THE ELF PRINCE'S MATE

AUTHOR: fantasylover12001

RATING: R

DISCLAIMER: Sadly I do not own Harry Potter. I'm working on a way to resolve that. Shhhh, don't tell JKR.

PAIRING: Draco/Harry. Also Ron/Hermione.

AUTHOR NOTES: Thank you all who reviewed! You all rock! Don't be scared about my silliness right now, I'm a little excited that spring break is ONE WHOLE WEEK AWAY! Can you tell I'm ready to leave all ready?

Alexi Lupin- ;BEAMS; I'm creative! Thanks!

redfox13- no, it will not ruin the bond. Though it will frusterate Draco a bit.

CaramelAriana- Draco will eventually have to tell Harry, yes. But it will only be until he's forced too, the stubborn boy...As for your other questions, you'll just have to waite and see.

CHAPTER 2: SETTLING IN

It was surprisingly easy for Harry to grow used to having Draco there. The two settled into a routine of sorts; wake up, then Harry would make breakfast as it became obvious that a) Draco couldn't cook because of his injuries, and b) Draco couldn't cook period. After breakfast Harry would go work at the clinic for awhile and then come back around lunchtime with a meal from the local tavern. The tavern was owned by Madam Rosmerta whom Harry had known since he was at least seven. When he got older and became a healer he had helped her husband when he got seriously injured once. As a result the woman was always giving him meals on the house even though he didn't ask her too.

After they had lunch Harry would go back to the clinic and work until the end of his shift then return home to make dinner. Harry worried that Draco was bored sometimes but the elf said he was fine, especially since Harry had a lot of books. The two usually ended up discussing whatever Draco had read that day over dinner.

Books were an easy topic for the two discuss. Draco didn't seem to want to talk about why he was injured; all he told Harry was that he was a soldier and got wounded in a battle. All he knew about the blonde was that he had a protective mother and father and two best friends named Ron and Hermione who were engaged to be married in the summer. One of the reasons he was anxious to return home was so he could be there in time for the wedding and do his duties as best man. It was late February now so he should get home in time. It was also helpful that Draco's stallion, Nimbus, had showed up about three days after his master. Now he had a way home for whenever he healed.

As Draco's arm healed and his leg started to slowly get better Harry found himself wishing the elf wouldn't leave. It was a selfish thought but there. He loved having Draco there. The elf was a good person to talk too, much more interesting then any of the guys he met before, and for some reason just seeing him every day made his lonesome life brighter.

Also, as much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to get attracted to the elf. The tingles he had started to get around the other male hadn't stopped. If anything, they got stronger. It got worse as he got to know Draco. Now whenever the blonde looked at him his stomach would do little flips and he felt like blushing whenever they got close. It didn't help that they had to share a bed. Harry had been willing to sleep on the floor at first but Draco insisted that they could share as it was his house.

The first night had been awkward to say the least. He didn't know about Draco, but he'd never shared a bed with anyone before. It was odd having another body next to him. Odd but comforting. The next morning he woke to find himself curled up next to Draco, with his head resting on his shoulder. Luckily Draco hadn't woken up yet so he moved away quickly. Now he made sure to wake up before the other so he could avoid embarrassing questions. While his village was remarkably tolerant of homosexuality he wasn't sure what elves thought of males being together and wasn't going to take any chances. Even if he did long to kiss the elf.

Harry sighed to himself as he tended to his vegetable garden. Nothing was growing yet, but he had to tend to the soil in order to help the seeds. Hopefully by April or May he'd have some decent radishes. He couldn't help but glance out of the corner of his eye at Draco who was sitting on the makeshift porch he had built. His grey eyes were intent on the book he was reading and his bandaged leg was propped up on a stool. Even with the simple shirt and breeches he wore the man looked elegant.

'Stop it, Harry!' he thought to himself in irritation. 'Even if he DID swing that way, the chances of him looking at YOU twice are slim to none. Besides, he'll be leaving as soon as his leg heals and you'll never see him again. So don't even bother.'

It was a depressing thought, but it was the only thing that kept him from going over there and snuggling into those inviting looking arms.

dmHPdm

Harry was brooding again.

In the past three weeks Draco had learned a lot about his mate.

He learned that he was an orphan whose only living relatives despised him for some reason. He learned the man had been living on his own since he was fourteen just so he wouldn't have to live with his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin. For their sakes, he hoped he never met Harry's relatives, because if he did he would make them regret every hurtful thing they did to his mate. When he had been growing up Draco had sometimes felt waves of intense sadness that he didn't understand; now he realized they had been coming from Harry when he lived with the Dursleys.

