Fic: Harry Potter Really, Really Hates Polyjuice (NC17)
Author: cynikal_lemon
Title: Harry Potter Really, Really Hates Polyjuice
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, Harry/Ginny (sort of), Draco/Astoria, Ginny/OMC
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When 19 years of marriage isn’t what it seems to be, what will Harry’s reaction be? Can those 19 years overcome everything? And how does a white peacock named Austin fit in?
Warnings (if any): Het
Total word count: 5,751
Original prompt request number: 161
Second prompt at.
Disclaimer: This story/artwork is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's notes: It might get a little confusing, and you might be tempted to read the original prompt, but try not to until the end. Please?
Beta(s): callie_828 and monkeyshine4616
Harry Potter Really, Really Hates Polyjuice
"Look who it is."
Draco Malfoy was standing with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized his pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly, and turned away again.
-- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
“Why would you do something so monumentally stupid?”
“I was only doing that as a favour to you!”
“Right. Nodding to Harry was NOT a favour! Now I’m going to have to hear Harry’s paranoid ranting for weeks about why Draco Malfoy would be nodding at him.”
And with that Ginny Potter huffed her way out of the tiny café in Muggle London to head back home and see the damage her husband most certainly would have created by now. She knew it had been a bad idea, but it couldn’t be helped. Scorpius needed his father to see him off to Hogwarts; Astoria alone just wouldn’t do. But now she had to go home and placate her husband. And brother. Ginny Potter’s day just couldn’t get any worse.
___________________________________________
“Mum! Dad and Uncle Ron are in the kitchen with maps and ink and spells EVERYWHERE!”
Ginny calmly walked into the kitchen to find it practically destroyed. The cabinet doors were hanging precariously on their hinges; what spells caused them all to break like that she did not want to know. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be a single piece of glassware intact. Not to mention there were ink stains all over the marble countertop and the floor. And the breakfast table! Ginny groaned at the sight of the warm oak table splattered with ink and coffee. The sound caught the attention of the two crazed Aurors related to her.
“Love, are you all right?” Harry looked at Ginny as if the expression on her face could kill him. Or worse, relegate him to the couch for an indeterminate amount of time.
“I just don’t understand why you two have to destroy my kitchen whenever you hash out your brilliant plans.”
“It’s not a brilliant plan this time, Gin, it’s an investigation.”
Ginny sighed and began repairing the cabinets. She knew she didn’t have enough power to do a massive Reparo, but Harry certainly did.
“Harry, love, my heart, do you think it would be too much to ask if you cast an umbrella Reparo on my poor kitchen so I can start dinner? And Ron, are you staying? What about Hermione?”
“Ginny, we’re really sorry, but…”
Ginny put up her hand to quiet her brother and eyed Harry as he quickly cast Reparo and righted everything in the kitchen. She really wasn’t in the mood to hear the excuses and the explanations for why her kitchen was in shambles. She just wanted everything to be fixed so she could make dinner. And then possibly have a nice long soak before bed.
“Lily, now that your father and uncle has repaired the breakfast table, could you place settings for everyone, including your uncle, aunt, and Hugo?”
Lily nodded, sending her wild red hair bouncing. Once Lily was out of the kitchen setting the table, Ginny ripped into her husband and brother.
“What were you two thinking?! My kitchen is not the place to plan schemes! That’s why we have an attic, Harry!”
Ginny set the knives to chopping the vegetables and put up a monitoring charm on the pasta sauce.
“And what were you guys doing anyway? All the Death Eaters have been caught, that’s what this last mission was about, wasn’t it? Or have you been lying again, dear husband of mine?”
With the water boiling, Ginny dumped the large bag of pasta in the pot, making sure the spoon kept stirring it. Knowing that her kitchen wasn’t going to explode, Ginny faced the two grown men standing sheepishly behind her.
“Gin, you don’t understand. Malfoy nodded at Harry! Nodded! He has to be up to something.”
“Love, Ron’s right. Malfoy’s practically never out in public. To be out and then to acknowledge us? It’s just not right.”
Ginny shook her head as she manually dumped the pasta in the sauce, tossing it until it was all evenly coated. She continued to ignore the two idiots in her kitchen as she levitated the platter of pasta behind her and carried the bowl of steamed vegetables out to the table. Just as she set the food down, the Floo activated and Hermione and Hugo stepped out. That put an end to the suspicious ranting as Harry and Ron dug into the food.
“Mum, where did you go after we left King’s Cross?”
Five pairs of expectant eyes shifted towards her as she froze, unable to come up with an excuse for being absent from the family for several hours in the afternoon.
“I went to see a new line of shoes in Muggle London. I realized the other day that all my shoes are out of fashion. And we all know what those harpies would say if I showed up at a Ministry function wearing last season’s shoes.”
They all nodded, none of them questioning further as to if she actually purchased any new shoes. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief and ignored the conversation around the dinner table, the topic once again on how suspicious it was that Malfoy had nodded at Harry.
___________________________________________
After making sure Harry and Ron wouldn’t blow up her kitchen again while cleaning up, Ginny went upstairs for a much needed soak. The warm, scented water soothed her frazzled nerves, and she slowly drifted off to semi-consciousness.
“Are you all right in there? Love, would you please answer me?”
Ginny could still hear her husband’s voice, but the mist felt entirely too good for her to get out of the tub, or even answer him through the door. She shifted a little, then settled down to relax some more.
Suddenly the door was ripped off its hinges as Harry barged in. Ginny jumped but kept her eyes closed, waiting to see what reason Harry could possibly have to ruin a perfectly good door. She could feel his eyes on her, staring while he stood in the middle of the bathroom. It had been weeks since they’d slept together, in every sense of those words. Harry had just returned from a mission with Ron; they had been adamant about being back to see their children board the train. Now that he was back, Ginny wasn’t going to waste any time.
She could picture in her mind what Harry probably looked like at that moment. His hair was likely as messy as ever, glasses all fogged up, and the sweats he usually wore around the house were probably tented.
She smiled wickedly as she brought her washcloth up to her neck and slowly washed herself. When the washcloth grazed her left breast, she heard a hitch in Harry’s breath. By the time it reached her right breast, she heard Harry mutter a Reparo on the door and cast a series of locking charms. Within seconds Harry was in the tub with Ginny, naked and kissing her down her jaw onto her neck while his hands seemed to be everywhere. Ginny thanked every deity she could think of for letting Harry remodel their bathroom to add an exceedingly large tub. She squirmed as she felt Harry on her hip, both of them panting as Harry started sucking on her breasts, purposely missing her nipples. In a fit of frustration Ginny gripped Harry’s arms and pushed him off of her. In the wake of his confusion Ginny swung her legs around Harry and manoeuvred him so that he was the one lying on his back in the tub.
Satisfied that she had her husband at her mercy, she positioned herself over him and sank down, grinning at the look of pure lust sweeping across Harry’s face. She continued rocking herself, quickening her pace as Harry gradually lost control and began thrusting madly upwards towards her. In an effort to climax at the same time as her husband, Ginny leaned over more so Harry could reach her breast. The stimulation on her nipples, coupled with the maddening friction between her legs caused Ginny to climax, dragging Harry along with her over the edge.
