TITLE: Fairy Tales and Dragon Scales
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
CHAPTER TEN
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Charlie, the red human, is going to come see me today. He wants to see you, too," Harry told Petra when he saw her the next morning.
"Oh him," Petra said, sounding pleased. "Him I like. Will there be others?"
"Some of my human friends," Harry said. "They are harmless, though, so be careful with them."
"I'll do my best," Petra said, eying a deer as it ran by. "You will let me know when you see this Charlie?"
"I will," Harry promised. "Just keep close by."
"Oh I certainly will," Petra said. She licked her lips and quickly took off into the air, keeping her eye on where the deer ran on the ground. Harry watched her go and then took off flying in the opposite direction, back towards where the cabin was. The sun had only risen an hour or so ago, so he still had time probably but he didn't want to risk not being there when everyone arrived. He hunted around the area of the cabin and then flew around right above the cabin for a while, only landing when Daphne woke up and came outside to spend some time with him. She then decided to clean up a bit for when they had company and Harry did what he could by blowing around the cabin to clear off their "yard" of leaves and branches and excess dirt.
When they were done, Daphne sat outside in a fold-out chair and read him the news from the Daily Prophet when it was delivered. They apparently kept any suspicions about him being alive out of it so Harry was grateful. They only had a small article saying they were still working on the dragon problem and that things should be safe from now on. There was an article about the upcoming wedding of Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom, an engagement announcement for Cho Chang and Blaise Zabini, the latest victory for Pride of Portree against the Chudley Cannons, the arrest of a Death Eater (Rabastan Lestrange), and all sorts of interesting things. Harry found he even enjoyed the mundane things, like articles about how to properly take care of a gnome infestation when there wasn't enough "real news" or even all of the wedding and birth announcements. Hearing about familiar names or anything going on in the outside world, the world he belonged in, was great.
Daphne was midway through the sports section when they arrived. There was Hermione, Ron, Charlie, and Draco like expected only Hermione was holding a little girl in her arms. She was short and thin with black hair and blue eyes and the Snape nose. Harry gaped at the girl and stood frozen in shock. Addie immediately began to scream and Harry felt his heart break and he slowly backed away. Daphne frowned and looked from Harry to the group.
"Don't go yet, Potter. You wanted to see her, didn't you?" Draco said.
"She's scared of me!" Harry growled.
"You trust Granger, don't you?" Draco shot back.
Harry reluctantly stayed put and watched as Hermione sat down on the ground with the terrified Addie in her arms. "Shhh…It's okay…I wouldn't let anything hurt you, would I?" Hermione asked. She wiped Addie's tears away and took out her wand, removing the glamours. Harry laid down and watched his beautiful daughter with great interest. God, he loved her so much! He wanted to hold her and kiss her and tell her how much he loved her more than anything, but he couldn't do any of those things. It frustrated him, but he kept himself still and quiet instead of responding to his frustrations in case it scared Addie.
"Here, look…He's a nice dragon," Hermione said quietly, turning Addie in her arms so that she faced Harry. She had her thumb in her mouth and she stared at him with wide eyes. Beautiful green eyes. "Now, I need to tell you a story, okay, Ad?"
"Mkay, Aunt Hermy," Addie said quietly.
"Okay…Once upon a time, in a land not too far from here, a hero was born to a happy mummy and daddy. But when he was a baby, a very bad man came and killed them. The hero was raised by an awful family and one day he found out he was a wizard…"
"I know this story!" Addie said excitedly.
"There's more to it," Hermione said. "Anyway, when he was older, he and his least favorite teacher were stuck together. The teacher was helping the hero to help defeat the evil man. They got to know each other better and ended up falling in love. It was wrong, though, because the teacher and the hero weren't supposed to fall in love, so they kept it a secret. One day, though, their love made a baby…The teacher never knew about the baby because the hero had to go away to defeat the bad man.
"When the bad man was dead, the hero disappeared and no one knew where the went. Everyone thought he was dead. So the baby had to go to the teacher, who was very mean and very sad because the lost hero had taken his heart with him. The hero wasn't dead, though…A curse had turned him into…a dragon," Hermione said, smiling at Harry. "A black dragon with purple eyes who was very friendly and lived in the woods by a cabin. No one knew where he was for five years and he was very sad and very lonely because he missed the teacher and the baby. Then one day the hero's friends found him and found out the truth, but they don't know how to turn him back into a person yet. But the hero's friends agreed to do whatever they could to help bring back the hero to his teacher and his baby."
Addie's eyes were wide with wonder. "You mean…?" She looked from Harry to Hermione. "The dragon is my daddy?"
"Yes…That's your daddy, Addie," Hermione said. "Do you want to go say hi?"
