A Priceless Gift

Chapter 14

"Hi guys!" Hermione said as she stepped inside and gave them both a hug.

"How are you feeling today, Hermione?" Harry asked and watched Draco and Ron eye each other warily.

"Fabulous! I'm starving though. We got a bit of everything, and if we don't eat soon, I'm having it all myself," Hermione insisted.

"Come in, Ron," Harry offered and stepped aside. Draco just sniffed, turned, and stalked off in the direction of the kitchen. "Don't mind him; he's been in one of his funny moods today. I narrowly escaped our bedroom without a bottle of deodorant lodged in my forehead."

Ron laughed nervously. "Ah, how's things, mate?" he asked Harry and shook his hand. Harry shrugged, deciding to just take things with Ron as they came.

"We haven't killed each other. I suppose that's something. At this point in time our baby will still have two fathers," Harry joked and Ron allowed himself to laugh. Harry slapped him on the back, indicating he should relax a bit.

"No hard feelings, yeah?" Ron asked tentatively.

"We'll chat later, ok? I'm not provoking Draco into anything at the moment, and I advise you to do the same otherwise you won't leave here with the same bits you came with," Harry said flippantly and placed his hand in the small of Hermione's back and lead her gently through to the kitchen.

Ron set the food down on the dining table. Hermione immediately dived for the bag and started pulling out an array of silver boxes while devouring the prawn crackers at the same time. Harry grabbed enough plates and cutlery from the kitchen for the four of them, even though he didn't have much interest in eating a big lunch.

"You look great, Hermione," Draco commented, pulling out her seat for her before taking the one beside her. "I'm jealous." Harry bounded into the living room, grabbed two pillows, and slipped one behind Draco's back. He offered the other to Hermione, who took it gratefully.

"You look as good as you always do," Hermione said graciously.

"Thank you, but I know I look like shit. Nice try though. I'm all bloated and... blah," Draco said ineloquently and everyone laughed. "Look at my hair! It's all limp and dry. My usual shampoo is doing nothing but strip it!"

Ron opened his mouth to make a snide comment, but Harry stood behind Draco and made a zipping motion across his lips warning him not to reply to Draco's angsting. Ron snorted when he tried to stifle a laugh, and Draco spun around to glare at Harry, who just smiled innocently and shrugged.

"Perhaps you should try something natural, Draco? One of my friends at work recommended this cleaning potion brewed specially for pregnant women to wash their hair with. It's made from herbs and fruit extracts. She just had twins about six months ago and swore by it," Hermione suggested.

Draco looked torn. "I supposed I could try it. I'm not used to -" Hermione whipped the lids off two of the cartons of Chinese food at the same time, and Draco literally gagged mid-sentence and caused Hermione to jump back in fear of being vomited on.

With his hand over his mouth, Draco pushed out of the chair, knocking it over in haste and raced to the bathroom down the hall; slamming the door in his wake.

"Bloody hell," Ron breathed and scrutinized Hermione as if waiting for her to do the same thing.

"Don't look at me like that," Hermione laughed. "He's more sensitive to smells than I am."

"Time to go do my boyfriendly duties. Again," Harry said with a smile and grabbed a prawn cracker. "Be back in a bit. Go ahead and start otherwise it will get cold."

o o o o o

Harry looked down at the congealed mess on his plate that was usually his favourite Chinese food meal. He hadn't even taken one mouthful of it and Hermione was eying him warily.

Harry had sat with Draco in the bathroom until the unpleasant feeling passed and then told him to go and have a lie down upstairs away from the aromas until lunch was over. Harry had quickly made some more toast and tea for Draco and took it up to the bedroom for him to have when he felt up to it.

That left Harry alone with Ron and Hermione and a plate of food that he suspected would send him running in the direction of the bathroom if he took a bite. He had absolutely no appetite and no desire to get into a deep and meaningful with Ron yet, even though the redhead looked fit to burst with apologies for his behaviour. Yet another session with Draco and the toilet bowl had left Harry feeling weary and a little depressed.

