A/N: Seeing as we already had one bug mushy love confession is chapter 8
the vows are short and sweet. They're my own concoction of two different
Irish Wedding vows. The words are messed around, the "thee" s and 'Thou' s
taken out, and so look nothing like the originals. This chapter would be
the wedding and the, ahem, special spell and potion.
HecateDeMort: Thanks bunches, and will do!
Fierysoulgirl: Thank you. Well, sort of Ron's already doing something. There are a few hints to it in this chapter, and you'll find out what soon.
Draco lay under the beautiful sapphire coverlet. The bed featured the silkiest of white silk sheets, and the plushest pillows. The drapes were drawn tightly around the bed so that, had there been any light at all, it wouldn't have penetrated his domain. Flopping himself carelessly on to his side, he wondered why he still hadn't fallen asleep. ~Harry~
He had gotten used to Harry's constant presence in his bed. It seemed he now required those soft snores, and snug holds in order to drift off.
He knew also, though, that Harry's absence wasn't the only thing keeping him awake. It was the bad press as well. Harry just ignored it, assuming it would go away, or that it just didn't matter. Ever since that first article he had stalwartly gone on with his life. Eventually he had gotten a handle on the students, and all was right in Harry's world. Draco, though, was worried. Some of the things being printed looked so entirely plausible, there would be one major omission, or fallacy in the article, but other than that the major events of the battle, and what led up to it were startlingly accurate.
This was not the night to be dwelling on such things. "Lumus" he whispered softly into the night, and pulled out the latest, and most informative, article on male pregnancy he'd been able to find, and reviewed the facts, once again.
The road to pregnancy with males works the same as with females. It wasn't an instant thing. Some couples had had to use the potion and spell a few hundred times before they'd gotten it to work. That was more caused by mistiming the spell then infertility, though. It was also about the only thing that was similar.
The potion itself was a mixture of the blood of the two wizards (or witch and wizard) and was ingested by the person who was to carry the child; this was to happen before sex. The potion does two things: First, it insures that the blood from each wizard is inside the body, and second it allows magic that is usually suppressed to come forward. During sex the magical auras of the people involved would begin to merge, that merging would cause both wizards to climax at the same moment, and at that moment, when their magic was at it's peek, they had to recite the spell. Say the spell too early, or too late, and the process would fail.
Gestation was also different. It took four months for a male wizard to carry a baby to term; instead of the nine it took females. This was because from conception (if you could call it that) they baby have already been endowed with the strongest mixture of the magic of its parents. This not only accelerated the growth process, but also made sure the child would not be a squib. This was a great reassurance to Draco. Although he would still have loved a non-magical child, he didn't think he would know what to do with one.
At the end of gestation, when labor was to occur the necessary, a birth canal would have formed, causing the baby to escape through the only plausible exit, or, as Harry had so glibly put it, "out the back door".
His thoughts successfully turned, he was still wide-awake. While wondering how he could possibly spend the long night before his wedding, he hadn't heard the tap-tap on the window, but it came more forcefully the second time, and snapped Draco out of bed.
Muttering something about people sending owls in the middle of the night, Draco opened the window. Suddenly he was no longer irritated. He knew this snowy white bird that lightly nipped his finger. Harry had sent him a letter. As soon as he had untied it from her leg, Hedwig gave him one last love-bite, and flew out the window into the clear summer night.
Draco,
I had only just realized that I forgot to give you a copy of the vows! I know they're not what you're used to, but I got them from Dumbledore, they are the vows from my parents' wedding. No, that is NOT morbidly sentimental! I just read them and felt connected.
After you left today, Sam's dress arrived, and boy was she excited. You would have loved seeing her prance around, holding it up against her body, and looking in the mirror. She's simply adorable, and it really does look lovely on her.
I know your not sleeping. I can feel that you're awake. Don't ask me how; it's just a feeling. Or maybe it's because I'm too excited to sleep and wanted to wake you up in the middle of the night for some company, if only in insomnia.
Maybe I should end this letter and let you sleep, but I don't want to. As long as I'm writing I can pretend I'm saying these things to you, instead of just the paper. As long as I'm writing I feel connected to you, because you are love. When you leave you take my love with you, and it feels desolate with out it.
Go to sleep now, and I can't wait to see you tomorrow.
Yours forever and always, Harry
Lying back on the bed Draco placed the letter close to his face and inhaled deeply. He was right; it smelled just like Harry. Kissing the parchment lightly he whispered "Nox" and fell right to sleep.
