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The Guile and Devotion of a Black Heir	By : StarLightMassacre Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 104291 -:- Recommendations : 9 -:- Currently Reading : 26
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter; all rights go to J. K. Rowling. I make no money for this piece of fictional writing and never will.

Chapter List
- 25
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- 27
Last Time

He was glad that Lucius had seen his true need and had adopted him as his own son to help him onto the right path. He considered then if perhaps he wasn’t Lucius’ charity case to make him seem better in the public eye and it made him smile to himself. He was sure that he could one-up Lucius on the charity front, after all taking in a war orphan as your own son was perhaps at the height of charitable actions, but Harry was thinking bigger, much bigger, and with the amount of gold he had at his disposal now, he could make dreams come true, and he would be sure to have reporters there when he did so, not to diminish his actions, but merely to highlight them. He was a legal adult now, and it was time to build up his public profile ahead of his law reforms. This was his time to shine, and he swore that he would shine the brightest out of everyone else. He would do his all, and work his absolute hardest to ensure it.

Chapter Twenty-Six – Hideaway

The first week of August was a mix of hectic and calm. Hectic as Harry dug through several portfolios that Lucius and Narcissa had quickly compiled for him, and one that Xerxes had handed over, to try to find the charity that he was going to champion, and calm as he took the time to sit and rest with his fiancé, or just his family in general, reading, or maybe just sitting and talking.
Harry had noticed the tension in Rabastan, and Rodolphus too, though, and he knew that the deadline for their ‘mission’ was coming up. They had wanted it done and completed before August, but that had now come and gone, and he knew that the next deadline was the holiday. The two Lestrange brothers most definitely wanted this mission completed before Harry and Rabastan went on their holiday, which was less than a week away now, and as Harry got more excited for the holiday, Rabastan and Rodolphus got more stressed and frazzled, which was putting a damper on things, and it was putting a strain on their health and recovery.
Harry assumed that their mission wasn’t going that well, or according to plan, which worried him because of what had happened to the last Death Eater who had failed this particular mission for Voldemort, but he refused to ask about it, or interfere with anything. He knew that Rabastan wouldn’t appreciate it either, he was all about protecting Harry’s innocence of such things. So he said nothing, and he didn’t bring up the fact that Rabastan and Rodolphus were going out more and more often despite the fact that all of them clearly knew that he knew what was going on, he was happy to play ignorant if it made Rabastan feel better.
He did think that they had taken on too much too soon, though. In his opinion this monumental task was beyond the both of them, and they should have been allowed more time to recover first. They had only just started getting back into the parameters of normality, and this mission could ruin all of that in an instant, but neither brother was willing to put their delicate health above an order from their Lord, so Harry said nothing, and he pretended not to notice all the trips out, or the furiously hissed conversations that stopped abruptly if he walked into a room.
All of that came to a head on the sixth of August, however, when a pair of very tired, but visibly cheerful, Lestrange brothers were already sat at the kitchen table when Harry woke up early that morning.

“You both look…I think I’m going to go with exuberant.” Harry pointed out, thumping down the Black and Potter family portfolios and going to the very tired Rabastan and kissing him good morning.

“We had a productive night.” Rodolphus told him, sounding very self-satisfied and smug.

“Would it be better for me if I didn’t ask?” Harry questioned.

“Yes, it would.” Rabastan said immediately. “And good morning.”

Harry nodded and sat beside Rabastan and opening up both portfolios and going through his painstakingly tedious morning ritual of checking on everything.

“Is there anything that I can help with?” Rabastan asked.

“Yes, if you want to, can you check on my shares and see what they’re doing this morning?”

Rabastan nodded and did just that, checking on every company that he had shares in while Harry checked that each company was still something that he wanted to be invested in. Sometimes the board of directors in each company took a vote, and while usually harmless, there had been a few questionable and downright inhumane actions taken. Harry had immediately and vehemently pulled out of three companies that the Black family had been investing in because they tested their experimental spells and potions on house elves. Harry knew that one of the companies had since gone bankrupt because he had pulled his financial backing from it so abruptly. Good riddance.
Harry was just about done checking both portfolios for the morning, with nothing suspicious to report which pleased him, when the Daily Prophet owl swooped in and went to land on his usual chair, only to swerve at the last moment to come and land on Harry’s shoulder.

“Hello, and good morning to you too.” Harry chuckled, as the owl, a big ball of fluffy feathers, nuzzled into his neck and clicked at him as Harry dug a finger into soft belly feathers.

Harry giggled as the feathers tickled and he reached over to grab the Knut from the centre of the table, showing it to the owl before sliding it into the little leather leg pouch, taking the rolled up newspaper from the other leg.

“Thank you. You made a very good delivery and you should be proud of yourself. Well done.”

The owl actually puffed up, like Hedwig did, and Harry giggled again to see it, giving those puffed out breast feathers several gentle strokes before allowing the owl to fly off.

“Do you treat owls, mere animals, the same as humans now too?”

“Rodolphus, please, don’t start me off so early in the morning. I get it, you see anyone, or anything, that isn’t a Pureblood as lesser, but don’t hold me to the same standard. My Mother was a muggleborn, I was raised with muggles. I love animals and treat every sentient being, whether they’re human, creature or animals, with the respect that they damn well deserve for being alive. To do otherwise is just cruel, and despite what those Prophet articles wrote about me, I’m not now, nor will I ever be a cruel person. Let it go.”

Harry went to look at the paper, but Rabastan made an abortive move towards it, and Harry’s Seeker instincts had him jerking it away from the snatch. He lifted a questioning eyebrow at his fiancé.

“Something that you don’t want me to see?” He asked blandly.

“I would rather that you didn’t know the details.” Rabastan said, staring at him seriously.

Harry shook his head. “Whatever you’ve done has been reported in the newspaper, love. If I don’t read it, and I’m questioned on it, then that’ll look more suspicious. What’s done is done, there is no changing it or hiding from it now.”

Rabastan sighed, but nodded, but he seemed to shrink in on himself. Harry knew then that the details were going to be hard to stomach. He just knew that they had succeeded in their mission last night and Rufus Scrimgeour, the man who had been standing in the way of Voldemort’s plans, had been eliminated.
Harry closed his portfolios, stacked them on top of one another, and pushed them to the side, making room for him to lay the paper on the table. It was front page news, as an old photo of Rufus Scrimgeour took up the front page with the blazing headline ‘Head Auror Found Dead’. Harry gave the reporter credit for being able to make the headline rhyme.
Harry read the article slowly and thoroughly, as it detailed how the wards had been forced on Scrimgeour’s home late at night, how the door had been blasted in and a ferocious fight had taken place inside the house. There were pictures of overturned furniture and spell scorched wallpaper. Scrimgeour had been found inside the house by authorities alerted to the property by a tripped ward at a quarter to midnight, signs of brutal torture on his body, and very much dead. Harry was relieved to see that the Ministry had no leads, though they believed that the attack had been at the hands of someone that Scrimgeour had put into Azkaban. Rabastan and Rodolphus had been brought in by several top, senior hit wizards, but not one of them had been Scrimgeour, and they had been sentenced by Barty Crouch Sr, and thus their names were not on the relatively short list of possible suspects, as most of the people that Scrimgeour had brought in were still safely locked up in Azkaban. Though the reporter who had written the article had also pointed out that it could have been the work of the relatives of someone who had been sentenced to Azkaban.
Harry read every article in the paper, turning pages slowly as he sipped on his tea, taking in and absorbing all the articles of relevance, before sighing, draining the last of his tea, and handing the paper over. Rodolphus took it eagerly, more than happy to dissect the article on Scrimgeour and giving a helpful commentary. Things like ‘that’s not what happened’ or ‘they’ve exaggerated that, we barely used four cutting curses, let alone a dozen’ and Harry sighed more heavily.

“Are you okay?” Rabastan asked softly.

“I won’t pretend to like what you’ve done.” Harry said simply. “And I think you already knew that, but neither will I bitch at you, Rabastan. As I said, what’s done is done. I know that you had no way to refuse the orders given to you, and I would very much rather have you here with me, alive and well, even at the cost of another life. I didn’t know this Scrimgeour, I’d never met him, and though any loss of life is a sad event, I’d still much rather you be here with me.”

Rabastan felt confident enough then to reach out and take Harry’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I love you.” He said gently.

That made Harry smile automatically, and he turned to look his fiancé in the eyes. Those beautiful dark blue eyes.

“I love you too.” Harry said, before bending over to give Rabastan a kiss.

“This does mean that we are free to go on that holiday now in three days.” Rabastan pointed out.

Harry nodded. “I was getting worried that perhaps we’d have to delay that, or cancel it altogether.”

“I never would have done that to you.” Rabastan declared immediately. “Regardless of how stressed Rodolphus and I have been for the last week, we were always going to get the deed done before that holiday.”

“I would not have allowed him to miss it.” Rodolphus insisted without looking up at them, still scouring the newspaper article with a small, cruel smile.

“I’m packed already.” Harry giggled. “I’m so excited I can’t wait!”

Rabastan smiled to see his excitement, and he caught Harry’s shoulders and pulled him into another kiss.

“I’m glad to see you so happy.” He said sincerely.

Harry grinned at him. “I’m happy to be happy if it gets me so many kisses so early in the morning.”

Rabastan laughed at that, and kissed him once more, but Lucius took that moment to walk into the dining room and they had to stop or risk being chastised like naughty toddlers.

“Good morning, Father.” Harry greeted happily.

“You are very flushed this morning.” Lucius told him, giving him a stern look.

“I’m just excited for the holiday.” Harry explained. “I’ve already packed I’m that excited.”

“Just remember that you have your testing today.” Lucius told him.

Harry nodded. “I Apparated downstairs this morning, for practice. I’m doing well and I’m hopeful that I’ll pass.”

“I am sure that you will. Remember your theory and the three Ds.”

“Destination, determination, and deliberation.” Harry repeated dutifully.

Lucius nodded happily. “Good. Keep your calm, keep your head and you’ll do fine.”

