Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter. End of story.
Warnings: Homosexual relationships, feels, eventual violence, language, fluff, Draco Malfoy
Pairings: LP/JP, SB/RL, more to come that I haven't decided on yet!
Word count: 4798
I'm excited for this one, guys. ^^ I hope you enjoy it. Review!
IMPORTANT! Please pay attention to the dates that I use in these chapters, they'll help you figure out when stuff is happening (and I worked really hard researching these dates to make sure I got them right, so it would be cool if someone took notice) :)
WARNING! This particular chapter is unedited, so... yeah.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 11, 1985 – 2:45 P.M. – St. Mungos
"Healer Potter, report to room 216 immediately. Healer Potter, report to room 216 immediately."
Lily sighed and put down her clipboard. They were calling her to the children's ward, and her emotions always ran wild when she was dealing with hurt or sick children, but she had a job to do. So, with great reluctance, she made her way to the children's ward.
"What's happened?" she asked as she approached the room.
"His parents were killed in a Death Eater raid," a nurse said, casting a concerned look at the door. "He was injured, but he won't let anyone near him, and his accidental magic is out of control. We've had three orderlies injured."
Lily shook her sadly as she wrote in her notes, "Who is he?"
"Draco Malfoy."
Lily glanced up, frowning, "Aren't his parents Death Eaters?"
"Word is they were never really faithful to You-Know-Who," the nurse said. "I'm guessing You-Know-Who found out and took them out."
Lily shook her head sadly and hung her clipboard on the hook by the door. "I'll go see what I can do without having to immobilize him."
"Be careful."
"Always."
Lily opened the door and cautiously peeked inside. "Draco?" she called.
"G-Go 'way!"
The small, terrified voice broke her heart and she knew there was no way she could just not treat this kid.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she murmured in the way that always calmed Harry after one of his nightmares. "I want to help you. Where are you?"
There truly was no little boy to be seen; it appeared to be little more than an empty hospital room, but Lily knew better.
When no answer came, Lily slowly made her way into the room, shutting the door behind her. "I heard you accidentally hurt some of our orderlies," she said in the same voice. "But it's okay. No one is mad at you. Those men can be pretty scary, can't they? And besides, it's just you and me in here."
When still no answer came, Lily slowly made her way around the room. Tiny, socked feet peeked out from under the med on the opposite side of the room. Almost as if Draco knew she could see them, he yanked his feet back under the bed.
Lily bit back a chuckle and sat down on the bed. "I know you're under there," she said. "But I won't make you come out. I know how scary this all must be. You know… I have a son about your age; I think you're only a couple months older than him as a matter of fact. My little Harry. He got me this silly pair of socks for Christmas this year. They're red and green striped with little hippogriffs flying around them. He thought they were so funny and he just had to get them for me. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing them now, but shh… don't tell anyone."
She pulled her trousers up just enough to let the boy under the bed catch a glimpse of the socks she was, in fact, wearing.
There was a small, wet giggle from under the bed and Lily grinned, "Why don't you come out, Draco? I promise I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you."
There was a long pause before there was soft shuffling and a small blond head peeked out from underneath the bed, large grey eyes peering up at her fearfully. Lily smiled encouragingly and Draco slowly crawled out from his hiding place.
He came to stand in front of Lily, gazing at his feet shyly. Lily took a moment to examine the boy, and her heart broke. His bottom lip was split and he had a rather painful looking black eye. His right wrist was bruised and swollen, possibly broken, and who knew what other injuries lurked beneath his tattered clothes?
"My name is Lily Potter," she said, smiling reassuringly at the small boy. "I'm going to be your Healer while you're here."
Draco nodded jerkily, still gazing at his feet.
Lily leaned forward, gazing imploringly at the young Malfoy, "Draco, can you tell me what happened?"
Draco's head shot up eyes panicked. "I—I don't know," he stuttered, eyes darting around the room. Lily could practically see the memories running through his mind, haunting him. "Mummy, daddy, and me were eatin' and t-these men in masks came—came in and—and—" he buried his face in his hands.
