Indago:Reborn

Chapter Sixteen

“ Saviour of the Wizarding World is a parent

Last night, a wonderful commotion was seen going on in the home of Harry Potter-Malfoy and his husband Draco Malfoy. Many members of the Weasley family – known friends of the Boy-Who-Lived—and the parents of Draco Malfoy, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, were seen Apparating to the home late last night. Two hours later a great celebration was heard inside the home and not much later all of the guests left with many a smile on his or her face. One guest was heard to exclaim, “A baby girl! We’ll have to think up a trick just in her honour.”

A statement was released by the Malfoy family stating that yes, indeed, Harry Potter-Malfoy gave birth to a female child late in the evening of April sixth. It is stated that Harry Potter-Malfoy and child are in good health and the entire family is in good spirits and excitement over the new addition to their family.

It is not known, however, whether or not this child is full human or is an Indago like her parents. Severus Snape, who is the leading authority on Indago, is one himself and has been living in the Potter-Malfoy home these past two months, could not be reached for comment. The possibility that the child could be an Indago is amazingly low, but there is some consensus, in scholars and readers alike, that says if anyone could do the impossible, it would be Harry Potter.

“How much did they distort?” Snape asked.

Draco put the paper down next to his breakfast plate. “Surprisingly little. In fact, they revealed that they have been spying on the house. I’ll have to raise the wards again.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Harry won’t like it. He says he had to live behind too many wards in his life and now they make him feel as if he is still hiding.” Draco shook his head. “Regardless of the fact that Harry is still hiding from the world. It makes no sense, but there’s the mind of a Gryffindor for you. Brave but illogical.”

“I would imagine his thoughts on the subject have changed, now that he is not protecting himself anymore,” Snape said before taking a bite out of a piece of triangular toast.

“True.” Draco glanced up at the ceiling. “I’m going up with his tray. Coming?”

“No. I’ll be in in a bit. I have some correspondence to handle.” Snape set down his tea cup. “Will you be staying home then?”

“Of course.” Draco rose to his feet. “I didn’t work like a dog for my health. Everything has been arranged and they shall be fine without me for a few days.” Draco would not leave Harry alone at this time even if things weren’t in order. Harry needed him most now and Draco would be sure that everything was perfect for when Harry emerged from the den.

An owl came in through the window. His father’s owl. “Again?” Draco snapped. “How many lectures by paper can I read in a single morning?”

“Parenthood brings many responsibilities to your family and line,” Snape stated calmly.

“Yes, I know,” Draco said sharply. “It seems to be his closing line in every one of these damn things!” He snatched the missive out of the owl’s beak roughly causing it to screech at him and fly off. Tearing open the envelope, Draco scowled as he read, then tossed it on the table.

“The party,” he huffed. He looked at Snape. “The Naming Ceremony,” clarified. “Father is making arrangements for it to be held a week from tomorrow. He wants it in the morning.”

“He may not be ready to present the infant at that time,” Snape said, referring to Harry.

“Master Draco?” Ably appeared in the doorway.

“What is it?”

“There are several delivery owls coming, Master Draco,” Ably said and pointed out the window. There in the not very distance was a black cloud. The cloud was moving swiftly towards their home and soon all occupants could see the many wings and parcels flying their way towards them.

“The sunroom,” Draco ordered the elf. “Put them in there and do not allow one owl into the house. Do not allow anything into the house until they have been properly identified.” He looked towards Snape and the dark head nodded.

“I’ll see to the scanning of them,” Snape said aloud.

“Then I am off to see my husband and child,” Draco said and left the room.

He had had to put the breakfast tray together himself due to Ably’s preoccupation with the deliveries. It was simple, a bit of breakfast ham, some fruit and water. He carried it up the stairs, ignoring the screeching from the back of the house, and slowly entered the den.

The fire was again just glowing coals, but the window behind the drapes was lit and giving off indirect light. “Harry,” he called, announcing his presence. “I’ve brought up your breakfast.” He came closer and switched last night’s tray with the new one, placing the cleaned off plate and empty water goblet on the floor. Ably hadn’t come in. Draco wondered if the elf had known not to, or Harry had made sure he didn’t. He went down on his knees at the side of the bed again and addressed the pile.

“Harry, you need to eat. I want to see my daughter.”

The heap undulated and then parted; indicating to Draco that Harry now trusted him to come near. Now, if only he could get a hold of the child. He dearly wanted to hold her, which was surprising to Draco more than anything. But he wanted to see her, hold her, touch her, smell her.

Harry appeared, his eyes watching Draco carefully until Draco reached out a hand for Harry to touch. Then he pushed the rest of the fabric back to reveal the tiny infant. She was curled close to Harry’s stomach and Draco could just make out that Snape had been correct. A pale line had replaced the angry red slash from the night before. Draco looked closely at the baby, but could not see very much in the dim light. A wave of his hand and the drapes parted emitting the morning light. Apparently, it was too fast and abrupt. Harry hunkered over the child and the mound quickly covered him, hiding them completely. Draco refrained from cursing.

