Author's Note: I'd like to thank natsuki23 for being the only one to take the time to review. You are appreciated!
They went to the theater the next Saturday. Nysus was still uncomfortable around Harry, evident by the sour expression on his face, but he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything. As the adult, Harry didn't want to push himself on his son, so when it came time to split up, he went with Cori and Narcissa to see a children's puppet show, while Draco took Scorp and Nysus to see the cool new play. Afterwards they met up for sandwiches and ice cream. Nysus was so excited about the play that he talked nonstop and barely noticed Harry was there at all.
Overall, Harry and Draco rated it a success. They talked that night and agreed it was time to move forward. They would do it during Sunday dinner. With Harry coming over for dinner every night and spending the weekends with the family, it was obvious they were more than friends. Scorp and Nysus were old enough to figure out something was going on and as the parents, Draco and Harry wanted to tell them before they guessed.
Draco waited until they were finishing up a dessert of berry tart with cream, before calling for attention, "Everyone, Harry and I have something we need to tell you."
"Yes Father?" Scorp replied with his best Pureblood manners.
"What is it Draco?" Narcissa asked.
Cori nodded in agreement, while Nysus merely stared mutely.
"Harry and I are dating. He's my boyfriend and I am his boyfriend," Draco announced.
"No! You can't do this!" Nysus screamed, jumping up from his chair.
"Calm down Nysus, or you will be sent to your room without having your say," Narcissa scolded, motioning for the child to sit.
Draco looked sternly at his younger son, daring the child to continue the outburst. Nysus turned red in the face, his lips contorted into a scowl, but sat. Draco turned to Narcissa and asked, "Mother, do you have anything you wish to say?" He already knew what his mother would say and he felt it was best to start with supportive comments.
"You are an adult, Draco, and free to date whoever you choose. I think Mr. Potter will make an excellent match for you. Congratulations," Narcissa replied politely, a smile quirking up the corners of her mouth.
"Thank you, Mother. Cori, do you have anything to say?" Draco asked, turning to his daughter.
"More berries?" Cori asked.
"No more berries. You had enough dessert. I was asking if you have anything to say about me dating Harry here," Draco replied.
"Harry give me berries?" Cori asked.
Harry looked down at the last few bites of his unfinished dessert and considered passing them over. He looked at Draco for permission, wondering if the child was allowed to eat until she was full, or if she was like Dudley and would gorge herself until she was sick. Draco shook his head, indicating that it was the latter, so Harry replied, "Sorry Cori, but your father said that you can't have any more berries."
"Aww," Cori protested.
"Scorpius, would you like to say something?" Draco asked, turning to his oldest.
"Father, do you deem Harry Potter worthy of the Malfoy family?" Scorp asked politely.
"Yes, I do," Draco answered.
Scorp shrugged, leaving just Nysus to go.
Draco turned to Nysus and asked, "Dionysus, do you have anything to say?"
"I don't think he's worthy of the Malfoy family. He's the son of a Muggleborn. His blood is impure," Nysus answered, doing his best to maintain his cool.
"Actually, we found out recently that he is not the son of a Muggleborn. His mother was in fact the daughter of an Incubus and a Muggle, making her a Halfblood. Harry is the son of a Halfblood and a Pureblood, making him a Pureblood. Do you understand that, Nysus?" Draco asked.
"What's an Incubus again?" Nysus asked.
"An Incubus is a wizard with a virus that allows them to inhabit other people's dreams," Draco answered. "The virus can only be transmitted from parent to child, so he is not contagious in the sense that a Werewolf or a Vampire is."
"And how do you know his, what, grandfather? Is one?" Nysus asked.
"Because Harry has been diagnosed with the virus, from his mother's side. If she was Muggleborn, then she couldn't have the virus. Her mother was definitely a Muggle, so in order for Lily Potter to have the virus, she must have had a father with the virus. Therefore she was a Halfblood," Draco lied.
"Fine, but do you not think that the Malfoy family should avoid contamination with the Incubus infection?" Nysus asked.
"No, I do not. The Malfoy family has a history of marrying spouses with the virus. Furthermore, I have already produced two heirs who are virus free. Thus the Malfoy line cannot be contaminated with the virus," Draco answered, telling the partial truth. His third child did have the virus, but he hoped to brush over that fact.
Nysus blinked as he thought about it, before turning to Narcissa and asking, "Grandmother, is this true?"
Draco felt a wave of relief that none of the children seemed to have caught his omission regarding Cori.
"Yes, Dionysus, it is. I myself come from a family with the occasional Incubus in it and your grandfather married me," Narcissa answered.
Nysus sighed in defeat on that point.
"Do you have any other objections, Dionysus, or are you satisfied?" Draco asked.
"I have more." Nysus paused, getting his thoughts in order, before continuing, "Harry Potter is the Savior of the Light. He would have us turn our backs on Pureblood customs and marry freely with Muggleborns. The Malfoy family has always been true to Pureblood customs and does not marry Muggleborns. I don't think he'd be a good representative for the family."
"Nicely spoken son, but again you are incorrect. The unofficial Malfoy moto is to always land on the winning side and on top. Our family adopted the Pureblood beliefs in public, after the International Statute of Secrecy banned us from maintaining our relationship with the Royal family and the Muggle upper class. Before then, we freely exchanged with them, including marriage. After the ban, we have continued to send them our Squibs and take in their Squib-born wizards. We also marry Halfbloods into the family on a regular basis, to prevent inbreeding. Inbreeding causes all sorts of medical conditions and has led to the decline of many formerly prominent Wizarding families. Therefore the Malfoy family presents itself as conforming to Pureblood culture, when in fact we have always straddled the edge. We must continue to straddle the edge, in order to ensure we are in the perfect position to switch sides if the wind blows in the other direction," Draco explained.
