This chapter has all kinds of fun stuff in it. Smut, fluff and humor. Some suspense. The next chapter will be the last one and will be posted tonight possibly. Maybe. Got a few more things to add to close it out. I'd love to hear from you guys so send me a quick message to tell me what you like. Or hate. But be gentle if you hate it.
Draco gasped softly as he stepped into the bedroom he shared with Harry. Their nest had dark red rose petals scattered all over it. There were lit candles on the end tables and dressers. Soft music was floating through the room.
"Harry?" Draco asked. His stomach was twisting with growing excitement and nerves.
"Right here," Harry said, stepping out of the bathroom. He was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a white button down shirt. He was cradling their egg in his arms. It was a sight that Draco was sure that he would never tire of. Harry was going to be an amazing father.
"What's this about?" Draco asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
Harry carefully placed the egg in the smaller nest and covered it. He straightened up and held one hand out to Draco with a loving smile. "Would you dance with me?" he asked shyly.
Draco chuckled softly taking Harry's hand and allowing himself to be pulled close. They swayed and twirled, carefully keeping to the center of the room. It wouldn't do to spoil the mood by catching their wings on fire with the candles.
Draco sighed happily, wrapping one arm around Harry's neck while his other hand was held in Harry's loving grasp. He cooed softly when Harry kissed his fingers.
"I know we're sort of stuck here for now," Harry said softly. "So I thought you deserved to be romanced a bit."
"You've spent the last few months making me feel... cherished," Draco replied. "I don't need anything more. But thank you." He kissed Harry lovingly, so grateful that they'd found so much love together.
"I love you so much," Harry murmured. "There's nobody that I'd rather spend my life with." He guided Draco's head lower to press a reverent kiss to his forehead. "Draco, will you marry me?"
Draco stilled, staring at Harry with wide eyes. "I- Are you serious?" he asked.
"Perfectly serious," Harry confirmed, pulling a small black box out of his trouser pocket. He released Draco and opened the box to reveal a pair of platinum bands. Each had tiny diamonds arranged to look like a pair of wings.
"Oh my..." Draco said faintly, staring at the rings. His gaze lifted to Harry's face, his gray eyes swimming with tears. "Of course," he whispered. "I'll marry you Harry."
Harry pulled Draco into a sweet kiss, carefully slipping the ring box back into his pocket. He chuckled breathlessly as Draco began tugging him eagerly to their nest.
They shed their clothes quickly, climbing into the nest and reaching for each other. They pressed themselves chest to chest, their mouths meeting over and over. Their hands drifted everywhere; Teasing, loving, arousing.
Harry reached for their bottle of lubricant and opened it without breaking their fervent snogging.
"Wait," Draco panted, pulling away abruptly.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," Draco assured him. "It's just-" He bit his lip, his wings fluttering. "I'd like to top this time. Would that be alright?"
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes!" he blurted out. "Anything you want."
"You're sure?" Draco asked uncertainly.
"Yes," Harry said again. "Just tell me how you want me."
"On your stomach," Draco said, his voice husky with arousal. He watched as Harry complied, and then began coating his fingers with the lubricant. Once Harry was comfortable, Draco lifted one hand to caress and stroke Harry's beautiful feathers while the other hand moved lower to prepare his lover.
Harry groaned loudly. The stretch from Draco's fingers burned a bit. He hadn't bottomed in quite a while, and never with Draco. But Harry was too aroused for the discomfort to be of any concern. Harry wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to handle Draco touching his wings without getting an erection from now on.
Draco bit his lip, forcing himself to go slowly. He was so relieved when Harry seemed ready for him. He carefully removed his fingers and slicked up his cock. "Can you get on your hands and knees?" he asked.
Harry complied quickly, his arms trembling. He gasped as Draco slowly entered him, pausing frequently to let Harry adjust.
Once Draco was fully sheathed he reached up to Harry's torso, urging him to sit up on his knees. "Pull your wings in so I can get closer," Draco instructed.
