Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Black King	By : Phoenixstrike Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 10586 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter and all characters and situations are created and owned by JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Warner Bros. No money is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Chapter Nineteen: Checkmate, Part Two

Harry screwed his eyes tight as he heard Bellatrix’s cruel laugh, unwilling to witness the scene unfolding in front of him. His heart broke and he let out an involuntary wail of agony to join that of Narcissa’s panicked scream, which was swiftly followed by a sickening thud as the spell collided and a body collapsed, dead-weight, to the forest floor.

Emotions such as Harry had never experienced before in his life overwhelmed him. The loss of Dumbledore, Sirius- that was nothing, nothing, compared to how he felt now. Rage and grief, so powerful he thought himself likely to explode, flooded over him. Hatred he’d not even felt for Voldemort surged through his every fibre. Harry didn’t know it was possible to feel loathing stronger than that he felt for him; that was, of course, until Bellatrix had taken yet another person Harry loved away from him. The person Harry loved more than anyone else in the world. He wanted to hurt her more than he’d wanted to hurt any other individual in his life; to make her pay for what she had done. Without further hesitation, he aimed his wand squarely at Bellatrix and cried, “Crucio!”

He had no doubts this time that the spell had worked. It slammed into Bellatrix, the force so powerful it knocked her flat to the ground as her ear-splitting shrieks of agony reverberated throughout the forest.

“I know what you mean now,” Harry choked, fruitlessly trying to blink back the tears that had fully obscured his vision, “when you told me you really had to mean it. I’m going to break every bone in your fucking evil body.” Bellatrix screamed and howled, but Harry was merciless. He was in danger of snapping and losing who he was, he knew that, and a small part of him said he was no better than Bellatrix for enjoying the torture. At this moment, however, Harry couldn’t care less what that part of him had to say.

He had no idea how long he had applied the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix for so far. Seconds or minutes, they meant nothing any more. Time no longer mattered. Nothing did- not his friends, not Voldemort. All that mattered was causing Bellatrix so much physical pain she would wish she had never been born, before he wiped her out of existence.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” he sobbed, adjusting the aim of his wand slightly to ensure the Cruciatus Curse concentrated on another part of her body, and Bellatrix’s consciousness ebbed away.

“Harry…”

Only that voice could have reached him at that moment, forcing him to slip back into his lucid mind. He reeled around in shock, never once dropping the Cruciatus Curse on his now helpless victim, and wept a fresh wave of tears when he saw Draco, alive and perfectly uninjured, staggering towards him. He was white-faced and unstable on his feet, the lifeless form of Narcissa Malfoy cradled tenderly in his arms. The momentary overwhelming relief Harry felt at seeing Draco alive, however, was instantly replaced with fresh heartbreak; sorrow for Draco, who seemed devastated in a way Harry had never witnessed in someone else before.

“Bellatrix. The Killing Curse. I didn’t…” Draco trailed off as he sank to his knees, gently laying his mother’s body on the ground, before covering her protectively with his own body, his shoulders heaving in waves of grief.

“I didn’t see it coming,” Draco rasped. Harry looked quickly at Bellatrix, now clearly unconscious and going nowhere, and dropped the Curse. He could deal with her in a minute. Right now Draco needed him. He crossed swiftly to Draco and drew him close to his chest, clinging so tightly he thought he had cut off the blood supply, savouring his scent, savouring his warmth the the feel of Draco’s pulse against his own skin. Draco collapsed into Harry’s arms, squeezing back just as forcefully as Harry held him, and cried in earnest.

“Mother… she saw the light coming straight for me at the last second and pushed me out of the way,” he gasped shakily through his tears. “But to move me she had to step into the path of the Curse. Because of this it hit her instead. She knew it was going to. She fucking knew and she still made the decision to get me safe. She died to protect me.”

Harry held Draco for many more minutes, aware that the battle with the Death Eaters was winding down. The Order had assembled those who were still alive in the middle of the field, whilst those who had been killed were laid out in rows. The losses from their side had, thankfully, been minimal in comparison, although Harry felt fresh tears prickling when he recognised the lifeless forms of McGonagall, Michael and Lavender. He sighed a huge sigh of relief when he spotted the Weasleys (minus Percy, whom Harry had already been informed about) all safe, along with Snape, Remus and Tonks. From what he could tell, Harry was pleased to see, the injuries from their side could be described as ‘Walking Wounded’ and were nearly all superficial. Snape and Lupin were applying healing charms to those who needed it. Through the clearing Harry could make out Lucius Malfoy fighting a duel with a Death Eater. He realised with an unpleasant jolt he did not yet know about his wife’s killing.

