Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Stag and The Snake	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9713 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter 2 – Negotiations

Sirius waited until they had Apparated back to their flat before exploding.
“Harry Potter with a family of Slytherin Purebloods!” he shrieked, “I won't have it Remus, I won't! And those Dursleys: 'What kind of name is that for a girl?' I mean, how thick can you get?” Remus had eased back into an armchair with a cup of tea, and he watched Sirius pace back and forth in front of the hearth angrily. His own distress over the situation was obvious, though he seemed to be taking it in stride, rather than losing his head.
“There's very little we can do, Sirius. I shudder to think what would happen to Harry if we failed to hold up our end of the bargain. Of course,” his mouth twitched into a small half-smile, “I'm sure Lucius will be thrilled when he gets the news.”
“Pompous git,” Sirius grumbled, “I don't care if he starts handing out sweets to orphans, I still don't like him.”
“I'd be amazed if you did,” Remus chuckled a little, “following the downfall of Voldemort, he did not make much effort to be well-liked by the working-class Wizarding community.”
“And he's a sanctimonious Slytherin git.” Sirius flicked his wand towards the fire grate, and flames leapt up, crackling merrily as though they had been burning for hours. He fell heavily into the armchair next to Remus, and raked a hand through his hair. “I know he was a double-agent and all that, but it won't make me like him any better.”
“We should be grateful he went to such lengths for our side, and at great personal risk to himself, not to mention the safety of his family. Were the situation different, I'm sure he would be considered as much a hero as young Harry, but as it is...” Remus trailed off and pursed his lips. “He'd be as hunted as muggleborns were during Voldemort's reign. It's still to dangerous for his triumphs for our side to be acknowledged. We can't blame him for feigning his loyalty to the Death Eaters, with so many of them still at large.
“Lucius will probably be just as eager to call this whole thing off as we are,” Remus continued in the same even tone, “Harry won't be considered a Pureblood, at least not by a family like that, and despite their recent, ah, affiliations, I think it's safe to say that old habits die hard.”
“Not much any of us can do, I suppose,” Sirius muttered with a heavy sigh, and helped himself to a cup of tea from the low table before him. “I'm not looking forward to that conversation though. When are we scheduled to meet with Lucius and Narcissa?”
“In a fortnight. One of the representatives from the Bloodlines office will be in touch with them, and then we'll need to meet with them to discuss the future of the boys.”
“I can hardly wait.”

