DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, nada, zip, zilch, so please don't sue. You can't squeeze blood from a stone.

WARNINGS: AU, Slash, discussion of Mpreg, some OOC.

~OOooOO~

"No."

"But Harry..."

"I said no. That's all there is to it, Hermione. My choice was taken away from me, I won't do that to someone else."

"But, you'll die!"

"No, I won't. I'll be in pain, but after the Dursleys and getting Crucioed a couple of times, I think I can handle pain."

"How do you know you won't die? All I've ever heard and read about pre-destined mates says that they will die if they're not mated. Please, Harry! You have to tell us."

Draco Malfoy, who was avidly listening to the conversation between the two Gryffindors, was intrigued. What kind of creature was Potter? Who was his mate? And why did Draco suddenly want to hurt this unknown person?

"I'm not going to say, Hermione. It'll just cause problems." Harry sighed. "All this means is that I won't ever marry or have children. It doesn't mean that I'll die."

"Let me see the book you found this in." The sound of papers rustling reached Draco, followed by the slap of a book into a hand. "Isn't this the book that Remus gave you?"

"Yeah. Why does he always wait until the last minute before giving me important information? For that matter, why did neither he nor Sirius tell me about this? I saw both of them at the beginning of the summer, before I went to the Burrow. They could have at least told me about my father. Oh, and the fact that my mother was from a line of Pureblood squibs." The frustration in Harry's voice was plain to hear.

Welcome to the trials and tribulations of being a Pureblood, Potter. Draco was actually pleased that Potter was a Pureblood. It made his crush a little easier to accept.

"Harry? It says that you could die!"

"Could, Hermione, not will. As long as my mate doesn't find out and reject me, I won't die. That's why I'm not saying who it is."

"Well, can we guess, Mate?" Weasley, Draco thought sardonically. Of course, he would want to play 20 questions.

"No, Ron, you can't guess. I wouldn't tell you, even if you did guess it right. I'm not going to run the risk that someone will tell him."

HIM? Now Draco was extremely intrigued. Who was this unknown male? And since when was Potter gay?

"Him? There something you're not telling us?"

"Ron, you've known I'm gay for more than two years now. Why act surprised?"

"I keep forgetting." There was a long pause and Draco could imagine the look Potter was giving Weasley. "Well, you just don't seem like the type to be gay. Bisexual, yes, gay, no." Draco could almost see the bright red blush covering the Weasel's face.

"Harry? This book says that you'll get extremely ill if you deny the bond with your mate. Why the bloody hell would you want to be ill? That makes no sense!" Draco barely held in his laughter. Granger swearing? The world is coming to an end!

"Just drop it, alright Hermione? I don't want to talk about it anymore." Draco heard receding footsteps as Potter walked away.

"Ron, we have to do something! He's going to deny this is happening! He's going to get really sick!"

"What are we supposed to do, Hermione? He said he won't tell us. I can't see it making him very happy if we keep asking him questions about it."

Draco was lost in thought as he left his hiding place. Hmm. How can I get Potter to tell me who his mate is? I wonder if he would let it slip if I kept asking him questions?

Draco ignored everyone as he walked out of a small side door that led to the school grounds. He sometimes cursed his overwhelming curiosity. This was one of those times. Why did he care who Potter's mate was? It didn't matter to him if Potter became sick because he was denying some sort of bond, did it? Why did he want to know what kind of creature inheritance Potter had come in to? The little voice in his head told him why...because he had wanted Harry Potter with a passion ever since their fourth year. His head shot up as he thought of something. There was a book in the library that listed all students who had come into a creature inheritance on their birthday, and what the inheritance was. Which birthday depended upon what kind of creature it was, but Potter should now be listed. The book was magical, after all.

Draco turned and almost ran to the library.

~OOooOO~

Draco flipped through the pages of a very thick book titled Inheritances. He almost snorted his disdain at the title. It was a fairly innocent looking book and, if one didn't know what it was, it would be left alone, ignored, on the dusty table in the very back of the library. He reached the most recent additions to the book and became fascinated with some of the inheritances listed.

Zabini, Blaise - Incubus Well, no surprise there, Draco thought, the boy can't keep it to himself.

Weasley, Ronald - Earth Elemental, Low Hmm, that is a surprise...wonder if he even knows.

Parkinson, Pansy - Veela Ewww! I pity whoever her mate is!

Longbottom, Neville - Earth Elemental, High Once again, no surprise there.

Potter, Harry - Royal Elf - See Potter, James and Evans, Lily

Potter is an elf! Draco could barely contain his excitement. He had done a paper for that oaf Hagrid on Royal Elves just last year. Draco calmly shut the book and made his way to his dorm. He shuffled through some of the papers he had kept, simply because he had found the subject to be interesting. He quickly found the paper he had written for Care of Magical Creatures and began to read what he had written.

