Red Rose

Title: Red Rose
Author: Savanna Maxwell
Rating: R
AN notes: This is set about 5 years after Hogwarts, which is, in my fic anyways, about 5 years since you-know-who was defeated. Severus is Draco’s godfather, and he and Harry became good friends after the latter graduated from school. Severus became like a foster-father/uncle for him. Please read and review!!!
Disclaimers: Harry Potter and all characters associated with it do not belong to me. The basic idea for this story did not come from me either, it was a challenge put on by Nitasha.




BASIC PLOT:

Harry is pregnant with Draco’s child and both are happy with it. But one day Harry gets into an accident of some sort or simply collapses. Draco and Harry are ushered to Madam Pomfrey. Draco is told to wait outside. Later Madam Pomfrey comes out of the infirmary and tells Draco that Harry aborted the child. Draco does not wait for an explanation and leaves. He comes back sometime later (2-3 months) and meets Harry again. Harry is ill because of the abortion. Draco and Harry talk somehow and Harry explains why he aborted the child.

GUIDELINES:

- There must be a plausible reason about why Harry aborted the child.
- Harry must get ill at some point of the story
- It is your choice whether they are to be married, engaged, or simply a couple
- It is also your choice whether it should be an After-war story or not
DUE NOVEMBER 20TH 2005

Draco Malfoy watched quietly from the doorway to the newly made nursery, watching his husband of two years and he sang softly to his slightly rounded stomach. Harry Potter-Malfoy didn’t know that he was being watched, otherwise he wouldn’t be signing.
“Ahem,” Draco gently cleared his throat, grinning sheepishly when Harry jumped, “Sorry love. I came to see if you wanted anything special for supper.”
Harry got up slowly from the chair, hiding the wince of pain that shot through his abdomen and head, and allowed Draco to pull him into his arms. They kissed sweetly, before Draco pulled away and leaned over to kiss Harry’s stomach, asking once again what Harry wanted for supper.
“Anything you make is perfect Dray.” Harry grinned, “But if you want to make strawberry shortcake for dessert, I’m not going to stop you.”
Draco laughed then headed down to the kitchen. He whistled as he cooked, calling up to Harry when he was finished. When there was no answer, Draco sighed and headed upstairs, thinking that Harry had fallen asleep or something. He called out for his husband again, frowning when he entered their bedroom and saw that Harry wasn’t there. Dread began to well up in his throat, threatening to choke him. He yelled out again, checking the bathroom and the guest room. With shaking hands, Draco opened the door to the nursery and cried out. Harry was sprawled on the floor, pale as Nearly Headless Nick and barely breathing. Draco gathered him in his arms, gently shaking him. With a strangled sob, Draco held Harry tightly and apparated them to St Mungo’s. He yelled at the nearest Healer, his heart beating hard in his chest.
“Hang on Harry, please love, don’t give up,” Draco half sobbed as he watched Harry being wheeled into a treatment room.
Hours later, Draco was pacing the waiting room, his patience running very low. He snapped at the volunteer witch who offered him some coffee and glared at every healer who came near him without news on Harry.
“Mr. Malfoy?” An older healer came up to Draco, a grim look on his face, “You’re husband is very weak. We nearly lost him a few times.”
Draco sat heavily into a nearby chair, his stomach knotting. He should have realized that something was wrong.
“I’m afraid there’s more bad news,” The healer sighed, placing a gentle hand on Draco’s shoulder when he looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes, “Mr. Malfoy, your husband aborted the child. I’m sorry.”
Draco took in a sharp breath. His temper flared and he stood up, glaring at the healer. Aborted the baby? How could he? This decision should have been made between the two of them! It figures that Potter, the arrogant man that he is, would make such a disgusting judgment on his own.
“I’m leaving.” Draco sneered suddenly, “Make sure Ha- Potter knows that I won’t be back.”
Draco stalked out, ignoring the healer that was calling him and keeping his tears from overwhelming him.

