Not What He Expected (H/D, PG-13)
Sorry for the lateness of this, but the story really wanted to be a multi-chaptered novella of sorts, and I had to contain it. Hope you enjoy!
Title: Not What He Expected
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~ 2000
Pairing/Characters: Harry/Draco
Challenge: For aoifene's birthday prompt of Veela!Harry. It also fits the awdt prompts of, "What do you want from me?" "Where did you hide it?" "Take your pick," "Oh no, don't use that," and "You have absolutely no idea, do you?"
Summary: Apparently Horcruxes have their uses, beyond the obvious. Like suppressing inner Veela tendencies. Alas, life is not exactly what Harry Potter expected it to be after the war.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
Not What He Expected
Ever since he was a child, strange things had happened to Harry Potter. Thankfully, most of them had been explained by now, and many had been resolved.
From the age of one, Harry had carried a secret identity within him - the Horcrux from Voldemort. Now that the piece of Voldemort's soul was no longer in his body, the Veela in him had been let loose. Oh, yes. The Veela. This was too much, even for him. Life seemed to be playing one sick and never-ending joke on Harry Potter. Lovely. Just fucking lovely.
He had - well, alright, Hermione had - discovered a heretofore unknown Veela in the Potter family line, several generations back. Of course. Because far be it for Harry to lead anything resembling a normal life, even now.
Used to people gawping at him for years, but never at all comfortable with it, Harry had to admit that this, at least, was the pleasant sort of attention. For about a week. Then it became irritating. Then it was stifling. And now? Well now he was consciously having to contain the beast within, lest it come out like the Veela at the World Cup all those years ago.
Having been in the wizarding world long enough, Harry knew that magical transformations were rarely as simple as they seemed. He was frightened of what the creature of his altered state might do. Not that he wasn't tempted, of course. In fact, if one more witch actually touched him, there was no telling if he could hold it back.
He did notice that wizards were not falling all over themselves to be in his presence. As with female Veela, it seemed that their influence was only on those of the opposite sex. He had mixed feelings about this. He had reached the conclusion, sometime between sixth year and what would have been his seventh, that he was attracted to men. There was more than one reason he hadn't wanted to stay with Ginny. He'd thought it was a phase at first, but realized soon enough that it hadn't been.
So it was a good thing that men were not swooning after him, because ... well, because that would have doubled the irritation factor. But also because he knew that it wouldn't be long before he simply accepted what was offered, even though he didn't want that. Okay, so he wanted it, but ... well, he also wanted more. And he didn't want it from someone that was only swooning over the Veela rather than the man within.
With Hermione's help, Harry discovered that part Veelas do not display signs until they reach adolescence for females, and a few years later for males. In Harry's case, it seemed that the Horcrux had kept his inner Veela at bay.
Contrary to popular opinion, Veelas, especially part Veelas, did not find themselves inexplicably drawn to a predestined mate, incapable of resisting the lure of the mate in order to find one on their own. At least not right away. That inherent need only surfaced if the Veela in question has not formed feelings for someone on their own by the time they reached adulthood. Fleur was free to fall in love with Bill. Harry suspected that if his father had the Veela in him, it had remained dormant because of his feelings towards Lily.
Unfortunately, Harry hadn't had the opportunity to explore his feelings, once discovering his attraction to men, before his inner Veela came bounding out. He'd been rather preoccupied after all, what with having Horcruxes to find and a Dark Lord to vanquish. So it was that several weeks after his Veela attraction surfaced that he found himself drawn to ...
"Where did you hide it?!" Harry yelled as he stormed into Hermione's office.
"Hide what?" Hermione asked, clearly perplexed.
"The book, Hermione."
"Book?"
"Yes, the Guidebook on How to Make Harry Potter's Life Hell."
Hermione smirked. "Oh, that book. I loaned it out."
"You wouldn't happen to have loaned it out to Draco Malfoy, would you?"
"Sit down, Harry, and tell me what's happened now."
Harry flung himself onto a chair, put his head in his hands and groaned. "This isn't happening," he grumbled. "This can't be happening."
