The Broken Ornament

It started with a broken ornament. That's how these things usually started, anyway. Teddy was up alone at night, trying to decorate the tree by the fireplace and he tipped over one of the presents, and the ornament that was at the highest point on the tree fell and shattered.

Draco would say that it started with the broken ornament, but really, it started when he'd allowed Teddy to stay up late with him, not realising that he wasn't as young as he'd thought and he fell asleep on the sofa as Teddy talked and talked (and talked).

So the broken ornament crashed on the floor, startling Draco awake, who rushed towards Teddy and slipped on the stockings that were still on the floor and hadn't been hung up yet. As Draco failed to maintain his balance, he knocked over the Christmas tree and the small little Christmas market he and Teddy had decorated full of Gingerbread men and elves and landed on a plastic reindeer.

Draco cried out in pain, and Teddy, in his surprise at seeing Draco and what once had been a quiet house only echoed in a huge commotion.

"It's okay, Teddy," Draco said, trying to console his tiny little cousin who had been so excited to spend his first Christmas with Draco. "I'm alright, you're alright, there's no reason to cry. Please!"

"I ruined Christmas!" Teddy wailed.

Draco laughed until he saw Teddy glaring at him and then he stopped to explain that Draco wasn't laughing at Teddy, but at the fact that this was far from ruining Christmas. "It's okay, little one. You didn't ruin Christmas," Draco assured him. "When I was your age, I crashed my parents' Christmas party by running around naked and screaming…now that... it had made the news, and it was quite an unexpected gift to my parents. That sort of thing ruins Christmas, not something that I can fix with magic."

Draco smiled at Teddy and tousled his hair before standing up and grabbing his wand. With a couple of flicks and some murmured spells, the tree was back to the way it looked before, along with the Christmas market, the candles, the tinsel, the works!

Draco smiled at himself and remembered the party that he'd just told Teddy about. He had been so cross with his parents and their Pureblood Yule traditions that they'd refused to let Draco have a snowball fight with his friends. They wanted him dressed up and acting all proper, and it was Theodore's suggestion that they should run around the party naked to get back to their parents. Theo, of course, had backed out at the last moment and it was only Draco and Draco alone that'd made the spectacle. Mrs Zabini had spilled her eggnog all over her dress when his mother had screamed in horror, and his father had looked like someone had stuck pine needles in his eyes; he looked like he was going to cry!

Draco sighed and remembered his crush on Theodore Nott—his first crush—and how he'd known even then, that Draco would have done anything for that boy. A boy. Oh how he'd tried to get Theo under mistletoe every year after he'd realised what it was for, and how Theo had always left him hanging! Every. Damn. Year.

"I want to talk to Harry!" Teddy cried, yanking Draco out and away from memory lane.

And so it started, with a broken ornament and a crashing Christmas tree, that Draco was forced to spend Christmas Eve with Potter.

"Harry!" Teddy all but screamed when he saw Potter's head through the Floo as Draco had fire-called the Burrow looking for him.

"Hey, Teddy, what's the matter?" Potter asked and Draco rolled his eyes. Of course, something had to be the matter if Teddy was calling him. Why, did Potter not trust Draco to keep Teddy safe?

"Nothing is the matter," Draco snapped before Teddy could answer his godforsaken godfather. "We had a little accident and Teddy was startled. He wished to speak to you, perhaps thinking that you could calm—"

"Harry, can you come over?" Teddy asked, interrupting Draco.

"Come over?" Draco asked in surprise. "Teddy, remember how you were going to spend Christmas Eve with me and how Potter—I mean—Harry was busy tonight?" Draco struggled to keep his tone calm and somewhat cheerful. He didn't want to scorn the already frightened boy.

"Actually, I don't mind," Potter said, which surprised Draco even more. He wished he could just look away and roll his eyes in private. "There's only so much Christmas dinner chaos I can handle and the stories that everyone is telling about their struggle to find the perfect tree—I—" Potter hesitated for a moment. "If you don't mind, Malfoy, I would like to—"

"Yes!" Teddy cheered and Draco registered he didn't really have a choice.

"Alright, come on through, then," Draco said and he pulled Teddy away from the Floo network. Teddy could hardly keep his excitement in, and Draco laughed at how thrilled Teddy was to get a chance to see Potter. His own heart was beating fast, as well, and Draco chose to ignore that for the moment.

