Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Flesh of My Flesh	By : lashton Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9435 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
Legacy of Light
Laurence Ashton
Prologue:
Flesh of My Flesh
Part K

�You�re awake?�
�What?� Draco said, massaging his temples as he blinked up at Harry, who had massaged his way up to Draco�s abdomen and was starting to turn him over.
�You fell asleep,� Harry told him. �I didn�t mean to wake you.�
�You didn�t wake me.� Draco turned onto his stomach and laid his head on his folded arms as Harry started to massage his thighs and lower back.
�Okay then.�
Draco sank back into comforting touch of the massage with a sigh. He did not want to think of what he had seen or heard in the Dark Lord�s lair just yet. The pain of it was still too fresh and he needed some time before he could go back over and analyze anything properly.
�You are quite good at this. I�m surprised,� he said instead, sliding closer to the touch. Harry beamed at him and sent more pulses of magic into Draco�s back.
�Ron taught me how. His dad does this for his mum all the time.�
Draco sniggered. �When you say that Ron taught you, do you mean�.?�
Harry nodded, blushing. �He said that you would like it, so�. I had to give him a massage everyday for a week. His feet are huge and stinky, so needless to say I learned quickly. Then I got lots of practice, because when Hermione found out about it, she made me give her a foot and back massage everyday since. I tried to weasel out of it, but every time she�d give me this look like� Harry Potter, do you mean to tell me that after every time I�ve gotten you out of a jamb by carrying around sixty extra pounds of library books, you won�t even give me a little massage every now and then? Then I�d get all guilty, and stuff, and cave.�
Draco laughed madly at that, nearly falling off the couch from his cheer. Harry steadied him, but he was scowling impatiently.
�What, you mean to say you wouldn�t cave if Pansy looked at you like that?�
�First off, Pansy would never look at me like that because she�d never gotten me out of pickle by carrying around sixty extra pounds in library books.� Harry stared at him blankly, lips pursed. �Second, Pansy would never want anything from me so simple as a massage � although sometimes I wish she would � stupid Blaise. He�s an evil prat, you know?�
�Oh, he�s not so bad. He�s trading shortcuts with Neville, did you know? Blaise, Vince, and Greg want to make it easier for you for when you get��
�FAT?� Draco snapped. �Are you trying to say I�m getting huge? Because I�ll have you know that Madam Pomfrey thinks I�m still underweight for my condition!� Harry gawked at him. �Hard to believe, is it?� Draco barked, twisting around under Harry�s touched and kicking Harry away. Harry continued to stare at him goggle-eyed. �I�ll give you something hard to believe, you wanker!�
Draco leapt up, grabbed the steaming pot of hot cider and tossed the liquid out in the general direction of Harry�s torso. Harry screeched bloody murder, but Draco ignored him and stormed into his bedroom, slamming the door. Even in his room, Draco could still hear Harry�s yapping quite clearly, and he threw himself on his bed and drew the curtains. He wanted to sulk, but for some reason he was overcome with the sudden, inexplicable need to cry. Sniffling to keep the welling tears at bay, Draco covered his face with his hands and took a few deep breaths.
�This is ridiculous. I am not going to cry over Potter. I am not going to cry over Potter. I knew he was a bloody tosser, for Merlin�s sake! I am not going to cry over Potter! � Draco pulled his hands away when he felt a strange wetness on them and he groaned. �Oh bloody hell! I can�t believe this shit� I �� Draco hiccoughed violently, then held his breath. His unreasonable reaction was really starting to get on his nerves and his damn hiccups weren�t going away, either.
A door slammed opened in the sitting room, and after a few seconds more, Harry�s pained yelps stopped. Draco was grateful for the silence, since it afforded him a chance to think, but thinking made him feel guilty about overreacting the way that he had, which in turn made his hiccoughs worse, since this unreasonable weeping was obviously a punishment. Draco did have a flair for the melodramatic, but that most definitely did not extend into tearing up at every little hurt. He also did not want to think about the reason why Harry�s thinking he was getting fat � and Draco was at least still reasonable enough to admit that he actually was huge � hurt him at all.
