After the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry raises Teddy Lupin as his own and return to school to try and achieve enough N.E.W.T.s to become anAurorr. Ginny has left him, saying she was too young to worry about raising children.
The school had been rebuilt over the summer, and Harry hardly recognised the place where he had defeated Voldemort only a few months before. All the rubble had been cleared, the statues and walls rebuilt and polished, and all of the old paintings were back in their place, along with new ones to replace those that couldn't be repared. He returned as a seventh year, a year behind since he had left school the year before, along with Hermione and Ron, who stared, dumbstruck at the reparations that had been made. He would be in the same year as Ginny, in all the same classes...
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Draco Malfoy's sleek, almost white hair. He had heard that Draco would be repassing his last year, as he hadn't gotten enough N.E.W.T.s the previous year, but only as he saw him approach the castle did he believe it. He watched as his old enemy mounted the stairs and stared, gobsmacked, at the castle. Realising how close he was to the trio, Draco suddenly hung his head and rushed inside to get away from them. Harry, Ron and Hermione slowly followed, taking in all they could about the castle they had almost died in.
As they reached their commonroom, they were glad to see tat nothing had changed : the battle hadn't made it's way to the top of the tower. They entered their dorm room to find their baggage already there, as always, along with two other sets of suitcases next to the two other beds, that unknown Giffindors would occupy.
I could have been sharing a room with Colin Creevey, Harry thought, before catching himself. He could never get the dead out of his mind. Those who had given their lives for the war : his parents, Sirius, Colin, Fred, Tonks and Lupin... these names haunted his dreams every night, he refused to give in while he was conscious. Tonks and Lupin had left behind them a baby, now 8 months old, and as his godfather, it was Harry's job to look after little Ted Lupin.
As he looked at his bed, Harry noticed a note, laying on the pillow. He picked it up and read :
Come to my office so we may discuss how you will handle your
duties as student and parent. -Minerva Mcgonagall
He reached the new headmistress' office within a few minutes, and found it completely redecorated, except from the paintings of previous headmasters and the Sorting hat, which had resumed it's place on one of the shelves. Professor Mcgonagall was sitting behind her desk, writing letters as an impatient owl nipped at her fingers. Once she had finished, she sent the bird away, sighed and, adressed Harry :
"Hello Harry, it's good to see you again. How was your summer?"
"Terrible." He answered, causing the headmistress to purse her lips in amused despair.
"Yes, I imagine. I've asked you here because you are acting as parent to Ted Lupin and I wanted to know if you had a plan on where he would go while you were here."
"Well for now he's with Mrs Weasley, but I was hoping you'd let him stay here." Harry answered, slightly embarrassed.
"And who would watch him while you were in class?"
"Well I was hoping a few people would help... Madam Pomfrey and Hagrid, and I could pay some younger students to babysit when they're not in class..."
"No I'm sorry. Madam Pomfrey and Hagrid have lessons to teach and even when they're not in class, all students will have too much homework to spend their free hours babysitting. I think Molly should keep him, and you could see him during the holidays."
"No I... I can't... I need him... it helps with the memories... I need to see him every day." Fumbled Harry.
Professor Mcgonagall thought for a moment before proposing : "What if I were to give you access to the Floo network, and said you could visit Ted anytime as long as you attend your classes and do all your homework? Would that be enough?"
"Yes that's perfect." Harry smiled. "Thank you, professor." He was just about to leave when a thought came into mind. "Miss, can he come here during the holidays? Mrs Weasley's house is full and I don't want to bother her. Plus, I'm sure everyone here will love him, including you, and it won't collide with work."
Minerva smiled and nodded, trying not to chuckle as Harry Potter left her office, perfect image of his father and godfather.
The Christmas holidays had arrived and Harry was waiting in Professor Mcgonagall's office for Mrs Weasley to drop Ted off. He would spend the entire holidays alone with the child, since Ron and Hermione had gone to spend them with their families. Much had happened since September : he had grown slightly distant from his friends, since they spent so much time alone doing god knows what, he had become friends with the two Griffindors that shared a room with him and Ron, called Douglas and Reggie, he and Dudley were on good terms, as Dudley had left the family home and started to become a responsible young man who had no aversion for magic, and they frequently exchanged owls. But the strangest change was that he and Draco were no longer enemies. Sure, they weren't what you'd call friends, but they were friendly.
