Hybrid Destiny

Chapter 31

Harry staggered down the stairs, heading straight for the kitchen. He was about to starve to death. Over the last five days, he’d had a grand total of one meal. He felt like his stomach was trying to gnaw its way into the outside world. He saw Moody at the bottom of the stairs, but he just brushed passed him and continued towards the kitchen. He saw Molly Weasley in the kitchen and almost cried in relief.

“Yea, food. I am so hungry,” said Harry, hurrying to the table.

“I can imagine. Moody said he hasn’t seen you come down since you got here,” said Molly, loading a plate and setting it in front of Harry. “Where’s Draco?”

“He’s taking a shower first. I’ve had one meal in five days, so I thought I would shower after I eat,” said Harry, pausing only enough to say those few words before stuffing more food in his mouth.

“Oh you poor dears. You’ve had a rough week, haven’t you?” she said sympathetically, loading a plate and setting it on the table for Draco.

“Oh good, there is food here,” said Draco from the doorway, hair still damp from his shower.

“Here you go, dear,” said Molly, gesturing towards the plate she had just set on the table. “Albus should be here within the hour, so eat up.”

Harry ate another large helping of Molly’s delicious cooking. Even Draco managed to devour half of another full plate. They finally pushed their plates away and sat back, their hunger completely sated. The kitchen door opened, and they both turned to see who had arrived. Albus Dumbledore strolled into the kitchen, eyes twinkling madly.

“Hello, Harry. Glad to see you’re alright,” he said, taking a seat at the table. “Would you like to tell me what’s happened over the past six days?”

“Well, that letter was a portkey obviously. We landed in a cell and stayed there for hours. Two Death Eaters finally came into the cell and forced me to drink a potion. Then we were taken to Voldemort. He told me he knew I was fae and had forced me to drink a potion specifically designed to dampen a fae’s power,” Harry began.

“So how did you get out of there if you couldn’t use your portals?” asked Albus.

“The potion only affected my fae powers. My elfin powers were still very much active. I used my control over beasts to order the Death Eaters to attack Voldemort. I even threw the killing curse at him, but it rebounded and hit the Death Eater I ducked behind. I grabbed Draco and apparated us to Hogsmeade. I knew the Death Eaters were right behind us, so we hid in the shrieking shack and I set up some wards to keep them out. I don’t really know what happened after that because I slept for over thirty-six hours,” said Harry, looking pointedly at Draco.

“I woke up after about twelve hours, snuck into Hogsmeade for some food, and came back to watch over Harry. I had just gotten back from another trip for food when Harry woke up. When Harry had finished eating, he realized why he had been getting steadily warmer. Before we could make our way back to school, the shack was attacked by the Death Eaters and wards were cracking. Since the path to the Whomping Willow had collapsed, Harry apparated us to an alley, dragged me to a strange house, and rang the doorbell. Professor Moody answered the door,” said Draco, recounting the story.

“I asked Moody if the floo was still connected. When he said no, I knew we were stuck until at least today. Moody went ahead and sent the owl and we went to our room. This is the first time we’ve been out of that room since we got here,” said Harry, blushing at the roundabout mention of his heat cycle.

“I brought a portkey that will take you both directly to the infirmary so that Poppy can check you both,” said Albus, pulling a feather from his pocket. He tapped the feather with his wand and said, “Portus. This portkey will activate in one minute.”

Harry and Draco held the feather waiting for the portkey to activate. Suddenly, with the trademark pull of the navel, they were standing in the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey came into the room immediately, ushering them to a bed.

“Madame Pomfrey, before you start I do need to mention that I had my heat cycle while I was away from the school,” said Harry, wringing his hands nevously.

“You didn’t have a contraceptive potion. All right, I’ll check that first,” said Poppy, running the wand down the elf’s body. When she reached Harry’s abdomen, a purple light engulfed the area indicating a positive pregnancy. “Well, Harry, you are indeed pregnant. You will need to see me once a week for the next three months.”

“I’m really pregnant?” asked Harry, looking at his stomach in amazement. When Poppy nodded, Harry fainted.

“Don’t worry, Madame Pomfrey. We’ve had a rough week,” said Draco, settling Harry more comfortably on the bed.

“There’s nothing wrong with you. How do you feel about the pregnancy?” she asked.

“I’ll be honest and say I’m not really ready for this, but how can I not love our child?” said Draco, smiling tenderly at the unconscious elf.

*****

“Father, I really need to talk to you,” said Draco, walking into the Malfoy suite.

Lucius set down the book he’d been reading and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, what do we need to discuss?” he asked.

“Dumbledore told you what happened when Harry and I were transported by the portkey, correct?” asked Draco nervously.

“Yes. He said Harry managed to use his elfin powers to get away and hid in the shrieking shack. When the Death Eaters attacked the shack, you were forced to flee again. You ended up at Order Headquarters. Severus is still working on the potion to counteract the one the Dark Lord forced Harry to drink. Did I leave anything out?” said Lucius.

“I’ll say,” he muttered. “Harry’s pregnant.”

“What?” asked Lucius, staring at Draco in shock. “I thought he had taken a contraceptive potion. Besides, isn’t the only time he can get pregnant during the breeding cycle?”

