Darkness.

Fear.

Breathing coming from my left.

The sound of pages being turned?

I inched my head towards the breather and felt myself relax.

It was Severus. He was reading with the aid of a tiny glow light that moved down the page when his eyes moved. It was one of the first spells I'd ever mastered and I almost smiled.

"Draco, are you thirsty?" His velvety voice had always promised safety to me.

I tried swallowing and it felt like glass shards. He laid the book aside and reached for a glass of water on the side table. Sitting up, he raised my head enough for me to drink. The first swallows hurt dreadfully but I'd been trained at an early age to withstand pain and by the fourth swallow it just felt good.

"You've been sleeping for almost 24 hours, Draco." He laid a hand on my forehead once my head was back on the pillow. "No fever, that's good. Would you like a bath?"

I almost smiled again. "You're reading my mind, Professor Snape."

He actually chuckled. "I think that now I'm your guardian, you might call me Severus. And I know how I felt when Voldemort killed me."

That sounded so strange but Father had conjured the picture of him writhing on the ground with his bones sticking out everywhere to show me his 'triumph'. I was shaking again but this time Severus was there to take me in his arms and say those soft things that he'd said before I passed out.

"I know, Draco, I know it hurts. The others do not understand the pain but I do. All you have felt, I did also. And I survived." He rocked me just a little. "You'll survive, too."

I realized that I was crying and I instantly stopped, appalled at my lack of control. Severus understood that as well, letting go a little and calling up the lights so it wasn't quite so dark. "A bath, Draco, hot, steaming water and some lavender soap to scrub away the past?"

"It will not disappear so easily, Severus." I said wearily.

"No, it won't." He said with a smile I hardly recognized. "But Rubeus and I will help in any way that we can. If you need silence then you shall have it. If you need to do ordinary things then that shall be what you do."

I remembered the amazing thing he'd said earlier. "You are . . . bonded to Hagrid?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" He said pleasantly. "The old me would have never thought of it but that Severus died in the Forest at the hands of the Death Eaters. I was reborn into a new life that I could have never dreamed of. I don't expect you to understand when I hardly do myself. But it's real and I am truly blessed with his love."

It didn't make any sense but then nothing much did anymore. My eyelids drooped. I was so tired. Severus hummed to me, laying me back down and tucking in the blanket. Sleep claimed me at once and this time it wasn't so painful.

*****

When next I awoke, Potter was sitting in a chair by my bed, with his feet propped by me and his nose in a book. I must have made some sound because he looked up and smiled at me. That was such a shock that all I could do was blink at him.

"Good morning, Draco, you're doing better. It's only been fourteen hours since you last woke up." He laid the book aside and reached for the water glass. "Here's something more to drink. It's just water for now since Poppy did the last healing on you." He gave me the same help that Severus had, raising my head up so I could drink more easily.

I didn't even think to refuse or check the water. I just drank until it was gone. He let me down gently and smiled again. "I'm glad that you're getting better. I'm sorry that you had to go through so much pain first."

Well, he should know about pain. "Thank you for offering to help. I don't know yet if that was good or bad."

He nodded and pushed his glasses back up. "I know what you mean. Lots of things have changed since Sev died and Ru' healed him. You're really lucky to belong to them now."

"I don't belong to anyone but myself." I rasped. "Severus is just my guardian for the next few years . . . provided I live that long." My strength failed again and I closed my eyes wearily. "Sorry, Potter, nothing's changed. I'm still a stuck-up git and you're still a goody-two-shoes."

He chuckled and patted my hand where it lay on the quilt. "You'll find out, Draco, when you're ready. We're going to be relatives eventually and I can hardly wait until you realize it."

I tried to snort in derision but I was already falling asleep.

*****

Opening my eyes, I realized that I wasn't tired anymore. Moving cautiously, I had only some sore muscles from not using them and the lingering ache deep inside where that bastard had raped me. For a moment, white-hot anger flooded my body then with the ease of long years of experience, I tamped it down into the box where I kept the people I hated.

Taking a deep breath, I tested my arms and legs again before pushing back the covers. My flannel nightshirt was much too big so it must belong to Severus. I looked around, expecting to see him or Potter or someone but it appeared I was alone. How strange that I was already expecting things of them. I thought I'd had that trained out of me. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I pondered where I was going.

"Oh good, you're awake." Severus came in and tilted his head to one side. "You're slept out at last. How about that bath?"

"Yes, thank you." I stood on my own but needed his help to stay upright and walking.

"The weakness will pass once you start moving around, Draco." He said briskly and set me down on the toilet lid before turning on the hot water. The tub was Slytherin silver and for a moment the common room of our House flashed across my memory.

That was no longer my place, the others no longer my friends. I was more likely to become one of the Griffies than ever graduate from my former house. I was so caught up in the memories that I didn't even notice Sev was taking off my socks until he touched my bare skin and I froze.

He stopped for a moment and caught my eye. "When my father told me that I'd be getting my Death Mark at the full moon, he asked me who I wanted to 'rid me of my inconvenient virginity'. I picked someone that I thought wouldn't hurt me too badly. He nodded and chose the meanest son of a bitch in the order. I bled for almost a week because he wouldn't let me heal myself. 'Get used to the pain, boy,' was all he said."

I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. "MacNair was the one Father chose. Does it always hurt like that?"

He hugged me close. "Not when you love the person you're with and not when they love you in return. It's all right, Draco." He pretended not to see my tears. "Someday you will find the other half of your soul and on that day, you'll be made new again and you'll share your love without fear or pain. I promise you this."

