Harry Potter and expecting the unexpected ending

Knock, knock'

Draco ignored the knocking; he had better things to deal with. Harry was undergoing another bout of morning sickness, and Draco was trying to keep his mate from collapsing on the floor with weariness. The sight made him cringe, and as cruel as the thought may seem, he was glad he wasn't going through it himself.

'Knock, knock'

"Damn…" he hissed. "Won't they ever leave us alone?"

Harry coughed and wiped his mouth with a damp cloth. "You should check who that is, don't worry I'll be fine," he said, waving the blonde dominant away. Draco sighed and, after giving Harry a last mournful glance, went to the portrait to open it; on the other side stood Molly Weasley, smiling down sweetly at him.

"Ah Draco dear, we just wanted to say that we're going out and getting the new books for the school year. Should we go and get yours and Harry's as well?"

Draco was about to answer when another sound of retching reached his ears; he shuddered in revulsion.

"Oh my," Molly exclaimed worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

The blonde sighed again, "Morning sickness, it started yesterday and hasn't stopped yet."

"Poor thing," she said. "When I was pregnant, morning sickness was a normal factor." Draco pulled a face; he didn't doubt that, with the amount of kids she had it had to have been a daily thing for her.

She continued on, without taking notice. "It will pass soon enough, but the one thing that worked for me was eating some dry crackers in the morning and letting my stomach settle down after an hour or so. That might help." Draco nodded; yeah he should give it a try, better than having to listen to Harry's agonizing retching sounds.

"So do you want me to get you your books?"

"Yes, let me get the list and some money." He went back inside, making sure to glance inside the bathroom to see if Harry was alright before getting their list and money. Then back to the front door where Molly stood waiting.

"Here," he said. "Me and Harry have the same lessons now, this should be enough for both of us," and handed her the list and his money bag.

"Good, good dear, oh and can you tell Harry that I'll be bringing Hermione as well. She's coming with us to school early."

Draco nodded and thanked her before closing the door and returning back to Harry. The raven was now up and re-brushing his teeth. He spat out the remaining paste and washed out his mouth. When he spotted Draco's reflection in the mirror he gave the other a weary smile. "Who was by the door?"

"Mrs. Weasley; she's going to go out to buy the school books and offered to get ours as well, oh and Granger is coming as well," he drawled.

"Hermione is coming; it has been such a long time since I've seen her!" he said excitedly.

The blonde gave a non-committal grunt and left Harry's bathroom. Not that Draco cared if Granger came or not, but sitting here was getting boring. They had already finished up all their assignments, so now they were left with nothing to do, and he didn't think he could convince Harry to do some more nefarious things.

"Yeah, hey do you want to get some fresh air? Can't imagine that sitting here will do your nausea any good."

"Sure; oh, we'll ask the house-elves to pack some food as well and have like a picnic!"

"Great, I'll tell them that while you get dressed."

Harry nodded and went inside his room to get changed out of his pajama pants, while Draco went to alert the elves about making a picnic basket. Then as an afterthought asked them to add some crackers to the mix; who knew, maybe Molly's remedy actually worked. Harry soon came back in a pair of jeans and a cloak draped over his shoulders; he still felt self-conscious about the wings. Dobby then also arrived with the food and they left their dorm-room of the honeymoon-suite and made their way outside.

It was a bright and sunny day, still warm even though September was just around the corner, bringing with it a cold snap. So for Harry staying under his heavy school cloak was less than comfortable.

"You have to get that 'shifting' down; school will start soon enough, and I don't know how long a glamour will protect you," Draco commented, unloading the basket.

"I know that, but I don't seem to have enough magic to keep things stable... maybe when Hermione comes back she'll be able to figure something out!" he exclaimed.

Draco felt a pang of jealousy then; why did Granger have to get involved, wasn't he good enough? Sure the muggle-born may be a good witch (even he had to grudgingly admit that), but how was she meant to figure out something even he couldn't? It made him feel like he wasn't providing his mate enough security and they had to bring someone in to solve a problem. Even with all the emotions swirling in his mind, Draco didn't show it.

Harry however could read Draco's emotions; he should have known that bringing up Hermione's intelligence would upset the blonde. He always had something against the fact that a muggle was better at him academically. Although in all honesty Draco had to get over that rivalry, it wasn't like him and Harry were fighting anymore…

Odd really that they were getting along so well. Draco was being helpful, considerate and caring, and somehow even managed to keep his own famous temper in check. Not that the mood-swings helped. But he guessed they were just doing their best with the situation they had been presented with. Draco was probably brought up and taught to always keep his composure, while Harry was an expert of being thrust into uncomfortable situations. And this one wasn't any different, he thought, laying a hand on his still flat stomach. Yet he didn't feel that morning sickness should be added to the equation, it just seemed too cruel with everything else already there.

