Sorry this took so long. Real Life is a bitch and not a very happy one either. After this chapter, the story should pick up. School will be back in session and the world as most people know it is about to be turned on its ear.
Thanks again to all my reviewers.
Disclaimers et al in Part 1
Chapter 14 - The World is Full of Grey
There was no one in the library when Harry and Draco arrived the next morning. Even Madame Pince was taking time off. They stood inside the doors looking around.
"So where do we start?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure," Draco said. "Let's try the biology section." They headed in that direction.
Twenty minutes later, they had found nothing... well, not actually nothing, just nothing on pregnant wizards. They started walking up and down the aisles to see if they could find the books they were looking for.
"Yes!" Draco exclaimed.
"Find something?" Harry asked as he hurried over to the blond.
"I found several books," Draco said. He held several of them up. "'What to Expect when You're Expecting (and a Wizard)', 'Yes, You Are Pregnant', 'Charms and Potions for the Pregnant Wizard', and 'Wizard and Child from Conception to Graduation'. There's more but I think these will do for starters."
"Let's see which one has how to tell if I'm pregnant," Harry said. They sat down at one of the tables and each one opened a book.
"Listen to this," Draco said after a while. "'A pregnant wizard suffers from the same pregnancy related problems as a pregnant witch but they start sooner and can be more intense due to the influx of female hormones associated with pregnancy since a wizard does not normally produce these hormones'."
"What problems?" Harry asked. "Does it say what problems?"
"Oh, the usual," Draco smirked. "Morning sickness, water retention, sensitive nipples, blotchy skin, emotional wreck." He looked at Harry. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Wasn't my idea, remember?" Harry scowled Draco just shrugged. "Does it say how to tell if I'm pregnant?"
Draco turned a few more pages. "It says there's a spell," he answered, "but you have to wait at least a week from the date of... conception to use it."
"So it'll be right before New Year's Day," Harry said. "What a way to celebrate."
"It also means you'll be pregnant through the summer and after our seventh year starts," Draco said.
"So along with everything else, your father has lousy timing," Harry said.
"Looks like it," Draco said. "Let's take these back to our rooms."
After stopping by the kitchen and asking Dobby to bring them lunch, Harry and Draco headed for their suite. They didn't run into anyone, luckily, so no need to explain why they were together.
"Will your aunt cast the spell?" Harry asked as they entered the room and the portrait closed behind them.
"I'm sure she would," Draco said. "Merlin knows what she plans to do to the nursery. And you know she'll have to pick out the nanny."
"What nanny?" Harry asked.
"The baby's nanny," Draco said matter-of-factly.
"What do we need a nanny for?" Harry asked.
"Harry, someone has to look after the baby while we're in school and after school when we're at work," Draco said.
"I don't want some nanny raising my... our child," Harry said. "I grew up without parents. I won't do that to a child of mine."
"That's up to you," Draco shrugged. "I'm sure if you tell Aunt Moria what kind of nanny you want, she can find a perfect one. Oh, and a tutor as well. Some of the best ones have waiting lists." Harry was staring at Draco. "I keep forgetting you grew up in the muggle world."
"Ah, the life of the idle rich," Harry sighed heavily.
"Don't laugh," Draco smirked. "From what Father says, the Potters were quite well off."
"The family is if the vaults are anything to go by," Harry said.
"How many?" Draco asked.
"Ten last count," Harry shrugged, "but I've gotten hints from Dumbledore and Gringotts there's more. There's my vault, Mom and Dad's personal vaults, five family vaults and two business vaults."
"Have you seen inside any of them yet?"
"Not yet," Harry said. "I don't have access to most of them until I'm seventeen. I couldn't tell the people I was living with about them. If they knew I had money, they would have done anything to get their hands on it."
They turned as they heard a sound in the kitchen. When they walked in, they saw Dobby setting a tray full of food on the counter. There was almost enough food for a feast.
"Mr. Harry Potter, Dobby be bringing lunch for Harry Potter," Dobby said.
"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said. "Just leave it on the table."
