Visions of an Empath

A/N: I've been in a sappy mood lately, and this is the result :)

Chapter 20

Draco dropped into the armchair with a weary sigh. There was never a dull moment where Harry was concerned. He couldn’t believe he was already going to be a big brother. He wasn’t ready for that, yet. But judging from that upstairs, his father couldn’t be happier. Draco wasn’t sure how to feel about that, either. With a new child to love, where would that leave him?

“This child won’t replace you, Draco,” said Luna serenely. “There’s no need for you to worry about that. You are the Malfoy heir, and that will not change. Nor will the fact that your father loves you.”

Draco scowled at the other blonde. “Who says I’m worried about something stupid like that?” He determinedly pushed away the doubts that said otherwise.

Luna smiled knowingly. “My mistake, then,” she said airily. “ I’m quite happy for Harry. He’s always wanted a family of his own. Of course, who could blame him really after being deprived of just that for the majority of his life?”

“I just can’t believe Potter’s already pregnant,” muttered Draco, still trying to wrap his mind around that fact. It just didn’t seem real to him yet.

“What?!” shouted two voices in shock.

Draco jerked in surprise and shot to his feet. Spying Hermione and Ron at a small table in the corner of the library, Draco scowled at them suspiciously. “When did you two get in here?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the blonde. “We’ve been here, Malfoy. You just weren’t paying attention.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Now what is this about Harry being pregnant?”

“What is there to explain?” asked Draco snidely. “Potter is pregnant. I just found out about it a little while ago.”

Hermione suddenly squealed excitedly and grabbed Luna’s hands, jumping up and down with the blonde girl. “I’m going to be an auntie!” She finally let go of Luna and threw herself in Ron’s arms. “And you’re going to be an uncle, Ron. I’m so excited.” She eagerly turned back to Draco and demanded, “Where is he?”

Draco looked at Hermione nervously. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her. To his eternal relief, Luna stepped forward and spoke up. “He’s sleeping right now. He almost lost the baby today.”

“What happened?” asked Hermione worriedly. “Is he okay now?”

“He’s fine now,” said Luna soothingly. “Lucius’ magic managed to stabilise the baby before any real damage was done.”

“Is that significant? The fact that Lucius’ magic stabilised the baby?” asked Hermione curiously.

Draco huffed irritably. “Apparently the baby’s a drake, and infant drakes are immune to almost all wizarding magic. Since he is also a drake, Father was the only one who could stabilise the baby.”

Ron snickered suddenly. “Aw, Draco’s jealous.”

Draco glared at the redhead. “What are you talking about? I’m not jealous!”

“Yes, you are. Your father’s a drake, and your sibling’s a drake. Hell, even Harry’s practically a drake. You, however, are just a wizard, and you feel left out because of it,” said Ron wisely.

“Shut up, Weasley. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” snapped Draco. That may have been true at first, but it wasn’t anymore.

“Have you ever considered asking Professor Snape to make you some of that Inheritance potion?” asked Hermione softly.

“Yeah, for all of two seconds,” said Draco derisively. “But then I realised that I want to have a choice in who I spend the rest of my life with. As a drake, that choice would be taken away from me..”

Hermione smiled brightly at Draco. “I never would have guessed you were such a romantic at heart, Draco. It’s rather cute, actually.”

“Shut up, Granger,” said Draco, a light blush darkening his cheeks. “It’s not romantic at all. I just realised that there’s no guarantee I’d ever find my mate, and then I’d be stuck in drake form until the day I died.”

“Oh, I never really thought of it like that,” mused Hermione. “Now that you mention it, though, it’s really a miracle that Lucius found his mate so quickly.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder if that was Harry’s influence. He’s always had the most amazing luck.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” muttered Draco peevishly. He’d been on the unfortunate end of Potter’s luck too many times to count.

Luna smiled knowingly at Draco while Ron snickered unabashedly. “Always one step in front of you, wasn’t he, Malfoy?”

“Shut up, Weasley. You can’t say the same, though, can you? It’s more like ten steps ahead in your case,” sneered Draco.

Ron scowled and clenched his fists, but before he could say anything, Luna spoke up. “Harry should be waking any moment now if you would like to visit.”

Hermione took the hint and grabbed Ron’s arm. “Come on, Ron. Let’s go see how Harry’s doing.”

“Fine,” said Ron grudgingly. He glared once more at Draco. “This isn’t over, though.”

“Yeah, whatever,” said Draco dismissively. It wasn’t much of a threat, considering the fact that Granger had him on such a short leash. As the door closed behind the pair of Gryffindors, Draco sighed in relief. “They’re finally gone. I can’t go anywhere in this house without running into at least one Gryffindor these days.”

“You’ll get used to it, Draco. After all, they’re practically family now,” said Luna calmly.