About a half an hour into Draco�s confused musings, a tentative knock came at the door. Draco wiped at his eyes viciously, but there seemed to be nothing that he could do about either his tears or hiccups.
Cringing in anticipation of the tirade that Snape was about to give him, Draco got up and swung the door opened. He was beyond shocked to see Harry standing there, looking sheepish, and still wearing his sopping pants � Draco had obviously got him in the crotch, not the stomach� which, to Draco�s horror, made him feel worse, instead of better.
�Snape healed me,� he said, sounding as if he wondered if this would anger Draco more. �I�m sorry I upset you and� made you cry. I don�t think you�re fat at all. I think you�re beautiful. And glowing. There isn�t really anything that compares. Or words to describe, or��
�Quit getting soppy on me, Potter,� Draco cut in. �And I�m the one who needs to apologize � I�m sorry for overreacting like that and��
�You are?� Harry asked in disbelief. Draco scowled at him and he was immediately cowed, but Draco thought the effect had been ruined by his hiccupping. �I mean� Apology accepted!�
�You�re too kind to me, Potter,� Draco told him, going back to sit on his bed, trying to will his hiccoughs away. �Someday it�ll come back and bite you in the arse. I threatened your cock, apparently, and that�s not something one should easily forgive.�
�But you thought that I was calling you fat,� Harry demurred. �So, you know, it�s okay, as long as you don�t make a habit of it, since�. Well, it hurts a lot.� Draco sniffed, at Harry was at his side instantly. �Are you okay?�
�Fine. Just tired. I had� I didn�t fall asleep earlier, like you think, and I�ve been on edge since.� Draco latched onto that idea as it occurred to him. �Yes, that�s exactly it. I was in a bad mood since having another vision, that�s all.�
�Who are you trying to convince?�
�What?� Harry didn�t get a chance to explain since the fire flared suddenly to life. Draco looked at it curiously as a tall, lean Middle Eastern woman in long white and lapis lazuli blue robes and a platinum circlet glittering with gems stepped into the room. Draco beamed at her as she approached them and gave them each a kiss on the head. �I missed you!� he told her. �You left so suddenly in the middle of the night and you�ve been gone all week!�
�I was called away,� she said. �I missed the two of you as well.�
�Er,� said Harry stupidly. �Have we met before?�
The woman turned to him, eyes glittering with mirth as she touched his cheek. �But of course, young one. I speak with you often enough. I should hope that you would at least recognize my spirit, if not my form.�
Harry squinted, then went bug-eyed and gawked. �But-but-but�� he stammered, then swallowed hard, jumped up and pulled her into his arms. �Mirage!� he said, bumbling with excitement. �I didn�t know that you were a queen!�

~

�Hey, Potter, time for you to go,� Draco said, glancing at his wristwatch and noticing that Blaise would was supposed to arrive in two hours time. �I�ve got rounds and you�re past curfew.� Harry looked up at Draco�s looming form from where he lay by the fire, quietly conversing with Mirage, who was back in her serpent form.
�Do I have to?� he whined.
Draco sneered. �Of course you have to go! You�re not sleeping here! And� I won�t give you a detention with Filch if you take this letter up to Flitwick before going off to the tower.�
�Now I�m running errands for you?� Harry said, sounding annoyed.
�Do you really want to complain about it?� Draco snapped. �You�re always so eager to humor me all the time when I don�t want anything.�
�Fine, I�ll eat it, then,� Harry said, voice turning saccharine as he took the letter. �Can I have a kiss?�
�You want to be bribed, then?� Draco asked, cocking his head to the side as he watched Harry curiously. �Really, now � bribery I understand, but you�. Hmm. I think I�ll take the letter myself.�
�Cor�� Harry took Draco by the wrist and drew him closer. �You never kiss me,� he said impatiently. �It is�.�
�You are insecure,� Draco said, then pursed his lips as he thought about that.