"What did Draco do now?" she asked, sounding amused. The bitch.
"This isn't funny, Hermione."
She cleared her throat. "Very well, Harry. What has you so upset?"
"We've determined I'm part Veela, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes."
"And there's a chance that I will have a pull towards a mate, right?"
She narrowed her eyes and hesitantly responded. "Y-yes."
"And you know that I'm gay, right?"
Her eyes flew open. "No!" she gasped.
"Yes," Harry groaned.
"No," she whispered.
"Just kill me now."
~*~*~
It was with painful frequency that Harry kept running into Draco after that. It seemed everywhere he went he felt the familiar pull towards something inexplicable. Then he would see the familiar white-blonde hair and his stomach would clench. It was all he could do to walk away. But every time he saw Draco, Harry seemed destined to experience just that little bit more pain, that little bit more humiliation. Because every time, just as he thought he'd made his escape, Draco would look over at him.
Like somehow he knew that Harry was there. Like he knew just when to attack. Okay, Harry knew he was being overly dramatic, even if he'd never voiced his thoughts aloud. But it was uncanny how Draco seemed to know just when to hammer that nail in. All it took was one look from those eyes and Harry would break out into a sweat, fighting with everything in him not to run over, pull the other man into his arms, and claim his lips right then and there. His breathing became ragged, his stomach constricted painfully, and a throbbing behind his eyes wreaked havoc with his senses.
He'd Apparated away, fearful of splinching himself, yet more fearful of what he would do if he didn't leave. Immediately. After the fifth such incident, he'd arrived home to find Hermione there as he collapsed from the intensity of it all.
"Merlin, Harry, what's happened to you?" she asked, helping him to the sofa.
"Saw him ... again ... Diagon ... couldn't look away ... pain ... can't breathe ... had to get away."
"Oh, Harry," she said, the pity in her eyes the last thing Harry saw before passing out.
When he awoke, Hermione, as she was wont to do, grilled him with questions. How many times have you seen him? Does this happen every time? Has he seen you? Does he seem to be drawn to you too? Is this how you always react, or was today the worst? The questions went on and on, and Harry felt light-headed all over again from the interrogation.
~*~*~
Harry returned to Diagon Alley the next day to finish up the shopping that had been interrupted by the untimely appearance of the man who, Harry was now convinced, was his mate. He'd managed to make his remaining purchases within an hour and had just rounded a corner when he saw him.
Remembering all the questions Hermione had asked, Harry decided to watch this time, rather than follow his desire to flee. It was still difficult to resist the urge to approach Draco - Harry still couldn't get over that - but it was less painful once he allowed himself to appreciate Draco's good looks, even if from a distance.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Draco's head lifted and turned directly towards Harry. Involuntarily, Harry found himself smiling at him. He watched as Draco's emotions seemed to war with each other. He looked surprised but happy, then confused and fearful, then frustrated and angry.
The next few times Harry saw Draco were similar. It was easier on Harry, but these non-encounters seemed to be taking their toll on Draco. He looked edgier and more pale - who knew he could look more pale? Harry would always greet him with a smile, then watch him until he left.
Eventually, the draw became too much for Harry. Hermione had insisted that Draco was interested, but trying to resist. Harry concluded, after much observation, that she was right. One day, as Draco made to leave, Harry walked over and grabbed him by the arm.
"What do you want from me?" Draco asked, pulling his arm free, resembling a caged animal looking for a way to escape.
"Don't you know?" Harry asked with a slight smile.
"Well, your Veela heritage has been front page news, as has all the attention you've been receiving." Harry nodded. "You must love this ... this effect you're having on me." So it was true. Harry struggled to hold back a smirk. "I presume you wish to publicly humiliate me."
Harry's face fell. "Why ... why would I want to do that?"
"Oh, I don't know, Potter. Payback for the war? Payback for whatever I've done to you in the past? Payback for what my father did to you and your friends? Payback for Voldemort? Payback for Umbridge? Take your pick." Draco looked like he was in physical pain.
"You have absolutely no idea, do you?" Harry took a step closer.
