Heir of light, Heir of darkness

The reviews:

ura, HeadSorcoressofSlytherinHouse, Jolene, thrnbrooke, Shame Ness, Anon, dedmum, Natasha, Daydreamer, moi, Reyn: You are all great, thank you for the reviews and encouragement.
scyllablue: Thank you for the review and about the grammar… could you point the ones you found for me (use my e-mail, please). I do have a hard time with English and I appreciate the help.
Melissa: Hope I didn’t let you down. Let me know how you like my Harry now. And how is Draco doing?
Priss368:Hi, lovely to hear from you on this one as well. Don’t worry I’m not a big fan of angst, I don’t think I could write a fic with it... or too much of it. There will be some trouble but they will eventually work it through.


Author’s Notes:
Disclaimer at chapter 01


******

Harry woke up and tried to remember where he was and how he got there. Nothing came to mind. He just felt… good. A smile crept across his face and he stretched in bed, feeling his body all comfortable and relaxed as he hadn’t felt it in a long time. What had happened last night?

He could remember the game, the jokes in the shower, the Great Hall, the Slytherins coming in like an army… oh! Merlin… it all came rushing back. Fudge, Aurors, reporters, the strange ceremony… He looked at his finger and almost jumped out of bed. Even without his glasses he could see the silver and gold band.

His glasses, he needed his glasses.

Harry tried to make sense of where to look for his glasses first. He tried by the sides of the bed but found nothing. Suddenly someone gently placed his glasses on his face and sat in front of him on the mattress.

“Thanks,” said Harry

“It was nothing, Harry.”

Draco Malfoy!

The only thing keeping Harry from jumping from the bed and running out of the door was the fact that he only had a thin bed sheet wrapped around his very naked body.

“Where are my clothes?”

“They are right here. They are new ones; I hope you like them. I had them especially made for today’s battle,” said Draco, handing him a large box.

Harry looked at the box, trying to make sense of what was going on. He finally gave up.

“What battle? How did I get here? And why are we wearing matching rings?”

“You walked here last night after we left the Pax Coglinato feast; the feast was happening *because* we are wearing matching rings and because of the battle against Voldemort, who is the one person not happy about this whole thing.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Malfoy, and I’m not happy either.”

“Ok, I will oblige you with an answer Harry. You see, in times of war, and only in times of war, wizards can evoke an old law called Pax Coglinato. It’s sort of a last resort thing. Because there are so few wizards, nobody would benefit from the death of hundreds of us in a war. So, in order to avoid the bloodshed, a bond is forged between the heirs of both sides. All the crimes committed in the war are forgiven and the two opposing armies may join forces to ensure the peace.”

“That sounds good, actually.”

“That is good and that is also why we are bonded.”

Harry blinked, and then he blinked again, twice.

“That is why we are WHAT?”

“Bonded.”

Harry looked at his hand then at Draco’s. Bonded. He tightened the covers around himself.

“And I’m naked because…”

“Because we completed the bond after we retired to our bedroom.”

Our bedroom…

Harry’s eyes went wide as he began to grasp what Draco was saying. They were bonded and they had spent the night together on that bed, naked on that bed, completing the bond… and he didn’t remember any of it. Oh! Merlin, he had been drugged! What was Draco going on about it… that was not bonding. They did not bond. Draco had raped him, and that was that. Bond! He would show Draco some serious bonding with his fist!

He was ready to bite Draco’s head off, when the door opened and Fudge entered the room with four other ministry officials. All of them had large smiles on their faces.

“Misters Malfoy. Everybody is ready for battle and we came here to ask you to join us.”

Harry could feel his face burning up in shame. They were all looking at him and making him very conscious of exactly how naked he was. He could see Dolores Umbridge amongst the ministry people smiling evilly at him, enjoying the fact that he was so uncomfortable for being in front of so many strangers with nothing but a thin bed sheet to cover himself.

“And how exactly, sir, did you make yourself so familiar with me and my husband to the point of barging in our bedroom without knocking?” Fudge paled considerably and the four officials behind him lost their smiles instantaneously.

“Mr. Malfoy, I’m sure you agree that the urgency of the situation…” Fudge began to babble, but Draco didn’t allow him to continue.

“The urgency of the situation does not excuse poor manners or your intrusion upon our intimacy, and, besides, I do believe we have a few hours before battle. I’m sure you could have spared a few minutes to knock and wait before you were invited to come in.”

“Mr. Malfoy, I swear I had no intention of…”

“You, sir, can apologize in the hall; I believe my husband has been put through quite enough already. OUT.”

Draco forced the intruders out of the room, leaving a very bemused Harry behind.

Ok, that was… new, Harry thought. Oh, Merlin, he said I’m his husband… why do these things happen? And why is it always to me? Can’t it happen so somebody else every once in a while? How did I become a husband? Wait, are we going to battle? Voldemort!

Finally alone and able to see, Harry jumped out of the bed. He hadn’t spent all his life preparing so he could miss the battle. He hurried to the bathroom to get a quick shower and get ready, but once he was out of the shower he noticed he had a problem: the clothes he wore yesterday were gone.

