Draco heard a knock on his door an hour after he told Harry the name of the potion he needed. He jumped, not yet used to having anyone visit him. When he opened the door, his eyes snapped to Harry's hands, which were empty.

"I know I said that I'd bring them, but I asked the guy at the apothecary a couple of questions about the potion and, to be honest, I don't particularly like his answers," the brunette said quietly, looking Draco in the eyes. His gaze fell to his wrists, but he continued with more confidence, "Can I come in? I would like to talk about this. I want to respect your boundaries, Malfoy, but you're going to need to respect my wishes, too, and I want to understand everything that is happening here. Is that alright?"

The blonde tilted his head in confusion. Since when was the brunette that mature and tactful? Draco's eyes followed Harry's to his wrists, the writing on which Harry tried to hide by pulling on his sleeve. He failed. The blonde burst out laughing.

"Did...you actually...write that down...on your arms?" Draco asked between laughs. The brunette just grew redder and huffed, then crossed his arms in front of his chest, glaring at the ground.

"You're not exactly an easy person to talk to, Malfoy," Harry gritted out. Suddenly, the blonde felt the absolute terror that the brunette had been experiencing. Harry was afraid of Draco and what he might do if the brunette bothers him even a little bit.

Don't upset him.

He might threaten to have an abortion again.

"It wasn't a threat," Draco instantly said, more to calm the brunette down than to defend himself against Harry's harsh words. He understood why the brunette would feel that way. Upon seeing Harry's look of confusion, Draco continued, "I would never threaten to...do that. It wasn't a threat. I was bluffing. If you broke any of my rules, the most I could do is be a little bit more difficult. But...Potter, if you're stepping up, I won't stand in your way, especially in such an inhumane manner."

"Thank you, Draco," the brunette said. Draco smiled slightly in response and stepped closer to his door, hand on the doorknob, intending to go back inside.

"If there is nothing else..."

"Yes, there is. Don't try to distract me. I still want to talk to you about the potions. Can I come in?" Harry said, smiling back and gesturing towards the apartment. Draco froze. Harry would figure out how broke the blonde was the instant he entered the apartment. But Draco also couldn't go outside; there were too many people outside, and he was too afraid. That only left one option.

"Could we go to your place instead?" the blonde asked, and sighed in relief when Harry shrugged and held out his arm for a side-apparation. Draco ignored the tingly feeling he got in his stomach the moment he held onto Harry so they could go to Grimmauld Place.

Harry apparated them both to Grimmauld place, then led Malfoy to the sofa, where the blonde sat down with a wary expression. The brunette wanted him to be more comfortable, so, before he sat down, he asked if Malfoy wanted tea. The blonde opened his mouth to answer, but, before he could do so, something on the table caught his eye. Draco frowned deeply. Harry looked down and realized that he had left the catalogs of baby products that he had gotten earlier on the table.

"Er...sorry about those, Malfoy," Harry said, then quickly picked them up and put them into a bag, setting it out of Malfoy's view. When he looked back up, the blonde was smiling slightly at him.

"What?" Harry asked, liking the smile more than he cared to admit. It disappeared instantly as Draco shook his head and said "Nothing."

"Oh, come on! Tell me what you're laughing about. Do all these brands suck or something? Am I messing it up already?" Harry asked, hoping that wasn't the case. If he was going to be a single parent, he shouldn't be making these stupid mistakes. He should know these things. He needed to do more.

/ I can't believe he is already doing these things. /

/ He just found out about this yesterday. /

/ It clearly turned his life upside down. /

/ Doesn't he need a day or two to cope with the news? /

/ Or was that just me? /

/ I guess that's just another reason he'd be a better father than I ever would. /

/ That's good. At least I know the baby will be more than alright here. /

Harry's chest clenched at the tone. Draco was happy about Harry's actions but upset about something else. Should he ask? No. The brunette was surprised that the blonde even shared this much. He shouldn't push.

"Hey, it was hard for me at first too. When the officiate first told me-" Harry started, then clamped his mouth shut upon seeing the horrified look on Draco's face.

"D-did you just hear that?" the blonde asked, wrapping his arms around himself tightly.

Oh.

