A Priceless Gift

Lani

Story Summary:
Hermione offers Harry and Draco the ultimate gift. What happens when the tables are turned and Draco gets more than he bargained for?

Chapter 27 - Chapter 23

Posted:
02/17/2006
Hits:
1,553
Author's Note:
Many thanks to my Beta, Malikamoonbeam!


Chapter 23

"Did they say why they were letting him go home today?" Narcissa asked as she and Harry made their way up to Draco's hospital ward later that evening. Harry had called her a short while earlier and asked her to meet him at St Mungo's.

"They just said he was Healing well and would probably be more comfortable at home. Jenny is going to stop in twice a day for the next few days to make sure everything is ok, and we will be able to contact St Mungo's immediately if necessary," Harry explained.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of them releasing him early," Narcissa said with a frown. "I might just speak to them."

"They said he's eating, drinking, and using the toilet alright. With help, obviously, but I'm more than capable," Harry pointed out. "I'd rather have him home with me, anyway."

Narcissa gave a reluctant sigh. "I'll come and stay with you both for a few days then," she offered.

"It's not necessary, but if you feel you want to be there in case, you know you're always welcome." Harry smiled.

When they got to Draco's room, they found him sitting on the side of his bed in a very loose pair of tracksuit pants and a t-shirt chatting quietly to Seamus. Draco's face lit up when Harry approached the bed.

"I missed you, baby!" Draco cried and held out his arms to Harry.

"Well, you look a little better than you did this morning," Narcissa said warily and scrutinized him closely.

"He's perfectly alright to be goin' home, Mrs Malfoy," Seamus assured her. "We would normally be keepin' him in longer but he's eatin' an' drinkin' fine so any medication can be given in potion form. He can't be goin' back to work for a good coupla' weeks though. That was the deal that we release him early. You best be makin' sure he sticks to the bargain, Harry."

Harry's eyes flicked to Draco, who gave him a look that was a mix of sheepishness and uncertainty. "Anything I need to know to make sure his pain is kept to a minimum?" Harry asked.

"I'll brief you before you leave, mate," Seamus assured him. "Most important thing to remember is to put some pressure on the wound when he needs to move. You don't want it burstin' or anythin'. I'm not goin' to lie to you. It's goin' to be fuckin' painful for a few days. Laughin', sneezin', cryin', shittin', and even fartin' is goin' to hurt like hell. Keep up the Pain Potions for the first few days and then you need to start comin' off them so you don't get dependant."

"What if he's sick, Seamus?" Narcissa asked. "The few times I've seen him ill since the pregnancy he was doing an awful lot of very noisy heaving."

"Mum, for fuck sake!" Draco moaned.

"Well, you were, darling. I don't want you to hurt yourself," Narcissa replied.

"He's not had the morning sickness for a while now," Harry piped up.

"Pressure on the wound should do the trick," Seamus advised. "If there is vomitin' for any extended period of time over the next week or so, Jenny will need to see him immediately. Now off with you all. You don't want to be hangin' about a hospital any longer than necessary!"

"You'll come to our wedding, won't you, Seamus?" Draco asked as he stood up gingerly and Harry gave him a sharp, questioning look at the flippant mention of the wedding.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Seamus laughed. "Call us if anythin' is out of the ordinary, ok?" They all said goodbye and left.

o o o o o

Narcissa decided to stay for the next few days, but had to make a trip to Hogwarts to gather some things, which left Harry and Draco alone. Blaise chose to spend a few days with Pansy while Draco recuperated, so he didn't cause his friend any unintentional irritation.

Harry held Draco by the arm and around the waist as he eased him down onto the couch. "Sit down, love," Draco said with a smile and patted the cushion beside him.

"Are you feeling ok? Do you need anything?" Harry asked, sinking into the seat.

"I need you to just sit a listen for minute, ok?" Draco said softly and Harry nodded with a small gulp. "I did a lot of thinking today. I thought over many things that people have said and done recently but I always kept coming back to one thing..." Draco took Harry's hand and Harry looked nervously at him. "You, love. I don't ever want to be without you and anything else is worth nothing to me if you aren't there beside me. I made some phone calls and I resigned from my job."

"WHAT?! Draco, no! You can't!" Harry cried, pulling his hands away and running them through his hair. "You can't give up your career like that!"