"Here." A plate of dried crackers were pushed in front of him. Harry couldn't help but just stare at the dry pieces of wheat and then turned to look at Draco, who was making himself a bacon sandwich, indecorously.

"What is this?" he asked, pointing at the crackers.

"It was Molly's suggestion, and with the amount of kids she's popped out I'm guessing she'll know what she's talking about. It should ease your morning sickness."

Harry grumbled under his breath. Sure Molly may know what she's talking about, after all she is a mother. It still didn't however stop him from watching Draco's bacon sandwich, oh was that mayo he could see? Maybe some salad, a few pieces of sweet corn, oh yeah~! His mouth was watering, and all he had were some stupid crackers…

Damn Molly…

"Is that Dumbledore? I need to talk to that old coot." He put his plate down and jogged towards the old man. Harry watched him, and instantly he felt a twinge in their bond as the blonde moved further away from him. He ignored it though; there was something else far more important on his mind.

Poor sandwich, left there all on its own. It would be a shame for it to go to waste; just a bite wouldn't hurt, would it? Just a little taste…

Draco came back fuming and muttering under his breath. "Freaking old man and his crazy ideas, who the hell gives Owls a fucking vacation? They only deliver bloody letters! Probably Granger's idea, she and her bloody S.P.E.W! –What… Where is my sandwich?"

Harry looked up, quickly wiping his mouth away with his sleeve. A blush crept over his face and he gave the blonde a nervous smile.

"Er…"

"You ate my sandwich?"

"I only had crappy crackers!"

"Bloody hell!"

Molly was having a hard day keeping her herd together; getting books was one problem, Ginny was being impossible and not cooperating with her. She sometimes didn't understand how that girl's mind works. Ron had been slightly upset when he found out that Harry's book list was different from his, and Severus, who ignored everyone and only came to get Draco's new robes. But if Fred and George pulled another prank she was seriously going to blow a fuse!

"Put that vanishing powder down, George!" she shouted, red-faced.

"Mum, where are we meeting Hermione?" Ron asked.

"At the café," she said with a heavy sigh, the weather was too hot for all this work. "Oh, I could use a cold Butterbeer now."

She was only more than happy that they were going to the café; staying any longer out in this burning sun would be disastrous for her health. They soon spotted the Granger family waiting by the café; Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked mesmerized by the stalls and all the wares. They greeted each other, and oh my how well Hermione had grown up! Her teeth were straightened, and her face looked fuller and more aligned with the rest of her body. She had turned into a pretty girl over the summer!

"Oh dear, how good it is to see you!" she said, pulled the girl into a bear hug. "How are you?"

"I'm doing fine, Mrs. Weasley," she managed to gasp out.

"Did you get everything you need? Was everything alright?"

"Oh yes, I had to drag mum and dad away from all the windows, they still can't believe all this," she said laughing, and they sat down under the shade.

"But I heard that Harry went early to school, is something wrong?" she asked. She was always worried about Harry, and hoped it had nothing to with his scar.

"Oh he is fine dear; he just came into his inheritance."

"I think calling 'it' an inheritance is an understatement…" commented Snape.

Hermione frowned. "Why, what happened?" she asked.

Molly went quiet and looked around the area; she had to be careful what she said. Dumbledore had told them to keep Harry's inheritance as quiet as possible. Who knew who would take advantage of the boy's new status? "We will talk about it when we get to Hogwarts, dear."

This had Hermione even more worried; what could be so bad that they were trying to hide it? Yet she kept her questions to herself and waited. Soon it was time for them to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, and they apparated their way back to Hogwarts with Hermione in tow. Instantly she flew into a tirade of questions.

"So what is wrong with Harry? Is he alright? Is it his scar? Did Voldemort attack?"

The group shuddered when they heard the name, and Molly tried to reassure the teen. "He is alright dear, it is just his inheritance."

"What is so bad about that?"

"Well, Harry is one of those rare people who has a creature inheritance, it's normal for Pureblood families."

"Really." Hermione was amazed. "Which creature is he?" she asked

"Well, it's more complicated than just a creature inheritance… he is an Origo…"

"Oh wow, I only read about them in books! Is he a Maritus or an Uxor?"

"He's a submissive."

"Then he's already mated…" she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Who is his mate?"

This time Ron and the twins couldn't help but chuckle. Molly gave them a harsh glare and that instantly quietened the boys down. "Well dear, this is where things get complicated; you see, Harry's mate is someone we all know…" she trailed off and then silence followed.

But Ginny could not keep it contained any longer. "IT'S MALFOY, IT'S THE FUCKING FERRET!" Ginny shouted out.

"Ginny!"

