Helloooo wonderful readers! This ONE-SHOT was born when I was flicking through Drarry images on the net and came across an adorable one of Draco and Teddy, which is actually the profile pic for this story. Apparently it was by Dorisdoris on DeviantArt: Draco and Teddy (Harry point of View), for those of you who want to see the image in better and bigger quality.
Anyways, it inspired me to write this veeeery short one-shot, that is essentially only fluff and nothing deeper and I hope you all enjoy it!
Photos on a Wall
"Come on Teddy, please don't cry! Shhhh, shh shh shh, shhhhh… It's alright, uncle Harry will be here soon! Come on, don't cry, you're a big boy now right?" Still the small toddler of three continued to wail, his little face scrunched up and red as his tiny hands clutched and wrinkled Draco's immaculate shirt. Draco was walking around, as much to sooth the upset boy in his arms as he was trying to calm his own panic.
He had left Teddy alone for a minute -no more than a minute!- to clean their dirty dishes from dinner (a simple feat with magic involved) and disaster had struck. The curious boy had toddled to a table that was just about taller than the child himself and tried to reach the delicate and colourful glass figurine of a merperson that was perched on top of the table. Unfortunately, he had held onto the flower patterned tablecloth for balance and had so pulled the figurine, along with the table cloth, right off the table and onto his head.
By the time Draco had raced into the room, alerted by the screaming wails that something was wrong, it was to find Teddy struggling beneath the tablecloth and sporting a bleeding head. Draco had thought his heart would jump out of his throat when he saw the bloody child, made to look more gruesome by the red hair the child was currently wearing, as he usually did when upset.
Luckily the cut wasn't that deep, as the glass had been quite thin and light and he had been able to easily clean and seal the wound. He could, however, not calm the shocked Teddy down, as the boy was screaming for his godfather or grandmother, both of whom were currently unavailable.
Once again the Malfoy heir cursed Harry's superiors for calling him in to advise on a case when he was supposed to be on leave and so late at night as well. He and Harry had both been so excited to spend some quality time together, as Draco was usually packed with potions he had to make for St Mungos and Harry frenzied as he solved cases and hunted dark wizards, but it figured that his superiors would ignore that.
That they had told Andromeda that they would look after Teddy for the week and so she could go with Narcissa on that trip to France was just the icing on the cake at the moment. Now Draco was stuck with a screaming toddler, all alone and he had no idea what to do.
Now, don't get Draco wrong, he loved his littlest cousin like a son and he usually didn't mind looking after him, in fact, he delighted in caring for him, but he was at his wits end. When Teddy got like this, he wouldn't accept the comfort of anyone but Harry or Andromeda, seeing as they were his primary caretakers. Compared to Draco's year of knowing the small boy, around the time he and Harry had made up and two months before they started dating, Harry and his aunt had looked after the child since his birth.
Draco sat down on the couch, trying to relax his body as he comforted Teddy, stroking his back and hair and murmuring softly in his ear. He had seen Harry do this when Teddy threw a fit and wouldn't stop crying for no reason, but he wasn't sure if it would work this time. His ears were ringing with the boy's cries and he could feel a raging headache galloping towards him, but he couldn't just ignore his cousin.
After another ten minutes of screaming, Teddy had calmed down to just full out sobbing and the Slytherin could feel his heart break for the upset boy. Deciding that trying to distract him might work better, he made sure he held Teddy securely and stood up, making his way to the room that they had designated to Teddy since he spent so much time with them.
The bedroom was brightly coloured, with the walls being a light blue that faded into a dark midnight blue on the ceiling. The entire ceiling was covered in muggle stickers that Harry called glow-in-the-dark stars, though Draco had added a charm to give them a bit of a sparkle when he saw them. Though he no longer had anything against muggles, he believed that magic still made some things just that little bit better.
