Fic: Parity Transformations - Harry/Draco - 14/? - NC-17
Title: Parity Transformations
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Eleven years since he ran from Hogwarts and seven years since the end of the war, Draco has moved on. Now in his late twenties, Draco lives a reclusive life in a tiny village in Hampshire. Never in a million years does he expect to cross paths with Harry Potter again. But he does, and there are two, rather small and rather excitable, complications.
Beta done by amejisuto. Thank you, darling.
A/N: Compliant with all canon up to HBP so there may be spoilers for any of the first six books. As this fic is already planned out in full, it will not be compliant with book 7 and will therefore contain NO SPOILERS.
Previous Chapters: HERE
Draco closed his eyes and fell to his knees. His fingers gripped his wand and the overgrown grass, and he prayed.
Harry Potter or The Dark Lord. If he’d made the right choice, then maybe there was a chance for salvation. If he'd made the wrong choice, then he was about to die a painful death.
The Dark Lord laughed and Draco’s eyes shot open.
‘No wand, Potter? Such a shame.’
Draco looked around, his eyes desperately searching for Potter’s wand. Why didn’t he have it? Why hadn’t he …?
‘Consider it a valuable lesson, one that I have also learned the hard way. Never trust a Malfoy.’
Draco’s heart constricted and his stomach finally rebelled. He retched and spilled what little he had in his stomach over the grass. Potter glanced at him from the ground, his eyes narrowed, betrayed and hard.
‘I didn’t mean to,’ Draco rasped. He bowed his head and wondered if it was possible to AK himself.
******
Darkness all around. Soggy wet nothingness. Draco shivered and groaned at the pain in his shoulder. He tried to remember why he was cold, wet, blind and in agony.
‘Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.’
‘Kasen,’ Draco whispered. ‘Oh no.’ He tried to move again but it seemed impossible. ‘Kasen, go …downstairs. The phone … See if it …’
Then maybe he drifted into unconsciousness because when he next opened his eyes, he was staring at a little blond head, just visible through the blackness.
‘I’m going to rescue you now, Daddy.’
Draco couldn’t have moved even if his back was on fire, but he was aware enough to hear the shake in his son’s voice, the fear behind absolute certainty. Then he felt a tugging at his fingers and he remembered he’d at some point found his wand. He tightened his grip on it, but he was weak and it slipped away.
‘Kasen, no, what are you doing?’ he slurred at the dimming image of Kasen’s hair.
Maybe Kasen replied, maybe he didn’t, because when Draco closed his eyes and opened them again and called for his son, there was no answer.
The branches above him shifted and Draco’s shoulder throbbed painfully. He called for Kasen a few more times, and when there was still no answer, he decided it was time for action. He didn’t have his wand but perhaps that was for the best. His aim was downright crappy when he was nervous. Draco managed to untangle his sleeve from a branch lying next to him and then he pushed against the floor to test his leverage.
The weight above him was too heavy so there was no going that way, but perhaps if he slid himself forward he could crawl to the door. He was at the very least confident that he would be able to stand once there wasn’t a ton and a half of Leylandii tree draped over him.
Draco laid his forearm on the floor and pulled. And pulled. And pulled.
It was no good. He didn’t have the strength and his leg felt funny, like it was caught on something; it tingled right up to his knee, and Draco thought perhaps it was the worst case of pins and needles he’d ever experienced.
He stopped, his forehead thumping back onto the prickly carpet. Fine, he couldn’t go forward. But perhaps he could go back.
Draco batted branches out of his way, wiggled, kicked with his good leg and generally thrashed about despite the intense pain in his shoulder. He couldn’t stay here. This wasn’t an acceptable situation. His son was out there somewhere and Draco had to get to him. Maybe Kasen was crouching in a corner, frightened and confused, or maybe he was out in the storm.
The wind picked up outside, whistling loudly and confidently. There was no way a little boy would even be able to stand up in that, never mind get help. And where would he go? Would he try to get Harry?
No, it was too far. It was too dangerous. Would he be able to find his way in the dark?
‘Kasen, please tell me you haven’t,’ Draco whispered to himself, then he thrashed some more until his shoulder felt like it was being ripped off and his leg started to feel painful and warm.
He finally gave up with an angry sob. ‘Kasen! Come back right this minute!’
Whoosh!
Confused and disorientated, Draco flinched and braced himself. He screwed his eyes shut tight and waited for a painful, crushing death.
