Chapter 19. The lie and the supposed truth.

Fred and George entered their room. They were exhausted. Moody and McGonagall together were absolutely formidable. Bill had been there also, but their git of a brother had refused to help them. Bastard. They were already planning a way to get back to him. George wanted to take a shower, so he gathered a change of clothes and asked Fred if he wanted to go too. His twin refused, saying that he preferred to take a nice nap before super. George walked out of the room, leaving his brother drinking water and pulling an armchair out of his way to sit on the windowsill for a bit.

Fred liked to open the window and sit with his legs hanging outside, feeling the wind. It was fun, and annoyed the shit out of his mother. Their room was on the third floor. Just below the attic. It had a wonderful view of the garden. They used to occupy a room on the front and entertain themselves seeing the city and the people passing by, but since Voldemort had taken power all that you could see was a dense mist. So, they had changed rooms to have some kind of decent view.

Fred opened the window and looked outside.

The first thing he heard was his sister's voice, obviously upset and yelling like a banshee. After the first moment of wonder about her presence in the house he narrowed his eyes at the scene that was taking place some meters below him. At first he didn't quite understand what was happening. Then he noticed that the girl had her wand out and was about to hex a terrified looking Malfoy.

Fred climbed on the windowsill, wand out, intent on stopping his sister, but he didn't have a chance. Everything happened so fast. Fred's eyes widened in surprise as he looked how his sister fired a hex. He blinked. He blinked again, not believing his eyes. He stared for a second before realizing that both Malfoy and Ginny were lying on the ground and neither was moving.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..."

He quickly turned around and ran outside the door, screaming at the top of his lungs for someone to go to the garden.

Fred managed to put the entire house on alarm. They all ran outside, and for a moment just stood there, looking in disbelief at the two unconscious teenagers. The immobility just lasted a few seconds. Dobby and Kreacher appeared and immediately fretted around Malfoy. That put everyone in action. Fleur ran to floo Madam Pomfrey. Harry, Moody, Hermione and the twins surrounded Draco, while McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley checked on Ginny. Bill at first looked from one group to the other, at a complete loose of what to do. He finally mentally slapped himself and ran to his sister and his frantic mother, who looked about to have a nervous breakdown.

Thankfully Minerva took control of the situation and ordered Bill to carry his sister to one of the unoccupied rooms. She helped Molly to get up, and after a quick look to confirm that Alastor had taken charge of Malfoy, she walked the distraught mother inside the house. The elves were sent for calming draught and any other potion that the mediwitch might need, and Harry, Hermione, and the twins were sent to wait in the drawing room-library with no excuses.

Remus got out of the floo with an uneasy feeling. He had been absent for too long and had only had general news of what had been happening with the boys' training once in a while. McGonagall had recently informed him about the destruction of You-know-who's artefacts and he wanted to check on Harry to see if he was ok. He didn't know the exact details but assumed that the situation could not have been easy.

He had been helping the rebels to save a few families from Death Eaters' attacks. The dragons that You-know-who had at his disposal were a big source of trouble. Remus didn't know how the bastard maniac had managed to control the dangerous creatures, but it surely was archaic magic. He wanted to check on the Black's library if there was a way to nullify it. If a rite was made to put the dragons under the Death Eaters' command surely there would be something they could do to break it.

The moment he put foot in the house, he could tell that something was wrong. He rushed upstairs and found all the teenagers, plus Bill and Fleur, worrying outside of Malfoy's and Harry's room. Hermione immediately spotted him and put the rest of the youngsters in alert.

"Professor Lupin! You're back!"

Everyone turned to look as Remus approached the group.

"What's happening here? Is everyone ok?"

Harry hugged his putative godfather while Bill answered.

"Apparently Ginny tried to hex Malfoy and the spell rebounded. They both are unconscious now."

"Ginny? What's she doing here?"

"Mom had taken her to St. Mungo's hidden facility. I don't know why they ended up here. Mom is pretty distressed."

Remus was confused. He was in the brink of asking why would Ginny need to go to one of St. Mungo's hide outs when he remembered. Oh shit! How could he have forgotten that? This was a mess! He needed to talk with Molly right away!

"Where are your mother and Poppy Bill?"

"In the room in front of the twins'. Madam Pomfrey is checking Malfoy."

"Ok. I'm going talk with Molly first. You all should wait somewhere else."

