Title: My Child, Who are You?
Author: blumvale
Beta: shudhavbinjamie
Prompt: You again? Harry and Draco finally get pregnant, only to find out that their unborn child carries the reincarnated (and aware of his/her most immediate past life) soul of -insert formerly dead HP character name here-
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Warning(s): none, I think
Epilogue compliant? nope, not a chance though I did take bits of the last book and threw them in. So characters who are already dead, stayed dead, no zombies in this story.
Word Count: 4,105
Summary: I think the prompt says it all. Harry and Draco are in the family way. They are nervous and excited to see who their offspring might be.
Author's Notes: I twisted this up a little in that everyone has some connection to a past life so that Harry and Draco's child isn't really an exception to the rule. And I twisted it so that Harry and Draco do not know who is being reincarnated until the child is a little older and able to talk about their memories.
For the mpreg fest at harrydracompreg on livejournal
"I wonder who your baby will be," Ginny said with an odd smile as she gazed at Harry's protruding stomach. "Considering all the losses we faced in the war with Voldemort, he or she could be almost anyone."
"What the hell are you on about?" Harry asked as he put a protective arm around his stomach. Ginny had obviously gone off her rocker and was talking madness. Maybe he and Draco shouldn't have asked her to be a godmother. They had already asked Ron and Hermione but hadn't wanted the youngest Weasley to feel left out, so they had asked her as well. Would it be rude to take the offer back?
"Seriously, Harry," Ginny put her hands on her hips. "I know you were raised as a muggle but you've been a wizard for over a decade now. Don't you think it's time you get all the facts in? You've got a baby on the way. Are you really going to leave the entire education of who they are up to Malfoy?"
"Hey!" came an indignant reply as Draco exited the floo. "Our child could do worse than to learn… what exactly will I be teaching our child?" Draco shrugged out of his cloak and placed it on the coat rack next to the fireplace. Then he pulled at his tie until it hung loosely around his neck before he walked over to where Harry sat and placed a kiss on the brunette's cheek.
Harry shrugged his shoulders as he smiled up at his husband. "I've no idea. Ginny is talking nonsense."
"I am not!" Ginny insisted, a frown on her face. "You have to have wondered who your child is going to be. Come on Draco, whose memories do you think the baby will have?"
When Draco got a thoughtful look on his face, Harry's smile slipped away. "What-" he started to ask when Draco said at the same time, "I'm kind of hoping for Severus. It would be nice to speak to him again. I bet you're hoping for Sirius aren't you?"
"Sirius? Sirius? Wait, are you two serious?"
Draco sat down on armrest of Harry's chair. Looking patiently at his lover he explained, "Every person in the wizarding world has some memories of their past lives." Reaching down, Draco took Harry's hand in his own. "Usually they're stronger in those born in wizard families as opposed to muggle families but they are always present. Oddly, I don't remember my last life. Instead I remember the witch trials in Spain. And I don't really remember them clearly. When I was a child I would have nightmares of burning alive. My mum explained to me that they were memories and they couldn't hurt me now. That knowledge didn't help me too much when I was small but it explains why I am fluent in Spanish today. What about you?" Draco looked at Ginny, expectedly.
"During one summer when I was about 5 or 6, Fred and George were playing," Ginny's expression turned sad at the mention of her lost brother. "And somehow they managed to create a swimming hole in the yard. Can't begin to guess what they did but you know how children's magic can do some strange things before starting school. Since the twins were older they had learned to swim but Mum hadn't gotten around to teaching me yet. That didn't stop me from jumping into the water right after the boys. Oh, Mum let out a dreadful shriek, convinced I was going to drown. But I swam like I had been doing it for years; way better than any 5 or 6 year old should be able to. For a while after that, whenever I looked at water I would get memories of swimming. I couldn't tell you if it was part of my most recent life or what, but it is a part of who I am today."
"You two are pulling my leg," Harry said after a moment, still unconvinced.
"We're really not, love," Draco said, giving Harry's hand a squeeze. "Some people have more knowledge about their past lives than others. Weaselette and I don't even remember our past names. You really don't have some unexplained memories floating around in that head of yours?"
