Chapter Seven -Just Try

At first, Harry thought Draco had freaking died. Or at least been petrified.

He stood there, all composure lost, practically gawking at Harry, wand still pointed at his chest, but his hand wavered. His mercury silver eyes were blown wide open and the shock was apparent in them.

Harry gulped, before taking a hesitant step forward. "Malfoy?" he whispered. "Say...something?"

"How?" he suddenly croaked out, his voice hoarse.

"How what?" But that was obviously the wrong thing to ask.

"You bloody well know what, Potter!" Malfoy yelled, making the brunet jump as red sparks burst from the wand still pointed threateningly at him, and he held up his hands in the classic 'I surrender sign'. "How the hell am I going to be a father?"

"Well..." Harry took a deep breath. "When we had...sex, about four months ago? My office? Well...I got pregnant" Draco froze, his eyes widening even further if it was possible. "Basically, that is the gist of it-" he broke off as the blond growled and grabbed him by the front of his clothes.

"Get the fuck off me!" Harry yelled, trying to get free as his hands were now clenching his collar painfully, his bloody manicured nails digging into his skin. Harry stared at the blond angrily, not understanding why he was making a bigger deal out of it then it all ready was. He'd always suspected that Malfoy would be angry when he told him, but he was practically breathing fire at him and he was even being violent. If he would just let him explain, maybe he would calm down before reacting like this!

"Potter" he growled, uncomfortably intense. "Why didn't you use a protection spell to stop it from happening?" He shook the brunet violently when he had finished.

Harry was completely baffled. He scowled at him for handling him like a ragdoll and yelling at him. Now he would admit that he should be treated well in his current state. "No, of course not, why would I? I know you sort of leapt at me, demanding sex. I don't think using a curse on you was particularly necessary. Especially with what happened next..." he trailed off, a slight far way look in his eyes while his pregnancy induced hormones decided to take over.

Was Potter an idiot? He was actually thinking about sex now, during an argument when they were yelling about the result of the last time?! "What?" Draco shook his head, uncomprehending. "I mean a protection spell. Bloody contraceptive". A dark thought dawned upon him. "Unless you planned this-"

That snapped something in Harry. Lustful thoughts long gone from his mind, rage replacing it, he punched Malfoy as hard as he could right in the face.

The blond released him immediately, reeling back clutching his cheek, and only just managing to stay on his feet, reeling at the sudden change in emotions.

Harry was livid.

"I am not one of those bloody gold digging twinks, wanting a taste of Malfoy arse, a baby to boot and a fortune to inherit" Harry snarled. "Of course, I didn't use a bloody contraceptive spells. I use condoms"

Draco quickly composed himself, and forced himself not to ask what condoms were, believing that would piss off the sensitive berk even more. "What do you mean 'no'? You were bottoming, it was your responsibility"

"Number one" Harry growled, raising one finger, threateningly. Draco fell silent. He knew he had probably pushed Potter to his emotional limits. "I don't know it."

"What do you mean you don't know it?" he asked, conveniently ignoring the part about him silencing him. "Every gay wizard has to know it"

"Well, then, why didn't you put it on me?!"

"I was a bit preoccupied!"

Harry snorted. "You think that exonerates you from blame? You think this isn't your fault? It's hell of a lot more your fault than mine!" he asked, pointing to lower abdomen. "I didn't even fucking know blokes could have babies!"

"What are you, stupid?!"

"Hello?! I was raised by Muggles. It never crossed my mind 'Oh! Wizards have accomplished so much, I wonder if they managed to get men up the fucking duff!" Harry screamed, his voice raw, breathing heavily when he finished.

"Well, you're stupider than I thought you were"

"I established that the second I let you fuck me, you bastard"

"I don't think I'm the one who can be called the bastard here!" Harry flinched, and the room fell uncomfortably silent.

"You can't fucking drop this on me, Potter, and just expect me to-"

"I don't expect you to do anything" Harry hissed. "I'm pregnant" he started again, lowering his voice. "With your baby" he ignored the slight flinch that word triggered. "I'm carrying to term. Abortion is an option with me. I'm keeping him, so no adoption either. He's due in August-"

"He?" Draco asked, actually seeming interested.