It seemed to be taking an awfully long time.
‘I don’t get this, Harry. What the bloody hell were you thinking?’
‘Not now.’
‘But Harry- ’
‘I said- Jesus.’
Draco drew in sharp breath. ‘Harry.’
The trees shifted again and the weight pressed down harder on Draco’s back. He groaned at the pressure and the constriction in his chest.
‘Hold on, I’m gonna get you out,’ Harry said.
‘Kasen.’
‘He’s fine. Hold still.’
Draco pushed back against the branches as they moved again and bore down on him. ‘No, my son …’
Harry’s hand reached through the darkness and grasped his. Through the newly made gap, Draco saw the glowing tip of a wand and the emergency Portkey he’d given Harry weeks ago.
‘Kasen is fine, okay? I’m not lying. Just don’t worry about him. Worry about you. Uh, or not, because you’re fine. It’ll be okay.’
Out of energy, Draco nodded and let his eyes close. Harry was here. Harry was a hero.
Harry once saved the world.
*****
The realisation came suddenly.
‘I’m so sorry.’
Draco didn’t care what The Dark Lord did to him for that admission, but Draco was sorry. Sorry he hadn’t chosen the right side. Sorry he was such a selfish fucker. Sorry he hadn’t fought harder. Sorry he’d followed like a mindless sheep. Sorry he’d mistaken death for glamour. Sorry he’d ridiculed, bullied, shoved aside and stamped on anyone that got in his way. Sorry he was a pureblood. Sorry he was so dead inside. Sorry he’d lived his short life causing his own pain. Sorry he hadn’t made the most of the little time life gave. Sorry he’d ever listened to his father.
Sorry he’d ever been born.
They locked eyes. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. There was no fear on Potter’s face now, no righteousness, no smugness, no blame, no pity, no hate, no fear. For a moment there was nothing, and Draco looked back at him with everything he had, all the regret, the terror, the loneliness and the desire to be good, the desire to help even if he couldn’t because he was a useless failure, a stuck-up pureblood with a spiteful attitude and a streak of self-preservation that was tainted red with the blood of others.
He was sorry, and he didn’t want to die.
The Dark Lord laughed as tears rolled down Draco’s cheeks, mingling with his blood and dripping red drops onto the already stained grass.
Potter walked the few paces to where Draco sat and crouched down in front of him.
‘Don’t say goodbye to your boyfriend just yet,’ The Dark Lord said. ‘You’ll be together soon enough.’
The other Death Eaters laughed, but Draco ignored them. Potter was smiling and touching his cheek. ‘It’ll be okay.’
Potter took Draco’s wand, stood and turned.
The Dark Lord bared his teeth, half amused, half annoyed. ‘Going to kill us all, are you?’
‘Yes.’
And then The Dark Lord was gone, his blood spraying all that stood near. So simple, and it would have been beautiful if it wasn’t for the foul smell of guts that hit the air. His Death Eaters froze where they stood, dropped their preys and looked around at each other. Then they were gone too, torn apart from the inside out, one by one, vaporised, annihilated, eradicated.
Draco closed his eyes and waited for his turn.
*****
‘You lift, I’ll pull him out.’
‘I’m not sure we should move him, Harry.’
‘I’m not leaving him like this. He can barely breathe.’
Draco found that to be true. The weight of the tree was bearing down on him and he couldn’t breathe out like he should. ‘Harry,’ he wheezed.
‘Lift, Ron. Now.’
Then the pressure eased and Harry was pulling at him. Draco grasped Harry’s arms with no intention of letting go. He slid out from under the tree and found himself at the top of the stairs. His chest hurt more than he’d thought, and the pins and needles in his leg were burning.
‘Fish,’ he said.
‘What?’ Harry stroked his hair.
‘Kasen’s Fish.’
‘I’ll come back. I’m taking you to St. Mungo’s first.’
‘No, Harry, please no. Muggle hospital.’ Panic gripped him again and he tried to squirm out of Harry’s strong grip. He couldn’t go to St. Mungo’s. They would find him. They would know. They would destroy him.
‘Draco, I’m sorry, you have to.’
‘No!’
‘Just let him get on with it, Harry. Leave the bastard if he doesn’t want to go. You can’t bloody force him.’
Draco turned his head and looked over at the voice. ‘Weasel.’
‘You’re welcome for the rescue,’ Weasley said, crossing his arms.
‘Draco, I lied,’ Harry said. ‘Kasen did get hurt.’
