A/N: Thanks again to all of my reviewers. You've been great. As to why my chapters tend to be so short... I've never written anything that I've posted before it was done, so I've never really had to worry about how long the sections or chapters were. They are getting longer as this chapter shows and will continue to do so.
Disclaimers et all in part 1
Chapter 6 - Snowy Days and Sundays
Moria came to two decisions that day. The first was that she's stay with Lucius until after the holidays. The second was she was going to Hogwarts to visit Draco. Lucius agreed to both, provided she didn't interfere. She promised she would do nothing to stop the bonding then left the manor to apparate to the gates of the school.
Once she got inside the castle, she asked the first student she saw for directions to Professor Snape's quarters. Luckily, it was a Slytherin she stopped, although she was not so subtly grilled as he showed her the way. She had no doubt her escort would have tried to lose her in the dungeons if her answers had not been satisfactory.
She stood a few feet from the door as the second year knocked on a non-descript door. When it opened, there were a few whispers before Severus walked out.
"Thank you, Mr. Zachary," he said. "Please find Mr. Malfoy and have him join us."
"Yes, sir," the student said and hurried off.
Severus and Moria walked into his quarters. "It's good to see you, Moria," he said. "Do I need to ask what brings you to Hogwarts?"
"Other than to ask my nephew to dinner?" she smiled. "No, I don't suppose you do."
"What is going on in that brain of his?" Severus asked.
"He's not talking and, believe me, I asked," she said, "loudly and more than once. Whatever it is, he's telling no one."
"Will you be able to talk him out of this lunacy?"
"I'm afraid not," she sighed. "He is bound and determined to go through with this, no matter what anyone wants, including Draco. The most I can do is to take over the planning.'
"You're planning the ceremony?" he asked.
"Lucius would ruin it and I don't believe either of the boys will want to do it," she said.
There was a knock at the door. "Enter!" Severus called out. The door opened and Draco walked into the room.
"Aunt Moria," he smiled as he hurried over to her.
"Hello, my sweet," she said as they hugged.
"What brings you to Hogwarts?" he asked, knowing full well the answer to that.
"Well, I thought I might take you to dinner in Hogsmeade and Severus has kindly granted permission," she said.
"Be back before curfew," Severus said. "You have classes tomorrow."
"We'll be back long before that," Moria said. "Run and get your cloak and I'll meet you at the front entrance."
After Draco had gone, Moria turned and looked at Severus. "I'll be visiting through a good part of the Christmas holidays," she said. "We'll probably see a good deal of each other and, perhaps this summer, you'll consider leaving this castle for a while."
He gave her a small smile. "Why, Ms. Malfoy, whatever would we do?" he asked. "And what would your brother say?"
"My brother can do for himself," she smiled, "and if you have to ask what, then it's been entirely too long since you have."
Forty-five minutes later, Draco and Moria were sitting in the Three Broomsticks. Rosemerta had just delivered their butterbeers and left with their orders when Moria reached over and took Draco's hand.
"And how are you doing?" she asked.
"As fine as I can be, I guess," Draco shrugged. "I love Father but, sometimes...."
"I know very well how he can be," she told him. "With some things, he can wait for years. With others, yesterday isn't soon enough."
"If he wasn't so bloody impatient," he said through gritted teeth. "If he wasn't so set on it being done by the end of the year, I would have been able to do it myself."
"Draco, are you in love with Harry Potter?" she asked.
Draco leaned back against the wall. "I know him well enough," he said.
"But you'd like to."
"And I could have done it," he said, fervently. "It would have taken a while, but it would have happened... somehow."
"And your plans after Hogwarts?" she asked.
"They've changed in the past few days," Draco said. "I mean, I'll have a child to worry about. That's assuming Harry lets me anywhere near him or the baby."
"You're assuming your father intends to allow Harry to keep the baby," she said, quietly. "It is quite possible that Lucius intends to raise the child himself."
"He wouldn't give a baby to...." He swallowed.
"I don't believe he has any intentions of handing a baby, especially an heir of his, over to Voldemort," Moria assured him. "And, while he may push you in that direction, I don't believe he will force you to join."
"Uncle Severus thinks I could be a fair potions maker," he said, "and I like it."
"Praise from Caesar," she chuckled.
Rosemerta arrived with their food. The pair ate quietly for a few minutes. Finally, Moria broke the silence.
"Draco, I'll help you all I can," she said. "I won't be able to stop the bonding but I'll do whatever I can to make it easier for you, for both of you. That includes helping you plan it."
"We can't just show up and get it over with?" he asked. She just looked at him. "Didn't think so."
"Just be thankful your father hasn't decided to turn it into the highlight of the social season," she informed him. He went even paler than he all ready was.
When they finished eating, they walked back to Hogwarts. It was snowing lightly, covering everything in a white frost. As soon as they got back to the school, Moria told Draco that she'd be back at the school the next weekend and that she'd like to meet Harry.
"I'll see what I can do," he said. "I may have to get Uncle Severus to give him a detention to get him there."
