Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 8849

Written for Lo and Sam, both because it's their fault this exists, and because I adore them both.

Caught Up (In Space Jail) With You

The panic was widespread.

The newspapers bore thick black writing proclaiming the end of the world. The radios and tv news broadcasters intoned solemnly that only weeks remained of Earth's survival.

People with no understanding of engineering were attempting to build shoddy rockets that were unlikely to lift them from their gardens, never mind take them into space.

Earth was quickly falling into shambles, as people lost trust that the governments could get them out of the oblivion that was approaching.

"Why are you reading that trash?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrow at Harry.

"It amuses me," Harry replied with a shrug. "They've all been told that the ships will be ready to move out within a week, and yet, they're all still losing their minds."

Harry picked up his coffee cup, wincing at how hot it was. Draco snorted. "This is why you should invest in a mug with a handle," he said, raising his own slightly.

Harry looked appalled. "Takeaway coffee is my jam, Draco. How dare you suggest I ever drink anything else!"

"Get a takeaway mug with a handle. The coffee shop will fill it for you instead of putting it in one of those flimsy things that you're forever burning yourself on."

Wrinkling his nose, Harry shook his head. "It doesn't taste the same if it's not in a takeaway cup."

Draco stared at him for a moment. "Are you clinically insane, or just annoying?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Probably both. Speaking of annoying, why are you here annoying me? Shouldn't you be doing engineering things like good engineers do?"

"I'm allowed a break, aren't I? Besides, shouldn't you be doing security things?"

"I am," Harry replied smugly, nodding his head to the wall, where twenty screens looked back at him. "The technology basically does the job for me. See the little red lights above the screens? They flash if the camera's pick up someone or something that shouldn't be there."

Draco grinned. "Which means you can be even lazier and sit around reading this trash all day," he nodded to the papers.

"You're an asshole. I hope you know that."

"I take pride in it," Draco nodded amiably. "Anyway, I'll need you out front in about an hour. We're going to test run the new engine power."

"But it's raining," Harry argued.

"Harry, really?"

"What do you need me for?" Harry asked, grinning.

"I need you to stand a look pretty and hold onto one of the industrial fire extinguishers. You know, just in case."

"Uh huh," Harry nodded, rolling his eyes. "You just don't want to singe your eyebrows."

"Obviously," Draco agreed with a shrug. "You might be pretty, Potter, but you're not a pretty as me. See you in an hour?"

"Sure, sure."

…

"Apparently you're psychic, huh?" Draco said, laughing.

Harry glared at him. "Cram it, Draco."

"Maybe it was a self fulfilling prophecy? You expected singed eyebrows, and voila!"

"I'm gonna beat your pretty face in."

"No you're not. Then you'll have nothing to admire in the mornings on the cameras. The good news, is that the engines are working even better than expected."

Harry sighed, looking at his poor eyebrows in the mirror. "I don't understand your definition of good news."

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink to make up for it."

"Hmph."

…

They walked across to the bar, unsurprised to find it quiet when they entered.

The bartender smiled at them, taking first their order, and then the money that Draco handed over with a small smile.

A familiar redhead walked in almost as soon as the two sat down, sitting down at the table with them with a scowl on his face.

"Has there been any news yet?" he demanded, his fists clenched on the table.

"Charlie," Draco sighed, his face pained. "There's nothing we can do, mate. Getting enough ships ready to take most of the humans on the planet is almost impossible. We can't also turn into Noah and build a bloody space ark. It's just not possible."

"So while we're all flying away to safety, we're just going to leave billions of animals to burn? How is that in anyway fair?"

"We know mate," Harry placated gently. "But what are we supposed to do? Deny people their spaces so we can take a chimpanzee on a trip around the solar system? We're not even completely sure that we'll find somewhere to rest our selves, let alone trying to keep animals caged up on the ships for who knows how long. That would be just as cruel as the reality of what's happening."

Charlie sighed. "I just… animals are so pure, you know?"

"I mean… a lion is more likely to take a chunk out of your ass than a human is," Draco said, sipping at his vodka martini. "Just saying."

"And a human would put a gun to your head simply to get their hands on your money," Charlie snapped. "Animals live on basic survival instincts. They don't get jealous, or get angry over some unintended slight. They don't take drugs and rob old ladies for their next fix."

"Charlie, we get it," Harry interrupted, glaring at Draco. "But there's nothing we can do. I'll go and get you a drink… or better yet, Draco will go and get you a drink, since he's paying tonight."

Charlie nodded.

Draco scowled. "I said I'd buy yours," he muttered, getting off his stool anyway.

Harry turned his attention back to Charlie, only to find the man staring at him.

"Ah, say, Harry… what happened to your eyebrows?"

…

The Star charts were laid out over long tables, and Draco was pointing at various places, tracking the miles between them.

Harry stood by the door, eyeing the foreign officials with distrust. They were listening to Draco, nodding at his words, but he could practically feel the dissension coming off them in waves.

Many of the world's leading astronomers were of a mind that Mars would be the best place to attempt a mass landing, whereas Draco was attempting to show why it would be better for various spaceships to attempt various landing spots.

Their own team of engineers and scientists had come up with an extensive plan, and then unanimously voted Draco to be the one to try and explain it to the rest of the world leaders. Harry had howled when he found out.

"The connection systems between the spaceships have strong enough transmissions that if we head in different directions, we have a better chance of finding somewhere habitable that much faster," Draco finished.

Harry could tell by the look in Draco's eyes that he too knew he was fighting an uphill battle.

"But vy can we not just fly to ze Mars?"

Sighing heavily, Draco pinched his nose. "Because the intelligence that we've discovered from the satellites, we know that Mars is not habitable for humans. We can land their certainly, but the moment you set foot outside of the spaceship without a space suit, you'll explode. Dead. Finite."

