This is an AU. It was inspired by a picture (pic fic), which this site will not let me link or show you. The image is called DM
by chouette-e on deviantart dot com. It's worth seeing.


Harry stopped in his tracks.

F*ck.

He couldn't close his mouth. His whole family was watching, and he couldn't get one word past his shock. First he had to deal with that, then deal with being embarrassed because he knew better than to allow looks to matter that much. But they did.

The guy was royal, beautiful, and quite possibly every bit as demanding as his assiduous gaze upon Harry implied. Both their families were in attendance, as if everyone wanted a ringside seat and bets were hedged against Harry possessing the ability to reject this one. After a year of rejecting his parent's traditions, in the form of every pureblooded git thinking he's entitled to Harry's rich vein of magic, that his family could throw at him, how did they find this? He could've swore his own mother snickered while the Malfoys judged every twitch in his face. Their expressions dared him to find a flaw in their son.

Harry had practiced all his life to stand up to his family, to say no to any arranged marriage. He did not hold their belief system concerning blood ideologies. He loved them, but had to say no. Until now.

He felt his heart and his life circling the drain. This had to be a spell. They were all against him and Prince Draco Malfoy, had to be their cruelest card. The prince looked like his his genetics were designed to provoke and ensure procreation at all costs. One could not help but find him attractive. The look he returned to Harry said that, not only did he know this, but he was utterly bored with people coming onto him all his life. That's why no one was allowed to get too close. That's why, in the Wizarding world, these royals did not flaunt their true status and were now using their well-kept secret of a son to secure the most potent line of magic still walking the Earth. They'd possibly bred him for exactly that purpose. He was here to honor his "family business" as much as Harry was. Duty over romance. That was the drill.

Only Harry was falling in love. Right there on the spot, in front of everyone.

For once in his life, it might not be so bad to have a pedigree that traced valuable magic to him. Gringotts recorded it as an asset greater than gold, and ever since he could remember, he'd been told that an arranged marriage was inevitable. It wasn't the money that everyone wanted to out live them. It was the magic.

As he drank in Draco's perfection, he steeled himself against the defiance staring back at him. They were going to have problems. This boy might've said yes to his parents, but he was saying no to Harry. That was okay. The guy was going to have to marry someone, right? There was no chance of dating his royal ass casually. Marriage was the only opportunity Harry had to get to know him. It was commit, or nothing at all.

He looked at his mother, who bit her lip knowingly, and barely concealed her smile. He looked back at Draco. It comforted him to know that he could write his own stipulations into the marriage contract. He was sure that he could win Draco over. Lots of arranged marriages outlasted other ones. Love could grow organically, without being forced. In the end, it was just form of mutual respect.

He could build that with this guy. He had to think like that now, because there was no turning back. Draco Malfoy was not leaving his life until he'd given it his damnedest. And even then, he felt sure he could make that impossible. Draco's was the kind of breeding that came with the ability to have children. That's why his parents would've hidden him from common society, protecting their investment.

F*ck it, this marriage was happening. Happiness was the goal, but that wasn't a deal breaker. He has seen the person he would risk it with, and the person he was going to have children with. And Harry was ready to do anything for him. He was willing to melt whatever challenge met him in Draco's stare. And if he couldn't, he'd always have the right share Draco's bed. That alone, was worth agreeing to the marriage.


Top stories by this writer are in the Unbearable Series.