*********************************************************
Not quite ready to face the world Harry attempted to stay in his doze, and tried to snuggle close to Draco. For some reason, though, all he found was a cool pillow and unruffled blankets. This was not pleasant. Sitting up and running a hand through his hair Harry remembered where Draco was. Draco had left for their hotel yesterday afternoon.
Sighing, Harry stood up off his bed, and started getting ready for a shower. He would have to find some way of passing the interminable space between now and their wedding. There was something to smile about. He was going to be a married man, and after tonight possibly a father. Really those titles didn't mean anything to him. It was the fact that those things were happening with Draco that made him really happy. Sufficiently elated, he stepped in the shower and turned on the cold water.
Fifteen minutes later he was toweling off, and heard movement in the common room. He knew it was probably Hermione, Sam, and possibly Jared. Harry wasn't positive, but he suspected there was something more going on with Hermione and Jared. Nothing physical, of course, but he got the distinct impression that they had started to really like each other through the few weeks Jared had been a guest. Harry smiled, he would never tell her, but he thought it was about time she moved on. This opinion was, of course, spurred on by Harry's own happiness, which he was hoping would be infectious. Throwing on some clothes, Harry left the bathroom, ready to face the day.
*******************************************
He noted that the reception area was ready. This was to be a small wedding, but still there would be a reception and dancing. There were ten medium sized round tables surrounding the dance floor. Each table was had an arrangement of the wedding flowers (the deepest of purple irises, and lavender) in the center, and skirted in white lace. Pleased with what he saw Draco strolled out of the reception room, and into the area where he was to wait until the start of the wedding.
The day had been busy, frantic even, but his heart hadn't been in any of the tasks he'd had to complete. All he wanted to do was get himself dressed and ready for the ceremony, but first he'd had to do things like making sure the flowers were correct, checking all the areas, making sure he knew who had RSVP 'ed and who hadn't, keeping Sam away from the wedding presents, and other banal tasks.
Now he could hear the music play, and peeked out to see the adorable Sam walking up the aisle with her mother. Draco and Harry would each come out a side door and onto a path that led to opposite sides of the alter. The song signaling his entrance sounded, and he found that there had been a major error in synapse. Somewhere between his brain and his legs the order to walk had been cancelled, denied, or delayed. He wanted to walk, but was stopped right there, staring at his husband-to-be. Harry was, if he had to choose one totally inadequate word, stunning. His coal-black hair was lying perfectly in place, and of it's own accord. Hermione must have given him a temporary vision spell, because his glasses were gone and his green eyes were vivid. His muggle tuxedo fit him perfectly, accentuating his trim waist, the curve of his legs, and, somehow, his muscular chest. Draco came back to himself almost violently. He realized that Harry had gotten to the alter, while he was still barely out the door. Scraping together his dignity he walked down the path to Harry and Dumbledore.
"Harry" Dumbledore intoned.
Harry took Draco's hand. The feel of Harry's warm fingers against his own cold ones was shocking, but wonderful. Slipping the ring onto Draco's finger Harry recited his vows.
"Draco, my ever love, I give you my heart, my soul, my body, in this life and every other. May the light of the gods shine upon us."
"Draco"
"Harry, song of my life, I give you my heart, my soul, my body, in this life and every other. May the light of the gods shine upon us."
Stepping back from them Dumbledore raised their joined hands above his head and said, "May the light of the gods shine upon them" and all in attendance repeated the phrase, and burst out in wild applause.
Draco looked over to see Harry smiling like mad, and they walked hand and hand out of the room a flurry of friends behind them.
******************************************
"For the first time in public, ladies and gentlemen, Misters Harry and Draco Potter."
Hermione watched from her seat at the table as her two best friends walked in to the reception hall. They were gorgeous, especially together, and it made her happy to see them together. Unfortunately it was moments like this that she also felt a pang of bitterness. She squelched it firmly, ~those days are over~ and looked across the table at Jared who was smiling into her eyes.
"Dance?" He asked and offered a hand.
"Of course" she smiled and was wrapped in his arms for the first slow dance of the evening.
****************************************************
Two men stood in a dark bedroom on the third floor of the most expensive wizarding hotel in Britain. With the window open, and a cool breeze blowing they could barely be heard over the sounds of the night.
"You take it."
"No, you're taking it"
"Perhaps we should have talked about this before now"
"It doesn't matter, I'm not drinking it"
"Why not?"
"There's blood in it. I'm not drinking blood"
"You drink a sleep potion with pickled dragon tongues, but you won't drink a little blood?"
"No, I won't"
"Right then, bottoms up!" and then a second later, "Eugh, that's awful!"
"That's why I wouldn't take it."
Moments later the sounds drifting out the window were, if heard by anyone, not repeated.
