Alrighty, so a new story. I've got some odd elements in here that I should probably warn you about. First, it is a creature fic. But not exactly like you'd normally see. There's also male pregnancy, but not quite what you may expect. Just try it out. I'd love to hear what you think.
The war against Voldemort had ended, and the Wizarding World was better for it. But recovery was easier for some than others. Draco Malfoy had been on the losing side, though it hadn't exactly been by choice. It had been a relief when Harry Potter had finished the Dark Lord off.
Draco had worked hard to redeem his tarnished reputation. Charges against him had been dropped thanks to Harry testifying on his behalf, and so Draco had been allowed to join the Aurors. Most of the other Aurors didn't trust him and were reluctant to work with him. But, Harry had given him a chance.
Harry Potter had known from the beginning that being partnered with Draco Malfoy would cause chaos. But he never could've anticipated the madness that seemed to follow them relentlessly. Though, to be fair, their problems seemed to cause problems for the other Aurors just as often.
At that moment, Harry was incapable of pondering his rotten luck. Because Harry was a toddler and so was his blond partner.
"Of course it had to be Harry and Malfoy," Ron grumbled, shaking his head at the two year olds at his feet.
Draco's lips were pulled into a little pout as he eyed Ron with wide, watery gray eyes. His chubby little fingers were clutching at his office chair. His round cheeks were pink and Ron was horrified by the strange urge to pinch them lightly.
Harry was a little more slim then Draco, and he seemed much more timid. He sat on the floor with one thumb in his mouth while his green eyes darted warily between Ron and Kingsley. Both boys were still wearing their auror robes, though they'd been shrunk to fit on smaller bodies.
Harry and Draco had been part of a team of aurors investigating a case regarding some missing wizards and witches. The victims had been turned into infants by a crazed witch with an unhealthy fondness for children. She'd splashed the potion on Harry and Draco before they could get her restrained. The de-aging process had taken an hour, but they'd at least made it back to the DMLE quickly before passing out. Ron had spotted them and pulled them into their office to avoid nosy onlookers. He had then watched over them as they had shrunk and the years were stripped away.
"The antidote will take a few hours to brew," Ron sighed. "What do we do until it's finished?"
"We wait," Kingsley replied tiredly. "Could I persuade you to care of them until their condition can be reversed?" he asked.
"I'll do my best," Ron replied, though he was sure that he'd prefer snogging the giant squid over babysitting Malfoy. He walked over to Harry and kneeled, reaching for his friend.
Harry whimpered and shifted away from Ron's hands. Tears filled his eyes and his lip wobbled with the threat of heart breaking sobs. Ron withdrew slightly, frowning in concern. If Harry was two years old, he would have memories of being under the care of the Dursleys. Had they mistreated him so early in life? After a moment, Ron decided that he wasn't particularly surprised. He should have guessed that their depravity wouldn't draw the line at a baby.
"It's alright Harry," Ron said softly, smiling at the scared little boy. "I won't hurt you." He moved slowly and cautiously, reaching out until he could gently stroke the soft skin of Harry's cheek. Harry remained still, staring at Ron. When Ron reached out to pick him up, he flinched slightly but made no other protest.
Ron stood up, balancing Harry on his hip, to move around Harry's desk and grab a biscuit from the tin that Harry kept in his office. Harry accepted the biscuit, the beginning of a smile tugging his lips upward.
"I could kill the Dursleys," Ron said, careful to keep the harshness out of his tone. "How can someone neglect him? Look at him!" he demanded, gazing at the little boy in his arms. Harry stuck his little tongue out to give the biscuit a lick before nibbling on it.
"It can't be helped now," Kingsley said reasonably. "Just take advantage of the opportunity to make up for some of the neglect."
The suggestion seemed to cheer Ron up a bit. He nodded and watched as Harry ate his biscuit and made soft humming noises in approval of the sweetness. Ron glanced over to Draco to see the blond smacking his lips and eyeing Harry's biscuit. Ron wasn't fond of Malfoy, but he wouldn't be mean to a toddler. "Do want a biscuit Malfoy?" he asked.
Draco glanced away from the biscuit to stare up at Ron uncertainly. "I Daco," he said.
Okay, that was cute.
"Alright, would like a biscuit Draco?" Ron amended. He grinned when Draco nodded eagerly, holding out one tiny hand expectantly. Ron complied, smiling when Draco muttered something that was probably supposed to be a thank you.
