NOTE: This chapter is having a MAJOR edit done on it, so just... skim? We're reediting a lot of the character dialogue and the... shitty flashbacks, ugh. XD
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(NOTE: Posted before edited, once more.)
3.
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Harry could've very easily set the entire Ministry on fire. Throw up an out of control Fiendfyre - because he'd seen what those could do - and just let it tear down the entire place. No more stupid laws and now more stupid officials telling him he needed to get patted down before he went in.
"I don't have time for this!" he snapped and simply blew passed them all, ignoring the shouts of "Auror Potter!" that followed him all the way to the back of Level Three.
"Auror Potter," a familiar voice mimicked. "Auror Potter, come back here for your check. Auror Potter, Auror Potter."
"Come off it, Ron, tell me what's going on."
"I don't know what's going on. Kingsley and a few Department heads are having a meeting and Kingsley wants you to join. He says he sent an owl, but the letter came back unopened."
"I never got a letter. You know where we've been the past two days."
"I know." Ron handed him the stack of papers and shoved him through a doorway he hadn't seen before. "Just go!" he called, but his voice sounded much further away than it was.
Harry followed the advice and didn't ask questions, pushing through until he came across a large table and normal-sounding voices. Kingsley Shacklebolt rose. "Ah, Auror Potter. I wasn't expecting you."
"I'm not going to be here long." He checked his watch worriedly. "I can't be. I just need you to sign these, Minister."
Kingsley took the papers, lifting a brow. "Auror Potter," he began and Harry's heart sank, "these should be signed by-"
"He won't do it. Ron's tried and the man hates me. Just sign them. Please. Or a little boy's going to die. My little boy."
"Scorpius Malfoy," and both brows lifted at the last name, "is yours." There was clear disbelief in his tone.
Harry's back straightened, eyes flashing angrily. "He's my son. I don't care if it isn't by law yet."
"Or by blood adoption." There was a murmur from the other witches and wizards at the table and Harry recognized the tones of shock and disapproval. "Harry-"
"Kingsley, please. It's a medical emergency. Hermione has it all written out, but there is literally no time for me to sit here and explain everything to you. He'll die if I'm gone for too much longer."
"Blood adoption is just as potent a killer. There's a reason why it's outlawed."
"I know! But this is our only chance of saving him! Kingsley. Kingsley, please don't let my son die. Just trust me. Please. Trust Ron, Hermione, and me. You know our word is good." Harry ran a hand through his hair, letting the absolute need shine through. "Dumbledore always knew that too. If he could trust us at seventeen, you can trust me now."
"I don't like this."
"I don't either, Kingsley. But if it saves my son, it's worth it."
"And if it doesn't?"
Harry closed his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath. "I have to believe it will. But if it doesn't, it isn't on your head. It's on mine."
There was a tense moment before Kingsley nodded. "Alright. There are witnesses here who heard you say that." He retrieved a quill and signed every page where Hermione had specified, handing them back in order.
"Thank you, Kingsley." Harry took the pages with trembling hands. "Thank you so much."
Kingsley nodded, waving Harry away. "Go. Save the boy. And good luck, Harry."
With a nod, the brunette turned and ran from the room, not pausing for even a moment, not even to make sure that Ron was by his side. He needn't have bothered anyway. "So where to now?"
"We'll floo to St. Mungo's, apparate to Scorp's hallway from there."
"So he signed them?"
"Yeah." He cast a quick tempus charm, studied the time. "Shite," he breathed and sailed into an office with a private floo connection. He didn't even bother to explain himself to the flustered wizard at the desk within, grabbing some powder and tossing. "St. Mungo's!" he shouted and was through. Before he'd even had time to steady himself from the landing within the hospital, he turned on his heel and apparated.
He nearly landed right on top of Draco. "What're you doing out here?"
Nearly twenty minutes had passed from Scorpius's final breath and Harry's arrival. Draco sat, slumped and unmoving against the chair he had collapsed into. His eyes were vacant, his breathing just a simple inhale and exhale, his hands lay limp between in his legs. When Harry collapsed against his feet, Draco jumped back with a violent shock, heart plummeting in his chest as if he jumped off a cliff into roaring waves below, into darkness. His eyes were vacant, his gaze hollow of emotion.