Harry allowed his wings to relax and droop, and he chirped happily when he felt Draco's chest press against his back. For a moment they remained still, upright on their knees and panting softly. And then Draco rolled his hips. Harry sighed, dropping his head back onto Draco's shoulder.
Draco kept his pace slow, wanting to prolong their lovemaking. He had been ridiculously on edge since the moment Harry had got on his hands and knees. He reached around and wrapped his hand around Harry's cock, stroking languidly in time to his own gentle thrusting.
Harry turned his head to face Draco, tilting his head hopefully. Draco obliged him with a deep kiss, his hips and hands never faltering.
Harry came first, moaning into Draco's mouth. Draco followed him into bliss soon after.
Draco withdrew from Harry's body carefully. A few spells left them clean, dry and content.
"Are you alright?" Draco asked drawing Harry into a warm hug.
"Of course," Harry replied. "That was brilliant." He kissed Draco lightly, snuggling into Draco's chest. After a moment of comfortable silence, Harry pulled back to look at Draco. "We're getting married," he said with a grin.
"We are," Draco agreed laughing fondly. "When do you think we should do it?"
"What about now?" Harry asked.
Draco rolled his eyes but then stilled. Something about Harry's expression... "Harry?"
Harry drew in a deep breath, his hands trembling as he took hold of Draco's. "If you're willing, we can get married now," he said.
"How?" Draco asked incredulously.
"I might have made some... arrangements," Harry admitted. "If you'd prefer to wait, it's not a problem. But, you have the option to get married right away."
Draco swallowed hard, his eyes threatening to flood their nest. It was mad to suddenly get married like that. Complete madness. But, he loved Harry so much. Draco had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Harry. And they had no idea when their egg would hatch, but it would be nice to be married before that time.
Draco had already agreed to marry him. This was just a matter of timing and planning. Did he really need the huge dramatic event that Malfoys usually had? No. He only needed Harry.
"Let's do it," Draco said suddenly.
Harry's face lit up. "Really?" he asked excitedly. When Draco nodded, Harry hopped out of the nest and ran to the closet. He emerged a moment later carrying two sets of dress robes and handed one to Draco. "Put that on," he instructed, setting about putting on his own robes.
Draco dressed himself, not bothering to question it. Harry's obvious excitement was making him a little nervous.
Once dressed, Harry took their egg in his arms and moved toward the door. Draco followed him down the stairs apprehensively.
Draco froze at the sight of their living room. The furniture had been removed and replaced with simple white chairs. In place of the telly was a white arch covered in ivy and fairy lights. There were flowers everywhere. Their friends, the Weasleys and Draco's parents were all sitting in chairs while Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt stood under the arch.
Ron walked over and carefully too the egg from Harry before returning to his seat next to Pansy. Then Harry gently guided Draco toward the arch. "Is this alright?" he asked softly.
"You're a lunatic," Draco remarked, though the look he gave Harry was adoring.
"If this isn't good," Harry pressed, "just say the word."
"Don't try to get out of it now," Draco retorted haughtily. "I'm about to marry the shite out of you, and you'll just have to take it."
Harry snorted. That was his Draco.
The ceremony was brief but sweet. Harry pulled out the little box again and carefully slid one of the rings onto Draco's finger. Draco did the same for Harry, marveling at the glittering diamond wings. When Kingsley prompted them, Harry pressed his lips to Draco's tenderly, both of them weeping tears of joy.
"And now, if everyone will proceed to the dining room," Pansy said loudly. "We have dinner prepared and ready to serve."
Draco allowed himself to be guided to the dining room, his mind still swirling with thoughts. He'd just gotten married. He was married and waiting for his baby to hatch from an egg. His wings fluttered behind him, brushing lightly against Harry's wings.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"Overwhelmed," Draco admitted. "How did you manage this?"
"I had some help," Harry said. "I contacted a magical jeweler by owl to special order the rings. Pansy and your mum planned the decorations and set up. Ginny, Ron and Molly handled the food. I had to get you upstairs at a specific time do they could set up quickly. There was a charm in our closet that alerted Hermione when I got our clothes out."