"Please tell me you have something stronger than an eggnog drink or mulled cider?" Potter said the moment he arrived and picked Teddy up into his arms.

"Should you be drinking around—" Draco gestured toward the tiny human that had latched himself on Potter's shoulder.

Potter shrugged. "I just need a small drink, Malfoy, and it's not like I'm flying home—"

"You're spending the night, right?" Teddy asked, his eyes narrowing on Potter, and Draco realised that this was a trick that Teddy did not only on him but also on Potter (and maybe other adults, too). And with the way Potter was looking at him, it was clear that this trick worked on Potter, just as much as it did on Draco.

"That depends on Draco," Potter said, casually. "It's his house."

"There's a million rooms here!" Teddy exclaimed. "And, I was going to sleep in Draco's room with him; you should sleep in the same room as us, too!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Draco said, and his heart had all but sunk into his stomach. Teddy was going to be the death of him. "I'll have a guest room arranged for Pott—Harry, and you can decide where you'd like to sleep. Okay?" Draco was resolute and there was no way he was going to sleep in the same bed, let alone the same room as Potter.

Teddy looked disappointed and thankfully, Potter decided to cut in and change the subject. Sort of.

"So what was the accident that happened?"

"Oh, that." Teddy looked sad and it broke Draco's heart a little bit.

"Nothing to it. I dozed off and then woke up and slipped on a stocking and then the tree fell over—I'm afraid I scared Teddy, and then—"

"Draco ran around naked at a Christmas party!" Teddy, conveniently, chimed in.

"What?" Potter's eyes widened and he gave Draco an once-over as if he was trying to picture him naked.

"Two decades ago!" Draco tried to argue. "It's a very long story! And from the sound of it, Potter, you don't look like you're in the mood for another long story." Draco turned towards the corner of the room and opened the liquor cabinet. He poured two glasses of Firewhisky and handed one to Potter. Potter sat on the sofa with Teddy in his lap who drank his milk obediently. Draco sat across from them on the floor with his legs folded.

"So, what happened at the Burrow?" Draco asked when the silence in the room had lingered for too long. "When we called you, it sounded like there were some carollers there…and why is there remnant of…is that holly in your hair?"

Potter laughed. A genuine laugh and Draco didn't know what to do with that, either. Thankfully, Teddy had finished his milk and he was resting against Potter's chest with his eyes closed. Teddy's light snore distracted Draco from concentrating on Potter's fascinating laugh.

"Let's just say it's been a very long day," Potter whispered and started to stroke Teddy's back gently. Teddy looked relaxed in Potter's embrace and Draco felt slightly jealous of the fact that his cousin still hadn't learned to relax so easily around him as he did around Potter.

"I think in the beginning I liked going to the Burrow because Ginny and I were still dating—everything was so magical, then," Potter said and looked at Draco as if he was waiting for Draco to respond.

Draco nodded and took a sip of his drink. "We'd place a Warming Charm and hang out in the garden looking at the starlight, and then create fake paw prints in the snow and tease baby Fred that the snow monster was going to get him…" Potter sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Draco's stomach twisted up a bit and again he found himself getting jealous, and this time of Weasley.

"Why did you two—?" Draco tried to ask.

Potter laughed. That genuine laugh of his again, with just a hint of sadness. "Just one of those things…Christmas is magical and all, but it doesn't last all year. What once seemed like an enchanting night, turned out to be a tacky light tour, eventually. We'd gather around the fire with the other Weasley kids and create advent calendars and wait for Christmas to come, then I started to count the days until I could just go back to work."

Draco nodded. He hated Christmas for a very long time after his parents had passed away. He disliked that he couldn't keep his shop open during the holidays as no one wanted to buy potions from him and it was useless to pay employees to stay there when they had no customers. It wasn't until he'd received an owl from his Aunt Andromeda that Teddy was asking about him that Draco finally had family again.

The year before had been a quiet affair at his Aunt Andromeda's house with Teddy and they were trying to have their own little Christmas together. It was like Draco's life finally had meaning again. It was too bad that he was gay, otherwise, he would have married long ago and probably had children of his own. He never thought having a family was so important until he didn't have any, anymore.