Just then the figure of Bellatrix stirred slightly and began to groan. Harry drew his wand again but Draco was quicker; the loss of Narcissa had caused him to snap and he released Harry, ran over to the woman who had killed his mother and, forsaking all magic, kicked the woman straight in the side of her head with every ounce of strength in him. Again and again, Draco repeatedly drew his foot back before driving it into Bellatrix’s skull; each time his foot made contact with her head there was an audible crunch and grinding noise as the bones shifted and separated. Harry winced but refused to take his eyes away from Draco for even a second.

“You-” kick “evil-” kick “fucking-” kick “cunt!” Draco screamed. “She was your sister! I’m going to kick your fucking head off your shoulders!” He then rained a torrent of abuse down on the shell of Bellatrix Lestrange.

It was very obvious to Harry from his vantage point that Bellatrix had died, and probably soon after the first couple of kicks. Her skull had taken on a very bizarre shape as it concaved and there was some grey matter leaking out of a gash where a shard of white was protruding from the side of her head. Trickles of blood were pouring from her nostrils, mouth and ears. Harry fought down the nausea as he watched Draco lose control, knowing that Draco needed, had, to do this, whilst sending his silent, desperate thanks to Narcissa for saving her son and sacrificing herself.

“Cissy!” Harry briefly closed his eyes, thinking the hysterical cry from Lucius Malfoy sounded all the more terrible as Lucius simply did not become hysterical. Lucius ran over to his wife, and took her into her arms. “Oh, my Narcissa,” he whispered, burying his face in her hair. He was evidently fighting to retain an ounce of control. “Potter, where is Draco?” Harry could hear the panic in is voice.

“Draco is fine,” Harry replied shakily. “Well, he’s physically unharmed, at least- I don’t think ‘fine’ is probably the right word. He’s currently in the process of kicking Bellatrix literally to death.” He paused and correctly interpreted Lucius’ questioning look. “It was her who cast the Killing Curse. It… it was meant for Draco, but it hit Mrs Malfoy instead.” Harry halted as he felt the lump rising in his throat once more, and rubbed a hand over his face, unwilling to break down in front of Lucius bloody Malfoy of all people.

Lucius nodded once and stood, before going over to his son. Draco saw his father approach and stopped kicking Bellatrix’s corpse. Instead he stood rigid, eyes wide and distraught, not knowing what do do. He looked like a lost little boy. Harry’s heart ached once more for his boyfriend when he saw Lucius break down and take Draco into his arms, and Draco began to sob into his father’s robes. Footsteps approaching him drew his attention away from the scene. It was Hermione.

“Harry,” she said softly. “Come here.”

Harry hugged her close, burying his face in her neck.

“I really thought he was dead,” he rasped, not bothering to prevent the tears this time.

“Give them a few minutes,” she said gently, looking over to where the Malfoys were grieving, knowing Harry was reluctant to leave Draco at the moment. “All the Death Eaters are either captured or dead. I know this is asking the impossible, Harry, but you need to put this out of your mind for now. This is nearly over, so nearly over. Snape has located Voldemort in the Manor and managed to get a Tracking Charm on him. It’s time to end this.”

Harry nodded and, sensing Draco and his father needed one another at the moment, followed Hermione into the clearing where the surviving Order members and students were gathered. He could see Ron, white-faced and shaken, being comforted by the rest of the Weasleys; evidently they didn’t blame him for Percy’s death. There were a few people pulling disgusted faces as they drank Skele-Gro, or downing vials of pain relieving draughts that Snape had brought with him, but Harry was just relieved to see that the majority were alive. His heart broke again when he saw the fallen from his side, but forced himself to look away as he sat on the floor and was handed a canteen of water by Luna, which he drank gratefully.

Many people asked him with genuine fear or concern where Draco was, and Harry ended up explaining to everyone as a group what had happened. He felt a jolt of pride and acceptance when he realised everyone was relieved to hear he was, physically at least, okay. The shock of thinking he had lost Draco for good was beginning to subside now, and all his pain was reserved for his boyfriend.

