Dragon Pup's Christmas
AN: I know it's a little late for a Christmas fic, but better late than never, right?
Draco stood in the hall watching as Remus levitated several large boxes out of the attic. "What are you doing, Uncle Remus?" he asked, adjusting the straps of the pack he wore on his back. Aunt Cissy had made it for him yesterday so that he could carry Tony around with him without the teddy getting in the way.
"I'm getting down the Christmas decorations, pup," the man answered, smiling down at his nephew as he levitated the last box out of the attic, before closing the pull-down door.
"Christmas decorations?" the little blond asked.
Remus turned to face the little boy. "You don't know what Christmas decorations are?" he asked, kneeling down in front of the boy. "You do know what Christmas is, though…right?"
Draco just shook his head, looking down at the carpet.
Remus pulled the boy into a hug. "That's alright, Dragon. Let's get these boxes into the living room for Aunt Cissy, then we'll sit and have a little talk, alright?"
Draco nodded against his uncle's shoulder, clinging to him for a moment before stepping away. "Can I help?"
"Sure thing, kiddo. Why don't you take that box there," he said, pointing out a smaller box just the right size for the boy to carry."
"We're not going to use magic?" Draco asked.
"Only to get everything out of the attic. We do everything else by hand. It's much more fun that way."
Draco considered it for a moment before picking up the box and carrying it to the living room.
Once all of the boxes of decorations had been moved, Remus settled into his chair near the fireplace. Draco quickly pulled off the little pack that Cissy had made for him and crawled onto the man's lap with Tony in his arms.
Remus cuddled him close and began to tell him a story. "Once, a very long time ago, there was a man called Nicholas who lived in what is now Turkey . I'll show you where that is tomorrow in school.
"Now Nicholas enjoyed helping others, particularly little children. And most especially little children in need. Tradition holds that every December Nicholas would go around the city where he lived leaving gifts for children as they slept. He would leave the gifts in the stockings that had been hung by the fire to dry out from the snow the children had been playing in.
"When Nicholas died, a wizard who is known as Father Christmas took over for Nicholas. But he not only gave toys to children in that city, but all over the world with the help of his magic reindeer. Nicholas gave presents to all children, but Father Christmas only gives presents to good children. Even though children don't wear stockings any longer, every year on Christmas Eve children still hang stockings by the fire for Father Christmas to leave their gifts in."
"What about bad children?" Draco asked quietly.
"He leaves coal and switches in their stockings," Remus told them.
Draco looked down at his teddy. "I think that's what I'm gonna get for Christmas," he whispered.
Remus gently tilted the boy's face up. "What makes you think that, pup?"
"Because I was bad and followed you through the Floo and you had to spank me."
He kissed the top of the boy's head. "It would take more than that to make Father Christmas leave you coal and switches."
"Promise?" Draco asked with wide eyes.
"I promise, Dragon."
Draco stared at him for a moment before nodding. "What else happens at Christmas?"
He cuddled the boy close once more. "Some families give their children lots of presents in addition to the gift they receive from Father Christmas. But we do things a little differently. We give Teddy and Tessa…and you this year…one really special gift. Then, on Christmas morning after we've opened our gifts, we go with Headmaster Tom and Sev and Lily and their kids to a Muggle orphanage and hand out gifts to the children there."
"Do Teddy and Tessa give you and Aunt Cissy gifts too?"
"Yes, they do. They will give us a little gift that they have made or bought themselves."
Draco considered this for a moment before nodding. "I need to go talk to Uncle Sev. Can I use the Floo?"
"May I?"
"Oh. Right. May I use the Floo, please?"
"You may."
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Lily was in the kitchen making cookies when Draco came through the Floo. He climbed into a chair at the table. "Hello Aunt Lily," he said absently.
She smiled down at him. "Hello dear. Harry's not here right now," she told him. "He and the others are with their Gran'ma Lee today."
"That's alright, Aunt Lily," he replied, reaching out to snitch a bit of the cookie dough. He hesitated before taking some and looked up at her. When she smiled and nodded, he went ahead and took the dough. "I needed to talk to Uncle Sev…about a Christmas present for Uncle Remus."
"What do you want to get for him?" she asked, using a cookie cutter to make snowmen cookies.
Draco bit his lip. "I'd rather just talk to Uncle Sev about it."
She chuckled. "Alright then. Why don't you tell me what you'd like for Christmas then?"
The boy was quiet for a few minutes while he considered the idea, nibbling on the cookie dough she had given him. "I…I wish I could belong to Uncle Remus and Aunt Cissy…like Teddy and Tessa do."
"You do, sweetheart."
"Not for real," he whispered, sliding off the chair and heading downstairs to the shop.
Lily watched him go with a sad smile on her face. Perhaps she should make a quick Floo call to Cissy.