Draco looked back at Harry with a start, clutching at the raging pain in his shoulder. ‘Kasen? What … what happened to him? Harry, tell me, tell me he’s going to be okay. Tell me!’
‘Calm down. He’s fine, but we had to take him to St Mungo’s.’
‘No, why? Everyone will know!’
‘I’m sorry. There was no choice. He splinched himself.’
Draco was silent while he was processing this and Harry was examining his leg. ‘He … Apparated?’
‘Right into my front garden. Lucky I was up or I wouldn’t have heard him trying to charge my front door down. You seriously need to look into his magic levels. Can you get up?’
‘Yeah. Yeah, okay.’
Harry helped him up and, to Draco’s surprise, Weasley helped.
‘What did he leave behind?’
‘Not much,’ Weasley answered. ‘Couple of toes. Fred Portkeyed with us and found them on the rug.’
‘Is he alright? Is he scared?’
‘Well, picking up someone else’s toes can’t be pleasant, but Fred’s got a strong stomach for that sort of thing-’
‘My son, you imbecile!’
‘He’ll be better when he can see you,’ Harry interrupted. ‘Ready?’
‘Never. Yes.’
***
If anyone had asked Draco what he remembered of the four hours that followed, he wouldn’t have been able to give a sensible answer. Everything was hazy and wonky, and Draco wasn’t even sure what had been real and what had been a figment of his rattled brain.
He awoke to a general feeling of all-over soreness. There was a weight at his side and Draco looked down to find Kasen curled up next to him, his tiny hands tangled in the extra blanket that had been thrown over him. Draco remembered that and who did it. He looked to his left and saw Harry fast asleep in a chair, his mouth wide open, glasses on skew-whiff, and James lying across his lap in his typical comatose-cat type way.
Draco tested his shoulder, wiggled his toes and shifted his weight around a little. He didn’t feel good, but he wasn’t in any huge amount of pain.
His movements woke Kasen, and his son stretched and blinked, stretched and blinked. Then he came fully awake in an instant.
‘DADDY!’
Harry and James woke with a start, both sitting bolt upright in alarm. Draco, however, was used to Kasen’s waking habits and was prepared.
‘Kasen, are you alright?’
‘I’m fine now, but I was really scared. But then I rescued you! Just like I said I would!’
‘You’re so brave,’ Draco said, cuddling him close. ‘Thank you.’
‘You are very welcome, Daddy,’ Kasen said, carefully enunciating each word.
‘How are you feeling?’ Harry asked. He lifted James onto the bed to sit beside Kasen.
‘A bit sorry for myself, actually,’ Draco replied.
Harry smiled faintly. ‘Don’t be. You’re lucky you’re still in one piece. If it wasn’t for Kasen-’
‘I squinched myself! Look!’ Kasen held up his bare foot proudly, all five toes now perfectly in place.
‘Splinched,’ Draco corrected. ‘Oh, Kasen, how did you know how to do that?’
‘I read it in a book.’ Kasen turned to Harry. ‘I read everyday. I’m going to be the best and most powerful wizard there ever was,’ he said, lifting his chin in a gesture that was so very like a young Draco.
The bubble of worry that had formed in Draco’s gut expanded until it pressed against the sides of his belly and demanded exit, preferably upwards.
‘Draco,’ Harry said quickly, glancing up at the clock, ‘the press have caught on that I’m here. I don’t think it’ll take long until they realise you’re here, too. Molly should be here soon to take James. Let her take Kasen, too.’
‘No,’ Draco said, pushing the feeling of sickness back down. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘Give me one good reason why not,’ Harry demanded. ‘Go on. Or are you just being stubborn again?’
Draco was taken aback by Harry’s sudden mood swing. He tried to sit up, rattled by his supine positioning and Harry’s towering form.
‘You need to be still. Your bones are still mending.’
‘How can I be still when …?’ Draco suddenly became aware that Kasen and James were watching him intently. ‘I want Kasen with me.’
‘He’s tired. And if he doesn’t leave now, it’s going to be really difficult getting him out without being seen. When the Prophet finds out you’re here, you better believe they’ll be there when you leave - in force. Don’t put him through that.’
Draco scrunched up his blanket with his fingers, his knuckles turning whiter and whiter. ‘Can’t you take him now?’
‘Yeah,’ Harry said hesitantly. ‘I could. But then I won’t be here with you. Draco, you can trust the Weasleys.’