"Draco! What are you doingout here?" Harry repeated, standing up clumsily, large stacks of paper gripped in his shaking hands.
"Scorpius is dead." The words were hollow to even his own ears, no thoughts swimming through his brain except memories... Draco's memories, of his little boy. Of when Scorpius was just born, and he held his beautiful, beautiful little body in his hands, no bigger than a bowtruckle. Of when Scorpius would rush into his bedroom in the morning with a house elf not to far behind, just to show his daddy and mummy a few new bits of magic he had already learned, or to make sure his daddy was up for his birthday. ...when he would wake up in Harry's arms with Scorpius between them... Fast asleep and dreaming... Like all five year olds should.
"Mr. Malfoy? Would you like to hold your son?" The healer asked calmly, a blue bundled blanket held carefully in her arms.
Draco stood quickly from his chair, carefully, quietly, as not to wake Astoria who lay sleeping in the pristine white bed a few feet away. Reaching his arms out to the healer, with a small, firm nod, his son was placed into his arms for the first time. Draco glanced down, his breath catching in his lungs, his heart catching in his throat. Tears built in his eyes instantly. Slowly slinking back into the uncomfortable hospital chair as not to jostle the precious, precious boy in his arms, the new father lifted a hand and gently moved the soft blue blanket back. Pale skin and rosy red cheeks, a little button nose and soft, pursed lips accompanied by pudgy cheeks and little fingers and short tufts of stark platinum blonde hair. "Oh you are... so beautiful," Draco whispered quietly, leaning down to press a kiss to his son's head. Thirty six hours in the hospital, from the beginning of Astoria's labor, to the checkups for his son, were all worth it the moment his lips touched achingly soft skin, his hold on his son tightening just-so. "You will be called Scorpius, my son." Draco combed a hand through his child's hair, content to just sit back and cradle Scorpius to his chest.
The minute Scorpius opened his eyes for the first time, Draco knew his world would never be the same.
...
"Daddy!" A voice squealed happily, a large thud resounding through the bedroom as Scorpius, now a rambunctious three year old, rushed inside and up to the bed, Draco instantly sitting up at the bang of the door, shaking the portraits against the wall. "Scorpius!" Draco gasped, a bright, tired smile rushing to his lips as he lifted his son up and placed kiss and raspberry's against his cheeks and stomach. "What are you doing up? It is so early!" And it was, Draco glanced over his giggling toddler's shoulder to the floor to ceiling windows against the east wall, noticing that the sun had yet to make a full appearance, barely rising against the horizon to the east.
"S'my bir-f-day dad'y! S'my bir-f-a-day!" Scorpius glanced up at Draco with ice-blue eyes, warm flecks of silver swimming around his pupils, eyes wide with merriment.
Draco gasped dramatically, standing, his sleeping shirt and pants adjusting themselves as he carried Scorpius out of the bedroom, Astoria sleeping pristine and quietly on the other side of the bed, refusing to wake before the sun was high in the sky; Draco could handle their son. He seemed to enjoy it anyway.
Draco spun Scorpius around joyfully, bringing the little boy to his chest for a morning peck on the forehead, Scorpius giggling excitedly, his baby blue blanket that he had refused to let go of from the hospital clutched tightly in his fist.
"It is!" Draco chuckled, running a hand through his own bed-head hair to get it out of his eyes as he walked Scorpius back to his room. "And how old are you?"
"Th-free!" Scorpius held up two fingers.
Draco's heart warmed as he walked towards the dark blue door, gently pushing it open and walking into the room, sitting down on the white and blue bed with his son in his lap. "Oh really? And what does today mean?"
"Presents! Presen's!"
That was the day Scorpius had received Perry, the little animal refusing to leave his side... even in death...
...
"Mm, good morning, love." A voice whispered huskily, warm lips pressing against his cheeks and molding against his lips.
A giggle was heard, causing Draco to crack his lids open, bright August sun pooling into the room and basking the beds occupants in warm summer sun. Emerald eyes met hazy with sleep silver and the two leaned in with a simple beat of the heart and their lips met.
"Good mornin'," Draco whispered against their lips, eyes sliding open and glancing down at a warm weight that moved against his chest. Pale against dark coloured sheets, Scorpius lay curled up against Draco's chest, his feet placed precariously on Harry's stomach, Perry clutched to his chest and his bright blue blanket wrapped firmly around his shoulders and pressed up against his nose. Draco's smile was instant, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his son's forehead.
