The Lion in Winter

A/N: Hey guys, hope you like the chapter. Sorry it’s a little late and kind of short ::runs and hides from angry readers::. Once again, the personal responses are at the bottom. :D

Chapter Three

“How did this happen Dragon?” Narcissa Malfoy asked, scrunching up her face at her son’s bloody nose.

“It seems my new husband has quite the temper.” Draco replied, pacing the magnificently decorated room.

“He did this to you?” Narcissa made an appalling expression, standing up immediately.

“That barbarian! How dare he hit my son! Just wait till your father hears about this. The boy will-“ Her rant was cut short when Draco moved to stand in front of her, holding up his hand.

“It is fine mother. I’m fully capable of handling my own husband.” He put the bloody cloth he has previously been holding to his nose in a bucket of ice residing on the near by table.

“Thank you for your concern but I really must get back to Harry.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek before turning to leave the room.

“Very well, I trust your judgment. But if he so much as harms one hair on your head again, I will not be responsible for the dreadful thing I will do to him.” She huffed before sitting down in a large, overly stuffed chair.

Draco turned and gave her a small smile over his shoulder before continuing his leave.

He sighed as he walked down the hall that led to Harry and his chambers. He had married a fighter that much was obvious. He was surprised at Harry’s daring; he had not expected such tongue from the young man.

If he were honest with himself, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. He did love a challenge. However, the lack of respect Harry showed him was simply unacceptable.

Granted he had not done much to earn Harry’s respect so far but he had a feeling Harry would have been defiant no matter what he had done.

He arrived at the grand wooden door and started to open it before he stopped himself. He growled before slowly knocking. He most certainly should not have to knock before entering his own room but he would at least give the brunette this.

“Harry” He called calmly, trying to keep the aggravation out of his voice. He waited a few moments before opening the door anyway.

Harry was lying on the bed, glaring at him as he entered.

“If you were waiting for my blessing to enter, just to undoubtedly come in here and annoy me some more then I’m sorry but you will be waiting quite some time.” Harry snarled, trying to keep the fear from shining through his eyes. This was, after all, the man that had forced himself upon him not twenty-four hours ago.

“Actually, I was wondering if you would like that tour now.” Draco’s voice was calm and his face expressionless.

“You’ve been in this room for quite sometime and one would think you would welcome the outing.” He idly looked around the room as if he were bored.

Harry gave him a bewildered look before slowly shaking his head. He slipped out of the bed and followed Draco out of the room.

They made their way down the long hallway until they came to two large double doors.

“This is the library.” Draco said simply, pushing open the doors and walking in.

Harry stared in amazement as he took in the site. The room was massive, much larger than it appeared on the outside. And it must have held every book known to man.

On the far wall hung a beautiful tapestry of what appeared to be a family tree.

Draco followed Harry’s gaze and smiled softly at the wonderment on the young man’s face. He really was beautiful.

“Come,” he whispered before striding over to it, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure Harry was still following.

When they reached it, Draco pointed a slim finger to a name and Harry stared.

His name was engraved in gold cursive letters, attached just below Draco’s own name.

“It’s beautiful,” He breathed, tracing the small lettering before turning to glace at Draco.

The blonde’s face once again held a bored expression.

“Yes, well there is much to see.” He turned and strode out of the library.

Draco showed Harry a few more select rooms before taking him outside.

“These are my mother’s gardens.”

Harry nodded as he took in the peaceful surroundings. He liked it out here and could tell that this would be one of his more frequent spots.

“She demands to take care of them herself. Something about it’s not the same if she had a gardener do it.” Draco shrugged as if didn’t understand the reasoning. And Harry guessed he probably didn’t.

Harry gracefully moved to a nearby bench and sat down, crossing his ankles and staring at the sky. Draco paused a few moments before joining him.

Harry scooted as far away from the blonde as he could and Draco smirked at the fear the other man held for him.

In his eyes, fear meant respect and as long as he had one, he had the other.

“Why did you give me a contraceptive?” Harry asked bluntly.

Draco paused a minute, letting the question sink in. He blinked in surprise before replying.

“Well you didn’t want to conceive now did you? Because if you did, well I can solve that problem fast.” He smirked and gave Harry a suggestive look.