"Alright," Lily shushed gently, aching to reach out and comfort the shaking boy, but knew it would probably do more harm than good. "You don't have to tell me any more. But do you mind if I take a look at your injuries? I just want to make them feel better. That wrist looks like it hurts a lot."
Draco studied her for a moment before he looked down at his obviously broken wrist, seeming to weigh his options. Finally, he looked back up at her and nodded.
Lily smiled and motioned for him to sit beside her. He did so hesitantly.
"I broke my ankle once because I fell out of a tree because I was climbing it after daddy told me not to," he informed her, holding out his wrist. "He did some weird spell-thingy on it and it felt weird, but my ankle didn't hurt anymore after that. Is that what you're gonna do?"
Lily nodded rolling up her sleeves, "Are you ready?"
"There," Lily smiled, stowing away her wand. "All better."
Draco smiled shyly and ducked his head, "Thank you."
Lily grinned, "It's no problem. That's why I'm here. Now, why don't you make yourself comfortable while I go visit my other patients and I'll come back to check on you in a little while, alright?"
Draco nodded and scooted back to rest against the pillows.
Lily stood, "And you can trust the nurses here, yeah? They only want to help you just like I do."
Draco nodded gain and Lily turned to go but stopped when Draco said softly, "Mrs. Potter?"
Lily turned, "Yes?"
Draco was playing nervously with his fingers, "W-what'm I gonna do now that I don't got no parents?"
Lily's heart clenched and she longed to wrap the boy in her arms, but she settle for gazing sadly at him. "I don't know, Draco," she murmured. "But I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay?"
Draco nodded gain, still gazing at his hands, and Lily bit back a sad sigh before she turned and quickly left the room.
Wednesday, September 11, 1985 – 5:30 P.M. – St. Mungos
Lily was on her way back to Draco's room when there was a shout of, "Lily!"
Lily turned and nearly gasped. Severus Snape was rushing down the corridor, black robes billowing frantically behind him, eyes wild.
"Severus?" she asked as he approached.
"Lily!" he gasped when he reached her. "Lily, Draco Malfoy's here and he's hurt and I can't find him and—"
Lily had never seen her one-best friend so flustered or frantic, "Severus! Calm down. I'm his Healer and I've already dealt with his wounds. He's going to be perfectly fine."
Severus slumped in relief, "Can I see him?"
"First," Lily raised an eyebrow. "What relation do you have to him and why are you so worried about him?"
Severus looked as if he wanted to roll his eyes, but wisely refrained, "I'm his godfather."
Lily's eyes widened momentarily, but she showed no other reaction. She turned and began to walk, obviously expecting Severus to follow. "I'm glad he has someone now," she said. "He was worried about what would happen to him."
"I can't take him in," Severus said softly, shaking Lily into stopping and whirling around.
"What! You're his godfather! You have to take him! Are you just going to abandon him after he's just lost his parents?"
"Of course I'm not going to abandon him, Lily," Severus did roll his eyes then. "I plan on still being a part of his life. But he can't live with me. I'm too close to the Dark Lord. You-Know-Who meant to kill Draco too this morning, but he didn't get the chance to, so now he's after Draco's head. It's too dangerous for me to take him." Severus looked troubled and Lily realized just how much Severus really wanted to be Draco's caretaker, but wasn't willing to put in danger like that.
Lily sighed, "Well what do you plan on doing?"
"I was hoping someone could adopt him," Severus gazed at Lily imploringly.
Lily's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, "No. No, Severus. James and I can't take him. We have Harry to worry about, remember?"
"You're the only one I trust enough to take him." Severus said pleadingly. "And you always said you wanted plenty of children, didn't you? Please, Lily, I'm begging."
Lily studied her friend closely. She had never seen him so obviously care for someone as he did Draco. She thought back to the little boy she had healed just hours earlier and sighed as she felt her resolve begin to crumble. That little boy needed parents and Severus was right when he said it would be too dangerous for him to take Draco.
