Harry Potter and The Dragon's Treasure

SNAKES, UNICORNS AND FAIRIES 299

"What's the rest look like?" Harry asked.
Draco picked up the child again and led Harry into the adjoining
room. A crib was there, decorated with lace. A mobile of little winged
creatures rotated above it, softly whirring. The fairies from the play
room seemed to have followed them into here and were flying in
circles above their heads. The room was quiet and pretty.
Harry looked around this room as well, and did think it was really
quite pretty. "This would be nice for the new baby," he said. "But it
seems ... a bit girly for Valen. I mean, I know he's just a baby, but
still. Was this your room?" He raised an eyebrow again.
"When I was tiny," Draco said. "There is another room on the
other side. That was the one I remember sleeping in." He led them
back through the playroom, fairies following, and into a room with a
small bed.
The next room was obviously meant for a larger child. There was
a bed that was quite good-sized, but low to the ground. The room
was painted a pale blue, and silver seemed to be the secondary
colour. The blankets and curtains were done in those colours as well.
There was an expensive-looking bookcase spanning the length of one
wall, next to what looked like a very comfortable window-seat. There
was also a little child-sized desk, and a small, dragon-hide reading
chair as well. Harry walked further into the room, examining some of
the posters on the wall. Quidditch players zoomed around in them,
pulling off various plays and special moves. He also noticed the
family picture of a much smaller Draco with Lucius and Narcissa
Malfoy. He tried not to scowl at the tall, smirking blond man looking
back at him, and he almost felt like taking the picture off the wall and
shaking it to get the man to take his hand off the boy's shoulder.
Draco was looking around, lost in memories as he did. He
noticed Harry's scowl. "He's dead, Harry," he whispered. "The photo
doesn't hurt anyone."
Harry hadn't realised that anything had been showing on his face.
"I – I know," he said quietly, stepping away from the wall and up to
his husband.
Draco sighed and sat down on the bed, letting Valen crawl out of
his lap. The little boy was still watching the fairies who had followed
them to this room as well.

300 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Harry sat down next to Draco, looking sideways at him.
"This room bothers you," Draco said, still watching his husband's
face.
Harry sighed. "It's not – it's not the room. I just -" He stopped.
He didn't know what it was. It was just the thought of Lucius and the
things that he had done to Draco. Harry didn't even know when all
of that had started, nor did he want to ask.
"I was happy most of the time, when I was small," Draco assured
him. "My mother loved me. My father was proud of me. My teachers
thought I was bright and my nannies thought I was pretty."
Harry smiled and took in a breath to let it out slowly. He turned
his head and gave Draco a small kiss on the lips. He didn't want to let
his husband know what he was actually thinking about, and he
figured Draco could tell, so he only nodded.
"More today or had enough?" Draco asked, sliding his arm
around his husband. Valen lay on his back beside them, burbling
happily at the swirling fairies.
"We can keep looking," Harry said, smiling at Valen. After a
moment, he said, "I think he would do fine."
"So the question is can you handle the Master Suite, or not,"
Draco asked, kissing his husband's forehead.
Harry was quiet for a long moment. "Well, I think so," he
answered. "It's just a room, right?"
"Yes," Draco smiled, leaning in to kiss his husband.
Harry closed his eyes and kissed Draco back, sighing.

– CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN –

Crying in the Dark

When Harry and Draco stood up from his old bed with Valen, Draco
led them into the Master Suite. Harry was still iffy about it – a little.
He did like the nursery and how close their children would be to
them, and the fairies on the ceiling would be extremely useful, he just
wasn't so sure about sleeping in Draco's parents' room.

The room itself was very beautiful and ornate. It was done in
blues and silvers, like Draco's old room. And once he'd had a good
look around, and really thought about the positioning of the
children's rooms, and how incredibly nice the suite was, he supposed
it wouldn't be so bad. And Draco didn't seem particularly bothered,
so within the next few days, they redecorated the room and moved all
of their things into it. They stood pretty much ready for their first
night after the move, but Harry could only wonder how Valen was
going to react to sleeping without his parents.

Draco had used a spell to refresh the paint in the nursery and
moved most of Valen's toys into his rooms. He had also set up a
beautiful set of rockers in the boy's bedroom so that Harry could
nurse their child – soon to be children – in the room and then lay
them down after. The second rocker was so Draco could sit with
them as well. The blond was doing that now, rocking contentedly as
he watched Harry feed Valen.

Harry sighed quietly looking down at the baby. "I don't want him
to cry," he said with just the slightest bit of a pout.

Draco smiled. "We can set up a spell to hear him if you like," the
blond said.

"Well, yeah, I guess," Harry replied, petting Valen's hair. "Do you
think it'll be weird for us to sleep in there?" he asked.

"Not just being away from Valen we are talking about now,
right?" Draco asked.

Harry was silent for a moment, but then realised that his silence

302 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

was giving him away. "I guess," he said with another quiet sigh. He
hadn't wanted to bring it up.

Valen was already asleep in Harry's arms and Draco realised that
he was delaying putting him into the cot. The blond stood and
walked forward, gently taking the boy from his husband and lying
him down. He cast a spell that would allow them to hear Valen
wherever they were in the Manor. Then he reached his hand out to
Harry. "Let's go to bed," he said softly.

Harry bit his lip as he stared at Valen. He slowly reached his hand
out and took Draco's, getting to his feet.

Draco quietly led them out of the nursery and across the hall to
their new bedroom.

It was rather strange to be sleeping in a new room period. It
wasn't all because it had belonged to Lucius. Harry stood inside the
doorway, staring around for a moment.

Draco actually had pleasant memories in this room. He
remembered lying on the bed, watching his mother get ready for
parties and the smile she would give him when he told her she was
beautiful. The room was redecorated now, but the vaulted ceiling was
still there and he looked up, smiling.

Harry glanced over at Draco. "Well, you ready for bed?" he
asked, walking over to the bed in the huge bedroom.

"Always ready for you," Draco smirked, and stretched, kicking
off his shoes.

Harry chuckled, removing his own clothes with magic, but not
yet laying down..

Draco sat down on the edge of their bed, smiling at the fact that
Harry had made them move the old bed from their other room. He
looked up at his husband. "Yes?" he asked.

Harry gave a small shrug. "Nothing," he said.
Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sure," he drawled, lying back
still dressed and waiting to see what was up with his husband.
Harry raised his eyebrows at Draco. "You going to bed with your
clothes on?" he said.
"I thought you would enjoy removing them," the blond said with
a smile.
Harry smiled wryly. "Or you would," he said, flicking his fingers

CRYING IN THE DARK 303

to strip his husband.
Draco gasped, never tired of the feel of his lover's magic as it

swept over him. He now lay naked and grinning at him.
Harry smirked and lowered himself over Draco's body, kissing

him, but not so much that he was telling him he wanted sex right at
that very moment.

Draco relaxed, trying to slow himself down and wait for Harry to
tell him what was going on inside that thick head. He reached up and
stroked the man's hair, caressing his scalp with long fingers.

"Want the truth?" Harry asked quietly, stroking the side of
Draco's face.

"Yes," Draco said, arching an eyebrow but continuing his
caresses.

"I guess it's just because this was your dad's room," Harry
admitted. "It's kind of weird, I suppose."

"It was also my mother's room, and my grandparents' rooms,"
Draco said softly.

"It doesn't bother you at all?" Harry asked. "I guess – I guess
that's what I don't want. I don't want it to bother you."

Draco frowned, considering. "I only have good memories of this
room," he said. "I used to sit in here with Mother while she got
dressed and talk with her."

Harry smiled. "Oh," he said simply, not wanting to voice the
other things that had been passing through his mind.

"He didn't do it here," Draco said after a minute.
Harry's face fell and he couldn't find any words. He hadn't
expected Draco to just come out and say it.
"You have actually spent a lot of time in the rooms he did,"
Draco added, fingers still caressing his husband's hair.
"What?" Harry asked, looking seriously at Draco.
"You are thinking about the times he touched me sexually, are
you not?" Draco asked.
Harry felt a prickle of anger inside himself, and he didn't give
Draco a verbal answer.
"We didn't do that in here," Draco assured him.
"In the other ones then," Harry said lowly. He made a strange
face, his eyes hard.

304 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

"The study and my suite," Draco said softly, watching his lover's
face and trying to figure out the best approach to talk about it. Was it
better to explain it all or leave it? Let Harry ask what he wanted or
volunteer information? It was a touchy subject for his husband and
Draco had really never talked about it with anyone else.

Harry let out a breath then that sounded relieved even to himself.
He looked away from Draco's face. "It's disgusting," he said, still
speaking in a low voice. "Not you, but him. I thought so before, but
now, looking at Valen – I – there aren't even words to describe how
– I can't even imagine the thought ever crossing my mind to ever do
anything like that to him. I don't understand how anyone could ever
do that to their child."

"It was done to him," Draco said softly. "He thought it was the
way it was supposed to be done."

"There are no excuses for it," Harry said. "No excuses for that
ever."

"I wasn't excusing it," Draco said with a huff. "I was explaining
it." He frowned. "You don't think I would ...."

Harry's eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath. "No," he said
firmly. "Draco, no, I would never think that."

"Good," Draco said firmly. "But I can't pretend I hated my father
while growing up."

Harry sighed. "I'm not saying you have to hate him," he said. "It's
just ... I hate him. Hated him."

Draco closed his eyes and tried to breathe. Harry wasn't the only
one upset by this conversation. He tried to sort through his own
feelings. How did he feel about his father now? It was a tangle inside
and he didn't know how to pull it apart. The things he had done with
his father had not upset him at the time. In fact, far from it. The
shared intimacy had seemed to make things better between them.
Now, he understood it was wrong and he wouldn't do that to his
own children. Was it wrong to have enjoyed it? To have benefited in
several ways from it? He didn't know the answers and suspected that
even asking would just upset Harry.

Harry sighed. "We don't have to talk about it," he said. "I – I
didn't even mean to bring it up."

"You didn't bring it up," Draco pointed out. "You were worrying

CRYING IN THE DARK 305

about it without saying, so I did."
Harry sighed yet again. "I guess," he said. He didn't know where

they were supposed to go with this or if they were supposed to go
anywhere with it at all.

"If you have questions," Draco said softly, "I would rather you
asked them."