"I like spending time with Teddy," Potter said, waking Draco up from his thoughts again. "We go ice skating and on sleigh rides, and it's a lot of fun. It's fun to go to the Burrow, too, but…"

"But?"

"Now they just try to set me up with someone they know; there's usually a blind date waiting for me when I get there and that can be a bit—"

Draco laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. My friends are always trying to set me up, too. We try to have a quiet or romantic dinner together then; it just does nothing after the initial 'Oh, you used to be a Death Eater…' Try getting naked with a bloke when you have this on your arm." Draco pointed at his somewhat faded Dark Mark and then pulled the sleeve of his jumper down.

Potter looked a bit taken back by Draco's comment, stiffening up, and then he cleared his throat. "Right," he said. "Teddy…" he whispered and then placed the boy next to him on the sofa. He didn't look so worried at waking Teddy up. Teddy would easily doze off again, Potter must have known. "I have to go—"

"Down the hall to your right," Draco said, feeling defeated. Had he just made Potter completely uncomfortable? Did Potter not know that Draco was gay? He sighed and then shook his head at the huge mistake he'd just made. Great, Potter was probably some kind of homophobe and now he was going to take Teddy away from him. He should have just kept his mouth shut.

Potter returned a few minutes later and Teddy didn't fallen asleep again, instead, he'd busied himself with drawing something with the art supplies Draco had bought him. Draco expected to see hesitation or disdain on Potter's face when he arrived back in the room, but much to his surprise, Potter looked…relaxed.

"It's getting late," Draco said and stood up off the floor. "I'll show you to your room, I reckon Teddy wants to sleep with you tonight."

Potter nodded guiltily. "I didn't mean to crash the party—"

"It's fine," Draco assured him. Evidently, it was his night to assure everyone. "You didn't. I'm glad you could stop by," Draco said and Potter's eyes widened. "I mean…glad you could be here for Teddy."

"Right," Potter said and picked Teddy up in his arms again. "Let's go, mate. It's time for bed."

"Will you and Draco read me a story?" Teddy asked, looking hopeful again.

"Of course." Potter released Teddy so he could go and get the book that he wanted them to read and handed it to Draco.

They followed Teddy obediently up the stairs, waited for him as he brushed his teeth and put on his pyjamas, and hopped into Draco's bed.

"Well, looks like Teddy's decided," Potter said chirpily and hopped on Draco's bed next to him.

Draco hesitantly walked up to the other side of the bed and plopped himself there. He tried not to be disturbed by the fact that Harry Potter was laying comfortably on his bed and looked like he belonged there.

They read Snowflakes, a story about a little girl that lived in the forest with her grandmother. Draco and Potter took turns reading chapter by chapter and Teddy talked the story along with them, grumbling if either one of them got a part wrong. It wasn't long after that Teddy fell asleep leaning on Draco, and Draco did a mental dance of how he somehow won against Potter.

"Do you want me to take him to your room—I mean the guestroom?" Draco asked, and Potter shook his head.

"He looks comfortable, so we should just leave him here, I think," Potter said.

Draco nodded and carefully lifted Teddy's head and then tucked him under the blankets. "I'll just show you—" Draco headed towards the door and gestured for Potter to follow him. Potter looked uncertain and Draco wondered if he just wanted to leave.

"I think it'd be nice if you were here in the morning when Teddy wakes up," Draco said when they entered the hallway and Draco closed his bedroom door behind them.

"And you?" Potter asked, looking shy for some odd reason.

"Me?" Draco asked, confused.

"Would you like it if I was still here when you wake up in the morning?" Potter asked and all of a sudden, Draco found himself leaning against the wall and Potter's warm breath on him.

"I—" Draco's face was burning up and he didn't know what to say or do. "I'm not sure—"

"I'd like to kiss you now," Potter said and Draco could feel his eyes widening and jaw dropping. He had just about lost sensation in every part of his body. How was he still standing up?

"I—uh—okay," Draco heard himself say. "That…that can be arranged," he added.

Potter smiled; a wicked smile, and leaned in and brushed his lips against Draco's. Draco, feeling the awareness of his left arm, wrapped it around Potter's waist and pulled him in. Potter pressed his body on Draco's and deepened the kiss when Draco gasped lightly and slightly parted his lips.

