Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Nothing, Everything	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 10224 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor make profit of it. J.K. Rowling owns it.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Author's note: This chapter gave me a bit of trouble for some reason, but I managed to finish it *sweatdrops*
Thanks to the following reviewers: RequiredReading (Interesting theory; I can see why you would think that); SickPuppy (In that case I mean cod then; sorry, when I looked it up the dictionary indicated it had to be codfish); Kain
Warnings: hm, nothing in particular about this chapter requires a warning
I hope you'll like this!
Chapter 5
"Teddy will be here soon," Potter remarked, looking up from the newspaper when Draco passed the living room.
"I know; I just have to take a look at something," Draco muttered and hurried upstairs before the other man could say anything else. He needed to see with his own eyes what he had hidden.
The room next to Potter's study was filled with nothing but books. All four walls were lined with bookcases reaching the ceiling; a single window magically enchanted to show a meadow in spring time provided some natural light in the room. A dark blue carpet with silver thread forming some kind of maze muffled his footsteps and he allowed the door to fall shut behind him. Some books were about transfiguration; a couple of others handled charms, but the majority of them were about curses and spells and hexes – books that every self-respecting Auror had. One bookcase was filled to the brim with potion books and diaries of potion masters and it was this one which attracted Draco's attention.
"You completely forgot, didn't you?" Blaise sighed, shaking his head.
Grey eyes glared at him. "I've been a little bit preoccupied these past couple of weeks," Draco bit out.
"Be that as it may, you can't show up empty-handed at your fiancé's birthday party," Pansy said exasperatedly and the blond wizard bristled at the note of disappointment in her voice.
"Look, I don't think Potter will expect anything from me this time," he retorted irritated. Even Potter wasn't stupid enough to expect Draco to come up with a birthday gift when he didn't know the man's likes and dislikes – or more accurately couldn't remember them.
"Yes, don't go out of your way to make that man happy, Draco," Pansy said snippily, scowling at him.
Oh Merlin, were they back at this shit again?
"Never mind the fact that we're talking about Potter here," Draco started, gritting his teeth, "how do you propose I buy a gift for him when I can't even remember what he likes, hm?"
She frowned and pursed her mouth, but didn't have a snappy retort ready – knowing that Draco was right.
"Well, that's why you have friends," Blaise pointed out dryly, taking a sip from his glass of Firewhiskey.
"What? You know what kind of gift he wants?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows.
"I can do better: I can tell you where you put the gift you bought."
"The third shelf on the left," Draco muttered; his eyes scanning the shelf in question. The books on this one were all diaries from the nineteenth century and mainly discussed theoretical aspects of brewing instead of detailing recipes.
In other words: Potter would consider them too boring to ever consider taking one off the shelf. The perfect hiding place for a gift.
Blaise hadn't been able to tell him what kind of gift he had purchased – apparently Draco had wanted to keep it a secret – but according to the dark skinned man Draco had been certain that Potter would love it.
Plucking the first two diaries from the shelf, Draco raised an eyebrow when he caught the glimmer of a ward on the back of the bookcase. When he lifted his wand at it, the glimmer grew more pronounced until the outline of a small square appeared on the wood – just big enough to fit his hand through it if he could find an opening to it. Figuring that this must be the hiding place of the mysterious gift, he studied the ward carefully. Relief filled him when he realised that the ward he had cast was something that could be brought down by just a touch of his finger.
It was a nifty little trick that almost every wizard and witch knew about; the ward would only lower once it sensed the magic of the person who had cast it. A lot of people used this particular ward in order to hide expensive or rare items, because it was an effective tool against thieves.
The Draco from before the memory loss took hiding presents apparently very seriously.
He slipped his wand back into his pocket and reached out with his index finger, touching the square right in the middle. The ward pushed against him for a few seconds and it felt like static electricity hit him before the ward relaxed completely and lowered itself – revealing a mini safe with a very small knob popping into existence to aid him into opening the small door.
A bit intrigued now, he pinched the little door knob between his thumb and index finger and pulled at it. The safe opened smoothly, showing a thin package right in the middle. The wrapping paper was a very dark blue, almost bordering on black, and a silver bow tied it all neatly together.
