Could You Love Me?

Author: TheSiner
Title: Could you love me?
Genre: Angst, Romance, Drama and some attempted humour :)
Pairings: Harry/Lucius; Draco/?; Severus/?(mentioned)
Word Count: ~ 140,000
Summary: HP/LM, slash, mpreg. Lucius forces Harry to marry him. Things get bad and then they get better. This is a story about two different people from different worlds trying to make it work. Complete.
Rating: For some sex, but there’s not that much of it.
Disclaimer: These characters are not my own and belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliates. I am not making any money.
Warnings: slash, mpreg - a boy having a baby, OOC (kind of), non-canon, not betaedited, dubious consent, A/U – it is the same old Wizarding world though. And there is angst and emotional suffering.
Setting:– after Harry’s fifth year. Lucius doesn’t get caught at the Ministry.
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THE SECOND PART – ONLY BEGINNING

7. Mapletown


Harry Potter was gripping his Firebolt tightly. As if his life depended on it. Partly it did. He was running away. He didn’t really know where exactly he was heading, only far away from the Malfoy Manor and his so-called husband. Oh, no. there was no way he could spend the rest of his life living like that. On his back… or knees as Draco Ferret Malfoy had put it…

He was running away. That was not very noble and courageous at all… One great Gryffindor was he. The Hero and the Saviour of Wizarding world who was running from his… from him.

Damn! Maybe he just couldn’t be that brave Gryffindor, James Potter’s son and the Hero they all wanted to see so much! Maybe he didn’t want to wear those titles, but be just Harry. A boy. A sixteen years old teenage boy who only wanted to be a regular kid, to have a happy, loving family and a childhood. But apparently, he didn’t deserve any of that.

He could not live like Malfoy’s pet Hero. Harry couldn’t let anyone to humiliate him, use him like that! Toy… Thing… He could not… tears were burning in his eyes again as he remembered what had happened this night.

An ornament. Malfoy’s property and bitch… He was a human being! He had feelings and dignity, but wished he didn’t right now, wished he could just switch them off. He had done his duty to the Wizarding world, didn’t mutter how unwillingly, but they couldn’t grant him one thing Harry had always wanted – to be left alone, to be free and maybe just a little bit happy.

For a moment the boy had even thought that maybe, just maybe he could get used to his husband or learn to live with him, that maybe he and Malfoy could work out some kind of compromise, that maybe if Harry were acting the part of the perfect spouse in public, the man would leave him alone in private.
Besides Lucius Malfoy was really handsome and had that something what made some people unique… but he could not be someone’s whore. Worthless, used… unloved. That was, what Harry was feeling right now. Sore. Used.

He wondered, why no one had thought about it before, why no one had suggested that he ran away. Did they want to keep him around at any cost, even if he had to marry Lucius Malfoy to stay in the Wizarding world? Yes, probably once he would have agreed with them, he would have wanted to be with his friends, no matter what. However, everything he had experienced just a couple of hours earlier had changed Harry’s mind. The price just seemed too high.

He bid goodbye to the Wizarding world, to his friends and everything he had ever loved.

***

It was early morning when Harry got really tired from flying. The rush of adrenaline has apparently left his system. Sun was shyly lurking above trees, colouring horizon in gold. Harry was cold, especially his hands that were gripping the broom. It was August; however, the nights were much chillier than days. The young wizard couldn’t even cast a warming spell on himself, because he was not seventeen yet and if he did any underage magic, he would be found. Luckily, the boy noticed a small town and turned his broom in its direction.

Harry got off his Firebolt in a quiet outskirts of little rural town. It was slightly larger than it had looked from above, but still a small, cosy, nice place.

***

At eight o clock in the morning sharp, Anne Hathaway opened her Bakery. ‘Aunt’s Anne’s’ was her pride and joy. It was small, light and cosy place, which was surrounded by that special aura of friendliness and warmth. Moreover, Anne’s baked goods smelled wonderful.

She had bought the old bakery five years ago, a year after her beloved Adolph passed away. Then she almost built it anew. Her business was doing just fine. Her three employees – Kate, Armanda and Philip – were working in the kitchen doing their magic and creating the best scones, baguettes, cookies, pretzels… all kind of goods which lured in ‘Aunt Anne’s’ citizens of Mapletown.

Anne herself was standing behind counter, smiling brightly, making tee and coffee and chatting with the customers.

***

Anne was intrigued when the lithe boy with black shoulder length hair and startling, brilliant green eyes came in her shop. There was something unusual about the child, she could tell that straight away, in her profession one learned a lot about people. He was a teenager, not a boy anymore, not a man yet. Cute little thing – that was what came in her mind looking at the strange lad.

He was wearing some kind of cape above jeans and a sweater, which were apparently several sizes larger than he should wear. The boy was carrying a black, simple school bag and a… broom. Slightly different from what people usually used for cleaning though. The broom looked as if someone had put a lot of thought and work in it, not jut tied some brushwood together. The broomstick was even varnished and had, what looked like a handle. How peculiar!

The green-eyed youth approached Anne and pushed a couple of battered money bills her direction. “What can I get for this, please?” He asked quietly.

The woman contemplated… when the boy came closer, it became obvious that he was very pale and way too skinny. And his eyes were red and face looked tired as if he hadn’t had much sleep last night… There were not a lot of money, but Anne made an extra large mug of tea with milk and sugar and put on lad’s plate a bit of everything until there was no more room on it. Sometimes it was not about the money.

She placed the meal on one of small tables, which was covered with checked cloth and attended to next customer watching the teenager out of corner of her eyes. She had a feeling that boy could be in some kind of trouble, but Anne didn’t want to scare him off, subtle approach was needed…

When Anne approached the table to pour some more tea in boy’s mug she asked: “Are you, Ok, honey?”

Two large green eyes looked in her light blue ones: “Yes, madam, I am fine.” A ghost of sad smile turned up the corners of boy’s mouth. So small, tired and sad smile…

Anne didn’t believe a single word, but she was not quite sure what to do… Mrs. Green accosted her when Anne went back to her till. When she was able to look at the boy again, she discovered that… he was gone…

Oh, no…

***
Anne was walking home through park after closing her bakery when she noticed someone sleeping on one of park benches and…she recognized the boy from earlier. She had been thinking about him all day long.

Who was he? Where did he come from? What was he doing here? Was he in trouble? Boy definitely was in trouble.

And this time she would not let him sneak away.


8. Runaway bride

When Lucius woke up that morning, he was surprised to discover that he was alone and there was nothing besides himself and a pile of pillows in the large bed. Usually Gryffindors liked to sleep in as far as he knew; from his Hogwarts’ years, the wizard remembered that members of that house were usually the last ones to show up at the breakfast.
Lucius smirked to himself and stretched out lazily. The wizard was looking forward to his honeymoon. His young husband had been a bit shy and timid last night… but that had also been part of boy’s appeal… oh, well, but they would work on it, the boy will get used to him and learn a lot under his ‘tuition’. But if he had been looking for experience and skill in bed, Lucius would have married a Knockturn Alley whore. All was as it was supposed to be.

One just has to break them in… Lucius winced. That was one of his father’s lines. The wizard didn’t like it, when he caught himself parroting something Abraxas Malfoy had said. While Lucius had never admitted it aloud, he was secretly relieved that his sire had died of dragon-pox shortly after Draco’s birth. Still, the old man had trained him well, Abraxas was long gone, but Lucius still kept catching himself acting, thinking and talking the way he had been taught to.

He hated that. But there were other, more appropriate times for contemplating sordid family history.

The blond Slytherin pressed his face into the pillow on the other side of the bed. It still smelled like Harry… mm… he could get addicted to that. However right now Lucius needed a shower. He had cast a quick cleaning charm on his lover and himself and it had taken away most of the mess they had created, but still… hot water was something entirely different from charms. It was like with true love and a love potion.

After cleaning up the wizard was going to find his little green-eyed spouse and… well, he had plans for them.

But Lucius got a nasty surprised – he didn’t find Harry Potter in none of boy’s three rooms as he had expected.

And he got really furious when house elves didn’t find the boy anywhere in the Manor or the Malfoy gardens.

By Merlin’s staff!

After blasting into dust some antique vases and several other valuable pieces of art, Lucius Malfoy finally accepted that his husband had gone missing. And probably on his own advices as it was impossible to breach the wards without being noticed. Besides, he had discovered that Harry’s trunk had been left opened and it looked like some of his possessions were missing, including the broom, that Lucius had noticed previously.

His husband had obviously run away.

How immature, irresponsible… Lucius Malfoy hadn’t been so furious since he had been forced to work with Albus Dumbledore and his cohorts.

