Chapter 07. A bit of history.

Once he was assured that the place had nothing to do with the Dark Lord or his cause, Draco relaxed a bit, and was free to feel relieved that Snape was all right. Still, he couldn't phantom why the man was there when he was supposed to be on hiding because of Dumbledore's murder. Moody seemed not to care, and that was highly suspicious in Draco's opinion. The woman called Salamanca explained that Albus Dumbledore had been one of them and that his death had been something he had wanted to happen. Draco felt a bit upset about that, but he hadn't time to dwell in his thoughts because Salamanca started to tell him about the dragons.

The Rainbow Dragons had been the first magical creatures to ever exist on Earth; some wise wizards had even said that they were magic itself, as their power was immense and wonderful. It was said that the first dragons had the Earth all to themselves for millions of years. The levels of wild magic those times had been incommensurable and soon other beings, magical and non-magical, had begun to exist.

It seemed that the Dragons' presence attracted magic. Wherever they went, the magic became unstable and started to accumulate, the effect was even stronger on their breeding and birth season. As a result of those phenomena, new magical creatures appeared on the area that the Dragons had chosen to stay by the moment, but when the numbers of Rainbow Dragons increased by a certain point, the amount of magic suddenly reached incredible heights, becoming too much for any living creature to tolerate, and disasters started to happen.

Over the millennia, mayor catastrophes started to become more frequent. Eventually man appeared into the equation and it was not long after that the first wizards came to be. They realized the magnitude of power the Rainbow Dragons possessed and the mythical beasts were revered as gods by some. However, many started to hunt the Dragons, searching for the source of their power to increase theirs; others feared them and simply wanted to annihilate the fearsome creatures before they were destroyed by them. Centuries passed before someone understood the relation between the Rainbow Dragons and the levels of magic around certain areas, by then the wild magic had already caused severe damage to entire civilizations and it was clear that, in time, the potential damage could be much much worse.

Looking for a solution, some wizards decided to confront the Dragons, thinking that there should be a way of coexisting and keep the magic somewhat stabilized. It was not hard to find the Rainbow Dragons, and the wizards were surprised to see that the creatures had no problems understanding the human language and were actually willing to hear what they had to say before attacking them. The Dragons had been quick in understanding the wizards' fears, long ago had they understood that the rest of the living creatures on the planet could not keep up with the constant drastic changes of magic that their presence brought, but it was something they could not control, they were very much aware that eventually their magic would slaughter all form of life and could even destroy the Earth itself.

They had been ready to leave. Without them, the magic will slowly waste away, the magical creatures will stop breeding and in time the whole planet would be devoid of them. The magic levels will be so low that no one would be able to do anything useful with it, and the planet will be completely safe from self-destruction.

It was a logical course of action for the Dragons, they would have no difficulty in leaving, they could make their own realm if they so wanted, their magic allowed it. But they were reluctant, they didn't actually want to leave, they loved Earth. The planet had something that just felt ideal to them. They had inhabited it for millions of years and were fairly sure that they couldn't breed in any other place, not even one of their own making, but they would never condemn their home to devastation. It was better that they left; they were only waiting until the very last minute to do it. After all, it was not easy to condemn your entire species to extinction, even if it was for the safety of an entire planet.

The wizards didn't like at all the idea of the magic disappearing. The image of a world without magic was simply horrible to them, but both species were forced to acknowledge the fact that if the Earth was to be eventually destroyed, they were all damned with her.

And so, they planned a solution. The Rainbow Dragons would have to leave, but it was possible that they had a way to return whenever they liked, they would breed in their beloved Earth and keep magic from disappearing. The Dragons created their own realm, but to be able, for the connection between both worlds, to remain open they needed something that 'guided' them in the way back, something of themselves had to remain on Earth, so the magic could recognize it.

They performed a bonding ritual with the wizards, powerful ancient magic that allowed them to mix their blood with that of the humans, allowing the gate between both realms to remain open. As long as their blood was running freely through the wizards' veins they would always be able to find the way back home. The bond that was established enhanced the wizards' magic and granted them power beyond their imaginations. Some said that it was around that time that the wizarding world began to cut itself from the muggle world, carefully hiding away the reason for such a drastic change in their power and fearful of muggles finding out just how powerful the magical creatures were.