They stayed that way for a while, snogging like horny teenagers in an isolated, unattended hallway at Hogwarts until they were out of breath. Potter's hands travelled up Draco's shirt and it felt amazing when Potter's rough hands squeezed Draco's waist. Potter also had a bit of stubble on his chin and when Potter rubbed his face against Draco's neck, he nearly came undone.

"Potter…" Draco whispered, resisting the urge to arch his back and give himself completely to Potter. "There's a tiny human sleeping just on the other side of this wall and I don't think—"

"He sleeps like a log," Potter said. "There could be a marching band out here and that boy will sleep through it."

Draco knew that to be true, but still he defied against what his body really wanted. "True, but…"

"Of course," Potter said and stepped away from Draco right away. Draco missed the touch and Potter's warmth immediately. "I didn't mean to—"

"No, you didn't. I mean, I want to—"

"Slow," Potter said. "Slow. I can take it slow."

"You can?" Draco asked, and then hated himself for sounding so needy. "I mean…you want this?" Slow usually implied interest and a promise of something meaningful.

Potter chuckled. He stepped closer to Draco again and then placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Yeah. I want this." He ran his hand through Draco's hair and then slightly tugged on his locks. "Just so you know, if you keep talking about yourself getting naked, you can't expect me to keep control of myself."

Oh. Draco realised that earlier that evening, Potter was uncomfortable not because he was disgusted, but because he was turned on. He bit his lower lip trying to refrain himself from grinning like a fool when Potter kissed him again.

Whatever Potter was promising with his kisses, Draco was aware that he had no other choice but to believe him. Potter looked at him the way Draco used to look at Theodore. He'd longed for that look all his life and now knew that he'd only been waiting for it from the wrong bloke. It was time for Draco to move past his unrequited history and make new resolutions for happiness.

Draco smiled at Potter and then nodded towards the door. "We should still call it a night, though," he said and wanted to ask where Potter wanted to sleep that night, but refrained.

"I— I can just pop over at my house and grab some clothes and my tooth—"

"You want to leave?" Draco nearly panicked.

"Just for a few minutes. I'll be back in a flash," Potter assured him but Draco still wasn't convinced that he was going to come back. So much for thinking that Potter wanted something more— "Draco," Potter said, surprising Draco by using his first name in a very long time. "I— this might be all new to you—" Potter hesitated and looked rather sheepish. "But, I've wanted this...wanted a chance with you...for a long time. I'll be right back, I swear..."

Draco nodded and gave Potter a reassuring smile. "You could just borrow something of mine to sleep in—"

Potter hesitated again. "I don't know if I can fit in your clothes, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to contain myself if I wore something that smelled like you."

"Oh," Draco said. He mentally kicked himself for suggesting for them to take things slow and gave serious consideration to using the guestroom for their pleasure.

Potter kissed Draco on the cheek and said, "Back in a flash," and Disapparated.

Draco returned to his bedroom and searched for freshly laundered pyjama trousers and shirt so he wouldn't tempt Potter in whatever that smelled like him—he didn't even know what that meant.

Potter was back before Draco had even buttoned up his silk nightshirt.

"Silk? Really? You're going to fucking kill me, Malfoy," Potter said and leaned in to kiss Draco as he entered Draco's bedroom. He'd changed clothes and wore flannel trousers and a thin cotton t-shirt that defined his muscles and Draco thanked the Christmas Gods for his present. He also carried an overnight bag and Draco couldn't help but wonder how long had Potter been planning this opportunity?

"Shh!" Draco protested. "You'll wake our...child," he said, unsure of what to call Teddy in that moment.

Potter gave him a winning smile and Draco's heart melted right then and there. "Can I sleep with you here? I mean...on the other side of the bed and Teddy..."

Draco nodded and held Potter's hand as he led him to the bed. He cuddled up next to Teddy and Potter slipped in the covers behind him. Teddy turned and hugged Potter in his sleep and mumbled.

"Good night, Teddy," Potter whispered and Teddy only hummed along.

"Good night, Draco," Potter said next and Draco's cheeks burned. Potter leaned in and kissed Draco and then kissed the top of Teddy's head.

"Good night, Potter and Teddy," Draco answered.

It started with a broken ornament that mended Draco's life.

END

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