Indago:3

Chapter Twenty-Three


“I said not to touch me.”

The bed shifted and Harry smiled before settling again.

“There will never be a next time – Ever, Potter! – But having a reunion snog would be nice, you know.”

Harry turned his head to look at his husband. “Your head is on my pillow,” he replied calmly.

Gritting his teeth, Draco slid back onto his own third of the bed and Harry resettled himself before smiling again.

“I have never despised first stage more than I do at this moment.”

“It’s only another day,” Harry answered. “Then I’ll be all yours.”

“And Maia shall be ready as well.”

“Damn it!” Draco jumped out of the bed and glared at Snape, who was on the other side of Harry. “I’m going to kill her!”

“You won’t touch her!” Harry snapped, sitting up.

“I was talking about O’Neill!”

“So was I!”

“Look, Potter, just because she decided to stall them a bit doesn’t mean she was actually helpful.”

“It was her intent that meant the most. She could see Maia wasn’t with me anymore. She could have walked away. But she thought of Maia’s future happiness and acted in a way that would make sure it happened.” Harry leaned over to the nightstand and put his spectacles back on. “That means a lot to me. It makes me trust her.”

“Trust her?!” Draco shouted. “This is ridiculous! You would think after being duped enough times you’d grow some brains!”

Snape rolled his eyes and rode the shaking of the bed as Harry shot off of it to face off with Draco.

“Bastard! You bloody bastard! You know what, Malfoy? Kellas shows a lot more promise than you did at her age! In fact, she shows more than you do now!”

“I’d watch your mouth if I were you!”

“And I’d watch your head,” Snape commented as he watched.

“You,” Harry began nastily, “are an arrogant and mean bastard! Kellas, on the other hand, seems to really love and care for Maia! Do you hear me, Malfoy? She cares for our daughter! Having been courted by a monstrous prick, I am happy for Maia and will make sure she gets what she wants!”

“She’s just as arrogant as I am– was!” Draco shouted as he flung his arm out to point at the missing person.

“No. She’s confident. There is an enormous difference! Kellas is willing to bend for Maia! Kellas wants Maia to be happy!”

“And you’re saying I don’t want you happy? Is that it? That I didn’t go insane worrying about you for the past two days?”

“I was just your property gone missing!”

“Which you do an awful lot!”

Harry’s eyes welled with tears and it made him even angrier. “You…!” He shoved Draco hard in the chest and moved quickly to the other side of the room. Draco watched warily, waiting to dodge or duck, but Harry just stood facing the wall.

Snape stood and grabbed something from the other nightstand before walking towards Harry. A foot away from him, Snape held something out to him. “Here, Harry,” he said calmly. “You haven’t had anything in a while.”

Harry shook his head and didn’t speak. Snape held the small candy out to him again, but was ignored. Draco frowned and stepped a bit closer. “Harry?” he called out softly. “Love, you all right?” He hadn’t meant to have an argument, no matter how common they were during this time of the year.

“I… I just know…” Harry whispered, his hands to his face. “I know right where Maia is and… and I love you both so much, but if Kellas can be nice and caring and loving to Maia, then that is all I could ever hope for. I was so afraid and confused when I was in Maia’s shoes. If she can have someone who really wants her for her and not want to change her or force her, then… then I am going to make sure that happens. No one was able to help me then. No one could understand everything I felt and help me through all the changes I was facing. But I can do that for Maia and I will.”

Draco looked away at the pain in Harry’s voice. “Harry…” He cleared his throat. “Harry, of course we’ll be there to help her. I… I never…” He stepped closer and wanted to pull Harry into his arms. “You’re right. It was a… rough time and I was… me. But I can’t say that I’m sorry for what happened. I mean, I regret your feelings of fear and confusion. And I regret…” He sighed heavily. “Hell, I regret that you’re standing here crying about something that happened twenty years ago, but I won’t apologize for getting you, Harry. I’m not doing that.” Harry turned and watched Draco with red eyes. “And I always wanted you for you. Do you think I would have put in so much effort to nab you just for Nature’s sake?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it! Well, I wouldn’t! I didn’t. I wanted you, Potter, not just any sub.” Draco held up his hand as Harry opened his mouth. “And yeah, all right, it was for revenge. I admit it. I always have. But you bloody well know that isn’t how things stayed, damn it! I’m sorry now that it went the way it did but it doesn’t mean I will ever apologize for the results. And you can’t argue with results.”