Harry could use a companion anyway.
Lily sighed and looked at her old friend sternly. "I'm not promising anything," she warned. "James and I are going to have to talk long and hard on it, but I'll talk to him."
Severus's eyes brightened more than Lily had seen in a long time. "Thank you so much!" he rushed forward and took her into his arms, squeezing her tightly.
Lily couldn't help but smile as she patted Severus's back, "Let's go see him, then, shall we?"
Wednesday, September 11, 1985 – 6:15 P.M. – Potter household
"Harry! Come out, come out wherever you are!"
There was a giggle from behind the couch and James grinned as he stopped in the doorway to the living room. "Do you know where Harry is, Lucy?" he asked the cat that was perched lazily on top of the couch.
The cat meowed uninterestedly at James and went back to licking her paws.
"Fine, then," James huffed playfully. "See if I ever let you sleep on Harry's bed again!"
There was another giggle from behind the couch and small rustling noises. James's grin grew even bigger as he crept towards the couch. "I wonder if he's behind the couch," he said thoughtfully. "There sure is a lot of noise coming from back there. Are you back there, Harry?"
"No!" came the giggling reply.
James rolled his eyes playfully and leapt over the couch. Harry squeaked at the sudden appearance of his father and laughed as James grabbed him and began tickling him.
"D-daddy!" Harry squealed as his father's fingers danced across his sides rapidly.
"I thought you weren't behind the couch!" James laughed without ceasing in his efforts.
Harry giggled and fought against his father's hands. "Daddy! S-stop it!"
James decided to take mercy on the little boy because his little face was starting to get red and James didn't want to send him into one of his coughing fits. He wrapped his arms around the little boy and hugged him tightly. Harry giggled and threw his arms around his father's neck, hugging him back just as tightly. He giggled against when James briefly tickled at his sides.
"C'mon, giggle monster," James smiled, standing with Harry still in his arms. "It's time for your medicine and then we'll make dinner, okay?"
Harry pouted, "My medicine's icky."
James nodded solemnly, "I know, but you have to take it so you don't get sick, remember?"
Or so you don't get any more sick than you already are, James added to himself bitterly.
Harry nodded sadly and James walked into the kitchen; he sat Harry down on the counter and dug through the potions cabinet. Harry grimaced as his father pulled out on of the many vials that were filled with the dark purple potion Harry had been forced to take very day for the past year.
You see, Harry had developed a very rare, condition that basically meant he had so much magic in him that his body hadn't known what to do with it. His body had started to see his magic as a threat and attacked it, sending his magic out of control. His magic had, in return, started to attack him in an attempt to save itself. They had had to put Harry into a warded room in St. Mungos with no contact with anyone other than select medical personal.
The month Harry had been in St. Mungos had been hard on everyone. When the finally stabilized his magic enough to let him out, Harry had been nothing but skin and bones (he still hadn't gained much of the weight back) and his immune system was practically non-existent.
James felt tears sting his eyes as he watched Harry swallow his potion. Harry was barely five and they had already almost lost hi. And now, he would have to take this damn potion for the rest of his life just to be able to be around magic without his magic reacting to it. He probably wouldn't be able to use magic, or get a wand, and that broke James's heart.
"Daddy?" Harry was staring at him worriedly. "Why are you crying?"
James tried to smile, but his good mood was practically gone now. "I'm sorry," he apologized, wiping at his eyes. "I'm just thinking."
"About when I was in the hospital?"
It sometimes amazed James how insightful Harry could be, but he knew he shouldn't be; Harry was Lily's son after all. Nevertheless, he nodded, "Yeah, I am, but don't worry about it okay?"
Harry leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his father's neck. "You shouldn't worry about it either," Harry said sternly (or as sternly as a five year old could). "I'm fine now, see! And I take me medicine everyday so I don't get sick again."
James gave a wet laugh and squeezed his son back tightly. "I know," he murmured, hugging his son back tightly and kissing his temple.