�So what if I am?�
�I find it curious, that�s all.�
�Why?� Harry snapped. �You only ever react to me. I don�t find it strange that I would end of up feeling like that.�
�I react to you,� Draco repeated, taking a few steps back, out of Harry�s grasp. �And� you would rather I assaulted you the way that you do to me?�
�You think that I assault you?� Harry asked, face scrunched up in hurt. �Sorry, then. I won�t��
�I am not a Muggle, Potter,� Draco said, sighing heavily. �You cannot simply expect from me what you have seen in your Muggle world. I am� forbidden from pursuing anyone.�
�By your father, you mean?� Draco nodded once. �Do you� dislike being with me?�
Draco smirked. �Am I with you, Potter?� he asked. �I know that to be another silly Gryffindorish presumption on your part that you are courting me.�
Harry blushed. �May I court you, then?�
�We shall see.�
�That is not an answer.�
�That is an answer. It simply is not the answer you were hoping that I would give to you. But, I cannot base my reactions on your hopes, can I? That would require me to be able to read your heart.�
�When can I have an answer?�
Smirking again, Draco pressed closer to him and kissed him chastely and swiftly on the lips. He pulled away when he felt the sting of the wards and pursed his lips to keep from rubbing at them, lest Harry take it as disgust.
�I thought you said that you couldn�t kiss me.�
�I didn�t say that I couldn�t, I said that it is forbidden. There is a difference.�
�A significant one?�
�Significant enough that I won�t try weaseling around the rules.�
Harry heaved a sigh. �When can I have an answer?�
Draco ushered Harry over to the door and pushed him out. Then he grabbed the door and said, �As soon as you make your proposition to my father,� before slamming the door in his face. Draco could practically see the shock and anger in Harry�s features, and he stood, leaning against the doorjamb, wondering if Harry was going to storm back in or if he was too overwhelmed.
You are cruel, Mirage said into Draco�s thoughts. He is livid, now, and will likely seek to duel with your father to the death over that.
�He wouldn�t dare to hurt my father,� Draco told her. �But I do wonder how he will react. His temper is� unpleasant.�

Hours later, after running his rounds in the dungeon and basement levels, Draco made his way back to his room. Blaise waited for him in Snape�s sitting room, munching on the rest of Draco�s cake. He looked up when Draco came in and smiled at him, eyebrows raised.
�All right, come on, then. I�d like to get to bed sometime before dawn,� said Blaise, then promptly yawned. �What are we doing with that thing tonight?�
�I am going to enter its memory,� Draco told him. �I�m going to follow it through the layers, to find out where it was banished to and see how it came back.�
Blaise looked suddenly alert. And angry, judging by the way his eyes flashed and he hopped up, arms flailing.
�Are you mad?� he said in clipped tones. �Draco, perhaps you have somehow forgotten, but you are pregnant! You can�t just go traipsing about into whatever the fuck danger, chasing after some stupid theory!�
�My theory isn�t stupid!� Draco snapped. �And I�ve already taken� precautions.�
Blaise clenched his jaw. �What precautions?� he demanded.
�I�ve figured out how to link my magic into a base,� Draco said. �So, theoretically��
�Theoretically?� said Blaise with doubt and scorn. �You�re risking your children�s lives based on a theoretical safety net? You couldn�t even come up with a real one?�
�This is real, Blaise,� Draco told him, voice tight. �And it�s something that I need to do. You�re just going to have faith in me.�
�I have faith in you. But I have no faith in your theoretical precautions�. Draco, you know better than to do foolish shit like that, and if anything happens to your or the twins, I couldn�t live with myself� that is, if I even survive.�
�Nothing bad will happen to your or me, or the twins, understand? If I link my magic into a base, then I can pass freely through the layers in body only, and my base will provide a� shield for me.�
�What sort of base do you think you will find strong enough to let you pass through the layers and provide you with a shield?� Blaise said, voice low and cold. He seemed ready to go into an apoplectic fit. Draco would have to tread carefully around the next topic or Blaise would simply stun him and hogtie him somewhere.
