Title: Something Worth Fighting For
Author: xxCabalinaxx
Rating: T (Teen)
Warnings: Slash, mpreg (past/present/future)
Summary: Harry is invited to Hogwarts for his ten year reunion. Everyone finds out what has been going on since he left England, and that he married a certain someone named Draco Malfoy.
Author's Note: Feb, 1, 2011. So for those of you new to this fic, thank you for reading :) For those of you who have been waiting patiently for me to update this fic, I thank you all for being patient with me. And it is because of you guys that this chapter has been written. And with a new chapter, comes a total revamp and overhaul of this fic, so while the basics of this fic are still the same, I would advise you to go back and start reading from the beginning again. Also, if you guys are interested, I have created a website with images and extra tidbits of information about the horses and other animals that may pop up. I always like having a picture or visual to put with a description, so in case any of you are like me, the link to the site can be found on my profile.
Chapter One
"Oh my god! Harry, it's so good to see you!" Hermione squealed as she threw her arms around one of her two best friends.
"It's good to see you too, Mi-." Harry replied as he returned her bone-crushing hug. He had missed his two best friends. He was happy with his life, he loved it and wouldn't change anything, but it was nice to see his oldest friends again.
"Harry!"
Ron grinned widely as he spotted his best mate. The tall redhead pulled Harry into a bear hug as soon as Hermione let go. "Wow, mate. We haven't seen you in ages. You've changed a lot."
Harry chuckled. "I know. The last time I was England was for your wedding. I kept meaning to come visit, but life kind of caught up with me and I never got the chance."
Ron released Harry and stepped back so he could wrap his arm around Hermione's waist. "Well, at least you're here now, mate."
The three former Gryffindor's walked over to their house table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. They took their seats at the end and started chatting eagerly, catching up on what had happened in each other's lives.
"Oh Harry, I can't believe you're really here. It's been like, what, six years since you've been home," Hermione exclaimed.
"Ten years," Harry corrected. "I left just after your wedding, which was a month after we left school."
"Mate, don't you get lonely over there? I mean it's just you, living all by yourself in the United States."
Harry opened his mouth to speak. "Actually guys, I -"
"Welcome, faculty, former students, and honored guests, to the ten year reunion of the class of 1998! I know I speak for all the professors when I say that we are glad that you are all here for this joyous occasion. Now, please enjoy your meals and catch up with old comrades and friends. Enjoy!" Dumbledore stepped down from the podium and took his seat at the head table next to McGonagall.
Everyone quickly started piling food on their plates as soon as the food appeared on the tables, and the only sounds that could be heard were those of people enjoying their food. Harry looked around at the Great Hall, taking in the decorations and the set up of the room. The four house tables were in their normal places, but they had been enlarged to accommodate the former pupils and their families.
The Boy-Who-Lived stared wistfully at the room, remembering all the good times he had had with his friends that became his unofficial family. There were times when he thought about packing up and moving back to England, but then he'd take a look at his home and his life in the States the way it was now and have no desire whatsoever to change the way things were.
Hermione watched Harry as he took in the sights around them. He had changed so much, but he was still the gangly teenager she had known years ago. He had gone through a major growth spurt when they had still been in school, standing at an awkward six feet, but since then he'd filled out and seemed to have grown into himself. Skinny limbs had grown with muscle and instead of ambling along he'd figured out how to use his limbs all over again and was exeedingly more confident and sure of himself than he'd been as a teenager. He still had the same mop of uncontrollable black hair, but it was now styled to look like he had just rolled out of bed after the best shag of his life. That thought made Hermione smile to herself. Harry had lost the black clunky frames he used to wear as well, and now, they had been replaced by a much more stypish pair of thinner framed spectacles.
The trio were soon joined by their old roommates. Seamus and Dean sat down next to Harry while Neville and a woman, whom Harry assumed to be his wife, sat down on the other side of the table next to Ron and Hermione.
"Heya, Harry. How've you been doing?" Neville asked.
"I'm good Nev. How 'bout you?"
Pleasantries continued and Harry caught up on things with his old roommates. Neville had gotten married to Luna Lovegood, who looked the most changed out of all of them, a few months ago and was currently the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. Seamus and Dean were dating, but not married yet. They were engaged. Seamus owned a Quidditch store in Dublin, and Dean owned a small bookshop in Diagon Alley that he had started up a few years ago.
"Harry, tell us about what's been going on in your life. Job? Girlfriend? C'mon, mate, gimme some details here!" Ron was getting nosy, and not even the elbow to the ribs from Hermione could stop him.
Harry laughed and took a sip of his water, debating how much he should tell them. He decided to start with something simple. "Well, you guys remember how I wanted to be an Auror?"
Everyone nodded. "Did you join the American Auror Division? I heard the force they have is just as good as the one here in England," Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head. "Nope. Not even close. Actually, I train horses. Jumpers to be specific."
"Horses? Wow, mate. Never saw that one coming," Seamus exclaimed with a slight slur. It was obvious that Seamus had already been to the punch bowl, not that they were surprised, and was bound to be there again soon. Ron had a slightly dazed expression on his face.
"Yeah, neither did I. But it's awesome. I love it. It's never boring, and you really develop a bond with the horses. There's this one horse I have, his name's Orion. We call him 'Triple B': big, brown, and a beast. He is a complete pain in the arse. When you're in the stall with him he's a total bastard. He bites, kicks, pins people against the wall, it's ridiculous. But once he's outside, he's a totally different animal. He is like a giant puppy. Follows people around, looking for treats and food and someone to pet him." Harry shook his head, thinking of the massive stallion he had left at home. Orion might be a pain in the arse, but he was Harry's pain in the arse and he wouldn't give him up for anything.