Still not having any clue as to what the package could contain, Draco removed it from the safe and stared at it with a frown. It felt … not really light, but not too heavy either. Whatever was inside was hidden in a box and he clucked his tongue. He could remove the wrapping, but it would be a pain in the arse to get the paper around the present neatly again; he had never excelled at household charms. He had one other option, though.
A quick look around the mini library showed him a small table wedged between two bookcases on his right and he walked over to it, placing the package on the wooden table. He tapped the present with his wand and murmured, "Demonstro Objectum Abditum."
A black spark left his wand and hit the package right in the middle, glowing darkly like a dying ember. Out of the spark grew several thin lines which spread out and wiggled around in the air until they formed a copy identical to the package. Instead of being wrapped like the original lying underneath it, though, this one was devoid of the blue paper. A small wooden box floated in the air in front of Draco and the lid popped off it soundlessly.
A silver bracelet rested on the white pillow in the box; on top of it were three gemstones embedded. The left one was a dark orange stone with yellow and brown spots mixed through it: amber. Next to the amber, a milky white rose stone was set and that one was easy to recognise: rose quartz. The third and last stone was a deep olive green and it took Draco a few seconds before he recognised the stone as being peridot. All three stones were cut into small squares so that they neatly fitted next to each other.
It looked like a random collection of stones to the unknowing eye, but Draco had learnt a bit about the meanings of gemstones in the past few years. Some potions required gemstones to be used in them and not knowing the meanings of the various stones could lead to nasty surprises. His knowledge didn't extend to being able to pinpoint the exact meaning of each stone, but he knew enough to recognise that all three stones were meant to provide protection.
Slowly he breathed out and then slashed his wand to the right, dismissing the copy the spell had called up.
"Draco? Teddy's here!" Potter called from downstairs and giggling accompanied his voice.
"I'll be right there," Draco called back and after throwing one last glance at the package, he returned it to the safe and put the ward back up.
Well, nobody could accuse him of not being thoughtful with his gift.
Potter's birthday was on Monday this year. Draco had assumed the party would be held in the weekend considering the day, but that was not the case as Potter had casually informed him a few days before.
The party took place at Malfoy Manor and to Draco's aggravation the whole Weasley bunch was invited – and actually willing to come. One of the Weasleys – the oldest son if Draco wasn't mistaken – already had two children with his wife, the quarter Veela girl who had competed in the Triwizard Tournament. Aunt Andromeda and Teddy were there as well, but the sheer amount of ginger filling the backyard was an eyesore. What the hell had his mother been thinking?
"It's Harry's birthday today, dear. At least attempt to be polite to the Weasleys," Mother murmured, accepting a glass of sparkly, fruity champagne from one of the house elves walking around.
Draco was surprised Granger hadn't had a fit yet, being served by house elves. As it was, she was steadfastly ignoring the elves flitting around as she talked to Potter.
"Did we have to invite them here, mother?" he asked irritated, snatching his own glass from the tray.
"Yes, Draco, because your house is too small for this type of gathering," she replied and side eyed him. She tapped his wrist warningly. "Behave. I will not have Harry's birthday ruined, because you deem it fit to cause an argument."
"And what if they're the ones causing the argument?" he muttered darkly, but mother swept away, walking over to Potter to kiss his cheek in greeting.
"Malfoy. I see the stick is back up your arse again." The last remaining twin Weasley – what was his name again? George? With so many Weasleys around he would have to think of them by their first name – piped up next to him, nursing his own glass. His eyes were unnaturally sharp as they studied the blond wizard critically.
"Does everyone know what happened? Why not alert the press while you're at it," Draco remarked irritated.
A sharp bark of laughter left the older man and Draco eyed him warily. "Well, my dear brother in all but name had to explain why you're suddenly not all that affectionate anymore." A dark, grim smile painted his mouth. "For your sake, I hope you're still treating him well despite the memory loss, Malfoy. Unpleasant things might start happening to you otherwise." He winked and left, threat hanging in the air.
"You okay?" Potter halted in front of him, casting a quick look at the retreating back of the Weasley twin.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Draco inquired, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"I'm sorry if George was rude," Potter said, looking away awkwardly as he rubbed his neck. "He's, eh, he can be a bit too protective sometimes."
Draco gifted him a razor sharp smile. "Well, can't have you being hurt by the mean Malfoy, right?" he mocked, raising his glass.
