Chapter 7: Understanding

Lucius stared into his roaring fireplace, his silver eyes gazing blankly at the orange flames, not really looking but thinking. He was contemplating the little talk he'd had with Severus; that man had contacted him in the middle of the night with some unsettling news…

"The dark mark, fading?"

Severus nodded; he pushed up his sleeve and showed Lucius his brand, "I only noticed it today; I don't feel a threatening and overwhelming presence anymore."

Lucius frowned and stared at the mark, it did look a bit faded. He looked down at his own mark; his was still as dark and intimidating as before. But Severus was right, he couldn't feel that sinister presence in his mind anymore. 

"What could it mean?"

"I don't know, but unless the Dark Lord is feeling unusually 'happy' there is something wrong…" 

This had Lucius in a puzzle, because the Dark Lord was only happy when he was torturing people, and even when that happened it made his stomach twist into knots. This wasn't it. In fact he couldn't feel anything, which only managed to unnerve him. A part of him wanted to go see if the Dark Lord was alright, but then he thought better of it.

After all if the Dark Lord was in a 'happy mood', who was he to ruin it?

The next morning Draco woke up feeling like he was being squashed; he looked down at his chest and arched a delicate eyebrow when he saw his mate draped over him. He was sure that he had gone into his room alone. Just to be sure he looked around and confirmed that yes, this was his room. So what was Potter doing in his bed?

Never mind that, what was he doing letting the other teen sleep in his bed?!

A low growl escaped his throat, but it wasn't loud enough to wake Harry up. Slowly he pushed the teen away and got out of bed to freshen up. By the time he returned Harry was already awake and looking around the room in a half-dazed state. At the sight of the blonde, he purred and crawled towards him. Draco stood still as Harry started butting his head against him like a cat, delighting in his presence. For a second he could imagine liking Harry if he stayed like this, and would refrain from being such a prat on most days.

So instead of scolding him, he gathered the raven up in his arms and placed him back on the bed, where the submissive instantly cuddled up against the sheets and fell asleep. He was glad that Harry hadn't been properly conscious; there would have been a fight and embarrassment.

He went to the lounge and called the House-elves to bring in breakfast, jam on toast, while a bigger spread waited for Harry. As Draco had ordered, the elves were providing food high on protein and fat; Harry was too thin for his liking.

It was a quiet morning and Draco enjoyed it while eating; he finished his summer assignment, it wouldn't do for him to be so lazy. Yet no matter how hard he tried concentrating at his work, his thoughts kept drifting back to Harry. He was half-contemplating moving the submissive back to his own room, so that Potter wouldn't get the wrong idea. Then there was the problem with his parents; the unfinished letter was stashed in his desk drawer, he had to remember to send it off.

A knocking on the portrait hole alerted his attention; so much for a quiet morning. With a weary sigh he stood up (making sure that he had his glamour on) and opened the door with a prepared glare.

"Ferret?!" shouted a furious redhead.

"Weasel…" Draco drawled back.

Blue eyes narrowed at the blonde teen in front of him, he was surprised to see how tall the git was. Ron was already tall, but the ferret seemed to have grown a few inches over the summer.

"What do you want Weasel, or are you here just to glare at me?" snapped Draco.

"None of your business Ferret, I just got the wrong room," he said and was about to walk away.

"Draco who is it?" came a sleepy voice from behind the blonde.

Both of them turned around to see a sleepy raven clutching a pillow to his chest. His small wings were folded behind his back, bleary green eyes staring dazedly in front of him, and his black hair all tousled up. Ron gaped at his best friend; he couldn't believe what he was seeing!

"Harry!" the redhead shouted.

"Ron…? What are you doing here?" the submissive asked. Draco could feel how nervous the raven was getting. He was probably worried about what the Weasel was going to do.

"I was about to ask you the same thing! What are you doing with the ferret?!"

Draco couldn't help but smirk at the red-head's expression, his freckled face pulled up in a scowl. So he decided to have some fun. Slowly he wound his arm around Harry's waist and pulled him close; the smaller instantly clammed up, and stared fearfully back and forth between his friend and mate. This wasn't going to go well, since Ron's pale face went first red (rivalling the Gryffindor red), then purple. A gasp escaped the freckled boy as the realization finally hit him and all the colour drained out of his face.

"Y-you… a-a-and HIM?!" Ron asked with incredulity.

Draco's smirk widened as he pulled the raven even closer and stroked up and down his arms lovingly. "Don't you know, Weasel? I'm Harry's mate."

That was too much for Ron and he fainted.

"Ron!" Harry shouted and went to make sure the other teen was alright, but Draco pulled him away.

"He'll be fine, you better eat something," he said and gestured at the table and the spread. Instantly Harry's stomach started grumbling and his attention was quickly diverted, leaving Ron on the cold floor alone.

