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Flesh of My Flesh	By : lashton Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9436 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Legacy of Light
Laurence Ashton
Prologue:
Flesh of My Flesh
Part E

�Wha� What happened in here?�
Draco�s eyes fluttered as he slowly woke, feeling groggy and weary. He hadn�t locked or warded the door before he fell asleep. He was surprised that he hadn�t woken in a panic at sound of a strange voice; someone had gotten into his room.
Draco blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked at the invader curiously. Harry Potter loomed over him, one hand grasping Draco�s wrist. Once again he was staring intently at Draco�s new girth.
�I broke the mirror,� said Draco, sitting up.
He got a rather nasty surprise when he saw that Weasley and Granger were also in the room, gawking at him. Instinctively he reached for the sheet and wrapped it around him.
�What are you doing in here?� he demanded, angry that he had been caught unawares and exposed.
�Professor Snape sent me to the kitchens for you,� said Potter. �I invited Ron and Hermione because we all need to talk.�
�I don�t want to talk with you,� said Draco, snatching his hand out of Potter�s grip. Granger sniffed disinterestedly and probed Draco�s mess with her wand, casting a banishing charm. With a little glimmer, Draco�s destruction disappeared. �Get out.�
�No,� said Weasley, grimacing. He looked as if he�d prefer nothing more. �For whatever reason, Harry likes you and he wants to help you, so just shut up and accept it.�
�And why are you here?� said Draco, snidely.
�Part and parcel of the whole Potter package,� said Potter with a cheeky grin that gave Draco an urge to slap him. �Actually, we came to cheer you up.�
�Cheer me up,� repeated Draco flatly.
�Yes,� said Weasley, face going red. �So get dressed and eat something and we can be off.�
�I�d rather you just went away.�
�Tough luck, Malfoy,� said Granger. �Harry�s had us researching for you for about three weeks now, and I�ve had about all of his babbling that I can stand. So we�re going to cheer you up and you�re going to be amenable about it. Got that?�
Granger had the eye of the tiger when she said that and Draco felt it unwise to do anything but obey. So he shrugged awkwardly and asked for a bit of privacy to get changed and the trio ambled out of the room silently. Not, he noticed, before they each gave him sidelong glances towards the midsection, which they, obvious cretins that they were, thought were subtle and went undetected.
�Bloody hell,� swore Draco under his breath as he clambered out of bed. The Gryffindor Golden Trio waited for him in Snape�s sitting room, hell bent on cheering him up, although Draco suspected this was some elaborate revenge for all of the years he spent annoying them.
Weary of what would come once he passed into the sitting room, Draco changed into a loose pair of charcoal gray trousers � just enough to fit comfortably, now � and pulled on a cranberry red, button-down shirt. He pulled on a pair of light, black shoes and went to meet his doom.
�Where did your minions go?� said Draco when he saw that Granger and Weasley had left.
�I sent them on ahead,� answered Potter. �And I prefer the term best friends, or friends at the least.�
�Nobody seems to honor my preferences anymore, so I don�t see the point in honoring anyone else�s,� said Draco, giving Potter a scathing look.
�I figured that was coming,� said Potter, taking a seat on the arm of Snape�s favorite chair. �See, I was only curious why Snape had me brewing so many supplements; it�s not typical hospital wing fare. I did some research on them all, and the only thing they had in common was that they were all safe to use for pregnant women. I didn�t really think anything of that until Snape mentioned that they were for you. So, I asked Ron and Hermione if wizards could� you know, have babies.�
�Not the brightest idea,� said Draco coldly.
Potter had the nerve to laugh. �Yeah, well, after convincing them that I wasn�t insane � Ron was about to commit me to St. Mungo�s, mind, and Hermione started treating me like I was mentally deficient��
�You are that��
�Anyway, we all did research on male pregnancies and found that it wasn�t possible. But there was still you. Hermione felt more than she let on, earlier, and I felt it, too. And what we all saw�.�
Draco coughed, unable to keep from blushing. �Yes, well, I am an even bigger freak than you, Potter. You should be relieved; you always hated attention, if I recall.�
�You�re not a freak, Malfoy,� said Potter impatiently. He gestured to the tray of food on the table. Draco sat on the couch in front of it and picked morosely at the steak and kidney pie. He had no intention of eating any of it. �Come on, Malfoy, I promised Snape I�d make certain that you ate.�
�Did you also promise that you�d parade me in front of your stupid friends against my will?� snapped Draco, but he took a bite of the food anyway. Potter watched him with an intensity that Draco found unnerving.