~*~

The following fourteen days passed far too quickly for Sirius and all too soon, he found himself side by side with Remus outside the imposing fortress of the Malfoy Manor. He bit back a complaint of how he'd sooner play keep away with a nesting dragon's eggs than do this, but he held his tongue, given that he was fairly certain that Remus had had enough of his complaining. Seeming to sense his bonded's distress, Remus reached out and squeezed Sirius' forearm gently, and then together they raised their wands and tapped them against the iron-wrought gate.
The gate melted away and the pair stood before a winding path of stone slabs and pebbles pressed into the earth. The path was bordered by meticulously pruned flutterby bushes and scattered upon the lawn was all matter of tasteful, but exotic fauna; from white peacocks and bluebell rabbits, to a pair of impala. Sirius snorted when he saw the animals, but at Remus's hard look, he kept his sarcastic comments to himself.
As they approached the doors, they opened to reveal Lucius Malfoy waiting for them. His expression was difficult to read, though it was obvious that he was as unwilling to allow them in his home as they were to be there. He stood in a fitted, white shirt and black waistcoat that glimmered with a tint of green as the light caught it—dragonhide. He wore trousers of a similar material, and in his left hand he gripped a black cane with a silver snake wrought into the handle.
With as much grace as the man could muster, walking somewhat stiffly from an old wound he'd garnered during the war, he made a sweeping gesture towards the front hall of his home.
“Gentlemen,” he said in greeting, his voice coming off a little sharper than Lucius had probably intended. Sirius did not fail to notice how his eye had twitched and his mouth quivered somewhere between a faint smile and a grimace as he spoke. Though they had, in theory, been working for the same side, Sirius knew that Lucius liked this arrangement no better than they did.
“Thank you for welcoming us into your home, Lucius,” Remus said, nudging Sirius as he did so. Sirius felt as though he had lost his voice for a moment and let out a mumble of agreement, nodding his head once.
“Yes, well,” he trailed off, his nostrils flaring with distaste. “Come, my wife is in the lounge. We shall discuss...matters there.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked off through a passageway to the left of the grand hall.
Sirius kept his eyes forward and narrowed. I'll kill him if he tries anything, he thought, no matter how vehemently Dumbledore and other prominent Order members had vouched for Lucius, he could not let go of his deep distrust. Remus, on the other hand, was smiling placidly as he looked around, taking in the grandeur of the place. Their walk was not a long one, and they stepped into the lounge where Narcissa was waiting with a glass of red wine in her hand. Her lips were pursed and her eyes flashed dangerously, making no illusions about her feelings towards the arrangement.
Lucius joined his wife on the plush love seat. Remus and Sirius sat across from them, and a low table made of glass and dark wood divided them. On the table sat an open bottle of red wine, as well as a partially unfurled letter from the Ministry, presumably detailing the match the Coupling Charm had decided for their son.
Lucius flicked his wand and three more glasses of wine appeared. He took one, flicking his wand again and the remaining two floated towards Sirius and Remus, and they took them with minute nods of thanks. The senior Malfoy took a sip and paused as though using the moment to fortify himself, then shifted his cold grey gaze to the pair. “It seems that we must discuss the prospective bonding of my only son to your—godson.” The words almost came out as a sneer, but as Sirius opened his mouth angrily, Remus nudged him into silence.
“As you are probably aware, Lucius,” Remus began, his tone more stiff than his usual calm, “we are not Harry's legal guardians. However, the Ministry felt it was in his best interest that we—er, act as middlemen between yourselves and Harry's legal guardians, that is, his aunt and uncle. Their distaste for wizards is more or less on par with your feelings towards muggles.” Sirius snorted next to him, but Remus ignored it. “In the hopes of keeping the peace, as it were, we stepped in.”
“And I take it Potter is to be raised by these muggles, then?” Lucius did not manage to completely rid his voice of its disgust at the prospect.
“For now, yes, that is Albus's wish. When Harry and Draco have their first meeting, we will be taking him in, though he will still need to return to his aunt and uncle's house for several weeks out of the year until he comes of age.”
“And I assume that despite this...arrangement, Albus has no desire to tell us why he must return to these muggles?” Narcissa's voice was as cold as Lucius's had been, making it clear that she did not approve of being kept in the dark.
“It isn't a matter of trust or distrust, but the reasoning behind it is an extremely delicate matter,” Sirius said stiffly, “I believe Albus only told us due to the fact that we would be taking Harry in. Had we not been, I doubt he would have told us either.”
“I see,” Lucius mused, though it was obvious he did not like having information withheld. “To this arrangement, I am sure you realize that we must decide upon a surrogate for when the boys bond. It may matter little to you two, but the Malfoy line must continue.”
“It sounds as though you have already accepted it,” Sirius observed, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. Lucius glared at him.
“We most certainly do not,” snapped Narcissa, narrowing her eyes at her guests, “generations upon generations of purebloods, sullied by that...that boy. Unfortunately, even we were unable to break the contract.” She deflated a little, and her eyes flitted to her husband, before returning back to the pair. “Though if you have some other brilliant idea, cousin,” she sneered at Sirius, “I'd be delighted to hear it.” Sirius fell silent and glared at her. He clearly did not want to be reminded of his lineage at that moment.
“What's done is done,” Remus cut in quickly before the argument could get more heated. “It's a magical contract, and we all know that there are precious few ways to get around it, especially considering Harry's legal guardians are adamant about proceeding. They hate Harry probably as much as Voldemort did.” The Malfoys started, which caused Sirius to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Remus's words seemed to resonate with them, and they did not press the matter further.
“I believe you have every intention of sending Draco to Hogwarts when he turns eleven, then?” Sirius asked as politely as he could in an attempt to break the tense silence.
“Yes, every Malfoy for the last nine generations has attended that school,” Lucius's tone was as strained as Sirius's had been. “And young Mr Potter? I assume his, ah, relatives have no intention of furthering his magical study?”
Remus snorted, his first show of genuine emotion since they had arrived. Sirius couldn't help but stare at him in surprise for a moment. “From what I gathered, they have no plans to send him anywhere—muggle or magical. As to Hogwarts, his name was put down by James and Lily before—” he cut himself off, and his gaze fell. Sirius looked away from the Malfoys, but he listened to Remus continue, his voice distinctively more croaky than it had been a moment before. “Considering his parents were both Gryffindors, I doubt we'll need to worry about the boys being housed together.”
Sirius bit back a laugh, and he returned his gaze to the pair. “Of course, no one can be certain of that, but it seems likely.”
“Quite.” Lucius's gaze flicked to Sirius, clearly remembering the man's own sorting, despite his Slytherinlineage. “However, the fact remains that these boys are from different classes. I will not have my son bond to some sort of ill-mannered half-blood and have them live in a hovel. I insist that we hold their meetings here, and perhaps you two may employ an etiquette instructor for Potter. Living with those...people, I assume he will learn little of our ways.”
“Oh that's just what we need,” sniped Sirius before he could stop himself, “to let Harry grow up to be a pampered little snot like—”
“Sirius,” Remus said in a warning tone, and Sirius fell silent at once. His expression did not lose its incredulity at Lucius's request, however.
“Lucius,” Remus said in a tone that clearly expressed that he was trying to keep the meeting from turning into a brawl, “Lily and James left Harry with a small fortune at Gringotts. By the time he has access to it, it will be enough that I doubt you need worry that your son will be living in a hovel, as you put it. Sirius and I intend to do our best to teach Harry our ways but I'm sure you understand, Harry will need to be sheltered from the wizarding community at large—at least until he's ready to face it.”
“Sheltered? To what purpose?” Lucius asked, “I assume this is another harebrained scheme of Dumbledore's?” He looked unhappy, but his outright anger seemed to be fading.
“Harry is barely one year old, and he's considered the Saviour of the Wizarding World. Can you imagine how overwhelming it would be for a child that young? He's famous for something he won't even remember. Dumbledore feels it best for Harry to grow up away from all that. Despite our, erm, special circumstances, I believe it would be best to honour Dumbledore's wish. To that end, I believe the less Harry is exposed to, at least for now, the better.”
“Child celebrities are nothing new, Remus,” Lucius pointed out, “surely that cannot be Dumbledore's only reason for shielding the boy from our ways.” Lucius's nostrils flared in obvious disgust, but Sirius seemed to have a vague idea where he was going with this, and was not disappointed. “I will not have my child bound to someone with little more knowledge of our world than a—a muggle,” he spat the word as though it were a curse.
“This is all we are permitted to disclose at this time,” Sirius said stiffly, and Remus watched him cautiously, bracing himself to jump in if the man lost his temper again. “I'm sure you can appreciate how delicate these matters are.” Sirius's mouth twitched at the corners with amusement, all but telling Lucius how little he trusted them.
“I think,” Narcissa cut in before her husband could respond, “we should return to the matter at hand, our intentions for our sons' bonding.” She pursed her lips, making no secret how she felt about the outcome of the Coupling, though unlike her husband, she kept her remarks to herself. “I believe my husband has already voiced our concerns regarding etiquette and the necessity for a surrogate to be chosen,” her eyes flicked to Sirius, “I would prefer a Pureblood candidate for the surrogacy,” she said in a tone that all but dared any of the men to interrupt her, “in particular from a respectable family...the Blacks, for instance.”
Sirius snorted, but Remus shot him a glare that kept him from saying anything.
“I hardly think that is an appropriate suggestion, Mrs Malfoy,” Remus replied, “Sirius's family made no secret about where their loyalties lay during the war, as you well know. Now if you were to consider a daughter from another Pureblood family, say, the Weasleys—” Lucius barked a derisive laugh that cut Remus off.
“Surely you're joking! The Weasleys mixing their blood with the Malfoys? We may as well pick an urchin off the streets of Diagon Alley!” Sirius groaned and pressed his fingers to his temples. This was going to be a long day.