"I think I had enough of going on in my head with Tom Riddle, let alone anyone else. " Harry frowned. "How have I never heard about this?" Both Ginny and Draco shrugged. "And you think our baby could be someone from the war?"
Again Harry's husband and friend shrugged their shoulders. Then Draco said, "There is a good probability but he or she could be like us and not really remember much of anything."
"Or?" Harry questioned.
"Or…" Ginny paused. "It is possible to remember everything. To grow up with two sets of memories."
Harry felt his jaw drop. "Two sets of memories? That would drive someone insane!"
"That's a possibility too…" Draco murmured.
Harry laid in bed, his feet propped up on a pillow. It felt nice to rest this way, as his ankles had become swollen during the day. He could not get his earlier conversation with Ginny and Draco out of his head. Awkwardly he tried to go through his own memories, trying to find some clue of something that didn't quite fit. Draco and Ginny had insisted everyone remembered something. But nothing seemed out of place in Harry's mind. Well he had been an exception to plenty of other rules, why not add this one to the list?
Coming out of the bathroom, Draco broke in, "Stop thinking so hard, you're giving me a headache."
Harry patted the empty space next to him, eager to have his husband lie with him. "Look, I can get how I may have missed this information before. We both know, I wasn't always the best student," Harry tried to joke even though the topic was serious. Sitting down on the bed, Draco snorted in agreement. "But I'm seven months along, how did we not discuss this sooner?"
"I don't know," Draco said honestly. "I'm not going to lie, I like the idea of Severus being back with us. I miss him. But… our child is still going to be his or her own person. He or she isn't going to come out dressed in billowing black robes wearing a scowl. So, I guess I tried not to dwell on it. And there is nothing to say that our child will be a reincarnation of someone from the war." Draco laid his hand on Harry's stomach, happy to feel the flutter of his child under his touch. "They could be anyone, anything. And no mater what, they will be healthy, happy, and loved."
"Yeah," Harry mumbled in agreement. He could feel tears prickling in his eyes. Ever since he had realized he was pregnant, his emotions had been all over the place.
"So I was thinking…" Draco used his wand to shut the bedroom lights off. He put his wand on his nightstand before settling his body against Harry's warmth. "For a boy what do you think of the name Scorpius or for a girl the name Bellona?"
Making a face, Harry, glad Draco had already shut the lights off, replied, "Oh yeah, those are nice names…"
"Bell-" Harry chased after his energetic three year old, her legs chubby but fast. "Bellona come back here this instant!" Groaning, he continued after the little girl, cursing his husband in his mind. His little terror was always a little more behaved when Draco, Papa, was around. But he had abandoned them for paperwork and elbow brushing with some Ministry officials. Harry knew Draco would rather be at the Burrow with his family, but the extra work hours were sometimes unavoidable. Catching up to the blond haired monster, Harry grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air, ignoring her giggles and protests to be put back down. "Come on missy, we have people to see." Still holding his little girl, Harry walked up to the front door and walked right in. He and Bell were expected and as family, he didn't have to knock. Almost immediately, Bell was taken out of Harry's arms, Molly and Arthur doting on their 'granddaughter' while greetings and hugs were extended to him.
"Hey, mate," Ron greeted brightly, as he slapped Harry on the back. "'Bout time you got here." Ron then proceeded to lead Harry into the living room where the rest of the family was waiting. He was met with a chorus of, "Hi, Harry." Moving around the room, Harry said hello to everyone in return. Stopping a moment to kiss Hermione's cheek, he placed a hand on her stomach. She was almost nine months pregnant and looked about ready to burst.
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.
"Not too bad," Hermione grinned. "But ready to get this one out of here. Ready to be a mom."
"Yeah, I understand." Harry nodded, remembering how he felt the last few weeks before Bell was born. Before he could say anything else, hands were placed over Harry's eyes and a voice said, "Guess who."
"Um," Harry said, trying to remember who was expected at the Burrow and who he had already seen. "Luna?"
"Good guess," Luna's hands moved from Harry's eyes to his waist in an awkward hug. Harry turned so that he was facing the younger woman and hugged her in return.
