DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.
Warning: This story will contain slash (ie. male/male relationships) and mpreg, although neither will be graphic. This story is rated R for sexual situations, nudity, violence and strong language.
A/N: This is the first story that I have posted. It was inspired by the many wonderful stories that I have read and enjoyed here at fan fiction and any similarities to existing stories is not intended. This story is AU, meaning that the events that occurred in the OOTP have not been taken into account. Also, I am American so I apologize in advance for any Americanisms.
Chapter Seventeen – A Celebration
"Nicole, have you seen Harry?" Draco inquired as he made his way into the dining room. He had limited contact with the Gryffindor over the past two weeks as Harry had devoted almost every waking moment to finishing the band's CD. Draco was hoping that this evening, Harry would be home so that they would be able to spend some time together. The dark haired man's absence was putting a real monkey wrench in Draco's plans to seduce him.
Not even realizing that Nicole had neglected to answer him, Draco noticed that the dining room had not been set for their evening meal. "So I take it that either Nola is off trying to get settled into her new job, or we're just not eating tonight" Draco said, sarcasm dripping off each word as he eyed the empty tabletop.
Not letting the blonde man's attitude phase her as they had actually managed to become friends, she smirked. "Well Draco dear, the twins and I have already eaten, and yes, Nola is over at the Henderson's getting her new kitchen set up to her exact specifications." At this, both Nicole and Draco shared a mutual shudder, as they had both been the recipients of Nola's dressing-downs when something was the slightest bit out of place in her kitchen. "However, Harry should be home soon and I think he mentioned something about having dinner out on the patio, so maybe…" Nicole didn't even have the chance to finish her sentence before Draco had torn out of the dining room in the direction of his bedroom.
When Nicole had mentioned that Harry would be home for dinner, a private dinner for just the two of them, Draco knew that he didn't want to waste this opportunity. Frowning as he looked down at the shorts and shirt he was currently wearing, he decided he didn't look irresistible enough and wanted to change his attire.
Opening his closet, Draco ran a hand over his new clothes in appreciation. When he had decided to stay in California he had mentioned to Harry that he would need a new wardrobe, as the few things that he had brought with him from England were not appropriate for muggle San Diego, and would hardly be sufficient. Harry had surprised Draco by taking him shopping the very next day. They had visited all the better men's clothing stores and what couldn't be purchased off the rack was ordered tailor made. Harry had certainly spared no expense, and even someone as picky as Draco had no complaints.
Selecting a soft sea green silk shirt and a pair of tailor made black dress pants, Draco dressed very carefully for dinner. Finally with one last glance in the mirror, Draco made his way out towards the patio.
* * *
Draco forgot to breathe at the vision that waited for him as he opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside. A small table for two had been set up on the tile patio overlooking both the pool and the beach. The table had been set with fine bone china, sparkling silver flatware and crystal wineglasses. A bottle of expensive wine was chilling in the wine cooler. There were two candlesticks on the table and the torches scattered around the patio where lit. The gentle ocean breeze caused the flames to flicker creating a very romantic atmosphere. However, Draco had barely noticed all this, as something else had captured and held his attention.
Harry stood just on the other side of the table. Draco's mouth felt like it was filled with cotton as he took in the tall raven-haired man dressed impeccably in a deep almost royal blue shirt and black pants, both of which had to have been tailor-made as they clung to the Gryffindor almost like a second skin. Pulling his eyes away from the luscious body, Draco felt like he was being swept away by the look of desire he saw burning bright in Harry's own eyes.
Striding over to where Draco was standing, Harry stopped when he was standing right in front of the Slytherin. "Thank you for joining me for dinner tonight." Draco could barely bring himself to nod he was still so overwhelmed at all the trouble Harry had gone through.
Feeling almost shy, Harry presented Draco with two long stem red roses. "Here, I got these for you."
Surprised, Draco took the offered flowers and inhaled their wonderful fragrance. The flowers were a deep blood red, each petal soft and perfectly shaped, they were exquisite. Touched at Harry's thoughtfulness, Draco took a deep breath and whispered, "Thank you Harry, no one has ever given me flowers before."