Harry frowned. Did he have questions? Most of the time, he
didn't want to think about this. Most of the time, he didn't think
about it. He stared at Draco under himself, reaching fingers into his
hair. "Is there anything you ... want ... to tell me, love?" he asked
tentatively, because he knew he wouldn't be able to ask questions
himself. He wouldn't even know where to start, what to ask, what not
to.

Draco closed his eyes. He never brought up this topic with Harry,
and usually, when it came up, Harry would shy away from it. "You
want to know what happened? Or how I felt?" he whispered.

Harry's frown grew, his eyebrows furrowing. His heart sped up
with the thought of hearing what Draco might tell him, but he tried –
really tried – to push that away. "I – I want to hear what you want to
tell me," he said quietly. "If that's everything ...." He nodded and
continued stroking his husband's hair.

Harry's magic crackled with his emotions and Draco frowned
too, unsure of what he could tell him. He took several deep breaths,
looking up at the "H" in the canopy as if it was some kind of talisman
he could ground himself with. "I remember being small and wishing
my father were as affectionate as my mother. Mother would hold me
and pet me and I always loved that." He smiled and glanced at Harry.
"Like you are with my hair."

Harry smiled back at him, even though he could feel the heavier
conversation coming up. He nodded for Draco to continue.

Draco sighed. "He was always so busy. My mother told me how
important he was and how he was making sure of our future. Most of
the time, it felt like he only paid attention to me when I did
something exceptionally well or made a mistake he felt needed ...
correction."

Harry swallowed, but didn't interrupt. He really hoped he could
take this. He would force himself to take it if it was what Draco

306 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

needed.
Draco felt his stomach flip as he got closer to what Harry was

really asking about. "When I did well, I was given presents and
praised. When I didn't ... well, he punished me. I thought I would do
anything for his approval."

Harry still stroked Draco's hair, even when he felt the
nervousness inside himself rise to try and overwhelm him. The soft
strands under his skin seemed to be helping to keep him calm.

Draco could feel his husband's distress, but his touch did help.
"When I turned eleven, he took me to my own suite, and told me
how proud he was that I was going to be a man soon. He hugged me.
I know that doesn't sound like much but it was unusual."

Harry nodded, drawing in a small, quiet breath. He would try not
to get angry. He knew Draco would be able to feel it if he did.

"After that, he started being more affectionate, touching me more
often. Having me sit in his lap," Draco said. He shivered then, not
sure if he should go on at this point, feeling shame now that he didn't
feel then.

Harry clenched his teeth for a few seconds, breathing through his
nose. He felt the flash of anger despite trying to quell it, but leant
down and kissed Draco's forehead. "It's all right, love," he whispered.
"You can keep going."

"I ... I was sitting in his lap in his study and he was ... touching
me, not there, but in ways that felt good," Draco whispered. "I
became aroused."

Harry nearly felt like crying. His hand shook now as he passed it
through Draco's hair.

Draco couldn't look at Harry now, face flushed with shame. "He
told me it was normal, to feel like that. He said it was his job as my
father to teach me about such things, that his father had taught him –
and that we didn't talk about it with others ...."

Lucius Malfoy was a sick, twisted, screwed up man. He sickened
Harry even more with every new detail he heard about the man, but
maybe Draco needed this more than he let on. They were married,
they weren't supposed to have secrets, right? Even secrets that were
partly known but not discussed. Harry lowered his head to Draco's
shoulder, pressing his lips to his neck in a soft kiss, trying to comfort.

CRYING IN THE DARK 307

Draco shivered, his mind still focused on the memory. "He
showed me how ... how to touch myself. He touched me and had me
touch him. Later, of course, I told you, there was more."

Harry had heard this before and it angered him just as much as it
had then. Still, he kept himself in check, listening.

"I know you don't understand this part, but it didn't feel ... bad. I
was finally getting attention from him and he was so nice to me when
we were like that. It was all I knew, Harry. I believed what my parents
told me."

"You were eleven," Harry whispered shakily, cupping Draco's
face. "You were just a kid. Every kid believes what their parents tell
them, Draco. It's not your fault."

Draco sighed again. "I know what you saw of him and how you
feel about him," he whispered. "But the way he was, well it wasn't
always like that. It felt good when he touched me. And he was less
angry then. It wasn't until the Dark Lord came back that things
became ... frightening."

"You can tell me," Harry nodded in encouragement. It was
strange .... Already this – this truth was better than ... imagining the
worst possible.

"I don't think my father had thought it was possible, for the Dark
Lord to return, and now he was forced back into service. He became
angry and seemed even more likely to take it out on those around
him," Draco said. "Voldemort ordered him to get that Prophecy. I
know that. Can you imagine what He would have done if my father
had refused?"

"Yes," Harry answered. He knew very well what could happen to
someone who refused Voldemort.

"I think Father hated you not only because of what you stood for
but because he believed you were responsible for bringing the
monster back," Draco tried to explain, feeling odd to be justifying his
father's actions but wanting Harry to see what it was like for his
family.

Harry frowned at that, finding it completely out there to suspect
him of bringing Voldemort back.

"And I blamed you for some of my father's anger, since it always
seemed to get worse for me when my father was angry at you,"

308 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Draco admitted.
Harry wondered if it was strange to feel guilty for something he

wouldn't have, and couldn't have had control over. "I'm sorry," he
said quietly, staring at Draco's pale neck.

Draco reached to lay a hand on the back of Harry's head, fingers
stroking his lover's hair. "That last year before he went to Azkaban, it
was terrifying."

"Fifth year," Harry whispered. His mind automatically flashed to
Draco's words while he'd been under Amortentia, another thing he
despised thinking about, yet he still listened.

"Yes," Draco agreed. "Father at his worst, Umbridge in charge of
Hogwarts and you running around pissing everyone off." Draco
huffed, almost a laugh. "Father was convinced that the Dark Lord
would win and that if we were to survive, we had to please Him.
Which included teaching me more Dark Magic and how to be a
Death Eater."

"What did he teach you?" Harry asked softly. Of course he didn't
want to know, but ... whether he liked it or not, this was part of his
husband, that part of him from before the end of sixth year, the part
of Draco that Harry knew nothing about.

Draco frowned. "I was privately tutored, you know that," he said.
"Did you ever think of who my father would hire to teach that to his
only son?"

Harry shook his head confusedly. He had no idea.
"My father rarely even let me speak to anyone who wasn't a pure-
blood and agreed with my parents’ ideals until I went to Hogwarts,"
Draco pointed out.
"Then you had no one," Harry said, having known this from bits
and pieces of things that Draco had told him before. "No wonder
you were the way you were in school."
"I didn't even know Snape wasn't in agreement with the monster
until after Dumbledore's death," Draco explained. "In fifth year Aunt
Bellatrix became my tutor."
"God," Harry whispered, pulling a face. He didn't know how
anyone in their right minds could possibly want their child to be
taught by that mad woman, but he supposed Lucius had no right
mind.

CRYING IN THE DARK 309

"Exactly," Draco whispered. "If she wasn’t mad before she went
in, Azkaban certainly took whatever was left of her sanity. I think it
did my father’s as well,” he added then sighed again. “Well, back to
about fifth year. I couldn't take it. All of it. The first time I lost it,
Pansy talked me off the Astronomy Tower."

It was so different to hear this in calm, in Draco's actual voice,
without so much hurt. Harry found it strange that – while he still
didn't much care for Pansy Parkinson – he was grateful for that
interference in Draco's life.

"Theo stopped me from drinking a poison," Draco continued.
"They both took turns watching me and talking me through some of
the worst of it. I think Pansy even threatened Crabbe and Goyle with
dire consequences if I managed to off myself, because they got pretty
twitchy as well."

Harry had slipped off a little to Draco's side and hugged him
tightly around the middle. "I had no idea then," he said, feeling guilty
again, because he had despised Draco. "You hide yourself too well."

"Slytherin," Draco reminded him, smiling slightly. "I had no
reason at all to suspect you would even want to know. It wasn't until
I thought I had nothing left to lose that I kissed you."

"Hadn't you heard about my 'saving people thing'?" Harry asked.
He raised his head. "I would have tried to save you," he said, bringing
a hand to his husband's face. He suddenly found tears in his eyes and
didn't even know how they'd got there. "I don't know where I would
be if you wouldn't have kissed me," he whispered, voice choked. "If
you wouldn't have been strong enough to survive all that."

Draco shivered, moved by Harry's reaction. He had never
thought anyone would really understand what it had been like but
Harry, the person who mattered most, his Harry had listened and, at
the very least, accepted. "You are much stronger than you think you
are," he whispered, "always were."

Harry kissed Draco gently. "Maybe I would have been fine," he
breathed against his mouth, "but I don't want a part in any world
where you're not mine."

"Good," Draco answered, kissing his husband, hand pressing
against the back of his head to deepen the kiss as Harry added a bit
of tongue to the kiss. The sound of Valen crying startled Draco and

310 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

he broke the kiss, laughing.
Harry automatically looked to the side when he heard the crying,

but then remembered where they were and where Valen was and he
slipped off of Draco, crawling backwards on the bed and sitting
perched on his knees.

Draco listened to the sound. "He might be hungry and maybe a
little scared of the new place," he assured his husband.

Harry frowned. "Do we let him cry?" he asked.
Draco shook his head. "No, I'll go," he said, sitting up.
Harry let out a small sigh of relief, smiling and nodding.
Draco grinned and pulled on his dressing gown. He gave his
husband a quick kiss and went to the nursery across the hall.
Valen was standing and holding the side of his cot when Draco
walked in. The little boy squealed happily and held his hands out,
"Dadada!"
"Yes, Daddy Draco," the man agreed, lifting the child and
holding him. "And this is Valen's room now."
Valen burbled at him and Draco could almost understand the
words. It was like hearing someone speaking a language one was only
starting to learn.
Draco hummed a lullaby to his son, walking back and forth in the
room until the child settled down, and then he laid him back into the
cot. "I would never let you cry yourself to sleep," he whispered to the
sleeping infant.
Harry smiled softly, the spell allowing him to listen to Draco with
the baby. It was one of the most perfect things he could imagine. He
had been about to get up and join Draco, but he chose to sit and
listen to them, crossing his legs under himself and absently fingering
the pendent around his neck.
Draco leant in and kissed Valen softly. "Good night, son," he
whispered, and made his way back to his own room.
Harry smiled at Draco as the blond entered, holding out his hand
to him.
Draco slid his robe off and took his husband's hand. "He's asleep
now," he told him.
"I heard," Harry replied, pulling Draco against himself again as he
lay down with him. "He'll be okay. As long as he knows we'll always

CRYING IN THE DARK 311

go to him and that we're not far."
Draco blushed, having forgot the spell. "Yes, no crying in the

dark," he agreed, remembering both their childhoods as he said it.
Harry nodded, completely understanding the meaning of the

words. "I agree," he said.

– CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT –

Won't Let You Fall

Harry was sitting back in a chair, his feet propped up on the low table
in front of him. There was a book open, the spine of it resting on his
stomach as he read. It was Hermione's book – a Muggle mystery, and
it was actually quite good. It was the third in the series and Harry had
already read the first two. Hermione had got him on it while he'd
been bored and unable to move around much, and he was glad that
she had.

Draco had spent the last several hours locked in his study, going
over the latest building proposals, budgets, and Ministry paperwork.
But he'd finally decided it was time to take a break. Hermione and
Ron were at the Burrow, going over wedding plans with Mrs
Weasley. Draco found his husband in the main sitting room, nose
buried in a book and their child playing with small, very expensive
marble statue of Salazar Slytherin that he had somehow got down off
the shelf where it was kept. Draco crossed his arms over his chest,
leaning in the doorway and watching for a minute.

Harry turned the page. It was just getting to the good part. The
policeman was going to turn the corner to find the killer with his
dead sister's body in the next room. He just knew it.

"That statue is by Florent Wurple. It's near priceless, you know,"
Draco drawled.

Harry looked up. When had Draco come into the room? "I
haven't got any statue ...." He trailed off, catching sight of Valen.
"Oh," he said, flushing at his absentmindedness.

Draco sighed and walked into the room, crouching beside the
child who was happily chewing on Salazar's head. The statue was
making a face of disgust. He reached a hand out. "Give it over,
Valen," he said.

Harry watched Valen and Draco, finding it slightly amusing that
Draco was asking a baby to hand something over.

WON’T LET YOU FALL 313

Valen continued to suck on the head of the statue and Draco
reached out to try to pry it from the little boy's hands. Valen squealed
and held tighter. "That is not Valen's toy," Draco told him sternly.

Harry watched their son's face scrunch up in anger, and he quite
agreed that Draco should be stern with him in getting back the statue
he wasn't supposed to play with, though it was Harry's fault that he
had it in the first place.

"Valentine," Draco said in a more forceful tone. "Give me the
statue." The infant stopped sucking on Salazar's head and wore the
expression he got when we was about to start screaming.

"Well, just take it from him," said Harry. "I don't think he's going
to give it freely."

Draco frowned up at Harry. "And why don't you?" he snapped.
"You were the one supposed to be watching him."

"Well, I'm sorry," Harry snapped back. He shut the book sharply
and began trying to push himself out of the chair.

"Never mind," Draco retorted. Valen began to shriek – an ear
splitting noise that Draco was surprised didn't shatter glass. "That is
enough of that," he demanded, and reached to pull the statue from
Valen's hands. He finally got the sticky marble from the baby and
stood up, walking over and setting it on the mantle, hopefully out of
reach of the child.

"Arse," Harry muttered under his breath, even though it was
indeed his fault.

Valen was still screaming and Draco was tempted to cast a
Silencing Charm to save himself a headache, which, by this point, was
too late. Instead, he walked back to the child and picked him up.

Harry sighed, watching them. "Just give him here," he said,
holding his arms out.

Draco was bouncing the crying baby up and down. He frowned
and then sighed, walking over and handing the boy to his husband.

Harry held Valen against his chest, his belly in the way, and began
making hushing noises and trying to soothe him with his magic. He
had stopped feeding him every time he cried, trying to get him to
switch completely to solid foods.

Valen stopped screaming, but was still crying and hiccuping.
Draco shook his head and turned away, hands coming up to massage

314 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

his temples.
Harry petted Valen's hair, rocking him. "You can't play with

those things," he said quietly. "They're Daddy's, not Valen's. You
have lots of your own toys to play with."

Draco sighed and strode over, sitting on the sofa near the chair
and watching them.

After a few more minutes, Valen had settled down and Harry
looked over at Draco. "I'm sorry," he frowned. "It was my fault that
he got it."

Draco's lips turned up on one side. "Yes, but it was kind of
funny," he said. "Chewing on Salazar's head."

Harry smiled as well. "Yeah, I guess," he agreed, kissing Valen's
hair and then putting him back down on the floor.

"I thought it had been out of his reach. I wonder how he got to
it," Draco mused, watching the boy and then reaching to lay a hand
on his husband's arm.

Harry shrugged, looking to the shelf where the statue now stood.
"I don't know."

"I have had enough of the accounts for one day." Draco began
rubbing his temples again. "What do you want to do?" he added.

"I don't know," Harry sighed. "And you have a headache. Do you
want me to take care of it?"

Draco smiled wryly. "Sure," he answered, knowing the response
his body would have to his lover's magic.

Harry snorted. "Well, come here then."
Draco slid forward, and went to his knees beside the chair,
resting his head on his husband's belly.
Harry smiled, laying a hand to the side of Draco's head that
wasn't on his stomach, performing a Healing Charm.
Draco moaned as the magic pulsed, his head immediately better
and the rest of his body shivering pleasantly.
"Good now?" Harry asked, stroking blond hair.
"Very good," the blond purred, face still pressed to Harry's belly.
"Very good," Harry repeated, smiling again.
Valen crawled over to them, pulling himself up using both their
legs. He had started doing this lately and it always made Draco smile.
"Come to make up?" he asked his son, whose green eyes looked back

WON’T LET YOU FALL 315

at him with complete innocence.
Harry chuckled, watching the little face.
Draco reached to push blond hair off his son's face. "It's getting

long," he said. "Maybe we should take him for a hair cut?"
"If he'll sit and let them do it," Harry said with a small laugh.

"But, yeah, he probably should get it cut soon."
Draco huffed and sat back on his heels, then back up onto the

sofa. Valen watched him and held a hand out to him. "Dadada," he
said.

Harry stared at Valen and then looked to Draco, raising his
eyebrows slightly. "Can you go to Daddy Draco, Valen?" he asked,
sitting up more in the chair.

Draco grinned, leaning forward and holding out his hands to
Valen. "Yes, Valen," he said. "Come to me."

Valen looked between the two men as if unsure of what he was
supposed to do.

"Go on," Harry encouraged, nodding. He smiled excitedly up at
Draco.

Valen seemed to take courage from this and then stepped to the
edge of the chair, still holding Harry's trouser leg and looking at
Draco.

Draco smiled warmly at his little boy. "You know you want to,"
he told him. "And I know you can."

Valen then slowly let go of Harry's trousers and swayed for a
moment, seeming to consider whether or not to grab them again.

Harry gasped quietly, holding his hands out to catch Valen if he
should need the help. "We won't let you fall," he said. "Go on."

Valen glanced again between them and then his little chin seemed
to lift bravely and he moved. It was as much a teetering fall as
walking, but he took two steps and fell into Draco's hands. The
blond swooped his child up, grinning and praising him.

Harry beamed. "You did it!" he said happily, clapping his hands.
"Yes, our boy is fantastic!" Draco shouted, laughing and holding
him up in the air so that Valen was laughing, too.
At that moment, the baby inside gave a kick, as if proving that
she could do something too, and Harry began laughing as well.

316 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Harry was petting Valen's hair, sitting on the couch with Draco, and
watching their two best friends as if they were a tennis match. As of
late, it had become quite an often-happening activity.

"I don't understand you," Hermione said heatedly to her soon-to-
be husband. "I don't understand why you can't just pick."

Ron rolled his eyes, tearing them away from the broomstick
magazine in his hands to look up at her again.

She waggled the three pieces of different coloured paper in front
of his face.

"What?" Ron said, voice pained and whiny. "What, Hermione?
What?"

"Pick a colour," she insisted. "We have to! We don't have forever
to get everything ready, Ron!"

Ron flung the magazine onto the coffee table and snatched the
papers from Hermione's hands, bringing them up to his eyes to stare
at them in greatly exaggerated interest. "Two of them are the same
damn colour!" he exclaimed after a few seconds.

"They are different shades of blue," Hermione countered, eyes
narrowing.

Draco wasn't sure whether to duck for cover or watch the
fireworks. When their two friends got going it could be quite a show.
Personally, he could actually tell the difference in shades and paper
quality. On the other hand, he didn't much care either and could
sympathise with Ron on that point. Draco knew better than to
express that view in front of Hermione, though.

"Fine," Ron huffed. "This one." He tugged one of the blue
papers from the others and slapped it on the table.

"You picked that at random," Hermione accused.
"I choose that one," Ron said firmly.
"You didn't even choose it with any care!"
Ron slapped the other papers down as well. "That's what I've
been trying to tell you!" he said. "I don't care. Why am I supposed to
give a shit what colour we have at tables or whatever the bloody hell
you're doing with these stupid pieces of paper?"
Hermione drew herself up indignantly; her eyes were slits now.
"It is your wedding, too," she said. "I'm not supposed to be planning
this entire thing by myself!"

WON’T LET YOU FALL 317

"Any time I actually want to help, you take over!" Ron retorted.
Harry raised his eyebrows. He was glad his and Draco's wedding
hadn't been nearly as much of a hassle.
Valen squealed loudly, jumping up and down in Harry's lap,
though it was unclear as to whether he was upset or excited by the
fight.
Draco looked curiously at his offspring and then looked once
more at the two friends, letting his eyes unfocus enough to pay more
attention to the magic than the words. Their magical signatures were
certainly flickering. If it had been Harry and himself, they would
probably have been shagging on the carpet by now.
"You only want to help," Hermione snapped, "when you know it
will aggravate me! Any other time you're off doing whatever you
please while I get all of the invitations situated, and send off to order
all of the flowers, and decorations, and I still have to go with our
mothers to get my dress and to pick out the other dresses and you
don't know what kind of work all of that can be! What do you want
to honestly help with? The cake!"
Ron's ears had turned red now. "I'm running for you all the
time!" he cried. "I can't even get a second to bloody focus on
anything! Nothing but which lace, which glass, which wine, which
colour? I don't know!"
"Er, I would go with the lighter blue myself," Harry offered in an
attempt to lighten them up.
Draco was wondering if he needed to suggest to Ron that
shagging Hermione senseless was probably the better way to help
relieve tension. The thought amused him, and he couldn't help but
smirk, trying to pretend to read his book to cover it.
Harry glanced sideways at his husband, but their friends didn't
seem to notice Draco's expression.
Hermione huffed at Harry's remark. "Sorry," she said, rolling her
eyes and turning away from Ron quite pointedly.
Harry chuckled. "I've been used to it for quite some time now,"
he said. "And I really would pick the lighter blue."
Ron let himself sink into the couch cushions. "Go with that one
then," he said to Hermione.
She shook her head, stony expression in place.

