I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter One: Nebula

Nebula – A cloud of dust and gas in space, usually illuminated by one or more stars. Nebulae represent the raw material the stars are made of.

The throbbing beat of some heavy metal song pounded through the club. Arrakis 'Harry' Black didn't recognize the song – though he was relatively certain it was done by the Muggle band 'Queen' – and he didn't much care. All that mattered to him was the intoxicating feel of the bass, the writhing bodies around him, and the pair of hands gripping his derrière as they ground, half-hard, against each other.

The Rooster was a primarily Muggle club, but thanks to the owner being a Squib, there was also a basement dance floor and private rooms reserved only for those of the magical persuasion. Joseph Abbott, more commonly known as 'Joe', had arranged for his witch sister to ward the basement and the third floor against Muggles, while covering the entire club with other common wards, including ones to discourage Muggle bobbies and prevent the place from being shut down.

The wizarding half of the club had enough patronage that Joe could have made the entire thing wizard-friendly and turned the basement into a quieter bar if he'd wanted to, but the magicless man was insistent on being open to everyone. "Most Muggles can't ensure that their bars won't be shut down if they cater to people like us," he'd told Harry on one of his first visits to the bar. "I can. I'm going to make my place open to as many people as possible, magical or not." It wasn't a popular decision among the purebloods who frequented the bar, but they grudgingly accepted it.

Harry didn't care. His own mother was muggleborn, though that was a fact kept closely guarded by the notoriously pureblooded Black family. His own aunt, Walburga Black, had married her second cousin, Orion Black, in order to keep the blood in the family. (Harry had a sneaking suspicion that he and Cousin Orion shared a persuasion. Unfortunately, while it was possible for male wizards to carry, it required a great deal of power on both sides, and children of male-male unions were often considered the gift of magic. There was no guarantee such a gift would be granted, however, so many pureblooded families required their heirs to marry women, no matter their sexuality.)

"What's your name?" the man attached to him whispered into his ear. Well, it would have been a whisper, but the volume level of the music required one to almost yell to be heard six inches away.

"Harry!" he replied, giving out his nickname – given by his Muggleborn mother, as 'Arrakis' was a bit too unusual for the Muggle world – instead of his proper, very-obvious-pureblood name. Arrakis was one of the stars in the constellation Draco, a fact that would be obvious to anyone who had passed Astronomy in school. The star name would almost definitely identify him as a Black, as the family had a penchant for star names. Harry was much less conspicuous.

"I'm Tom," the man purred into his ear, somehow managing to be heard despite the noise. "Do you want to get a private room?" he asked, running his tongue along Harry's ear and causing him to shiver.

"Sounds good to me," Harry said breathlessly before allowing himself to be led off the dance floor to the stairs which led to the third floor – the first floor being the Muggle dance floor and the second floor being reserved for Muggles who wanted to do exactly what Harry and Tom were off to do now.

They ended up making out in the hallway of the third floor as Tom attempted to pull out a key from his pocket and insert it into the lock. He'd obviously come to The Rooster for specific reasons.

While Harry always hoped his nights would end this way, he tended to just be satisfied with the rush that came with the freedom to lose his inhibitions, something he was only allowed within the walls of The Rooster. He didn't often have to though. Between his lithe body and his elegant, pureblood features, he rarely left the club without a bedmate. Usually he just rented one of the club's rooms for his affair, as he wasn't planning to bring a stranger into his home. The summer before, during the month between his seventeenth birthday and the day he returned to Hogwarts for his seventh year, he had visited the club nearly every night.

Tom certainly wasn't a disappointment. Their encounter lasted several rounds, and ended with them collapsing into sleep in the rented room. Joe wouldn't kick them out, but he would charge them for every hour they were in there. Plus, Joe liked him. Phineas Abbott had been one of Harry's roommates and good friends.

The next morning surprisingly wasn't awkward. In fact, it started with another round of sex and ended with a second round in the shower.

"I'm at The Rooster every Thursday night," Tom offered as they made to leave the room, "if you'd like to do this again.

Harry paused, before a coy smile crossed his face.

"When I'm in the country, I'm here any night I don't have an early morning planned. I hope to see you around then."