"Whatever it takes," she said. She kissed the top of his head then watched him head back inside the school before disapparating.
It was softly snowing when Harry made his escape from the Gryffindor common room. He needed to think and the middle of a crowd of people was no place to do that. Not even his dorm room would have been quiet.
Two pairs of eyes watched him go. "Do you think he's all right?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "He hasn't been this quiet since the end of fourth year." And Cedric's death, she added silently.
"You don't think... you don't think that something happened to Sirius, do you?" he asked.
"Harry would have told us about something like that," she said, "I'm sure of it. Whatever Dumbledore told him, though, must have been very bad to affect him like this."
"Do you think we should ask him?" he asked. "Maybe he'll tell us what's going on."
"You heard him," she said. "He's not allowed to tell us." Her eyes took on a faraway look. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."
Harry made his way to the lake, sitting down on a large rock. His cloak was charmed to keep him warm and dry in the snow. As he sat, he thought about the situation he had gotten himself into. His mind was running in circles and getting nowhere fast. He decided to take things one at a time.
Draco. While he was still generally a prat, the blond boy seemed to have mellowed over their fifth year. Oh, he still insulted Harry and his friends and the others in their house but there didn't seem to be as much malice behind it as there once was. Maybe the git was finally growing up.
Lucius. The man was a Death Eater. That was a fact that was impossible to ignore but he also always seemed to be looking out for his own interests, whether they coincided with Voldemort's or not. Not that Voldemort knew that. Lucius was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Harry would really love to know what the man was planning.
The bonding. Harry had agreed to it at first simply to keep Sirius and Remus safe but now... now, he wondered if he couldn't use it to his advantage. It wasn't the money or position that being bonded to Draco would probably bring. He had more than enough money to last him a laugh time and the scar on his forehead would probably get him into high society if he wanted. It meant he would never have to return to the Dursley's, not that he would be able to anyway. He couldn't live there while he was pregnant and there was no way he would ever take a child of his there. The only problem he had was that if they bonded, instead of just simply getting married, there would be no divorce. Neither of them would be able to marry again until the other was dead.
The baby. While the idea of bonding with Draco didn't make him happy, the idea of having a child of his own did. It would be someone he could love and would love him back. The child would be raised in the magical world and wouldn't be called a freak or abnormal or any of the other things that Vernon, Petunia and Dudley had heaped on him while he was growing up. The only problem he had would be Lucius and he intended to do his best to negate that problem.
With a sigh, he got up and headed back to the castle. He could make all the decisions he wanted but there were just too many variables to be sure of how anything was going to work out. Oh, well. He'd survive. He always did, even if he did get a little singed around the edges in the process.
TBC
Disclaimers et all in part 1
Chapter 6 - Snowy Days and Sundays
Moria came to two decisions that day. The first was that she's stay with Lucius until after the holidays. The second was she was going to Hogwarts to visit Draco. Lucius agreed to both, provided she didn't interfere. She promised she would do nothing to stop the bonding then left the manor to apparate to the gates of the school.
Once she got inside the castle, she asked the first student she saw for directions to Professor Snape's quarters. Luckily, it was a Slytherin she stopped, although she was not so subtly grilled as he showed her the way. She had no doubt her escort would have tried to lose her in the dungeons if her answers had not been satisfactory.
She stood a few feet from the door as the second year knocked on a non-descript door. When it opened, there were a few whispers before Severus walked out.
"Thank you, Mr. Zachary," he said. "Please find Mr. Malfoy and have him join us."
"Yes, sir," the student said and hurried off.
Severus and Moria walked into his quarters. "It's good to see you, Moria," he said. "Do I need to ask what brings you to Hogwarts?"
"Other than to ask my nephew to dinner?" she smiled. "No, I don't suppose you do."
"What is going on in that brain of his?" Severus asked.
"He's not talking and, believe me, I asked," she said, "loudly and more than once. Whatever it is, he's telling no one."
"Will you be able to talk him out of this lunacy?"
"I'm afraid not," she sighed. "He is bound and determined to go through with this, no matter what anyone wants, including Draco. The most I can do is to take over the planning.'
"You're planning the ceremony?" he asked.
"Lucius would ruin it and I don't believe either of the boys will want to do it," she said.
There was a knock at the door. "Enter!" Severus called out. The door opened and Draco walked into the room.
"Aunt Moria," he smiled as he hurried over to her.
"Hello, my sweet," she said as they hugged.
"What brings you to Hogwarts?" he asked, knowing full well the answer to that.
"Well, I thought I might take you to dinner in Hogsmeade and Severus has kindly granted permission," she said.
"Be back before curfew," Severus said. "You have classes tomorrow."
"We'll be back long before that," Moria said. "Run and get your cloak and I'll meet you at the front entrance."
After Draco had gone, Moria turned and looked at Severus. "I'll be visiting through a good part of the Christmas holidays," she said. "We'll probably see a good deal of each other and, perhaps this summer, you'll consider leaving this castle for a while."
He gave her a small smile. "Why, Ms. Malfoy, whatever would we do?" he asked. "And what would your brother say?"
