Beta: Queen Morgan
Warnings: Cross dressing
Disclaimers: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling and her publishers. The artist/author of this work receives no profit from it, nor do the creators/maintainers of hpqfac or quillsforacause. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Notes/Dedications: Word Count 1,201, this goes out to Beth
Draco bowed down, biting his lip, trying hard not to tremble in fear as he kneeled before the Dark Lord. At his side stood Wormtail, who was cackling happily and wringing his hands. “Shall we mark him now, Master?”
“No, Wormtail,” Voldemort sounded amused, which always spelled danger in Draco’s book. Long fingers ran through Draco’s hair. “I hate to mark you, young Malfoy. You are so pretty. Perhaps, I will keep you for a concubine instead. Hmm, on second thought, if you are anything like your father, I will need to keep tabs on you. Yes, Wormtail we shall mark him. How does the next full moon sound to you, Draco?”
“I am honored as always, my Lord,” Draco silently thanked his father for all the lessons on keeping his voice even.
“I expect you will keep me entertained,” Voldemort laughed. Draco fought down the taste of bile in the back of his throat; the innuendo had not gone unnoticed.
Sensing he was dismissed, Draco nodded, kissed the robes of the Dark Lord, and left as quickly as he dared.
By the time Draco made his way back to the Manor, under the August summer moon, he was nearly hysterical. His mother had to give him a dreamless sleep potion to get him to rest. The following morning they discussed several plans, from running away, to joining with Dumbledore. Each plan became more fanciful then the rest. When they had narrowed it down to several, Narcissa contacted Severus while Draco went to his room to think.
Draco Malfoy was in a right fix. He paced back and forth in his room at Malfoy Manor. Time was of the essence; the full moon would be that night. He had to figure out a way to keep from being marked by the Dark Lord, who was eager to have him take his father’s place at his side.
Who escaped getting the mark?
Draco thought and thought very hard on this. It seemed to him that Voldemort had a muggle-born prejudice for homosexuals, and flaming ones at that. He also preferred purebreds from families already brought into his circle. Voldemort seemed to only bring insane women, like Aunt Bella into the circle, too. After all, mother had never been marked. Hmm, he looked around his room and, with a smirk, made a beeline for his mother’s room.
He knocked forcibly on his mother’s room and was rewarded with entry quickly. It seemed she had read his mind. With a smile, she pointed to her bed that was covered in clothing. “I think they might fit.”
Draco would have hugged her on the spot, but there was no time. His mother helped him into a soft blue colored cashmere sweater and a small grey skirt. It only took a spell to make his hair grow out longer, some earrings and makeup, before Draco looked in the mirror. He was stunned at the transformation and could safely say he no longer recognized himself.
Narcissa nodded in satisfaction at his reaction before handing over her old Slytherin uniform. Draco changed quickly into that, next. Soon, they had a trunk packed to go to Hogwarts as a new person. Draco Malfoy was gone. Using a trick out of Voldemort’s book, Lacy De Mardo was born.
That night, the Dark Lord sent Wormtail to collect Draco. But Draco was not there. Instead, he was introduced to his distant cousin, Lacy, and was informed Draco had run away. Wormtail sniffed Lacy suspiciously but could only smell perfume. Eventually, he went back with the news that was sure to get him tortured for his failure at not collecting Draco before he’d run away. Now, they were both in danger, Narcissa, for her role in this deception, and Draco, for hiding from his ‘duty’.
Their next destination was Hogwarts. They took a carriage from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, during which Narcissa did her best to instruct her son in the ways of being a woman. Although they were happy at their near escape from the Dark Lord, they were both worried. How long would Draco have to play this role? Would he be able to pull it off? And would Dumbledore allow it?
They were met at the gates by Severus Snape, who instantly realized what must have happened. He met their eyes and gave them a nod before turning to Draco with a smirk. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”
Deciding now was as good a time as any to dive into the role that was saving his life, Draco replied. “Lacy De Mardo, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Excellent.” Severus sighed deeply after a prolonged moment. “I am truly sorry it came to this.”
“I consider myself fortunate, I’ve a son and a daughter,” Narcissa whispered behind her hand with a chuckle. Severus tried to hide his amusement after a glare from “Lacy” and escorted them to the Headmaster’s office.
Narcissa and Severus chatted over inconsequential matters as they made their way to the very familiar gargoyle guarding the Headmasters office. The three of them rode the stairway up to the office, only to find the door already open.
“Please, do sit down,” Dumbledore smiled at them all. A tea set was already on a low table in front of three chairs. “Please, do make yourself at home.” He looked at Draco sadly. “I am sorry that it came to this. But, I do believe this will be the least disturbing to your normal routine and was an excellent choice.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Draco frowned.
Dumbledore’s eye twinkled in amusement as he looked at Draco over his half-moon glasses. “What name will you be enrolling under?”
“Lacy de Mardo,” Draco dropped into his French accented female dulcet tones he’d adopted for his role.