"Does Mr. Harry Potter be needing anything else from Dobby?" the house elf asked. Just then, he saw Draco standing near Harry and gasped. "Mr. Harry Potter is being all right?" Dobby asked, eyeing Draco warily.
"I'm fine," Harry assured the elf. "Draco lives here as well. He won't hurt me." Dobby wasn't sure about that but said nothing.
"I promise I won't hurt Harry," Draco said. Dobby looked at him then, nodding finally, disappeared.
"That is one weird elf," Draco said.
"You should have seen your father's face when I tricked him into freeing Dobby," Harry grinned. "It wasn't a pretty sight."
"Not pleased?"
"He would have cursed me, maybe worse, if Draco hadn't sent him flying down the corridor," Harry said. "He landed on his back about halfway down then slid for a few more feet. Needless to say, he wasn't happy when he got up and left. He said my parents were meddlesome fool and I would meet the same sticky end."
"Father does have such a flair for the dramatic," Draco said. "Let's eat then study for a while. Tomorrow's Christmas and I refuse to open a book all day." They grabbed their books then sat down to eat.
It had snowed sometime during the night so Christmas morning, the school grounds looked a muggle Christmas card. Harry was the first to wake up. Climbing out of bed, he pulled one his robe as he walked over to the window and looked out. The pure white gave everything an innocent look. Harry knew, however, what was hidden under the snow and that it could reappear as fast as snow melts on a sunny day. With a sigh, he turned and headed for the bathroom to get ready.
When Harry came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel, Draco was just waking up. Harry watched in amusement as the blond almost fell out of bed trying to get out from under the covers. His chuckles got him a glare from his husband.
"I'm glad you think is bloody hilarious," Draco growled.
"As if you wouldn't be laughing your ass off if it was me," Harry retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"That's different," Draco said. He finally managed to untangle himself.
"Right," Harry drawled. "When are Moria and your father going to be here?"
"Noon and the Christmas feast is at one," Draco said. "We open our presents after the feast with tea at six. What time is it?"
"A little after eight," Harry said. "Dumbledore said there would be a small breakfast in the great hall at eight-thirty."
It was then that Draco really looked at Harry and saw what he was wearing, or rather, what he wasn't wearing. He turned a bright pink as he struggled to pull his eyes away. He scrambled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, mumbling something about taking a shower, a cold shower. Harry watched him, shaking his head then turned to get dressed.
Breakfast was a happy affair. Joyous sounds came from most everyone gathered there, the notable exception being Severus. He did, however, contain his usual sneer and smirk. There would be plenty of time for that after the holidays. Most of the children had already opened their presents and were sharing their bounty with each other. The food was simple, saving room for the very large feast that would be laid out for lunch.
Harry and Draco were sitting toward one end of the table near the professors. Professor McGonagal was sitting next to Harry and she noticed a definite lack of hostility between the two teens.
"You and Mr. Malfoy seem to be getting along," she remarked to the young man.
"I guess we are," Harry shrugged. It would take a little bit of... not lying but misdirection to keep his head of house from finding out what was really going on. He lowered his voice. "He's been dropping hints about how he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps," he said. That wasn't entirely untrue. "I thought if he and I could come to some sort of understanding, it might help him decide in our favor."
"Just be careful," McGonagal warned.
"I will be," Harry assured her. "Professor Dumbledore and I have spoken. He knows what I'm doing." Not exactly a lie, either. The professor nodded.
"If he's sincere, he would be quite an asset," she said. She sighed. "And I am tired of losing children to that madman."
"It'll be over soon," Harry said.
"You're growing into quite a young man," she said, giving him a smile.
"Thank you," he said, quietly, "for everything." With that, they returned to their breakfast.
After breakfast, Harry and Draco spent some time with the other students. The younger ones were anxious to show the older boys what they had received for Christmas. Even the ones without family received plenty of presents. Dumbledore and the professors made sure of that.
It was a little after eleven when Harry and Draco made their way to their way to their suite. Moria and Lucius would meet them there before the feast. After that, they, along with Severus would return to the rooms to open the very large stack of presents that surround their tree.
