Haunted

Disclaimer: I don’t own the magical world of Harry Potter. If I did, I certainly wouldn’t be writing fan fiction about it. : ) I make no money from this story.


A/N: Sorry about the wait. Real life can be a pain sometimes. So, here it is: chapter 3. Enjoy!



Chapter 3


The imbecile that dared to call himself my mate was smiling at me as he dropped that bombshell. My fingers were twitching. I was dying to grab my wand and literally hex his balls off. I could wear them as earrings. I suddenly thought about Luna and her radish earrings. Yes, they would look something like that. Draco visibly flinched with that thought and I smirked inwardly. “That’s what you get for being in my head, Malfoy,” I thought viciously. How could I be pregnant? I had been a virgin up until yesterday. Until that git unfairly coerced me into becoming his mate. Okay, Hermione. Calm down. Maybe he was just joking. He always likes to make me angry. And how on earth would he know anyway? It was too soon to do the spell that detects pregnancy.

I called him on it. “How do you know I’m pregnant, Malfoy? Are you suddenly all-knowing? Or maybe you are channeling that dimwit Trelawney.” I closed my eyes and mimicked the batty professor. I put my fingers to my temples and fluttered my eyelids. “I see a child in the very near future, sometime before you’re thirty. It’s absolutely ridiculous. How can you expect me to believe something like that?”

Malfoy frowned and said, “First off, I thought I told you to call me Draco. I’m your mate and you will address me with respect. Secondly, I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. I told you about the heightened senses of a veela. I can smell the changes in your body, in your hormones. Besides that, the child in your womb is of veela descent. I can feel the connection with him already.”

“Him?”, I said weakly.

He smiled broadly. “Yes, him. Our baby is a boy. Father will be so happy that our firstborn is a boy. You did well, my love.”

I fought down the urge to inform him that he was the deciding factor whether our child was a boy. It was the male that determined the sex. No, I was in a state of shock. Pregnant at age seventeen. By Draco Malfoy, no less. I could imagine the gossip now. That horrible Rita Skeeter had already painted me as a harlot and a gold digger. I could imagine the headlines now if she got wind of this. I remembered all the howlers I got the first time Skeeter drug my name through the mud during the triwizard tournament in the fourth year. I shuddered remembering how horrible people had treated me that year.

“She will say nothing,” Draco said darkly. “No one will mess with my family while there is still breath in my body. The consequences will be quite severe. I will break her in the worst of ways if there is so much as a whisper said about you. She won’t bother us, love. I’ll make sure of it.”

Damn mind reader. That was really going to be hard to get used to. It was so unfair. Nothing was safe anymore. I needed to research. Maybe there was a way to block him out. I didn’t like the idea that he could get into my head at anytime.

Then I felt a sharp pang of sadness. What the hell was that? Draco said softly, “Don’t shut me out, cara. I need you. I want to be close to you. Please, don’t push me away. I can’t be happy if you aren’t happy.”

I stared at him in astonishment. The sadness that I was feeling was coming from him. The urge to comfort him was overpowering. Didn’t I have any free will anymore? I went to him and wrapped my arms around him, the compulsion too strong to deny. I inhaled deeply, savoring his unique scent. It made me feel like I was home, right where I belonged. This was crazy. Two days ago, I could hardly stand to be in the same room as this man. Now I only wanted be safe in his arms. Maybe I needed to have my head examined. Maybe Draco was right, all the stress that I’ve been under all these years has finally done me in.

“I’m sorry, Draco,” I whispered. It must be the end of the world. I called Malfoy by his first name and apologized to him all in one breath. I was surely trapped in some weird alternate universe. What was a girl supposed to do? He looked so dejected. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just too much to wrap my brain around, you know? You’ve had years to come to terms with this. I’ve only had a few days. Then you tell me that I’m pregnant. I’m not ready to be a mom. I had so many things that I wanted to do….”

He put his finger to my lips, stopping my speech. My lips tingled where he touched them, not unpleasantly. “You can still do what you wanted. I will follow you wherever you go in whatever you do. But just think of all the things you can accomplish once you are a Malfoy. I’m not trying to be egotistical here, but the last name Malfoy opens doors that were once closed. Things that were once impossible can become a reality. We have unlimited wealth. You could start your own charity or your own company. The possibilities are endless. You have more options now than you had before.”