___________________________________________
“I don’t think it’s ever been that intense before.”
“I’ve missed you, Harry. Not to mention it had been weeks since we’ve had sex.”
Draped over her husband, Ginny was trailing her fingers up and down his chest, all the while listening to his breathing quicken again. She really had missed him. She was used to the week-long missions, but the most recent one had been the longest yet. She hoped he was up for another round before he called it a night and slept like a log.
“Gin, do you really think I’m being stupid for suspecting that Malfoy is up to something with that nod?”
Ginny lifted her head up and stared incredulously at Harry. With a dramatic sigh she flung herself off of her husband and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Way to kill the mood, dear husband of mine, she thought.
“I mean, really, after over a decade, close to TWO decades of only occasional appearances and sightings of Draco Malfoy, he suddenly turns up at King’s Cross.”
“Well, he was there for the same purpose as you: to see his son board the train for Hogwarts.”
“But that’s the thing; nobody’s ever seen him and his son in public before. Isn’t it odd that he would shelter his son all his life, then let him out to take the train? Wouldn’t it be more his nature to privately Floo the boy to Hogsmeade, then walk to Hogwarts? Or maybe even Apparate?”
“How is this any of your business, Harry? What Draco Malfoy chooses to do with his son has nothing to do with you.”
“And did you see his hair? He has a receding hairline. Heh, Draco Malfoy losing his hair. It must have been traumatizing for him.”
“Please grow up Harry, you’re not sixteen anymore. Boyhood rivalries should have ended during one’s boyhood. Good night. Nox.”
___________________________________________
Ginny woke up to a wand pointed at her throat. She had no idea who was on the other end of the wand, but she wasn’t about to open her eyes and let the other person know she was awake just yet. Not until she knew who got into their home and was pointing a wand at her.
“I know you’re awake, Malfoy.”
Malfoy? Why would Harry be calling me Malfoy? I thought I had one last night. Oh no, I completely forgot about it! A million thoughts ran through her mind, but she figured she should at least open her eyes.
“What have you done with my wife, Malfoy?”
Harry was angry, anyone could see that. Ginny tried to say something, but she was trying too hard to sort her thoughts out.
“Answer me, Malfoy! What the hell have you done with my wife?”
Once Harry progressed to screaming she knew it would be impossible to calm him down quickly. But her mind was a mess. The body didn’t match the mindset and it was difficult to adjust.
“Harry, please calm down and just let me explain.”
“Explain? Calm down!? You’re lying down where my wife was just hours ago! And you expect me to listen to you!?”
“Daddy, why are you yelling at mummy?”
“Lily, this isn’t your mummy, he’s a bad man, step away from him.”
Draco hugged Lily close to him. She was trembling and had her head buried in Draco’s shirt. He continued to stroke her hair, ignoring Harry in an effort to comfort his daughter. When Lily finally stopped shaking Draco looked up at Harry, expecting to find a calmer man who would be willing to listen, only to find a wand pointed at him between his eyes.
“I don’t know what you’re after, but let go of my daughter. She’s too young for your perversions.”
Draco was at first startled by that statement, then offended that Harry would think him possible of such a thing, and then blinded by anger that Harry would insult him in such a way.
“Harry James Potter, if you do not put that wand down, you’ll regret it. Your children would more than likely never speak to you again if you so much as hurt a hair on my head.”
“You’re demented, Malfoy. Why the fuck would my children care if you died or not?”
Draco and Lily both let out a shriek, Draco because Harry had used an unacceptable word in front of Lily, and Lily most likely because Draco might die. He resumed soothing his youngest while fully glaring at Harry for upsetting Lily again. Harry, for his part, did look sheepish for making Lily cry again, but his eyes still showed the paranoia.
“Harry, please put the wand down. We’re both adults, though sometimes I sincerely doubt that.”
“You’re still insulting me!”
Draco finally gave up and carried Lily with him out of the room. He figured if Harry was really hell-bent on killing him he wouldn’t do it in front of their daughter. He finally placed Lily down when they got to the kitchen. With Lily sitting on the counter Draco proceeded to make oatmeal and a fruit salad for Lily and himself, and giant portions of meat for Harry.
Just as Draco placed a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of Lily, with copious amounts of honey, Harry barrelled into the kitchen and grabbed the bowl away, screaming about Draco attempting to poison his daughter. Lily and Draco stared at Harry as if he’d grown a second head on his shoulder, but Harry didn’t seem to care. His chest was heaving as he seemed to contemplate what to do with the extremely hot bowl in his hand. His hesitation finally got the best of him and he dropped the bowl and rushed to the sink. Draco looked over at Harry and made sure his hand wasn’t too badly burned before taking out his wand to clean up the mess on the floor.
“Drop the wand, Malfoy!”
Draco sighed again and tucked his wand away in an attempt to placate a rather frazzled Harry.
“I don’t know what you’re playing at, Malfoy, but I’m about to arrest you on the grounds of trespassing and attempted murder.”
“Murder?! Who was I attempting to murder?!”
“My daughter! And also kidnapping Ginny! With all of that you’d easily land in Azkaban for years! Something that should have happened after the war!”
Draco cringed as he fell into a chair and accepted the hug Lily gave him as she sat in his lap, scowling at Harry. Draco’s insecurities flared up again and Lily was doing a fantastic job at soothing his frayed nerves, but Harry wrenched her off his lap and shoved her behind himself.
“I don’t know what you’ve fed my daughter, but I’ll get the antidote and she’ll return to normal. As for you, this will just increase your sentence. The Kiss is too good for you; you deserve to rot in Azkaban for life!
“Daddy! What are you talking about? Mummy was just trying to make me breakfast! Something she’s done all my life!”
“Lily, that’s not your mummy. For the love of Merlin, how can that be your mummy? That’s not even a woman! Mothers are WOMEN!”
“You really are the biggest idiot in the world! You’ve been a wizard for how many years at this point? Thirty-six? I’ll give you eleven years off since you didn’t know until you got your Hogwarts letter, but still! That’s over two decades that you’ve lived as a wizard, and you still don’t understand the dynamics and intricacies of wizarding culture! I am the mother to these children, because I carried them to term!”
Harry seemed shocked for all of a minute before placing Draco in a full body bind and levitating him to the living room, all the while Lily screaming and beating at her father’s body to let her mother go. With Draco lying prone on the couch, Harry picked up Lily and carried her through the Floo to Hogwarts.
Draco laid there for what seemed to be hours before the spell wore off. He slowly picked himself up and tried desperately to shake the stiffness out of his muscles. Once he was able to walk without collapsing to the floor, Draco rushed to the Floo to get to Hogwarts.
___________________________________________
“Dad, what are you on about?”
“Al is right, Dad, you’re almost purple in the face. And why won’t you let Lily down?”
“Al, James, stop talking. I’m taking you out of school because your mum has suddenly disappeared and I’d rather not have you three as targets while I search for her. So you guys are going to be staying with your grandparents.”
“But Dad…”
“No buts, James. You will listen and do as I say and if not, I’ll chain you down.”
Draco saw Harry dragging their two sons and carrying Lily down the hall away from him. But before he could say anything he heard another set of feet running towards them all.