Draco ate his biscuit happily, ignoring everyone in the room for a moment. When he was done, he looked up his see Harry finishing up his snack as well. "Dat," Draco said, pointing at Harry.
"This is Harry," Ron said, smiling softly as Harry began sucking his thumb again.
"Habby?" Draco questioned. He held his arms out, making grabby hands toward Harry. Harry shifted nervously. Draco sat down and patted the floor with his palm. "Sit!" he chirped.
Ron carefully placed Harry back on the floor, settling himself on the carpet as well. Draco smiled and promptly began to babble at Harry. Ron didn't understand any of it and thought that maybe it was mostly sounds of excitement. Harry seemed bewildered and slowly pulled his thumb out of his mouth. Tears spilled over his cheeks and he sniffled pitifully.
Before Ron could scoop Harry up again, Draco wiggled his way closer to Harry and patted Harry's leg. "'Kay," Draco said softly. He reached up to pet Harry's hair earning a watery smile from Harry. "Habby!" Draco cheered, clapping his hands.
Harry giggled.
A knock at the door drew their attention and Kingsley opened to reveal Pansy Parkinson. "What has Potter done to Draco?" she demanded loudly.
Harry cringed at the angry voice, whimpering softly. Draco glared at the newcomer.
"Ms. Parkinson," Kingsley growled. "Calm yourself."
"It's alright," Ron told the toddlers. "She won't hurt you." He smiled as Harry relaxed slightly and allowed Draco to continue patting his leg. Ron reached out to Draco and tickled Draco's tummy, sending the boy into a fit of giggles. Then Ron reached for Harry, pausing when Harry covered his tummy with his hands warily. Ron moved back to Draco, chuckling when the blond laughed, squirmed and fell over. Draco sat back up excitedly. Ron looked at Harry again, delighted when the boy moved his hands, shyly offering his tummy for tickles.
Harry's burst of laughter warmed Ron's heart. Childish giggles filled the office and Draco squealed in delight when Ron's sneaky fingers gently prodded against his neck.
"That's... adorable," Pansy admitted, slipping closer to the trio on the floor. She sat down in a chair next to Draco and smiled down at him. "Hello Draco," she greeted him.
"Hello," Draco responded, the L sound rolling off his tongue exaggeratedly. Ron chuckled at the sound, earning a dimpled grin from the blond.
"I suppose this can't be entirely Potter's fault," Pansy admitted.
"It's not," Ron retorted. "They were on a mission. They stayed together and the mad bint threw potion at them. Harry had no control over it. But they did protect the others on the team."
"That just means that Potter's rotten luck is to blame rather than his stupidity," Pansy grumbled. Despite her words, she reached out and stroked Harry's hair gently. "What a sweet boy," she cooed. She shifted her gaze to Draco. "Adorable."
Ron shook his head. He wouldn't bother trying to understand Pansy. Regardless of her accusations of Harry's stupidity, she was oddly fond of Harry. Ron could only assume that she was concerned for his well-being in her own way.
Pansy was one of Draco's closest friends. So, naturally, when Draco was made Harry's auror partner, Pansy felt that she needed to be supportive. At first she suspected that Harry was going to sabotage or humilate Draco, but Harry had won her over with surprising ease. Draco had been shocked and a little annoyed about that.
Kingsley slipped away to hold back the reporters that were, no doubt, harassing his poor secretary for information. If Pansy had been aware of an incident, then there was sure to be a herd of rabid reporters waiting to snap up all the details they could find.
Ron and Pansy passed the time by playing with the two year old aurors. Draco loved the attention and babbled happily at them. Harry was all shy smiles and sweet snuggles.
"The Chosen One is a cuddler," Pansy chuckled finally. "I probably should have known that."
"It's probably because of his rubbish relatives," Ron grumbled. "He was affection starved. Even this young," he added sadly. "He's pretty affectionate when he's dating, though he hasn't done much of that lately."
"Hard to imagine that the savior of the wizarding world came from such humble beginnings," Pansy murmured, handing each of the boys another biscuit. "That someone so important and powerful was neglected and despised by his own family. Harry's a good boy," she added sweetly, pleased that it made Harry grin at her.
"Daco good boy?" Draco chimed in eagerly.
"Yes," Ron chuckled. He'd never admit it out loud, but little Draco was absolutely adorable.
