked nearly right away.
That was probably due to his being a sensitive. Harry relaxed tiredly
against Draco, still staring down at April, and she finally opened her
eyes to stare back. They were a very clear light blue and she was
beautiful.
Draco was so awestruck by the sight of their daughter it took him
another minute to get his mouth to work. "April," he said softly, a
long finger reaching to gently touch her cheek. He kissed his
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husband's temple as he did.
Harry sighed with happiness, his eyes soft as April grasped his
one finger with her tiny five. "I love you," he whispered, and then he
turned his head to kiss Draco properly. "And I love you, too," he
said.
Draco smiled, kissing his husband, arms and legs around Harry as
they held their baby girl. "She has your hair," he said unnecessarily.
Harry grinned. "I noticed," he said, touching the baby's hair
gently. She made a little fussing noise, but didn't actually start crying.
Madam Pomfey smiled. "I will just let myself out and let everyone
know the news," she said, patting Harry's leg affectionately.
Harry smiled and nodded, only looking up from April for a quick
moment. "Thank you," he said.
She left quietly and Draco hardly noticed, his attention on his
husband and their new baby. "See if she will suckle," he suggested.
Harry brought her to his nipple, where she did indeed latch on
after a moment. "Well," Harry said, "I didn't get out of this for long."
Draco chuckled happily, gaze barely leaving the beautiful sight as
he reached for another potion. "And now you drink this," he added,
"which will help heal the wound."
Harry nodded and downed the potion, wrinkling his nose at the
taste. Then he handed the empty vial back to Draco and returned to
the staring. "What will Valen think?" he wondered aloud, thinking of
how their son acted around Chris. He seemed to like him enough.
"He will adore her," Draco said with conviction, tracing a finger
over the little hand that still clutched Harry's.
Harry smiled again. "She's perfect," he said. "Just like we knew
she would be." He still felt as if he couldn't even process that she was
really there.
After a short while, April had fallen asleep, and Harry wrapped
her in a blanket, still unable to take his eyes away.
Harry and Draco both sat with their daughter for a while longer
before there was a knock on the door.
When Harry called for whoever it was to come in, Ron and
Hermione stepped through, Ron's arms full of Valen.
Hermione beamed, eyes moving straightaway to the little bundle.
They moved over to the bedside and Harry held April up for them to
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
see.
"Look," said Ron to Valen, "there's your sister, mate."
Valen squealed, happily reaching both hands for the sleeping
infant and began babbling, "Baba Apil!"
Ron and Hermione both stared at him, looks of surprise on their
faces.
"How would he know?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"He can feel her magical signature," Draco said, smiling.
Harry grinned. "Put him down here," he told Ron, who placed
Valen on the bed next to his parents.
"Be easy," Harry told the small boy. "Like with Chris. She's even
smaller than Chris is."
Valen immediately crawled across the bed to his daddies and
sister, pulling at the blanket around her and continuing to say her
name.
April made another little fussing noise and Harry unwrapped her,
showing her to Valen. "There's April," he said, smiling softly.
Valen reached to touch her, surprisingly gentle as he placed a
hand on her cheek. He spoke then a long rambling sentence that
sounded sincere and cogent even if no one else in the room
understood the words.
Harry smiled and laughed. "Well said, son."
Ron and Hermione laughed as well. "She's absolutely gorgeous,"
Hermione said. "Though it would probably be impossible for you
two to make anything different."
Ron nodded in agreement. "And she looks so different from
Valen."
"I think it's the hair," said Harry.
Draco snorted but kissed Harry's wild mop of hair as he did.
– CHAPTER FORTY-THREE –
Held by You
Draco tried to roll over in his sleep. At least that's what he thought as
he came awake, feeling something around each wrist and ankle. His
heart sped up and he opened his eyes with a start, finding himself
spread-eagle and tied naked to his own bed.
Seeing Draco's eyes open, Harry quickly perched himself on top
of his husband and waved his hand. The ties around each of Draco's
limbs tightened and Harry grinned down at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Morning," he said loftily, as if there weren't anything out of the
norm.
Draco's eyes widened and his heart was pounding. His birthday
was today and it looked like Harry had a plan. "Morning," he
answered, shivering in anticipation.
"Leakey came with morning tea," Harry continued in the same
tone, dropping his eyes from the grey of Draco's so that they rested
on his chest instead. He idly splayed his fingers over the flesh. "I told
him you were rather tied up."
"I am," Draco observed, licking his lips.