"I love you Scorpius."
"We both do."
Draco glanced up, meeting Harry's eyes with a soft, loving smile, a simple curve of the lips. "Yes. We both do." That day, they spent the day in bed, tickle sessions, reading books, squeals of laughter and hearts bursting with hope. This was a life they could picture for years.
Who knew the light of both their lives would die a mere week and a half later...?
"What?" Harry's heart plummeted.
Draco's memories consumed him and Harry's own mind reeled.
Harry didn't have breaks often, didn't like to take them...
..."Scorpius!" he gasped.
He stood, cradling the child in his arms as Draco drew nearer. "Malfoy?"
"P-Potter?"
"A couple of boys pushed him. You saw it happen?"
..."Be careful!" Harry called automatically, glancing at Malfoy as they'd spoken simultaneously.
...What does he have?"
"We... we don't know."
…
The auror pulled his lover down onto the bed with him, grinning. He felt giddy, memories of the night before flooding him. "I am so bloody glad I was passing the park while you were there."
"You and me both."
"You're beautiful, you know."
Mm. I know."
He advanced a step, trapping Draco between the hard lines of his body and the equally unyielding wall. "I spent a lot of years shouting, Draco, a lot of years raging about things that were unfair. Now I can make differences because I know that shouting and rampaging only gets me so far. I'm going to take this through the right channels and this is going to stop. It's going to stop if you and Scorpius have to go under official auror protection. My auror protection." His eyes glittering dangerously. "Don't tell me I'm not angry about this."
…
"I-I..." He tried to swallow past the annoying lump in his throat. Wasn't this too soon? He had Scorpius to focus on, and making sure the public or the Prophet didn't catch wind of what was happening... He had- His thoughts froze, flashing back to his Hogwarts days of glaring across the Great Hall, wishing for the very same brunette to just turn around, to gaze at him once... His mind remembered, flashed behind his lids, sixth year, when all he could think about was the Dark Lord's mission and the ever omniscient question that lurked in the back of his mind of 'what would happen to Harry if I did this?' The hands in his tightened, beginning to pull away.
Fuck it.
"D-Didn't even bother buying me a ring, Potter?"
Harry lifted his gaze, eyeing Draco as carefully as he would a suspect. "You happened to mention one the other day. I happened to see one while chasing somebody. Maybe I did something a little insane like go back and buy it."
...
Harry's heart thundered painfully against his ribs, so loud he was sure Draco could hear it too. "I... I'm getting a hell of a man and his adorable son. And all that pesky baggage their carrying, but I have some of my own. I think that's an even deal."
"I better get a very fantastical wedding, Potter."
Harry blew out a breath, wandlessly summoning a small box from somewhere in the confines of his bedroom.
The ring was simple.
"You'll get one," he promised.
Draco stepped forward, pressing their almost naked bodies flush together and nicking the box from between Harry's fingers, gazing at it with fondness. "Very nice choice, Potter."
"A little unconventional, but we can look past that in light of the situation."
…
"Silly daddy, silly papa." Draco's heart warmed at the words.
"Silly son," Harry teased, holding his fiance close.
Titling his head, Draco's lips met Harry's in a soft kiss before a small clatter had them pulling apart, Draco's chuckles rumbling in his chest.
…
"P'pa? 'Addy?" A voice spoke quietly, the room falling silent as Scorpius shuffled into the room, rubbing at his eyes tiredly, a small blue blanket, fluffy and warm clutched in his hands, Perry's small plush body riding on the tail end of the blanket like a King. His cheeks were still red, as well as the tip of his tiny nose, his yawns sounding heavy with congestion as he shuffled over to hold his hands up towards Harry, eyes continually drooping shut.
"Oh, Scorpius, what're you doing up so late?"
"Can' sle'p..." Scorpius's head pushed against Harry's stomach as he clung to the larger male's hand around his waist.
"We need to do something Hermione. And fast."
…
"Ron, yes, we're here. What's going on? Is everything alright?" Draco could never recall who spoke first, or who said what, their hearts in their throats, pounding with nervous fear and anxiety.
"You two need to get to the hospital. Immediately."
