A Single Choice
Chapter Seven- Bloody Hell, Married?!
By- IceWind


A/N:
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything in its franchise is owned by J.K Rowling and whoever else has rights to the books. I have no claim whatsoever to the characters; the plot is entirely mine though, as is any new characters that I might introduce into the story. Rating is PG-13; though it may turn to R later.

Warnings: Probably slash in later chapters… which for those who do not know what that means, it means boy/boy, yaoi, shounen-ai, or homosexuals if you want to get technical. It's AU (alternate universe) Definitely AU; nobody could mistake it for anything else. I accept constructive criticism, and flames are fine as well just as long as you don't care if I write a reply, most probably sarcastic, unless you actually had a good reason… though that would probably go under the constructive criticism column and I wouldn't do anything but thank you. ^_^

*hums merrily* I got the next chapter of my other fic up so now I get to do one of this one! *squeals happily and hugs it* This is my nice and fluffy chapter… err… well, sorta fluffy and nice anyway, at least in the beginning. ^^; I can't wait until I can bump up their ages… though I do have a way to get rid of those annoying lisps forever *chuckles evilly*

Youko Gingitsune: Erm… *pats your back* right, one vote for Slytherin! *jots it down* Anyway… Lucius/Snape?! Lucius is quite happily married to Narcissa… though it does bring up some ideas *coughs and hits herself* Bad Icey!

coconut-ice agent h/h: Fresh and new? *starts blushing* and here I thought these sorts of fics were overdone. Yeah, they're usually written as terrible parents and I decided that they'll be nice… sorta nice… well only nice to a select few while horrible mean and nasty to others (mainly Voldemort and the Weasleys) *giggles* It's not that I hate the Weasleys, but they ARE a pure-blooded family and still retains some principles.

Xamona: *giggles softly and gives you a funny look* Silly! I'll try to insert more Word-Play-Lucius… though I'll have to strain my brain thinking up intelligent, sophisticated sounding words that he'll use x.x lol, j/k it's not that hard. Don't worry, I'll show you more action between characters *evil, devious grin*

Kcgal: o.o;; Yes! I dislike Rinoa as well! *grins broadly* And Ginny… *snickers as she dumps the body into a river and whistles as if it never happened* Now that you mention it… Rinoa DOES remind me of Ginny! O.O EWWW! *evil laugh* no lisping in this chapter! *congratulates herself* I hated doing it… made me slow down in writing trying to figure out how to show it. Yuss, 40 chapters (I'm aiming for it anyway) ^_^; should take me a long time…

YuZira: *gulps slowly and wails* Sorry it took so long! Dun hurt the writer! If you do then no more chapters! O.o;; And I really didn't think that was a cliffhanger… you should see some of the cliffhangers I leave on my other fics… *coughs*

Girl 17: *smiles sheepishly* I do try to write a well-written fic that has some believable factors in it. And I completely agree with you about Malfoys, they can't just be mindless servants right?

Apostrophe: *chuckles* You find out what Lucius is going to do in this chapter. And I think I'm keeping them young for just this chapter and the next before I start boosting up their ages (thank god). And how old? *grins evilly* can't tell you, it'll ruin some things I have planned… it may be 7, it may be 19, you'll find out when you find out! *feels evil*

Artemisu: *grins* I don't know how much the money equaled to each other, but you must admit that $148 isn't an exorbitant price for two owls and their cages. Cages that size are usually very, very expensive and owls… well, those aren't your everyday birds. Parrots cost over $1000 for some, I believe that $148 is less than it should be *frowns slightly before shrugging* Ah, 20 years? *suddenly grins* Wow, I got their ages right then! Since Sev is about 25 and Harry is 5 years old… oh yeah, I'm rather good at guessing *sheepish smile* thanks for your input.

Caelestis/S(yes, they are)/Kimmy/Jalee(this was not fast…)/(no name)/Silver Angel/may-tay/LoMaRiBa/Fanny chan/obsideian(looks likely lol)/spade2848(yup)/Lilyana/NegaQueen Voldemort/Miss Patricia Potter/frizzy/npetrenko/floramorada: Thank you!

