Fate and a Rose

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.

A/N: Recently, there were some reviews that I felt the need to respond to.

Alison - All in good time! But thank you for asking those questions, as they are very relevant to the plot. The rings may do more than you think they do, though; Harry and Draco do live in the Wizarding world, after all! :wink:

Sylver-Tyger - I'm so sorry for not specifying these things! Harry's eyes only flash grey once in a while, like when he's under extreme emotional pressure or something like that. The reason they were grey that one time was because they were sort of supposed to be signals to Harry and Draco that they needed to hurry up and complete the bond already! Yes, Draco does still have the scar, though. The scar on Draco is more permanent than Draco's eye color on Harry. This is because Harry, though not by much, is a more powerful wizard than Draco. When they complete the bond, their soul is one, and therefore the power is contributed evenly between the two. And the only reason that no one has questioned him about it is because his hair covers it. When you're in a hospital ward, you don't really have the time to gel your hair back every day, so his has been hanging loose lately. Of course, not having gel won't stop Draco from messing with his hair until he thinks it's perfect otherwise. I hope this has helped you out. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Pixiedora - "Why the floatingness?" All will be explained in a matter of time! :Author grins madly:

Thank you to anyone else who has reviewed! They are greatly appreciated, and I can't tell you how much your reviews inspire me! Your feedback is the one thing that keeps this fic going, so please continue to review!

A/N2: One final question before continuing on with the fic; MPREG!HARRY OR MPREG!DRACO? Leave your vote in a review; that time is nearly upon us and I'd like to know my readers' opinions before I write it. Thanks to all of the reviewers and everyone else who has taken the time to read this fic!

Chapter 13

Halloween Morning and Begging

"Happy Halloween, guys!" A high-pitched squeal of a voice woke Harry up from a very pleasant dream with a start. Harry glared in the direction of where the voice was coming from, then rolled over, snuggled into the warm body behind him, and attempted to fall asleep. "Get up, Harry. It's morning. And Madam Pomfrey wants to see the both of you." A sharp prod in Harry's side caused him to slit his eyes open and glare at Hermione, who was grinning down at him goofily and trying to hold in a laugh.

"Wha' th' f'k d'you wan'?" Harry slurred, his mind still slow and his voice clogged with sleep.

"Harry, watch your language!" Hermione scolded, then promptly burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer.

Harry tried to sit up, but was restrained by a leg that was carelessly flung over his hips.

"What're you laughing at, 'Mione?" Harry asked as a bewildered expression stuck itself to his face.

"Oh, nothing." Hermione said, smile still in place on her lips.

"No, seriously, what's up?" Harry asked, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes.

"Well…" Hermione averted her eyes and broke into laughter again. "You guys just look so cute!"

Harry felt a warm breath on the back of his neck, followed by a pressing of lips, before the body behind him drew away to sleepily glare at Hermione. "I am not cute." Draco protested, wrapping his arms tightly around Harry from behind.

Hermione muffled another burst of laughter, nodding her agreement quickly before retreating. After her laughter died down enough for her to manage words again, she smiled at them and said, "Um, breakfast's getting cold."

"'M not hungry," Draco protested, nuzzling against the back of Harry's neck lovingly and closing his eyes in a vain attempt of sleep.

"Well, Harry is, aren't you Harry?" Hermione asked, shooting Harry a pointed look. Harry sighed.

"Um, yeah…I'm…hungry." After the word 'hungry' was uttered, Harry turned a bright red, remembering the events of the night before after Hermione had finally gone to sleep and he and Draco had had another passionate round of love-making. Draco smirked; he could feel the heat radiating off of the back of Harry's neck, which was flushed slightly.

"Good, because I've already made you a bowl of porridge, and you're going to eat it before you go and see Madam Pomfrey. She'll probably be wanting to test you, and you aren't taking any potions on an empty stomach, you know what it does to you." Hermione said, reaching out a hand to help Harry from the bed.

Harry looked awkwardly at Hermione's outstretched hand and blushed furiously. "Uh, Hermione, not that I don't love you and all, but do you think…do you think you could give us a few minutes to…uh…get…erm…dressed?"

Hermione's mouth fell open in shock; the boys had been dressed when she had fallen asleep, she had been sure of it! "Harry!" Hermione said, the shock evident in her voice.

Harry blushed harder. "I couldn't help it!" Harry protested.

Draco continued to smirk, and Hermione's mouth continued to hang open in shock. "What do you mean you couldn't help it?" Hermione asked in an accusing voice.