318 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

"Hermione," Draco said softly, and waited until she looked at
him. "Ron is who he is and he loves you. Pick the colours that work
for you and let him run the errands. He will back you and that's
what's important."

"You know," said Ron to Draco, "I like you more and more."
Hermione rolled her eyes yet again, but did seem to be settling.
"You just frustrate me," she said to the redhead.
"I know," Ron answered. "But I love you." He smiled innocently
and batted his eyes.
She balled up one of the paper samples and threw it at him.
Harry snorted at both of them.
Valen squealed again and Draco did laugh this time.

– CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE –

A Slytherin Gift

Harry yawned, scanning the Daily Prophet as he sipped tea. The word
'Quidditch' caught his eye in one article and he paused to read, then
sighed when he saw what it really was. Terentius Gamp, owner of the
Appleby Arrows, was getting married. Harry could not care less.

He took the corner of the page, about to turn it, when he saw the
name of the woman he was marrying. A prickle of anger flowed
through him at the sight of the name, but he pressed it down. He
looked up at his husband, who was feeding the baby. "Draco?"

Draco was trying to convince his son that eating mashed carrots
was better than wearing them – with mixed results. "Mmm?" he
hummed as he pretended to fly the 'broom' that was really a spoon
into Valen's mouth.

Hermione and Ron looked up absently from their meals.
"Did you know Pansy's getting married?" Harry said flatly.
Draco paused, spoon just in front of Valen's mouth, who looked
up at him, apparently confused with his father's abrupt stop in the
game. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened
them and returned to feeding his son. "That makes sense," he said in
a bored-sounding voice. "Most pure-blood marriages are arranged for
the year after finishing Hogwarts."
Harry lifted an eyebrow.
"Who's she marrying?" Hermione asked, looking between the
two men.
"Terentius Gamp," Harry answered. "He owns the Arrows."
Ron pulled a face, wrinkling his nose. "Merlin, that bloke's got to
be at least forty years old."
"Her father would want someone with money and influence,"
Draco said matter-of-factly.
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know how anyone could be
happy that way," she sighed.

320 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Harry agreed.
"I doubt her father is concerned with her happiness," Draco
drawled. "Or at least, not in the way you think. He wants the
continuation of his family line and the power they hold."
"Well, that's not very fair to her, is it?" Hermione responded.
Harry could think of other ways Pansy's father had not been very
fair to her. He shivered in disgust.
Valen squeaked and made a grab for the spoon and Draco let him
take it. "Don't complain to me when your hair is all sticky with it
later," he told his son, who seemed to be either attempting to feed
himself or paint his face – he was not sure which. Draco sighed and
turned back to the adults at the table. "Fair isn't really an issue to
most wizards of their standing," he said. It could be frustrating to
explain things like this to these three.
Hermione sighed again. "We know," she said.
Harry wondered who Draco would have been forced to marry if
things had been different. He shook his head. "Well, the bloke's
definitely got money and power. He owns the Arrows and a chain of
apothecaries."
Draco picked at his food, rolling a sausage around on his plate
with his fork. He was thinking about the Love Potion, of course, and
what Pansy had done to them. Especially the way she had made sure
the 'incident' with Theo had been made public. It had contributed to
a lot of their problems and had been one of the reasons he'd bought
the Prophet.
Harry set the paper down and leant into Draco, pressing his lips
to his temple. "What?" he said against the skin.
"I think I will send them a wedding gift," Draco said suddenly.
Hermione looked over with furrowed brows and Ron paused
with his spoon halfway to his mouth.
"What?" Harry said again, pulling back to stare at Draco.
Draco speared the sausage and nibbled on it. When he
swallowed, he turned his face to Harry's. "I think we need to send a
message."
Harry was confused. "With a wedding gift?" he asked.
"We send a gift and I know Pansy will want to talk. It will ...
confuse her," Draco explained.

A SLYTHERIN GIT 321

"Probably," said Ron, finally taking that bite. "Confused me."
"So, you want to talk to her?" asked Harry.
Draco arched an eyebrow. "We bought the Daily Prophet and fired
half the staff over what they wrote. Do you think we should really let
Pansy do what she did and not make sure she is warned that anything
in the future will be met with some type of punishment?"
Unconsciously, Harry laid a hand on his stomach. "No, it would
be good," he agreed, and remembered when they had talked right
after the mess at Hogwarts.
Draco smiled then, that look he got whenever he was reminded
that Harry was pregnant. He leant in, placing his hand atop his
husband's and kissed him gently.
Harry smiled too. "I suppose you're sending a gift then," he said.
"A very expensive one," Draco replied. "The kind that will make
her family and her groom notice."
"What are you going to tell her when she talks to you?" Harry
asked, pulling back to look at Draco again.
Draco considered the answer for a moment, especially in light of
Ron and Hermione in the room. "I know things about her she is not
likely to wish me to share with others, especially her potential
husband," Draco answered.
"So, you're going to send her a wedding gift to get her to talk to
you, and then blackmail her," Hermione offered.
"Harry married a Slytherin," Ron quipped.
"Hey, are we forgetting what happened last October?" said Harry
seriously. "How are we supposed to be sure something like that
wouldn't happen again? Or worse even."
Hermione raised her hands in front of her.
Draco arched an eyebrow at his husband. "So you approve?"
Harry sighed. "I suppose so," he answered. "It's true. What if she
did try something else?"
"Then she will be very, very sorry by the time I am through with
her," Draco replied, voice deep with the anger he felt when he
remembered how much pain she had caused them.
Harry felt a little tingle of arousal. "Good," he nodded.
Draco loved the spark he saw in his lover's eyes at that and
responded with a kiss.

322 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Harry grinned and kissed him back, whispering, "Sexy," very
quietly into his mouth.

Draco was just contemplating dragging his husband back to bed
after breakfast when he heard Valen squeal and felt the plop of wet
mashed carrots against his back.

Ron laughed loudly and Harry leant around Draco to take a look
at the smiling, extremely messy baby.

Valen did indeed have carrots in his hair as well as all over his
face. He grinned at his Daddy and reached both sticky hands for him.
"Dada!"

Harry shook his head, performing a Cleaning Charm before
reaching to take Valen out of his chair. "Look what you did to your
Daddy Draco," he said, grinning as well in amusement.

Draco sighed, figuring sex would have to wait until after the boy
went down for a nap. "I'll go make arrangements for the gift," he told
Harry, getting up and kissing the top of both his husband and his
son's heads.

Harry nodded, holding Valen as he watched Draco leave the
room.

It took a little research, but Draco found the absolutely perfect gift to
send. It was a portrait of Aeneas Darcy, famous Seeker for the
Arrows, 1923-1943. The portrait was by a well known painter, Caelia
Waldron, the same woman that had painted Headmaster Dexter
Fortescue’s portrait at Hogwarts. It was very expensive, of course. It
was the sort of gift that would never go unnoticed or unremarked
upon. Draco expected Terentius Gamp would be eager to meet the
'old friend' of Pansy’s who would send such an extravagant present.

Gamp sent a letter by owl inviting Draco and his husband to
dinner at a very upscale wizarding restaurant later that week, saying
how excited he was to meet someone so important to his wife to be.

Pansy’s hastily scrawled message arrived within the hour after
Gamp’s, asking Draco to come to visit her “as soon as possible.” She
suggested tea at the Parkinson Estate – and to “feel free to Floo” her
with a reply if he could get away immediately. The message had been
sent by express courier of one of her family’s house-elves. Draco
made her wait until the next day before replying via his own courier

A SLYTHERIN GIT 323

that he would be there Thursday afternoon, in time for tea. The
dinner with her fiancé was supposed to be Friday evening. He figured
she would be absolutely distraught by the time two more days passed.

Draco had been to the Parkinson Mansion before, of course, but
it had been many years. They had been children then and friends.
Now he stood at the door and contemplated the knocker shaped like
an eagle’s head. “May I announce you?” it asked.

“Draco Malfoy to see Miss Pansy Parkinson,” Draco told it. A
few minutes later, Pansy herself opened the door. She was dressed
for afternoon tea, as was Draco.

“Draco,” she said, sounding a bit breathless, “I am so glad you
could make it.” She stepped back, gesturing for him to enter.

He allowed her house-elf to take his cloak but didn’t reach to take
her hands as would usually be the proper greeting for a friend. Draco
nodded in acknowledgement and she stood awkwardly for a minute
before sighing and leading him to the sitting room.

He waited for her to sit and watched as she poured the tea for the
two of them. She added sugar and milk in his, apparently
remembering the way he took it. Her hands shook enough that the
cup rattled as she passed it to him.

If she thought he would make it easier and start the conversation,
she was mistaken. Draco waited, his face impassive as she set her
own cup down and twisted her fingers in the fabric of her skirt.
Finally, she looked up. “You sent a gift,” she began. “I … I hadn’t
expected that.”

Draco waited a few heartbeats, letting her squirm before he
answered. “I would think it customary for an old friend to
acknowledge your wedding,” he drawled, and was pleased with the
flush on her face.

“We haven’t spoken … in a long time,” she stammered.
“Not since Hogwarts,” he said simply.
Her flush spread and she didn’t meet his eyes. “That silly game, I
know. You know, I really shouldn’t drink in public,” she explained
with a false laugh.
Draco knew she was trying to pass off the Truth or Dare incident
as if she had never given him the potion. And now that she had
received the gift, she was confused and worried that he would seek

324 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

revenge. Draco knew the way she thought. Looking back on it, he
realised he should have seen it coming then.

He hadn’t sipped his tea yet. He lifted it and sniffed it pointedly.
The gesture was not lost on her and she swallowed hard. He didn’t
think she would be foolish enough to slip him something now and he
could tell both by smell and by looking with his 'sense' that it wasn’t
tampered with. He sipped it then, eyes rising to meet hers.