"You sick, mate?" Ron asked with concern. "The only time you pick at food is when you're sick. Even Mum used to say so when you would stay with us."

"Um, nah, just not hungry," Harry said distractedly.

"Pfft, pull the other one, Harry. It quacks like a duck," Hermione snorted and Harry glanced at her before bursting out laughing.

"What?" Harry asked incredulously.

"You're never 'not hungry'," Hermione pointed out. "I want the real story and I want it now, while Draco isn't here."

"I'm honestly not hungry!" Harry argued defensively. "What's it to you?"

"Bollocks," Hermione scoffed and Harry looked sharply at her. "You're exhausted. It's written all over your face. You're running on empty and you're going to end up sick. Let me guess? Draco's been having a really rough time of it, and you've been bending over backwards to help him as well as trying to keep up on your studying? But what good are you going to be if you end up in St Mungo's with exhaustion? I can't believe you've been silly enough to let yourself get to this point!" Hermione admonished.

"Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do?!" Harry exploded and pushed his plate away in disgust. Some of the contents splattered onto the table. "We're in this together, and he shouldn't have to deal with all this without my help! You saw him! He's as sick as a dog! If I'm exhausted, then Draco is a hundred times worse! He wakes up every morning and pukes for at least half an hour straight! Then, if he's lucky enough, he'll puke again after breakfast! Then he has to waltz off to work and put in eight hours a day! Oh, and not to mention how he pukes whenever he smells food, or coffee or even the fucking fire burning! He's worn out, he can't eat normally, and fuck, he can't even sleep some nights! His back aches, his head aches! When he's not racing to the toilet to puke, he's racing to the toilet to pee! He's lost weight! His moods are so volatile! He cries over the smallest things! We argue regularly! I'm shit scared that if I turn my back on him for two seconds, he'll faint! I don't finish university for another three months! SO, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?!" Ron's mouth was gaping open in disbelief, and Hermione was staring at him wide-eyed as if she had no clue how bad things had gotten, but Harry wasn't finished. "Draco and you and this baby are more important than my sleep at the moment! So, who the fuck cares if I'm tired and sick?! I DON'T CARE! BECAUSE AT THE END, WE'LL HAVE OUR BABY AND EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT AGAIN! I'M NOT GOING TO LET DRACO GO THROUGH THIS ROTTEN THING ALONE!"

"Harry...?" a soft, exasperated voice sounded from the kitchen doorway.

Harry hung his head and sighed. "I'm sorry I disturbed your rest, sweetheart," he murmured without looking up. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," Draco said firmly. "Every time I've asked how you were you've told me over and over again that were fine, that you're not tired, that you're not hungry. Why didn't you tell me you were running yourself into the ground?" Draco approached the table and saw the food and blanched. He pressed a hand to his nose and mouth, so Ron spelled the food away. Draco shot him a grateful look as he pulled the chair next to Harry out. He took Harry's hand. "Harry, look at me babe." Harry reluctantly turned to gaze at Draco. "Why didn't you tell me this was taking its toll on you?"

"Because I know what you would say! You would tell me you were fine and could handle it on your own. But it would be a lie, wouldn't it, Draco? Because you told me not more than two hours ago that you wouldn't handle this alone! I have to do everything I can to help you!" Harry cried.

"Harry..." Draco breathed. "This is only the second month of the pregnancy and you're already dead on your feet."

"So are you!" Harry shot back. "I'm helpless with this!"

"You are not helpless!" Draco scolded. "What do you do when I go to work each day?" he demanded. Harry pursed his lips and looked away. "Harry..." Draco's voice had a warning tone to it.

"Fine! I study all day, ok? Head down, arse up almost non-stop. Happy? I have to because you need me when you are here and I can't concentrate long enough to get anything productive done!"