I allowed him to pull me into his lap. I sat there wrapped in his arms considering his words. He was right, even if I was reluctant to admit it. The name Malfoy was both respected and feared in the wizarding world. It would open doors and create opportunities that weren’t available to me before.

I still wanted to research though. I had so many questions. My knowledge on the subject of veelas was limited. We’d only briefly touched on the subject in class. When we had first bonded, Draco bit me. It felt like he had injected something like venom into my bloodstream. Did it alter me in any way? I knew I wasn’t a veela, but was I considered something other than a witch? Then there was our child. That felt weird to even think about. Draco said that he was a veela. Would he be different than other children?

Draco laughed suddenly, sending vibrations through my body. I raised an eyebrow at him curiously. “What’s so funny?”

He laughed even harder, like he was the only one in on some private joke. He said, “You are cara. You really like to learn about everything, don’t you? Your mind is moving so quick, it makes me dizzy trying to keep up.”

I smacked him on the shoulder playfully. He was making fun of me. Stupid mind reader. I said, “Don’t laugh at me. Stay out of my head if you can’t keep up. I always thought my mind was superior to yours.
Now it’s a proven fact.”

He pouted, his lower lip protruding slightly. He looked adorable. What was I thinking? I must be mental to be thinking something like that. Seriously, what kind of magic can totally alter your views on someone? It must something powerful to overcome the type of animosity that used to exist between us.

Draco smiled and said, “I heard that, cara. You can’t deny it. You think I’m adorable. Not the term I would use to describe myself. I would say I’m handsome, charming, and sexy.”

I smiled back at him. Two could play this game. “You forgot arrogant, spoiled, and overbearing. How come you can hear my thoughts and I can’t hear yours? It’s not fair.”

It was my turn to pout. It was really annoying that he could hear everything that I was thinking. He rubbed my back soothingly. He said, “Don’t fret, love. As our bond strengthens, you will begin to hear my thoughts. If it bothers you so much, I will try to stay out of your head. You fascinate me. It makes me feel so close to you. I don’t think you understand how much I need you. Crave you. Just the sight of you is enough to drive me into a frenzy. Imagine, it’s been like that for years. Once I found out that you were my mate, I was terrified that someone would find out and try to hurt you. It was maddening when you went off with Potter and the Weasel hunting horcruxes. Even though we weren’t bonded yet, I could still feel your emotions. Every time you were afraid, I had a particularly hard time restraining myself. It is my nature to protect you as my mate. But if I had acted on my instincts it would have put you in more danger. I was at war with myself.”

He brushed his hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. His eyes really were beautiful. I had once that he had the coldest, most hateful eyes. But now that I looked closer, I could see the warmth that they radiated. They were an odd mixture of dark gray and molten silver. I hoped that our son inherited his eyes instead of my plain, brown ones.

My stomach rumbled, pulling me from my thoughts. I glanced down at my flat belly imagining what I would look like in a few months time. Merlin, I’d only be able to hide the fact that I was pregnant for a few months. Then everyone would know. What were people going to think? Nothing good, I was sure.

Draco pulled me closer to his chest. “I can feel your distress, cara. Don’t worry. I don’t think people react as badly as you are imagining that they will. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Our son is going to be the most spoiled child in existence having so many people to dote on him.”

I turned to him and smirked a perfect replica of the Malfoy smirk. Merlin, he was rubbing off on me. That can’t be a good thing. “Our son can’t be the most spoiled child in existence. You already hold that title, Draco.”

A look of incredulousness was plastered on his handsome face. I laughed wildly at his expression. It was so comical. Never had I seen so much openly displayed on his face. He usually wears a mask, shielding his emotions from the world. He said, “I’ll have you know that I am not spoiled. I’m just well loved.”

I laughed at him again. He was something else. I said, “You keep telling yourself that, Draco, if it makes you able to sleep at night. You know, denial is not just a place in Egypt.”

He looked at me questioningly. “What?”