Draco smiled. "I'm not, baby. Bill, myself, and another lady from our firm are all going to go into business together. We'll open our own firm and take things from there. Bill has numerous connections, so it won't take much to establish ourselves. Apparently, this is something Bill and this other lady have been considering for awhile. When I called him today, in tears over my predicament mind you, he told me his thoughts and suggested I go in on the deal. They had been considering poaching me for awhile, but when I was put up for the promotion, they backed off. It'll take a couple of months to get things off the ground. In the meantime, I'll just work with them to get the business up and running, then Bill suggested I work part-time for a year or so when the baby is born. Actually, he basically told me to go on maternity leave, the cheeky bastard," Draco finished with a chuckle.

"H... how do you feel about all that?" Harry asked, wringing his hands in his lap.

"Content, for the first time in many, many months," Draco said honestly, placing a hand over Harry's and squeezing them. "This whole business with work has been eating me up inside since they offered me that promotion. I wanted the career advancement, but not at the cost of losing you. I couldn't, however, see an easy out. I thought I would end up back at square one if I didn't take the promotion. I didn't think I would get another opportunity, and I probably wouldn't have with that company if I turned them down. This new venture with Bill is just what I need. I need a change, and Bill is completely understanding of my personal circumstances. He has discussed everything with Julie, the other lady. His family have all grown up, and she is single and completely career focussed - a bit like Hermione. They are both happy to do the leg work to get us off the ground while everything with the baby is going on."

"It sounds too good to be true..." Harry mumbled. "Did you say you already resigned from your other job?"

"That is exactly what I said. Conditionally, of course. I was a bit of a mess during the whole conversation and was a lost cause by the end, so Bill just said to call himself my new guardian angel and that he expects a generous Christmas present," Draco laughed. "I haven't resigned officially. I wanted to speak to you first before anything was set. Bill is going to tell everyone I'm off sick indefinitely, and I just don't plan on going back. I'll send in my resignation if, and when, you say the word," he explained. Harry said nothing and just gazed down at his lap. "You aren't going to cry on me, are you?"

When Harry finally turned to look at Draco, he did, indeed, have tears in his eyes. "Why not? You've done it enough to me recently!"

"True," Draco said nonchalantly. "Oh come here!" He smiled and wrapped his arms around Harry. "Is this what you wanted, love? Be honest with me. I need to hear it."

"Yes, this is everything I wanted!" Harry said tearfully. "Just you more and you to be the father you want to be. That's all I wanted."

"So, are we planning a wedding, then?" Draco asked with a laugh.

"Nope. I don't think you're Mum will let us plan any part of it," Harry joked and wiped his eyes on the back of his hands.

Draco snorted. "Typical," he said with a fond smile. "Oh, I don't care. I could marry you in the Three Broomsticks and be perfectly happy. I just want to do it. After all this time, I want to marry you, Harry James Potter."

Harry smiled. "Then let's get married."

o o o o o

Over the next few weeks everyone was busy with wedding plans. A week after Draco got out of the hospital he sent in his resignation and now only spent a few hours a day at Bill's home planning and discussing things for their new law firm. Julie had found a lovely, large, modern office for them in the centre of London, and they were due to officially open in two weeks after it had been redecorated. Gracie had also resigned and was adamant she was coming to work for Draco, much to Draco's relief as she was one of the only ones who could put up with his little 'traits'. Needless to say, Draco was thoroughly satisfied with his decision and thriving on the new experience.

They were at the start of the seventh month of the pregnancy and Hermione's stomach was getting very big. She was also feeling rather tired and sore a lot of the time, so Harry and Draco had offered for her to stay with them for a break to give her some time to relax. Needless to say, she jumped at the chance.

"HARRY!" Draco screeched from up in their bedroom where he was getting ready to go to his new office with Bill and Julie for the day to discuss some of the clients who had chosen to stay with them when they left the other firm.

Hermione looked up from her breakfast when Harry jumped at Draco's shouting. "What's his problem?" she asked irritably. Her moods weren't quite as bad as Draco's, but recently her grouchiness gave Draco a good run for his money.

Harry went to answer, but Draco cut him off when he came bounding down the stairs with his shirt open and his pants unzipped. "Harry! My pants won't do up! I'm fat! Look!" Draco screeched, smacking his stomach, which was slightly rounded and swollen.

Harry pursed his lips to keep from laughing as he watched Draco struggled to hold his pants closed and then attempt to do up the zipper. He was fighting a losing battle. He wasn't about to tell Draco that he thought his little sympathetic pregnancy belly was cute, either. He would end up with the absence of one - or more - rather vital organs.

"Try feeling like you've got a basketball in your stomach, and then come complain to me, Malfoy!" Hermione barked and Draco glared at her.

"Oh god," Harry groaned and shifted a few tentative inches away from Hermione to get out of the firing line.

