Never Leave

Disclaimer: I own none of it...


Harry wandered around the castle remembering all the good times he'd spent in its halls. Every once in a while he'd reach out his hand and feel the familiar walls or the thick curtains covering windows. When he walked by the old Gryffindor entrance hole he muttered a few words, testing for a password. Unfortunately the Fat Lady didn't remember him and muttered back a very disgusted, "Pervert."

"What?" Harry stopped in his tracks. "I was just..."

"Sure you were," the Fat Lady said before disappearing into her portrait, mumbling the whole way.

"What a bitch she's turned in to," Harry said to himself.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't alone. As soon as he whipped around to resume his walk down memory lane; he also whipped right into a solid body. He bounced off slightly, regained his composure, looked up, and let out a surprised "eh."

"I see you've extended your vocabulary," came the distinct drawl of Draco Malfoy. "I'm incredibly proud of you Potter."

"What the hell..."

"McGonagall requests you in her office," Draco said. "So I'm sorry, but I must stop your little tour of the school."

"It's not a tour," Harry sneered. "It's a walk down memory lane."

Draco just looked at him like he was an idiot, rolled his eyes, and turned towards McGonagall's office.

"Shithead," Harry shook his head and followed Draco.

After a few minutes of walking clear across the huge castle Harry's eyes began to wander from the familiar corridors to the man walking in front of him. And man he was. He hadn't changed a bit. Draco was still taller than Harry and had somehow retained that Malfoy aristocracy even in the aftermath of the war and his good name being tarnished forever. Okay, so it had been tarnished long before, but still......... His pale blond hair was no longer to his shoulders, but was cut short and gelled into short, crisp spikes atop his head. He wasn't wearing the usual robes, but was instead clad in slender dingy jeans and a tight black T-shirt. His pasty skin was noticeably gone and had been replaced with a deep tan.

"Take a picture," Draco whirled around and said suddenly. "It'll last longer. And perhaps you can persuade it to do a little dance for you."

"I..."

But Harry stopped before the words left his mouth. Draco had changed, at least his eyes had. They were no longer stone, but had transformed into a brilliant blue color. They weren't cold either. Well, maybe cool. But definitely not the same eyes Harry'd once dared back in his school days. Which had only been six years before, so the change in Draco was quite fast for a cold-hearted bastard.

"Eh," Harry shrugged.

"Again, you're vocabulary far exceeds my own Potter," Draco rolled his eyes again and turned around. Then, with a wave of his hand and a mumbled 'sweetness', a staircase appeared in front of them. "You'll notice the security system we've installed in the Headmistress's office. McGonagall's a great witch, but to tell you the truth, she's fucking paranoid."

"Um, Malfoy, before we go up into the paranoid witch's office, I was wondering," Harry said a bit unsure, "why the hell are you here?"

Draco sighed, "I've been the Potions master here for two years. You'd think you, Boy Wonder, would have kept up on the latest events."

"Why does everything have to be an event with you Malfoy?" Harry asked bitterly.

"It was a huge story," Malfoy sneered. Somehow, the sneer made Harry feel a little less uncomfortable with the new Draco. "Haven't you heard?"

"No."

"The rumor says that Severus Snape was abducted from his home nearly three years ago when a group of Deatheaters left over from the war decided that they wanted revenge. Many think he's dead."

"And the truth?"

"He went on a nice long vacation when Dumbledore retired," Draco said flatly.

"Well damn."

"Anyway, follow me," Draco took a step onto the stairs and waited while Harry followed.

For the next few hours Harry was briefed on everything going on with the school and his duties as the new DADA teacher. He felt like crying the moment McGonagall told him he'd be shadowing Draco for a few days until he got the feel of things. But before he'd had the chance a little blond blur sprinted past him and launched itself at Draco. Harry was about to warn Draco about the crazy, little imp attacking his leg when he realized it wasn't an imp, but a miniature Draco.

"What the hell is that?" Harry sputtered. "Malfoy, I knew you were in love with yourself, but I never thought you'd turn to cloning."

"Clone?" Draco asked, pulling the miniature Draco up to his chest. "This is my son, Lucas."

"Sounds far too much like Lucius to me..." McGonagall said, shaking her head. "But it's what he wanted."

Draco smiled and whispered something into Lucas' ear.

"Daddy says that I have a perfecy nice name and that you shoo stop being mean to him," Lucas said with a grin on his face.

McGonagall smiled at Lucas. "Well he's right. You have a wonderful name."

"Fank you," Lucas beamed as he wriggled to get to McGonagall's arms.

After standing there with his mouth gaping open for what seemed like forever, Harry finally closed his mouth and raised his eyebrows. "Wait a minute, daddy? You have a kid?"

