Author's Note: Hello everyone, welcome back (or welcome for the first time if you're new!). Here is chapter ten, a bit later than usual but oh well. Hope you enjoy!
As always, thank you to every single one of you that reads, favorites, follows, and/or reviews! I appreciate it :)

Review Responses: (this one's a long one...)

silentmayhem: Draco's a cutie, that's for sure. He'll be a handful growing up lol. Thanks for the review!

MirrorFlower and DarkWind: Thanks so much for the review (again, lol) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Love Faith Embers: Glad you like him! He's fun to write. Thanks for the review!

Gurgaraneth: Glad you enjoy it! Yep, the morning's fun. I'm looking forward to Sev's face too honestly, should be fun ;)

geekymom: Thank you so much!

Guest: Thanks :)

Enjali: I'm glad! Here's the requested update ;) I can't wait to see that either tbh so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the review!

ProTaggingProperly: Adorable children and adorable pictures to embarrass them with when they're older, lol. Red is just a stuffed animal that Draco imagines can talk...at least he was originally...now I'm liking the family magic idea so idk. We'll see ;) Thanks for the review!

mizzrazz72: Yep, his bestest friend if he's to be believed, lol. Thanks for the review!

GLB: Will do! Don't worry, I won't be abandoning this, it is too much fun to write :)

Arizeri: Thanks for the review! My version of Dumbledore was actually meant to be more of a caricature, hence the parody feel. Of course, you can expect him to be more in character once he's actually around people whose support he needs rather than alone in his office or dealing with the Dursleys. I will admit that Tom the not-so-imaginary friend is a very interesting character to write. We'll be seeing a lot more of him going forward. Once again, thanks for the feedback!

aaaaaaaaaaaand now the chapter can start...

Severus wasn't quite sure what to make of the scene he walked in on. He'd only been gone for a few minutes, just so that he could get ready for bed, and suddenly there was not one, but two children on the bed.

He was fairly certain that a five minute bathroom break was not long enough for children to multiply.

"Your parents are going to panic when they wake..." Severus muttered, even as he pulled the blankets up over both of his charges.

The thing that surprised him the most was that Red was in Verus' arms and not Draco's. That dog went everywhere with the blond and he didn't even let his parents touch it without putting up a fight. It seemed that Lucius hadn't been exaggerating when he told Severus how excited Draco was to meet Verus.

Severus hoped Verus would respond positively to Draco, though he would understand if the little boy didn't respond well since the only other child he'd been able to interact with was the Dursley brat. He wouldn't know for sure how that interaction would go until the morning, luckily, he tended to wake before both of the boys so he could mediate if need be.

He summoned a quill and parchment and penned a quick note to Lucius and Narcissa so that they would not worry when they found their son missing from his bed, then duplicated it so that there was a greater chance that it would be seen before they went looking for the child.

"Glibby," he said quietly and nodded when the house elf appeared almost instantly, "Place one of these where your master will be sure to see it before he goes to check in on his son and the other in Draco's room."

Glibby accepted the notes and bowed before popping away.

Severus sighed and sat on the bed, considering his options. He could cast a monitoring charm and go sleep in his room...or he could just settle in with the children. His original plan had been to just sleep in the bed next to Verus because he didn't know how the child would do waking up alone again, especially since that morning hadn't been the best.

"I believe I will feel better if I'm here in case Verus has a nightmare again," he thought, "and he doesn't know Draco...might be a repeat of this morning."

Mind made up, Severus got into the bed on Verus' other side and summoned his own favorite blanket from the chair he'd left it in.

It didn't take long for sleep to claim him that night.

Lucius was the first one up the next morning, as usual. He stretched and went through his morning routine without much thought, already looking forward to the coffee he knew awaited him in the sitting room just off of the bedroom.

Though he was definitely looking forward to his coffee, and didn't have any plans to do anything important that day, Lucius forced himself not to rush or cut any corners. He was a Malfoy after all, he had a standard to uphold.

