InsaneJournal

Unexpected - Chapter 18: Moving On
Title: Unexpected
Authors: slashpervert and aveeno_baby.

Betas: brknhalo241, asm614, Mini Mouse, and Indie.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: ADULT!
Genre: Fluff, Smut, Hurt/Comfort
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Length: 94,000 words (40 Chapters)
Warnings (Mark to Read): Language, Explicit, M/M Sex, Masturbation, Oral, Rimming, Anal, Mpreg, and mental health issues such as anxiety attacks. (Characters in this fiction are over 18.)

Summary: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy have lived together for four years in their country house surrounded by a magical menagerie of unwanted animals Harry rescues. Yet, Harry wants more. He dreams of a family that includes children.

Notes: Post-war, AU after HBP, not DH compliant. Sequel to Undesirable, though can be read separately. Whereas, Undesirable was very dark, this one is very fluffy with some angst. Thanks to corvusdea for help with Latin for spells. Icon adapted by slashpervert from Passion by dirty_darella.
Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fan fiction intended for adult audiences only. No copyright infringement intended. (Full Disclaimer!)

Chapter Number/Total: 18/40
Chapter Title: Moving On
Words: 2550 Words



Draco wasn't sure about this plan. But, as usual, Harry had talked him into it. Well, Harry had insisted he was going to visit the children at the orphanage, and Draco had been unwilling to let him go alone. So, here they were, both dressed like Muggles and stepping out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry unfolded the paper Hermione had printed out for him and nodded, reaching to take Draco's hand before making his way outside, ignoring anyone who looked at him through his hair. "Says we have to take this bus," he said, looking up and down the street before he spotted the stop. "There."

Draco gave his lover a sceptical look. Harry was beautiful to him, but he probably looked odd to most people. He was still a thin man, everywhere except his stomach, which looked like he had a small beer gut. Harry had had to wear an oversized shirt that was reminiscent of the way he used to dress when he was a teen. Add the long black hair that nearly reached his waist which Harry was wearing loose, and Draco wasn't really surprised that people stared.

When they reached the bus stop, Harry glanced up at him, catching Draco's look. "What? Does the shirt look that bad?" he asked, reaching to tug at the bottom of it.

Draco tried not to smirk. "You look fine," he answered, extending one hand to tuck Harry's hair back behind an ear so he could better see his face.

"I don't know," Harry murmured, pouting a little and looking down. He was feeling ... well, big. He knew it was just the baby growing, but he wasn't used to it. Usually he was the small one. It had been that way his whole life.

Draco had to resist the urge to lay his hand on his lover's belly, soothing his fingers down Harry's arm to his elbow instead. "I suppose you miss seeing the children at the orphanage," he said.

"I do ... and today I'll have to explain somehow that I won't be there any more," Harry sighed, also resisting the urge to rest his hand there. He didn't know when he had started doing it, but now he always had a hand on his stomach, just so he'd never miss any kind of movement.

There was a rumble and a loud bus pulled up to the curb, chugging noxious fumes that made Draco cough. "You could tell them you are going on a trip," Draco suggested.

Harry led the way inside, paying for the both of them before tugging Draco through the bus to find a seat. "A very long trip," he murmured.

Draco watched Harry fumble with the strange looking coins Hermione had given him. The bus was crowded with a motley assortment of Muggles. Draco eyed them all suspiciously, one hand on his lover and the other patting his jacket where his wand was concealed.

The only available seats were in the back and Harry sat down, pulling Draco with him. "Stop looking at everyone as if they're going to attack you," he whispered, rolling his eyes.

Draco snorted softly. It wasn't that he hated Muggles, per se, he just didn't trust anyone. He was just as wary in wizarding environments. The biggest problem for Draco was that Muggles confused him. He didn't know what they were doing most of the time. And most of what he knew about them was from Harry's telly programs.

Harry rested his head on Draco's shoulder as he looked over the directions. "Says it'll take us about twenty minutes," he murmured, his arm curling around in front of his stomach.

Draco startled, nearly drawing his wand when a loud sound filled the overcrowded compartment of the bus. It took him a moment to figure out that it was coming from a box and that it was Muggle music. He glared at the teenager holding the black box, but the boy ignored him.

That only made Harry laugh, reaching to take his hand before Draco could pull the wand out. "Calm down," he said, shaking his head.