Finally, the fire roared and Mrs Weasley appeared, holding the baby in her arms. She greeted Harry and the headmistress warmly, though not as warmly a she used to. The death of one of her sons had left her scarred, and she was very rarely happy. In fact, she only left her bed in the morning to care for Teddy, who had rapidly started to see her as his mother.
"Hello, hello." She cheered, handing over the baby wrapped in blankets along with a bag full of supplies. "I've packed everything you need : nappies, bottles, powdered milk, a few toys, and what-not. They'll provide you with mushed fruits and things in the kitchens probably." Harry nodded and took the baby, who, since he last saw him, had taken it upon himself to grow red hair. "I'm sorry I can't stay, I've got so much to do at home... I'll see you in two weeks, when I come and pick little Teddy up." And with that, she kissed the child goodbye and disappeared into the flames.
Harry and Minerva closed in on the child as he tried to grab their hair, swooning and speaking baby-talk. After a few minutes, a scar like Harry's appeared on the baby's forehead and they both laughed.
A few hours later, Harry was in the Great Hall, holding Ted on is lap and trying to get him to eat, but the child only cried. He was making such a fuss, Harry didn't know what to do to make him stop. The few people that were in the hall who had been swooning over the baby a few minutes ago were now leaving, scowling at the monstrosity that made so much noise. All but one. Draco approached Harry silently from behind, making him jump when he spoke :
"Need any help?"
"Oh Merlin, yes please!"
Harry handed the child over to the reformed Death eater and watched as he rocked the child.
"Has he eaten?"
"Yes a few hours ago, but he won't eat now."
"Did you burp him?"
"What? You have to burp them?" said Harry incredulously, causing an amused smile to appear on Draco's face.
"Yes, they can't do it by themselves." He then proceeded to rub the child's back and sure enough, after a few seconds, Ted let out a huge belch worthy of Hagrid and immediately stopped crying. Instead, the boy's hair became pale blond, almost white, and his eyes became the lightest blue, causing Draco to cry out in shock.
"Hey he likes you!"
"Of course he does, I'm the only one able to care for a child in this godforsaken place." Draco sniffed, making Harry scoff.
They then went up to Harry's room at the top of Griffindor tower and begun playing with the now crimson haired child.
"This is a nice place you've got here." Said Draco, looking around. "Not too fond of the colours though." Again, Harry scoffed.
"How come you're here at Christmas?" Harry finally asked.
"I uh, I can't really stay at the Manor anymore... I can't bear it." Malfoy responded, head down.
"I get it, it is a gloomy place. Why don't your family just go away for a while?"
"It's not the place, it's the people... my parents more specifically."
"Why?" asked Harry, frowning.
"Because of what happened... it's their fault I was drawn into all of it. Of course, I could have refused and all, but originally, it's their fault."
They stayed silent for a while, watching Ted crawl around and grab random objects, before Harry answered, slowly and carefully.
"It was originally their fault, but I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for your mother. This little boy wouldn't have any family at all. She lied straight to Voldemort's face and said I was dead, because she knew that was the only way she was going to find you. See the problem with Voldemort, why he was so weak, was that he wasn't just cruel to his enemies, but also to his allies. He drove your parents away, he drove your parents to abandon him. During the last fight I saw them, you know." Draco was now staring at Harry with wide eyes, taking in all he said, but still with an air of shame. "They ran straight past everyone and looked for you. Sure they didn't fight with us, but they didn't fight against us, and given the situation, I was fine with it." he finished.
Again, silence. Only the toddler made gurgling sounds.
"Thank you." Draco said finally, wiping a tear fro his eye. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing at an old radio post.
"It plays music for Muggles. Here, look." Harry turned it on and music came out.
He went to pick up Ted and began swaying, and before long he was smiling and laughing like he hadn't in over a year, while Draco just stared. But even he joined in, and all three danced to Abba and Boy George, laughing hysterically.
In the time between Christmas and Easter, Harry and Draco had become great friends. He joined Harry when he was with Ron and Hermione, they sometimes ate together on weekends, and occasionally he would accompany Harry to see Ted at the Burrow, much to Mrs Weasley's annoyance.
