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-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

They were on the floor in Scorpius's new room and Teddy's snitch fluttered around their heads. Teddy's hair was the same dark shade as Harry's because he'd elected himself leader and, to him, his godfather was the best leader ever.

Hugo was studying Scorpius a tad warily, chewing on the end of a chocolate bar that Teddy didn't bother to ask for a piece of. Hugo never shared his candies.

The little blonde played with Perry, the unicorn sitting between wide-spread legs as the younger Malfoy heir made whooshing noises and small whinnies, spinning the unicorn around and gasping as he left the isolated bubble; Hermione having decided on keeping him in it, in the isolated room or not. His lower lip quivered; Scorpius was not able to reach out of the bubble to pick anything up, only people were allowed to reach inside as if to ruffle his hair, or adjust his shirt. If Scorpius tried to get at the unicorn, the bubble would bend around it, then cause the little plush to rebound and bounce away. He hated this, as much as a sickly five year old could.

Teddy went for it. It was his duty as the oldest. But then Hugo grabbed it just ahead of him and grabbed the unicorn. "What's his name?" he muttered, one of the first things he'd said to Scorpius, as he reached through the bubble to offer the toy.

"P-Perry..." The blonde flushed, hands coming to grasp at the toy and pull him up to his chest. The first words the red headed boy had said to him, and it was about his unicorn? Okay... okay... He tried to assure himself that the redhead meant no ill intent, he was just trying to be friendly. Him and Teddy got along fine, so why couldn't the blonde and Hugo?

"Okay." Hugo dropped back down. "You have a cat."

Teddy grinned. "Oh, yeah! You do! What's his name?"

"Sev'rus..." The blonde fidgeted nervously.

Teddy scooted closer because it was kinda weird seeing Scorp all nervous. "D'you wanna play hide'n'seek?" The adults had instructed that they stay in the room, but if Teddy was leader he figured he could make choices and stuff himself.

Scorpius nodded quickly, clapping his hands with excitement bursting in wide, silver eyes. "Yes! Yes!" He giggled as he clutched Perry to his chest, glancing at the two older males with nothing short of pure happiness, a quick turn around from his emotions of trepidation that he was feeling no more than two minutes previous.

With a whoop, Teddy jumped to his feet, grasping Scorpius's hand. "C'mon then! Hugo, you be the finder. Me and Scorp are gonna hide first."

"But you can count higher!" he argued, but Teddy just stuck out his tongue and dragged Scorpius out.

"Huffl'puffs are good finders!" The little boy giggled as the door thudded shut behind him, wincing as he almost knocked Kreacher over with his isolation bubble. "S-Sorry, Mr. Elf."

Kreacher bowed. "Are you in need, Master Scorpius?"

Teddy giggled. "Just don't tell Hugo where we've gone! We're playing. Come on, Scorp. You go that way." He waved towards the parlor. "I'll go this way." He waved the other direction. "Only hiding downstairs, okay? We don't want the grown-ups to find us before Hugo can."

Scorpius nodded eagerly, rushing off to the parlor, careful to remain in the center of the hallway, lest he knock anything over.

Teddy went the other way and was quickly hidden in what would've been a laundry room had this house actually been in use by Muggles. Instead, it was storage and kinda smelled like mothballs. Teddy concentrated hard and a very little ball of light floated near him, letting him find the perfect spot - beneath a basket covered in clothes. Hugo'd never find him.

Pleased with his bit of wandless magic, Teddy hunkered down and waited. ...But he forgot to turn the light out.

Scorpius rushed around the parlor, lower lip quivering as he continually knocked things over, glad that the noise was a simple thunk on the carpet. Behind the couch? No, the bubble wouldn't let him fit. Under a table? No, the bubble knocked it over. In between two bookcases? Scorpius rushed over, tears beginning to pool in his eyes as he held his hands out in front of him. Push, push, he chanted inside his head as he held his hands out in front of him as if to get the isolation bubble to warp somehow. Harder and harder he tried to fit between the cracks of the two bookcases that lined two separate walls, harder and harder- He rebounded, flying a few feet and landing with a thunk on the floor, his bum cushioned by the bubble. Tears leaked down his cheeks, a sniffle escaping as he curled up inside the bubble. T-This wasn't fair.

Hugo, having counted to twenty-five as far as he knew - two bajillion came after sixteen, right? - had been watching since the table. But now with Scorpius sniffling and curled up in a ball, he felt kinda bad. It wasn't her fault... If Scorpius was a girl. Hugo wasn't exactly sure. He kinda looked a lot like a girl. His hair was kinda long and really light and he was super little.

But anyway, it wasn't Scorpius's fault that he was really bad at hide'n'seek. So Hugo sighed and shuffled in, dropping down beside his playmate. "Hey. You're kinda bad at this."

"I can't d-do it!" He sniffled, sobbing softly. "This isn't fair!" His arms came to hit the bubble, bouncing back almost painfully before cross over his chest, tears pouring quietly down his tear-flushed cheeks as the bubble, casting a shadow by the sunlight, even showed the dust the simple bubble was reflecting away; the air around Scorpius perfectly cleansed. "I-I..." The tears dripped against his shirt. "I-I just wanna play..."