“Al, James, Lily, what’s going on??”
“Scorpius!”
Draco saw Al and James break free of Harry’s grasp and run back towards Scorpius, the three boys hanging on to each other as if their lives depended on it. Harry, with his face like stone, just marched back and attempted to drag at least one of the boys with him. Scorpius held onto Albus as hard as possible, but that only allowed Harry to switch his attention to James and drag him away. While all this was happening, Lily was fighting Harry, doing everything she could short of biting him. Draco had to do something, but he knew that if he showed himself, Harry would have an apoplectic fit. Just as Draco decided he was going to step out of the shadows, Lily did indeed bite Harry. Hard. He promptly dropped her, but she was able to land on her feet and took off running with the boys.
Draco saw it as a chance to protect his children and ran after them while Harry swore spectacularly in the hall outside the Headmistress’s office. Draco quickly ushered the children around the corner and into an abandoned classroom, hushing them as he had his ear pressed against the door.
“Kids, be quiet, your dad just ran by.”
“Daddy, why was Mr. Potter trying to take James and Albus away from Hogwarts?”
Draco sighed first at the name Scorpius insisted on calling Harry, and then grew worried upon seeing the faces of his other two sons. James and Albus both looked distraught and more than a little lost.
“Hey guys, come here.”
All four kids crowded around Draco and hugged him tightly. He could see at least two of them were crying and burying their little faces in his robes. He felt utterly helpless and just generally upset at Harry for being his usual pigheaded self by not even letting him explain the situation.
“Come on guys, it’ll be all right. I’ll explain everything to your dad, and it’ll all get sorted out, you’ll see.”
“But, daddy! Mr. Potter’s taking them away!”
“Scorpius, no one is taking anyone away, least of all your brothers. And your sister is staying with me. Isn’t that right Lily-pie?”
Lily sniffled and buried herself further into Draco’s robes, but nodded. Draco slid down the door and cuddled Lily to himself, beckoning the boys to him as well. For as long as possible Draco was going to keep his children by him. If Harry refused to listen to reason, the wizarding world would surely side with the Chosen One and take his children from him.
A knock suddenly sounded behind Draco’s head and startled the five of them.
“Mr. Malfoy. This is Professor McGonagall. Will you please open up?”
“NO!”
Draco winced at the paranoid tone behind his children’s voices.
“Mr. Malfoy, I promise not to hurt the children or yourself. Please open the door.”
Draco reached for the handle but he had four pairs of hands pulling at him to stop. He pried the hands off his and opened the door to see Professor McGonagall with her wand pointed at a very angry Harry Potter.
“Mr. Malfoy, will you please follow me to my office? I believe there is much to discuss.”
Draco nodded and herded his children to the headmistress’s office, while both avoiding Harry’s eyes and trying to catch them.
___________________________________________
“Now Mr. Malfoy, would you like to explain some things to us? Perhaps some tea first?”
“Minerva! He should be locked up, not offered tea!”
“Harry, your children are clinging to Draco as if he was their lifeline. I believe we should let Draco speak. May I call you Draco?”
Draco was stunned that McGonagall would be so cordial with him. He quickly nodded and once again avoided Harry’s eyes, but could still hear the deep growling and feel the anger rolling off Harry in waves.
“Draco, would you please tell us where Ginny Potter is?”
“Ginny Thomson née Weasley is in America, as she’s been for the past 19 years,” Draco answered.
“You lying piece of shit!”
With Harry’s outburst, Lily burst back into tears, Al gripped Draco’s robes tightly, Scorpius buried his face into Draco’s shoulders, and James looked ready to scream at his own dad.
“Harry, will you please watch your tongue? Your children are in the room. And we need to let Draco explain himself.”
“Well, Ginny Weasley left a long time ago.”
“You’re lying again! Minerva, can I just hex the bloody bastard so I can go find Ginny without worrying about this useless bastard playing tricks on me again?”
“Harry, I’m not playing any tricks, please let me explain.”
“Yeah Daddy, let Mummy explain!”
Harry just stared at his children and his green eyes glazed over with rage. All the portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses began to shake, causing the occupants to all look a bit green. Professor McGonagall promptly placed a silencing spell on Harry. She then turned to Draco and awaited more explanations.
“Ginny Weasley left Europe completely after she graduated from Hogwarts.”
“But Mr. Malfoy - “
“Potter. It’s Potter now.”
Harry immediately jumped up and had his hands on Draco’s neck. The pressure Harry was placing on Draco’s neck was quickly turning his already pale face chalk white. Harry’s face contrasted greatly; it was such a dark red it was bordering on black. This time McGonagall promptly put Harry in a full body bind.
“Mr. Potter, Draco’s surname would indeed be Potter now. According to wizarding marriage laws and rites, the minute two people exchange vows, their magic recognizes and accepts the other’s magical signature. You two are married, making the both of you Potters. But I presume, Draco, that you still hold power over the Malfoy fortune.”
Draco nodded and began to speak again before Harry could interrupt.
“As I was saying, Ginny had left the continent right after graduation. She had met Sean, a Muggle-born, while in London, and decided to follow him to America, where he was offered a job. Before she left, she had owled me about where to meet her for a chat. I had initially thought she was trying to lure me into a trap, vengeful weasels and all, but she wasn't. She was both offering and asking for help.”
At that point Harry broke free of the bind and launched himself at Draco again, this time successfully knocking him and Lily to the ground. Draco instinctively curled himself around Lily so that his body would be the one hitting the hard floor and not Lily. McGonagall gasped and rushed around her desk to help the children get their father off of their other father.
“Mr. Potter, will you please act like a rational adult and listen to what Mr. Malfoy -”
“Potter,” Draco corrected. Harry growled again.
McGonagall sighed and said, “I think it best to just call you Draco for the duration of this meeting.”
“That is fine, Professor McGonagall.”
“But wait, Minerva! I bet this isn’t even the real Draco Malfoy. Yeah, that’s got to be it. This is actually Ginny Polyjuiced as Draco Malfoy. There, I’m being a rational adult. Ginny, love, when does the potion wear off?”
Draco stared at Harry and felt abject pity for his spouse upon seeing the desperate light in his eyes, wanting everything he had just said to be true.
“Harry, I really am Draco. Not Malfoy anymore, but still Draco.”
“No. See, Malfoy has a receding hairline, we all saw it just yesterday at King’s Cross.”
“Mr. Potter, that wasn’t my father yesterday. It was Aunt Pansy Polyjuiced as father. I knew it wasn’t him the minute I looked at the hair.”
Harry was shaking his head, the light in his eyes growing duller by the second, refusing to believe anything that was said to him.
“Harry, please. I really am Draco, and if you just let me explain, it will all make sense. Please.”
“Mr. Potter, perhaps it would be best to let Draco explain everything. It won’t hurt anyone for you to just sit there and listen.”
Seeing the nod come from Harry, Draco began his tale.
“As I was saying, I met with Ginny Weasley, now Ginny Thomson. I know, too close to her ex-boyfriend Thomas. I met with her and the first thing she told me was that she knew I was in love with Harry Potter. I, of course, thought she was completely mental.”
Harry interrupted by snorting, and mumbling, “This whole thing is mental.”