�They could be your friends since you don�t seem to trust that your own won�t hurt you.�
�SHUT UP!� barked Draco, turning to glare at Potter. Potter watched him back calmly. �My friends would never hurt me. You know nothing about them and nothing about me, so shut the fuck up about them.�
�So quick to defend them, but you avoid them like the plague. They stalk you � and don�t act like Slytherin House hasn�t been following you around with an agenda, I�ve seen it � and you�re bloody well afraid of them.�
�I�m not afraid of them, you numbskull.�
�Why won�t you talk to them, then?� said Potter. �They obviously want to talk to you, and if you insist they�re so trustworthy��
�Shut up, Potter,� said Draco, turning back to his food. He felt rather hungry, now that he thought about it, and the food tasted delicious. Thankfully, Potter said no more as Draco ate the meal and dessert, a fresh rhubarb pie.
�You ready?� said Potter after Draco downed his pumpkin juice. Draco nodded. They set out, Potter falling in step beside Draco. On their way out of the dungeons, they passed Millicent Bulstrode, Crabbe and Goyle, who gawked at Draco and Potter and scowled. Draco made certain not to meet any of their gazes as they passed, but he overheard Millicent send Crabbe and Goyle back to the common room.
�What�s this place?� asked Draco as they came to a stop outside a door in one of the towers. Potter turned to him and grinned.
�Room of Requirement,� he said. �Don�t you remember? Fifth year? Inquisitorial Squad? This is where we were meeting all year until Marietta betrayed us.�
�Ah, yes, I remember, the girl with �SNEAK� bloody well tattooed on her forehead. Who came up with that, by the way?�
Potter smiled proudly. �That was Hermione.�
Draco sniffed, but not disdainfully. �That does sound like Granger. I would have used �OATH-BREAKER� and conjured a swarm of screeching ravens to chase her through the castle, parroting it, so everyone would know.�
�Oath-breaker, eh?� said Potter, laughing. �A bit long, isn�t it?�
�It�s quite obvious you were raised by Muggles, Potter,� said Draco, a measure of scorn for Potter�s relatives in his voice. �There is nothing more powerful to a wizard than his word. If a wizard breaks a vow, it puts him in a position of owing more than a life-debt, if you catch my meaning. If a wizard doesn�t have a good, solid word, he is nothing, is worthless to society, has no honor and deserves no sympathy until the one he betrayed publicly welcomes him again.� Draco smiled wistfully. �I remember the day I swore my first oaths. It was brilliant. I never felt so complete as then.�
�You�ve sworn oaths already?�
Draco shrugged. �It�s not usual,� he said. �It�s not something that you enter into lightly, but we were all so enthusiastic about it. You need to do some research, first, Potter, before you even think about oaths. Pansy, Millicent, Blaise, Greg, Vince, and me. We snuck out to the pitch late one night to do it. We swore the Sibling Oaths � unconditional love, to trust, respect, cherish, honor; forever family, always looking out for each other, always thinking of the best interest of the family; no one gets left behind, no one is forgotten. It�s a blood oath.�
�Then, if they swore those oaths to you, why can�t you go to them with this.�
Draco snorted. �They are bound to look out for what is in my best interest, Potter. My father knows we swore the Sibling Oaths to each other, and I�m certain he�s gone to them for help.�
Before Potter had a chance to respond, the door swung open and Granger stood there, glaring at them in frustration. �I had hoped you would come in to chat instead of loitering in the halls,� she said sharply.
�Sorry,� said Potter, moving into the room. Draco followed and Granger slammed the door and warded it. �What other sorts of oaths are there?�
�Hundreds,� said Draco with a shrug. �Oaths for parents, grandparents, godparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, distant relations�. Friends, friends of the family, lovers, lords, charges�. I could go on, Potter.�
�What are you talking about oaths for?� said Weasley, suspiciously.
�I was telling Potter about my friends,� said Draco, a bit absently as he began to take in the d�cor of the room. They had arranged for a nursery. The walls were painted pale yellow with an animated mural on one, lengthwise of the room. A playpen sat near the mural filled with soft, musical toys and rattles. Set near the fireplace, across from the play area, a rocking crib with musical mobile gently swayed side to side beside a white rocking chair and ottoman. The baby changing station set adjacent to that, overflowing with towels and cloth diapers, pillows and sanitary supplies. The far part of the room was sectioned off with a white, wooden room divider, but over the top of that, Draco could see a bookcase overflowing with books and adjacent to that was a door.