~*~

Evening fell, and Sirius and Remus left the Manor with a cloud of gloom hovering over their heads.
None too surprisingly, their definition of wizarding decency was vastly different from the Malfoys' view of it, and their copy of the Bonding Negotiations was almost as blank as it had been when they had arrived earlier that day. They didn't speak as they moved beyond the gates of the Malfoy property and Disapparated, Sirius breaking the silence once they'd gotten back home.
“That went well,” Sirius said sarcastically as he collapsed into his favourite armchair. Remus huffed and strode over to the adjoining kitchen, slamming the near-blank parchment down onto the table as he went.
“These things take time Sirius,” Remus said as he pulled out his wand and gave it a little flick. At once, a drawer opened and several sharp knives flew out of it to meet a handful of onions on the counter, which shot out of their skins as the utensils descended and began to mince. “The Malfoys are used to the entire world bowing to their desires. Obviously, it will take some time before we come to an agreement.” Remus moved to the stove and levitated a large pot onto the cooker. He ignited a fire beneath it with a prod of his wand, and flicked his wand again to add oil and the onions to the pot with a sharp hiss.
Sirius stood up with an exaggerated groan, and wandered into the kitchen to watch Remus cook.
“I just hate that this is happening at all,” Sirius said miserably, “James and Lily gone, Harry living with relatives that don't want him, and when he turns seventeen we're expected to hand him over the Malfoys.” He pressed his thumb and forefinger on either side of the bridge of his nose, bowing his head slightly. “As if the whole thing with Voldemort wasn't bad enough...” he trailed off, and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling while Remus continued to putter around their kitchen, chopping meat, vegetables, and herbs.
“It's out of our hands unfortunately,” Remus said after a few moments of silence. “The best thing we can do is be there for Harry as much as we can, and make this whole experience as painless as possible for him.”
“Assuming all goes smoothly and Voldemort is truly defeated, that is.”
“Don't jinx it, Sirius.”