There was mumbling between the officials, and Draco, clearly done with their shit, slammed his hands down on the table.

"Look. We have studied this. For years. Ask your own astronomers. The plan laid out is the best option out of a lot of bad options. I'm trying to preserve humanity… not that I'm really sure that's a good idea of course but -"

Harry cleared his throat, lips twitching. Draco paused, his skin flushing slightly as he realised what he'd said.

Clearing his own throat, he stood up straight again. "There are smaller ships, ready to do reconnaissance missions. The tankers for the larger ships that will hold the majority of people hold enough fuel to keep them afloat in space for about ten years. In that time, the smaller ships that can move much faster will hopefully have found a place to settle. It's the only way this has any chance of being a success."

"But what if they don't find anywhere?" a younger man asked, his head tilted to the side slightly. "In the ten years."

Draco sighed. "Then humanity survives for ten years longer than they would if we didn't have spaceships. At least this gives us a chance at life."

…

"How did you swing for Charlie to accompany us?" Harry asked, as he suited up. For five days, they'd been overseeing the rest of the world onto the large spaceships, and he was so glad for a moment of peace and quiet.

Draco shrugged. "Since we're there best chance at survival, I'm pretty sure I could've said I needed an elephant on hand and they'd have acquiesced."

"Yeah. Maybe don't tell Charlie that."

Draco snorted, nodding his agreement. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then sighed.

Harry waited patiently.

"Are you scared?" Draco asked, sitting down heavily on the bench of the locker room.

"Terrified," Harry replied honestly. "But… you're prepared for this. I know, if we have any chance at survival, it's you that's going to give us this. Have the same faith in yourself that I've got, okay?"

Draco nodded. "Thanks."

Harry's lips tilted up. "Anytime. Let's do this."

Holding their helmets, Harry and Draco headed out to their own spaceship, considerably smaller than the ones they'd been organising for the last week.

"I still think you should've designed it with a bit more… jazz."

Draco snorted, looking up at the black and white structure. "Would you have had me paint fireworks on to the side?"

"Eh. Maybe add a bit of… red… or gold… or blue. I don't know. Something."

Shaking his head, Draco climbed the steps leading up to it. "I figured the colour of it was probably the least important thing. But…" he led Harry into the control area. "I jazzed up the inside, just for you."

Harry grinned at the colourful carpet and walls, his smile widening when he saw the names swirling over the chairs in silver calligraphy.

"I love it," he said, nodding his approval. "Well done you."

"Ass," Draco retorted.

Before Harry could say anything else, heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs, and the murmur of voices got steadily louder.

"Have no fear, Blaise has arrived!" Blaise Zabini cried as he walked into the spaceship, grinning at Harry and Draco.

"I'm more fearful that we're stuck with you to be honest," Harry replied, his smile belying his words.

Theo followed him in in a more sedate fashion, rolling his eyes at Draco who was shaking his head at Blaise. Hermione Granger and Susan Bones came next, with Charlie bringing up the rear.

As they all greeted each other, Harry stared at Charlie.

"Do I need to check that spacesuit for little animals?" he asked, when Charlie met his gaze.

Charlie shook his head. "No. Don't think I wasn't tempted though."

"Why on earth would you want to bring animals aboard?" Susan asked, an appalled expression on her face. She shuddered. "The only thing you could fit in that suit would be creepy crawlies and spiders and such."

Charlie glared at her. "They deserve life as much as you do!"

Susan blinked. "I can't say I'll miss them, personally, " she sniffed.

If looks could kill, Harry thought, she'd combust on the spot.

"Now, now, children," Blaise intervened. "Let's not fight before we even set off. We've got plenty of quality time to bitch and moan once we get this bird up through the atmosphere."

Draco and Hermione ran through the safety checks while the others strapped themselves into their seats.

"Are we ready?" Draco asked, fiddling with the control board.

A chorus of affirmative answers replied, and he strapped himself in.

"Let's do this. Hold on."

…

Harry gazed out of the small window. He couldn't get enough of the changing colours, the tiny lights and the swirling vortexes. They'd been in the space ship for a few days, and beyond the first few minutes as the passed through the Earth's atmosphere, it had been smooth sailing.

Draco, Hermione, Susan and Blaise spent a lot of time bent over charts and graphs, talking in quiet tones. Theo had almost immediately buried himself in a book and hadn't come up except for sleep and food.

Charlie had been as quiet as Harry, immersed in looking through the window at the new sights.

"Want to play cards?"

Harry blinked, turning his head to look at the redhead.

"Sure. Go fish?"

Charlie starred. "What?"

Harry shrugged. "It's the only one I know how to play."

Laughing, Charlie shook his head. "Come sit over here, I'll teach you some games."

"I'm in," Theo said, putting his book down.

"Count me in!" Blaise agreed, turning away from the graphs. "If I look at them any longer, my eyes will be beyond repair."

Draco snorted, but nodded, moving over to the table.

"Hermione? Susan?"

Hermione shook her head. "I'm okay, thanks, Harry," she said quietly. "I'm going to get a few hours sleep."

Susan rolled her eyes. "Someone needs to stay over here to make sure we don't die."

Draco dropped his chin to his chest, closing his eyes. "It's on bloody autopilot. We're not going to die."

"But what if -"

"If it runs into trouble, it'll bleep, which we will all hear. Jesus, Susan, relax would you?"

Susan sighed, flopping into a chair. "Yeah, okay. I'm going to sleep for a bit as well then."

Draco softened. "If you want to check on Daphne, radio over to their ship."

The change in her demeanor was immediate, and her eyes brightened. "Thanks, Draco."