A few minutes later, a very shaken-up and pallid Draco made his way alone to camp, and sat next to Harry without saying anything, merely content to hold Harry’s hand tightly and rest his head on his shoulder. Harry leant back against him momentarily.

“Draco, I’ve got to go,” he said softly. “Severus has located Voldemort. It ends here and now.”

“Make sure you fucking annihilate him,” was Draco’s meek reply. He sounded exhausted. Harry forced a smile onto his face.

“I promise I’ll do my best,” he replied.

****

Ten minutes later and a very surprised Auror Department, arranged by Kingsley, had arrested the bound Death Eaters and carted them off to the Ministry, and removed the bodies of the dead. A team of Obliviators were Modifying the memories of three Muggles who had witnessed part of the battle whilst walking their dogs and were now hysterical. Harry, along with Draco, Snape, Remus, Ron and Hermione were making their way to Malfoy Manor, which Lucius had altered the wards on for them. Draco was still incredibly white and shaken, but had glared defiantly at Harry when he suggested Draco remain behind. However he gripped Harry’s hand tightly in his own and refused to relent the hold for even a second. Harry glanced over towards his two best friends, both of whom had fought superbly against the Death Eaters, and saw Ron was in a similar condition to Hermione, clinging to her like a lifeline. Harry reasoned it was going to take a long time for Ron to recover from inadvertently killing his own sibling, even if that sibling had been torturing Ginny.

They approached the drive of Malfoy Manor with trepidation; neither Snape nor Remus could identify any wards or spells other than those added by Lucius himself, but no one doubted for a second Voldemort would have set traps against them if he was able to. In the end Snape concluded that the Manor’s wards were so ancient that no one of non-Malfoy blood would be able to alter them at all, including insane megalomaniacs, despite the Dark Lord’s best efforts.

The sextet cautiously made their way towards the Manor’s entrance; Draco had finally relaxed the hold on Harry’s hand and had his own wand drawn and ready, whilst he surveyed their surroundings carefully. Harry realised his heart was thumping at about a hundred beats a minute and so fiercely he felt as if it was trying to escape his chest. Although he was fearful as to what was about to happen in the next hour he was, in many ways, excited and relieved. However it played out from now on, this was finally going to end, one way or another, today.

The entrance hall looked much the same as it had all those months ago when Harry had rescued Draco. So much had changed since then; now was not, however, the time for nostalgia and reminiscence. Snape held out his wand in the palm of his hand, much like a compass, and whispered a complicated charm. The wand spun around, obviously indicating Voldemort’s location, and he took off towards a large set of beech doors, the others all following wordlessly in tow.

Harry thought how strange it was not to have a connection to Voldemort at this time. There was no tell-tale prickle in his scar that the Dark Lord was close to him, nor did Harry have any clue as to the man’s emotions. Did he know his Death Eaters were all gone? Was he angry, or frightened at the moment? Snape kept the wand in his hand as they walked; barely a minute later it spun again, indicating right, which was the entrance to the Malfoy library. The wand vibrated lightly in Snape’s hand, giving them no doubts that Voldemort was behind the doors. Harry aimed his wand and, swallowing heavily and taking a deep breath to try and control his nerves, he pushed open the doors.

Voldemort was standing with his back facing them, staring out of a large, ornately-dressed window overlooking the Manor’s grounds. He turned when he heard them enter, giving them a terrible smile.

“That’s quite an impressive number you did on my Death Eaters, Potter,” he said, his high voice barely audible.

“It’s over, Riddle,” Harry uttered, mustering as much contempt as he could in his voice as he could muster. He was proud that his voice was steady and not betraying his true emotions at this moment.

“That it is, young Harry,” Voldemort replied. “It is over for you, and your worthless friends. You were foolish to come here today. You must know by now that I, Lord Voldemort, cannot be destroyed.”

“Oh, but you can,” Harry retorted. “I’ve known about your Horcruxes for a long, long time, Tom.” He felt a surge of triumph flow through him as blank shock shot across Voldemort’s face as Harry’s words registered. His serpentine eyes widened and he was momentarily speechless.