Draco just groaned in response. He was still trying to get used to his father’s relationship with Harry. It was simply too much to ask for him to include Granger and Weasley at this point in time. They were lucky he tolerated them as well as he did.

***

Severus stared down at his sleeping mate, gently stroking the teen’s dark hair. The mere thought of what could have happened if Lucius had not been with Harry made his heart clench. That line of thought, however, also lead to thoughts about the child Harry carried. Intellectually, Severus knew that the prospect of siring a child with Harry were rather low because it was extremely difficult for a vampire to reproduce naturally, but he couldn’t help the longing he felt when he thought about a child with a mixture of his and Harry’s features.

Severus’ hand strayed to Harry’s stomach, stroking the smooth flesh with gentle fingers. He could hardly believe that this very skin would stretch and grow to accommodate the growth of their child. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to Harry’s belly, feeling a surge of love well up inside him. He realised that it didn’t matter who sired the child. The child would be loved equally by all three of them.

Harry suddenly jerked in Severus’ arms, eyes slowly opening. He saw Severus and smiled softly. “You’ll make a wonderful father, Severus. You already love this baby so much.”

“Do you feel the baby’s emotions, yet?” asked Severus curiously, uncomfortable with emotions on display like that.

“Not that I’m aware,” said Harry, rubbing his still flat belly lightly. “I’m not even sure how far along I am. It’s still a bit surreal to me.”

“I can see if diagnostic spell will work, but I doubt it will. I’m still surprised the pregnancy detection spell worked on you. Infant drakes are immune to almost all of wizarding magic,” said Severus ruefully.

“Is that why Luna had Lucius use his magic to help the baby?” asked Harry, shuddering slightly at the remembered pain. “The baby’s a drake?”

“Apparently so,” said Severus. He raised his wand and cast a diagnostic spell, but it bounced off of the same golden shield that had deflected Luna’s spell. “It won’t work. Lucius should be able to cast it when he gets back, though.”

“Where did he go?” asked Harry.

“He’s out there dealing with your nosy friends,” said Severus, sneering at the bedroom door.

“He may as well just let them in. They won’t leave until they’re absolutely sure I’m all right,” said Harry ruefully.

As soon as the words left Harry’s mouth, the bedroom door opened, and a disgruntled Lucius lead Ron and Hermione into the room. Harry smirked smugly at Severus. He knew his friends all too well.

“Harry, thank goodness you’re all right,” said Hermione, rushing across the room to hug the brunette teen tightly. She leaned back and looked Harry over intently. “Oh, I can’t believe I’m going to be an auntie.” At Harry’s continued silence, she glared at the other teen. “I am going to be an auntie, aren’t I?”

Harry burst into laughter. “Of course, Hermione. I enjoy life too much to deprive you of that.”

Hermione nodded in satisfaction, but she couldn’t remain serious for long. She started laughing with Harry while Ron looked at them both like they were crazy. “They’ve gone batty,” he muttered, causing Harry and Hermione to laugh even harder.

“All right, you two. Now that you’ve seen that Harry is perfectly fine, it’s time for you to leave. Harry still needs to rest a bit more,” said Lucius impatiently.

Hermione hugged Harry once more and headed toward the door, grinning impishly at Lucius as she passed. “Just admit it, Lucius. You just want him all to yourself.”

Ron looked scandalised. “Hermione! Don’t say such things! Remember the no details rule, for Merlin’s sake.”

Lucius slammed the door behind them and locked it for good measure. “I don’t know how you stand dealing with them on a daily basis, Harry.”

“Years of practice,” said Harry dryly. “Now come over hear and cast a diagnostic spell to see how far along I am. Severus’ spell didn’t work.”

Lucius smiled slightly and did as Harry asked. “You are eight weeks pregnant, Harry. Since the child is a drake, though, the pregnancy will only last twenty-eight weeks.”

“How much do you know of drake pregnancies, Lucius?” asked Harry curiously.

“Not a lot, I’m afraid,” said Lucius regretfully. “The last drake we had in the family was my great-great-grandfather. It’s been dormant in every Malfoy since then. Until Severus created that potion, that is.”

Harry smiled ruefully. “I guess that means more research for me then. I can’t wait until I can feel the baby.”

“He’ll be kicking before you know it, and then you’ll be ready for him to be born,” said Lucius teasingly.

“He means the baby’s emotions, Lucius,” said Severus, rubbing Harry’s stomach once more. “He can’t sense them yet.”

“Don’t worry, Harry. You’ll feel him soon,” said Lucius reassuringly.

Harry smiled at Lucius and settled down between his two mates, falling asleep to their hands caressing his stomach with unabashed adoration.