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"And then the prince and princess got married and lived happily ever after… until they had children, the end," Narcissa smiled lightly at the avid looks that had stayed on Harry's and Draco's face throughout the entire telling of the tale. She put the book on the table where a house elf immediately snatched it up and dashed away to put it back where it belonged. Ignoring that, she smiled at the duo, "What do you think?"

Harry was the first to speak and he piped up in a clear voice, "Why'd he have to marry a girl? They're icky!" His face made a grimace at the thought and he buried his fingers in Ayrin's fur, grinning at the wolf before looking towards Draco. "Right?"

Over the past couple of weeks with Lucius and Severus teaching them the basics of wizardly, Lucius found out that the boys couldn't even perform the simplest of spells just because of their pronunciation of words. That being so, he had scoured the country for a spell to eliminate lisps… and that's what had happened to the boys. Of course, having no lisps at all didn't mean they had perfect vocabulary, nor did it mean that they would speak words correctly when they didn't want to… hence the word 'icky'.

Narcissa gave a small, private smile at those memories of Lucius and Severus struggling to teach the children something without that something blowing up in their faces… should it be a wand or a potion. But at least the boys had the basics down, though it was truly the basics and neither could perform a proper spell or make a proper potion just yet.

Draco nodded his head firmly, his blond hair becoming messier with each shake of his head. Then he spoke in his most adamant voice, "Right! Girl's are icky!" He was curled up with Tyr, the boys and the wolves lying on the Oriental rug, his hands lightly stroking his pup's silky ears. His silver gaze then flickered up to meet Narcissa's, his voice questioning, "Why a girl?"

She gave him a patient smile, internally shaking her head in amusement, "Because that is how it is. Why? You don't want to get married?" Suddenly an idea flickered in her mind and she bestowed both boys a beatific smile, inwardly plotting something…

"Not to a girl!" Harry giggled softly when Ayrin licked his cheek, and the black-haired boy turned towards his wolf pup, wrapping his arms around the furry neck.

Oh, this was getting amusing. Narcissa chuckled lightly and then asked delicately, "How about a boy?" If Lucius ever found out… or Severus for that matter… she could just imagine their confused and shocked faces. Oh, she knew that she shouldn't be encouraging this line of thought, but it would look so cute if Harry and Draco…

As if it were his own idea, Draco leaped up and declared proudly, "I can get married to Harry so we don't have to marry girls!" Then his gaze went towards Tyr and he laughed, "And Tyr and Ayrin can too!"

…Perhaps that was going a bit far. Narcissa just gave the boys a patient smile, explaining lightly to them both, "Tyr and Ayrin can't, they're brothers. That is incest." At the confused looks that ringed around her, she gave a mental sigh and a faint smile, "Never mind. Want to get married now?" This was going to look so adorable… she ought to capture this moment.

So she brought out her wand and flicked it, summoning a house elf (now what was his name? …It didn't matter), ordering, "Bring me a camera."

The house elf, whose name was Twink by the way, just bobbed his head and said hurriedly, "Yes, mistress," and quickly darted out of the room, intent on finding a camera. He returned soon after, and politely deposited the device next to Narcissa before fleeing once more.

Through all of this, Narcissa's excited talking including; both Harry and Draco had extremely puzzled looks on their faces, but quietly followed along with whatever the woman told them to do. So they got off the floor, faced each other, fumbled with strange rings that Narcissa made another house elf get.

Harry looked at Draco gravely, speaking privately, -I think that 'cissa is crazy…- a thoughtful look stole over the small boy's expressive green eyes, -or it's 'that time of the month again' like Lucius says! …why does he say that Draco? I dun get it. 'cissa doesn't act differently when he says that to us-

Draco just gave a helpless shrug; grasping a several roses that Narcissa had thrust into his hands and instructed him to hold. The little boy turned confused eyes towards his mother before his gaze darted back to Harry, -I… dunno. Maybe it is 'that time of the month', should I ask mother?- At Harry's nod, Draco looked up towards Narcissa and spoke, his voice hesitant, "Is it… that time of the month again?"

At those words Narcissa froze and turned to look towards Harry and Draco, her ice blue eyes holding faint traces of annoyance, "And where did you here that?"

A prompt reply from both.

"Lucius!"

"Father!"