‘The Weasleys despise me.’
‘No, Ron despises you, and you’ve given him plenty of reasons to over the years, so don’t you dare get on your high horse about that. He still helped you when I asked him too. The Weasleys are loyal people. They won’t betray you and Molly is brilliant with kids.’
‘You’re not giving me much choice, are you?’ Draco muttered. He didn’t want Kasen out of his sight, but despite his son’s chirpiness, Draco could see how tired he was. Kasen needed a warm sofa to curl up in, not a hard hospital bed next to his extra neurotic father.
‘Please,’ Harry said, untangling one of Draco’s hands from the blanket and giving it a gentle squeeze. ‘Do it for me.’
‘Oh fine, just put away the gooey eyes!’
Harry grinned and moved in to kiss him. It wasn’t until their lips touched that Draco remembered the children were watching. Except they weren’t, thank goodness. They were right down the end of the bed whispering to each other in a conspiratorial manner.
‘Kasen, if you try to teach James how to Apparate, I shall be very angry.’
‘I wasn’t!’
‘Yes, you were. Now stop it.’
Molly Weasley arrived, in a bit of a panic, twenty minutes later. She looked exactly how Draco imagined. Solid and shabby with a big rosy face.
‘So sorry I’m late. That awful car. One of these days I shall take that bloody exhaust pipe and shove it right up-’
‘Molly!’ Harry interrupted, very quickly, ‘this is Kasen. He’ll be coming back with you and James, if that’s okay.’
Molly waved him away. ‘Of course it’s okay. Plenty of room. Hello, Kasen. How are you? My sons tell me you lost some toes.’
Kasen held up his foot again. ‘They came back!’
Molly lightly pinched the two littlest ones and gave them a wiggle. ‘Very good. You’re a very brave little boy.’
‘I rescued my daddy.’
‘Did you? How about you tell me all about it over some breakfast?’
Kasen looked back over his shoulder at his father. Draco nodded.
‘Good,’ Molly said, holding her hands out for James and Kasen to help them off the bed. ‘How are you feeling, Draco? I bit sore, I should imagine. I remember when Ron fell foul to that Fanged Geranium. Do you remember, Harry?’
Harry nodded emphatically.
‘Nasty business. Anyway, don’t worry about Kasen. He’ll be well looked after. Is there anything I need to know? Any allergies? Bad habits? Naughty tendencies?’ She looked down at Kasen’s grinning face and winked at him.
‘I don’t think so,’ Draco said. ‘Oh, erm, I don’t know how much sleep he’d had, but I suspect not enough.’
‘Say no more. I’ll find somewhere quiet for him to rest. When are you being released?’
Draco realised he didn’t have a clue.
‘Tomorrow,’ Harry said.
Molly left with a promise to take utmost care of James and Kasen for the next twenty-four hours. Kasen seemed fascinated with her, his mouth hanging continually open like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
‘She’s … colourful, isn’t she?’ Draco said when she’d gone.
Harry draped himself at Draco’s side. ‘You liked her, didn’t you?’ he said, grinning down at him.
‘I certainly did not!’
‘Yeah, you did. I could tell. What’s not to like? She’s lovely. I’d have gone crazy without her.’
‘She looked after you, didn’t she?’
‘She still does. She’ll look after you too, if you let her.’
Draco relaxed into Harry’s side. ‘But I’ve got you.’
They linked hands and Draco said, ‘She didn’t seem surprised that we’re friends.’
Harry laughed quietly. ‘Oh she was surprised alright. I got a right mouthful earlier for not feeling like I could tell her. Other than that, she’s okay with it.’
‘Really? Why?’
Harry shrugged. ‘Because she’s the sort of person that believes in people. She always believed in you, even before I did. It’s only Ron you have to worry about.’
‘Thanks for the reminder.’
‘Don’t worry. He’s easy to get on with once you’ve worked him out. He’s a good bloke. Solid, reliable.’
‘Harry, not meaning to change this extremely riveting subject, but … I don’t suppose you saw Kasen’s fish, did you? He’s going to be so upset when he realises.’
Harry reached behind him and produced a jam jar half-filled with water and two goldfish.
‘It’s a miracle,’ Draco whispered in absolute awe. ‘How did you find them? How in Merlin’s name are they still alive?’
‘I could ask the same thing about you.’
‘Luck,’ Draco said, ‘and a knight in shining spectacles.’