"Unlike you, I don't have a baby in my stomach! You are perfectly entitled to look and feel like you have a basketball in your stomach. You even manage to look gorgeous despite it! I, on the other hand, am just FAT!" Draco snapped and whined, upset when he tried his pants again to no avail.

"Oh god, Draco, please no tears again! You'll set me off!" Hermione said frantically.

"I'm FAT and I'm UGLY! I have ACNE for fuck sake! Before this, I never had a zit in my life! My nipples are as sore as shit, I'm constipated, and I have haemorrhoids!" Draco complained tearfully.

"Constipated and haemorrhoids?" Harry asked with a snort.

"Yes!" Draco snapped. "Have you got a problem with that?"

"No."

"Good, because you're bottoming tonight," Draco hissed then turned on his heel and stomped upstairs again.

Hermione burst out laughing. "I don't sound like that when I complain, do I?" she asked through her giggles.

"No one sounds like that when they complain. He's one of a kind." Harry smirked. "He's not going to find any work pants that he can do up."

"Yeah, he's always worn form-fitting ones, hasn't he?" Hermione asked and scooped a spoonful of muesli into her mouth.

"Form-fitting?" Harry snorted. "That's a nice way of saying all his pants hug his arse."

"You would know," Hermione retorted. "Speaking of hugging his arse, it sounds like you're in for it tonight."

"Tonight, this afternoon, this evening, tomorrow morning..." Harry muttered. "I'm in for it all the time lately. How come you don't seem as remotely horny as Draco?"

"I'm more satisfied with a large block of chocolate than sex right now. To each his own," Hermione said with a shrug.

"Don't let Ron hear you say that," Harry warned.

"He knows," she laughed. "I'm feeling pretty un-sexy right now and don't feel like sex much at all. Jenny told me it's normal. Ron understands."

"So, he's just going without?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Of course not. I'm not that inconsiderate. He might not be completely satisfied but he's not starving," Hermione scoffed. "I have hands and a mouth."

"Urgh, ew!" Harry squealed and slapped his hands over his ears.

"Oh please. You can give but you can't take," Hermione snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I heard you and Draco going at it fiercely in your bathroom last night. You forgot it was right next to the guest room, did you?" Hermione asked and raised an amused eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. I can't say I had many coherent thoughts once he accosted me in the shower... again," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"So, that was you moaning 'yes... yes... yes... YES... OH FUCK! YES!'?" Hermione asked with a very good impersonation of the noises she had been privy to the night before.

"Um -"

"Yes," Draco interrupted in confirmation as he hurried back into the kitchen. "That was all Harry. My mouth was occupied elsewhere." Harry looked up and saw Draco standing there in his jacket, neatly pressed shirt, tie and... gold silk boxers!

"I completely love the look, baby, but I don't think Bill, Julie, and Gracie will agree," Harry laughed.

"Are you saying I'm ugly?" Draco snapped.

"No! I'm saying that the boxers don't really go with the rest of your attire!" Harry said quickly.

"Oh," Draco muttered. "I need your help with that."

"In what way?"

"I tried to transfigure my trousers so there was a bit more room around the stomach and I kind of, um... disintegrated them..." Draco trailed and gave Harry a feeble look.

"Huh?" Harry said stupidly. "How the fuck did you manage that?!"

"I don't know! I said the spell perfectly!" Draco protested.

"It's the Couvade," Hermione stated and gulped down her tea.

"What? No. That can't be right. My magic hasn't been affected by that at all," Draco scoffed.

"Up until now," Hermione retorted. "Pregnancy can cause some woman's magic to go haywire in later months."

"Has yours?" Draco asked frantically.

"Nope," Hermione said with a smug smirk. "I don't recommend you let him use the lubrication charm on you, Harry." Harry squeaked in response and Draco looked horrified. Hermione pushed her empty tea cup towards Draco. "Try and refill if for me."

Draco looked defiantly at her and whipped out his wand. He clearly said the spell and they all watched as the tea cup melted into a pool of green, bubbly mush.

"You are so not going anywhere near my arse while you're like that!" Harry cried.

"What am I going to do for pants?!" Draco hissed and then whirled on Hermione who was snorting with laughter. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY! I have no magic and I have no pants! Harry, fix it!"

"You could always wear my overalls," Harry suggested bravely and started running away before Draco could react.

o o o o o

"BLOODY HELL! I don't care if it's roses or orchids! I don't care if the cake is silver! And I certainly don't care if your shoes have silver buckles or not!" Harry screeched and came storming down the hallway with Draco in tow waving fabric samples at him.

Ron and Hermione looked up from where they were curled up on the couch together and grinned evilly at each other.

