A Sorta Fairytail



"Whaaaaaaa!"

The screaming was continuous, broken only by a few ragged breaths, before returning to it's blood curdling wail.

"Ah...Ah...Whaaaaa!"

Harry reluctantly opened a bleary eye and glanced at the bedside clock. The red numbers shone brightly through the darkness reading, 4:06 in the morning. Harry rolled over and let out and anguished scream of his own into the large oversized pillow. The baby had colic, and this was the sixth time it had woken them up that night. For God's sake he had to be at work at 7:30!

"Show me the baby." he mumbled to the baby monitor on his dresser.

Instantly the monitor produced a hologram of the baby's room. The small infant had thrown off all it's covers, it's small fists clenched about it's tiny, purpling face; eyes scrunched shut and chubby cheeks peeled back in a horrific scream. Harry gave a slight groan and rolled over.

"It's your turn," he said giving his partner a slight shove.

"S'not. S'your turn." Came the slurred reply.

"No it's not and you know it!" said Harry becoming angry, "I got up with it the last three times! It's your turn! Now get up!"

Harry was becoming severely aggravated and the lack of sleep was not helping matters at all. He was either going to lose his temper or start crying himself in helpless frustration. These feeling were escalated when he was met with a curt:

"No."

Harry gritted his teeth and strained to keep his voice calm.

"Get up now or I swear I'll use the killing curse on you."

Draco opened a tired eye and looked at his lover's angry face. The moonlight from the bedside window reflected and sparkled in the emerald eyes he loved so much.

"Have I ever told you," Draco said with a sleepy smile despite the fact that he knew Harry was furious with him, "that sometimes I think your eyes glow in the dark?"

In a flash, Harry's temper had gotten the better of him and he had promptly turned and kicked Draco off the bed; where he landed with a very satisfying 'thump' on the cherry floor.

"That hurt!" Draco cried indignantly, staring up at Harry with hurt and pitiful eyes, "I hope you don't treat our child like that!"

"NOW!" Harry growled. "I've been up with the child all night while you slept!" At this point Harry began pulling his own hair out of aggravation making him look, in Draco's eyes, very much like a madman. "I have not slept at all! And I have to be to work in three hours!"

Draco got up rubbing his sore arse and shot Harry a very nasty look indeed. "Fine. Fine. Who cares about my beauty sleeps when yours is obviously so much more important! I suspect you have to go into work early tomorrow for a photo shoot or something."

Harry went a light shade of scarlet because Draco was right, but the worded slap did nothing to ebb away his anger.

"If you don't get in there..." Harry's voice held a trace of menace in it but Draco took no notice as he padded across the wood floors and pulled on his navy blue silk robe that had been draped on the armchair.

"Do you remember what the doctor told us by the way?" he said turning to look at Harry, "About how we shouldn't go running every time the baby cries or it'll become spoiled? That we should just let it bawl?"

"I need my sleep," Harry said, his voice losing some of it's anger and becoming slightly whiny. "I have an important day tomorrow."

He was going to throttle Draco if he didn't hurry up.

"Oh yes! It must be bloody agony being a Quidditch superstar!" Draco said matching Harry's anger before stomping dramatically from the room.

"Finally." Harry murmured thankfully and collapsed back into the bed for some much needed rest.

Draco picked up the wailing baby, careful to mind its head as he had been taught, and carried it across the room to the changing station.

"Do you have a poopy butt?" he asked as he walked across the room, "Is that why you're screaming like a banshee?"

He proceeded to check the diaper("Thank God!") and was received to find that it had not yet been soiled. Draco wasn't yet accustomed to actually having to change poopy diapers. He shunned this duty to Harry whenever possible.

"Let's see," he said after applying a new diaper to the crying tot, "How about your binky? Do want your binky?"

He grabbed the small pacifier, fashioned appropriately after a snitch, and tried to pluck it into the baby's mouth- Where it was quickly spit back out.

"Bugger." he muttered at yet another failed attempt to make the child stop crying. "Are you sure you don't have an off button?"

