Chapter Fifteen

This Means War

"Minerva, just because the boys are having children does not change the fact that there is a war going on. I will not lose millions to Tom if I don't have to. Harry and Draco can stop him; we've got to at least take the chance!" Dumbledore continued to argue heatedly with Minerva, who was sitting across from him and standing up for the boys without budging.

"Albus, I understand that we cannot afford to lose anyone else; the death toll is high enough as it is. But we also cannot risk our savior and his only heirs. Nor can we risk his mate. We just cannot risk their lives like that, and I refuse to hand them over to that wretched creature that fancies that he's a Lord on a silver platter!" Minerva's face was almost red with the effort she put forth to restrain herself properly. Harry was in awe; Professor McGonagall had never shown such great care for her students. Of course she loved all students equally, and though it was true that she had a particularly large soft spot for the Gryffindors, she always kept her cool, no matter who was in trouble or what the danger was.

Draco watched the professors wide eyed as they continued with the battle of words, the fight heating up with each passing second that it was allowed to simmer.

"Professors," Harry interrupted after a short pause, but he was quickly stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and the Professors ignored him anyway, so it didn't really matter.

"I agree with Minerva completely on this one," Madam Pomfrey stepped in. "Harry cannot risk his life or that of his unborn child. We cannot risk Harry's life for him. Harry will vanquish Voldemort; of this I have no doubt. But he will do it in his own time; he cannot do it now, not with so much going on! He's under much too much stress; he could collapse in the middle of battle! Then how would we defeat Voldemort?"

Draco's mouth was by Harry's ear in seconds, and with a soft nip, Draco whispered, "I'd never let you collapse,"

Harry smiled softly and rubbed Draco's thigh affectionately. "I know," he said without a moments pause.

Snape stalked back into the room seconds later, and the fight was brought to newer heights. "It has been announced," He stated, and with that, all of the professors (excluding Dumbledore, of course) went into a frenzy.

"They can't!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "They're pregnant, they can't!"

Snape paled considerably at that news, but Madam Pomfrey's voice was promptly cut off by that of Minerva. "Call it off! I refuse to allow Harry to risk this!"

Minerva and Poppy's voices intermingled, making Harry's ears ring and Draco wince. Hermione was watching the going-ons interestedly, a calculating expression in her eyes. "I think," she said, and though her voice was drown out by that of Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall, Harry and Draco could hear her…barely. "That Harry should attempt it."

Harry's eyes widened and he stared at Hermione as though she had grown a second head. Hermione just continued. "Think about it, Harry; a male wizard hasn't gotten pregnant for nearly a century and a half, at least. But male pregnancies, instead of draining you, should give you more energy; that should give you more power. The baby will be feeding off of your raw magical power, but you'll also be feeding off of its, which will make you nearly invincible in the long run; and besides, hasn't Dumbledore told you that you'll be invincible once the bond was completed anyway? It's not often that a soul becomes complete, after all."

Harry blinked, then nodded in understanding. "Yeah," He said after a while. "What do you think, Draco? Are you up to defeating a crazy Dark Lord together?"

Draco smiled wryly and Harry grinned. "You know it, babe. So long as I get a decent shag once it's all done and over with, that is."

Harry's eyes twinkled as he leaned forward and met Draco's lips in a searing kiss half way. All of the voices melted away when their lips met, until it was just them, the two of them, and the world revolved around them. Things would work out, Harry had a strong feeling that they would.

As their kiss deepened, another set of baby blue eyes twinkled at them. Headmaster Dumbledore had no doubts whatsoever that Harry could defeat Voldemort. It was all within his heart, all within his soul; and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived was complete in a way that a rare few would ever even be able to imagine.

XXX

The preparations for the war that they were about to enter didn't begin for a long while. When things were finally set into motion, it was nearly a disaster. First of all, Harry and Draco had shown up in the Great Hall…together…for the first time in nearly a month. It was mid-November, now.

Gasps could be heard from a majority of the students, and a few even scrambled to get away from the two; after all, they both had a most deadly disease. 'What in the bloody hell are they doing out of the Hospital Ward?' was a question going through most minds. The two boys…no. No longer were Harry and Draco boys. They were complete, they were one, they were pregnant…they were men.

The two men stopped in the middle of the hall and looked at each of the students' faces. Some were young and frightened, some were a little older and wiser than they were when they were as young as the frightened ones, and others looked like they had had enough. Enough had happened to these students, and Harry had decided to stop it then and there.

