Chapter 4:

Frustration and Pain:

"Uuahhh!" Draco screamed, seething. He stormed through the house wreaking anything and everything he could. He had thought he had been patient. Yeah, right, he thought angrily as he sat down, fuming. Patient wasn't the word to describe his attitude toward Harry when it came to waiting for him to get on with his life, but was the only one he could think of.

"Threeyears," he bellowed at no one in particular, and slammed his fist down on the antique cherry wood desk in front of him. He had tried being nice, telling Harry that it was all right that he didn't come first, or even second in his heart, but it had been three years – three years since Severus had gotten the Golden Boy pregnant, left him behind, and disappeared to who-knows-where. No one had seen or heard from Severus since.

Potter's so-called friends, Weasley and Granger had turned their backs on him when they found out that Severus was Abbey's father. Draco had seen this opening, and had spoken to him when he'd returned to Hogwarts', laying the foundation of peace, and the foundations for keeping Harry all to himself. When he had seen the boy's power when Harry'd cast that unknown curse at him, he had changed his mind about joining Voldemort, finally realizing that Harry could indeed defeat the Dark Lord.

That had been one of the reasons behind his hesitancy when faced with the task of killing Dumbledore. He knew that Harry admired the old fool, but before he was able to choose a course of action, Severus had appeared and taken all the credit. Rumour had it, Harry had even seen him do it, but that was impossible, considering that he'd been alone with the man on the Astronomy Tower.

He found out later that Severus hadn't killed Dumbledore, but that it was really Rodolphus Lestrange. Draco had then made it a point of apologizing for what had happened; telling Harry, that Voldemort had blackmailed him with his parents' lives, playing on the boy's sympathies.

He made sure that he was there for Harry when his 'friends' had left him to face raising his child alone. He had asked Harry to live with him, and had even gone so far as to reset the wards so that Harry could go out on the grounds and have some peace, not bothered by the press after he had defeated Voldemort.

Draco growled as he came back to the present. I gave him three years of my life, he thought angrily. Still, he turns me away! He had thought that he had everything planned so perfectly, and still, Harry had walked out on him. How was that even possible?

Angrily, he swept his arm across his desk, sending papers flying, and picture frames crashing to the floor. He stood and stalked from the room, leaving the mess for the house-elves to clean up.

Meanwhile, back at the Burrow, Hermione and Molly plopped down in the wooden chairs around the kitchen table, utterly exhausted. They had watched Abbey for three hours, and she had done nothing but whine for Harry and Draco, throwing a temper tantrum when she could not get her way.

Fred and George had shown up, and she had finally stopped crying. Mrs. Weasley had then pushed them out of the house after pulling George aside to give him Harry's instructions, sending them on their way and asking them to entertain the child for a while so that she and Hermione could have a break.

"I just don't understand it," Molly said as she slouched in her chair, exhaling heavily. "Harry and Draco have fought before, but I can'tbelieve that it could be so bad that Harry would just up and leave, not allowing Draco to even see the child that's like his own daughter."

Hermione sighed, leaning her upper body on the table, lowered her head to the cool wooden surface, and mumbled incoherently.

"What?" Molly asked, looking curiously at the woman she thought of like a second daughter.

Hermione sighed once more, and raised her head. "I said, Harry's told us before that Draco has told him that he doesn't think Severus is coming back. No one knows where he is, or even if he's alive. Maybe that has something to do with it. Ron and I may not have liked it, but Severus is the girl's real father. Harry has every right not to allow Draco to see her."

Molly's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"You're right, of course," she said. "I just wish that he'd told us what had happened rather than brushing us off."

"Me, too," Hermione replied, lowering her head tiredly.

Molly rose stiffly to her feet. "Come on, dear," she said gently, urging Hermione up from the table. "You've never dealt with little ones before, and it has been quite a while since I have. Let's get some rest while we can. Fred and George took Abbey to their shop; they'll be back in a few hours."

Hermione nodded, following Molly slowly from the room, and off to take a nap.

Harry shifted in his sleep, and woke with a start, gasping as pain wracked his body.

"Harry?" Severus asked, looking at him in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he replied, but grimaced when pain shot through him once more when he moved.

Severus sat up, sliding gently from beneath him. "No, you're not," he said sternly. "What's wrong?"