His last resort was trying to see if it was hungry. He summoned a bottle from the kitchen and heated it up, testing it on his wrist, before giving it to the infant, who immediately turned it's head away causing formula to dribble down it's face. He tried again, trying to convince the baby that it really was hungry before finally giving up.

"Do stop crying or I'll cry too." He said with frustration, but the baby's wailing did not cease. Finally he resigned himself to pacing the nursery, bouncing the child up and down lightly and stroking it's back until it finally drifted off to sleep....a half an hour later. As Draco climbed back into bed beside Harry, who was snoring softly, he decided that the only need that child had, was to make everyone else's life a living hell.

************

Harry stared at Hermione from across the table of the small cafe and took a deep breath.

"Hermione, what would you say it I told you that Draco and I were thinking of having a baby?"

Hermione gave Harry a wary look and said, "Well, I would probably tell you that unless you had sprouted ovaries and uterus that would be quite impossible."

"I mean with a surrogate mother you silly idiot," Harry replied rolling his eyes.

"Well," Hermione said thoughtfully, "First I would say that it's completely morally and ethically unsound. And that you'd catch a lot of flack over it form the homophobes." Harry's face fell, "And then I would say that you would need to be absolutely sure that you understood everything that would be involved. A child is a huge responsibility. So... are you sure?"

Harry nodded and took Hermione's hand from across the table. "All I've ever wanted was a family. Ever since I was still living in the Dursley's cupboard! I can't help that I fell in love with Draco. Surely I shouldn't be punished for it?"

"Of course not!" Hermione cried, rubbing her thumb gently over Harry's knuckles, "Harry, if this is something that's important to you, then it's important to me. So if you're sure this is what you want, well....Full steam ahead I say!"

Harry's face broke into a large smile and he gave Hermione's hand a squeeze. "Your support means a lot to me." He said, fixing her chestnut eyes in his green ones.

"I'm glad." Hermione said with a smile. She would never deny Harry any sort of happiness. It was the reason she had accepted his relationship with Malfoy so much more readier then the rest. Because if anyone in the world deserved to be happy it was Harry. And she was sure that he would make an excellent father.

"You will consent to be Godmother of course?"

"Yes!" Hermione cried, jumping up and enveloping Harry in a hug.

"Oomph." Harry waited until Hermione had finished squeezing the life out of him before saying, "That's exactly the answer I was hoping for."

"How could you even think that I'd say anything any different you silly arse?" said Hermione giggling. "Who's the godfather going to be? And please don't say..."

"Ron." Harry finished for her, nodding his head. Hermione groaned. "Who else? Draco's old friends are all either dead or in Azkaban, and to be perfectly honest I wouldn't ask them anyway. So it's makes sense for me to ask my two closest friends, doesn't it?"

Hermione sighed. She and Ron had been dating on and off for four years . They were currently in off mode and Ron was dating some slut from Surrey. But Harry was right. It made perfect sense for she and Ron to be the godparents of his child.

"You win. So have you worked out all the kinks yet?"

"How do you mean?" Harry asked looking at her over the top of his coffee cup.

"Well for starters, who the surrogate mother is going to be?"

"Cassandra Martin. Witch, 23, intelligent, witty, and very pretty. She works for the Department of Magical Games and Sports and she's being transferred to America by next year, after the baby's born. Wich makes it even more perfect."

"And she's already consented to do it?"

Harry nodded. "Apparently she's a big fan of mine and also has no desire to have children of her own, so it works out great. She gets the thrill of having her child raised her favorite superstar and I get the child."

Hermione gave a slight frown. "Are you sure she won't give you problems later on?"

Harry sighed and set down his coffee. "You can never be absolutely sure but I think she's the best we'll find honestly. She fits all the criteria and she's agreed to sign custody over to Draco and I as soon as the baby's born. To put it in her own words, "I'd be a terrible parent. I'm not exactly maternal or anything like that, so I might as well use my eggs for something."

"Sounds like a real card."

For a few moments the two sat in silence and sipped their coffee until Hermione asked a very important question.

"Harry, who's going to inseminate the egg?"