Indeed, when Easter came, they were so close that they spent most of their time together, and when baby Ted was dropped of, they were both present to swoon over him and comment on how mush he had grown, like a couple of parents. Ted, had indeed grown. Already a year old, he no longer drank powdered milk and had begun calling the boys "dada", which made Draco shed a few tears. He also seemed to have adopted bright blue as his permanent hair colour, refusing to change it even when Draco shook a green Slytherin flag in front of him when Harry wasn't looking.
Together, they acted like parents. Together, they consoled each other when memories of the battle resurfaced. Together, they were whole. Best friends, sending each other patronuses in the middle of the night for no reason whatsoever except to remind each other of their presence. But Harry started noticing things he didn't before, like the colour of Draco's lips, or the sparkle in his eyes when he smiled. Most disturbing of all, he couldn't get the night they had danced to Abba out of his head. How Draco had nodded his head, shaking his hair to the beat, how they had laughed when he had started twerking (concept not yet invented, but still performed magnificently).
Harry noticed these things in the middle of conversations, or when he watched Draco play with Teddy, making him so confused he would come up with an excuse to leave the room. He also noticed how he was the only one that could make Draco smile, just by being in sight. He noticed how Draco would sometimes stare at it him with a shadow of a grin, as if looking into the void, when he fed Ted.
The Easter holidays were a happy fortnight, though with the preparation for the N.E.W.T.s, they had to take turns caring for Ted while the other worked, and they didn't have much free time to spend with each other. Over time, Harry got to know Draco better, as he opened himself up more and trusted, which he had never done before.
"Hey, how come you're so good with kids?" Harry asked one day.
"I babysat for my cousin for quite a while. I learned everything there."
"Good. I had started to think you were a natural and once the year was over, Ted would be impossible to handle alone. But since this stuff is learnable, I'm alright, aren't I?"
"It is. I hope your not planning on ditching me once the year's over, Potter."
The use of his last name made Harry grin, and they continued to care for the child in silence.
Finally. The year was over and Harry had successfully achieved all the N.E.W.T.s he needed to become an Auror. Once he had left school, he had gone back to Gimmauld Place, to find Kreacher waiting and the house spotless. The elf shone with proud when Harry congratulated him on the great work, and worked willingly and with great pleasure to make his master happy. After a week or so of getting used to the house and redecorating one of the bedrooms, Harry took on Ted full time. He trusted Kreacher to care for the child while he was at Auror training, and was not displeased to see that when he came home, Ted's ears had become longer and more elf-like, obviously showing his fondness for the elf.
The first time Draco came to visit was in August, as Harry, discovering the meaning of the feelings that had crept up during Easter, had tried to put as much distance as them as possible, ashamed and afraid that Draco would find out.
"Hello, sir!" he exclaimed as he opened the door. "May I take your coat? And would sir mind taking his shoes off?"
Draco treated Kreacher like he would another human being, which simply made Harry go even crazier as he saw how much his old nemesis had grown. He remembered Dobby, the Malfoys' old house elf, who was constantly beaten and humiliated, and tears welled up. Draco Malfoy spent a lot of time at Grimmauld Place from then on because though Harry wanted to move on, he realised how much he needed Draco's presence. Again, they cared for Ted together, and occasionally had sleepovers where Harry blushed all night. Before long, they decided to become roommates, and another bedroom was redecorated, not by the elf, but by the men, who had paint fights and would chase each other round the house wielding brushes and giggling madly.
One day, Harry decided to act like the Griffindor he was supposed to be. He knocked and entered Draco's room and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry." He said. When Draco looked puzzled, he continued : "I haven't been completely honest with you. I... I let you think I was your friend, which I am! But I also... hope for more. I know it's ridiculous and I don't want to ruin our friendship. I don't expect anything from you, I know you don't... feel the same, but I thought you had a right to know, so you could decide what you wanted to do next. I wouldn't blame you if you just walked out now..."
He lowered his head in shame as Draco just stared, mouth wide open. Then, he stood up suddenly, closed the space between them in a mere two strides, grasped Harry's face, and planted a long kiss on his lips. When they separated, it was Harry's turn to just stare, before he caught himself and kissed back, this time harder, more definate
And so, Harry and Draco lived out their future with their child. Happy, always.