The Kiss

The Kiss

Harry and Draco returned to the manor the next morning (after burning the sheets like Fred and George had requested) to find that it had been returned to its normal state. Draco, having not been in the manor in months (with the exception of the day before) was glad to see the white stone once more.

Now it was his (as was twelve other properties and more gold than he knew what to do with). On the front porch stood a man holding a briefcase.

"Can I help you?" Draco asked.

The man jumped. "I'm looking for Draco Wolfgang Malfoy," the man said.

Harry gave Draco an odd look at learning his middle name.

"I'm Draco," Draco said, looking at the man curiously. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I'm the lawyer your parents hired to go over things with you in the event of their deaths. May we go inside or do you wish to conduct this meeting out of doors?"

"No," Draco said, sounding slightly surprised. "No, we'll go inside." Draco gestured to the door, "After you," he said as it opened.

"So," Draco said once the three of them had settled down with tea. "What unreasonable requirements did my parents make that would make me unable to come into my inheritance?" he asked. Harry chuckled at his side.

The lawyer grinned. "There are only three requirements," he said.

"And they are?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"First, you are not allowed to bare the Dark Mark on your skin," the man said. "I'll need to see your left arm before we continue."

Harry felt Draco tense at his side and tightened his grip on the other man's hand reassuringly. "You've got nothing to hide," he said softly.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Draco?"

Draco sighed and rolled up his left sleeve. Without looking at his arm, he showed the other two men the milky white flesh. Harry grinned, the lawyer looked stunned.

Harry watched as Draco's expression changed to confusion and he turned his arm to see the absence of the Dark Mark.

"Next?" Harry asked.

"You must...you must marry," he said. "It must be a woman."

Again, Draco sighed. "Alright," he said softly.

Harry felt the overwhelming desire to stand up and shout at Draco, his parents, and their attorney. How could they do this? How could Draco agree to such a term? Was the property, the money, the name itself really that important?

He wanted to do a number of things, but he couldn't get his body to move. He was frozen.

The attorney's eyebrows rose, clearly not having expected that to be the answer.

"What is the final requirement?" Draco asked.

"A child within the next two years," the man said.

"Very well, Mr. I Don't Care What Your Name Is," Draco said. "Get the hell out of my house."

As soon as the man walked out of the room, Harry turned away from Draco.

"I'm not doing it," Draco said softly.

"What?" Harry asked, confused. He turned back and noticed the anger in Draco's face for the first time.

"I'm not doing it," he said again. "I mean I will, but I wont. I'll get married, have a kid, then get a divorce. They didn't require me to stay married because they didn't want me to inherit. That was obvious at the first requirement. No Dark Mark. Please," he scoffed. "They just hate me."

There was a time when Harry would have disagreed with him. That time had long since passed.

"So then...what will you do?" Harry asked softly.

"Stay in love with you," Draco said with a slight smirk. "Find some woman I don't really know, have a child...."

"I'm not going to be the other man, Draco," Harry said. "I'm not a home wrecker."

"I'm not asking you to be one," Draco said simply. "I'm asking you to wait for me. Two years, Harry, that's all I'm asking. If I don't have a child and lose everything, or if I've got one and get to keep it all, if you'll wait two years for me, I'll live the rest of my life with you."

Harry sighed heavily and shook his head. "I can't," he said softly. "I can't do this. I love you, Draco, more than anything else in this world, I love you, but I can't stand around and act like there's nothing wrong while you go out and marry some girl, have a child, and live your life. I'd rather die. In fact, I'm fairly certain that I would."

Draco was shocked and shaken by Harry's words. Speechless, he wrapped his arms around his lover and kissed him. "I'm not letting you go," he whispered in Harry's ear. "No matter what happens, I'm not letting you go."

Harry pulled away so he could look Draco in the eyes. "Then what are you going to do?" he asked.

"When my parents wrote that will, they forgot a very important loophole. The Malfoy fortune can only be passed to a Malfoy as long as there is a Malfoy alive to take it. This goes for the entire fortune. That means the houses, the gold, the companies, and the jewels. If anyone has got a drop of Malfoy in their veins, preferably more than just a drop, they are entitled to the fortune. The Malfoy with the most blood gets the gold. I am the Malfoy with the most blood so no matter what I'll get the inheritance. I'm the last Malfoy."

"But what if there's someone else out there that you don't know about?" Harry asked. "What if your parents knew about that and made these conditions so that someone more worthy in their eyes would get it?"

"Unless I have a brother or sister out there that my parents let slip out of their hands, that's not possible. My parents actually loved each other--hell, I'd hear them humping like rabbits nearly every night." Draco let out a shudder at the memories and then froze. What if Harry was right? "Then I have to do this," he said softly. "You and the fortune are all I have now."

"I understand," Harry said, his voice full of sorrow. "Then...maybe I'll see you around..."

Draco watched with sadness filling his heart as Harry walked away. He heard the door of the mansion shut and echo through the empty halls before he shed his very first tear. He reached up wiped it away before another tear fell and he completely lost control. Everything that had ever mattered had just walked out of his life, possibly forever.