************

"I swear to God if you don't hurry I'm leaving without you!!" Harry screamed as he pulled a sweater on over his head. He took a quick glance in the mirror and decided he looked fine. He was going to a hospital, not a press conference. None the less he quickly ran his fingers through his hair as he marched back through the hallway to find Draco. When he reached the bedroom he saw Draco sitting on the floor on his boxer shorts, sniffling.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he sputtered, "Get up! Get some clothes on!"

"I don't know what to wear!" Draco wailed

"Darling it doesn't matter..." Harry started but Draco cut him off.

"Yes it does, this is the first time our child is ever going to see me! This will be the first imprint I ever make on its life! I don't want him to remember me as an ugly git with no fashion sense!"

Harry stared at Draco with a face of mixed anger and amusement.

"Wear you Gap wool pants and sweater outfit. It's your favorite and you look fabulous in it. Now do hurry, or we'll miss the birth of our child altogether. And please don't bother with your hair, it looks fine."

When Draco had finished dressing they jumped into the car and sped off for the hospital, Harry cursing Draco under his breath for not having his apparation licenses. Harry left the beamer stranded out front of the hospital entrance, and tossed the keys to a passing ambulance driver.

"Park that, yeah?" He called over his shoulder as he sped inside; giving a quick prayer that no one stole his beautiful car.

Harry and Draco sped to the information desk where a young and hostile looking clerk was sitting behind the large white desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked

"Yes, I need to find someone in the..uh..uh..." Harry whacked himself in the forehead. He couldn't remember the damn name!

"Maternity Ward!" Draco said covering his blunder, "Under the name Martin. Cassandra Martin."

The clerk flipped through the files briefly. "Room 703, floor 2."

They gave her a brief word of thanks and hurried down the corridors.

"Why does everything have to be numbered so out of place," Draco grumbled as they raced down the second floor corridor looking for room 703.

They finally found the room at the end of the hallway and were surprised to see that it was empty. Harry grabbed a passing orderly and in a frenzy asked, "Where's Cassandra Martin? She's supposed to be here! Where is she? Where have they taken her?! Tell me?!"

"Calm down! " The orderly said wrenching his shirt out of Harry's grasp, "Follow me and we'll find her for you."

The orderly took them to another information desk where they were informed that she was in labor room 6.

"How do we get there?" Draco asked hysterically

"Now wait just a second," the clerk said, "I'll need your names. Only certain people are allowed."

"Draco Malfoy."

"Harry Potter." he said stamping his foot impatiently

The clerk's eyes widened. "Your Harry Potter? Oh my God! I saw your match last week! It was incredible! That feint... oh! Can I have your autograph?"

"You can a million autographs but not right now!" Harry screeched,, "There are more important matters at hand!"

"Sorry." The clerk searched through the list before saying, "Mr. Potter please follow Nurse Millow to be prepped and scrubbed. You Mr. Malfoy," she said pausing to look over at Draco, "Will have to wait out here. Your name is not on the list."

"WHAT?!" Draco yelled, staring at the clerk and then Harry. Harry stood there a moment on the brink of indecision before quickly kissing Draco and taking off after the nurse.

"I'll tell you all about it!" he yelled

"I didn't know he was gay?" the clerk muttered, staring after Harry.

"Oh shut up!" Draco spat, "Do you smoke by chance?" he asked her. She nodded. "May I have one?" The clerk handed Draco a cigarette and a lighter and he proceeded to storm off down the corridor, knocking files out of a nurse' hands as he went, cursing loudly. When he was finally outside he sat down on the bench and lit his cigarette and fought back tears. For nine months he had been anxiously awaiting the birth of their child and now he couldn't even be in there. He could really use some company. So getting up and jogging across the street to a payphone he dialed Hermione's number.

************

Harry and Draco lay together on their couch one evening watching a movie when Harry tilted Draco's face up to his and kissed him very softly.

"Do you love me?" he asked

"Of course." Draco said smiling, "I'd give my life for you. I almost did once." Draco sat up and kissed Harry on the nose. "You know I love you."

"Just checking." Harry said wrapping his arms a little tighter around the other boy. He and Draco had been together for four years and five months. The happiest four years and five months of Harry's life. But something was missing...

"Do you ever regret living this life with me?" he asked

"Of course not!" Draco said giving Harry a worried expression, "Why? Do you?"

