Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
Harry/Draco, Hermione, Hugo, Rose [PG-13, 1426 words]
Disclaimer: JK Rowling and co own everything. I'm writing for fun and not for profit.
A/N: I loved writing this for you, burning_up_a_sun, and if I made you laugh even once, then I will be happy. :) I do hope you enjoy this. Thanks to S for my beta and to the mods for this fest. Happy Holidays to everyone.
Summary: Harry finds out exactly what happens when he tickles a sleeping dragon.
Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
"What happens when you tickle a sleeping dragon?" Rose asked Harry, looking up from her Hogwarts letter. Her breakfast laid forgotten on the table once the morning post had arrived.
"What? Why do you want to know that?" Harry asked.
"It's the school motto," Rose said, showing Harry the Hogwarts crest that was printed at the top of the parchment. "It's so unusual that I wondered why it was chosen."
Several answers flickered through Harry's mind, most involving being horribly burned, dead or something more graphic. He refused to tell her that, though.
"I don't know, Rose," Harry said at last. "You can ask your mum. She knows everything."
"Really, Harry, you should know this. After all, you've fought a dragon in the Triwizard Tournament, you've ridden a dragon to escape Gringotts, and you're dating one. How could you not know?" Hermione said, with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Harry grinned at her.
"You're dating a dragon?" Hugo said, his eyes wide. His current fascination with dragons came courtesy of Charlie staying with Ron and Hermione on one of the rare times he took a holiday from Romania. Hugo had hung onto Charlie's every word and had told Ron many times that he wanted to be a dragon trainer when he grew up.
"He's not dating a real dragon, Hugo," Rose said. "His boyfriend's name is Draco. It's Latin for dragon."
"Oh," Hugo said, disappointed. "I wanted to meet a real dragon. Then I could tickle him."
"You need to ask Charlie that before he leaves tomorrow, Hugo," Hermione said. "He'll be able to tell you all about them. If not, I'm sure we can find you some books to search for the answer."
"Or Uncle Harry can ask his boyfriend. Right, Uncle Harry?" Hugo said.
Harry smiled; he could never refuse his godchildren anything. "Sure, Hugo. I'll let you know what he says, okay?"
The boy nodded and Harry spent the rest of breakfast telling Rose and Hugo all about how much he loved Hogwarts. He told them about taking the Hogwarts Express where he had met their parents, flying and Quidditch, the Hogwarts ghosts, and the different classes he had his first year.
Once Harry had walked his godchildren to the Muggle primary school they attended, he went back to his flat. He thought about Rose's question all the way home. It was a stupid idea to entertain, he thought to himself as he unlocked the door and went in search of Draco. Still, Harry would be thinking about it all day and the best solution was to find an answer.
Standing in the doorway to their bedroom, looking down at his boyfriend, Harry hesitated. He thought about the options he had. Draco valued his sleep. He rarely slept when he was working and he had just finished a three day shift at St Mungo's. It would be a shame to wake him up.
Then again, he loved it when Draco laughed. It made him appear younger, less stressed, smoothed out the lines on Draco's face. (Not that Harry would dare mention that to him.) Harry didn't remember the last time that Draco had laughed, not since an outbreak of Dragon Pox had kept him busy at St Mungo's for the past few weeks.
The worst fire that Draco could throw at him would be the swearing and threats that came from waking him up. Harry figure that would be a small price to pay; otherwise, he had no regrets.
Harry came to a decision.
Harry crawled into bed with Draco, taking care not to jostle the other man. He pulled the duvet down to their waists and used his wand to Vanish Draco's pyjama shirt. Draco was still except for the steady rising and falling of his chest. On any other night Harry would be mesmerized by the expanse of pale skin on display. It certainly was a distraction.
"Focus, Harry," he said to himself, shaking his head. Harry was talking to himself; this was certainly madness. But then again, what he was about to do would qualify as crazy.
He placed his fingers a few centimetres above the fine hairs on Draco's chest. This is it, he thought to himself, there's no turning back.
The first few tickles didn't cause a stir, so Harry used both hands. It had an immediate effect: Draco's breathing was interrupted by gasps as he struggled to take in more air.
"No," Draco murmured, still caught up in his dream, "stop." He pushed weakly at Harry's hands, but it made no difference.
Harry began to really tickle his boyfriend, moving from Draco's chest, down his arms, and a few quick tickles underneath his armpits.
"Stop!" Draco's eyes flew wide open, and he used his arms to shield himself from Harry's fingers as much as possible. Draco face began to turn red as he squirmed, twisting and turning, to evade Harry's fingers.
"What the fuck are you doing, Potter?" Draco gasped, right before accidently hitting Harry's jaw and kneeing his groin at the same time.
Finally, Harry got his answer. Pain. Lots of pain. Blinding pain that made him gasp and knocked the breath out of his lungs. He didn't care about anything else except how to make it end. By some miracle, although it didn't feel like it at the moment, Harry didn't pass out.
"Fuck, Potter, are you okay?"
Harry couldn't speak, so he settled for blinking his eyes rapidly, letting the tears fall down his face. Draco said nothing, but his expression softened as he wiped away Harry's tears. By all rights, Harry conceded that Draco had the right to be angry. However, he was in too much pain and if he wanted his Healer boyfriend to help him, he would have to grovel. He gestured at his groin, hoping that Draco would take the hint.
Thankfully Draco did. He grabbed his wand off of the nightstand and cast several charms that took away the pain from between his legs. Harry let out a huge breath he hadn't realised he had been holding, wincing at some slight pain that Draco's spell had missed.
"What were you thinking? Never mind, you probably weren't," Draco said, shaking his head. "I thought someone was attacking me! I was just about to use some curses Severus had taught me when I realised that it was you."
"I'm sorry, I was just curious about something that Rose had said this morning about tickling sleeping dragons," he gasped, clutching the side of his face. It was awkward to talk and although he didn't think his jaw was broken, something was definitely wrong.
"Potter, you idiot. Don't move," Draco said. "Let me heal you, though I have half a mind to leave you like this and let you heal the Muggle way."
Harry watched as Draco healed him, slowly, but with a finesse that showed why Draco was a great Healer. He gently pressed on different parts of Harry's jaw and asked if there was pain, not stopping until he was satisfied with the results.
"I really am sorry, Draco. I didn't think things through. After all, what harm can a bit of tickling really do?"
Draco snorted and Harry couldn't help but give a weak grin. "Look how well that turned out." He Summoned a few vials of potions and held them out to Harry. "Take these to help with bruising and swelling. And don't complain about the taste. I think we can both agree that that is the least of your problems today."
Harry gagged at the potions, and was about to ask for a mint that Draco usually carried on him, when he was handed another vial.
"What's this for?"
"A mild dose of Sleeping Potion. We are going to finish taking a nap, the one you rudely interrupted by the way, before you take me out to dinner and make it up to me tonight," Draco said, yawning. "If all goes well, maybe I'll consider not telling Charlie and Hermione what really happened today when we see Rose and Hugo tomorrow."
"You're so bossy," Harry said, before quickly downing the potion as Draco glared at him.
"Honestly, Potter, I hope you're satisfied with your silly question. You survived two dragons and Voldemort," Draco said sleepily as he pulled the duvet over both of them. He wrapped his arms around Harry's chest and his voice sent shivers down Harry's spine as Draco buried his face in his neck. "Don't let me be the one who finally kills you."