A majority of the Slytherins were gone, having slipped off in the midst of the night in order to be united with Voldemort. Even a few people from other houses were gone; three from Hufflepuff, two from Gryffindor, and a whopping ten from Ravenclaw. Harry's eyes hardened when he noticed the absent Gryffindors and a small growl rose in his throat.

"Tonight," he began. His speech had been planned just seconds before in the hospital wing, but now, in front of all these vulnerable people, he spoke from the heart; all the rehearsed words flew out the window as he spoke. "We become adults. Even the first years will partake in the battle ahead of us. When this is all done and over, we will no longer be students. In our generation, we've seen much too many deaths, and it ends tonight.

"Tonight, we go into battle. You are free to walk out those doors at any moment and leave this school, and when it re-opens as a school, you will be accepted back with open arms. You will not be discriminated against for not participating in this war; it is between me and Voldemort. It's a war that started years ago when I was a baby, when I got this scar, and maybe even before that. And none of you have to fight by my side; I don't expect it of you. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to stay here and fight a battle that isn't mine.

"If we don't stick together, though, there's nothing to say that we'll be alive come morning. And even though you may have been sheltered from it, you must remember that each and every one of you will be affected by this war, be it for the better or for the worse. And I can assure you that, if you stick by me, we'll be the ones coming out on top." Harry paused in his speech to take a breath and in the few short moments that he did so, the whole Great Hall erupted in speech.

There were people cheering Harry on, and people running up to him to clap him on the back. In the midst of all of the students, Draco was pushed from his side. Harry felt a twinge of loss stab through his side, and he quickly backed away from all of the students, a feeling of panic overtaking him. When his back collided with solid chest, Harry was relieved to find that, instead of some 'savage' student, it was instead Draco, who wrapped his arms around Harry's waist comfortingly.

There was a collective gasp from the mob of students that had gathered around Harry, and immediately, a hush fell over the student body.

Draco nodded at Harry and Harry continued with his speech. "You may all be wondering why I've been missing for such a long time; you may even wonder what's inspired me, put the fire in me to end this war here and now. I can only tell you, my friends, that it has all been because of love. Draco and I…we're soul mates. And…we're both pregnant." Harry paused again, and when everyone stayed in shocked silence, he continued. "What I have with Draco makes me strong; he makes me a better person than I could have ever hoped to become on my own. And as such, he makes me powerful. I want you all to know that, even if you don't believe in it, love is the most powerful thing on the planet. I'll swear by it. And if we don't come out of this war alive for any other reason, I want you all to know that I will come out of it alive…for love."

There was another bout of silence which was filled with short coughs from some of the surrounding students. Harry shot Hermione a desperate look, and she smiled softly at him, a hand rubbing her own slightly swelling belly. Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she slowly began to clap, and soon she was joined by her fellow Gryffindors, who were closely followed by the Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws, and shortly after, the Slytherins. Harry beamed at the students, and when the applause died down softly, he leaned up towards Draco and stole his lips with a breath taking kiss.

The Great Hall went wild, then. Random items of food were flung about in celebration and people cheered Harry and Draco on as they continued to kiss. Much clapping followed, even after Harry and Draco broke apart and they went to their separate tables to meet with their separate houses individually.

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with a smile on his face. He reached for a roll and slowly began to chatter with his fellow Gryffindors, feeling more at home than he had for a great while. When dinner was over, Harry looked around and noticed that everyone seemed to be present at the table save one person; Ron. Ron had been at dinner when Harry had arrived, but sometime in the middle of it, he must have snuck off.

Harry blinked and shrugged as he went back to the conversation with his fellow Gryffindors. Dinner had long since passed, but everyone seemed to want to hang around in the Great Hall to find out what types of plans were going to be made for the war that Harry had told them was going to ensue shortly after midnight.

After the chatter died down slightly to a soft murmur of voices, Dumbledore stood and addressed the students. "As Harry has already implied," he began, and a hush fell over everyone in the Great Hall as the students strained to listen to their Headmaster. "The school will be shutting down for a short period to allow for preparations and will be used as a home base. The wounded will be brought here to be cared for. Once the war is over, the school will re-open and all will continue on as though it had never happened.

But of course, you yourselves will undergo many changes this night. Some may be scarred forever after this, and others…well, others may not live to see another day. But we all go into this knowing the risks and knowing the circumstances. We are not unprepared.

You may all step out at any moment, and no one is expected to fight with us. We ask that those of you in sixth year or older think long and hard about their positions in this war, and the way it has affected them. And we ask that you at least ponder over joining with us to defeat the dark lord." With a nod, Dumbledore reseated himself and a chatter rose over the students.