At seven thirty on the dot, Lucius finally sat for the coffee that had been calling his name, taking a long drink and sighing gratefully. When he opened his eyes once more he saw the note sitting next to the coffee pot and frowned. It was unlike Severus to send him notes by house elf, especially when they were staying in the same manor.

In case you were wondering, and to perhaps prevent any early morning panic attacks, I should inform you that Draco decided to join me and my son last night in Verus' room. - S

Lucius' eyebrows rose and he stood, coffee forgotten in the face of this new development. He mentally grumbled about it being far to early for this as he stalked through the manor to Verus' room. He wasn't actually angry, more worried at the thought of his young son suddenly deciding to wander the manor at night with no one the wiser. He seriously hoped this would not become a frequent occurrence. They would need to set more monitoring charms in the future...and the nurse elf would need to be...reprimanded for her negligence...

The blond man came to a stop outside of Verus' door and took a calming breath, forcing all worries and thoughts of punishment out of his mind. On the off chance that Verus was awake this early, he needed to at least appear calm and pleasant...not that that was difficult with children as adorable as the two in the manor at the moment.

Lucius opened the door quietly and couldn't stop the smile that formed at the sight he was met with. Severus was surprisingly still asleep, his face peaceful and much less severe, curled protectively around both children in his care. Verus lay on his back close to his father, his head turned to the side so that his face pressed into the soft fur of Draco's dog, Red while one hand clutched Severus' blanket. Draco had somehow turned almost completely sideways, his feet near the side of the bed while his head rested near Verus' stomach and Red's head.

He decided then and there that he would use a pensieve to make a physical copy of this moment, since he hadn't thought to bring a camera with him and he knew calling for a house elf...or shutting the door to do so...would wake Severus. Speaking of...Lucius wasn't surprised when one onyx eye opened to glare at him as he shut the door carefully. His friend had always been a very light sleeper.

Lucius shot the other man a grin as he sat down, though he was quickly distracted by the appearance of his coffee. The house elves were good for one thing at least.

"Good morning, Severus," he greeted once the potions master had taken a seat and was nursing his own cup of the heavenly brew, "sleep well?" Severus studied him for a moment, as though waiting for the caffeine to kick in before he spoke,

"Indeed, it seems that my brat isn't quite as violent in his sleep as yours is, for which I am thankful."

"I am surprised that Draco didn't manage to wake Verus with his antics." Lucius mused,

"He would have," Severus replied, "if I had not given Verus a tiny amount of a sleeping draught and he wasn't already exhausted from the day."

"Why did you give him a potion if he was already tired?"

"I only gave him a few drops, Verus is as light of a sleeper as I am and I wanted to be sure he got the rest he needed," the potions master said, "we do have things to do today, after all."

Verus lay in bed for a bit after waking, though he made sure to keep his eyes closed and not move a muscle. He took stock of what he could feel and hear, noticing instantly that he was not alone if the warmth beside him was anything to go on. He could hear Da and Lucius talking quietly from farther away so he knew it had to be someone else, his mind conjuring up images of the skinny boy with blond hair that had invaded his dreams that night...or interrupted a nightmare? He wasn't entirely sure.

This realization had Verus almost holding his breath to keep from being noticed, eyes tightly shut even as his hands tightened their grip on...whatever it was he had in his arms. The child ignored the urge to carefully open one eye to see what it was he was holding. He couldn't know if the person beside him was awake or not and he didn't really want to find out until his Da was beside him.

Movement from the mystery person drew the attention of both of the adults and had both of them moving closer. The bed dipped and Verus found himself being lifted carefully into a warm embrace.

"I know you're not asleep, Verus," Da whispered in his ear, "you did a very good job acting though."

Verus carefully opened his eyes to stare up at his da. He offered him a smile and cuddled in closer. Now that he knew for sure that he was safe, he didn't really want to be awake.