"Good boy," Harry said softly.
Draco let out an excited squeal and tackled Harry with a hug. "Good boy Habby!" he jabbered against Harry's robes.
Ron smiled as watched the two little boys together. It was hard to believe that they'd been such bitter rivals in school. Little Draco was probably quite spoilt, but he seemed to have a sweet enough disposition. Adult Draco was rather less pleasant in Ron's opinion.
There was a sharp knock on the door before it was thrown open. In stepped Hermione Granger, looking flustered. "How are they?" she asked.
"Young," Ron responded with a grin. Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes.
Hermione sighed heavily, shaking her head. She was a healer at Saint Mungos. Upon hearing about the incident, she'd retrieved a sample of the potion and immediately started brewing an antidote. It would have caused too much of an uproar to bring the boys to the hospital, so she'd gone to them instead. Her colleagues were taking care of the other victims. "They need to drink this," she said seriously, holding up two baby bottles containing a pale blue potion. "We'll have to do it one at a time so I can monitor them."
"Are you sure it'll work?" Pansy asked uncertainly.
"Of course," Hermione replied dismissively. "But, I prefer to be cautious."
"Do Draco first," Pansy said. "He'll be insufferable if he finds out that we left him as a toddler for longer than necessary."
Hermine shrugged and handed one of the bottles to Pansy. Hermione waited patiently while Draco was coaxed into drinking the potion. Ron distracted Harry by picking him up and making faces.
Once Draco had finished drinking, Hermione transfigured a quill into a cot and placed the little boy on it. He drifted off to sleep, curled under the blanket Hermione placed over him.
The antidote worked more quickly than the original potion. After ten minutes, Draco had returned to his appropriate size and age. His robes had been charmed to grow with him. Finding himself naked would not have gone over well.
Draco stretched and sat up, wincing as his head throbbed. It was if all of his memories had suddenly flooded into his mind, leaving him shaken and nauseous. He lifted his trembling hands and inspected them anxiously. He turned to Pansy expectantly.
"Good as new," Pansy assured him.
"Where's Potter?" Drano demanded, standing up slowly. His eyes widened when he saw Harry sitting in Ron's lap.
"Where Daco?" Harry asked quietly, eyeing Draco uncertainly.
"This is Draco," Pansy said, patting Draco's arm. She giggled when Harry gave her a disbelieving look.
Draco stepped closer, taking in the sight of his partner. Little Harry was unmistakable as his partner. Draco would recognize those vibrant green eyes anywhere. Harry looked to be underfed but otherwise healthy. To Draco's surprise, Harry lifted his arms toward him, looking expectant but nervous. Draco lifted the child carefully, ignoring the odd sound that Pansy emitted. "I can't believe how small he is," Draco muttered.
Hermione handed Harry the second bottle. They all watched as he drank the potion from the safety of Draco's arms. Once he was finished, Hermione motioned toward the cot and Draco carefully layed the little boy down.
"Daco," Harry mumbled sleepily, maintaining a firm grip on Draco's sleeve.
Draco sighed, moving to pull Harry's little hand away. He stilled when Pansy hissed at him. "Let that little darling hold on to you if he likes," she commanded in a whisper. "Just look at that sweet face."
Draco sighed, reluctantly shifting his hand closer to Harry. Harry nuzzled against the fabric sleepily. Draco's lips twitched upward. Hermione noticed but didn't comment.
A few minutes later, Harry woke up back to normal. He opened his eyes and blushed when he realized that he was clutching his partner's sleeve. Harry released his hold in favor of rubbing at his temples with a groan. "That was... intense," he muttered softly.
"Indeed," Draco agreed tiredly.
Pansy sighed and shook her head. "You two have wretched luck," she commented. "You could have been killed."
"We don't usually have potions being tossed at us," Draco retorted, gratefully accepting a pain potion from Hermione. "We don't generally sustain serious injuries and we are excellent at what we do," he said, holding up his vial toward Harry, as if in a toast. Harry returned the gesture with his own pain potion.
Hermione watched as the two men swallowed their potions, grimacing only slightly at the taste. "All better now?" she asked after a few moments, allowing time for the potion to work. "Come to me straight away if you feel the least bit poorly."
