For Our Parents Willed So

For Our Parents Willed So

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Revelations

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At last, Luke slowed down the car. "We're getting nearer," he said -- James and Lily were eavesdropping again. "Soon we'll be at the Malfoy Manor."

James and Lily glanced at each other, broad smiles on both of their faces. Soon they'd see their friends again, and they would spend the rest of the summer there. Between them, Severus, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and yes, even Lucius, there would not be a boring moment, that was for sure.

...Assuming that Lily's parents allowed her to stay, of course. But then again, how could they not?

They were driving through a Wizarding neighbourhood now, like both took notice. People walked around in robes, little children chased each other with sticks for wands, a couple of teenagers practised Quidditch on their front lawn without fear of being seen. A Muggle could only ever enter the town in company of a Wizard, so they had no fear of their secret being revealed to outsiders.

Lily smiled, leaning back to get again to their supposed side of the silencing barriers. "It would fit that the Malfoys live somewhere with no Muggles around," she commented amusedly. "But I thought that Hogsmeade is the only all-Wizarding place in the country."

"That's a lie," James replied, shrugging. "They simply like to keep this a secret. Anyway, Malfoys do live here -- as do the Blacks and the Snapes." He shuddered a bit while saying the name, "Snape."

Just then Severus again decided to grace the world of waking with his presence. "Are we there already?" he mumbled, blinking as he peered sleepily up at his fiancé's face.

"Not yet, but almost," replied James cheerfully. "So, get up before you get accused of molesting my lap." At this, he ruffled affectionately his fiancé's already sleep-muzzled hair.

Severus huffed annoyedly, sat up and started to run his fingers through his hair to sort it out. "You do that again, Potter, and you're dead," he muttered angrily. "I hate you."

"Oh, no, you don't," replied James with a broad grin that of course went unseen. "You're only saying that to make me feel better." He kissed lightly his fiancé's pale cheek, then smoothed the ruffled hair gently. "Now, we are indeed almost there. Let's make ourselves presentable."

True enough, they soon reached the large gates of a huge manor. Lily grinned when she saw her parents' jaws dropping open and then her mother asking something hurriedly. This was certainly not what they had expected to see when visiting the home of their daughter's classmate.

As soon as the car reached the gates, they opened on their own, and Luke drove right through. As soon as he stopped the car, James and Lily hopped off, Severus right behind them.

"Oi, guys!" called out a familiar voice. As they turned around, they saw -- well, at least James and Lily saw -- Remus and Peter hurrying towards them. After a second, they were already lost in the welcoming hugs and slaps-on-backs, returning them wholeheartedly.

"Where's Padfoot?" asked James from Peter as he watched with great amusement how Remus tried to pry himself free of Lily's arms.

"He'll come in a moment," replied the smaller boy, smiling as he, too, watched his even smaller fiancé struggling against the redhead's well-meaning clutches. Then, however, his expression turned darker. "Beware," he said. "Something has happened -- something you won't like at all."

James frowned in confusion. However, as soon as he actually got his mouth open to question Peter about his odd statement, he saw another familiar figure coming towards them from the doors of the actual manor. "Sirius!" he exclaimed. Then, with a wild laugh, he ran towards his friend, too delighted to even stop to wonder why Sirius wasn't running towards him as well.

And then he couldn't wonder as he was already lost in a whirlwind of arms and giggles, a whirlwind that was his best friend. Their other friends started to circle around them as well, watching with great amusement as the best friends met again after over a month of being apart. Nope, Prongs and Padfoot could not be separated that easily, they would never allow that to happen.

At last, however, James pulled back. He eyed his friend critically, and a slight frown appeared between his dark brows. "Now, explanations," he demanded. "Why didn't you want any presents involving Quidditch? And since when has Sirius Black walked calmly?"

A sad flicker entered Sirius's stormy grey eyes, but then he smiled again -- a forced smile, like James's watchful mind immediately noticed; he knew his best friend too well to ignore it.

"Well, I'm Sirius Malfoy now," replied the Grim Animagus with a bit of a smirk. "And about Quidditch or running... well, it really isn't wise to overexert yourself when you only have one lung instead of two."