That was the beginning of their encounters. Before the summer was out, they were meeting three nights a week and welcome in the other's residences.

Later, Harry would be feel very stupid that it took him three months to figure out that his recurrent lover was actually the Dark Lord Voldemort. It only happened after Tom mentioned a meeting at Malfoy Manor that Harry knew was only for Death Eaters. Narcissa and Bellatrix had told him not to come by. And Tom didn't have the Dark Mark.

"Merlin, Morgana, and Salazar," Harry cursed, jerking upwards and away from Tom's embrace.

The man frowned.

"What is it, lover?"

"My cousins told me about that meeting," Harry said slowly. "They said not to come by Malfoy Manor last week because the Dark Lord was hosting a Death Eater meeting there." He paused, and his eyes trailed down Tom's bare skin to his blank forearm. "You don't have the Dark Mark," he continued.

"I could have glamoured it," Tom pointed out, but he looked far too amused.

"You can't," Harry replied. "Bella let me test hers. The Dark Mark cannot be covered by any traditional methods. The only thing that I found that worked was Muggle cosmetics. And we've been sweating too much for that not to have come off." He took a deep breath, well aware of Tom's dark eyes boring into him. "You're the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"I am," the man said freely, and his brown eyes faded into the sanguine orbs that the Dark Lord was known for.

Harry stared for another moment, then laid back down and snuggled back into the blankets. His next words were muffled by his pillow.

"Just because I'm sleeping with you doesn't mean I'm going to join you!"

"Doesn't it?" Tom asked amusedly, propping himself up on one arm so that he could look down on his lover.

"I refuse to take a bond of servitude with someone I'm sleeping with. No, thank you. Plus, I'm about to leave on my globetrotting research trip. I'm fine with sex when we're in the same country, if you're amicable, but I don't want the Dark Mark."

"Don't you support my cause?" Tom asked curiously.

"Some of it," Harry admitted. "I agree that the Wizarding World needs to be more fully segregated from the Muggle world. I agree that our culture has stagnated and needs to progress. I don't agree with the blood purity debate."

"You're a Black," Tom deadpanned.

"A half-blood Black who was only allowed to remain a member of the family because my mother was descended from the Squib line of Rowena Ravenclaw," Harry revealed. Tom knew he was a half-blood. He'd known that since before Harry had revealed his last name. "A quarter of Hogwarts is nothing to scoff at, as I'm sure you know. And aren't you a half-blood as well?"

At Tom's flinch, Harry knew he was right. Harry pressed on.

"You and I are two of the most powerful wizards I know. Dumbledore as well – yes, I know you hate him," he said at Tom's growl, "but you can't deny he's powerful. And also a half-blood. His mother was Muggleborn."

"How do you know this?" Tom wondered.

"When I was nine, I got tired of some of my elder relatives disparaging comments about my mother's blood. So I went on this massive research binge to discover famous and powerful half-bloods. Merlin was also on my list. His mother was a Muggle," Harry said. "Uncle Cygnus says that that's the moment they knew I was destined for Ravenclaw."

"So, you won't take my Mark?" Tom asked.

"I'd rather not," Harry said apologetically. "I'll be a supporter, but not a Marked follower."

Tom sighed.

"Alright then. I tried. Are you up for round two?"

Harry smiled lasciviously, and that was the end of it.

Three months later, Harry had just arrived in Cote d'Ivoire and was given some rather interesting news during his entry medical check-up.

"Excuse me?" Harry said in disbelief, not quite comprehending what the mediwizard had just told him.

"I asked if you were aware that you were sixteen weeks pregnant," the mediwizard said. "I'll take that as a no."

"Sixteen weeks?" Harry asked faintly. "I need to sit down."

The mediwizard helpfully conjured an armchair for him to sink into.

"Would you like me to redirect you to the wizarding hospital for a prenatal appointment?"

"That would be appreciated," Harry continued, voice still faint.