I laughed at him once more. He was really thick. “Muggle expression, Draco. The Nile is a river in Egypt. Denial is not wanting to admit something is true.”

He looked even more perplexed than before. He was a lost cause. He had a lot to learn bit at least I could teach him. My stomach growled again, louder than before. How embarrassing. He said, “I don’t get it, but you have stalled long enough. It’s time for breakfast. You have to eat. I know you have a habit of skipping meals to study. You shouldn’t do that anymore. It’s not good for you.”

I rolled my eyes at him. He sounded just like Harry. He turned sharply. “I resent that. I’m not like Potter at all.”

I smiled lightly. Perhaps this mind reading thing wasn’t so bad after all. “Yes, you are. Harry tells me all the time to eat more. He’s like my older brother. He’s very protective of me. Now that I think about it, you might want to be careful after I tell him about us. He won’t be happy that you, of all people, knocked up the closest thing that he has to a sister. I know you don’t think much of him, but he did take out Voldemort.”

I watched as Draco paled considerably at the thought. Regardless of his opinion, Harry was a very powerful wizard. Personally, I thought that Ron was more likely to throw a hex or two at Draco. He definitely had the worse temper of the two.

I got dressed slowly. Despite teasing Draco with Harry’s reaction, I was really worried about how my friends were going to take the news. I mean, if Ginny came to me and told me what I was about to tell them, I would have her carted off to St. Mungo’s.

If I really wanted to, I could put off telling them about the baby. It was going to be hard enough telling them about Draco. I wouldn’t start to show for several more months. But I knew when I did tell them and they found out the due date, they would realize that I’d been pregnant for awhile. They might get angry that I was keeping things from them. No, it would be best if I just came out and told them everything at once. It would take a lot of pressure off me. Plus, I wouldn’t spend weeks overanalyzing how I thought they would react.

I sighed and smoothed down my skirt. Draco said, “Are you ready, love?”

I nodded my head. We might as well get this over with. We left the common room together, walking side by side. The closer we got to the Great Hall the more nervous I got. I wasn’t even remotely hungry anymore. My appetite had fled with my Gryffindor courage, which was rather faulty lately anyway. Maybe I should have been a Hufflepuff. My stomach felt like it was tied in knots.

Draco grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. I squeezed back. He was in same boat as me. His whole house would likely ostracize him because of our relationship. We stopped outside the doors. I could hear the chatter from everyone as they enjoyed their breakfast. I looked up at him. “Are you ready for this, Draco? It’s going to be coming at us from all sides.”

He said, “I don’t care what everyone thinks. It’s inconsequential. Your opinion is the only one that matters to me. They could take my wand and tell me I couldn’t do magic again. It wouldn’t matter as long as I had you. You can’t even begin to comprehend what you mean to me.”

He pushed open the doors and we walked in hand in hand. Everything stopped. Time seemed to stand still. Conversations stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. Forks hung in midair, students too shocked to continue the journey to their mouths. All eyes were on us. Even the teachers. Professor McGonagall looked like she was about to pass out. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling merrily. I’m sure he already knew. Nothing gets past that man. Snape was paler than usual and was glaring at Draco icily.

I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. Uncomfortable, I finally turned my eyes to the Gryffindor table. Harry’s mouth was hanging open unattractively. Ginny was smiling, giving me a thumbs up. At least she wouldn’t be angry with me. Ron’s face was bright red and he looked almost murderous.

Merlin help me.

I gulped nervously. “I’ll see you in potions, Draco.”

He smiled again. “Okay, cara. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”

I let go of his hand and made my way over to my friends. Just by the looks on their faces I could tell that this was going to be a long breakfast. I sat down beside Ginny, trying to ignore the eyes that were studying me. I wasn’t used to being under such scrutiny. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and raised my eyes to my friends.

“Good morning Harry. Ron. How are you this morning?”



End Note: Well, tell me what you think? I think I might be moving a little fast with their relationship but I don’t want the story to lag either. I hate when a story seems to have too much filler. Ah, well. Such is life. You know the drill. Review! Tell me what you think Harry and Ron will say. Thanks for all the awesome reviews so far. I appreciate each one. Toodles for now.