"No!" No not at all! It's just...sometimes don't you wish that you could have a normal life? You know, have children?"

"That is an unfortunate side effect to being gay." Draco said thoughtfully, "I should have liked having children."

"Me too." Harry said gazing into the brilliant grey eyes, "And I think there's a way. It's a little uncouth but..."

*********

"Has Harry lost his mind?!"

"Now Ron, do try and see things from Harry's point of view. He's never had a family of his own, and in a way it would make his life complete. It would make him happy and he deserves that doesn't he?"

"Well, yes. But Hermione he's...gay! I... it just...it's...it's just not natural!" Ron sputtered, "I mean it beggars belief!"

"Come now Ron, do be sensible. It may not be natural exactly, but Harry would be a great dad! This will really make him happy and he'll want your support!"

"You know I'll support him!" Ron yelled in a somewhat aggravated tone, "It's just...is he really sure he wants to do this?"

"He's seems quite keen on it," Hermione said, "They've already picked out a surrogate mother and everything. Now Ron, Harry is going to tell you after his Quidditch practice today. So please be rational and don't tell him I've been to talk to you. He wanted to tell you first."

**********

"Mother?"

Draco walked through the large foyer of his childhood home. It was much cheerier and brighter since his father's passing. He knew that his mother had loved his father very much, but just he himself had, he thought that she was much happier living without him.

"Draco? Draco darling is that you?"

Narcissa Malfoy came waltzing into the foyer with her trademark grace and enveloped her son in a hug. She smelled of Chanel no.5, just as she always had. He had always associated that smell with his fondest childhood memories. She looked wonderful. Only half of her fifty-six years.

"Hello mother."

"Come sit in the parlor with me." she said steering him in to a large, well decorated room,

with a large white leather sofa, matching armchair and glass topped coffee table and stands. She had completely redecorated the entire manor, saying that the old style looked too 'renaissance' . The walls had been painted a snow white to match the furniture and the walls were adorned with expensive reprints of Monet paintings, her favorite being the Waterlillies.

"Still gay?"

"Mother?" Draco cried indignantly

"Just checking," she sighed, "I keep hoping one day you'll change your mind so that I may have some grandchildren."

"Actually mother," Draco said taking her hands, "That's exactly what I came to talk to you about."

*********

"I'm cuter!" Draco yelled and he watched as Harry's face began to purple.

"You are not! Take that back!"

"Well, I still don't see why you should get to do it!"

"Because I'm smarter!" Harry yelled

Draco's chest swelled with indignation. "How dare you?!"

"Well, it's true! Who was Head Boy at Hogwarts? Me!"

"You only beat me out for it by two points!"

"Yeah, well two points can make a lot of difference!"

"Bullshit!" Draco yelled, "It cannot!"

"Can too! Besides she wants to do it with me! I'm her favorite Quidditch player."

"Don't you get cocky with me Potter..." Draco snarled, but Harry smiled.

"Interesting choice of words Draco..."

************

"So how did you finally decide?" Hermione asked Harry with interest.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!" She was dying of curiosity.

"Well, we fought over it for hours and did all sorts of crazy stuff. Rock, paper, scissors, drawing straws, it was crazy."

"Sounds like it." she said giving Harry a bewildered kind of look.

"And then finally," he continued, "we decided that it made sense to keep things in the Potter line..."

*******

Draco sat sulking on the couch when Harry walked in from Quidditch practice.

"Here!" Draco said throwing a balled up piece of paper at Harry. It bounced off his chest and landed on the floor.

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously, bending down to pick up the paper.

"Read it."

Harry did and found that he had to read it a few more times before it sunk in. He stared at the paper, then Draco, then the paper, then let his eyes rest on Draco.

"It's official." Draco said staring at Harry, a mixture of anger and something approaching happiness in his eyes.

"You didn't have to do this." Harry said looking at Draco with glazed eyes.

"I wanted to."

"Really?"

Draco nodded and soon found himself wrapped in a very tight embrace.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked

Harry grinned mischievously. "Taking you to bed."

*********

"Congratulations Mr. Potter. It's a girl."