“So the end justifies the means?” Harry asked quietly.

“Yes, of course.”

“So then Kellas coming to my rescue—“

“She didn’t rescue you, damn it!”

“—was a justified means in making Maia see her as a worthy and brave companion?”

“Of course not! First of all, Maia would never appreciate thoughtless bravery! If she ever did, I would disown her immediately,” Draco announced firmly. “Second, she didn’t rescue you!”

“But if Maia now wants Kellas? If Maia has chosen her as her own? Would you deny Maia that choice?”

Draco glared. “Maia hasn’t chosen anything!”

“May I remind you that your daughter is in Lustrum?” Harry asked sweetly.

“No, you may not! In fact, I am going to have O’Neill brought up on rape charges!”

“You’re being ridiculous! And wouldn’t it be horrendously embarrassing to inform the world that although her parents were at this school and fully aware of the situation, they allowed their daughter to be put in such a horrible position?”

Draco glowered.

“Wouldn’t it also be embarrassing to inform the world that Maia Malfoy was unable to defeat her attacker?” Harry pressed.

“Enough!” Draco barked. “Then I will quickly and quietly have the Irish exterminated!”

“You are being such a bastard!”

“He’s being an overly-emotional father,” Snape corrected quietly.

“You take that back!” Draco shouted.

“Draco, you are being over-protective. Maia has obviously joined with O’Neill and seems quite happy to continue on with her.” Snape walked back and sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “We warned the girl, we instructed her to stay away. We did everything but lock her up. She even ran into a pack of Superos and this did not make her stay away from O’Neill. Wise up, Draco, and let it go. You are having O’Neill join your family. You and your own father will need to deal with it.”

“Father! He’ll set Maia straight!”

Snape rolled his eyes again and pursed his lips in annoyance.

“Draco! Would you knock it off?” Harry stormed up to Draco and glared up at him. “Maia has chosen her and seems to care for her. Kellas is obviously in love with Maia. I agree to the match. Snape agrees. Even the boys agree. Stop being a stubborn ass and deal with it!”

“And how do we know that O’Neill won’t turn into a malicious brute once we are relaxed, hmm?”

“I believe Maia is strong enough to deal with that and knows to come to us immediately. It’s not as if we’ll lose contact with her. I, for one, will be seeing her daily no matter what I have to do,” Harry stated firmly. “And Maia is smart enough to handle anything that comes her way.”

Draco ran a hand through his hair. “Fine! Fine. You all want to rush off and get them married, then by all means. I will be keeping tabs on O’Neill and her insanely large family.”

Harry’s eyes widened in shock. “Marry?” he whispered.

“Well, not now, of course. Perhaps in a year or so. The house where we were married is still doing events,” Draco answered with a sigh. “I suppose I could book that. Of course, I haven’t a clue what an Irish wedding would be like.”

Harry’s eyes filled with tears and he grabbed the lapels of Draco’s dressing gown. “She can’t get married! She’s just a baby!”

“So he still has a fear of marriage,” Snape murmured. “Must be Muggle-bred.”

“What the…?” Draco frowned. “What are you on about? I thought you were just telling me that this was Maia’s decision and all that? That she had chosen?”

“But… married? Why do they have to get married?” Harry cried.

“Well if they are going to pair off then that is what one generally does.” Draco shook his head in bemusement. “Of course, Maia will be keeping her name. I won’t permit even a hyphen.”