"Why do you care?" Draco snapped, resting his head on Harry's shoulder and glaring at Hermione pointedly.

"I…I…" Hermione made a slightly choked sound, then flushed. "I don't!" She denied, looking away from the couple still lying on the bed.

Draco smirked smugly at her, then kissed Harry on the side of he throat before pulling away. "Granger, I'd suggest you leave for a few moments, please." He said in a rudely polite voice as he dragged the blankets with him and left Harry naked on the bed.

"Hey!" Harry protested, flushing and covering his privates quickly. "Share!"

"But I like you naked," Draco said teasingly, a glint in the back of his eyes.

"Draco-o-o! Not while she's here!" Harry objected with a glare.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "Granger, out!" He shouted pushing her out the door and slamming it shut behind her. Hermione glared at the door with her mouth hanging open; she hadn't expected to be handled in the way she had been.

"Five minutes!" She shouted at the closed door. When she got no response, she glared at it one final time, then spun on her heal and ran smack into a hard chest. A pair of large hands caught her just as she was about to fall, and Hermione looked up to meet a pair of startling blue eyes framed by red hair, freckles dotting the handsome face of none other than Ronald Weasley.

Hermione groaned inwardly. 'Not this. Please, not this, not now.' She thought, though outwardly she showed no signs of her inner struggles. "Ron," She acknowledged with a nod, averting her eyes quickly.

"Hermione," Ron greeted in turn, lowering his hands quickly. His eyes searched her face for a sign of something that Hermione couldn't place, and Hermione eyed Ron out of the corner of her eye. "I, uh…how've you been?" Ron asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as a flush began to spread over his cheeks.

"Fine, and you?" Hermione asked in turn, deciding to stick with the dialogue of acquaintances. It would make it all the easier in the end, she decided.

"Fine," Ron agreed with a nod. "And, uh…the baby?" Ron's flush spread to his neck, cheeks flaming, the color clashing violently with his carrot colored hair.

Hermione's face turned to that of stone and her eyes turned icy. "Fine," She said, tight lipped, and she quickly made to step away from Ron, who stood in the corridor awkwardly, looking down at Hermione with something akin to regret sparkling in his eyes.

"I, uh…"

"If you'll excuse me," Hermione intervened rudely. "I have things to do and people to see." Hermione turned swiftly on her heel, and, remembering to cast the appropriate charms on herself so that she wouldn't catch the dreadful 'disease' that Draco and Harry had, stepped into the room that she had seconds before been so rudely shoved out of.

"Harry, Draco," Hermione said in acknowledgement, making her way straight to the bathroom and slamming the door swiftly shut behind her. She had failed to see the very compromising position the boys had been in (Harry holding Draco's thighs open, preparing to enter him roughly with a quick thrust), as the tears began to flood her eyes and stream down her face.

Harry and Draco's eyes met, Draco's mouth slightly ajar and Harry blushing furiously. Harry swiftly yanked away from Draco, pulling on the closest item of clothing, which just so happened to be one of Draco's pairs of dark green boxers. "Hey, those are mine!" Draco protested, sitting up and glaring at Harry.

"I'm just borrowing them, it's not like I'm going to keep them," Harry said, waving his hand dismissively as he walked to the door. "Now shut up, I've got to talk to her." Draco glared sulkily at Harry.

"And what do you expect me to do in the meantime?" He asked, motioning towards his still throbbing prick. "It's not like it's going to take care of itself, you know!"

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Then do something about it!" He said as he raised his hand to the door and rapped loudly three times. "Hermione? Are you okay?"

"Fine," Hermione assured, sniffing softly so that Harry wouldn't know she had been crying. She dabbed at her blotchy eyes and looked at herself in the mirror. Sure that she looked like she had been crying, but not really caring at the moment, Hermione sighed and opened the door. "I'm fine," She repeated, stepping around Harry and raising an eyebrow at Draco, who was still laying on the bed, propped up on one elbow, and oh so obviously naked. "Um…do you want me to…leave or something?" She asked, unsure of what, exactly, she had barged into.

"No!" Harry said, stepping in front of her and obscuring her view of Draco. "As a matter of fact," Harry looked over his shoulder pointedly at Draco. "Draco was just getting dressed! Weren't you, Draco?"

Draco sighed. "Yeah," He agreed dejectedly, as he stepped into Harry's dark crimson boxers and pulled on one of the discarded shirts (thankfully his own) and sighed. Hermione frowned.