Draco also learned that Harry was quiet sometimes but had a wicked sense of humor when he grew comfortable around a person. He found himself dreading the eventual day his mate and Ron would meet. They would get along famously and then he would have two people teasing him for the fun of it. Harry was also a lover of books. Mostly fiction of all kinds. His bookshelf was a range of healer tomes, biographies, fairytales, a few romances but not many, and quite a bit of adventure stories and poetry.

As Draco had suspected, his mate was very independent. He didn't seem to know how to react to the blondes offer to do chores around the property while he was gone. It was then that he also learned that Harry was a very proud and slightly stubborn creature. He insisted that the blonde lay down and rest and let him handle the chores.

For the most part the man was cheerful with green eyes always sparkling with mischief but every so often he would grow quiet. Sometimes he came home from the clinic exhausted but would still insist on cooking dinner for his guest. Times like this Draco felt like walking over to the clinic and yell at them for exhausting his mate. He would have much preferred exhausting Harry in different ways.

Draco studied the man wondering what was going on in that head of his. He could have used the bond and sense Harry's feeling to get an idea but he didn't want to invade the man's privacy. He had turned off his end of the bond about two weeks ago because the feelings he kept getting from Harry were distracting and he had begun to be confused about whose feelings were which. Now he felt like he owed Ron an apology for his irritation with the redhead after he met Hermione. He had no idea mates went through this all the time.

The feelings were also somewhat intoxicating. Such as the hint of attraction he felt coming from Harry that first week. It had pleased him to no end that his mate found him attractive and he had to fight with himself not to flirt with the man. Once this war was over he could flirt with Harry all he wanted.

He also made sure not to mention that he was a prince. The less Harry knew right now, the better, in case scouts came from Voldemorts side asking around for him in the village. Then Harry could truthfully say he'd never met the prince if they questioned him with the Veritaserum potion. He doubted that could happen, but one could never be sure.

"Draco?"

He blinked and looked at Harry, who had stood up from his garden.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to go get some fish for dinner. Any requests?"

The elf raised an eyebrow, "I thought the river only had trout."

Harry grinned suddenly, his green eyes sparkling, "It does. But do you want little trout, medium-sized trout, or large trout?"

Draco sighed, an involuntary smile coming to his lips. "What a large difference. Whatever looks edible is fine. Just don't give me a fish smaller then my hand."

Harry saluted him (something he'd been doing in good humor since Draco had told him he was a soldier) and went to gather his fishing supplies.

dmHPdm

Later that night the two of them settled in for the night with their stomachs full. Draco pulled off his shirt and settled down on his side of the bed and Harry quietly laid down next to him. The two of them lay quietly in comfortable silence waiting to fall asleep until Harry turned on his side and said, "Draco?"

"Yes?"

"What's it like being a soldier?" he asked curiously.

The elf turned his head and raised his eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm just curious. I don't know any soldiers besides you."

Draco sighed and looked at the ceiling for inspiration. While he wasn't exactly a soldier he was the High Prince which was pretty close to being a soldier. So he told Harry about his duties as the prince, which was very similar to those of a soldier but more strict. "The first thing about being a soldier is that you train. You train for any situation that could possibly come up, and you train hard because if you don't, it could mean disaster in real life. Your first duty is to the royal family. You do what is best for the kingdom and put your own needs second. You travel also travel a lot. Especially if there's a war. Sometimes you don't see your family or loved ones for months."

"That sounds very lonely," Harry said quietly.

"That's why you make friends with your comrades," he answered.

The other man frowned. "Well yes, but what about love? Don't you have time to find a wife? Raise a family?"

"Yes, but they are usually left behind." 'I'm going to hate leaving you behind' he thought to himself.

"That must be difficult," Harry murmured softly.

"It keeps them safe." 'But I have too. You'll be safer when I leave'

"Yes, but I'm sure they worry a lot."

"Most likely." 'Will you worry about me, Harry?' Draco abruptly turned over so he was facing the wall. "Good night, Harry."

He could feel Harry frown at him but the man just said, "Good night."

AUTHOR NOTES: Yeah, I know. Not much plot development. I just thought there needed to be a filler chapter before I got into the excitement for the next part. No, I do not mean THAT sort of excitement-, sorry to disappoint, but THAT won't be happening for awhile. PLEASE REVIEW!