The pact remained, but not all wizards could have a bond. The ancient magic was too strong for just anyone to handle. The Dragons always followed the scent of their own blood, knowing that the wizards that had it were the descendants of those who first shared their powers and, therefore, able to take the strain that the bonding demanded. That was why a Rainbow Dragon only chose the most powerful wizards to bond with and said bond was established when the wizard's magic reached its full potential, which usually occurred when the wizard was around seventeen or eighteen years old. There was also the fact that only wizards with dragon blood could survive the bond.

As generations passed by and the wizarding population increased, the knowledge of the Rainbow Dragons was restricted to the descendants of the original families and soon even that knowledge became partial, a family secret that never was spoken of with outsiders. Only the ones bonded knew the whole truth. The chamber that originally was the "physical" location of the portal became a gathering spot. While in there, the wizards were under an oath to forget any animosity from the real world and be only comrades. It was a haven to just relax and enjoy the magic around them.

In time, the families that had vestiges of the Dragon blood in them started to forget the true intention of the bond. The majority of them thought that the Rainbow Dragons were a myth; others thought them as some kind of powerful familiar. That misconception was partially to blame for the mess they were now all deep into.

Salamanca and the other two men grew sombre when they continued their explanation. There were some families that craved power and wanted to use the Dragon's magic for their own purposes. That in itself wasn't something new, such people had always existed, in every age there was some power-starved maniac that wouldn't hesitate to use any means to achieve his wishes. But that was not a real problem, even when such people were powerful enough and had dragon blood in their veins, the moment the bond was established they were unwilling to share the knowledge with anyone. Their power increased as they wanted and they saw no need to reveal to others the reason for it.

They also soon understood that the Dragon bonded to them was not a mere familiar; neither would the creature follow their commands. The terms of the bond were very clear to the Dragons: the wizards gained power and the Dragons continued breeding, the mutual benefit was that the magical world continued existing. The Rainbow Dragon always made sure that the wizard bonded to it knew with perfect clarity that the creature would not fight for him. The social and political affairs of the wizarding world were things that the Dragons didn't care of, and they were not to be dragged into the human's meaningless wars. Of course you could develop friendship with your boded Dragon and it would even protect you of danger, if the feeling was strong enough, but for a Rainbow Dragon to actively aid someone to gain political power, was unheard and uncalled for.

Never before had been a traitor. It had been such an impossible notion that the event took everyone by surprise. The traitor's family had been one of those that believed in the supremacy of wizards over all living beings. Taught from birth to see all creatures as mere things; all magic as a weapon to obtain power and prestige. The bond had been established, as the witch in question had covered the two unavoidable requirements to it. Dragon blood in her veins and enough power to sustain the bond. She had entered the chamber with contempt, as if she owned the very place. No one had been especially concerned. There had been others like this witch. They never had gotten to really know their Dragon well enough and had caused all kind of problems in the wizarding society; but there were others bonded that will fight them and history will keep on going.

They, the bonded ones, had believed that this witch would be no different. She would use her new acquired power to cause mischief and aid her master in his ambitions. There already were others that followed the same master and were happy to impress him with their many skills. She obviously would do the same and even with more joy and enthusiasm. No one had ever expected her to go and reveal everything to said master!

The Dark Lord was not a bonded one. No one had known why there hadn't been a Dragon that chose him; he certainly had power and, according to his own propaganda, was the Slytherin heir, therefore he should have dragon blood in his veins. Whatever the reason, the truth was that no Rainbow Dragon had chosen him, he was not entitled to know the secrets of the bonded ones, and he certainly could not have the Dragon's power.

Voldemort of course, having had no previous knowledge that such power existed, was happy to find out that one of his faithful followers had the key to it, or so he thought. He wanted it for himself and demanded to have it.

The first warning they had was when they all felt a Dragon dying. That in itself was a very rare thing. The Rainbow Dragons commonly died at an extremely old age and at their own realm, for the wizards to have felt that particular dead meant that the Dragon in question was on Earth at the time. Besides, it had been birth season. The wizards had been confused, and it worsened when they felt the gate between worlds suddenly closing. Alarmed, they all had tried to make contact with their respective Dragons, only to find their bonds muted. The Dragons were not answering, they could feel hurt and betrayal through the dampened bond, but had no idea of what was happening. The chamber had been sealed and there was no way to contact the Dragons that were in their own realm. Then they started to feel more deaths.