Draco shook his head in amazement. "Good thing I agreed to it," he noted.
"Absolutely," Harry chuckled. "It would have been a shame to get rid of all this. But we all agreed to accept your decision when the time came."
"This is wonderful," Draco said, assured him.
The food was delicious and plentiful. The dining room and table had been magically expanded to accommodate their guests. Lucius was a mostly silent for the whole thing, but when he did speak it was with all the politeness he could muster.
The only truly awkward moment came when Molly wanted to hold the egg. She'd reached toward Ron for it and Ron instantly shifted away as Draco let out a trill of sudden panic. Molly raised her hands in a show of surrender, her eyes wide.
Ron got to his feet and placed the egg in Draco's arms. "It's alright mate," Ron murmured. "She didn't know."
"I'm so sorry," Draco stammered with pink cheeks.
"The egg is very fragile," Harry explained, giving Molly an apologetic look. "Our instinct is to guard it. At first, Ron was really the only person who could hold it. We're less bothered by it now but... Draco doesn't know you well."
"I completely understand," Molly nodded. "I certainly didn't intend to upset you."
"It's alright Draco," Harry murmured, kissing the blond's forehead.
"Harry is like a son to us," Arthur said. "That makes you family," he informed Draco.
"We're very happy for you both," Molly added.
Draco smiled slightly, willing his racing heart to calm. "Would you like to look at it?" he offered shakily.
Ron slowly took the egg back and moved to sit next to his mother again. He carefully shifted the blanket aside, allowing Molly to get a get look at the delicate blue shell. Ron glanced at Draco and saw that the blond had relaxed into Harry's arms.
"It's so lovely," Molly said. "And I have no doubt that it'll be a beautiful baby."
"Indeed," Narcissa agreed. "I'm looking forward to seeing this child."
Draco sighed quietly, his anxiety fading rapidly. He'd known that the Weasley matriarch would hard their child, but his instinct to protect had flared in sudden, crippling panic. He felt foolish for his reaction. But, the others didn't seem to mind and had moved on.
Harry didn't seem bothered at all by Draco's reaction. He only seemed to concern himself with Draco's comfort. Fighting against his instincts would only make Draco more restless and unhappy. So, he kept a watchful eye on his precious offspring while he ate his dinner.
Eventually cake was served and wedding gifts were presented to the newly weds. Friends and family lingered to celebrate, glad that they could be there for Draco and Harry.
"I think it was a lovely wedding," Pansy noted as Ron handed the egg to Draco. Ron had smugly carried the egg around for most of the evening.
"It was beautiful," Draco agreed. "Thank you."
"It was Harry's idea," Pansy reminded him. "He told us what he wanted and we brought his ideas to life. He loves you so much Draco," she added, her eyes drifting to the other groom who was hugging Molly and Arthur before they departed.
"I'm so lucky," Draco said with a smile.
"You deserve it," Pansy told him firmly, kissing his cheek. Then she grinned mischievously. "And as an additional present, how about some gossip?"
Draco laughed. "Well, don't keep me waiting," he said.
"Neville has asked Hermione to go to dinner with him," Pansy said quietly, pointing off to one side. They could see Hermione and Neville neatly stacking the gifts and talking with blushes on their faces.
"I had no idea they fancied each other," Draco said.
"They've been very sneaky about it," Pansy agreed. "Much more so than Blaise and Ginny."
Draco made a strange garbled sound. "What?" he hissed.
"I know!" Pansy gushed gleefully. "I could just die. "I popped over to his house a few days ago and caught them shagging each other silly." Ron shuddered.
"Oh Merlin," Draco laughed. "I'm sure that's quite an eyeful."
"It was hot," Pansy declared. When Ron glared at her she backtracked. "Completely inappropriate. I was thoroughly disgusted." As soon as Room looked away again she fanned her face with her hand. Draco covered his mouth his suppress his laughter.
"Anyway," Ron said, giving Pansy a sour look, "I think they make a decent couple. Blaise isn't a bad bloke. Ginny seems happy."