About that moment, Lucy pranced into the kitchen and looked up at James. "Meow," she demanded.
James laughed, "I think the cat's hungry."
Harry squirmed excitedly, "I wanna feed her!"
James grinned and sat Harry down on the floor, "You know where the cat food is."
Wednesday, September 11, 1985 – 6:30 P.M. – Potter household
Harry giggled as James smeared some spaghetti sauce on his nose and valiantly tried to lick it off, but pouted when he failed. "It's messy, daddy!" Harry pouted up at his father, big green eyes pleading with his father to get it off.
James laughed at his son and gently wiped the sauce off his nose with a napkin. "Silly goose," he chuckled. "It's just sauce!"
Harry playfully glared at him and reached out of get some sauce on his fingers before he smeared it across his father's cheek. "Harry!" James whined playfully, wiping at his cheek. "It's messy!"
Harry burst into giggles and his green eyes lit up with so much happiness and mirth that James's heart skipped a beat. He wanted nothing more than to keep harry that happy for the rest of his life.
"Oh, you think it's funny, do you?" he grinned. "I'll show you!"
James immediately attacked Harry's sides, fingers dancing across Harry's most ticklish spots, making the little boy gasp and burst into an even bigger fit of giggles. Harry squirmed relentlessly in his father's grip, trying valiantly to escape.
James decided to humor his child and play the little game Harry had taken to playing. So, he let the child go and Harry shot off like a rocket, running towards the kitchen door. He stumbled halfway, however, arm flying out to catch himself, "Oh…"
"Harry?" James asked, fear gripping at his heart. He stood quickly and practically ran over to his son, kneeling down in front of him and cupping his pale cheeks. Harry's eyes were closed and his brow was furrowed. "What's wrong, love?" James murmured, surprised at how calm his voice sounded. "Tell me what's wrong so I can make it better."
"Dizzy," Harry whimpered without opening his eyes.
James sighed. Dizziness was one of the many side effects of Harry's medicine (coughing attacks, vomiting, and drowsiness being a few others) and it often came without warning. Normally, if they just waited for the dizziness to pass Harry would be just fine afterwards, but it still didn't stop the irrational fear from taking over James's heart.
They sat there for a moment, James stroking soothingly at Harry's cheeks, as they waited for the dizziness to pass. When it did, Harry opened his eyes and stared sadly up at his father.
James swallowed, "How do you feel?"
Harry only nodded and ducked his head, embarrassment flooding his cheeks.
James's heart clenched and he took his son into his arms, standing, "Why don't you… why don't you sit at the table while I finish supper? Are you cold?"
Harry nodded, knowing his father was going to give him a blanket anyway, and rested his head against James's shoulder. He'd long since learned to stop protesting when his father got like this. He tended to become clingy and protective whenever Harry had one of his little episodes, and the only way he really ever calmed down was if he got to coddle Harry and make sure he was alright.
James sat Harry down on his normal chair at the table and conjured a blanket, wrapping it securely around his son. He made sure Harry was comfortable before he stood, giving Harry one last sad look before he went back to the stove.
Harry sighed and snuggle further down into his blanket. He hated it when his father got that sad look in his eyes whenever he looked at Harry. It was exactly the same way he had looked at Harry after Harry had come home from the hospital.
There was a chime and they both looked up. Harry smiled, but didn't move, knowing it wouldn't help his father calm down, "Mummy's home."
Lily smiled when she walked into the kitchen and saw James gent over the stove with her white apron on. James had become quite the housewife since he'd quit his job as Auror after Harry had gotten sick. They had decided after Harry had gotten sick that one of them would become a stay at home parent (at least temporarily) to keep an eye on Harry. Lily had insisted that it be her, but James had been adamant that she keep her job, saying that as long as she was a Healer she could easily access what Harry needed. She couldn't argue with him.
James turned and smiled, though he looked worried. "Hello, love," he greeted, kissing her on the cheek. "How was work?"