"What I call my child is no concern of yours. HE is due in august" Harry continued, raising his voice to drown out the blonds interruptions. He fell silent. "I will raise him by myself, as you are a stubborn arse and obviously don't seem to care. But if you want to visit, I won't stop you...and...And you can have visitation rights and all that crap. I'm not that harsh as to not let you see him if you want to" his voice broke on the last word, but he tried not to crumble in front of Malfoy.

This had all gone horribly wrong. So bloody wrong. He was better off not knowing if he reacts like this to the mention of his child! He knew he shouldn't have let Hermione convince him to tell him. He was adamant for weeks that Malfoy would never know the existence of his son. But Hermione always knew what would wear him down:

How he wouldn't want to raise a child in a broken home. How he had no proper family when he was growing up and how he was being selfish restricting his son from having the same, purely because of old feuds with his father. 'You must have liked him even slightly, Harry if you allowed him to get you pregnant in the first place'. She didn't seem to understand he was an idiot and horny at the time. Luna wouldn't give him any advice, saying that he would have someone who loved him holding his hand when he gave birth. Definitely not Malfoy there, but she could never explain or even give advice on whether or not to tell the blond.

Neville said that he didn't want to get involved and that it was purely Harry's decision and like the good man he was, he said he would stick by whatever decision he made and would accept. Ron, however, said he and his son were better off without the 'ferret git' and bringing him into the equation would cause nothing but more trouble; he believed Harry would find an appropriate father for him when he was ready and everything would be fine until then as he would have help from his friends and family. This naturally landed him in big trouble with his wife, in arguments Harry didn't wish to remember as there were many promises of castration and curses.

So Harry had done the said smart thing to do, which turned out to be the utterly wrong thing to do.

Draco didn't say anything, still staring at the brunet with an incredulous look on his face, as if he still couldn't comprehend it at all.

Harry sighed. "I should go"

"That would be best" Draco replied, his voice hoarse. He stepped aside to let Harry pass.

Harry stepped around the coffee table, smiling softly at the picture he had picked up earlier and foolishly. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he opened the door. He cleared his throat awkwardly, as Draco's gaze seemed stuck on his abdomen, his expression blank.

"You should get better wards, they were really easy to get through...and this place is...cool" Harry muttered, awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, before practically running out of the door.

Draco stood for a moment, staring at the wand in his hand.

"Fuck"

(~~)

Harry went straight to be bed when he got home. He had told himself he would call his friends when he got back to tell them what Draco –Malfoy! had said and where the two of them now stood.

He changed into his pyjamas and crawled into his bed, just gaining enough energy to turn off his light. He lay on his back, absently stroking his stomach.

He knew it would go wrong. He had felt too positive when he went over to Malfoy's apartment (he was baffled by the fact that Malfoy was living on a Muggle estate, but refrained from commenting on it), too positive on what would occur. He jinxed it the moment he had decided to do it.

"Don't worry, baby" he murmured to his stomach. "I'll love you enough for the both of us". He turned onto his left side (he was always really uncomfortable on his right). "Bloody bastard Malfoy" he couldn't help but mutter as he fell into a deep sleep, praying the baby's ears weren't developed enough yet to hear that.

(~~)

Nathaniel Lipton had probably had the most tiring day of his career at St Mungo's. A baby had been delivered prematurely and was on observation, which had run the ward ragged for hours. He had been cooped up in his office hours before that answering memos and organising files, as they all seemed to have tripled over the last week, even though he hadn't had any new patients in over a month. The next day was his day off, and he was set on having a good night sleep before relaxing the day away.

Of course, after only an hour judging by the clock on his bedside table, the phone he had only recently acquired began to ring right next to his head.

"Draco, its two in the morning" he couldn't help the annoyance very apparent in his voice when he saw the caller.

"I know. But...something really big has just come up...I really need someone to talk to"

Nate sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Fine" he said, heavily. "Where do you want to meet? Do you want me to come to the apartment?"

"The park outside my apartment. It's empty right now, you should be able to Apparate"

"Ok, I'll be there in ten minutes" Draco hung up without a goodbye.

Nate pulled himself out of his bed, and reached for the clothes he had laid out for the next day. Different reasons for why Draco had called him and why he had sounded the way he did, began to run through his head, each more scandalous and hysterical as the last. The blond sounded

As soon as he was dressed he took a deep breath and Apparated.