Harry nodded and grinned, he was happy enough, and while slightly nervous about the test, it was alright and he was sure that he would pass, he was Apparating in the house well enough, and he knew the theory, now all he had to do was show both to his instructor and he’d have his licence.
Once Lucius was up, and reading the paper, with barely a glance to the Lestrange brothers over the front page article, the morning progressed as normal, as Harry lounged on Rabastan in the front parlour.

“If you killed Scrimgeour before midnight, why were you and Dolphus still awake this morning?” Harry asked curiously, as Rabastan smothered another wide yawn.

Rabastan looked at him like a deer in the headlights, clearly warring with himself about what to say.

“We had to debrief our Lord of the successful mission.” Rodolphus put in, before Rabastan finished his internal debate.

“That took seven hours?” Harry asked curiously.

“It did take some hours, yes. We were home just before three in the morning.” Rabastan said a little hesitantly.

“But…why didn’t you go to bed?” Harry asked them.

“We decided it was better to stay awake for a few hours, as we need to take our potions, rather than get two hours of sleep and wake up to take them.” Rodolphus insisted. “But now that I am settled, I will be going to bed now for several hours. Basti, you should too.”

“I will see Harry off to his licencing test first.” Rabastan insisted firmly.

“I’m going to be fine. If the tables were reversed I’d be going to bed, you know I would. I did it before, remember? When I stayed awake nearly all night to finish my homework and after dinner I went straight to bed?”

Rabastan grinned to remember the first day of the winter holidays. “I remember, but I would still rather be here when you leave.”

Harry sighed. “Okay, but promise me that you’ll get some sleep today.”

“I shall.”

Harry laid back on Rabastan and re-read the important points from his Apparation theory book, as he waited for his test time to come around. He was to be tested at half-past eleven, so when eleven O’clock rolled around he was dressed impeccably, his shoes shined, ready for his trip to the Ministry. He kissed a very tired Rabastan goodbye, and he headed through the floo to the Ministry for his test, and Rabastan headed to bed, to get a few hours of sleep.
He had chosen to go alone now that he was a legal adult. Lucius and Narcissa didn’t like the idea of it, but Harry had insisted. It would look better if he, Lord Potter-Black, did these sorts of things alone now that he was legally an adult, despite the fact that he still had a year left of schooling.
He used floo powder to get to the Ministry, now much better at landing than he had once been, when he used to slide out of the grate on his back, and he walked straight backed, head high, right past the security guard, who had been taught all the names and faces of the Lords and Ladies, thus did not bother to stop him as he went past the golden gates and into a smaller hall, with twenty lifts behind golden grilles. Harry made his way to an open lift with several other people and tucked himself in the back, so no one would be standing behind him.
He heard the whispering and tittering going on in front of him, and even aimed a blank, steady stare at those who turned around to get a better look at him, but he affected to ignore it for the most part. He was above such things now, he was seventeen, a legal adult and he needed to behave as such.
The lift stopped on level seven, admitting several of the pale violet paper aeroplanes, but no one got in or out. On level six, the Department for Magical Transportation, Harry extracted himself from the lift and ignored the conjecture going on back in the lift. Surely it was obvious that he was going for his Apparation licence given his age and destination?
He walked past the Floo Network Authority, and carried on down the corridor until he found the correct door for the Apparation Test Centre. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, focused his mind, and he walked into the office. He would be coming back out with his Apparation licence, he was determined to pass first time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Harry had passed his test with absolutely no problems and he had taken great pleasure in Apparating legally from the Ministry atrium to Malfoy Manor two hours after leaving it that morning.
Draco had been the first to shout out his congratulations, striding to Harry before he’d even got his bearings back to pull him into a hug. Harry had told everyone that he’d passed first time, with not a single hair out of place, and that his instructor had called him a natural.
Rabastan had given him his own congratulatory hug and Harry had held onto him happily, going to sit down next to him on the settee, where his Mother had said how proud she was of him, of both him and Draco for passing their licence testing and she had even suggested, with the hint of a smile, that if they both passed their exams with top marks too, that they could have a small party to celebrate, now that they were both growing into very fine young men.
It was about ten O’clock at night now, and Harry had said his goodnights to everyone, especially Rabastan who was very much in favour of getting an early night, as he was about ready to drop from exhaustion after pulling an all-nighter and getting just an hour and a half of sleep during the day.
Harry was taking his time getting himself ready for bed, as he thought about which book he wanted to read for a bit before going to sleep. He was already in his pyjamas, and he’d brushed his teeth and washed his face, and as he came back into his bedroom he went to his bed and took out a little hand drawn countdown sheet from the back of his bedside drawer and he crossed off another day towards his holiday, like he’d once done to count down the days until he could go back to Hogwarts. It was perhaps a little childish, given his age and status now, but he figured that no one else had to know of the little habit he’d formed, as he smiled at the chart. Only two more days to go and he was so very excited.
He was interrupted by the appearance of Kreacher not two feet from him, and Harry’s heart leapt into his throat at the sudden presence of the house elf in his bedroom.

“Kreacher.” He gasped, a hand to his heart. “What is it? Are you okay?”

“Master told Kreacher to report to him only when he was alone.” Kreacher explained and Harry, now suitably calm and breathing easier, nodded his understanding.

“Is this about the Order of the Phoenix?” He asked. He really should have expected something like this after the news in the Daily Prophet that morning.

Kreacher nodded his head, his ears flapping.

“A most important meeting has just ended.” Kreacher told him.

Harry nodded. “Come and tell me about it, Kreacher.”

Harry went out into his sitting room and he sat on the rug in front of his fireplace, and offered the spot in front of him to Kreacher, who hesitantly sunk down onto his knees in front of him.

“What were they talking about?” Harry asked calmly.

“You, and the Dark Lord, and the Daily Prophet.”

“I assume this has to do with the death of Rufus Scrimgeour?”

Kreacher nodded his head again, his ears flapping furiously.

“Yes, master. They know the Auror’s death has to do with the Dark Lord.”

“Do they know why?” Harry asked, thinking hard and considering what he was being told. Of course they would have called an immediate meeting to discuss the nature of the front page news. It wasn’t too much of a leap to figure out that it was Voldemort’s doing, but did they know why Voldemort had wanted Scrimgeour dead?

“No, master.” Kreacher insisted. “They don’t know why the old Auror was killed.”

Harry breathed in deeply. “That’s good. What were they saying about me?”

“That you is not being cooperative.” Kreacher said.

Harry laughed. “Well, that’s one way of putting it. Did they make any suggestions on how to remedy my uncooperativeness?”

Kreacher nodded his head, his ears flapping once more.

“They is wanting to force you to fight, but they is not knowing how.”

“Still with that line of action, are they? I had hoped for better from them.”

“No, master. Your wolf was not letting them force you.”

Harry smiled. “Yeah, Remus is being great. I’m worried that they’ll go behind his back and do it anyway, though. I’ll make sure to be on my guard for such things.”

“He was very angry with them all, he was standing and banging his fists against your new table.”

“The full moon isn’t until the seventeenth.” Harry mused. “He must really be fed up of their shit if he’s losing his temper that badly without the influence of the moon.”

“Dumblydore was telling the others that you were lost, and needed to be brought back to the light.” Kreacher told him, as if remembering the words.

“That would have set Remus off.” Harry nodded. “He’s seen me, I’ve spoken to him, and explained my reasoning’s, and he knows that I’m not lost. I just don’t want to be a puppet any longer. He understands that.”

He wasn’t going to be the one to sacrifice his own life so that others could live. He’d already had a pretty shitty life with the Dursleys, and they had almost killed him via the hypocalcaemia he’d gotten thanks to their lack of care. He hadn’t properly explored what it meant to be living, and up until his adoption he’d been merely existing, trying to survive in a world that seemed to be dead set against him. No more. He wanted to live his life to the fullest that he could. He wanted the whole experience, love, family, marriage, children, and his own home and career. He wanted to explore all of life’s little pleasures, every corner of the planet. He would build himself up to be the best person that he possibly could be, and he would start changing the world for the better. To be a kinder, more tolerant place to live in.

“Did everyone apart from Remus agree with Dumbledore?” Harry asked curiously.

“There were some who did not voice an opinion, master.” Kreacher told him. “Not that Kreacher could see. Some agreed with Dumblydore, some just nodded along. Only master’s wolf stood up for him.”

Harry sighed. “I expected no less. Thank you for coming to tell me, Kreacher. You have done well. Keep watching them, and report everything to me.”

Kreacher bowed and then he was gone. Harry fell back onto the rug with a groan, looking up at his artex ceiling that was patterned with fans. Just what he bloody needed. Dumbledore trying to justify forcing him to fight by claiming he was just lost and needed to be manipulated back into doing Dumbledore’s bidding. The worst part of that was that there were clearly other members of the Order who believed Dumbledore, and agreed with him. Though Harry was thankful that Remus didn’t seem to be one of those people.
Harry hefted himself up, going back into his bedroom and he climbed onto his bed, slipping under the covers and laying still, but his mind was racing.
Of course Scrimgeour’s death would have been the main focus for the meeting. It was easily worked out that it was Voldemort’s doing, even with the Ministry trying to claim that it was the work of a witch or wizard with a grudge against the Head Auror. That had actually happened in the past, some lowlife got released from Azkaban after their sentence was over and took their revenge upon the one they saw as putting them there, which was never themselves for their behaviour, but always the one who had either captured them, or the one who had sentenced them.
But Harry could understand that it was easily pinned on Voldemort, it didn’t take a genius to realise that he was the one behind a prominent figure in wizarding society being killed, but the Order didn’t know why. They didn’t know that Pius Thicknesse was under the Imperious curse, they didn’t know that in the next week or so that Fudge would be booted out of office and that the next Minister for Magic had been a tossup between Rufus Scrimgeour and Pius Thicknesse. It had been orchestrated so that Thicknesse was the only viable option left for the job, thus putting Voldemort in charge of the Ministry of Magic itself.
Harry sighed and he was at least grateful that the Order had no idea who, exactly, had killed Scrimgeour, or for what purpose. Hopefully by the time that they realised that Voldemort was manoeuvring Pius Thicknesse into place to be the next Minister for Magic it would be too late to stop it, but if Kreacher got any word from the Order about those plans, and about Pius Thicknesse, then Harry would have a very big decision to make. Did he ignore the information and plead ignorance, ruining all of Rabastan’s work and planning? Or did he effectively help his fiancé, and Voldemort and his agenda by association, by letting them know that the Order were onto them and they had to alter their plans accordingly?
Harry sighed more heavily and rubbed at his head before turning over onto his side, pushing a hand up under his pillow. He tried to make his mind blank so that he could fall asleep, but the more he got mixed up in all of this mess, the harder he found it to switch off his thoughts, and the harder he found it to sleep. He was only just seventeen, he shouldn’t have so much on his plate that it prevented him from sleeping.
Harry breathed in, and breathed out, forcing his breathing to slow down, purposefully only thinking of Rabastan, and nothing about Scrimgeour, the Ministry, Dumbledore, or Voldemort. He just wanted to sleep and rest, but it was a very long time in coming, and it took him forever to be able to relax and forget about everything he’d learnt today. He was taking on too damn much, he would have to learn to juggle it all better before he let slip something that was vitally important to the wrong person, or forgot to do something that exposed either himself, or worse, Rabastan. He couldn’t allow that to happen, he needed to get better, he needed to learn quickly and improve himself. No good would come of him forgetting himself and potentially betraying his family.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