The wizard could see a mental image of his friend, the Hogwarts’ Potions Master in front of him. Severus was looking intolerably smug and saying: ‘I told you so!' I warned you that Potter would bring you only a lot of trouble. The boy will be the end of you!’

And Lucius couldn’t really deny that Severus had been right once again. Only three days had passed since the wedding for Salazar’s sake! ‘The Daily Prophet’, ‘Witch Weekly’, ‘Wizard’s Lair’ and even some of the foreign press were still writing about the ‘wedding of the year’.

Really, there was not a lot of merit in having a famous, attractive, young husband when he had no idea, where the hell the brat was at the moment!


***

No choice was given to Harry, but maybe the first time in his life he was actually grateful for that.

The pleasant, older lady, Anne Hathaway, ‘adopted’ him. She woke Harry up when the boy was sleeping on a park bench and took him home. She fed him, put him in the shower and gave some clean clothes, which had belonged to her husband and were several sizes too big for lithe boy. However, Harry was used to that and those clothes were still smaller and much nicer than anything Harry had ever gotten from Dudley.

Then she asked how old Harry was. He told the truth. When Anne carefully asked about his family, Harry blurted out that he could not go back there, he just couldn’t!

Anne saw something in poor child’s eyes. Something that made her change her mind about trying to make the boy go back home, wherever it was. She stated that sixteen years old men should be able to decide where they wanted to live. And that solved it.

She knew what to do with the adorable, sweet boy. Anne didn’t want to hear anything about him leaving. She was alone and it was not safe for a lady to live alone and Harry would help her in the house and the Bakery and earn his keep. Everything was settled.


9. Have you seen my lost puppy?

Lucius needed a very good solution, a plan of action. He had lost Harry Potter the Boy-Hero of the Wizarding world, his newly wed husband. If anyone found out what had happened, his reputation would be ruined. There wouldn’t be a good way to explain this. No excuse would be good enough.

He would be ridiculed and disgraced. Why did the boy humiliate him like this? What possessed him? He just didn’t understand that spoiled brat… He was married to a wealthy, powerful and good-looking man from one of the best families in Britain. What else did he want?

Maybe boy had run away with someone … if that was the case, Lucius was going to kill him, strangle with his own bare hands. Not because of affection or pitiful jealousy, no. But he had his pride and was quite possessive of his belongings.

Should he go out and try to find Potter? No. It would do no good. He could be wherever he wanted by now. Maybe the boy went to his friends? Probably. But how to find that out, not alerting them of what had happened (in case they didn’t know anything).

Oh, yes, it was time to bear some humiliation from Severus, which would most likely be the price for the man’s services.

***

When Lucius told his friend what had happened, Severus Snape, the snarky, old bastard burst out into hysterical laughter. The Potions Master laughed so hard that he almost shed a few tears. Almost.

Not many people knew that the man, who worked hard to sustain his image of an exceptionally unpleasant wizard, could laugh like mad if he found something truly amusing. He very often laughed at someone else’s expense of course, but still.

When Lucius had already started considering hexing his so called ‘friend’ with something nasty, itchy and permanent, Snape finally came to his senses and agreed to find out if the Weasleys, the Headmaster or any other member of The Order of the Phoenix knew anything about Potter’s whereabouts.

“It won’t be a problem,” the man sneered. “One more gullible than other, they will not suspect a thing.”

***

Snape came back the next day and informed Lucius that none of Potter’s fan club knew anything. Apparently, the boy was staying with someone else, someone they had not known about, or he had run off by himself.

Lucius’s mood was worse than foul. He went straight to his room not to be disturbed.

Severus Snape decided to stay for dinner. Someone had to explain everything to Draco, since the boy was not stupid and was going to notice that something was amiss, and Lucius was definitely not up to discussing the situation without blowing up parts of the interior.

Actually, Severus was impressed. He hadn’t expected this kind of stunt from Potter, once again, the boy had managed to surprise him and piss the hell out of Lucius. The wizard could find a bit of amusement in that. Of course, if he did not consider the consequences Potter’s disappearance could cause.

Now, he had to decide, what to tell Draco. The answer was obvious – the truth. The Potion’s Master told his godson that Potter had obviously left the Manor without informing anyone. He didn’t have to say ‘ran away’, such bluntness would be vulgar, but judging by widening of Draco’s eyes, he understood, what Severus had meant, perfectly well.

However, the Professor noticed something interesting. Draco’s reaction wasn’t what he had expected. He would have thought that the young Slytherin would be delighted that the Manor had become Potter-free once again and would propose a toast or make his opinion known with some other flashy gesture.

That didn’t happen. Draco’s face turned a couple of shades paler and… was it just surprise or something more? Interesting.

Draco noticed that his godfather was watching him contemplatively and finally found his tongue.

“Why are you telling me this as if those were bad news? It is not like I will cry in my pillow about how much I will miss him,” the boy snorted and returned to his food trying to look as indifferent as possible.

Yes, that was more like it, but in the same time, wasn’t. The appropriate reaction had come much too late and hadn’t been really appropriate. There had been something of about it,
Severus frowned. Did Draco know something? However, he knew the boy too well. It would do him no good if he tried pulling anything out of him. Draco was too much Slytherin; Severus wouldn’t achieve anything that way. But he was going to keep an eye on the brat.

***

The next day Severus Snape returned to the Manor. He was relieved to discover that Lucius had calmed down considerably. They had to be composed and think rationally deciding what to do next.

Severus had thought about everything. A lot. The situation was serious. If anyone found out… well, that just could not happen. Therefore, the Potions Master had thought out a solution and offered it to Lucius. There was a really good way to find ‘the runway bride’.

Severus was convinced that Potter’s disappearing act had been made on an impulse, which was one thing they had to consider. The second was that the boy was more comfortable in the muggle world. Besides the Potions Master believed that Potter was on his own and didn’t have any accomplices, because if anyone from the Order had been planning to help the boy run away, he would have known and they would have done it before the wedding.

Lucius would hire some muggle agencies, which were looking for lost people. They were discreet and had nothing to do with the Wizarding world. They wouldn’t even ask why he was looking for particular boy. Suited him perfectly.


***

The Malfoy patriarch found a temporally solution to some of his problems caused by the disappearance of his husband. He announced that Harry was staying in the Mansion with his husband and wouldn’t continue his education at Hogwarts, because he would be tutored privately.

He was not worried about Potter’s friends who wanted to contact the boy. Harry was not seventeen yet, so legally he was a child. By the law, Potter was Lucius’s husband and his ward in the same time. Therefore, he could simply forbid his ‘charge’ to socialize with questionable friends. He had been considering doing it anyway…

Several weeks passed. Draco returned to Hogwarts. Lucius spent his time fending off all of the people who wanted to see his husband, getting angry at Potter for putting him in this uncomfortable situation, antagonizing those useless muggle ‘detactives’ (or what they were called) and worrying, because the by was alone somewhere out there, what if something bad happened to his husband?

Lucius could have really cared for the boy… it was hard not to desire something so… unique, innocent, beautiful? There was no need to get sappy, but when Lucius had laid his eyes on Harry for the first time, he had felt something very powerful; it had felt as if something had beckoned him towards the young wizard.

He could have given the boy everything and done it gladly.

However, that train was gone. Lucius wasn’t feeling generous at the moment; he was feeling more like strangling Potter as soon as he got hands on that brat. The muggle way. No spells.

***

Draco was sitting in the black leather sofa, which was known as his near the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. He was playing with the strands of the ebony black hair that belonged to the girl who was laying on the sofa her head in the blonde’s lap. Had to indulge Pansy at least once in a while, Salazar new, she had done him more favours than the rest of the Slytherin House together. And Draco Malfoy was very favoured by his housemates.

“Hey, Drake, what’s been bothering you?” Blaise, who was sitting in the club chair opposing the sofa, was looking at him with obvious curiosity.

“Nothing, Zabini. Everything is perfectly fine,” the blond Slytherin snapped.

“Yeah right…” the other boy snorted.

Draco just glared back. Of course, Blaise was right, however that did not mean that he was allowed to nose into his business or that Draco was going to give up all of his secrets to the Italian boy.

Draco was contemplating certain matters or he was brooding if one refrained from using fancy euphemisms. He had some things on his mind. Things, which shouldn’t bother him at all. They did however. Draco had the right to be angry with Potter. The git had caused a lot of problems to his father and the Malfoy family. And tat was exactly it - he was enraged.

Today Weasel and Mudblood had dared to accost the Slytherin Prince, to nag him about Potter and ask if he really wasn’t coming back to Hogwarts and why he wasn’t coming back to Hogwarts. Weasel had turned red like a tomato and Granger had looked close to tears. Bloody annoying Gryffindors!