"W-What? Why?"
"Scorpius. He's dying."
…
"Get me Healer Granger, immediately!"
"Merlin's pants," she snapped and covered the entire bed in a protective shield. They couldn't move him, but there was too much magic in the room. They'd been steady for two days...
Scorpius with his pale, almost translucent skin, matted blonde hair and emaciated body was seizing, back arching off the body, limbs twitching and spasming, mouth open in silent noises as his lungs tried to call in more air through magic-choked airways, his skin turning a sickly, pale green- blue- ashen white- purple...
"Why," Hermione shrieked, "were you outside?"
"Scorpius, hold on... Hold on."
"It was... There was too much magic in the room. I couldn't separate it or dissipate it without getting rid of Harry's magic. He should've waited before going... I..."
"I'm so sorry, Draco. The room was rendered unstable and he just couldn't take it."
…
Hermione's weary glances at him confirmed all his thoughts.
His son was dead, gone.
"Draco?" Harry's voice shook him from his thoughts. "He can't be dead!"
Draco's silent reply was like a knife dipped in poison to the chest.
"I wasn't..." Harry looked towards the door of the boy's room. "N-no... I got... I mean, they're signed. They're signed." He stared blankly at the documents in his hand. No...
A pale hand lifted, slowly sliding the papers from between calloused and tanned hands. "It is done, H-Harry." Draco's voice was hollow without emotion as he placed the papers at his side. "He is... gone."
"No," Harry whispered. He grasped Draco's hand, holding tightly. "He can't be."
"He is, Harry..."
"Hermione?"
She shook her head, sighing quietly. "Scorpius is gone, Harry. I've already recorded the time of death..."
He ran a hand through his hair, expression stricken. "I wasn't gone that long," he whispered.
"There was too much magic in the room... You should've waited for it all to clear out before you went anywhere."
"I h-had to..." He trailed off, took a ragged breath. "He can't be."
"Harry." Draco stood quietly, his clothes feeling like nails against his skin, his magic buzzing like tainted insects crawling in his skin, his heart felt like a punch in the gut; beating for the sake of the movement, the habitual repertoire in a life that just suddenly... didn't seem right. "He's gone... We j-j-just..." His voice was a mere whisper, his lungs not seeming to be able to give anymore push for air. His hand came to rest against Harry's arm, his engagement ring glinting like a slap to the face.
"We're getting married, Scorpius." Draco smiled, curling around the boy, fingers laced tightly with Harry's. "Harry is going to be your new papa."
The blonde's answering cheers had the five-year old colliding with Harry's chest, the kid happily snuggling down against his papa with small, exhausted chants of "I love you! So happy! Perry and Harry! Papa! Papa! Pa...pa... love you..."
"Love you too, Scorpius. I love you."
Harry stared at the ring, glanced at his own. "No," he repeated and his voice was a little stronger. "No." He pushed away from Draco and started to the room. "No."
"Harry!" Hermione called out, Draco's eyes wide as he stumbled back into his seat before he was up and off, dashing after the brunette with a twisting sense of foreboding nausea in his stomach.
Ignoring the witch and shaking off Draco's hand when it latched onto his arm, he shoved open the door and went in. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Scorpius.
Laying still and lifeless, Scorpius was a pristine picture of Malfoy elegance. Soft, platinum blonde hair, chopped and shaggy, framed his forehead. Pale skin, high cheek bones, straight nose and tapered chin that rested against an elegant neck... He was flawlessly beautiful. And dead. No rambunctious squeals of "Harry!" or "Papa!" No flushed cheeks and wide, toothy smiles, no bright silver eyes swimming with laughter... and no warmth. Scorpius's skin was pale, a translucent blue in the light that streamed in through the windows. Eyelids closed over wide, breathtaking eyes of a silvery ice-blue, Scorpius's face looked as if he were in a deep, deep sleep; untroubled by haunting nightmares, or terrifying images that woke his fathers years ago. His chest did not rise, or fall, nor did his hands grasp tightly at the unicorn resting against his lap. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy's body looked too small in the too big bed, and it lay unmoving as he rested in a death his parents had tried so long to prevent. Yes. No matter what the Wizarding World thought or knew, Scorpius's true parents were always to be one Draco Lucius Malfoy and Harry James Potter. Only if Scorpius could of been there when they wed.