***

Harry munched contentedly on his sandwich as he read in his room. It was the first time he’d been completely alone since learning of his pregnancy. Four weeks of constant supervision was about as much as he could handle. Thankfully, Severus was in his lab, making nausea potions and nutrient potions, and Lucius was in his study, talking with Draco. The last time he’d seen Ron and Hermione, they were in the library, and he had no idea where Luna was.

Taking the last bite of his sandwich, Harry set his book aside and climbed onto the bed. He tired more quickly these days, often needing a nap after lunch. As was his recent habit, Harry lay on his side and rubbed his stomach while humming softly. He didn’t know if the baby could hear him yet, but it made Harry feel better to think it could.

A sharp burst of happiness and contentment swelled through Harry, taking his breath away at the intensity of the emotion. He giggled helplessly in response to the overwhelming joy he felt rushing through him. It seemed the baby liked their daily nap routine as much as he did. The bright joy eventually mellowed out to a hum of contentment, leaving Harry with a soft smile on his face.

The bedroom door opened, and Severus walked into the room, smelling strongly of potions fumes. He looked at the smile on Harry’s face and raised his eyebrows in question. Harry’s smile widened into a grin, and he sat up with an excited bounce.

“I felt the baby! He’s so happy. It took my breath away.”

Severus immediately went to Harry and gently pushed him back down. Raising the teen’s shirt, he pressed his lips to the slight swell of Harry’s stomach. Almost immediately, Harry started giggling again as the baby’s happiness rushed through him. He couldn’t help it. The baby’s joy was infectious.

Severus turned his head so that his ear was pressed against Harry’s belly and gasped softly when he heard the rapid whooshing sound that signified their baby’s heartbeat. “I can hear his heartbeat.”

Harry smiled softly at the awe in Severus’ voice. It still surprised him sometimes to see this gentle and loving side to his mate. “You should sing to him, Severus. He likes to hear me hum to him.”

Severus smiled ruefully. “I don’t sing all that well, unfortunately. That can be Lucius’ task.”

“Lucius can sing?” asked Harry in surprise.

“Quite well, in fact. He can also play the piano and violin,” said Severus.

Harry sighed wistfully. “It would be wonderful to hear him play. It’s too bad we don’t have either of those here.”

Severus kissed Harry’s belly once more and stood up. “I really need to take a shower before dinner. You should finish your nap.”

“You sure you don’t want company instead?” asked Harry impishly.

Severus smirked at the teen. “We’d better not. We’d probably miss dinner entirely, and that’s something you can’t afford to miss these days.”

Harry sighed dramatically. “Well, if you insist. It could have been fun, though.”

“Oh, I’m sure it would be,” muttered Severus softly. “Behave, brat, and get some rest. You need it.”

“Yes, sir,” said Harry smartly, snapping his eyes closed.

Severus watched as Harry relaxed into sleep and continued on into the bathroom. He started the water but didn’t immediately undress. Instead, he stepped into the shadows and teleported to the music room at Malfoy Manor. Although the room had probably gone unnoticed by the manor’s current inhabitants, he would have to be quick to avoid detection. It wouldn’t do for the Dark Lord to discover that he was still alive, after all.

Quickly shrinking the piano and Lucius’ violin, Severus tucked them in his pocket and teleported back to the safe house. Taking the shrunken instruments out of his pocket, he stared at them for a long moment. The brat was turning him into a bloody Gryffindor. Why else would he have done something so reckless?

Even as he asked himself that question, Severus knew exactly why he had done it. It was worth the risk just to see the happiness on Harry’s face when he heard Lucius play them for him. And when had he become such a sap to care about such things? That’s right. When Harry had somehow wormed his way into Severus’ heart and refused to leave. He still didn’t know how the brat had done it.

Severus set the tiny instruments aside and got in the shower, washing quickly. Finishing his shower, he turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist, going back into the bedroom to get dressed. Harry was still asleep when he was done, so Severus went back into the bathroom and put the shrunken instruments back into his pocket. He would surprise Harry after supper.

Shaking Harry awake, Severus watched in amusement as the teen grumbled unintelligibly and rolled over without waking. “Harry, wake up. It’s time for supper. Aren’t you hungry?”

Harry groaned softly and groggily opened his eyes. “Do I have to, Sev? I’m still tired.”

Severus gave the teen a stern look. “Yes, Harry, you do. You’re eating for two now, so you can’t afford to miss any meals. Besides, you’re too skinny as it is.” Seeing the stubborn expression on Harry’s face, Severus sighed regretfully. “And to think that I had something special planned for you after supper. Oh well.”

Harry reluctantly got out of bed and looked at Severus expectantly. “What is it? What did you plan for me?”

“It’s a surprise,” said Severus smoothly, guiding Harry out of the bedroom. “You will just have to wait.”

Harry pouted slightly at the response, but he had to admit he was intrigued. He couldn’t wait to see what Severus had in store for him.