"Papa, you found me!" the unknown voice reminded Verus why he'd been faking sleep in the first place and he stiffened in his da's hold.

"Yes, your godfather wrote me a note to let me know where you'd run off to, Dragon, and good thing too, I would have been beside myself had I checked in on you and found that you were missing!" Lucius said. Verus remembered that the man had told him he had a son, the thought did not help his nerves one bit.

"But Papa, Red wanted to meet Dragon's new bestest friend!" the boy insisted, "Oh! Where is Red?"

"I believe Verus is still holding onto him for you," Lucius said calmly.

Verus looked down at the soft thing in his arms, finally able to see the features of what he now knew was a stuffed dog.

"Oh yeah! Red and Dragon helped...um...V-Ve…"

"Verus,"

"Yeah, Verus. Red and Dragon helped Verus with a bad dream."

"That was kind of you, Draco," Da said, "Verus, will you turn around and say hello to Draco? He's been very excited to meet you,"

"He...let me hug his toy puppy?" That and the thought that the other child had actually been excited to meet him sounded very much like a lie to Verus but he did as his da asked and cautiously turned until he could see the other child and his father. He then realized that his "dream" hadn't been a dream at all.

"Hi! Name's Dragon and that's Red!" the blond boy informed him, giving him a big smile. Verus blinked and smiled back tentatively, waving a bit in greeting.

"...Hi..." he whispered and shut his mouth quickly, not liking the way his heart pounded in his chest from just that small interaction. He huddled closer to his da's protective warmth, hoping that his hello was okay for the moment.

Dragon stared at his new friend, wondering just why the other boy was being so quiet. His papa had said that Verus was sick...did that make him not talk? But...he'd talked last night for the brief moment he had been awake...

"Uncle Sev, your Verus is quiet." Dragon informed his godfather, noting that the man did not seem to be as concerned as he should be, "Verus is okay?"

"Yes, Draco, he is quiet," Severus said, "but he has only just woken up and not everyone is a morning person such as yourself."

"Shall we all go down to breakfast then?" Papa asked and Dragon saw his new friend's eyes get really really big.

"Verus and I will need to get ready first, Lucius," Severus said, "and of course, Draco should get dressed as well." Dragon knew exactly what that meant and decided that he didn't like the thought of leaving his new friend so soon.

"Red and Dragon always look nice," Dragon reminded the man, then gasped as the thought of Red brought something far more important to mind, "Uncle Sev! Papa! Verus doesn't got any toys or soft blankies!" he exclaimed, "That's not right! Dragon needs those so Verus needs those too!"

"You're correct, Dragon," his Papa said, "Verus does indeed need those things, just like you."

"Which is why Verus and I are going shopping today," Severus added, "to get all of the things he needs before we move into our new home."

Dragon frowned, what was this talk of a new home? His godfather and his bestest friend lived with him! They couldn't leave!

"New home? No, no new home. Uncle Sev and Verus live with Dragon and Red and Mummy and Papa."

Severus bit back a groan at the tone his godson was using, knowing from experience that they were mere seconds away from a meltdown of epic proportions.

"Draco, you know that Severus doesn't actually live with us," Lucius reminded his son calmly, "and Verus lives with him."

"NO! Verus and Uncle Sev lives with Dragon!" Draco protested loudly and Severus felt Verus go completely still in his lap. He knew without looking that the boy was on the alert, wary of any threats that might come his way. Severus shot a meaningful look at Lucius, it went without saying that a tantrum from Draco would not endear him to the other child.

"No, Dragon, they visit us but they have a home elsewhere," Lucius continued. Both Severus and Lucius knew that Draco wouldn't allow the subject to change, even if an emotional screaming fit was the only outcome they could foresee.

"NO! Dragon's bestest -" Draco began to shout but was cut off by movement from said "bestest friend".

To the surprise of the adults, just as a blow up seemed eminent Verus leaned towards Draco and held Red out to him, a shy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Red!" Draco exclaimed, reaching forward to accept the dog.