Some of them had contacted each others, in an attempt to discover what was happening. Dumbledore's Dragon had contacted the wizard instants before dying, talking about a traitor and hunters. It had been chaos then. They clearly needed to find out that traitor before it was too late. But without a clear clue to where to look for, they only started to fight and accuse each other. All the while the slaughter continued and soon some of them started to die too.

It had been the Death Eaters the ones to find the traitor. It was at one of the reunions with the Dark Lord when she crowed about how she was the one to help their master to obtain power. A power so great that the whole world would soon fell at the Dark Lord's feet. She relinquished in the fact that she was their Lord's most faithful follower. Soon, those Death Eaters that were bonded realised that she had been the one to betray them. She was aiding the Dark Lord, giving him information that allowed him to hunt and kill the Dragons trapped in this realm. Not only that, but she had already told their Lord many names, names of the wizards bonded.

One of them cursed her then, making her unable to spill more information, but it was already too late; the damage was done though they didn't really know the extension of it. The Dark Lord already knew that some of his Death Eaters had a bond; fortunately the traitor had not had the chance to tell him every bonded name. The ones that were discovered disappeared immediately, going into hiding, the others stayed, hoping to find out their Lord's plans and how to revert them. They couldn't obliviate him, with their bonds muted they had not enough power to fight against him, but they still could gather information.

Unfortunately, by then the Dragon's trapped on Earth had been almost exterminated. There only remained one. The wizards had almost succumbed to desperation when they felt that one Dragon dying. But there had been hope. Almost at the same time that the last Dragon's magical signature disappeared they had felt something, ancient magic being called to a rite. They felt something like a bond being created, different from what they were used to, they were certain that there was a young Dragon involved and another being. The magical signature of said being was so weak and diffused, almost non existent. The wizards had been genuinely confused. A second later, the magic of the dying Dragon seemed to erupt and cover the new "bond", effectively hiding it from the wizards' senses, and then disappeared.

From the Death Eaters that had stayed behind in their Lord's service, they learned that the last Dragon had had a dragonling and that it was the cub that Lord Voldemort had wanted. Apparently the mother had been successful in escaping the hunters that had been chasing her, the Dark Lord was furious because they had gotten away and was searching for the dragonling.

They had started searching too. Based in what they had felt, they had concluded that the last Dragon had hidden its offspring through a bond; the recipient had to be a child, a baby, for the magical signature to be so weak, maybe even a still un-born child. The bonded Death Eaters, now turned into spies and no longer loyal to Voldemort, managed to discover the ritual used to block the gate and started to look out for ways to open it again. They eventually found a way to do it, but they needed the last remaining Dragon.

After the Dark Lord's first defeat, they had felt more at ease. They hadn't killed the traitor because they'd need to explain the situation to the Rainbow Dragons. The woman had been sent to Azkaban and they had spent months obliviating the Death Eaters that had known about their master's plans concerning Dragons. However, they were unable to find the baby Dragon and its bonded one. The mother had done a pretty good job of hiding any trace of her dragonling's magic. There had been nothing to do but wait until the protection of the mother failed and the bond could be sensed again. And hope that, by then, the bonded one would be able to fulfil the requirements to destroy the seal between worlds.

They had hoped for the Dark Lord to not return so soon. They would have preferred to have the problem sorted out by then, but it was not to be. So now they'd have to be especially careful, even if the traitor could not pass more information to her master, she had already told him enough to allow him to cause more damage. He-who-must-not-be-named already knew that there was only one Dragon remaining in this realm. He wanted it and would not stop until he found it.

Draco was dumbstruck by the time the narration came to an end. It was a lot of information to take. The only thing that was really clear to him at the moment was that the Dark Lord wanted Sally. Thank the gods he didn't know where to find her yet, but that could change at any moment. A fierce wave of protectiveness went through him. Sally was his! No one was going to take her from him! He had to protect Sally and in order to do it, the Dark Lord had to be vanquished and the gate to the Dragon's realm reopened. The order to do those things didn't matter much at the time. Obviously, the Dark Lord had ensured that the seal on the gate could only be broken by a very special ritual that involved specific conditions, no doubt hard to attain. Draco asked what had to be done.

They told him.

Draco felt all colour draining from his face and was shocked into silence for a few seconds before exploding.