"Good to see you Luna. How are Rolf and the twins?" Luna's little boys were just a few months younger than Bell.
"Oh they're great." Luna got a dreamy smile on her face. "They should be here in a little while. The boys were playing outside looking for nargels and got a little dirty. So Rolf is cleaning them up and then they will be on their way. Where's Bellona?"
"With Molly and Arthur, so somewhere around there." Harry pointed towards the kitchen where he had last seen his daughter.
"I cannot wait to see her; I've not seen her in ages. Rolf and I really should have the three of you over for dinner sometime. We don't spend enough time together."
"You're right, we don't." Harry smiled at Luna's invitation. It sounded fun to him but he knew Draco would not agree. Draco respected Luna because she was Harry's friend but they would never be close themselves. Suddenly, someone was pulling on Harry's pant leg. Looking down, Harry's smile grew as he reached to pick up his blond terror. Harry blew a raspberry on Bell's cheek causing her to giggle. "Bell, you remember your Aunt Luna, don't you?"
Bell reached out a chubby little hand to Luna. "You're pretty," she said sweetly. "Luna Lovegood." Harry raised an eyebrow; he was unsure how Bellona knew Luna's maiden name.
"Well it was Lovegood," Luna replied as though she was talking to an adult instead of a three year old. "Now it is Scamander. Luna Scamander."
"No," Bell pouted. "Luna Evanna Lovegood." Tears welled up in the toddler's eyes. Still confused, Harry rubbed his daughter's back, trying to keep her from having a tantrum. "Luna Evanna Lovegood," Bell said again. Then she pointed to herself and said, "Lysandra."
"Let me get this straight, you think our daughter was Loony Lovegood's mother in her past life?" Draco asked as he paced the bedroom. The blond haired man had not gotten home in time to put his daughter to bed but his husband was up waiting for him.
"Yes, how many times do I have to say it? Bell pointed to herself and called herself Lysandra."
"And we're sure that is Luna's mother's name?"
Harry frowned. "Well, hmm, I forgot to make sure of that. Really, Draco?" Harry sighed. "I'm pretty sure Luna knows her mother's name. She named one of her boys after her mother after all. Lysandra, Lysander. This means Bell's memories are coming in."
Draco groaned but stopped pacing. "Of all the people," he muttered. "This is just great. Now we're going to hear all about humdingers and all the other gibberish Loony's always going on about."
"Hey," Harry didn't like Draco using Luna's unfortunate nickname. "You know she's given most of that up. And she only talks about them now, in stories, to entertain the children. They hang on her every word."
"Yeah, yeah," Draco waved his husband off.
"And we have no idea what she remembers." Harry rolled his eyes at Draco's behavior. "Maybe she just recognized Luna, and knows her name was Lysandra. Maybe that's it." Ever since his conversation three years earlier with Ginny and Draco, Harry had been afraid his child might have more than vague memories of her past life. It terrified him to think that his little girl might go insane from all the memories floating inside her head.
"I hope so," Draco agreed.
Bellona looked at the fruit salad in front of her and frowned. She lifted her fork and picked absently at the fruit but did not eat any. Hermione looked at the six year old confused. "Sweetie, why aren't you eating? It's all your favorites." Ron came in the dining room carrying a recently changed Rose. After setting the little girl in her booster seat he went to his own chair and dug into his dessert, unaware of what he'd walked in to.
"No," Bell shook her head. "I don't eat those," she pointed to the blueberries in front of her.
"Yes, you do. I made this fruit salad the last time you were here and you ate all the blueberries. If I remember correctly you also ate your Papa's."
"No," Bell said again. "I'm allergic."
Hermione turned to look at Harry and Draco. The two men shrugged their shoulders, just as thrown as the witch was.
"Bellona, you're not allergic. And even if you do not want the fruit salad, you must have a no thank you helping. Your Aunt Hermione prepared it for you," Harry insisted. Bell was sometimes a picky eater so he and Draco did what they could to get her to eat. But they had never seen her avoid any fruit before.
"No!" Bell whined. She put her fork down and pushed the bowl away from her. "I'll get sick."