She looked away quickly, fingers returning to twist her skirt hem.
She cleared her throat. “Ah, well Terentius was delighted with the
gift, of course,” she continued, trying to make her voice light but only
managing a bit too high of a pitch.

“Yes, I received his note,” Draco replied.
“Will you be accepting the invitation to dinner?” she asked.
“Yes,” Draco said, sipping the tea again.
Her breath caught and he could see her pulse speeding up in the
vein at her throat. “Whatever possessed you to send such an
extravagant gift, Draco?” she asked with that same false laugh. “I
don’t know how you knew he wanted it.”
Draco arched an eyebrow, pleased with the opening. “Oh, I
know a lot of things,” he said. “These days, between my family
money and our reputations, there isn’t a lot that is out of Harry's or
my reach.”
She quelled at that and he was pleased to see her register the
implied threat.
“Did you know we bought the Daily Prophet?” he continued.
She paled and looked up. “No ... no, I didn’t,” she replied.
Draco could see her coming to the realisation that it meant he
controlled the news – and with that could ruin her reputation or that
of her family or her fiancé, if he wanted it to be so. “Will your father
be at the wedding?” he asked suddenly and was gratified to see her
eyes widen in surprise.
“Well, of course,” she stammered.
Felix Parkinson had never been publicly connected with
Voldemort, so he had maintained his position and wealth. Draco
knew that. He also knew that the man had supported the cause
financially. But that was not the information that he was hinting at
now. Draco set his empty cup and saucer down on the table and

A SLYTHERIN GIT 325

folded his hands, looking at her. “What have you told Gamp about
me?”

She seemed to have trouble switching gears and blinked before
pasting the fake smile back on her face. “Oh, you know, that we
dated back before sixth year,” she answered.

“You let him think I was the first?” he asked, and watched the
look of horror on her face.

“But … well, of course,” she stammered.
“What would Gamp's reaction be if he knew the truth, do you
think?” Draco drawled.
She flushed scarlet and looked as if she had seen a Dementor
sitting there instead of her old beau. “Draco, please, you can’t mean
to ….”
Draco had been the second. Pansy’s own father had been her
first. Just as his own father had molested Draco, of course. They
both knew this about each other. “Why would an old friend want to
come between you and your husband, Pansy? That would be a
horrible thing to do, wouldn’t it?” Draco asked in a mock offended
tone.
The blow hit home and Pansy’s mouth worked silently for a
minute. Then she burst into tears. “Draco, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t
think ... I was so angry and he .... You changed so quickly and we
thought ….” She couldn’t seem to finish a sentence. She slid to her
knees on the carpet and looked up at him. “Please, don’t. I’m sorry.
If you do this, it will ruin my father, ruin me. No one will want me if
they know.”
Draco’s eyes narrowed and his brows lowered. He reached out
and took her chin in one hand, forcing her to look at him. “You tried
to ruin my marriage,” he hissed, “and damned if I don’t know why,
too.”
She flinched but didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry, Draco, I swear it.”
“I know you are,” Draco sneered. “You're sorry that it didn’t
work. Sorry that you got caught. You wanted to punish me for
turning away from you, turning my back on you. You wanted to
punish Potter because of … everything, both before and during the
war. Don’t you think I know the what and why? Why do you think I
didn’t report you then? Why do you think you weren’t thrown out of

326 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Hogwarts and arrested for what you did to me?”
She was still crying and shaking. “Why?” she asked, obviously

confused herself. She apparently couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t
retaliated then.

His face softened just a little. “You saved my life back before
everything. You were there when I needed you. I turned my back on
you in sixth year. And you never knew why. It doesn’t make what you
tried to do with Blaise that night or what you did during N.E.W.T.s
acceptable.”

She seemed unable to ask again but waited, watching him like she
was terrified of the answer now.

“This is your only warning, Pansy. If you ever, ever try anything
again I will personally destroy you. Do you understand?” Draco
hissed and she trembled.

“I promise. I will do nothing,” Pansy stammered.
He sighed and released her face. She fell back, still on her knees
and trembling. Draco closed his eyes for a moment and was calm
again when he looked at her. “We were friends and I don’t have
many of those left from then,” he said softly. “I would like to see
those of us who survived be happy with our lives – even you, Pansy.”
She was crying again, but it was clearly in relief now. “Thank
you.”
“No, I don’t want it. You behave yourself and we are clear.
Anything else and I will make you wish you had never been born,” he
said, sounding and feeling tired now.
She seemed to get control of herself then, wiping her face and
getting to her feet. “I understand,” she said softly.
Draco got to his feet now and she walked with him to the door.
As the house-elf brought his cloak, he considered the young woman.
“I think it would be good for both our families if we did have the
dinner. Gamp and I have business interests that would be
advantageous. I doubt if Harry will want to attend, but I will meet
with your fiancé.”
She nodded. “I understand,” she repeated.
He allowed himself a small smile then. “Congratulations, Pansy.
And I do hope that your marriage will be a happy one.” Draco left

then. He couldn’t wait to get back to his own husband.

– CHAPTER FORTY –

Good Fortune

Harry had been nervous since Draco had left and spent the day
playing with his hands and tugging on his clothes, running his fingers
anxiously through his hair.

Hermione kept telling him that there was nothing to worry about,
that Draco wouldn't have gone if he'd thought it would be dangerous,
and Harry knew that too, yet he still worried.

He'd just put Valen down for a nap and was coming back down
the stairs. Being pregnant, he was supposed to Apparate as little as
possible.

Draco Apparated to the front of the Manor and stepped into his
home, shaking out his cloak and handing it to Leakey. He smiled as
he saw his husband trying to make his way down the steps. "Stay
there and I'll meet you halfway," he said.

Harry sighed in relief, smiling at the sight of Draco, and stayed
put.

The blond climbed up to him, stopping on the step just below
Harry and looking up at him. He bent and kissed the small mound of
his husband's stomach.

Harry put a hand on the back of Draco's neck, his smile growing.
"How did it go?" he asked.

Draco pressed his cheek against Harry's belly. "She understood
the message," he said a bit sadly.

Harry's face fell at Draco's tone. "Well, that's good?" he said.
The blond lifted his head, turning his face up to Harry's, looking
into his eyes. "She will never be a danger to us again," he said firmly.
Harry nodded and pushed Draco's hair back. "That's all I
wanted."
Draco stepped up beside him, putting an arm around Harry's
waist. "Let's go to our room and talk about it there," he suggested.
Harry nodded, turning back around to start climbing again.

328 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Draco helped him, supporting Harry's back as they went. "Is
Valen asleep?" he asked, glancing at the hissing serpents on the
nursery door.

"Yes," Harry answered. "I just put him to bed."
Draco led his husband into their own room and, pulling him into
his arms, bent to kiss him.
Harry closed his eyes, his hands pressing into Draco's back. "Are
you going to the dinner?" he whispered.
"I think it would be good for business," Draco answered. "And a
connection with her future husband would ensure she remembers the
promise."
Harry nodded again. "How did you get her to promise anything?"
he asked. "Did you tell her you owned the Prophet?"
Draco pulled his husband over to the bed and sat down with him.
"I did," he said and then paused, not knowing whether to explain the
rest.
Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's chest, leaning in to kiss
his face and neck. "And that's all it took?" he asked.
Draco shook his head. "I swore to protect my family, no matter
what, you know that," he said, hand coming to rest on Harry's belly
again.
Harry nodded, kissing Draco's pulse point before pulling back to
look at him.
"I implied that I would tell her husband and possibly even the
public about her past," Draco said. "About her father."
Harry's eyes widened. "Merlin," he said quietly.
Draco's fingers caressed the swell of his husband's belly. "I hope
I never have to use the information, but I will if she tries anything
again."
"What's she afraid would happen if you told?" Harry said quietly,
staring down at Draco's hand now.
Draco frowned, making a kind of disbelieving face at Harry.
"What do you think would happen? You can't think that Gamp
would marry her if he knew?"
"If he loves her," Harry responded. "It's not Pansy's fault her
father was a sick old bastard. The man deserves to have his life
ruined and he doesn't deserve her willingness to try and please him,

GOOD FORTUNE 329

to keep him safe."
Draco sighed, realising they had reached another of 'those'

conversations where Harry was unlikely to understand the culture he
came from. "First, it's an arranged marriage, so I doubt that he loves
her. He may like her, but they probably don't even know each other
very well at all."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "I just don't understand," he
said. "How is that living? Always worried about what you look like,
always guarding your secrets, never allowed to do what you really
want to do, to fall in love with and marry the person you actually
want."

Draco rubbed his other hand on Harry's back soothingly, leaning
in to kiss him quickly before replying. "I know you feel that love is
what matters most. And certainly, I must agree with you or I
wouldn't be here," he smirked at that. "But not everyone believes that
way. Pansy wants this match. She wants the money and the power
and the sense of belonging she thinks she will get from it."

"Thinks she will get from it," Harry stressed. "It isn't real. No
matter if you believe it or not, love is the most important thing."

"It is her choice to do this," Draco said. "She could walk away
from her family, from the money and power, if that mattered to her."

Harry shrugged. "If she met someone and fell in love, for real, it
would."

Draco smiled again, his own love for Harry so overwhelming that
he knew he would if he had to make a choice. He liked his wealth but
would choose Harry and their children over it. "And since she has
never been in love or been truly loved by someone else, she doesn't
think the way you do. What she wants now is to get away from her
father without giving up her position in society. Gamp is a way to do
that. And, who knows, maybe they will love each other."

Harry sighed, turning his head to look at Draco. "Maybe," he
agreed. "I don't even know why I care."

Draco chuckled at that. "You are just that loving and amazing
that you even feel for someone like Pansy. She will never tell her own
husband because she doesn't believe that people like you exist,"
Draco explained, fingers caressing Harry's cheek as he did. "I didn't
either, you know. I just had the good fortune to fall for you anyway."