"Not be mad..." Verus murmured as he leaned back into Severus once again.

"Dragon not mad." Draco replied quickly, "All better."

Severus watched as Verus nodded and relaxed a bit, fighting back a knowing smirk. His child already knew at least the basics of getting what he wanted from people, the little Slytherin...of course, how could he not, with the blood running through his veins and his first few years of life.

"Come along Dragon, we'd best go get you ready for the day and allow Severus and Verus to do the same," Lucius said, standing and reaching for his son.

"But..." Draco protested and Severus was quick to interrupt,

"We will see you again today, Draco, don't worry."

"Uncle Sev promises?"

"Promise," Severus assured him and only then did Draco allow his father to carry him away, calling out,

"Dragon sees Verus later!" to the other child just before the door closed.

Severus felt more than heard Verus' sigh of relief once they were alone.

"What do you think of Draco, Verus?" he asked as he picked the child up and carried him to the wardrobe.

"Draco is...nice," Verus replied after a moment, "shared his puppy."

"Yes, that was very nice of him." Severus agreed, "He is a bit loud though, isn't he?"

he commented as he picked that day's clothes, adding the shirt Verus pointed at to the pile.

"Mmhmm!" Verus agreed, nodding, "Loud."

"I'm very proud of you for giving Draco a chance," the man said seriously, "especially first thing in the morning." Verus beamed and his good mood remained through bathtime which, Severus was happy to say lasted longer that morning than it had before.

After bath time though, Verus frowned and looked nervously up at Severus,

"Da?" he asked. Severus paused in brushing the child's hair,

"Yes?"

"Um...we go to b-breakfast with...others?"

"We do not have to if you would rather eat in here." Severus replied, knowing that their morning routine was something the child had already come to look forward to. The morning had already been a bit unnerving for the boy so if he would rather be comfortable for the morning meal then the man would allow it.

"Please?" Verus asked hesitantly.

"We will have breakfast here then, after I have had my own shower and am ready for the day." Severus said and Verus smiled.

Fifteen minutes later, Severus settled into his usual chair with Verus and the purple sippy cup. He stayed silent for a moment, just watching the child. Sometimes the boy seemed so much younger than he actually was and other times so much older. At the moment, he looked very, very young cuddling in with his cup like a baby with a bottle. Severus couldn't find it in himself to worry about whether or not Verus should be acting older. He loved this part of their morning routine too.

"I have decided that we'll go shopping today, Verus," Severus said once the cup was empty, "We'll get you toys and things to fill put in your new room."

"I get toys?" Verus asked, eyes wide.

"Of course you do," Severus replied, "We won't go too crazy but I expect you'll have plenty of things to play with by the end of the day."

"...books too?" Verus whispered hesitantly and Severus nodded seriously,

"Definitely," he assured the child, "and perhaps, if you're very good, we will stop for ice cream when we're done." The amazement on the little boy's face was more than worth all of the dread Severus felt for the sugar rush he knew he would face later on.

It wasn't until the two of the actually reached Diagon Alley that Severus remembered that Verus had told him how much the "light" had hurt his eyes the last time they'd been. Internally cursing himself for forgetting, he allowed the child to bury his face in his neck and headed for the entrance to Knockturn Alley.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely safe to bring a child into this side street, but Verus' gift was rare enough that any magical artefact meant to help regulate the ability would be hard to find and buy in Diagon without everyone in the magical world finding out. Luckily, there were stores such as Borgin and Burkes that had a little bit of everything, though Severus would rather not buy something from there since the object would be low quality and insanely overpriced.

The shop he hoped would have something useful was Magical Myriads. Half of the store was similar to Borgin and Burkes with its odd collection of miscellaneous objects but the other half catered to magical creatures from all over the world, boasting items that helped them hide and adapt to decrease the chances of capture. Severus stepped inside and Verus' head popped up, looking around with interest now that he could finally see.

