AN: Well, I initially thought it was going to take me a little extra time to get this chapter out, but I had a surge of inspiration one night and wrote a whole chapter in one go (I'm trying to stay two chapters ahead, so I had to complete Chapter 10 before I could publish this one)! So I present to you Chapter 8!
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Chapter 8 Freedom of the Press
Breakfast was already more than half over, but Harry didn't care. He'd lost his appetite. While he understood the physical possibility that he was pregnant, he just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Especially since he knew it would soon be reality…if not this time then sometime within the coming months. The thought of sleeping with Malfoy again had Harry's stomach doing little flips, not entirely consisting of anxiety. He had connected with his rival in a new and unexpected way that was intense and, he was pretty sure, mutual.
As he arrived at his destination his thoughts were forced back to the present. He knocked on Ron and Hermione's portrait, hoping they had already returned from breakfast (and maybe a visit to Madame Pomfrey, too). A moment later the portrait opened, revealing the worried faces of his two best friends. "Come in, Harry," Hermione breathed.
He did just that, wandering towards his usual chair and making himself as comfortable as possible for the sure-to-be uncomfortable conversation. As soon as he looked up at his friends, Hermione exploded.
"Oh my God, Harry, are you okay? Did everything go alright? Was it awful? Did he hurt you? If he hurt you, I swear I'll hex him into a different dimension! I – "
"Hermione, calm down!" Harry exclaimed. He knew if he let her really work herself up it would be worse than getting yelled at for interrupting. "I'm fine. He didn't hurt me. Malfoy was…actually pretty decent about the whole thing. So you don't need to be so worked up and worried. And, er, sorry for interrupting." He tacked the last part on in an attempt to avoid the impending lecture.
His two friends started at him for a moment until Ron finally found his voice. "Malfoy was decent? Malfoy? Harry, are you sure it was really him?"
"I am very sure it was him, Ron," Harry blushed slightly as he remembered how clearly he had known who he was having sex with and exactly how much he had not minded.
Ron flushed as well as he realized the implications of his question. "Sorry…" He cleared his throat. "Anyway, though, I'm with Hermione. If he ever hurts you, I will happily aid her in any and all plots of revenge, on top of cursing his ass off immediately."
"Um, thanks guys. I know you've got my back." He flashed them a small smile and reached up an arm to scratch his head in an attempt to relieve some of the awkwardness and tension he was feeling. As he tilted his head to the side his neck stretched, straining Malfoy's bite mark, which had already begun to heal. Harry felt a small, involuntary smile play across his lips as he recalled receiving that mark, but his musings were interrupted by twin gasps.
"Harry, what the bloody hell! I thought you said he didn't hurt you!" Ron looked extremely pissed off.
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione quickly moved towards him to examine him more thoroughly. She made a soft 'tisk'ing sound as she examined the bite on his neck. He cringed as her fingers brushed lightly over it, attempting to escape the touch. It felt wrong.
He didn't have to worry about that for long, though, because she moved on to examining the rest of him for marks. She turned his face side-to-side, as if looking for bruises. She checked the rest of his neck. Just when Harry thought she wouldn't find anything – he certainly felt fine, maybe a little sore when he tried to sit, but he didn't mind that so much – she lifted his arms and pulled back his sleeves to reveal slight bruises on his wrists. She gasped again, and looked like she could cry, but Harry knew her well enough to see the anger behind the pre-tears. "Why didn't you just tell us? Did he threaten you? Don't worry; we'll take care of it."
Ron, who'd been watching Hermione's examination, growled when he saw the marks on Harry's wrists. When Harry looked up, he caught a look of rage and determination as it graced Ron's usually light-hearted face. Before Harry could even get a word in, Ron was out the door with Hermione by his side. Harry rushed out behind them.
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"Malfoy!" Ron's enraged shout echoed in the large, open Entrance Hall. Malfoy, it seemed, had just finished breakfast. Though breakfast was nearly over, there were still quite a few students finishing up. It was Saturday, after all!