Male pregnancy, while not unheard of, was unusual without the usage of specific spells and potions. It took two powerful wizards and the desire for a family in order for it to happen accidentally. It certainly said something for both Tom and Harry's magical strength. Harry certainly desired children of his own eventually, though he wasn't prepared for them now. He wasn't sure of Tom's own feelings on the subject – they weren't in a romantic relationship, they hadn't discussed these things! – but right now was not the time even if he did want them. Tom was five years into a war that had labeled him Public Enemy Number One by the British Ministry of Magic. His reach stretched well into Europe, which he actually had a better hold of than his home country, which was standing – not exactly strong, more like cowering – behind the back of Albus Dumbledore and his so-called 'Order of the Phoenix.'

For a secret vigilante organization, they weren't subtle.

The Healer at the hospital told him another surprise.

"Congratulations, you're having twins!"

Harry choked on air. This was certainly not how he expected him research tour to be kicked off.

He quickly managed to compose himself and asked, "I'm supposed to be on a research tour. How will my pregnancy impact that?"

"You should try to limit your magical use during your last trimester," the Healer said. "Male pregnancies tend to be shorter, as do first-time pregnancies and twin pregnancies. I presume this is your first?"

"It is," Harry said with a nod. He was only nineteen years old, after all.

"You'll be lucky to get to eight months," the Healer said. "Honestly, I'd expect closer to seven-and-a-half. You should probably return home around the sixth-seventh month just to be safe."

Harry sighed. He'd hoped to be in Africa until at least June. Now he'd be leaving beginning of April, at the latest. And worst of all, he couldn't tell Tom.

Tom obviously wanted a family. Harry wouldn't have become pregnant naturally if he didn't. But whether he would admit to wanting a family…that was a different question. Even if he did admit it, he would want to protect them. He would assign guards, set up wards, possibly insist that Harry move in with him. All things that would get them noticed by Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. 'Light Side' or not, there were definitely people on that side that would think nothing of kidnapping and/or killing an innocent child for the crimes of the father. Additionally, Tom wouldn't let Harry travel. Harry couldn't be caged. He needed his freedom. He needed to be useful. He wasn't the typical library-researcher Ravenclaw. He preferred his research to be hands-on.

Well, he'd figure it out. First things first…

"What do I need to know about male pregnancy?" he asked.

Four months later, he returned to Britain, traveling the Muggle way in order to avoid whatever spies the Dark Lord had at international transportation. Instead of returning to the townhouse he called home, which the Dark Lord knew about and had access to, he Apparated directly to Black Manor.

A house-elf appeared immediately to take his cloak.

"Good morning, Master Arrakis," the elf greeted.

"Is my lord uncle available?" Harry questioned.

"Lord Master is in his study," the elf reported. "He is being alone."

Harry nodded curtly and ascended the grand staircase to the second floor. The lord's study was close to the staircase, so that anyone meeting with him would not spend much time in the manor.

Harry knocked on the door.

"Come in, Arrakis," Arcturus Black called.

Harry entered the room to see his uncle – technically his first cousin twice removed – working on paperwork.

"Sit down," the lord ordered without looking up. "I'm almost finished."

Harry did as he was told. Five minutes later, Arcturus set his papers aside and gave him a considering look.

"I thought you were supposed to be in Africa until June."

Harry considered his options, then decided that he wasn't a Slytherin and could afford to be blunt.

"I'm pregnant," he stated.

Arcturus blinked. It was the only expression of shock that he gave off, but Harry knew how to read him. He had not expected that.

"I assume the father doesn't know?"

"He does not," Harry agreed.

"Why not? Male pregnancy required both participants to be desirous of a family."

Harry winced.

"The father is the Dark Lord."

Arcturus blinked again. If the situation wasn't so dire, Harry would have enjoyed breaking his composure. He and Sirius both enjoyed breaking their Slytherin relatives' (in other words, all of their relatives') masks.

"He would be able to protect you," Arcturus pointed out.

"If he protects me, Dumbledore or the Ministry find out that there's something that needs to be protected," Harry argued. "If he knows, he won't leave me without protection, but if there's protection, someone will find out about it. If it's just me, no one will pay attention that a minor son of the Black family got pregnant out of wedlock."

The wedlock wasn't a major concern. In the wizarding world, it only counted as illegitimacy if one or both of the participants was married when it happened, and even then, it was only shameful on the side of a married woman. There were potions to determine lineage, so it was easy to prove parentage. Harry's cousins, Bellatrix and Andromeda, had both been born out of wedlock, and their father had only married their mother two weeks before Narcissa was born. Since neither Harry nor Voldemort was married, their children would be considered legitimate heirs of their houses, unless Voldemort formally disowned them.