"YOU GET BACK HERE!" Draco yelled. "THIS IS IMPORTANT! DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME, POTTER!"

Harry stopped abruptly a few feet away from the couch causing Draco to run into his back and stumble. Harry grabbed him reflexively, and they stopped arguing long enough for Draco to right himself.

"Is Draco wearing a dress?" Ron whispered to Hermione in disbelief.

Hermione snorted. "No, it's just a huge t-shirt. Not many of his pants fit him anymore, so he doesn't wear any when he's not at work. He hates the tightness around his stomach."

"STOP HARRASSING ME!" Harry snapped. He glanced at the items in Draco's hands and pulled a face. "Urgh! I fucking hate weddings!"

"YOU BETTER MAKE A DECISION ON THIS! MUST I DO EVERYTHING?!" Draco argued.

"I TOLD YOU WHAT I WANTED!" Harry yelled back.

"YOU ARE NOT WEARING PLAIN BLACK ROBES TO OUR WEDDING AND YOU ARE CERTAINLY NOT WEARING ANYTHING HIRED!" Draco screamed and then threw all the fabric samples on the floor and burst into tears. "You are... just trying... to ruin... it all... for me..." he sobbed heavily. "You... don't... care!"

"Has he been like this during your whole stay?" Ron asked Hermione as he watched Harry fight down his anger.

"Ah huh," Hermione murmured with a nod and rubbed her abdomen as the baby shifted. "Actually he goes between shouting and tears quite often. Poor Harry can't keep up."

The doorbell rang, and Hermione indicated to Harry that she would get it just as Harry tentatively wrapped his arms around Draco. The last time he did that, he got kneed in the groin.

Draco was still sobbing heavily when Hermione came back with Gracie in tow. She cleared her throat pointedly. Harry and Draco both looked up. Draco looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him.

"I haven't done my hair!" Draco moaned and buried his face in Harry's shoulder again.

"Your hair?" Ron laughed. "You're standing there in the midst of a tantrum in a t-shirt the size of a tent and not much else, you have snot all over your face, and you're worried about your hair?"

"Come at a bad time, did I?" Gracie asked in amusement.

"I highly doubt you'll find a good time in the next couple of months," Harry said wryly.

"Shut up, Potter," Draco choked out.

"Why don't you go and wash your face, baby, while I make Grace a cup of tea?" Harry suggested.

Draco made a pained noise and couldn't think of a graceful way he could possibly get out of his predicament, so he just fled the room. Once they heard the bedroom door upstairs slam, they all burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry about that, Grace," Harry said. "We were arguing about the wedding and I got fed up, so Draco threw tantrum number two thousand and eighty nine."

"Yeah, and that's only in the last month," Hermione snorted.

"No need to apologise. He tried it on with me last week when I put a file away that he was apparently working on. I politely but firmly told him to pull his head in and he didn't speak to me for the rest of the day," Gracie laughed. "I got a lovely apology the next day, though. Rather sheepish and highly regretful, he was."

Hermione shifted in her seat and giggled. "Sorry, the baby is kicking again. This one definitely has Draco's feistiness." Harry's face broke into a wide grin. "Come and talk to your baby, Harry," she encouraged, but Harry blushed and shook his head.

"Nah, it's ok. I felt like a bit of a dick when I tried last time," Harry mumbled.

"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but he or she seems more active when you or Draco are around and talking," Hermione mused.

Harry snorted. "You're just trying to get me to talk to the bump," he scoffed.

"It's supposed to be beneficial," Hermione sniffed.

"Have you been doing it?" Harry shot back.

"I'm not his or her parent. I have, however, been playing music to it," Hermione told him and Harry laughed. "Oh, you laugh now, Harry Potter, but you'll thank me when your child is a genius."

Draco returned then, looking much more refreshed and respectable in a loose pair of tracksuit pants and a white t-shirt with his face clean and hair brushed.

"Feeling a bit more human?" Gracie asked teasingly.

"Marginally," Draco replied and smiled. "What can I do for you, Gracie? You realise it's the weekend and you are free of my hassles for another day and a half?"

"I'm never free from your hassles, sir," Gracie shot back cheekily and Draco smirked.

"True, but that's what makes you the best in the business. So, what have you got for me? Nothing work related, please. My brain isn't functioning properly at the moment." When Ron snorted at this comment, Draco shot him a nasty glare.

"Keep your pants on, Oh Great Hormonal One," Gracie snorted. "Your wedding invites arrived from the printer. I knew you were anxious for them, so I decided to drop them in on my way to my boyfriend's for lunch. I thought Harry might like a peek before you mail them out."