"That's their loss then." Harry smiled. "Come on and sit down, I don't want our dinner to get cold."
Having recovered his wits, Draco allowed Harry to lead him over to the table. Once they were seated, Draco couldn't help but ask, "So why did you go to all this trouble?"
Harry reached across the table and took Draco's warm hand in his own before he answered. "Well, for two reasons actually. First, because I know that I haven't been around much lately and I've felt like I was neglecting you, and I wanted to make some of that up to you."
Draco was pleased with Harry's answer so far and gently squeezed Harry's hand. "And the second reason?"
"Well, it also serves as a bit of a celebration; we finished recording the CD today."
Draco could see the excitement on Harry's face. "Congratulations, I know you've all worked so hard on it, it is quite the accomplishment."
Harry felt himself preen under Draco's praise. "Thanks Dray; that means a lot, especially from you."
"But Harry why are you here with me? Shouldn't you be with the band out someplace getting stone cold drunk?" Happy didn't even come close to describing how Draco felt when he realized that Harry wanted to spend this time with him; however, he couldn't help feeling as though he was intruding on a moment that most likely should be shared by Harry with others.
"No Dray, there isn't anyone else that I would rather share this night with than you." Draco's smile at these words was instantaneous and Harry felt the warmth from it clear down to the pit of his stomach. "Besides, we already did the other after we cut the first CD."
Draco got the distinct feeling that Harry wasn't joking about that last bit, but rather than rehashing the past Draco wanted to take this moment to build their future. "How about we see what lovely offerings are under those platters over there?" Draco asked as he directed Harry's attention to the serving board that had been set up.
Helping himself to some roasted pork loin, garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled sweet peas and summer squash, Draco sat back down. While he had been filling his plate, Harry had uncorked the wine and poured them each a glass.
After Harry had selected his own fare for the evening and sat back down at the table, Draco raised his wineglass. "What should we drink to?"
Harry thought about the many possibilities, but decided to stick with something safe, "How about we drink to tonight?"
Disappointed flickered only briefly on Draco's face before he clinked his glass against Harry's and said "To tonight."
"To tonight." Harry responded setting his glass down and reaching for his silverware.
Taking another sip from his wineglass, Draco studied his companion. "Do you ever wonder why we fought so much when we were younger?"
Harry tried not to choke on his dinner at the unexpected question. "I just assumed it was because you were always such a stuck up prat."
Draco raised both his eyebrows, "Of course it could be because you were always the perfect little Gryffindor, always breaking the rules and never getting into trouble for it." Seeing that Harry wasn't going to take the bait, Draco took another swallow of wine and continued. "But what if it was something else?"
Harry carefully put his fork back down on his plate. "Okay, seeing as how you're not going to
allow me to finish my dinner until you've told me whatever it is that you want
to get off your chest, I'll bite, why do you think we fought so much?"
Twirling his wineglass in his fingers, Draco had gotten caught up in watching how the candlelight was reflected in the cut crystal and in the deep red wine. "Well I have one theory; it is based on a story that my Great Grandmother Malfoy used to tell me when I was a small child." Seeing that Harry was truly interested Draco continued. "Some wizards believe that the earth and man was created not by one God but by a group of Gods. Each God had their own specialty, similar to what is described in muggle mythology. Now, these Gods each were powerful in their own right and as with any group of powerful beings, there were disagreements. In particular, there were two gods that rarely agreed on anything. Most disagreements were settled peacefully; however, some were not.
It took a joint effort by all the gods to create man, as it was such a large and complicated undertaking given that we were the first creatures they created that had souls. Our souls would allow man to transcend death as they would rise up and be reunited with others that had previously passed."
Draco saw that he had Harry complete attention. "But it wasn't long before the Gods were arguing over what to do with these new creations. Fighting broke out, worse than ever before and the Gods were basically divided between those that wanted us to live on earth without their interference and those that wanted to create a new kingdom only for man."