“Oh, yes,” Harry continued, gaining confidence from Voldemort’s astonishment. “The locket, the cup, the diadem, the ring,” he counted them off on his fingers in a flamboyant gesture, blatantly mocking the man in front of him. “The diary. Every single one is destroyed, Tom Riddle. Oh, and of course, Nagini. Yes, that was us, too,” he continued, smirking now. “Poor Peter. We almost felt bad about that one. But Severus Snape has been deceiving you successfully for sixteen years, so it’s no wonder he managed to achieve it again. You’re a bit of a loser really, aren’t you?”

Voldemort seemed to regain some of his composure.

“It is of little matter,” he sneered. “Once I have finally killed you I will create another. You can destroy my Death Eaters, you can destroy my Horcruxes. But you will never kill me.”

“Always the same rhetoric, isn’t it, Riddle?” Harry quipped. “Apparently I always evade you due to luck. Your own arrogance won’t let you see that Dumbledore was right. You can have all the magical strength in the world, and yet it will never be enough to beat love.”

Voldemort actually laughed at this. The sound was more of a screech, and reminded Harry of melodramatic Muggle horror films where the killer laughed in the face of the victims before slaughtering them bloodily.

“You still think Dumbledore was wrong?” Harry continued. “I stand here, alive, today, because of my mother’s sacrifice. The same sacrifice Draco’s mother made for him only an hour ago. You think it’s merely a coincidence all my friends stood beside me and fought today? That we beat your Death Eaters? They fought out of fear, not love. And that means they fought to save their own worthless skins today, rather than fight together as one. That is why they lost, despite us being so outnumbered, and it’s why you will lose today.”

“Lies!” Voldemort screeched, although Harry could see an unease creeping in to his sour features. His eyes darted around the room uncertainly.

“Dumbledore loved this world,” Harry told Voldemort. “And he loved everyone in it- enough to die in order to secure protection from you. Even when Draco was being forced by you to kill him, Dumbledore still offered him a way out. And you tried to kill Draco for it. You didn’t think for a second I’d come and save him, did you? Because you don’t know, you cannot comprehend, what it means to feel human. I saved Malfoy, a boy I hated, because it was the thing a decent human being would do. Because I know how to feel compassion. That compassion turned rapidly to love. And without my deep love for Draco Malfoy I would never have stood a chance of defeating you. It is because I love this man that I told him about your Horcruxes and gained information on the location of many directly from him.”

“Mere coincidence!” Voldemort declared, although he looked incredibly rustled now. Harry was satisfied to note the man was sweating, actually sweating.

“Coincidence, is it? Coincidence that you lost your strongest supporter the minute you killed my mother, whom he loved dearly? The minute you began hunting Lily Potter, you lost him, you Snake-faced prick. Severus Snape has saved the entire fucking wizarding world from you. He’s the biggest hero of us all, and it’s because of love. Firstly for my mother, then secondly for me. After everything Severus and I have been through over the years, for us to love one another now is what is going to be your downfall. Again, love!”

Blood was thundering now through Harry’s brain. He felt Draco- the man who, had Narcissa’s love for him not saved him, Harry would not have found the strength to face Voldemort. It was time. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the length of mahogany, replacing his holly wand in his trousers. His hand was steady.

“And my father, who loved me enough to try and take you on without this!” Harry fought to control his emotions now. The end was so close. He wondered why Voldemort hadn’t tried to curse him yet, and decided that he was actually frightened of Harry, and what would happen if he tried. The thought heartened him. “It’s only fitting that my dad’s wand will be the one to wipe you off the face of the earth for good. Because, Tom Marvolo Riddle, you will learn that love conquers all.”

He raised his father’s wand and uttered the incantation he and Severus had discovered back in January in the Black library, “Amor Vincit Omnia,”

He shivered as the protective charm washed over him, and grabbed Ron’s hand with his right whilst his left clung to Draco. Draco linked hands with Snape, and Hermione took Remus’ left hand in her free right, whilst her left held tightly to Ron’s. At his word, all six repeated the charm, only effective when true love existed for the original caster, whether in a romantic, friendship or familial capacity. Love conquers all, and Voldemort was about to finally realise that.