She then smiled a faint smile, a dangerous smile, and inclined her head softly, while saying in a light tone, "It isn't 'that time of the month', and you two should never ask that question to a lady." When she finally saw nods coming from both, she gave a self-satisfied smile, "Very well then, let's continue…" Her voice dropped suddenly and she muttered to herself, "And I'll talk to Lucius later." Her delicate hands lightly stroked a rose petal and then she handed a small bouquet of them to Harry.

The smaller alpha seems upset with the tall one Ayrin perked his ears up towards Narcissa, hearing her words, but not understanding the meaning behind it. He relayed his insight to Harry and Tyr (who in turn gave it to Draco); his tail wagging slightly as he delicately plucked a flower from Harry's hand and promptly destroyed it.

Neither he nor Tyr knew the meaning being a 'marriage' and didn't care. Just as long as their bondeds were healthy and happy, they too were happy. Though they did feel plenty confused over what events were happening in the manor, not understanding things even when Draco and Harry tried to explain them. But they accepted it all, didn't know how not to, and loved their little boys with the fierceness rivaled by none except perhaps Lucius and Narcissa.

Except the pups would never do anything to intentionally harm their bonded.

~

Harry was nearly falling over, in fact he was leaning heavily on Draco for support, his yawning growing more and more frequent as Narcissa droned on about some sort of marriage stuff that he didn't understand. …At all… But 'cissa seemed to think that it was important because she kept snapping little pictures of them both.

Sometimes girls were strange.

Thought firmly fixed in his head, he gave himself a nod and blinked, trying to keep his vision steady or else he'll probably fall over and go to sleep. He idly brushed Ayrin's thick fur with a hand, muttering to himself, and to Draco, how much he was never going to do this ever again.

To which Draco had replied mentally, -I dun think that you can 'cause you then are married to me. What does being married do anyway?- He was tired as well, but tried not to show it, his silver eyes fixed on his mother as he carried a mental conversation with Harry and Tyr.

-I dunno… Lucius and 'cissa are married, so… I guess we are like them?- Harry shrugged, or tried to, before giving up half way. His eyes were half-lidded, hearing the drone of Narcissa's voice vaguely, clutching some ring in his hand that she had gave him to give to Draco. Draco had a similar one. He still didn't understand a thing.

Draco stifled a yawn himself, -What does being married do? They dun do anything different… I think. I dunno…- Suddenly he perked up, -They live in the same room! Does that mean we can too?- He had been dearly missing Harry when he slept.

At the thought, Harry grinned broadly and started to squirm, before whining to Narcissa, "Done yet? Tired!" He pouted, his most adorable pout, his bottom lip jutting out slightly, his eyes widening. Needless to say, it usually had a positive effect when put on adults of any age… except for Sev, Sev seemed to just twitch and groan. Or maybe because he always used the face after he blew something up…

Hehe… so maybe it did work on Sev, because the man never seemed able to punish him afterwards. It was something to keep in mind.

Narcissa glanced up at them from some book she was reading out-loud and sighed before chuckling to herself, "Ah well… it's just that you two look so adorable…" The usually calm and completely composed woman seemed a bit flustered and for the life of them, Draco and Harry didn't know why. She hurried on, "Anyway, all you two have to do is exchange your rings and kiss each other!" She spoke the last in a faintly cheery voice, already instructing the house elf looking over this fake wedding to being taking as many pictures as they could… all the while muttering under her breath something about blackmail and 'when they get older'.

Which neither Harry nor Draco understood very well, for one thing, what the heck was blackmail?

So while Milly… (or was it Twiddle, or Gibble, or… did they even have a house elf named Gibble?) took pictures, Draco and Harry gazed at each other with confusion on their faces before Harry shrugged and leaned forward (which Narcissa did as well, though neither of the boys noticed) and kissed Draco quickly on the cheek before withdrawing. Then both boys gave each other the tiny rings, still with the most puzzled expression on their faces.

Then Harry began to whine, "Are we done?????"