Malfoy had turned to face Ron, wand drawn. "What do you want, Weasel?" His gaze flickered from Ron's raised wand to Hermione, who was also aiming her wand at the blonde. Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "…Granger?"
Harry stepped up behind his two best friends to make one final attempt to get them to back off and just listen to him for a minute. "Please, both of you stop!" He spoke in a whisper because a bit of a crowd had begun to gather to see the fireworks. "This isn't what it looks like, and if you'd just held on a minute and let me explain…"
"Explain!" Hermione cried.
Ron helpfully supplied, however inadvertently, an explanation of the situation to the surrounding crowd. "Harry, it's bad enough the two of you got matched up in the first place…I mean what was Dumbledore thinking to even consider letting him be alone with you! And maybe we could've put up with it, gotten past it, but not now! Not if he's hurting you!" He was panting slightly from the passion of his speech by the time he'd finished.
Harry caught the livid look on Malfoy's face and the excited and shocked whispers of the surrounding students and quickly threw together a plan in his mind that he hoped would at least keep things from getting any worse. "I've told you already, Ron, he didn't hurt me! Now can we please go talk about this somewhere more private?" He gestured vaguely at their growing audience.
Ron at least had the decency to blush, but also seemed to have suddenly forgotten the art of speech. Hermione covered smoothly for his lapse. Harry could have smiled at how complementary they were to each other, if the circumstances had been different. "Of course, Harry. Where do you suggest?"
"Come to our room." He strode towards Malfoy, attempting to exude confidence he didn't really feel at the moment. When he was close enough he whispered, "Sorry about this. Will you come with us…I'm going to explain to Ron and Hermione…I'm sure they'll feel really bad once they understand…" When he tried to pull Malfoy along with him as he walked, he encountered some resistance.
Harry was beginning to feel like he was under a particularly hot and bright spotlight. He really needed to get away from there. "Please come…I might need your help to convince them." Harry looked up at Malfoy then, to try to gauge what his decision might be. Grey eyes looked back at him, still steely with only a hint of meltyness. Harry took a deep breath, and as he let it out he breathed, "Please…Draco…" Harry though he saw Malfoy's – Draco's – eyes become melty, but as the Slytherin turned away so abruptly, he couldn't be sure.
"Fine, Potter, let's go."
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Hermione and Ron managed to contain themselves throughout the short trip to Harry's room, put as soon as the portrait had shut behind them they pounced. Hermione was the first to get her words out. "Alright, Harry. We're in private now, so you can explain. Of course," she added, clearly stating her disbelief in Draco's innocence, "now that we're alone it's three against one, so you can tell us the truth and let us take care of Malfoy."
Harry blinked once in astonishment and felt a bit of anger buzzing in his mind. "I am telling the truth! Merlin, you make it sound like I'm some sort of damsel-in-distress, Hermione. Just because I bottom doesn't mean I'm weak or defenseless!" He worked to fight the blush he felt trying to rise in his face.
Ron tried to interject, "But, mate, those bruises on your wrists and – "
Harry cut him off. "Those bruises are old. If you'd stopped to really look at them you would have seen they've been healing for at least a couple days. You both know I've had much worse injuries…"
"Okay, Harry…we…," Hermione glanced at Ron for a moment, "we believe you about the bruises. But what about your neck? That's not just some…some love bite. It looks really painful."
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but before the first word could get out, Draco had shifted beside him to pull back the collar and examine the bite mark he had left. Draco seemed quite unaware of the fact that the room had gone completely quiet…or maybe he simply didn't care. Again, Harry was about to speak when Draco gently slid his fingers over the mark, causing Harry to gasp softly instead. That had felt nothing like when Hermione had touched it. Rather than feeling wrong, it felt right…and so much more. Harry felt a rush of warmth pass through his body, a mixture of contentment, trust, tenderness, and lust. He closed his eyes against the intensity of it, and it took him a moment to realize that Draco was no longer touching him and the room was still abnormally quiet.
"What the…" Ron helpfully broke the silence. He really was perfect to have around for moments like this.