“All you’ve ever understood is hatred,” Harry was surprised to find his voice thick and tears threatening to fall now through the sheer emotion of the situation. “You tried to rule through fear and control. Where has that got you, huh? There’s not a single person alive who would sacrifice themselves now to save you, as I would do for any one of the people standing here with me, and they for me. Your hatred for me as a baby, when you cast the Killing Curse and ending up being less than alive yourself. That night, Riddle, you accidentally turned me into a Horcrux. Did you never even wonder, Tom, why I had a connection with you? Why I, too, could talk to snakes? Your hatred has ultimately condemned you. I could not have gotten half of the Horcruxes without that generous gift. I guess I should thank you- your inability to love has made your ultimate destruction all the easier.”

Riddle had clearly had enough. His red eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared as his mouth formed a feral snarl. This is it, Harry thought. Moment of truth. He had deliberately not told Draco, or indeed anyone, what he and Snape had planned, as it was far from certain this would work. It had never been tested against an Unforgivable in anything Snape could find. Neither can live whilst the other survives.

Voldemort and Harry both aimed their wands at the other. Harry looked into those scarlet eyes, green against red, opposites in every way.

“Avada Kedavra!”

“Protego Maxima!”

The super-strength Shield Charm was swiftly erected, strengthened and reinforced by the combined force of love that Harry threw behind it. The love that his boyfriend and friends felt for him solidified the Shield, making it impenetrable, even to the Killing Curse. Harry watched in awe as the emerald light, so like his own eyes in colour, charged towards him at unstoppable speed, ricocheting violently off the Shield and bouncing back towards Voldemort before striking him squarely above the heart.

Voldemort looked surprised for mere seconds before falling. Like a Marionette puppet whose strings had just been cut, Riddle collapsed with a definite finality. The power the Dark Lord knows not had conquered; love had overcome hatred and proven itself to be the more powerful force.

Harry cancelled the Shield Charm and numbly made his way to where Voldemort’s body lay, crumpled and broken. His eyes were open, still registering the shock and disbelief he must have felt in the instant he realised his own hatred had annihilated himself. Harry turned back to face his loved-ones; five faces were beaming at him with nothing but pride. Until that moment, Harry realised he hadn’t actually expected to survive; the fact he had was almost overwhelming.

“It’s really over,” Harry said, almost nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t currently standing over the corpse of the most evil man of modern times. “I can’t actually believe that spell worked.” And with that he fainted dead away.

****

                                                                 DAILY PROPHET

Saturday 2^nd May 1998                                                                                  Special Souvenir Edition

          YOU-KNOW-WHO DEAD; DEATH EATERS SLAYED OR CAPTURED!

                   Harry Potter destroys Voldemort for Good this time

Shortly after ten this morning, Lord Voldemort, who has terrorised our world for decades, was finally vanquished for good by none other than Harry Potter. In what appears to be a well-planned and orchestrated attack, Potter and an anti You-Know-Who movement founded by Albus Dumbledore called The Order of the Phoenix, as well as select students from Hogwarts School, fought and overcame Voldemort’s entire fleet of Death Eaters, before Potter and his closest allies took on the man himself inside known Death Eater Lucius Malfoy’s Manor in Wiltshire.

Potter’s re-emergence from the Manor caused mass panic amongst his supporters when he was carried from the building by ex-Death Eater and rumoured love interest, Draco Malfoy. However it was quickly explained to the anxious group that Potter was merely suffering from shock and magical exhaustion and was perfectly unharmed.

Amongst the group was Severus Snape, suspected Death Eater and wanted for the murder of Albus Dumbledore. He glared at reporters as they arrived with Potter at St. Mungo’s, pausing only to say,

‘If you wish to keep your limbs attached to your body you will not question any of us, now get out of our way.’

There were losses, however, for Potter’s side. Two Hogwarts students, seventh year students Lavender Brown of Gryffindor and Michael Corner of Ravenclaw, were sadly killed. Perhaps the hardest-felt loss, however, is the death of Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, who only took up the position in September following Albus Dumbledore’s death. The thoughts and wishes of all here at The Prophet are with the families of those lost in their brave fight for our freedom.

Amongst those arrested was Lucius Malfoy, father of Draco. Although he was reportedly fighting alongside Harry Potter, Malfoy is a wanted man for previous Death Eater activities, and also escaping Azkaban eleven months ago. He will be returned to Azkaban to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Pages 2-5 Harry Potter: a life in pictures

Pages 6-8 Draco Malfoy? Potter’s Chosen One?