"What makes you think that?" Draco asked.
"I got sick last time. I got itchy. I remember."
"You remember?" Draco got out of his chair knelt down next to his daughter. "When did this happen?"
Bellona scrunched up her face in concentration. "Um… I remember being itchy." She started to scratch at her arms as if an allergic reaction was taking place even though she hadn't had even a tiny bite of the offending fruit. Draco reached out and stopped her movement, not wanting her to hurt herself.
"Bellona, we've talked about this. Sometimes you have memories that get a little mixed up in your head. You're not allergic to blueberries, sweetheart. Just try one." Draco picked up Bell's fork and speared one berry. Holding it up to his daughter, he asked, "You trust Papa, right?" Immediately Bell nodded her head. Of course she trusted her Papa and Daddy, they were wizards and could do anything. "Ok then, one bite. Aunt Hermione has medicine just in case, but I promise you won't get itchy."
Bellona looked at the fork and hesitantly leaned towards it, opening her mouth. Before she could change her mind, Draco popped the fork in Slowly the blond haired girl chewed and then her face lit up. "That's yummy."
Relieved, Draco laughed. Then he got up and moved back to his own seat. He smiled when he saw his daughter digging into her dessert with Ron-like gusto. A hand closed over his and Draco turned to his smiling husband. This wasn't the first time, and they knew it wouldn't be the last time, that Bellona had some confusion with Lysandra's memories in her head. But they got better at dealing with it every time.
"Everyone in my family is rolling in their graves. A Malfoy in Ravenclaw."
"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic?" Harry asked, Bell's letter still in hand. Their daughter had done as she promised and owled them as soon as the Sorting Feast was over. And the letter had arrived just after breakfast.
"Ravenclaw…" Draco said again, as if this was the worst thing imaginable. Harry just rolled his eyes. "Well…" Draco said thoughtfully, "I guess it is better than Hufflepuff." Harry chose to ignore that comment.
"It sounds like she and the twins are in the same house. That's good that she's got friends with her." Harry put the letter down on the kitchen table before looking to his husband. But Draco was lost in his own little world because of his daughter's house. "And she mentions that Neville grew a second head." Still no response. "And after the sorting, Minerva took off all her clothes and sat in the nude for the rest of the meal." Harry walked over to where Draco was standing and put his hand on his husband's shoulder. "I've decided that I never want to have sex again," he deadpanned.
That got him and Draco looked up startled. "What did you say?"
"The last bit wasn't important. But I did say that Luna's boys and Bell are in the same house."
Slowly Draco nodded. "Guess I'm not really surprised. Not with any of it, I mean. Luna told us her mother was in Ravenclaw so I guess it makes sense that Bell's there now."
"Draco it doesn't matter which House she's in, so long as she makes friends and is happy. She is a bright girl. Reminds me of Hermione, always with her head in a book. It's a good fit for her."
Draco nodded again in agreement. "I never saw her going into Slytherin… but I did think she might follow you to Gryffindor." Harry didn't voice that he had thought the same thing. "You're right though…"
"Aren't I always?" Harry teased, before kissing Draco softly on his mouth. One kiss became two and then two became three. But before the touches could become anything else, the fireplace in the living room came to life and Luna stepped out of it.
"Hello, Harry, Draco," Luna called as she headed out of the living room, in search of her friends. Harry felt Draco tense at the sound of Luna's voice and mentally urged his husband to be good. "Ah, there you are," Luna grinned. She sat down at the table, crossing her ankles. "Did you hear the good news?"
"Yes, yes we did." Harry pointed to Bellona's letter. "Ravenclaw."
"Oh," Luna clapped her hands suddenly, "Rolf and I were thrilled to hear it. Bell and the boys are good friends."
"That they are." Harry went to say more but Draco cut in.
"Guess you weren't surprised by the sorting either, hmm?"
"Draco-" Harry started but Luna just smiled serenely at the two men.
"Well I had no doubt Lorcan and Lysander would follow in my footsteps. They will make Ravenclaw proud." Then the younger woman stood. "Bellona is not my mother," she said firmly. Luna walked over and kissed Harry's cheek. She did not even try to do the same with Draco. "I think I'll just go home now. Rolf and I have to get used to having the house to ourselves. Goodbye." And just as quickly as she came, Luna was gone.