The dark haired man sighed and regarded him wearily. "Look, Draco, I'm sure he - "
"Save it, Potter, I don't particularly care whether he meant it or not," Draco retorted dismissively and nodded to the large chocolate cake with five tiers decorated with raspberries and strawberries that was currently being brought out into the garden by five house elves. "Looks like your cake is here, birthday boy."
Potter narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but whatever he wanted to say was lost when mother called out, "Draco? Harry? The cake is here; come cut the first piece, Harry."
"Come on, before Teddy decides he's done waiting," Potter muttered and turned around.
Not really having any other choice, Draco followed him.
"Thanks, Ron," Potter laughed when he pushed the bright red wrapping paper away and encountered a book titled 'From Björn Blizzard to Wronski Feint: Every Quidditch Tactic in Detail'.
Weasley grinned. "Figured you needed some light reading after what 'Mione gave you," he said and laughed when Granger slapped his shoulder and huffed.
"There's nothing wrong with a book providing detailed information about curses," she snipped, sounding offended.
"Of course there isn't," Weasley soothed her and pecked her on her lips.
Draco rolled his eyes, but remained silent; all too aware of mother's watchful gaze resting upon him.
The chocolate cake had been largely diminished and the Weasley matron had declared it was time for Potter to open his presents. As if by unspoken rule the whole Weasley family had offered their gifts first; every present wrapped in the brightest coloured paper that could be found. The Weasley parents had given Potter a box of homemade cupcakes and a stuffed lion for the baby. Their eldest son, Bill, and their daughter-in-law, Fleur, had followed with a member card to the Lionheart's Duelling Club. This particular club was situated in Oxford and only people with excellent duelling skills were awarded with a member card. As far as Draco was aware, Potter had never set a foot inside there, but naturally the club was willing to bend their rules for Boy Wonder. It certainly would boost their prestige even more now that they could count Harry Potter as one of their members.
Charlie Weasley had returned from Romania for a couple of days and his gift was a statue of a Hungarian Horntail mid fight with a Norwegian Ridgeback. It wasn't carved out of wood, but out of a particular stone that Draco couldn't immediately recognise and it was honestly quite impressive looking.
The Weasley working at the Ministry – Percy was his name if Draco recalled correctly – wasn't present, but he had sent a couple of Spelling Correcting Quills and ink with a special spell waved through it that would prevent anyone from tampering with the papers it was used on. The remaining Weasley twin had presented a box full of newly developed pranks; some of which, he assured Potter, could be used in an actual fight with a Dark Wizard.
Granger had – to no one's surprise – gifted Potter a book about curses which went deeper into the history of how the curses had come into existence. Not a subject Draco would have envisioned Potter being interested in – considering it dealt more with the history of it than the actual use – but the wizard seemed genuinely pleased with it.
Weasley's present was put on the pile next to Potter and this time the Weasley girl stepped forwards with a pale green package in her hands. Her lip gloss stained lips glistened in the sunlight when she curled up her mouth into a smile and she handed the present over.
"No Quidditch pass this year?" Potter remarked teasingly as he accepted the gift.
She rolled her eyes. "All right, I underestimated just how much of a frenzy you being there would cause," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I learnt from that mistake, don't worry."
"I'm not worried," he smiled as he ripped the paper away from the present. He blinked and held up a pair of slim, black gloves.
"I got Professor Flitwick to put some charms on it," the Weasley girl explained, tapping one of the gloves. "Aside from automatically adjusting to your size, they also can withstand extreme temperatures and provide some protection so that criminals won't have an easy time trying to get your wand from you."
"Thanks, Ginny. These are amazing," Potter grinned and stood up to hug her.
She chuckled and hugged him back; her ginger hair clashing against his black strands.
Right, they had dated for a while back in Hogwarts, hadn't they? Draco's stomach did an odd flip and he crossed his arms, wondering whether that second piece of chocolate cake had been too much.
"It's my turn now!" Teddy demanded, handing over the multicoloured cube he had been playing with to Bill's oldest daughter. The three year old girl blinked, but accepted the toy with a grin, squeezing in it and shrieking in delight when it coloured a bright blue.
"You got a present for me, Teddy?" Potter smiled, sitting back down and the Weasley girl backed off a bit.