"Uh huh. Right, what are we teaching Harry first? Rummy? Poker?"

"Ooh, strip poker," Blaise suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

He ducked when four hands reached out to slap at him.

Draco grabbed an envelope from the work area, pulling out mini cards with stars and planets on them that he'd made to move around his map. "We can use these as chips," he said, handing them out.

Blaise pouted. "Strip poker would have been more interesting."

…

"We're landing in, five, four, three, two… And down," Draco announced. The landing jostled them slightly, but Harry was impressed nonetheless. This was their first spot, and already it looked promising.

Fitting their helmets on, Draco led the way off the ship, his tether attached through the other's belts so that nobody could get lost.

They looked around carefully, searching for any sign of life. When nothing showed, Droco led them further, falling back when, seemingly from nowhere, a humanoid creature appeared in front of him.

Harry helped Draco to his feet, staring at the… whatever it was cautiously.

It appeared to be human in features, although it was blue. It was staring back at them curiously.

"Who are you?" it asked, and they all gasped.

"You can speak English?" Theo asked, his eyes wide.

"Eenglish? What is Eenglish?"

"Never mind then," Theo replied, his eyes alight with amusement.

"We're from planet Earth," Draco said after a pause. "Which is now inhabitable. We've many people hovering in spaceships at the moment, hoping to find a new world to settle in."

"I am Aminigh. Welcome to planet Smorf."

Harry could taste blood, where he'd been biting into his lips to stop himself from laughing. The blue people from planet Smorf, it was perfect.

Draco kicked him when he snorted.

"We has not the room for many, but you are welcome to join us and visit."

Draco nodded. "That would be welcome, thank you."

Aminigh held his hand out for Draco to take, which the blond man did after only a moment's hesitation.

They all felt a jolt, as through the tether, each of them were pulled after Draco into the ground.

"What the actual fuck?" Blaise gasped out, when they landed hard on a grassy surface.

Aminigh smirked at them. "Welcome to Smorf city. You will not need those helmets here. We have a forgiving climate."

Hermione pulled out an air quality detection device and checked it thoroughly before she gave the others a small smile and a thumbs up and they removed their helmets.

"It's amazing here," Susan whispered, her eyes on the horizon of the city, which was much like home, with skyscrapers and smaller buildings widespread.

"Come. We have rooms for you to rest, and you should meet some of our people."

Harry kept close to Draco as they followed after Aminigh. There was something off about the place that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"You can relax, you know? I don't think they're going to hurt us. Besides, I didn't bring you with me as security."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't want to protect you because I'm a security guard, asshole."

Draco blushed. "Really. Relax. We're okay."

"Uh huh."

"You're not going to relax, are you."

"Nah."

…

Aminigh led them into one of the village areas, and they followed him down a dirt path towards a large building. Inside was much like a hotel, and Aminigh spoke briefly to a woman, also blue skinned, at the desk.

She was staring at them with interest.

"Why is your skin so… weird?" she asked.

Harry laughed, unable to stop himself.

"They are earth dwellers," Aminigh told her, shaking his head. "Tis the norm for them, no?"

"Ah. Here," she said, handing over keys. "Rooms, for as long as you are welcome."

Harry looked at Draco, wondering if he'd picked up the working of the seemingly welcoming sentence.

"That was… odd," Draco murmured, echoing Harry's thoughts.

"I shall leave you to get out of these heavy suits and more comfortable," Aminigh told them, handing out the keys. "I'll be back to pick you up after, to introduce you around and for food, yes?"

They confirmed and headed up to the rooms.

"I… do not like it here," Harry said, as soon as the door was closed behind them.

Rather than being seperated, the seven of them had crowded into one room, all sitting down on the two double beds.

Theo nodded immediately. "Did you hear that at reception? Yours for as long as you are welcome? That was dodgy."

"It would be rude to leave without allowing them to show their hospitality," Hermione argued, though she bit her lip in worry.

Draco nodded. "I agree with both of you," he said. "I say we stay until Aminigh has shown us around and then we get the hell out of here. We want somewhere habitable, not somewhere already inhabited."

…

The inhabitants of Planet Smorf seemed to have all heard about the 'Earth Dwellers' as when they left the hotel with Aminigh, they found themselves being eyed by hundreds of blue people. Aminigh introduced them to a few, before announcing it was time for them to eat.

"Are you… king, here, Aminigh?" Draco asked, as he watched the other blue people seemed to follow his lead deferentially.

"King… no. Planet Smorf does not have a king. I am a… leader of my people, perhaps."

Nodding to show their understand, they stayed silent until they reached an area that looked much like a picnic area in a park.

"Have a seat," Aminigh instructed them. "Food will be brought to you shortly."

They did as they were bid.

"I wonder what they eat here," Hermione said, looking around interestedly. "I love learning new cultures, but even I never expected anything such as this when we left Earth."

"It's certainly been interesting," Harry muttered, making Draco smirk. "Don't you smirk at me, Draco Malfoy. For all we know, one of us could've been on the menu! They could've decided to barbecue one of us, and let's be real, it'd probably be you."

"Me? Why me?"

Harry grinned. "You're the tastiest looking, obviously."

"What the actual fuck!" Charlie exclaimed, interrupting their conversation. Harry followed his where his eyes were looking and gasped.

On a leash, with a muzzle strapped around its snout, was a… well. It looked like the dragons from the storybooks he remembered from his childhood, only smaller than he would expect.

"Is that… a dragon?" Draco asked, eyes wide.

"Earth does not have dragons?" Aminigh asked, his eyebrows raising. "They are native to the planet Greger, we have people who travel out twice a year to conduct raids on the nests. Dragons make such good servants, you see."

"You…" Charlie couldn't even get his words out, and as his skin turned redder with his growing rage, Harry knew they had to do something.