�Come on,� said Potter, grabbing Draco�s wrist and dragging him to the back of the room, behind the room divider. The room set up over here a tall table with stepping stool, beside which stood a strange-looking contraption with a monitor and lots of buttons and dials. �Take off your shirt and unlace your trousers.�
�Absolutely not.�
�Damn it, Draco, just �� Potter grabbed Draco�s arm and gave him a little shove towards the tall table. Draco stumbled and bumped against it, caught off guard. Weasley and Granger beat a hasty retreat around the divider, and Potter started unbuttoning Draco�s cuffs, a little too impatiently. But Potter�s touch was firm and certain and warm, like Snape�s on occasion, and it felt familiar enough that Draco didn�t mind when Potters fingers brushed strokes around his wrist. He sat, pliant, as Potter started on the buttons down the front flaps of the shirt, and�
?�Avada Kedav� ah! CRUCIO!� shouted Narcissa, flicking her wand and the man, her husband, lying in a fetal position on the bed, sleeping peacefully. An anguished scream ripped from his throat and he thrashed wildly, falling over the edge and landing on the floor with a distinct snap, still tangled in the bed sheets, which flowed after him like a silken tail. She watched him convulsing there with wide blue eyes bright with angry tears, then, reluctantly ended the curse with another flick of her wand. He curled on himself, clutching at his right arm, panting in a fierce effort to compose himself. Narcissa matched him ragged breath for ragged breath.
�What are you doing, woman?� he said, sneering, when he found the strength to clamber to his feet, still favoring his right arm � the wrist, broken and swelling with fluid.
�What makes you think you have any right to come in here?� she snapped, clutching her wand tighter, eager to cast the Cruciatus Curse on him again. She did not understand her son�s reasoning in allowing his father to live after � after hurting him so, but she must honor his wishes.
�This is my house, or have you forgotten it?�
For a moment, Narcissa was struck dumb. Lucius�s worse chased through her thoughts like the cruelest of jokes, and it sent a fire in her. His house. His property � to do with as he will.
�Your� your house?� she repeated, tasting the words and growing repulsed by them. �YOUR HOUSE!� She lunged at him, giving a feral, wordless cry, and they crashed into the wall, Lucius�s head bouncing against the tapestry-covered stone with a nasty crack. Narcissa relished in the sound. �YOU RAPED OUR SON IN THIS ROOM, YOU RABID BEAST, AND NOW YOU THINK YOU CAN SLEEP IN HIS BED AND CALL THIS YOUR HOUSE?� She punctuated each word with a kick, a slap, a punch, a shove into the wall, using the roots of his hair as purchase.
There was a loud cracking sound, and it seemed to Narcissa that she had killed her husband against her son�s wishes, and she began to sob violently, choking over her tears, but she could not stop herself from banging Lucius�s head into the stone.
�THIS IS NOT YOUR HOUSE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COME INTO OUR SON�S ROOM, NO RIGHT TO ��
�Mistress Malfoy!� said a panicky-sounding shrill squeak, and something grabbed onto Narcissa�s arms and yanked her away from her husband. Lucius stood against the wall, eyes bright, looking dizzy and pallid, the red of blood smeared into his hair. Narcissa turned to see what held her back from him, and she saw a ugly wrinkled thing with flopping ears tugging on her and sobbing.
�You is hurting the Master!�
Using all of her strength, Narcissa grabbed the elf by the arms and flung it against the fall wall, where it impacted with a wet-sounding thud and fell into a heap on the floor.
�I want to kill him,� she said, unable to control her tears now. She spun on her heel and glared at Lucius, clutching at the bedpost to stay upright. �If you ever come in here again, I will destroy you. You forfeited any claim to your son when you raped him, and if you think my own oaths will keep me from protecting him, you are a fool. I will send you to hell in a heartbeat and gladly join you there. Do not ever forget that.�
Lucius did not answer as he stalked from the room. Narcissa stared after him a moment, and was finally able to bring herself back under control. The house elf that she had flung away from her hadn�t yet moved, and she went to crouch beside it, concerned. It showed no response when she touched it and turned it over. Its eyes were glassy and flat. She had killed the poor thing.