"But Remus..." Started Harry. Lupin looked sternly at the lot of them.

"No buts Harry please go. I promise that I'll talk with you in a moment. I only need to speak with Poppy and Molly first. I'll tell everything to you, I promise."

Harry sighed and the group walked unhappily to the library. Remus waited until he was sure that all of them were behind the door, and went looking for McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley.

Bill didn't stay long with the teenagers. He went to the kitchen for some coffee. He was feeling strangely agitated and didn't want to snap at the others without apparent cause. Fleur and Hermione sat on one of the couches and started talking about Ginny, and what could have happened to prompt Molly to bring the girl to Grimmauld place.

While they were at it, Fred pulled Harry and George apart and cast a privacy spell around them. Both boys looked at him intrigued.

"What's the matter Fred?" Said Harry. George didn't have to talk; the twins had long since mastered a kind of private communication between them. Fred was a bit nervous.

"Listen. There's something you should know. I-I didn't tell Madam Pomfrey exactly what I saw."

Harry narrowed his eyes, while George only nodded his head in comprehension. The black-haired boy didn't like to feel left out, so he snapped.

"What? Why? You know that Madam Pomfrey should know everything exactly as it happened. Some things could be important!"

The twins looked at each other and Fred continued talking.

"Listen. I really don't think that Pomfrey would believe me, but it wasn't Malfoy the one who repelled Ginny's hex."

Harry was confused. He tried not to gap at the twins and comprehend Fred's words.

"You mean someone was there with them? The elves?"

"No." Both twins sighed and George took over.

"Harry, have you noticed that Malfoy doesn't 'feel' quite the same?"

"We know it's a strange question, but really Harry, you had had more contact with him over the years. You can tell better than us."

Harry was a bit uncomfortable. He did think that something was definitely odd about the Draco Malfoy that was living with them. Sometimes he had really wondered what had happened to change him in such a visible manner. Hermione had pointed out to him many times how different the blond boy was from the prat that they had been used to. Harry didn't know how to explain it.

"Well... He is different. I suppose that I had not given it much thought because I like the change."

"We all like the change, believe me."

"Except our sister."

"But let's ignore that for now..."

"Have you noticed something else lately?"

"Something perhaps special?"

Harry thought about the times he had spent with the blond over the last months and he couldn't help but smile. To be with him made Harry feel good. Relaxed in a sort of way. It was strange. Harry frowned as he rationalized it. He had thought it was attraction, but... well... Actually he had never felt like that before, with anyone.

"Yes, I think so. But I thought it was... you know... me kind of liking him in another way."

"Oh, well that is probably confusing you."

"Yes, we had seen you both, and you'll probably wouldn't sense anything wrong about Malfoy now."

Both twins grinned like idiots and Harry blushed in embarrassment. He decided that they were getting way out of track.

"Look, this is not making sense. What does this have to do with Draco not attacking Ginny?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry. Well, you see, we have a theory."

"We think that Malfoy has something with him."

Harry blinked, completely baffled.

"What?"

"He's not alone Harry. I think that when you picked him up, something came following him."

Harry shook his head and sighed.

"Could you please explain, because I swear that I'm not following you guys."

"Ok, listen. When I spotted Ginny yelling her brains out at Malfoy and with her wand ready, my intention was to stop her. I climbed on the windowsill and was ready to hex her myself, but... well, she was faster than me. Her spell actually hit Malfoy, but it didn't rebound. I... well... there was suddenly something between Ginny and Malfoy. It looked like a dragon. It wasn't corporeal; it was like... like some kind of ghost! Ginny's spell went through it and then it attacked her!"

Now Harry did gape at Fred. A long forgotten memory took form in his mind. He remembered Draco lazing about in the garden. Draco lying on the grass, his head resting over a long neck.

"That's... impossible."

"I know, believe me, I was shocked. And I can't tell Madam Pomfrey that a dragon attacked Ginny! I'll be in a St. Mungo's underground facility faster than a snitch!"

"The... dragon then... did it?"

"Yes! Ginny fired the spell when it was already in front of her, and it roared and hit her! With the head! It sent her flying some meters... well; you saw that she landed among the bushes. Then it disappeared!"

Harry bit his lip and looked around nervously. Hermione and Fleur were still on the couch. No adults yet.

"How's that possible? I mean... I think I know what you saw..."