"Eventful," she answered, looking over at the table. She frowned when she was that Harry (who was grinning at her) looked a bit paler than normal and was wrapped tightly in a blanket.
"Hi, mummy!" the boy chirped.
"Hey, baby," she smiled, walking over and pressing her lips to his forehead. No fever. "How do you feel?"
"Fine now," Harry shrugged.
Lily turned to James, who was staring at Harry with sadness in his eyes, with a raised eyebrow.
"He had a dizzy spell a little while ago," James said quietly. "He's fine now, but I-I overreacted."
Lily sighed and walked over, taking her husband in her arms and closing her eyes as James shook in her arms.
Out of the two of them, James had taken all of this the hardest. If they were to lose their Harry (Merlin, no) James wouldn't be able to function. He loved Harry more than anything, just like she did, and he hated seeing his baby struggle like he was.
She felt James swallow before he pulled back, smiling at her, though she could see the tears in his eyes. "Thanks, Lil," he murmured. "I'm fine now. What happened at work?"
"Actually, I need to talk to you about that," she turned to Harry, who was absently playing with a loose string on his blanket. "Harry, baby, can you go make sure Lucy hasn't gotten into anything for me please while I talk to your father about something?"
Harry nodded eagerly, happy to have an excuse to leave his chair, and hurried from the kitchen.
James watched him go before turning back to Lily questioningly, "What's wrong, Lily?"
Lily took a deep breath and began her story.
When she finished, James stared at her in shock for a moment before he shook his head vehemently, "No. No, Lily. We cannot adopt any child, much less Draco Malfoy of all people! Not only would adopting him put him in more danger, but it would put us in danger—it would put Harry in danger."
"Not if they can't find us!" Lily insisted. "We're in a safe place, remember? Only Sirius and Remus know where we live, and they would never betray us. We would all be safe."
"And financially?" James raised an eyebrow. "How do you expect to support four people?"
"Please, James," Lily couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes. "With only my income we have more than enough to support the three of us. We can easily add another, and we have your rather full Gringotts account if and when things get touch."
"And what about Harry, hmm?" James hissed. "Do you think he'd be able to handle another magical signature around permanently?"
Lily's face softened at that. So that's what James was worried about. Harry. "The Healer said he may get a little sick when he's around a new signature, but once his magic gets used to it, he'll be okay."
"Harry doesn't get a little sick," James growled, fists clenching more out of worry than anger. "He doesn't have an immune system, Lily. If he's going to get sick, he's going to get really sick."
Lily took her husband's face in her hands. "Harry will be fine, James," she murmured, gazing imploringly into his eyes. "I may not be a specialist in what Harry has, but I know enough. The Healer said he needs to get used to new magical signatures anyway. Might as well start now, right? And… and you didn't see that little boy in the hospital, looking so lost, knowing that he was never going to see his parents again. It was heartbreaking, James. Please, Jamie, just think about it."
James opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off—
"Mummy? Daddy?"
Harry stood in the doorway to the kitchen, Lucy clutched gently in his arms, looking back and forth between his parents worriedly. "I—I found Lucy in y-your bathroom tearing u-up toilet p-paper," he said.
Lily winced at Harry's stutter. He only stuttered when he was stressed out or scared, and he was probably both at that moment. He hated it when Lily and James fought, and they had been having a pretty heated discussion.
"I'll think about it. We'll talk about it later," James gave Lily a pointed look before he walked over to Harry and scooped him into his arms, cat and all. "Thanks for not letting her destroy our bathroom, baby," he said cheerily, kissing Harry's forehead. "Now, why don't we eat some supper and then we'll take a bath and head to bed, yeah? You've had an eventful day today."
Harry nodded happily, the earlier conversation between his parents completely forgotten. "Can I sleep with you and mummy tonight?"
"Of course you can," James said warmly, sitting Harry down on his chair.
Later that night when Harry snuggled down happily between his parents, Lily couldn't help but fantasize how it would feel to have two little bodies snuggled between her and James.