330 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you did," he said.
"How glad?" Draco teased, sliding his hand back into his lover's
hair.
"Too glad," Harry teased back, pulling Draco down with him
onto the mattress.
Draco caught himself so he wouldn't put too much of his weight
on Harry's belly, crouching over him. He kissed his husband with
long, slow, slick kisses.
"Mmm," Harry hummed as his tongue slid with Draco's, hands
travelling the length of his back.
"I want you to know, to feel how special you are, Harry," Draco
whispered. "You have given me a life I didn't even dare imagine. You
accept me even with my flaws, even when you don't agree or
understand. You love me through it all." He looked down into those
green eyes. "It sounds trite but it isn't. I want to make love to you now
and over and over again until I am too old to do anything but lie in
bed with you."
Harry didn't know how Draco managed to make him fall more
and more in love with him every minute. "You make me feel," he
whispered, "like the most important person in the entire world."
"You are," Draco grinned, sliding his hands up under Harry's
shirt, one immediately going to his belly and the other to tease his
nipples.
"You are to me," Harry told him, stripping away his own clothes
with a smile.
Draco loved that spell and thrilled at the power when Harry used
it. "I want to kiss every inch of you," he said, working his way down
Harry's neck.
The smile didn't leave Harry's face and he slipped his fingers into
Draco's hair. "Feel free," he whispered, tilting his head.
Draco hummed happily, licking and sucking his way down,
moving to even kiss his way down both of Harry's arms, kissing each
fingertip when he got there.
Harry bit his lip as he watched, eyes soft and happy. Every kiss
was a burst of pleasure and love both, sending tingles over Harry's
skin and even inside it, down deep.
Draco worked his way back to Harry's body via the sensitive

GOOD FORTUNE 331

underside of Harry's arms, enjoying the way his lover squirmed when
he reached armpits that tickled. Then he moved back to his body,
kissing his chest and stopping to suck at each nipple. His finger
caressed Harry's skin, too, mapping every contour of bone and
muscle.

"How do you do this?" Harry asked, leaning and arching into the
touches.

"How could I not?" Draco answered, smiling up at him. "I adore
you, every part of you." He was kissing that swollen belly now,
actually nuzzling it with his face, too.

Harry wasn't sure he could stop smiling. "It's like you haven't had
me every day for longer than a year."

"Not every day, and never enough to show you how I feel,"
Draco whispered, lips caressing Harry's hip bone now, then the
other, not yet touching his lover's arousal but working down his legs
next instead.

Harry wiggled his toes, still watching Draco's lips moving over his
skin. "You show me," he whispered. "You're amazing at it."

Draco traced the lines of those long lean legs. Then he lifted
Harry's foot in his hand and kissed his wiggling toes.

Harry grinned. It tickled, but he stayed put, letting Draco do
whatever he wanted to do to him.

Draco gently but firmly gripped Harry's foot and then began to
lick his toes, grinning mischievously at him.

Harry did squirm then and laughed. "Draco!" he protested.
"I wonder if sucking your toes will make your cock twitch the
way sucking your fingers does?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow.
Harry wondered if anything could make his cock twitch like
Draco's words did. "You think?" he breathed, his eyes darkening.
"Let's find out," Draco said, sucking several toes into his mouth
and swirling his tongue over them.
Harry laughed and moaned at the same time, which was really a
rather strange sound. And his cock did jerk hard, as if it could do
anything else with Draco looking at him like that.
The blond sucked and licked Harry's toes with the same passion
he would normally use on his lover's cock.
"Okay," Harry gasped, dribbling pre-come onto his belly.

332 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

"Please."
Draco was delighted to have discovered another of Harry's kinks.

He released the foot, but only to give the other similar treatment.
Harry groaned and arched up. "Please, Draco, please," he begged,

his head thrown back now, mouth open.
"Please what?" Draco asked, running his tongue over the

sensitive underside of Harry's toes.
Harry tried to think about something other than the burning heat in

his groin. "Please!" And the begging was sort of demanding now.
"Something!"

"Turn over," Draco told him.
Harry did so quickly, flipping atop the bed and panting.
Draco began kissing up the backs of Harry's legs, fingers
squeezing in the wake of his mouth.
Harry's body flushed and heat rushed straight to his cock, making
it twitch and spurt clear fluid onto the sheets.
Draco pushed his lover's legs further apart, kneading his flesh as
he moved up. He lovingly kissed the crease where Harry's upper
thighs met his arse.
"Oh, God," Harry moaned somewhat squeakily. "Please, yes,
Draco, yeah."
Draco smiled, kissing the rounded flesh and then nipping at it.
Harry licked his lips. "Good ... at ... kissing arse as you are at ...
kicking it?" he gasped.
"You like that, don't you?" Draco asked, thrilled himself.
"Rimming?" Harry laughed breathlessly. "What was ... your clue?"
Draco chuckled darkly. "No, my, as you put it, kicking arse," he
answered, but spread his lover's arse as he did.
Harry released another loud groan. "You're so ... fucking hot," he
panted. "So fucking hot when ... you do."
Draco understood this was about more than sex. No one had
protected Harry when he was young, so to have a husband who did
meant a lot to him. "Good, because protecting this arse is my
pleasure," Draco purred. "As well as licking it," he added with an
illustrative lick along that crevice.
Harry breathed hotly against the sheets, grasping them as he lifted
his hips and arse to that tongue.

GOOD FORTUNE 333

Draco flicked his tongue against the quivering hole, letting it
move quickly and lightly back and forth.

"Fuck," Harry hissed, closing his eyes tightly. "Oh, fuck, I love
you, love this. Don't stop!"

Draco did pull back then. "Up on your knees, my love," he said,
patting his arse affectionately.

Harry whined his complaint at Draco doing exactly what he'd just
told him not to, but pushed himself up, looking over his shoulder
impatiently.

"I adore how eager you are for me," Draco gasped, reaching to
part and lower his mouth to his husband's arse again.

Harry's head dropped back down and his muscles clenched,
including those beneath where Draco was licking. "I adore your
mouth," he moaned.

Draco found that ironic given their history but revelled in it now.
He pressed his lips to his lover's hole and thrust his tongue into him.

Harry groaned and gasped, pressing back and arching. He tossed
his head from side to side and let Draco slide his tongue in and out
of his body until he felt as if he were about to blow up and be
nothing but fucking dust in the air. "Fuck me!" he shouted, arms
straining and body glistening as he trembled.

Draco's entire body shuddered with desire and he sat back,
moving up to position himself. "Lube," he suggested to Harry.

Harry willed the lube and slicked himself with it in less than two
seconds. "Go," he whimpered. "Go, do it."

Draco didn't question it, pressing his cock into his husband's
body with a moan of delight, hands clutching Harry's hips as he did.

"Oh, yeah," Harry whispered, squeezing around every inch of
Draco inside him. "Move."

"Yes," Draco agreed, rotating his hips now to slide in and out in
that circular motion that brought the most contact for both of them.

"Fuck," Harry hissed again, jerking forward and back with every
movement. "Merlin, fuck me."

"Yes, now and always," Draco gasped, trembling as he lost
himself in the pleasure of Harry's heat and magic.

"Oh, God," Harry whispered, reaching back with one hand to
grasp Draco's thigh. "Want you to fill me up."

334 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Draco moved one hand around Harry's waist, cupping the curve
of his lower belly. "Think I did," he laughed, panting as he moved
faster, thrust harder.

Harry laughed with him. "Do it again," he breathed, closing his
eyes as he got closer and closer with every thrust.

"As you wish," Draco gasped. It was delightful that Harry could
order him now and it was something that was hot but didn't
automatically compel his body.

Harry jerked forward one last time, making a strangled noise that
cut off when he began to come. He gripped Draco's thigh tightly, his
fingers digging into his skin.

Fire pulsed through him and Draco's cock shuddered its release
as his husband's body clenched, seeming to pull his orgasm from
him.

"Yes," Harry groaned, slipping limply down to the damp bed
under him.

Draco's arms and legs trembled as he held himself up, not
wanting to collapse on his pregnant husband. He moved shakily to lie
beside him.

Harry turned, making humming noises as he scooted in close to
Draco.

The blond reached to wrap arms around Harry, kissing his face –
forehead, cheeks, nose – with little kisses while he panted between
them as he caught his breath.

Harry sighed through his nose, closing his eyes. "No one could
ever make me feel as good as you do," he whispered.

"No one else," Draco agreed, petting his lover's back.
Harry smiled softly and pushed his lips into a pout for a kiss.
Draco reached a finger up to run over those lips, smirking.
Harry cracked one eye open, kissing Draco's finger instead.
Grinning, Draco leant forward and used his tongue, tracing
Harry's lips in the same way he had traced below before.
Harry shivered, flicking the tip of his own tongue against that wet
muscle.
They lay there kissing and touching, soft in the afterglow until a
fairy squeaked on the ceiling.
Harry's eyes rolled toward it and he sighed again. "Valen's up," he

GOOD FORTUNE 335

said hoarsely.
"Mmm," Draco hummed, looking up at the nursery fairy. "I

suppose you want me to get him?"
Harry smiled sweetly.
Draco huffed and shook his head. "Git," he teased as he got out

of bed.
Harry watched Draco's arse. "I only do it for the view," he

grinned.
Draco rolled his eyes and reached for his dressing gown, enjoying

his own view of his naked husband. "Of course," he agreed.
Harry chuckled, cleaning himself and their bed before putting

arms behind his head.

– CHAPTER FORTY-ONE –

Preparing for Spring

Days passed, and they turned into weeks and those turned into
months and took with them the morning sickness, but brought the
crankiness and the strangest cravings for bread with ketchup on it.
And that was it. Sometimes with a pickle on the side. Or sometimes
Harry wanted Muggle food, which Hermione would wonderfully
fetch from her mother through Floo. Harry was also getting larger,
and by March, he was sure that he had not been so big with Valen at
this stage.

He'd been out shopping with Draco since he had got pregnant,
but had not gone in quite a while, and now, no one could question
the fact that they were going to have another child. They were
shopping for Valen's birthday present with the baby, because, really,
there could be no surprises for a one-year-old, as he wouldn't really
understand. They were simply looking around Diagon Alley as well,
for things to get the new baby.

"So what do we get The Terror of All Cats," Draco teased, one
arm around his husband and the other holding their son as they
strolled and looked in windows. He had hated the attention they got
when people thought they were breaking up, but now basked in the
smiles and stares at their little family.

Harry snorted. "Perhaps we should let him pick it out?" he
suggested. "We could just go inside a shop and get him whatever he
plays with best."

"Now that does sound dangerous," Draco said, raising both
eyebrows.

Harry snorted again and smiled at the little boy in his husband's
arms. "Eh, not really," he said amusedly.

