"I knew that Andromeda couldn't resist my offer forever," Draco said for what felt like the hundredth time.

Remus was surprised how eagerly Draco helped him unpack his things and he wondered if Narcissa was doing the same with Andromeda. But he doubted that Andromeda could bear such behaviour as long as Remus could.

"It was just irresistible!" Draco was in a strange mood today. A little hyperactive, like he had a bit too much of the wrong potion. But Remus did not want to ask the wrong question. Maybe Draco was just… happy. Maybe the banking business was doing well. "Oh, you know how cool it is to have more people in this huge house again? It's bloody scary here – especially at night. Shouldn't let Teddy walk around here alone. Can he walk?"

Remus chuckled. "No, but he's quite fast on his butt," he said and laughed as Draco looked at him puzzled. "Put him on the ground and you'll see." He leant back against the chest of drawers he had just filled with his socks and crossed his arms, watching Draco turning to Teddy, who sat on the bed. It was sweet to see the two of them staring at each other, Teddy with a huge grin and Draco looking rather sceptically.

"Did he get more teeth since the last time I saw him?" Draco asked.

Remus shook his head but Draco still did not touch Teddy. "Are you afraid to drop him?" he asked, not even expecting Draco to blurt out about what he had for breakfast to be so… happy.

"Not really, but I'm scared to lose my fingers," Draco replied but leant forward to grab Teddy, who immediately reached out to hold onto Draco's robes. His tiny fingers dug into the expensive fabric and Teddy dragged himself closer, snuggling into Draco's clothes. "Ugh. He's clinging. Why is he clinging?"

"He likes you," Remus explained. "Especially the colour of your hair. You should see how often he's blond these days."

Draco seemed undecided if it was a compliment that Teddy wanted the same hair as his cousin. He shrugged and crouched to the ground, unavailingly trying to put Teddy down. Remus cleared his throat and suppressed a grin as Draco looked to him for help, begging silently but begging; his pleading, grey eyes swinging back and forth between Remus and Teddy.

"Let go, Teddy," Remus said, grabbing Teddy and pulling him away. Draco sighed in relief but Teddy started crying and reached for Draco.

"Merlin, look how red his face is," Draco said and stared in shock at the deluge of tears that streamed over Teddy's cheeks. "Give him back."

Remus did and Teddy stopped crying, although he was still sniffling a little, the noises muffled as Teddy hid his face in the crook of Draco's neck. "But you keep in mind that he's my son, Draco. You'll have to give him back to me someday," Remus said in an amused voice that made Draco's lips curl into a soft smile.

"We'll see," Draco said, straightening and patting Teddy's back as he carried him around, slowing growing accustomed to Teddy in his arms. Remus watched Draco pacing around for a moment before the blond boy stopped by the window. The rays of the afternoon sun illuminated the white-blond hair of both Teddy and Draco, creating silvery and golden highlights. Again, Remus wished he had a camera to take a picture of this peaceful scene. Draco's excitement seemed to have disappeared and he gently rocked Teddy, who had never before looked so placidly.

Remus nearly forgot to finish unpacking his things because he was so fascinated by this image.

"I really owe you something," Draco said after a while, turning around to lean with his back against the wall so that Teddy was able to look out of the window over Draco's shoulder.

Remus closed his trunk. Draco saying such things felt as wrong as the cheerful mood he was in. Bringing Draco out of character had never been Remus' intention and this grateful look made him feel guilty, although there was no reason to feel this way for him. He was not taking advantage of Draco's situation to finance his life.

"Aunt Andromeda would've never even considered my offer," Draco said as Remus remained silent, just staring at him in confusion. "It must've been a lot of work to convince her. She's quite stubborn."

Remus could not help but agree. "But that's a typical Black character trait."

"Oh, what is this supposed to mean?" Draco asked, pouting slightly. "I'm not stubborn."

"Yes, you are," Remus said, walking to the bed and sitting down. "Just remember the way you talked to me to convince me. And a few years ago it was the same." Remus made a little more room for Draco as he sat down next to him. Apparently, Draco chose to slip closer instead of keeping a huge distance between them, which he had definitely still preferred a few days ago.

"I was everything but a model student, wasn't I?" Draco asked. He let Teddy down onto his lap and grabbed the tiny hands, playing with the fingers that were twice as small as his own.

Remus did not know what to say and focused his gaze on Draco's hands. Long, slender fingers enclosed Teddy's hand, and Remus could see blue lines shimmering through the pale skin. Draco's nails seem to shine a little; the white half-moons at the tip were perfectly neat, nothing like the irregular nails Remus called his own, with ragged, uneven cuticles and most of the time a thin darker line underneath them.

"You can tell me if I was a pain in the arse, Remus," Draco said and Remus nearly jumped in shock. Draco blinked at him as Remus' eyes grew big when he looked at him instead examining the nails of his former student. He could not remember having something like hand fetishism but that could not stop the sudden need to touch Draco's hand rising in him.

"Why, Draco?" Remus balled his hands into fists to prevent himself from grabbing Draco's hand. "Would you want to change your behaviour? It's not too late for that."

