Title: The Anointed Prince
Author: Decadence
Genre: Romance/Drama/Angst
Rating: R (for later contents)
Setting: Set in a time barely ten years before the birth of magic within humanity.
Summary: Faced with his upcoming crowning, a war, and a royal ball, Prince Draco Romulus Gabriel Malfoy is forced into finding a spouse, someone of the proper breeding and etiquette.
Disclaimer: All character belong to J.K. Rowling, unless stated other wise (i.e. Clarisse).
Warning: SLASH (DM/HP); Draco will be dominate in the relationship. Also, I forgot to mention this in the first chapter, I forgot until one of my reviewers mentioned it, thank you kind reviewer, but this fanfic will contain MPreg in later chapters.
Not Beta Read…yet…
Chapter Ten: The Contract and the Bride
The shroud of night had fallen long ago, and the light of day had a few hours more to wait before venturing near. The eternal battle of the moon and sun, a desperate battle wrought between these astral lovers. Forever longing for the other's presence, that one glimpse of the moon's radiant beam to grace the sun's brilliant shine, forever separated by the curse placed upon them by the gods. Set to chase the other's fading light in an endless circle, always just a few moments too late to be blessed with the sight of the other. An eternal heartache circling the skies.
"It is so sad," Harry whispered into the comfortable silence, his eyes never leaving the moon's face. "To love another with such fervent passion and yet to never have the joy of their company. I fear I could not tolerate such a great tragedy."
"I will never leave you." Draco whispered against Harry's ear, his arms slipping around his companions' waist and pulling the smaller man against his chest.
"I know."
Soon it would be light, and the sun would cry its luminous rays at the flight of its lover behind the horizon and out of sight once more. Harry sighed. He understood why he must wake early and meet Draco now, beneath the cover of the stars. The court could not know of their marriage until after the event took place. Unfortunately, that was not for at least another day, as his parents were to arrive tomorrow in the evening. Thus, appearances had to be maintained, and Draco would cease to hold his hand and speak softly to him. He would return to the world of the lords and ladies of the court, though he would walk amongst them with no protection now. Seamus would stand beside him once he recovered from his rejection; however, his finger no longer bore the protection of an engagement ring. There was no acknowledged lord to keep the wolves at bay. Harry sighed once more; watching at the dark sky began to lighten, to withdraw, beneath the tender caress of the seeking rays of the sun.
"Mother and father wish to speak with us again today." Draco said softly.
"When?"
"After the midday meal, you are to leave the hall under the excuse of feeling weary. Many members of the court feel tired after the meal, so none shall notice your withdrawal."
"Hmmm…" Harry mumbled, turning away from the sinking moon to rest his cheek against Draco's chest.
"Remember, that no matter what happens, no matter what I say or what anyone else says, I love you. To the court you may be poor and uneducated, to me you are as you should be and you are perfect." Draco said. He pressed a kiss to the top of Harry's head and pulled away. "I must go. Blaise has this infernal habit of waking far too early and coming to wake me to join him for an early breakfast."
"I will miss you, though you shall be within the same walls it shall seem too vast a distance." Harry smiled softly as he allowed his arms to fall away from their position around Draco's waist.
"I shall be with you when the noon meal approaches and with you once more after the sun has set. Tomorrow morning, your parents arrive, and then we shall never be parted again."
They shared one more fleeting kiss before Draco turned and entered the palace once more. Harry turned back to gaze at the rising sun.
"I know your heartache well…" He whispered before he too returned to the comfort of his room where Hermione still slept.
"You have been oddly absent lately, Harry. I pray I find you well?" Pansy asked sweetly, her blue eyes boring though him as she sought some indication of what had caused his absence.
"I am well," Harry said, though his eyes slide past her shoulder to catch the silvery gaze of his lover across the room. "Very well in fact."
"Hmm…well, I am pleased to hear it." Pansy said though her tone gave way to her disappointment. "Seamus is looking unwell, did something happen?"