"Of course," Teddy huffed, as if that was a stupid question and turned to Aunt Andromeda. "Grandma, the gift, please."
The older woman smiled indulgently and gave him some papers and a gift wrapped in bright yellow paper decorated with white clouds. The five year old grinned and hurried towards his godfather. He held up a bunch of papers first.
"This is for you," he said solemnly. "I picked the best colours for it!"
"Thank you, Teddy, they're gorgeous!" Potter gushed, studying each page carefully.
Draco leant slightly forwards and saw that the pages contained drawings. The one Potter currently was looking at was one of three stick figures flying next to each other with bright grins on their faces.
Teddy beamed and held out the other present. "And this is for the baby!" he declared, carefully patting Potter's stomach.
"Oh?" Potter raised an eyebrow bemused, but placed the drawings on the table and accepted the gift, unwrapping it carefully. A fluffy, dark brown stuffed wolf popped out from amidst the paper. "Teddy, this is your wolf," he remarked surprised.
"Yes, and now it's going to be baby's wolf," Teddy replied brightly, petting the head of the wolf gently. "Moony protected me when it's night and now he's going to protect the baby!"
A chorus of "Aw!" followed that statement and Potter carefully placed the stuffed wolf on the table before he leant forwards and hugged Teddy.
"Thank you, Teddy. I'm sure the baby will love it," he said with a rather thick voice and Draco was a bit perturbed to notice the younger man blinking away some stray tears.
Teddy preened and returned his godfather's embrace enthusiastically.
Aunt Andromeda's gift turned out to be a collection of small vials; each one containing a different potion. At Potter's confused look, she clarified dryly with a meaningful look aimed at his stomach, "Trust me, you're going to need those in the upcoming months."
Lucius and Narcissa – though Draco assumed that the gift was more his mother's idea than his father's – had arranged a trip to a resort in Greece for three weeks; the departure unspecified so that Potter could take it up whenever he wished to do so. Draco had a dark suspicion that the trip was actually meant for the two of them when green eyes quickly glanced at him before looking away embarrassed. He'd have to pick someone else to go with him to Greece; Draco wasn't in the slightest interested in spending time at a resort.
Then Pansy stepped forwards and presented her huge bag of clothes with a flourish and a smirk on her red painted lips.
"I should have expected clothes," Potter commented amused, riffling through the bag and holding up a dark green shirt in the air.
"I'll get you to dress decently if it's the last thing I do, Potter," Pansy promised him solemnly, leaning back against the table. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and added, "And you won't have any excuse of not being able to wear them in a few months. They're spelled to adjust to your form."
"And here I thought I had found a loophole," Potter bemoaned, but the smile on his face belied his tone.
"If you weren't pregnant, I would have given you a nice bottle of Elven wine to combat Pansy's gift, but alas, you'll have to do it with this," Blaise remarked and smirked when Pansy stomped on his foot.
"You didn't," Potter muttered in disbelief when the paper peeled away to reveal a small cage – containing a small, poisonous green snake with one single white line running over the length of its body.
Weasley backed off in surprise and Victoire squeaked in fright before hastily turning around and burying her face into her mother's skirt. Teddy remained near Potter, but he regarded the snake apprehensively, cocking his head to the left.
"Really trying to outdo everyone, huh, Blaise?" Draco drawled, but eyed the snake warily. His friend hadn't told him what kind of gift he had bought, but the blond had assumed it would be some book – not a real snake.
The snake rose up slowly and its eyes were an unnatural dark blue colour. It leant forwards, swaying back and forth gently, before it stuck its tongue out and hissed something.
A look of concentration filled Potter's face and then he was suddenly hissing back and the snake replied and they were having a whole conversation in Parseltongue. Draco watched it happening with an odd squirming sensation in his stomach. Potter being a Parselmouth had been known throughout whole Hogwarts after he had talked to that snake during their second year, but Draco hadn't given it any thought afterwards. He couldn't decide what to think of the odd, smooth hissing sounds leaving Potter's mouth. The Dark Lord had delighted in talking to his snake, bringing terror in every Death Eater present because they couldn't understand him and for all they knew he could have been ordering his snake to eat anyone of them.
Which had sometimes actually happened whenever a Death Eater had displeased him.