Which Harry doubted would happen. As Arcturus said, both participants had to want a family for a male pregnancy to occur. The Dark Lord wanted a family. Harry wanted a family. Harry just wasn't willing to tell Voldemort about the family until the war was older. There was no way he was going to put his children in harm's way, which is exactly where they'd be if they were under guard.

Plain sight was the best place to hide, after all.

"That's true enough," Arcturus agreed. "I didn't know you were a Death Eater though, and how are you planning on hiding it when he calls you to meetings?"

"I'm not a Death Eater," Harry said firmly. "We met at the club. He had his eyes glamoured, and I used my nickname. We didn't even make to last names until the third time we'd slept together."

Arcturus raised a hand.

"That's as much as I want to know about your sexual activities. I assume it progressed into a relationship?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably.

"I like him more than just as a sexual partner. I know he feels some sort of fondness for me, though I'm not sue how much. He asked if I'd join the Death Eaters and I said no. He didn't do anything to me. He listens to me. In some ways, he treats me as his Consort, though I don't think he realizes that's what he's doing."

"If you recognize a magical bond, he should recognize it as well," Arcturus pointed out.

Harry shook his head.

"He's Muggle-raised. He probably knows about magical bonds but he doesn't have any first-hand experience with them – besides his Death Eaters, of course."

"The Dark Lord is Muggle-raised?" Arcturus said with another shocked blink.

"He's a half-blood. Pureblood mother died in childbirth, Muggle father rejected magic and his son. Tom thinks there may have been a love potion involved."

"Tom?"

"Tom Riddle. His birth name. He was the presumed Muggleborn in Father's year…?"

"I remember," Arcturus said with a nod. "That's the Dark Lord's real identity?"

"I always said that half-bloods were just as powerful as purebloods," Harry replied, trying not to sound smug.

Arcturus sighed and leaned back slightly in his chair – the closest to slumping the man would get, even in a private setting.

"What do you need from me?" he asked. "I assume you came here for help?"

"A healer under oath would be wonderful," Harry admitted. "I would have stayed in Africa, but wizard births tend to be more dangerous than witch births, and they don't have the resources we do anyways. Additionally, I would rather not have my infant children in the same areas I've been researching in."

"When are you due?" Arcturus asked.

"The beginning of June, but the healer warned me not to be surprised if it was as soon as the end of April. Male pregnancies tend to be shorter, as do first pregnancies, twin pregnancies, and pregnancies where the bearer is young. Given that I'm nineteen, male, and carrying twins, I'll be more surprised if they don't come early."

Unsurprisingly, his prediction came true.

Less than a month later, he was giving birth in an isolated wing of Black Manor. Arcturus was waiting in the antechamber, having hired a Healer from China who specialized in male pregnancies to assist with the birth. Narcissa was there as well, as the young woman was almost two years into her training as a Healer and more than capable of acting as a midwife. She had been bound by blood oaths, made stronger by the familial connection, to not reveal anything that occurred here.

"Don't listen to what anyone says, Cissy," Harry panted as another contraction hit him. "Pregnancy is not fun."

"I never thought that it was," Narcissa said calmly. Harry envied her ability to seem serene under any circumstances.

"But the older women like to glorify motherhood as the best thing that could ever happen in a woman's life. I heard one matron say that pregnancy was the best thing that could happen in a woman's life. She was definitely a liar. I'm not sure she'd ever been preg – Aah!" he yelped as another contraction hit him.

"You are almost ready to push," the Chinese man told him.

Twenty minutes later, he had his twin children in his arms. His daughter had been born first, followed closely by her brother. The Chinese healer had left and he was alone with Narcissa and Arcturus.

"What are you going to name them?" Arcturus asked.

"Aspidiske Mira and Alsciaukat Muliphen Black," Harry responded promptly.

"Aspidiske, the brightest star in the constellation Carina, and Mira, of the constellation Cetus," Arcturus identified. "Alsciaukat of the constellation Lynx, and Muliphen in Canis Major."