The second week of August was by far Harry’s favourite part of the summer holidays. It marked the start of his holiday with Rabastan and he was delighted by the small Fijian island that was owned entirely by the Malfoy family. There was only one large, lavish villa on the entire island, which was covered in tropical trees to the south, behind the villa, and a large, sandy shore to the front, which the villa opened right onto.
The week before had been very busy preparing for the holiday, packing what they’d need, and Harry had needed to take his Apparation test for his licence too, and he had of course passed, as everyone had insisted that he would from the beginning.
But now, as he woke up to his first day in a tropical paradise, the doors that led onto the beach front thrown wide open to let in the breeze that blew in from the ocean, he sighed happily, completely relaxed.
An arm tightened around him and he grinned sleepily. This was the best part of being away from everyone. He and Rabastan were sharing a bed together, and yes, they had to be careful. Harry had to go home off of this holiday as a virgin still, which he thought was utterly ridiculous. What did it matter if he lost his virginity now? He was marrying Rabastan anyway. He understood that he couldn’t have a baby right now, not with his NEWTs coming up, but to force them to abstain completely from sex was ridiculously over-controlling in his opinion. He sighed and pushed those thoughts away. He wouldn’t let the overly elaborate Pureblood traditions ruin this holiday for him. This was just the first of many, and once they were married, no one could tell him what he could or couldn’t do with his own husband. He grinned. Their honeymoon was going to be their first holiday as newlyweds, their first holiday where they could have sex and do whatever they wanted with one another, but for now, for this holiday, he had to be contented with just being allowed to sleep in the same bed as Rabastan without anyone barging in on them and glaring, or chastising them for doing more than holding hands.
He wriggled on the very comfortable bed and rolled onto his back to look at Rabastan, who was still sleeping beside him. He took in a deep breath and smiled. He was too excited to stay here while awake, however, he wanted to go and explore the island. He wanted to actually go and look at the ocean now that it was daylight…his first ever look at the sea had been on the way to and from the cave that had held the locket Horcrux, or rather the fake one, and that was not a good memory.
He wanted new memories, better memories, so he slid from the bed, grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and jammed them on his face before he walked right out of the bedroom doors and onto the beach. It made him smile as the beautiful white sand was already warm under his bare feet.
He could hear the waves, and it reminded him of the cave, but the brightness, the warmth of the already rising sun, it was all new and he pushed away any comparisons between the two. This was good. This was new and beautiful. It was everything that that cave, and the visit to the icy cold ocean at night, wasn’t.
He padded right down to the edge of the sand, where the water was lapping and he just stood and listened. Looking out at the calm, crystal clear water of the beautiful ocean. He felt a sense of peace here, like nothing could hurt him or upset him. It was a wonderful feeling and he closed his eyes, feeling the sun on his face, the sand under his feet and he just breathed in the salty air. He never wanted to leave.
Arms wrapped around him, but Harry knew that they could only belong to one person. This island was warded, and only one person was here with him.

“It’s beautiful here.” He said softly.

“I’m glad you like it.” Rabastan’s sleep gruff voice sounded in his ear.

“I love it. This is…it’s going to sound stupid, but when I was a child, before I knew I was a wizard, this would have been the sort of place I would have called magical.”

Rabastan kissed the side of his head and Harry turned in his arms to put his own arms around Rabastan’s neck.

“I needed this.” He said, before pulling himself up to kiss Rabastan’s mouth.

Rabastan actually picked him up and Harry wrapped his legs around him.

“Are you okay to do this?” Harry asked breathlessly.

“I’ve been getting stronger in recent weeks.” Rabastan said. “I don’t find your weight too much anymore.”

Harry kissed him again just for that.

“You know, this is the part where normal couples would go straight back to the bedroom and not come back out for a good few hours.” Harry sighed. “Want some breakfast instead?”

Rabastan laughed. “I would much rather take you to bed, but you know the moment you go home you’ll be tested, they don’t trust either of us together, so I think breakfast is the safer option.”

Harry was placed back on his feet when they reached the villa, and passing through the bedroom he led the way to the large, beautiful kitchen. It had been fully stocked for their holiday, and would remain so for the duration of their visit.
He went to the fridge and looked at everything, just to check what they had in. They had arrived late last night, to make up for the time difference, and checking the fridge and cupboards had not been high on either of their priorities. Harry grinned as he remembered exactly what they had done before curling up in bed together, it as just a shame that they couldn’t have done more.
Harry pulled out several things and went searching the cupboards for the utensils he needed. He was perfectly fine now, the hypocalcaemia was completely reversed, but Rabastan was still on his potion and diet regime, and still needed to stick to that, so Harry catered around those requirements. He knew Rabastan’s diet sheet by memory anyway.

“At least you’ll know before next week if I’m a good cook or not.” Harry smiled, referring to the formal, several course dinner that he had had to cook for his family and his in-laws.

“You’re not going to allow the house elves to cook?” Rabastan asked, shocked.

Harry shook his head. “I won’t have any house elves here unless necessary. I’m on holiday.”

“How can you be on holiday if you’re cooking?” Rabastan demanded.

“I enjoy it! Now stop complaining and let me cook.”

Harry cracked six eggs into a bowl and whisked them up. He was going to start with a simple omelette with wholemeal toast. Leaving the eggs he grated cheese (the normal cheddar and not any of the gross cheeses he’d had over Christmas), before he diced up some red onions and green bell peppers.

“What are you even making?” Rabastan asked him, watching intently from the small, four seater round table.

“Wait and see nosy.”

Rabastan chuckled at him, but he did sit and watch him quietly, as Harry put the bread under the grill and went to find two plates.

“Would you like tea with your breakfast?” Harry asked.

“Please, love.”

Harry gave a happy smile to Rabastan and filled the china teapot with water and put it on the hob next to his pan of frying onions and peppers. He never would have done that with a normal teapot, for fear that it would crack, but it was a magical teapot, and it had been warded against such things. Harry found two cups on a wooden mug tree, and he set them up ready along with the strainer and tea leaves, as he knew that Rabastan preferred them to tea bags.
Relaxed and calm, and very used to juggling the different components of making a meal thanks to the Dursleys and the threat of a physical punishment if he messed anything up, Harry kept his eye on the bread, flipping it over when the one side was nicely browned. He poured the beaten eggs into the pan and left it alone while he took out the toast and set to buttering it, before moving to take the whistling teapot from the flames and scooping in a few teaspoons of tea leaves and leaving it to steep.

“It smells delicious.” Rabastan insisted.

Harry sent him a smile over his shoulder, but turned back to keep an eye on his eggs. Once cooked to fluffy perfection Harry placed the grated cheese over the top and folded the one half over the other before he sliced the toast into halves and put them onto their respective plates. He went back to the teapot and poured out two cups of tea through the strainer, taking them over to the table, before coming back for the teapot, as Rabastan was undoubtedly going to have another cup before he finished eating.
Going back to check on the omelette, Harry made sure that the cheese had suitably melted before slicing it in half in the pan and putting one half on each plate.
He made sure everything was off before taking both plates over to the table and serving Rabastan happily.

“Enjoy, my dearest love.” He grinned as he sat beside his fiancé.

He started eating to distract himself, but it was impossible to miss Rabastan’s surprised moan of delight.

“This is amazing, Harry.” He declared passionately.

Harry hummed happily, chewing and swallowing. “I’m glad that you like it. I made sure to stick to your diet sheet. There’s no reason healthy food can’t be delicious too.”

“I’m really looking forward to you cooking a formal dinner now.” Rabastan laughed, cutting another, bigger, piece of the omelette and popping it into his mouth.

“I’m really going to be cooking it for you. You’re the one I want to like it, no one else.”

“If it is anything like this then you have nothing to worry about.”

Harry smiled and ate his own breakfast. He liked hearing that Rabastan enjoyed his cooking, because he was adamant that they would not be having any house elves in his own home because Rabastan couldn’t treat them with respect and dignity. As that was the case, then all of the cooking would be put onto himself, but he really didn’t mind that if the alternative was having an abused creature living in terror and pain in his own home.
Once he’d finished he put his plate in the sink and stretched.

“I’m going to grab a shower, Basti.” He said. “I want to explore every inch of this little island before the day is over.”

“If that is what you want to do.” Rabastan nodded, even as he cut up the last bits of omelette.

“Call me if you need anything!”

Harry hurried to the beautiful bathroom, all pale stone and glass, and he stood under the waterfall shower head, wondering how in the hell he was going to drag himself away from this beautiful paradise in six days.