"Have you seen it too?" Asked George excitedly.

"Well, I think so. Maybe once."

"Are you having the dreams too? About multicoloured dragons?" Asked Fred.

Harry gaped at them. How had they known?

"Yes! Yes... I mean... you too?"

"The thing I saw Harry, I swear it is exactly like one of them! It has to be! I've never seen something like those dragons! We asked Charlie, but he says that they don't exist!"

"You asked Charlie? When?"

"Well, we had been having those dreams for sometime now."

"Charlie used to have them too. He told us last year. That's why he decided to work with Dragons in the first place."

"Our dreams have been more frequent since Malfoy arrived."

Harry couldn't help but sigh in relief. At least he was not crazy; someone other was having the strange dreams too. But that didn't solve their little mystery.

"How can you know that this... dragon or whatever it is, came with Draco?"

"We have seen it with him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, mostly when Malfoy is asleep somewhere."

"It kind a curls around him..."

"Sometimes it looks weird because he's on an armchair or the bed..."

"And the furniture can be seen through it!"

Harry was baffled. The twins had seen the mysterious creature more times than he! How could they have not talked about it before?

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, to be frank, you're the first person since Charlie that we can talk about it with."

"We mean it literally Harry. Once we tried to tell mom...

"But when we were in front of her we had completely forgotten what we were supposed to tell her."

Harry put his hand on the back of his head. He remembered that he had talked about the strange apparition with Draco. He had had no troubles doing it. Granted, that had been the only time he had talked with anyone about the creature and his dreams. And the blond had been... pretty anxious. What had he said to Harry? Oh, yeah, that the dragons were ghosts. That didn't sound right for some reason.

Fred noticed his concentrated frown and was about to ask what was it, when he looked at Hermione approaching them. He quickly cancelled the privacy spell that surrounded them and located Fleur talking with his brother near the door. Hermione looked at the three of them before beginning to talk.

"Guys, Bill says that everyone is in the study of the second floor. I think they're discussing what to tell us."

Harry immediately moved. All thoughts of dragons, and weird dreams, forgotten for the moment. He was tired to be kept in the dark. He was not going to tolerate it anymore. He was not about to let the adults concoct another lie. He walked decidedly towards the hall and the stairs, followed by the rest of the teenagers. Bill tried to stop him, but he also wanted to know what was happening. It irked the older Weasley son the fact that his mother was treating him as if he was a child. So, he and Fleur joined the entourage.

The door to the study was warded, but it only took Bill a few moments to break through it. Harry hardly waited for it to be safe to push the door open and stride inside. He interrupted what seemed to be a heated discussion between McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley. Remus was sitting in an armchair, not looking happy at all and Madam Pomfrey looked doubtful. Moody was nowhere in sight. The adults looked towards the door at the interruption and Molly became all flustered and started to walk to them.

"Children! What are you doing here?"

Harry stopped her with a glare that left the elder witch shocked.

"First, we are not children anymore. And second, this is my house and I think I'm entitled to know what's going on inside it! I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley, but I'm tired of all the secrecy! You all are always expecting me to trust you, but how I'm supposed to trust you if you apparently don't trust me? You are always complaining of my recklessness and my jumping into danger, well, maybe I wouldn't do it so much if I knew where I'm jumping in the first place!"

Remus sighed and looked at Molly sadly. The whole situation was getting ridiculous. He had initially agreed to not inform the teenagers, but now... Harry had the right to know, they couldn't keep him misinformed. Harry was legally an adult and he should be the one taking decisions that directly affected him. Besides, it was also unfair for Malfoy. The poor boy had been really scared when he had regained his senses. He needed support, and Remus doubted that any of the adults would be much help. He rather suspected that the teenagers had a better understanding of the blond Slytherin by now.

"Please sit down all of you. This is going to take some time."

Bill conjured a coach for him and Fleur; the twins sat on the mahogany desk that adorned the studio and Hermione and Harry took a couple of armchairs. Lupin continued once everyone was settled.

"I think that Harry's right. In fact, I think that this situation could have been easily avoided. I'm sorry that I had not talked sooner."

Harry frowned at hearing that, and looked at the rest of the adults. McGonagall was pressing his lips, but it was evident that it was not the werewolf she was pissed at.

"No one blames you for that Remus. And I think that you're right. We should have acted the moment we knew about the boy's condition...!"