Pages 9-13 Severus Snape- full Ministry Exoneration received. Details of a double-agent here!

Page 14 list of confirmed Death Eaters

Page 15 Obituary: Minerva McGonagall, 4^th October 1935- 2^nd May 1998

Harry folded the newspaper and sighed. He felt rather surreal; fifteen hours ago he had been preparing to leave Grimmauld Place, wondering if he’d live to see out the day, and now he was propped up in a bed in St. Mungo’s being given strong Calming Draughts to help him recover from the shock and regain some strength following his magical exhaustion. Voldemort was really dead. He had really, truly, gone for good this time. Harry was finally free. The thought had made no attempt to sink into his brain yet; he almost felt detached from the idea, and he kept waiting to wake up once more from what was surely a dream. The whole situation had an anticlimactic feel to it. Probably the realisation would kick in soon and he’d feel like celebrating; right now he just wanted to sleep for a week, the exhaustion of the previous year’s work and what he had achieved crashing down spectacularly on him.

Severus and Draco had just returned from the Ministry, having both received full clearance of any criminal charges in relation to Dumbledore’s death and Death Eater activities. Draco, too, had been swiftly forced into a bed and given a Calming Draught of his own. Harry smiled over at Draco, who had fallen into an uneasy sleep about half an hour previously; he couldn’t be prouder of his boyfriend.

Severus had point-blank refused any treatment. He had returned briefly to the hospital to inform Harry of the events in the Ministry before returning to Grimmauld Place. Ron and Hermione were with the Weasleys. The family was trying to come to terms with Percy’s betrayal and death. Under Veritaserum, one of the captured Death Eaters had revealed that Percy had been in league with Voldemort since his defection from the family during Harry’s fifth year at school. His friends had returned to The Burrow to grieve with the rest of the Weasleys.

Remus had returned to Grimmauld Place with Tonks as soon as he knew Harry was fine. Tonks was distraught after apparently believing she was responsible for Lavender’s death. Harry had begged with the Healers to let him out of bed, even going as far to play his ‘I’m the vanquisher of Voldemort’ card, but without success. Harry decided in the end it was best to simply take his Potions without complaint.

He had just decided that perhaps sleep was a good idea and closed his eyes, when Snape strode into the ward. Harry’s eyes snapped open and he fumbled for his glasses. Once on, Harry could see that Snape’s face was agitated.

“What’s the matter?” he said instantly, fully awake once more and thinking of Death Eater escapes and revenge attacks. He swallowed nervously.

“It’s Tonks. It appears the excitement of today’s events has sent her into premature labour,” Snape replied. His tone was even but his expression showed his true feelings. There was definite concern there. Harry was out of bed and on his feet, dressed only in the hospital robe that was forced on him, before Snape’s words even truly registered with him.

“But the baby isn’t due for another month!” Harry said, panicked. He knew nothing about pregnancy and babies, how early could one be born and survive? “I need to get to them. Where are they?”

“Could they perhaps be in the maternity ward here?” Snape replied dryly, the merest hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. Harry ignored the jibe and concentrated on pulling on his jeans. The commotion had woken Draco.

“Wassup?” he said sleepily. Snape quickly explained whilst Harry finished dressing and, three minutes later, Harry, Draco and Snape had snuck out of the ward and were heading up to Magical Pregnancy and Births.

The Welcome Witch in the ward informed Remus of their arrival and he came out to see them, looking ruffled and pale, but calm.

“It’s going to be OK,” he said instantly. “The baby’s only a few weeks early, and is healthy. They say it’ll just be on the small side.” A loud groan came from inside the room, causing Harry to wince. “That was another contraction. I should get back in there. Dora’s doing really well.” With that he disappeared quickly. Harry sat down in the waiting area with Snape and Draco, feeling nervous and excited. Just this morning he was wondering if he’d live to see another day, now Voldemort was dead, his Death Eaters either killed or captured, and he was waiting for the birth of his godchild. Could the day get any more bizarre?