“Harry,” Draco called. He pulled the drape half closed with a word and then put a hand on a cashmere coat of his mother’s. Now when had Harry gotten hold of that? “Harry, pet, come out. There’s no danger. I wouldn’t allow it.”

The pile remained completely still and Draco waited. Finally, a tiny movement and he knew that Harry was watching him from beneath. “It’s just me, pet. I want to see you and the baby,” he said calmly, slowly reaching his hand out. Fingers snaked through the material and briefly touched his and then Harry was pushing free once again, allowing Draco sight of the two.

Draco slowly leaned forward and brushed a sock out of his way. There was the baby, still snuggled against Harry. Draco could now see that it – she – had dark blonde hair that was already in little ringlets about her head. She was porcelain white all over. She had minute hands and feet. She was, in a word, perfect.

“She’s beautiful,” Draco whispered. He looked up at Harry with a smirk. “Of course.”

Harry watched him intently and then, surprisingly, began nudging the baby away, sliding it a bit towards Draco. Draco looked intently into green eyes before carefully reaching out with both hands and scooping her up gently. Harry came up with her, rising to his knees to keep an eye on her, but did not once try to take her back. Bringing her to his chest, Draco stared down at his daughter. His daughter. Merlin, it was here! No longer a distant future. It was now here. She was now here. He was a parent. Looking down into the wrinkled face, Draco had absolutely no regrets or hesitation. He was holding his heir, the next Malfoy. He would imbue her with all that it meant to be a Malfoy and the daughter of Harry Potter. She would be perfect, flawless. No door would be locked to her, no path barred. She would be denied nothing.

Harry suddenly tensed and moved close to Draco and the baby, his hands out to cover them both. Draco frowned and then heard the door handle turn. Draco could sense before the door opened that it was Snape. Harry raised his hand; magic began swirling, collecting in the air.

“No,” Draco said firmly. Harry lowered the hand but moved even closer to the baby. The door swung open and quickly shut.

“Reassure him,” Draco said to the man behind him. He heard Snape take a few steps in and then walk around to the other side of the bed, away from Draco and the baby. Intense green eyes watched him the entire way. When Snape stopped, he slowly held out his hand, palm down. Harry watched for a moment and then shuffled a bit closer and reached out and touched the hand, then brought it to his cheek in apology for the cold greeting. Snape accepted the apology by running his hand through Harry’s hair. Dropping the hand, Harry quickly shuffled back to his most important priority and watched with sharp eyes as Draco held the baby.

“Come look at her, Sev,” Draco called out softly.

Snape made his way slowly around to Draco, allowing Harry time to object. Harry watched quietly as he approached, but did not stop him. The older man looked over Draco’s shoulder at the sleeping infant.

“She appears very healthy,” he stated quietly.

“And perfect,” Draco added.

“Of course.”

Draco let a finger stroke through her scant amount of hair and down her small nose. Harry’s nose, if he wasn’t mistaken; a bit too wide to be an imitation of his own slender features. The tiny arms jerked and the head twisted a bit on his arm. Thin eyelids opened and revealed jet black eyes. Draco was so startled he nearly dropped her. He looked sharply at Snape.

“I had wondered,” Snape murmured, his eyes not leaving the child.

“Wondered what?” Draco snapped. Harry made an anxious movement and Draco struggled to calm down. “Wondered what?” he repeated more softly. “Stop hiding information, damn it.”

“I was not hiding information, Draco. I was merely withholding a hypothesis until more facts could be attained,” Snape said conversationally.

“And will you deign to enlighten me about your hypothesis?”

Snape looked at Draco. “The fluid that passed from us to Harry. It contained genetic code along with a nutrient that Harry does not naturally produce. The child needed it to mature properly. Apparently, as I was the one most with him, my essence was transferred to the child.” The professor looked again at the baby. “Don’t worry, Draco. The child is completely yours. I only assisted a bit. If I had known beforehand, I would, of course, had not handled him as much as I did and imparted to you the importance of touching him as often as possible. I only figured it out in the last seventy-two hours. Much too late to make a difference at this advanced stage.”

“Why would this happen?” Draco demanded, still disturbed by the sight of the older man’s eyes looking at him from the tiny face. “Why would the child require this fluid?”

“Because she’s Indago.” Snape looked back at Draco. “A human baby would not have need of it. But as she is the first full-bred Indago born in more years than I can count, she required it. Without our assistance, it is most likely that the child would have been stillborn, or worse, a squib.”

“That does not make sense, Snape,” Draco snapped in frustration. Harry looked intently at him and he calmly petted the child, reassuring Harry that he wasn’t upset at him or the baby. And he wasn’t. He already loved this child more than life itself. He just hated when Severus decided to treat him like a dullard and string him along for answers he would never have known. “You and I, and Harry for that matter, did not have a parent that could produce this nutrient.”

“No, but we are not full-bred. The child is. She will be more connected to her base self. You will need to work a bit harder to keep her connected to the human world.”

“And why would she take on your characteristics?”