A complete silence fell to the front yard of the Malfoy Manor. Even Lily's and James's parents, who had just been taking the teen's trunks out of the boot of the Potters' car, froze. Everybody just stared at Sirius, not saying anything, as they didn't know what they could have said.

At last, James found his voice again. "What happened, Sirius?" he asked quietly, his eyes pained.

"My father happened," replied Sirius just as quietly, lowering his eyes to the ground. "He wasn't happy about the fact that I was still a virgin after a year in Lucius's bed. Lucius married me to keep me safe, and, as my father is the bastard he is, he paid dearly for that."

"What do you mean? And what did your father do?" James still tried to demand. However, at this point, Severus reached his side and grasped his arm with firm determination to shut him up.

"Would you show me inside?" he asked with a voice that couldn't be argued with. "I'd like to see Lucius."

That seemed to break James out of his shocked daze. "Right..." he muttered, then dutifully started to lead the blind Slytherin to the right direction. One by one, the others started to follow them inside.

At last, they had all got into the huge building. Once house-elves had taken the newcomers' trunks to be taken to their rooms, Amanda Evans gave Sirius a firm gaze. "Before I forbid or permit my daughter spending the rest of her holiday here, I'd like to meet the master of this house," she said determinedly.

Sirius, however, merely nodded. Then he turned his head and shouted to the direction of upstairs, "Lucius! Junila! The rest of our guests have arrived now!"

They all watched the broad marble stairway towards which Sirius had shouted. It went up to the next floor, then turned to go to the one above it, until it finally reached the end of the Manor's six-floor open hall. Even looking at the ceiling somewhere dozens of feet above them made them feel dizzy. Then Lily, who'd been looking somewhere between her friends and the ceiling, saw two forms appearing on the third floor landing. Then these two started to walk down the stairs -- or so it appeared at first. However, like they soon saw as they came into better sight, one of the two people was not walking. Instead, he sat in a high-backed chair. And although he did move in the stairway rather easily, it was obvious that he had to trust the chair -- the wheelchair, more exactly -- to get around.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," said Lucius calmly from his wheelchair as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairway. "I am pleased to see you all here." Then, turning towards Lily's mother, he put all his Malfoy charm in use. "Mrs. Evans, I presume?" he said. "I don't think I've had the pleasure to be introduced to you. I am Lucius Malfoy, Lord of Malfoy and the Master of Malfoy Manor, and this is my mother, Junila Malfoy. You've most probably already met my husband, Sirius." And after this, he raised her hand to his lips to place a light kiss on the back of her hand.

To Lily's great shock, her mother actually blushed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Malfoy," she chirped in the most uncharacteristic way. It was hard to believe her even the same person.

"Oh, please, do call me Lucius." And then, he went on greeting the guests, using his charm shamelessly with everybody but Lily's father, who probably wouldn't have appreciated that kind of attention. When he came to Severus's side, however, he merely grasped on his best friend's wrists and lifted the long, slender fingers onto his face. Smiling briefly, Severus studied the blond's features for a moment.

"You've hardly changed," he then said. "Although..." He frowned, and the others tensed a bit. "You feel shorter now," Severus said, sounding rather confused. "What the Hell has happened, Lucius?"

Now, everybody looked at Lucius, waiting for his response. Severus of course couldn't see his friend's new condition, nor could he hear it, as the magical wheelchair was just as silent as Lucius's steps had been earlier. However, even though the magically balanced wheelchair was much higher than a Muggle one would have been, Lucius's face was still a good foot lower than before.

Lucius smiled sadly. "This happened," he said, and again took a gentle hold of his friend's hands. This time, however, instead of his face, he led one of Severus's hands to the arm of the wheelchair and the other to the side of its back. Then, he waited for the younger wizard's reaction.

For a moment, there was a complete silence. Then, however, Severus broke it. "A wheelchair..." he whispered. "What in Salazar's name put you into a wheelchair, Lucius?"