Draco should have enjoyed the situation; he should have tortured them a bit, called them names, maybe gotten Weasley to draw his wand, which would have landed the idiot in detention.

But under the circumstances, Draco hadn’t felt like it.

He was feeling more than just anger. Draco knew very well, what anger felt like. He knew what irritation felt like. It was different this time. The feeling was strange and had something to do with Potter… he just couldn’t get the boy out of his mind. Draco couldn’t stop thinking about the whole mess and about what had happened the night before Potter had ran away. What he had said… maybe, just maybe, Draco had gone a bit too far…

He should just fuck Pansy, or Blaise, or both of them and forget about things that weren’t his problem. Father had brought this upon himself. Lucius hadn’t listened to Draco, when he had voiced his objections to the marriage.
As long as no one found out that Potter was not in the Manor, The-Boy-Who-Fucking-Wouldn’t-Die was only his father’s problem.

Nonetheless, Draco couldn’t deny, that the whole ‘thing’ was affecting his life.

For one thing, Draco was forced to ‘explain’ the situation to some people who were having problems with his father’s marriage and were not smart enough to know when it was better to keep their opinions to themselves. They were mostly mudbloods and half-bloods and Draco didn’t fully understand some of their objections.

Of course, he knew what ‘queer’, ‘fag’, ‘poof’ meant. One picked up enough while attending the same school as commoners. But what fairies had to do with anything? Everyone with at least some knowledge in Magizoology knew that fairies didn’t have two sexes and didn’t have any kind of intercourse ever; they were fissiparous, reproducing by fission.

Those names was one of the reason Draco disliked muggleborns. The Slytherin Prince knew that he was called them often enough behind his back and didn’t appreciate it.

And where did all that talk about sacredness of a marriage came from? A marriage was a marriage. Draco could understand so called ‘Light’ families, who scorned marriages of convenience, but he had suspicions that it was not about that, but about the fact that Lucius and Potter were both men.

Draco didn’t see a problem there. Lucius was allowed to marry another wizard or magical creature, since he had already produced an heir. Of course, allowed by the unwritten code of conduct by which the purebloods lived. The wizarding law made no such demands these days.

What the young pureblood did not understand at all was the concept of ‘sin’ and what it had to do with anything. As usually, when things didn’t make sense to him, Draco asked his godfather. Severus explained that muggles believed that there was a single force that ruled over the universe, whom they called ‘God’ and who was taking an unhealthy amount of interest in their sex-lives and who would punish them if they had intercourse with the wrong person, the wrong time, the wrong way.

Draco knew that muggles liked having Gods. He had read ‘Adventures of Zeus and His Fellow Greek Wizards’. The book was very popular. It told the story of wizards who had convinced muggles that they were so called Gods and had lots of fun with them and lots of sex with their women and men.

Those ‘Gods’ definitely hadn’t minded muggles having sex with whomever, wherever, any way possible.

“Like my father would punish me if he found out that I have let a werewolf fuck me in the Forbidden Forest shortly before the full moon?” Draco asked then, trying to understand.

Severus had rolled his eyes at the crude example: “Something like that. Only the particular God tends to be very prudish.”

Then the older wizard warned Draco that if he would ever think of fulfilling that little werewolf fantasy he would personally make sure that Draco wouldn’t be able to engage in any intimate act up until his marriage.

It had been Draco’s turn to roll his eyes. Severus and his fear of werewolves.

Draco decided not to look for rational explanation of muggle prejudice, but simply deal with those who thought that there was something wrong with Malfoy-Potter union the usual way – with well-aimed hexes.


***

It was the end of September, time for the first Hogsmeade weekend and as often, Lucius went to meet his son. Despite everything, he loved the whelp.

Even if the man could have sworn that, the boy was the most annoying teenager in the world. Not that Lucius could scold Draco for annoying him constantly, since what annoyed him the most in the boy was mostly characteristics inherited from Lucius himself. Except Narcissa’s sharp tongue. Yes, that one was her fault.

Both Malfoy men met for dinner in a private room in the place called ‘Pigeon’s Milk’, which was an expensive and exclusive Wizarding restaurant, usually avoided by the hordes of the Hogwarts’ brats in favour of The Three Broomsticks, Honey Dukes and Madam Puddifoot's.

Lucius had already ordered mackled malaclaw in ginger sauce for himself and stew Re le Que for Draco. The silver haired wizard snorted; whatever Re le Que meant he knew that the main ingredient in the stew was reeks. They were exactly what the name described – small ugly mushrooms reeking of old socks, shit and thestral breathe all together… luckily before being cooked, but nevertheless.

However, Lucius still couldn’t eat anything like that. But Draco was into all kind of strange and disgusting foods… At that thought, his son entered the room sucking on a blood-flavoured lollipop. Lucius mentally rolled his eyes. Honestly… blood? The things that boy put in his mouth…

“How’s life father?” Younger blonde asked and dropped on the padded chair ungracefully.

Lucius winced: “Manners, Draco! And get that thing out of your mouth. You are ruining my appetite.”

The boy smiled cockily licking his bloody lips and tossed the half eaten ‘sweet’ under the table when it would be picked up by the house elves without the patrons even noticing.

When their food was brought in Lucius poked his mackled malaclaw, to make sure that it was really cooked; his luck was already bad recently, he couldn’t take any risks.

Draco smirked noticing his father’s trepidation: “So, Potter’s still missing?”

“Apparently,” this kind of conversation didn’t improve the older Malfoy’s mood.

Draco was thinking. He hadn’t told his father about the little chat he had with Potter right before the boy ran away. He had been angry and had wanted to get his father back. But the whole thing was troubling him greatly; the young Slytherin didn’t feel good about it. About the nasty things, he had said to Potter and about not telling father.

It was just nagging him and the more he thought about it, the worse it got and the sense everything made. And, yes, yes, yes! He felt terrible for saying Potter all the things he said. Sometimes he talked before he thought and acted without considering the consequences.
In that Draco took after his father – were both excessively impulsive. The perfect Malfoy façade took effort from Lucius. Oh, but even if the older Malfoy blundered once in a while, he could easily cover his mistakes. When Draco opened his mouth without thinking there usually wasn’t much to salvage afterwards. Whomever he had insulted was insulted to the point they didn’t want to see him anymore. Ever. Draco could kill with his tongue.

“You know, father, it is probably your own fault, that Potter run away,” Draco threw the bait. He was going to reveal some truth, but wasn’t going to make Father angry with himself.

“Oh, and why is that?” Lucius was also Slytherin enough to keep his composure and not give Draco the pleasure to see that he had managed to aggravate him, because that had probably been his intention. Lucius shouldn’t have allowed his son to spend so much time in Severus’ company; the boy was picking up bad habits, apparently. Like disrespect towards his sire.

However, Draco was not playing that kind of games today. And what if Lucius got angry?

“I saw Potter that night. Right before he left,” he admitted.

Lucius immediately shot his son an angry, accusatory look. “What? And why am I hearing it only now?”

“I was angry with you!” The younger wizard exclaimed.

Lucius balled his hands into fists to keep them from going for his wand; he couldn’t hex his own son: “You should realize that there are things which are more important than your hissy fits, young lady.”

Draco made a wry face: “Very funny, father… I don’t know what you did to Potter, but he looked miserable. Terrible. He was crying. Sitting half naked in the cold hallway.”
That sounded bad, didn’t it? Draco would have felt for the boy, if he hadn’t been such a bigheaded, self-righteous, spoiled big baby that night. Maybe he was kind of ashamed.

Lucius was sitting silent for a while. Draco could really hurt other people if he wanted.

“And what did you tell him?” He finally asked.

Fuck! His father knew him too well: “What I told Potter would not have affected him at all if you hadn’t done to him what you obviously did. Am I right? I don’t mean the marriage, but the other thing. The wedding night and all that.”

Usually Draco was not that vague talking about sex, but that was his father and Potter, for Salazar’s sake! Besides when he remembered the way the boy had looked that night… well, it made him feel really uncomfortable. It had taken Draco a while to figure out what had been wrong with Harry Potter. It had given him chills when the teenager had finally understood.

“Draco… we are married. There is nothing wrong with…what are you talking about?” Lucius didn’t understand what that had to do with anything.

His idiot of a father was really pissing Draco off now: “Excuse me father… but there is a difference between you and a sanctimonious Gryffindor virgin who has never been kissed and has been forced into unwanted marriage. You know what you want when you see it and I must agree, that Potter is attractive, or rather would be attractive, if he wasn’t Potter, but you cannot expect the same from Potter, he is just a kid of my age! And not like me,” The boy looked pointedly at his father. They both knew what Draco had meant.