"I have to listen to that for twenty minutes?" Draco growled. He was contemplating whether or not he could do a wandless spell to make the box blow up.

"Yes, and you will not do anything," Harry said, as if he knew what Draco was thinking. "It’s not that long."

"They wouldn't know it was me," Draco assured his lover.

"So? Just relax," Harry murmured, resting his head on Draco’s shoulder again.

The bus stopped and started, but Draco tried to ignore that and the way the other passengers moving about kept jostling him. One bonus of it though was that Harry let go of his hand, grabbing on to the seat for a minute to keep from sliding off. Draco stuck his hand into his jacket and took hold of his wand, muttering a spell. The black box of loud noise made a popping sound and then a sizzle, smoke curling out of its front grille. The ride was much quieter then.

Harry looked up when he heard the music stop abruptly, frowning slightly and looking up at Draco. "Couldn't help it, huh," he said softly, but smiled a little anyway.

Draco tried to give Harry the "who me, I'm innocent" look but it morphed quickly into a smirk.

Harry shook his head and turned to look out the window. "Oh, next stop," he said, sitting up a little.

When the bus lurched to a stop, nearly throwing them into the next chair, Draco struggled to his feet and then reached for Harry, automatically helping him up, then following Harry out the back door of the bus.

Harry sighed when they were off, pushing his hair back and looking around for a moment. Now he knew where they were. "All right, this way," he said, taking Draco's hand in his. "I'm gonna miss those kids, you know."

"I know," Draco said, fingers curling around Harry's as he was led along a tall wrought iron fence with brick posts. He could see a playground and a large brick building beyond it.

"Glad you came with me today," Harry said, leading him up the steps. "Even though it was the only way you would let me out."

Draco didn't comment. He worried that if Harry had made the ride by himself he might have one of his episodes. Most of the time Harry seemed almost normal, if a bit quirky. But if he got frightened, he sometimes had flashbacks to very bad memories, becoming confused and terrified.

Harry walked up to the main entrance and Draco glanced up at the stone engraved with the name St Hedwig as they made their way inside. They stood there for a minute and Draco could hear the sounds of children's voices drifting down the halls. Then a tall woman came striding out of a nearby room, dressed in black robes. It startled Draco since he had expected Muggle clothing and then he remembered from the telly shows that Muggle female clerics wore robes like this.

"Harry!" Sister Margaret exclaimed sounding both surprised and pleased. "Where have you been?" Her brown eyes narrowed slightly when she looked at Draco.

"Sister," Harry said, smiling when she stepped out. "I've been busy, sorry I haven't been able to visit. Oh, and this is Draco." He wasn’t sure if he should mention their relationship. It was a pretty good bet that she would figure it out after what he had said before.

"Nice to meet you ... Draco. I'm Sister Margaret," she greeted him, stumbling a bit over the name.

Draco noticed her eyes taking in Harry's hand still in his and the oversized shirt. He didn't know what she made of them, but she reminded him oddly of Severus Snape and the way he seemed to see every detail. "Hello," he answered neutrally, unsure what else he should say.

"How have the kids been?" Harry asked, seeming to not have noticed what she was looking at.

Sister Margaret began telling them details about the children. Draco only recognised a few of the names from when Harry talked about them. "Susan is doing much better in math now," she was explaining then.

"Oh, really?" Harry asked, grinning now. "I’m glad. I knew she would catch on. And oh, before I go to see them, I thought I'd let you know that I won't be coming back after today."

She frowned. "Something wrong?"

Harry glanced up at Draco before he looked at the woman. He shifted uncomfortably. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just … well, I am going to be really busy and won’t have the time to spend that I used to."

That prompted the woman to give a suspicious look at Draco, as if something he was doing was preventing Harry's return. Draco arched an eyebrow, which probably didn't help settle her concern but was his usual response to being given that kind of look. He still received enough of them in wizarding places as it was.

"I'll always care about the kids. I just … need to do something else now," Harry said, his hand tightening around Draco's when she gave him that look.

Draco watched her eyes flicker to their hands again and her lips purse a bit. "I know the children have appreciated your time with them," she said. "And I know that all of us will wish you well."

"I will miss them. Thank you," Harry murmured, smiling again. “Can I see them?”