“Harry’s first breeding cycle was on October 31st. He has quarterly cycles, meaning every three months. What date passed while we were gone?” asked Draco sarcastically.

“Oh god. January 31st passed and you had no way back to Hogwarts. What are you going to do?” asked Lucius.

“What do you mean, what am I going to do?” asked Draco incredulously. “I was already planning to ask him to bond formally with me on Valentine’s Day and I see no reason not to let that stand.”

“I meant about the baby. Are you going to ask him to get rid of it, or do you plan on becoming parents at 18?” asked Lucius seriously.

“I may not have been ready for this, but there is no way I am going to even consider the possibility of asking him to destroy that life within him. I can’t believe you even entertained that notion. That baby is your grandchild,” said Draco furiously.

“I was just making sure you were ready for this. This is a big responsibility,” said Lucius sincerely.

“The baby’s not even here yet and I love him already. I will do this,” said Draco with determination. Unbeknownst to him, Harry had been outside the door and heard the entire conversation. He smiled softly and walked to the dungeons to talk to Severus.

******

“You do know how to counteract this potion, right?” asked Harry, hovering around the cauldrons. “None of these ingredients will harm a pregnant person, will they?”

“No, why?” asked Severus irritably.

“Because I’m pregnant, of course. You do remember what happened the past week, right. I was stuck away from Hogwarts, fortunately with my mate, when my heat cycle began. Fertility is extremely high during that cycle. I guess that makes up for the nonexistent fertility rate during all other times, hmm?” mused Harry, sitting on Severus’ desk.

“You’re pregnant?” asked Severus, looking at Harry’s belly in wonder. “Really?”

“Yes, Poppy’s already confirmed it,” said Harry, smiling at the way Severus was staring at his stomach as though he could already see the baby within.

“What are you going to do? Knowing you, you will definitely be keeping the baby, but what about Draco?” asked Severus, stirring the potion once again.

“Now that the baby is indeed a fact, Draco’s already love struck. I have to admit, now that I am pregnant, I can’t help but be excited. Of course, I’m also scared to death because I don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been around pregnant women before. Plus, we still have to deal with Voldemort. Did I tell you that the killing curse I threw at him rebounded. I had to duck behind a Death Eater to avoid getting hit,” said Harry conversationally.

“You threw a killing curse at Voldemort? It rebounded? Damn, that means we’ll have to find some other way of killing him,” said Severus wearily.

“You should have seen it, though. Voldemort was attacked by his own Death Eaters. His face was indescribable, and if the situation hadn’t been so dire, I probably would have laughed,” said Harry, laughing at the memory.

“Idiot Gryffindor,” muttered Severus, ignoring Harry’s unrepentant grin.

******

“Oh thank god you’re all right,” said Hermione, hugging Harry. ‘Where have you been all day? Dumbledore told us you had gotten back, but when we went to visit in the infirmary, you were already gone.”

“I had to talk to my father,” said Draco simply.

“I had to talk to Severus,” said Harry, grinning impishly.

“Okay, what’s going on? The only time I see that particular grin is when you have big news you’re just dying to tell,” said Hermione firmly, trying to keep a stern face and failing miserably when Harry’s grin widened even more.

“I’m pregnant,” said Harry bluntly. “Poppy confirmed it just today.”

“Oh my god, a baby? This is so exciting. Wait, are you happy about this?” she asked, calming down somewhat.

“Draco, I thought you were going to wait before having kids,” said Blaise, whispering to Draco.

“We were, Blaise. We weren’t at Hogwarts when Harry’s cycle started. Plans do have a way of changing, you know. Now that the baby is a reality, I’m really happy about it,” said Draco, smiling at Harry’s tangible happiness.

“We have so much planning to do. We have to think of names; we have to plan a baby shower; and we have to prepare a nursery. Where are you going to be staying after school? There’s just so much to do,” cried Hermione, starting to panic.

“Hermione, calm down. I’ve only been pregnant five days at most. I still have a while to go,” said Harry soothingly.

“We don’t know how long elfin or fae pregnancies last. I need to do some research,” she said, rushing out of the room. Blaise just grinned and walked out of the room after her.

“Now that they’re out of the way,” said Draco, pulling his elf close. He leaned down for a kiss, and cursed when someone else knocked on the door. He stalked to the door, yanked it open, and said, “What?” before he even noticed who exactly was standing there.

Remus looked startled at the brusque greeting, but still said, “I need to speak to Harry. I just heard the most ridiculous thing.” He pushed his way inside, but stopped a few feet away from Harry. He sniffed the air, and gazed at Harry in shock. “It really is true. You’re pregnant.”

“Who told you?” asked Harry.

“I heard Hermione muttering ‘I need to throw Harry a baby shower. I hope he lets me be the baby’s godmother’ as she was hurrying down the hall,” said Remus. “Are you happy about it?”

“Yes, actually I am. I know I’m young and not really ready, but this baby is mine. It’s my family and I never really thought I’d have one,” said Harry, unconsciously caressing his stomach.

Remus and Draco noticed the instinctive reaction and couldn’t help but smile. Draco pulled his elf into his arms and just cradled him close. Remus saw the telltale reaction and knew that Draco would keep Harry and the baby safe. He left quietly with Harry and Draco none the wiser.