When the angry red-head came to, his first thought was: what he was doing on the floor? Then he remembered that terrible sight…

That AWFUL sight!

He felt sick; his best friend and his worst enemy, that was just too unreal! Although now it did make sense why his parents had been so upset at the sight of Harry and his mate together. How Ginny had flipped out, screaming obscene comments about being a traitor and such. He had been so excited about Harry being an Origo that he hadn't really bothered actually looking at who the dominant was.

Damn!

He looked at the closed portrait and frowned; quickly stood up and started knocking furiously against the door. It took a while, but slowly it creaked open and a fuming Draco stood in the doorway. "What?!" he growled out in exasperation.

"I need to speak to Harry," he replied back defiantly.

The blonde rolled his eyes but let the other through. Harry was dozing on the sofa with a blanket draped over him.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked, looking down at the small teen.

Draco arched an eyebrow, was the redhead actually being civil? "Pregnancy; his hormones are getting unstable, that's making him tired," he replied and sat down beside his mate.

"Ron?" the raven murmured.

"Harry… you okay, mate?" Draco growled out in warning; if Snape wasn't allowed to use the word, the Weasel definitely wasn't!

Harry wearily elbowed the blonde, and smiled at Ron. "I'm fine Ron, just a bit tired… did you need something?"

Ron opened his mouth, but nothing came out. All he could see was his best friend leaning against his worst enemy and looking quite content. It was odd seeing such a sight, and it felt wrong for him to confront Harry about it. Ron felt conflicted; he didn't want Harry to be with the ferret, even if it was magically impossible for them to be separated. He had never seen Harry look so calm either. Damn, he couldn't ruin that!

So instead he smiled at them, and stood up. "Na man, everything's fine; hope you'll feel better soon, later Malfoy!" he said with a smirk and left.

Draco was stunned, and Harry just fell asleep against the blonde's shoulder.

Pregnancy, as it turned out, was shorter than a human one, 6 months; that was why it was hitting Harry all so quickly. He tried reading the books but soon felt too tired and ended up slumped over them. Then he got random pangs of hunger, and he couldn't help but scarf down a few sandwiches a few minutes after breakfast.

At least there wasn't any morning sickness... yet…

Draco hadn't talked to him all day, and he had to wonder if he had upset the blonde yesterday at all. He had stayed close though, letting him sleep on the blonde's shoulder, made sure he was kept warm, and even went as far as to help him with his homework. Harry felt terrible now; he felt like he had done Draco wrong by not accepting his help with the glamour.

Currently Draco was in his room writing a letter to his parents; oddly enough the dominant asked if he could and promised that he wouldn't mention Harry being his mate if he felt uncomfortable with that idea. Harry agreed, and since then he hadn't seen his Maritus. A sigh left his lips, as he lay on his stomach gazing out the open window. The small wings on his back itched a little; he tried moving them, and was fascinated by the peculiar feeling of his new appendages. Too bad he couldn't fly with them; it would be nice to be able to soar without a broom.

He kept on dozing on the cashmere rug, when he felt an angry shiver run down his spine. His green eyes instantly flew towards the doors; Draco threw them open and came roaring through. The glamour that had been covering him all morning had dropped in his anger. The dominant Origo hissed and growled out in rage. Harry only caught a few snippets of the rant, but he could be confident that Draco was cursing the Headmaster for all it was worth.

"What happened?" Harry asked, propping himself on his elbows.

"That old COOT, he has set a damn barrier stopping Owl service! I can't send my letter!"

"…" the raven didn't know what to say. He tried to think up some different reasons for why the service may be blocked. But Draco was still in s rage; he was now pacing up and down the room making Harry feel nervous.

A whimper left his throat; he walked towards the blonde dominant and hesitantly reached out to touch his shoulder. Draco instantly relaxed at the contact; Harry got a bit bolder and used his other hand to trace down the blonde's spine. He hadn't really noticed how muscular Draco was; a sudden curiosity gripped the submissive. Was Draco like this all the way around?

Being shirtless was one thing, but actually touching was something different. The wings looked menacing, huge and leathery, but he knew how protective they felt around him. Slowly he wound his arms around the blonde's waist and rested himself against the hard body.

"It's okay, we'll just ask him what's going on… it will be fine."

Draco nodded lightly; he emitted a purr, and the vibrations travelled through Harry's body, stirring something in his groin. For a second he didn't know what that feeling was before… Dear Lord!

A blush formed on his face and he quickly let go of Draco as if the other had scalded him, and ran straight into his room. Lust-filled silver eyes followed his embarrassed mate; oh, he had felt that sudden spike in emotion, and a whiff of heat. It was obvious that Harry was starting to feel something; even Draco had to admit that he was 'warming' to the raven (no matter how indifferent he may act). A smirk spread on his lips, should he take advantage of this news?

Definitely!