Staking Claims

Disclaimer: HP (blah blah blah) not mine (blah blah).

A/N: Loving the reviews. I am a review whore for certain. Also I have had a few requests for email updates. I really am horrible at that but I’ll do my best. So all those in favor of email updates say ‘I’! THANK YOU and happy reading!

*
Harry was attempting to put together something for him and Draco to snack on while they finished cleaning out the drawing room. Harry had wanted to take a few hours, or days even, to reevaluate what exactly he had just done but unfortunately even ‘the savior’ was not afforded that luxury. Instead he was cooped up in this ancient house with the object of his unwilling affection. Lost in thought he had not noticed said object headed his way.

“Potter.” Harry turned to see Draco coming down the stairs looking faultless and with the ever present Malfoy smirk lighting his eyes. Damn that smirk.

“Yes?” The quiver in his voice was only half masked.

“Why is there an extremely irate red-head in the fire?” Harry spun to see Ginny Weasley’s head in the grate. She appeared to be screaming or throwing some sort of tantrum but nothing was coming out of her mouth. Harry smiled at his friend and walked over quickly, flicking his wand and muttering something. Suddenly Ginny’s voice could be heard clearly echoing in the drafty house.

“-ELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT MALFOY!?!” Her tirade apparently cut short when she heard her voice rebounded back. “Finally, what happened? I couldn’t get through and why couldn’t you hear me, I was screaming and-” Harry cut her off with a wave of his hand and a soft chuckle.

“Sorry about that, I put a silencing charm on the grate; I guess it worked both ways. Also I put a block on it, Dumbledore’s orders.” The excuse seemed to appease her.

“Oh. Well I just wanted to know if you wanted to floo by for dinner.” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Gin, you know I’m not supposed to leave Grimmauld Place.” It was the truth, besides he wanted to do nothing but have a meal and lay down. His bum was still a bit sore and from the way Draco had been looking at him earlier he figured he might need the rest.

“Not technically. I’m sure Dumbledore wouldn’t mind if you came over as long as that abomination didn’t come with you.” Harry was too shocked to restrain Draco when he put himself between Harry and the grate. He couldn’t see the look on the blondes face but if the tensed back was anything to go by, Draco was livid.

“Look here Weaslette, Harry is not only forbidden to go, but does not WANT to go. He prefers to spend his time with people who have better manners.” Harry could hear in Draco’s voice that the boy was holding back, cool and collected, as usual. “Now get your filthy ginger bonnet out of our fire.” The biting finish, delivered with a calm and disaffected air, was more like the Slytherin Harry knew from school. He had always admired that about Draco. He heard Ginny gasp and although he could not see her face he could picture it, all angry lines and scrunched up nose.

“You know what Malfoy, HE can have you for all I care. In fact I hope HE does find you, and then you’ll wish you kept your half-breed mouth shut and your ferret face out of my business!” He saw Draco’s finger’s twitch towards his wand and Harry grabbed the Slytherin’s shoulder and hauled him away from the fireplace.

“No,” his whisper barely got Draco’s attention, whose gaze was fixed on the seething Weasley, “she’s not worth it.” Draco turned and smiled wryly at Harry’s change of heart toward the youngest Weasley. It pained Harry to say but Ginny had proved to be more prejudiced then Harry had ever thought Draco to be. Prejudice is born from ignorance and Draco had been ignorant. Ginny had no excuse and it flew all over the green-eyed Gryffindor.

“Listen to me Ginny. Get out of the grate. It’s been a long day and we don’t need this right now. I’ll fire call you tomorrow.” He had tried to be placating but the scowl on her face showed nothing but anger and disgust.

“‘WE’ Harry? When did you and Malfoy become a ‘WE’?” He thought it was a good question, but Draco saw it as an in.

“Since this afternoon, Weaslette. But WE would appreciate it if you kept YOUR freckled face out of OUR business!” The Slytherin’s eyes were positively alight with glee at finding one of her buttons and one-upping the furious girl. Ginny disappeared as quickly as she had come and Harry was immensely grateful.

He dropped his head; he couldn’t help but feel darkly about the whole ordeal. He had to wonder if this would be a regular occurrence between Draco and Harry’s friends and surrogate family. Then again, Ginny had reacted badly to Draco from the beginning and she didn’t even know they were in a relationship, if it could be called that. Harry didn’t know where the relationship began and the mating ended. All he knew was that when Draco purred the word ‘mine’ in his ear it was all he could do not to fall to the ground whimpering in content. It bothered him, it really did. In all honesty he wasn’t sure this would work. He could only imagine the relationship, if anything He and Draco would put the ‘fun’ back in dysfunctional. That is if they both survived the impending war.

“Potter.” Harry didn’t turn his head only diverted his gaze to the boy beside him.

“Why don’t you call me Harry from now on, yeah?” He could feel Draco’s chuckle reverberate in his back as the blond wrapped two long, perfectly sculpted arms around his waist.

“Because, I think Potter is a cute nickname when we’re not fucking.”

And I thought he was eloquent. Piffle.

“Well I could think love-nugget is a cute nickname but you don’t hear me bandying it about do you?” Draco’s let go and spun Harry around, who only smirked impishly as his ex-rival’s eyes widened slightly.