She led them down a hall and out a backyard to the play area Draco had spotted earlier. There were about a dozen small children in the yard and, a few moments after they stepped out, a group of them came running toward the steps yelling "Harry!"

Harry let go of Draco's hand and got down on his knees so that he could hug the children. Susan and the other children were telling him about the last couple months.

"Where have you been?" Susan asked with a pout, looking over at Draco curiously.

"I've been busy," Harry said softly, smiling at her. “I am so glad to hear how well you’ve been doing.”

Draco hung back, standing up at the top while Harry sat on the steps, surrounded by eager children. A little girl with big blue eyes and light brown hair stepped close to him, looking up curiously. Draco arched an eyebrow at her and she giggled.

"This is Draco," Harry said, when he saw that most of the children were looking at him. "He's my ...." He paused, still unsure. "My friend."

"Are you a girl?" the child beside Draco asked and he frowned. The other children laughed.

Harry barely stopped himself from laughing, too. "No, he's a man," Harry explained to her.

The small girl looked up at Draco with something akin to rapture in her eyes. "But he's sooo pretty!" she exclaimed.

Draco couldn't help flush at that and scowled harder. The other children laughed louder.

Harry couldn't help but laugh too. "Yes, he is, I'll agree with you on that," he said, grinning.

Darla, her name was, Harry remembered and she was still staring up at Draco like she wanted to kiss him herself. "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked. The other children laughed again.

Harry blushed, looking up at Draco. "How'd you figure that out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Darla.

"I wish he was MY boyfriend," she declared.

Draco noticed that some of the children who had been laughing the most had stopped and were now staring in confusion at Harry.

Harry hadn't been expecting to explain this to the kids, so he wasn't sure of what to say at first. "Well, so you know, it's just as good for a man and woman to be together as it is for two men to be together."

"Being gay is a sin," one of the boys declared.

Harry looked up at him and frowned a little, knowing that the nuns must have been teaching them that. "I wouldn't call it a sin ... just different," he said.

"Harry," Draco said, interrupting the discussion, warning in his tone.

Harry sighed. He didn’t want to upset anyone but he wasn’t ashamed of Draco. It still made him angry that the rules hadn’t allowed him to adopt because of it. His hand unconsciously went to his belly, where their daughter was growing.

"So why are you fat, Harry?" Stephen, one of the bigger boys, asked, picking at the overlarge shirt.

Harry blushed and shook his head, the question seeming to come out of nowhere. "I'm not fat," he answered, smiling a little.

Stephen looked sceptical and Draco shook his head. He might have said something but several of the other children gave shoves to the boy who asked and told him to shut up.

"No, no, it's all right," Harry said, not wanting them to push each other around. "I suppose I have been gaining weight. But you don't say that to someone. And don't push."

After a bit, he realised he couldn’t put it off any longer. Harry told Susan and the others that he wouldn’t be back. They were disappointed but seemed resigned. Draco assumed that orphans must be used to people coming and going. Only Susan seemed particularly affected and she smiled and hugged him goodbye, thanking him again for his help and promising to keep up with her studies.

Harry continued to talk with the children until the bell rang. Darla hugged Draco's legs before she reluctantly went back in with the others. Then another group of children came out and Harry spent time with them as well. Draco moved to the step directly above his lover, nearby, but allowing the kids to crowd around the man. At the end of that play period, he noticed that Harry was looking paler. Being pregnant meant that Harry tired easier than he used to, but it still worried Draco who declared that it was time to go home.

Harry said goodbye to everyone, hugging them all for a good bit and then waving as he reached for Draco's hand so that they could leave. Sister Margaret met them at the door. "I want you to know we have really enjoyed knowing you," she told Harry.

"Yeah, I have loved being with the kids," Harry answered. He was sad, knowing he would always wonder about these kids. Yet, he was looking forward to having his own child and knew he would need to focus on being a parent.

"Well, may God be with you, Harry," she said gently. Draco could see that she liked Harry and that made him feel both better and sad at the same time.

"Thank you for everything, Sister," Harry said, stepping closer to give her a hug.

Draco noticed that she smiled while hugging him but looked curiously down at Harry's stomach after. She didn't say anything though and soon they were out the door. Draco sighed and took Harry's hand.

Harry squeezed his hand before they went down the steps, quiet as they walked to the bus stop again.

[Hard to say goodbye.}

Chapter 19

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