"My muscles are just stiff," Harry said with a grunt. "That's all."

Severus arched an ebony brow, not certain if Harry was being truthful with him. He studied the younger man, noticing that he moved gingerly, yet it seemed to be more than just sore muscles. He moved off the bed, and Harry rolled over to lie on his stomach.

It was then, that Severus noticed a dark, reddish-brown streak from Harry's inner thigh to the back of his leg. He bent closer, and caused the man to jump when he touched it. When Harry jumped, Severus noticed a red substance trickle down his leg from his opening.

"You'rebleeding!" Severus cried in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry looked at him over his shoulder with a pained expression. "I - I missed you so much, Sev," he replied sadly. "I wanted to feel you inside me." He shifted and grimaced once more, but ignored the pain and sat up, slowly turning to face the dark haired man. "I've wanted to feel you inside me ever since the first time. Nothing else mattered, I'm sorry Sev."

Severus sighed and took Harry's face in his hands. "Harry," he said earnestly. "I may have really hurt you. Who knows if the bleeding has actually stopped, it's been nearly half an hour. What you did was extremely dangerous."

Harry pulled out of Severus' grasp and lowered his gaze in shame. "Bring me my wand," he said softly.

"Where is it?" Severus asked, rising to his feet.

"Downstairs," Harry answered. "In the study with my clothes."

Severus nodded, and turned to leave while Harry fell back against the pillows, sighing heavily. "Now I've done it," he muttered angrily to himself, and smacked the bed with his fist. "He won't have anything to do with me now." He lay there a few moments, cursing himself and exhaled deeply, rubbing his eyes as Severus entered the room.

"Here you are, Harry," Severus said softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed, holding out the younger wizard's wand.

Harry shook his head as he lowered his hands and opened his eyes. "You'll have to do it, Sev," he answered quietly.

"Harry," Severus said. "I can't, you know that."

Harry shook his head once more and moved slowly as he rolled onto his stomach, grimacing at the pain. He sighed in relief when he lay flat once more. "Trust me, Sev," he murmured over his shoulder. "You can."

"Harry," Severus said uncertainly. "Are you sure about this? I'm no more than a Squib right now."

"Yes, Sev. You can do this," Harry answered firmly. "I know you can."

Severus exhaled heavily, steeling himself for what was to come. Harry trusted him; this thought comforted him more than he could say. "All right," he said after a moment. "I-I've never done this before, what do I do?"

Harry flushed with embarrassment. He'd never thought that he'd have to direct this man step-by-step. "All right," he murmured, and cleared his throat nervously. "Y-you have to – to," he broke off and exhaled heavily into the pillow, burying his face.

"Harry?" Severus asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry mumbled in reply, turning his head to the side once more. "It's just embarrassing, that's all." He took a deep breath before speaking again. "You'll need to slide my wand up inside me; it'll hurt only upon entry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever done this before?" Severus asked, jealousy filling him.

"No," Harry answered. "But, I have heard of it being done. You must do this Sev, if I did, I could cause more harm than good. Do it, now… please?"

Severus nodded, and swallowed hard before he pushed the tip of Harry's wand passed his opening, Harry cried out in pain before biting down on his lip, and squeezing his eyes shut. "Harry?" Severus asked; his voice filled with concern as he paused. "Are you all right?"

"I will be," grunted Harry in reply, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

"Is that good enough?"

"No," Harry grimaced. "It needs to be as far within me as you can get it, and still be able to withdraw it."

"I don't want to hurt you, Harry," Severus said gently.

"I know," panted Harry. "We need to do this though; it will only hurt when entering me."

Severus nodded. "Are you ready?"

Harry wrapped his arms tightly around the pillow beneath him and buried his head. "Yes," he answered in a muffled voice. "Do it."

Severus' heart wrenched when he proceeded to slide the young wizard's wand within his broken body, causing Harry to cry out in agony. He moved slow, trying to ease the young man's pain, but his cries did not cease until Severus halted, Harry's wand embedded to the hilt within him.

"Harry?"

"I'm – okay," Harry panted. "J-just – give me – a – moment."

"All right, Harry," Severus said quietly, and fell silent.