“You absolutely will not. And where on earth did you hear love-nugget?”

“Is it important?” Draco simply raised his eyebrows as if to say ‘you bet your sweet arse.’ How could he say no to that? “Well, er- I guess one time I uh, heard Lavender, um, maybe call Ron that. Once.”

Draco was silent for a beat before he burst into raucous laughter, clutching his sides and bending almost double trying to hold himself up. Ron was going to beat him into a bloody pulp. Harry would be nothing but the cold, dead, husk of a man when his hot-tempered friend got wind of this.

In all the commotion of Draco’s laughing fit Harry heard a slight ping coming from the grate. He turned his attention back to the fire just in time to see a rat scurry backward away from the ward.

“Was that a…rat? Figures. Damn Weasels, damn Burrow.” Draco had stopped laughing and eyed the fire with contempt. Apparently ‘vermin’ was not on his list of favorite things. Harry was sure the rat looked familiar.

“First Ginny and now this,” his moan was one of frustration, not fear. When you could die instantaneously on any given day you learn hold back fear until there is really something to be afraid of. He was not stupid however. “We have to write Dumbledore, NOW.”

“Does the old man need to know everything, a simple anti-pest charm will do. Harry?”

“He does when Peter Pettigrew may have just tapped into our secure fireline.”

“Who? Peter Pettigrew…?” Harry looked back to see Draco biting is lip with his eyes slightly squinted. “Why do I know that name?” The blonde scratched his head and Harry thought he looked perfectly fetching with those long slender fingers running through that platinum blond hair.

Not that he, the responsible Gryffindor, was thinking about the way Draco looked when he was supposed to be rushing upstairs to write an urgent correspondence. Nope, absolutely not.

Harry sighed audibly, turning away from his pretty counterpart and started toward the stairs.

“Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”

***

Draco refused to move as he tried to remember the information that seemed at just the edge of his subconscious. Peter Pettigrew…Pettigrew…Pettigrew. Why does that sound so familiar? Ah-ha, Peter Pettigrew is Wormtail! Wait. Wormtail is…A DEATHEATER!

***

“DEATHEATER! Harry! He’s found us! HE’S FOUND US!” Draco scrambled up the steps after Harry, who tried unsuccessfully to duck out of the way, only to be grabbed around the middle and hauled up with the fierce blond. Draco moved at an inhuman, breakneck speed and was shouting spells that even the ‘Chosen One’ had never heard. “Cœrceo Cella! Præsidium! Clauses Exodus! Sceicco-” Harry broke free from Draco’s strong hold and clutched his shoulders, violently pressing him against the wall.

“Stop.” Draco looked irritated and defiant with his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed at his calm lover. “Stop.” Unexpectedly, in less time then it took to blink, Harry found their roles reversed and he had his back to the wall and his feet no longer touching the ground. He felt weak and panicky with Draco’s molten eyes racking up and down his body and the Slytherin’s chest pushed flush against him, his arms gripped too tightly by pale fingers.

“Harry, if we are not safe we need to move. Do you understand? I will not have your safety jeopardized!” He squeaked at his lover’s possessiveness and struggled to be let down.

“Draco, Draco-relax, please, you’re hurting me.” He could just barely manage the breathy sentence. When it was out however, Draco stepped back, eyes wide and mouth open. Harry bent down to catch his breath and rubbed his arms. He looked up and wearily grinned at the stronger-then-he-looked man before him, who was shifting from one foot to another and avidly watching Harry rub his arms.

“Oh Merlin I’m sorry. I- I don’t know what got into me. I-are you okay?”

“I’m alright. Just, uh, not so rough with the tugging and pushing. Okay?” Draco, relieved, let a small smile adorn his face.

“Yeah, okay.” He lifted his hand and allowed his knuckles to gently graze the curve of Harry’s cheek. “So,” he tucked his hand behind his lovers head and rested it on the bed of black locks, “about that letter.” Harry had almost completely forgotten. Damn Veela charm.

“Er, right. The ministry owl I sent to Hermione should be back from The Burrow by now, we can use her.”

“Well then, on-ward and up-ward.” Draco released Harry and started back up the steps, only much slower this time.

*

After Harry and Draco managed a reasonably calm sounding letter to the Headmaster, Draco went downstairs to finish quarantining the living room and the grate, just in case. Feeling confidant the Draco’s wards would hold Harry set to reading his letter from Hermione, thankful she replied so quickly.

‘Dear Harry,

I must admit your letter was a tad confusing. I’ve done the research you asked me to but I can’t help thinking you’re not telling me something. Either way I think I’ve quite figured out your dilemma. Draco has possibly marked you as a potential mate. I think its best to be careful. Veela’s and Vampire’s are very territorial and possessive of their mates and can often be very aggressive. Also they tend to mate for life and unless you’re comfortable spending almost every day of the rest of yours with Draco, I would steer clear of him. Not to be mean of course, but because he may inadvertently tap into his Veela Charm and confuse you. Honestly I think it would be an honor to be chosen as someone’s mate, but the choice is, in the end, yours. Not mine and not Draco’s. Then again, I could be wrong.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Hermione.’

“Oh.” Smart girl.