Royal Elves all have a pre-destined mate. The bond between the two will be strongest only after the bond has been consummated in a sexual manner. The bond cares nothing for the sexual preference of the intended mates, basing the attraction solely on magical compatibility.

Once the bond has been consummated, it is for life. Neither mate can ever seek companionship or sexual pleasure outside of the bond. To do so would mean death for both mates, however unintentional. The only exception is if either the Elf or its mate is raped.

The only way to defeat a life bond with a Royal Elf is for the Elf to deny the bond. This means that the mate may never know that they are supposed to be mated with a Royal Elf. This denial is very painful for the Elf, and will cause the Elf to become very ill and, in extreme cases, the Elf will die.

The death of a Royal Elf is something to be avoided at all costs. If a Royal Elf denies the bond with its mate until it dies, the Elven world could choose to retaliate against the intended mate. Once retaliation has begun, the laws of the Elven world supersede the laws of the Magical world, meaning, if they choose to do so, the Elves may kill the intended mate with no objections from anyone in the Wizarding world.

Draco's head spun. Potter was going to die. There was no question in Draco's mind about that. Potter would be one of those extreme cases. Bloody Gryffindor. Draco seriously hoped he wasn't Potter's mate. He liked life.

~OOooOO~

The days passed into weeks, and further into months. Draco, Hermione and Ron were no closer to figuring out who Harry's mate was. They had formed a tentative friendship while trying to discover who this person was. As a result, Draco became closer to Harry. He was worried about how ill Harry had become. It was beginning to affect everyday things, like his eating habits and his physical coordination. He could no longer play Quidditch, as he couldn't sit on a broom very long without falling off. He had trouble negotiating steps and sometimes ran straight into walls and doors. As he and Draco shared what classes Harry didn't share with Ron and Hermione, Draco took to helping Harry as often as the Gryffindor would let him. He just felt a need to touch Harry, to help Harry. To save Harry.

Frequently, Draco would feel a strange sensation in his chest, like a tugging. It seemed to become stronger whenever he was in close proximity to the Gryffindor, and it made him wonder, Am I Harry's mate? He began to re-read everything on Royal Elves that he could get his hands on. Finally, he came upon the answer.

If a Royal Elf has decided to deny its bond with its pre-destined mate, only that mate can change its mind. The mate will begin to feel a pull to be with the Elf, and will become determined to save the Elf, even if they do not know that they are the Elf's mate.

And further along:

The mate must make certain that they are completely alone before beginning to seduce their Elf. The Elf will, most likely, try to avoid physical contact before this, as they may realize that their mate has found out that they are mates.

Harry had been trying to avoid touching him lately. He had noticed it within the last week. Harry used to lean on him, for some little bit of support, but had almost stopped doing that, although Draco had noticed Harry leaning toward him quite a bit, but never touching. He went to Hermione and Ron with his new information.

"So, you are his mate. I wondered." Hermione had a thoughtful look on her face.

"Why? What made you wonder?"

"The fact that you are helping us try to find Harry's mate. I hadn't realized, at first, that you wouldn't feel the need to be with Harry. I thought most mates knew when their creature, in this case Harry's Elf, reached their majority. Until I read your paper and some of the other books Remus has brought around, I thought that you would know immediately. Are you sure it's you?"

"Yes. I feel like I have to touch him constantly when I'm near him. When I'm not near him, I get worried that something might happen that I can't control. He seems to be at least a little better when I touch him. That's what first clued me in to the fact that I'm his mate." Draco took a deep breath. "I need your help."

"With what?" Ron was willing to help Draco with anything at this point, as long as it helped Harry.

"Get him to the Room of Requirement tonight. Tell him you may have found a way to beat the sickness he's been feeling. It won't be a lie."

Hermione smiled at him, she knew what he was planning on doing. "When?"

"Get him there at 7:00. I'll be there and have everything ready. See if you can get him to leave his wand with you. He'll use it to try to get away from me. I have to make him see that I want to be his mate, that I want to be with him."

~OOooOO~

Harry proved to be difficult, until Hermione told him that she may have found a way to get rid of the illness. "What is it? What do I have to do?"

"I'm not saying anything, not until we've tried it. We don't know if it will work. The unfortunate thing is that you need to leave your wand with Ron. He'll be just outside of the door, so you know it won't be going far." Hermione rationalized the lying, telling herself that it was for Harry, who had done so much for them.

Harry looked at her like he was trying to read her mind. Hermione blinked and avoided eye contact by looking at Ron. She knew Harry wasn't the best at Legilimency, but she wasn't about to let him into her mind. "Alright." He handed his wand to Ron, who leaned against the wall.

"I'll be right here, Mate." Harry nodded and looked at Hermione.

"Now what?"