�I am sorry, young one,� she whispered to its unhearing ears. �I do not even know your name�. But this I vow: I will make my amends and give you all the rights of an honored and favored friend.�
�Excuse me, Ma�am?� said a quiet, fearful voice from the doorway. Narcissa looked up; a maid lingered there, half-hidden by the doorjamb. �You have a visitor with urgent news about Master Draco.�
�Where is he?�
�In the sitting room, Ma�am.�
Narcissa raced past the maid who jumped away as if fearing being struck. She hurried into the sitting room, wiping at her cheeks, but otherwise uncaring of her appearance, and bustled into the room where a man with straggly hair sat gulping down tea. He didn�t rise when she came into the room.
�Mrs. Malfoy,� he said, setting the teacup onto its platter with a clatter. �I�m Gregory Jones. Pleased to meet you, Miss.�
�Likewise,� said Narcissa. �How do you do, Mr. Jones?�
�Fine, thank you�. Mrs. Malfoy, I�m certain you don�t know of me, but you�ve likely heard of my business. I have a small place in the village with selective clientele. I am called The Spell Master.�
Narcissa blinked in shock. �What does this have to do with Master Draco?� she asked, hard-pressed to keep a steady voice. �You are not implying that he frequents your establishment, Sir?�
�Frequents, certainly not, but another of my regular clients, Mr. Timothy Austin, brought him along once, not too long ago.�
�I see.�
�There was an incident.� Narcissa watched Mr. Jones with a sinking feeling in her gut, but her features remained expressionless. �I was going over my records and noticed that � er, Master Draco � was given two potions, one with the intent of lowering his inhibitions and one to intensify his senses. Then I cast a spell on him. The spell is rather simple: it links the potions together and activates them.�
�Where is the error?�
�After that I gave him two more potions, a request, and I didn�t think much of it at the time, you understand, but looking over my records�. I made a mistake: I gave him a potion that makes him more susceptible to commands and� a potion that induces manifestations and exhibitions.�
�You gave him a Manifest potion after activating the others and topped it off with a bloody mind-control potion?� said a new voice, Lucius, from the doorway. His tone was low and cold. He looked immaculate as he stalked into the room and bore down on Mr. Jones like a vulture. �Have you lost your damned mind, man?� he screeched.
�Ah, Mr. Malfoy, am I sorry that we meet again under these circumstances. As I said, he had not been scheduled for the others, and it was an honest mistake��
�Lucius, what is wrong?� said Narcissa, alarmed by the way Lucius�s veins throbbed in his temples and his face turned bloody red. �What happened�?�
�You manifest his senses, you destroyed his inhibitors, you� you turned him into a bloody Exhibitor! � So help me, I will make you regret ever looking at my son!��

�DRACO!�
Draco jerked in surprise as the sound of his name and blinked at Potter in confusion. Draco�s shirt was off and hanging on the divider and his trousers were already unlaced.
�What?�
�What?� repeated Potter, glowering at Draco balefully. �You were off in la-la land, that�s what! What�s wrong with you?�
�N-nothing,� said Draco, biting his lip in worry. That was the first time he�d ever had a dream-that-was-not-a-dream when he was not sleeping. The others had come when he was exhausted and his inhibitions were quite low, as his father had said, but to have them in the waking hours unnerved him.
�Do not lie to me.� Draco managed to give Potter a weak sneer. Potter sneered back. �I�m serious, Draco. You don�t ever lie to me, or I�ll make you regret it.�
You will regret that, his father had said. It frightened Draco how much Potter seemed like Lucius Malfoy in that moment. But that drew Draco back to his dream and he shuddered. He goes into my room, he thought, and the fact made him feel nauseous. He sleeps in my bed. His sickness returned full force, a vicious attack on his already fragile system. The sheets were the same as the day I left�.
�I feel sick, Potter,� said Draco, grimacing.
�It�s okay,� said Potter, pulling Draco closer and urging Draco to rest his head against Potter�s shoulder; Draco did. They pressed together, Potter standing between Draco�s legs, caressing Draco�s back with one hand and his hair with the other. The touch was gentle, comforting. �Remember the steps, okay? Tell me how you block your emotions and hide your thoughts.�
Draco moaned, feeling the bile rising in his throat. �They are extensions of me, like limbs. I can control them, master them, break them down.� He did not feel in control of anything � he felt weak and stupid. Daddy sleeps in my bed, in the sheets he� touched me on. What made me think he had given up so easily? The bile burned. He could feel chucks of it inching up his esophagus. �I can� can build a wall, can block them with � with � Harry ��
�Block them how?�
Draco couldn�t remember. He tried again, �I can bind them � bind them ��
�How?�
With silk scarves�.