Addie nodded and stepped forward slowly. Harry felt his heart race as she drew nearer. He felt anxious and eager for so many things, though everything he wanted to do was impossible as a dragon. He got as low to the ground as possible to make it easier for Addie and he kept his eyes on her the whole time. God, she was so beautiful! And so big! He remembered holding her as a newborn, a tiny little baby with tiny little hands and feet. He had missed so much…He hated himself for it. If only he hadn't performed that stupid Animagus transformation. He'd be able to have everything with Addie and Severus.
"H…Hi, Daddy," Addie said quietly, extending her arm and moving closer until her fingertips touched his face.
"Hi, Addie," Harry said quietly.
Draco cleared his throat. "Ahh…He says hi back, Adele."
Addie beamed at him and moved closer slowly and gave him a small kiss under his eye. "You're a pretty dragon, Daddy."
Harry laughed shakily. He felt like he could cry, though he cleared his throat. Even expressing less than harmful emotions as a dragon could be pretty scary. He had learned that the hard way. "Thanks."
"He said thank you," Draco said, sighing as he moved closer to stand by Harry and Addie. Behind them, Hermione and Ron decided to give them privacy by going into the cabin with Daphne, though Charlie just leaned against the side of the cabin to watch the three of them communicate.
Harry was so grateful to Draco for acting as a translator, feeling a bit better now that he actually could, in a way, tell Addie everything he had wanted to for so long. He glanced at Draco for a moment, though. "Thanks, Malfoy…Do you mind doing a bit more? There's…a lot of very important stuff I want her to know and it might be a lot…"
"It's fine, Potter. I have nothing better to do and this is just a good way for me to show off my new talents," Draco said with a shrug. "Besides, Del's my godfather's child…I don't mind her that much. I haven't seen her this happy ever."
That statement made Harry happy and sad at the same time. It was good that he could make his child so happy, but he was also reminded of how bad her life had apparently been so far with Severus apparently being worse than he ever had been.
"I love you so much, Addie," Harry said, feeling a bit self conscious about expressing himself this way with Draco right there, but it was the only way to get this done. "You mean everything in the world to me and I really hate that I've missed so much of your life so far. I just had to stay away to make sure that you and your father were safe. I didn't think it would be good for either of you to be around me. I've missed you both a lot, though, and life hasn't been very happy without you. I'm sorry for everything that I missed and I hope that one day I can be…normal…again so that I can be with you and your father."
Draco translated everything he needed to and watched Addie smile happily. "It's okay, Daddy. I know you wouldn't have left us unless you had to. I always knew you were alive somewhere and that you'd come back to us one day!" Addie said excitedly. "Ooh maybe Father has to kiss you! You know like how in fairytales you need true love's kiss to be all better!"
Harry snorted. "If only it were that simple."
Draco smirked. "He says we just have to convince your Father to come over here and pucker up."
"Yeah, that'll be hard," Addie said with a frown. "Father gets mean when people mention you, Daddy. They say it's cause he's really sad cause he really loved you and he misses you."
Harry frowned and closed his eyes. "Does he hate me?"
"Probably," Draco replied. Harry glared at him. He so didn't need to hear that. Draco shrugged. "Well, he only hates you because he loves you. You know how he is…He doesn't let himself get close to people and the first time he does in a long time and he just got hurt again."
"I didn't mean to hurt him," Harry said miserably.
"I know…And he probably knows it, too, it's just going to take a while for him to get it all figured out. He'll probably be even worse until then, but…eventually it'll be fine," Draco assured him.
"You think?" Harry asked hopefully.
"I have no idea, honestly," Draco confessed, shaking his head. "He's a difficult man."
"And that, my friend, is the understatement of the year."
"Since when did we become 'friends'?" Draco scoffed.
"Speaking of difficult men," Harry muttered.
"What are you two talking about?" Addie asked, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure it out.
"Big people stuff," Draco replied.
Addie laughed. "But he's not a people."
Draco, Harry, and Charlie had to laugh at that, too. Harry glanced over at Charlie and then remembered his friend. He reluctantly pulled away from Addie and backed up a bit before standing tall and shouting, "PETRA!"
Draco cringed. "Petra? Oh yeah…You think that's safe with Addie?"
"She'll be fine," Harry said. "I'd never let anything hurt Addie. She's been around humans for a long time, though."
"Right," Draco said.
Harry felt a bit guilty. He actually hadn't thought about whether or not it would be safe for Addie if Petra came around. He only remembered what he had promised his friend. He wasn't very used to this yet, figuring being around people and being around dragons. After Petra first tried to go after Daphne, though, Harry had had a long talk with her and they got it all figured out. Peruvian Vipertooths had a taste for humans, but she had been put on a more human-friendly diet at the reservation and she had to remember that out here. She didn't want to ruin things with her human friends. The only reason she was avoiding them now was because she hadn't been many places in so long and she wanted to enjoy a bit of a vacation before allowing them to take her back to Romania.