Thursday, September 12, 1995 – 12:00 P.M. – St. Mungos
Lily walked into Draco's room and smiled. Draco was snuggled down in the blankets in his bed, fast asleep. He looked like the little boy he was, the little boy he ought to be: relaxed, peaceful.
Draco startled awake when she closed the door and looked at her fearfully before he realized who she was and relaxed.
"Hello, Draco," she said cheerily. "I'm sorry I missed breakfast this morning, but I had an emergency a few rooms down I needed to take care of. Did you sleep well last night?"
Draco nodded silently and watched as she ran her wand over him, checking his vitals. "You're doing very well, Draco," she praised. "I think you might get to leave here in a few days if you keep improving like you are."
"Uncle Severus said he's asked someone he trusts to adopt me," Draco spoke for the first time in his small voice. "He says that they're very nice and if they adopt me I'll be happy. Do you know them?"
Lily's heart constricted, "I do know them, as a matter of fact, and I know that if they adopt you they'll do everything they can to keep you healthy and happy and that they would never let anyone hurt you."
Draco nodded then, smiling at her.
"Lily?" there was a knock at the door and Lily turned. James and Harry stood in the doorway, each holding a little paper sack. "Sorry to interrupt," James said, glancing at Draco, "But Harry and I had nothing to do, so we thought we'd bring you lunch."
Lily smiled, "Of course. Thank you. Come on in." She turned to Draco, who was tense where he sat on the bed. "Draco, this is my husband James and my son Harry."
Draco peered curiously at James before turning his eyes to Harry, who was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet and regarding Draco with just as much curiosity as Draco was him.
"You're the one that got Mrs. Potter the silly socks for Christmas," Draco told Harry.
Harry's eyes immediately lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. "She showed them to you?"
Draco nodded, "I liked them."
Harry grinned then and looked up at his father. When James nodded, Harry scrambled forward and sat down in the chair next to Draco's bed.
Lily went over to James as Harry chattered on to Draco and Draco watched the younger boy curiously. "Thank you," she said, taking her paper sack.
"I brought Harry's with us too," James said as he watched the two little boys. "Harry, why don't you go ahead and eat? Is it okay to eat in here?"
Lily nodded as Harry happily took out a sandwich and offered half to Draco, "Do you want some, Draco?"
Draco blinked at Harry for a moment, unsure of what to do. But Harry was smiling at him kindly and blinking at him with those large green eyes, and Draco knew he was being sincere. So, he smiled happily at the little boy (who was, in fact, very little, even for a five year old) and took the offered half-sandwich, "Thank you."
Harry grinned at him and tucked into his lunch.
Lily's heart swelled and she looked up at her husband. James watched the two boys with a small, warm smile on his face. He looked down at Lily and wrapped an arm around his wife, tugging her close.
Thursday, September 12, 1985 – 6:30 P.M. – Potter household
"So, Harry," James said as they ate dinner later that night. "What did you think of Draco?"
Harry looked up and grinned. He hadn't stopped talking about the blonde boy since they'd gotten home from St. Mungos that afternoon. "I liked him, daddy," Harry answered, grinning. "He was nice and he didn't get annoyed when I told him stories."
Lily raised an eyebrow at James, wondering where he was going with this.
James cleared his throat and wiped his mouth. "Well then," he glanced at Lily and then back at Harry, "how would you feel about Draco coming to live with us?"
Lily's mouth dropped open and she stared at James in shock. Harry blinked at his father in confusion. "Like… Draco becoming my—my brother?" Harry asked, brow furrowing.
"Sort of," James allowed. "He would live with us permanently, so yeah, he would be like your brother."
Harry seemed to mull this over for a moment, and James and Lily waited with baited breath. Finally, Harry smiled at them and nodded, "I'd like that."
James and Lily both let out a relieved breath. As Harry went back to his dinner, Lily grinned delightedly at James. Thank you, she mouthed.
Hmm... Not sure if I like it. What do you think? Review! xx