**************
Harry
**************

We hadn't meant to overhear but I wanted to be sure that Sev didn't need any more help with Draco. Ger was with me and when I realized what I was hearing and started to cry, he picked me up and took me out of there into the front room. He sat down in the big wing chair with me curled in his lap. Sudden warmth told me that he'd flicked on the fire in the big fireplace but I was too busy trying to stop the tears.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear that, Har'." He kissed my hair and held me close. "Losing virginity is a major power surge for the person taking the wizard and the opening up of great reservoirs of energy for the virgin. It should be done only when love is involved. What Sev and Draco endured was rape, pure and simple."

Sniffing, I fumbled for my handkerchief and blew my nose hard before stuffing it back in my pocket. "I know it was rape but I'm not sure exactly how."

One eyebrow went up and he looked at the fire for a long minute. I watched him think while committing more of him to memory. His nose was kind of Roman and his eyebrows were sandy like Ron's but a little darker. His mouth made my toes curl and I really, really wanted a kiss from it, not just on my forehead or hair.

"Are you sure you want to hear sex education 101 from me?" His blue eyes caught mine and I nodded breathlessly.

"You're the only one I ever want to practice with so you're the logical person to tell me what to expect." I took a chance and lightly brushed my lips over his.

His arms tightened for a moment then relaxed. "Harry Potter, you are the most amazing young man I've ever met. And we're both going to be tested over the next few minutes so we should probably separate right now."

I gripped his shoulders with a frisson of fore-knowledge. "No, I have to be close. I just do, Ger."

He sighed and nodded. "I hope you know a good clean up spell. Now, you obviously know about kissing. That's the best way to start. Have you ever rubbed your . . . groin area?"

Blushing down to my toes, I nodded. "Watching Sev and Ru' together made me hard sometimes, kind of like seeing you does. When I take my bath, I remember what made me hard earlier and stroke . . . it until . . . stuff comes out."

"For now, why don't we call them your shaft and seed." He waited until I nodded. "That's one of the ways that men and boys have been pleasuring themselves since the beginning of time. In this case, muggles and wizards are exactly the same. Now, when making love with a partner you can stroke his shaft while he strokes yours. It's kind of like mutual masturbation only the hand giving you pleasure isn't your own. Kissing usually ensues while you're panting."

I was warm all over and I picked up his hand in both of mine, wondering what it would feel like to have his warm fingers wrapped around me. "That sounds really, really good, Ger."

He sighed and brought one of my hands to his lips, laying a kiss in my palm. I started to tingle. "It is good, Harry but there's a variation that's even better and one you can't do for yourself. A lover can kiss his way down your throat to your chest so he can lick your nipples, a major erogenous zone for both males and females."

Mine were hard as rocks with just his words and I could just guess how wonderful it would feel to have his lips there. "G-g-go on, Ger."

His smile almost made me come. "It gets better. While he's kissing his way down your body, his hands are still stroking you so your shaft is hard and aching. Then when he's down to your groin, he kisses your crown and starts to suck your shaft."

That was kind of hard to picture. "Um, doesn't that taste bad? I mean, you use it to go to the bathroom."

"Cleanliness is very much next to godliness, Harry." He chuckled. "The first time someone told me about it, I said 'yech, I'm not ever doing that'. But once a male is aroused, it's not urine coming out but seed from your testicles."

"Why are they so fragile?" I'd always wanted to ask that question. "I mean, sometimes they get pinched on your broom or hit in a fight and the pain is horrible."

"They are indeed, Har', but Mum told me once that the Goddess made them fragile so men would remember that making love needs to be gentle and tender." He brushed back that lock of hair that was always falling onto my forehead. "Anything else is just rape."

And that reminded me of Draco and Sev. "That's what they experienced?"

He frowned sadly. "There's more, Harry. Both men can suck on each other at the same time and that can be fast and furious or slow and tender. You can experiment when you're older. But like female-male sex, there can also be penetration of one lover by the other."

I couldn't picture that. "How? Men don't have a vagina like girls do."

Very gently his right hand pressed against the back seam of my jeans. "That's true but there is an entrance to the male body. There's a lot of derogatory names for it but let's call it the cavum for now."

Cavum for . . . my eyes widened. "No way! It wouldn't fit and there'd be . . . stuff in the way. That's worse than urine."

He nodded. "All valid points, Harry, it's why penetrative sex should never be done unless both parties want and desire it. Unlike male-female sex, the man's back passage doesn't have a natural lubricant to ease the way for the shaft. The man receiving the shaft needs to clear himself out with either a spell or an enema. Then the giver needs to very gently but thoroughly loosen the entrance with his fingers and a lot of slippery lubricant."

I shifted in his lap and felt the swelling at his groin. He felt bigger than me, not just because he was older but because he was just bigger everywhere. What would it look like? How would it feel to have his fingers inside of me? Slippery lubricant sounded kind of cool.

"Harry, that's something for the far future. Don't worry about it now." He tried to shift me to one side, I think because he thought I was uncomfortable.

But I hung on. "Slippery stuff sounds like fun. I'm thinking about it."

He paused and a tentative smile came back. "All right, after the stretching is done, the giver's shaft slides inside slowly. There's a gland inside a male anal canal that gives great pleasure when it's stimulated by fingers or a shaft."

"And it feels good?" I asked. "Even if it's a really big shaft and a really small . . . cavum?"

"It feels wonderful to both the giver and the receiver. The recipient gets a prostate gland massage that usually makes him come hard and the giver is squeezed by the tight channel until he comes, too."

Suddenly I was jealous. Ger sounded like he'd done both with someone else and I only wanted him to do it with me. "Ger, are we going to do both in the future?"