Harry backed away with tears falling down his face. “But she can’t get married,” he whispered.

“O’Neill has money, correct?” Draco asked Snape. “I’ll draw up a contract in the morning and owl it to her parents.” He grimaced. “No, not them. They were idiots. I’ll find out if she has a solicitor. She must in the business she is in.”

Harry moved to the bed, sat on the floor, and put his head in Snape’s lap. Snape fed him the chocolate he had waiting.

“Father will, of course, not be happy with this. I’ll need O’Neill’s financial paperwork to help ease this past him. You know, I may just need to incriminate her solicitor and then graciously offer my services. It would make things much easier.” Draco moved toward Snape’s bedroom desk and began a list of things to do. “Maia looks best in purple so we’ll have the wedding next spring. We’ll announce the engagement just after she leaves here.” He looked at Snape again. “You said O’Neill already has the qualifications to move on to higher learning?”

Snape nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. She’s the younger, so I would have hated to wait another year. Nothing is more boring than a drawn out engagement.”

Harry rubbed his cheek against Snape’s thigh and was given another piece of chocolate. Experimentally, Snape ran his hand through Harry’s hair and was not rebuffed. He made a mental note to write about stress and its effect on Lustrum.

“Of course, they will wait until Maia is fully established in her career before ever thinking of children,” Draco said aloud as he continued with his list.

Harry whimpered and crawled up onto the bed and up against Severus.

“But that won’t be a problem, I am sure. Maia’s a smart girl. She knows what’s what. Besides, I’ve never seen her as the mothering type.” Draco straightened and pointed his quill at the bed triumphantly. “When it’s time, we will have them adopt. Just one, of course. We’ll find some child with good background and Maia can adopt it. Then O’Neill can stay home to raise the child. It will be perfect publicity and will continue to keep Maia free to pursue her career. She’ll be a Department Head quicker than I was. I’ll make sure of it.”

Harry tried crawling under Snape by sliding under the covers and getting underneath his arm. He pushed his face into Severus’s ribs.

“The boys will provide me with children from my blood, so I can be lenient on this issue for Maia’s sake.”

“Draco, as amusing as this all is, I would suggest planning this with Maia. She’s headstrong and, with her attitude lately, she may rebel against everything you are deciding right now,” Snape commented calmly.

Draco blinked and frowned. “Hmm, yes. Her attitude has been appalling recently. I’ll speak to O’Neill about that and see to having it modified.”

Harry suddenly jumped and began fighting his way back to the surface. “No, you won’t!” he shouted through the bedcovers.

“Hmm?” Draco looked at the wall Harry had been and then at the bed. “What are you doing over there? Has second stage begun already?” he asked with a smile.

“Not for you if you say something so hateful again!”

“What did I say now?” Draco asked in frustration.

“You’re not making Maia do or be anything!”

Draco blinked and then smirked. “Ah, no, love. I was thinking that O’Neill could sweeten her up a bit. Maia used to be so cool and calm and together. I imagine all this business has rattled her. If O’Neill is what you say she is, then she should be able to pacify Maia, make her relaxed.”

Harry frowned and calmed down. “Oh, well, all right then.”

“Now, I think they’ll honeymoon in the Himalayas. That’s been very popular lately and there is a very exclusive place there.”

Harry groaned and went back under the covers.




“Ah, Maia love, you’re beautiful!”

“You just say that because I just gave you such amazing pleasure.”

Kellas rolled to her side and grinned lopsidedly at Maia. “Aye, you did. But I still think, and will always think, that you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“I had better be,” Maia retorted with a raised eyebrow as she felt her body cooling on the bed that they had commandeered. Her father had been watching them like a hawk. Using a bit more of her Head Girl privileges, Maia had found a hidden room connected to a small garden with a gazebo in it. It was a bit dusty, but she knew her father would never find her there. “I won’t be lenient at all if I hear of you entertaining your fans.”

“Never, love. You’re all I need,” Kellas swore. “You and our children will be going everywhere with me.”