"Lead on," Draco said, the words "my lion" implied even when
not said.

Harry smiled again and led them along the cobbled street, looking

PREPARING FOR SPRING 337

through windows and mostly able to ignore the staring, though he
had to admit it was a much more pleasant type of staring than it had
been before. He stopped in front of a building with a large sign
hanging from it reading: Tooker's Toys. "Let's go in here," he said,
stepping up to the place.

Just as they were about to go into the store, they heard someone
call their names and Draco looked up to see Robert Dwyer
approaching and waving. "Wow, look at the two of you, or should
that be the three of you," he said, smiling.

Harry smiled when he caught sight of Robert. Since Draco had
bought the Prophet, he had found he rather liked the man and he was
a good hard worker who did the job right. "Four," he said, patting his
stomach.

Robert's smile grew. "I had wondered," he said. "Nothing in the
news yet about that. Did you hear I'm the Editor at the Prophet now?"

"Really?" Harry feigned surprise. "Well, congratulations," he said,
holding out his hand.

"Yeah, I had been about to get sacked, too," he said. "Apparently,
I wasn't nasty enough to keep up with the Prophet's way of doing
things. Then suddenly my boss is sacked and I was promoted." He
smirked and looked at Draco. "Came right after Christmas," he
added.

"Well, if anyone deserves the job it's you," said Harry. "It was just
about to the point where I'd only read your stuff anyway. The rest? A
load of rubbish, the lot of it."

"Nice to hear," Robert said. "Don't suppose you would give me
an exclusive on your newest ... accomplishments?" His eyes flickered
to Harry's belly as he said it.

Harry raised an eyebrow, smiling. "What do you say?" he asked
his husband.

"No one better for the job," Draco agreed, nodding. "Want to
take pictures of us shopping for Valen?"

Harry snorted yet again. No matter how long he was famous for,
he was sure he would never really get used to it.

Draco smiled and they went into the shop, with Robert pulling
out his camera.

The air in the small space was full of whirring and whizzes and

338 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

the colours were bright and vibrant. There were toys all over the
place. There were buckets filled with winking teddy bears, shelves of
dolls that could do anything imaginable, wizard chess sets, little
battling action figures, and Harry had no idea where to start, or what
on earth Valen would choose.

Valen squealed and began babbling. He pulled at Draco's shirt
and bounced, eyes wide with excitement. Draco laughed, grateful
once again for the silver hand's strength that kept hold of the
wriggling boy.

"How do we let him pick?" Harry asked, not so sure about
putting the baby on the floor of the place. Plus, there were other
children around and Valen might get stepped on.

Valen's eyes seemed to focus across the room and he reached
with both hands, yelling, "Vroom!" Draco tried to look where his son
was reaching and walked forward to try to figure it out. "Vroom,
vroom!" Valen shouted.

"Vroom?" Harry repeated, thinking of a car. But that didn't fit at
all.

Draco laughed when he saw what his child was reaching for.
"Natural born Seeker," he said with pride, nodding his head toward
the tiny broom floating in the window.

"Broom," Harry said in understanding, absolutely delighted with
what Valen was reaching for. "Bring him over here, yeah?" he said to
Draco, walking over to the tiny little broom himself.

"Oh, that's the newest model," the shopkeeper said, smiling but
also blushing as she looked at Harry's belly. "It's got all the newest
safety features."

Harry smiled at that, reading the list of said safety features that
was posted next to the little broom. "Can we take this one down to
have a look?" he asked the woman.

"Um, sure," she said and looked at little Valen who was still
chanting "vroom." "But there isn't a lot of room in the shop for it,"
she cautioned.

"Oh, well, just to see it," Harry said, taking the broom from the
window and examining it. It did look quite good, and was very
sturdy. He could feel the invisible seat on it. "I think this would be
brilliant," he said to Draco, beaming.

PREPARING FOR SPRING 339

Robert snapped a picture of Harry holding the broom up and the
infant reaching for it. Draco laughed and nodded. "Perfect," he said.

Harry beamed some more. "We'll take one of these then," he said
to the woman.

She also managed to talk them into a couple other things,
including a toy Snitch to go with the broom. Draco merely nodded to
anything Harry wanted to buy, grinning.

Harry hadn't needed too much talking into. Mostly, the witch
suggested things and Harry took them. When they were getting ready
to leave the shop, it was with quite a few items more than what Harry
had intended to get, and it had only been the thought of Dudley with
all of his birthday presents that had stopped him from buying it all.
He still left with more than he had thought he would buy, but it was
much more reasonable. He could hardly wait to get Valen home to
try the broom out, but then he spotted the window of a children's
clothing store that he hadn't been in since the last time he'd been to
Diagon Alley, which had been months ago.

There was a tiny little dress on display and it was adorable, and
Harry could swear he was turning into a woman. He scowled at the
thought, but the dress was very pretty. And he wanted it.

"Yes," Draco said, before his husband could even ask. "She needs
lots of pretty things to wear."

Robert laughed. "She?" he asked.
Harry flushed slightly at the fact that Draco had known he
wanted the dress, but he smiled at Robert. "Yes, she," he said. "We're
just about one hundred percent positive."
Draco snorted at the "just about" comment but nodded, opening
the door to the shop and waiting for his husband to go through.
Robert followed, grinning. "How can you tell?" he asked.
"Well," said Harry once inside, "I think I made her a girl. It's
what Draco and I wanted since we've already got a son."
"You can choose that?" Robert asked, sounding shocked.
"I don't know about other people," Harry answered, "but I think
I did, yeah. With Valen, we both wanted a son, and this time, I
actually tried to get the magic to make a girl."
"So, not an accident this time," Robert confirmed. "That's
amazing."

340 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

Harry smiled. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" he said, making for the dress
in the window. It was a very light pink with bows, and silken ruffles,
and lace, and he reached out a hand to touch it, expecting to feel
uncomfortable material, but it was as soft as anything could be –
everything about it. Even the lace.

"Fit for a little Slytherin Princess," Draco teased.
Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled as well. "Fit for a princess
anyway," he said.
The shopkeeper was, of course, delighted with her eager
customers. By the time they left the shop, they had bought enough
lace to make Madame Pudifoot's look drab.
"Do you think we're going to have the most spoilt children in all
of Britain?" Harry asked in an undertone, frowning at how much
they'd bought again. "Is it too much?"
"Probably," Draco answered, but smiled. "I don't think the
clothes will much matter yet."
Harry sighed. "I've got to learn self-control," he said. "It's like
I've gone mad! I never used to care about any of this."
Draco chuckled. "I think it makes sense for you to want to give
your children the things you never had," he soothed.
"I know you probably want to get home," Robert said. "But I did
have a couple of questions before you go. Do you want to get
something cool to drink and sit down?"
"Sure," Harry answered. "Why not?" He supposed the broom
could wait an hour or so.
"Why not some ice cream?" Draco suggested. "It's warm out for
March."
"That actually sounds really good," Harry said, imagining a
sundae with everything on it.
Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. "This little girl will surely be
sweet if the way he eats ice cream is any indication," he said, smiling
and patting Harry's belly.
Robert laughed and walked with them to Florean's rebuilt ice
cream parlour.
Once there, Harry, indeed, got himself a sundae with everything
on it. Well, mostly everything. He didn't want any of the blood-
flavoured syrup, and couldn't believe anyone would order a Bertie

PREPARING FOR SPRING 341

Bott's Bogie Bean Surprise. He felt like vomiting just thinking about
it.

They set Valen into a high chair and watched while he cheerily
splattered chocolate ice cream over himself and everything around
him. Draco was once again grateful for his skill at Cleaning Charms.
"Definitely your son," he drawled.

"Hmm?" Harry said, distracted with the drip of ice cream he'd
just spilled down his front.

Robert laughed along with Draco and shook his head. "So you
had questions?" Draco prompted, taking a neat lick around the edge
of his ice cream come.

"The most obvious question," Robert began, "is when is she due
and does she have a name yet?"

"We think she'll be born in April," Harry answered, "going by
how long I carried Valen. But we don't have a name for her yet."

"So will she and Valen have other siblings?" Robert asked, clearly
delighted with the situation.

Draco smirked, eyes on his lover and licking his ice cream cone
suggestively when he caught Harry's eye.

Harry swallowed, his spoon halfway to his mouth. He cleared his
throat. "Sorry?" he said, turning eyes from Draco and his ice cream
back to Robert.

Draco chuckled and Robert looked confused, not having caught
what the blond had done. "Do you plan more children as well?" he
clarified.

"Oh," Harry said. "Um, well, we have talked about more already.
I suppose we'll have to see what happens with this one to be
completely sure."

Draco smirked and laughed as his son dumped the now mostly
empty bowl of ice cream on top of his own head and then cried
because it was cold. "Well, you should have thought of that first," he
told the child, removing the bowl and shaking his head at the ice
cream covered blond hair.

Robert took a picture. "You seem so happy," he said.
Harry had been chuckling at the scene. He was very glad they
weren't Muggles, or they would have a very large mess. He sighed at
Robert's question. "I'm not sure if I've ever been happier in my life,"

342 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

he said.
"I'm glad to hear that," Robert said. "Is there anything you want

to clear up about what happened last fall?" he asked carefully.
"Yes, actually," Harry answered. "All of it was false and stretched

far beyond what it really was. Draco and I have never once
considered leaving each other. Never once since we got together have
we stopped loving each other." He took a sort of large breath then.
"And where it all started from is a, well, a long story. And I know
that sounds stupid, but it really is. The details are personal, though I
will say that Draco did not have an affair and all of it has nothing to
do with the two of us divorcing. We never wanted that, nor will we
ever. I love my husband."

Draco nodded. "I have been in love with Harry since I was
eleven. Nothing could change that," he added.

Robert smiled, writing it all down carefully. He had an Everfill
quill like the one they had given Hermione.

Harry smiled as well, feeling as though a weight was lifted, even if
some people wouldn't believe it. It was out there at least.

"Well, my son," Draco drawled, "I think you have made enough
of a mess for now." He cast a couple of Cleaning Spells, getting most
of the ice cream off the child, though the elves would probably still
have trouble with the stains in the child's clothes.

Robert was smiling again. "I know I am a sap for saying this," he
said, "but your story still amazes and delights me. If you ever decide
you want an authorized biography done, please don't hesitate to
contact me."