Before Narcissa could reply, the door opened quietly and Lucius strode in with Severus behind him, both of them blinking when they saw Narcissa and the boys. Lucius eloquently raised a single eyebrow, looking at Draco and Harry with a bit of bemusement in his eyes before finally asking, "What are you two doing?" Severus just looked at the scene with vague interest, his sharp eyes taking in the camera, how the boys were leaning against each other, and most of all the rings…

Before Narcissa could drudge up a suitable reply, Draco chirped brightly, "Me and Harry got married!"

Harry looked at Lucius and Severus curiously when the latter seemed to be struggling not to laugh and the former seemed to be chocking on thin air. How strange. His mind puzzled over this fact, his head tilting slightly to the side when he saw Lucius' face turn slightly red and the man for once seemed to be at a loss for words. He wondered what was wrong with getting married, Lucius and 'cissa were married, right? Adults were strange…

Lucius chocked out, "Bloody hell, married?!" His gray eyes swiftly moved over to the guilty looking Narcissa, questioning, and finally resigned as he tried to reign in what little dignity he had left. He coughed a bit and sighed internally, -wouldn't do to be seen sighing after this little fiasco- his face returning to its usual blank and composed manner.

A guilty look was placed on Narcissa face when she realized that she had lost track of the time and that the boys should be having their lesson right now. She got up from her position gracefully, determined not to look ruffled by this event, smiled sweetly at Severus and spoke lightly, "Yes, well… it was something to pass the time with, love. I'm sure that you and Severus could start instructing them now." She shot a furtive look towards an ancient clock and muttered softly, "Ah… it's late, and I really ought to go buy those robes I was eyeing in the shop, don't work the boys too hard now, love." And unabashedly, she swept out of the room, the picture of a perfect wife.

Silence reigned in the room while Lucius tried to figure out exactly what happened.

~

After a bit of explanations from the boys, and the adamant repeat telling by Lucius that the boys could not stay in the same room and that they were not really married… things settled down to business as usual, though Severus remained highly amused for the rest of the day. The only thing that jarred it was Draco and Harry's refusal to give up the rings, proclaiming loudly that it was 'pretty' and that Tyr and Ayrin liked it (to which Lucius muttered under his breath that his son and Harry were turning into poufs and he couldn't seem to do a thing about it… especially when Narcissa seemed to be encouraging them of all things). Needless to say, Severus was going to have plenty of fun teasing the other man about it for the rest of his days.

Blackmail was a sweet thing.

Shaking his head, Lucius turned his attention towards the boys and the wolves, barking out, "Take out your wands! We are about to begin, now stop dallying like a bunch of Weasleys and hurry up!" By now Lucius had decided to ignore what happened before and to just continue on. He and Severus had their own wands out, both looking calm and collected, ready for whatever mishaps might be thrown their way.

Harry and Draco both took out their wands, eyes fixed upon their instructors (for they have ceased becoming friends when it came to lessons, the boys had learned that early on) with avid expressions. Perhaps they weren't good at magic yet, but it was still terribly exciting for them and they really did wish to be as good as Lucius said they should be.

Lucius spoke smoothly, "We are going to try to have you cast spells, I do not expect you to fail. Failure results in no desserts…" at the shocked looks the two children sported, he smiled maliciously and went on, "for a week."

Beside him Severus just gave him a questioning look and a raised brow, but inwardly he admitted to himself that the threat really did work since both Harry and Draco looked as if their lives depended on them being able to cast spells or not. Really, it was quite amusing. He just wordlessly flicked his wand about absentmindedly, eyes cool and alert.

Firmly the older Malfoy continued, "First spell is wingardium leviosa. Now, watch closely and follow my movements exactly." He moved his wand in the correct manner, spoke the words, and finished with pointing it to a nearby book, making it float in the air and stay there until he dismissed the spell. He turned to look towards Draco and Harry with complete seriousness, "Your turn. Draco, you first."

One had to feel sorry for the nervous little boy who gripped his wand as if it was the only thing keeping him on this plane of existence. Draco looked at the book and then back down at the wand in his hands before finally doing sketchy movements, his words tumbling over each other, and he finally pointed it towards the book… which caught on fire.

Severus strode in immediately and snarled out a finite incantatum, barely resisting the urge to make a comment on the dismalness of the performance, reminding himself in his mind that they were just children and he shouldn't expect much. The flames on the book fizzled out immediately and he stepped back into his place. This was the reason why he was there, to stop any stray spells from doing any… lasting damage. One could only guess what may happen when teaching children as young as Harry and Draco were.

