Pairing: HP/LM

Rating: R

Warning: Slash, angst, M/M, Mpreg

Disclaimer: All characters from Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. I'm just an obsessed maniac who is also an insomniac thanks to the voices in her head. The Thistleton Hotel really exists and I have never been in there. I am not making any money out of this and use the Hotel name purely because it was in the right local and I liked how it looked from the outside. Trust me, if you try to sue me, it won't get you any money cos I'm dirt broke already!

Archived: ask please

Feedback: Desperately needed…

A/N: Ok, firstly, sorry!! I totally made a huge typo in the last chapter. The room number is 7310 not 7130. Oops! I really hope you all like this chapter. I made it longer. Let me know what you all think! Again, thanks to all those that reviewed and those that haven't, what are you waiting for? Just kidding. I am totally honored that you all have read and are reading my fic. Immense gratitude to my beloved beta's Linda and Lillian. Now, *points to the review counter* I seem to be stuck at 86. Anyone want to help make me reach a hundred?? The hundredth reviewer will get a preview of a nice smutty chapter if you leave you email add. Damn it, I've stooped to bribes, oh well I already have a scene done, I'm just waiting for the right moment to include it. The thing is, I wont be able to post it on FFnet seeing the rating will shoot up to NC 17 and all, I'll try to link it to another site and post the link here so you all can enjoy it. Ummm to all the native Londoners out there reading this, sorry if I get some stuff wrong. I recently came back from a trip there and love the city soo much I decided to use it in my fic. When I was there I could literally almost see the two of them walking in the streets. It was beautiful. Now, on to the review replies!

Black Rose, I would seriously recommend the fic Sleeping with the enemy, by Maeglin Yedi. Thats the fic that started me onto this pairing. Also Je Te Plumerias and it's sequel, by Nimorii. I don't think I've got the title spelt right but, just check them out. Those are the best fics right now that I can recommend with a good plotline.

Kandra, sorry, this is strictly Harry/Lucius. I had played around with the idea of a Harry/Lucius/Severus but decided not to go there just yet. Maybe in my next fic. However, I just finished a new fic called Waiting and that one's Harry/Sev. Check it out. It's my first of that ship soo.... review and let me know what you think!

Twinkiegirl, there, here ya go, no more catatonic. Okies??

and to the rest of you, Purple Passion, Sayan, Saavik, SakuraKawaiiCherry, Megan, Tigerblak and KittenBabyGirl... here, the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy it.. Please, please, please, review!

I'll probably get the next chapter out by this weekend. Depending what time FFNet decides to shut down. Take care all. Enjoy!!!

The Serpentine, Hyde Park, London,

To anybody watching, they would see an elegant, sophisticated man, walking leisurely through Hyde Park, with a cute black cat running along beside his heels. While many may comment on how well trained the cat was, no one would blink an eye after taking in the look on Lucius Malfoy's face. The man was in deep contemplation. Obviously mulling over a tough decision. Perhaps it was a business problem, as it was very obvious that this man was very successful. It could be a family problem, why else would a grown man own such a small cat if not as a pet for his son or daughter. While all of this conjecture was plausible and logical, none of it was true. In fact, the people who deliberately skirted around the man would be shocked at what was actually running through Malfoy's head.

Lucius' POV

What do I do now? I'm trapped here in a place that all my life I've been told was not good enough for me. I'm stuck here with the enemy of my wife's lover. A boy I despised and was disgusted with. I hated that he was spoilt and loved and worshipped. He hadn't done anything to deserve all of the glory. He was just a little, useless, Mudblood boy. But after talking to Severus and listening to his explanation of the condition I found him in, it turns out he wasn't the king of the castle as much as the bloody house elf to muggles. Instead of a whimpering little toad of a boy I find a strong courageous hero who's expected to save the world from an evil everyone else fears to name much less oppose. A proud, valiant boy who feels anger at his own inadequacies, who hates his own weakness and strives to better himself so he can stand up to all the expectations laid on his not so broad shoulders.