“Excellent,” Dumbledore rubbed his hands together. “I believe it will be quite easy to get some papers from Madame Maxime, claiming that you are a transfer student from a remote sister school to Beauxbaton. And, of course, you’ll have to be sorted.”
Snapes’ head whipped around at this. “I see no reason for Draco not to remain in Slytherin!”
Dumbledore shook his head. “No, it would be far too difficult for Miss de Mardo to not fall in to routine habits that would be far too easy for the other Slytherins to notice. I do regret this, but if you think about it, you’ll see my point.”
Draco gulped. Yes, it did make sense, but wasn’t it enough he was giving up his life and his sexuality? Did he have to give up his house and friends too? He closed his eyes and thought about Voldemort’s words. “I expect you will keep me entertained”. Draco shivered and slowly nodded.
Albus clapped his hands. “Excellent. You can be sorted tomorrow with the others. Of course, you’ll have to stay in the girls dormitories. And I expect you to behave.”
Snape snickered at this, and Narcissa smiled. Draco smirked. “That won’t be a problem. I bat for the other team.”
Draco Malfoy had a very rare, unexpected pleasure in that moment, surprising Albus Dumbledore. After all, it wasn’t something that happened everyday.
The Malfoy’s spent the night in guest quarters, and the following morning after breakfast Narcissa traveled to France. Lacy was on her own.
Harry laughed as he sat down at the Gryffindor table. It had been a great trip to Hogwarts, and he was eagerly looking forward to his last year. He sat with Hermione on his left and with Neville to his right. Seamus and Ron sat across from them. Together, they watched the First Years enter and marveled at how small they all seemed. They cheered at all the new Gryffindors sorted into their house.
“Did you notice Malfoy isn’t here?” Hermione asked Harry.
“I knew I was having too good a time,” Ron laughed, looking around at the Slytherin table. “Wow, he is missing. Maybe, we got lucky and the great git is going to Durmstrang now.”
Harry kept his thoughts on the matter to himself. His thoughts about the blond had become confusing over the summer. More than one dream had focused on the blond in a most erotic way. Harry had slowly come to admit to himself he fancied him, but was not about to tell Ron or Hermione. This was one secret that would safely stay just that “ a secret. He started to hope that Malfoy would appear any moment.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, and they all turned their attention onto the Headmaster. After the customary speech, he surprised them all. “I am happy to announce we have one more person to sort. We have a transfer student who comes to us from France. I’d like to introduce Miss Lacy De Mardo, who will be joining the Seventh Years.” He gestured to the side door and a striking blond girl walked in. She had long, blond, almost silver hair, that cascaded down her back. She was already wearing a plain girl’s uniform. Harry was stunned by the amount of attraction he felt, and confused.
The girl walked up to the stool without hesitation and sat down gracefully on it. Minerva put the hat upon her head and stood back. In his ear, Draco heard the familiar voice once more. “Ah, I see. Yes, yes, Albus is correct, you cannot go back to Slytherin. It’s far too dangerous. I can see you need a change and the loyalty of others. Perhaps, the protection of Mr. Potter, as well, would not go amiss.” Draco closed his eyes as that sunk in. “You’d be surprised at how some things have changed, even more than you.”
“GRYFFINDOR!!” The hat shouted. Trying hard not to reveal his true identity and run back to Slytherin, Draco forced himself to march over to the table. To his dismay, he was seated next to Hermione Granger on the one side and Ginny Weasley on the other. Shockingly enough, Hermione began to speak eagerly to him in rapid fire French. He quickly found out that she’d spent a summer there. Draco realized he’d have to stay on his toes not to be discovered by the witch. He answered her questions in French, then requested that they switch back to English, feeling it was rude to speak a language the others didn’t know. Hermione reluctantly agreed, and they began to speak in English, to the relief of their housemates.
To his horror, he seemed to have been befriended by Granger and Weasley. They took turns asking him questions about France. He was surprised to see Harry look his way on several occasions. One time, Draco caught him at it, and Harry dropped his pumpkin juice glass. This caused the Gryffindor to be endlessly teased and ribbed by his housemates. It was then that Draco decided that being Lacy might be more fun after all.
After all, he could play with Potter, and tease him in a whole new way. Draco fought back a smirk, and looked coyly through his lashes at Harry, instead. He was rewarded with Harry looking at him with rapt interest before Potter shook his head in confusion. “I think Harry likes you,” Hermione whispered in his ear.
Draco dipped his head, in a copy cat move that Parkinson often used when she was after a new beau. He watched Harry out of the corner of his eye and noticed he seemed confused by his attraction to him as Lacy. Hmm. Why would Potter be confused at being attracted to a girl, unless…was Potter gay? Oh, this was too rich. Not only could Draco play a game of cat and mouse with Potter, while disguised as Lacy. But, perhaps, he could have Potter eating out his hand and secure a position of safety within the Holy Trio.