“I thought that you wanted to see the island? Or do you just want to stay in the shower all day?” Rabastan teased from the other side of the glass. “Of course I’m not complaining, the view here is spectacular.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. He left the water running and slipped from the shower so that Rabastan could get in. It was the first time he’d ever seen Rabastan naked and truthfully, he wouldn’t be winning any body building contests, but it wasn’t as bad as Harry had been expecting. There were still some odd juts of bone that shouldn’t have been there, most prominent of which were Rabastan’s collar bones and the top part of his ribcage.

“I’ll look better in several more months.” Rabastan said quietly, rather insecurely, and Harry immediately shot his gaze up to Rabastan’s face.

His smile was automatic, and genuine, as he stepped back into the shower, and cupped the face of the man he loved.

“I’ve never been so shallow as to care about the physical appearance of people I care about, Rabastan. I just want you to be healthy. I want you to be fit and healthy, ready to chase our children, and me, around our own home. I want you to be healthy enough to enjoy life, to enjoy our relationship. I want you to have fun and stop caring so much about what you look like. It doesn’t matter to me, it never has.”

Rabastan pulled him into his body and held him there, dipping his head to kiss him soundly. Harry did not care in the slightest about touching those odd lumps or the concave dips. The potions were working on the more serious internal damage first, as the most important.
He took the time to explore silky, wet skin, running his hands all over as their kiss deepened and intensified.
He broke apart from Rabastan with a tortured moan and stepped back.

“Do you think that will be on the test when we get back?” He complained, having to physically put space between them to remind himself that he couldn’t have what he most desperate wanted.

Rabastan was breathing hard too, and his eyes were rather dazed and unfocused.

“Okay, so no being wet and naked together. I’m going to go and get dressed. I think this holiday is just going to frustrate me more than relax me.”

“I’ll make it up to you.” Rabastan called out, his voice gruff and Harry shivered to hear it.

“I very much look forward to it.” Harry shot over his shoulder, as he made a hasty escape to the bedroom.

He felt a little awkward, aroused and naked as he was, standing in full view of the beach with the open French doors, but he calmly reminded himself that no one else was here. No one could see him. Still, he dried himself off and dressed rather quickly.
He was stood outside, on the little wooden slatted porch that kept the sand from the villa. Rabastan came out to join him and wrapped his arms around him. Harry was wearing shorts and a plain tee-shirt, but Rabastan was still wearing his formal trousers and a white buttoned shirt, which was unbuttoned at the collar, but he was wearing a pair of cufflinks. Neither of them were wearing socks or shoes and Harry was at least thankful that Rabastan had forgone the usual set of robes.

“It’s much too hot to be dressed up like that.” Harry sighed.

“I’m a wizard and I can cast a cooling charm, but please, continue to wear less and less, I enjoy the view.” Rabastan told him, giving Harry an appreciative look.

Harry laughed, but slipped his arm through Rabastan’s.

“I can’t wait to see every inch of this island.”

Rabastan allowed Harry to pull him wherever he wanted, following leisurely as Harry sometimes darted off to look at bushes or trees, and once he’d ran down to the ocean to kick his bare feet in the water. He was like a child, but Rabastan found that he couldn’t hold it against his young fiancé, not when this was Harry’s first holiday in his life, not after what he’d heard those disgusting muggle beasts had done to him.
As the sun set that night, they were still outside the villa, having come back briefly for lunch and dinner, and Rabastan found the peaceful calm relaxing, as he lounged on the still warm sand, Harry lying beside him, his head, as usual, was pillowed on his chest. They were listening to the crash of the waves, the night calls of insects and birds. Harry had the most beautiful smile on his face, even as they watched the sun set beyond the horizon.

“This is perfection.” He said softly.

Harry looked up at him, his smile widening, those beautiful eyes that Rabastan loved so much flashing golden in the light of the setting sun.

“Must we go back?” Harry asked, brushing his nose against Rabastan’s chest before looking back out at the sun sinking beyond the ocean.

“We have much that still needs to be done, foremost among them your seventh year. You cannot do anything in this world if you haven’t graduated.”

Harry hummed. “I suppose it would be difficult to become Minister for Magic if I haven’t graduated.”

Rabastan chuckled and raised a hand to Harry’s fluffy hair. “Nigh on impossible.” He agreed. “No one would be willing to hire a person who has not graduated their fundamental education. Not even Harry Potter.”

Harry shot him a stern look, then chuckled himself. “I suppose not. I just hate it there. It’s a shame because before any of this happened, Hogwarts was my home. Now I just don’t want to be anywhere near Dumbledore.”

“One more year.” Rabastan said soothingly.

Harry sent him a full grin then. “We’ll be married in a year. This could be our honeymoon.”

Rabastan laughed and bent his head to kiss Harry. “Our honeymoon will be better.” He whispered, loving the way that Harry shivered against him.

Harry turned the tables on him by swinging a leg over his lap and turning to face him, straddling him. He automatically sat forward and wrapped his arms around Harry’s back.
Their lips met in the next instance, gently at first, but a moment later their mouths opened and the kiss became more passionate. Rabastan tried to keep a clear head, just for the sake of their families and tradition, but it was difficult to keep focusing on that when Harry was so eager and willing in his lap.
Rabastan had to place a hand on Harry’s chest and physically push him back to separate them. They were both breathing hard and he had to swallow at the look on Harry’s face.

“Let’s go to bed.” Harry all but purred at him, standing and offering his hand.

“We shouldn’t in this state.” Rabastan insisted, trying to be the voice of reason.

“Yes we should.” Harry argued. “It’s about time that we found all those loopholes in our contract. Last night was a great start, but all we did was kiss and cuddle. I need more.”

Rabastan swallowed hard as Harry grinned down at him, giving him such a predatory look. He took a breath and took Harry’s hand, standing. This was a bad idea. They both knew that they didn’t have any self-control when it came to such things, and doing this, it was bound to get out of hand. But neither could Rabastan resist, Harry was like a Siren, a beautiful, tempting Siren who smiled at him in such a naughty way, who had a hold of his hand pulling him along, so very beautiful and alluring.
Harry led the way back into the villa, right into their bedroom, and he let go of Rabastan’s hand to strip off his tee-shirt. He climbed onto the bed and kicked off his shorts, leaving himself in just his boxer-briefs.
Rabastan was again completely dumbstruck by Harry’s beauty, as he took in all the pale skin on offer.

“I distinctly remember you promising to kiss every inch of my body.” Harry told him with a grin.

Rabastan swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed. He had promised that to Harry. He’d also promised to use his naked body as a plate to eat chocolate mousse. He could feel his blood heating up, as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Harry immediately sat forward and reached for his hand, taking care to remove the cufflinks. He put them both back into their case on the bedside table before turning to grin at him again. Rabastan’s heart missed a beat and he considered that this was the first time he had ever fallen in love with anyone. He was hopelessly besotted with Harry, he wouldn’t be able to bear it if Harry left him now.
He cut his thoughts off and shifted onto the bed with Harry, pinning him down and touching the soft skin of his fiancé. He was enraged when he looked closer to see all of the little white scars over Harry’s body, and he had to breathe through the desire to demand where those muggle beasts lived from him. Instead he run his fingers over some of the worst scars. Harry didn’t seem to notice that he was tracing scars, and not just touching him.
Pushing thoughts of revenge and murder from his mind, Rabastan moved his hands higher, allowing his thumbs to drag across Harry’s nipples. His fiancé shivered and gasped at the touch. Rabastan swallowed hard and tried to keep control of himself, even as he dipped his head to flick his tongue over the left nipple he’d just touched. He rolled the right nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
Harry trembled. He exhaled a breath sharply, squirming a little.

“This is all exploratory.” Rabastan told him. “A way to find out what we like or dislike. Do not hold yourself back, and if you don’t like something, be vocal about it.”

Harry nodded. “I will. You know that this is the first time I’m doing anything like this, it’s just all very new.”

“Perhaps this little holiday will turn out being for the best after all.” Rabastan told him. “Perhaps going slower, and denied from actual sex, will give us a chance to learn what we like, it will give us a chance to explore one another properly, and give you the chance to get used to these feelings and experiences, without the pressure of sex.”

“I think I’d still want actual sex.” Harry grinned. “But, we’ve done everything slowly thus far, maybe you’re right. Maybe going slowly in this will help us in the long run. But for now, do that thing to my nipple again. I liked it.”

Unsure of if Harry meant rolling his nipple, or licking it, Rabastan did both, but this time he licked the right nipple and rolled the left. Harry reacted the same way, trembling ever so slightly and moaning.
Rabastan moved his mouth up to lay kisses over Harry’s neck, after remembering that he’d also promised to do that too.
Harry remembered that he wasn’t under a body binding curse and he put his hands on Rabastan’s shoulders and stroked lightly over to his back before pushing his hands up and into Rabastan’s hair, playing with it. He used his hold to pull Rabastan down into a kiss.

“I promised to explore every inch of your body.” Rabastan protested, panting hard once they’d broken apart.

“I was just exploring your lips with mine.” Harry told him, grinning in that naughty way of his.

Rabastan had to laugh, reaching up to brush the hair from Harry’s face. He pressed a kiss to the exposed forehead, kissed the tip of a nose, before bypassing Harry’s mouth to kiss down his neck instead.

“Now that’s just teasing.” Harry insisted.

“I thought that was the point of what we were doing?” Rabastan grinned himself.

“Is it?” Harry queried. “Well, in that case I’m going to tease you too.”

Harry sat up and his lips immediately sought out Rabastan’s neck and gave it the same treatment that Rabastan had lavished upon Harry. It felt so incredibly good that Rabastan just stayed there, frozen for a moment, allowing Harry to kiss and lick over his neck.
This was getting dangerous, as all Rabastan wanted was to lay Harry down and show him how much he loved him, how strong he’d gotten. He had to keep reminding himself of the traditions, and of Harry’s reputation, which would be ruined if it got out that they had been under a strict traditional contract, and Harry had lost his virginity before their marriage. That helped rein in his raging lust. He could temper himself, and hold himself back, if on the other hand meant dragging Harry down into the mud and obliterating his reputation under humiliating shame. Harry would never be taken seriously again if he couldn’t even uphold a simple betrothal contract.
Rabastan did pull Harry right in against his body though, and he did touch and caress as much of the soft skin on display as he could, squeezing and kneading, reaching up to gently tug on Harry’s hair, completely lost in the passionate kisses that were almost drugging in their addictiveness.
He laid Harry back down again, Harry was actually very pliant while he was being kissed and caressed, and Rabastan very much enjoyed this newly revealed aspect of his fiancé.