His smile was tender. "Only if you want to, Harry. Making love is a gift that both men give to each other. Anything else is rape. Sev and Draco could tell you about the way that feels."

I'd forgotten why we started this conversation. "That would hurt a lot, wouldn't it? If they were bleeding and everything then they weren't ready to . . . take a shaft."

"I doubt much preparation was done at all, Harry. The dark emotions give off a lot of energy and that fuels spells really well. Size does matter when you're talking penetrative sex. Ru' said that Sev has to use an enlarging spell for his channel in order to take his shaft inside of him."

That was interesting, I thought and moved a little over the hardness beneath me. "Is that how Sev got pregnant? Using that spell?"

He nodded. "I don't understand all the details but Dad said that it was an interesting side effect of a very ancient spell. Usually a male wizard has to take a potion or practice for months to create a womb for the baby. Sev and Ru' seem to have bypassed all that and just made a baby."

I tingled at that thought and I moved restlessly over his groin, feeling it swell a little more. "Ger, I think that I want to do everything with you. I know it will be later rather than sooner but can I practice the fingers and slippery lube in my cavum so I can start stretching for you?"

"Dear Goddess," he murmured and swelled even bigger. "I'm not going to make it to your eighteenth birthday."

I was so hard my teeth hurt and I pressed one of my hands on the bulge in my jeans while pressing the other on his. And that was all it took to make us both come. I relaxed on his chest while his arms came around me hard and squeezed me close. I wasn't ready for the penetrative sex yet but I would be.

"Yes, you can practice on yourself, Harry." He sighed and loosened his arms. "I plan to take a lot of cold showers and do a little practice stretching of my own. I like it both ways, Harry. And I love you."

I bounced twice, even though I knew that was kind of childish. "I love you too, Ger. Thanks for explaining everything."

"You're quite welcome, Har'." He hugged me again and muttered a quick clean up spell so we weren't so wet and sticky. "I'm here to answer any and all of your questions that I can."

"I'll save the ones about me getting pregnant for later." I smiled at him and watched his mouth drop open. Yes, the next couple of years would be fun.

**************
Rubeus
**************

The last of the stucco got ladled on in the same swirly pattern that we'd used everywhere else. The creamy white mixture began to harden immediately when I said the fixing spell. One really nice thing about magic stucco is the quick cure time rather than the days that the muggles have to wait and worry over. Even if the rain clouds that I'd been eyeing all afternoon opened up and it poured, our finish wouldn't be affected one bit.

Smiling, I began to clean my tools and put them away. The twins were finishing up the inside walls for us and Gersey and Harry had finished sanding the floors so they'd be ready for the Headmaster to stain and coat tomorrow. It was amazing what a determined set of people could do when they put their minds to it. Rhea and Draco were painting his room after first painting the new nursery.

That had surprised Draco. Hell, it had surprised me and still did when I stopped to think about it. But Sev was patient with me and I was getting more and more used to the idea of being a father. Of course, I was already kind of one to young Draco but we were still real wary around each other. He'd been brought up to believe people like me were inferior but he was making an effort to be polite.

I was trying not to crowd him or get jealous of all the time that Sev was spending with him. I knew in my head it was necessary but my heart just wanted Sev all to myself like we'd been before the family came to visit. Putting everything in the small storage shed that we'd built first, I took a good look at the new front of the house. It definitely wasn't a cottage anymore.

We'd built out twenty feet from the old front and put in the nursery next to our room, more front room with some proper furniture for everybody and then a small bathroom and bedroom for Draco on the opposite corner. It meant fewer pipes and bother since they were already there, plus it gave him the privacy that a young man needed at this stage in his life.

For the moment, he was staying in Sev's rooms at Hogwarts and walking out with Harry in the mornings. They were becoming friends, I thought but it was kind of hard to tell. I know Harry was trying real hard to understand what Draco had gone through but I really hoped that Ger's intended didn't know all the details. Boys didn't have enough time to play these days. But Harry had pushed and kept pushing until Draco flew with him over the Quidditch field.

Draco had seemed more peaceful after he came down. Maybe he realized that not everything was wrong in his life and some things he could still enjoy. I'd watched real closely but neither Hossic nor Gration had been anything but just friends with the white-blond boy. I had to breathe a sigh of relief at that. I wasn't sure we could have taken anymore bonding right at the moment.

Although, I thought with a smile, Sirius was still smitten with Rhea and her with him. I opened the front door and walked into orderly chaos. A sawdust covered Gersey had Harry in an arm lock, pretending to rub his nose with the sandpaper. Rhea and Draco were cleaning their paintbrushes and talking over furniture choices. The twins were pounding in the chair railings and Sev was nowhere in sight.

Maybe he'd gone to the potions lab to get away from the noise? I'd find him later, for now I wanted to make sure that everything was done that we could do.

"Draco! How about we go swimming?" Harry had escaped the arm lock and was a safe distance away, sticking out his tongue at Ger. "It's nice and hot so the water will feel good."

They all agreed that would be a good way to end the day so after a chaotic interlude where everyone got dressed in swimsuits, they all left for the beach. Ah, I thought, blessed quiet. "Sev, it's all right to come out now."

His chuckle came from the stairs down to the lab and I watched him emerge with a smile. He came right to me and we kissed gently for a long moment before he pulled away, taking my hand and leading me into our bedroom. "I have decided, Ru', that a nap is just what we need."

I chuckled and closed the door behind us. He looked over his shoulder at me and deliberately began to unbutton his waistcoat buttons. That meant naked napping and I clicked the lock behind me before hurrying to get my clothes off, too. I love watching him get undressed; each movement is so graceful and sure. He's still moon-pale since he prefers the shade to the sun and every inch of skin was so beautiful when he revealed it to me that I was rock hard and hurting by the time I slid my pants off.