“Mr. Potter, please refrain from interrupting or I won’t hesitate to conjure up Muggle means to restrain you, physically and vocally. Draco, please continue.”
“Ginny then detailed my actions and reactions during her sixth year, my seventh - the year when the Carrows ran Hogwarts. Having someone else point out everything I did, like tracing lightning bolts in various dusty spots around the castle, was a rather rude awakening. I still denied it, but then she gave me a proposition.”
“You fucked my wife?!”
“Mr. Potter, that sort of language is unacceptable!”
“Potter, I am loathe to use your surname but it seems this situation requires the use of it. A proposition is something that is offered for consideration or acceptance. It does not always carry a sexual connotation. Now, to continue, she gave me a proposition. She would train me to become her, I Polyjuice myself as her, I marry Harry, and she gets to leave England without a fuss from everyone. I mulled it over for a total of three days before realizing that yes, I was indeed in love with Harry Potter. So I accepted.”
“So I’ve been with you for 19 fucking years?!”
“Mr. Potter!”
“Professor, I don’t think you should bother reprimanding him anymore. He’s in a mood and until he understands the entire situation, he will continue to use inappropriate language,” Draco explained.
Professor McGonagall nodded and gestured for Draco to continue.
“It took about a month, and it was by far the most intensive review session I had ever partaken in. By the end of the month I was well versed in Weasley history, feminine happenings, and Ginny mannerisms. In other words, I became Ginny Weasley. All I needed was a consistent supply of Polyjuice and I’d have the life I’d been dreaming of in my seventh year.”
“But Draco, how were you able to have the Polyjuice with you? Did the real Ginny send you bits of her hair all of these years? And Harry, after the Crouch incident, shouldn’t you be more alert to possible cases of Polyjuice?”
Harry glared at McGonagall while Draco continued.
“Ginny and I still keep in touch, every week or so. I owl her and she owls back. But that was in the beginning. Now we e-mail each other. Who would believe that I, the archetypal pure-blood, would be familiar with Muggle means of communication? But we keep in touch so that she is aware of how her family is doing. As for the Polyjuice question, we found that as long as I’ve been Ginny for more than eight hours, the hair would work in the potion. Less than eight hours and the potion would turn the drinker into Draco Malfoy. So I would brew the potion once a month then freeze them into little tablets. I found that by freezing it, the taste is diminished greatly but the effect is just as good.”
A light sparked in Harry’s eyes suddenly. “So that’s why you keep sucking on mints?”
“Well, the mints became a personal addiction of mine while carrying James, but yes, it all started with the potion. Sucking on the mints was the only way to get rid of the taste in my mouth.”
“But if you’re suddenly such an expert at Polyjuice, why the fuck didn’t Pansy look like you do now?” Harry demanded.
“I swear I will kill Pansy one of these days. I had sent her a batch of brewed Polyjuice potion, and a couple of strands of my hair, with detailed instructions about how to heat it up to the right temperature before adding the hair. The stupid cow put the hair in and then heated it up, completely botching up the potion. That’s why you saw a Draco Malfoy with that horrible receding hairline. As if any person with Malfoy genes could ever have anything but impeccable hair.”
Harry snorted again, “Still a vain git.”
“Anyways, I never thought it would have come to this, but I hope you at least have lost the urge to arrest me, or worse, to kill me. I loved you back in seventh year and, after nineteen years, I love you even more. I’m sorry for deceiving you all these years, but it was the only way.”
Harry just sat there, unmoving.
“Professor McGonagall, thank you for your time and assistance, however this marriage turns out, thank you.”
“You are very welcome, Draco.”
“Come on kids. You three boys need to get back to classes, and Lily-pie, we need to get home. Harry, we’ll be waiting there.”
___________________________________________
“Lily, no matter what happens, know that I love you and whatever I do, it’s what is best for you. Understand?”
“Yes, mummy.”
The door opened gingerly and the only two occupants in the house looked up, expecting only Harry. Instead it was Harry, along with James, Albus, and Scorpius.
Harry sheepishly walked into the room, and watched as all three boys ran up to Draco and Lily on the couch. The four kids and Draco became one big snuggling pile, with Harry on the side looking absolutely dejected.
Draco, although at a total loss for words, said, “Harry, what happens now?”
Harry shrugged.
“Do you want me to leave? What about the kids?” The kids instantly grabbed onto Draco even harder; James’ grip on Draco’s arm was like a vice.
Harry shrugged again.
“Say something!” Draco demanded.
“For these nineteen years, how many of your actions were really you and how much was just you pretending to be Ginny?”
“All of my actions were me. You have to realize that Ginny’s personality was very much similar to mine back at school. We were both extremely proud and arrogant, and we both had a wild streak in us that surpassed even yours. It was just that you saw her as a potential mate, so you found those traits endearing. And of course with me, you found those traits to be negative.”
“So the person I fell in love with after the battle - “
“Was me.”
“And the person who carried my children?”
“Me.”
“And how does Scorpius fit into the picture?”
“He’s my son with Astoria. But I never slept with her. We did it by Muggle means, artificial insemination.”
“But when?”
“About two months before Albus was conceived. James had been about two, and I realized that the Malfoy line had to continue, so Pansy found Astoria for me. Turns out the Greengrass family was in debt, so I allied them with the Malfoy name.”
“How could you have abandoned your own son like that?”
Draco was stunned that Harry would accuse him of such a thing. “Abandoned?”
“Yes, you impregnated her and then left her to raise him?”
Draco shook his head and chuckled.
“Why are you laughing? If you were Polyjuiced as Ginny all the time, then who raised Scorpius?”
“Mainly me, sometimes Pansy. Astoria lives in Spain with the rest of her family. Scorpius visits whenever he’s with Pansy. But other than that, Scorpius is here with us when you’re away on assignments. And I’m not Polyjuiced when you’re not here. That’s why it took me awhile to answer you this morning, I had to adjust my brain to the body.”
“Where does he sleep?”
“He shares a room with Albus. They’re practically twins.”
Harry stopped and seemed to be thinking rather hard. The time that elapsed was making Draco worry and sweat. And that was just not on!
“Draco, I’m willing to see what happens. But you have to give me time. I will admit my magic feels particularly calm around you. And I probably would have realized it if I wasn’t so hell-bent on trying to kill you because I thought you kidnapped my wife. Who happens to be you. But you’re you, pretending to be Ginny. And now I’m confused.”
The snuggling pile all started giggling, which put a smile on Harry’s face.
After the giggling died down, Draco asked, “So we’re a family?”
“Yea, we’re a family, and Scorpius can have his own room here. We’ll convert either the old playroom or the study.”
“I say the old playroom. How does that sound, Scorpius?”
“Brilliant, Father! What do I call Mr. Potter now? And can Austin come live with us too?”
Harry beat Draco to the question, “You can call me anything you want. If you’re used to Mr Potter, then call me Mr. Potter. Uncle Harry works too. And who’s Austin?”
“I’m actually used to calling you Albus’ daddy. Can I call you Daddy too? And Austin’s my pet, a white peacock.”
Harry’s eyes grew round at the answer. "A white peacock? In a Muggle townhouse in the middle of London?" he thought to himself. He had much to adjust to.