“He has been raised by muggles for Merlin’s sake! If I would have been in his place I would had hexed you… And don’t look that sceptic; Potter has never been involved with anyone, things like that didn’t stay unknown in Hogwarts. It was probably his first time. You scared him, you hurt him, and that was why he ran away. Face it. Yeah, I might have made everything worse, but it was your fault.”

With that, Draco threw his napkin on the table, said quick ‘Goodbye’ and exited the room before he went too far. Lucius was his father after all and he did not want to be cross with his father because of Potter. Nevertheless, to think that Lucius might have hurt the idiot ‘that way’ was disturbing.

Lucius finished his vine contemplating his son’s words. Draco was exaggerating, as usually, he was sure of that. He caused the boy any pain, the wizard was sure of that. The brat was simply stubborn.

10. Animal lovers

Harry had been living in Mapletown with Anne for no more than six weeks; however, it felt like forever. He had already gotten used to the quiet, little town with its kind, friendly people.

And Anne was wonderful. She had accepted the boy as her own. Harry was helping Anne as much as he could and that was different from the chores he had done for the Dursleys. He was not treated like a house elf. Harry’s chores were all suitable his age. He was cleaning the house, cooking and replacing Anne in the Bakery when she had a doctor’s appointment or shopping to do. He liked to stay busy, because when the boy was working he did not have much time to think and worry about his past.

Anne came in the Bakery and winked at Harry who was blushing furiously. It was because Rosy was there. She was a nice, lively girl who had blue eyes and hair that reminded him of Hermione’s, since it was as bushy and wild, only honey-blond not brown.

Anne reckoned, no, she would bet, that Rosy had a crush on Harry and tried to convince him to ask the girl out.

To ask a girl out? Harry had been too busy with other things before to date or even think about asking anyone out. Anne had been nagging him though. What should he do? It should be kind of natural to ask out a pretty girl who had a crush on you, shouldn’t it? That was what people did, right?

Oh, but he could just imagine their date: “You look very nice tonight. By the way, I am married. Would you like to have some chips? Oh, and I am married to a man. Yeah… and then I ran away…”

And there was one more issue. Harry was not sure if he wanted anyone to touch him at all. And if people were dating, they were supposed to be touching and not just touching, touching in romantic way. Harry didn’t believe that he could do that. Besides the boy doubted that he liked Rosy that way.

“Harry, stop torturing the poor girl! You don’t have to marry her, just take her to see a movie or have a walk in the park,” Anne coaxed. “I can understand her. You are such a sweet boy and very handsome since I have fattened you up a bit.”

That was true. He had been gaining some weight. It was not a chore, since the boy had been way too thin when he had started living with the elderly lady. Harry had noticed the looks she had been giving him. He had seen worry, pity and tenderness in her eyes.

Anne had been more than kind. Who knew where he would be now, if not for her? So Harry hadn’t wanted to worry her and hadn’t told his guardian angel that recently he had been feeling a bit off. Sometimes he got sick even before having any breakfast or just after eating. He was experiencing dizzy spells if he forgot to be careful and stood up too fast. However, he hoped it would go away; the boy was not going to tell Anne. She will never leave him be then.

Harry often thought about his friends… They were back at Hogwarts already… But that was not for him anymore. He was happy here. With Anne and Philip and Kate and Armanda. And even Rosy who was a good friend after all.


***

Well this was weird. Harry had just lost whatever had been still there from yesterday’s steak and kidney pie, brushed his teeth and then tried to put on a knitted jumper without a shirt underneath. And taken it off again immediately. It was the weirdest thing that had happened to his body so far.

The dark haired boy was not usually paying that much attention to his appearance; he didn’t like looking at himself, his scar, his body… only bad memories… But today he was standing in front of the large bathroom mirror and looking at his nipples that had suddenly gotten so sensitive that he hadn’t been able to stand the rough sweater rubbing against them.

He hadn’t touched himself there or rubbed them, Harry never touched himself those places, except times when he was having a shower. But what could make ones nipples swell?

And then there was his stomach, or rather abdomen. He had noticed that it felt different. It was almost as if the skin there had gotten thicker, as if there had formed something like a small pouch just under his skin.

Was there any abdomen cancers? He hadn’t heard of anything like that.

Harry just hoped this wasn’t some deadly disease, but something that would go away on its own.

Anne was calling him down for breakfast and the boy decided to think about it more, but later…

***

Harry shut the door and walked down the Hardway Street. The path was familiar to him as he usually waked it to get to Mr. Green’s store where he was buying milk. The day was nice and sun was caressing his face. Anne said that it was called Indian summer. Autumn was beautiful in Mapletown, there really were many maple trees and they were all burning yellow, red and orange. The small town was much nicer than London.

Returning from the dairy store, Harry turned to walk through the park. There was a small pound where ducks lived and he always took some bread with him and fed the silly birds. It felt good. The boy hoped that, by offering the ducks bread, he was making their life at least a bit better. Well, he kind of suspected that they might be a bit spoiled and he was not the only one who fed them, but the ducks seemed happy enough when they saw him.

He put down his bags and squatted by the pound crumbling the bred and throwing it to the birds. The life away from the Wizarding World was so simple; here he was no one, just a boy who worked in the local bakery.

He wished to stay here forever.

“So you are an animal lover?” Harry heard someone say behind his back in a cold, arrogant tone of voice. Harry thought that he knew that voice, but hoped he was wrong. Maybe he was hearing things. Could he be lucky like that?
Harry knew that he should be doing something. Like start running, but his legs were not listening to reason, they were frozen, stuck in the lush grass under his feet.

“My puppy got lost somewhere around here. I think you might have seen him,” the voice drawled.

Harry was yanked on his feet by a strong arm painfully gripping his shoulder and felt familiar sickening pull in his stomach that he used to feel when a portkey was activated.

The next moment Harry was standing in front of what couldn’t be anything else, but the Malfoy Manor. No he had no doubt left hat he was, oh, so dead. He was deader than Headless Nick. He was scared; he couldn’t believe it was really happening that Lucius had found him.

Lucius grip on his arm was quite painful as he forcefully dragged Harry in the house through the entrance hall, in the library and pushed down on the deep-blue velvet sofa. Harry was getting more and more afraid seeing how angry Lucius Malfoy was. He was towering over the boy, arms folded over his chest. Anger was coming off the man in waves. The older wizard was glaring down at his young husband who had crouched in the one corner of the sofa. His eyes were narrowed and lips compressed in fury.

“So,” Lucius started. “You prefer living with dirty muggles instead of staying where you belong?” It was actually not a question and Lucius did not expect a reply. Harry could see that and kept his mouth shut. He didn’t even have a wand.

“Just look at yourself! Wearing their rags. You run away under the cover of night, like some kind of criminal, not caring about the consequences. I would never have thought that I would have to ward the Manor against my family members leaving it! Against myhusband leaving it! Easy to forget is it? The fact, that you are my husband.”

Harry remembered the ring he was not wearing anymore. He had pulled it off and hid in his bag without looking at it.

Lucius stepped forward, leaned down, took a hold of boy’s chin and lifted his head up beseechingly fixing his eye’s on the green orbs.

“You want me to remind you? What were you thinking! Do you know how much trouble you have caused me? You could have been lying dead in a ditch somewhere out there and I would never find out. For Merlin’s sake! You are acting like foolish, irresponsible and spoiled child running from your responsibilities!” Lucius Malfoy released Harry’s chin, which was probably bruised now after the forceful grip.

“Three months!” The blond wizard went on. “Three months I didn’t know if you were dead or alive and you were living in that hole with those… filthy muggles,” last word was said with obvious disgust.

Harry didn’t care, what the man said about him, but he just couldn’t listen as he badmouthed the people who had been so kind towards him.

“You… you…!” Harry spat clenching his fists and standing up. “Don’t dare to talk about them like that! They are good people! They were nice to me… they… took care of me and they loved me…” his voice was shaking.

Lucius couldn’t believe his ears. The boy was implying that those commoners were more capable of caring for him than Lucius?

“Care? I am your husband and I will care for you! And love… what do you think loveis?” Lucius mocked standing very close to his young husband, looming over him. He was beyond angry.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Harry retorted.

H eyes looked like they were glowing, locked on Lucius’s and almost glowing with indignation. Merlin, but the boy was beautiful.