A/N: Well, that's done. Don't know why, but that was really a challenge to write, but I got it done. We're over the 20,000 word mark, though, so party at my house!
HecateDeMort: Thanks bunches, and will do!
Fierysoulgirl: Thank you. Well, sort of Ron's already doing something. There are a few hints to it in this chapter, and you'll find out what soon.
Draco lay under the beautiful sapphire coverlet. The bed featured the silkiest of white silk sheets, and the plushest pillows. The drapes were drawn tightly around the bed so that, had there been any light at all, it wouldn't have penetrated his domain. Flopping himself carelessly on to his side, he wondered why he still hadn't fallen asleep. ~Harry~
He had gotten used to Harry's constant presence in his bed. It seemed he now required those soft snores, and snug holds in order to drift off.
He knew also, though, that Harry's absence wasn't the only thing keeping him awake. It was the bad press as well. Harry just ignored it, assuming it would go away, or that it just didn't matter. Ever since that first article he had stalwartly gone on with his life. Eventually he had gotten a handle on the students, and all was right in Harry's world. Draco, though, was worried. Some of the things being printed looked so entirely plausible, there would be one major omission, or fallacy in the article, but other than that the major events of the battle, and what led up to it were startlingly accurate.
This was not the night to be dwelling on such things. "Lumus" he whispered softly into the night, and pulled out the latest, and most informative, article on male pregnancy he'd been able to find, and reviewed the facts, once again.
The road to pregnancy with males works the same as with females. It wasn't an instant thing. Some couples had had to use the potion and spell a few hundred times before they'd gotten it to work. That was more caused by mistiming the spell then infertility, though. It was also about the only thing that was similar.
The potion itself was a mixture of the blood of the two wizards (or witch and wizard) and was ingested by the person who was to carry the child; this was to happen before sex. The potion does two things: First, it insures that the blood from each wizard is inside the body, and second it allows magic that is usually suppressed to come forward. During sex the magical auras of the people involved would begin to merge, that merging would cause both wizards to climax at the same moment, and at that moment, when their magic was at it's peek, they had to recite the spell. Say the spell too early, or too late, and the process would fail.
Gestation was also different. It took four months for a male wizard to carry a baby to term; instead of the nine it took females. This was because from conception (if you could call it that) they baby have already been endowed with the strongest mixture of the magic of its parents. This not only accelerated the growth process, but also made sure the child would not be a squib. This was a great reassurance to Draco. Although he would still have loved a non-magical child, he didn't think he would know what to do with one.
At the end of gestation, when labor was to occur the necessary, a birth canal would have formed, causing the baby to escape through the only plausible exit, or, as Harry had so glibly put it, "out the back door".
His thoughts successfully turned, he was still wide-awake. While wondering how he could possibly spend the long night before his wedding, he hadn't heard the tap-tap on the window, but it came more forcefully the second time, and snapped Draco out of bed.
Muttering something about people sending owls in the middle of the night, Draco opened the window. Suddenly he was no longer irritated. He knew this snowy white bird that lightly nipped his finger. Harry had sent him a letter. As soon as he had untied it from her leg, Hedwig gave him one last love-bite, and flew out the window into the clear summer night.
Draco,
I had only just realized that I forgot to give you a copy of the vows! I know they're not what you're used to, but I got them from Dumbledore, they are the vows from my parents' wedding. No, that is NOT morbidly sentimental! I just read them and felt connected.
After you left today, Sam's dress arrived, and boy was she excited. You would have loved seeing her prance around, holding it up against her body, and looking in the mirror. She's simply adorable, and it really does look lovely on her.
I know your not sleeping. I can feel that you're awake. Don't ask me how; it's just a feeling. Or maybe it's because I'm too excited to sleep and wanted to wake you up in the middle of the night for some company, if only in insomnia.
Maybe I should end this letter and let you sleep, but I don't want to. As long as I'm writing I can pretend I'm saying these things to you, instead of just the paper. As long as I'm writing I feel connected to you, because you are love. When you leave you take my love with you, and it feels desolate with out it.
Go to sleep now, and I can't wait to see you tomorrow.
Yours forever and always, Harry
Lying back on the bed Draco placed the letter close to his face and inhaled deeply. He was right; it smelled just like Harry. Kissing the parchment lightly he whispered "Nox" and fell right to sleep.
*********************************************************
Not quite ready to face the world Harry attempted to stay in his doze, and tried to snuggle close to Draco. For some reason, though, all he found was a cool pillow and unruffled blankets. This was not pleasant. Sitting up and running a hand through his hair Harry remembered where Draco was. Draco had left for their hotel yesterday afternoon.