The left wall was painted with a bright yellow sun and a rainbow that arched through white fluffy clouds over a field of sunflowers. The right wall where Teddy's bed stood was painted to look like a forest, with tangling vines and bright flowers, where a wolf and jack rabbit was playing. The wall which the door was placed in was painted like a Quidditch pitch and two Quidditch teams were battling in the distance while a small golden snitch floated close mockingly. The last wall, that you saw as soon as you entered the room, was plain, but by no means empty. It was filled with frames, each containing a photo precious to the small boy, whether it was photos of his deceased parents, his grandmother or godfather or friends. Cursive words arched above the dozens of photos, proudly proclaiming the purpose of the wall.
Dodging toys and the like, the blond walked over to Teddy's bookcase, crouching down to scan the titles for something he could read to Teddy. It was with some surprise that he saw a small hand reach out and hesitantly point to a thick book and he realised that the upset boy had stopped crying, instead sniffing and rubbing his eyes.
"You want me to read this one to you?" Teddy nodded, his hair lightening to a faded pink as his amber eyes gazed imploringly at Draco, still puffy and red from his earlier crying. Draco knew that the change of hair colour was important, as it meant that Teddy was calming down. At the moment he was aiming to get Teddy's hair colour back to his original chocolate brown or either light blue, as it meant he was calm and happy.
"Yes Uncle Dray. I wanna hear about the dragon who was lonely…" Draco smiled at the soft request, not willing to admit he had loved that story as a child as well. Well, maybe not out loud where other adults could hear him, it would damage his reputation. But he had no problems telling that to his adorable cousin.
"I love that story as well. It was my favourite one and my mother, your grandmother's sister, used to do the voices while reading it to me. Would you like me to do the voices as well?" Teddy nodded, his eyes bright and his earlier hurt forgotten. He still gripped Draco's shirt tightly however and refused to let go, so Draco knew the incident wasn't far from his mind.
Standing up, Draco went to lie down on Teddy's bed, rumpling the covers as he made himself comfortable against the pillows. Teddy lied down on his chest, snuggling into him and resting his head on Draco's collarbone as he looked to where Draco was opening the book to the appropriate page. Holding one arm around the boy to secure him, Draco cleared his throat and started reading.
As his voice rose and dipped with the story, he could feel Teddy's tense little body loosening and relaxing fully into him, becoming boneless. He knew the boy was exhausted, especially after his shock earlier and it wouldn't be long until he fell asleep. He smiled gently as he continued with the story, his heart bursting with love for a boy he hadn't ever thought would play such a huge part in his life, not until he had met and fallen in love with Harry that is.
As the minutes ticked by and Teddy's soft breath deepened, Draco could feel sleep tugging at his own consciousness and knowing his cousin was in his arms and safe, he gave in to it.
HPDM
Harry sighed as he stepped out of the floo, stumbling slightly as he almost tripped over the carpet in his exhaustion. It was nearing midnight and though he had perfected floo travelling to a degree, he lost all of that when he was tired. Rubbing the back of his neck, he covered a yawn and made for the door, determined to fall into bed and just spoon with his boyfriend, hopefully warming his cold body next to Draco's warm one.
When Kingsley had called him in and begged him to advise them on a case, being the resident expert on unusual and rare forms of dark magic, he had not been able to deny him, no matter how reluctant he was. The witch they were after was apparently on a crusade to end all purebloods and so soon after a war on blood purity, this was the last thing they needed to attract public attention. The Wizarding world in Britain was still very touchy about blood status and though things were peaceful at the moment, the slightest perceived sleight against either muggleborns or purebloods could inspire another war or at least a giant political upheaval.
Still, Harry wouldn't have taken time from his leave so easily if it wasn't for the fact that he was frightened Draco might be targeted and so he had floo'ed over to help them look over the case. The one good thing that had come from it was the promise he had managed to wrangle from Kingsley that he wouldn't be called in for the rest of the week, even if they moved to arrest their current suspect they'd unearthed after hours of research and investigation.
However, when he stepped forward, he heard the cracking of glass beneath his boots and when he looked down, it was to see that trinket Draco had received from Parkinson scattered in pieces over the floor.
Panicking, he dropped to his knees, afraid that he had knocked it to the ground in his exhaustion and had not realised it, but then he saw the blood droplets scattered and he knew it couldn't have been him. Now worried, he flicked his wand to preserve the destroyed bauble and blood and then a series of other charms to determine if this was an accident or a consequence of an attack.