"I, ah, think it's time we left, actually, Aminigh," he said, standing up and moving so he was behind Charlie, holding onto his jacket. "We still need to search out an uninhabited planet for us to settle, you know, and time flies quickly."

Draco stood too, the others following suit.

The dragon pulled on it's leash, and Aminigh whipped it fiercely, making the dragon whimper.

"Dammit," Harry whispered, as Charlie struggled against his grip.

"You fucking monster!" He screamed. "You absolute monster! You just whipped a mythical creature as though it was a badly behaved servant! How fucking dare you!"

Aminigh's eyes narrowed. "It is a badly behaved servant."

Charlie pulled forward and Harry lost his grip.

"Charlie!" he shouted, too late as Charlie's fist connected with Aminigh's jaw.

From nowhere, a hoard of blue people wearing some kind of navy uniform, only slightly darker than their skin, appeared, pinning Charlie to the floor.

"Let him up," Harry demanded. "We're leaving; he won't bother you again."

"He hit our leader," one of the men said, glaring at Harry. "He is to pay for that crime."

Harry rolled his eyes. "He's not even bruised," he muttered, gesturing to Aminigh. "Please, let him up."

The man who'd spoken just pressed Charlie's head harder into the ground. "No."

Reaching forward, Harry tried to get the man to loosen his grip, but found himself immediately flat on his stomach in the same position.

"Really, that was unnecessary," Draco snapped. "Let them both up and allow us to leave."

The men pulled Harry and Charlie to their feet, but they didn't release them, instead marching them forward, ignoring the protestations.

"We're in trouble now," Harry muttered, looking back over his shoulder, at Draco who was arguing with Aminigh, his arms gesturing wildly.

Charlie pulled at the men's grip on his arms to no avail.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" he asked, still struggling slightly.

Harry signed. "No idea. Pretty sure we're going to find out though."

...

"I can't believe I'm sitting in space jail with you of all people," Harry said, lounging back on the long bench against the wall. "I always expected Draco to be with me if I got arrested. He's a shockingly bad influence sometimes."

Charlie snorted, but sobered quickly. "I'm sorry I got us into this. I just… it was a dragon. A real life dragon, and that bastard had a muzzle on it. Who the fuck does something like that?"

"Aminigh apparently," Harry replied, shrugging. "Hopefully Draco will get us out of this before too long. I'm so ready to be done with the blue."

The guards sitting outside of the cell laughed unpleasantly. Harry got up, moving to lean against the bars.

"What's funny?"

"Earth Dwellers believe getting out of jail is so easy? No, Earth Dweller."

"My name is Harry."

"Well, Earth Dweller Harry. I hope you like it hot. At darkness, we light you up!"

The guard gestured to a long wood stake in the courtyard facing the cells, where a few of the guards were stockpiling wood.

"You're going to burn us at the stake? We didn't even do anything that bad!"

The guard merely laughed again.

Harry turned to Charlie. "Well. Now we really need to hope that Draco has a plan. I burn easily."

…

Harry and Charlie were led from their cells to the courtyard area, where the fire had already been lit and was flickering merrily in the darkness. Aminigh was standing by the stake, and Harry couldn't see any of their friends in sight.

"Him first," Aminigh demanded, pointing at Charlie.

Charlie was pulled forwards.

"You can't do this!" Harry shouted at Aminigh, fighting hard against the two men holding him in place.

"This is my planet, Earth Dweller. I can do as I please."

"Charlie! Charlie, fight dammit," Harry shouted, managing to pull one arm loose and punching the guard in the face.

"I suggest you let my friends go," Draco's voice sounded. The small crowd parted and Draco led the way, gun in hand, pointing it straight at Aminigh. They were all wearing their space suits, and made quite the impact against the blue crowd.

Harry sighed in relief, glad he'd demanded they take firearms and weapons on the spaceship.

"What… what is that?" Aminigh asked, pointing at the gun in Draco's hand.

"You really don't want to find out," Blaise replied, his eyes narrowed on the guards holding Harry. Theo had his gaze locked on those holding Charlie.

When it seemed like they weren't going to let Harry and Charlie go, Draco shot at the stake, the wood splintering immediately as the bullet hit it.

They were released as all the blue people gasped, the sound echoing around the courtyard.

"Let's go," Harry suggested quickly, and as one, the five of them moved away quickly. Susan and Hermione were waiting a little down the way, holding onto Harry and Charlie's space suits. They put them on as quickly as they could and, as the planets inhabitants came into view, Aminigh in the lead, they ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

Thankfully, Draco had found the way to access the top of the planet, and they all made it to the spaceship, Draco fiddling with the controls before the doors had even shut properly.

They rose steadily from the planet, and Harry could just see Aminigh on the surface as they shot away back out into space.

Still breathing heavily, Draco put the spaceship into autopilot and slumped in his seat, staring at Harry.

"You've really got to stop predicting this shit."

…

"Draco. Come in, Draco. Draco. Come in, Draco."

Draco picked up the receiver, pressing a button on the scanner. "Draco in. I repeat, Draco in."

"Ah, good stuff," Daphne Greengrass said. "Found anything interesting?"

"You mean apart from the blue people who wanted to burn Harry and Charlie at the stake? Nah, plain sailing."

Daphne laughed. "Susan told me about that. Anyway, we've found a potential settling ground. I'm sending through the coordinates now."

Draco bent over the fax machine as it printed out the sheet.

"Daph… Is it coming up on your map as Planet Greger?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"That's where the little dragons live that Aminigh told us about. If we settle there, we'd be likely to end up at war with the smurfs."

Harry laughed, unable to bite it back. He shook his head when Draco smirked at him.

