April 7th, 2010

Narcissa quickly tied her long blond hair back in a bun. When she was younger she used to spend an hour carefully brushing out the silky strands into an elaborate updo with ribbons and bows. Now, however, she had twin granddaughters running around and she just needed her damn hair up.

"Lyra, no," Narcissa said as she reached down and gently wrapped her fingers around her granddaughter's chubby arm. She had been crawling closer and closer to the fire and was reaching straight for the flame. Lyra started to protest, but Narcissa just scooped her up and rested her on her hip. Lyra was starting to get a little old for being carried around, but she would hold her granddaughter until it was physically impossible. "When are daddies home?" Lyra pouted as she leaned against her grandmother's shoulder.

"Soon I'm sure," Narcissa said calmly.

"How soon?" Lyra sighed irritably.

"Well, Lyra dear, having a baby takes some time." Narcissa explained patiently. Before Lyra could ask another question, a whooping sound carried down from the stairs. Narcissa sighed and shook her head as Lucius came running down the stairs with Lily on his shoulders hollering in delight. He froze at the bottom step when he saw his wife standing stock still with a bemused expression on her face. Lily giggled profusely waving her hands in the air and shouting, "Again, again!"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at Lucius, "What if she had fallen off your shoulders?"

"I've got her," Lucius insisted, pointing out his admittedly good grip on her legs that were draped over his shoulders.

"You say that now, but what if you had tripped down the stairs?"

"Well that didn't happen, she's fine," Lucius reminded her calmly.

"You need to be a little less reckless with her," Narcissa suggested. Her husband looked at her with his innocent baby blue eyes and pouted his lower lip ever so slightly. She sighed and curved the corner of her mouth just enough to let him off the hook. Lucius grinned and let Lily down, "Well, Lil, looks like grandma doesn't think it's a good idea to play grandpa dragon anymore."

"That's okay, I wanna play with blocks now." Lily shrugged and wandered over to the pile of blocks next to her toy chest. Lyra wriggled in Narcissa's arms without saying a word. Cissy laughed and let down her granddaughter, "Go ahead little one." Lucius walked over to his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. She smiled and leaned into him, kissing his cheek, "What happened to being overprotective of her?"

"She wants to have fun. Besides, her dad's a damn healer. I doubt there's anything I could do from playing dragon that Draco couldn't fix."

Narcissa rolled her eyes a bit, but knew he had a bit of a point. She supposed the chance of Lily getting hurt was minimal, "Fine. Play dragon with her then but —"

The door suddenly cracked open beside them. They turned and saw their son stepping through the front door. His hair was a bit of a mess and there were bags under his eyes. They had left late the night before when their surrogate had gone into labor. Despite the many hours he had been awake, Draco's eyes were still bright. He was completely blocking the door as his parents watched him eagerly, his daughters looking over their shoulders expectantly.

"May I introduce," Draco said a bit too triumphantly as he stepped forward and out of the way for Harry to walk in behind him, "Your new grandson and brother, James Sirius Potter-Malfoy." Bundled up in Harry's arms was a fresh newborn with a shock of black hair not unlike his father's. He had been born in the middle of the night and had just been cleared to leave that afternoon.

Lily and Lyra charged straight for their dad, both eager to get a look at their new baby brother. "Hang on," Harry murmured as he slipped past the girls and sat down carefully on the couch as Draco tucked a pillow under his arm for him. The girls clambered up onto the couch and pressed close against to their dad to look down at the baby.

"Why is he so small?" Lyra whispered with a frown.

Harry tried not to laugh, "That's how big most babies are when they're born."

"That's how big we were?" Lily echoed.

Harry glanced away from his son long enough to look at his daughters. His grin he had been wearing for the last hour or two faltered a bit, "You were both a bit smaller actually."

"So small," Lily murmured in awe.

The newborn slept soundly, unaware of his new family encircling him.

Lyra watched the baby curiously but was oddly quiet. Generally, nobody could get Lyra to shut up. But she had taken the news of a new sibling the hardest. She had said rather harshly that she hadn't wanted Lily for a sister and she didn't want another "wimp" like her. The baby in front of her looked pretty weak and boring so far and she wasn't sure what to make of him. "He'll get big like us though won't he?" Lyra asked Harry skeptically.

"Yes, all in due time."

"So we can't play with him yet can we?"