True, he hadn't felt his wards being breached, nor had Draco sent him a patronus and there wasn't other signs of a fight, but as an auror Harry had learned to be cautious first and not to accept the easiest explanation without further study. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and his entire body thrummed with adrenalin as he waited for his last spell to take effect.
As the ghostly images of Teddy and Draco rose like phantoms from the shards and played out the scene that led to the breaking of the bauble, Harry sighed in relief and his body relaxed. Running a hand through his hair, he smiled, glad that it wasn't something more serious. At least Draco had been here to look after Teddy, so he knew his godson wouldn't be injured still. Flicking his wand, the trinket was restored and placed back on the table along with the tablecloth and the blood was cleaned up.
Flinging his robes over the back of the couch, which he knew Draco would complain about the next morning, he headed towards Teddy's room, determined to check in on his godson before he joined Draco in bed. However, the scene he came upon caused him to pause in the doorway, before warmth filled his heart and he smiled in affection. Tip toeing inside the room, he grabbed the modified polaroid camera, magicked to immediately print out regular moving photos, and snapped a picture.
Taking the photo, he smiled at the sweet scene and grabbed one of the many extra frames they kept in a drawer in Teddy's room, precisely for this purpose and added the picture to their Wall of Memories. He paused after he placed the frame on the wall with a sticking charm, his eyes running over all the other photos. He could feel a soft grin breaking over his face as his eyes burned slightly.
Remus and Tonks smiled at him from the centrepiece and his parents from right beside them. Andromeda and her deceased husband, Ted Tonks, were on the other side of the centrepiece, grinning as they waved. All around them were photos of Teddy as he grew up, Teddy with Harry in the snow, on a broom, playing hide and seek or sitting with his grandmother in her garden. Ron and Hermione were also present on the wall, along with the rest of the Weasley clan. Neville, Luna, Hagrid and other friends of Harry had their own spots on Teddy and Harry's Wall of Memories. Recently, Draco and friends he had introduced Teddy to, including a very reluctant and grumpy Lucius and a coolly delighted Narcissa, had also been added to the wall.
There were photos of Harry and Draco on their first date (helpfully captured by Rita Skeeter), photos of when Draco met and actually befriended the Weasley clan and when Harry was introduced to Draco's friends in turn. Fireworks lit the sky in one photo of Harry and Draco together and there was even one that showed how Ron and Draco had bonded, both concentrating over a chess board with Harry and Hermione rolling their eyes in the background.
Andromeda and her sister Narcissa chatting over tea was another and there was even a humorous one of Teddy and Lucius having a staring contest as Lucius sat rigidly with the little boy on his lap, looking highly uncomfortable in a very subtle way.
Harry smiled as he watched Draco laugh in one photo, his cheeks flushed in happiness and his eyes sparkling as he shook snow from his blond hair. Harry's face was shocked as he caught a snowball in the face, with a delighted Teddy giggling in joy. Andromeda had captured the exact moment in which Teddy's accidental magic had avenged Draco after he was hit on his head by Harry's snowball.
Turning back to two of the most important people in his life, he smiled again and gently kissed both of their foreheads, before he left the room, resolving not to wake Draco up from his peaceful slumber. He would talk to him tomorrow and they had the rest of the week to spend together. He closed the door and walked to his own room, content with his life now that Draco was part of it. It was filled with laughter, silliness, love, elegance and even arguments, but he loved every second of it.
He thought back to the new addition to their Wall of Memories and a smile broke over his face again. He lived for moments like these. Moments where he walked into a room and saw Draco sleeping peacefully, his mouth slightly ajar, with an open book pressed against his side and his arm curled over a sleeping toddler with brown hair and blue highlights.
Yes, Harry Potter was very happy with his life that had Draco Malfoy in it.
HPDM
Sooooo, what did you think? Sorry it was so short, but I felt that was all I had to say. I just had to write this when I saw that picture online, so there's nothing further to this one-shot than an explanation of how that photo came to be. I hope you enjoyed it and I would love to hear from you!