Harry took his new daughter in his arms and could feel tears streaming down his face. "She's beautiful." Seemed to be all he could get choked out. It was already evident that she would have his captivating green eyes.

"Have you picked out a name for her yet?" the nurse asked

Harry nodded, "Isabelle. Isabella Lillian Potter."

*********

"You changed your name?" Narcissa asked her son with a stunned looked on her face. Draco nodded. "Well," she said regaining her composure, "May I ask why?"

"He hasn't any family of his own and it would mean everything to him. It would make him happy and I want to make him happy." Draco paused for a moment and bit his lip before he continued, "I wanted to do this for him, and in a way... I wanted to do this for myself."

Narcissa sighed and stared at her son. A part of her was hurt and confused that he would give up his name, the other half immensely proud and gratified that her son could experience a love as great as the love he had for Harry.

"If it makes you happy dear, then you have my support. Harry is a very lucky boy. And thank God that your father isn't alive to see this!"

********

Harry saw someone waving at him down on the pitch so he quickly landed his broom and ran over to them.

"The hospital called. Cassandra's in labor."

Harry took off racing for his car. He had to get home to get Draco. Good God! He was going to be a dad!

**********

"So what's new in the latest Harry and Draco baby saga?" Ron asked Hermione as the two sat drinking tea and eating biscuits in the Leaky Cauldron(They had just flipped the on switch back on in room six).

"I dunno. I think now they're just waiting for the baby to be born."

Just then, Hermione's mobile began to ring. She picked it up and answered.

"Hello? Oh my God! We'll be right there!"

"What's going on?" Ron asked worriedly

"That was Draco, Cassandra's in labor."

*******

Draco and Harry stood hand in hand and stared at their beautiful new daughter through the glass window. Even amongst all the other children, it was evident wich was Harry's. She had his eyes.

"She's so beautiful." He said looking up at Harry, "You must have the most beautiful daughter in the world."

"We have the most beautiful daughter in the world." Harry corrected him.

"No." Draco said, his eyes once again filling up with tears, "She's your daughter, not mine. I wasn't even allowed in the delivery room."

"Bullshit," Harry said snaking his arm around Draco's waist, "She's our daughter you great pillock. Yours and mine. We're raising her togther. It doesn't matter who supplied the bits. This is an equal partnership." Draco smiled and leaned on Harry's shoulder.

"When can I hold her?"

"As soon as the doctor's let us have her again." Harry said, "Then you can hold her all you want."

********

Harry held Isabelle as Draco led them upstairs to the new nursery. He opened the door and:

"SURPRISE!"

Hermione and Ron stood inside the brand new, lavishly decorated nursery. There was a white crib on the far back wall, with a small mobile of broomsticks, snitch's, quaffel's, and bludgers. A changing station stood against the wall by the door, and an old fashioned Cherry rocker sat in the far right corner; behind it was a canopy filled with stuffed animals. There were also millions of arrangements of flowers and balloons from friends and family. Draco immediately began to cry and Harry, laughing slightly, lay the baby in her new crib, before embracing his two friends and breaking down also.

************

Draco glanced at the clock. It was 3:00 am and Harry hadn't come back to bed. Curious, He got out of bed and crept to the nursery to see what was going on. As he peered in the door, he smiled and stay silent. Harry and Isabelle were in the rocker and Harry was singing to her very softly.

"Golden Slumbers fill your eyes,

Smiles await you when you rise.

Sleep pretty darling, do not cry,

And I will sing a lullaby..."

It was beautiful. Draco crept over and kissed Harry on the brow before bending down and doing the same with Isabelle.

"Singing her old Beatles tunes, eh?" He asked quietly

"Got to start her off on the right track," Harry said smiling

"You sing well."

"Thank you." Harry looked down at his sleeping daughter. He didn't want to leave her. "Draco?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think we'd be spoiling her if she slept with us tonight?" Harry asked looking up at Draco with hopeful eyes. Draco never could say no to those eyes. They seemed to melt his very heart. And now he had two sets of those eyes to torment him. He couldn't have been happier.

"Oh...I think not. But just for tonight."

Then silently, fathers and daughter crept off to bed.

The End