Harry waved her off with a tired smile, not wanting her to fuss over him. After a moment, she nodded and kissed his forehead, bidding the others to have a good afternoon. Pansy left soon after, apparently convinced that they wouldn't do anything life-threatening for the rest of the day. Ron returned to his own office, casting an oddly wistful look at Harry over his shoulder as he went.
Harry sighed, returning to his desk to begin his paperwork. His memory of his brief time as a toddler was quite hazy. It was rather muddled with his memory of the Dursleys and the sudden return of his other memories. The dizziness still hadn't subsided and he wondered briefly if he was going to be sick.
"I think we're done for the day," Draco said suddenly, his face even more pale than usual. "I have no intention of vomiting in this office."
"Think we should see Hermione?" Harry asked reluctantly. It seemed responsible to at least ask, though Harry was going to do everything in his power to avoid the hospital.
"Not if I can help it," Draco muttered. "Let's just see if Robards will let us leave early. We did suffer quite an ordeal," he reasoned.
They stepped out into the hallway together and made their way toward the head auror's office. They hadn't made it very far before Ron was calling out to them. "I was watching for you two," he explained, eyeing them critically. "You both look ill."
"Thank you ever so," Draco retorted sarcastically.
"Please don't tell Hermione," Harry pleaded. "We just want to leave. I promise that I'll rest. I don't want to be mothered right now."
Ron folded his arms over his chest, frowning in thought. He looked between Harry and Draco. "I can't, in good conscience, let either of you go off alone," he said. He smiled slightly at their pouting expressions. "What if you two just stayed together? Go to Harry's house and watch the telly while you get some rest. I'll check on you throughout the day. If one of you runs off, I swear I'll track you down and take you straight to Hermione," he added sternly.
Harry nodded quickly while Draco huffed impatiently. Satisfied, Ron ducked into Robards office for a moment. When he returned, he looked satisfied. "Right. You two are free to go," Ron said. "You should have Kreacher take you. I can't imagine that using the floo or apparating would be pleasant."
Harry did as Ron suggested, flinching only slightly when the ancient, and slightly mad, house elf appeared. "Master Potter, young Master Malfoy," the old elf croaked. He shot Ron a suspicious look. "Blood traitor."
"Don't call him that," Harry said sharply. He rolled his eyes when Kreacher simply turned his back and proceeded to ignore Ron's presence entirely. "Please take Malfoy and myself to my home." He shot Room an apologetic look. "We'll stay put."
Ron nodded his acceptance and offered a short wave before the elf grabbed hold of Harry and Draco, whisking them away.
Draco collapsed onto Harry's couch the moment the elf let go of him. Harry sat down next to him, yawning tiredly. Harry switched on the television, flipping through the channels until he found something interesting to watch. Setting aside the remote, he summoned a lovely quilt from another room and draped it over himself and Draco.
Draco glanced away from the telly to look at the quilt. Various runes had been carefully stitched into the fabric with thread that shimmered faintly. Despite feeling cool to the touch against his hand, the quilt was radiating comforting warmth against his body. He could feel his dizziness and nausea subsiding as he relaxed into the couch.
"The runes are to help keep away bad dreams," Harry explained, watching Draco tracing the stitching with his fingers.
"It's nice," Draco muttered, his eyes drifting closed. Harry nodded in agreement, closing his own eyes with a contented sigh.
As threatened, Ron stepped through the floo, intent on checking on Draco and Harry. He smirked when he saw them seated together on the couch with the quilt Mrs. Weasley had made for Harry. They were both sound asleep and Draco's head was resting on Harry's shoulder. Harry's head was leaning against Draco's blond hair.
Ron smiled to himself and left quietly.
Harry and Draco returned to work as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They were glad to put the case behind them, like all the others, and move on. They worked surprisingly well together. Their rivalry at Hogwarts had made it difficult at first, but they'd worked hard to overcome it.
They still argued. A lot. But, Draco's snarky comments were now more likely to make Harry laugh than to provoke anger. Harry was far more witty than Draco had initially expected, and their banter made the work day less dull.
It was lucky that they'd grown to enjoy working together. The numerous bizarre situations they found themselves would have driven Draco to request a different partner otherwise.
Harry's fame was occasionally to blame for the departure from the usual work day. On one memorable afternoon, some witch had managed to corner Harry in the lifts. She'd flirted aggressively and then pressed something soft into Harry's hand before stepping off on her floor. She gave him a heated look as the door shuddered closed. Harry had yelped when he realized he was holding a pair of knickers.