In the time I've spent with him, when I knew him as Waz, all I felt was tenderness and love. More then I ever felt for any of my other animals. Those feelings allowed me to be hurt when I discovered his real identity. But now, I have no idea how to feel. I want to hate him again but I find I cannot. This boy reminds me of myself in a way. He's been used and abused all his life but refuses to allow anyone to see it and shoulders his burden with pride and dignity, the very reasons why I had felt so drawn to Waz in the first place.

Severus really gave me a good talking to. I couldn't understand at first why he was behaving that way with Harry Potter. After all those hours of him ranting and raving at me over the total incompetence of the boy, now all he can do is rip my head of just because I threw some curses at him? I wondered out loud what brought on this immediate about face and again got my mind blown away. It was actually quite funny now that I think about it. A scrawny little boy, the bloody Potter heir, son of James and Lilly Potter, Godson to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, managed to cause the unflappable, dignified, calm, cool, collected Severus Snape to lose all reason and get down on the floor to comfort him. How did he do that? Even the Dark Lord has never been able to break through Severus' shroud of ice before. Yet from day one, this, this, brat has managed to shatter all of his life's work, by first causing him to launch into the strange vendetta of trying to get the boy expelled to protecting him and saving his life.

What is it about the boy? Now, not only has he managed to destroy the Severus Snape I knew, but also has managed to break me. I, Lucius Malfoy would never be walking in Muggle London without a purpose agonizing about one 16 year old boy. No, I would not hesitate to curse him and break him to my will. Why would I give a toad's eye for an emancipated teenager with unruly black hair and the most gorgeous green eyes in the world? Wait, gorgeous?? Well, they are, but Argh!! That's not what I was trying to point out! But then again, it actually is the point. How on earth did an annoying little chore like him, manage to throw me so utterly? Grrrr, enough, no more. Fine. I'll play nice and wait this out. When this month is over, I'll send him on his way back to school and never have to deal with him ever again. Now, I'm going to enjoy myself and feed the birds.

With that, Lucius Malfoy stalked over to the edge of the water, subtly conjuring some bread and started throwing bits and pieces to the ducks, swans and other assorted water birds that lined the area.

Harry's POV

I still can't believe I broke down like that in front of Malfoy and Snape. I mean, how weak can you get. Grrr, and now here I am stuck in my panther form again, with this stupid collar around my neck. At least Malfoy had the decency to not mention my little 'attack'. Instead after he and Severus had talked in the other room for a while, he just ordered me to change into my animagus form and said he was going for a stroll in the park. A stroll in the park, yeah right. Probably wants to humiliate me again by putting his bloody collar on me. Not that the collar was restricting though, in fact, I remember him adjusting it carefully to make sure I wouldn't choke or anything.

Sigh, what was that song again? 'Balls of Confusion'? Yeah, that's right, that's what I feel like right now. I'm a huge ball of confusion. Shaking my head roughly, I refuse to allow my train of thought to continue. This is not the way to handle things. Instead, I'm just going to forget all of this, forget my preconceptions of Malfoy and get to know what really is going on, first hand. There, now that that's settled, my mind is free to concentrate on better things like taking a look around me.

Holy Merlin! It's beautiful here. I've never been to Hyde Park before. The people, the air, the grass, the trees, glorious! Not to mention the fact that this is right smack in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. Fascinated, my thoughts were distracted as I took in the scenery. Having grown up the way I did, locked up in a cupboard and no friends most of my childhood, its always been one of my hobbies to people watch. I'd sit silently alone and watch a group of people, making up stories in my head about where they were from, their relationship to each other, what they were doing, feeling. Sometimes I project myself into their midst, pretending when I see a father calling out for a child that had strayed to far that he was calling for me. Of course, over time I gave up that childish fantasy. But still, I like to watch and observe, giving people whole new personalities and lives. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a teenage girl, trying to learn how to juggle. Behind her is another group of teenagers, learning some kind of line dance. My mind whirls as I think up scenarios to fit them into. However, before I can properly concoct a storyline, a flash of brown has totally distracted me.