“Please, Rabastan. Do something.” Harry begged him breathlessly.

“There is very little that we can do.” Rabastan sighed unhappily.

“There must be something that we can do that will relieve the pressure, but won’t break the contract.” Harry insisted. “There must!”

Rabastan had thought of nothing but the loopholes in that contract in the run up to their holiday, the problem was, would it be on the enforced test when they got back home? It was more than likely, given that their family members did not trust them together at all, and he didn’t want Harry to be embarrassed or humiliated when forced to answer such questions in front of an audience.
Harry wriggled a little on the bed, panting, before he sat back up again, putting his hands around Rabastan’s neck and kissing him desperately. He wasn’t quite so pliant and obedient after all. It made Rabastan break their kiss on a laugh.
Harry was undeterred and he instead started kissing over Rabastan’s neck.

“Are we allowed to do oral?” Harry asked insistently, and Rabastan no longer felt like laughing.

“I’m very sure that that is not allowed.” He said, his voice very strangled sounding.

“The contract only stipulates penetrative sex, oral sex isn’t penetrative. Or at least it’s not the penetrative way that the contract forbids.”

“The contract also covers sexual contact, Harry.”

“It doesn’t expressly outline what sexual contact pertains to.” Harry corrected him.

“Everyone knows that sexual contact includes oral sex.”

“By the definition of sexual contact, we have already broken that condition. Bending the rule a little more won’t break our contract.”

“There’s a little more to oral sex than to just touching and kissing your body.” Rabastan tried, but Harry had the stubborn set to his jaw that told Rabastan than his young fiancé was going to be getting his own way regardless of anything he said to try and deter him.

“What if you are asked such a question when we get back home?” Rabastan tried.

“Do you really think they want that question answered?” Harry asked knowingly.

“It will fall under sexual contact. If they ask you if you’ve had sexual contact, you will fail.”

“I’m sure they’ll expect a bit of sexual contact between us, love. They haven’t been very strict when it comes to that, just my virginity and not having a baby. After all, we’ll already fail that question if asked, or do you not remember that you wanked me off right in front of everyone?”

Rabastan was shocked to hear such words come from Harry’s mouth. “Please, do not say it like that!”

“I was going to say masturbated, but I thought that might have sounded like I’d done it to myself, and we both know that that isn’t the case, is it, love?”

Rabastan shook his head, but he had to laugh too.

“You’re going to get your own way, aren’t you?”

Harry grinned at him. “I usually do.”

“I suppose oral sex is not too far from, how did you say it? Wanking you off.”

Harry threw his head back and laughed uninhibitedly, and Rabastan grinned to see such happiness in Harry.

“In front of half a dozen people I might add, our family members at that!”

“Come here, you are impossible.”

Rabastan wrapped his arms around Harry, one going around his back, and the other around his neck to cradle his head, and he once again laid Harry down on the mattress.

“We will explore a little more intimately with our mouths.”

“Is that the excuse that we’ll be going with if questioned?” Harry teased.

“Oh yes, absolutely. We were exploring and the kisses went a little…awry.”

Harry laughed again, squirming on the bed to make himself more comfortable.

“I will go first, in light of your inexperience, and we’ll see if you enjoy it or not.” Rabastan said, reaching up to rub his thumbs over Harry’s nipples, unable to resist the urge to do so. He watched them intently, as both nipples hardened even further. They had surpassed their rosy colour and gone a more flushed red the more that Rabastan played with them.

He started off slowly, aware that this was a teaching moment for him, and that he and his actions were being committed to memory. He didn’t want to teach Harry to go straight for the genitals. He wanted to teach patience, and the art of foreplay to his would-be husband who had never done anything like this before.
Rabastan did have a lot of fun playing with Harry’s belly and groin, however, as the soft, smooth expanse of skin was very sensitive to touch, and having Harry moaning and squirming on a bed was fast becoming one of his most favourite things. The small section just above his pubic hair was particularly sensitive and Rabastan exploited that area mercilessly with his lips and tongue, having to hold onto Harry’s hips with both hands to try and keep his young lover still.
He missed out the obviously straining erection and he instead paid some attention to both of Harry’s beautiful thighs. They were smaller, and slimmer than what they should have been, but he knew that Harry had taken great lengths in getting himself healthier and more on par with what he should be. He was far from an ideal weight himself, so he would not hold such a thing against Harry. They were both recovering, and they were both willing to be patient as they healed and got to where they needed to be. So he took each of those legs into his hands, and he kissed the knee, flicked his tongue out over its back, which he noted made Harry shiver happily, before kissing and licking his way up the inside thigh. Harry trembled the closer he got to the groin, but Rabastan just smirked as he put the left leg down and turned his attention to the right.

“Rabastan!” Harry cried out, angry that he’d been denied such pleasure as it had been so tantalisingly close.

“You are learning, and I will not rush when I have you spread on a bed before me. We have all night, Harry, and cannot take the luxury of sex. While this is all that I can do, I will do it well.”

Harry was breathing hard, looking to be on the edge of orgasm, but Rabastan ignored that and he turned his focus back onto the leg in his hands, bending his head to lavish it with attention from his mouth.
Harry actually keened slightly when he reached the top of his thigh with his tongue this time and his body trembled again. Harry’s inside thighs were very sensitive and Rabastan made a note to always remember to have some fun with those thighs.
He moved higher again, kissing back up over the belly and chest, aiming for a proper kiss this time. He made sure to rub his thumbs over Harry’s nipples and he rolled them both at the same time. The kiss he’d been moving in for was unintentionally ruined by that, as Harry threw his head back and moaned.

“Do that again.” Harry commanded.

Rabastan was not one to ignore such a demand, so he rolled both nipples, but he didn’t let go, he rolled them back and forth, not squeezing too hard, but keeping a continuous pressure on them.
Harry’s thighs started shaking, and Rabastan watched with a curiosity he rarely felt for anything.

“Are you actually close to orgasm?”

“I think so.” Harry replied, his voice strained and breathless. “I don’t think it’ll be enough to push me over. Maybe if I touched myself too.”

Rabastan was willing to test that theory out, so he rolled Harry’s nipples again. “Don’t touch yourself.”

“It won’t be enough.” Harry complained, even as he squirmed and trembled.

Rabastan didn’t let up, he kept going and he dipped his head to get the kiss he’d wanted. He stopped rolling the right nipple, and he took it into his mouth to suck lightly, flicking his tongue over it, even as he rolled the other. He gave it a sharp pinch, but he immediately felt the change in Harry, the sudden, immediate flinch of pain and he drew his hand away.

“Not that.” Harry told him.

“I’m sorry, I was just testing.”

Harry nodded his understanding and Rabastan moved to suck the abused nipple into his mouth, stroking it softly with his tongue as an apology. He made a note to be gentle with Harry’s nipples, and to never pinch them, they were clearly too sensitive for such harsh treatment.
He rolled the right nipple between thumb and forefinger, gently apologising to the other with his tongue, before he felt able to move on. He kissed Harry softly, moving both hands to cradle his head, but Harry’s mood had not been ruined, and he soon turned the kiss into something much more passionate.
Their kiss broke, and Rabastan moved back down Harry’s body, but this time he did not ignore the straining erection, he held it in a light grip, but even that had Harry moaning in anticipation. He had to chuckle at Harry’s reaction.

“Please, Rabastan.” Harry begged. “It’s all too new, I can’t take these feelings anymore.”

Rabastan moved up to kiss Harry once more, his hand still wrapped around Harry’s cock, and he stroked it lightly. Harry’s hips thrust up into his hand and Rabastan chuckled again.

“Stop teasing me!”

“But it’s so much fun.” He insisted.

Contrary to his words, however, he did stroke Harry more firmly, before laying his lips over the head of Harry. He listened to the hitched breath, and he smiled. Teasing Harry was so much fun.
Like everything else, he took his time, getting Harry used to the new feelings and sensations, and he gently kissed and licked over the length of Harry.
Harry of course had no idea that he was just getting him wet to make sucking on him easier, and he got increasingly more demanding and frustrated, which amused Rabastan even more, even as his lover started pulling and tugging on his hair.

“Rabastan. Now, please!”

There was a slight hitch of breath, a hint of a sob to his tone, and Rabastan believed that he’d teased Harry more than enough. He didn’t want to make Harry cry, after all.
He licked over the head, bringing a strangled sound from Harry, before he slid his mouth over him and sucked. The thighs that Rabastan was holding tensed under his hands and Harry’s hips automatically thrust upwards as his hands once again found his hair and tugged.

“Please. Please.” Harry begged softly.

Rabastan did not hold back as he sucked and licked, this time aiming to bring Harry to orgasm, as he slipped his hands from the thin thighs, which immediately moved to wrap around him, over Harry’s hips and up his chest so that he could rub his thumbs over Harry’s nipples. He played with them, and rolled them both gently. He even let go of the left one to flick it while he sucked, and Harry gasped sharply, then moaned happily. He didn’t like pinching, but he did like flicks.
Rabastan paid the same attention to the right nipple, letting go to flick at it and he felt the tension thrumming through Harry’s body. He could feel just how close he was, and Rabastan wanted him to explode. He wanted Harry to fall apart, so he sucked harder, leaving one hand to play with a nipple while the other moved down to play with Harry’s balls. One tug on that tight sac and Harry screamed for him, his body tensed and straining as he orgasmed hard.
Rabastan moved away from Harry and he discreetly spat into a tissue, before moving and lying next to Harry, stroking his chest gently as he watched him come down from such a magnificent orgasm.
Harry was breathing hard, his body shaking, his eyes closed, and he looked utterly perfect to Rabastan. He couldn’t help bending over to kiss those glistening lips as he waited for Harry to regain his breathing.