"Yes, you are," Harry said, eyeing the bindings for a short
moment. "Very nicely tied. I should know; I'm the one that did it."
He pulled Draco's nipple lightly, staring at his hands while he did it
with an almost indifferent expression.
Draco swallowed thickly, his cock filling quickly and his nipples
hardening as well. "And what else will you do?" he asked.
"What I know you like," Harry answered with a satisfied smirk,
still not looking up at Draco's face as he continued to casually play
with his nipples.
Draco turned his hands in the bindings, grabbing hold of them.
"Yes," he whispered, eyes devouring his husband. "Does that mean I
get a birthday spanking?" he asked cheekily.
Harry finally looked up, a definite mischievous gleam behind the
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
bright green of his eyes. "Perhaps," he said, sliding back so that he
could rub his and Draco's cocks together. "If you do as I say," he
added.
"Oh, yes," Draco hissed, answering both the action and the
words, pushing up to press his cock against Harry's.
Harry's smirk returned as he moved his body in a wave-like
motion atop Draco, watching him trying to get more.
Draco arched up, wanting to feel Harry's body as it moved. He
tugged at the bindings and gulped as he watched those green eyes,
dark with desire and mischief.
Harry continued the teasing. "You want me?" he asked, his cock
beginning to gather pre-come.
"Always want you," Draco whispered, licking his lips. "In every
way possible."
"Well, perhaps we'll try a few ways today," Harry replied, unable
to help the fact that his voice dropped in tone considerably with the
sentence. He ground fully into Draco, dropping down so that he held
himself up with his arms.
Draco's head fell back and he moaned loudly at the contact, cock
spasming as Harry ground into him.
Harry took the opportunity to nip Draco's neck. "Nothing better
than the taste of you," he whispered huskily. "Especially when you're
at my mercy." He licked his lips and grazed his teeth across Draco's
skin. "There's just something about that racing pulse, something
about feeling it against my lips and tongue. There's just something
about how salty you taste, because you're a little nervous and you're
sweating a bit. Just enough. You don't know what I'll do. Will I bite
you until you bleed?" He grazed Draco with teeth again. "Will I fuck
you until you're screaming?" He let his hand trail down to just lightly
touch Draco's arse. "What will Harry do?"
"Yes, please all of it," Draco begged, arching into him. He loved
it when Harry was like this. It made him feel like the most desired
person in the world.
"Begging already?" Harry said. "You must want me so badly. I bet
your arse would clench around my cock if I pushed it into you right
now. I bet you wouldn't be able to control it."
"No, no control," Draco gasped. "You're in control."
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355
Harry grasped Draco's arse and squeezed it, giving one last grind
of his hips before moving off him and releasing the bindings on his
legs. "Turn on your side," he said, watching with intent, lust-filled
eyes.
Draco did as he was told, trembling with anticipation.
Harry laid both hands on the mounds of flesh now exposed,
rubbing them. "Beg me again," he said. "Beg me for what you want."
"Please, touch me, use me as you want," Draco pleaded in
earnest.
Harry raised his right hand, focussing on that part of Draco's face
he could see. He brought his palm down on the pale arse with a loud
smack, eyelids fluttering with the sound.
It was more of a shock than pain, making him jump, immediately
replaced by the warm tingling as blood rushed to the area struck.
"Oh, Godssss," Draco moaned.
Harry paused before he brought the hand down again, his cock
twitching. "Mmm," he let out quietly.
"More, please," Draco begged, arching his arse back toward
Harry.
"Fuck," Harry whispered under his breath, bringing his hand
down on Draco, over and over, until his white flesh was hot and red.
And Harry knew exactly what it felt like. He touched Draco's arse
with his fingertips, trailing them across his skin.
Draco's arse burned now, warm and sensitive and he hissed and
trembled as Harry's fingers moved over the inflamed skin.
"I think I may have miscalculated your age a tad," Harry said,
voice still low. "But it doesn't seem like you mind too terribly much."
Draco had not counted the slaps on his arse, only revelled in the
sharp pain and the warm rush. "No, please," he begged, bending the
knee of his upper leg so that he was spread more. "Your mouth?" he
asked.
"And just what would you like me to do with my mouth?" Harry
asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Lick, kiss, suck," Draco gasped, arching his arse back and
wriggling it invitingly.
Harry grinned, arousal rushing though him with Draco's words.
"Well, I suppose I could give it a try," he said, sliding fingers over the
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
red flesh one last time before getting to hands and knees and kissing
along it instead.
A long low moan was Draco's response, fingers clutching the bed
as he felt that soft wet tongue on his sore flesh.