Draco could imagine his bright, wide eyes and his thousand watt smile. The blonde clung despairingly to the doorway.
Harry made himself take a step forward, and another and another. He let his knees buckle when he reached the bed, dropping down onto it and laying his hand over Scorpius's. "Scorpius," he breathed, voice breaking. "This... this isn't right. This isn't supposed to h-happen..."
"H-Harry... W-we just..." Draco walked further into the room, sinking to his knees, the cold tile floor biting harshly through the fabric of his pants. Reaching out his hand, he laid it, shaking violently, against Scorpius's arm. Tears began building in his eyes instantly, his heart feeling the need to remind him that it was there, and that he had feelings, and tore itself to shreds in his rapidly rising and falling chest.
"Draco, this... N-no. This is wrong." Harry took both of Scorpius's hands in his. This couldn't be happening...
"H-Harry- It's- I-I-" Draco's hands were shaking violently, his vision blurring at a rapid rate, his heart tearing, sobs slowly building- his lips quivering-
Harry looked from Scorpius to Draco, his heart twisting in his chest. He'd promised. He'd promised Draco over and over again that everything would alright. He trembled, looking back down at the boy. Everything was not alright. Merlin, Scorpius hadn't even really been his yet. Not as far as anyone else was concerned and that wasn't right. This was his boy. He couldn't...
A tear splashed down, landed on Perry, and Harry realized with a start that it was from his own eyes. He lifted a hand, quickly dashing more tears away. He couldn't let this happen, but he... he didn't know what he could do. The boy was dead. His boy was dead. He gazed at Draco for a long moment and then shook his head. "I'm doing the bond."
There was a pause, a simple beat before Draco was jerking himself to his knees, clutching to the side of the hospital bed as if it would keep him rooted to the ground, as if he were to fly away. "W-What? H-Harry- You c-can't be serious?" Tears were pouring down Draco's cheeks, unknowingly to the blonde.
"Why the hell shouldn't I? He's our son!" It didn't matter that it was too late or... no. No, it wasn't too late. The thought was wild, but he clutched at it desperately. "Maybe..." He stared at Scorpius, hope snapping at him almost painfully. "Maybe. I told you not to give up, Draco. I'm doing it."
"Harry! Are you crazy?" Draco's heart tore violently. He wanted it to work, oh how he wanted it to work, those feeble thoughts of hope. "He's been gone-" He couldn't say it. He couldn't say that his son had died. "For the better part of a-an hour!"
Harry shook his head, gazing at Draco. "Then what could it hurt? Merlin, Draco, if there's a chance..." He couldn't say it aloud; if it didn't work, it'd be worse if he said it aloud. "I can't do nothing."
"H-Harry- I..." He glanced down at his baby boy, combing a hand through lack-luster locks. "P-Please Harry... J-Just..." Tears dripped down his cheeks and into the collar of his shirt. "L-Let him rest in peace... I... I c-can't put him through that much pain. Not now."
Harry rose and went to the other side of the bed, framed Draco's face in his hands. "There's still a chance. You can't give up, Draco. You can't. Don't give up on Scorpius."
He jerked away from Harry violently, stumbling back against the bed. "H-He is my son Harry! All he has been going through t-these past few months is pain! And n-now that he is finally- now that he is finally not, you want to go and put him through something that could kill him again? Make him go through agonizing pain, again? H-Harry-" Draco's shoulders shook, his face contorted into grievous pain. "Please."
"It won't hurt him. You don't know what it's like, Draco. I do." Harry reached out again, locking his left hand with Draco's. "This won't hurt him. And it won't work if you won't trust me. You have to."
"How do you know what this is like Harry? How do you know what it is like waking up everyday to see your son's ribs? To hear his cries in the middle of the night because all he wanted for his birthday was to go out and play, but he couldn't because he was too sick? Too frail? Or it was too hot out? How do you know what it is like waking up for the past year with the knowledge that your son was going to die?" Draco sobs racked his chest, his eyes narrowed, his lips pressed in a hard line.