�Home base,� he said, watching Blaise intently. Blaise didn�t seem to comprehend � or, he refused to comprehend. �The earth, Blaise.�
�No. Absolutely not! Do you have any idea how much power you�re talking about dealing with? Do you have any fucking clue? You�ll overload every nerve in your body� you�ll be firing until you fucking fry yourself, you nitwit! How do you think your nerves can handle all that magic?�
�I have CMF, Blaise. I can siphon magic off for days, but in the end, my body sifts and expels it, recall?�
�You don�t siphon that much magic at once,� Blaise retorted. �You are not going.�
�Don�t think you could stop me. It works, and I�m not��
�You�ve done it already!�
Draco blushed and glanced momentarily at it hands so he didn�t have to see the rage and disapproval in his friend�s eyes. �Yes. I need a control. That�s why I want your help.�
�Draco��
�Just do it!� Draco commanded, growing impatient. Blaise flinched, then went red in the face. �Please.�
�You�re going to tap through Mirage first. And you�re going to tie your magic up into the Fay Well.�
�All right,� Draco agreed, grinning. Blaise grumbled irritably as he followed Draco into his bedroom and helped to draw the mirror out into the middle of the room. They drew a protective circle around it in runes and placed vials of binding potions around the circle in a pentagon. Once they were all in place, a white light shot from the vials, connecting one to the other to form an internal polygon.
Draco stepped into the magical force field, shivering as magic surged through him. At first touch, it overpowered him, left him quivering and weak, as if the magic had swallowed him whole, permeated him.
�Draco?� Blaise said, frantic, when Draco exhaled heavily and clutched at the frame of the mirror. The mirror quaked under his touch, as if expecting to be pushed over again, and Draco ran his fingers over the surface soothingly.
�I�m fine. Just startled, that�s all.�
�Let�s do this some other time.�
�I�m fine!� Draco insisted. Then he focused across the room to where Mirage sat on his bed in human form, watching them with interest. �Mirage, my darling, won�t you come to me?�
Mirage smiled serenely and moved to stand within the circle of power. She helped Draco to sit on the floor before the mirror before coming to stand behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. Are you ready, my sweet? she asked in his mind. Draco nodded, taking a deep breath to brace himself for the onslaught of power that was to come. You will need to lower your shields. Occlumency will hinder you.
Draco let loose the barriers he�d erected in his mind to section off parts of his magic. Immediately he was overwhelmed with emotion � and with it, the urge to crawl away and vomit viciously. It took him some moments afterwards to be able to pull himself together again. Still, he felt nauseous and had to bite back bile as it inched in his esophagus.
Bright white light flared on the perimeter of the polygon as Draco reached out with his mind to touch the source of the magic and bind himself to it. Each of the vials was made of fine, cut crystals, and each contained potions designed to represent the earth magic: water, soil, leaves, rock, and platinum to stand for fire. Draco had brewed the potions in secret three days ago, during one of his interrupted night�s sleep.
Steadying his magic against the Earthen-magic barrier and joining them completed the cycle, but to complete the circuit, Draco drew his magic back through Mirage and the Fay well. As the magic pulled through Mirage�s own, Draco slumped over, shuddering. The magic that coursed through him felt palpable � similar to the blunt edge of a knife raking over his skin, skipping along the vertebrae of his spine. Each caress of the magic streamed through him, one after the other, so quick that he could hardly tell where one pulse ended and another began.
Mirage�s grip tightened on his shoulders, and she began to reign some of the magic into herself, but it was too late. Draco had never felt anything quite this intense � and he had enough experience with it as a child. By definition, his disorder made him leech magic from his surroundings until he overloaded and expelled it violently.
Blaise�s demand of compounding the Earthen-magic with Mirage�s unlimited access to the Fay Well proved too much. Draco felt wracked with a constant, overwhelming avalanche of power and could not concentrate on the task at hand.
Breaking out of Mirage�s grip, Draco rushed forward and braced himself against the mirror. The mirror�s surface molded against his cheek, like warm wax. Magic from the mirror melted into Draco, brushing against his thoughts and settling into his mind.
Then, suddenly, the spell shattered. Draco fell over, still trembling from the power, and panting for breath. He looked up at the mirror with wide eyes.
�Finite incantatem, � he said, then pressed his forehead against the carpet and curled on himself.