His eyes lit up. "Evil Rubeus, you weren't wearing any underwear under those pants."

I grinned and leered at him. "They just get in the way when we nap."

He turned and picked up the bottle of that special lubricant that he made up by the gallon, looking over his shoulder at me. "Then I'll have to find someplace warm for it to . . . nap."

In two steps I was by the bed and had him in my arms, picking him up and lowering us both onto the bed. "I'd really appreciate that, Sev. Ya're too good to me."

"Never, Ru'," he was suddenly serious. "You deserve only the very best of life. Your great heart has taken in two strays now and I can never thank you enough."

I kissed him gently. Mum had warned me that his hormones would be all over the map so I was ready for his lightning quick mood swings. "I love ya, Sev. I love ya more each day and I'm lucky that ya love me back. Draco will lend spice to the family."

He grinned just as suddenly as he'd turned serious and slid a hand around me. "A rather tart spice at the moment but I think I see some hints of mellowing. Now, I believe that I was going to find somewhere nice and warm for this beautiful cock of yours."

I gasped and trembled just a bit. "Yeah, that'd be right nice of ya, Sev."

Flipping him onto his back, I kissed my way down his body, making sure that I very gently licked his nipples. They were already getting more sensitive and sometimes he'd come with just me sucking on them. But I wanted his cock right now so I slid further back and held out my hand. He dipped two of my fingers in the wide-mouthed jar then set it aside for now.

Teasing his small hole with them, I suckled tenderly on his cock and listened to his moans with satisfaction. He'd really taken to sex and seemed to be making up for all those years that he'd gone without. Sliding both fingers through the tight muscle, I cast a quick silencing spell on the room to hide his moans. Hopefully the others were down in the lake and wouldn't be back too soon. But I never wanted him to be embarrassed by what we did in private and that meant making sure we were safe.

Turning my fingers this way and that, I could tell how far gone he was by the way that he was pulling on my hair and trying to thrust up with his hips. I hummed around his cock and rasped my tongue over the leaking crown and he shrieked and came, just like that. His inner muscles milked my fingers and I was so hard that I didn't know if I could last long enough to slide inside of him.

"Ru' . . . that . . . was . . . amazing." He panted and pulled me closer so he could kiss me. My cock stabbed him in the stomach and he chuckled, deliberately clenching those muscles around my fingers. "Let me turn over, love so you can see what you're getting into."

Gingerly I pulled out my fingers and helped him onto all fours. He moved like a sleek cat, arching his back then wiggling his hips just a little. Luckily, the lube didn't taste bad because I loved tonguing his entrance and forcing my tongue through that little hole. He always moaned when I did that and today was no exception.

"So good, Ru'. I love having you inside of me. Fingers, tongue, cock, they all feel so good that I want them all the time." He rocked back and forth and I slid a hand around to see if he felt like getting hard again. "Gods, only you could make me come back to life so fast, Ru'. More, Ru', give me your cock."

Damn, but I love his voice saying the word cock. I wiggled my tongue back out, swiping his balls with it for a quick feel and he groaned. He said the spell really fast and I watched his hole flutter bigger for me. Setting my crown there, I gently pushed until just the head was in. He was panting and finally I felt him relax so I could slide all the way in.

I hit that sweet spot that turned him wanton and he rocked back hard to seat me in place. Kissing the back of his sweaty neck, I thrust just a tiny bit and watched his skin blush for me. His cock was hard again and I held it gently, just warming it with my fingers.

"I love feeling you inside of me, Ru'." His voice sounded like he was contemplating a new spell or something. "It doesn't even ache any more when I cast the spell. It does however, still feel like you've just shoved your arm up my arse. And that's a lovely feeling that I never expected."

"It's not too much, Sev?" He'd never shared that particular picture with me and since I'd been fisted back when I'd been raped, I wondered at his using those words. It surely hadn't felt good to me.

He chuckled and tightened around me. "Never too much, my Ru', it just reminds me of how big you are and how much I love being connected to you. A little harder, please."

Relieved, I thrust a bit harder and pulled out just a bit further. He was moaning again, short little breathy moans that made me even harder, if that were possible. We'd made love just last night but it felt like it had been forever. Our rhythm began to speed up and he was pushing back at the same time I was pushing in. My balls slapped against his thighs and that was the extra bit that made me come.

Flooding him with my seed, I felt him spurt into my hand. Moving carefully, I got us down to our sides with my cock still inside of him. He liked me leaving it in for as long as possible and the gods knew I liked being connected to him. I kissed his shoulder and he sighed happily, turning his head enough for us to manage a kind of swapping of tongues.

It was kind of awkward but our height difference worked in our favor when we were stuck together like this. "Love ya, Sev."

"I love you too, Ru'." He stroked his stomach. "The baby will complain if you keep poking him like this. It feels like your cock is going to come out of my stomach."

That was a picture that started hardening me again. I stroked his stomach and rocked a little bit. "We'll have ta give this up once he gets bigger. I don't want to hurt him or ya."

"You love us, Ru', and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He said saucily and flirted up at me over his shoulder.

I just had to kiss him again for that and it was while we were kissing and stroking his stomach together that I felt it. A flutter or something quite like it traveled across the bond that connected Sev and me. We broke apart and looked at each other. "Ya felt that, too, Sev?"

"The baby agrees with us, I think." His smile was so bright that it lit the darkening room. "Show us again how much you love us."