Harry's gaze left Draco's and moved off to his left. Seamus stood beside Dean, who appeared to be whispering to him intently though Seamus showed no sign of listening. Though an entire day had passed since their meeting, Harry could see the betrayal and the anger beneath those shimmering blue eyes.
"I often find him looking at you when you are unaware," Pansy said as she too glanced over at Seamus. "His emotions are contradictions. His eyes burn with rage one moment and then glisten with sorrow. Did you two fight?"
Those blue eyes haunted Harry. In passing in the hallway, they cursed him, and at meals, they questioned his actions. Even now they met his though they gleamed with inner turmoil. Sighing, Harry walked toward his ex-fiancé. Pansy's cries of indignation fell on deaf ears.
He had dreaded this moment. This moment when everything would stand still as he faced Seamus' wrath. Seamus was allowed to rage at him, Harry understood what he had done, and he did not expect to leave this moment with out prove of the hurt he had caused.
As he drew ever nearer to those tormented eyes, his thoughts returned to that sound of flesh hitting flesh. The crack that had so shocked him as it disturbed the stillness of the room, the sound had shocked him more than the actual slap had. The pain had taken a moment to register, as Harry had been busy trying to remove the pale green color from his eyesight, only to realize that the green was the color of his pillow. The force of the blow had knocked his head to the left and away from the hand that had struck him. He had deserved it. In fact, he deserved much worse than that. It was time to speak to Seamus.
For a moment, they simply stood there, oblivious to the rest of the court that swirled around them. Harry trembled to note that nothing stood still as he had thought it would, if anything, everything seemed to speed up. The laughter from behind him echoed around him, the lords and ladies raced past in a blur of color. Seamus gazed down at him with those pained eyes, and Harry felt his heart break all over again.
"I would never have hurt you."
The words were whispered faintly, though Harry had no trouble hearing them. They burned their way into his memory and imbedded themselves with his soul. So certain, so loving, they broke whatever barriers he had constructed to protect himself.
"I never meant to hurt you," Harry whispered back. His words seemed to shatter whatever mercy Seamus held for him, as his next words stabbed at him.
"I am happy for you though," Seamus said softly. "You managed to skip the steps of higher lordship and moved on to royalty." Seamus smiled weakly, though it hurt him more than Harry to have said it, as Harry flinched at his words.
"Seamus, I-"
"You love him," Seamus whispered, his eyes widening just slightly as if he had just discovered the missing piece to a puzzle. "You love him though you know nothing about him. You love him when you could never love me though I have stood beside you throughout everything. He is everything now, and I am nothing."
"No, Seamus, you are my friend still. I need you, though not as a lover," Harry whispered desperately. He could feel the situation slipping from his grasp.
He struggled to form the words that would correct this chasm that had appeared between them. He longed to tell his friend that he did love him, just not the way he loved Draco. He wanted to tell Seamus that he had released him from his promises in the hopes that Seamus would find someone more fitting to be his spouse, someone he loved.
"I thought you would be pleased…" Harry whispered. He could feel the tears though he desperately sought to hold them back.
"Rejection could never cause happiness, Harry," Seamus said. He raised his hand, and Harry braced himself for the blow. It never came.
"Seamus, I believe Pansy has been trying for a while now to catch your attention."
Seamus let his hand fall, though he had intended to fix a wayward lock of Harry's hair for him, as the prince suddenly appeared beside Harry. Blue and silver clashed before Seamus nodded slightly and moved off toward the blond youth motioning for him.
"It seems I can never quite be rid of your presence, Harry," Draco said in a conversational tone, though Harry heard the underlying note of worry. "Seamus seems quite upset. I do hope everything is alright."
Harry sighed to hear the hidden question beneath Draco's words. Draco's concern that Seamus had hurt him was appreciated, however unnecessary.
"Everything is fine. Seamus if often a slave to his emotions, though he would never cause intentional harm." Harry said lightly as if speaking of the weather.
"Perhaps, but he is mortal and mortals are often found lacking in their control. Especially when it comes to those they care for," Draco said as he watched his companion. "Of course, I would never dream to strike the person I loved."