Harry was putting away the last of their books when, precisely at noon, there was a knock on the portrait. Draco opened it and admitted his father and aunt. Moria hugged both boys as she walked into the room.
"Happy Christmas," she smiled.
"Happy Christmas," the boys echoed.
"Draco, Harry," Lucius said with a small nod.
"Happy Christmas, Father," Draco said.
"Mr. Malfoy," Harry said, returning the older man's nod.
"I think you can call me Lucius," the man said. "You are, after all, my son-in-law."
"All right," Harry shrugged, not giving in to urge to tell the man exactly what he thought of his father-in-law. Draco noticed this and gave him a small smile.
"So how are things going with you both?" Moria asked.
"All right," Draco said as he motioned to the adults to sit on the couch. They sat down while Draco and Harry took seats across from them. "No one has said anything so it's safe to assume it's still a secret."
"Although after school starts again, I don't know how long that will last," Harry said. "Once everyone realizes we're not in the dorms, they're going to start asking questions. They may not guess about the bonding but they'll find out we're living together and will want to know why."
"Then I suggest you start working on a story to tell them," Lucius said.
"Whatever story we tell won't matter much if Harry is pregnant," Draco said.
"If?" Lucius asked.
"There's still a few days before any pregnancy test spell can be done," Moria smiled. "although I do have faith in Severus' potion making abilities."
"He'll be pleased to hear that," Draco smirked. He sobered. "What I mean is once Harry starts to show, it won't matter what story we tell. People are going to demand to know what's going on with The Boy Who Lived."
"And, for some reason, none of your business doesn't seem to be an acceptable answer," Harry said. He glared pointedly at Lucius. "For some reason, all sorts of people think they have some say in my life, that they can muck around with it however it pleases them and to hell with what I might want."
"For good or ill, The Boy Who Lived belongs to the wizarding world," Lucius said.
"But Harry does not," Moria said. "Unfortunately, until the battle is decided, one way or the other, your life is not your own." Harry scowled. "I don't say this to upset you, Harry," she stated, "but to prepare you. As you know, people expect certain things from you. Being married to Draco and having his child are not among those things. There will be repercussions and you should be prepared for them."
"You think I don't know that?" Harry hissed. "My second year, people found out I'm a parselmouth. From then on, I was the Heir of Slytherin and the next Dark Lord. My third year I had to deal with the fallout of having an accused murderer and Azkaban escapee for a godfather, who everyone thought was out to kill me. And let's not forget his best friend who just happened to be a werewolf. My fourth year, Moody who wasn't Moody, entered my name in the tri-wizard tournament. I lost quite a few friends over that. Thanks to Crouch, a boy was murdered and Voldemort is back. People don't want to believe that. They'd rather believe I had something to due with Cedric's death, that I'm mentally unstable. It's easier to believe that then believe their worst nightmare has returned. We won't even discuss last year when I almost lost the one person who means more than anything to me. At least people now believe me, even if they still consider me slightly mental."
He stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "This marriage was just the last in a long list of things that aren't under my control," he said, quietly. "My life will never be my own, no matter what happens in the future. I've accepted that, for the most part, but that doesn't mean I like it."
For a long time, no one said a word. Draco finally broke the silence. "You know, you really learn not to keep your feelings hidden," he said, doing his best not to smile. "You should tell us how you really feel." That got a chuckle out of the adults and a sheepish grin from Harry.
"Sorry about that," the dark haired teen apologized. "I didn't mean to spoil the day,"
Lucius waved away the apology. "It is no crime to say what you feel," he said, "at least not among family. Hiding them from others, however, is a necessity. It gives them too much power over you."
"Even you?" Harry asked.
"You are family," Lucius said. "I am a manipulative bastard, to be sure, but I shall try to refrain from interfering with you and Draco for the time being."
"And they say women are the emotional ones," Moria drawled. "It's almost time for the feast. Why don't we head for the great hall?"
The feast was wonderful. Turkey and goose and all their trimmings filled the table. People were surprised to see Lucius Malfoy in attendance, especially when he walked in with not only Draco but Harry as well, but no one said anything. Dumbledore's speech was thankfully quite short and everyone began eating.