Sighing, Harry stood up off his bed, and started getting ready for a shower. He would have to find some way of passing the interminable space between now and their wedding. There was something to smile about. He was going to be a married man, and after tonight possibly a father. Really those titles didn't mean anything to him. It was the fact that those things were happening with Draco that made him really happy. Sufficiently elated, he stepped in the shower and turned on the cold water.
Fifteen minutes later he was toweling off, and heard movement in the common room. He knew it was probably Hermione, Sam, and possibly Jared. Harry wasn't positive, but he suspected there was something more going on with Hermione and Jared. Nothing physical, of course, but he got the distinct impression that they had started to really like each other through the few weeks Jared had been a guest. Harry smiled, he would never tell her, but he thought it was about time she moved on. This opinion was, of course, spurred on by Harry's own happiness, which he was hoping would be infectious. Throwing on some clothes, Harry left the bathroom, ready to face the day.
*******************************************
He noted that the reception area was ready. This was to be a small wedding, but still there would be a reception and dancing. There were ten medium sized round tables surrounding the dance floor. Each table was had an arrangement of the wedding flowers (the deepest of purple irises, and lavender) in the center, and skirted in white lace. Pleased with what he saw Draco strolled out of the reception room, and into the area where he was to wait until the start of the wedding.
The day had been busy, frantic even, but his heart hadn't been in any of the tasks he'd had to complete. All he wanted to do was get himself dressed and ready for the ceremony, but first he'd had to do things like making sure the flowers were correct, checking all the areas, making sure he knew who had RSVP 'ed and who hadn't, keeping Sam away from the wedding presents, and other banal tasks.
Now he could hear the music play, and peeked out to see the adorable Sam walking up the aisle with her mother. Draco and Harry would each come out a side door and onto a path that led to opposite sides of the alter. The song signaling his entrance sounded, and he found that there had been a major error in synapse. Somewhere between his brain and his legs the order to walk had been cancelled, denied, or delayed. He wanted to walk, but was stopped right there, staring at his husband-to-be. Harry was, if he had to choose one totally inadequate word, stunning. His coal-black hair was lying perfectly in place, and of it's own accord. Hermione must have given him a temporary vision spell, because his glasses were gone and his green eyes were vivid. His muggle tuxedo fit him perfectly, accentuating his trim waist, the curve of his legs, and, somehow, his muscular chest. Draco came back to himself almost violently. He realized that Harry had gotten to the alter, while he was still barely out the door. Scraping together his dignity he walked down the path to Harry and Dumbledore.
"Harry" Dumbledore intoned.
Harry took Draco's hand. The feel of Harry's warm fingers against his own cold ones was shocking, but wonderful. Slipping the ring onto Draco's finger Harry recited his vows.
"Draco, my ever love, I give you my heart, my soul, my body, in this life and every other. May the light of the gods shine upon us."
"Draco"
"Harry, song of my life, I give you my heart, my soul, my body, in this life and every other. May the light of the gods shine upon us."
Stepping back from them Dumbledore raised their joined hands above his head and said, "May the light of the gods shine upon them" and all in attendance repeated the phrase, and burst out in wild applause.
Draco looked over to see Harry smiling like mad, and they walked hand and hand out of the room a flurry of friends behind them.
******************************************
"For the first time in public, ladies and gentlemen, Misters Harry and Draco Potter."
Hermione watched from her seat at the table as her two best friends walked in to the reception hall. They were gorgeous, especially together, and it made her happy to see them together. Unfortunately it was moments like this that she also felt a pang of bitterness. She squelched it firmly, ~those days are over~ and looked across the table at Jared who was smiling into her eyes.
"Dance?" He asked and offered a hand.
"Of course" she smiled and was wrapped in his arms for the first slow dance of the evening.
****************************************************
Two men stood in a dark bedroom on the third floor of the most expensive wizarding hotel in Britain. With the window open, and a cool breeze blowing they could barely be heard over the sounds of the night.
"You take it."
"No, you're taking it"
"Perhaps we should have talked about this before now"
"It doesn't matter, I'm not drinking it"
"Why not?"
"There's blood in it. I'm not drinking blood"
"You drink a sleep potion with pickled dragon tongues, but you won't drink a little blood?"
"No, I won't"
"Right then, bottoms up!" and then a second later, "Eugh, that's awful!"
"That's why I wouldn't take it."
Moments later the sounds drifting out the window were, if heard by anyone, not repeated.
A/N: Well, that's done. Don't know why, but that was really a challenge to write, but I got it done. We're over the 20,000 word mark, though, so party at my house!