TBC …
luciusfqf :: luciusfqf
because Lucius needs love too!
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Eleven years since he ran from Hogwarts and seven years since the end of the war, Draco has moved on. Now in his late twenties, Draco lives a reclusive life in a tiny village in Hampshire. Never in a million years does he expect to cross paths with Harry Potter again. But he does, and there are two, rather small and rather excitable, complications.
Beta done by amejisuto. Thank you, darling.
A/N: Compliant with all canon up to HBP so there may be spoilers for any of the first six books. As this fic is already planned out in full, it will not be compliant with book 7 and will therefore contain NO SPOILERS.
Previous Chapters: HERE
Draco closed his eyes and fell to his knees. His fingers gripped his wand and the overgrown grass, and he prayed.
Harry Potter or The Dark Lord. If he’d made the right choice, then maybe there was a chance for salvation. If he'd made the wrong choice, then he was about to die a painful death.
The Dark Lord laughed and Draco’s eyes shot open.
‘No wand, Potter? Such a shame.’
Draco looked around, his eyes desperately searching for Potter’s wand. Why didn’t he have it? Why hadn’t he …?
‘Consider it a valuable lesson, one that I have also learned the hard way. Never trust a Malfoy.’
Draco’s heart constricted and his stomach finally rebelled. He retched and spilled what little he had in his stomach over the grass. Potter glanced at him from the ground, his eyes narrowed, betrayed and hard.
‘I didn’t mean to,’ Draco rasped. He bowed his head and wondered if it was possible to AK himself.
******
Darkness all around. Soggy wet nothingness. Draco shivered and groaned at the pain in his shoulder. He tried to remember why he was cold, wet, blind and in agony.
‘Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.’
‘Kasen,’ Draco whispered. ‘Oh no.’ He tried to move again but it seemed impossible. ‘Kasen, go …downstairs. The phone … See if it …’
Then maybe he drifted into unconsciousness because when he next opened his eyes, he was staring at a little blond head, just visible through the blackness.
‘I’m going to rescue you now, Daddy.’
Draco couldn’t have moved even if his back was on fire, but he was aware enough to hear the shake in his son’s voice, the fear behind absolute certainty. Then he felt a tugging at his fingers and he remembered he’d at some point found his wand. He tightened his grip on it, but he was weak and it slipped away.
‘Kasen, no, what are you doing?’ he slurred at the dimming image of Kasen’s hair.
Maybe Kasen replied, maybe he didn’t, because when Draco closed his eyes and opened them again and called for his son, there was no answer.
The branches above him shifted and Draco’s shoulder throbbed painfully. He called for Kasen a few more times, and when there was still no answer, he decided it was time for action. He didn’t have his wand but perhaps that was for the best. His aim was downright crappy when he was nervous. Draco managed to untangle his sleeve from a branch lying next to him and then he pushed against the floor to test his leverage.
The weight above him was too heavy so there was no going that way, but perhaps if he slid himself forward he could crawl to the door. He was at the very least confident that he would be able to stand once there wasn’t a ton and a half of Leylandii tree draped over him.
Draco laid his forearm on the floor and pulled. And pulled. And pulled.
It was no good. He didn’t have the strength and his leg felt funny, like it was caught on something; it tingled right up to his knee, and Draco thought perhaps it was the worst case of pins and needles he’d ever experienced.
He stopped, his forehead thumping back onto the prickly carpet. Fine, he couldn’t go forward. But perhaps he could go back.
Draco batted branches out of his way, wiggled, kicked with his good leg and generally thrashed about despite the intense pain in his shoulder. He couldn’t stay here. This wasn’t an acceptable situation. His son was out there somewhere and Draco had to get to him. Maybe Kasen was crouching in a corner, frightened and confused, or maybe he was out in the storm.
The wind picked up outside, whistling loudly and confidently. There was no way a little boy would even be able to stand up in that, never mind get help. And where would he go? Would he try to get Harry?
No, it was too far. It was too dangerous. Would he be able to find his way in the dark?
‘Kasen, please tell me you haven’t,’ Draco whispered to himself, then he thrashed some more until his shoulder felt like it was being ripped off and his leg started to feel painful and warm.
He finally gave up with an angry sob. ‘Kasen! Come back right this minute!’
Whoosh!
Confused and disorientated, Draco flinched and braced himself. He screwed his eyes shut tight and waited for a painful, crushing death.
It seemed to be taking an awfully long time.