"…hell was that?" Harry finished for him. "I'm sure I have no idea." He glanced to the side to send Draco a questioning look. He received a shrug in response. But he noted the blue that had begun to creep into Draco's eyes and knew that meant whatever had happened had affected Draco, too. "Hermione, any ideas?"
"Hmm, I'll need to do some research. I don't think I've read anything specifically related to Mark magic." She turned to face Draco. "How hard did you bite him?" She asked matter-of-factly.
Harry noticed a slight smirk on Draco's face as he answered, "As hard as he needed me to." The response left all three members of the trio slightly redder in the face.
Hermione shifted her questioning to Harry. "When he bit you, did you feel any pain at all?"
Harry thought back to the moment Draco had bitten him, and again he couldn't stop a slight smile from forming on him face. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing and who he was with, he cleared his throat and responded, "No, it didn't…hurt. If felt…er, never mind. It didn't hurt at all."
Hermione nodded once before announcing, "I'm going to the library to do some research on this. Come on, Ron." With that she grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him from the room.
Harry and Draco stared at each other for a moment without speaking. Finally, Draco broke the ice with, "Your friends are cracked, Potter."
Harry smiled slightly before sighing. "This whole Mark business is….weird, isn't it. I mean, do you know anything about, what was it Hermione called it, Mark magic?"
Draco shook his head. "Not really. I only know a few basic facts. There are various kinds of magical Marks, but the trait they all hold in common is that they represent some form of…connection."
Harry rubbed at his Mark self-consciously. He was relieved to notice that it didn't react to his own touch at all. "So what kind of 'connection' would my Mark represent then?"
"I don't know enough to answer that, but considering Granger prides herself on being a walking encyclopedia, I imagine we may find out fairly soon."
Draco rolled his eyes as he spoke about Hermione's research, but Harry could see they held a spark of curiosity nonetheless. He took a moment to ponder why he seemed able to read Draco's eyes, the fact that they had just had a fairly normal and civil conversation, and when had he decided to start calling him Draco anyway?
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When Harry woke on Sunday morning, he didn't want to get out of bed. It wasn't because he needed more sleep. It wasn't because of all the homework awaiting his attention. It wasn't even really because news about him and Draco and yesterday's argument in the Entrance Hall had probably spread to every resident of Hogwarts by then.
No, it was because Harry had a bad feeling that it would not be a good day for him. He had learned long ago to listen to his instincts, and in that moment they were telling him to brace himself for…something.
Hoping to avoid beginning his day for as long as possible, Harry rolled over on the bed to face Draco. He had never really looked at the blonde while he was sleeping before, opting to leave their shared bed as soon as he woke, but now he did so. He observed the strong, angular features softened by the platinum locks that were currently mussed with sleep. As he watched, Draco's eyes began to dart back and forth under his pale eyelids. His whole body tensed as if he were in danger. It appeared he was dreaming, and from the looks of things it was not a good dream.
Draco began to toss and turn. Harry felt somewhat guilty for watching him in such a vulnerable moment, but he couldn't tear his gaze away. He stopped breathing completely when Draco cried out. It was a soft, strangled sound but it held such agony and desperation…Harry felt his heart clench in empathy.
He tentatively reached out a hand to shake Draco awake. As it made contact with his shoulder, Draco suddenly sat bolt upright while making a sort of restrained "aaaah" sound.
For a moment the only sound in the room was Draco's harsh breathing. When Harry finally remembered he was holding his breath, he used the air to gasp out, "Draco? Are you…" He was going to say "alright", but given Draco's current haunted appearance, it suddenly seemed like a very stupid thing to ask. So he just let the question trail off.
Draco turned to face Harry, his eyes wide and slightly glazed over, as if a part of his mind was still in his nightmare. He blinked a few times and finally managed to speak. "I'm," his voice came out raspy so he cleared his throat, "I'm fine…Potter. It was just a dream." He was silent for a moment before repeating more quietly, "…just a dream." It seemed to Harry as if he were trying to convince himself.