I kissed his neck and gently bit his ear lobe. That always made him shiver and harden. We made love very, very slowly until I let my seed flow out and he anointed my hand one more time. Then we really were done and I carefully eased out of him so I didn't hurt him. He was bound to be a little sore after me being inside of him for an hour but he didn't complain at all, turning in my arms and kissing me tenderly.

We cuddled for another half hour before our stomachs growled in unison and we did a quick spell clean up so we could get dressed and go looking for dinner.

**********
Draco
**********

It felt weird to come back to the house and know that Severus and Rubeus had been making love. I could tell because of the languid way that Sev moved and the tender care that Rubeus gave him. They were always really affectionate to each other and I'd watched them surreptitiously. At first, I just couldn't understand why they were together or what it was about the half-giant that could possibly attract the pure bred potions master.

But slowly, I was coming to see that they liked each other. They were friends who happened to also be lovers. I hadn't known that was possible having never seen it in my family or any of the other Slytherin homes. I'd been a bit contemptuous at first but lately I'd become envious instead. I looked at this family of half-breeds and saw that they all liked each other.

It was so strange to see them interact together. They teased each other but not in a hurtful way. Gration and Hossic played practical jokes just like those idiot Weasley twins did. I was beginning to think that was a twin thing but the Hagrids never made me the butt of their jokes and once they even got me to laugh. I just didn't understand them at all.

Now, Rhea was a different story. They should have named her Serena because she had the ability to remain serene under any conditions. She was so big that I felt like a child next to her but she never treated me like one. We worked well together while we painted. She would talk about her nursing and sometimes I would tell her about some of my studies. It felt almost like having a friend.

Friends weren't something that I'd ever really had. Father hadn't encouraged it; instead he made sure that I had worthwhile contacts. I was beginning to see what a difference there was between the two. I was looking at people with new eyes. Even Potter wasn't who I'd thought he was. Away from the Gryffindors, he was kind of fun. Somehow he'd known that flying again would make me feel better.

There's something about flying that frees me inside. Swooping and arcing feel good but going flat out to race for the snitch feels better than anything. Having a broom between my legs made me feel alive again. Potter even got me to laugh when he grumbled about my catching the snitch first. He was good-natured about it and actually told me that winning wasn't everything.

Really, he said that. What an interesting philosophy he had, I thought derisively. But part of me was taking notes and sometimes at night, I'd lie there and let those new thoughts come into my mind. It certainly beat reliving MacNair raping me. I'd only had two nightmares in the last week and that felt good.

"Draco, did you decide on the dark cherry or the oak for your bed?" Severus' voice broke into my thoughts.

I'd never been given a choice before. Father chose antiques that would appreciate in value, not furniture that was comfortable. "I thought maybe the golden oak to go with the floor."

He nodded. "Good choice, Draco, that will make the room seem bigger, too. Now, what about the desk and chair, oak for them as well?"

"Actually, I was thinking of the chrome and black desk that Gration showed me in that catalog with the swivel chair in green and silver." I said, casting a quick look at the twin with whom I'd spent the most time.

"Really?" He arched an eyebrow in that elegant way he had. "That will certainly look different. But if it's what you want then that is what we'll order. Rhea, are the curtains ready?"

"We can hang them once the floors are done." She said lightly. "They're going to look beautiful with the silver and green duvet on the bed and the tufted cushion on the window seat. Draco will have the most interesting room in the cottage."

I smiled. I was going to have my own room with all my own choices. What a thought.

***********
Lucius

Warnings for extreme graphic violence. Skip if needed.
***********

I knew I was in trouble when I awoke while being manacled to the Crucio frame. It was cold in Voldemort's meeting hall and the steel cuffs held me taut in an open X to the stone work. I was stretched open and when the Dark Lord's hissing syllables came from behind me, I prepared for the worst.

"Lucius-s-s-s, I am s-s-s-so dis-s-s-sappointed in you." His cold breath stunk of rat and I tightened my controls. "S-s-s-sweet Draco es-s-s-scaped from you. And now I can not harves-s-s-st him."

I held my tongue because begging would only make my torment worse. He moved slowly around me, his claws lightly scoring my flesh. "I s-s-s-see that you are contrite, dear Lucius-s-s-s. But I think MacNair wishes-s-s-s to show you his dis-s-s-spleasure."

The first blow of the scourge made me quiver, the steel tipped hooks lightly ripping open my back. Five blows later and I was bleeding from my head to my heels. MacNair then whispered in my ear. "Just the beginning, Malfoy. Our master is most displeased with you."

I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reply but when the bucket of cold salt water hit my back, I couldn't help a reaction. I burned everywhere it entered my bleeding flesh and I flinched. Voldemort hissed in amusement and beckoned to MacNair. "He may find it hard to be properly s-s-s-silent, MacNair. Let's-s-s help him."

The grinning giant forced my jaws open and shoved the ball gag in before tightening the straps behind my head. That actually helped me to relax a little because it was one less thing that I had to keep track of. MacNair leaned in close and whispered, "I'm going to enjoy this, Malfoy. You aren't."

Then he was gone from view and another five strokes of the cat-of-nine-tails ripped me open further. Another bucket of salt water, hot this time, and I was about ready to piss myself. Without any warning, MacNair rammed his cock into me and I screamed into the gag.

"Your little boy was sweet, Malfoy. He was so afraid that he passed out when I rammed my cock up his tight ass. Bled like a stuck pig, he did. I was looking forward to taking that little boy-cunt again." He pulled out and rammed it back in again while I tried to keep silent. "I'm real disappointed that I've got to wait for him. We will get him back from those cursed Knights. They'll heal him all up so he'll be good as new when I fuck him again." His volleys were quick and brutal and I took them all while I tried to stay conscious. "But I've got to say that all the Malfoys have tight asses. You feel real good, Malfoy. Narcissa screamed and screamed when I flipped her over and rammed her ass good this afternoon."