~Fin
Title: Harry Potter Really, Really Hates Polyjuice
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, Harry/Ginny (sort of), Draco/Astoria, Ginny/OMC
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When 19 years of marriage isn’t what it seems to be, what will Harry’s reaction be? Can those 19 years overcome everything? And how does a white peacock named Austin fit in?
Warnings (if any): Het
Total word count: 5,751
Original prompt request number: 161
Second prompt at.
Disclaimer: This story/artwork is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's notes: It might get a little confusing, and you might be tempted to read the original prompt, but try not to until the end. Please?
Beta(s): callie_828 and monkeyshine4616
Harry Potter Really, Really Hates Polyjuice
"Look who it is."
Draco Malfoy was standing with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized his pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly, and turned away again.
-- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
“Why would you do something so monumentally stupid?”
“I was only doing that as a favour to you!”
“Right. Nodding to Harry was NOT a favour! Now I’m going to have to hear Harry’s paranoid ranting for weeks about why Draco Malfoy would be nodding at him.”
And with that Ginny Potter huffed her way out of the tiny café in Muggle London to head back home and see the damage her husband most certainly would have created by now. She knew it had been a bad idea, but it couldn’t be helped. Scorpius needed his father to see him off to Hogwarts; Astoria alone just wouldn’t do. But now she had to go home and placate her husband. And brother. Ginny Potter’s day just couldn’t get any worse.
___________________________________________
“Mum! Dad and Uncle Ron are in the kitchen with maps and ink and spells EVERYWHERE!”
Ginny calmly walked into the kitchen to find it practically destroyed. The cabinet doors were hanging precariously on their hinges; what spells caused them all to break like that she did not want to know. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be a single piece of glassware intact. Not to mention there were ink stains all over the marble countertop and the floor. And the breakfast table! Ginny groaned at the sight of the warm oak table splattered with ink and coffee. The sound caught the attention of the two crazed Aurors related to her.
“Love, are you all right?” Harry looked at Ginny as if the expression on her face could kill him. Or worse, relegate him to the couch for an indeterminate amount of time.
“I just don’t understand why you two have to destroy my kitchen whenever you hash out your brilliant plans.”
“It’s not a brilliant plan this time, Gin, it’s an investigation.”
Ginny sighed and began repairing the cabinets. She knew she didn’t have enough power to do a massive Reparo, but Harry certainly did.
“Harry, love, my heart, do you think it would be too much to ask if you cast an umbrella Reparo on my poor kitchen so I can start dinner? And Ron, are you staying? What about Hermione?”
“Ginny, we’re really sorry, but…”
Ginny put up her hand to quiet her brother and eyed Harry as he quickly cast Reparo and righted everything in the kitchen. She really wasn’t in the mood to hear the excuses and the explanations for why her kitchen was in shambles. She just wanted everything to be fixed so she could make dinner. And then possibly have a nice long soak before bed.
“Lily, now that your father and uncle has repaired the breakfast table, could you place settings for everyone, including your uncle, aunt, and Hugo?”
Lily nodded, sending her wild red hair bouncing. Once Lily was out of the kitchen setting the table, Ginny ripped into her husband and brother.
“What were you two thinking?! My kitchen is not the place to plan schemes! That’s why we have an attic, Harry!”
Ginny set the knives to chopping the vegetables and put up a monitoring charm on the pasta sauce.
“And what were you guys doing anyway? All the Death Eaters have been caught, that’s what this last mission was about, wasn’t it? Or have you been lying again, dear husband of mine?”
With the water boiling, Ginny dumped the large bag of pasta in the pot, making sure the spoon kept stirring it. Knowing that her kitchen wasn’t going to explode, Ginny faced the two grown men standing sheepishly behind her.
“Gin, you don’t understand. Malfoy nodded at Harry! Nodded! He has to be up to something.”
“Love, Ron’s right. Malfoy’s practically never out in public. To be out and then to acknowledge us? It’s just not right.”
Ginny shook her head as she manually dumped the pasta in the sauce, tossing it until it was all evenly coated. She continued to ignore the two idiots in her kitchen as she levitated the platter of pasta behind her and carried the bowl of steamed vegetables out to the table. Just as she set the food down, the Floo activated and Hermione and Hugo stepped out. That put an end to the suspicious ranting as Harry and Ron dug into the food.
“Mum, where did you go after we left King’s Cross?”
Five pairs of expectant eyes shifted towards her as she froze, unable to come up with an excuse for being absent from the family for several hours in the afternoon.
“I went to see a new line of shoes in Muggle London. I realized the other day that all my shoes are out of fashion. And we all know what those harpies would say if I showed up at a Ministry function wearing last season’s shoes.”
They all nodded, none of them questioning further as to if she actually purchased any new shoes. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief and ignored the conversation around the dinner table, the topic once again on how suspicious it was that Malfoy had nodded at Harry.
___________________________________________
After making sure Harry and Ron wouldn’t blow up her kitchen again while cleaning up, Ginny went upstairs for a much needed soak. The warm, scented water soothed her frazzled nerves, and she slowly drifted off to semi-consciousness.
“Are you all right in there? Love, would you please answer me?”
Ginny could still hear her husband’s voice, but the mist felt entirely too good for her to get out of the tub, or even answer him through the door. She shifted a little, then settled down to relax some more.
Suddenly the door was ripped off its hinges as Harry barged in. Ginny jumped but kept her eyes closed, waiting to see what reason Harry could possibly have to ruin a perfectly good door. She could feel his eyes on her, staring while he stood in the middle of the bathroom. It had been weeks since they’d slept together, in every sense of those words. Harry had just returned from a mission with Ron; they had been adamant about being back to see their children board the train. Now that he was back, Ginny wasn’t going to waste any time.
She could picture in her mind what Harry probably looked like at that moment. His hair was likely as messy as ever, glasses all fogged up, and the sweats he usually wore around the house were probably tented.
She smiled wickedly as she brought her washcloth up to her neck and slowly washed herself. When the washcloth grazed her left breast, she heard a hitch in Harry’s breath. By the time it reached her right breast, she heard Harry mutter a Reparo on the door and cast a series of locking charms. Within seconds Harry was in the tub with Ginny, naked and kissing her down her jaw onto her neck while his hands seemed to be everywhere. Ginny thanked every deity she could think of for letting Harry remodel their bathroom to add an exceedingly large tub. She squirmed as she felt Harry on her hip, both of them panting as Harry started sucking on her breasts, purposely missing her nipples. In a fit of frustration Ginny gripped Harry’s arms and pushed him off of her. In the wake of his confusion Ginny swung her legs around Harry and manoeuvred him so that he was the one lying on his back in the tub.
Satisfied that she had her husband at her mercy, she positioned herself over him and sank down, grinning at the look of pure lust sweeping across Harry’s face. She continued rocking herself, quickening her pace as Harry gradually lost control and began thrusting madly upwards towards her. In an effort to climax at the same time as her husband, Ginny leaned over more so Harry could reach her breast. The stimulation on her nipples, coupled with the maddening friction between her legs caused Ginny to climax, dragging Harry along with her over the edge.
___________________________________________
“I don’t think it’s ever been that intense before.”