For a good portion of the hour Lucius sniped at Draco to continue to try, to get the spell right. Near the end of the hour Draco looked miserable, uncertain, and at the brink of tears with Severus and Lucius at a loss on how to get the small boy get the spell right. No amount of help they tried to do, examples they did, Draco didn't seem to get it right.

On his… well, they lost count on what try, a small voice snaked into Draco's mind. -Relax Drake…- Harry used a little pet-name he came up with during the past hour, -You can do this spell, it's easy! You just don't know it- Well, confident little bugger wasn't he? -Ayrin said to look for your magic. Erm… he said it was inside, dunno what that really means, but try!-

Draco sighed and sniffled, wiping at his watery eyes while Lucius and Severus stared at him stonily. He pouted at them and decided to do what Harry said, what else was there to lose? So he took a great deep breath and closed his eyes… (much to the confusion from the adults) his breathing slowing down. Look inside? He could do that! Sorta… not really… he struggled as he wondered exactly what Ayrin had meant before another mind whispered in his head.

Silly bonded! Like this!

And it seemed as if he was thrust into pure power. Tyr's subconscious (it turns out that the white pup was the source of the voice and the subsequent dunking into the power) floated around in the fringes of the power, occasionally brushing against it, but never fully touching it. It was as if this was a place only for Draco, a place where he could be alone, safe, and without any worries.

It was really, really pretty. Silver, of all shades, swirled around him, through him, never stopping in their haunting movements. The feeling of power thrummed around him, it comforted him, it was completely peaceful.

Suddenly Tyr's voice jolted his musings, the pup sounding far away, but impatient, What are you doing? Bonded, you need to draw it up and use it! Everyone is waiting for you Then the wolf pup's mind-voice faded away once more.

Draco paused for a moment, a sigh seemingly escaping him, as he drew up a tendril of power and was suddenly back to the state he was in before… only now he had the power and the control. He could feel his reservation of power, perhaps not completely understanding it, but knowing that he could always find it now. He gave a small smile, and his voice proudly spoke, "Wingardium leviosa!" His spell hit the book… and the book slammed up into the ceiling behind the sheer force of Draco's concentration, the shock of it happening making the little boy jump and break the spell, letting the book fall with a heavy thud.

Lucius looked blankly at the massacred book (burnt, frozen in parts, pages falling out, ect) and finally spoke, "Well… you finally got it right. We'll need to work on limiting the spells though…" He glanced over to Severus, at a small loss on what else to say.

With a small shake of his head, Severus got himself to stop staring at the book and wondering over where the burst of power came from. His dark eyes flicked towards Draco and he gave a curt nod, "Good work, Young Malfoy. Harry…" dimly he wondered over the fact that he still did not know the last name of the boy, dismissing it as unimportant, "It is your turn. Perhaps you won't take as long as your companion did."

Dumbledore would be greatly inquisitive to know that Draco Malfoy had considerable might in his first working spell… but still, he would not say a word about Harry, could not. The situation was too delicate to be handled quite yet by more people. He still did not know enough about the situation and where exactly the Malfoy's stood… it was something to think upon, surely, and he has thought about it for many sleepless nights.

Harry then started by the sound of Severus' voice, having been jolted out of his mental praise of what Draco had done. He smiled sheepishly at the potion's master before stepping up and pointing his wand at the book. The little boy garbled the words (making them come out all wrong) and the book did nothing but turn a few pages.

It seemed as if this was going to take some time.

Only a couple minutes later though, Harry seemed to fall into the small trance that Draco had before, and when he came out of it, he was smiling brightly, confidently. His hand flicked up towards the book and he spoke the words of the spell as if they were imprinted into his mind, and the book floated up quickly before slowing down, floating in the air lightly before Harry broke the spell.

Silence greeted the two adults who stared at the book and the little black-haired boy who did the spell, both gazes puzzled and calculating. While Harry did not demonstrate the power behind the spell that Draco he seemed to have a better grasp at it.