"On your back again," Harry told him, sitting up slightly. He
wanted to do this properly.
"My back?" Draco asked, "Not my knees?"
Harry sighed, pretending slight annoyance. "Whichever way you
prefer to have my tongue up your arse," he replied, flicking his hand
again to release the ropes holding Draco's wrists.
Draco scrambled on to his hands and knees, spreading himself
apart and looking hungrily back at Harry.
Harry swallowed at the image, meeting Draco's eyes. "Well, you
know what you want, don't you?" he said. "Tell me, Draco," he
continued as he moved slowly forward, "what is it that you like about
this?" He delivered a long, wet lick directly to Draco's entrance.
"So sensitive," Draco gasped.
Harry smiled as he continued to lick and probe. "It is, isn't it?" he
said, kissing the opening noisily, all lips and tongue. "I love it all," he
said between licks and kisses. "I love the sounds you make when I do
it. The way you move. Mmm, and the feel of my tongue sliding into
you." He let his tongue slide into Draco to accompany his words.
Draco was whimpering and moaning in all those ways that Harry
liked as he pressed his face to the bed, spreading himself for that
beautiful tongue.
"Yeah, like that," Harry practically moaned himself. He thrust his
tongue inside again, burying his face until he could hardly even
breathe.
Draco panted and moaned, the wet slick muscle of his lover's
tongue driving him to shudder with each thrust. The blond's cock
hung heavy and hard between his legs, aching for touch.
Harry didn't know what exactly he was trying for, but he kept at
it, fucking Draco thoroughly with his mouth. He moaned against
him, attention focused solely on his arse.
Draco panted, the torture was delicious. He didn't think he could
be more aroused but each moment fanned the flames and he felt like
his body burned with it.
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357
Harry's own cock was rock hard and throbbing. He felt like if he
didn't fuck Draco soon, it was going to scream at him for putting it
through this.
"Yes, Harry, yours," Draco panted. "Please take me," begged.
Despite himself, Harry thrust his tongue a few more times and
spent another moment sucking, but then finally pulled back, panting.
"I am so fucking hard," he said breathlessly, lubing his hand and
slicking his cock as fast as he could. "Fuck, so hard."
"Yes, oh, please fuck me hard," Draco asked, his own cock
dripping pre-come onto the bed.
Harry wasn't sure if he could do anything except what Draco
wanted him to. He rose up on his knees, his cock bobbing with the
movement. He reached hands out and grasped Draco's hips, pulling
him back until he could take his cock and push it inside his husband's
slick wet heat and perfection. He groaned with relief and pleasure.
Draco's moan was loud and long as he felt his husband press
inside, stretching and filling him. "Oh, Gods, yes, my love," he
gasped.
Harry slid nearly completely out again, thrusting quickly back
inside. He felt as if his head was spinning and he thrust harder, his
skin slapping against Draco's still-rosy arse.
The slap of Harry's body against his sore cheeks made Draco
shudder as much as the feel of his husband's cock inside and the
magic that pulsed in time with the thrusts. "Tell me," Draco gasped,
"tell me how much you love this."
"More – than – anything," Harry managed between panting
breaths. "Feeling you under me," he groaned, "so amazing. So
fucking good."
"Oh, yes, so good," Draco echoed rocking back into every thrust
and trembling. "Fuck me forever," he encouraged knowing that
neither one of them would last much longer this round.
Harry cried out loudly, keeping his hips moving. "Fuck, yes," he
gasped, squeezing his eyes shut.
Draco loved the slap of skin and his lover's cries as he rocked
harder into him. "Bring us, Harry, please," he shouted.
Harry slammed into Draco, spurting his seed inside him and
shuddering with the force of his orgasm.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE
Draco felt heat inside him that rippled in waves as he came, body
shuddering. He cried out, mumbling words of love and adoration
that he would not necessarily remember later but knew he felt
completely.
Harry fell onto Draco's back with a whimpering sound and then
an, "Oof," panting heavily against the sweaty body beneath him.
Draco collapsed onto the bed with his lover on top of him – and
the wet spot under him. He smiled happily. "Love you," he said.
"Love you, too," Harry replied, splaying his arms out to the side.
"Happy Birthday."
"Yes, very Happy Birthday," Draco agreed, wriggling his arse.
Harry snorted quietly, rolling off of Draco to gaze happily up at
the canopy.
Draco reached a hand out to touch Harry, still too sated and sore
to move. "You looking at that 'H' again?" he asked.
"I would be if my glasses were on," Harry answered with a grin.