"WHAT?"

"Draco..." Severus started. He knew the boy would make a drama over the situation. Malfoy didn't let him continue. The young man stood sharply and started pacing back and forth in desperation.

"But that's impossible! I... I can't physically do that! What're we gonna do? And why it has to be me? Are you sure it absolutely has to be me?"

"The ritual specifies someone that has an active bond. You're the only one of us that has it. Everybody else is blocked."

"But I-I can't do that!"

"You have to Draco Malfoy! There is no other way!"

"But I can't Severus! I'm a man! There's no possible way for me to get pregnant!"

Severus sneered in annoyance at the boy.

"There should be a book in that mansion..."

"It's in the ancient language." Moody supplied helpfully before the potions master could finish. Severus' lips thinned.

"Figures. Blasted Blacks."

"What difference would that do Severus?" Said Draco, already beyond panicking.

"If you had read the book, young man, you'll know that many wizards had been capable to carry a child, thanks to their Dragons."

Draco stopped in his pacing and stared wide eyed at his ex-professor.

"What?"

"Your Dragon can make it possible. If your magic is strong enough to aid. You only have to ask for his help and your body will start to change."

"Her."

"Pardon?"

"My Dragon is a she." Draco clarified. He was shocked by the news and was trying to think coherently.

"Whatever. The point is that your gender is not a problem. And it would be best to start the process as soon as possible."

Draco bit his lip, trying to get a reasonable though out of his brain. He felt as if he didn't comprehend what they wanted of him.

"Why do I have to get pregnant? Why can't I find a nice girl who...?"

"It's an unavoidable condition for the ritual to be effective, that someone with an active bond is delivering at the moment. We have researched all kind of ways to destroy the seal the Dark Lord created and that ritual is the only one that would likely succeed."

"Likely?"

"Yes, there's also the requirement that the new born should have potential to be chosen by a Dragon. The ancient magic requires it. If that fails, the door between worlds would remain sealed."

Draco fell on the couch again. He was scared. He didn't want to do it. Forget the part that he was too young to have children. Hell, forget the part that, since he had known he was gay; he had been sure that children would have to come from another source other than sex! He most certainly never expected he could get pregnant! Pregnancy was something that happened to girls, not boys! He wasn't prepared to do it!

He felt Sally humming inside his mind and a comforting sensation filled him. He had the impression that she was hugging him. Merlin, he couldn't believe that this was happening to him. But he couldn't let Sally die. He'll do anything to keep her safe.

"So... these change... I'm like transforming into a girl or something?"

"Well, not into a girl!" Salamanca started to explain to him happily. "Your external appearance won't change a bit, the magic will give you the necessary equipment for you to conceive and carry a child to term. It would essentially make you a Hermaphrodite."

Draco felt a bit ill at the notion.

"It... it would be permanent?"

"Oh, no. It would be only until the child is born. The process requires too much energy form you. Usually a wizard can only do it once in his life, unless he has a willing partner that borrows him energy to do it again."

Draco was clenching his hands in nervousness. Fearing to ask more questions, but he needed to know.

"Do I at least get to choose the other father?"

The uncomfortable silence that followed his question was all the answer he needed.

"Who?"

Salamanca smiled reassuringly at him.

"Well, your Dragon has to tell us that. You see, it has to be someone powerful for the chances of his offspring to be bonded increase. Of course, even the most powerful wizard alive could produce a squib. Especially since the magic had been decreasing these years, but we think that your Dragon's mother did something to ensure that you both were safe. The residual magic of her protection would surely find a suitable partner for you."

Sally all but purred in Draco's mind. The image of one Harry Potter appeared and he gulped.

"I think she has decided."

"Yes?"

Draco looked up at his ex-professor nervously.

"I think she would like Potter."

No one seemed particularly surprised. Snape nodded somewhat resignedly, Moody looked smug and the woman smiled knowingly.

"Ah, it seems our guess was right. Fortunately he decided to stay in the house on his own." Said Salamanca.

"You... knew?"

"We weren't sure, but he was a likely candidate. He has after all a good amount of power. That was why we wanted you near him." Said Severus in an uncaring way. Draco couldn't believe his ears.

"That means that it was you the one who dropped me at Godric's Hollow? How did you know that Potter was going to be there?"