The moon was high in the sky as Harry sat on the window seat. It had been a long day and, although nothing really bad had happened, he was glad it was over. He and Draco had received quite a number of presents. Harry had even received one from Severus, which had surprised him. From the look on the potions master's face, the book he'd received from Harry was just as much a surprise to him.
He rubbed his stomach. Moria would return in two days to perform the pregnancy test, although he knew she didn't need to do it. He knew he was pregnant and had for the past twenty-four hours. He hadn't said anything to Draco about it. He didn't think the other boy would believe him.
There was a life growing inside him, a son or daughter. A son or daughter that belonged to him and Draco. A grandchild for Lucius Malfoy that the man was so anxious for him to have, for whatever reasons he had. That caused a smile to cross Harry's face. Whatever plans Lucius had, they had only a fifty fifty chance of succeeding, he was sure of that. There were too many variables for the man to account for, two of which were Sirius and Remus. Harry decided he would write to them right after school resumed. He was sure that Dumbledore wouldn't mind if they came to visit for a while.
"Harry."
Harry turned around and saw Draco standing there. It was obvious that he had just woken up and came looking for Harry.
"You should be asleep," Harry said.
"So should you," Draco said. "I woke up when I reached for you and you weren't there."
"Sorry," Harry said. "I just had a lot of thinking to do."
"I've decided something," Draco said, sitting on the seat next to Harry.
"Oh?" Harry asked. "What would that be?"
"After we graduate, we're moving away," Draco said.
"And where would we go?"
"I haven't really decided," Draco said. "Out of Britain, for sure. Maybe the continent. We could go to the Far East or maybe even America. Once we're gone, we'll be away from everyone that wants to have a say in our lives."
"It's a nice dream," Harry chuckled.
"I know," Draco sighed. He reached out and pulled Harry to him, wrapping his arms around the other teen. "It'll be a long time before we have any say in our lives. Something tells me even when we're as old as Dumbledore, someone will want to tell us what to do."
For a long time, they sat there watching the moon, neither boy saying a word.
TBC
Thanks again to all my reviewers.
Disclaimers et al in Part 1
Chapter 14 - The World is Full of Grey
There was no one in the library when Harry and Draco arrived the next morning. Even Madame Pince was taking time off. They stood inside the doors looking around.
"So where do we start?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure," Draco said. "Let's try the biology section." They headed in that direction.
Twenty minutes later, they had found nothing... well, not actually nothing, just nothing on pregnant wizards. They started walking up and down the aisles to see if they could find the books they were looking for.
"Yes!" Draco exclaimed.
"Find something?" Harry asked as he hurried over to the blond.
"I found several books," Draco said. He held several of them up. "'What to Expect when You're Expecting (and a Wizard)', 'Yes, You Are Pregnant', 'Charms and Potions for the Pregnant Wizard', and 'Wizard and Child from Conception to Graduation'. There's more but I think these will do for starters."
"Let's see which one has how to tell if I'm pregnant," Harry said. They sat down at one of the tables and each one opened a book.
"Listen to this," Draco said after a while. "'A pregnant wizard suffers from the same pregnancy related problems as a pregnant witch but they start sooner and can be more intense due to the influx of female hormones associated with pregnancy since a wizard does not normally produce these hormones'."
"What problems?" Harry asked. "Does it say what problems?"
"Oh, the usual," Draco smirked. "Morning sickness, water retention, sensitive nipples, blotchy skin, emotional wreck." He looked at Harry. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Wasn't my idea, remember?" Harry scowled Draco just shrugged. "Does it say how to tell if I'm pregnant?"
Draco turned a few more pages. "It says there's a spell," he answered, "but you have to wait at least a week from the date of... conception to use it."
"So it'll be right before New Year's Day," Harry said. "What a way to celebrate."
"It also means you'll be pregnant through the summer and after our seventh year starts," Draco said.
"So along with everything else, your father has lousy timing," Harry said.
"Looks like it," Draco said. "Let's take these back to our rooms."