Draco didn't have any good memories of someone speaking Parseltongue, but for some reason hearing Potter speak it didn't bother him as much as hearing the Dark Lord hissing had done.
"I don't recognise that type of snake," Granger remarked with a faint frown.
"You wouldn't," Blaise replied calmly. "I acquired it from a profession specialising in magical snake breeds. You like him, Potter?"
Potter raised his head and ceased talking to the snake. "I like him," he confirmed, studying the snake intently when it curled up in its cage and closed its eyes. "He told me he's been bred to neutralise wards."
"Can come in handy for your job," Bill commented blandly; the look he threw the snake was full of apprehension.
"It could," the dark haired wizard agreed and cautiously lowered the cage on the table. The snake didn't even stir.
Draco was still studying the snake when he became aware of everybody's gaze trained at him. Slowly he raised his head and quirked an eyebrow, asking silently what their deal was.
"You're the only one left who still has to give his present, Malfoy," the Weasley girl pointed out primly and her eyes were sharp.
In fact most people were eyeing him up, some with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. Potter was the only one studiously looking away, while Teddy gazed at him curiously.
"Or did you perhaps forget?" she added with narrowed eyes.
The blond man scoffed derisively. "My memory loss doesn't extend that far, Weasley," he retorted snidely and ignored Pansy's raised eyebrow and Blaise's muffled cough.
Potter's head shot up and green eyes stared at him in shock when Draco stepped forwards and plucked the small package out of his pocket. He presented it to the other man, disregarding the way Potter's hand trembled slightly when he accepted the gift.
"Happy birthday," Draco muttered, taking a step back; his mother's gaze pricked the back of his neck and he resisted the urge to swipe at his skin.
"Thanks," Potter murmured and after a short pause he plucked at the bow until it unravelled. The wrapping paper was next and the crinkling noise it caused when being removed sounded especially loud in the silence that had descended upon the group. Most of them appeared to collectively hold their breath and Draco reigned in the urge to snort and instead crossed his arms. One would think they had never seen someone open a gift before.
"Oh," Potter breathed out when he removed the lid and saw the bracelet resting on the pillow. A finger carefully traced the three gemstones embedded in it. "It's beautiful. Thank you!" Large, green eyes stared at him with awe and the blond wizard shifted his foot uncomfortably.
"I'm glad you like the gift," he said stiffly.
Potter grinned and plucked the bracelet out of its box. Deftly he undid the clasp and slid it around his left wrist before snapping the clasp shut again. When he moved his wrist, the sunlight caught the stones and they gleamed softly.
"That's an interesting collection of gemstones," the elder Weasley stated, quirking an eyebrow.
"But it's beautiful," the Weasley matriarch added warmly.
"I recognise those stones!" Granger exclaimed enthusiastically, snatching Potter's wrist so that she could hold it up higher in the air. She pointed at the amber. "This one gives general protection. This one," her finger slid to the peridot, "supposedly gives physical protection and the rose quartz is said to provide protection during the pregnancy and childbirth."
Draco stiffened a tad and cursed himself for not having done deeper research into the meanings of the stones. If he had done so, he wouldn't have been taken off guard now. Of course his self before the attack would have gone into specifics when it concerned the matter of providing protection.
"You added protection for the baby?" Potter inquired and his voice sounded odd until he looked up rather shyly at the older man and Draco realised what he was hearing.
Hope.
That was the tone in his voice.
At first Draco was confused; why would Potter sound hopeful when he asked about the protection for the baby? His confusion lasted until he suddenly discerned the reason and he grimaced slightly. Right, because he hadn't mentioned or wanted to talk about the baby at all since the attack.
Feeling rather uncomfortable, he looked away, ignoring the excited chattering going on around him. A touch on his hand had him quickly looking down before glancing up again, right into emerald green eyes.
"Thank you. I really – appreciate this. Thanks," Potter murmured with a soft smile as his fingers drifted across the bracelet.
"You're welcome," Draco brought out and Potter nodded again before retracting his hand.
The warmth of his touch wouldn't leave Draco for hours afterwards.
AN2: Rather mild chapter compared to the previous ones, but it can't be filled with constant drama, right? ;)
Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
The next chapter will be posted on the 28th of July.
See you all in the next chapter!
Cuddles
Melissa
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Nothing, Everything