"Minerva!" Mrs. Weasley looked at her pleadingly. McGonagall huffed.

"Oh for Merlin's sake Molly! I don't know what's gotten into you and Alastor!"

"Minerva, please. There was no way of knowing that it would come to this." Said Madam Pomfrey, trying to placate the upset witch. Remus sighed again.

"Look, this situation is getting out of control, and it shouldn't. I mean... this is a mess! We're stressing ourselves unnecessarily!"

Molly pressed his lips tightly together, and looked at Harry and the rest of the teenagers with tears in her eyes. Hermione took pity on her.

"Perhaps you could start with why Ginny was here?" She said.

Harry felt his anger rising. Ginny should not have been there at all! The twins looked nervously at their mother, knowing that she was very upset already and talking about Ginny might get her into a crying fit. Surprisingly, it was apparently easier for the Weasley matron to talk about the reason that had pushed her to bring her daughter to the house, than it was talking about what was exactly wrong with Malfoy.

"Oh, well. That is something you all have a right to know. You see, I was not thinking straight at the moment. But I considered that she should be here to tell you in person."

Harry didn't actually care about whatever Ginny might have to say, but Hermione apparently did. All of them knew about the ultimatum that Mrs. Longbottom had delivered the girl and that Molly was supposed to take her to a mediwizard. Hermione was the only one of the teenagers that was concerned about the girl's health, though not for the witch's sake. Even when Ginny had done something terrible, Hermione thought that the poor baby deserved to be cared for. It hadn't asked to be conceived in such a horrible way.

"What happened Mrs. Weasley? Did she... miscarried?" Said Hermione, a bit nervous. It was the only conclusion she could reach, given Molly's troubled behaviour. Harry tried to reign on his anger and at least look sympathetic. He may not care about Ginny, but he had tried to make his mind that he could at least care for the child's necessities, only for Mrs. Weasley's sake.

"Well... It's complicated. You see, there never was any danger... there was no baby..."

"What?" Harry straightened on his seat. All his anger returning at once. "She... lied to us?"

Hermione was really pale. She couldn't believe it. She didn't accept that Ginny could lie or play with something like that. Mrs. Weasley shook her head and tried to explain.

"No! Not exactly. Ginny was sure of her pregnancy. She did brew the potion and took all kind of precautions for a conception to happen..." Molly took a deep breath and tried to put her ideas in order. Hermione was already frowning.

"But, it didn't?"

"Not only it didn't. She botched the potion and it did the exact opposite effect to what she was expecting. Ginny has just made herself sterile."

The teenagers gaped at her. It was preposterous. Bill was the first one to recover.

"But, how could that be? She looked pretty much pregnant to me when I carried her to the room!"

"And Mrs. Longbottom surely would have noticed something before now. Ginny has been living with her!" Said Hermione. Molly sighed.

"Yes, I know, Ginny has been showing all the symptoms and everything. But the fact is that there is no baby inside her womb, even when it has grown to accommodate one. The mediwizard explained the situation to us. They said that Ginny has a... a psi... pse... something..."

"Pseudocyesis! Psychological or false pregnancy! Of course!" Said Hermione triumphant. "It's very rare, but it shows the power of mind-suggestion. One of my aunts suffered from it when I was six. It usually results from a strong desire or need for motherhood. The woman presents all the signs of a genuine pregnancy. Some women report sensations of fetal movements, and even had the contractions of a birthing process. It's really hard to convince them that there is no actual baby to be born."

Gaping at Hermione was useless at that point, so everyone settled for been quietly awed.

"And no one noticed anything?" Said Harry, wavering between anger and incredulity. To everyone's surprise it was Remus who answered.

"I'm sorry Harry. I had my suspicions, but I didn't find the opportunity to talk about them with anyone before the attack to the Ministry happened, and then everything was pushed to the back in favour of the war."

"But, why couldn't you tell for sure Remus?" Asked Hermione, frowning. "You're a werewolf and have very good smell. Surely your instinct couldn't be fooled." The girl wasn't so sure about that. She looked at Harry and regretted to have talked. The boy was working his way into a rage. Lupin sighed and looked troubled.

"Yeah, well. There was a certain distraction that I was not prepared to deal with. You see..."

"Remus, we should really wait for Alastor for this." Said Molly, wriggling her hands in her robes and looking teary eyed. Harry had had enough.