Draco didn�t give any warning before he gave Harry a little shove back and vomited all over the boy�s trainers. For his part, though, Harry didn�t seem to mind. He only appeared concerned for Draco, and he brushed Draco�s tears away with light fingers when Draco came up sobbing.
�Shh,� said Harry, petting Draco�s hair, �it�s okay. Everything will be fine. I�m here.�
Draco hiccoughed and pushed Harry back again. He felt annoyed for breaking down like that in Harry�s arms, crying like a child. Harry gave him a pleasant smile that Draco made no effort to return.
�Tell me what�s wrong.�
Draco didn�t want to, but he did. �I can see things since, since��
�Lucius?�
Draco shook his head. �I never really told you what set him off, why he did what he did. He couldn�t help himself, you see, and I should have known better� I did know better.� Harry waved his hand at Draco�s mess and it disappeared with a little squelch. Then Harry hopped onto the table beside Draco and turned them both so that they were facing each other. �When I was thirteen, my father found me in the gardens, kissing one of the village girls. He� reacted badly. He said that I was too young to take a lover; he punished me harshly and ran the girl�s family out of town. Summer after fourth year, Pansy and I started dating, and since we were childhood friends, there was only so much that he could do to discourage it � enough subversion that the Parkinson family suffered and Pansy and I broke it off. I met a girl in France when visiting my Uncle Justinian when I was fifteen. We dated in secret for two years until she got fed up and came to my house to speak with my father face-to-face. She was older than me, you see, so she thought� it doesn�t matter what she thought. Father let her stay, and it seemed that things were better. But right after my sixteenth birthday, she was found out to be with child, a daughter, and she killed herself � threw herself off the bell tower of the community hall, right into the busy city square. No one�s ever said anything, but I think the child was my sister. That caused a terrible scandal in the village, especially since she was unwed and a pureblood, and I couldn�t have been the father. You see the pattern, I�m certain.�
�So you were on a date, that night?�
Draco snorted. �Not just any date, Harry. My father handled my relationships with girls with a different flair, more subversion less aggression. The funny part is that I�m not even certain I like blokes.�
Harry startled and said, �What do you mean?�
�Everyone believed that I was the one who pushed her into suicide. My father let her stay at Malfoy Manor because she offered up the engagement oaths. Since I didn�t reject her, he couldn�t possibly have turned her away, and for a while he seemed pleased. That was probably because he forced her into breaking those same oaths to me, and� well, I could have asked for her life in return for her honor, but I never would have. No one would approach me by the time I turned seventeen; all the girls in the village were forbidden to speak to me or even look me in the eye, lest some strange tragedy befall their family, and�. I was just so lonely and desperate to get away from my father�s controlling ways, it didn�t matter to me that Timothy was a bloke, he wanted to spend time with me.�
�Your father� because you were out on a date with a boy?�
�A squib boy from the village with no money and no prospects, poisoning my blood with drugs, and sullying a virtue that my father believed was his alone to enjoy � so yes, in short.� Draco grimaced. �But it�s the drugs that are the important part. They induced things in me.� Draco gestured to his girth and Harry nodded. �And I now can see things that are happening far away. Like, I saw Dumbledore write a letter to the Minister of Magic but burn it before sending it off, and I saw my mother trying to kill my father that night, right after�.�
�And just now?�
�M-my father sleeping,� said Draco, voice wavering, stumbling over the words. �He was in my bed. He hadn�t changed the sheets since I last was there.� Harry was silent for a moment, digesting this, and Draco didn�t give him a chance to keep on the topic. �What does this thing do?� he asked, touching the strange white machine with the monitor.
Harry smiled at him wryly. �Come on, lay back.� He hopped off the hospital table and made room for Draco to spread out. Draco did so, but he hesitated when Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it at him.
�What are you doing?� asked Draco, edging up and pulling his own wand out of his pocket. Irritation flash through Harry�s eyes, but Harry sighed heavily and the annoyance passed.