"Well, there's a lot of us, and probably not as many smurfs, so I think we'll be good. We're going to start directing the bigger ships in, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Draco agreed easily. "We're a fair distance out, but we'll see you there."

"Bye, Draco."

Harry grinned at Charlie. "Looks like we're going to meet the baby dragons."

…

Planet Greger was perfect. As they landed the spaceship, Harry and Charlie were practically bouncing to get off. It was the closest to Earth that Harry thought was possible in a planet, with luscious rolling hills and large bodies of water. The atmosphere around it had been almost as violent as getting out of Earth had been, which was promising for the general climate of the planet.

The people from the ships on the side that Draco had landed them had set up a camp grounds, and as Harry and Charlie led the way, familiar red hair came flying towards them.

"CHARLIE!"

Charlie grinned, lifting his little sister up and swinging her around.

"Hey Gin," he greeted, kissing her cheek before he set her back on her feet. "How are you doing sweetheart?"

"I'm good! Come see Mum and Dad and the others," she said excitedly, pulling his along. Harry waved him on, smiling at the sight.

It must be nice, he thought, to have a family that loved you that much.

"There are… a lot of people here," Draco muttered as he came up alongside Harry. "Why are there so many people?"

"Erm. Because we vacated them from Earth?"

"Well. Yes. But. Okay, why are we on this part of the planet, when there are so many people here?" Draco rephrased, making Harry laugh.

"You wanna go and explore some of the quieter area's?"

Looking over the crowded campground, Draco nodded emphatically. "You know I don't do well with people."

"Well. I mean, we should probably stick around for a couple of days," Harry murmured. "But they've already started setting up for transport, so how about we go and find out where that is, and we'll see if we can steal, erm, borrow one of the smaller jets that were fetched out."

"I knew I loved you for a reason," Draco murmured, offering Harry a wide smile. "You have the best ideas."

…

"Well, you're not leaving me behind," Charlie snorted, shaking his head. "What if you come across the dragons? I'm coming with."

Harry shrugged. "Kay. We're leaving in like, an hour. Can you be ready?"

"Sure."

The jet they'd acquired was somewhat like a hovercraft, and Harry grinned when he saw Draco lugging large boxes into the hold.

"Who are you and what've you done with Draco Malfoy?" he jested. "I've never know you undertake manual labour voluntarily before."

"How about you stop being a smartass and come help me, huh?" Draco replied, wiping at the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"What is it all?" Harry asked, accepting a box and lugging it over to the jet.

"Food, supplies like sleeping bags and lanterns and shit. You know, things that we're probably going to need that you didn't bother to think about."

Harry snorted. "That's because I'm not a princess who needs a fairy palace to feel at home."

"Why are we friends?" Draco asked. "You're so mean to me, it's unreasonable."

"Yeah, yeah, stop whining. Charlie's coming with us by the way."

"Lemme guess. Dragons."

"Obviously. In another life, he was a dragon rider from the kids books, I guarantee it."

They loaded the jet up, and were just securing the hold when Charlie arrived, a wide smile on his face.

"Did you say bye to your family?" Harry asked, as they climbed into the jet.

"Uh huh. Mum's pretty pissed that I'm not sticking around longer, but… She'll get over it."

They strapped themselves in, and with Draco at the helm, rose into the air. Harry smiled happily, the promise of adventure making him buoyant and giddy.

Draco saw the grin on his face and shook his head, affection in his eyes. "You're such a child."

Harry laughed. "Takes one to know one."

Shrugging, Draco turned to look at Charlie. "Looks like you're the adult for this expedition."

Charlie starred for a moment, before he shook his head. "We're doomed."

...

Planet Greger was picturesque, with many mountains and forests, waterfalls into streams and long stretches of grassy meadows covering the expansive surface.

Draco flew them for about three hours before he took the jet low, landing them in a meadow that was close to forest area.

"We need to set up a hut before anything else," Draco said, as they left the jet. "Just inside the forest I think. We're not completely sure of the elements of the planet yet, though Daphne did say she'd contact us as soon as they've got the equipment set up properly."

Harry nodded, unlatching the lock on the jet hold. He and Charlie unloaded the boxes while Draco had a poke around the forest, coming back with a grin on his face.

"There's a clearing, five minutes in, that'll be perfect. It looks like something out of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."

Harry paused, putting the box he'd been unloading down.

"When did you become a Disney fan?"

Draco blushed.

"That's adorable," Harry snorted. "Which was your favourite, Dray?"

"Piss off, Harry."

"I'm being serious! I'm a fan of Aladdin."

Draco snorted, shaking his head. "Lion King, all the way."

"You don't think Iago got sass? He reminded me a bit of you actually."

"You, are a tool, Harry Potter."

"You love me. Here, come and grab a box, and you can show us this clearing."

Draco led the way, huffing under the weight of the box he was carrying, into a small clearing. It did indeed look like something out of Snow White.

When Harry and Charlie voiced their opinions in the affirmative for it being a good place to set themselves up, they made quick work of collecting the rest of the boxes and began to build a somewhat ramshackle hut.

...

"Ouch!"

"What's wrong?"

"Hit myself with the hammer."

"Twat."

…

"We should hang a lantern by the door, with a box of matches or something."

"Why?"

"... I need the toilet a lot in the night."

"We're never going to get any sleep with you, are we?"

"I have a weak bladder, okay? It's a problem."

"At least there's a real toilet in the jet. Primitive facilities do not sound fun."

"Accurate."

...

The hut was… sparse, but it was theirs and they were proud of what they'd built.

"It will be nice to have room to stretch tonight. The jet is nice and all but attempting to sleep in it is not fun," Harry said, laying his sleeping bag out on the floor of their hut. Draco smiled, nodding his agreement as he laid his own out between Harry's and the wall.