"Bloody hell!" Hermione exclaimed. "You two need a right slap! You both obviously need more rest. This is not a normal situation and it's like any other illness - you adjust. Go to bed earlier, sleep longer on weekends, stop bringing work home with you, Draco, and rest. Harry, you should take breaks to nap in the afternoon and stop overdoing things. Long study periods when you are tired will produce less than short study periods when you are well-rested," Hermione reasoned.

"You make it sound so easy, but it's not!" Harry moaned.

"Ok then, well, let's talk about this. When Draco's tossing and turning at night with insomnia, what do you do, Harry? Let me guess. You lie there, beat yourself up because you can't help him, and wait to actually fall asleep yourself until you know Draco has finally dozed off soundly?" Hermione asked with an eyebrow raised.

"How -?" Harry started.

"Because I know how much you care about Draco and I know how much you worry about him. My point is you're obviously both awake for hours some nights. Lying there and trying to get to sleep is pointless. You'll just be more tired and more irritable and Draco will be more volatile come morning. Then in the morning, the vicious cycle starts again: Draco wakes up sick, vomits for some while, you're both exhausted from lack of sleep, and have to put in a full day workload afterwards. By the time you get to bed at night you're over tired and hence another sleepless night! How the hell are you pair going to cope with a newborn?"

"Well, what do you suggest, Hermione?" Draco asked, listening intently to her. Harry was sitting with his head in his hands scowling, and Ron was taking everything in with a sympathetic frown on his face, just realizing the enormity of the situation.

"Just make a few changes. If you're both awake at night, then don't lie there tossing and turning. Get up and watch some television, or have a hot drink. Do something together and go back to bed when you're sleepy. Tired doesn't always mean sleepy - remember that," Hermione stated.

"You guys could always have a good shag if you're both awake at night," Ron suggested. "That always makes me tired."

"Then you must be more asleep than awake with the amount of bloody women you go through," Hermione snapped. Draco stifled a laugh.

"That's not actually a bad idea," Harry mumbled from beneath his hands and pulled his head up to look at Draco with a small smile. "He's been unbelievably horny lately."

"Hey, that's the only good thing about this bloody Couvade thing!" Draco declared. "Speaking of which, Harry..." Draco wiggled his eyes suggestively at Harry.

"Dra-co!" Harry moaned and shook his head. "I'm buggered! Give me at least five minutes rest! Please!"

Hermione giggled but drew the conversation back. "The biggest thing for you, Draco, is to learn not to bring work home and actually relax once you come home in the evenings," she said firmly. Draco fell silent and frowned. "Come on, it's not that difficult to reform a workaholic, is it?"

Harry gave Draco a wary look before turning to Hermione. "He's been offered the promotion," he stated.

"Harry!" Draco snapped. "You had no right to tell them that! We didn't discuss this! I can't believe you!" He jumped up and stormed back upstairs, the slamming of the door shaking the glasses on the table.

Harry didn't look guilty, sheepish, upset or apologetic; he merely looked exhausted. "Fucked up again," he sighed. "Probably much worse than when I put the extra spoonful of sweetener on his cereal, but the consequences are the same."

"Why did he react like that?" Hermione asked incredulously. "I thought this was what he's been waiting for!"

"Yeah," Ron said stupidly, not knowing what else to say.

"He's having second thoughts," Harry explained. "I better not say anymore otherwise I'll make the situation much worse. Fuck, I'm tired." Needless to say, Harry was shocked when Draco came back down stairs a few minutes later with an unreadable look on his face.

"I'm sorry," Draco mumbled and sat back down in his seat. Harry gave him a tentative glance before dropping his gaze down to his lap.

"Um, maybe we should leave," Hermione suggested awkwardly and went to stand.

"No, don't. Please stay," Draco said. "Harry had every right to mention the promotion. I didn't ask him not to say anything. I blew up because I have some issues with it and I'm not ready to confront them yet. Can we just drop the subject and forget anything was mentioned? I'll talk about it soon, but not yet. Not until Harry and I can talk about it some more."