�I�m going to blindfold you.�
�No.�
�Stop being ridiculous, Draco, it�s just a blindfold. It�s a surprise.�
�I�ll just close my eyes, then.�
Harry looked as if he were going to protest but chose instead to give up. After ordering Draco not to peek, he went around the divider to get Granger and Weasley. They all trooped back, crowding around the table � Draco could feel their body heat and hear all their little shuffles.
Something beeped, then whirred, settling into a low humming sound. Draco cocked his head to the left, listening. Granger � her shoes had soft heels that clicked more sharply on the tiles than either Weasley�s or Potter�s trainers � stood near the machine with the monitor, poking at it. Occasionally the machine would beep or whir.
�This will be very cold,� said Granger, then with a squirt, a chill puddle plopped onto Draco�s lower abdomen. He shivered at the feel, grateful for the warning, but didn�t say anything. Granger spread the cold goop across Draco�s abdomen with some sort of soft, rubbery paddle. After a few moments of this, Draco heard them all gasp in surprise, and he started fidgeting with impatience, wondering what was going on and what made them think this could possibly cheer him up. �Unbelievable,� whispered Granger. Harry�s hand fell to Draco�s shoulder and squeezed.
�Now?� asked Harry, obviously indicating Granger. Granger moved the rubbery paddle to another spot on Draco�s abdomen; Harry�s grip tightened and Weasley said, �Bloody hell!�
�You can look now, Malfoy,� said Granger.
Draco opened his eyes, blinking at the three of them. They were gawking at him and the machine in turn, eyes bright and wide. They all looked so young, like children discovering beauty in something strange, and Draco envied them that, the ability to still be young, despite everything. He felt so old, now, at only seventeen, and soon he�d be a father himself.
�Look,� said Harry and guided Draco�s face around so that he looked at the monitor. Mostly the screen was black, but with static red images moving around on them. Draco squinted at the pictures and could make out �
�Twins?� he said, breathless. Dizziness smacked through him and he pushed himself onto his elbows and stared at the screen. �But� but � how?�
�We can�t tell, yet,� said Granger. �You won�t know that until they�re born, whether they�re identical or fraternal.�
�I just� There haven�t been Malfoy twins in five-hundred years,� Draco explained. He felt a little frustrated, and goofy more than anything. Even if they were his father�s children, they were his as well, and seeing them like this brought a smile to his face. �There have only been three sets before, and they were all� special.�
�How so?� asked Granger, moving the paddle around on Draco�s abdomen which caused the angle views on the twins to change. �Ah!� she said happily. �You�re having at least one boy, Draco.� Harry�s grip got tighter, almost painful, but Draco didn�t really mind. He watched the screen avidly as Granger pointed out the evidence that he was going to have a son.
�Merlin,� said Draco, awed. �Icarus Calisto Paris Malfoy.�
�What?� said Weasley, scrunching his nose and squinting at Draco in confusion.
�My son,� said Draco. �Carin.�
�Twin boys,� announced Granger, sounding both pleased and proud of herself for figuring it out. �Do you have another name figured out, then, or did it just come to you.�
�I always knew that I was going to pick an old name, but it just came to me,� said Draco. He turned back to the screen to see his other son and Granger pointed once more. �Carin and Xander.�
�Alexander?� asked Weasley.
�Leander Nieodemus Hector Malfoy.�
Weasley nodded. �Those are good names, Malfoy. May Icarus and Leander draw strength from them and in them take their worth.�
Draco felt surprised that Weasley would offer a naming rite � and such a powerful one at that � and it took him a moment to collect himself enough to give the reply. But as he prepared to answer, Do you offer this? Harry said, �Carin and Xander can take their strength from me and have the worth of the world.� Draco turned to gawk at Harry, horrified, and Weasley grimaced and turned green. �What?� said Harry defensively.
�What�d you go and say that for?� said Weasley hotly. �You don�t just go around saying stuff like that when somebody offers up a name!�
�Why not?�
�Because of the naming rites,� said Weasley, taking a deep breath from frustration. �Look: May Icarus and Leander draw strength from their names and in them take their worth.� Then he indicated Draco.
�Do you offer this?� said Draco, watching Harry suspiciously, noting that Harry started swaying slightly side-to-side and Harry�s hand grew clammy on Draco�s shoulder.
�I offer it freely,� said Weasley and placed his hands on Draco�s abdomen. �On my honor, this I give to Icarus and Leander, the means taken from my power.�
�Oh,� said Harry faintly. Weasley scowled at him and turned to Granger, pleading.