SQUIRRELS!!!

Oh shite. The feline in me hunkers down and stealthily approaches the little brown rodents. Unlike the muggles however, their senses are not fooled by the Obscurus charm and they sense me, the predator. Frightened, they flee up a tree and scamper into their little burrows. Damn it! Their scent tantalizes and teases me, mingling with the other heady scents that permeate my senses. Oh, wait, a whole flock of birds are now swarming near Malfoy, attracted by the food he is lavishly doling out. Heheheh, this is even better then playing with Hedwig! Crouching down with my belly almost brushing the grass, I stalk towards the unsuspecting birds. The noise and bustle of the park enables me to mask my presence, the birds too greedy to heed the squirrels chattering warning. Near enough now, I prepare to jump, wriggling my behind to relax my muscles and properly align them to reach the proper elevation. Ready, I look for an opening and.........

*POUNCE*

The birds scatter, while I jump up and down, snapping at their tail feathers, carefully making sure my teeth snap around empty air. Unfortunately, I was paying so much attention to the birds that I did not see the water line. Splash! I had just fallen in to the Serpentine!! I'm WET!! argh!!!

Then, behind me, I hear a noise I had never expected to hear again. Malfoy guffawing and laughing his heart out, surrounded by several muggles who were smiling and chuckling at my antics. Ooooo, I'm never going to live this down! Thank God Severus isn't here to see this!!

In true cat fashion, I look haughtily at the laughing humans and scoff at them, tossing my head and shaking my fur, as if to say "Your laughter rolls of me like water on a ducks back". With my eyes narrowed, I shoot another glare at them, flick my tail in the air and stalk out of the murky water, not deigning to acknowledge their presence, dignified as a cat should be. Hmmph!

Lucius' POV

Absently feeding the birds, I sneak glances over to where Waz is walking, admiring his sleek elegance and the pride in his stance. Whatever the situation is right now, I somehow can't seem to stop referring to the boy when he is in his animagus form by any other name then Waz. Exhausted by the recent mental aerobics and upheavals of the day, I resign myself to the inevitable and stop trying. God, the animal is gorgeous. His very carriage denotes an aura of command, of power. It really brings meaning to the adage you may bring the lion out of the jungle but you will never get the jungle out of the lion, in this case, the panther. Look at him sweeping his magnificent head around, taking in his surroundings and watching everyone and everything.

Suddenly, he cocks his head to one side and freezes all movement, only the subtle twitching of his tail showing that he is not some statue. Tingles of alarm shoot down my spine and my hand immediately moves towards my wand as I follow his gaze. Unable to stop a snigger, my tense muscles relax as I realize what had drawn my Waz' attention. Squirrels! Settling myself for a show, I watch avidly, wondering what the animagus was going to do. Biting back a laugh, I stare as he readies himself in attack position and stalks the squirrels, only to have his prey evade at the last second and run into a hole too small for Waz to reach into. Commiserating, I continue my perusal, wondering how the jungle cat would react to the upset.

Almost unable to stop saying it out loud, the words, 'Aww, how utterly cute and adorable' flash across my mind, as Waz gears up again to attack the flock of birds I've baited for him. His antics however, have not gone unnoticed as while many pets are brought to be walked and to play in the park, not many cat owners bring their cats. Little muggle children and their parents watch keenly, not even bothering to control their smitten expressions as my pet leaps right into the middle of the gathering of birds and then proceeds to chase them. Even I had trouble controlling my laughter as he suddenly fell into the water after a particularly high jump. Oh, the look on his face was priceless! His feigned dignified exit of the pond was even more priceless. Sighing and chuckling, I follow my pet, trying to stop my mind from wondering when was the last time I had ever laughed in such a public arena, shared an emotion with so many strangers without having to guard myself or my feelings.