"Oh Harry, that's so sweet," Hermione gushed.
"Alright, Harry. Get to the good stuff; anyone special in your life? Girlfriend?" Ron waggled his eyebrows a bit to show he was teasing, but at the same time Harry knew he was dying to know.
"Oh honestly, Ronald. If there was anyone special in Harry's life he would have told us!" Hermione scolded her husband.
Harry snorted, trying to cover up his laugh at the sight in front of him. If only they knew, he thought. If only they knew…
Harry tried to get those thoughts out of his head and dug into his meal earnestly. He joined in Ron and Hermione's conversation; trying not to think of those he had left at home. He learned that Hermione was now three months pregnant with her and Ron's first child. This had shocked him slightly.
"I would've thought that you two would be on baby number three at least! You guys have Weasley blood. Weasleys are known for having many, many children."
Ron reached on top of the table and took Hermione's hand in his. "Yeah, we thought about having kids sooner, but it never seemed to be the right time. We wanted to get settled in a house first and at least one of us have a stable job before we brought a child into this world.
Harry nodded. What they said made sense. It also made it feel extremely guilty when they said he was the first one they had told.
"Potter!"
Harry looked up as Professor McGonagall strode toward him, a smile on her usually stern face. He stood from his seat and met her a few feet away from the table, grateful for the distraction. "Professor, I knew I'd see you at some point." He kissed her cheek politely in greeting and hugged her as well.
"Well, I should hope so. You don't really think I'd let you get away with no proper greeting do you?" The old witch smiled. "And I know Albus will want to say hello as well. Its been so long since we've seen you. How are you coping with life in the States? I hope you've found yourself a nice girl to settle down with. Maybe we'll see your children in these halls, hmm?" McGonagall said teasingly.
Harry knew that no one was going to let this go. He decided to tell everyone the truth. He had kept it secret for over ten years. He knew it was going to come out some day, and apparently that day was today.
Then, everything seemed to happen at once. Just as Harry opened his mouth to explain, Hermione noticed the ring he had been sporting on his hand the entire night. She nearly shrieked as she exclaimed, "Oh my god. Harry, is that what I think it is?"
Harry spun around to face her. Ron was now staring gob smacked at his hand. As were the nearest thirty or so people. "What are you talking about? Oh." He followed everyone's gaze to his hand and stared at the intricate, diamond ring that had been on his hand for eleven years.
Suddenly everyone's head turned as the doors to the Great Hall opened and a small, brown haired little girl bolted into the room. The child skidded to a stop about ten feet into the hall, her shiny black shoes having little grip on the stone floor. She was dressed in a cream colored dress with a bright red long sleeved shirt underneath, and a pair of white tights. She scanned the room frantically before locking her gaze on Harry. Her face sported a wide smile. She instantly took off and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, hurtling toward Harry. Everyone in the hall froze as the strange child screamed, "Daddy!"
Harry knelt down on the stone floor without thinking and opened his arms to catch the girl. It was a miracle she'd made it over to him without sliding about, he thought as he swept her up in the air and swung her around. The girl giggled madly, her dark brown curls bouncing as she spun around in her daddy's arms.
"Daddy! Daddy! Guess what?" the girl exclaimed.
Harry grinned and tickled the tiny body in his arms. "What?" He adjusted her on his hip, unable to the idiotic grin off his face. "What happened, Lex? And why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be home with your Papa?" As much as he was glad to see his daughter, Harry had no idea why she was here at Hogwarts when she should be at home in New York.
"Papa packed us all up and took a porky. Then we ended up in this big white room and then we came here and went to visit Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot. And Uncle Sev was there and then we went to this big house that Papa said he used to live in. It's really big, Daddy. You got to see it. It's ginormous! And Papa bought us outside to a barn, like the one we have at home, and Orion was there! And Athena and Cadet and Ranger!" The little girl paused to take a breath and regroup. "And then Jamie got on Ranger. And he was being really bad. He kept bucking and kicking and jumping. Papa got upset and tried to make Jamie get off. But Jamie said no and he got a crop and was swinging it everywhere! He was swinging it back and forth and back and forth. And Ranger reared up and Jamie hit him again and-"
"And your son beat the snot out of him. That pony was being a right bastard and he whacked him good."
Harry looked up and smiled like the fool that he was. He readjusted his hold on Alexis and tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly become lodged in his throat. "So, you wanted to stay home and get in some extra training huh?"
Draco smiled at his husband. "Yes, well…" The blond walked forward a bit; a small blond boy nestled tightly in his arms. "We missed you. And, I knew you'd end up doing something stupid, being the Gryffindork that you are. I had to come and save your arse."
Harry walked closer to Draco so that he was near enough to kiss him lightly. As he pulled back Harry could see the smile on Draco's face. But instantly the smile morphed into a smirk, the patented Malfoy smirk.
Harry then looked at the boy. "So, did you have fun scaring your Papa half to death?"
The boy nodded shyly and smiled before turning and burying his face in Draco's neck. Draco laughed and rubbed the boy's back soothingly.
Harry wrapped his free arm around Draco's waist and pulled him closer. "So, where are the other two?"
"They're coming. We had an issue with the paintball guns that were snuck into their luggage."
Harry nodded and laughed. He knew his oldest children had a knack for getting into messy situations. Having all out paintball wars were minor compared to some of the other stunts they had pulled in the past.
"Ummm, Harry, what's going on?"
Harry and Draco looked over to where Hermione and Ron were sitting with Seamus, Dean, Neville and their families.
His nerves coming alive in full force, Harry's throat tightened and he pulled Draco closer. Draco sensed Harry's nerves and leaned into his side a bit more, trying to give him reassurance.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet my husband: Draco Potter."