“So, that was amazing.” Was the first thing that Harry told him, opening his eyes to grin up at him.

Rabastan laughed and reached down to tug the duvet over them both, as the open French doors let in a chill sea breeze that caught the sweat still glistening on their skin.

“You are amazing.” Rabastan told Harry seriously.

“Are we going to sleep now?” Harry asked confusedly, as he was covered over.

“Yes. I do not think it wise to test our control any further tonight.”

“But, I haven’t reciprocated.”

Rabastan snorted indelicately. “I’m afraid if you did then we would go too far. We have done enough, for tonight at least. There is always tomorrow.” Rabastan placated, as it looked like Harry might argue. He would have to teach Harry that sex was not tit for tat, and that sometimes he could have a sexual favour without being expected to return it.

“Fine, but tomorrow night, you’re mine.” Harry declared.

Rabastan laughed.

“No, I mean it. I want to learn, and I want to try out all the ways you’ve taught me tonight, and try out a few of my own ideas.”

“We’re not going to survive this holiday.” Rabastan sighed.

“But what a way to go, my love.” Harry grinned cheekily. “Death by sexual tension.”

Rabastan laughed again, but threw an arm over Harry and pulled him in tight to his body. Harry pillowed his head on his chest and snuggled in. Rabastan noted that his glasses were off and on the bedside table, next to the box containing his cufflinks.
He settled the duvet more comfortable around them both and turned slightly, not enough to dislodge Harry, but enough to make himself more comfortable on his back. He very, very much enjoyed having Harry in bed with him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Their holiday was peaceful, and Harry was enjoying himself immensely. On their fifth day, they were inside, on the clean, pure white settee, just lounging together. Harry was laying on his back, his head in Rabastan’s lap, reading the law book that Xerxes had gifted to him, while Rabastan sat, staring at the wall, stroking Harry’s hair.

“How are you getting on with it?” Rabastan asked him, turning to look at him, breaking his own thoughts.

Harry considered the question, before sighing, sitting up and closing the book.

“Honestly? It’s a very dry read.” He admitted, putting the book on the coffee table and pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Rabastan turned to face him and Harry smiled at him.

“I know that you’ll get through it.”

Harry hummed. “I’ll have to if I ever want to write and pass my own laws. Like most things the process is much more difficult than I previously expected.”

Rabastan gave him a soft smile. “Of course the process is difficult, my love. Most people don’t even bother to try to change the laws, because the process is so difficult and intricate, and at the end, it can still be stonewalled or outright rejected. I’m proud of you for even trying to undertake the process, but I’ll be even more so when you actually achieve it, because I know that you will.”

Harry gave a big grin to Rabastan. “I can hardly fail with so much support around me.”

“We, your family, want to build you up and watch you succeed. Your successes are also our own, so of course we’re going to try our hardest to help you achieve what you wish to.”

Harry smiled and turned to lay himself against Rabastan’s shoulder.

“My schedule is so full, but I’ll always make time for you. Of course I’ll also be forced to slow down when I am pregnant. I would hate to risk our child, but I’ll cut out what I can.”

Rabastan kissed the side of Harry’s head. “I will, of course, do my all to help you.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Truly, if nothing else, this holiday had proven that they could, in fact, live together quite happily. They didn’t need several other people around them to steer the conversation, they didn’t need distractions or outside influencers. They were very happy on their own, with one another as company.
Harry was in fact imagining that they were already living together, and that this idyllic, peaceful villa was his own home. The home that he shared with Rabastan. It was a wonderful fantasy, as this villa was now perhaps one of his most favourite places in the world.

“What were you like when you were younger?” Harry asked curiously.

“I would rather not colour your view of me by telling you of such things.”

“I love you, here and now, despite knowing what you’ve done, and what you still do. I don’t think telling me how you grew up will change that.”

Rabastan sighed. “Well, Rodolphus and I were always close as children. We were the other’s primary friend being only three years apart from one another. We played together, we learnt together at Grandfather’s knee. He was my big brother, and I adored him, to the point of emulating him.”

“Oh, I can see how that went wrong, with how psychotic Dolphus is.” Harry giggled. “I hope he keeps getting me chocolate organs.”

“He wasn’t always such a way.” Rabastan sighed. “He has always been…protective over me. He saw me as his, and he protects what is his with the jealous passion of all Purebloods, but he was never so violently inclined.”

“When did that start?” Harry asked, trying to imagine Rodolphus without the threat of violence that constantly hung around him.

Rabastan gave him what could only be described as a sad smile, and Harry knew…he just knew exactly what had changed. His unhappy marriage at the tender age of fifteen.

“When he got married.” Rabastan told him, confirming Harry’s thoughts.

Rabastan sighed and pulled Harry in tighter, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and raising his hand to play with the hair at the back of his head.

“It has never been a happy marriage, not once were either of them happy with one another. Bellatrix, she was older that Rodolphus, and she had none of the beauty that your Mother has. You know that there were even rumours when Narcissa was born that her Mother, Druella, was unfaithful. She was forced to take a test, like you were, to prove these rumours false. Both of Narcissa’s older sisters resembled one another, but Narcissa took all the beauty, all the grace, that neither of her sisters had.”

“She was matched very early on, wasn’t she?” Harry asked.

“Oh yes, she was matched very quickly after her birth. To Evan Rosier.”

Harry’s eyes widened.

“Oh yes, she wasn’t matched immediately to your Father, she was matched to someone else first, but it was only to keep her safe, at least it was on the surface. You see Evan Rosier was Druella Rosier’s younger brother, and my grandfather. His daughter, Rosia, was my Mother.”

Harry’s head spun at the intricate web that was being laid out. He considered actually writing all of this down to keep track of it.

“But, you’re about the same age as my Mother. She was born in nineteen-fifty-five, and Rodolphus was born the following year.”

“Narcissa was betrothed to her uncle to stop anyone taking advantage of her. So the Blacks could legitimately claim that she was betrothed and not looking for suitors. As a very beautiful baby, and born a Black too, she was in very high demand, especially after her two less desirable sisters.”

“How did she go from being betrothed to her own uncle, to marrying my Father, and how were you and Rodolphus born just a year after, when…your grandfather’s wife had died, hadn’t she? But she’d already had a baby, your Mother?”

Rabastan smiled at him. “Exactly that, Harry. My Mother was already a grown woman, just a month or two after Narcissa was betrothed to Evan she was matched to my Father, Rhadamanthus, and that is how Rodolphus and I were born. But Evan was free and able to be matched to his niece because his wife was already dead at this point.”

“So Evan Rosier’s wife had died, and he was matched to his own niece, what happened then?”

“It was supposed to be for security, to give the Blacks a chance to regroup and hunt down the perfect match for their beautiful baby girl. Evan Rosier had a much darker purpose in mind, however.”

“He actually wanted to marry Narcissa? His own niece?!”

Rabastan nodded. “He did.”

“But betrothals are easily broken, I read through our contract, and both of us could have broken it at any time!”

“Not all betrothal contracts are the same, Harry, and your Father was very canny with his wording. But Druella trusted her brother. Her husband, Cygnus, trusted him, they both believed that he was doing them a great service by giving them the room they needed to find a suitable match for Narcissa without being hounded into the ground and potentially insulting other families in the process.”

“They couldn’t break the contract?”

“No, when they finally made a match between the Malfoy family, and moved to give Narcissa the proper, respectable match that she deserved, to the only son and heir of the Malfoy line, Lucius, Evan refused to break the contract. He insisted that he would be married to his beautiful niece, that he could get a son for the Rosier line from her, as his elder brother, Lord Vincent, was childless at this time. In fact I believe his only child, a daughter, is younger than you.”

“So how did the Blacks break the contract and how did Mother end up marrying Father after all?” Harry asked, trying to absorb all of this information.

“Just because Cygnus and Druella couldn’t break the contract didn’t mean that Narcissa herself couldn’t break it. They had to wait until she was seventeen, a legal adult, and she had to break the contract herself, after being forced to comply with all the betrothal prerequisites and interact with the man who tried to force her to marry himself. She grew to hate her uncle, despise him, as most other Purebloods did. It is the worst nightmare of Pureblooded parents, their child being locked into a contract that they can’t get out of. Most times it’s a verbal oath that they’ve made in their ignorance, or it’s a legal contract they’ve signed unknowingly because they signed something without reading or understanding it properly.”

“I’ve had a lot more care with my words since reading about binding verbal oaths.” Harry nodded. “I understand the significance of giving a gift and expecting nothing in return, and giving a gift in exchange for something else. I know how to word something to create a verbal oath, and I’ve also learnt to recognise when someone is trying to turn a simple exchange into a verbal oath.”

“I assume that you did as such with the Dark Lord?” Rabastan asked, disapproval heavy in his tone.

Harry nodded. “I did, yes. I made a verbal contract with him, he safeguards my family, including future generations, and I exchange that for Gryffindor’s sword so that he could make his new Horcrux. He knew I was turning the exchange into a verbal contract, I could see him mulling it over carefully, but in the end he really, really wanted that sword. So he agreed, thus completing the verbal contract between us.”

Rabastan just sighed, but he said nothing. At the end of the day it had already been done and the Dark Lord had agreed to it himself. There was nothing more to be said on the matter.

“It was Lucius who was the deciding factor in their marriage.” Rabastan carried on. “He could have easily made a match with someone else, he was handsome, he was the sole heir of the Malfoy family, he was a very desirable prospect to many. In fact he was not short on admirers, he could have had his pick. Ask him about the little fan club that he had in school, he hates being reminded of it.”

“Fan club?” Harry asked, giggling, trying to imagine it.

“Oh yes. The girls in Slytherin house were besotted with him, or with Rodolphus. Sometimes both.”

“Not you?”