"I'm sorry, guys. I should have waited a bit longer." Then Hermione turned and eyed Harry critically. "Harry, you better have eaten before you did anything with Draco!"

Harry flushed. "Hermione! We're sort of talking about you right now, thanks."

"Me?" Hermione questioned. "Why?"

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Because, Hermione," Harry tried to explain. "You just came in her bawling your eyes out, and I'd like to know why."

"I did not!" Hermione protested indignantly.

"Yes," Harry said sternly, sounding much older than his seventeen years, and much more tired than a seventeen-year-old should ever feel. "You did. Please, Hermione? You can talk to me."

Hermione sighed. "It was nothing, okay?" she said, looking away. "I just…nothing."

Harry exhaled slowly. "Hermione," He said, stepping closer to her and holding out his arms for a hug. Hermione leaned into the embrace and closed her eyes tightly to fend off another bout of tears. "I'll understand. You know I will. What's up?"

"I just saw Ron. It shouldn't affect me so much, but it does. I can't help it." Hermione gasped out, burying her face in the crook of Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled. "That's all?"

"What do you mean, 'that's all'!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling away to glare heatedly at Harry.

"Well…uh…nothing?" Harry smiled innocently, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"He meant," Draco drawled, interrupting the two from their stare-down. "That agonizing over that stupid prat isn't a very big deal. I suspect that he thought this would happen eventually. You were too composed, after all." Draco smirked proudly, and Harry shot him an unreadable but clearly angry look. Draco grinned cheekily at Harry. Harry's eye twitched slightly, and he looked away.

Unable to deny what Draco had said, because for the most part, it was true, Harry clamped his mouth shut and stared expectantly at Hermione, who continued to glare at Harry.

XXX

"What did you expect me to do, just sit there?" Draco indignantly asked Harry, arms crossed over his sweaty chest after a long and hard bout of sex. "You had yet to satisfy me, I had to make up for the lost opportunity!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You could have not said anything at all!"

"What fun would that have been?" Draco asked, eyes wide and innocent as Harry smiled softly and threw a pillow at him.

"It would have saved me from her anger." Harry replied.

"Yes, and she would have stayed for longer than she was welcome, and it would have prohibited us in the actions that we have just so monumentally performed." Draco protested.

Harry sighed. "Draco, you know-"

"Hermione said that we have 'tattoos.'" Draco interrupted quite suddenly. Harry balked at the subject change.

"Wh…what?"

"I want to know what mine is."

"But-"

"Tell me." Draco insisted, and rolled over to display his pale, rounded buttocks to Harry's greedy eyes. After a moment of staring in silent appreciation at Draco's ass, Draco snapped, "Well?"

"Uh, it's….it's a…black dragon."

Draco blinked. "Really?" He asked, twisting to see. "Why isn't it moving?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, blinking distractedly down at Draco's rounded globes.

"All Wizarding tattoos move, just like their portraits and pictures. Why isn't it? I can't see it!" He exclaimed frustrated after a few failed attempts of straining to check out his own arse.

"Well, I guess this one was made to resemble a muggle tattoo, because it's not moving."

"Maybe it's asleep," Draco said hopefully.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco and shook his head doubtfully. Draco sighed. Then he perked. "Hermione said that they match. Let me see yours!" Harry blinked again.

"You just want to ogle my arse!" Harry exclaimed, covering said parts with his hands in protection.

"So what if I do?" Draco said with a wink. "Would you protest?"

"Er…" Harry flushed suddenly, and Draco burst out laughing.

"Just let me see it, you git!"

"No!" Harry cried, standing from the bed and racing across the room, giving Draco a good show of the body part in question, but not of the tattoo that Draco yearned to see.

"Please!" Draco begged, following. "Please, just one peek!"

"No!"

From the door, neither boy noticed the wise blue eyes following their every motion amusedly.

"I'm begging!" Draco continued to prattle on, and Harry laughed.

"I said no! If they match, then you know that it's a black dragon, and that's all you need to know!"

"Please!" Draco desperately lunged for Harry, but he eluded Draco's grasp with a smirk and ran to the other side of the room.

"Stop it!" Harry said with a distracted smile. "Later! You can look later!"

"Is that a promise, Mister Potter?" Dumbledore spoke for the first time, and both boys' eyes flew towards the door in panic, Harry hiding behind Draco so that the headmaster couldn't see his vulnerable position. "I do hope it is," Dumbledore continued as he stepped into the room, purple robes swishing with his steps. "Because we do have some important matters to attend to at present."