Paternity

Part Seventeen
Revelation

\"He\'s staring at me again.\"

Harry closed his eyes. \"Ron, for heaven\'s sake, do you know how childish that sounds? \'Mum, he\'s looking at me!\'\"

\"But Harry, he is staring at me,\" Ron insisted. \"Draco isn\'t even bothering to try to pretend he isn\'t.\"

Harry blinked. \"Draco? I thought you meant Snape.\"

\"No. I\'m going to say something I never thought I\'d say--I wish Snape hadn\'t left the room.\"

They were in the dining hall, finishing up supper, and Snape had once again been designated the monitor. Harry must not have noticed his exit because the teacher\'s table was completely empty, a house elf clearing away the empty dishes. The only other occupants of the echoing room were Draco and two fellow Slytherins--Basil Slumpstrap and Coriannda Tossbottle.

Basil and Coriannda (sometimes known about Hogwarts as the Spice Pair), were engrossed in each other, as usual. Usually Draco wouldn\'t have tolerated being ignored, but would have insisted on at least joining the conversation, if not leading it. But now something was distracting him from the fact that he wasn\'t the center of activity, and that something seemed to be Ron.

Harry frowned. \"It isn\'t as if Malfoy falls all over himself to observe the niceties of manners, but he\'s being rude even by his own standards. I haven\'t seen that sort of staring since...\" Harry paused, searching for a comparison. Suddenly his brows lowered, and his jaw took on a hard set. \"Since Dudley spotted the coin in the chunk of stale Christmas pudding I was allowed when I was ten. He didn\'t even give Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon a chance to order me to hand it over--he just knocked me down and took it. The only satisfaction I got was that he ate the pudding, too, and it gave him a bellyache.\" Draco saw that Harry had noticed his stare, and smirked. Harry gritted his teeth. \"I may have to knock his sodding block off.\"

Ron looked at Harry in surprise. \"Easy on, Harry. I\'m the one he\'s staring at.\"

\"Exactly.\"

\"But...\" The meaning of that exchange hit Ron. \"Oh.\" He was quiet for a second, then said, \"Seriously?\" Harry gave him a look. Ron sat back, feeling just the tiniest bit stunned. \"I\'ve never had anyone be jealous over me before. All the girls prattle on like it\'s a goal.\" He frowned slightly. \"But I don\'t think I like it much. Don\'t let it bother you. It\'s just a look, and believe me, I\'m not interested.\"

\"Good thing.\" Harry deliberately looked away from Draco. Ron was right--it was just a look, and after all--he had Ron, not Draco. Logically speaking, he knew that he shouldn\'t be jealous if the outside interest wasn\'t reciprocated. He also knew that you couldn\'t just change emotions that easily. After all, he\'d had so little in his life that it was a natural instinct to aggressively protect whatever he had now.

Harry\'s thoughts were interrupted as Ron said, \"Excuse me?\"

Harry suddenly realized how that might have sounded. \"Oh, come on, Ron. I meant he would have to look sharp, not you.\"

\"Oh, well, that\'s good to know,\" said Ron sarcastically. He stood up, his chair scraping back, and picked up his empty plate. \"I think I\'ll just chalk up a brownie point with Hermione by saving the house elves some work, and take this to the kitchen for a wash up.\"

It was a transparently ridiculous excuse to get away. Harry started to get up. \"I\'ll come...\"

Ron snatched up Harry\'s plate, slapping the eating utensils on top with a clatter. \"Don\'t bother.\"

\"But...\"

\"I mean it, Harry. Don\'t stir a step after me, or you may end up,\" he jiggled the plates, \"WEARING that last bit of pudding you couldn\'t finish.\" He turned sharply and stalked out of the dining hall.

Harry stared after him, feeling confused and miserable. Lord, was he always this touchy, or is it all the hormones? He immediately felt guilty. Or am I just really that much of a shit?

---

Normally the house elves wouldn\'t be startled by a student appearing in the kitchens. After all, with as large a group of children and adolescents, there was going to be late night food raids, and even occasional begging trips if the scent of some particular goody made it to the public rooms. But during the summer holidays, when the school was almost deserted, a visit was unusual enough to draw the attention of every elf present. The fact that the student in question was actually performing a chore that the elves considered their private prerogative incited emotions that ranged from mild indignation through awed gratitude.

Golwoggle and Twitchet were horrified. Imagine, the young sir trekking down to the kitchen, carrying dirty dishes! The load was whisked away, and Ron found himself bundled onto a chair by the fire, a mug of sweet, milky tea pushed into his hands. Most of the elves went back to what they had been doing--lots of cleaning, some preparation of foods for preservation. But one of them--Twitchet--came over and looked up at Ron with large, dark eyes. \"You\'re the one I talked to upstairs, yeah?\" Twitchet smiled shyly in agreement. Ron knew that a house elf would collapse before sitting before a human without permission. He pulled up a low, elf-sized stool and said, \"Well, if you\'re preggers, your feet must be killing you. Have a seat.\"

She sat, sighing in relief. \"Sir is both kind and wise. Poor elf feet.\" She cocked her head at him. \"If Twitchet might say so, it seems odd that sir would walk all the way down here when he must have the same problem.\"

Ron grunted. \"I had to get away from everyone for a few minutes.\"

Twitchet nodded. \"Oh, yus, that I can understand. My Golwoggle... Powers above, I love him, but...\" She rolled her eyes. \"Fuss and cosset, worry and question. Not a moment of peace to let a body think.\" She gave him a sympathetic look. \"Harry Potter is so with sir?\"