“Due to the genetic code. And the reason there is genetic code in the fluid is to mark her as part of our pack. In a pack, there would be interbreeding, resulting in all of the members looking similar. Dagodine, our ancestors, all had different colouring and sizes depending on which pack they belonged to. This is nature’s way of helping us to do the same, I assume.” Snape reached out and ran a finger down the infant’s cheek. “She is now marked as ours.”

Draco watched the older man’s actions. “Ours?” he asked with a raised brow. “I never thought of you as the paternal type, Severus.”

“Hmm, the pheromones are quite potent, are they not?” Snape looked down at the child for one last time and then stepped forward to run a hand over Harry’s hair. “I have scanned the packages. Nothing dangerous, except a suspicious box from the Weasley twins, which I had taken to the back garden shed. Preferably to be forgotten.” Harry leaned into the touch. “I have also spotted a few jackals, with cameras at the ready, near the front garden entrance.”

Draco looked down at the child in his arms. “I’ll raise the wards immediately.” The infant fussed a bit, making a mewling cry, and Harry pulled away from Snape’s hand and came close to the baby again. Draco held her out and she was quickly taken from his arms and both parent and child settled themselves back into the pile. Draco held out the plate and Harry immediately snatched the ham off the plate and began chewing it, then feeding it to the baby.

“Harry,” Snape called, causing green eyes to look up at him. “Do not forget to eat, as well.” Harry went back to feeding the infant but also kept some for himself. “He is much more active than I assumed he would be,” the older man said to Draco as the pair watched Harry. “He may be ready for the Naming Ceremony. But I would stress to Lucius that he not make it as grand as I am sure he is wont to do. Else, we may have a rabid Harry attacking guests.” With a smirk, the Potions Master was gone.

Draco watched his husband for a while longer, reminding him to eat as well, until the plate was empty and Harry had happily hidden himself under the heap again. The blond was disappointed that he hadn’t heard Harry say a word yet, but took confidence in Snape’s assertion that he would be back to normal very soon.

Letting himself out, Draco walked down to the sunroom to go over the gifts and cards they had received. All the time he mulled over Snape’s words. So, the child had taken on a bit of Snape, then. Well, nothing to do about it now, he thought to himself. And truly, if the child were to have any other “donor”, Snape would have been Draco’s first choice. She was now part of them, all of them. He wondered what Harry would think of all that once he began to think a bit more clearly.

A large package revealed itself to be a basket full of food and blankets. Draco looked at it oddly for a moment, as it was completely different than anything else they had received. It was filled with choice meats and fruits, sweets and silk. Odd collection. Draco snapped the tag off the handle and then nearly threw it down again once he read it.

Dear Mr. Potter-Malfoy and new family,

I hope that you accept this basket as a token of appreciation in and gratitude of your accomplishment. I hope that I chose well in giving you what you may desire at this time. I wish to express my congratulations and hope that I will be allowed to meet the newest member of your family.

Warm Regards,
Daniel Muroch
Number 3 Great Russel Street, London

Bastard! Draco nearly tipped the thing in the rubbish. Was he encroaching on his territory? Was he actually trying to steal his sub away? Or his daughter, for that matter?

“And what has you in a dither?”

Draco rounded on the dark shadow in the doorway. Snape, a bit of ink smudged on his fingers and a light of knowledge still glowing in his eye, stepped into the mess of boxes and ribbons.

“That American bastard sent Harry a gift!” Draco seethed, pointing at the offending item. Snape swooped down and examined it.

“It’s harmless, Draco. Truly, you need to control these emotional outbursts. You begin to act more and more like your father every day,” Snape said with a smirk. Draco glared and handed the note that went with it, watching as the beady eyes read the words swiftly.

“It is nothing,” Snape said looking up and handing the card back. “We are a rare thing, Draco. He is possibly only looking for a friend,” Snape chuckled. Draco narrowed his eyes at the older man.

“Passing your genes along giving you the giggles, then?” he snapped. He tossed the card down onto the basket and booted the entire thing, sending it skidding a few feet away.

“Proving a hypothesis that leading authorities had no idea could exist has me in my fine mood,” Snape said calmly. “Come, Draco. Is it not a time to rejoice? There has been a birth, you remember.”

“Speaking of which,” Draco said as he ruffled through a few more items, pocketing things of worth. “Aren’t you disappointed that you did not witness it?”

“Hmm.” Snape looked up through the glass ceiling at the sun just breaking through the clouds. The slight patter of rain did not abate in the sunshine. “It is regrettable. But I hope that with the next one, he will entrust me enough to allow my presence.”

“Do not speak to me of another. I have barely registered this and I do not wish to repeat having a psychotic as a husband any time soon,” Draco announced and stood up. “The rest of this is garbage. Though, I am sure Harry would have another opinion. I’ll have to save it for him to go through when he is up to it.”

Glaring at the smirk playing along Snape’s lips, he stalked out of the room. What was this world coming to when Severus Snape, dread Professor, is in good cheer over the addition of another child to the land?