Harry smiled as Draco drifted off into the crowd. Wishing he could have made Seamus understand, he moved off to find Hermione.
She had agreed to accompany today, however she had become quite distracted when the Zabini lord had gone into a political rant. Hermione had always been fascinated by politics and longed to participate on behalf of the less fortunate members of the kingdom. Unfortunately, politics depended on one's bloodline, not whether you were interested or were in fact quite level headed when politics were concerned.
"Your assertions, milord, are quite unfounded and poorly worded," Hermione was saying as Harry approached the debating duo. A few onlookers had gathered, wondering what was being said between the upper class and the lower class members of the party.
"I suppose that you could put it better than I, having living in such a state." Blaise said with an arched eyebrow. He did not know where this outspoken young lady had come from, nor did he care at the moment. He found her fascinating.
"Perhaps, however, upbringing should have place within this conversation, if that is what the court calls such ill mannered speeches about a topic they could never understand." Hermione shot back as Harry moved to her side.
"How dare you-" Blaise began, however, in a moment of rash action; Harry cut off Blaise.
"Hermione, come, the king and queen wish to speak with us." Harry said softly, though he knew he would suffer for his ill conduct.
"Of course, Harry." Hermione said stiffly as she brushed past Blaise without making her excuse to him. Blaise turned to watch her go with disbelief and some amusement.
"Despicable, is she not?" Susan said from beside him. Blaise smirked as he watched Harry and Hermione disappear into the crowd.
"I find her breathtaking," Blaise said. At Susan's shocked face, he amended his words. "…in her ability to defend her political beliefs, of course."
"The king and queen?" Hermione questioned as Harry led her toward the dining room.
"They will not call us until after the noon meal, which should be starting-"
"Lunch is served," A servant's voice rang throughout the ballroom.
"-now." Harry smiled at her as he offered her his arm.
"Am I allowed?"
"Of course, if you are not, then neither am I. And-" Harry began.
"-Draco would not like that at all." Hermione sniggered as Harry guided her to the table and pulled out her chair for her.
As it was her first meal amid the court, Harry expected his friend to be nervous and confused about the proper etiquette and conversation. However, his concern for her well-being was quite unfounded as he soon discovered. Hermione took to the court like a fish in water, easily negotiating her way out of the courts' tricks and illusions and presenting herself as one of their own. By the time lunch was over, Harry believed his best friend to be a lady of the court who had been misplaced at birth.
"Do not be silly, Harry. What a foolish idea," Hermione had laughed as they headed for the meeting chamber of the king and queen. "Had I been noble, I would have offered to marry you instead of Seamus."
"And I would have been quite devastated." Draco said as he joined them, having had to dodge several members of the court to get away for the meeting.
"Would not, for how could you be devastated by the loss of something they had never known?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Words such as that will get you into a world of trouble," Draco said with a smile, though he was pleased by her easygoing manner when she knew that he would be the one to separate her from her best friend.
"Perhaps."
"Nevertheless, I find I could not accept Hermione's hand in marriage when there is the slight problem of my having a thing for blonds." Harry said with a laugh as Hermione swatted him gently as they continued on their way.
The room was nothing special. A couple of couches and chairs designed to offer the most comfort while still forcing the occupant to retain their upright position. All around them stood shelves of books, one right after another. Harry felt overwhelmed by the ancient texts; he had never seen so many books in one place before, beyond the royal library of course.
"Harry, your parents are about a day's ride away," Narcissa said softly as she gestured for everyone to be seated. "They will be here tomorrow shortly after sunrise."
"Okay," Harry said, unsure of what exactly she was asking of him.
"Are you willing to sign the marriage contract without your parents present?"
"You understand that once you have signed, you will be obligated to fulfill your promise?" Lucius asked. "If so, then we can proceed with the proper arrangements."
"Arrangements?" Harry asked, eyes glancing at Draco who sat beside him on one of the couches.
"A list of those that will be present, the rings, robes," Narcissa said. "Of course, it shall be a small affair so as not to alert the rest of the court or castle of what is taking place."