Ron rubbed his face. \"Something like that.\"

\"My, my, my. How cozy,\" said a drawling voice. Ron\'s head jerked around so fast that he got a sharp pain in his neck. Draco Malfoy was standing behind him, arms folded, a sardonic look on his face. The house elves had gone very still, watching him warily. Most of the students were no trouble, and the elves enjoyed taking care of them. A number of the Slytherins, though, and most particularly Draco, were a different matter. \"Since when does a house elf sit down in the presence of a human?\"

Twitchet gave an apologetic squeak and hopped to her feet, but Ron said grimly, \"Since she\'s invited. Speaking of which, no one invited you here, Malfoy. Why don\'t you bugger off, before you curdle the milk and turn the butter rancid?\"

\"Ron,\" Draco chided sarcastically. \"How can you be so cruel, after all we\'ve been to each other?\"

\"Don\'t make me laugh.\"

\"Oh, wouldn\'t want to do that. The bladder is a bit iffy these days, isn\'t it?\"

There was a sly undertone to Draco\'s words, and Ron frowned. \"Sometimes you make less sense than others.\" Ron got up, and patted Twitchet on the head. Hermione might have scolded him for being patronizing, but he had nothing but good intentions. \"If he stays around and bothers you, Twitchet, you might consider spilling some hot soup on him.\" He started toward the door. Ron was just passing a pantry when Draco caught his arm and shoved him into the closet-like room. \"Hey! What the bloody hell do you think you\'re doing?\"

\"We need to talk.\"

The space was small, and Draco had crowded Ron back against the shelves. Ron shoved at him. \"Since when have I ever wanted to talk to you?\"

Draco swayed back with the force of Ron\'s push, but countered by grabbing the other boy\'s shoulders, and pinning him against the shelves. \"That\'s right--I forgot that there wasn\'t much pillow talk when we shagged.\"

\"You know damn good and well that was an aberration. Let go of me!\" Ron tried to shove again.

This time Draco was even rougher, and Ron\'s head bounced against a shelf. He hissed, \"Just settle down, Ronnikins. I had no problem with you running off that night--I\'ve never been one for lingering in the afterglow, but I\'m beginning to believe that we have a situation here that needs to be taken care of. I want a straight answer out of you--are you pregnant?\"

---

Harry debated with himself, but finally decided to go after Ron. Things festered if they weren\'t dealt with, and he didn\'t want anything to come between him and Ron--not now that they had finally acted on the feelings that had been growing between them since the first year.

He made his way toward the kitchens. There was a door in the hall, just before you came to the kitchen entrance, and it was ajar. He could hear voices, and he slowed instinctively. He didn\'t really intend to eavesdrop, but he recognized the voices, and the first words he heard froze him in his tracks. \"Just settle down, Ronnikins. I had no problem with you running off that night--I\'ve never been one for lingering in the afterglow, but I\'m beginning to believe that we have a situation here that needs to be taken care of. I want a straight answer out of you--are you pregnant?\"

*That\'s Draco. Oh, Jesus--he\'s guessed! He\'s figured it out... What did he mean by \'that night\'?*

Now Ron was speaking. \"Don\'t be stupid, Malfoy. Haven\'t you been paying attention in health class? I\'m a boy.\"

\"Come off it, Weasley. We\'re wizards--you have to know that we don\'t have all the physical restrictions Muggles do. I\'m not stupid. You\'ve been eating like a pig, but throwing up. Peeing every ten minutes. Dizzy spells. You\'re even more moody than that famous red headed temperament could account for. So tell me the truth--are you pregnant?\"

There was a pause. Ron\'s response was low. \"What business is it of yours?\"

\"That\'s part of what I want to know. Are you going to try to make trouble for me just because I fucked you once?\"

Harry actually staggered. He couldn\'t breathe--all the oxygen seemed to have been sucked out of the air. Things actually began to gray out, and he thought for a moment that he was going to faint. Then he heard Draco speaking again. \"Or are you going to try to foist the brat off on Potter? He\'d be just the noble sort to want to give the sprout a name...\"

Harry was moving before he realized what he was doing. He slammed the door open, careless of who might be in the way. It turned out to be Draco. The door smashed into his shoulder. It loosened his grip on Ron, and knocked him against the back wall. Ron was almost carried along, but caught at the shelves, stopping himself.

The other two boys stared at the boy who had suddenly appeared. Harry stood as still as a rock, his arms stiffly at his side, hands clenched into fists. Ron\'s mind was reeling with the sudden intrusion, but a part of him still noted that Harry\'s sleeves were too short--he\'d grown this year, and his exposed wrists looked naked, and somehow vulnerable. But Harry\'s face was as pale as milk. His eyes glittered behind his glasses, as green and sharp as emerald shards. He said, very slowly, \"It\'s a lie.\" The tiny room was very quiet, except for harsh breathing. Harry directed a murderous glare at Draco, then looked again at Ron. His tone was both a demand, and a plea. \"Say it, Ron. Say it\'s a lie. It is my baby. It has to be. There\'s no way it could be his. No way.\"

Draco, propped against the back wall, smirked. \"Go on, Weasley.\"

Ron swallowed hard. His throat felt dusty. \"It\'s your baby, Harry.\" He looked into Harry\'s eyes--eyes that demanded truth at any price. His voice faltered. \"I... I\'m sure. It was only once with Draco, and...\" Harry turned without a word and left. \"Harry, wait! Let me explain...\" He hurried after his wounded lover.

Behind them, Draco straightened himself, and began chuckling. *Hell, I almost hope that it is my brat, just for what it will do to Potter.*