Maia smirked. “And when do you plan on these children, hmm? Father says he doesn’t want any for at least five years.”

“Ah, well, me and him will have a bit of a chinwag and sort it out, won’t we?” Kellas said with a grin. “I come from a big family and I want to have one of my own.”

“I have two younger brothers and I rarely found them amusing. I don’t see the appeal of children,” Maia replied with a sniff, though her hand was running up and down Kellas’ bare arm.

“Well, you will. A big family, Maia love.” Kellas winked.

“I suppose I will do my duty by my family, of course,” Maia said with a sigh as she scooted in a bit closer to Kellas. “But I am curious about this whole business. I mean, how do we go about it, I wonder.”

Kellas got an evil grin on her lips as she leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Let me show you, love.”

Maia’s hand was pulled to Kellas’ thigh and dragged along until it rested at the apex of the redhead’s legs. With a gasp, Maia looked up at Kellas. “Is that…?”

Kellas winked. “One member of our pairings has to be a bit different if they’re in a non-conducive body, right? Your dad’s body changes a bit during Lustrum. So does mine.”

Maia stared down and then back up. “It’s small, isn’t it?”

“Oi! Don’t be attacking my dominance, woman! Or the size of it!” Kellas pushed Maia onto her back and climbed atop her. “It’ll be plenty enough to do the job, I can assure you of that!”

Maia laughed. “Of course, of course.” She suddenly shivered and her body became boneless. “Oh, you… your scent…” she whispered as the Supero’s pheromones began to float around her.

“Aye, woman. You’re mine. You get mouthy and fierce with everyone else, but you’ll be sweet and pliant for me, won’t you?” Kellas said low in her throat as she nibbled at Maia’s neck.

“Yes…”

“Good. Then we’ll be very happy together.”

“Yes… Oh!”




Hagrid came back hale and hearty a month later and Harry was happily released from his teaching position. He and Draco moved back to their house and enjoyed the freedom of having no children around.

“It’s odd having it so quiet, isn’t it?” Harry asked as they lay on the rug in front of the fire in their bedroom.

Draco continued petting Harry’s chest and stomach. “Mmm.”

“What if it’s always this quiet from now on?”

Looking down at Harry from where his cheek was resting on his palm, Draco glared. “Do not think to stir anything up,” he warned. “Is that what has happened then? You’ve become addicted to the thrill of danger?”

Harry smiled and then stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “No. I guess… I guess I’m always waiting for the next accident, the next catastrophe, the next broken bone, the next squabble to break up, or the next unbalanced megalomaniac. It’ll be odd to not be waiting anymore.”

“Yes, well, you will have to content yourself with just waiting on me, then, won’t you?”

Grinning, Harry rolled to face Draco, the heat of the fire warmed his back. “I can do that.” He leaned up to give Draco a quick kiss before speaking again. “When I was in that forest and the children were laying on me as we hid in a cave, I realized I wasn’t afraid. Everything was coming back to get me and I wasn’t afraid. I mean, I was afraid for Maia and Az, but I was so focused on getting them through it, that there was just no time for me to fear the past. The monsters were there and they were hunting us, but I wasn’t going to let them get my children. And I realized that, for the first time since the war, I felt powerful and that I was doing something that was worthwhile.”

“I’m not letting you go out and fight battles, Potter,” Draco warned with a growl.

Harry shook his head and smiled. “No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant that…. I think I’m okay.” He smiled up at Draco. “I know who I am again. I know what I am.”

“You’re mine.”

“Yeah.” Harry leaned up again and Draco kissed him hard. Harry lay back down, pulling Draco down with him. “Always together, eh, Malfoy? Through the battles and into old age.”

“Of course, Potter. Everyone knew we’d never leave each other alone.”

Harry smiled and let his husband make love to him over and over again... into forever.

The End


Thank you for reading this entire storyline. I appreciate your support so much!
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