After stopping by the kitchen and asking Dobby to bring them lunch, Harry and Draco headed for their suite. They didn't run into anyone, luckily, so no need to explain why they were together.
"Will your aunt cast the spell?" Harry asked as they entered the room and the portrait closed behind them.
"I'm sure she would," Draco said. "Merlin knows what she plans to do to the nursery. And you know she'll have to pick out the nanny."
"What nanny?" Harry asked.
"The baby's nanny," Draco said matter-of-factly.
"What do we need a nanny for?" Harry asked.
"Harry, someone has to look after the baby while we're in school and after school when we're at work," Draco said.
"I don't want some nanny raising my... our child," Harry said. "I grew up without parents. I won't do that to a child of mine."
"That's up to you," Draco shrugged. "I'm sure if you tell Aunt Moria what kind of nanny you want, she can find a perfect one. Oh, and a tutor as well. Some of the best ones have waiting lists." Harry was staring at Draco. "I keep forgetting you grew up in the muggle world."
"Ah, the life of the idle rich," Harry sighed heavily.
"Don't laugh," Draco smirked. "From what Father says, the Potters were quite well off."
"The family is if the vaults are anything to go by," Harry said.
"How many?" Draco asked.
"Ten last count," Harry shrugged, "but I've gotten hints from Dumbledore and Gringotts there's more. There's my vault, Mom and Dad's personal vaults, five family vaults and two business vaults."
"Have you seen inside any of them yet?"
"Not yet," Harry said. "I don't have access to most of them until I'm seventeen. I couldn't tell the people I was living with about them. If they knew I had money, they would have done anything to get their hands on it."
They turned as they heard a sound in the kitchen. When they walked in, they saw Dobby setting a tray full of food on the counter. There was almost enough food for a feast.
"Mr. Harry Potter, Dobby be bringing lunch for Harry Potter," Dobby said.
"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said. "Just leave it on the table."
"Does Mr. Harry Potter be needing anything else from Dobby?" the house elf asked. Just then, he saw Draco standing near Harry and gasped. "Mr. Harry Potter is being all right?" Dobby asked, eyeing Draco warily.
"I'm fine," Harry assured the elf. "Draco lives here as well. He won't hurt me." Dobby wasn't sure about that but said nothing.
"I promise I won't hurt Harry," Draco said. Dobby looked at him then, nodding finally, disappeared.
"That is one weird elf," Draco said.
"You should have seen your father's face when I tricked him into freeing Dobby," Harry grinned. "It wasn't a pretty sight."
"Not pleased?"
"He would have cursed me, maybe worse, if Draco hadn't sent him flying down the corridor," Harry said. "He landed on his back about halfway down then slid for a few more feet. Needless to say, he wasn't happy when he got up and left. He said my parents were meddlesome fool and I would meet the same sticky end."
"Father does have such a flair for the dramatic," Draco said. "Let's eat then study for a while. Tomorrow's Christmas and I refuse to open a book all day." They grabbed their books then sat down to eat.
It had snowed sometime during the night so Christmas morning, the school grounds looked a muggle Christmas card. Harry was the first to wake up. Climbing out of bed, he pulled one his robe as he walked over to the window and looked out. The pure white gave everything an innocent look. Harry knew, however, what was hidden under the snow and that it could reappear as fast as snow melts on a sunny day. With a sigh, he turned and headed for the bathroom to get ready.
When Harry came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel, Draco was just waking up. Harry watched in amusement as the blond almost fell out of bed trying to get out from under the covers. His chuckles got him a glare from his husband.
"I'm glad you think is bloody hilarious," Draco growled.
"As if you wouldn't be laughing your ass off if it was me," Harry retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"That's different," Draco said. He finally managed to untangle himself.
"Right," Harry drawled. "When are Moria and your father going to be here?"
"Noon and the Christmas feast is at one," Draco said. "We open our presents after the feast with tea at six. What time is it?"
"A little after eight," Harry said. "Dumbledore said there would be a small breakfast in the great hall at eight-thirty."