"Precisely," Harry said solemnly. Beyond Arcturus, he could see Narcissa stifling a laugh. She had been there for the argument that had Sirius, Andromeda, Bellatrix, and himself swearing to give their children the most terrible star names possible in an attempt to end the hold star/constellation names had on their family. He had gone through with it. Of his cousins, only Andromeda had a child, and she had given her daughter the name 'Nymphadora.' It wasn't a star name, but it was nearly as bad.

"Mooky will be up to care for the children shortly," Arcturus stated. "Narcissa, I assume you will remain here for the rest of the night in case your cousin needs your assistance?"

"Of course," the blonde nodded easily.

Arcturus nodded to both of them and left the room. They managed to keep their straight faces until Arcturus had closed the door and the silencing charms went up, then they burst out laughing.

"I didn't…think you would…actually…go through with it!" Narcissa laughed.

"I'm planning on calling them Mira and Alphen," Harry replied. "Much less of a hazard than 'Aspidiske' and 'Alsciaukat'."

"They'll thank you for it," Narcissa said drily. "Except when their names are called out at the Sorting Ceremony, and everyone knows what monstrosities you saddled them with."

"You're planning on 'Draco'," Harry pointed out.

Narcissa blushed.

"It goes well with 'Malfoy'," she said quietly.

"That it does," Harry said amicably. "Have you decided on a date yet?"

"The summer after next," Narcissa said. "I want a June wedding, Lucius said July."

"So you're having a June wedding," Harry surmised.

Narcissa smiled angelically, the same smile that had gotten her out of trouble when making mischief as children alongside Sirius.

Narcissa had always been his favorite cousin, being the closest to his age. He wasn't quite as fond of her fiancé, Lucius Malfoy, as the man looked down on anyone he saw as 'lesser'. Harry, being younger, half-blooded, and a minor son of the Black family, definitely counted as lesser in his eyes. He did have one redeeming factor, though. Lucius honestly and truly loved Narcissa with his entire being. Originally, the marriage contract had been between Lucius and Andromeda, but Lucius had it changed to Narcissa before Andromeda had chosen to run off with a Muggleborn.

Of course, it was only because Lucius had broken the contract with Andromeda that she'd had the opportunity to run off with a Muggleborn in the first place.

Lucius could never deny Narcissa anything, so if Narcissa wanted a June wedding, Narcissa was getting a June wedding.

"Isn't he wondering where you are?" Harry asked. If word that Narcissa was attending to Harry got back to the Dark Lord, he'd be facing several questions as to why he was in Britain a month before planned, and without informing his lover.

"I told him I had a familial obligation and I couldn't speak more of it," Narcissa stated. "Our lord uncle said that no one was to know that you are in Britain."

"No one can know about the twins," Harry said firmly. "Maybe in a few years. Until then, they don't exist."

"Where will you raise them?" Narcissa questioned.

"The house in Dublin that Father had me raised in is mine," Harry shrugged. "I have a permanent portkey there. The house-elves are still there, and completely capable of raising a child – or two, in this case. I'm not planning on abandoning my children, but I'm not giving up my life for them either. And they have each other, so they will not be without companionship."

"And the father?" Narcissa questioned.

"I would prefer you didn't ask," Harry replied. "What do you see my recovery time being?"

"From what Healer Liu has said, I expect you'll be completely back to normal in about a month," Narcissa reported.

"And the pregnancy scars?" Harry questioned. "I can get rid of them?"

"The creams Healer Liu prescribed ought to get rid of them within the month," Narcissa promised.

When June came along, Harry was completely healed and showed no signs of ever having been pregnant. Two days into the month, he sent a message to Tom in the linked journals the Dark Lord had gifted him.

Back in Britain, he wrote. Meet up at the Rooster?

He had a reply only minutes later.

How about I take you out for dinner instead? So you can tell me all about your trip before I fuck your brains out.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, but he wrote back, Sounds good to me. When and where?

Tomorrow? Tom offered. I'll pick you up at your townhouse at seven? I'm guessing that's where your staying?

It's where I'll be by tomorrow. I'm at the Manor tonight. My lord uncle does sponsor my research, so I am technically required to report to him.

See you then.