Harry moved back down next to Addie and watched the skies.
"What was that?" Addie asked.
"Your dad was just calling one of his dragon friends. She wanted to see Charlie," Draco replied.
"Oh so it's Charlie now?" Charlie said teasingly.
"Shut up, Weasel," Draco snapped, pale cheeks flushing a bit.
Addie watched them uncertainly and clung to Harry the best she could, watching the skies with trepidation. The idea of another dragon coming was still a bit frightening.
The small, copper-colored dragon appeared and moved in quickly, landing easily on the ground next to Harry. Her golden eyes immediately sought out Charlie and they grew excitedly. "The human Charlie!"
"Looks like your girlfriend's here, Weasley," Draco said with a smirk.
Charlie smiled and moved towards Petra slowly. "Hey there, Petra. We've missed you." He reached out to stroke Petra's head as she bowed down to let him.
"He is one of my favorite humans. Always easy to notice with his red hair," Petra said.
"You should be careful," Harry teased. "My blond friend wants Charlie for his mate."
"Excuse me?" Draco snapped at him.
Petra eyed him. "I do not know that he would suit Charlie. There is something very strange about that human."
"He's always been strange," Harry said, grinning at Draco.
"You're one to talk," Draco snapped, glaring at him.
"He does not smell like a human," Petra said. "He seems…like one of us."
"He kind of is," Harry said. "Remember how I said I was once human?"
"Yes, though I am still not sure to believe you," Petra said.
"Well, the same thing is happening to Draco now," Harry said.
"His name is Draco?" Petra said. "Hmm."
"Yeah," Harry laughed.
"That doesn't mean anything, you know," Draco snapped moodily.
"Aww, you two aren't picking on poor Draco, are you?" Charlie asked, smiling at Draco.
"I am not poor," Draco huffed. "And yes, they're being horribly rude."
"What are they saying?" Charlie asked, still stroking Petra.
"He has a nice touch," Petra said slyly, earning a glare from Draco.
"What, and let you in on the secret conversations of dragons?" Draco asked with a smirk, eyebrow raised challengingly.
"Oh I get it…Must be about me, then," Charlie said.
"And what made you believe you were worthy of being talked about by dragons?" Draco asked.
"Because he's ridiculously good-looking?" Harry asked.
"Is he?" Petra asked, eying him. "I guess he's not bad for a human."
"Shut up, you," Draco snapped. "You're not supposed to think anyone is attractive. You have Severus."
"Well, I don't have him…And even if I was a faithful lover, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to find other men attractive," Harry said.
"All of this dragon talk is very fascinating," Charlie said.
"Translated to…I think it's sexy when you talk to dragons, Draco," Harry said as Draco rolled his eyes. "Like how Severus used to go wild when I spoke Parseltongue in bed."
"I did not need to know that," Draco groaned.
"Parseltongue?" questioned Petra.
"Snake language. I can talk to snakes," Harry said.
"Why on earth would anyone want to talk to snakes?" Petra asked.
"You should say something to Charlie, Draco. It's not nice to ignore people," Harry teased.
"Don't you have a daughter to pay attention to?" Draco snapped. Addie was still clinging on to Harry, watching the conversation she couldn't understand with bright interest and confusion. Harry chuckled and nodded.
"Maybe we can go for a fly," Harry suggested. "If you don't mind tagging along, Mr. Translator."
"That's fine," Draco said, then turned to Charlie. "Enjoy your time with your little girlfriend. We're going for a ride." He then extended his arms to Addie who grinned and let him lift her up. Harry got as close to the ground as possible to make it easy for Draco to carry Addie onto his back and the two made themselves comfortable.
"I cannot believe you are letting humans onto you that way," Petra said, sounding disgusted and intrigued.
"Well Draco's not totally human, is he?" Harry pointed out. "And the child is my daughter."
"Oooh…I still do not know what to make of your stories, Harry," Petra said. "But be well. I have more important matters to worry for than you."
Harry laughed and got to his feet slowly once Draco and Addie seemed situated. "Goodbye, Petra. Goodbye, Charlie."
"Potter says goodbye, Weasley!" Draco called down, grasping Harry and Addie tightly the best he could as Harry rose into the air.
Charlie chuckled. "I'll see you later, Draco."
Draco scowled at him but soon they were gone and out of sight. Harry knew exactly where to go. He would take them to the clearing. Not that he minded being around the cabin, but he wanted to take his daughter for a ride and spend some more time with her, even if that meant bringing Draco along. He was very grateful to have a way of communicating with his little girl and he intended to make the most of it.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Author's Note: Please review!