She opened the door and ushered him in ahead of her. He took one look at the room and turned as he heard the door close. The door disappeared. "Damn you, Hermione! Let me out of here!" He began to run his hands over the stone, looking for the door. He had to get out of here before Draco got here.

"They're already gone, Harry."

Harry spun around and his breath caught. Draco Malfoy stood before him, clad only in black silk boxers. The amount of skin showing made Harry want to start drooling. "Why?"

"Because I finally figured it out. After months of wanting to hurt, maim and kill the person lucky enough to be your mate, I finally figured out that it's me."

"You want me?" Harry's eyes grew wide. He could see Draco's reaction to his words. The black boxers hid nothing, especially not the Slytherin's arousal.

Draco ran his hands over Harry's shoulders, noting the way his eyes closed and he leaned into the touch. "Yes. I want you. I have for what seems like forever. I was so jealous when I first heard about you having a pre-destined mate. I wanted to hurt them. You're mine and I'm yours."

Draco leaned into Harry and lifted his head to kiss him. Harry's arms wrapped around him and pulled him in so tightly that a piece of paper wouldn't have fit in between them. Harry picked up the slightly smaller man and carried him to the large bed that the room had provided them. He straightened and began to quickly remove his clothing. If this was going to happen, if he wasn't able to stop it, he wasn't about to make himself wait any longer than he absolutely had to.

Once all clothing had been removed, Harry cupped Draco's face in his hands. "Are you sure you want this? Are you certain you want to be with me for the rest of our lives? I didn't want to take that choice away from you, that's why I never said anything."

Draco pressed a chaste kiss to Harry's lips. "I've never been more certain about anything in my life. I've had a crush on you for what seems like forever. At least since fourth year, when I saw you in your dress robes. It's only gotten worse since then."

"What about your parents? I'm fairly certain that they both hate me."

"Mother would love to welcome you into the family and father...well, he'll just have to get over it."

"What about children? They won't be happy about you being with me, unable to have children."

Draco laughed. "Harry, how much of the information about Royal Elves did you actually read?"

"Erm...none of it really, not past the point where it told me that I wouldn't die."

"Well, you should have. You could have died. In fact, I'm willing to wager that you were about one or two weeks away from dying. I couldn't let that happen. My life would be over, too. Now, about children...do you know how powerful Royal Elves are?" Harry shook his head no. "Alright. You were powerful in your own right. But, when you came into your inheritance, your power probably tripled or quadrupled. You are extremely powerful, and since you are a Royal Elf, you have the ability to either carry a child yourself, or get me pregnant. So, there goes the problem of not having children."

"But..."

"No more 'buts'...do you want me?"

"Gods YES!"

"Good...now take off your glamour, I want to see my elf."

Harry nearly melted when Draco called him his elf. With a muttered phrase, the glamour hiding his true appearance disappeared. Draco hauled in a tight breath. Harry was absolutely beautiful. His hair, while still black, shone with a hint of green and reached just past his shoulders. His eyes became slightly almond shaped and tilted upward on the outer edge. His ears...Dear Merlin! His ears! Draco ran light fingers over the elongated point at the top of Harry's left ear and his elf almost purred.

"Who else has seen you like this? Tell me! I'll have to Obliviate them."

"No one. You're the first. My mate is the only one who has the right to see me like this, unless I choose to go without the glamour."

"We'll have to talk about that later. Right now, I want my elf to make love to me."

Harry lifted Draco and gently laid him in the middle of the bed. He lowered himself over him and captured Draco's lips in a passionate kiss. He drew back only when he needed air. Draco chuckled.

"Harry? Have you ever snogged anyone for longer than about 5 seconds?"

"Um...no. And I've only snogged two other people. Cho Chang in our fifth year and Ginny."

"Try something next time. Breathe through your nose during the kiss. Makes it a hell of a lot easier and you don't have to break the kiss off to breathe."

Harry dove back in and tried it. He was ecstatic when it worked. His mouth left Draco's and trailed its way down his neck. He laved the pulse point and then suckled...hard. Draco felt like Harry was trying to suck his soul out through the mark he was sure to leave behind. Harry's hands weren't idle. They had been tracing Draco's body, making sure he knew every inch, every curve and angle. His fingers found his mate's erection and began to learn it as well. The sounds coming from Draco's lips were intoxicating, Harry couldn't get enough of them.

Draco knew Harry was a virgin, so nothing explained how he knew exactly where to touch, where to lick. He felt Harry's fingers drop down to his entrance and Draco whined low in his throat. He heard a whisper, then felt those fingers, covered in cool slickness, probe gently. He bucked his hips, trying to get those fingers to enter. As Harry gently pushed two fingers inside of Draco's entrance, he lowered his mouth over Draco's erection.