The mirror did not scream.

~

Draco woke, sandwiched comfortably between searing heat and rippling magic. He settled into it and reluctantly opened his eyes, unwilling to wake from the rest he needed so much. Mirage lay on one side of him, and Blaise on the other, and he was cocooned in their grasps.
�Go back to sleep,� Blaise said in his ear, whispering so that he didn�t wake Mirage, who lay in peace. �We gave you your medicine before putting you to bed, but you still need to rest.�
�What time is it?�
�Denep paht iyh wton tubth gints aled osip en adahu oy tahts rehtoeht dnae pansd loti. Yr rowt nod tubeno flah sti.�
Draco groaned and buried his head in his pillow. �Come again?�
Blaise looked at him strangely. �It�s half-one, but don�t worry. I told Snape and the others that you had an episode last night but not why it happened. Are� Yak ognile efu oy erao card.�
�Yes, fine, just tired,� Draco mumbled. �Don�t talk anymore. It�s annoying.� Draco drifted back to sleep. He dreamed about a strange, haphazard, piecemeal city that mountains of junk and debris surrounded on all sides. Unpleasant ghosts and ghouls and poltergeists, grims and Boggarts, and hideous and violent magical beasts roamed the city, committing it to ruin. At any time, more junk or ghosts, et cetera, would tumble from the sky onto the growing mountain or to ravage the city. Each morning, busloads of people went out to Junk Mountain, to work, cleaning and building and adding onto the city. The cycle did not end.
When Draco woke again, it was dinnertime. Blaise and Mirage still lay with him, but they were speaking quietly so that Draco would not overhear. Muttering to himself, he drew their attention, and they quieted and looked at him expectantly.
�I think I�ve lost my bloody mind,� he groaned. �And I�m kind of hungry.�
�Well, you haven�t eaten all day, except for feeding on magic, but that is nourishment of a different sort,� Mirage said, laughing. �I don�t trust you to go down to dinner today, so we shall have Severus order something from the kitchens.�
�Oy!� Draco exclaimed, cuddling into Mirage�s arms. �When did Uncle become Severus? Why didn�t I notice? And � why didn�t you tell me?�
�Really, now,� Mirage cooed. �I have always thought of your godfather with fondness. He reminds me of the better side of my king.�
Blaise snorted. �Your king must have been a horrid git!�
�He could not boast of much compassion. Or mercy. Or kindness. But he was fond of me. And he gave me a strong heir. I do miss him sometimes.�
�Where did he go?� Draco asked.
�He is dead.�
�DEAD?� Draco and Blaise exclaimed at once, then both blushed furiously. Mirage smiled at them pleasantly anyway. �Er,� Draco continued. �It has been my experience that the Fay do not� well, it is rare that the Fay choose to� erm.�
�It was not his choice,� Mirage explained. �He was slain in a great battle. Long had he coveted the throne my father gave to me, and he sought to supplant me and lock me in an ancient oath. I killed him myself, in a battle in the skies, as our people looked up from the earth. It was a good death � an honorable death � and it is pleasing to me that I was given the honor of killing him. He is gone to the next life, and we are no longer bound in marriage.�
�And you want Snape to replace him as your king?� Blaise said, dumbfounded. �Pardon me, but I see that as� repulsive.�
Mirage laughed and leaned over Draco to kiss Blaise on the brow. �I see much in him that your young eyes could not. I understand more of him than your young heart ever could.�
�I�m sure I don�t want to know,� Blaise said, sighing as he flopped back and shifted closer to Draco. �Go on, then, and tell Severus that we want room service!� Laughing merrily, Mirage disentangled herself from them and rose. �But� tell him that Draco was the one who demanded the room service. He won�t hex Draco the way he�d hex me.�
Mirage slipped out of the room and Draco turned over to face Blaise. They snuggled together, Draco still feeding on Blaise�s magic, though Blaise didn�t seem to mind the open circuit. Blaise smiled dreamily and started playing in Draco�s hair, braiding locks of it. Draco found it annoying, but he was too tired to really complain enough for Blaise to stop.