They were still warm.
Harry had thrown the knickers onto the floor of the lift and set them on fire. Draco had sunk to the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter. Harry was grateful that most encounters weren't nearly so embarrassing. But Draco had made up for his laughter at Harry's expense by loudly berating the brazen witch for sexual harassment of the Chosen One. The atrium was probably not the best place for such a thing, but it did seem to warn others away from similar stunts.
A month after the de-aging incident, Draco and Harry found themselves in another bizarre predicament. In Harry's defense, the potion was slipped into their coffee while Harry's back was turned. But Draco still chose to blame Harry at that moment. Surely no good could come from allowing Harry to make coffee for the both of them so early in the morning.
With moments of drinking from their coffee, both men began to feel rather hot. Draco frowned, tugging at his collar uncomfortably. Why was it so bloody hot?
"I'm boiling," Harry muttered, tossing his outer robes aside and opening a few buttons of his shirt. He glanced up to see that Draco was rolling up his shirt sleeves and casting a cooling charm. The charm was little help.
Harry swiped at his sweaty brow and tugged his shirt off completely. He was beginning to feel queasy and his skin prickled unpleasantly. Something was definitely wrong.
His gaze fell to his desk and he spotted a piece of parchment that hadn't been there before. His eyes scanned the writing, widening in concern just before he doubled over in pain.
It was only a few moments and hadn't been the worst pain that Harry had ever felt. But it was certainly unpleasant. Someone in the potions division had played a prank.
Harry heard a sharp gasp and instantly remembered that he wasn't the only victim of the prank. He lifted his eyes to his partner's desk warily.
And there sat Harry Potter. Sort of.
"What the hell was that?" the other Harry said. He looked at his partner and he instantly understood. "Polyjuice," he said flatly. "In the coffee. Merlin, can't you do anything right?!"
"It was a prank," Harry retorted looking down at the paleness of his hands in shock. He was quickly distracted by the sight of Draco's bare chest.
Draco was similarly distracted. He looked down at the body he was occupying, his eyebrows raised. Harry was fit. He wasn't overly bulky but he had a pleasing layer of firm muscle. There was the barest dusting of hair on his chest. "Not bad Potter," Draco commented, running his hands across a taut abdomen.
"Stop touching my body," Harry muttered awkwardly.
Smirking, Draco ran his hands slowly over his chest. Then he paused, a curious look on his face. He brushed his fingers over the nipples again.
"What are you doing?" Harry demanded, his voice slightly higher than normal.
"It feels different," Draco shrugged. "Very little sensitivity."
Harry rolled his eyes. "My nipples aren't sensitive," he said. "It's hardly interesting information."
"It's just strange," Draco shrugged. "Try mine."
Harry signed heavily, giving Draco an impatient look. He brushed his hands lightly over his nipples, his eyes widening a bit with the sensation. It was a surprisingly pleasant feeling. So very different from what he experienced with his own body. His own nipples simply weren't an erogenous zone for him. "That's bloody weird," Harry murmured.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Draco chuckled.
At that moment the door opened and Ron walked in. He looked toward Harry's desk and saw what appeared to be a shirtless Draco Malfoy playing with his own nipples. Behind Malfoy's desk was Harry, reaching behind himself to cup his own arse cheeks with a mildly impressed expression. "What the hell are you doing?" Ron blurted out. "Malfoy, why are you fondling your nipples? Harry, what the hell? Why are you both half naked?"
"Calm down Weasley," Draco said. Of course, he said it with Harry's mouth.
"We were pranked by the potion division," Harry explained. "I'm pretty sure it was Davis that slipped the potion into our coffee. They've done a great job with the new formula."
"It doesn't last long enough to be useful in the field," Ron noted, looking thoughtful but amused.
Sure enough, Harry and Draco began to change into themselves. Once they were back to normal, they sighed with relief. The potion had only lasted for a few minutes. Quite useless, really.
Ron looked between them uncomfortably. "Davis and Harper said that you two needed me for a case," he said. "I suppose that was just an excuse to get me to come in here and catch you two being stupid." He paused, smirking at Harry. "So... Any particular reason you were stroking Malfoy's nipples?" Ron asked.
Harry's face reddened. "I just..." He glanced at Draco and then looked away again, flustered. "Shut up Ron."
Draco and Ron burst into a fit of laughter.