"But Harry Potter is too far on the side of the Light!" Nysus protested. "We'll fall right off the edge and become Muggle-lovers."
"We already are Muggle-lovers. The wind has shifted and the time to jump sides has come and gone. Our family is now toting the popular Muggle-friendly views of the Light. Harry Potter will help us gain favor in this new society and bring the Malfoy family back into prominence. This relationship is the perfect move for the family," Narcissa reasoned.
Nysus pouted at being thwarted.
"Nysus, do we not go out into Muggle-society every weekend?" Draco asked and Nysus nodded. "Do we all not enjoy Muggle entertainment and food when we do so?" Again, Nysus nodded. "Have you not requested to join a Muggle children's theater club?" Nysus nodded again, but more sharply this time, realizing the implied hypocrisy. "You are aware that joining this club would require you to interact with Muggles on a regular basis, are you not?"
"Yes Father," Nysus drawled, annoyed with the current turn in the conversation.
"And how exactly do you propose to act if and when you join this club?" Draco asked another.
"Like a star!" Nysus answered, a bit of excitement shining through.
"Besides stealing the show. How do you plan on acting towards the Muggles?" Draco clarified.
Nysus groaned, his scowl returning. "Like a proper gentleman, on my best behavior. I promise not to tell them about magic or make fun of them for being Muggles," he drawled in a bored tone, clearly repeating back something he'd been told many times.
"Good. Now if that is all, I would like to commend you all for your manners and elocution. You have all done well in a difficult adult discussion and I'd like to offer you a reward."
Nysus wanted to object and insist that he did have more to say. Harry Potter was an ugly stupid monster and his father was crazy for even considering the match. But he knew such objections would get him nowhere besides a grounding and probably nix his chance of joining the Muggle theater club. He still wasn't sure that he wanted to go, since it required letting Harry Stupid Potter take him, but he didn't want to get it taken away before he'd even decided. In the end he sighed in defeat and didn't say anything.
"We have all been invited to meet Harry's family, including George Weasley of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, next Sunday. George Weasley will be putting on a demonstration of his newest Whiz Bangs and other fun products," Draco announced.
"But his family is dead," Nysus objected.
"My birth parents are dead, but I've been adopted into the Weasley family. They have lots of kids your age, so it will be great fun," Harry replied cheerfully.
"We are not kids, we are children. No hooves, see?" Scorp asked, holding up his hands like he was a goat, to prove his point.
"Sorry, children," Harry agreed. "Do you want to go? George has promised an extra special sneak peak on what promises to be the most sought after Christmas present this year."
"This sounds like a punishment. Why would we want to go to the Weasley's? We have a yard too," Nysus protested, his arms crossed, trying to be difficult. He wasn't going to admit that it sounded cool.
"You do not have to go, if you do not wish to, Nysus. But you cannot stay home, unless your Grandmother is willing to watch you," Draco replied.
"Grandmother?" Nysus asked pleadingly.
"Sorry Dionysus, but I have tea to attend with Great Grandmother Black. You could go with me if you would like," Narcissa said.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Nysus grumbled to himself and slumped back in his chair. Great Grandmother Black was totally lame and completely awful. Her house smelled of Kneazle piss and mildew, she was too old to move, and she always yelled at him and said he did everything wrong. He hated her almost as much as he hated Harry Stupid Potter. "May I be excused?" he practically growled in frustration.
"Yes," Draco replied, wanting to forestall the outburst that was imminent if he insisted on having this out right this minute.
Nysus jumped up from the table and ran from the room, eager to get away.
Draco looked after his middle child and sighed in disappointment, before turning to his oldest. "Scorp, what do you think? Would you like to go?"
"There are boys my age?" Scorp asked.
"Yes, my godson, Teddy, is only a little more than a year older than you. He's away for his first year at Hogwarts, but I will be fetching him from school for the weekend," Harry answered. Parents weren't supposed to take their children home on weekends unless it was an emergency. He thought finding out that he had three children he didn't know about counted as an emergency and he wanted Teddy to meet them, so he had arranged with McGonagall and Andromeda for Teddy to come home next weekend. "And Fred, George's son, is seven." He added the last, in case Scorp were to pass the information along to Nysus. Maybe Nysus would be more interested in going if the child knew there would be other boys the same age there.
Scorp nodded, but said nothing.
"Cori, do you want to go to the party with Harry and me?" Draco asked, turning to his youngest.
'Yay! Party! Cake?" Cori asked.
"Maybe, I don't rightly know," Harry answered.
"Cake," Cori demanded.
"I will find out, but there will be some form of sweet for sure," Harry promised.
"De-er?" Cori asked.
"Yes, dessert," Harry confirmed.
Cori nodded and said, "Okay."
"Great, then next Sunday, Harry, Scorp, Cori, and I will be going to the Weasleys. With any luck, Nysus will choose the Weasleys over Great Grandmother Black and he will go too," Draco concluded, reaching out to Harry and squeezing his boyfriend's hand. This had gone as well as he could hope.
Author's Note: Next will be the party with the Weasleys!
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