Well, the bed is made, so I guess it’s safe to say that the house-elves have something to do with it. I don’t want to wear anything that will remind me of Draco; there is no way I’ll wear something that would be recognized as property of the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, and I still can’t believe he drugged me to get in to bed. Should I be madder at him? I think I should… maybe if I could remember what happened, I would be… don’t have time for this now. Kill Voldemort now, be mad at Draco later. Yeap, sounds like a good plan to me. Now back to my robes…

Harry sat on the bed. He knew he wasn’t been too coherent, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be any more logical about this whole absurd situation. It had to be a dream or something. How was it possible that in less than--what…12 hours?--he had gotten married by the Ministry of Magic himself to none other than Draco Malfoy, whose father was free somehow, and, supposedly, getting dressed for a battle he had been preparing himself for for the past six years?

It made no sense!

The box Draco had given him was lying on top of the bed. It had his name on it. Draco did say it was something for him to wear in battle today. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look, he decided opening the box.

It was a battle outfit alright. It had strong leather pads in all the right places, and he could sense the protection spell humming around it. He laid the outfit on the bed to take a better look at it. It was perfect.

The undergarment was made of cotton--a wise choice in the field--white, soft and strong cotton. There were thick white cotton socks, black leather trousers with double stitches and matching black leather boots, a white button-down shirt and a double-breasted, knee-length redingote all done in black leather with a lion and a snake engraved over the heart. Harry remembered seeing the same symbol on Malfoy clothes, even though the design of the outfit itself had been different.

There were also a few extra items in the box: a wand holster to be attached to his arm, a small pouch full of potion vials and a fancy wrist watch… with Draco’s face on it. It reminded Harry of the clock at the Burrow. He put it on without thinking about it.

When he was ready, he stood in front of the full length mirror on the wall. The effect was amazing. He looked like some sort of a mix between a 19th century gentleman and a science fiction warrior. Securing his wand in the holster, he stepped into the hallway to find out exactly what battle everybody was talking about.

He had never seen the school so full; the minute he stepped out of the room there were two Aurors by his side. Harry smiled when he recognized Tonks and Harold, another member of the OotP.

“What is this about?”

“We are your personal escort, Harry. You have just been promoted from Saviour of the Wizarding World to Saviour *and* Ruler of the Wizarding World… well, Co-ruler of sorts.”

“Oh, Merlin. Do I even want to know?”

“Oh, yes,” said Tonks with a large smile. “It’s a big deal; you see, last night, when Fudge so brilliantly nominated you as ‘our heir’, meaning the side of the light, of course…”

“Of course,” said Harry, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute.

“He kind of made you the next in line to rule the Wizarding World on a much more permanent basis than a ministry election… but he doesn’t know it yet, and we are not telling. We took a vote yesterday and decided to save this piece of news for an important occasion… like the victory speech… or Christmas, whichever comes first…” she sighed, looking like a child waiting for a long-promised unicorn.

Harry fought the urge to laugh; there were too many people in the hallways coming and going for him to start calling attention now.

“Well, I don’t think he will have to worry about that for a long time, now will he?” He looked around expecting to see smiling faces and got worried when he intercepted a look exchanged between his friends. “Or maybe not… ok, what is it that I don’t know yet?”

“Hum, you see, Harry, last night, when he asked if anyone had anything to say and Malfoy came forward announcing Draco as Voldemort’s heir…”

“Why didn’t you arrest him? And why is Lucius free?”

“It’s all because of the law Fudge invoked. It’s a truce, the mother of all truces to be exact. He announced Draco and the brat… I mean, the young man accepted his responsibilities under that law… as you had done, and Fudge… well, he wedded the two of you.”

“That is what I was afraid of,” said Harry, not really surprised. He had already come to that conclusion the night before; it was just unsettling to actually hear someone say it out loud.

“Well, yes, and since the two heirs accepted their responsibilities and got married… and bonded,” she added in a much lower tone, but Harry heard it anyway. Malfoy would be so dead once he laid hands on the blond, but Tonks grabbed his attention back when she continued, “The heirs are now the lawful rulers of all wizards. Fudge pretty much gave his job away when he married the two of you… but don’t tell him… we are thinking about auctioning that privilege, and it *has* to be done on a special day!” She finished with the brightest smile Harry had ever seen on her face just as they reached the great hall doors.

As he entered the great hall he was greeted by the most incredible sight he could have conceived of: the tables were not divided in houses. In fact, there was one for first, second, third and fourth years--very sour looking fourth years as they watched the three other tables showing a range of emotions varying from awe to fear, with a few frowns thrown in for good measure.

The other three tables, however, were the big surprise. All the members from the DA (from the fifth year up) were clad in similar outfits as his own and some of them were *actually* talking to the upper class men from Slytherin, who were still wearing the same uniform from yesterday. The rest of the older students were sitting in mixed groups where houses and years didn’t seem to make any difference.

There were a good number of Aurors sitting with the students, and Harry could hear them helping the students to brush up on spells and giving battle tips… he really didn’t like the idea of an average student going to battle. The members of his defence club could defend themselves--he had spent the last two years making sure of that--but the others… Harold notice the look on Harry's face.