"Listen Mrs. Weasley, I know that you worry about us, but this is really important and I want to know everything that's happening now! I will not be having any more accidents that could have been prevented! It's stupid and dangerous!"

"But..."

"Harry is an adult now Molly. He is entitled to his own decisions. Besides, he's going to know sooner or later."

The Weasley matron looked as if she would prefer it to be later. Much, much later. She looked helplessly at Madam Pomfrey.

"Still, maybe it's better if Alastor is here too..."

McGonagall bristled. She had also had enough.

"I don't see the need! He knows as much as we do, and I'm not letting him side with you again! Really! You both have been unreasonable! The sooner everyone in this house is aware of the situation the better!"

Hermione got curious then. She just had to ask.

"Where is professor Moody?"

Before anyone could answer Harry looked at her and snapped.

"Please! I could care less where he is right now! Can we get to the bloody point?"

Remus sighed and tried to calm Harry a bit.

"Please Harry. It actually has much to do with what we have to say. Moody is with Malfoy right now."

Harry paused, immediately putting himself on guard.

"Why?" He asked warily. The adults looked at each other and apparently came to the tacit agreement that Lupin was the one to explain.

"You see, Malfoy is in a delicate condition and it's taking a great toll on his magic. Alastor and the house-elves are technically infusing some of their magic into Malfoy's core to strengthen it. Poppy wanted to assist, but Alastor insisted on doing it alone. He knows some special techniques to do it in the best way possible. We as well as you are waiting for him to finish."

That did nothing to appease Harry's anger; it only added worry to it. The twins looked unhappily at each other and Hermione paled. It was her the one to comment on the news.

"But, that's pretty dangerous! What is Malfoy's condition exactly? I really doubt it can be so bad that he needs a magical infusion! He has been having some strange changes of mood but certainly nothing life threatening!"

Remus bit his lip. They should have said something before! This was not going to be easy.

"Well, I should start from the beginning. When Malfoy arrived, and we interrogated him, we discovered that in addition to being obliviated his magic was a bit unstable. Poppy dismissed that fact because the boy is reaching the age in which he should acquire his full magical potential. Also, he had just gone through a very bad experience, so the instability and the weird peaks of magic were somewhat expected; even the reaction that he had when Ginny first hexed him was something not unheard of. But Poppy started to get worried then. She tried to do a more thorough check at the moment, but Moody convinced her that it was not necessary. Then you found him almost passing out on the kitchen table and... Well, Pomfrey was very pissed off. She berated herself and all of us for having dismissed the boy's problem so easily. You see, whoever obliviated Malfoy, also did other things to him."

Harry was absolutely not liking the way this retelling of things was going. In fact, he was barely controlling his magic from going berserk. All this months and no one had said anything! And it looked like it was going to get worse.

"What kind of things?" Asked one of the twins while Harry tried to not loose his temper. Madam Pomfrey answered then.

"It is really unusual. There was some kind of block on Mr. Malfoy's magic. But the main problem was the draining, and it came from within him. I don't know where Severus Snape took the boy after they fled Hogwarts, but I swear that if I ever find out that he knew about this I'm going to kill him myself!"

Ok. Now Harry was scared. The mediwitch collected herself and continued before anyone had the chance to say anything.

"I'm sorry. Anyway, it's hard to explain. The point is that the boy was used as some kind of experimental subject, so to speak."

The teenagers were horrified when they understood the implications of that statement. Harry's anger suddenly changed targets. Severus Snape was going to be a very sorry man when the boy found him.

"What did they do to him?" Asked Bill, who was more collected than the rest. Madam Pomfrey sighed, and decided to be blunt.

"They changed his internal anatomy. Not all the organs, mind you, they only added a few more. Mr. Malfoy is now, for all intents and purposes, a hermaphrodite."

There was a second of stunned confusion before comprehension slowly entered the teenagers' minds. Bill and Fleur were just shocked, but the others quickly started to feel sick. Suddenly Hermione widened her eyes in horror and put a hand over her mouth. Everything was crystal clear to her now.

"Oh my God. Oh my God! You... You can't tell me that he... that he is... Oh God, he is!"

The mediwitch nodded solemnly and tears escaped Hermione's eyes.

"But how? I meant, it's wrong! He's not ready for that; he's not supposed to ever be ready for that!"

"Stop! What are you talking about? What is happening to Draco?"