"My brother can do for himself," she smiled, "and if you have to ask what, then it's been entirely too long since you have."
Forty-five minutes later, Draco and Moria were sitting in the Three Broomsticks. Rosemerta had just delivered their butterbeers and left with their orders when Moria reached over and took Draco's hand.
"And how are you doing?" she asked.
"As fine as I can be, I guess," Draco shrugged. "I love Father but, sometimes...."
"I know very well how he can be," she told him. "With some things, he can wait for years. With others, yesterday isn't soon enough."
"If he wasn't so bloody impatient," he said through gritted teeth. "If he wasn't so set on it being done by the end of the year, I would have been able to do it myself."
"Draco, are you in love with Harry Potter?" she asked.
Draco leaned back against the wall. "I know him well enough," he said.
"But you'd like to."
"And I could have done it," he said, fervently. "It would have taken a while, but it would have happened... somehow."
"And your plans after Hogwarts?" she asked.
"They've changed in the past few days," Draco said. "I mean, I'll have a child to worry about. That's assuming Harry lets me anywhere near him or the baby."
"You're assuming your father intends to allow Harry to keep the baby," she said, quietly. "It is quite possible that Lucius intends to raise the child himself."
"He wouldn't give a baby to...." He swallowed.
"I don't believe he has any intentions of handing a baby, especially an heir of his, over to Voldemort," Moria assured him. "And, while he may push you in that direction, I don't believe he will force you to join."
"Uncle Severus thinks I could be a fair potions maker," he said, "and I like it."
"Praise from Caesar," she chuckled.
Rosemerta arrived with their food. The pair ate quietly for a few minutes. Finally, Moria broke the silence.
"Draco, I'll help you all I can," she said. "I won't be able to stop the bonding but I'll do whatever I can to make it easier for you, for both of you. That includes helping you plan it."
"We can't just show up and get it over with?" he asked. She just looked at him. "Didn't think so."
"Just be thankful your father hasn't decided to turn it into the highlight of the social season," she informed him. He went even paler than he all ready was.
When they finished eating, they walked back to Hogwarts. It was snowing lightly, covering everything in a white frost. As soon as they got back to the school, Moria told Draco that she'd be back at the school the next weekend and that she'd like to meet Harry.
"I'll see what I can do," he said. "I may have to get Uncle Severus to give him a detention to get him there."
"Whatever it takes," she said. She kissed the top of his head then watched him head back inside the school before disapparating.
It was softly snowing when Harry made his escape from the Gryffindor common room. He needed to think and the middle of a crowd of people was no place to do that. Not even his dorm room would have been quiet.
Two pairs of eyes watched him go. "Do you think he's all right?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "He hasn't been this quiet since the end of fourth year." And Cedric's death, she added silently.
"You don't think... you don't think that something happened to Sirius, do you?" he asked.
"Harry would have told us about something like that," she said, "I'm sure of it. Whatever Dumbledore told him, though, must have been very bad to affect him like this."
"Do you think we should ask him?" he asked. "Maybe he'll tell us what's going on."
"You heard him," she said. "He's not allowed to tell us." Her eyes took on a faraway look. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."
Harry made his way to the lake, sitting down on a large rock. His cloak was charmed to keep him warm and dry in the snow. As he sat, he thought about the situation he had gotten himself into. His mind was running in circles and getting nowhere fast. He decided to take things one at a time.
Draco. While he was still generally a prat, the blond boy seemed to have mellowed over their fifth year. Oh, he still insulted Harry and his friends and the others in their house but there didn't seem to be as much malice behind it as there once was. Maybe the git was finally growing up.
Lucius. The man was a Death Eater. That was a fact that was impossible to ignore but he also always seemed to be looking out for his own interests, whether they coincided with Voldemort's or not. Not that Voldemort knew that. Lucius was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Harry would really love to know what the man was planning.
The bonding. Harry had agreed to it at first simply to keep Sirius and Remus safe but now... now, he wondered if he couldn't use it to his advantage. It wasn't the money or position that being bonded to Draco would probably bring. He had more than enough money to last him a laugh time and the scar on his forehead would probably get him into high society if he wanted. It meant he would never have to return to the Dursley's, not that he would be able to anyway. He couldn't live there while he was pregnant and there was no way he would ever take a child of his there. The only problem he had was that if they bonded, instead of just simply getting married, there would be no divorce. Neither of them would be able to marry again until the other was dead.
The baby. While the idea of bonding with Draco didn't make him happy, the idea of having a child of his own did. It would be someone he could love and would love him back. The child would be raised in the magical world and wouldn't be called a freak or abnormal or any of the other things that Vernon, Petunia and Dudley had heaped on him while he was growing up. The only problem he had would be Lucius and he intended to do his best to negate that problem.
With a sigh, he got up and headed back to the castle. He could make all the decisions he wanted but there were just too many variables to be sure of how anything was going to work out. Oh, well. He'd survive. He always did, even if he did get a little singed around the edges in the process.
TBC