"Haven't been I been living that since I met you? I wake up every morning to see them. I wake up wondering what he's going to ask to do and how I'm going to have to find a way to say no that won't upset him too badly. I haven't had to deal with it as long as you have, but..." Harry shook his head. "I don't love him any less than you do. I know what it's like to die and to come back from it. Nothing will hurt him. And maybe... If you love me enough to trust me with your son, with our son, we won't have to tell him no anymore."
"H-Harry... I..." The collar of his shirt was stained with the tears that still dripped warmly down his cheeks.
"I know you're scared. I know you love your son." Harry looked down at their hands, at their rings. "I know things don't always work out for you, but I'm asking you to believe in me. Just for a moment, Draco."
"I..." His fingers tightened against Harry's. "Harry... I..." Their hands dropped, Draco taking a few shaking steps back, his head moving back and forth, a small shake of his head. Eyes clenched shut, tears staining his clothes, heart breaking, hands shaking, Draco fell against the wall, sliding down onto the ground, knees quivering.
Harry knelt down in front of him. "Don't give up." He reached out, fingertips brushing Draco's damp cheek. "Hope can be terrifying, but it's okay. Don't give up on me or on Scorpius."
"H-How can you be so calm about this..."
"I don't know... Maybe because it has to be done. I was calm when I walked into the Forbidden Forest to die by Voldemort's hand. That had to be done, too, and I didn't think I was going to walk away from that."
"Harry..." Draco's head rested against his knees, his tears slowing down to leave stained tracks in their wake. "I can't lose my son again..."
"Then don't. Trust me." Harry cupped his chin and tilted his head back, determined emerald meeting grieving silver. "Some things are stronger than death, Draco Malfoy. So trust me."
"I've w-worked with death my whole life, Harry..." How can I trust you? How can I trust death? Draco's thoughts wandered through his head.
"My family has a very bad habit of cheating death. Have you met me? Hi, I'm the Boy Who Lived." Harry's tone was serious, despite the playfulness of the words. "I've done it twice. So let me do what I need to do in order to save our child."
Our child... our child... "..." His mouth opened, closed... But no words came out. You better know what you're doing Golden Boy... Draco's small nod was his only confirmation.
Harry framed his face in his hands, leaning forward to rest his brow on the other man's. "I love you," he whispered.
"'Ove you 'oo..." Draco's voice was weak, quiet, a complete change from the strong young Malfoy who braved hexes thrown at him in Diagon Alley only a week or so previous.
Harry drew his wand and pressed a warm kiss to Draco's lips before rising. He locked the door, wary of any unwelcome visitors and put up a ward that would probably get him in trouble later. He went back to the bed and sat on it, reaching a hand out to Draco. They'd never really figured out a way to contain certain parts of the blood adoption in conjunction with Scorpius's illness, but Harry could improvise. There was a cool part in his mind that seemed to know exactly what needed to be done.
"Come on."
A moment's hesitation, Draco wiped the tracks of tears from his eyes as his face dropped, a mask of cool indifference aching in its place. Their hands laced, and Draco was tugged up from the floor to lean against the edge of the bed, a mere foot from the head of his son. Dead. Unmoving.
"Sit," Harry murmured, adjusting himself to be on the opposite side of the boy. His hand didn't leave Draco's. "Just across from me, love. Yes, like that." He turned Draco's arm over when he was situated, the Dark Mark facing upward, his arm hovering over the child.
Harry lifted his wand and made an X over the Mark.
Draco watched on in silence, a small shudder rolling through his body as the Mark glowed, his skin slicing open with a small hiss. "Harry..."
"Just trust me."
"...I do." Their eyes met for a moment before Harry glanced back down at Draco's arm, blood beginning to pool and bubble against the tainted skin of Draco's infected arm.
Harry made a matching X on his own arm, reaching out and pressing his cut to Draco's, grasping his arm even as the burn became unbearable. He slowly lifted his gaze to the blonde's. "We don't have an official, but it doesn't matter. I love you. I'm bonding myself to you for life just like I'll do with Scorpius."
Draco's breath hitched, eyes flying wide as magic began to crackle and burst in the air, his arm stinging violently. "W-What- Harry!" Magic, bright and loud began to whip around the two, flowing through their arms and around their hands.
Harry didn't respond, trying to catch his breath through the pain and the magic.