Harry was upset. It was clear that Hermione had quickly put things neatly together and understood the situation, consequences, and foreboding future, all in one breath. But the rest of them that were not Hermione still needed a bit of clarification. Remus sighed. He seemed to be doing a lot of that.

"Harry, Malfoy now possesses both reproductive organs. Male and female. Both of them complete and entirely functional."

Fleur gasped at that moment and Bill closed his eyes painfully. The twins were frowning, and Harry had the beginning of a thought crossing his mind that he was sure as hell that he didn't want to acknowledge. He continued to look at Remus, waiting for a bit more.

"His magic has been quite awkward because it's fighting to accommodate the boy's body. He needed the practice to somehow stabilize it. The day you found him almost passing out on the kitchen table his magic was practically turning against him. It was forcing his body to accommodate an internal shape that it shouldn't have. That stunt he pulled destroying the artefacts could have really killed him. All his magic is concentrating on keeping his body somewhat stable. It's very stressful for his core, it has not stabilized and the block is not going to allow it. These last months had been even more demanding."

Harry bit his lower lip and looked around him. Hermione was nodding at every one of Remus' words, with tears in her eyes. The twins were scowling, evidently with an idea in mind that they didn't like very much. The rest were looking at him expectantly. He knew he was missing something really important, but he refused to accept the thought that had popped in his mind and was slowly taking shape.

"Ok. I think I get the picture, but... there's something more right? The really bad news?"

Remus sighed. He had expected to not have to say it aloud. It still felt so surreal to him. Sometimes he really wished that all the teenagers were like Hermione.

"Yes, there's something more. Harry, Malfoy is pregnant."

Harry blinked and then just stared at Remus. He didn't want to believe it. That must be wrong.

"It's not funny Rems."

Lupin let out a nervous chuckle and his hands went through his hair.

"Merlin Harry. I wish it was a joke."

"But... but that's..."

"Impossible, yeah. We also thought it was. That was why we didn't think it necessary to tell you all at first. Not even to him."

The twins looked up at that.

"You mean he didn't know?"

"Well, he had been obliviated, he didn't remember where he had been or what had been done to him. He realized that something was very wrong when Harry took him under the lust potion's influence, but Harry had been too far-gone to notice anything and Malfoy imagined that he would get into a lot of trouble if he mentioned it. And well, he certainly wasn't expecting a pregnancy. He had no idea that he was with child until Madam Pomfrey checked him up when Ginny confessed her... activities."

"But... he's not showing..." Said Bill.

"He has a glamour on him. Nothing complicated, Moody did it. He seems to be the only one who can cast spells on the boy without them rebounding." Said McGonagall.

Harry stood up and started to pace agitatedly. His head was a turmoil of confusion and it seemed that it was all he was capable to feel at the moment. However, the anger was still there, coiling underneath the confusing thoughts and gaining strength quickly. Hermione looked at him worriedly, but he didn't notice. He bit his right fist nervously, trying to force his brain to work and make sense of the information it had been given. He finally started to talk.

"Why no one said anything? I mean, this obviously concerns me! And what about Draco? Why didn't he talk? Did you even stopped to think that it may be a good idea to ask us if we wanted to have a baby?"

"Harry, we told him to keep it down, there was nothing that could be done about it..." Started Molly. Harry turned to her and yelled.

"Bull shit! If you people had told us about this sooner, Madam Pomfrey would have checked Draco the very day I drank the firewhiskey! Not more than a month later!"

"Harry, calm down!" Said Remus, standing and putting himself between Mrs. Weasley and his cub. "I agree that we should have said something, but even if you and Malfoy knew, we wouldn't be able to do anything about the pregnancy."

"Why not?" Asked Hermione, trying to keep Harry from continuing screaming. "There must be some kind of potion like the pill of the day after, to prevent implantation."

Madam Pomfrey sighed then and answered.

"Look, the magical core of Mr. Malfoy is deeply compromised. His magic has been drained since before the pregnancy. And this seems to be connected with his changes. His magic is fighting hard to keep his body the way it is right now. Any interference with that, and the boy's core would drain itself dry trying to keep those changes. It's like a protection charm that his 'womb' has developed on its own, and it can kill the boy if messed with."

Harry couldn't believe it. They had known all this and hadn't done anything? He was barely keeping check of his magic now, and he was a step away from not caring.