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Draco found Severus stocking the shelves in the store while it was slow. "Can I help, Uncle Sev?" he asked.
"Of course, Draco. Why don't you carefully bring those jars on the counter to me," Severus replied. It would be slower, but he wouldn't turn down the help. They worked in silence for a few minutes before Severus spoke to the boy again. "You wouldn't be down here helping me if you came to see Harry or Rosie…so what can I help you with?"
"I need to get a present for Uncle Remus," Draco answered, carefully bringing two more jars over.
"Did you have something in mind?" Severus asked.
Draco hadn't given it much thought, but he knew exactly what he wanted to get his Uncle Remus for Christmas. "I know you make Uncle Remus potions when he gets sick sometimes. Can I help you make him some to give him at Christmas?
Severus turned and looked over at the boy. He and Lily had been teaching very basic Potions and Herbology to Remus' five students the last couple months and of the five, Draco was the worst. The boy tried, but he just had some trouble focusing sometimes. He walked over to the counter they had just cleared and lifted Draco up to sit on it, as he often did with Harry when they needed to talk seriously. "Draco, those potions are hard and require a lot of work. You'd really have to pay attention."
"I can do it, Uncle Sev," Draco told him, looking him in the eye. "I promise. I'll pay real good attention and do everything you say."
"I'll hold you to that," Severus said, tapping the boy on the nose.
Draco smiled at him. "Thanks, Uncle Sev. You'll see. I can do it."
"I know you can. Now run along home, scamp."
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"It's ruined!" Draco cried, plopping down on the floor with tears rolling down his cheeks. "Now I won't have anything to give to Uncle Remus for Christmas!"
Severus rolled his eyes and sent his Patronus off to Lily, asking her to see if Remus and Cissy would allow Draco to spend the night as it was already starting to get late. He knew it wouldn't be a problem, Draco was a frequent guest at their flat playing with either Rosie or Harry. Sighing, he picked the boy up, setting him on the clean countertop. "Enough of that," he said, gently wiping away his tears. "We'll just start over and be more careful this time, alright?"
Draco nodded, sniffling. "Sorry I ruined the potion."
"It's alright Draco, even the best brewers ruin potions sometimes." He summoned a step stool and placed it on the floor in front of the table he used to prepare ingredients. Severus put Draco on the stool and stood behind him, carefully guiding him in preparing new ingredients and brewing the special pain reliever and muscle relaxer that he brewed especially for Remus. Wolfsbane had to be brewed fresh, and was far beyond anything Draco could help with, but the two potions were relatively simple.
"What messed up the first potion, Uncle Sev?" Draco asked around a yawn several hours later as Severus tucked him into the rollaway bed in Harry's room.
Severus handed him Tony who had been sent through the Floo by Cissy who knew that Draco would be unable to sleep without him. "The directions for that potion do not call for a little boy to sneeze into the cauldron," he said with a smile.
Draco gave a tired giggle. "Sorry."
"Sleep, Draco."
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Severus woke a couple hours later, sensing that something was wrong. He slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Lily and wrapped his robe around him as he went to check on the children. Rosie looked like a dark haired angel and he gently brushed a curl from her face. He moved over to Eric's bed and straightened the blanket covering him. It wouldn't be long before Eric would be wanting to share a room with Harry instead of Rosie. Walking across the hall, he went first to Harry's bed. As usual, his oldest son was hanging half off the bed and Severus lifted him into a better sleeping position, tucking him in. He scratched between Mousie's ears before turning to the other bed. Draco was missing, but his teddy bear was still on the pillow.
Snatching up the bear, he hurried down the hall, knowing that Draco had used the Floo before. Severus found him curled up in one of the chairs in the sitting room. Tears, painted silver by the moonlight, were silently pouring down the boy's cheeks as he hugged his knees and rocked himself slowly.
Severus watched him for a moment before gently lifting the distraught boy into his arms. "I know I'm not Remus, but will I work for now?"
Draco nodded and wrapped himself around the Potions Master the same way he wrapped himself around Uncle Remus when he had a nightmare at home.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Severus asked, sitting down in Lily's rocking chair.
The boy nodded again. "Uncle Remus and Aunt Cissy didn't want me no more."
"Why would they do a thing like that, huh? I know for a face that they love you very much."
"Really?"
"Of course. If they didn't then Aunt Cissy wouldn't have been so worried when you followed Uncle Remus through the Floo that time.
Instead of responding, Draco just rested his head on the Potions Master's shoulder and cuddled his teddy bear, soon falling back to sleep.
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On Christmas Eve, Remus and Cissy helped the three children hang their stockings above the fireplace and then Remus settled down on the couch with a book in his hand. Teddy and Tessa quickly cuddled up on either side of their father, to listen to him read "The Night Before Christmas". When Draco stood there watching them, Cissy scooped him up in her arms and sat down in the rocking chair, settling him on her lap. When he looked up at her, she kissed his brow. After a moment he snuggled into her arms.