‘I don’t get this, Harry. What the bloody hell were you thinking?’
‘Not now.’
‘But Harry- ’
‘I said- Jesus.’
Draco drew in sharp breath. ‘Harry.’
The trees shifted again and the weight pressed down harder on Draco’s back. He groaned at the pressure and the constriction in his chest.
‘Hold on, I’m gonna get you out,’ Harry said.
‘Kasen.’
‘He’s fine. Hold still.’
Draco pushed back against the branches as they moved again and bore down on him. ‘No, my son …’
Harry’s hand reached through the darkness and grasped his. Through the newly made gap, Draco saw the glowing tip of a wand and the emergency Portkey he’d given Harry weeks ago.
‘Kasen is fine, okay? I’m not lying. Just don’t worry about him. Worry about you. Uh, or not, because you’re fine. It’ll be okay.’
Out of energy, Draco nodded and let his eyes close. Harry was here. Harry was a hero.
Harry once saved the world.
*****
The realisation came suddenly.
‘I’m so sorry.’
Draco didn’t care what The Dark Lord did to him for that admission, but Draco was sorry. Sorry he hadn’t chosen the right side. Sorry he was such a selfish fucker. Sorry he hadn’t fought harder. Sorry he’d followed like a mindless sheep. Sorry he’d mistaken death for glamour. Sorry he’d ridiculed, bullied, shoved aside and stamped on anyone that got in his way. Sorry he was a pureblood. Sorry he was so dead inside. Sorry he’d lived his short life causing his own pain. Sorry he hadn’t made the most of the little time life gave. Sorry he’d ever listened to his father.
Sorry he’d ever been born.
They locked eyes. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. There was no fear on Potter’s face now, no righteousness, no smugness, no blame, no pity, no hate, no fear. For a moment there was nothing, and Draco looked back at him with everything he had, all the regret, the terror, the loneliness and the desire to be good, the desire to help even if he couldn’t because he was a useless failure, a stuck-up pureblood with a spiteful attitude and a streak of self-preservation that was tainted red with the blood of others.
He was sorry, and he didn’t want to die.
The Dark Lord laughed as tears rolled down Draco’s cheeks, mingling with his blood and dripping red drops onto the already stained grass.
Potter walked the few paces to where Draco sat and crouched down in front of him.
‘Don’t say goodbye to your boyfriend just yet,’ The Dark Lord said. ‘You’ll be together soon enough.’
The other Death Eaters laughed, but Draco ignored them. Potter was smiling and touching his cheek. ‘It’ll be okay.’
Potter took Draco’s wand, stood and turned.
The Dark Lord bared his teeth, half amused, half annoyed. ‘Going to kill us all, are you?’
‘Yes.’
And then The Dark Lord was gone, his blood spraying all that stood near. So simple, and it would have been beautiful if it wasn’t for the foul smell of guts that hit the air. His Death Eaters froze where they stood, dropped their preys and looked around at each other. Then they were gone too, torn apart from the inside out, one by one, vaporised, annihilated, eradicated.
Draco closed his eyes and waited for his turn.
*****
‘You lift, I’ll pull him out.’
‘I’m not sure we should move him, Harry.’
‘I’m not leaving him like this. He can barely breathe.’
Draco found that to be true. The weight of the tree was bearing down on him and he couldn’t breathe out like he should. ‘Harry,’ he wheezed.
‘Lift, Ron. Now.’
Then the pressure eased and Harry was pulling at him. Draco grasped Harry’s arms with no intention of letting go. He slid out from under the tree and found himself at the top of the stairs. His chest hurt more than he’d thought, and the pins and needles in his leg were burning.
‘Fish,’ he said.
‘What?’ Harry stroked his hair.
‘Kasen’s Fish.’
‘I’ll come back. I’m taking you to St. Mungo’s first.’
‘No, Harry, please no. Muggle hospital.’ Panic gripped him again and he tried to squirm out of Harry’s strong grip. He couldn’t go to St. Mungo’s. They would find him. They would know. They would destroy him.
‘Draco, I’m sorry, you have to.’
‘No!’
‘Just let him get on with it, Harry. Leave the bastard if he doesn’t want to go. You can’t bloody force him.’
Draco turned his head and looked over at the voice. ‘Weasel.’
‘You’re welcome for the rescue,’ Weasley said, crossing his arms.
‘Draco, I lied,’ Harry said. ‘Kasen did get hurt.’