"The battle between the gods became fierce, with man stuck in the center of the conflict. The power generated by each side was such a tremendous force that it ended up splitting the beings that they had so lovingly created down the center into what we know today as man. In doing so the Gods realized that their wonderful creation was ruined, flawed and the worst part of it was that the complex souls that the Gods had been so proud of were now split into two halves."
"Neither group wanted to claim the imperfect creatures any more; therefore, man was banished to earth. Now the story goes on to say that every man has somewhere on this planet a person that has the other half of their very soul. A soul mate. And if you are very fortunate, the two people will meet and only then will their souls be complete."
Harry was fascinated by the story Draco was weaving. "So that's what you think we are; two halves of the same soul? But I still don't understand how that has anything to do with us fighting as children."
Draco refilled his wineglass and then took another sip as his throat was slightly parched from talking so much. "Well look at it this way Harry, we were eleven year old children who met in a robe shop. I'd like to think that our souls may have recognized each other, and we were just too young to know how to deal with the emotions that were invoked. Clearly, we always felt strongly towards each other; it's just that instead of love, it was easier for us to hate each other until we matured enough to realize what we really felt for each other."
Harry thought about everything that Draco was saying and it sounded reasonable enough, but he wasn't sure that he had ever hated the blonde. "You hated me?"
"Weren't you there? All those times that I tried to get you expelled, all the fights, pranks, and taunts, and those awful badges that I made during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. When I think back on it now, I think I did all that to get your attention because somehow I knew on some subconscious level that I needed you to pay attention to me."
"Well, I certainly did that, didn't I? We did have some great moments in school, didn't we?" Harry mused.
The next couple of hours were spent by two old friends reminiscing about times gone by, careful to avoid any subjects that could cause Harry any more pain about the betrayal he suffered.
* * *
"It's getting late, I think I'm ready for bed," Harry said softly watching the moonlight reflect off of the still water in the pool.
Draco sighed disappointed; everything had been going so well, but it still seemed that Harry wasn't ready to resume their intimate relationship.
When Draco didn't respond, Harry looked over at his dinner companion and extended him his hand. Deep forest green met and held the stormy gray orbs. "Are you coming?"
Draco paused, not sure if he correctly understood what Harry was asking. The Slytherin tried to slow the frantic beating of his heart as he told himself that Harry might just mean that it was time for him to retire to his own room. Licking his lips, Draco said hoarsely, "I'd love to join you, but I'm afraid I forgot my pajamas."
Draco felt his chest constrict at the glowing smile that crossed Harry's face. 'It should be illegal to be that damn beautiful.'
"Well then, we'll just have to agree that for tonight pajamas are optional."
Pushing his chair back with a groan, Draco stood, ignoring Harry's hand, and pulled the slightly smaller man into his arms. He felt his entire body shiver at the contact. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he finally managed to whisper in the raven-haired man's ear.
Harry pulled Draco's face towards his, capturing the blonde's lips in a heart stopping kiss. When Harry started to nibble on his lower lip, Draco moaned and opened his mouth, welcoming Harry. Harry took his time exploring, mapping the warm confines of Draco's mouth. At that moment, Draco surrendered total control of what was happening to Harry, willing to go along with where ever this was headed. When Harry's tongue gently retreated, Draco took over the kiss doing the same to Harry and then everything else seemed to just fade away, there was no time, no caressing ocean breeze, no pounding of the ocean waves. All that existed at that moment was Harry and Draco and the gentle caress of two lips and the pounding of two hearts. Finally, it became clear that they needed more privacy than what the patio currently afforded them.
In a shaky voice, Harry finally responded, "I think I do, but why don't you show me?"
Not needing any more of an invitation, Draco swept Harry up into his arms and carried him through the house and up into Harry's bedroom.
* * *
Draco didn't stop until he kicked the door to Harry's room shut and deposited Harry gently on his large bed. Rolling off the other side of the bed, Harry raised his hand in the direction of the door and whispered a spell.
"What did you just do?" Draco asked softly not hearing what the exact incantation as he was focused on what was about to happen.