He found Draco as soon as he reappeared. He was stood against the metal railing surrounding the park; thankfully, they were hidden by the trees so no Muggles would have spotted his Apparating. Draco's head was hung down, staring at his feet and a bottle of vodka was clung in his hand.

"Draco?" Nate asked, frowning in concern as he walked to stand beside his nephew. The blond didn't respond, moving only to take a swig from the bottle, which was already half empty.

Nathaniel leant against the cold railings, which was damp from the rain the previous morning. He was used to Draco acting like this, and knew he would tell him what was wrong with him if he was just patient. It didn't take long.

"Harry Potter is pregnant"

Nate frowned; that he hadn't prepared himself for. What Harry's pregnancy had to do with his nephew, he didn't know, but he began to have the slightest inkling he might know exactly what. "Yeah?"

"He's pregnant...with my kid"

Now that was news to Nate that he hadn't been expecting. Harry had never divulged the name of the other father to him: it wasn't any of his business. It was his job to ensure Mr. Potter was comfortable during his pregnancy and to make sure the child was healthy and the labour process went as smoothly as it possibly could.

Now that the other father turned out to be his nephew, it now did seem to be his place to have an opinion on the matter.

"We had a one night stand...about four months ago actually" Draco continued, more muttering to himself than to Nate. "Just a onetime thing. Bloody brilliant it was but just a one off"

"How did this one off occur?"

"I was arrested-"

"God, Dray-" Nate moaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That's not important. I don't actually know how it happened" Draco interjected, almost desperate to get it off his chest, to make Nate understand. "He's really hot. I mean, really hot. We had a go at each other. I kissed him. And we just sort of ended up...going at it right there on his desk" Draco said, an uncharacteristic flush appearing on his cheeks. He took a swig of his drink. "Even during it, we insulted each other" Nate chuckled at that, and Draco couldn't stop the slight smirk, though it disappeared almost instantly.

"I didn't hear from him in months. Didn't want to obviously. He wanted to forget it and so did I. I don't do relationships, or monogamy. I'm only twenty-two, I'm supposed to be getting drunk and sleeping around. It's mandatory!" he got to his feet and began to pace up and down the pavement.

"We both just went on with our lives, like it had never happened. Well, I did anyway. And now, out of the blue, he breaks into my apartment! Yeah, he broke in to tell me he's four months pregnant with my kid. I mean, goddmamit!" he yelled, kicking a nearby bench, and cursing as his toes began to throb, and Nate winced in sympathy. "Didn't I deserve to know before now?! You can't just keep something like that a secret for so long! Especially with Potter. I'm surprised it hasn't gotten to the press yet" he snapped, bitterly. "'The Boy-Who-Lived-For-Wizards Knocked Up with Bastard Child of Ex-Death Eater!'"

"Maybe he wanted to consider his options before telling you?" Nate suggested, with a shrug; Harry had considered abortion as the option but that was nearly three months ago. The wizard was now adamant on keeping the child and raising him, supposedly by himself with help from his friends when necessary. Nathaniel couldn't tell Draco this, of course; doctor/patient confidentiality.

"No, he should talk to me about op-" the blond paused as a flash of realisation moved across his face, and he turned his anger upon the Healer. "You knew about this?!"

Nate sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I knew that Harry was pregnant. He is my patient. I've been taking care of him since he came to see me almost three months ago"

"Oh, so he's known for three months now and I didn't know about this?! He's just taking the piss! And so are you!" he hissed, pointing accusingly at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know it was your kid. It's not my place to know and you never told about having intercourse with him and neither did he. I doubt I would ever know if you hadn't told me just now"

"Don't say intercourse. You sound like an old man" Draco muttered, scrunching his nose, and sounding disgusted at the word. He cursed under his breath and continued to pace up and down. "It's his fault this" he expressed after a minute or two of silence, during which Nate had moved to sit on the bench Draco had previously kicked.

"Draco, it takes two people to have a baby"

"No, it only takes one. I just offered up my sperm to him. He can have the baby himself" he spat, spitefully. "I didn't ask for this"

"And Harry did?"