"Neville, it's good to see you mate." Harry hugged his former housemate. "Where's Hannah? I thought we we're going to get to see her as well."
"Yeah, you will. She's just running a couple errands. She was supposed to be back before you two got here, but I guess something is keeping her. So how are you two? Doing alright, yeah?" Neville asked.
"Yeah Longbottom, we're doing just fine." Draco clapped Neville on the arm. It had taken little time to get used to a quiet home. The usual noise that Bell produced was missed but having the house to themselves was welcome.
"Good to hear. Hannah and I are fine as well, thanks for asking, even though you didn't." Neville grinned and the three men chuckled at the joke. "Let me get you a drink – firewhiskey Malfoy?"
"I wouldn't say no to some." Draco and Harry moved to the couch and sat down. A moment later Neville handed out a glass of firewhiskey and a butterbeer. Then he sat down himself, next to his friends, another butterbeer in his own hand.
"You know, it's probably good Hannah's not back yet. She gets sick of my talking about students." Not wanting to beat around the bush, Neville continued, "Bell is very bright." Harry and Draco both smiled at the compliment for their daughter. "But… she's not really motivated. Much of the material… she already knows it."
"Lysandra…" Draco muttered, his smile quickly turning to a frown.
"Exactly." Neville had been in the know about Bellona's past life since the gathering eight years ago at the Burrow. "She often seems bored in class. I've talked with some of the other professors and we try to give her different assignments and things to do. But like I said she's quite bright. So even with what we've given her, it isn't really pushing her. It's too bad we couldn't just move her up a year or two. I've seen her do spellwork that would make third or fourth years jealous."
"Well Luna did say her mother was a talented witch and often experimented with her spellwork."
"Yes," Draco countered, "And isn't that what led to her death?"
Taking in a frustrated breath, Harry said, "Thank you for telling us Neville. We appreciate your looking out for her."
Neville smiled, a little pleased with himself. He and Hannah had no children as of yet so his friends and their children were his family. He had to look out for his own.
"Papa, why don't you and Luna get along?"
Draco looked at the young woman in front of him. "What makes you think I don't get along with Luna?" He turned to look at Harry who was standing nearby.
"Well you don't smile as much when she's around. Does she bother you?"
"No, love, she doesn't bother me."
Harry had to stifle a cough. Bell was smart enough to know that Draco was lying. "Ok if it's not Luna, then it must be me. You don't like that I remember who I was before."
"Bell," Harry stepped in. "You know that isn't right. We love you no matter what."
"Do you think I am blind Dad? When I was little you were both good at covering it. But every year it seems to get a little harder. You see Luna and…"
"Bellona, sweetheart… before you were born I had never heard that witches and wizards could have memories of their previous lives. And you, you remember so much. You know so much and I, we were scared. We wanted you to be you and we didn't want anything to happen to you because of your memories. You sometimes became so confused when you were a child. We were afraid that the confusion might continue, might hurt you."
"But it didn't. I'm fine." Bellona gestured to herself. "I'm here in front of you and I'm fine, really. So please… stop blaming Luna for something she had no say in. She didn't make me like this."
"We just want you to know who you are."
"Of course, I know who I am." Bell rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her fathers. "I'm your daughter. I'm Bellona Lily Potter-Malfoy. That's who I will always be; your little girl. But," she let go and steped back, "Part of me will always be Lysandra. I can't escape that, much like you can't escape your scar," she looked at Harry. "And how you can't escape the family name." She turned her gaze to Draco. "Just embrace it Dad, Papa. I have." Bellona shrugged her shoulders. "I am me."
"When did she get to be so smart?" Draco asked a little later, after Bella had hugged them both again and then walked away to rejoin her friends who were technically her grandsons.
"I have no idea. But we're lucky she is." Harry slid his hand into Draco's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Best thing we ever did. Healthy – check. Happy – check. Loved –"
Draco turned to give Harry a kiss on his cheek. Then he whispered in his husband's ear, "Double check."