"That's very mature and supportive of you Ron," Draco noted with a nod.
"So long as I don't have to see or hear about them shagging," Ron said, grimacing.
"Who is shagging?" Harry asked, coming to Draco's side.
Draco shushed him with a grin. "You heard Ron. "He doesn't want to hear about it."
Finally, everyone left for their own homes. The house had been returned to his normal state aside from the pile of gifts that waited on the coffee table. But those could wait.
"I believe I'd like to be inside to again," Draco said playfully, holding their egg in one arm while his other arm tugged Harry closer.
"What are you waiting for?" Harry teased. He turned and sauntered up the stairs with Draco on his heels.
Rita Skeeter spent a few months trying to catch Grant participating in nefarious activities or meeting with his cohorts. She collected information whenever she could, secretly reporting it all to Ron. She was rather eager to be credited with her research as well as getting access to whatever secret Harry was hiding.
"This ought to make the Chosen One happy," Rita said, tossing a roll of parchment to Ron with a smug smile. They'd met at the Hogshead again.
Ron read over Rita's notes, his eyes going wide. Rita had managed to find the motive behind the strange rituals and attacks. These dark wizards wanted to change themselves, but had decided to test their potions and spells on others first. They had wanted to become veela.
"Veela aren't related to birds," Ron said, glancing away from the parchment to Rita.
"A common misconception," Rita responded waving her hand dismissively.
Ron nodded, looking back to the parchment. Rita had listed names and locations for meeting places. Toward the bottom of the parchment, Rita had noted that the wizards had wanted to collect Harry and Draco for study, dead or alive.
"Unfortunately, they didn't stand around casually discussing their reasons for becoming veela," Rita said. "I'd guess that it all boils down to power. The combined abilities of a wizard and a veela... Obviously they weren't fortunate enough to be born that way."
"But to mutilate their own bloodline," Ron muttered, disgusted. He sighed and pushed away from the table. "This may be enough. You've been a big help," he said.
"As much as I admire Harry, I didn't do this out of the goodness of my heart," she reminded him.
"Yeah yeah," Ron waved her off. "Let me get them safe. Then you'll get your recognition and the exclusive interview. You have my word."
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," Rita said, her smile sickeningly sweet.
Ron apparated to Harry and Draco's house as quickly as he could manage. He found Draco pacing living room slowly, rocking the egg in his arms and talking softly. He glanced up and smiled at Ron.
"I think we're getting close," Draco said. The egg had gotten heavier and if you really focus, you can feel the baby nudging against the shell."
Ron hurried forward eagerly, gingerly laying his hand on the warm shell. After a few moments, he felt a soft sort of tapping against his palm. "That's fantastic!" Ron enthused.
"It is," Draco agreed. "But what's got you all worked up?"
"Rita came through," Ron told him excitedly. "She got names, meeting spots... "I'm so much closer to getting them all. You and Harry will be able to leave the house with the baby."
"That would be nice," Draco agreed. "Harry's in the kitchen. He'll want to hear this." He gestured for Ron to follow as he went into the kitchen.
Harry stopped his stirring as Ron and Draco came in. He leaned down and pressed little kisses to the egg before kissing Draco's lips.
"I see you're still disgustingly in love and happy," Ron joked.
"Very much so," Harry nodded with a grin. "Want to stay for dinner? I've made soup and fresh bread."
"I've actually got to meet with Kingsley," Ron said. "I just wanted to show you what Rita got for us."
Harry read over Rita's notes carefully. "Four of these names are ministry workers," he noted. "Aside from Grant of course."
"Kingsley won't be happy," Draco added. He gave Harry a searching look. "Maybe we need to help with this. Ron doesn't have a partner."
"And the baby?" Harry asked softly.
Draco bit his lip. "Our other friends could protect the egg," he said, his voice wavering.
"One of us should be here," Harry said. "You should take care of our baby and I'll help Ron."
"I'm your partner!" Draco objected.