Draco stopped breathing. He felt as though, if his world ended right then, he would go happy. Harry moved his fingers slowly in a thrusting motion, brushing against Draco's prostate, and Draco saw stars. The moan he let loose would have been embarrassing, if he had cared. And, right at that moment, he didn't.

Harry was working on instinct. He had no idea if what he was doing was right, or even if it was alright with Draco to be doing it. He only knew he had to please Draco, to make sure he was enjoying this. Harry heard another deep moan and Draco's hands moved to gently clasp his head with strong fingers. He added another finger and began to move them apart, preparing Draco to take him.

Draco, by this time, was beyond all coherent thought. All he knew was that he wanted Harry so badly that it hurt. He pulled Harry up to meet his lips and pressed his hips up. Harry took the hint and placed himself at Draco's entrance. He gently pushed until he was fully seated. He hoped that he wasn't hurting his mate. He breathed harshly through his nose, to try to calm himself. Their eyes met and Draco nodded slightly.

Harry began to gently thrust into his mate. Draco let out another moan that made Harry's toes curl. When Draco wrapped his legs around Harry's thighs, Harry knew that the time for being gentle had ended. He leaned in and began to snog Draco senseless as he sped up his thrusts.

Draco knew he wasn't going to last long. He'd had other lovers, but nothing had prepared him for the intensity of Harry. He didn't know if it was the bond or if it was just Harry, but he really didn't care. He just knew that if Harry didn't make him come soon, he was going to die.

Harry pulled back from the kiss and watched his mate's face. Draco was absolutely stunning in his passion. Harry felt the need to move faster, felt his release coiling at the base of his spine. "Draco...come for me...now!"

Harry's harsh whisper took Draco over the edge and he came without even touching himself, something that had never happened before. He screamed Harry's name before collapsing, boneless and limp, back on the bed. He watched the expression on his elf's face as he reached his own orgasm. Harry flung his head back and screamed Draco's name to the heavens. Then he collapsed on top of Draco. For a fraught moment, Draco thought that Harry had stopped breathing. Then Harry took a deep shuddering breath, before trying to move off of him. Draco stopped him. He wanted to feel his elf holding him.

Harry put his arms around Draco and rolled them both, so that they lay on their sides, facing each other. Harry leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Draco's lips, then he gathered his mate's limp body close to his, protecting him, comforting him. Harry suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to mark Draco as his. He tried to stop it, but could feel the urge winning.

"Draco! I-I feel like I need to bite you, to mark you. Why?" Harry was beginning to shake from trying to fight the urge. He didn't want to hurt Draco, but the need was too strong.

Draco bared his neck. "It's your Elf, Harry. You need to mark me, to claim me as yours, so that everyone knows to stay away. Go ahead."

Harry lowered his mouth to Draco's neck and felt the strangest sensation in his gums, like his teeth were growing. He gave Draco one quick lick on the neck before sinking his teeth into the fragile skin. He felt Draco stiffen and heard him give an impassioned groan. He removed his teeth from Draco's skin and licked the spot. It immediately stopped bleeding and healed. Harry stared at the spot on Draco's neck and felt a surge of protectiveness wash over him. "Mine!" The one breathless word shimmered in the air between them. He met Draco's eyes warily, hoping that he wouldn't see pain in them. All he saw was happiness and a healthy dose of lust and passion. "Are you alright?"

"Let me see your teeth, Harry." Harry smiled, showing Draco his teeth. Draco gasped.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Draco asked the room for a mirror. One appeared on the table to the side of the bed. Draco picked it up and held it in front of Harry. Harry could see that his canine teeth had elongated slightly, making them look like a miniature set of fangs. As he watched, the fangs shrunk back into his normal sized teeth. Harry gave Draco a frightened look. "Why did I have fangs?"

"To mark me." He was silent again for a minute and then a book appeared where the mirror had only a moment before. Draco sat up and flicked through the pages. "Ah, here it is. You will have retractable fangs that will be used to mark your mate, me, after our first mating. They are also used for protection of said mate, once again, me." Draco looked at Harry and smiled. "Not only that, they're dead sexy."

Harry fell back to the bed, laughing. "Only you, Draco, only you."

~OOooOO~

Harry woke to an empty bed and panicked. "Draco? Where are you?" He was getting ready to get out of the bed when Draco walked out of another door he hadn't seen the night before. "Where did you go?"

"I asked the room for a loo and a shower. After last night, I had the feeling we'd need it." Draco walked over to the bed and pressed his lips to Harry's. Harry caught him about the waist and pulled him back into the bed. "I may need it again, if you keep this up, Harry."

"No, I just want to hold you. I'm still convincing myself that this is real."

"Oh, it is real, Harry. You're stuck with me now. I've wanted you for too long to let you go now."

"You've got me, Draco. All of me. Heart, mind, body and soul."

"Same here, Elf, same here."