It was then that Draco really looked at Harry and saw what he was wearing, or rather, what he wasn't wearing. He turned a bright pink as he struggled to pull his eyes away. He scrambled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, mumbling something about taking a shower, a cold shower. Harry watched him, shaking his head then turned to get dressed.
Breakfast was a happy affair. Joyous sounds came from most everyone gathered there, the notable exception being Severus. He did, however, contain his usual sneer and smirk. There would be plenty of time for that after the holidays. Most of the children had already opened their presents and were sharing their bounty with each other. The food was simple, saving room for the very large feast that would be laid out for lunch.
Harry and Draco were sitting toward one end of the table near the professors. Professor McGonagal was sitting next to Harry and she noticed a definite lack of hostility between the two teens.
"You and Mr. Malfoy seem to be getting along," she remarked to the young man.
"I guess we are," Harry shrugged. It would take a little bit of... not lying but misdirection to keep his head of house from finding out what was really going on. He lowered his voice. "He's been dropping hints about how he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps," he said. That wasn't entirely untrue. "I thought if he and I could come to some sort of understanding, it might help him decide in our favor."
"Just be careful," McGonagal warned.
"I will be," Harry assured her. "Professor Dumbledore and I have spoken. He knows what I'm doing." Not exactly a lie, either. The professor nodded.
"If he's sincere, he would be quite an asset," she said. She sighed. "And I am tired of losing children to that madman."
"It'll be over soon," Harry said.
"You're growing into quite a young man," she said, giving him a smile.
"Thank you," he said, quietly, "for everything." With that, they returned to their breakfast.
After breakfast, Harry and Draco spent some time with the other students. The younger ones were anxious to show the older boys what they had received for Christmas. Even the ones without family received plenty of presents. Dumbledore and the professors made sure of that.
It was a little after eleven when Harry and Draco made their way to their way to their suite. Moria and Lucius would meet them there before the feast. After that, they, along with Severus would return to the rooms to open the very large stack of presents that surround their tree.
Harry was putting away the last of their books when, precisely at noon, there was a knock on the portrait. Draco opened it and admitted his father and aunt. Moria hugged both boys as she walked into the room.
"Happy Christmas," she smiled.
"Happy Christmas," the boys echoed.
"Draco, Harry," Lucius said with a small nod.
"Happy Christmas, Father," Draco said.
"Mr. Malfoy," Harry said, returning the older man's nod.
"I think you can call me Lucius," the man said. "You are, after all, my son-in-law."
"All right," Harry shrugged, not giving in to urge to tell the man exactly what he thought of his father-in-law. Draco noticed this and gave him a small smile.
"So how are things going with you both?" Moria asked.
"All right," Draco said as he motioned to the adults to sit on the couch. They sat down while Draco and Harry took seats across from them. "No one has said anything so it's safe to assume it's still a secret."
"Although after school starts again, I don't know how long that will last," Harry said. "Once everyone realizes we're not in the dorms, they're going to start asking questions. They may not guess about the bonding but they'll find out we're living together and will want to know why."
"Then I suggest you start working on a story to tell them," Lucius said.
"Whatever story we tell won't matter much if Harry is pregnant," Draco said.
"If?" Lucius asked.
"There's still a few days before any pregnancy test spell can be done," Moria smiled. "although I do have faith in Severus' potion making abilities."
"He'll be pleased to hear that," Draco smirked. He sobered. "What I mean is once Harry starts to show, it won't matter what story we tell. People are going to demand to know what's going on with The Boy Who Lived."
"And, for some reason, none of your business doesn't seem to be an acceptable answer," Harry said. He glared pointedly at Lucius. "For some reason, all sorts of people think they have some say in my life, that they can muck around with it however it pleases them and to hell with what I might want."
"For good or ill, The Boy Who Lived belongs to the wizarding world," Lucius said.
"But Harry does not," Moria said. "Unfortunately, until the battle is decided, one way or the other, your life is not your own." Harry scowled. "I don't say this to upset you, Harry," she stated, "but to prepare you. As you know, people expect certain things from you. Being married to Draco and having his child are not among those things. There will be repercussions and you should be prepared for them."