He didn't want me to know.

The brunette nodded, then opened his mouth to say something comforting, but was interrupted by Draco.

"I don't want to hear it. You brought me here to speak about the potions, so speak only about the bloody potions. I haven't had breakfast yet and am in no mood for this, Potter," the blonde snapped, then crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned back into the couch, and huffed, looking away from Harry. The brunette was instantly on his feet.

"Malfoy, are you mad? You can't just skip breakfast like this. Wha-" he started frantically but was once again cut off by the angry blonde.

"I wouldn't have had to bloody do that if I had gotten my potions in time!"

At that, Harry shut his mouth. He knew that he had every right to stay mad at Draco, but that would accomplish nothing. Sure, the blonde could've come to the wizarding world and bought the potions, himself, but Harry had promised to help and he should've been more attentive to Malfoy's needs. Fighting with Ginny could've waited. Harry was determined to make any baby-related issue his top priority from now on.

"You're right, Malfoy. I should've heard you out when you first called out to me," Harry said with a serious tone, looking the blonde in the eye. Draco looked surprised by the brunette's admission, but, nonetheless, shook his head, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and huffed again.

"Of course, I am right."

The blonde was still frowning and visibly upset. Harry suddenly had an urge to kiss his pouting lips and embrace him tightly. Draco shouldn't feel bad.

Suddenly, the blonde burst out laughing.

"The only things you're kissing are my feet at this point, Potter. Stop being stupid and, for the love of Merlin, start talking about your bloody problem with the potions. I don't have all day."

Harry blushed furiously. He didn't know Malfoy was still reading his thoughts. That was humiliating. He needed to explain himself, but he couldn't find the words. He didn't want the blonde to think that Harry has feelings for him. That would complicate things a lot and the brunette didn't want that.

"Relax, Potter. It is just the bond. You're not going crazy," the blonde said, clearly trying to stop laughing. Harry let out a sigh of relief despite the deep humiliation he felt.

"So, you're like this too?" Harry asked, tilting his head in confusion. Malfoy didn't seem any different. The blonde shook his head.

"The officiate that rudely appeared in my apartment without notice gave me a few potions that counteract the bond's side effects. I think he felt bad for me after I told him the story of how...this predicament came to be. He suggested I use the potions until we break the bond. That's what I dumped on you yesterday when you were under the effect. I am not giving you anymore, though. The effects of the bond are a lot more prominent and worse on my side. I can't risk running out early. "

"Oh. So, you found out yesterday as well?" Harry asked. He wasn't trying to annoy Draco at all. He just thought that, perhaps, the blonde would be able to cope with the situation better if he vented a bit. Apparently, his words just angered Draco further. The blonde instantly shot up and sent Harry a death glare.

"I thought I told you not to ask any questions, Potter! We've been in your house for less than three minutes and so far you've broken almost half the rules I've set."

"Well, maybe they are just stupid rules!" Harry yelled back, having had enough of the blonde's attitude, "How am I supposed to talk about a potion for the pregnancy if I am not allowed to mention the pregnancy? Malfoy, you're just being unreasonable!"

"If you'd just trust that I know what I am doing, we wouldn't need to have a discussion at all! But you just have to question everything I do. If you can't even handle a few simple requests or my presence for a few minutes, then perhaps we should get a third person to mediate."

"Maybe we should!" Harry yelled back in anger, but, deep down, he knew he didn't mean it. He didn't want some stranger making decisions about his child. The brunette would give Malfoy time to cool off and come to his senses. He'd already read that people's hormones are all over the place during pregnancies, so maybe that was the reason for Malfoy's weird requests.

I need to get through all these books this week.

I also need to find a way to talk to him without pissing him off in the process.

"Don't bother. If neither of us is changing their opinion, then there is no sense in trying to get along. We are finding a mediator tomorrow because I am telling you now, I am not changing my mind about my rules," the blonde said quickly, then threw the powder to the fireplace floor with great force, leaving Grimmauld Place altogether.

"I guess I 'll be compromising them," Harry said to the empty room, then sighed deeply, and threw himself on the couch, face down, trying to come up with any means of communication without breaking Malfoy's stupid rules.