~*~

By the fifth week of meetings with Lucius and Narcissa, Sirius felt no more optimistic about the arrangement than he had at the beginning. True, they had begun to concede on certain points, as had he and Remus, and very slowly the Bonding Negotiations contract began to fill.
Unfortunately, their pureblood mania was a constant reminder that he was dealing with a pair of recently reformed Death Eaters, and it made him feel no more at ease. Often he felt as though he was preparing himself to drop Harry into a den of wolves, or snakes, as it were; and he had no idea if the boy would come out of this in once piece. They had yet to even meet young Draco, which Sirius felt was deeply unsettling. He felt a sense of foreboding overwhelm him at the end of each meeting, and Remus's calm reactions did little to quell his worries.
“This is the last meeting, Sirius,” Remus reminded him in an undertone as they followed the path to the doors where Lucius waited, “please try and behave.”
“I will if they keep their pureblood cracks to themselves,” Sirius replied in a deliberately carrying whisper, and Remus elbowed him in the side, a little harder than was probably necessary.
“Gentlemen,” Lucius said with a small incline of his head in greeting. Remus smiled, and Sirius returned the small nod, but didn't speak. The senior Malfoy turned and walked inside, and the pair followed him to the now familiar lounge.
Sirius and Remus were greeted with a surprise when they stepped inside, and took notice of a white-blond toddler on the floor next to Narcissa. He was giggling and flailing a plush snake toy in his chubby little hands. She did not even look up when the men entered, her attention entirely focused on her child. Sirius did not fail to note her expression: it was softer and less haughty, filled with genuine love for her son. The look surprised Sirius a great deal, given that he did not think he had ever seen the woman let her emotional guard down before.
Lucius hardly gave the boy a second glance as he pressed forward directly into the matters at hand.
“In accordance with the bonding traditions, it is now time for you to meet our son, Draco.” Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, then back to the baby. There was no doubt as to who Draco's parents were, with his angular bone structure, bright grey eyes and white-blond hair, he was every bit a Malfoy. Lucius seemed to sense their mild confusion, grumbled under his breath, and elaborated. “It is customary to introduce the parents to the betrothed children on the final day of negotiations. We feel no need to be introduced to Mr Potter, his story is so well known I believe we can wait until the boys' first meeting.”
Both Sirius and Remus nodded in agreement. Having the Dursleys and the Malfoys in the same room was definitely a recipe for disaster. Lucius pulled out the negotiations scroll without another word, clearly intent to go straight to business, again without giving his child a passing glance.