"Just a spell that allows me to know if either of the twins needs me, as I also placed a locking charm and a silencing charm on this room," Harry said as he walked over to where Draco was standing.
Without taking his eyes off the twin pools of liquid silver, Harry started to slowly undress himself. Draco's breath caught in his throat when he saw Harry slowly reach up and start unbuttoning his shirt. The long tan fingers moving gracefully across the soft fabric of his silk shirt. The blonde's mouth had gone completely dry by the time Harry had finished with the third button. With a groan, Draco reached for his lover, only to have Harry shake his head and take a step back away from him, not stopping with the removal of his clothing.
Soon, Harry's silk shirt slipped down off of Harry's strong shoulders and back, pooling around his feet. With a stroke of clarity, Draco realized what Harry was doing. He wasn't simply teasing him; he was offering himself to Draco, offering himself totally and without reservation. What felt like a bolt of lightning went from the base of Draco's neck the whole way down his legs, making him feel weak and dizzy. Never had Draco even dreamed that Harry would do something as erotic as this.
Draco fought to calm himself down, trying to think of anything but what Harry was doing so as to not loose complete control and embarrass him self. However, when he saw Harry reach for the fashioning to his trousers and heard the sound of his zipper being lowered, Draco lost what little restraint he had previously possessed.
Roughly pulling the Gryffindor to him, Draco's hands adeptly removed the last of Harry's clothing. Harry surrendered himself completely to Draco's administrations as he laid the Gryffindor back down on the bed. Urgently divesting himself of his own clothing, Draco couldn't get enough of the sight of the completely nude Harry spread out before him, waiting for him. Harry felt the mattress dip when Draco joined him on the cream colored silk sheets.
As Draco leaned down over him, Harry wrapped his arms around the other man and pulled him down into a kiss. Harry took his time with this kiss, allowing all the emotions that he was currently feeling to be expressed. He poured all the love he had kept bottled up during the last three years into that one kiss.
The passionate kiss continued on for what seemed to be forever and again as it had earlier on the patio, it seemed as though everything outside of these two souls ceased to exist. Harry started to tremble with desire, as the kiss became more urgent and the need to belong to Draco threatened to consume him. Slowly, he became aware of Draco gentle explorations of his body: the butterfly caresses of his lower stomach, the fingers rubbing small circles on the soft skin above his groin.
Harry gasped when Draco's inquisitive hands dipped even lower. Harry closed his eyes and threw his head back as a wave of intense pleasure hit him. Feeling Harry's pending orgasm, Draco started to whisper encouragement in his ear while pressing soft kisses behind his ear and along his neck. As Harry arched up, the overwhelming compulsion to mark this beautiful man as his overcame him, and Draco bit down hard on the small space in the curve of his neck. Harry screamed.
Softly kissing Harry, giving him a chance to recover, Draco smirked, asking, "Been awhile?"
"You have no idea," Harry finally was able to gasp through his kiss-swollen lips.
"So where do you keep the 'lube?"
Not wanting to waste the energy on a verbal response, Harry pointed to his nightstand.
Reaching across Harry, Draco opened the drawer and removed a small tube of lubricant.
Laying back down, Draco proceeded to prepare his love. Once Harry was thoroughly stretched and withering once more on the cusp of ecstasy, Draco knelt between his spread thighs and positioned him self.
"I love you so much, you have no idea just how much this means to me." Harry crushed his lips to Draco preventing any further remarks as Draco pressed forward and took him.
Harry moaned deep in his throat, as the sensation of being possessed made him tremble. He had never felt more complete than he did at this moment, the last pieces of a very intricate puzzle finally falling into place. Feeling his lover so deep inside him, claiming him, making him whole. This moment was so right, perfect. A fleeting thought of the trials that lay ahead of them crossed Harry's mind before he was lost again in the flames that were consuming him. Harry dared anyone or anything to try to come between him and his soul mate. The thought of separation no matter how limited was unthinkable. He was where he needed to be, here, safe and loved, in his mate's strong embrace.