Draco shot Harry a wary look and tried to indicate discreetly to Gracie not to take them out of her bag.

Harry sighed impatiently. "You went with the ugly traditional-looking ones, didn't you? Even after I said I hated them?"

"I only did it because I was pissed off at you that day," Draco said defensively.

"Pissed off because I didn't agree with the invites?" Harry asked, bemused.

"No, because you wouldn't suck me off when I asked nicely," Draco reminded Harry and crossed his arms.

"You were being a grumpy arse again! I wasn't in the mood to give you a blow job after you just ripped my head off for squeezing the toothpaste the wrong way and not replacing the toilet roll!" Harry argued.

"I was stuck on the toilet with no paper to... you know..." Draco indicated with his hands.

"You only had to shout and I would've brought you a new roll," Harry pointed out. Hermione, Ron, and Grace were watching the volley of banter in amusement. "For all this, we are stuck with piss ugly wedding invites? You can send them back and get them to add a line at the bottom that says 'Harry had no say in the selection of these poor excuses for wedding invitations'."

"I will do no such thing! These are traditional wiz... er... family invites. After today, you won't see them ever again, so quit your moaning," Draco demanded.

"Fine, but next time you need toilet roll, you know what you can use," Harry sniped and earned a scowl from Draco.

o o o o o

"They're looking at us," Draco whispered to Harry as he scowled at the members of their birthing class.

Harry snorted. "No one gives a shit, Draco," he replied and shook his head. "Stop sending everyone evil looks. They all know our situation."

"I know, and that's why they are looking at us," Draco insisted. "Hermione's the only pregnant woman here with two men."

"Quit it, Draco. Paranoia doesn't suit you," Hermione hissed. "They know I'm your surrogate, they know you are the biological father, and they also know you're suffering a sympathetic pregnancy."

"What?!" Draco snapped. "How the fuck do they know?" he said, speaking loud enough for the couples close by to hear. "No wonder they are staring at me like I have a booger the size of a horse hanging from my nose."

"Urgh, Draco. Your class and dignity has completely gone down the pan since you've had Couvade," Harry scolded. "Have you considered that the reason they may be looking at you is because you've not stopped whining since we got here? Don't you want to be here?"

"Don't start with that crap again, Harry," Draco warned. "You know I'm not going to miss anything to do with our baby."

"Oh, I see someone's feeling a little moody today!" their class instructor laughed and everyone but Draco joined her. "I bet all you pregnant ladies here today are mighty happy to see a man finally suffering as we do!" She received murmurs of agreements and nods.

"Well, thanks so much," Draco said sarcastically, "you bloody overly cheerful bi -" he mumbled under his breath, but Harry caught it and cut him off with a smack in the arm.

"Please make an effort to be helpful," Harry requested. "It's not fair on Hermione for you to be such an irritable shit during her first birthing class. We all need to know what to do during the birth, so shut the bloody hell up!"

Draco scowled for a moment and then folded his arms. "Fine," he huffed.

"Thank you," Hermione said with a sigh of relief. Draco had been completely unbearable over the last few weeks. The stress of the wedding and opening the new firm had just compounded his already frayed emotions. It wasn't just Harry that copped the force of the mood swings; Draco shared them out for everyone equally these days.

"Ok, everyone, it's lovely to meet you all! You've chatted amongst yourselves and now it's time to start the class. My name is Emma, in case any of you had forgotten..."

"Why the hell did she look at me when she said that?" Draco grumbled.

"Because you already called her Erin when you wanted to know where the Men's Room was and Ella when you were looking for the water cooler," Harry reminded him.

"Draco, the baby is kicking again," Hermione cut in and Draco's face immediately lit up. In a shot, he was knelt in front of Hermione with his hands on her stomach.

"Oh, it's always good to see such an eager father," Emma cooed.

"That's a bit of an odd thing to say," Draco said as he turned and glared testily at her. "'Eager' implies an isolated feeling of excitement. I'm bloody ecstatic, not eager."

"Of course, Draco," Emma said with a smile. "But so often these days we see fathers not wanting to be involved with their baby. It's always refreshing to see a father so involved."

"Two fathers," Hermione corrected.

Draco sat back down next to Harry and sighed. "Then those dickheads need to be fucking castrated," he said firmly. "Harry and I... this has been..." he started, but stopped and shook his head. "If they can't give their baby the love and attention it deserves, then they don't deserve to have a dick to create a baby. The bloody wankers." The room had fallen silent, but many of the mothers - especially the single ones - were nodding furiously at Draco's comment. "I'm sorry. I just need some air..." Draco said after a few moments, getting up and leaving the room.