While the contract was by no means a tool with which to control the lives of their children, it did cover several key issues that would aid the boys in the start of their life together. Included were Living Conditions: Lucius and Narcissa pushed to have them live in the west wing of the Manor, at least until they had gotten decent jobs, while Sirius and Remus petitioned to pay for a small flat. In the end, they bent to the wish of the Malfoys. Upbringing: Lucius and Narcissa wanted Harry to be given an Wizarding Etiquette tutor, and Sirius protested this idea so vehemently that the Malfoys gave it up. In addition, there were notes of arguments back and forth regarding whether they should police who the boys associated with while at school. Remus quashed upon this at once, in addition debating whether or not they should decide in advance what courses they should choose for the boys prior to the end of their second year, in order to push the pair towards more respectful forms of employment. Sirius protested so loudly against this, the Malfoys gave up on it almost at once.
In the end, everything had been decided, Remus agreed that it was more or less fair despite Sirius's misgivings, and the last item still to be determined was surrogacy. The paragraph at the top where this condition was supposed to be placed was as blank as it had been at their first meeting. Both couples fell into an awkward silence, the only noises in the room being the delighted giggles of Draco as his toy snake went flying across the table and bumped into Remus's calf.
Remus chuckled as the tension broke, and he picked the toy up to hand it back to Narcissa, who almost smiled in thanks. “We've made a short list of families we deem appropriate to participate in the surrogacy, with daughters that will be of an appropriate age when the time comes.” Lucius tapped his wand against the table and a second, smaller scroll of parchment appeared and unrolled itself, showing Remus and Sirius the list of names. They pursed their lips in mirrored expressions of distaste as they looked them over.
“I can't help but notice,” Sirius said in a tone that was less like a casual observant tone, and made it sound more like a thinly veiled threat, “that all the families on here are known Slytherins.” Lucius glared at him. He cocked an eyebrow at the Sirius, as though to say, 'so what?' though he never actually vocalized it. Sirius coiled his hands into fists, but Remus, sensing danger, placed a hand over his fist in an attempt to calm him.
“I understand your desire for your bloodline to continue,” Remus said carefully, “but considering Draco's betrothed, I am sure we can come up with an, er, middle ground.” he smiled, but the two other men were still glaring daggers at one another. “Sirius and I have been thinking,” he pressed on, ignoring the obvious tension that had re-emerged, “Mr and Mrs Xenophilius Lovegood are expecting a child. I have been told that it will be a girl, and they have consented to allow her to be the surrogate if she so wishes, when the time comes.” He paused and looked from one man to the other, “their bloodline meets your criteria, and they are a family of Ravenclaws, quite outside the rivalries between our own school houses.”
Lucius turned to Remus, looking at him as though he only just realized that he was there. His eyes narrowed, though this time in thoughtful contemplation instead of anger. “The Lovegoods are quite...eccentric.” It was not an outright rejection, which was promising.
“Any child the girl has will be raised by Draco and Harry,” Sirius pointed out evenly, “those idiosyncrasies are learned, not hereditary.” Remus beamed at Sirius, clearly amazed that he managed to keep his voice level.
“That is true,” Lucius lifted a hand to rub his chin thoughtfully, and turned to look at his wife. She nodded slightly, then immediately refocused her attention on the child. “Very well,” it was clear by his tone that he did not entirely approve of the decision, but it met the criteria that the Malfoys had set, and as such he had no choice but to concede. Sirius smirked triumphantly.
“And what of the girl?” Remus asked quickly, keeping a close eye on Sirius as he spoke. “I am not entirely clear on the process where she is concerned.” He exchanged a grimace with his bonded, and Narcissa rolled her eyes.
“Don't be so ridiculous. This is akin to an adoption, but with stronger blood ties. The boys need never even meet the girl, save for the delivery of their child, or children. She is not required to have any sort of...relationship with Draco or Potter.”
“I'm assuming then she won't be invited to The First Meeting ceremony?” Sirius's tone had sobered somewhat, as he tried to work through the technicalities of the surrogacy. Given that he and Remus had no interest in it, they hadn't bothered to ever look into how the process worked.
“Of course not,” Lucius snapped, clearly irritated by their ignorance. “For what reason would we invite her? The purpose of that ceremony is for the boys to get to know one another. Of course they will be told eventually of who their surrogate mother will be, but for all intents and purposes, she is a vessel for carrying their future children. She is not intended to be their friend, their wife, or anything of that nature.”
“That's a fairly cold way of looking at it,” Remus said with a small frown.
“Until a practised Healer comes up with something less distasteful, it is the only option.”

Sirius and Remus left that evening with the contract filled and signed by all participating parties. Sirius felt terribly guilty about the entire thing.
How could we have asked Xenophilius if we could borrow his child's womb, seventeen years from now? he wondered, feeling as though they may have not thought it through properly.
Remus reached out and squeezed Sirius's fingers gently. “I know it's unpleasant, but keep in mind that with the Rite there is no time constraints, and the Negations Contract is not binding. At least, not in the same sense. If Miss Lovegood rejects the terms when she is of age, it is fully within her right to do so. We're not forcing her into anything.”
“I know, Remus, it still feels wrong though.” Sirius laced his fingers with Remus's, and squeezed his hand gently.
“There's nothing we can do about it for now. Put it out of your mind and let's go home.” Sirius nodded, and Disapparated.
That night, Sirius's thoughts strayed back to Harry. That little boy was so full of life and light when he had last seen him. After four years with those muggles, would he be the same happy little boy?

Sirius wanted to hope for the best, the realist in him seriously doubted it.
- 1
- 2
- 3
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Stag and The Snake