nicevenn

Title: Dark Moon Magic 4/8
Pairing: Harry/Draco; James II/Scorpius
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 1,515
Disclaimer: Characters and HP universe belong to J.K. Rowling and associated publishers. This fiction is not intended for underage readers.
Warnings: These warnings are spoilers. Highlight to read them. mpreg; incest (half-brothers)
Summary: Draco's been keeping a secret, but he can't hide the truth forever.

Even though the letters lay in a neat pile on his nightstand, James felt their weight on his chest and it was hard to breathe. There were eight of them, one for each day since he’d left Scorpius at the manor without a word of goodbye. He’d read each one at least ten times, but hadn’t responded to even one of them because he didn’t know how. Scorpius wanted to talk, but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

A knock came at the door and James knew it must be his father coming to persuade him to leave bed.

“Come in,” he said.

Harry entered, took one look at James and sighed.

“You can’t hide there forever, you know,” he said as he came to sit on the edge of the mattress.

“I know.”

Harry glanced at the pile of letters from the corner of his eye. “Are those from Scorpius?”

“Yeah,” James said quietly. He sensed a lecture coming. His father wasn’t fond of parent talk, but sometimes there was no avoiding it. This was one of those occasions.

“You shouldn’t ignore him, James. He deserves better.”

James couldn’t stop himself. “And who are you to judge how people should be treated?”

Harry’s eyes narrowed into emerald slits. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“All these years you’ve been making fun of Draco with your friends at every opportunity and you’ve been rude him every time you’ve met. Now it turns out you had a child with him…”

“I had no idea,” Harry said defensively. “I just found out last week.”

“Like that’s an excuse,” James said. “If he’s such a loser, why’d you sleep with him in the first place?” He knew he was crossing a line, reprimanding his father and discussing his sex life, but he didn’t care. Either his father totally lacked respect for someone he’d once loved, or he’d simply used Draco; neither possibility was particularly appealing.

James could see that he’d hit a sore spot. His father’s lips formed a hard line, and his knuckles turned white as his hand fisted the blanket. But he took a deep breath, and when he spoke, he sounded calm.

“Draco and I were both a wreck after the war. He needed comfort and stability, and I needed release. Together, we were able to escape reality, if only for moments at a time. We didn’t talk much, at first, but when we did, we realized that we enjoyed each other’s company for more than just the obvious reasons. I saw that there was much more to him than I’d thought. Eventually, I told him I loved him, and he said he felt the same.”

Harry’s eyes were unfocused and wistful, but flashed with anger when he turned and looked at James. “And then he left me. I didn’t know what I did wrong. I tried to write to him and visit him, but he obviously wanted nothing to do with me. I never got over it.” He looked down; James thought he saw his cheeks flush ever so slightly. “I guess badmouthing him has helped me deal with it. It’s not something I’m proud of.”

James felt his anger fade. He knew now how painful the end of a relationship could be, so he sympathized with his father. He looked at the letters again and felt them reach out and squeeze his heart.

“Scorpius needs you,” Harry said, apparently aware of the direction James’ thought were heading. “Draco said he doesn’t have many friends.”

“How can I do that when just the thought of being around him hurts so much?”

“Think about the additional pain you’re causing Scorpius by ignoring him. At the very least, tell him you need some time. You’ll both feel better.”

James wondered if his father had any inkling of how much sex had been involved in his relationship with Scorpius—it would be near impossible to brush those memories aside and be a good friend and brother. He would give it a try, though. He owed Scorpius at least that much. He nodded to show that he would without having to speak because his throat felt tight.

“James?” Harry said when he was already lost in his thoughts and had forgotten that his father was still there.

“Yes?”

“I don’t think I need to tell you this, but just in case the pain becomes unbearable and you’re tempted to give in to your emotions—incest is wrong. It’s immoral, even if you can’t have children. You can’t go back to the way things were.”

James nodded again. “I know.”

Harry smiled, but his eyes were sad and sympathetic. “Good. Now stop brooding cause I want to play Quidditch with you before you leave for school.” He shut the door and was gone.

James sighed. Too bad he and his father only used the Snitch—he wished he would get knocked out by a Bludger and wake up with amnesia a week later.

******

Scorpius stared out of the window of the Hogwarts Express and envied the other kids. He would bet all his galleons that none of them had found out that their father was really their mother, that the woman they’d thought was their mother was completely unrelated to them, that Harry Potter was their father, and that they’d just spent the summer letting their half-brother fuck their brains out.

When he heard the door to his compartment slide open, he turned around; his heart stopped when he saw that it was James.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” James asked.

“Not at all.”

Despite the flush he felt creeping over his cheeks, Scorpius never took his eyes off of James as he took his seat, lest the vision disappear.

James smiled awkwardly. “How’ve you been?”

“Not good.”

James looked away then, apparently embarrassed. “I’m sorry I ran—and that I didn’t respond to your letters.”

“It’s okay,” said Scorpius, “I understand.” He didn’t, though. Every minute away from James had been agony. Learning that there were brothers had been nothing in comparison.

The train began to move, and they in silence looking out the window. This was where they’d met a year ago. James had come into Scorpius’ compartment and asked if he could join him, because his girlfriend had just broken up with him and all the other compartments were full.

Scorpius had been secretly crushing on James since his third year, so James’ intrusion had been a welcome surprise. By the time they’d arrived at Hogwarts, Scorpius had realized that James had been been flirting with him, and had become a babbling, blushing, nerdy mess. And James had asked if they could see each other again.

Scorpius wondered if James was also remembering that day. He looked at the other boy, who was obviously avoiding his gaze. He had to guess what James was going through because he himself hadn’t been too upset at finding out that they were brothers. They loved each other, and neither of them could get pregnant, so what was the harm in it? They could keep it a secret and all would be well.

But Scorpius knew that James did not feel the same way. He’d flinched from Scorpius’ touch—and then he’d run away. Scorpius wondered why he was here now. Was it possible that he’d changed his mind? More likely, he was here to tell him it was over, in which case Scorpius was sure he’d die of heartbreak.

If only there was some way I could convince him, Scorpius thought. He brushed his shoe gently against James’ and observed his reaction. James shifted ever so slightly but did not move his foot. Scorpius moved his leg forward a little more so that their calves were touching and watched James blush.

“It doesn’t change how I feel about you,” Scorpius said. He sounded more confident than he felt.

James moved his leg. “We can’t—“

“Why not?”

“Because it’s wrong.”

“Say’s who?”

“Society… biology…”

“We can’t have children,” Scorpius said, “and we can keep it a secret.”

James’ eyes met his own. “Not from our conscience.”

“My conscience tells me that if we love each other, it can’t be wrong.”

James looked away. “Is that so?” His voice was quiet, thoughtful.

Scorpius moved to sit next to James, startling him. “Yes.”

He looked deep into the warm depth of James’ eyes and leaned in, pressing their lips together.

James stiffened, but his lips parted and Scorpius slipped his tongue into his mouth. When James’ tongue met his own, tears stung his eyes. Was it possible that James would give in and let this happen?

The kiss was deep and wet, and when James pulled him closer, Scorpius felt whole again. Without thinking, out of habit, he reached down and cupped the hardness in between James’ legs. James pulled out of the kiss, and Scorpius immediately regretted that he hadn’t been able to control himself.

“We can’t,” James said as he pushed him away. Before Scorpius could recover and think of what to say, he was gone.

Chapter 5