"You think I don't know that?" Harry hissed. "My second year, people found out I'm a parselmouth. From then on, I was the Heir of Slytherin and the next Dark Lord. My third year I had to deal with the fallout of having an accused murderer and Azkaban escapee for a godfather, who everyone thought was out to kill me. And let's not forget his best friend who just happened to be a werewolf. My fourth year, Moody who wasn't Moody, entered my name in the tri-wizard tournament. I lost quite a few friends over that. Thanks to Crouch, a boy was murdered and Voldemort is back. People don't want to believe that. They'd rather believe I had something to due with Cedric's death, that I'm mentally unstable. It's easier to believe that then believe their worst nightmare has returned. We won't even discuss last year when I almost lost the one person who means more than anything to me. At least people now believe me, even if they still consider me slightly mental."
He stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "This marriage was just the last in a long list of things that aren't under my control," he said, quietly. "My life will never be my own, no matter what happens in the future. I've accepted that, for the most part, but that doesn't mean I like it."
For a long time, no one said a word. Draco finally broke the silence. "You know, you really learn not to keep your feelings hidden," he said, doing his best not to smile. "You should tell us how you really feel." That got a chuckle out of the adults and a sheepish grin from Harry.
"Sorry about that," the dark haired teen apologized. "I didn't mean to spoil the day,"
Lucius waved away the apology. "It is no crime to say what you feel," he said, "at least not among family. Hiding them from others, however, is a necessity. It gives them too much power over you."
"Even you?" Harry asked.
"You are family," Lucius said. "I am a manipulative bastard, to be sure, but I shall try to refrain from interfering with you and Draco for the time being."
"And they say women are the emotional ones," Moria drawled. "It's almost time for the feast. Why don't we head for the great hall?"
The feast was wonderful. Turkey and goose and all their trimmings filled the table. People were surprised to see Lucius Malfoy in attendance, especially when he walked in with not only Draco but Harry as well, but no one said anything. Dumbledore's speech was thankfully quite short and everyone began eating.
The moon was high in the sky as Harry sat on the window seat. It had been a long day and, although nothing really bad had happened, he was glad it was over. He and Draco had received quite a number of presents. Harry had even received one from Severus, which had surprised him. From the look on the potions master's face, the book he'd received from Harry was just as much a surprise to him.
He rubbed his stomach. Moria would return in two days to perform the pregnancy test, although he knew she didn't need to do it. He knew he was pregnant and had for the past twenty-four hours. He hadn't said anything to Draco about it. He didn't think the other boy would believe him.
There was a life growing inside him, a son or daughter. A son or daughter that belonged to him and Draco. A grandchild for Lucius Malfoy that the man was so anxious for him to have, for whatever reasons he had. That caused a smile to cross Harry's face. Whatever plans Lucius had, they had only a fifty fifty chance of succeeding, he was sure of that. There were too many variables for the man to account for, two of which were Sirius and Remus. Harry decided he would write to them right after school resumed. He was sure that Dumbledore wouldn't mind if they came to visit for a while.
"Harry."
Harry turned around and saw Draco standing there. It was obvious that he had just woken up and came looking for Harry.
"You should be asleep," Harry said.
"So should you," Draco said. "I woke up when I reached for you and you weren't there."
"Sorry," Harry said. "I just had a lot of thinking to do."
"I've decided something," Draco said, sitting on the seat next to Harry.
"Oh?" Harry asked. "What would that be?"
"After we graduate, we're moving away," Draco said.
"And where would we go?"
"I haven't really decided," Draco said. "Out of Britain, for sure. Maybe the continent. We could go to the Far East or maybe even America. Once we're gone, we'll be away from everyone that wants to have a say in our lives."
"It's a nice dream," Harry chuckled.
"I know," Draco sighed. He reached out and pulled Harry to him, wrapping his arms around the other teen. "It'll be a long time before we have any say in our lives. Something tells me even when we're as old as Dumbledore, someone will want to tell us what to do."
For a long time, they sat there watching the moon, neither boy saying a word.
TBC