Harry and Draco moved in time to music that only their bodies, hearts and souls could hear, each one striving for the ultimate completion. Two halves of the same soul, moving in unison, forever united. When that perfect moment hit, they shuddered together in release, crying out each other's names.
Draco's satisfied body lax in exhaustion slid down on top of Harry, his lips moving carefully over Harry's sweat soaked chest. After several moments, Draco recuperated enough to pull out slowly, careful not to cause Harry any discomfort.
"I love you," Harry whispered sleepily, clearly needing rest, as he snuggled against Draco's chest.
"I love you too," were the last words either of them heard before they feel into a deep and untroubled sleep.
* * *
Draco woke to the sensation of warm moist breath on his neck. It was not an uncomfortable feeling, just one that he wasn't used to, as he had made a habit of always sleeping alone. Without warning, the memories and images of what exactly transpired last night came back to him. Not daring to believe that he was finally here in bed with Harry, Draco slowly rolled onto his side so that he could get a good view of the man slumbering beside him.
Harry was sprawled out on his back with one arm tossed up over his head and his other wrapped around his waist and his head was turned on the side facing Draco. With a predatory gleam in his eye, Draco noted in satisfaction that during the night, the silk sheet had become tangled around Harry's legs and was currently draped only over Harry's lower half.
Carefully, he pulled the bed sheet down further so his wandering eyes could continue his study of the sleeping man. Draco was saddened to see a couple of small scars otherwise marring the perfect creamy skin. One scar in particular caught his attention. Nestled at the base of his belly, where Harry's soft pubic curls started, was a long and thin scar quite faded with time. Unable to resist, Draco slowly traced the scar's path with the tip of one of his fingers.
"You know, that does tickle."
Draco smiled ruefully, but didn't stop moving his finger slowly back and forth.
Harry frowned at Draco's lack of response. "What's wrong?"
The hand on his lower stomach stilled and then Draco looked up at Harry, his expression wistful.
"I was just thinking about everything I missed, that's all."
They had both missed so much of each other lives, but he knew that Draco had to regret it even more than he did. Not only had he missed being a part of Harry's life for those three and half years, but he had missed the first almost three years of his sons' lives. Not sure what he could say that would reassure his lover, Harry remained silent and just let Draco continue with what was troubling him.
"Is this where you were cut when you gave birth?" Draco asked, pointing to the scar he had just been tracing, his voice careful and slow. Harry nodded.
"Merlin, I would have given anything to see you pregnant. I bet you got huge." Draco flashed a teasing grin up at the raven-haired man, but Harry could still see the sadness in his eyes. "So did you waddle much?"
Glad that the mood had lighted considerably, Harry rolled over and pinned the unresisting Draco into the mattress. "Waddle!" Harry snorted. "I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing. I'll have you know that I never waddled." Harry continued to gaze down at his captive when suddenly he realized exactly the precarious position that Draco was in. "Tell me Mister Malfoy, are you ticklish?"
Draco stopped laughing at the image in his head of Harry the size of a small hippo nine months pregnant waddling around singing one of his hip hop songs at the dangerous question that was posed to him. "Don't be ridiculous Harry; of course I'm not ticklish. Now get off me, I need to use the bathroom."
"I don't think that you can escape me that easily. Besides I think you are lying to me and I'm about to prove it to you."
"Don't even think about it, Potter. I should have known that anyone your age who still slept with plushy toys would try to resort to something as childish as tickling," he retorted, the twinkle in Draco's eyes softening the harshness of his words.
Harry pulled back and sat on his hunches puzzled by Draco's words. "What are you talking about now Malfoy?"
Seeing Harry's confusion, Draco rolled over to the edge of the bed and reached down between the bed and the nightstand and pulled out the wolf that had been wedged there. "Does this little fella ring any bells?"
Harry watched as Draco reached under his bed and presented him with the gray wolf that he had purchased so long ago.
Seeing the shocked expression on Harry's face, Draco couldn't help but tease the speechless man further. "Something you're not telling me Harry, as this guy has your scent all over him."
That little wolf had been there some nights when Harry had believed that he might not make it to see the sun rise the next morning. He owed that animal a heap of gratitude, but now it was time that he went to his intended owner.