"Sure, honey. We understand," Hermione said softly.

Draco took Harry's hand, and Harry looked at him with an unreadable expression. "I'm sorry, love. Again. I told you that you can slap me when I do that," Draco said in a low voice that Ron and Hermione couldn't quite hear.

"I might save them all up and give you one big slap at the end," Harry said with a pout.

"And I would thoroughly deserve it," Draco agreed. "Am I forgiven?"

"If you promise not to throw another hissy fit at me for the rest of today," Harry bargained and Draco nodded before giving Harry a kiss of relief. Draco's stomach rumbled audibly then and Harry looked at him in surprise. "Don't tell me you're actually hungry?"

"Ah, no," Draco said and coloured deeply. "It's that other stomach rumbling thing again. It's been there all morning." A look of understanding dawned on Harry's face and he nodded.

"Well, you know what to do about it," Harry answered with a smirk. Draco frowned at Harry and gave a pointed glance at their guests.

"We were alone last time! And anyway, you promised me a massage!" Draco grinned.

"What the hell has that got to do with your stomach rumbling?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"Well, last time when you massaged my back, I -" Draco started with a wicked smile.

"Oh, yes, I remember what you did last time I massaged your back," Harry snorted.

"Well, the way you were pushing, it was putting pressure on my stomach. It just kind of popped out, you know?" Draco insisted and Harry laughed.

"To think only a month ago you had never knowingly farted in my presence." Harry grinned. "Now, I've created a monster."

"Oh, that's what you're talking about," Ron said and Draco gave him a weird look.

"I don't even want to know what else you think we may have been referring to, weasel," Draco scoffed.

"What is it with boys and bodily functions?" Hermione groaned and they all laughed at her like they were privy to an inside joke. She just rolled her eyes. "I don't want any part of your male bonding moments. Especially none to do with stomach rumbling." She sat back and folded her arms. The three boys just sniggered at her.

After a few minutes, Ron plucked up the courage to speak seriously. "Guys, I just want to say that I am really sorry about what I said about the baby. I was shocked, that's all. It really was the last thing I expected to hear. It's one of the most important things that you will ever experience in your life, Harry, and I was hurt that Hermione was part of it and not me," Ron said sincerely.

"But you can understand that we didn't deliberately exclude you, can't you Ron? It was never our intention to hurt you. Draco and I were just so totally wrapped up in the thought of being able to have a baby that we honestly didn't consider anyone else's reactions. As it was, you found out even before Draco's Mum," Harry pointed out.

"I know. I understand the whole situation now. I spoke about it in length to both Hermione and Mum and they clued me in on just what you would both have been going through. I really didn't mean the hurtful things I said. I'm stoked for you two, I meant it when I said that there is no one more deserving of a child than you guys." Ron smiled at the couple. "You know, I really hope I have everything that you guys have one day."

By this point, both Hermione and Draco were brushing tears out of their eyes, so Harry summoned a box of tissues from the living room.

"I'm glad you guys have sorted everything out," Hermione sniffled.

"Hmm, me too," Draco said distractedly. He got up and started searching around in the kitchen cupboards and pulled out a jar of crunchy peanut butter and started rummaging around in the drawers. "Harry, have we got any of those little candy bananas left?"

"Last time you ate them you just spewed them all back up again," Harry reminded him.

"But I'll only have a couple. Please!" Draco pleaded desperately.

"Third drawer down pushed right to the back," Harry replied reluctantly. Draco spun around and whipped out the packet of sweets with a triumphant grin on his face. Harry sighed and shook his head as Draco screwed off the lid of the peanut butter and proceeded to dip one of the tiny bananas into it and plop it into his mouth.

"Mmmm..." Draco hummed and closed his eyes.

"Oh. My. God." Hermione watched in horrified fascination as Draco savoured the unusual snack. "That's disgusting! Harry, how can you let him eat that?"