�Hermione!�
Granger looked affronted. �I didn�t tell him to go put up naming rites like that,� said Granger, defensive. She sniffed when Weasley turned red and sulked. �Well, there�s naught for it, anyway. Harry�s just going to have to complete the rite or suffer the debt.�
�What do I do?� said Harry.
Draco sat up and shifted away from Harry�s grasp. �No,� he said, feeling wary of what Harry might say or do. It felt wrong to accept a rite from him now, so he said, �Not today, Harry.�
�Well, when?�
Draco shrugged. Harry glowered at him but didn�t say anything. Draco was glad of that. He�d had quite a day and it relieved him that he wouldn�t have to fight Harry over this. He�d probably, as always with Harry, lose.
�Potter, let�s go bully spice cakes and cider off Dobby. You�ve never tasted anything like this before. It�s my Gam�s recipe,� Draco said, hopping off the table. He wiped the cold goop from his stomach and laced his trousers. He hesitated a moment, realizing how that must have come out and added, �Are you two coming? It�s the opportunity of a lifetime, you know.�
Granger laughed as she fiddled with the machine, turning it off. �A raincheck, maybe,� she said. �I�ve got to get to the library to finish off my Arithmancy essay.�
�A what?� said Draco, looking at her, nonplussed.
�Some other time,� said Harry in Draco�s ear.
�Oh, all right, then.� Draco pulled on his shirt and buttoned it quickly. Unfortunately, he didn�t move fast enough that each of the three didn�t steal one last glance at him before he covered up. It was, Draco knew, very jarring to see a male swelling up with child. �Weasley, trailing after your girlfriend?�
Both Granger and Weasley turned brilliant red and Potter pinched Draco hard in the side. Draco tried to squirm away from Potter�s grip, but Potter slunk with Draco like a shadow, leaving Draco tensed and smashed between the hospital table and Harry�s imposing form. Draco looked at Harry flatly and Harry returned the look with a sharp glare.
Draco jolted when the door slammed shut and looked over to where Granger and Weasley had stood. They had cleared out rather quickly, but Draco wasn�t entirely certain that they fled because he�d embarrassed them. He didn�t have much time to ponder this because Harry grabbed Draco�s chin and turned his face so that their eyes met.
�That was not nice.�
�Surely you didn�t forget, Potter,� said Draco, leaning back and breaking out of Harry�s grasp. Harry released him easily but stepped closer instead. �I�m not nice.�
�You will be nice to Ron and Hermione. Or at the very least, you�ll be polite to them.�
Draco cocked his head to the side and examined Harry closely. Harry stood, tense, well within the boundaries of Draco�s personal space. Heat lingered about him, as if Harry was a living inferno, an uncontrollable pyre that tore through the world, spreading his passionate burn, and scorching souls as he passed them. It brought a half-smile to Draco�s lips to see Harry like that, fierce and wild and too ardent to be truly threatening.
�As you wish,� Draco acquiesced, dipping his head so that his fringe fell into his eyes. He managed to conceal his amusement only barely. Still, Harry seemed to read it in him, for he brushed Draco�s hair from his face, letting his fingertips linger against Draco�s cheek before curling them under Draco�s chin.
�I don�t understand you,� said Harry, breathlessly.
Draco smirked. �I like to be in control, Harry. I thought that much was obvious.�
�Yes,� said Harry. �Quite.� Draco looked down to watch Harry�s hands inch around his waist. He didn�t resist when Harry pulled him closer and they pressed against each other, but he squirmed as Harry�s grasp tightened and locked him in.
�Harry.�
Harry leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss felt light and remained soft and chaste, but Draco pulled back quickly, blushing and pushing against Harry to get away. Harry only looked at him curiously.
�I can�t,� explained Draco. �After my father� and now I�m in such a delicate situation, and�. Merlin, Harry, I already told you that I don�t even know if I like blokes.� Draco bit his lip and grimaced. �I�ll ruin your life.�
�No you won�t,� said Harry. �And we can figure everything out together. I�ve never been attracted to a bloke before, either. We can go slow.�
�Harry, I don�t think that�s such a good idea. Do you know what�ll happen to me after the twins are born? The Ministry is will try to take me into custody like some bloody half-breed animal and I don�t plan to stick around for that.�
�Draco, I will protect you. I promise that no harm will come to you or the twins, okay? I�ll protect you with everything I have.�
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Flesh of My Flesh