Harry smiled. "You'll be the first to know," he said, sticking out
his hand.

Robert shook their hands again and said goodbye. Draco picked
up their child and then smiled down at his husband. "Home now?"

Harry pushed himself up from his chair with slight effort, picking
bags up in his hands. He smiled at Draco. "Yeah, let's go," he said.

Robert's article, complete with the photograph of ice cream covered
Valen, was the best article ever written about them. Maybe the best
thing the Daily Prophet ever published. They were so pleased and they
couldn't wait to put a copy in their family album.

PREPARING FOR SPRING 343

Valen loved his broomstick. He flew all over the place with it,
when Harry and Draco let him, and Harry was amazed at how he
seemed to know so well what he was doing. He was just a baby! His
and Draco's amazing baby. Valen's very first birthday came in the
next couple weeks and Harry could hardly believe they'd had him for
a year. And now he knew what Mr and Mrs Weasley meant when
they said things like, "It seems like just yesterday Ron was losing his
first tooth," or "I swear it feels like just the other day I had two
armfuls of Fred and George," because Harry felt like Valen had
grown so very fast.

They threw a little party for him with their close friends and
family and watched him get his cake everywhere, including some
splattered on the wall. But it had been fun, and everyone sat and
wondered for nearly the entire time if Harry was going to start
contractions or something, but nothing of the sort happened. He
only grew bigger, until he felt like he couldn't move without feeling
like his back was going to snap, so, like he'd done with Valen, he'd
gone to either sitting all of the time, or just staying in bed a lot.

That particular morning he was staying in bed. Draco and Valen
were with him, like they often were and Harry's shirt was pulled up to
show the huge mound of his belly. The baby was kicking and they
were happily watching and feeling.

Valen was petting Harry's belly like his Daddy Draco did now.
"Baba," he said happily, pressing his face against the swell.

"Yes," Draco laughed and smiled up at Harry from beside their
son. "She is your sister. That's what you feel," he told the boy.

Harry grinned widely. He thought it was the cutest thing in the
world that they had taught Valen what was inside Harry's belly. And
he wanted to touch it nearly as much as Draco did now.

"So have you thought of names yet?" Draco asked in a casual
tone. He kissed Harry's belly again and then slid down the bed to rub
his feet.

Harry sighed. "Well, I would've told you if I'd thought of one,
wouldn't I have?" he teased. He really couldn't think of a decent
name. Every time he tried to think of one, he could only think of the
names of people he already knew, and that wasn't what the goal was
supposed to be. "We could do what we did with Valen and get that

344 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

book out again," he suggested.
"Well, if she arrives when I think she will, we could call her

April," Draco said. "Springtime."
"Hmm," Harry hummed. "April," he repeated. "April Malfoy. It

has a certain ring." He smiled. "Can you say April, Valen?"
"Apil," Valen said, sounding more like apple than April.
Draco nodded, working his thumbs into the arch of Harry's right

foot. "And her middle name?" he asked.
"You do like April then?" Harry asked, still smiling at the way

Valen had said it. "I like it. And I have no idea for a middle name,
just as I didn't for the first."

Draco looked down, wondering if his idea would be okay with his
husband. He frowned, focussing on the foot massage while trying to
think of a way to bring it up.

Harry was still staring at Valen, but then looked at Draco and
raised his eyebrows at his frown. "What's up?" he asked.

Draco release Harry's foot. "Narcissa," he said quietly.
Harry stared at Draco for a moment and smiled at him again.
"April Narcissa Malfoy," he said. "I think we've found her name."
Draco smiled up at his husband. "You let me get away with too
much," he said softly.
Harry chuckled. "I think it's a very pretty name," he said. "And it
has nothing to do with letting you get away with anything. You let me
get away with just as much. Probably more. And I like the name
anyway."
"Baba Apil," Valen said firmly and patted his father's belly again.
Harry laughed. "Oh, kid, you amaze me," he said, ruffling Valen's
hair.

– CHAPTER FORTY-TWO –

April

On the afternoon of April 19th, Harry and Draco sat with Ron and
Hermione, chatting and discussing the upcoming wedding. Valen was
zooming around the room on his broomstick, laughing happily.

"And like we already said," Hermione was saying, "we've decided
on June 15th. You do think the baby will be here by then, don't you?"

"I should certainly hope so," Harry answered, looking down at
his huge belly.

"She will be here soon," Draco assured his husband, patting his
belly affectionately. "She has been quite active.”

"Yes she has," said Harry, thinking of how many times he'd been
woken in the night by their daughter lately.

Hermione smiled. "Are you excited?" she asked.
"Course," Harry answered, grinning.
Draco grinned in response. They all knew how he felt about it.
Harry smiled and then sighed, leaning back. "How many guests
did you say again?" he asked.
"Well, we said we don't know yet," said Ron. "We're still trying to
think of everyone on my side, and trying to figure a way to invite her
people because they're all Muggles."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at the term "her people".
Draco shrugged and sat back, arm around his husband while he
watched his friends. He wondered if this would be another of their
now infamous fights. Half the time they sat down to work on the
wedding, Ron and Hermione ended up in an argument.
"What?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.
She rolled her eyes at him.
Ron sighed. "You're too touchy sometimes," he said. "You know
that?"
Just as Hermione opened her mouth to retort, there was a
contracting feeling in what felt like a low part of Harry's belly. He

346 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

went very still, making a small noise of contemplation.
Draco's hand still rested on Harry's belly and he startled as well,

feeling both the tremor in Harry's body and the surge in magic. He
sat up quickly, looking at Harry's face while his heart thumped hard
in his chest.

Harry looked back at Draco, remaining very still. "Maybe it's just
a false one," he said.

Hermione and Ron looked over as well.
Draco's eyes shone with excitement and he slid Harry's shirt up
to reveal his extended belly. The shirt barely covered him anyway.
The blond pressed his face against the skin, hands pressed on either
side. "April," he said, "you just moving around or are you making the
move?"
Hermione clapped her hands together. "Oh, my goodness!" she
said.
Harry waited, and as the moments ticked by, he was thinking
more and more that it wasn't actually time. He relaxed again, sighing
and shrugging.
Draco could feel something but wasn't sure if it was just April
about to have one of her active days or if she was really pushing with
her magic. He rubbed his cheek against his lover's flesh, enjoying the
sensations.
"Aww," Hermione let out. "It's not it?"
"I don't think so," Harry answered, sighing again.
Hermione and Ron both looked disappointed.
Draco wasn't sure himself and then he felt a pulse again, the
energy rippling out from April.
Harry stilled once more, feeling as well, in the form of slight pain.
"Or maybe ...." he said.
Draco grinned, laying lots of little kisses across the swell where
his daughter was moving.
Hermione gasped again, smiling and looking like she was about to
bounce.
"Are you going to ...?" asked Ron, eyebrows raised.
"I – I don't know," said Harry. "I feel something."
"Definitely," Draco said smugly. "Floo-call Madame Pomfrey?"
he asked Hermione.

APRIL 347

She nodded, getting quickly to her feet.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to relax again.
Draco hummed a lullaby against Harry's belly, looking up at his
husband with a gleam in his eyes.
Harry took another deep breath, looking down at Draco and
smiling at the quiet song leaving him.
While Hermione called Madame Pomfrey, Draco petted and
soothed his husband. "Do you want to go to our room?" he asked.
"I think I'm -" he paused for another short, small pain. "I think
I'm okay for right now, but I suppose I should go."
"Unless you would prefer she was born in the sitting room,"
Draco said, smirking.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, that would go just lovely with the
carpets."
Ron made a face from across them.
Draco chuckled and cast the charm to lighten his husband, lifting
him into his arms.
Harry'd grown so used to being lifted by Draco in the previous
weeks that he didn't even pay it any attention. "Valen's ...." He
gestured to the boy flying about. "Can you and Hermione watch
him?" he asked Ron.
"'Course," Ron answered, seeming a little nervous and definitely
excited.
"Okay," said Harry. "Tell Hermione and Madam Pomfrey we
went to our room."
Ron nodded, standing and quickly crossing to the door to hold it
open for Draco.
Draco was excited and calm at the same time. It felt so wholly
different than the horrid circumstances of Valen's birth. Now, he
used his wand to open the door to their room and gently lay his
husband in their bed. "Water?" he asked.
"Sure," Harry answered, laying a single hand on his stomach.
Draco fussed about getting the water and then the potions he and
Madame Pomfrey had chosen for the birth and recovery. He opened
the drapes so that the sun brightened the room and then, finally
settled down at Harry's side.
Harry gave Draco a small smile, sipping the water. "Only a little

348 HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON’S TREASURE

bit longer," he said.
When Harry set the glass back down, Draco leant in for a kiss,

silver hand cupping the back of Harry's head while the right petted
his belly. Losing himself in the kiss, he was surprised at how soon the
knock at the door came.

Harry looked up. "That'll be her," he said. Then called, "Come
in."

Draco shifted back on the bed, giving Madam Pomfrey room and
yet staying close to Harry. The woman was smiling when she came in.
"Do you think she is ready?" Pomfrey asked.

Harry nodded. "I'm having pains," he said. "They're not too bad
yet, but they're there."

"Well, you just settle in and try to stay comfortable," she said
patting his hand. "I will be right here," she said, settling into a nearby
stuffed leather chair and picking up a book to read.

Draco smiled and tugged on Harry's shirt. "Let's get you more
comfortable," he whispered.

Harry nodded, getting his shirt off. It really was so extremely
different from when Valen had been born.

Draco also untied the loose Muggle sweat pants his husband
wore and pulled them down and off, before pulling the sheet up to
make him covered and comfortable again. "You should try to rest,"
Draco said, stroking Harry's hair again.

"I am resting," Harry said, amused with Draco's treatment of
him. "If you mean I should get some sleep, well, I'm too excited to
sleep."

Draco cast a furtive glance at Pomfrey and smiled. Although still
clothed, he slid under the covers with his husband. He moved a hand
over Harry's belly, gently rubbing in circles. "Anything I can do to
help you relax?"

"Just stay here with me," Harry answered as another pain hit.
Draco just petted and murmured soothing things to Harry, part
of his focus on the shifting flesh and magic of the child under his
hand. He felt her grow more and more restless.
The pains seemed to grow worse faster than they had when Valen
had been born. Quite soon, Harry was clenching his teeth every few
minutes. He figured he could probably use his magic to take the pain