"It was his responsibility whether or not he got pregnant"

"Many wizards aren't aware that they are Carriers unless they conceive or pre-existing medical visits confirmed it"

"Potter spent his entire teen years in the Hospital Wing, because he was always getting himself into bloody trouble, with or without the Dark Lord's help!" Draco exclaimed, throwing his now empty bottle in the park bin which was already full of bottles from previous visitors to the park. "They would've noticed it years ago"

"Obviously, your school nurse didn't find it in his best interests to know?" Nate asked, frowning. "Though that is highly unethical. It is law to alert Carriers of their condition"

"They wouldn't have wanted to damage Potter's innocence. Or they never counted on Potter being a fag so he would never find out" Draco hissed before he sat beside his uncle.

"Was there a particular reason you wished to see me, Draco?" Nate asked, annoyed with the blonds drunken attitude.

"I don't know what to do" he croaked, and Nate was immediately reminded of the little lost nine year old boy who didn't know what was happening with his parents and their friends. "Tell me what to do" the blond begged.

"I can't tell you what you have to do. It's not my call. But I can advise that you talk to Harry. Whether either of you like it or not, you are having a child together. You both have a right in its life and you will need to work together to enable the perfect life for your child"

Draco remained silent the entire time, but Nate knew he was listening intently, so he continued.

"Harry has an appointment with me in a week. I suggest you talk to him and both come to that appointment and all future appointments. If you are his birthing partner, then you will need to know everything. If you aren't, but if you still wish to be part of the child's life, I'm sure you would want to know if it's healthy or not"

Draco gave an odd jerk of the head and grimaced at the word 'birthing partner' and Nate sighed.

"Draco, it boils down to whether or not you can be a man, an adult, and face up to your responsibilities. Can you take responsibility for your baby, son?"

Draco stared at his hands in silence, while Nate had a battle inside himself; the doctor over the uncle. He hoped Draco could own up to this. He knew that this responsibility and a child could be good for him. He prayed that he could grow up and take control of his life.

"How do I get in touch with Potter?"

Nate smiled.

(~~)

Draco rung the doorbell of Potter's house ten minutes later (which was technically also his house in a way – because of his relation to Sirius Black – nothing to do with Potter!), and waited, rocking on the back of his feet as he waited for the door to open.

Grimmauld Place had always amazed him. He'd only been there once, of course, when Bellatrix, his aunt, had commandeered it during the war, but had heard about it a lot from his mother. It was a Black work of art apparently. The number of spells used to contain it and hide it from the Muggles rivalled even that of Hogwarts, and that was definitely saying something.

A minute or two after he had initially rung the bell, it opened fast, angrily, and Harry Potter stood there, glaring at him, before blinking in surprise.

"Draco" he didn't know why but for some reason Potter saying his name sent shivers down his spine. The brunet was obviously in his nightclothes (it was early morning): a pair of boxer shorts and a worn t-shirt. His usually messy hair was almost a birds nest upon his head, pointing in entirely different directions.

"I think we really need to talk about this" Draco said, looking directly into Potter's eyes.

The brunet blinked a few times, obviously annoyed at his sleep being interrupted if his glare was anything to go by, but he relented with a nod and stepped aside and let the blond inside his home, and shut the door on their past.

Now they had to talk about their future. Their son.

Review. Let me know what you think. Will try and update as soon as possible.

I had so many different ways Draco could find out about the pregnancy. I really didn't know which one to pick so I settled for this one. I thought of Hermione telling him or Luna, but that would a severe betrayal to Harry, and it is always wise to not piss off a pregnant person. Though Hermione did do it, not directly though. I know it isn't great, but the way Draco finds out isn't important. It's what happens after he finds out and what happens between him and Harry afterwards. I'm sorry if no one likes it, but it's not that important.

Plus, it is the first interaction the pair has had since chapter one. Hopefully people are happy about that.

Words – 3413

Date – 03/05/10

Next time on Crashed – "Harry, call me Harry. I'm carrying your kid, it's like a rule or something"

Please look at poll on profile if you wish to answer baby names. It will be taken down by the time chapter eight is posted. Currently, the name Gabriel is winning, so if you want a say go ahead and vote. If you don't care, well, then just review me what you think of the chapter. XD