Lucius sneered: “Oh, no, it is you, who doesn’t understand anything. I will tell you what love is,” Lucius whispered his voice low, husky and dangerous… the older man was leaning closer to Harry’s ear.
“No, I’ll better show you,” Harry could feel warm breath on his skin and shuddered. “You see, love is nothing what a silly, idealistic Gryffindor thinks it is, oh, no, you foolish boy… love is not hearts, roses and candies, love is not a feeling, love is an action.”

Harry yelped, because with that one strong arm grabbed him under his knees, the other supported his back and Lucius lifted the young wizard in his arms the bridal style. The man was too angry to focus on apparating; it wouldn’t do to splinch them both.

“What are you doing?” Harry started squirming trying to get free.

Lucius didn’t answer, but the look in his eyes was really scaring Harry.

“Let me go! Stop!” it was more begging than a demand, the boy was aware that he was fully in Malfoy’s power. He didn’t even have the wand.

Lucius started to walk to library door ignoring Harry’s protests. His expression was strained and angry; the boy was squirming in his arms, trying to get free.

“Let me go, you… bastard!” Harry tried to push at the other man’s broad chest as he started to climb up the stairs.

“Calling names now? I see, I will have to teach you some manners, starting with respect for your betters,” Lucius noted coldly.

Harry started to panic as they reached the familiar door and stepped in the anteroom. Was he going… again… no, no, no, it couldn’t be… no,… please no… the boy froze…

Lucius was seething. The brat! Insolent whelp!

He threw the boy on the bed. Harry tried to get away to the other side of bed, as far from the man who started reminding him of some kind of predator. Lucius was having none of that. He pulled Harry back straightened struggling boy’s legs on the bed and straddled them.

Tears flooded Harry’s eyes and he started struggling with breathing…

His sweater was forcefully pulled over his head, shirt torn open, and the buttons flying in all the directions. Harry could feel hungry lips attacking delicate skin of his neck sliding lower to his chest, sucking on an over sensitive nipple…

No, no, no, please, no, stop… the boy was screaming in his head… no, please… “…no, please, stop, no, no, don’t hurt me… please don’t hurt me… no…stop… please! NO!”

Harry’s pleading had become vocal…

That did it… it was as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over Lucius’ head and he released the half naked boy… what was he doing… oh, Merlin, Harry was crying, and fighting for his breath… what was he… damn! This was not right, Lucius had gone too far, that much was obvious.

He remembered what Draco had said… had his son been right?

The older wizard released the boy and almost ran out of the room. He couldn’t deal with this now. Lucius had to calm down.


***

Harry pulled the duvet around himself and curled up on one side of bed, his whole body shaking with sobs.

***

11. Good news or bad news?

Lucius had decided that it would be better to leave the boy alone for a while, or maybe the other way around, maybe he needed some time. It had been awful. The wizard had been angry and had lost his temper, but that was not an excuse, he had gone too far.

“Master Lucius! Master Lucius!”

Chirpy popped up in Lucius’s dinning room while he was having breakfast and trying to think of some kind of solution or at least a way to approach the boy.

“Yes, Chirpy,” the annoying, little, serviette-wearing thing, wasn’t it obvious that he was busy?

“Young master not eating! Young master sick! Young master… changed…” the elf finished whispering and rolling his eyes pointedly as if sharing some valuable secret.

When Lucius said nothing, because he was trying to decide what to do with his capricious husband and figure out what was wrong now, the elf went on: “Young master must eat. Lots, lots, lots good food! Young master see doctor Toto!”

That rabid, exuberant elf… someone should invent a potion to calm down those overenthusiastic… The boy was not sick. Just stubborn… Hellhounds eat him! Potter was not the first whose marriage had been arranged. He just had to be a man and face it…
All he really needed was a good thrashing!
But somehow, Lucius was not so certain… no, he was right. He was not trying to convince himself, just because Potter had decided to announce a hunger strike. Draco had tried to play that trick for at least five times and had lasted for about three hours.

“Master Harry see doctor! Must see doctor!” The elf went on.

“Chirpy, leave. I will deal with Potter, but he is not sick,” Lucius said in sternly.

“Chirpy bad elf, (bang) bad elf,” the creature started hitting her head against the floor. “Didn’t get (bang) master ‘arry doctor! (bang) Didn’t get doctor! Chirpy bad elf! (bang)”

Lucius rolled his eyes. That house elf theatricality! He knew very well that they had very thick skulls and were extremely tolerant of pain (adaptation after hundreds of years serving ill-tempered purebloods most likely) and they were very often using this self-flagellation to manipulate their masters, when they wanted something.

And the house elves were manipulating them, for their own good, because keeping their masters happy, safe, healthy etc., etc. was in elves’ nature. Elves were making their masters dependant on their services and thinking of them as of foolish children who needed them as minders, the little devious buggers…

However it was working – the noise was terrible and Lucius would have to drink a cauldron of veritaserum, before ever admitting it, but the Malfoy patriarch was rather found of Chirpy and didn’t want to see her hitting her head against hard marble floor.

Lucius gave in and flooed the mediwizard.

***

Lucius was sitting in his favourite chair in the library leafing through A Study of Recent Developments in Charms when Toto Tanabe came in after examining Harry.

The old man looked unusually quiet as he sunk in the armchair opposite Lucius. The younger wizard saw out of the corner of his eye that Toto was toying with the hem of his yolk yellow robe. That meant something was wrong. Lucius averted his eyes from the book.

“Yes?” He inquired coolly, obviously demanding information.

“Have you ever heard of patient privacy,” the doctor inquired sullenly.

“The boy is underage, my husband, living in my household… do I need get an order from Wizengamont for you. Get over your inner Huffelpuff and be reasonable. If something is wrong I need to know,” Lucius retorted. Damn, the stubborn, old man could grate on his nerves, if he wanted to.

Toto Tanabe was eyeing the other wizard crossly. He wanted to put the boy, who wasn’t a boy anymore, over his knee and give him a good whipping.

“Wrong? You want to know if something is wrong. You tell me Lucius. It depends… I would say that there is plenty of wrongness and it is your fault, young man!” The mediwizard was close to firing hexes.

Lucius had never seen his family’s mediwizard lose his temper like this. And that was telling something, considering that the man was serving the Malfoys and always had his own opinion about everything. Sometimes Lucius cursed Aurelius Malfoy for hiring Niuko Tanabe, the first Tanabe, who had served Malfoys, several centuries ago.

Then Toto sighed. He was a mediwizard, not Lucius’ father and if he hexed the boy with some nasty rash, he would be the one to treat it anyway.

“Yes, you need to know… of course you do. Alright then,” Toto sighed.

“Something had happened, something that is almost impossible…” sigh…

“He is pregnant, Lucius.”

Then there was a stunned silence in the spacious Malfoy library, which smelled of wood and old parchments and smoke from the fireplace.

“Is this some kind of a bad joke?” The blonde asked then staring at the Asian wizard.

“No, it’s not. I would never joke about such matter. Harry Potter is with child,” Toto confirmed once again, realising that the other man needed to hear it once more. “Congratulations.”

“How?” Lucius exhaled loudly.

“The usual way maybe? You know that it’s rare, but still happens.”

“I can’t believe this, are you sure?”

“Very. He’s only sixteen,” that was reproach.

“Damn,” Lucius rubbed his temple; he could feel a headache brewing. “It’s not like I did it on purpose! Oh, Merlin…” Lucius was shocked.

“I know,” Tanabe sighed.

“What does it mean? I mean, Harry’s condition,” Lucius inquired warily, he didn’t know anything much about male wizard pregnancies. They were too rare and pretty much outside his range of interests He had not expected anything like this to happen, naturally. He had even forgotten it was possible. There was sometimes, maybe once in about five years an article in ‘Prophet’ about the fact that something unusual and very joyous had happened, a male wizard had become pregnant somewhere around the world. But in Wizarding Britain – he didn’t remember when it had last happened here.

“The usual – the foetus will be growing and also Harry’s stomach; he is possibly going to have mood swings, cravings, tiredness, dizziness, morning sickness. Actually, he should be having those already. The baby will grow for nine months, which means Harry will reach the term is in the end of March. This is a purely magical pregnancy. That means that his body hasn’t really changed, he has none of female reproductive organs. Harry is not a hermaphrodite.”

“There is something like magical bubble inside him which is growing together with foetus, drawing magical energy and nutrition from Harry, completely sustaining the foetus. When the baby will be ready to be born, I will have to literally cut him out, if I put it bluntly. That is absolutely not dangerous, if we do it on time. I will just heal him afterwards. There will be no scarring. He won’t be able to breastfeed though.”