"You are," Harry agreed. "In everything. But I need to know that you've got the baby. Ron and I work well together. I'll be alright."
"Don't leave me behind," Draco begged, not caring that he sounded emotional and weak. He could stand the thought of something happening to Harry. It was Draco's job to protect Harry.
"He's not going to," Ron said suddenly.
"Ron-"
"No," Ron said firmly, cutting Harry off. "I'm going to make a team to handle this. You two are going to stay home and take care of my godchild. If one of you lost the other, you'd never fully recover. I'll be fine."
"We don't want to get hurt," Draco said, his expression pained and anxious.
"I'll be alright," Ron insisted. "I'll pick the team myself. I may even drag Kingsley along." He smiled slightly. "You three are family and I'm here to make sure you stick around for a while. "Let me take care of you Harry," he added.
Harry sighed, hugging Ron tightly. "Be careful," Harry muttered. "Don't make a move until you're sure of yourself."
"Yes mum," Ron joked. "Now hurry up and hatch the baby." He gave a cheerful wave and apparated away.
Draco sighed, hugging the egg close. "Uncle Ron is as stupid as your father," he said quietly.
"Oi!" Harry protested with a laugh.
"Spread out," Ron said quietly. "We can't let them escape." He was hunched behind a large clump of bushes with a team of six trustworthy aurors and Kingsley. In the nearby clearing, another ritual was taking place. "It's not all of them, but we can capture these nutters and bring their numbers down.
"Grant over there?" one of the aurors, Alan Green, asked with a scowl.
"Possibly," Ron said. "We'll find out in a moment."
Kingsley nodded solemnly. It was strange to be in the field again and under the direction of Ron Weasley. But Ron knew the case well. The red head had avoided explaining exactly how he's gotten his information, and Robards had been angry. But Kingsley understood. Sometimes a source was a rather more shady than one might prefer. You pick your battles. Robards would get over it.
The aurors used disillusionment spells on themselves and began to move to surround the dark wizards. It was fewer aurors than Ron was comfortable with, but they'd had few options. Grant had a lot of friends in the DMLE, and Ron couldn't risk betrayal.
It took several minutes for the aurors to get into position. Ron lifted his wand and began casting as he moved forward on silent feet. He removed the disillusionment charm as soon as one of the dark wizards looked up in alarm. Suddenly, the aurors appeared, blocking off escape.
Ron ducked as a curse zoomed toward him. It was an ominous red color and set some bushes ablaze. Scowling, Ron pressed forward, his wand slicing through the air as he cast spell after spell.
After fifteen minutes, five dark wizards were disarmed and bound. The aurors were relatively unharmed. It just seemed to easy.
"Well done Auror Weasley," Kingsley muttered to Ron tiredly. He looked over at the other Aurors. "Well done everyone."
"What about the others?" Ron asked. "There are six more names on this list." He wrenched the hoods off of the wizards, checking each face and comparing it to the list he pulled out of his pocket. Then he froze. "Where's Grant?"
"It's alright," Auror Green said. "We'll track him down. He'll be easy to find."
Ron swallowed hard. Grant should have been there. What was he doing instead? "Question them," Ron demanded.
"Alright," Green said calmly. "We'll get them to the ministry and interrogate them."
"We do it now," Ron snapped. "We could miss something important by following strict protocol or patting ourselves on the back too quickly. Ask now." Ron knew he probably sounded a bit unhinged, but these wizards had done a lot of damage. The rest of their group could be doing something horrible at another location right at that moment.
Kingsley pulled a small bottle of veritaserum from one pocket and poured three drops into one prisoner's mouth. A moment later, the wizard's face went slack and his eyes became glassy. Satisfied, Kingsley looked at Ron expectantly.
"Where is the rest of your group?" Ron snarled.
The prisoner blinked slowly. "At Harry Potter's house."
Ron gasped sharply. Kingsley turned to the other Aurors. "Take them to the DMLE and then use this portkey to meet us," he barked, tapping his wand against a button and handing it to Auror Green. Then Kingsley grabbed Ron's arm and apparated them both away.