“Don’t worry, Harry. They are going to remain inside as a last line of defence we hope we won’t have to use,” said Harold in his ear.

Harry nodded and started to make his way to join his friends at the common table, when Tonks held his arm and silently indicated that he should go to the High Table where he could see all the teachers sitting with a very talkative Fudge, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy and Draco. He let Tonks lead the way to the table, getting more and more worried as he noticed everybody had gotten up to welcome him.

“Hum… Tonks, why is Mr. Malfoy out of Azkaban?”

“Draco insisted as part of the deal. He would accept the responsibility if Fudge gave his father a full pardon. Along with any Death Eater who decided to join our side.”

“Oh, Merlin. He finally went mad, didn’t he?”

“Actually, no. Even Dumbledore agreed to this when we found out. Each one who came to our side is one less standing at the Dark Lord’s side.”

Yeah. They will be standing at our side, so they can shoot us at a much closer range. At least they won’t miss their shots, thought Harry as they finally came to their destination.

It had taken forever to get to the table, what with the whole hall watching him, and Harry almost felt glad that Tonks stood next to an empty chair next to Draco. He said his good mornings and sat, everybody sat too. Fudge had a surprised look on his face, so did the Ministry officials sitting at the other tables. Harry could tell he had only gotten up because everybody else had.

“Good Morning,” said Draco, smiling and leaning over Harry to whisper in his ear. “Relax, Harry, it’s almost over now.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Funny. I remember you saying the same thing last night, and whatever is going on is still happening.”

“Don’t worry.” Draco’s smile was even brighter, if that was possible. “I promise you’ll like what happens next.”

He is not as mad as I expected him to be. Maybe we won’t have as rough a beginning as I thought; he seems to be accepting the situation very well.

Draco looked over to the entrance of the hall and noticed a wizard hastily making his way to the High Table. He leaned towards Harry again, calling his attention to the newcomer, and whispered in his ear. He had noticed Harry was affected by it and as a Slytherin he planned to use every little advantage he had to conquer his husband for good.

“Looks like this is it. Ready to end a reign of terror once and for all?”

Harry watched the wizard approach with a few papers in his hand. He made his way to the table and, ignoring Fudge who had stood up and extended his hand to get the papers, walked right up to Draco, whispering in his ear as he handed over the papers.

Harry felt a pang in his chest.

Why is this man whispering to Draco? Why is Draco letting this man whisper to him? Does he have to smile like that? We woke up together this morning for crying out loud. I am not important to… oh, Merlin, am I jealous? This is insane. It’s the ferret! It’s… oh, Merlin, this is just wrong. What is happening to me? [delete ‘.’]

Harry turned his attention to the food in front of him, trying his best to ignore Draco. He finally noticed Dumbledore sitting next to him with the usual twinkle in his eyes.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning, Harry. How are you?”

“A bit lost, sir. What is going on? I mean, I know some bits about this Pax law thing, but I still don’t understand, and what is this about a battle?”

“Well, the ‘Pax law thing’, I’m afraid, will have to wait a while. The news of last night’s events, apparently, has already reached Voldemort’s ears, and he is marching against us as we speak. According to some information we managed to acquire, his last few remaining followers are gathering in the Forbidden Forest, along with the dementors and a few giants. He knows his best chance is to strike while the bond is new; if he allows it enough time to strengthen itself, he will lose his chance to conquer the Wizarding World forever.”

Harry quickly glanced around the room. A battle against fully trained wizards, dementors and giants would claim way too many lives, even with their recent reinforcements. He went over his options and saw no other way.

“This bond, how do we make it stronger?” asked Harry, half expecting the answer.

“You have to accept the fact that we are together, Harry,” the answer came from Draco.

“Uh?”

“The bond works with the acceptance of the union. The more we accept it, the stronger it is. We already said we wouldn’t run away from our responsibilities last night. This means we are aware that the lives of everyone in this room and in the rest of the wizard community are our responsibility and we will do whatever it takes to protect them and ensure peace. This also makes sure of a true alliance to us from both sides, but the strength of the bond will depend, not on our sense of duty, but on our willingness to be bonded. So, Harry, are you willing to strengthen our bond?” said Malfoy presenting his hand to Harry as if challenging him to take it.

“So, I take your hand and you are the new ruler of the wizards? How is that an improvement?” said Harry remembering Tonks words.

“I won’t be the ruler, Harry. We will. It will only work if the two of us are together,” Malfoy answered without hesitation. He didn’t move his hand.

Harry glanced over at Dumbledore. “That is the truth, Harry,” the old wizard answered the question Harry didn’t utter.

“Alright, Malfoy,” said Harry, taking Draco’s hand; he could swear he hear Draco let his breath out as if he had been holding it. “Let’s make this bond as strong as possible.”

“You won’t regret it, Harry. I promise,” said Draco, flashing him a smile.

Too late, thought Harry, but, even as he did it, he could hear a small voice inside his head claiming that he had never said he hadn’t opposed the fact of being bonded to Draco in the first place.