A few moments passed, and Harry's breathing eased. He turned his head to the side once more and exhaled deeply. "Okay Sev," he murmured.

"What do I do?"

"I need to touch you," Harry answered. "You need to stay where you are, to remove my wand when it's time, just give me your hand." Severus reached up, but was unable to sustain his weight evenly, and hold Harry's hand at the same time. Instead, he leaned as close to the younger wizard as he could, supporting his weight on his arm. Harry reached out and clamped his hand tightly around Severus' wrist. "Now, I need you to think of a healing spell, and repeat the incantation as you withdraw my wand."

"Harry, I can't," Severus argued. "I don't have any magical ability left."

"Severus!" Harry cried. "Don't worry about that, just concentrate on what I told you. As you repeat the incantation, withdraw the wand slowly."

"Al-all right, Harry," Severus stammered nervously, and closed his eyes, exhaling deeply. He concentrated on what Harry told him, and felt a warm tingle work its way through his body, as the warmth exited through Harry's wand, and he repeated the incantation, he slowly withdrew the wand. Realization hit him suddenly, that Harry was transferring his magic to him so that he could heal him. He swallowed nervously, knowing that the young wizard was taking another dangerous risk, but continued with the incantations.

Harry sighed in relief when the tip of his wand slipped from his body, and all the pain that he'd been in vanished. His grasp on Severus' wrist loosened, and he rolled over to gaze up at the older man sleepily. "Thank you, Sev," he mumbled, and sighed once more.

"Never again, Harry," said Severus quietly. "Do you hear me? You are never doing that again." Harry blinked, and was surprised when the man lay down next to him and wrapped him in his arms. "I never want to hurt you."

Harry nodded and swallowed over the lump that formed in his throat. "All right, Sev," he whispered, and held the man close. "I promise; it won't happen again." He was quiet for a while; enjoying the closeness with the man that he realized now, he had never stopped loving, no matter what he thought the man had done. He combed his fingers through the soft, silky strands of ebony hair, relishing in the feel against his fingers. "Sev?" Harry whispered after a moment.

"Mmm?" Severus mumbled; his eyes closed blissfully, allowing the younger wizard free rein.

"Do you have any Blood-Replenishing Potion? I think it would be a good idea."

"No," Severus answered. "There's nothing here."

"Is there a lab?"

"Yes, it's in the basement."

"All right. Do you know if all the necessary ingredients are there?"

"Yes, but nothing's fresh."

"Can you take me there?"

"Harry, I don't think that's such a good idea. You've been through a lot today already."

"Sev," Harry murmured, craning his neck to look at the man, who opened his eyes slowly at the unexpected movement. "You said yourself that I could have lost a lot of blood. Please, take me there."

"All right," Severus answered; he grudgingly rose from the bed and donned a dressing gown before helping Harry up and giving him one as well. "Like I said, nothing's fresh."

"Don't worry about it, Sev," Harry said. "That's not important."

Severus rolled his eyes, wondering if Harry'd really learned nothing from him when he was at school, and helped him down to the laboratory in the basement. The going was slow, for they stopped every so often so that the younger wizard could catch his breath and rest. Fatigue, Severus knew, was a sure sign of blood loss. Harry was right; he was in need of a Blood-Replenishing Potion now that they stopped the bleeding.

Once in the laboratory, Severus helped him to a chair before gathering the ingredients required for the potion. "Please, bring them here," Harry said quietly, his head lulling, and his eyes drifting closed every so often. Severus knew that though they had stopped the bleeding, Harry needed the potion as soon as possible. He wasn't sure how they were going to accomplish it without fresh ingredients, and had no idea what Harry had planned. He hurried to get the remainder of the needed ingredients however, and placed them before the younger man.

Harry drew his wand from the pocket of his dressing gown, having picked it up from the bed and cleaned it before they'd left the bedroom. He murmured an incantation, and the ingredients before him returned to their fresh states instantly much to Severus' surprise.

"Now," Harry murmured, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "Please, prepare the potion."

"Harry," Severus said quietly.

"I'll be all right," Harry murmured. "Please, concentrate on the potion. You of all people should know that you need no magical ability to do that, all you need is the know-how."

"All right, Harry," Severus answered and set to work on the potion while Harry slept.