“I’ve missed you, Harry. Not to mention it had been weeks since we’ve had sex.”
Draped over her husband, Ginny was trailing her fingers up and down his chest, all the while listening to his breathing quicken again. She really had missed him. She was used to the week-long missions, but the most recent one had been the longest yet. She hoped he was up for another round before he called it a night and slept like a log.
“Gin, do you really think I’m being stupid for suspecting that Malfoy is up to something with that nod?”
Ginny lifted her head up and stared incredulously at Harry. With a dramatic sigh she flung herself off of her husband and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Way to kill the mood, dear husband of mine, she thought.
“I mean, really, after over a decade, close to TWO decades of only occasional appearances and sightings of Draco Malfoy, he suddenly turns up at King’s Cross.”
“Well, he was there for the same purpose as you: to see his son board the train for Hogwarts.”
“But that’s the thing; nobody’s ever seen him and his son in public before. Isn’t it odd that he would shelter his son all his life, then let him out to take the train? Wouldn’t it be more his nature to privately Floo the boy to Hogsmeade, then walk to Hogwarts? Or maybe even Apparate?”
“How is this any of your business, Harry? What Draco Malfoy chooses to do with his son has nothing to do with you.”
“And did you see his hair? He has a receding hairline. Heh, Draco Malfoy losing his hair. It must have been traumatizing for him.”
“Please grow up Harry, you’re not sixteen anymore. Boyhood rivalries should have ended during one’s boyhood. Good night. Nox.”
___________________________________________
Ginny woke up to a wand pointed at her throat. She had no idea who was on the other end of the wand, but she wasn’t about to open her eyes and let the other person know she was awake just yet. Not until she knew who got into their home and was pointing a wand at her.
“I know you’re awake, Malfoy.”
Malfoy? Why would Harry be calling me Malfoy? I thought I had one last night. Oh no, I completely forgot about it! A million thoughts ran through her mind, but she figured she should at least open her eyes.
“What have you done with my wife, Malfoy?”
Harry was angry, anyone could see that. Ginny tried to say something, but she was trying too hard to sort her thoughts out.
“Answer me, Malfoy! What the hell have you done with my wife?”
Once Harry progressed to screaming she knew it would be impossible to calm him down quickly. But her mind was a mess. The body didn’t match the mindset and it was difficult to adjust.
“Harry, please calm down and just let me explain.”
“Explain? Calm down!? You’re lying down where my wife was just hours ago! And you expect me to listen to you!?”
“Daddy, why are you yelling at mummy?”
“Lily, this isn’t your mummy, he’s a bad man, step away from him.”
Draco hugged Lily close to him. She was trembling and had her head buried in Draco’s shirt. He continued to stroke her hair, ignoring Harry in an effort to comfort his daughter. When Lily finally stopped shaking Draco looked up at Harry, expecting to find a calmer man who would be willing to listen, only to find a wand pointed at him between his eyes.
“I don’t know what you’re after, but let go of my daughter. She’s too young for your perversions.”
Draco was at first startled by that statement, then offended that Harry would think him possible of such a thing, and then blinded by anger that Harry would insult him in such a way.
“Harry James Potter, if you do not put that wand down, you’ll regret it. Your children would more than likely never speak to you again if you so much as hurt a hair on my head.”
“You’re demented, Malfoy. Why the fuck would my children care if you died or not?”
Draco and Lily both let out a shriek, Draco because Harry had used an unacceptable word in front of Lily, and Lily most likely because Draco might die. He resumed soothing his youngest while fully glaring at Harry for upsetting Lily again. Harry, for his part, did look sheepish for making Lily cry again, but his eyes still showed the paranoia.
“Harry, please put the wand down. We’re both adults, though sometimes I sincerely doubt that.”
“You’re still insulting me!”
Draco finally gave up and carried Lily with him out of the room. He figured if Harry was really hell-bent on killing him he wouldn’t do it in front of their daughter. He finally placed Lily down when they got to the kitchen. With Lily sitting on the counter Draco proceeded to make oatmeal and a fruit salad for Lily and himself, and giant portions of meat for Harry.
Just as Draco placed a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of Lily, with copious amounts of honey, Harry barrelled into the kitchen and grabbed the bowl away, screaming about Draco attempting to poison his daughter. Lily and Draco stared at Harry as if he’d grown a second head on his shoulder, but Harry didn’t seem to care. His chest was heaving as he seemed to contemplate what to do with the extremely hot bowl in his hand. His hesitation finally got the best of him and he dropped the bowl and rushed to the sink. Draco looked over at Harry and made sure his hand wasn’t too badly burned before taking out his wand to clean up the mess on the floor.
“Drop the wand, Malfoy!”
Draco sighed again and tucked his wand away in an attempt to placate a rather frazzled Harry.
“I don’t know what you’re playing at, Malfoy, but I’m about to arrest you on the grounds of trespassing and attempted murder.”
“Murder?! Who was I attempting to murder?!”
“My daughter! And also kidnapping Ginny! With all of that you’d easily land in Azkaban for years! Something that should have happened after the war!”
Draco cringed as he fell into a chair and accepted the hug Lily gave him as she sat in his lap, scowling at Harry. Draco’s insecurities flared up again and Lily was doing a fantastic job at soothing his frayed nerves, but Harry wrenched her off his lap and shoved her behind himself.
“I don’t know what you’ve fed my daughter, but I’ll get the antidote and she’ll return to normal. As for you, this will just increase your sentence. The Kiss is too good for you; you deserve to rot in Azkaban for life!
“Daddy! What are you talking about? Mummy was just trying to make me breakfast! Something she’s done all my life!”
“Lily, that’s not your mummy. For the love of Merlin, how can that be your mummy? That’s not even a woman! Mothers are WOMEN!”
“You really are the biggest idiot in the world! You’ve been a wizard for how many years at this point? Thirty-six? I’ll give you eleven years off since you didn’t know until you got your Hogwarts letter, but still! That’s over two decades that you’ve lived as a wizard, and you still don’t understand the dynamics and intricacies of wizarding culture! I am the mother to these children, because I carried them to term!”
Harry seemed shocked for all of a minute before placing Draco in a full body bind and levitating him to the living room, all the while Lily screaming and beating at her father’s body to let her mother go. With Draco lying prone on the couch, Harry picked up Lily and carried her through the Floo to Hogwarts.
Draco laid there for what seemed to be hours before the spell wore off. He slowly picked himself up and tried desperately to shake the stiffness out of his muscles. Once he was able to walk without collapsing to the floor, Draco rushed to the Floo to get to Hogwarts.
___________________________________________
“Dad, what are you on about?”
“Al is right, Dad, you’re almost purple in the face. And why won’t you let Lily down?”
“Al, James, stop talking. I’m taking you out of school because your mum has suddenly disappeared and I’d rather not have you three as targets while I search for her. So you guys are going to be staying with your grandparents.”
“But Dad…”
“No buts, James. You will listen and do as I say and if not, I’ll chain you down.”
Draco saw Harry dragging their two sons and carrying Lily down the hall away from him. But before he could say anything he heard another set of feet running towards them all.
“Al, James, Lily, what’s going on??”