"Yes, this is Lucas," Draco handed Lucas to Minerva, his favorite baby- sitter, and turned to Harry. "He's three and lives with me here in the castle."

"Where's his mother?" Harry asked, reflexively looking around.

"She's gone," Draco told him in a tone that left no room for discussion.

"Kay," Harry took a deep breath and looked at the little boy happily giggling in Minerva's arms. "He's kind of cute, I guess."

"Kind of?" Draco eyebrow shot up daringly. "He's down right gorgeous. A chip off the old block aren't you?"

Lucas smiled at Draco and said, "Blocks?"

"You want your blocks?" Minerva asked Lucas.

Lucas nodded his head vigorously as she sat him down on the ground and conjured him his blocks, "Blocks."

"Now Potter, you can't tell me that he's not the most adorable kid you've encountered in your life," Draco said skeptically. "Look, he even looks like an angel."

Lucas looked up at his dad and smiled mischievously. Harry didn't miss the look and silently prayed that this kid wouldn't get him into too much trouble. Then he took the plunge.

"So you're name is Lucas?" Harry asked, bending down to Lucas' eye level. "That's a good, strong name. So I'm guessing you're a good, strong boy?"

"Yes," Lucas giggled.

"Well, I guess that we'll be spending a lot of time together now that I'm working here too," Harry smiled. "So should we become friends?"

Lucas looked up at his dad and giggled at the look of horror on Draco's face, but nodded anyway. "Kay. You wanna go thow bed to tha ducks?"

"Sure," Harry smiled and took Lucas' tiny hand in his own and helped the boy up. "Anyone else up for feeding the ducks?"

"No, you take him," Draco said. "But Potter, I swear to Merlin if anything happens to him I will personally kill you. And I'm not talking the curse. I will literally beat you until you're a bloody pulp withering in pain on the floor and then I'll kick you until you die. Do you understand me? Don't let anything happen to him. And don't let him out of your site for a moment, because he's real good at hiding. He's little, he fits in tiny spaces."

Harry looked at Draco as if he were crazy and said, "Gods old man, keep your pants on."

Draco took a sharp breath and glared at Harry. "I'm serious, don't let anything happen to him."

"I won't," Harry said lightly and led Lucas out of the room by the hand.
Draco watched out the window until he could no longer see his son and Harry before he sank into the comfy chair facing Minerva's desk. He took a deep breath and rubbed his face with the palms of his hands, then looked at Minerva with his hands pulling his lower eye-lids as far down as they would go.

"That's disgusting," Minerva said.

Draco dropped his hands to his lap and smiled lamely at her across the desk, "You think they'll be okay?"

"Draco, Harry defeated the Dark Lord, I think he'll be able to take care of a three year old," Minerva said. "But just in case, I sent Linny to watch after them."

"Good," Draco breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean, I'm sure Potter can take care of Lucas just fine, but he's not really what I'm worried about... You know?"

"I understand completely Draco," Minerva smiled reassuringly. "But remember, no one has seen nor heard from your father or Tawny in months. You may be home free."

"If I know anything, I know how patient those two can be," Draco smiled grimly and ran his hand through his hair. "They're really Slytherin Min. Snakes, those two. Worse than Voldemort himself I sometimes think. And Tawny will do anything to get Lucas back. You know that."

"She has been persistent these past couple years," Minerva agreed.

"Persistent doesn't do her justice," Draco said bitterly. "Unrelenting is more like it..."

"They mean the same thing Draco."

"Shut up."

Minerva laughed, "You shouldn't speak that way to your elders. It's rude."

"When have I ever been polite?"

"Good point. But seriously, how's your mother been?"

"She's improving," Draco said. "We'll soon be able to move her. I'll be much more relaxed when we can get her here and away from Mungo's. I know the doctors know what's best, but I'd much rather have her here where I can look after her than there where Gods know what can happen."

"She is being guarded day and night remember?" Minerva said, a quill twirling in her hand. "I think she's safe."

"Not safe enough," Draco said, and shrugged. "But what can you do, eh? We'll just have to wait."

Minerva sighed, "Patience is one thing you have not inherited from your father."

"You're telling me," Draco snorted.

"But thankfully that's not the only thing you haven't inherited from him," Minerva smiled at him warmly and put the quill down. "Draco, you've changed so much since Lucas was born. To tell you the truth, I thought you were a horrible little hooligan with a bad temper and a rotten soul when you were at school here, but now I know otherwise. You've changed; something your father could never do. I never thought I'd be saying this when I was your teacher, but I look at you like a mother would her son now and Lucas as my grandson. I honestly don't know what I'd do without either of you anymore. I love you two like you were my own family."

Draco smiled, "Gee thanks Minnie, you old bag."

Minerva threw the quill at him.