"Oh," Harry said.
It was an awesome thing to ask of a child, and he was a child though he had never fully realized it. He depended on his parents to accept him and love him in all of his actions, but now he was unsure of whether their love for him could overcome their foreboding at his spontaneous engagement. Over the years, he had spoken to his mother of how he wished for a small wedding, for friends and family only. How it would be held, as the stars were fading and the light of day was just breaking. A true beginning to what he had always assumed would be a new life.
Now, as he gazed at Draco, sensing his anxiety as Harry's silence, he understood that every thought of marriage before now had been a dream. This was reality. He would marry Draco, for he felt sure that there could be no other for him, and he would marry him tomorrow barely an hour after his parents were told of the occasion. He would not walk down any aisle, surrounded by the morning glories or the nightshade, he would not wait by the alter before his friends as he watched his bride come toward him. He would stand beside the prince before his stunned parents, the king and queen, one of his friends, and a handful of the most highly trained guards in the entire kingdom. By this time tomorrow, he would be Prince Harry Danovan Malfoy.
There was a whole world being offered to him at this moment. A simple signing of a document could seal the fate of the entire kingdom. He would ascend to a throne after years of toiling within the fields. He would become one of the richest men in all of England. The amount of power that he would hold would be considerable and even terrifying. The responsibilities were great and of the most import. He would be aiding in ruling a kingdom, and that thought, though it should have, had never crossed his mind.
Of course, in the end he would do it. He would assume his position as the anointed prince, consort to the true heir of the kingdom, and if asked why, he would smile and simply claim that love addled his brain.
"I will sign the document," Harry whispered, though he felt as if he had just betrayed his parents with that simple sentence. "That way, even if my parents do not approve, they cannot force me to surrender my engagement to Draco."
Glancing once more at Draco, who smiled his support and love, Harry accepted the contract and the quill and signed his name right next to Draco's.
With the ink still wet on the marriage contract, several hundred miles away, across the vast expanse of the Noir kingdom and beyond its borders, a horse whinnied in fright at the angry shouts of men and the cries of those doomed to die.
The ground was stained red from the rain of blood that had fallen upon it. Bodies lay piled in every direction as if fallen angels from the heavens after Lucifer's' fall. In the distance, smoke rose in a black cloud to clash against the clear sky above, the homes of the villagers were burning.
"Milord, they are dead." A gruff voice sounded out of the chaos.
"Every one of them?" Another replied. It was this voice that caused the chaos to seem as if a symphony. It was dead in that there were no emotions beyond a current of hate and rage that seemed to be embedded within the very undertone of the accent.
"Yes, milord, as you commanded."
"Very good, bring me the girl," The command was horrid in its calm violence.
"Yes, milord."
The girl was young, no more than eight summers. Her pale blue eyes were wide with fright as she stared at the man before her. Before this moment she had known nothing of violence beyond the play fights of the boys of the village, she had been innocent in the evils of the world. Before this moment, she had had a mother and a father, and a brother who had all loved her dearly. Now, she had nothing and no one except the images of her mother's rape and her family's slaughter. Her simple clothing hung about her in shreds and her skin seemed the same color as the ground.
"Please," She whispered, not knowing what this man was or why her mother had not helped her when the other men had hit her. "Mum…"
"Your mother is busy at the moment, but perhaps I can help you," The cold voice said as it beat her with its emptiness. "I want you to carry a message for me. If you do this, your mother will hold in her arms once more, do you understand?"
He waited for the girl to nod, unaware that she was making a deal with Satan. All she knew was that her mother would be there again, and the horror of what she had witnessed would be gone, banished by her mother's love.
"Go to the Noir palace, find the one called Harry Potter, tell him that your mother's love could not save you, and that his mother shall not be able to save him either."
She nodded, though she had forgotten his words already, her mind still trapped within the sphere of the word mother. She winced as the pale and twisted hand stretched forth and approached her. Then the voice spoke a single word, and she knew no more…
"Imperio."
"Draco," Harry whispered.