Three months later:
Draco downed his fifth glass of firewhiskey, sighing and standing on shaky legs. He reached out a hand to steady himself before walking out of the bar. He ignored the whispers and pointing fingers at his disheveled appearance and stepped out into the Diagon alley, shielding his eyes from the noon day sun. He staggered around the street, walking into people and not even bothering to apologize. But he stopped dead in his track when he saw a figure moving slowly ahead of him. He was about to turn around and walk away, but something made him follow Harry. He waited as Harry went into The Apothecary, frowning as the buzz from the firewhiskey wore off.
“Thanks again Mary.” Harry’s soft, shaky voice reached him, “I’ll see you next week.”
“No problem Harry,” Mary, the owner of the shop, followed the dark haired man out onto the street and pulled him into a hug, “You make sure to take care of yourself. Floo me if you ever need anything. I worry about you, you know?”
Harry disapparated after a final hug from Mary, and Draco stalked into the store. Mary turned around to serve him, then frowned and glared at him when she saw who it was.
“You!” Mary yelled, her eyes blazing in anger, “Get out of my shop! You bloody bastard!”
Draco crossed his arms and stood still. Mary glared at him and tried to push him out. When he grabbed her upper arm, she squeaked and tried to pull away, her eyes wide.
“What are you giving him?” Draco growled, tightening his grip on her arm, “what fucking drugs are he taking that makes him high? Makes him feel better for killing our baby?”
Mary wrenched free of his grasp and slapped him hard. Draco took a shaky breath and gritted out an apology, before apparating away. He landed in front of the little cottage in Godric’s Hollow, not really knowing what he was doing there. The house was dark, the grass growing long and the flowers were overwhelmed with weeds. As quietly as possible, Draco entered the house, holding his breath as he listened to see where Harry was. He frowned when he saw how dirty the house was. Dust lay in a thick layer on every surface and letters and newspapers were scattered everywhere. A soft thud from upstairs caught his attention and he followed it, his frown deepening with every step. He paused on the top step, and listened hard. He could hear deep coughing, raspy breathing and strangled sobs coming from the half open door of the nursery.
“Draco…” Harry moaned hoarsely, “Merlin I miss you Draco…”
Draco swallowed the lump in his throat. He risked a peak through the door and the sight that greeted him broke his heart. Harry was kneeling next to the basinet, bent double so that his forehead was nearly touching the floor. He was pale and skinnier that Draco had ever seen him. Draco watched in horror as Harry coughed so hard that his body shook and a few spots of blood splattered the hand covering his mouth. Without realizing it, Draco said Harry’s name softly, making the other man spin around. He watched as Harry’s eyes widened and was at his side when he tried to get up, crushing him to his chest.
“You came back,” Harry sobbed, clutching Draco’s shirt in trembling hands, “Thank Merlin you came back.”
Draco lifted Harry into his arms and carried the slight man into their bedroom, sitting him on the bed and kneeling in front of him. Harry’s eyes had lost their usual sparkle and his skin was white and clammy.
“I lost him, and then I lost you.” Harry whimpered, leaning into the hand that was caressing his cheek, “You left and never came back, not even in my dreams.”
Draco swallowed hard and gently laid Harry down, watching until he fell asleep. Then he sat on the floor for hours until his arse was numb and his legs were tingling. But still he didn’t get up. He dozed off every once and awhile, waking up when Harry would cough and moan in his sleep. He jumped up when the sound of someone apparating downstairs startled him, only to fall back down when his legs refused to support him. He got up on shaky legs and was just getting his balance when, of all people, Severus Snape came in the room. The look of shock on his old teacher’s face was quickly replaced with anger before a fist came flying at his jaw.
“What the fuck was that for?” Draco hissed as he sat sprawled on the floor once again while rubbing his aching jaw.
Severus sneered down at him before moving to the bedside table. Draco noticed for the first time the cauldron sitting there with the ingredients Harry had bought earlier that day. He watched as Severus brewed a strengthening potion, adding echinacea and garlic to boost Harry’s immune system.
“Harry,” Severus called softly as he placed an arm around the younger man’s shoulder and propped him up “time for you potion brat.”
Draco was horrified to see Harry whimper, but dutifully take it, gagging as it went down. Tears crawled down Harry’s cheeks as his weak grip on Severus’ wrist tightened slightly.
“I dreamt about him Sev,” Harry breathed, his eyes closed as tight as he could manage, “I dreamt for the first time in months, and it’s him, here with me again. When is he coming back? Did you get any word?”
Severus didn’t say anything, just hugged Harry as he cried himself to sleep once again. He didn’t protest when Snape grabbed him by the collar and pulled him downstairs into the kitchen. He sat down hard onto a chair, ignoring the groan of protest from the wood. He dazedly watched as Severus made a pot of tea and placed a mug in front of him.
“I’m not going to tell you what’s going on Draco,” Severus stated before his godson had the chance to speak, “That’s between you and Harry. But I will tell you that he’s extremely ill. No one is sure whether or not he’s going to get better.”
Draco took a deep breath, glancing up at the ceiling. When there was a sudden crash upstairs, both Severus and Draco bolted upstairs. Severus was the first to reach Harry, sprawled on the floor with a broken picture frame around him. Draco froze at the sight of blood, seeing cuts on Harry’s hands and arms. Severus lifted Harry back up and with a quick word to Draco, apparated to St Mungo’s. When Draco arrived he was shown to a waiting room where he was soon joined by Severus. They waited only a few minutes before they were allowed into Harry’s hospital room. Draco settled into the chair closest to the bed and Severus checked the potions they were giving Harry.
“I’ll be back after supper Draco,” Severus whispered after awhile, placing a hand on his godson’s shoulder, and then leaning over he kissed Harry’s forehead.
Draco watched his husband as he slept, taking in the bags under his eyes, the hollow, pale cheeks and the gasping breaths. He held the limp hand in one of his own and waited.