Draco looked back at Harry with a start, clutching at the raging pain in his shoulder. ‘Kasen? What … what happened to him? Harry, tell me, tell me he’s going to be okay. Tell me!’
‘Calm down. He’s fine, but we had to take him to St Mungo’s.’
‘No, why? Everyone will know!’
‘I’m sorry. There was no choice. He splinched himself.’
Draco was silent while he was processing this and Harry was examining his leg. ‘He … Apparated?’
‘Right into my front garden. Lucky I was up or I wouldn’t have heard him trying to charge my front door down. You seriously need to look into his magic levels. Can you get up?’
‘Yeah. Yeah, okay.’
Harry helped him up and, to Draco’s surprise, Weasley helped.
‘What did he leave behind?’
‘Not much,’ Weasley answered. ‘Couple of toes. Fred Portkeyed with us and found them on the rug.’
‘Is he alright? Is he scared?’
‘Well, picking up someone else’s toes can’t be pleasant, but Fred’s got a strong stomach for that sort of thing-’
‘My son, you imbecile!’
‘He’ll be better when he can see you,’ Harry interrupted. ‘Ready?’
‘Never. Yes.’
***
If anyone had asked Draco what he remembered of the four hours that followed, he wouldn’t have been able to give a sensible answer. Everything was hazy and wonky, and Draco wasn’t even sure what had been real and what had been a figment of his rattled brain.
He awoke to a general feeling of all-over soreness. There was a weight at his side and Draco looked down to find Kasen curled up next to him, his tiny hands tangled in the extra blanket that had been thrown over him. Draco remembered that and who did it. He looked to his left and saw Harry fast asleep in a chair, his mouth wide open, glasses on skew-whiff, and James lying across his lap in his typical comatose-cat type way.
Draco tested his shoulder, wiggled his toes and shifted his weight around a little. He didn’t feel good, but he wasn’t in any huge amount of pain.
His movements woke Kasen, and his son stretched and blinked, stretched and blinked. Then he came fully awake in an instant.
‘DADDY!’
Harry and James woke with a start, both sitting bolt upright in alarm. Draco, however, was used to Kasen’s waking habits and was prepared.
‘Kasen, are you alright?’
‘I’m fine now, but I was really scared. But then I rescued you! Just like I said I would!’
‘You’re so brave,’ Draco said, cuddling him close. ‘Thank you.’
‘You are very welcome, Daddy,’ Kasen said, carefully enunciating each word.
‘How are you feeling?’ Harry asked. He lifted James onto the bed to sit beside Kasen.
‘A bit sorry for myself, actually,’ Draco replied.
Harry smiled faintly. ‘Don’t be. You’re lucky you’re still in one piece. If it wasn’t for Kasen-’
‘I squinched myself! Look!’ Kasen held up his bare foot proudly, all five toes now perfectly in place.
‘Splinched,’ Draco corrected. ‘Oh, Kasen, how did you know how to do that?’
‘I read it in a book.’ Kasen turned to Harry. ‘I read everyday. I’m going to be the best and most powerful wizard there ever was,’ he said, lifting his chin in a gesture that was so very like a young Draco.
The bubble of worry that had formed in Draco’s gut expanded until it pressed against the sides of his belly and demanded exit, preferably upwards.
‘Draco,’ Harry said quickly, glancing up at the clock, ‘the press have caught on that I’m here. I don’t think it’ll take long until they realise you’re here, too. Molly should be here soon to take James. Let her take Kasen, too.’
‘No,’ Draco said, pushing the feeling of sickness back down. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘Give me one good reason why not,’ Harry demanded. ‘Go on. Or are you just being stubborn again?’
Draco was taken aback by Harry’s sudden mood swing. He tried to sit up, rattled by his supine positioning and Harry’s towering form.
‘You need to be still. Your bones are still mending.’
‘How can I be still when …?’ Draco suddenly became aware that Kasen and James were watching him intently. ‘I want Kasen with me.’
‘He’s tired. And if he doesn’t leave now, it’s going to be really difficult getting him out without being seen. When the Prophet finds out you’re here, you better believe they’ll be there when you leave - in force. Don’t put him through that.’
Draco scrunched up his blanket with his fingers, his knuckles turning whiter and whiter. ‘Can’t you take him now?’
‘Yeah,’ Harry said hesitantly. ‘I could. But then I won’t be here with you. Draco, you can trust the Weasleys.’
‘The Weasleys despise me.’