Charlie laid his on the other side of Harry's.

"So, now that we have this built, we can start exploring for the dragons, right?"

Harry and Draco laughed, and Harry patted his shoulder. "Yeah Charlie. Tomorrow we can go exploring for dragons."

Taking it in turns to return to the jet and use the facilities, they were soon ready to settle down, and Harry sighed happily as he climbed into his sleeping bag. Lying on his back, he rested his head on his arm.

"Better?" Draco asked, as he climbed into his own sleeping bag.

"Ohhhh yeah. I can feel my legs. It's a novelty. They're normally numb by now."

They fell silent, the only sound being their breathing, which gradually fell into relaxed patterns as the three of the fell asleep.

…

Harry blinked himself awake, unsure as to what had brought the wakefulness. It was dark still, and there was no noise in their little hut apart from the slight snoring coming from Charlie.

"Hmm, my Harry," he heard, the sleepy whisper startling him.

As he lifted his head, Draco turned over in his sleeping bag, creeping closer into Harry's side. His hand lifted from inside the bag, reaching out so it was laid out over Harry's side, fitting comfortable in the slight crease of his waist.

Harry wasn't sure what to do, but as Draco settled his head more comfortably on his pillow, Harry felt bad about waking him.

The arm on his side wasn't doing any harm, after all. And… well. It was… nice.

With the whisper of 'my Harry' still echoing in his mind, Harry closed his eyes. If he moved slightly closer to Draco in his quest for comfort, well, nobody else was awake to call him on it.

…

Finding baby dragons was not as easy as it sounded. For days they searched fruitlessly, getting more and more frustrated.

Charlie had suggested taking the jet to another location, a suggestion that was shot down immediately by Draco who pointed at the hut and shook his head emphatically, making Harry chuckle.

With the frustration brimming, the bickering between the three of them which was usually harmless began to gain an edge that was bordering on hurtful.

Done with the tension, Harry had gone out for a walk on his own, deciding to explore the meadow where the jet was still sitting instead of the forest area around them.

Walking aimlessly, Harry almost fell over when a shape flew past him in the low light of the evening. He searched the sky, looking for whatever it was that had almost toppled him, when he saw yellow eyes watching him from the top of a large rock.

"Oh… my god," Harry murmured.

A smaller version of the dragon that Aminigh had leashed sat on the rock, its scales beautiful shades of red and orange and yellow.

Stepping closer cautiously, Harry made it to the bottom of the rock and sat down cross-legged, looking up at the little dragon.

It spread its wings, easily lifting itself from the rock, and flew circles around Harry and the rock, getting lower everytime.

It landed a little way away from where Harry sat and crept forwards, sniffling the whole way. When it got closer, Harry slowly raised his arm, holding his hand out for the dragon to sniff, which it did.

It seemed to enjoy Harry's scent, as it cautiously rubbed it head against Harry's hand.

Harry melted.

"You're a cute little fella aren't ya," he cooed, stroking the scaled head gently. "Charlie is going to just adore you. Have you got any friends round here?"

As though they were waiting for him to ask, little dragons began swooping around them, some bigger than others, but all relatively small when Harry thought about the dragons in children's story books.

The sky was getting darker, and Harry sighed to himself. With a final stroke to the little dragon's head, he stood, keeping his movements slow and steady.

"I'll come back tomorrow," he promised quietly. "And I'll fetch you two more people to sniff, okay?"

The little dragon let out a little huff that sounded more like a sneeze, making Harry chuckle. "I'm going to call you Snuffles," he decided.

With a last look back at his new friend, Harry turned away, and started the walk back to the hut. Hopefully he could put a smile on his friends faces.

…

"You're a legend," Charlie breathed, his eyes wide as he watched the dragons swooping through the air.

Harry grinned, tugging the slightly more reluctant Draco forward by the hand.

Sitting in the same spot as he had the night before, he gestured for the others to do the same. Sure enough, Snuffles arrived as though summoned, edging towards Harry.

"Hi Snuffles," Harry murmured, stretching his hand out once more. Snuffles leant into the hand immediately, huffing happy little noises that made Charlie swoon and even Draco crack a smile.

"These are my friends, Draco and Charlie, why don't you come meet them?"

Charlie was the first to put his hand out, and after a hesitation, Snuffles crept towards him.

Draco followed a few minutes later, but Snuffles moved from Charlie to Harry, curling up on Harry's legs and butting his hand until Harry stroked him.

A couple of the more adventurous dragons joined them, and soon, Charlie and Draco were both stroking the scales of dragons.

Harry couldn't help but notice the sad look Draco was casting at Snuffles though.

…

Draco was sulking.

He'd been sulking for three days.

Why was he sulking? Because the little dragon that Harry had christened Snuffles wouldn't sniff at his hand the way he had Harry's and later Charlie's.

Harry was done with Draco's sulking.

"Come on, Draco, we're heading out to see the dragons," Harry called, standing at the doorway of the hut.

"I'm not coming!"

"You really are."

"I'm really not."

Harry walked into the hut, unsurprised to find Draco curled up in his sleeping bag, a pout on his lips as he glared at Harry.

"Get up, you prat."

"There's no point!" Draco replied, dramatically throwing an arm over his eyes. "The dragons don't like me! I might as well just head back to the main camp and stay there, and you and Charlie can stay here and play with the cute little monsters and -"

Harry dropped to his knees, leaning over and pressing his lips to Draco's mid-sentence. He kept it chaste, pulling back after a couple of seconds and sitting back up, resting his bum on the heels on his feet.

"What… what was that for?" Draco asked, slightly dazed as he raised a hand to his lips.

"I mean, it shut you up, didn't it?"