Draco groaned. "Potter, please." He looked very much like Harry had felt that time just before he had ended up passing out.
"It's Harry."
A look of confusion fell over Draco's face, followed by that of desperation. "Can't you just leave me alone?," he begged, taking a step back. "At least give me some room to breathe. I don't think you know how difficult this is for me."
"I may have some idea," Harry said as he invaded Draco's personal space. The blonde's eyes flew open. "I've been fighting it too."
Draco's jaw dropped open, and Harry swooped in. He pulled a shocked Draco into his arms and covered the Slytherin's mouth with his own. A feeling of elation mixed with the sensation of intense relief surged through Harry's body. If he'd had any doubts before, they were obliterated now.
It took a fraction of a second for Draco to respond, wrapping his arms around Harry and pulling him in closer, deepening the kiss. The touch of Draco's tongue quenched a deep thirst within Harry, and he willingly drank his fill. Their bodies melded together, two parts of a whole that had finally united to become one. Harry had never felt so complete in his life.
When they broke apart, their breathing was laboured, and Harry was sure the flush on Draco's face was mirrored on his own, and the look of wonder in grey eyes was reflected in green ones. They both stood, transfixed, staring at each other and waiting for their breathing to return to normal.
"So that's what it feels like to give in to a Veela," Draco said after a few moments passed.
"Oh no, don't use that," Harry implored, inexplicably hurt by his words. Draco gave him a confused look. "Please tell me it's more than just that ... that I'm more than that."
Draco grinned as he took Harry into his arms. "Harry ... you've been a part of my life since before I even met you. I wanted to be your friend, then your foe, then anything, just so you'd notice me, pay attention to me. You've never been out of my mind for very long, no matter whether I was curious about you, hated you, was jealous of you, or wanted you."
Harry's heart started beating frantically at Draco's words. Everything he'd said was true, Harry knew. Draco had never been far from Harry's mind either in the years since they'd first met, for whatever reason. Then Draco flashed him a smile that shone as brightly as the sun on a clear summer's day, and warmed Harry with its intensity. Harry would never tire of that smile, of this man in his life.
"Don't you know by now, Harry? You'll always be more than that."
.
Title: Not What He Expected
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~ 2000
Pairing/Characters: Harry/Draco
Challenge: For aoifene's birthday prompt of Veela!Harry. It also fits the awdt prompts of, "What do you want from me?" "Where did you hide it?" "Take your pick," "Oh no, don't use that," and "You have absolutely no idea, do you?"
Summary: Apparently Horcruxes have their uses, beyond the obvious. Like suppressing inner Veela tendencies. Alas, life is not exactly what Harry Potter expected it to be after the war.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
Not What He Expected
Ever since he was a child, strange things had happened to Harry Potter. Thankfully, most of them had been explained by now, and many had been resolved.
From the age of one, Harry had carried a secret identity within him - the Horcrux from Voldemort. Now that the piece of Voldemort's soul was no longer in his body, the Veela in him had been let loose. Oh, yes. The Veela. This was too much, even for him. Life seemed to be playing one sick and never-ending joke on Harry Potter. Lovely. Just fucking lovely.
He had - well, alright, Hermione had - discovered a heretofore unknown Veela in the Potter family line, several generations back. Of course. Because far be it for Harry to lead anything resembling a normal life, even now.
Used to people gawping at him for years, but never at all comfortable with it, Harry had to admit that this, at least, was the pleasant sort of attention. For about a week. Then it became irritating. Then it was stifling. And now? Well now he was consciously having to contain the beast within, lest it come out like the Veela at the World Cup all those years ago.
Having been in the wizarding world long enough, Harry knew that magical transformations were rarely as simple as they seemed. He was frightened of what the creature of his altered state might do. Not that he wasn't tempted, of course. In fact, if one more witch actually touched him, there was no telling if he could hold it back.
He did notice that wizards were not falling all over themselves to be in his presence. As with female Veela, it seemed that their influence was only on those of the opposite sex. He had mixed feelings about this. He had reached the conclusion, sometime between sixth year and what would have been his seventh, that he was attracted to men. There was more than one reason he hadn't wanted to stay with Ginny. He'd thought it was a phase at first, but realized soon enough that it hadn't been.