“I am three years younger than Dolphus, but five years younger than Lucius. When he was a seventh year, with girls fawning around him from all houses mind, I was this scrawny little second year who was still growing into himself.” Rabastan grinned. “No one paid any attention to me, especially not as Dolphus was fifteen himself, and already sleeping his way through the houses.”

“Did you do that too?” Harry asked. Rabastan’s face immediately closed off, and Harry had his answer.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

Harry smiled softly. “Rabastan, I know that you’re no virgin. I don’t care how many people you’ve slept with, as long as you’re not doing that now, behind my back, I don’t care what you did in your youth. But just a word of warning, if you ever, ever, cheat on me, I’ll have more than your bollocks decorating my mantelpiece.”

Rabastan snorted. “Why would I want to cheat on you? You are the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I love you.”

Harry smiled and bent forward to kiss him.

“So, you did emulate Rodolphus and start sleeping around?”

Rabastan sighed. “Yes, but we were cruel about it.” He admitted. “We slept with these girls, and in my case boys too, and then broke it off after a week or two, and then laughed and joked as our e-partners had to go to lessons with red-rimmed eyes and tear tracks on their faces. We used to take perverse pleasure in it.”

“Why on earth would anyone go out with either of you if they knew that that is what you did?” Harry asked, his face creased with a frown.

Rabastan grinned. “We were very handsome, Harry. Our inherited body shape of wide shoulders and trim waists meant that these girls didn’t really care what had happened to the girls before them, they wanted us, and they all believed that they would be the one to change our minds, that they alone could keep us. We exploited that mercilessly too. The virginity clauses were much tighter when I was in Hogwarts. The Pureblooded girls could not have any relations with anyone or they would lose their respectable betrothals and potential marriages and would be utterly disgraced and shunned by society.”

“So it was all halfblooded and muggleborn girls, and boys?” Harry asked.

“Or Pureblooded boys who didn’t have the carrier gene. It was very common for Pureblooded boys to sleep together in their youth, as long as they never carried the gene. Of course there were always girls who tried to escape or cheat the tests, and they were considered fair game once they were disgraced, but they would try to trap a boy into marriage with a pregnancy, so that was a very dangerous route to go down, as if they claimed that their baby was yours, and a test proved it, you would be forced to marry them for the legitimacy of the baby.”

“Did you ever have any pregnancy scares?” Harry asked, thinking back to Draco and Pansy, and of course to the Slytherin chaser, Vaisey, whose piece on the side was pregnant. He wondered what had happened with that and if Vaisey had been forced to marry her after all, to keep the baby legitimate, just as Rabastan had just described.

“No.” Rabastan said firmly. “Rodolphus and I were always careful, and Grandfather taught us both fertility charms before we even went to Hogwarts. I will be teaching our sons the same. I don’t want the humiliating shame of a baby born out of wedlock in my family.”

Harry nodded. “Hopefully we will raise them well enough that they won’t even need to use those charms, but I understand where you’re coming from.”

Having expected a fight over that, Rabastan deflated a little at hearing that Harry actually agreed with him. He turned to kiss Harry’s temple and watched as those eyes lit up and a smile curved those plump lips. Harry would never, never, find out about that mudblood bitch whom he had potentially impregnated. Never.

“So Narcissa broke the betrothal with her uncle, then married my Father?”

Rabastan hummed gently. “After Evan had proposed to her and been vehemently rejected.”

“Of course she rejected him.” Harry scoffed.

Rabastan nodded. “Yes, but he was so in love with her, as she grew to be very, very lovely. He convinced himself that he was in love with her, and that she would reciprocate his feelings after seventeen years of forced interaction. Love is blind and stupid at times.”

Harry nodded his understanding. “I am so glad that she was able to break her betrothal, I couldn’t imagine the horror of being forced to marry and have sex with my own uncle.” An image of Vernon popped into his head and Harry shivered in revulsion and snuggled into Rabastan to get rid of it.

“He died in nineteen-eighty, an Auror raid, I don’t believe that anyone missed him.” Rabastan told him.

They lapsed into silence again, sitting comfortably and calmly together.

“So Rodolphus was made more violently inclined because he was miserable?” Harry asked after a while, remembering what had started this conversation, before they’d taken a tangent.

Rabastan sighed, and looked at Harry seriously. “That sort of unhappiness can turn people into the worst versions of themselves. Rodolphus has never been a saint…”

Harry snorted and even Rabastan chuckled.

“No, he’s never been a saint, but he was never so deranged as he was, forced to do his marital duty with Bellatrix once a week, she who didn’t love, or even like him, either. He started changing from that day, slowly at first, but then much faster. He was quicker to anger, quicker to lash out. He started learning more and more dark curses, and he wasn’t afraid to test them out on others. He lost all lust for life. He still carried on his games though, I think, perhaps, that he was trying to force Bellatrix’s hand, or perhaps even Cygnus’ by being unfaithful and he hoped that the marriage would be broken. He stopped having sex with her when he was seventeen, a legal adult, when the repercussions would fall solely on him, and not our Grandfather.”

“I hate Rhadamanthus even more now.”

Rabastan sneered automatically at the mention of his Father.

“I have always hated him.” He declared passionately.

“No more talk about that now, we’re on holiday, I won’t let him spoil it.”

Rabastan breathed out slowly to calm himself. He smiled, and turned to kiss Harry’s lush mouth, distracting himself with more pleasurable things. They would be going back to Malfoy Manor in just two more days, and they had to make the most of the peace they had here while they could, because as soon as they went back they would be forced to adhere to the strict chaperoned interactions that tradition dictated. Harry had promised to show him what skinny dipping was, after his fiancé had mentioned it yesterday. All Rabastan knew was that it involved them being together, swimming in the ocean at night, but something about Harry’s naughty grin made Rabastan believe that there was more to it than that, and that it probably wouldn’t be allowed by the terms of their contract. He couldn’t wait to find out what it was.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Harry had been sad to say goodbye to Fiji, and the stunning villa that they had stayed in, but it was nice to be back home though, as he and Rabastan landed in the receiving room of Malfoy Manor and made their way to the drawing room, where their family would be waiting for them. Harry and Draco embraced the moment they saw one another and gave each other a slap to the back.

“I actually missed you, Potter.” Draco told him. “I never thought I’d say it, but I have so much to tell you and catch you up on.”

Harry laughed. “You big gossip.”

“No, it’s huge.” Draco told him, excitedly.

Harry wondered if Theo had implemented his revenge on Daphne early, despite insisting that he was going to do it over the winter holidays.

“I’m curious now, what’s happened? I was only gone for a week.”

“It’s Pansy!” Draco told him with utter relish.

“Is she pregnant?”

“Not yet.” Draco told him with a grin.

Harry frowned. “She’s been betrothed again?”

Draco nodded, but he was much too happy about something.

“To Lucan Selwyn!” Draco laughed, unable to keep it in any longer.

“But he’s a seventy year old man! He sits on the Wizengamot and he’s hideous, and slow minded. Aren’t all four of his daughters already grown?”

“That’s right.”

“But, that’s disgusting!” Harry said, utterly appalled.

“She’s being punished for her transgressions!”

“Her transgressions with you!” Harry pointed out heatedly.

“It wasn’t just me!” Draco replied, offended. “I was just the one to almost get her pregnant. It was you who blew everything out of the water, though.”

“Me! How?”

“Don’t you remember? It was you who told my Father what happened, and about Pansy’s pregnancy scare. Father told her Father, and she was forced to take a test. She’d never had to do one before, her parents were clueless as to what she was doing, and so was Warrington.”

Harry frowned. “I didn’t fully realise the implications.”

“No, but don’t feel bad it was her own fault. I said before it’s up to them to safeguard their own virginity. It’s not my job to do it for them. But at least she’s betrothed again.” Draco’s nasty smile came back. “Apparently, according to Blaise, Lucan Selwyn actually told Pansy’s Father, Lord Paimon, that he would have preferred her untouched, but he was grateful for the chance to get his own son.”

“Didn’t the Parkinson’s try elsewhere first?” Harry asked.

“Well, you killed Rowle, so he was no longer available and the new Lord Rowle, Giovanni, is not entertaining any witch from Britain.”

Harry just glared at Draco for bringing that up when he’d just gotten home off of a wonderful holiday.

“Amycus Carrow flat out refused her, Blaise was disgusted that she’d even dare formally ask his Mother for a betrothal, and he refused her of course. Then I think Lord Paimon went and asked Mark Flint, who laughed him out of the door when he asked for a match with Marcus, and then he moved on to try and petition Theo, because Pansy knows that he wants to sack off Daphne, but Philip Nott steadfastly refused, not even when Pansy’s dowry was doubled. He really wants that Greengrass fortune. Finally Pansy begged her Father to try to break your betrothal to Rabastan, so that she could have him.”

“What?!” Harry demanded, all sympathy for her going right out the window.

Draco nodded. “I know. It’s such shameful behaviour to act so desperately, but of course you and Rabastan are engaged, and Xerxes refused to even entertain Lord Parkinson, so, furious and humiliated after his run of desperate pleading to find his disgraced daughter a match, he decided to punish her for her actions by betrothing her to the only man who would still have her. Lucan Selwyn.”

“That…I have no idea what to say anymore.”

“They’re going to be married over the winter holidays.” Draco told him, smirking. “Lord Paimon doesn’t want to run the risk of this betrothal going south, or old Selwyn dying. So everyone is going to avoid Pansy like the plague now come September, or at least the boys will, as she’ll be trying to trap someone, anyone, into marriage with a pregnancy.”

That reminded Harry of what Rabastan had told him in Fiji, of the disgraced Pureblooded girls trying to trap the boys into a marriage with a pregnancy when he had been attending Hogwarts. “It’s no use telling me that, I’m not going to want her, it’s you who needs the reminder, after you almost knocked her up once.” Harry said.

Draco shook his head. “I’m paying much more attention to Astoria. I…I’m coming to love her. I’m not going to risk anything with Pansy, not again and I would never disgrace Astoria by sleeping with Pansy again. I don’t think I’d survive how miserable I’d become if I did get Pansy pregnant and was forced to marry her over Astoria.”