“Of course Harry needs to eat well, stay comfortable and calm during his pregnancy. Considering that it is a magical pregnancy, the child’s wellbeing is even more dependant on the carrier. And by the way the poor boy doesn’t seem to be feeling well and I mean his mental, not physical state,” the doctor finished.

“Was he rude to you?” Lucius inquired.

“No, on the contrary. Very docile… almost apathetic,” Tanabe smiled sadly. He thought Harry was a sweet boy, who probably missed school and his friends. However, Toto knew that it would be no use to try reasoning with Lucius.

“He refused food gain… then Chirpy suggested calling you… Did you tell him? About the pregnancy.”

“Oh, yes, Chirpy,” the doctor drawled. “She probably already knew about Harry’s condition… house elf magic, you know. And, no, I didn’t tell Harry yet. He is still a child himself… that would be a great shock.”

“Maybe Potter is a bit young,” Lucius kind of agreed and Toto Tanabe snorted.

“We must tell him, however.”

“Yes. You should do it. We are not on best terms right know,” the blonde man sighed tiredly.

The old mediwizard looked at him questioningly, however decided not to pester the other man with questions now. Probably Lucius was right, then. It would better if he told Harry: “Fine. But I don’t like it.”

***

Mediwizard Tanabe was not sure what to make of Harry’s reaction to the news. At first, the young wizard looked at him with eyes larger than saucers, but didn’t say anything. Then asked ‘how’, Toto noticed that his voice was shaking, and just listened staring at the hands folded in his lap in front of him.

When the doctor had told Harry everything he could think of concerning pregnancies and male pregnancies, Harry just murmured a silent ‘thank you’ and turned his back on Toto pulling the duvet over his head.

Toto was not sure if Harry had really heard and understood everything he had said. At least he hadn’t become hysteric or worse.

The poor boy obviously needed more time to get used to the idea. Toto himself needed it.


***

Doctor Tanabe returned to the library.

“How did he take it,” Lucius was impatient to know.

“The boy needs more time,” the mediwizard sighed. “Give me a sheet of parchment and a quill, please; I will leave some directions for you and your house elves… So, yes, he needs to eat. He needs his strength. Actually, Harry’s weight is almost sufficient right now, comparing to three months ago. I see he has been eating better… and I will send you some vitamin and other potions that he will need to take, they will be good for the baby. Any weakness of wizard’s body is compensated by magic, but now it will be needed for the baby, so Harry cannot afford to become anaemic or malnourished. Do you understand?”

Lucius nodded.

“And there are other things of course. He can do all kinds of magic except apparition, but he is not of age yet, so it should not be an issue… he must be careful with potions, though. Most of them. No polyjuice or anything transformative.”

“There are a lot of spells which can not be performed on him, I will make a list. For example, there is nothing wrong with a babbling curse or Silencio, but the stunning spell would be harmful.”

“Aha, and magical devices, items and foods… There is always something new in this sector. Some of those could be harmful. You will have to send an owl to the Ministry, ‘The Department of Inspection, Control and Certification of Wizarding Merchandise’ to obtain a list with goods which are dangerous for pregnant witches...(keh)… excuse me, wizards.”

Lucius’ head was already spinning.

“Naturally – Quidditch or anything equally dangerous is out of question. Direct hit on stomach should be avoided at every cost. Of course, I suggest you to do some reading. Your husband will need your support, he is too young and a male. It is not going to be easy on him, both physically and mentally. I will be visiting at least once a week to check on Harry and you can ask me any questions. Is there anything you would like to ask me right now?”

“Maybe after I throw this stunner off,” Lucius murmured. Actually, the fact that he was going to have one more child was just starting to sink in. Then Lucius realized something: “Wait! I have a question actually. What about an abortion?”

Toto Tanabe froze on his tracks. Mediwizard’s eyes widened: “About…What? Did I hear you correctly, Lucius?” The elderly man was shocked and wasn’t hiding it.

“Well that is an expected question, isn’t it? The boy is too young and he probably doesn’t want to have a child. I already have an heir, Draco. I don’t need another one. Besides it is not going to be a pureblood,” Lucius Malfoy explained casually. The blood didn’t actually matter to him, but that might be considered a valid point.

“Are you… How dare you to ask this of me!” Doctor Tanabe exclaimed.
“You are talking about child as if it was a… no, I don’t even have a comparison! It is alive already. A human being. Young wizard, probably powerful, considering its parentage. It is not only an heir! Are you really prejudiced enough to kill your own child! I am not going to do that. You will have to find someone else.”

“The meaning behind your rant is that it is possible to terminate the pregnancy, right? I would not do such thing against my husband’s will, I just want to know of al the options that are available,” Lucius pretended that he hadn’t heard Toto’s rant. He really hadn’t meant it like that.

“Oh, well, good luck then, from what I have heard about young Mr. Potter I highly doubt that he will agree to kill his own child,” the doctor said crossly and scurried to the Diagonal alley to make an order. The young man would need some potions to get through this ordeal.

12. A Dip

***
The next afternoon…
***

Lucius hadn’t build up the courage to face the boy yet, he needed some time. His head started spinning when he tried to think of all the trouble and complications the recent development would bring… Chirpy had reported that Harry was eating and drinking his potions, but ‘the young master was sad’.

Was he still upset about the day before yesterday or about the baby?

Lucius should talk to Harry, but he had no idea, what to say. Would he want to terminate the pregnancy? Would Lucius like him to want that?

He wasn’t sure.

There most certainly were ways to dispose of unwanted pregnancy, but, no, Lucius dismissed the thought instantly. He was not going to make the decision without Harry’s consent; that would be cruel. Besides, he was a pureblood. He had been raised to believe that children were valuable. Yes, Malfoys usually had only one, to prevent quarrels over the family fortune, but Draco was not unhealthily ambitious and with his and Harry’s joined fortunes Lucius liked to think, he had more than enough for two heirs, even by the Malfoy standards.

Besides a male pregnancy was a rarity and prestigious in the pureblood circles. The Malfoys will be the talk of the Wizarding World for years to come. Nevertheless, it was just so unexpected, unplanned. Everything would be easier if it hadn’t happened. It was a complication.

A baby.

Well, but after getting past the initial shock he almost started to like the idea, for some reason a part of him felt some kind of strange yearning.

Then suddenly the fireplace blazed green and a black-haired head appeared in it. “Is it convenient that I come over?” Severus Snape inquired. His tone was implying that it had better be convenient, or else.

Lucius just waived in permission and Snape stepped out of the fireplace.

“Lucius,” he started without much preamble. “You must do something; this situation is threatening to get out of our control. Albus is constantly and persistently aggravating. He is trying to persuade me to convince you to let Potter out of the Manor. And there are vile rumours spreading around Hogwarts suggesting that you are locking your husband in dungeons and practicing crucio and other dark spells on him. You should polyjuice yourself into Potter and make an appearance somewhere or…”

“He is back,” Lucius stopped his friend’s rant.

“Excuse me?” The dark eyes bore into grey.

“Potter. Back. Upstairs. Bedroom,” Lucius knew that Severus didn’t deserve his tone, but the situation was getting to him.

“Splendid,” the Potions Master snapped, intoning that it was anything but. “Were you ever going to inform me of the fact? Wait. Don’t answer that. And may I ask where was our little hero hiding?”

Lucius gave Snape some of the most important details. Not mentioning the pregnancy of course. He was not ready yet. He had to accept it himself first. The blond wizard couldn’t really answer all of Severus’ questions. He had no idea, how the ‘agency’ had found the boy and he did not care either. They were muggles after all. Lucius had simply gone and picked up Harry and sent a couple of his men for boy’s belongings as soon as they had contacted him.

“I want to see him,” Severus made a statement or order or…

“What?”

“I want to see Potter,” the man repeated.

Lucius frowned: “I am not sure that it is a good idea. He is not… he might be difficult.”

“I know how to deal with Potter,” Snape snapped.

Hm… the other Slytherin contemplated… why not then. He had to give the man something he asked once in a while, because, no matter how reluctant Lucius was to admit that, despite the fact that he was the rich and the powerful one, he was the one who usually needed something from the other man, not the other way around.

And so Snape got his permission to visit.


***

Lucius sat on the loveseat in the anteroom and Snape entered Harry’s bedroom.

About five minutes later Severus staggered out of the bedroom looking deadly pale, (he also had drops of sweat on his forehead) and dropped in the armchair looking like someone who had just met a dementor.

“Severus…” Lucius stood up. “What’s wrong?”

Severus’ nostrils flared.

“Don’t come near me or I will hex you, you filthy bastard!” The dark-haired wizard lifted a pale hand to prevent the other man from approaching. Severus lowered his head and hid face behind his hands.