"You kissed me to shut me up?"

"I kissed you because you're a dramatic prat that I happen to really, really like spending time with and I hope it might convince you to get your ass out of that sleeping bag and come and see the dragons with us."

"I. Erm. Okay?"

Harry pushed himself to his feet, offering Draco his hand and pulling him to his feet. He pressed another kiss to Draco's lips.

"We could also kiss more. You know. If you wanted?"

"I. Um. Yeah. More kissing sounds… yeah."

"Harry?" Charlie called. "Did you convince the prat to come with us?"

"Yep," Harry replied, his voice raised a little so Charlie could hear him. "We'll be there in a sec."

…

Time passed quickly, and the three of them fell into an easy pattern of spending their days with the little dragons, who were getting more and more friendly the longer they were there, and nights spent around a campfire, toasting food and laughing and joking with one another.

Harry and Draco revelled in the changes to their relationship, which in fairness hadn't changed that much. They still teased and insulted each other most of the time, but they were more physical in their affection, neither of them being shy about kissing or holding hands, or the odd slap to the backside in jest.

With Charlie sleeping in the same room as them, they hadn't gone further than making out, but they were both content for the time being at least.

Only, Harry had starting seeing a peculiar look in Charlie's eyes whenever the redhead saw them together.

He looked… sad.

Harry pointed it out to Draco.

"Do we… I mean. Do we have to stop? I'd say we could reign it in when he's around but I mean… we're always together."

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know if its because he's just lonely seeing us together or if… well. What if he likes one of us? I don't know. It's… Yeah. I don't know."

Draco sighed. "Do we… talk to him about it?"

Harry blinked. "Do you want that awkward conversation? Because I sure as hell don't."

Grimacing, Draco shook his head. "Probably really don't."

"No. Probably definitely don't. But… what else can we do?"

…

"Tada!" Draco exclaimed, holding up a bottle of whiskey.

"Where'd you get that?" Charlie asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I might've stashed it in the jet before we left the main camp. You know. Just in case."

"Why is it necessary?" Harry asked, lounging against a log of wood they'd been using as a bench around the fire.

Shrugging, Draco sat down beside him, twisting the cap open. "Because I felt like it?"

"Good enough," Charlie said, taking the offered bottle and taking a long drink.

They passed the bottle around, Harry drinking less than the others since he knew he was somewhat of a lightweight. The evening passed withe easy chatter, but Draco was getting more and more affectionate the more he drank, and eventually, he was sitting on Harry's knee, nipping playfully at his neck.

Harry tried to calm him down, but drunk, adorable, loving Draco was also oblivious Draco. Charlie sat off to the side slightly, a sad look on his face as he stared into the dying embers of the fire.

"Dray, chill," Harry whispered, nodding his head at Charlie.

Draco looked over, his eyes hazy with the alcohol. He clambered off Harry's knee and unsteadily moved over to Charlie, reaching out to tip Charlie's head up towards him.

Bending - and almost falling in the process - he pressed his lips to Charlie's, pulling away a few seconds later with a wide smile on his face. Charlie pulled him back with a firm hand on his neck, returning the kiss, hard.

When they parted the second time, they were both panting lightly. Harry watched on, his mouth open slightly in shock. He shifted uncomfortably when he realised that certain parts of his anatomy were more appreciative of the sight before him.

As Draco stumbled back, Harry got to his feet and caught him lightly, keeping his arm around Draco's waist.

"Come on, you drunkard, lets get you to bed."

Charlie followed behind them, looking dazed but with a small smile on his lips.

…

Draco woke slowly, knowing that something was wrong but unable to put his finger on what. He shivered as he blinked his eyes, immediately realising that the lack of Harry wrapped around him was what was wrong.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes and groaning slightly at the blossoming headache courtesy of the whiskey he'd consumed the night before, but there was no sign of his boyfriend.

"Charlie!" He hissed, his head pounding when he spoke. "Charlie, wake up."

He threw his pillow across at Charlie, hitting him square in the face with it. Charlie bolted into a sitting position, looking around the room wildly.

"Whazzit?"

"Harry's gone," Draco muttered.

"What?" Charlie asked, rubbing at his face. "Where's Harry gone?"

"If I knew that I wouldn't have woke you up, would I?" Draco snapped, battling with his sleeping bag to get out of it.

"Is… do you think this is because of the…" he waved his hand between them. "I mean, it wasn't the most loyal thing to do I suppose. I didn't… we were drinking, you know? He wouldn't…"

"I'm loyal to my boyfriend," Draco replied, hurt. He pulled his trousers on and buttoned his shirt.

"Shit, Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't… I just. I don't know what I'm thinking, but the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt Harry, you know?"

Draco nodded silently. Of course he knew, and technically, he was the one who'd kissed Charlie, and cheated on Harry in full view of the man.

He was the worst.

Shaking the thoughts away, he fastened his shoes on and stood up straight. "We have to find him, regardless of who was at fault. Think he'll be with the dragons."

Charlie nodded slowly. "I imagine that should be the first place we check."

…

They found him leaning against the rock, with Snuffles in his lap and his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the morning.

He heard them approach and, gently nudging Snuffles from his lap, standing up as they reached him.

"Harry… I'm sorry," Draco muttered, stepping towards him.

"I'm not mad," Harry replied. "I didn't… I didn't come here because I was mad. I just… woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, and I wanted to think."

He turned away from them, his eyes on the swooping dragons.

"Harry… I would never want to hurt you," Charlie whispered, his eyes pained. "It wasn't… I wouldn't ever try and take Draco away from you."

Draco's arms wrapped around Harry's waist. "Do you know how long I've wanted you for? Do you really think I'm going to give you up? For anything."