Leaning over, Draco whispered in Granger’s ear. “He’s cute.” Then, he hid his smirk behind his hand, knowing that little tidbit would send Granger into matchmaking mode. Hermione fairly bounced with excitement. She leaned back and began to whisper to the Weaselette.
After dinner, Ginny and Hermione escorted “Lacy” to the Gryffindor dorms, and to the room he’d be sharing with Granger and four other girls of his year. Draco pretended to feign shyness and changed into a long nightgown behind the curtains of his bed. He thought he’d be able to go straight to bed after his evening routine. It was very strange already, but things became uncomfortable as the other girls begged and pleaded to brush his long hair.
The girls seemed very excited at the prospect of matching him up with Potter. He was surprised to find out that the Golden Boy’s dating experience was extremely limited. It appeared, from the gossip, that he’d only ever kissed Cho Chang, and it hadn’t gone well. The girls had guessed Potter preferred boys, so were quite thrilled to see his attraction to Lacy. Draco allowed his hair to be fussed over before they all retired for the night. But sleep didn’t come easy to Draco. There was a lot on his mind, and the surroundings were so far removed from Slytherin and so…frilly. When he finally fell asleep, his last thought was of Harry Potter.
Morning was startling in its brightness. He’d never encountered the morning sun all his years at Hogwarts, being a Slytherin. It was also strange to be in a common bathroom with girls. He thanked his lack of hair growth that he didn’t need to shave and surreptitiously cast a depilatory charm on his legs and armpits. Feigning shyness was still working, and he managed to use a shower at the far end and cast an impenetrable charm on the curtain.
Buoyed by his success with his morning routine, Draco followed the other girls to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione sat Lacy between herself and Harry. Draco found himself flustered by how many times Potter brushed up against him, and the scent of his cologne. He started to rethink his earlier plotting of playing with Potter in a cat and mouse game. Perhaps, he’d take Potter into his confidence instead.
However, he’d still have to capture Potter’s affections to get close and earn his trust. Only then could he possibly reveal himself and hope for Potter’s protection. Potter still seemed to be confused by his attraction to “Lacy”. He often looked at Lacy with longing then muttered to himself angrily.
“Are you okay, Harry?” Lacy asked shyly.
“Sure.” Harry was jostled by Ron on his other side. After throwing Ron what could only be described as a look of death, Harry turned back to Lacy and asked, “Um, could I talk to you after breakfast?”
“Okay,” Draco replied, ducking his head shyly in keeping with his new role.
Potter got quite a few smiles and thumbs up signals from Dean and Seamus. Ron was whispering advice into his ear, which Draco pretended not to hear. But, if Harry followed along with the advice, not only would they miss their first class, but Lacy’s secret would be out. Draco could only hope that Potter's lack of experience would hold him back.
After breakfast, Lacy was escorted by a gaggle of giggling girls to meet with Potter. Seeing they had an audience, Potter dragged Lacy into an empty classroom. Draco was amused to find himself with a suddenly awkward and shy Potter. “Um, I don’t know why, but I really like you.”
“You don’t know why?” Draco asked in amusement, trying to lace it with a hint of hurt. “Are you sure you like me?”
“No, err, yes, I mean.” Harry sighed. “Lacy, can I be honest with you a minute?”
“Sure, Harry,” Draco played with the pleats in his skirt.
“I thought I was queer, and then I meet you, and well ““ Draco sighed. Watching Harry so confused was practically painful, even if it did greatly amuse his Slytherin side. But, what good was that, when he couldn’t even be with his own house?
He could only see one way out. “Potter.” He said in his normal voice.
Harry blinked in confusion. “Malfoy?”
“Yeah, I’m hiding out so I don’t have to be a Death Eater. But, if you tell anyone, so help me, I’ll hex your bits off.”
To his surprise, Harry laughed and laughed and laughed even more. Tears of mirth filled his eyes as he held onto his ribs. Draco crossed his arms over his chest angrily. “Look, would you rather I let you kiss me? At least I told you the truth!”
Harry wiped the tears from his eyes as he caught his breath. He looked again at Lacy with a new perspective and found it very exciting. “Potter?”
“I won’t tell, but only on one condition,” Harry smirked, closing the gap between them.
“What?” Draco asked nervously, as Harry pinned him against the wall. He soon found himself breathless as Harry plunged his tongue into his mouth, kissing him eagerly.
“Date me,” Harry whispered in his ear after breaking off the kiss.
“You still want to ““ Draco didn’t know what to say.
“Oh, yeah. I thought you were interesting before, but I’ve got to say, Malfoy, you’ve got some great legs. And I love the hair. Besides, this way, I don’t lose face in front of the guys and I can help you keep your cover.” Harry smirked. “Scared, Malfoy?”
“You wish,” Draco replied, returning the kiss and realizing it was going to be a very, very interesting year.
The end
Lacy's Love by Keikokin [ - ]
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