If it had been anybody else, Lucius would have met their gaze steadily. As it was, however, a blind wizard he was talking with, he just held onto Severus's wrists, maintaining their contact. "Solomon Black," he replied levelly, "that's what happened to me. Just like he happened to Sirius, and will soon happen to Dementors, if I have any say in the matter." Then, he let go, and turned towards the rest of the guests. "Will you stay with us at least until after the dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Evans?" he asked. "Surely you'll by then be able to say whether you'll allow Lily to stay. Of course you, too, can stay, Mr. and Mr. Potter."

They all agreed to this.

*

At dinnertime, there were a lot of people sitting in the Malfoys' dining room. Severus was still blinking sleepily. After half an hour of frantic shouting and searching, well knowing the danger the Manor's moving stairways and suddenly turning or ending corridors caused to a blind person, they'd finally found him sound asleep on a couch in one of the Manor's numerous sitting rooms. When James had then yelled at him for making them worried, tears of relief veiling the hazel eyes, Severus had calmly pointed out that as he could not search without sight, he would have been only in the way. Of course, he would not listen to them when they claimed that if he'd been with them, there wouldn't have been any need to search.

So, they were all now eating the seven-course dinner that the house-elves were serving. Gary Evans was discussing the differences between Muggle and Wizarding worlds with Luke, Lucius listening to them with an occasional comment, the teens were having a conversation of their own, and Amanda, Junila and Cedric were also deep in conversation. Only Severus didn't talk, instead concentrating on finishing his full plate of tomatoes, fried cucumber and chicken with a bit of garlic-flavoured whipped cream. The other teens wrinkled their noses, but then again, Severus had always had a weird taste.

In his still half-asleep condition, Severus didn't feel like participating in any conversation, listening to them instead. The one between Lucius, Gary, and Luke wasn't very interesting in his opinion, and his friends were discussing mostly Quidditch, so that hardly held his interest, either. Therefore, he concentrated on Cedric and the women, especially as the topic appeared to be an interesting one.

"So because you've used that magic for centuries, some wizards may be born with the ability to bear children?" asked Amanda curiously just then. "Without any potions or charms?"

"Exactly," Cedric said, nodding a bit. "I, for example, did not need a potion to come pregnant with James. Curiously enough, those boys born to two men, such as James, usually don't have that ability. However, it is more probable that they make their partner pregnant without any magic than if both had a mother."

"It is really interesting," Junila agreed. "One of my friends has studied it, and it seems that the natural ability of male pregnancy runs in several Pureblood lines now, but it can only show up every second or third generation. Therefore, James could not be impregnated by accident."

That reminded Severus of something. "Lucius?" he spoke up. As the blond made a small sound, signalling that he was indeed listening, the younger Slytherin then continued, "Could I maybe talk with you privately later on? There's something I need to discuss with you, with no Gryffindors at place."

Lucius smirked, not that Severus would have seen it. "Of course," he replied. "What about right after the dinner?" And, as Severus agreed to that, he then returned to the interrupted conversation.

Meanwhile, the male pregnancy conversation had been moved to hushed voices. "...Could he?" asked Junila right then from Cedric. "I do recall..." And again, it went down to a whisper that not even Severus with his additional hearing could catch from where he was sitting at the moment.

"Indeed, it is true," Cedric agreed, and Severus knew what they were talking about. "One morning..."

The half-hushed conversation carried on for still some time. At last, however, the dinner was turning to its end, and the house-elves served dessert. While eating, Lucius turned to Amanda Evans. "So, would you think it possible for your daughter to stay with us for some time?" he asked calmly.

And then, Amanda broke into a wide smile, almost causing Lily to choke. "Of course," she replied. "I see no reason why she couldn't say here." Of course, this made all the Marauders cheer loudly.

When the dinner had been finished, Lucius called Severus to his side. His hand resting on the side of the wheelchair, Severus followed him into a small sitting room, while Luke and Cedric left with the Evanses, and the other teens went somewhere, laughing loudly. Once inside, Lucius locked the door.

"So," he then said, turning towards his best friend. "What is it you don't want James to hear?"

"I'm quite transparent, aren't I?" asked Severus with a tired chuckle. "Though you're right, I wanted to avoid James -- and the others, too. They don't have to know."