“Scorpius!”
Draco saw Al and James break free of Harry’s grasp and run back towards Scorpius, the three boys hanging on to each other as if their lives depended on it. Harry, with his face like stone, just marched back and attempted to drag at least one of the boys with him. Scorpius held onto Albus as hard as possible, but that only allowed Harry to switch his attention to James and drag him away. While all this was happening, Lily was fighting Harry, doing everything she could short of biting him. Draco had to do something, but he knew that if he showed himself, Harry would have an apoplectic fit. Just as Draco decided he was going to step out of the shadows, Lily did indeed bite Harry. Hard. He promptly dropped her, but she was able to land on her feet and took off running with the boys.
Draco saw it as a chance to protect his children and ran after them while Harry swore spectacularly in the hall outside the Headmistress’s office. Draco quickly ushered the children around the corner and into an abandoned classroom, hushing them as he had his ear pressed against the door.
“Kids, be quiet, your dad just ran by.”
“Daddy, why was Mr. Potter trying to take James and Albus away from Hogwarts?”
Draco sighed first at the name Scorpius insisted on calling Harry, and then grew worried upon seeing the faces of his other two sons. James and Albus both looked distraught and more than a little lost.
“Hey guys, come here.”
All four kids crowded around Draco and hugged him tightly. He could see at least two of them were crying and burying their little faces in his robes. He felt utterly helpless and just generally upset at Harry for being his usual pigheaded self by not even letting him explain the situation.
“Come on guys, it’ll be all right. I’ll explain everything to your dad, and it’ll all get sorted out, you’ll see.”
“But, daddy! Mr. Potter’s taking them away!”
“Scorpius, no one is taking anyone away, least of all your brothers. And your sister is staying with me. Isn’t that right Lily-pie?”
Lily sniffled and buried herself further into Draco’s robes, but nodded. Draco slid down the door and cuddled Lily to himself, beckoning the boys to him as well. For as long as possible Draco was going to keep his children by him. If Harry refused to listen to reason, the wizarding world would surely side with the Chosen One and take his children from him.
A knock suddenly sounded behind Draco’s head and startled the five of them.
“Mr. Malfoy. This is Professor McGonagall. Will you please open up?”
“NO!”
Draco winced at the paranoid tone behind his children’s voices.
“Mr. Malfoy, I promise not to hurt the children or yourself. Please open the door.”
Draco reached for the handle but he had four pairs of hands pulling at him to stop. He pried the hands off his and opened the door to see Professor McGonagall with her wand pointed at a very angry Harry Potter.
“Mr. Malfoy, will you please follow me to my office? I believe there is much to discuss.”
Draco nodded and herded his children to the headmistress’s office, while both avoiding Harry’s eyes and trying to catch them.
___________________________________________
“Now Mr. Malfoy, would you like to explain some things to us? Perhaps some tea first?”
“Minerva! He should be locked up, not offered tea!”
“Harry, your children are clinging to Draco as if he was their lifeline. I believe we should let Draco speak. May I call you Draco?”
Draco was stunned that McGonagall would be so cordial with him. He quickly nodded and once again avoided Harry’s eyes, but could still hear the deep growling and feel the anger rolling off Harry in waves.
“Draco, would you please tell us where Ginny Potter is?”
“Ginny Thomson née Weasley is in America, as she’s been for the past 19 years,” Draco answered.
“You lying piece of shit!”
With Harry’s outburst, Lily burst back into tears, Al gripped Draco’s robes tightly, Scorpius buried his face into Draco’s shoulders, and James looked ready to scream at his own dad.
“Harry, will you please watch your tongue? Your children are in the room. And we need to let Draco explain himself.”
“Well, Ginny Weasley left a long time ago.”
“You’re lying again! Minerva, can I just hex the bloody bastard so I can go find Ginny without worrying about this useless bastard playing tricks on me again?”
“Harry, I’m not playing any tricks, please let me explain.”
“Yeah Daddy, let Mummy explain!”
Harry just stared at his children and his green eyes glazed over with rage. All the portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses began to shake, causing the occupants to all look a bit green. Professor McGonagall promptly placed a silencing spell on Harry. She then turned to Draco and awaited more explanations.
“Ginny Weasley left Europe completely after she graduated from Hogwarts.”
“But Mr. Malfoy - “
“Potter. It’s Potter now.”
Harry immediately jumped up and had his hands on Draco’s neck. The pressure Harry was placing on Draco’s neck was quickly turning his already pale face chalk white. Harry’s face contrasted greatly; it was such a dark red it was bordering on black. This time McGonagall promptly put Harry in a full body bind.
“Mr. Potter, Draco’s surname would indeed be Potter now. According to wizarding marriage laws and rites, the minute two people exchange vows, their magic recognizes and accepts the other’s magical signature. You two are married, making the both of you Potters. But I presume, Draco, that you still hold power over the Malfoy fortune.”
Draco nodded and began to speak again before Harry could interrupt.
“As I was saying, Ginny had left the continent right after graduation. She had met Sean, a Muggle-born, while in London, and decided to follow him to America, where he was offered a job. Before she left, she had owled me about where to meet her for a chat. I had initially thought she was trying to lure me into a trap, vengeful weasels and all, but she wasn't. She was both offering and asking for help.”
At that point Harry broke free of the bind and launched himself at Draco again, this time successfully knocking him and Lily to the ground. Draco instinctively curled himself around Lily so that his body would be the one hitting the hard floor and not Lily. McGonagall gasped and rushed around her desk to help the children get their father off of their other father.
“Mr. Potter, will you please act like a rational adult and listen to what Mr. Malfoy -”
“Potter,” Draco corrected. Harry growled again.
McGonagall sighed and said, “I think it best to just call you Draco for the duration of this meeting.”
“That is fine, Professor McGonagall.”
“But wait, Minerva! I bet this isn’t even the real Draco Malfoy. Yeah, that’s got to be it. This is actually Ginny Polyjuiced as Draco Malfoy. There, I’m being a rational adult. Ginny, love, when does the potion wear off?”
Draco stared at Harry and felt abject pity for his spouse upon seeing the desperate light in his eyes, wanting everything he had just said to be true.
“Harry, I really am Draco. Not Malfoy anymore, but still Draco.”
“No. See, Malfoy has a receding hairline, we all saw it just yesterday at King’s Cross.”
“Mr. Potter, that wasn’t my father yesterday. It was Aunt Pansy Polyjuiced as father. I knew it wasn’t him the minute I looked at the hair.”
Harry was shaking his head, the light in his eyes growing duller by the second, refusing to believe anything that was said to him.
“Harry, please. I really am Draco, and if you just let me explain, it will all make sense. Please.”
“Mr. Potter, perhaps it would be best to let Draco explain everything. It won’t hurt anyone for you to just sit there and listen.”
Seeing the nod come from Harry, Draco began his tale.
“As I was saying, I met with Ginny Weasley, now Ginny Thomson. I know, too close to her ex-boyfriend Thomas. I met with her and the first thing she told me was that she knew I was in love with Harry Potter. I, of course, thought she was completely mental.”
Harry interrupted by snorting, and mumbling, “This whole thing is mental.”