�What did you think of last night?�
�Oh, it was scary,� Blaise said. �I told you��
�That wouldn�t have happened if I hadn�t linked into the Fay Well,� Draco groused. �I can link into Earthen-magic just fine, you know. I did it all the time as a boy.�
�Don�t even go there. I was around for that, remember, and I know just happened when you broke out of the circuits, thank you.�
Draco sniffed. �Still, it wasn�t the best idea to double up on the circuits by including my Fay heritage, was it? It didn�t work very well, did it? I passed out, didn�t I?�
�But you didn�t blow up Hogwarts, either,� snapped Blaise, tugging at Draco�s braids. �All in all, I�d say mine was a magnificent idea.�
Draco grumbled some and settled into a place of awareness between sleep and wakefulness. Mirage returned and joined them in bed again, and she was smiling brilliantly as she crawled over to them and curled around them.
�Blaise has turned you into a Doronim, my sweet,� she whispered in Draco�s ear, then kissed his cheek. �All you need now is a silken sash and crown of rank.�
�Ugh, Blaise, you wanker!� complained Draco.
Blaise laughed mockingly. �I think you look cute.�
�I�m going to hex you �til you can�t stand when I feel better.�
�I look forward to it.�
When dinner arrived, so did a crate from Flitwick. Draco knew that it contained all of the supplies he�d requested the day before, so he didn�t bother to open it. Only, he groaned unhappily and tried to fall asleep again. He couldn�t, since Mirage and Blaise forced him to get up to eat. But the dinner was good for him. It strengthened him in body, as the magic had not done.
�We�re going to have to do this again, you know,� Draco said as he settled down to sleep again. �I still haven�t figured out about the mirror.�
�You won�t be doing that for a while, believe me,� Blaise said.
Draco sighed. �We can try again after break.�

~

The day of Flitwick�s Masquerade came swiftly. Because Draco had promised to make the charms for the professor, it took him the entire week to recuperate from linking into two circuits of magic at once. He slept often, and frequently, and even skipped out on a few classes to take a catnap or sneak a snack from the kitchens. Sometimes he would climb up to the Astronomy Tower during the day (as it was not in use at that time) and sit in the embrasure of the battlements to watch as flurries of snow danced down from the sky.
Cold air whipped around him up there, and he liked the feel of it slicing around him. That, more than the sleeping and the seemingly unending hunger, helped Draco to overcome his lethargy. So by the time the dance arrived, Draco was once again back to normal � or, back to whatever passed for normal in his life these days. His episode had not made him in any way delusional enough to think that his pregnant arse could pass for normal.
Three hours before the masquerade was to start, Draco took a long, relaxing steamy bath. He felt somewhat achy in his back and joints and hoped the bath would help to soothe the aches away. Especially if he had to spend the night in idiot Potter�s presence.
Draco took a pain relief potion and added a massaging oil to the bath. As it set into work and started to heal the little hurts, Draco sighed contentedly. If it would last through the night, he would be ecstatic.
After his bath, Draco took a nap on the chaise by the fireplace. Again he dreamed of the strange city with its growing junkyard. He woke with an hour and a half to spare and started to dress in his costume. It took about forty-five minutes to dress because there were so many layers and details to fix properly. By the time he had finished, Pansy, Millicent, Blaise, Vince, Greg, and Greg�s date, Ananda Lewis, a fifth year Hufflepuff, gathered in Snape�s sitting room, chattering loudly and excitedly.
Draco listened to them from his room as he checked his appearance and pulled on his soft-leather shoes. As he finished up, the fire flared and Mirage came into the room, dressed in a ceremonial pale green, lavender and white gown. She had a distant, pensive look in her eyes and she fiddled with a platinum ring etched with Fay runes.
�Is something wrong?� he asked.