‘No, Ron despises you, and you’ve given him plenty of reasons to over the years, so don’t you dare get on your high horse about that. He still helped you when I asked him too. The Weasleys are loyal people. They won’t betray you and Molly is brilliant with kids.’
‘You’re not giving me much choice, are you?’ Draco muttered. He didn’t want Kasen out of his sight, but despite his son’s chirpiness, Draco could see how tired he was. Kasen needed a warm sofa to curl up in, not a hard hospital bed next to his extra neurotic father.
‘Please,’ Harry said, untangling one of Draco’s hands from the blanket and giving it a gentle squeeze. ‘Do it for me.’
‘Oh fine, just put away the gooey eyes!’
Harry grinned and moved in to kiss him. It wasn’t until their lips touched that Draco remembered the children were watching. Except they weren’t, thank goodness. They were right down the end of the bed whispering to each other in a conspiratorial manner.
‘Kasen, if you try to teach James how to Apparate, I shall be very angry.’
‘I wasn’t!’
‘Yes, you were. Now stop it.’
Molly Weasley arrived, in a bit of a panic, twenty minutes later. She looked exactly how Draco imagined. Solid and shabby with a big rosy face.
‘So sorry I’m late. That awful car. One of these days I shall take that bloody exhaust pipe and shove it right up-’
‘Molly!’ Harry interrupted, very quickly, ‘this is Kasen. He’ll be coming back with you and James, if that’s okay.’
Molly waved him away. ‘Of course it’s okay. Plenty of room. Hello, Kasen. How are you? My sons tell me you lost some toes.’
Kasen held up his foot again. ‘They came back!’
Molly lightly pinched the two littlest ones and gave them a wiggle. ‘Very good. You’re a very brave little boy.’
‘I rescued my daddy.’
‘Did you? How about you tell me all about it over some breakfast?’
Kasen looked back over his shoulder at his father. Draco nodded.
‘Good,’ Molly said, holding her hands out for James and Kasen to help them off the bed. ‘How are you feeling, Draco? I bit sore, I should imagine. I remember when Ron fell foul to that Fanged Geranium. Do you remember, Harry?’
Harry nodded emphatically.
‘Nasty business. Anyway, don’t worry about Kasen. He’ll be well looked after. Is there anything I need to know? Any allergies? Bad habits? Naughty tendencies?’ She looked down at Kasen’s grinning face and winked at him.
‘I don’t think so,’ Draco said. ‘Oh, erm, I don’t know how much sleep he’d had, but I suspect not enough.’
‘Say no more. I’ll find somewhere quiet for him to rest. When are you being released?’
Draco realised he didn’t have a clue.
‘Tomorrow,’ Harry said.
Molly left with a promise to take utmost care of James and Kasen for the next twenty-four hours. Kasen seemed fascinated with her, his mouth hanging continually open like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
‘She’s … colourful, isn’t she?’ Draco said when she’d gone.
Harry draped himself at Draco’s side. ‘You liked her, didn’t you?’ he said, grinning down at him.
‘I certainly did not!’
‘Yeah, you did. I could tell. What’s not to like? She’s lovely. I’d have gone crazy without her.’
‘She looked after you, didn’t she?’
‘She still does. She’ll look after you too, if you let her.’
Draco relaxed into Harry’s side. ‘But I’ve got you.’
They linked hands and Draco said, ‘She didn’t seem surprised that we’re friends.’
Harry laughed quietly. ‘Oh she was surprised alright. I got a right mouthful earlier for not feeling like I could tell her. Other than that, she’s okay with it.’
‘Really? Why?’
Harry shrugged. ‘Because she’s the sort of person that believes in people. She always believed in you, even before I did. It’s only Ron you have to worry about.’
‘Thanks for the reminder.’
‘Don’t worry. He’s easy to get on with once you’ve worked him out. He’s a good bloke. Solid, reliable.’
‘Harry, not meaning to change this extremely riveting subject, but … I don’t suppose you saw Kasen’s fish, did you? He’s going to be so upset when he realises.’
Harry reached behind him and produced a jam jar half-filled with water and two goldfish.
‘It’s a miracle,’ Draco whispered in absolute awe. ‘How did you find them? How in Merlin’s name are they still alive?’
‘I could ask the same thing about you.’
‘Luck,’ Draco said, ‘and a knight in shining spectacles.’
TBC …
luciusfqf :: luciusfqf
because Lucius needs love too!