"When am I not looking at it? Well, besides when I'm looking at
you." His grin widened and he scooted to kiss Draco.
Draco moved his head for the kiss, tasting his own musky scent
on his lover's lips and tongue.
Harry sighed, smiling as he pulled back. "Are you really my
husband?" he asked, brushing blond hair from Draco's face.
"Your husband, completely and truly," Draco answered, face full
of the intensity of that.
"God, how am I so lucky?" Harry asked, laying another little kiss
to Draco's lips.
Draco sighed into those little kisses, feeling gloriously happy with
his life. He was nineteen now, had a wonderful husband and two
beautiful children. He had the life he'd never thought possible and
was immensely grateful.
Harry stretched, scratching his stomach. "So," he said, voice
strained while he continued to stretch, "how loud would you say
April's being right now?"
Draco laughed. "Ear splitting," he said. "Ron and Hermione will
eventually come get us. That baby is not going to take well to a
bottle."
"Probably not," Harry agreed, chuckling. "We so owe them."
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359
"I am sure when they have kids, we will be more than required to
pay it back," Draco drawled.
Harry nodded. "And I know Ron will hold us to it."
"Rather be held by you," Draco quipped, opening his arms.
Harry smiled and snorted, though the comment pleased him. He
moved into Draco's arms and closed arms around him in turn.
About the Authors
Slashpervert has been reading and writing fan fiction long enough to
remember why they call it “slash” – back when it was still published
in “fanzines,” printed via mimeograph or copy machines, and sold at
science fiction conventions. In “real life,” Slashpervert is a journalist
and social scientist, who has written and published hundreds of
articles and a handful of books. Slashpevert also writes original fiction
under the name D.M. Atkins.
Sayingsorry_hh has been writing for nearly her entire life, but only
recently began writing slash – though she has been reading it for
years. Currently, ‘writer’ is most definitely the most definitive term
for her. Apart from fan fiction, Sayingsorry_hh has one co-authored
original novel in the works, and one original novel for teens she’s
been working on for quite some time.
Slashpervert and Sayingsorry_hh began writing together in
November 30, 2006. They adapted the RPG format to use as a style
of co-writing in which each writes the perspective of one of the main
characters. (For example, in fan fiction, Slashpervert writes Draco and
Sayingsorry_hh writes Harry.) They have written a dozen novels
together, including fan fiction and original fiction.
All the books in The Bound Prince Series
Harry Potter and The Bound Prince – Book One of The Bound
Prince Series – Draco kisses Harry in the bathroom at Hogwarts.
They are unprepared for where that will take them. But willing to find
out.
Harry Potter and The Secret Keeper - Book Two of The Bound
Prince Series – Harry and Draco must find a way to live together
now, figure out where they will live, and how they will continue
Harry’s fight against Voldemort, including the search for the
Horcruxes. As if that weren’t enough for them to deal with, Lucius
Malfoy (and his fellow Death Eater prisoners) escapes from prison
and comes looking for his son.
Harry Potter and The White Queen - Book Three of The Bound
Prince Series – Harry and Draco continue to explore what their
relationship means as they search for and destroy Horcruxes. The
Order of the Phoenix continues to fight as the war escalates and lives
are lost.
Harry Potter and The Beloved Incubus – Book Four of The
Bound Prince Series – Harry and Draco are married and expecting
a baby – meanwhile the war has escalated. They have to find the
remaining Horcruxes before too many more lives are lost.
Harry Potter and The Serpent King – Book Five of The Bound
Prince Series – Harry and Draco, with the help of Ron, Hermione,
and their extended chosen family, have destroyed nearly all the
Horcruxes. They are preparing for the final confrontation with
Voldemort when a family member is kidnapped and the day is upon
them to take the fight to the madman.
Harry Potter and The Dragon’s Treasure – Book Six of The
Bound Prince Series – Harry and Draco survived the war and
defeated Voldemort. Now, they are married, have a child and should
be leading a happy life. Yet, issues from the past create unexpected
pitfalls to building their new life in this time of peace.
Other Books
by Slashpervert and Sayingsorry_hh
A Love So Belated – Harry goes to the Manor to return Draco’s
wand to him and begins an unlikely friendship. But what happens
when friendship changes to desire?
A Heart So Ravenous – Sequel to A Love So Belated. Draco sets
himself on a path to please both Harry Potter and his parents. Will he
survive it?
For more fan fiction by Slashpervert see:
www.slashpervert.org
For original fiction see:
www.dmatkins.net
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