She looked at him with a smile and shook her head. �Nothing that should worry you, Draco,� she answered. �I have met again with the Elders� Council. That is all.�
Draco remembered his vision that connected him to the Dark Lord. �Is it true that my father may sit on your Council?�
�Not often,� Mirage said. �You see, he is human and he has human concerns.� Draco glanced away, thinking about his vision again, wondering at the sorts of secrets his father had kept from him. �How have you come to know this? It has been my impression that your father has not told you of your family�s legacy and obligations.�
�He hasn�t,� Draco admitted, blushing. �The Dark Lord told me.�
�Voldemort,� Mirage mused. �He has been the concern of our Council lately. He seeks to run my heir to ruin and steal the might of my people. If he continues in this manner, seeking out our hidden gems, he will earn my wrath. I will not tolerate such insolence or arrogance.�
Draco smirked at her. �Was it the insolence or arrogance that drove you to slaughter your beloved king?� he asked.
Mirage sniffed and narrowed her eyes at him. �Neither. It was the greed � I found it unbearable that he should scheme and covet a power that was not meant to be his own. Ambition is honorable, Draco, but envy is not. One should see one�s own gifts and have grace and gratitude for them.�
�I envy others,� Draco told her. �It seems almost natural for someone to want what he does not have. That�s the root of ambition. And� do you think it�s wrong of me to want a father who would not look at me as my own father does? I cannot even remember a time when my father thought of me only as his son.�
�No, my sweet. You miscall my words. But you will understand some day. For now, be young and free, and enjoy yourself. I must say, you look the noble image of a young Lord Furaei. Come, sit with me and I will braid your hair with the warrior king�s rank.�
�I wouldn�t dare,� Draco said. �That is against the law, to hide your identity with lies. I could be��
�Honestly, child, which of the Furies� ah, Furaeis� do you think will come for you because you have dressed with admirable detail for your ball? Besides which, I have already promised to keep all your secrets. I will not go back on my word, now.�
�Fine,� Draco agreed. �You can braid my hair as you want if you go to the masquerade as well.�
�Go � darling, I am too old, and have no costume, and do not wish to intrude on your night with your friends.�
�You are not too old,� Draco insisted. �And you can go with Severus if you don�t want to go with us. Between Pansy and Millicent�s wardrobes, I�m certain we can find a suitable costume for you as well.�
�I don�t think that would be appropriate, Draco.�
�No. I want you to go � Uncle will escort you. He�ll do just about anything if it�ll make me happy. And you will, too. Hurry and braid my hair, then we�ll send Pansy and Millie back to the dorms to fetch you something to wear and tell Professor Snape about his lovely company for the evening.�
Mirage did as Draco asked, weaving his hair into intricate braids, twists, knots and curls. When she finished, Draco darted out into the sitting room and asked Pansy and Millicent to come up with a costume for her to wear and they hurried out cheerfully. They always liked to dress others to their own tastes, even if it was on short notice.
�What is with this racket?� Snape demanded, slamming out of his bedroom, dressed, as usual, all in black as a raven. Draco grinned at him and ambled over. Professor Snape looked at him distrustfully. �What?�
�You don�t have a date lined up for the evening, do you?� he asked, grin widening as Snape glowered at him. �Of course not. You haven�t shown interest in anyone since I was seven. Well� I�ve found a date for you, Uncle. You�ll love her. She�s gorgeous and intelligent and rather likes that you�re a sour bastard. You�ll never do better in a million lifetimes.� Snape�s nostrils flared and he loomed over Draco angrily. Draco stood on the tips of his toes and leaned forward to whisper in the professor�s ear. �Methinks, if you stick around, she might make you her king.�
�Mirage, then,� Snape said, tone clipped. �What have you gotten me into, you irritating brat?�
Draco lost balance as the door banged open and Pansy and Millicent darted into the room, followed by an amused looking Potter. He joined Blaise and Vince on the couch, and Pansy and Millicent rushed over and took Draco�s arms, ushering him back into his bedroom. Mirage was coming out of the shower as they came back into the room. They dressed her swiftly as a gypsy mage woman, letting her hair hang loose for the most part, but with occasional beaded, ribboned, or feathered braids.
Laughing, she kissed all three of them on the forehead and left, to meet up with Snape and go, probably. Pansy and Millicent followed after her, but Draco had to retrieve something from his closet.
TBC
- 10
- 11
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Flesh of My Flesh