****

It was in the early hours of the morning that Tonks’ moans became more like shouts and wails, and the noise got a lot more frequent. Finally, after a particularly loud and prolonged shriek, which made Harry glad to be gay and never have to be responsible for putting the person he loved through that sort of agony, a tiny cry of a newborn baby filled the silent waiting room, and Harry thought it a sweeter sound than any music he had ever heard. He turned and beamed at Draco, who had a very wistful expression on his face. Birth and death, the continuous circle of life. He squeezed Draco’s hand tightly.

A few minutes later, Remus emerged, beaming.

“A boy!” he declared, swooping Harry into an embrace. “A healthy baby boy! He’s small because he’s six weeks early so the Healers had to cast a few charms on him to keep him warm and help his breathing, but otherwise he’s perfect and should be able to come home in a couple of days. Harry, would you like to come and hold your godson?”

Harry followed Remus back into the delivery room, and stood, transfixed, at the sight in front of him. A tiny baby, with blond hair, was cradled in an exhausted-looking Tonks’ arms, fast asleep. Remus gave Tonks a kiss on her head and Harry heard him whisper, “I’m so, so proud of you, my love,” to her before taking the infant and placing him in Harry’s waiting arms. Harry had never held a baby before. He cradled the tot gently, supporting his head, and never once taking his eyes off him.

“This is Teddy,” Remus said. “He’s named after Dora’s father. Harry, do you remember what you said to me, when I told you I was going to be a father? You told me you were going to do everything in your power to make sure my child wouldn’t have to live in a world with Voldemort in it. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done.”

Harry blushed. “Everyone helped, you know. I couldn’t have done it without all of you.”

Just then Teddy opened his eyes and he fixed his gaze on Harry’s face. Teddy’s eyes immediately turned into the exact same shade of Harry’s. Remus and Harry simultaneously gasped.

“I guess he’s just like his mum, then,” he said with a chuckle.

“He’s completely and utterly brilliant,” Harry replied happily.

****

“He’s so tiny,” Hermione cooed, stroking Teddy’s now-purple hair as she cradled him in her arms.

“He didn’t bloody feel tiny when I was giving birth,” Tonks replied with a laugh. “Honestly, when his head began to crown, I thought my-”

“So what have they done with You-Know-Who’s body, then?” Ron interrupted, looking green. Draco shot him a grateful look.

Teddy began to whimper so Tonks took him back and started to feed him. It was a sight Harry had seen many times since Tonks and Teddy came home from St Mungo’s two days ago, and he still wasn’t used to it. Yep, definitely, completely gay, he told himself, as he caught sight of Tonks’ soft nipple before the baby latched. Ron, however, was openly staring, mouth slack, earning him a smack on the arm from Hermione.

“It was incinerated earlier this morning, then the ashes Vanished,” Snape replied. “Burying it was too risky, it was decided. Insane necromancers digging it up and trying to resurrect him just didn’t appeal, for some reason.”

“Harry, I’ve decided to go to Australia with Hermione next week,” Ron said. “I think it’ll do me good, you know, to get out of the country for a while. Get my head around what happened on Saturday a bit.”

Remus cleared his throat awkwardly. “On that subject, Harry, Dora and I are going to move back home too. You don’t want a screaming newborn here, plus our cottage is nearer to Dora’s parents. I hope you don’t mind.”

Harry smiled warmly at him. “Of course I don’t mind,” he replied. To be honest, he wasn’t surprised. Remus and Tonks deserved to be on their own with their family.

“I, too, am to be leaving you,” Snape announced, and this did surprise Harry. “I have been asked- well, if truth be told, begged- to take up the Headship at Hogwarts until the end of the summer term. Flitwick refused the position and no one else was suitable.”

“You’re going to be Headmaster of Hogwarts?” Draco asked, astounded. “Well, that’s brilliant!”

“Temporary Headmaster, Draco, unless I decide in September I cannot for some reason live without a bunch of brats annoying me on a daily basis,” Snape replied. “But like Harry here, Hogwarts will always hold a very special place in my heart, and I assure you it is no hardship to return.”

Harry turned to Draco.

“So, that just leaves us then, I guess,” he said. “What are we going to do?”

Draco leant forwards and kissed Harry deeply. He rested his forehead against Harry’s when the kiss broke.

“I guess we’ll go house-hunting in Godric’s Hollow,” he replied with a grin.

****
- 18
- 19
- 20
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

Harry Potter and the Black King