Draco's gripped tightened on their arms, dragging Harry over the bed to press their lips together as their hair whipped against their faces and Draco felt the room swoon under the powerful combination of their magic. He ignored the skin peeling away against his arm, and the warm trickle of blood against his flesh, he ignored the stinging sensation as Harry's magic washed through his body, cleansing his own tainted core. He smashed their lips together, heart racing, pounding violently against his chest. "Harry, focus on me. Just me."
"I am." Harry clung to the blonde, dazed expression becoming determined again. "I love you, Draco."
He shuddered as the magic slowly began to settle, singeing into his arm like a fire hot pick branding an animal. "I love you-" His body jerked, his arm sealing itself with a painful snap and his skin neatly sowed itself together, the grotesque image of his torn open arm, limp flesh and bubbling blood slowly disappearing. Glancing between them, Draco's heart thudded for a moment.
Dancing in a small circle, sparks of crystal blues and deep, dark greens, warm oranges and bright yellows, was magic in its purest form. Bright to his eyes, Draco squinted, getting a small glance of what looked to be his and Harry's blood, the deep burgundy that completed the rainbow of colours, swaying in a tight ball in the center. The sight took Draco's breath away.
"H-Harry-! Hurry!"
"I am." His own arm sealed, he lifted Scorpius's. "I'm sorry about this, kiddo," he murmured and cut into the boy's arm as he had his and Draco's. The magic became almost blinding, surging into the child's limp body until it was simply gone and the little X healed.
There was a long moment of silence before Harry choked on air, not having realized he was holding his breath. He coughed, staring at Scorpius. Nothing seemed to have changed... "Please work," he whispered.
Moments of silence past, the room settling from the surge of magic, Draco's heart catching in his throat as the last drop of blood landed on his pants. "S-Scorp?" A small twitch of the boy's eyelid.
Harry laid a hand on Scorpius's chest, waiting to feel that steady rise and fall. "P-please work," he repeated. "C'mon, kiddo..."
Another pause, another achingly, desperately long moment.
The bed shook, Scorpius's body jolting up violently, his back bending- arching in an excruciating looking manner. Spasms racked his body, limbs refusing to sit still, body jumping around on the red-stained mattress, mouth opened in a silent scream.
Silence.
His body fell back, limp against the bed.
Silence.
A momentary heartbeat.
Scorpius jerked up with a violent inhale, throat and lungs rapidly trying to take in air, color returning to his cheeks almost instantaneously as his little hands came up to his throat, his breath wheezing as he tried to gather in oxygen.
Harry's hand found Draco's, clutching desperately. Bloody hell, it actually worked...
"S-Scorpius- Hermione! Hermione get in here!" The doors were still warded shut. Let alone, the two didn't know what happened outside of the room courtesy of their little magic ceremony.
Draco couldn't believe it! I-It- It had actually worked! Instantly lunging forward, barely at the beat of his heart, Draco wrapped his arms furiously around Scorpius's body, drawing him to his chest. "S-Scorpius- Oh Scorpius-!"
Harry laid a hand on Draco's back, the other wrapping tightly around the boy. "Let him breathe, Draco. Bloody hell..." Tears welled up in his eyes that he refused to let fall.
Scorpius, taking in overly large lungfuls of air, glanced up with hazy eye, yet oh so alive, at his papa and daddy for the first time in nearly two hours. "'Apa? 'A'dy?"
Harry's breath hitched. His eyes were... Fuck. "Sc-scorpius... Godric, Scorpius!" Harry's arms tightened around the pair of them, tears streaming as the relief rushed through him.
Flecks of forest green and warm gold were reflected in sharp mercury eyes, hazy with exhaustion stress. Scorpius's skin, once pale and smooth, thin and sickly was now smooth and strong to the touch, the muscle under his flesh renewed and healthy. Once pale like his father, Scorpius's skin was a few shades darker, as if he had been out in the sun all day instead of laying... once dead on a bloodied hospital cot.
Draco laughed through his 's platinum blonde locks had regained their luster, smooth and fine to the touch, and as pale as ever.
"S-Stubborn Malfoy hair."
Harry laughed softly. "Perfect little mix, isn't he? Merlin..." He pressed as close as he could to Draco's side, fingers running through the child's hair and down his back.
Scorpius's smile was bright, tired, yet bright. "'Apa? Da'y?" He mumbled again quietly, his voice hoarse.