"Well, actually we had thought that it had been lucky that Potter had found you. But seeing that your Dragon has already chosen him..."

"Wait! Can't you explain this better?"

"Fine. When we ran away from Hogwarts, the mother Dragon's protection had been failing for a while already. The bond was not yet evident, but it was clear that you had the dragonling, so instead of taking you to Malfoy manor of to the Dark Lord I took you to a safe location. We were planning on dropping you in London, near the Order's headquarters. Moody was going to 'find' you and take you to the house. I took you out of the secret location one day and walked you to the portkey you were supposed to use. I had told you that I was sending you to Malfoy manor. The plan was that I'd obliviate you as a precaution, someone other than Alastor was bound to question you and we didn't want anyone to find out about the weird dreams you had been having, as well as my location. However, at the very moment that I cast the obliviate on you, you disappeared."

Draco made an incredulous face while Severus continued.

"Somehow it seems you apparated near Godric's Hollow and found Potter. We had thought that we had lost you and were extremely relieved when Moody informed us that Potter had taken you to the Black's manor. We had believed that it had been an extremely fortunate event. Now however, I'm inclined to think that your Dragon's magic had simply located Potter's and had taken you to him."

"Merlin..." Draco closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. It was too much information. He felt as if he couldn't think. Snape sat down beside the boy and put a hand on his shoulder as a supportive gesture.

"I know it's too much to take at once. You need to rest and sort out your thoughts. We're going to teach you how to manage your bond and the Dragon's magic. A bit of wandless magic can come in handy too. We'll sort out Potter later."

"But we don't have time Severus! The Dark Lord is looking for Sally!"

The potion's master lifted a brow in askance and Draco realized that they didn't know who Sally was.

"Sally is my Dragon." He said sheepishly. Both of Severus' eyebrows reached the man's hairline. "Well I was three and I had to name her!"

The woman giggled quietly and approached them.

"It's a lovely name dear. Don't you worry about Sally; as long as you stay at Grimmauld place you both will be safe. No one will be able to detect you there."

"But there's a war, and the Dark Lord...!"

"Forget about that Draco!" Said Snape in his 'no-nonsense' voice. "The Order will keep the Dark Lord occupied. You only have to focus on Potter."

Draco blushed fiercely. He really needed more time to assimilate that.

"Potter. But he doesn't like me. I mean... he has been nice and supportive but... I don't think he likes boys."

"Don't worry." Said Moody. "You only need a night with him and the Dragon magic would do the rest."

"And how am I supposed to manage that? I don't think Potter is the kind of person who goes around having a one night laid!" Draco screamed, frustrated and beyond embarrassed. This people seemed to think that it was an easy deal.

"Your Dragon will help you with that too. Believe me, it can make Potter lust for you. Like allure."

Draco bit his lip and wished for the floor to fall under him. He didn't like it. Potter was not a mere crush anymore. He had been trying to get to know the Gryffindor better and didn't want to damage the growing friendship that they had barely started. Salamanca eyed him knowingly and smiled.

"You have to go rest Draco. Moody will help you in the house and every three days Severus will be here to teach you the ancient magic. You can take your time with the Potter boy, but I suggest you start approaching him more directly. The allure your Dragon can provide can be as strong as a lust spell, but it works even better if the subject is willing."

Draco lowered his eyes and kept quiet while the woman said her goodbyes. They were practically telling him that he had to seduce Potter! Trick him into having a child with him. Draco couldn't help but think that it just sounded really wrong. The three adults didn't seem to care; they were addressing the issue as if it was a business to take care of. Well, maybe for them it was. Neither of them would have to be stuck with a baby when everything finished!

He stood on shaky legs and followed the two men out of the respective portal, walking along the underground corridor towards Grimmauld place. After a short while he started shooting questions that he wasn't sure he wanted answered right away.

"Severus. I understand that I'm the one who has to do something because Sally is the only Rainbow Dragon left. But why it has to be pregnancy?"

Snape sighed and promptly went into teacher mode. He knew that the boy needed some kind of reassurance that it was really the only thing that could be done.