"Not quite, but you can hold him if you want," Harry offered. His heart was overflowing with the soft joy that came with becoming a parent, no matter which child it was. The thought of his darling girls holding his newborn son only magnified this happiness. "You want to try and hold him Lily?"

Lily blanched slightly but nodded, "Okay."

Draco knelt in front of her, "Hold your arms out sweetheart." She did just as her dad asked. Harry carefully began to lower James into his sister's arms. Draco gently moved Lily's arm to support the baby's neck and tucked another pillow beneath the baby so she wouldn't strain her arms.

"Oh wow," Lily murmured under her breath as she looked down at the baby. "Hi baby brother. I'm Lily," She kissed his nose sweetly, "I think I love you already."

Collectively, the entire family felt their hearts swell with pure love. All except Lyra. When Harry turned and asked Lyra if she wanted to hold the baby she shrugged and muttered, "If you want me to daddy."

"You don't have to," Harry reminded her, trying not to worry about Lyra's reluctance.

Lyra cast a glance at her sister and brother. In a way she couldn't quite comprehend she suddenly felt quite jealous. She never got along with her sister, they always butted heads. In her brother, however, lay her first real opportunity to gain a friend in the family. He may be a small, fragile baby now but she could help him be tougher. Her and Fred would raise him right. A sense of conviction overcame her as she held out her arms, "Lily it's my turn. Let me hold him."

The baby was carefully transferred from one child to the other. The shifting between people stirred James awake and as he was placed in his sister's arms his eyes slowly opened. Given how new to the world he was, everyone was a massive blur. But he looked up and could vaguely make out the shape of his sister's face as she peered down at him, "Hi James, I'm Lyra. You and I are going to be best friends, got it?" The baby involuntarily blew a spit bubble. Lyra took that as comprehension of her words and nodded, "Good."

Draco and Harry exchanged a nervous look. Draco deemed it best to try and separate what already looked like a partners in crime scenario and turned to his parents, "Do you want to meet your grandson?"

Lucius graciously accepted the small squirmy boy that was handed to him. His expression softened. It was far less noticeable now than it was years ago before the girls were born. Since their birth he had become a changed man. He had finally softened his resolve, his rough edges rounded out. When he held his first grandchild it was like watching a piece of granite turn into soft mud. This time, his expression had already been warm and inviting. Holding his grandson, his face held a greater joy than before. A smile on his lips lead to a crinkle by the corner of his eyes. It was always a tell tale sign to his wife of just how happy he was.

"Hi there darling boy, aren't you something? Welcome to the world. Oh don't worry James, I won't take offense that your name isn't as gorgeous as mine. We can't all be perfect." He smirked down at the baby as Draco and Harry rolled their eyes.

"Don't hog the baby, Lucius, give him to grandma," Narcissa demanded as she scooped the baby straight out of his arms. She beamed down at the cherub, "Don't you mind Grandpa Lucius. He may be a pain but he's loveable." After a few more minutes of being seemingly tossed back and forth the baby burst into tears, fed up with being awake. Harry delicately took the baby and headed upstairs to the prepared nursery while Draco said goodbye to his parents and saw to the girls.

2:34 a.m.

Harry crawled back into bed. Draco rolled over and wrapped his body around his husband, kissing his hair gently. It was the second time that night the baby had woken them. This time it had been Harry's turn to settle him down.

"Remember, time flies. He'll be on the train to school before we know it."

"That doesn't make me feel much better. He's cute now. What if he's a total pain in the ass at eleven? I know I was."

"Yeah well maybe he won't reject the first person who tries to be friends with him like his dad did."

"You were not the first person who tried to be my friend," Harry mumbled as he got comfortable and let his eyes close again.

"Nonetheless."

"Do you think the girls will like him?"

"Lily is in love already."

"Lily is also in love with the front door, that doesn't mean a whole lot," Harry sassed. It was true, however. Lily waved to the door every day when she came home from day school.

"Oh that just means she'll love him no matter what. And Lyra clearly wants him to be her sidekick like Freddie already is. Those three are going to be hell."

Harry smiled and mustered a slight laugh, "Yeah they will. Hmm. I guess it'll be fine."

"Don't fret love," Draco whispered as he played with Harry's hair, knowing it would help him fall asleep. The two drifted back into a dreamless slumber.