"W-we're here, Scorp..." Harry pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head, heart twisting. "I love you so much, Scorpius."
The little boy began drifting off, curling up in Draco's lap, his fingers gripping loosely against Harry's shirt. "Y'u 'oo..."
"O-Oh Scorpius... Scorpius..." Draco's hands carted through soft blonde locks, tears dripping against his son's forehead as he pulled him close. "Y-You're alive, Scorpius... You're alive."
"Si'ly 'addy... 'f 'ourse..."
"I sw-swear to Merlin, Scorpius Hyperion Potter, if you e-ever-" Draco vast amounts of kisses, tear stained and shaking, against Scorpius face, the little boy's tired smile jerking at his heart.
The door to the room swung open, slamming against the door. Hermione huffed, storming in, her husband not too far behind her, his wand out as he'd had to disable the ward Harry had put on the door. "Oh I swear- You two!" She froze. "Scorpius!"
Harry looked up, grinning. "Yeah, he... The blood adoption."
Ron gaped. "You're kidding!"
Hermione rushed forward, instantly pushing Harry and Draco out of the way and pulling Scorpius forward, gently, against her chest. "Oh Merlin, Harry!" She gasped, "You have a lot of explaining to do!" Gently laying the tired boy, drifting in and out of sleep, back against the bed, she instantly ran tests. Mellow blues and light greens, a harsh red near his arm. "Oh my."
"The red...?" Harry was instantly on alert. "Is he going to be alright?"
"Yes, it's... His magic is flowing. He's... He's excellent. As healthy as Hugo or Teddy, really." Hermione let out a surprised sounding laugh. "He's, well.. He's perfect."
Draco glanced down, eyes falling wide open. Once, where a grotesque skull once lay, mouth gaped open, eyes starring up at him, wide and soulless, now lay a simple mark, a simple circle where filthy black ink used to make home under his skin. Draco's laughter was shaking, relieving and exuberant.
Harry glanced down, gaze following Draco's before exhausted laughter bubbled over his lips.
The mark that lay where the Dark Mark once squirmed was a brown patch, dark against the pallor of his lover's skin... in the shape of an apple.
"O-Oh that's just..." Hermione chuckled quietly. "Do you mind if I run a few tests? Then I'll be out of your hair and I'll send up some food for you three. I assume you will be staying?" She took her wand out, barely without a confirming nod from either of the parents and began taking small readings from her wand, nodding her head and clucking her tongue approvingly.
Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder, letting his body go limp. Magical exhaustion was combining with absolute relief. "Draco," he whispered and his fingertips brushed over the new little mark. "Draco, we did it."
Hermione gave a small smile, cast a scourgify and muttered something about getting them food, to shocked to ruin the soft and quiet atmosphere. They truly did make a family. Turning with a quiet glare at Ron, the two exited, the door falling shut with a silencing spell behind them.
Moments passed, Draco's body aching, sagging against the pillows in quiet relief. Combing his fingers through Scorpius's hair, Draco smiled softly. "He's our little boy now."
"He always was." Harry dropped down, smiling, and nestled his nose into the boy's hair, his hand lifting to Draco's cheek. He had his family.
Slowly, ever-so slowly, Scoprius's eyes peeled open. "Papa? Daddy?" His voice sounded sure and strong, his lungs sounding healthy to the ears; no congestion, no wheezing. A normal little boy.
"We're here, kiddo." Harry laid a hand over Scorpius's heart, smiling.
Scorpius snuggled happily against Harry's chest, cheeks flushed with life. "Love you."
"Love you too." Harry help him close, turning his arm to show him the little apple-shaped mark. "Look, Scorp. You see that? That means we're a family."
The boy's tired smile had Draco's heart jerking in his chest. Harry Potter. Family.
Perfect.
-8-8-
If I die young~
The sharp knife... of a short life.
We did it Syl. Any last words before we get on with the next story chapter?
I really want an apple...
…. …..No words Syl. Except- I LOVE YOU.
Ok. No joke. Hardest chapter to write. Ever. To date. Since.
We really hoped you enjoyed it, and we hope you stick with us for the next few chapters.
Thank you all so much!
Oh! And can you guys guess why we picked Wingardium Leviosa for a title? All will be revealed.
Leave a review?Please?
-Syl and Abraxas.