My eyes flew open to find Voldemort picking his teeth with a glittering toothpick. It looked suspiciously like the emerald and diamond spike that I'd bought my wife when she gave birth to Draco. She was an empty headed fool but she wouldn't have given it up lightly.

"Do I forget to tell you, Lucius-s-s-s?" He hissed at me and slithered closer. "I gave her to my loyal Death Eaters for their pleas-s-sure. Her screams-s brightened my afternoon."

Alright, this was worse than I thought. Narcissa was dead but I'd tired of her within a year of our marriage so it was no great loss. Scalding liquid flooded me and I grimaced in disgust. MacNair was little better than an animal. A sharp pinch and I focused on my Master. He was beckoning to that little rat Pettigrew who was bringing over a tub of hot coals and a white cloth.

What the hell did he have in mind now?

"Malfoy, I'd hate for you to come too soon so I'll just make sure you don't." MacNair bowed to Voldemort and while the reptile cackled, he dragged on my cock, which I hadn't noticed was getting hard, and snuggly wrapped it in the familiar liquid metal cage. If I got harder, the metal would shrink just enough to keep me from coming. He looped the wire rings around and between my balls to make them tighten further. Then, to add insult to injury, he suspended weights on them so they dragged towards the cold stone floor.

Now I really needed to piss but I wouldn't be able to unless he removed the cage.

"Very nice, MacNair. Res-s-s-st a moment, my boy while I introduc-c-c-e Lucius-s-s to a new s-s-s-sens-s-s-sation." His claws plucked my nipple before flicking it with his prehensile forked tongue. It burned like liquid fire since all his secretions were now acid. I hissed around the ball in my mouth but that was as nothing to what came next.

Red hot fire lanced through my nipple and I screamed or at least I tried. He was humming to himself and I felt something pierce my nipple and hang heavily from it. I almost passed out and when he lanced the other nipple, I think I did for a moment. My head hung down and from the corner of my eye, I saw a gold loop through my nipple with a large stone hanging from it.

"Very pretty, don't you think, MacNair?" He hissed and flicked a claw over the stone making it swing and torment my aching flesh.

"He doesn't deserve this sign of your favor, Master." The rough voice came from behind me again and I automatically tightened up.

"True, my boy. Why don't you play a little more while I eat some more of this delic-c-cious-s-s delicacy-c-cy?" Voldemort reclined on a pile of silken cushions stained a brownish red with dried blood and plucked a piece of grilled meat.

I was afraid to look too closely for fear I'd see something that reminded me of Narcissa. Then I was too busy trying not to scream again while MacNair whipped me with what sounded like a bull whip. Then he moved around me and flicked it in front of me and I flinched.

It did no good, of course. I was now bleeding both front and back and tears were leaking from my eyes. I had no control at all and when Voldemort waved him behind me, I almost welcomed his cock. It hurt but then so did everything else. He was whispering to me again of all the vile and terrible things that he was going to do to me.

"Such a treat, we've planned for you, Lucius-s-s. Jus-s-st for you, I have s-s-spelled all your old friends bigger. Jus-s-st for your pleasure." He flicked a mirror beside me and I saw the others naked and erect, lining up behind me.

MacNair was twelve inches long and thick with it but they were sizes that only existed in nightmares. They took turns, ramming their flesh into me so hard that both my hips dislocated. The pain was beyond belief and I hung limp, having long since lost any feeling in the lower part of my body.

"Enough." Voldemort stood and threw a leg bone aside. He tilted my head up, his slitted eyes looking into mine. "I should keep you jus-s-st like this-s-s, Lucius-s-s. But I have another fate in s-s-store for you. Watch, my little traitor."

He stood back far enough so I could see the pouch that hung low on his reptilian body. Slowly, something began to protrude where a cock might hang on a man. Very slowly I watched it emerge while my mind began to gibber in disbelief. It was huge, bigger than my thigh and as long as my arm. It hung low then began to swell even larger and come erect.

When he disappeared behind me, I froze in shock. Then I heard his sibilant whisper in my ear and felt my body ripped open, to spill my blood with a hiss on the floor. "Take my las-s-st gift, Lucius-s-s. Then die."

And so I did.

********************
**********
Gersey
**********

When Harry and Draco walked in Friday morning, I could tell that something was wrong. My little love looked like he hadn't slept all night and he'd been crying. Draco was closed up again, like he hadn't been in over a week. Mum noticed at once and she sent me off with Harry while Sev took Draco in hand.

I took Harry out to the little nook where we'd talked earlier and sat him down with my arm around him. "What happened, Har? What's wrong?"

He shuddered hard and turned into my arms so he was holding me tight while his tears soaked my shirt. I could barely hear his words but what I heard had me holding him tighter while I rocked him. He'd dreamed Voldemort killing Malfoy senior. He was practically hyperventilating when he described the sick torture that bastard had undergone.

He was so into it that he paled and pulled away to be sick behind the tree. I held him through the spasms and when he was done, I soaked my handkerchief in the stream and wiped his face and hands clean. He looked so wrung out that I wanted to go Voldemort-hunting right then and there. But instead, I sat him in my lap and reassured him that that wouldn't happen to me or Draco or him.

He clung to me, still shivering a little now and then but finally he calmed down enough to take a brief nap. I held him close and stroked his messy hair with one hand while I kept the other in the small of his back to remind him I was there. They'd both been through so much, these two young warriors. One had been on the side of the Light since he was a baby and one had had to fight hard just to be allowed to make a choice.