This was a bit harsh even for the snarky professor, but Lucius stayed quiet waiting for Snape to calm down. That usually worked the best. Apparently, something important had happened, as the man seemed to be shocked into silence.

After some time Severus finally looked at his friend: “Did you have to…” He started in angry voice, but then stopped to cast a quick silencing charm on the door, before carrying on. “Did you really have to try to fuck the boy into… well, I have no idea what you were trying to achieve by, by… Were you trying to fuck him into accepting you? Or loving you! Idiot!” Snape snapped crossly anger almost coming off him in waves.

Then he noticed Lucius’ shocked expression and his confusion and decided that he had no other choice, but to explain: “I took a quick look into Potter’s mind.”

Lucius snorted: “A quick look? Invading someone’s mind without their permission…”

“That’s not the point!” Snape interrupted the other Slytherin. He had never cared of manners much and didn’t have any qualms about yelling as loud as he liked.

“Call the Aurors! Get me thrown in Azkaban, if that pleases you! But only after you listen what I saw ‘invading someone’s mind without permission’,” the man mimicked in a mocking manner.

“Potter is depressed… do you know how it is to see into depressed wizards mind? Don’t think so… not very talented in Legilimency are you?” Snape’s tone was openly vicious. “I saw his darkest thoughts and some of them had a lot to do with you. He is desperate and sad and feels helpless, trapped in his own life, and confused. Hopeless. Afraid. Angry,” Snape rubbed his temple.

“I wish I could show you… you deserve to see, to feel, you, sodding prick… I wish I knew before… It’s… those muggles, those muggles he was living with. I thought the boy was spoiled, but he was neglected…” Snape’s face was motionless and he was looking somewhere in the distance with glazed over eyes, looking as if he was watching something that wasn’t really there.

If a Legimens entered other wizard’s mind that was experiencing very strong emotions, Legimens was inevitably deeply affected. It was almost as if suddenly the Legimens could understand the other person much better. Know his deepest fears and hopes or worries. And understanding led to a certain level of attachment. It was simple logics – if you get to know and understand someone on the deepest level, it is hard not to feel strongly for said person.

“He was locked in so dark place for years, so lonely, scared, hungry… he was so hungry and cold… freak… they called him a freak… worthless freak… despised him…” Severus looked as if he was a seer who was having a terrifying vision.

“It was terrible, Lucius … And I bullied him, on top of everything and he never said anything… he thinks that he has no say about his life and he is afraid that you will lock him in the Manor and take away his baby, that you will not want a halfblood’s child, that his friends will hate him if he will have it …and there is that longing… a lot of longing… for his friends and… something or someone… for affection… It is terrible, so sad…” Snape’s voice trailed off. “And you shouldn’t have had your way with him! Just like that! Merlin! How could you?”

Snape’s voice trailed off and they sat in shocked silence.

“Damn, you, Lucius!” Snape’s exclamation broke the silence. “I knew you wanted to marry The-Boy-Who-Lived, The Hero, but what possessed you to force him to… you can’t imagine, how traumatic that kind of experience can be. He is still a child, Lucius!”

“I…I…had no idea,” finally stuttered Lucius. “I thought…that he was just stubborn, insolent…”

“As abused and neglected children sometimes are… they don’t trust figures of authority. I should have known better,” everything made more sense now.

“Sixteen is age of consent,” Lucius tone was defensive. “I did suspect that the boy wasn’t actually happy about it, I am not naïve.”

Snape snorted. Naïve and Lucius Malfoy in the same sentence? That was really a good one. Then on the other hand, the wizard who had been raised in the lap of luxury tended to be naïve about certain realities of life.

“I expected a bit of resistance from him,” Lucius continued after giving the other wizard a scathing look. He didn’t like to be interrupted. “I know that happens with this kind of marriages, but I assumed that he will get used to the situation, see the benefits…”

Severus said nothing, just kept staring at the other man incredulously.

“I thought… It is not like Narcissa was in love with me when we got married…” the blond aristocrat tried to explain.

“Narcissa?” The Potions Master snorted. “She married you for money and knew what the deal was and what was required. She was an adult and a Slytherin. You can’t compare her and…”

“And a ‘sanctimonious Gryffindor virgin’,” the other man finished for his friend. “I am citing Draco,” he explained.

“Hm, it is good to hear that my godson pulls his head out of his posterior once in a while and takes a look around and is capable of seeing something except himself. Maybe he will turn out better than you…. But that is a precise definition,” he concluded. “Merlin, Lucius! See benefits! And your cock up his unwilling virgin ass was supposed to be a benefit!”

Lucius winced.

They set in silence for some more as horrifying truth was sinking in.

“This is serious Lucius,” the black-haired man finally continued. “More serious than you realise. He is pregnant; yes, I am aware of that now and of all his fears concerning it. He is confused, but he wants to have the child… at least he is afraid that it will be harmed; that you will hurt it.”

“In cases of magical pregnancy the carrier’s condition influences the child directly. The baby is feeding on parent’s magic and also absorbing some of his essence that way. Extreme emotions, the type of magic carrier uses – it can all affect the foetus.”

“If Potter won’t get better, you will have a little dementor in nine months. Not literary of course… but the child will be depressed, grumpy, morose and suicidal. It will be sucking life out of its parents. And it is very hard to cure something like that,” Snape informed in a business-like manner. “Of course if you are not going to have it aborted… But if you will do it I will avada you myself! And I won’t care for consequences!” Snape roared, before he managed to get his emotions under control again.

“At the moment Ha… Potter is in not very coherent, but as soon as he will be able to think straight, he will start hating you. He will give you a child, not that you deserve such a gift, and the hate the boy will feel for you will transfer to the child, believe me, I know what I am talking about…” Severus didn’t come from a happy home and truly knew.

“Oh, Merlin, what have I done…” Lucius looked at his friend desperately.

“Yes. Think about what you have done! And even if he is your husband, you can’t just take him as someone who you were paying for pleasure… He is… it is terrible, Lucius… I… just can’t…”

Lucius saw his friend’s reaction. He was not a Legilimens, but he was capable of Occlumency and knew a lot about the art and he had never seen Severus like this. If there was someone Lucius listened to, it was the Potions Master. It was bad.

“I got carried away once again, with my plans, didn’t I?” The pureblood was mortified as the truth was slowly sinking in.

Snape nodded.

“What am I going to do?”

Severus rubbed his forehead. “You could let him go. Let him return to his life, to his friends.”

“Impossible. Malfoys don’t divorce. Besides he is pregnant, with my child,” the blond Slytherin recited. He didn’t want to let Harry go! He couldn’t. The boy was his husband and was carrying his child! He just had to… make things better, somehow. But separation was not an option.

Snape rolled his eyes: “Malfoys don’t do a lot of things or at least not admit to them.”

Right, there was Narcissa, Lucius’ had divorced his first wife who was to spend the rest of her life in Azkaban… but nonetheless, if someone else had dared to speak to the head of the Malfoy house, their life span would have shrunken dramatically…
Severus simply went on: “But fine. Then it depends. Do you want to keep him or you don’t?” Snape was ignoring other man’s glares.

“Why wouldn’t I want him?” Lucius asked back.

“I could make a list, but if you want him to stay, you will have to convince him want to stay and not by… If you will force anything on him again I will hex your bollocks off,” the Professor growled.

“Severus, I really…” that sounded almost as if Lucius was going to apologize. Turns out that even a Malfoy was capable to do that when one is really distraught.

“Fine, fine, it is not me who you need to apologize to,” Severus interrupted his shocked friend. “I know that sometimes you are a spoiled, rich boy who thinks that everyone wants what you want and nothing can stop you. Runs in the blood I suppose. Well, if you regret it, then make it up to him. Treat him well, be kind, and make him like you. That would make things right.”

“You are suggesting me to make him to fall in love with me?” Lucius raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t care what you do,” he was kind of suggesting exactly that, but didn’t want to talk about it. This course of the conversation was becoming uncomfortable for the man… Snape was not going to talk about feelings and such. “But he is a Gryffindor for a reason. Gullible, young, impressionable. But that is your problem. Now we must do something about Potter’s depression. Call that doctor of yours.”

Snape made it clear that the topic was closed.

They called Doctor Tanabe who listen what Snape had to say shooting reproachful looks at Lucius. The blond Slytherin noticed none of that. He was deep in thought thinking about the situation. He had hurt the boy, even scared him… really… what an idiot. He had treated Harry terribly without even noticing. Only because he could not imagine that a teenage boy could not want to have sex.

Who would have thought? For example Draco… well, Potter was not Draco. In some way, Lucius was still glad that his husband was so inexperienced, but… that had put them in this situation.

