𝓐 𝓝𝓮𝔀 𝓗𝓪𝓻𝓻𝔂 [√]

Part Nineteen

Back in the office, everyone retook their seats. It was quiet for a while before somebody finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," Severus said, and Harry looked at him.

"For what?" He asked. Snape bowed his head submissively, making Harry frown.

"I-I treated you awfully; I should have seen the signs of abuse, I-I t-took the hatred I had for your father, and I took it out on you," Severus said, and Harry looked down at Lucius, who nodded and moved away, giving Harry space to stand.

Harry walked over to Severus and sat beside him before wrapping an arm around the older man. "It's OK, I didn't make it any easier by running around causing trouble." He said softly, pulling Severus closer.

A few minutes later, Harry pulled away, giving him another smile before going back to his mate, who instantly moved closer.

"We must discuss what we will do about Dumbledore and the order," Tom said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"I want this done quickly; I don't want it stretched out; I want it done fast so there is little chance for something to go wrong. But we still need to plan." Harry said, and Tom nodded.

"I agree; the more time we stretch this out, the more we give them time to outsmart us," Tom said.

"Exactly, we need to take next week and plan. Have your death eaters practice their spells and hexes. Severus, you can make enough potions; we know they will fight, so we need them. Luci, you can work from the ministry." Harry said, but Lucius quickly shook his head.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"My heat starts on Tuesday, and I'm going to be home until Saturday," Lucius informed Harry, and Harry frowned.

"Oh, um... okay," Harry nodded, looking at the other two in the room. "Could you guys give us a minute?" he asked.

"Of Course, I'll go start planning some small raids and take a nap," Tom said, leaving the room. Severus followed.

"Lucius," Harry called out to his mate, who wasn't looking at him. "Are you going to be OK?" He asked. Lucius looked up at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucius answered, and Harry shook his head.

"I meant for your heat. Will you be okay?" Harry asked, and Lucius smiled a little, even though Harry could tell it was forced.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Tom and Severus normally come to stay with me."Lucius said, and Harry moved closer.

"What's wrong?" He asked, seeing the look on Lucius's face.

"I want to ask you to stay with me, but I don't want you to feel pressured to do it," Lucius said, Harry feeling something swell in his chest.

"I would love to stay with you, but I don't want to, and then we will do something you will regret. Because if I stay, we will mate, and I can't say I will regret it. After getting to spend time with you and learning about you, I can't help but start falling for you. And if you do, I don't want you to regret it." Harry said, taking Lucius's hands in his and squeezing.

Lucius looked up at him with tears in his eyes, and Harry quickly reached up and wiped them away. "I wouldn't regret it, and I have been waiting for years. I've focused on my work, ignoring everything around me because I didn't want to be loyal to my mate, even if I didn't know who they were yet. I turned down every date offer, courting, everything. Severus and Tom are the only ones who I've gotten close to because I knew I could trust them." Lucius paused and took a deep breath, hiccuping.

"When I found out you were my mate, I was ecstatic but terrified. I had finally found you, but I had been such a monster to you that I knew you were going to reject me. Draco figured it out quickly because of how you had been acting toward him. So he knew, but I couldn't tell anyone else. When Draco told me you wanted to talk to me, I was so nervous I almost broke down and cried. I was happy when you decided to give me a chance." Lucius continued, more tears flowing down his face.

"I wouldn't regret it if we mated; I would be honored that you would still mate after everything." The blonde finished, and Harry looked at him with a serious look on his face before leaning forward and capturing the blonde's lips. There was a shocked gasp before Lucius started to kiss back. The submissive lips were soft against his. They kissed for a while before pulling away.

"I'll stay."

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Word count: 759

Re-published: April 24, 2024, 2:30 pm

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