The Ministry was a bunch of assholes that had no idea what they were doing. Voldemort was running rings around them and would continue to do so until either he won or somebody took him out for good. I didn't want that to have to be Harry, he was a brave soul but his tender heart would make him suffer the tortures of the damned afterwards. It was too much to hope that somebody that none of us cared for would do the honors.

It was highly likely that it would be one of us. I looked with unfocused eyes on the small stream and saw us lined up, all the Hagrids and our allies facing off against a towering lizard and a bunch of black robed men with savage faces. Blinking, I sighed and held Harry a little closer. It was going to be soon and my vision had no ending, it was just a snapshot of a moment to come.

Damn, I hated when that happened.

"Ger?" He'd awakened when I tensed up. "Did you have a vision?"

"Just a little one, Harry. Nothing that helps." I said honestly.

He sat up a little and rubbed his eyes, before blinking up at me endearingly. "I was kind of hoping it was one of those good ones where you see me kissing you."

I chuckled and cupped his chin, rubbing my thumb over those red lips of his. "One of these days, that won't be a vision but just a memory we bring out to comfort us."

He leaned in and brushed my lips with his. "You're warm and you taste good."

And just like that, I was hard as a rock. "Harry, what we did a month ago is still on the 'no-list' and you're not making it easy for me."

"Sorry," he looked guilty and I never wanted to make him think that kissing me was wrong. "I forgot."

"You do know that I love it when you touch me?" I sighed. "Heaven knows I think about kissing you and holding you close. I've taken to just jumping in the lake whenever I see you coming."

"You do?" He perked up a little and smiled at me. "I take a hot bath every night and stroke myself while I picture your hands around my shaft. Sometimes I come two or three times a night."

I did not need that picture going through my head when I was already hard. "Harry, you're a tease."

He chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Then I guess you don't want to know about the oil I got from Sev."

"What?" I pushed him a little away so I could see his flushed face. "Harry, you're not hurting yourself, are you?"

That urchin grin flashed out and he said not at all contritely, "I told you that slippery stuff sounded like fun."

My jeans were going to strangle me right here and now. "Harry, I think we should go take a swim."

He bounced once and got to his feet, leaving me to get rather arthritically to mine. Thinking about Mum and what she'd say if she saw me like this, cooled me down enough so I could walk. While Harry was changing into his swimsuit, I filled Sev and Rube in on what he'd dreamed. It was the same for Draco and we'd gotten an owl from Dumbledore saying that the remains of his parents had just been found at the Malfoy estate.

Said remains were 'gruesome' and we all looked pretty grim when Harry came back out. We told him the bare bones and all he said was 'poor Draco'. Sev had given Draco a potion to knock him out and sleep dreamlessly. Luckily Gration had gotten his new bed put together so Sev and Rube had tucked him in, in his own room here at the cottage.

The twins had left yesterday to fulfill their moving jobs but Royan and Remus were back and moving in to the new suite in Hogwarts that Dumbledore had given them for a bonding present. Rhea and Dad were in Diagon Alley with their faithful dog, Padfoot to do some shopping while Mum took out her stress in cooking. I changed clothes in the bathroom and let the towel hang down in front of me before coming out.

Rube snickered a little and Sev frowned severely at him before shooing us out of the cottage. Harry took my hand once we were on the path and I let him, needing the touch almost as much as he did. The lake sparkled in the sunshine and we dropped our towels and walked right into the cool water. With one accord, we started swimming towards the small island in the middle of the lake.

Once there, we climbed up on the one big flat rock that served us as a sunbathing spot and laid on our backs with just our hands touching. My cock had finally given up and leaked away into the lake. The squid was going to think I was interested again. He had kind of backed off since Harry was usually with me and our pheromones were off the charts when we were within a yard of each other.

"Ger, thanks." He said quietly and I turned my head to find him propped on an elbow watching me. "I want you to promise me something. If I ever get taken by the Death Eaters, I don't want you to come after me."

I shivered. "No, Harry, don't ask me that. You're not going to be taken but in the millionth chance that it does happen, the entire family will be right there to rescue you."

"What if he's already raped and drained me?" He was white as a sheet. "I won't live through that. I wouldn't want to."

I sat up and pulled him into my lap, wrapping my arm and legs around him. "That won't happen, Harry, I promise you. Voldemort is living on borrowed time and you're not going to be raped of your power or your innocence. We won't let it happen."

"Hold me and don't let go." He whispered and I rocked him slowly until he was calm again. "I love you, Ger."

*************
Draco
*************

I felt strange. Well, stranger than I'd been feeling for a while. My mother and father were dead. Dumbledore tried to break it to me gently but I'd seen then in my dream so I already knew in part what Voldemort and MacNair had done to them. Like Harry, I was now an orphan. But unlike Harry, I had resources yet untapped. Father had been grooming me to take over the businesses that he owned when he took over the wizarding world.

I'd often wondered what I would do with them if they were mine. Well, now they were and Severus had told me that whatever I wanted to do, he would back me one hundred percent. No one had ever trusted me like that before. So, I was thinking about them and how I could blacken the eyes of the remaining Death Eaters. I still couldn't think of MacNair without getting cold and shaky but I was working on it.

Right now, I was taking a walk. Everyday, I took a different route while I concentrated on the Forest and let my mind think only of it. Ty, the Nemean Lion had shown me the paths that would get me killed and eaten so I avoided them. Some of the paths changed between one day and the next though, so I kept a sharp eye out in case one of them was being tricky.