"Yes?"
"I need to tell you something…"
"Can it not wait?" Draco whispered back.
They were safe within the prince's chambers, away from prying eyes and the gossip of the court members. The king and queen had bought them an hour of alone time, and Draco did not wish to miss a single moment.
The prince lounged contently across his bed, his arms wrapped securely around Harry who leant back against him; his head resting on Draco's shoulder as Draco tenderly kissed his temple and cheek, working slowly towards his lips.
"No…for you may not wish to continue this relationship after you hear this," Harry whispered fearfully.
"I fear it is too late for something like that, Harry," Draco chuckled as he managed to steal a chaste kiss before Harry sat up completely.
"This is serious, Draco, and though I wish for nothing more than to lie here with you and think of nothing but this warmth you cause within me, I fear I cannot allow myself such a luxury when it could endanger you and our kingdom."
"What, what is it?" Draco asked concerned by the truth of Harry's words and the fear that resonated from them.
"Voldemort sent a message to my parents," Harry said softly, refusing to meet Draco's eyes.
Draco listened with rapt attention as Harry explained the nature of the message and its contents. By the time he had finished, Draco was shaking with rage at what the Dark Lord had done, for it had clearly terrified his intended. Rising from his bed, he paced about the room for several minutes before realizing that his actions had led Harry to believe that he was angry at him.
"Oh, Harry," Draco whispered as he returned to the bed to pull Harry close to him. "I am not mad at you, I am glad you told me, though I am disappointed that you did not tell me sooner."
"You no longer wish to be with me…" Harry said faintly.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Draco asked as he hugged Harry closer. "I would not care if Voldemort was here before us and demanding you to come to him, I would never allow it. I love you, never doubt that."
"I love you too, though I have no idea why you would feel such an emotion for me," Harry whispered as he pressed a kiss to Draco's lips.
"Of course, mother and father will need to be informed, though there is little they can do now that your parents are on their way here." Draco whispered as he ran his fingers through Harry's hair.
For a moment, they sat in silence, content to know that the danger had passed, at least for the moment. Every action available to them was being taken, and soon Lily and James would be safe within the palace walls.
"Harry, I feel I should tell you something as well," Draco's voice whispered.
"Hmm."
"I picked out our wedding robes…"
"Without me?" Harry asked, pulling away from his fiancé.
"Of course, you have no sense of style, that much was apparent the moment I met you," Draco said, also pulling away.
"What are you on about? I thought I looked good in that robe set-"
"And that is why I picked out our robes and you did not," Draco said with a smirk. "And because…you are to be the bride…"
"Draco Romulus Gabriel Malfoy…" Harry began, but was cut off as one of the many pillows connected with his face. Throwing the pillow aside, he found Draco running through one of the doorways leading to the private common room that Draco had.
As he heard Harry coming after him, Draco smiled. He had managed to remove the problem of the message from his intended's mind, at least for the moment. In the back of his mind, he felt that there was something he was overlooking, but then Harry entered the room, and his mind turned back to the matter at hand, dodging his vile tempered bride.
AN: Oh my giddy heart…I am so sorry, I have no one to blame for the lateness of this post than myself. I even had a three-day weekend, which my Beta Reader seems found of mentioning all day today in school. Anyway, I am terribly sorry, it will not happen again without there being some serious and understandable excuse. However, I have already started the next chapter…
THE WEDDING! It will be somewhat longer than all the other chapters, but it will be good, I promise. Anyway, I will respond to all reviews then, for Chapter 9 and 10 as this chapter is late and I am sure you guys want it now. Anyway, thank you so much for your wonderful reviews, I could not ask for a better response to my fanfic. You guys are what keeps this fanfic alive, because otherwise I would never have the patience to write something like this. Thank you, you guys are wonderful, on a scale of one to ten, you guys are a billion and two. Thank you.
Also, just so you all know, I did insert the equal signs with spaces between them as dividers for this chapter, so if they are not there…then I will try something new, but I hope they work. Thank you all again, for your assistance, it was appreciated so much.