"I'm really sorry cub. I should have told you sooner. I just didn't want to believe it myself, and then... well, I guess war took precedence. I shouldn't have let the situation get this bad. I'm sorry."

It was too little, too late as far as Harry was concerned and he huffed in annoyance.

"So, what you're basically telling me is that you decided that I would be better not knowing about MY child, and that Draco should shoulder the problem alone! What's wrong with you people? You were perfectly happy letting me believe that Ginny was having a baby for months and you didn't care to let me know about a REAL ONE?"

"Harry, please. We didn't know about Ginny's fake pregnancy, and you had your plate full, you didn't need another worry..."

"Fuck it! You didn't know about Ginny because you didn't have the guts to make her go to the mediwizard! If not for Mrs. Longbottom you'll still believe she was pregnant and I will still be ignorant about my actual obligation with Draco! What were you going to do when the baby was born? Glamour him or her invisible? Pretend that Draco had gotten a child out of nowhere? What were you going to fucking do with it?"

The furniture was starting to shake. Harry was feeling deeply betrayed. How can he trust this people? He was tired of everyone assuming that they knew what was best for him. Dumbledore had done enough already. He was not going to stand by and let everyone rule his life!

Remus tried to calm Harry down; they could not afford that the boy loose control of his magic. At that moment, Moody opened the door and with a glance knew that everyone was informed of the modified version of the story. He grumped in annoyance. If they didn't need Potter to help Malfoy to stabilize his magic, he would have moved the blond ages ago. As it was, it looked like Harry was ready to pick a fight with him, if the way the boy was glaring at him was any indication. Fortunately Madam Pomfrey spoke first, giving the Gryffindor boy more time to collect himself and to think on what he was intending to do.

"Alastor, how's the boy?"

"He's fine. No danger for now. The elves are a bit tired, I would recommend not asking too much of them for a couple of days."

"Good. I'll just check on him a last time and then I'll go for a few things and return."

Minerva and Alastor scowled at the mediwitch, but Remus sighed in relief and Molly smiled.

"Oh Poppy, are you going to stay then?"

"Yes, it's clear that there could be an emergency at any time. It will be much better if I stay near by. If Harry agrees of course."

The boy had gotten his temper somewhat in control again with Hermione's help, and nodded at the mediwitch.

"Sure. Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Harry was also asking himself why the mediwitch had not moved in with them sooner. He had his answer when Alastor huffed unhappily.

"I do not think it's necessary. The boy's stable and only needs to follow instructions."

"Maybe Alastor, but this is the second near fatal accident this boy had had. May I remind you that a miscarriage is not the only danger here? I don't see the point in offering the boy sanctuary if we don't care whether he lives of dies!"

Moody shrugged. He didn't like the situation at all. The dragon-bond was making him feel territorial and to want to keep everyone away from the boy. He hoped that the pull on his magic lessened soon or he was going to be in trouble. Madam Pomfrey left, and Harry just barely waited to get his breathing under control before facing Mad Eye.

"I was not aware that I had given any of you permission to take decisions for me. Much less without even consulting me!"

Alastor made a disgusted face before answering.

"You have enough problems already young man. This is certainly no time for you to be worrying about paternity. And seeing how you reacted to the Weasley girl been pregnant, what a Slytherin boy could possibly have expected?"

"How could you know? The situation with Ginny was very different! Malfoy didn't bring this on himself! He didn't even know that this could happen! He's a victim here, and no body seems to care about how wronged he actually was!"

Moody stood arrogantly in front of the boy. What could he know? This was a necessity and no one had the right to interfere! Somewhere in his mind he was aware that he was starting to act irrationally but at the moment he didn't care. He just wanted to take out his frustration on someone.

"You'll know everything about been the wronged party, won't you boy? How do you imagine he would have felt when he realized there was something wrong with him? Or when someone told him that he was to have a child he didn't need or want from the person that bedded him because he was the only available option?"

There. A bit of guilt would shut the boy up. It was somewhat disconcerting to see Harry's colour drain off his face. But the teenager said nothing. He turned around and walked to the door. Moody felt oddly satisfied. Only he had miscalculated, and before the Gryffindor boy had opened the door to get out, Remus had grabbed Alastor's arm and turned him around, pretty furious.

"What the hell's your problem Moody?"

Harry didn't hear the rest of the argument. He exited the study, and walked down the hall and the stairs, on the way to his room.