"The power to give life to another being is an ancient one. It was highly revered when mankind was still young. The first idea of a God was highly intertwined with a female, because of the women's ability to give birth, therefore 'creating' new life. The act of giving birth requires a good amount of energy, both from the mother and the offspring alike. It's a highly significant moment when the newborn breathes for the first time, becoming an 'independent' form of life. Its essence no longer merged with that of its mother's. Many ancient rites used the wild magic involved in this act. It's very powerful magic, strong enough to compete with the most feared forms of dark magic because it's based in life itself."

"So, you're expecting it to be strong enough to break the seal?"

"Yes."

Draco bit his lip nervously and continued questioning.

"What about love? Many ancient rites refer to it as a powerful weapon too."

"Technically it is. And we considered a couple of rites that take that into account. It is believed that the conception of a child in an act of true love is the most powerful source of wild magic that you can find. Followed by the pure love of a mother to her child. However, those rites require true, unconditional love. How can you be certain that you have that with your partner? Even if you felt that you love a person that strongly, there is the question of that person feeling exactly the same. True love is a rare thing. Most couples care for each other, but never to the level required for the rites that use love to completely succeeds."

Draco sighed. He knew that it was no way out of it and that he'd have to get used to the idea, but he didn't like it. Specially the part that involved Potter and the inevitable end of a, so waited for, friendship.

They arrived to the kitchen and Moody called the house-elves. Both creatures appeared, eying Draco nervously.

"I trust that the other boys are still not home." Asked Moody. Kreacher answered.

"No sir. Only the werewolf."

Snape made a face of disgust.

"Lupin is here? That's a bit reckless."

"He's adequately restrained; besides, your potion facilitates things a lot."

Snape ignored the comment and turned to the elves.

"I expect that you both do what you can to help Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy to get together as soon as possible."

Dobby was immediately bouncing up and down in happiness, while Kreacher gave a long suffering sigh of resignation. Both elves promised to help if needed and were dismissed. Draco couldn't help feeling a bit sick.

"Tell me Severus. What would happen if the ritual doesn't work? What if my child doesn't have enough potential? Or if I have a squib? What then?"

Severus looked ill; his voice was exceedingly calm when he answered.

"Then we wait at least a year for you to recover and try again."

Draco trembled. He didn't like the perspective. Surprisingly Moody put a hand on his shoulder and tried to offer comfort.

"I'm sure that won't be the case. Both of you are strong enough. Any child of yours should be equally strong."

That 'should' in the sentence was what was bothering Draco immensely. There was always the possibility of failure, whatever small it was. He bit his lip nervously and tried to squash the thoughts in his brain. Suddenly another worry made itself present.

"Severus. Is my mother all right?"

The man's sombre expression relaxed a little.

"She's fine. I told her that you escaped and no one could find you. She's worried like hell but she'll survive."

Draco nodded in acceptance, immensely relieved that his mother was alive. He looked at the potions master with gratitude and the man nodded to him. Then Snape took out a wand from his robes. It was Draco's wand. The boy stared at it for a moment, then at his ex-professor.

"Erm... I'm not sure I could keep it here. It would be too tempting to hex someone. And how'll I explain it if the others discovered it?"

Snape smirked and tuck the wand away again. Draco sighed and turned to go upstairs to his room with Moody. At the kitchen door he paused again, another nagging question in his mind.

"Severus. Who was it?"

There was a pause in which Draco could feel Moody going deadly rigid and Snape's eyes darkened dangerously.

"Bellatrix."

Draco's eyes widened and opened his mouth. 'Aunt Bella.' It was only a second before he schooled his features into a grim expression. As if it wasn't shameful enough that his own father would be willing to be subservient to a maniac. Now this. He would never live out the shame of his family. Perhaps it was only fair that he was the one entitled to do something to make things better. Even if that something meant for him to be used in an ancient rite. He resumed his way to his room, with Moody in tow.

Draco laid awake on the bed, thinking. Of all the things he knew his family was capable of, this surpassed his standard of craziness. He had thought that his aunt Bella's adoration for the Dark Lord was a bit insane, but that had clearly been a misconception. Insanity was too mild a term to describe what Bellatrix suffered of. He couldn't believe that someone had been mad enough to betray a creature like Sally. Draco didn't understand it, why would you want to harm a magical beast that is boosting your own magic? And to murder a creature bonded to one self... That was... well unthinkable. And that was exactly why no one had been able to do anything until it had been too late.