"I'm not letting him; I'm just not stopping him. First time I tried he yelled at me, and the second time I tried he cried," Harry said with a shrug.

"You mean this isn't the first time he's eaten that?" Ron asked in awe. "I don't even think Fred and George would try something like that."

"Hey, I'm still here, you know?" Draco said between sweets.

"If they make you sick, you can hold your own hair back," Harry said through a yawn.

"You don't mean that," Draco said confidently and Harry just gazed back at him through heavy-lidded eyes.

"I think you two should go and have a nap," Hermione suggested. "Ron promised me he would take me to that ice cream shop of yours Draco."

"Awww, Harry! Ice cream!" Draco cried and lost interest in his bananas.

"Please, Draco," Harry groaned. "I don't want to go anywhere but bed."

"Come with us, mate," Ron offered to Draco. "We're just going to walk there." Draco hesitated and looked at Harry.

"Just go, baby. The fresh air will do you good. I'm going up for that nap." Harry yawned again. Draco bit his lip and considered his options. "Besides, if you want ice cream, I'm not going to discourage it. You need to more flesh on your skinny arse."

"But I'm horny and I want a massage..." Draco whined. "You promised!"

"Well, you can stay horny until I've finished my nap and I'll give you a massage later." Harry waved Draco off. "Go and get ice cream. Oh, and Hermione, make sure you sit near a toilet, just in case."

"Come on, Draco. We'll have fun. That choc mint ice cream looked mighty nice that day," Hermione urged. She felt the couple could use some time apart.

"Oh, alright!" Draco threw up his hands in defeat. He went over to Harry and tipped Harry's head back to kiss him deeply. Harry melted into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and pulled him down onto his lap. Draco straddled Harry without even breaking the kiss, but then he pulled away from Harry's lips to murmur, "I'm staying," before descending on Harry's earlobe.

"Mmmm..." Harry breathed and closed his eyes. He slipped his hand up the back of Draco's shirt to caress his toned back. Draco rocked his hips against Harry's, pushing their erections together, and Harry moaned deep in his throat as Draco's mouth found his lips once more. Harry was rarely able to resist Draco's ministrations, and Draco was ready and willing more often than not lately.

"Oh please!" Hermione snapped. She tapped her foot impatiently, but Ron stood there gaping at Harry and Draco. This sort of public display of affection from the couple wasn't new, however, it never failed to amaze Ron just how indifferent Harry and Draco were to doing it in front of an audience. "You two are unbelievable! Draco, are you coming with us to get ice cream, or are you going to stay and eat Harry instead?"

"Harry," came Draco's muffled response as he remained attached to Harry's mouth. Draco's hand disappeared between them, and Harry made a small keening noise. Ron cleared his throat and finally looked away. Hermione smacked her lips. When Harry ran his hands down Draco's back and gripped his bum to pull him closer to him, Hermione snorted and turned to Ron.

"Come on, Ron. Some people are just too rude to say goodbye," she huffed, which caused Harry to pull away from Draco's ministrations and look sheepishly at his best friends over Draco's shoulder.

Draco stopped his assault on Harry reluctantly and turned to grin at Ron and Hermione. "I'm sorry, guys, but I don't have much self control when it comes to Harry at the moment." Draco giggled.

"Did you ever?" Hermione asked pointedly with a smile.

"Touché. Anyway, you don't really want me around when you get ice cream. You should have some time alone together. You know maybe find a corner to snog in, or something? You can't tell me this pregnancy is not making you horny, Hermione. I have to pee," Draco announced. He climbed off Harry and retreated to the bathroom.

Harry bit his lip and looked apologetically at his friends. Ron was bright red up to the root of his hair and trying desperately not to catch Hermione's eye. Hermione was glaring daggers at the doorway where Draco disappeared.