Turning in his arms, Harry pressed a soft kiss to Draco's lips. "But… What if we don't have to? Give anyone up, I mean. That's what I was thinking about."

Draco's grip tightened on his waist, and Charlie's brow furrowed.

"What, like… a threesome?" Charlie asked, his head tilting to the side.

"The term is polyamory, numbnuts," Draco retorted. "It's not really the done thing though. Definitely out of the norm."

Harry snorted. "Since when have we been normal, Draco? Besides… it wasn't the done thing on Earth. We're not on Earth anymore, are we?"

"You think polyamory can be a thing on Planet Greger?"

"I think polyamory can be a thing if we damn well want it to be a thing," Harry muttered. "What do you think? Be honest please."

Draco kissed his nose, his lips tilting in a smile. "I'm slightly worried about the dynamics," he admitted. "But… I can see your logic. And… I'm not opposed to trying it."

They both looked at Charlie, who immediately flushed red. "I. Uh. You would want to do that? Both of you? For me?"

Harry nodded, offering Charlie a small smile.

"I think I should… can we sit?" Charlie asked, his skin still flushed. Harry retook his seat against the rock, Snuffles immediately returning to his lap, nipping his fingers as though to reprimand him for moving in the first place.

They were joined quickly by a few of the other dragons, one of whom Charlie had nicknamed Henrietta, who jumped up on to Charlie's shoulder and wrapped around him. A tiny green one, Emerald, who seemed to favour Draco, sat at Draco's feet, rolling onto his back so Draco could tickle his belly.

"I… I'm not interested in sex. Like. At all."

Harry blinked. "... okay?"

Draco frowned. "Did I… did I make you uncomfortable? When I kissed you?"

Charlie shook his head. "No. I. No. I like affection. Hugs, and kisses, and… even lying together. That's all. Well, it feels nice, you know? But sex - even just the thought of it - makes me… squick. A lot."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Do you want us?"

Charlie nodded.

Draco smiled. "Then the rest is just… details. We'll work it out."

…

"Harry! Where's the crate for Snuffles?" Draco called, hefting another of the Dragon crates into the jet.

"Erm…"

"Harry…"

"But she doesn't want to go in the crate," Harry said, coming into view with Snuffles in his arms. "She wants to sit with me."

"The jet doesn't work like that, babe."

"But… Draco."

"Where's her crate."

Charlie came from inside the forest, the crate in his arms, a smirk on his face.

Snuffles whimpered in Harry's arms, burrowing deeper against his chest. Harry's heart melted and he stroked her head comfortingly.

"Put Snuffles into the crate, babe. It's only two hours, she'll be fine."

Charlie came up beside him, pressing a kiss to his temple as he pulled Snuffles gently from Harry's arms.

"You'll be okay, sweetheart," Harry cooed at her, as Charlie put the lid down over her.

"Okay, we need to go, she doesn't like it in there," Harry said, helping Draco load her into the hold.

"We're ready," Charlie confirmed, hugging Harry from behind. "She'll be okay."

Draco pressed a kiss to Harry's lips, then Charlie's over Harry's shoulder, and smiled.

"Let's go."

...

The farm was perfect. Daphne and Susan had arranged for the construction after they'd spent a weekend with the boys to meet the dragons, and, a year after arriving on planet Gregor, the boys were moving into a farmhouse that had all the facilities to raise and look after the little dragons on site.

That it was closer to where the nearest city was being built up, where Charlie's family had settled, was a bonus.

Almost as soon as the jet landed, Harry unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the doors, leaping down without bothering with the stairs. He unlatched the hold and hoisted Snuffles crate out, cracking it open with the crowbar Charlie offered him.

Snuffles jumped out of the crate almost as soon as the lid lifted, crawling around Harry for a moment before she settled into his shoulder, snuffling at his neck.

"It's okay, girl, no more nasty crates," Harry murmured softly. "Why don't you go and look around your new home, huh?"

She needed no more prompting, and as she flew off, Harry and Charlie began unloading the other crates, Draco cracking the lids open for the dragons to go and join Snuffles.

When the dragons were released, and all that was left to do was take their own things into the farmhouse, the three men stopped to look at the house.

"We're home," Harry murmured, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist.

Charlie pressed a soft kiss to Draco's temple before he smiled at Harry. "We are."

…

"HARRY!"

Harry jumped, banging his head on the cupboard door as he did. "What?" he called back, used to Draco's dramatics.

"COME HERE!"

Rolling his eyes, Harry left the kitchen for the stairs, unsurprised to find Charlie on the same path. They shrugged at each other and made their way up the stairs.

"What is it?" Harry asked, entering the bedroom.

"We have a real bed!" Draco whispered, pointing at the bed in the middle of the room.

Harry and Charlie exchanged a look and as one, they burst out laughing.

Draco pouted for an hour.

Written for;

Pokemon - Pokeball, Draco / Prompts - Firework / "You're a legend." / Raining

Character Appreciation - 27. Loyal

Book Club - Dominguez - Navy / Coworkers / Envelope

Days of the Month - Space Day - Space!AU

Ami's Audio - 8. A Large amount of people panicking

Emy's Emporium - 22. A Romantic Triad

Angels Game Room - Yoshi - Loyal / Throwing something / Black

Showtime - 25. Plan

Geek Pride, Stand 2 - Supernatural - "I don't understand your definition of good news."

Geek Pride, Stand 4 - Mugs - Coffee / Handle / Hot

Debate, Fanon - "Are you clinically insane of just annoying." / "I don't know, probably both."

Photography Month - 3. Space!AU

Cooking Corner - Parsley - "I can't believe I'm sitting in space jail with you of all people."

Scavenger Hunt - 11. Incredibly Fluffy Fic

Insane House - 492. Star Chart