So it was a good thing that men were not swooning after him, because ... well, because that would have doubled the irritation factor. But also because he knew that it wouldn't be long before he simply accepted what was offered, even though he didn't want that. Okay, so he wanted it, but ... well, he also wanted more. And he didn't want it from someone that was only swooning over the Veela rather than the man within.
With Hermione's help, Harry discovered that part Veelas do not display signs until they reach adolescence for females, and a few years later for males. In Harry's case, it seemed that the Horcrux had kept his inner Veela at bay.
Contrary to popular opinion, Veelas, especially part Veelas, did not find themselves inexplicably drawn to a predestined mate, incapable of resisting the lure of the mate in order to find one on their own. At least not right away. That inherent need only surfaced if the Veela in question has not formed feelings for someone on their own by the time they reached adulthood. Fleur was free to fall in love with Bill. Harry suspected that if his father had the Veela in him, it had remained dormant because of his feelings towards Lily.
Unfortunately, Harry hadn't had the opportunity to explore his feelings, once discovering his attraction to men, before his inner Veela came bounding out. He'd been rather preoccupied after all, what with having Horcruxes to find and a Dark Lord to vanquish. So it was that several weeks after his Veela attraction surfaced that he found himself drawn to ...
"Where did you hide it?!" Harry yelled as he stormed into Hermione's office.
"Hide what?" Hermione asked, clearly perplexed.
"The book, Hermione."
"Book?"
"Yes, the Guidebook on How to Make Harry Potter's Life Hell."
Hermione smirked. "Oh, that book. I loaned it out."
"You wouldn't happen to have loaned it out to Draco Malfoy, would you?"
"Sit down, Harry, and tell me what's happened now."
Harry flung himself onto a chair, put his head in his hands and groaned. "This isn't happening," he grumbled. "This can't be happening."
"What did Draco do now?" she asked, sounding amused. The bitch.
"This isn't funny, Hermione."
She cleared her throat. "Very well, Harry. What has you so upset?"
"We've determined I'm part Veela, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes."
"And there's a chance that I will have a pull towards a mate, right?"
She narrowed her eyes and hesitantly responded. "Y-yes."
"And you know that I'm gay, right?"
Her eyes flew open. "No!" she gasped.
"Yes," Harry groaned.
"No," she whispered.
"Just kill me now."
~*~*~
It was with painful frequency that Harry kept running into Draco after that. It seemed everywhere he went he felt the familiar pull towards something inexplicable. Then he would see the familiar white-blonde hair and his stomach would clench. It was all he could do to walk away. But every time he saw Draco, Harry seemed destined to experience just that little bit more pain, that little bit more humiliation. Because every time, just as he thought he'd made his escape, Draco would look over at him.
Like somehow he knew that Harry was there. Like he knew just when to attack. Okay, Harry knew he was being overly dramatic, even if he'd never voiced his thoughts aloud. But it was uncanny how Draco seemed to know just when to hammer that nail in. All it took was one look from those eyes and Harry would break out into a sweat, fighting with everything in him not to run over, pull the other man into his arms, and claim his lips right then and there. His breathing became ragged, his stomach constricted painfully, and a throbbing behind his eyes wreaked havoc with his senses.
He'd Apparated away, fearful of splinching himself, yet more fearful of what he would do if he didn't leave. Immediately. After the fifth such incident, he'd arrived home to find Hermione there as he collapsed from the intensity of it all.
"Merlin, Harry, what's happened to you?" she asked, helping him to the sofa.
"Saw him ... again ... Diagon ... couldn't look away ... pain ... can't breathe ... had to get away."
"Oh, Harry," she said, the pity in her eyes the last thing Harry saw before passing out.
When he awoke, Hermione, as she was wont to do, grilled him with questions. How many times have you seen him? Does this happen every time? Has he seen you? Does he seem to be drawn to you too? Is this how you always react, or was today the worst? The questions went on and on, and Harry felt light-headed all over again from the interrogation.