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing, Harry and Draco…

That couldn't turn out that well.

She had to talk to Harry, quickly. Who knew what the raven was going through now? "Where is Harry now?"

"He's got his own room now, well he has to share with Malfoy," Ron said.

"Well show me the way," Hermione urged the redhead.

"It's alright dear, I'll take your things and put them in your room; here, you can take Harry and Draco's things to them," his mum answered.

Ron sighed and nodded, then took the items off Molly, said goodbye and went on their way. Hermione and Ron talked about what they did over the summer, and Hermione disciplined Ron about still not having finished any of his summer assignments. Not to mention that he wasn't even ready for his NEWTS yet.

"We still have ages before the exams," Ron answered in exasperation.

"But it's better to get an early start; you'll have to revise things from last year and then everything from this year as well. There will be so much to learn!"

Ron sighed again; really, he did love Hermione (as a friend of course) but sometimes she worried too much. Luckily he wouldn't have to listen to anymore of her prattling, since they finally reached Harry and Draco's room. He knocked on the door and waited, but no one answered, so he knocked again.

"What are you two doing here?" came a familiar voice from behind them.

Ron and Hermione turned around and were met by a furious Draco (he still couldn't get over the sandwich incident), and an excited Harry. He was happy to see that Hermione was here!

"'Mione! It's great to see you!" he said and went to hug her, ignoring Draco's irritated growl.

Hermione on the other hand could barely bring herself to put her arms around the raven. He looked so different, just like the pictures in the books she read. Horns from the top of his head, and swirling dark marks crowning just under his cheekbone, slithering down and hidden under the cloak. It looked like he had a hunch-back, but Hermione guessed that it was rather the dragon-like wings that she had read about. Even his eyes seemed to shine more, like shiny jewels. He looked exactly like what she expected him to, so why didn't Draco look like an Origo?

"Harry?"

"Oh Hermione, it's great too see you; come inside, both of you!" he said and gave the portrait the password to enter. He didn't hear Draco's angry protests that followed, or rather ignored them.

"Harry, I heard what happened, how are you coping?" Hermione asked.

Harry scratched his head and threw a glance at Draco, who went inside his own room to give them some privacy. "It was difficult at first, but I'm adjusting."

"…You're pregnant now, aren't you?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry blushed and looked down at his stomach. "Yes."

"And are you alright with that?"

"Well, I can't change anything about it…" he said and gave an unconscious rub of his stomach; the crackers had worked, and his stomach had finally settled down.

"But then why does Malfoy look… 'human' again, and you don't?" she said, finally asking the question that had been bugging her.

"Draco has managed to figure out how to shift between forms, but I can't since my magic is unstable; the foetus feeds on my magic to grow," Harry said, almost jealously.

"The baby feeds on your magic?" then she got a thoughtful look on her face again, and Harry knew that she was trying to think up a solution to his problem. That's what he liked about her; she always managed to solve a mystery.

They kept on talking, but when Hermione found out that Harry had finished all of his work (even if it was because Draco forced him), she told Ron to take a leaf out of Harry's book. Not that the redhead was listening, since he was too consumed by the leftover food from the picnic basket. But as time moved on Harry started feeling out of breath, and his eyes were starting to hurt.

Draco opened his door, and then sat down beside Harry, prying apart the surprised raven's cloak and pressing his hands on the submissive's stomach. "Merlin, if I wasn't here you would be dead by now!" he said irritably. "I don't know how you managed before…"

"What are you doing?!" Ron asked, looking away from the private moment.

"I'm transferring my magic into him; the prolonged distance between us makes him weak and tired," he said simply.

"You can do that?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, it's necessary for the child's development."

Hermione became silent again. "Is there a limit to how much you can transfer?"

Draco arched an eyebrow; then again he shouldn't be surprised that Granger would be curious. She can't help but stick her nose into things that don't concern her. "No, I can't put too much force in, I have to keep it in balance or it could make him sick and make me too weak."

"So did you try transferring your magic when Harry tries to 'shift' into his human form?"

Draco was surprised by the suggestion, why hadn't he thought of that? If he could help keep the transfer stable enough Harry may be able to shift out. The problem was that it had to remain in a delicate balance, or he could hurt both Harry and the baby. It might just work, but it had to be controlled.

"Do you want to try it?" Draco finally asked.

"Would it work out?"

"It would require some practice, but maybe, yeah."

"Yeah, let's try it!" he said excitedly; it would be better than glamour, and he could finally be able to wear a shirt properly!

"Do you need help?" Hermione asked.

"No, no, we'll manage," Draco said quickly and stood up, ushering the two teens out of the room.

He then turned to look at Harry with a small smile. "Shall we get started then?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

Somehow Harry felt this was going to take forever…