“I’m a man.” Harry said simply, as if that explained anything.

“Yes and I’m from ancient royal blood. The fact that you are male means nothing.” Draco replied snidely, his voice hinting that Harry should already know this.

“So?” Harry voice held a defiant confidence that dared the blonde to talk down to him.

“Look” Draco said turning to the other, “ I am capable of conceiving with my mate, wither they be male or female. When we wed, you became my mate, which means that sooner or later we will conceive and you will give me an heir. It’s always been this way. It’s just been so long since a male of royal blood married another male that people tend to…forget.” Draco gave Harry a look that clearly said he should not have been one of these people. Harry being of a pure upbringing should have been taught this.

“What if I die?” Harry said bluntly and Draco once more turned to look at him.

“Do you want to die?” he asked, staring at the other man to gage his reactions.

“No. I’m just asking, what would happen if I did?”

“I would find another suitable match.” Draco said stiffly, standing up and straightening out his robes.

“I have business to attend to.” He said formally. “You are welcome to do as you please as long as you do not leave the grounds.” and with that he was gone.

Harry remained on the bench for quite sometime, peaceful in his own little world until someone softly cleared their throat.

The noise startled Harry and he jumped swiftly to his feet, turning to look at the intruder.

A tall woman with a pale complexion and long white blonde hair stood before him. She was wearing a silver dress that made her eyes and hair shine even more. She had a graceful air about her; her lips were purged, as she looked Harry over.

“Hello,” she said finally, extending her hand to Harry. Harry gently took it into his own before placing a small kiss on the top. Narcissa smiled as she watched the nervous boy carefully.

“Draco said I could do what I like on the grounds and well I really like your gardens and I didn’t think you’d mind…I could go…I’m sorry.” Harry rambled as his eyes darted around anxiously.

Narcissa chuckled and shook her head, “it’s quite alright Harry. I don’t mind at all, in fact I’m rather pleased to have someone else in the manor who would be happy to garden with me.”

Harry’s face lit up at the prospect of helping with the stunning gardens.

“I’m afraid it’s beauty has always been lost on Lucius and Draco.” she smiled.

She paused for a moment and turned to study the boy once more.

“Would you like to join me for a picnic?” she asked as she moved closer to Harry, who was becoming more comfortable the longer the elegant women spoke.

“I’d love to.” he grinned.

“Excellent, we need to have a little talk.” And with that Harry’s nervousness came back full force.

“I’ll be back in a moment.” she turned to leave and Harry plopped back down on the bench with a sigh.

A/N:

Turkbro: I’ll try! ::smiles:: hope you liked the chapter!

Bookworm51485: Hope this chapter cleared up your question. I too have grown fond of Hermione’s character. And I think we’re in perfect agreement on the Dom! Sub! Issue lol thanks for reviewing!

Lolo: Thank!!

ciequegirl999: I had Harry react the way he did to show his feelings on becoming pregnant. The fact that Draco used a contraceptive can only mean one thing. I hope this chapter maybe cleared that up a little better?

Anyanka: Here ya go! Sorry it’s a little late, I was going to try and post it earlier today but I’ll try and get the next chapter out a little early. Hope you like it!

Zuka: Thanks for reviewing!

Incessant_Darkness: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter as well.

Roxierose13: Yes I have read it lol, it is rather hysterical. I love the Eleanor/Alais aspect. That and the fact that they are like the epitome of a dysfunctional family haha. Anyyyway I was trying to think of a title for the story and low and behold there was the book sitting on my desk. And even though the story has nothing to do with the play I thought title was kinda fitting.
I attempted to fix my punctuation errors. Thanks for pointing that out to me and I hope this chapter was better.

Tryst: I’m glad you gave it a second change and even gladder you liked it! It’ll get better (hopefully I succeeded in showing that in this chapter). Thanks for reading!

Thrnbrooke: A contraceptive prevents pregnancy, kinda like birth control. That would have been mean to fight with a pregnant person, even for Draco. Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks for reading!

Chibi: Hope you liked it!

Vex: Well thank you lol I just wanted to make my point very clear haha. Glad you like the story, thanks for reviewing!

Fallangelsquill: I’ll do my best to write longer chapter, I’ve always been bad about that. Thanks for reviewing!