~*~*~
Harry returned to Diagon Alley the next day to finish up the shopping that had been interrupted by the untimely appearance of the man who, Harry was now convinced, was his mate. He'd managed to make his remaining purchases within an hour and had just rounded a corner when he saw him.
Remembering all the questions Hermione had asked, Harry decided to watch this time, rather than follow his desire to flee. It was still difficult to resist the urge to approach Draco - Harry still couldn't get over that - but it was less painful once he allowed himself to appreciate Draco's good looks, even if from a distance.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Draco's head lifted and turned directly towards Harry. Involuntarily, Harry found himself smiling at him. He watched as Draco's emotions seemed to war with each other. He looked surprised but happy, then confused and fearful, then frustrated and angry.
The next few times Harry saw Draco were similar. It was easier on Harry, but these non-encounters seemed to be taking their toll on Draco. He looked edgier and more pale - who knew he could look more pale? Harry would always greet him with a smile, then watch him until he left.
Eventually, the draw became too much for Harry. Hermione had insisted that Draco was interested, but trying to resist. Harry concluded, after much observation, that she was right. One day, as Draco made to leave, Harry walked over and grabbed him by the arm.
"What do you want from me?" Draco asked, pulling his arm free, resembling a caged animal looking for a way to escape.
"Don't you know?" Harry asked with a slight smile.
"Well, your Veela heritage has been front page news, as has all the attention you've been receiving." Harry nodded. "You must love this ... this effect you're having on me." So it was true. Harry struggled to hold back a smirk. "I presume you wish to publicly humiliate me."
Harry's face fell. "Why ... why would I want to do that?"
"Oh, I don't know, Potter. Payback for the war? Payback for whatever I've done to you in the past? Payback for what my father did to you and your friends? Payback for Voldemort? Payback for Umbridge? Take your pick." Draco looked like he was in physical pain.
"You have absolutely no idea, do you?" Harry took a step closer.
Draco groaned. "Potter, please." He looked very much like Harry had felt that time just before he had ended up passing out.
"It's Harry."
A look of confusion fell over Draco's face, followed by that of desperation. "Can't you just leave me alone?," he begged, taking a step back. "At least give me some room to breathe. I don't think you know how difficult this is for me."
"I may have some idea," Harry said as he invaded Draco's personal space. The blonde's eyes flew open. "I've been fighting it too."
Draco's jaw dropped open, and Harry swooped in. He pulled a shocked Draco into his arms and covered the Slytherin's mouth with his own. A feeling of elation mixed with the sensation of intense relief surged through Harry's body. If he'd had any doubts before, they were obliterated now.
It took a fraction of a second for Draco to respond, wrapping his arms around Harry and pulling him in closer, deepening the kiss. The touch of Draco's tongue quenched a deep thirst within Harry, and he willingly drank his fill. Their bodies melded together, two parts of a whole that had finally united to become one. Harry had never felt so complete in his life.
When they broke apart, their breathing was laboured, and Harry was sure the flush on Draco's face was mirrored on his own, and the look of wonder in grey eyes was reflected in green ones. They both stood, transfixed, staring at each other and waiting for their breathing to return to normal.
"So that's what it feels like to give in to a Veela," Draco said after a few moments passed.
"Oh no, don't use that," Harry implored, inexplicably hurt by his words. Draco gave him a confused look. "Please tell me it's more than just that ... that I'm more than that."
Draco grinned as he took Harry into his arms. "Harry ... you've been a part of my life since before I even met you. I wanted to be your friend, then your foe, then anything, just so you'd notice me, pay attention to me. You've never been out of my mind for very long, no matter whether I was curious about you, hated you, was jealous of you, or wanted you."
Harry's heart started beating frantically at Draco's words. Everything he'd said was true, Harry knew. Draco had never been far from Harry's mind either in the years since they'd first met, for whatever reason. Then Draco flashed him a smile that shone as brightly as the sun on a clear summer's day, and warmed Harry with its intensity. Harry would never tire of that smile, of this man in his life.
"Don't you know by now, Harry? You'll always be more than that."
.