"Actually Dray, he doesn't belong to me," Harry replied his voice calm and steady.
Draco looked at the wolf, disbelieving what Harry was telling him. "Well, whose is it then, if it's not yours? Is it one of the twins?"
Harry smiled softly. "He actually belongs to you."
Draco was now thoroughly confused. "I never owned a stuffed wolf Harry, you must be mistaken; it's not mine."
"Yes, he does belong to you; the reason that you don't remember owning him is because I never gave him to you after I bought him," Harry explained gently.
Draco looked up surprised. "You bought him for me? When?"
"In New York." Harry paused to gather his thoughts before he continued. "I bought him after Severus had sent you the letter and you left for the first time. When I was alone there for a week, I stumbled upon this incredible toy store and I saw him there. He just reminded me of you so much that I wanted you to have him. But when you came back, your time at the apartment was short and we spent it doing other things. I just simply forgot to give him to you. So Draco, I would like to introduce you to Mystic."
Deeply touched that Harry had bought him a gift during their stay in New York, Draco pulled Harry into another hug. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Harry replied, getting up off the bed and making his way into the bathroom.
Still examining his new stuffed animal, Draco followed behind Harry, not paying much attention to where he was going.
"I can't believe you named him."
"Well what else would you suggest I do; just call him 'wolf' indefinitely?"
Draco looked up to say something sarcastic back to his lover when he realized where he was. "Bloody hell Harry, this bathroom looks exactly like the one in the Head Boy's room."
Harry blushed. "Yeah, I know. When I built this place, all I could think about was how much I loved that bathroom. It was the only time I could remember in my life having my own bathroom, so I decided to recreate as much of that bathroom here as I could."
Laughing at his partner's embarrassment, Draco quickly set about getting ready to start their day.
* * *
Two days later, the Potter household was almost completely packed. Most of the family's things were going to be transferred into storage for the time being. The things that they were taking with them, like clothing, personal items, and the twins' toys had been carefully shrunk and packed into several trunks that they would be taking with them when they portkeyed back to Hogwarts. Draco and Harry had actually purchased many items of clothing for the twins and themselves that they would need in the much cooler temperatures. They were planning to leave in a couple of days as Harry was still in the process of tying up some loose ends as he was effectively ending the existence of the alias he had used for such a long time.
Harry had met with his accountants and attorneys and had taken care of having a large portion of his substantial wealth that he had earned as Emrys Kingston, transferred to a bank in London. Unbeknownst to Draco, Harry had also taken the time to have his attorneys draw up a new will naming Draco and the twins as beneficiaries to his estate and Draco as guardian to the twins in the event that something would happen to him.
Harry had just hung up the phone after placing an order for a couple pizzas at a local pizza shop when Nicole burst into the room. She was flushed and slightly out of breath as though she had been rushing to get here.
"What's going on Nikki? Did something happen?" Harry questioned concerned about her sudden appearance. She had planned on spending the evening saying goodbye to some of her friends, as she had accepted Harry's and Draco's invitation to go to Hogwarts with them. Having taken care of the twins since their birth, there was no way she was allowing them out of her sight, at least not until they were in their early thirty's or so.
Nicole was still trying to catch her breath as she slammed the Eagle's Talon, the local wizarding newspaper down on the counter top.
Draco had come up behind Harry and peered over his shoulder reading today's headlines. His stomach filled with dread at the news reported there. There had been two reported Death Eater attacks in New York yesterday and a sighting of some men in long dark robes with masks in San Diego this morning.
"I think it's time that we get the hell out of here."
Harry couldn't agree more with Draco's sentiments. The Death Eaters were well on their way to
discovering their location; they needed to get out of here now.
Quickly moving through the house, gathering and shrinking any last remaining items, Harry and Draco prepared them for a quick exit. Shrinking the trunks and putting them in their pockets, Harry picked up Matthew and Draco did the same with Evan. Holding on to each other, both men and Nicole touched the portkey, while Draco shouted out the activation code and the family was gone.
To Be Continued.