An hour later, Harry moaned softly and his eyes fluttered open. He sighed when he saw the white washed walls of the hospital room, trying to remember what happened this time.
“Welcome back to the land of the waking, love,” A soft voice in his ear made him jump slightly, “here, take a drink of water, you’ve been coughing a lot.”
Green eyes never left silver as he drank deeply from the goblet, spluttering a little before getting used to the liquid in his throat. When he was done, he stared at Draco.
“You’re here.” He whispered, stopping himself from reaching out and touching his face.
Draco nodded, looking away from the burning gaze. He helped Harry sit up more, placing pillows behind him and making him comfortable. He stepped back as a healer came in, checking Harry over and giving him strengthening potions. She placed a sleep draught on the bed side table for later on and warned Draco not to tire Harry too much. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, then Draco sighed and sat next to Harry on the bed, holding him as close as possible without hurting him.
“Why Harry. Why did you get the abortion? Why did you do that?” Draco rushed the words out, not wanting to aggravate Harry but wanting the answers.
Harry whimpered and buried his face in Draco’s chest. He couldn’t stop trembling.
“I didn’t want to Draco,” Harry whispered, “Had I a choice I would have saved him. It was a boy, you know. He was perfect, even if I only saw him for a few seconds. The healer’s said that he was sick, that something wasn’t growing right. He was making me sick, attacking my immune system.”
Draco swallowed the lump in his throat. Oh Merlin, what had he done? Had he paid more attention to Harry he might have seen that he was getting sick. He lovingly fed Harry his sleep draught and held him as he fell asleep. He was still holding him when Severus came back with some supper for Draco.
“Why didn’t you contact me?” Draco whispered, slowly eating his sandwich as Severus warmed up some coffee for him, “Had I known that he was sick I would have came back.”
Severus didn’t say anything, just handed Draco his coffee and sat down on a chair. Severus watched his godson and his husband, his heart breaking for them. Harry’s breathing was struggled, and his pale face was clammy and cold.
“Draco, Harry doesn’t know everything.” Severus said suddenly, preparing himself for the onslaught that was to come, “He knows that the child was sick and in turn caused him to be sick. What he doesn’t know is that it wasn’t an ordinary sickness that hurt the baby. It was a curse, an old curse from during the war. It was supposed to prevent him from carrying children, but instead it did much worse.”
Draco took a deep breath. His eyes were wide and he knew he was trembling. He pulled Harry’s sleeping form closer and breathed in his sent. Had he known...
“It’s slowly killing him Draco,” Severus whispered as tears began to flow down Draco’s cheeks in horror, “The healers are trying everything in their powers to find cure, but so far all we can find is something to ease the pain a little. I’m so sorry Draco.”
Draco buried his face in Harry’s hair and sobbed his heart out.



Nine months later:
Draco Malfoy swallowed the lump in his throat as he placed a single red rose on the tomb stone he was kneeling in front of. He lovingly brushed the snow off of the head stone and traced the letters with his gloved finger.
“Good morning my love,” He whispered, a sad smile on his face, “Sorry I couldn’t come earlier this week, but things have been hectic lately.”
He jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder, then he grinned and stood up, pulling the newcomer into his arms and kissing him soundly.
“I thought you were going to sleep in this morning?” He asked, his grin never faltering, “You should get some more sleep Harry love, I plan on tiring you out tonight.”
It had been a year since the abortion, and over the last few months Harry had responded to the healing spells Severus had found. His health was improving, and they were now considering adoption within the next few years.
Harry laughed, then kneeled in front of the grave and kissed his fingers, placing his fingers on the name written there. The couple stood for a few more minutes, before heading back to the house. At the door, Harry looked back one more time and smiled.
“See you later my love,” He whispered to himself, “My son.”


FIN


AN: yeah, so that’s my story! It’s not the best, but it’s my first time writing Harry/Draco. Please read and review!! and read Twist of Betrayal by Nitasha! It’s awesome!!