"Welcome, Sir," the clerk greeted, scanning the two new customers with interest, "Lookin' for anything in particular?"

"Yes," Severus replied as he set the little boy down on his own two feet and took his hand instead, "Do you carry anything to help manage magical sight? There is far too much magic in Diagon for a child that is not quite used to being able to see it."

"Hmm..." the clerk frowned and moved over to the less hectic side of the store, "we have a few variations on muggle sunglasses that might work? Strictly speaking, they're to help vampires so they're darker than the muggle ones."

"It certainly can't hurt him to try them," Severus said, accepting a pair from the clerk and bending down to slip them onto Verus' face, "I'm going to demonstrate a light spell, Verus, and you tell me if it's still painfully bright,"

Verus did not like the idea of telling his Da anything while the stranger was there. He did not even want to open his mouth in front of the person that worked in the store...actually, he didn't think he would be able to...but he nodded his agreement and waited. His Da was doing this for him after all, so he had to go along with whatever was asked of him.

"Expecto Patronum." Da said and a glowing animal appeared. Verus stared in awe at the thing even as the stranger gasped.

"Well, Verus? How is it?" Da asked, "Too bright?" Verus shook his head. He didn't think anything could be too bright with these glasses on.

"Wonderful!" the store man said, "we carry those glasses in all sorts of shapes and colors, and, actually, we do have a few pairs with clear glass in them but the same charms if you'd like to try those."

"Thank you, may we have a few moments to browse?" Da asked and the store man nodded and left them. "What do you think, Verus?"

"So dark, Da..." Verus admitted, pulling the glasses off of his face carefully, "Like night."

"Would you like to try these clear ones?" Da asked, holding out a pair of glasses with silver frames and plain glass in the center.

Verus allowed his da to put the glasses on his face and looked at the glowy animal again.

" 's okay..." he admitted. Verus really didn't like the way the glasses felt on his face, though he didn't mind the way they looked in the small mirror when his da lifted him up to see.

"They aren't for everyday use, just for places with too much magic for you to handle at the moment." his da said comfortingly, "With training, you will eventually be able to control your gift more and either be able to withstand large amounts of magic, or simply tone it down."

"Tell your Da that there's books on training this gift in your grandfather's home along with a potion that was created to do something like what the glasses do until you're old enough to control it." Tom said quietly. Verus wondered why his friend felt so odd...nervous maybe? Concerned?

"Da, Pom says there's books in my grand...father's home and...a, um, a potion that's like the glasses?"

Severus froze at those words and had to fight to keep a straight face so as not to worry the child. It would seem that the boy's imaginary friend was not quite as imaginary as he had hoped. He would have to ask about it later.

"Thank you, er...Pom…" he replied, offering Verus a small smile, "That will definitely make this easier in the long run. For now though, Verus, do you like the dark glasses or the clear?"

"Clear, Da." Verus replied easily,

"Alright, and do you like the ones you have on now or would you rather try the round ones?" Verus frowned for a moment, looking at the round glasses before shaking his head,

"This is okay." he said and Severus nodded before taking his hand again and leading him up to the counter in the center of the store.

"Found some that worked out then?" the clerk asked, "I'm glad. And, if I might add, they look wonderful on the little guy." Severus raised an eyebrow,

"Indeed." he replied, briefly wondering if Verus was glad that the other man had chosen to speak about him rather than to him.

He paid for the glasses and picked Verus up again before leaving the store, heading back towards the ever bustling Diagon Alley. Worrying over his son's invisible friend could wait, he decided, they had toys and blankets and books to shop for. And ice cream, of course.

A/N: Alright, so next chapter is shopping and stuff...probably check in with some other people as well...maybe. Eventually, there will be some time skips so that I'm not writing this story for the next twenty years ;) but that'll probably happen after Verus is settled. Sev meets "Pom" soon...that'll be fun...should be either this next chapter or the one after. Anyway, Chapter Eleven should be up sometime within the next two weeks. Thanks so much for reading!