“Mr. Potter, please refrain from interrupting or I won’t hesitate to conjure up Muggle means to restrain you, physically and vocally. Draco, please continue.”
“Ginny then detailed my actions and reactions during her sixth year, my seventh - the year when the Carrows ran Hogwarts. Having someone else point out everything I did, like tracing lightning bolts in various dusty spots around the castle, was a rather rude awakening. I still denied it, but then she gave me a proposition.”
“You fucked my wife?!”
“Mr. Potter, that sort of language is unacceptable!”
“Potter, I am loathe to use your surname but it seems this situation requires the use of it. A proposition is something that is offered for consideration or acceptance. It does not always carry a sexual connotation. Now, to continue, she gave me a proposition. She would train me to become her, I Polyjuice myself as her, I marry Harry, and she gets to leave England without a fuss from everyone. I mulled it over for a total of three days before realizing that yes, I was indeed in love with Harry Potter. So I accepted.”
“So I’ve been with you for 19 fucking years?!”
“Mr. Potter!”
“Professor, I don’t think you should bother reprimanding him anymore. He’s in a mood and until he understands the entire situation, he will continue to use inappropriate language,” Draco explained.
Professor McGonagall nodded and gestured for Draco to continue.
“It took about a month, and it was by far the most intensive review session I had ever partaken in. By the end of the month I was well versed in Weasley history, feminine happenings, and Ginny mannerisms. In other words, I became Ginny Weasley. All I needed was a consistent supply of Polyjuice and I’d have the life I’d been dreaming of in my seventh year.”
“But Draco, how were you able to have the Polyjuice with you? Did the real Ginny send you bits of her hair all of these years? And Harry, after the Crouch incident, shouldn’t you be more alert to possible cases of Polyjuice?”
Harry glared at McGonagall while Draco continued.
“Ginny and I still keep in touch, every week or so. I owl her and she owls back. But that was in the beginning. Now we e-mail each other. Who would believe that I, the archetypal pure-blood, would be familiar with Muggle means of communication? But we keep in touch so that she is aware of how her family is doing. As for the Polyjuice question, we found that as long as I’ve been Ginny for more than eight hours, the hair would work in the potion. Less than eight hours and the potion would turn the drinker into Draco Malfoy. So I would brew the potion once a month then freeze them into little tablets. I found that by freezing it, the taste is diminished greatly but the effect is just as good.”
A light sparked in Harry’s eyes suddenly. “So that’s why you keep sucking on mints?”
“Well, the mints became a personal addiction of mine while carrying James, but yes, it all started with the potion. Sucking on the mints was the only way to get rid of the taste in my mouth.”
“But if you’re suddenly such an expert at Polyjuice, why the fuck didn’t Pansy look like you do now?” Harry demanded.
“I swear I will kill Pansy one of these days. I had sent her a batch of brewed Polyjuice potion, and a couple of strands of my hair, with detailed instructions about how to heat it up to the right temperature before adding the hair. The stupid cow put the hair in and then heated it up, completely botching up the potion. That’s why you saw a Draco Malfoy with that horrible receding hairline. As if any person with Malfoy genes could ever have anything but impeccable hair.”
Harry snorted again, “Still a vain git.”
“Anyways, I never thought it would have come to this, but I hope you at least have lost the urge to arrest me, or worse, to kill me. I loved you back in seventh year and, after nineteen years, I love you even more. I’m sorry for deceiving you all these years, but it was the only way.”
Harry just sat there, unmoving.
“Professor McGonagall, thank you for your time and assistance, however this marriage turns out, thank you.”
“You are very welcome, Draco.”
“Come on kids. You three boys need to get back to classes, and Lily-pie, we need to get home. Harry, we’ll be waiting there.”
___________________________________________
“Lily, no matter what happens, know that I love you and whatever I do, it’s what is best for you. Understand?”
“Yes, mummy.”
The door opened gingerly and the only two occupants in the house looked up, expecting only Harry. Instead it was Harry, along with James, Albus, and Scorpius.
Harry sheepishly walked into the room, and watched as all three boys ran up to Draco and Lily on the couch. The four kids and Draco became one big snuggling pile, with Harry on the side looking absolutely dejected.
Draco, although at a total loss for words, said, “Harry, what happens now?”
Harry shrugged.
“Do you want me to leave? What about the kids?” The kids instantly grabbed onto Draco even harder; James’ grip on Draco’s arm was like a vice.
Harry shrugged again.
“Say something!” Draco demanded.
“For these nineteen years, how many of your actions were really you and how much was just you pretending to be Ginny?”
“All of my actions were me. You have to realize that Ginny’s personality was very much similar to mine back at school. We were both extremely proud and arrogant, and we both had a wild streak in us that surpassed even yours. It was just that you saw her as a potential mate, so you found those traits endearing. And of course with me, you found those traits to be negative.”
“So the person I fell in love with after the battle - “
“Was me.”
“And the person who carried my children?”
“Me.”
“And how does Scorpius fit into the picture?”
“He’s my son with Astoria. But I never slept with her. We did it by Muggle means, artificial insemination.”
“But when?”
“About two months before Albus was conceived. James had been about two, and I realized that the Malfoy line had to continue, so Pansy found Astoria for me. Turns out the Greengrass family was in debt, so I allied them with the Malfoy name.”
“How could you have abandoned your own son like that?”
Draco was stunned that Harry would accuse him of such a thing. “Abandoned?”
“Yes, you impregnated her and then left her to raise him?”
Draco shook his head and chuckled.
“Why are you laughing? If you were Polyjuiced as Ginny all the time, then who raised Scorpius?”
“Mainly me, sometimes Pansy. Astoria lives in Spain with the rest of her family. Scorpius visits whenever he’s with Pansy. But other than that, Scorpius is here with us when you’re away on assignments. And I’m not Polyjuiced when you’re not here. That’s why it took me awhile to answer you this morning, I had to adjust my brain to the body.”
“Where does he sleep?”
“He shares a room with Albus. They’re practically twins.”
Harry stopped and seemed to be thinking rather hard. The time that elapsed was making Draco worry and sweat. And that was just not on!
“Draco, I’m willing to see what happens. But you have to give me time. I will admit my magic feels particularly calm around you. And I probably would have realized it if I wasn’t so hell-bent on trying to kill you because I thought you kidnapped my wife. Who happens to be you. But you’re you, pretending to be Ginny. And now I’m confused.”
The snuggling pile all started giggling, which put a smile on Harry’s face.
After the giggling died down, Draco asked, “So we’re a family?”
“Yea, we’re a family, and Scorpius can have his own room here. We’ll convert either the old playroom or the study.”
“I say the old playroom. How does that sound, Scorpius?”
“Brilliant, Father! What do I call Mr. Potter now? And can Austin come live with us too?”
Harry beat Draco to the question, “You can call me anything you want. If you’re used to Mr Potter, then call me Mr. Potter. Uncle Harry works too. And who’s Austin?”
“I’m actually used to calling you Albus’ daddy. Can I call you Daddy too? And Austin’s my pet, a white peacock.”
Harry’s eyes grew round at the answer. "A white peacock? In a Muggle townhouse in the middle of London?" he thought to himself. He had much to adjust to.
~Fin