It was obvious to Harry that Draco would not want to talk about his 'dream', and he knew the perfect way to change the subject. There was a question that had been floating around in his mind for a while now. "Ummm, Draco? Could I ask you something?"
"I believe you just did, Potter." When Harry continued to look at him expectantly, however, he added, "Fine, ask away."
Harry took a moment to try to phrase the question in his head. "Why have you been so…nice to me? Not that I'm complaining, but it hasn't exactly been friendly for us in the past, and you've just been so…I don't know, accommodating or something. Thanks for that, by the way."
Draco's brow furrowed for a moment, almost imperceptibly, before his whole face blanked, his eyes steel. "That's an easy one, Potter. The only way to get you to cooperate was by being 'accommodating'. I'm not about to have the Ministry coming after me, as I told you before. So I did what I had to, to get you to cooperate. You're happy, and my ass doesn't get tossed in Azkaban or back to Voldemort. It's a win-win situation." With that Draco rolled off the bed, quickly got ready, and was out of the room in five minutes.
All Harry could do was stare into space. He felt so…so…used and manipulated. A part of him tried to convince himself to be grateful, because it really was better for him when Dra –Malfoy –was being accommodating, whatever his motivations. But Harry just couldn't shake a certain sense of betrayal, though he had no idea why he should feel that way. It wasn't like he and Malfoy were a love match, or even friends. But still…
Maybe this was what his bad feeling was trying to warn him about….
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As it turned out, Malfoy's behavior was not what Harry's instincts were warning him about. No, it was the article in that morning's Daily Prophet that was making him feel entirely miserable. The headline blazed, "BOY-WHO-LIVED ABUSED BY MALFOY HEIR" and was subtitled "COUPLE PAIRED FOR MINISTRY REPOPULATION INITIATIVE".
Harry groaned. He didn't even need to read the article to know what it must be saying. He had thought the whole school would have heard about yesterday's events in the Entrance Hall, but it seemed someone had taken the initiative to inform the Daily Prophet and now all of wizarding Britain knew. And again, what was reported was not the truth. Dra –Malfoy hadn't hurt him…at least not physically. The part about being partnered with him to have his baby, though… Harry decided to go with denial until Friday, and the pregnancy test, rolled around. He was really beginning to hate Fridays.
Everyone in the Great Hall was either looking at him or talking about him. Harry felt his appetite disappear. As he stood to leave, he spared a quick glance toward the Slytherin table, wondering if Malfoy was receiving attention as well. The blonde was nowhere to be seen. Damn him!
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So, alas, there is trouble in paradise! A little preview for next chapter, Harry and Draco will have an arguement.
You may recall that at the end of the last chapter I mentioned the baby shower I was going to attend and that I was hoping it might inspire me. Well, it did inspire me, just not in the "cute baby things" way I was expecting. The whole thing went pretty well, considering my familly and my sister-in-law's family are not crazy about each other. Yeah...it went well until the surreal ending. There was drinking. Name-calling. Knife-pulling...yeah, you read right. The whole thing got totally out of hand, my dad got threatened with a knife because he called someone a bitch (not my sister-in-law, btw)...well, he was threatened for about three seconds before my brother tackled the knife-holder. Everyone is okay, at least physically, but lots more drama ensued after that. Somehow, I don't think we'll be having any more joint family gatherings in the future. And now the first time I will be "allowed" to see my first (possibly only) nephew will be in August (he's due at the beginning of July) and my sister-in-law supposedly "will not be there". Because in the end my dad was scapegoated...unfairly blamed for everything, ugh!
Ummmm, was that oversharing? I just figured since I mentioned the baby shower last chapter, I should let you all know how it went! It was like I was sucked into a soap opera or something, I'm not used to such drama in my life!
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. I seem to have fallen into an every-two-weeks updating schedule. I think that is likely to be the general pattern from now on.
Oh, and I'd love reccomendations for some good HPDM fics. So if you have any suggestions, let me know!