As soon as the story was over Remus and Cissy exchanged a glance and Remus nodded at his wife.
Cissy smiled at the children. "Papa and I have some special news for you three."
"What is it?" Teddy asked, sitting up.
"This summer you three are going to have a little brother or sister."
Tessa bounced on the couch. "Really?"
Cissy nodded. "Yes."
The girl raced over to her mother, throwing her arms around her neck. "Thank you! I'm finally gonna get a baby sister!"
Remus laughed. "It could be a brother, sweetie."
"It's going to be a girl," Tessa said firmly with a hint of the Black stubbornness in her face.
Draco slid from Cissy's lap and left the room, heading to his bed. Remus followed him a moment later, tucking the little blond into his bed. "What's wrong, Dragon?"
"Nothing," Draco said, rolling on his side, facing away from Remus.
Remus rubbed his back. "Just because Aunt Cissy and I are going to have a baby doesn't mean we don't love you any less, Draco," Remus whispered. "We chose you and nothing will change the way we feel about you."
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The next morning Draco followed the rest of the family into the living room. He wasn't sure how this Christmas thing worked, but he went straight over to the tree, picking up the two presents that Aunt Lily had helped him wrap. Biting his lip, he carried them over to where Remus and Cissy were sitting on the couch. "Ha...Happy Christmas," he said, handing them the presents.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Cissy said, pulling him down to sit on the couch between them. Remus had told her that Draco had been upset last night and she was determined to let the little boy know that he was loved. She kissed the top of his head before opening the small present.
"It's a coupon book," Draco told her. "Aunt Lily showed me one that Harry made for her and she helped me make that one."
Cissy flipped through the coupons promising help with special chores. "This is a wonderful present, Draco," she said, kissing the top of his head again.
He snuggled into her side as he turned to look at Remus, biting his lip again.
Remus smiled at him and opened his present, carefully lifting out two familiar potions. They were the ones that Severus had created just for him because the others would have counteracted the Wolfsbane.
"I helped Uncle Sev make them," Draco told him.
"When you spent the night?" Remus asked and Draco nodded. "Thank you, Dragon."
Cissy looked over at Teddy. "I believe that there are some long boxes under the tree with your names on them."
Teddy dove for the tree. He had seen the boxes under the tree and he figured he knew what they were. Draco would be eight in June and Teddy and Tessa would be eight in August...just in time for the Junior Quidditch League in the fall. He handed the other two their presents before tearing into his. Just as he had thought, it was a children's broom! With a excited squeal, he threw himself onto the couch with his parents and cousin, his twin sister not far behind him.
After several hugs, kisses and thank yous, Remus summoned the children's stockings over to the sofa as Teddy and Tessa settled down with them. "Youngest first. Teddy," he said, handing Teddy his stocking.
Teddy reached into the stocking and pulled out a chocolate frog card. "It's Headmaster Tom!" he exclaimed. Remus had been collecting chocolate frog cards since he was a kid and had turned his collection over to Teddy for the boy's last birthday. "This one is really hard to find! And it's signed!"
Remus smiled and looked over at his daughter. "Your turn, Tessa."
Tessa pulled a doll and a small book from her stocking. It was a Diary Doll. Once the password had been given, anything the owner told her doll appeared in the diary which also needed a password to open. Tessa had had her eye on one in the toy store for months while she saved up her allowance to buy one. "Oh, thank you!"
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Cissy told her. "Now it's Draco's turn."
Draco hesitated a moment before reaching into his stocking and pulling out a rolled up parchment. He carefully untied the ribbon and opened the parchment, his finger tracing over words too big for him to read. "What does it say?" he asked no one in particular.
"It says 'Certificate of Adoption'," Cissy said, stroking his hair.
"What does this line say?" Remus asked Draco, pointing to the parchment.
"'Draco Black Lupin'," he read.
"What about this one?"
Draco sniffled. "'...son of Remus..." he trailed off and turned to look at them. "Really?"
"Yes, Dragon. Cissy and I adopted you. You are our son now," Remus told him.
Draco threw his arms around Remus' neck. "Does this mean I can call you 'Papa' now like Teddy and Tessa?"
"Yes, son," Remus replied, holding the boy close. "You can call me Papa now."
The little blond turned and looked at Cissy. His new mother. "Mummy?"
Cissy smiled and nodded, holding her arms out to him. Draco went into her arms happily.
Teddy and Tessa looked at each other and grinned. "You're our brother now. Hey, when we become professional Quidditch players we'll be known as the Lupin Trio!"
Tessa giggled. "With Harry, we'll be the Slytherin Four!"
Cissy laughed, still hugging Draco. "Don't look at me, Remus. I didn't say it."