The mediwizard prescribed Harry mild calming draught and mild ‘Heiterkeit's grief remedy’, making a point that he could not give boy `anything stronger because of his condition.

Doctor Tanabe made it clear that depression was just a symptom and that he had already feared about boy’s mental state, that Lucius could not ignore other wizard’s feelings. He said many things actually and not only Lucius looked guilty, but Severus Snape too was wearing a strangely strained expression.

However Lucius was the one who had to find a solution if he wanted to keep Harry in the Manor and in his life. And he did. He had already admitted that.


13. Offerings of Peace

Lucius held his breath. He was standing at Harry’s bedroom door. There went nothing.

It was painful to see the small boy laying in the large bed curled up under blanket his back on the door so fragile and vulnerable, so hurt, because of what he, Harry’s husband, had done. What had he been thinking! Merlin, but he hoped it was not too late.

Lucius walked further and sat down on the one side of the bed facing Harry’s back.

“Harry?” The man asked tentatively. “Are you awake?”

When no answer followed Lucius saw that he would probably had to do all the talking: “I brought you chocolate.” It was the finest, white unicorn milk chocolate his money could buy. A rare treat, considering there were not a lot of unicorns who were agreeable to milking. It usually happened only when they lost their young and someone had to take away the milk. A pound of the exclusive sweet cost about as much as an average Ministry wizard or witch earned in a year.

Lucius placed the box on the bed and carefully, with all the gentleness he possessed, put his hand on boy’s shoulder. He felt Harry stiffen.

“I am not going to hurt you,” damn, he was a Malfoy and was not even supposed to know how to apologize, so he usually didn’t. “I know I did hurt you before. I came to apologize for my actions. I was wrong and…” Lucius groaned. How could one say ‘sorry’ for this? He had thought a lot of it and hadn’t found any good excuses for himself. Lucius was, oh, so guilty and knew it…

But what could he say to make this better… even a couple, or maybe more, shots of firewhiskey, which he had drank before coming upstairs to Harry, weren’t helping much.

“Harry, I was very wrong. What I did to you was not right…” his words didn’t sound right. How to explain this…how about telling the truth…it was probably his inner doctor Tanabe talking. Maybe after all those years of moralizing and criticism something had rubbed off on Lucius.
Probably Harry deserved an honest explanation. Perhaps being honest was only way to receive forgiveness? One day…

“You see, sometimes I can be very narrow minded,” now he just had to remember all those nasty things Severus had said about him during years of their friendship. “My family has always been very rich, very pure-blood, very… I don’t know, I don’t have a privilege to see the Malfoys or I as other people often do. “

“I assume that I am not good with people who are not rich, purebloods or Slytherins at least. I forgot that you were not one of us. I never truly intended to hurt you so deeply. I don’t know what came over me; I should have been more considerate. I admit that I saw you as an object. Something valuable and as I noticed later – also exquisite.”

“You were something I could have and wanted to have. And I got you. I acted like the spoiled, rich pureblood, who I was raised to be. I saw a new toy and nothing beyond, in my excitement. I didn’t see a wizard in you, a person.”

“I am used to getting my way, to obtaining everything I want. People don’t say ‘no’ to a Malfoy very often. Therefore, I assumed that it was natural, the way it should be. I didn’t consider you and your feelings… I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I was blind and foolish. I regret what I did. I would like to receive your forgiveness one day. Especially now when… when we are going to…be parents. Both of us. I don’t know how you are feeling about this… I am selfish, arrogant, bastard… if Severus is right – he calls me like that sometimes… but I understand that being in this situation when you are only sixteen is hard for you… and I apologize for the grief I have caused you.”

“I would like to do something to make things better and help you. I promise to help you if you just let me to be with you and support you through this… we’ve got off on the wrong foot, but I will try to be a better husband and a good father if you will let me,” Lucius finally stopped. Only then, he noticed that he had subconsciously started rubbing Harry’s upper arm with his hand and pulled it away.

“Just consider this. I will agree to everything you will decide. If you don’t want to have the baby, just tell me… however, if you do… I would like to be by your side sat least until the baby has born. Maybe you could forgive me and we could be a family one day, enough family to make our child feel safe and wanted… Well, maybe I am asking for too much, but I am a Malfoy after all. I am asking for a chance.”

“I can’t promise that I will give you divorce, I would be lying, because Malfoys don’t get divorced unless there are some extraordinary circumstances. However, I will give you everything else, whatever you will ask. I will let you live your own life, if you wish. But I would be lying if I said that I would not like to be a part of it. I will prove that if you will allow me, all I ask of you is a chance to make it up to you,” then Lucius dared to squeeze Harry’s shoulder gently and left the room, assuming that the young man needed some time for himself, to think.

***

Lucius Malfoy walked in the library, sunk into his favourite chair, called a house elf giving an ordered it to bring him some more firewhiskey.

Had he really meant everything he had said? Or just said, what was expected, the right words to… Lucius was not used to being honest, he was a Slytherin. Every Slytherin knew that the words that were true often were not the most effective ones.

But the man had been too shaken with everything he had heard from Severus. Yes, Lucius had been quite honest with Harry. Maybe even lost some of his dignity and made himself look like a fool…

He had not displayed such vulnerability since… well, maybe never. It was a bit disturbing.

Yes, Lucius was quite open with Draco and Severus; they saw a side of him some wouldn’t imagine the man had at all, but he never opened up like that to anyone, he never begged.

Lucius had not slept well last night, he had been thinking about everything. A lot was at stake. First – there was the baby. If nothing changed and Harry sank deeper in his depression, his child would turn into a little dementor. Lucius was not sure, what exactly it entitled, but could imagine.

He had thought about Draco… and then a little thing growing inside Harry with little heartbeat and tiny feet… He would never forgive himself if his child would be damaged and it would be his fault. And it would. One thing Lucius knew a lot about was responsibility. He was responsible for the family.

The more he thought the more he realized that he had pushed Harry into depression… Lucius could not claim that he understood the younger wizard who was so sensitive and easily hurt… easily… well maybe not, according to Severus’ ‘journey’ in Harry’s memories. Being in the dark and all those other things…

What could he know about terrible things, which hurt people? When had he felt terrible? When Narcissa was sentenced for Azkaban? Ashamed, annoyed. When he realized that the Dark Lord was a madman? Disappointed and inconvenienced. Really, he didn’t know much about sorrow and misery. Ah, he had been really upset when Draco had caught dragon pox and there had been complications. But that had been once.

Lucius had sheltered life as child and he had everything he wanted as an adult. Of course, there had been challenges. The wizard had fought many battles, but only ones of his own choosing, only when he had been ready.

The boy who was now lying broken in one of the best rooms in the Manor hadn’t been ready. It had been too much for him and Lucius had been the one who had delivered the final blow.

Lucius had been foolish to think that he could simply take Harry and turn him into his perfect, little spouse.

And, no, he didn’t understand Harry Potter.

But he could try.

He would do everything to make Harry really his. That was a promise.

.

TBC


A/N: I have spent ages on this chapter and still not sure about it, but, hey, I am one of those writers who hate their own stories and write them, because… well, I am not even sure. Maybe it’s all about stubbornness.

Don’t forget to review.
The Time table

from 02. to 03. August – Harry runs awayay
evening of 03. August – Anne adopts Harry
September – Harry starts feeling morning sickness
October (middle) – Lucius finds Harry

Glossary

‘Wizard’s Lair’ - magazine for wizard’s (men).

‘Pigeon’s Milk’ – in my country this expression is used to say that something is very exclusive and rare, almost non existent. When children are not eating, mothers ask if they should bring them the Pigeon’s Milk.

Mackled malaclaw - a creature of the shore and coastline, resembling a lobster. The malaclaw's bite gives the victim bad luck for up to a week (From HP Lexicon). Like a wizarding lobster, ne?

Blood flavoured lollipops - authentic, I always found the concept of blood flavoured lollipops…wicked! There was a story; I think ‘underwater light’. Draco favoured those things in it, I guess it kind of stuck with me, I suggest you read that story and I hope that the author is not angry that I loved her idea that much and kind of used it. (By the way, Draco was adorable in that fic)

Fissiparous - reproducing by fission. I thought that fairies very well could do it that way.

Heiterkeits grief remedy – Heiterkeit – joy from German

What to expect when you are expecting - I think I have this idea from someone else, don’t remember exactly though… sorry in advance, if someone thought of this before me.
Unanswered questions

About Lucius’s apology
OOC, definitely. But that is the way it is, I am quite sure that I warned about somewhere in the beginning.