Well, they were wrong, partly wrong anyway. Throughout the entire thing, Harry had been quietly watching Lucius and then Draco perform, always noting what Draco had done wrong, what he was doing. So he had gained a greater understanding behind the spell (who wouldn't after nearly an hour of hearing it) and more of intuition of what should happen and what he should do. Thus, when he had gone in to find his 'center' which had been power of shades of green (and strangely enough black), he went in with a greater understanding and executed the spell better. If it had been the other way around, Draco would have done the same as him.

Thoughtfully the two adults completed the lesson, praising the boys and sending them off to clean up and get to bed. Lucius glanced towards Severus and motioned to the chairs.

~

"It's nearly time…" Lucius spoke quietly, lightly swirling around the deep red wine in the elegant glass he held lightly in his fingers. He stared into it, not drinking, before glancing towards Severus who had made himself comfortable in the high-backed chairs.

The potion master frowned a bit and nodded curtly, "Yes, it is. Tell me, you are still going to go through with the plan?" He disapproved of it, knew it might break the boys who seemed so close. While he may seem like a bastard to some, it didn't mean that he was heartless… and he had grown fond of both boys really.

Lucius just nodded and took a light sip of the wine, letting the heady taste rest on his tongue, "Yes, you know very well that to pull this off perfectly, I need them separated and Draco in the public's eyes." He frowned slightly, banishing any misgivings he may have on his little plan, deciding that it was the best thing to do at this stage.

"What does Narcissa say?"

Lucius gave Severus a thoughtful look. He knew that Severus knew more than he let on, yet still the other did not seem to know about the existence of the true Malfoy manor, nor any of the more… important information that Lucius and Narcissa kept quiet. His gaze absentmindedly flickered about the study, silently reflecting on how in the manor, the room would be bigger with a more elegant touch… before banishing the thought from his mind. He really shouldn't get distracted; perhaps it was the wine…? No, couldn't be.

He spoke again, a bit absentmindedly, "She has agreed to the plan, I would have carried it out even if she hadn't, you know that." Perhaps a touch of a lie would do, if Narcissa had really disagreed, there was little he could do about it and the plan probably would not have carried out the way that he wanted.

Severus gave a slow nod, his smooth voice sounding once more, "So… where shall Harry and Narcissa go? I trust that you can't keep them in the manor especially considering how much of it is in the public's eye." He didn't drink any of the wine, instead just sloshing it in the glass slowly, "I shall have to deviate between the manor and that other place, right?" His sharp obsidian eyes met the Malfoy gray, "I will have to if I am to teach both Draco and Harry."

A slight nod answered him, Lucius murmuring softly, "They will be quite a distance away… and will live in a different place than where you are going to teach Harry. Safer for us all that way." He didn't indicate why, "They would both be unstoppable when the time comes… Don't you agree, Severus?"

Silence… Severus looked at Lucius steadily, his gaze appraising before he finally spoke, "Of course, Lucius."

He took a long drink from the glass of wine.

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Well… *pause* ^^; Yes, I know I'm terribly late with this chapter, I promise that it'll come out faster (the next one I mean) So now all of you know what Lucius is going to do… cheers for those that guessed correctly before hand! Fluffy chapter… it'll get angsty in the next one when I separate Harry and Draco *looks sheepish* oh I can just feel the hate from people. Don't worry! They'll get back together… *coughs quietly and mumbles* After some more angst. But anyway, this fic seems to be shaping up! I'm just going to have to insert more plot and… yeah. ^^

If you haven't noticed by now, I like Sev *grins* I think he's an interesting, complex character. He'll have more significance later (I think… hmmm…) Oh and the marriage scene. I absolutely abhor the way I wrote the first portion, hate it, want to burn it, but when I was going to rewrite it, I decided that you people waited long enough…

Oh! And please read my story Perfection. Harry and Draco… okay, the only reason I want you to read it is because it has 9 reviews, I just need ONE to make me happy. Nobody understands how much it bugs me to leave it at nine… I would be the same if I had 59 and only needed one more to make it 60. I'm strange that way *grins sheepishly* I just need one review, pretty please?

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My e-mail address is flyby311@hotmail.com and put Single Choice or fanfic or Harry Potter or something similar to that, so I know what the e-mail is about. Anything you want to add/criticize/comment/whatever you guys just review it… please?