"You're not transparent, Severus. I just know you too well." Lucius led him to a nearby sofa. "So, what is it?" he asked then, eyeing his friend curiously. Only very few things could make Severus this grave.

The other Slytherin drew a deep breath. Then, he sighed. "Lucius, I am pregnant."

For a moment, Lucius just stared at him. Then he, too, sighed. "Fine. Natural pregnancy right for your seventh year -- like your life wasn't difficult enough already." After a moment of silence, he asked, "What are you going to do about it, anyway? I assume James doesn't know about it yet?"

"No, he doesn't know, and I am going to keep it," replied Severus levelly. "Not yet, though -- I can't let an infant be interfering with not only mine, but also James's studying for our NEWTs. I'm currently drinking two potions, one to stop the fetus from developing further and the other to protect it."

"And you need me to brew more of those potions." Severus nodded in response. Snapping his tongue, Lucius then asked, "Where did you get your first doses of those potions, anyway? They consist of ingredients not allowed to students, like you know very well -- otherwise, you'd brew them yourself."

"I got them from Cedric," replied Severus levelly. "I'd got up every morning far before James for two weeks already, immediately going to the toilet to empty my stomach. Then, one morning, when I again stood up, Cedric was just standing there and asked if I was pregnant. I answered honestly; after all, he knows what it is like. So, he took me to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and we discussed my possibilities. In the end, he gave me those potions; he always has some for himself in case he became pregnant again on an unfortunate time, even though I do think they're using contraception. Also, he told me to ask you whether there's some potion to help with the morning sickness -- other than my sleepiness, that's the most annoying symptom, and I'd rather not suffer of it for the whole school year." He grimaced.

At this, Lucius chuckled slightly. "I can't think of anything right now, as the need is rare, but I'm sure my mother knows of some potions," he said. "Ask her, and I'll brew you whatever she recommends."

"Thank you, Lucius." Severus smiled briefly. "I just wonder what James will say when I tell him after we've gone through our NEWTs and I can let it go further."

"Most probably he's only glad after dealing with your sleepy, moody, having-weird-cravings semi-pregnant self for a whole year." Lucius snorted with laughter. "How far along are you, anyway?"

"Two months." The blind teen smirked. "It is good as I'm not yet showing, but on morning sickness and about everything else, it's the worst time possible. But at least I won't be like a stranded whale."

"How fortunate indeed," the blond said, smirking and raising his eyebrow, even though he knew that all his unvoiced communication was in vain in this conversation. "You know, I truly do pity James."

"Oh, do not. He's pulled enough pranks to deserve anything that is coming to him."

And at that, they both laughed.

*

"Lucius?" asked a voice from the darkness. The blond turned towards the source of the voice, only turning his upper body. His legs were like dead weight, and he didn't like the feeling he got when he had to move them around. Sure enough, both were pretty well his flesh and blood, but he had no control over them.

"Yes, Sirius?" he asked back, reaching out a hand to touch his younger husband. Instantly, his hand was taken into another, and Sirius's other hand came nearer to trace his bare side under the covers.

"Thank you for convincing Lily's mother," replied Sirius, creeping nearer to him under the covers. "From what James told me, she's a right bitch. I don't think she would have agreed without you charming her."

"Well, I hardly could have upset you that badly, now could I?" asked Lucius, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "I want you to be as happy as you can despite your father's actions," he then continued with a very soft voice. "Of course I had to have Lily here, too, as you wanted her to be here as well."

"All the more reason to thank you." Sirius came even closer, nuzzling his neck. Then, however, the one hand drawing invisible figures on Lucius's side travelled a bit downwards. "My, my, what do we have here?" asked the Grim Animagus. Lucius could feel his grin against his shoulder.

"A bit of a problem, I'd say," he replied lightly. "Would you like to help me get rid of it?"

"Gladly." And after saying that, Sirius leant forward and placed a kiss on Lucius's lips, his hand still exploring the fascinating secrets of Lucius's body, the body that belonged to him.

Even though Lucius's legs didn't function well -- well, not at all, actually --, certain other parts of his lower body were still in excellent condition, like Sirius had many times noted to his great delight. And like he was just about to notice again.