Draco sighed and tried to stop thinking about his crazy and shameful relatives, to focus in the mess he was into thanks to them. His thoughts automatically drifted over to Harry Potter and he felt mortified. He could not believe that he had to get laid by Potter. Not that he disliked the idea. In fact, if he had to be honest, he had to accept that he would have chosen Potter himself if they had allowed him to. And that was the real problem. He liked Potter. The time he had spent in the house so far had made him wish that Potter liked him too. He had been putting his best effort to open up and know more about the Gryffindor, and at the same time letting others know about himself. He had felt truly happy to realize that Potter really wanted to know him, to be his friend.

Draco had always wanted a friend. Being an only child was a bit lonely; having to grow up in a family where displaying feelings was considered a weakness was not big help. Draco had always longed for some affection, his childhood friends like Pansy didn't visit the Malfoy manor much and his own mother restrained herself in front of his father. Malfoys were not free to show feelings. The blond had hoped to make friends in the school, but the Slytherins were not for showing emotions either. The majority preferred not to get too involved with anyone. It was safer that way. And Draco had been unable to gather enough courage to go and search for something out of his House. He had wanted to please his father and to do that he had had to act like a Malfoy.

It was not fair; this was supposed to be his chance! He had been doing fairly well considering the circumstances. Potter and he had been getting along just nicely. And now Draco would have to ruin it! Potter was not gay, Draco was certain of that; he was convinced that the only thing he could get out the black-haired boy was friendship. He had been perfectly content with that, maybe with time he would be able to peak Harry's curiosity a little, but he had clear that a relationship with the boy was something that won't happen.

Draco cursed. He could not deny that he wanted Potter, but would have preferred that the boy wanted him as well. He wanted Harry to like him, not only lust after him, he wanted feelings behind that. The blond knew that it was impossible, and that meant that he had to trick Harry in order to get him to have sex with him, to have a child with him. That was just so wrong. Malfoy now knew the Gryffindor enough to be certain that family was almost a sacred thing for him. Surely the boy hoped to find a nice girl to marry her and have children with her and a happy, normal family, when the war ended. Draco could not ruin that for him. He wasn't planning on telling Potter a thing about the baby. It was bad enough that he was going to ruin a friendship for what was going to look like a quick shag. He refused to force Potter to care about the baby and spoil him the family he really wanted.

It was going to be a one night lay, and he'll have to resign himself to be isolated afterwards, because he was sure that Potter would hate him again. Draco had no doubts that he will be able to seduce the boy with Sally's help, and he had to start quickly because time was of the essence. Severus and the other adults believed that he could take his time to sort his feelings and get used to the idea of what he had to do, but they didn't know that the magic of Sally's mother was running away and that once it was totally spent, the bond would kill them.

At the moment, the fact that Sally and Draco were "sharing" a body made the Dragon incorporeal, almost as if she was a spirit, so she could live within the boy's body. This meant that a lot of her magic was already compromised, so, when her mother's magic ran out, Draco's magic would be the main source of energy for the bond. But Draco had not yet reached his full magical potential and he never would if he had to "feed" the bond continuously. Of course Sally's magic would be drained too; eventually the strain was going to be too much for them and they'd be dead. If that happened before they had a chance to try the ritual they were all doomed. No more Rainbow Dragons and eventually no more magic.

Draco shuddered at the thought. He asked himself again what her aunt had been thinking to do something that stupid? He cursed his relatives and cursed the Dark Lord for having concocted something that required him to get pregnant! That made him remember how much his mother had fought against his father when he had asked her for another son, saying that there was no way in hell that she was going to endure another nine months of torture just because he didn't find his first son 'adequate' enough!

The memory stung a bit. It was also a reminder of how much his father had been disappointed in him. But he ignored his hurt feelings in favour of wondering if it really was that bad to have a child. His mother had made it sound as if it was the worst that could happen to a woman, but if that was true then why some women had so many children? Mrs Weasley was a good example of that. Maybe his mother was exaggerating, it couldn't be that bad.

Draco shuddered. He knew it was pointless to worry about that. It didn't matter how he felt, Sally was more important. She was all Draco had left and he was not going to lose her, neither was he going to let them both die, no matter what. If only he could convince himself that he could survive a pregnancy. Sally hummed in his mind, murmuring soft reassurances. She was going to be with him, they would survive it together. Draco stopped thinking and let himself be lulled to sleep by Sally's comforting presence.