Potter was planning his birthday party and since it was only two days away, I knew our peace and tranquility would be rendered limb from limb by the Weasleys. What an odd family they were, they had actually asked Harry to come to them for his birthday. It seems they hadn't thought about the danger or even the logistics of hosting the Boy-Who-Lived.

Unthinking fools, my father had called them and sadly I thought the sentiments appropriate. Besides, the Hagrids planned better parties than anyone in the world. I found myself smiling at the little griff, Lisle. She scampered over to me so I could scratch her ears then she darted off in answer to a neigh from a parent. Going back to thinking about the Hagrids, I remembered the chaos of Rhea and Sirius' bonding party.

Stopping by my favorite oak tree, I swarmed up to the first branch then up and up until I was lost in the branches near the top. Resting back against the gnarled trunk, I lost myself in the bright pictures of the party. Rhea had been beautiful in a green dress that matched her eyes. Sirius was in a matching outfit of pants and a vest in the same shade of green, his hair brushed until it shone.

Even though she was taller than he was, they still seemed to go together. I didn't think he was good enough for her but I'd heard him say the same thing to her so maybe he wasn't the complete idiot I thought he was. He'd apologized to Severus so I guess I was going to have to get used to him. Harry had almost fallen into the cake and Gersey kept close tabs on him to keep him out of trouble. What Ron Weasley was going to say about that relationship would either make or break their friendship.

Granger probably knew that Harry liked males but Ron was so far over on the heterosexual side, he didn't know there was another side. I still preferred males although at the moment I was seriously thinking about becoming a monk. Watching Ger and Harry together hurt me deep inside. But it wasn't just them, it was Severus and Rubeus holding each other, too.

I was trying so hard not to be jealous that it was making me cranky. I sighed and looked around to see if any creature might have caught me feeling sorry for myself. Aside from the little wren on her nest, nobody else was around. Conjuring a couple of worms, I offered them and she accepted with a bright chirp. We were old friends by now. Sinking back against the bole of the tree, I decided to just take one day at a time.

Summer was half over and school would be starting before I knew it. Whether or not I attended school or stayed here and took my lessons from Severus, Rubeus and Remus, my time would be filled quite nicely. Approving of my decisions, I climbed back down to the soft loam of the Forest floor and brushed off the evidence of my tree climbing.

In the distance, I heard something come crashing through the leaves and hit the Forest floor hard, sending a tremor all the way over to me. I froze and began to run towards home but something stopped me. A keening cry like nothing I'd ever heard before rang through the trees. It spoke of pain and fear and all I'd felt just a few weeks before. Taking hold of my courage, I moved towards the sound instead of away from it.

If it was Death Eaters, I would not go quietly. The sound was dying down now but the faint thread of pain drew me like a magnet. Suddenly, I found her. A silvery green dragon lay on the ground, wings crumpled and dark green blood flowing sluggishly from a dozen wounds. Her eyes were open and I froze when I met her beseeching gaze. But she was fading fast and I bit my lip, trying to think what to do first.

She was still moving a little but the high-pitched little keen was getting fainter. I took off my shirt and tried staunching the biggest wound in her side but it was too little and I wished frantically that I knew some of that wandless magic that Sev and Rubeus knew. As if my wish conjured him up, Ru' appeared with Gersey and Harry at his side. He had his wand out in a heartbeat and several of the holes stopped leaking, just like that.

I would have sighed in relief but the one I was plugging was still gushing. He came up behind me and laid his hands alongside of mine. "Concentrate on no blood, Draco."

I concentrated so hard I felt dizzy. But it seemed to be working and her breaths steadied for us. "Good boy, Dra'. Did ya see what attacked her?"

"No, but those look like wand shots to me. There's not much else that could get through dragon hide." I slowly straightened up and for a moment it felt like Rube gave me a hug. We'd been careful around each other. We both cared for Severus and wanted him to be happy but I know I was unsure of him and he was of me. I'm not a hugging person by training and I rather envied Harry of his ability to hug and be hugged.

Maybe I was learning. "Rubeus, is she . . . going to die?"

"Nah, Dra', ya got ta her in time and now we're going ta take her home and make sure she heals right." He patted my shoulder and it felt better than an award. "Ger, help me get her up."

Harry and I stood back while the two half-giants slowly floated her up off the ground and through the dense trees of the Forest. It was odd but the path seemed to widen to let us all through and I wondered again just what kind of magic lived here. Father had sneered at my question and said that when he was in charge, he was going to cut it all down and put the creatures he found there in a wizard's zoo, frozen in carbonite for the succeeding generations to gawk at.

Father had been a fool in many ways and I realized that with a sense of wonder. The two wizards holding up the wounded dragon were much more to my liking. They valued life instead of death and suddenly I knew what I was going to do with the companies that I'd inherited.

"That's a weird smile, Draco." Harry broke into my thoughts.

And I laughed out loud, the way I'd wanted to a thousand times in the past. "Once you're sixteen, Harry, how'd you like to be on a couple of business boards?"

"Me?" He looked at me like I was crazy. "Those businesses whose prospectus the lawyer sent you?"

"Yes, maybe the Weasley twins would like to be on a couple of them, as well?" I could see a very interesting future laid out before me. Life instead of death. Fun instead of drudgery. The wizards and muggles would never know what hit them, I thought with glee.

"You are seriously cracked, Draco." Harry was laughing at me and I grinned back at him. "But if that's what you want, then sure, I'll be on a board or two. How about Dumbledore? He'd really shake them up."

I smiled even bigger. "The more the merrier, Harry. I think there's more than one way to take on the Dark Hosts. If we can save that dragon, then we can do anything."

Her eyes opened again and the silver gaze met mine. Life - that was the important thing.

*********************
The end of part 24