"I'm sorry, guys. He's really not himself at the moment. I think he thinks sex is the answer to everything right now." Harry chuckled nervously. "Um, I'd say he didn't mean it, but I think he did, so just ignore him, ok? We both know you guys aren't... well, you know." Harry gestured between them indicating their lack of romantic relationship.

Neither Ron nor Hermione honoured him with an answer. Hermione shook herself slightly and turned to Ron. "So, ice cream then?" she asked and took his arm. "I think I might avoid the choc mint. I hear it does strange things to one's brain." She pointedly looked at Harry, who bit his lip.

"Um, well, I'll see you next time, mate," Ron said, his voice breaking.

"Bye guys," Harry said with a guilty smile and waved as they left.

o o o o o

Harry flopped in a boneless, sweaty mess onto Draco's chest, panting and trying to catch his breath. Draco gave a sated sigh and ran his hands lightly up Harry's sides. After a few moments, Harry grunted and pulled out of Draco and rolled onto his back, pulling the covers up over them in the process.

After Ron and Hermione had left, Draco had all but accosted Harry, and they stumbled up to their bedroom, desperately ripping each others clothes off in the process, and made love as frantically and as noisily as possible. Draco really was insatiable at the moment, and he was ready for a repeat performance shortly after. Harry had no choice but to oblige, and their second time was much more leisurely but no less passionate.

Draco rolled onto his side and snuggled up into Harry's side, not bothered in the slightest by the stickiness leftover from their lovemaking.

"Baby, why did you say that to Hermione?" Harry asked tiredly. His hand came up to brush Draco's hair from his eyes.

"About snogging with Ron? Because he wants her. I can see it in his eyes and the way he looks at her," Draco murmured and almost purred at Harry's touch, feeling sleep creeping up on him.

"But, I'm pretty sure it's not what Hermione wants," Harry pointed out.

"She says she doesn't, but she's never really given it a chance with him, has she?" Draco said practically.

"Hmm, I suppose. But shouldn't you just let them work it out themselves? It was a rather unsubtle push you gave them, and I think you pissed Hermione off."

"They would never get a clue if you left them to themselves. It's the Gryffindor in them. You don't do subtlety. You lot can actually be quite thick. Look what I had to do to convince you to have a shot with me," Draco reminded. Harry giggled and blushed despite himself remembering how Draco urged him down the Great Hall via an Owl at midnight one night and upon arrival found Draco sitting on the Head Table in Snape's seat adorned in nothing but a Gryffindor tie and the words 'This could be yours' painted across his chest in chocolate body paint.

"Mmm, that's one time I was very thankful for my unsubtle-ness," Harry purred and gave Draco a soft kiss.

"Well, I knew it was either hit you across the head with the fact that I wanted you, or give up completely because, well, you really were clueless to my advances, baby. I tried for nearly four months to get your attention and that was even after we had become friends. I still wonder what you think I was up to when I bought you those chocolates from Honeydukes and offered to carry your bag to DADA. Every day," Draco mused.

"I just thought you were being nice," Harry laughed.

"Harry, they were the most expensive chocolates Honeydukes carried! Handmade, imported directly from Belgium that had wrappers with actual eighteen karat gold embossing. 'Nice' isn't the message you send with a gift like that." Draco chuckled and shook his head fondly at his boyfriend.

"I didn't realise they were top of the range at the time," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"Yes, I figured that when I saw you simultaneously scoffing them and offering them to everyone at Gryffindor table at lunch the next day. It was then that I decided that drastic times called for drastic measures," Draco said through a yawn.

"Did Snape ever find out you sat buck naked in his chair at the Head Table?" Harry asked and kissed the top of Draco's head.

"Well, he caught wind of a rumour of similar nature but never believed I would do it. They never got that stain out of his chair either." Draco grinned wickedly. Harry snorted.

"So, what do we do about Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Nothing. I planted the seed. Let them find out on their own," Draco murmured and dropped off to sleep a few moments later, snoring steadily. It wasn't long before Harry fell asleep himself.