Draco grabbed Teddy and placed him on the mattress, grinning as the kid fell on his back. Reaching out, Draco pulled Teddy's shirt up and started tickling his belly. He engaged Teddy's hands and feet in play like this was not his first time. Remus coughed. His first time playing with Teddy, of course, and not in case of being a virgin. He really had to stop looking at Draco's fingers. That made him nervous in a way he should not feel nervous around Draco.

"Are you ignoring me now?" Remus asked and chuckled as Draco nodded. "Very well… Then I'll just leave and let you play with Teddy."

Draco sneered. "Feeling a little neglected?"

"Yes, very much," Remus joked. "But you seem to be on very good terms with Teddy…"

"He doesn't seem to be a… difficult child. Very… sociable," Draco said, apparently feeling strange to refer to Teddy as a human and not a thing without a personality. "I think we'll get along well. I mean… somebody has to look after him while you're at work and Aunt Andromeda spends her time with my mother."

Remus was not so sure if this was as good an idea as Draco apparently thought. It was one thing to let him play with Teddy while Remus was around, but leaving him alone with all the necessary duties seemed a little too much. Stress had never been something that Draco could handle very well and a baby was very stressful.

Draco seemed to sense Remus' doubts. "You think that I can't do it, right?"

"Well, maybe not yet," Remus said, gifting Draco an apologetic smile that made him snort. "You're just not used to children. It's not that I'm afraid you'll hurt him or…"

"Or that I'm bad company?" Draco put Teddy's clothes in order and helped him sit up, trying to cover that he felt a little hurt, but the angles of his mouth were twitching suspiciously.

"I never…" Remus shook his head. "Of course you can look after Teddy. I don't have anything against it. I even appreciate it if you two build up a close relationship. He's your cousin, after all. I don't want this to be like the relationship between you and Tonks."

"You mean nonexistent?" Draco pulled his legs onto the mattress, again taking Teddy's hands. Teddy's smile widened and he tried to free his small fists, laughing as Draco dandled him back and forth. "I never knew I had a cousin, actually. What a strange coincidence that she married my former professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts…"

"You're quite talkative today," Remus admitted.

Draco looked at him with a puzzled expression in his face. "Sorry," he mumbled, seeming even more confused as Remus shook his head. "Father never liked that I tend to blether."

Remus shifted uncomfortably on the bed. The thought of being just a replacement for Draco's father was not far to seek, but Remus did not want it to feel even stranger when he stared at Draco's hands a moment too long. Well, it was not right to have an obsession with any part of Draco's body… Remus felt perverted. Draco was a handsome young man, but the operative word was young. Remus felt paedophiliac, although it was pathetic because Draco was of age and did not look like a child, but… he did not want to destroy the life of another young human.

It was not his fault that Tonks had died, but he still felt responsible, most likely because he had not made the last months of her life the most beautiful time. He had married her, impregnated her and then he had run off, only to crawl back to a woman that was so very different from Draco. He did not know what was wrong with him that he was about to make the same mistake again. Being attracted to someone half his age was one thing, but Draco could not handle such a volatile temperament as well as Tonks. He was so fragile inside and needed someone to protect him. Tonks had always been able to take care of herself, knowing exactly what she wanted, while Draco seemed so lost at the moment. Like a puppy kicked out in the rain that did not know if maybe it deserved such a punishment, waiting for someone to either kick him again or take him inside.

"Your father isn't here," Remus said. "Feel free to chew my ear off."

Draco quirked his eyebrow, sizing Remus up and smirking as he noticed the deep blush that painted Remus' cheeks rosy. "Look at that, Ted…" He shook his head, before smiling down on Teddy. "Your daddy tries to hit on me. What do you think about that?"

Remus sighed and stood up. Draco followed him, holding Teddy tightly in his arms.

"That was just a joke. I know you don't want me to literally chew on your ear…" Draco bit hard on his bottom lip, bringing blood to the surface and with that a deep red colour. Remus' eyes lingered on Draco's mouth a moment too long so that he hardly heard what Draco had said.

"I know that it was just a joke, Draco. I'm not that old and don't take everything you say seriously," Remus said, amused.

"Was it inappropriate because of your wife?" It surprised Remus that Draco seemed to actually care, although it was rather because Remus was more useful for him when he was not offended. Of course Draco did not care about Remus being hurt.

"That's not a topic we should discuss, Draco," Remus said and headed for the door, Draco right behind him.

"Okay," Draco said, his voice absolutely emotionless. "Shall I show you the Library?"

Remus nodded, surprised that Draco cared about having Remus' company. He must have been very lonely in the last months and had to make up for a lot of babbling if he wanted to spend time with a filthy werewolf and his least favourite teacher.

"You know, Greyback never went in there," Draco explained. "He didn't like books. They seemed to scare him. I always thought that he couldn't read. But anyway, I spent quite a lot of time there during my holidays and it actually needs some archiving. Maybe you'd like to help me?" The hopeful spark in Draco's eyes made it impossible to deny him anything, so Remus nodded in agreement, although he already had done enough inventories this year and now he even agreed to do it without getting paid for it.

There might be something wrong with him…

"It's…" Draco shook his head instead of finishing his sentence, but the look he gave Remus made up for every syllable. He was thankful and that was more than Remus had ever dared hoping to receive from Draco Malfoy.