“Good. Astoria is much better for you.”

“Harry, you have not even said hello.” Narcissa interrupted.

“I’m so sorry, Mother. Draco has monopolised all of my attention.” Harry grinned.

Harry hugged her, and got a kiss to the forehead. He went to Lucius next and ignored the outstretched hand and just hugged him. He heard Lucius sighing, but in the next moment his Father chuckled and held Harry tight for a moment.

“You are supposed to be a man now, Harry. Do try to remember that.”

“I will. In public.” He insisted, as he went to hug a laughing Xerxes.

“You have been missed terribly.” Xerxes told him, smiling down at him as Harry hugged him.

“Don’t you come near me.” Rodolphus insisted firmly, holding out an arm as if to ward him off.

“Who says I want to?” Harry demanded, before he grinned and darted under Rodolphus’ outstretched arm to hug him around the waist, squeezing tight for a split second before darting off back to Rabastan, laughing.

Rabastan was chuckling, and as Harry snuggled into him he laid a protective arm over him, just in case Rodolphus retaliated.

“You are certainly in fine spirits.” Xerxes commented.

“I’ve just come home from holiday, of course I am. Oh, the villa was so beautiful! Our bedroom opened right onto the beach!”

“I think the most important thing to ask here is did you behave yourselves?” Narcissa asked him.

“Define behave.” Harry asked innocently.

“Harry.” Lucius said warningly.

“We’re not expecting a baby, we didn’t have sex and I’m still a virgin.” He said blandly.

“Look me in the eyes and say that again.” His Mother insisted.

Harry looked her dead in the eyes. “We never had sex, I’m still a virgin, we’re not having a baby until we’re married.”

Narcissa stared at him for another moment, before she smiled and nodded. “I told you that they would behave.”

“We should give them Veritaserum, just in case.” Rodolphus insisted.

“No. I am satisfied that they stuck to the rules laid out for them.”

“We said that we would trust them together, and we did so. We will trust their word on this.” Lucius added.

Harry and Rabastan shared a look, and Harry grinned, moving and pulling Rabastan after him as he moved them to a settee, sitting next to his fiancé and snuggling in.

“Rabastan. Did you do anything?” Rodolphus demanded of his brother.

“No, Dolphus. As Harry said, he is still a virgin, and we didn’t have sex.”

Rodolphus stared at his brother, as if trying to force him by sheer force of will to answer truthfully. He nodded once, sharply, and settled back into his own seat.

“Has anything else of note happened?” Harry asked.

“There was one Wizengamot meeting called.” His Father told him. “Here are the notes of the meeting that I requested for you, but as your proxy, I voted in your name.”

Harry took the parchment from his Father and started reading through it. “It was the additional information for the Egyptian artefact?” He asked curiously, even as he started reading.

“It was. The artefact was meant to be a decoy, it was practically valueless at the time it was sealed in the tomb, and only has any value now because of its antiquity. But it was imbued with several very dark and dangerous curses, one of which was a compulsion charm that attacked those who were mentally weak to such things, much like the Imperious curse.”

“So it was diminished responsibility?” Harry asked, flicking his eyes up to his Father for a moment, before reading through the court notes and shaking his head at some of the debates. He really wished he’d been there for this, he’d have had so much fun ripping into these arguments.

“I knew that you would see it that way, so that is how I cast your votes.” Lucius told him.

“Thank you.” Harry replied distractedly. “What is to become of the artefact, it can’t be destroyed, the history of it is too rich.”

“It is going to be safely stored, now that it has been found to be more dangerous than previously thought.” Xerxes told him.

“The meeting was nothing more than this?” Harry asked.

“No. We received the additional information and the results of the testing carried out, it was debated for a short time, and we were asked to vote accordingly, and many voted in favour of diminished responsibility.”

Harry handed the notes back. “Thank you for taking over my responsibilities so that I wouldn’t have to interrupt my holiday.”

“Think nothing of it.”

“Was that all?”

“Well, Lord Paimon did insult me terribly.” Xerxes sniffed. Next to him Rodolphus clenched both hands into fists.

“What did he say?” Rabastan demanded furiously.

“He tried to get me to break your contract with Harry, so that you would be free to marry his sullied daughter.”

Rabastan quivered he was so angry and upset. “What did you tell him?” He asked, even as he turned and hugged Harry to him as if he would suddenly disappear.

“Do not look so fearful, I would never insult our new family by trying to break your contract.” Xerxes waved away. “I approve of Harry, you know this. I told Lord Paimon exactly where he could go, right back out of the door before I cursed him into a dark smear on my polished floors.”

“As if I would want that sullied little bitch!” Rabastan hissed.

Harry patted Rabastan’s hands and pulled on his fingers gently to release the grip on him. Rabastan got the message and he loosened his hold, which had tightened in fury, rather than the uncontrollable body spasms that Harry had gotten used to in their betrothal period.

“I’m sorry, my love. I did not mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t, it was just a little too tight.” Harry smiled.

“That that pug-faced, fatuous, cockalorum even dared try to break our bond! I could kill him with my bare hands.”

Harry looked at Rabastan with a grin, committing the insults to memory for later use.

“As if they could have.” Harry said, cupping Rabastan’s face and giving him a kiss to calm him.

“I would never have allowed it.” Xerxes agreed.

“They need to be punished for this transgression!” Rabastan growled angrily.

“I believe they already have been.” Harry put in calmly.

“How do you know that?”

Harry pointed at Draco. “He’s my brother, he told me about this the moment I came home.”

“What happened?” Rabastan asked.

“Would you like to do the honours, Harry?” Xerxes smiled at him.

“I’d love to. Pansy has been betrothed to Lucan Selwyn. They’re to be married over Christmas.”

Rabastan’s blue eyes gleamed maliciously, and he chuckled darkly. “How very fitting for a disgraced daughter.”

“After hearing that she pestered her Father to break our contract, I lost all sympathy for her. Not that there was much to begin with, after she pawed at you during her family’s winter gala.”

“I had told her to stop her shameful behaviour.” Rabastan insisted. “It is bad conduct, especially for a wanted criminal, to shove underaged girls. Though when I saw Flint laying his lips on you, I did lose my patience and push her aside.”

“Did I say that I was accusing you of anything? If it came across that way, I’m sorry, my love. No, I was merely pointing out that I have disliked her since she did that to you. No one gets to touch you like that.”

Harry hugged Rabastan and kissed over his neck up to his mouth.

“Harry, please remember that you are with company.”

“Oh, of course. Come on, Rabastan.”

“No.” Narcissa snapped quickly. “We trusted you on your holiday, but you’re home now.”

Harry sighed unhappily. “I can’t wait for next year.”

“You’ll be coming home from your honeymoon this time next year.” Draco pointed out.

Harry grinned. “It’s going to be some honeymoon too, with all this sexual build up beforehand.”

Xerxes laughed, but with a sharp, warning snap of his name, Lucius put an end to Harry’s teasing.

“So did you at least do anything productive on this holiday?” Narcissa asked, trying to steer the conversation to less dangerous waters.

Harry licked his lips. “Define productive.” He joked.

“I know that you took a book with you, I saw you packing it. Did you get any reading done?” Narcissa asked patiently.

“I did yes. I’m nine chapters into the law making book that you gave me for my birthday, Xerxes.”

“Nine chapters is very good going. I thumbed through it to make sure it was acceptable and some of the passages I caught were so tedious they almost put me to sleep on my feet.”

Harry laughed. “Oh that happened more than once. Rabastan would either wake me up calling out for me because I’d fallen asleep somewhere and he couldn’t find me, or he’d prod me awake because I was slumped over the bed or the settee.”

“It sounds like you weren’t getting enough sleep.” His shit of a brother pointed out.

“It was too warm and too bright to sleep much.” Rabastan rushed to his rescue, before they were both lynched.

“It was warm through the night, but when the sun came up, dear Merlin it was hot. It was amazing. Thankfully the villa was nice and cool, and shaded, so neither of us burnt.” Harry added.

“You remembered not to sleep last night?” Narcissa fretted. “To combat the time difference?”

Harry nodded. “We’re absolutely exhausted, but we kept ourselves awake skinny dipping.”

Rabastan almost choked next to him, and Harry grinned as he saw the others sharing confused looks.

“What is skinny dipping, or do we not want to know?” Lucius asked with a sigh.

“It’s night time swimming.” Harry explained. “We were swimming in the ocean for half the night to keep ourselves awake.”

“It was very cold, but very refreshing.” Rabastan insisted. “It did keep us awake.”

“He didn’t like it as much as I did.” Harry grinned.

“I will have tea served for us all.” Narcissa insisted. “Then you can both go to bed and catch up on your sleep.”

Smaller conversations broke off, as Narcissa called Pimsey to serve them tea, and Harry turned to Rabastan sadly.

“You know, I’ve gotten used to sleeping with you in a bed. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep without you.”

Rabastan smiled at him and threw his arm around Harry’s back, pulling him into a tight hug.

“It won’t be much longer. Your last year in Hogwarts will fly by, we’ll be married in less than a year now. Everything will work out, you’ll see.”

Harry smiled happily at Rabastan, and accepted the teacup handed to him by his fiancé. It was made just how he liked it. He hadn’t been the only one learning about the man he was to be married to and that made him so very happy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

A/N: This chapter truly is the bane of my existence. I’ve re-written it four times now, this is version five, and I’m still not entirely happy with it, but I’m sick of looking at it, so I’m posting it regardless, just to start moving on. I think the lovelies on my Facebook page are right, and I’m just associating bad feelings with it, and I can’t help but hate it, no matter what I write, because I’ve been staring at and working on it constantly for a month now, so I am hoping that you lovelies like it better than I do.

Anyway, now that this chapter is finally posted, I’m going to try to move on from it, and hopefully in a few weeks I’ll have another chapter to post, but if you follow me on Facebook I’ll keep you all updated on the progress of that.

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The Guile and Devotion of a Black Heir