THE ELF PRINCE'S MATE

AUTHOR: fantasylover12001

RATING: R/M

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's characters, just this AU idea and universe.

PAIRING: Draco/Harry.

SUMMARY: The battle with Lord Voldemort begins...

AUTHOR NOTES: We're coming to the end! Thank you to all who reviewed the previous chapter and for your understanding about why it took so long.

CHAPTER 19: THE FALL OF LORD VOLDEMORT, PART I

Lord Voldemort, Harry decided, liked black WAY too much.

Not only did his castle look like it was black on the outside but the inside of it was dim and dark. It was not at all like Hogwarts castle which was friendly with it's brightly lit corridors and full of life. The contrast between Hogwarts and this castle was startling. While Hogwarts had dozens of residents of all shapes and sizes and usually had children of the residents scampering about this castle was practically empty. Except for the soldiers who stood guard (all of whom were elf men, Hogwarts let women into their army though few chose to do so) there was hardly anyone in the place.

The elves who were in there were obviously the wealthy ones with family who were involved in the uprising. Harry could tell they were wealthy due to the ornate dresses and clothes that they all wore. That was another big difference that Harry noticed, all the nobles in Hogwarts tended to dress casually. Draco tended to favor simple slacks and tunics with the occasional embellishment on them. The Queen herself even wore simple elegant dresses and rarely wore the heavily jeweled crown that belonged to the King's consort. She claimed the thing was too heavy and kept giving her headaches. Having worn it during the coronation, Harry agreed with her wholeheartedly.

The three invisible men were let in by a mole that Ron and Draco had planted in the Slytherin's army a few months earlier. This came as a surprise to Harry because it was the first he had heard about there being an insider. Then he learned that his husband and Lucius had in fact been placing moles for about a year now.

"Why though?" Harry asked quietly as he digested the information.

Draco sighed. "My father and I were planning a secret attack. As Voldemort started to take over Ravenclaw we arranged with the kingdom to plant soldiers in the armies. We were going to plan a siege a few months from now. But..."

"He was killed," Harry finished quietly.

The King nodded.

The mole, a man named Kingsley Shacklebolt, sketched out a quick layout for them that showed them where Voldemort's quarters were. He and Ron then left to go tell the other fighters they had managed to gather about what was too come.

Draco and Harry sat in the abandoned corridor for quite some time hidden by their cloaks. According to Shacklebolt, Voldemort was currently dining with the court of Slytherin and Draco wanted to challenge him when the elf was alone so there would be less chance of interference from any of his subjects. So they had to wait for at least an hour.

The waiting was driving Harry insane.

"Stop fidgeting," Draco murmured.

"Sorry," he muttered.

The blonde sighed. Harry couldn't see him due the Invisibility Cloaks they were both wearing but he was betting that the blonde was wearing a look of exasperation on his face. He jumped when he felt something brush against his hand but relaxed when he realized it was Draco's hand.

The familiar calloused fingers closed around his firmly. "Relax. Everything will be fine."

"How do you know?"

He couldn't see it but he was pretty sure Draco had shrugged. "Well, I don't. But I can think it hard enough so there's a good chance it will be okay. Besides, we're the good guys aren't we? Statistically speaking, we have a better chance at winning."

Harry couldn't stop the soft laughter that escaped him. "Trust you to be arrogant when facing a battle." He then moved until he could feel his husband's arm and rested his head against his shoulder.

"Harry?" Draco asked quietly.

"Hmm."

"Just in case everything doesn't turn out all right, look after yourself all right? I don't want anything happening to you or our child just because I went and did something stupid."

"Lucius." Harry said softly.

"Pardon?"

"The baby's name is going to be Lucius."

"What if it's a girl?"

Harry smiled and nuzzled the shoulder he was resting on. "It's a boy. You'll see."

Draco chuckled. "Well then; Lucius it is." Harry then felt his husband lean forward and kiss his head and heard a whispered, "Thank you."

The two stayed in a comfortable silence after that. Harry felt his husband's nervousness and tried to offer comfort as best he could.

Then about a half hour later Kingsley came back. "Dinner has just ended. Lord Voldemort usually retires to his rooms afterwards, if you wish to challenge him alone, now is the time to do so."

Draco sighed. "All right, Shacklebolt. Lead the way." Before Harry could even move the blonde said, "Harry, you're staying here until this is all over."

"But-," Harry started to protest but he felt a hand cover his mouth. He felt Draco move closer to him.

"Please Harry. I won't be able to fight Lord Voldemort freely if I'm too worried about your safety. Stay here."

The hand lowered and Harry said reluctantly, "All right."

He was pulled into a hug and then before he knew it, he was alone in the corridor.

dmhp

Harry sat in the abandoned corridor for what seemed like eternity. He didn't move when he heard the unmistakeable sounds of fighting starting outside even though he sorely wanted too. He silently prayed that Ron and as many others as possible would make it out alive.

Then he heard footsteps and clutched the two daggers he held tightly as they started to come closer. He had to bite his lip from gasping when the person came into view. It was Peter Pettigrew. He was a servent of Fudge who the man had insisted would be a good assistant for Draco. The blonde hadn't trusted the man (or Fudge for that matter) and had chosen Ginny instead. 'What's he doing here?' Harry thought with a frown and without thinking crept up behind the man and slammed him into the wall.

Pettigrew was a old man, about the age Harry's parents would have been had they been alive. He was rather chubby and out of shape so it was easy for Harry, who was rather small for someone in their twenties, to pin him. It helped that the man was a bloody coward as well.

"Who's there?" the man asked in alarm when he realized he was being pinned by a seemingly invisible person. Harry tossed off his cloak and placed one of his daggers at the man's throat.

"Your Highness!" the man said in astonishment. Harry didn't miss the twinge of fear in his eyes as he realized who he was.

"What are you doing here, Pettigrew?" he demanded with a glare.

"Your Highness, I can explain this!" he cried.

Harry's eyes widened. "YOU'RE the traitor aren't you? Here all this time we thought it was Fudge!"

Pettigrew suddenly glared. "Fudge? That idiot? Think of something like betrayal? He might be power hungry but he's also a big believer of the rules. Betraying someone goes against the rules."

Now that Harry thought about it, that was a good point. He studied the glaring (yet visibly shaking) man in front of him and then smirked. "I'll make a deal with you Pettigrew. I won't gut you now and will talk Draco into simply banishing you instead of the usual traitor punishment if you'll take me to Lord Voldemort's quarters."

Pettigrew stared. "Are you insane? What are you planning to do?"

"None of your business. Will you lead me there or should I give you a black eye and let my husband decide what to do with you?"

Pettigrew gulped and muttered, "This way."

Harry smirked in satisfaction and followed him. 'Sorry Draco, I'm tired of waiting.'

AUTHOR NOTES: Before anyone kills me for the cliff hanger, I am updating this in about a day. So it should be completely finished by the end of the week if all goes according to plan and I don't go against my New Years Resolution and start reading The Will of the Empress before I finish this...