The redhead huffed, reaching out and poking Scorpius's shoulder. "Then we just gotta find something you can play. Don't be dumb."

Scorpius pouted, rubbing at his tears. "I-I'm not dumb." He glanced at the hand that retracted from his bubble. Why was this boy so confusing?

"You're actin' dumb." Hugo took out his chocolate bar and broke it in half. He offered a piece, frowning. "Here. Now stop cryin'. Mum fixes people all the time and Uncle Harry and dad help people too. So you just gotta stay in the bubbly thing a li'l while, geez."

Scorpius grumbled, taking the piece of chocolate with a simple thanks. That had to make him special right? The Weas-a-lee boy never gave chocolate to anyone! He took a small bite happily, scrunching up his face as it hit his slowly coming-in tooth.

"Oh! That's cool." Hugo pointed right at his mouth. "I lost a tooth too, but it growed back. Mum says I'll lose another soon, see?" He wiggled a lower tooth with his tongue, crossing his eyes in a failed attempt to see his own mouth.

Giggles left Scorpius's lips, covered by a puny hand as the chocolate rested against a pajama-bottom covered leg. The giggles almost turned into full-blown laughter before the child slowly stopped, taking in a few deep breaths as it became harder to breathe.

Hugo chewed on his chocolate, watching until the blonde was breathing normally again. "C'mon. Help me find Teddy. He won since I found you first, but this game's kinda dumb." He loved the game, but if Scorpius couldn't play, he could make due.

The blonde nodded, standing slowly as he finished off his chocolate with a pleased hum. "Okay." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, blinking as it vanished instantaneously as he began hurriedly following the red-head out of the room, stumbling over his sock-clad feet.

"Don't fall," Hugo instructed and offered the rest of his candy bar. If Scorpius was a girl, it was the nice thing to do, wasn't it? And if he was a boy, this obviously meant that they'd just be best friends or something like his dad and Uncle Harry. It didn't matter that he didn't share his sweets with Teddy because Teddy was older. He could get his own.

Scorpius smiled warmly, his toothy grin bright against tear-stained cheeks. "I-I'll be careful." He nibbled on the bar happily, before pausing in thought. Removing the rest of the wrapper, he broke off half of it and held it out to the boy, right at the edge of his bubbling. A peace-making gesture, he would wonder when he was older, looking back on this day.

Hugo took the piece immediately. "Thanks, mate," he said, trying the word out. Dad called Uncle Harry that all the time. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, nodded. "Yeah. Don't fall or get hurt or nothin'," he ordered and grabbed Scorpius's hand to drag him down the hall.

The blonde let a small smile grace his lips at the magic that tingled against the hand clasped in his. "O-Okay."

-8-8-

"What do you mean you've hit a stand-still?" Draco's eyes, wide with fear that Harry seemed to be the only one to recognise, grasped the edge of the table, hands shaking violently.

"This is... Well... I haven't run through everything exactly. But I don't know where else to go at the moment. I do have one theory, but testing it..." Hermione leaned back in her chair, rubbing her belly in slow circles. "I don't think we should yet. Not until he gets a bit stronger."

Harry sighed, covering one of Draco's hands with his own. "What until then, Hermione?"

"I suppose I can look through things that correspond to my theory."

"But he was doing so well... What suddenly changed? What changed your theory?"

"He was doing well. In the hospital. He was responding well to everything he was given, particularly the day before the crash." She flipped open a folder, double-checked a time chart. "Actually, just a few hours before that crash."

Harry looked over the times, brow furrowing at the area she pointed at. "That's when I left. Just a little while after."

"Yes, I know."

"What are you saying?" Draco leaned forward, brow furrowed as his eyes took in the charts in Harry's hand. "Do you mean to say that Harry is-?"

"Daddy!"

Draco jolted upwards, eyes wide as he gazed at the doorway to the kitchen. "S-Scorpius!"

"Wow!" came Hugo's voice. "That's a whole lotta blood!"

Teddy poked his head into the room, eyes wide. "Aunt Hermione! It was an accident!"

Harry's eyes sprang wide and he rushed out, brushing passed the boy. His hair was at his natural brown shade, which worried him that much more. What kind of accident caused a "whole lotta blood?" And-

Bugger, that was a lot of blood. The boys were in the kitchen, and Scorpius shirt was soaked a dark red, a shocking difference from the pale blue he wore after his bath, and Hugo was holding the material up to his nose for him while his arms flapped rather uselessly.

Harry crossed the barrier, kneeling down. Only then did he realize he had his wand in his hand and set it aside. "Let go, Hugo. Let me see."

The redheaded five year old pouted, but released the shirt, and Harry tugged it away from his nose. It was gushing blood and made him a little queasy.

Draco rushed forward at the sight of so much blood dripping from his son's nose, quickly kneeling down, heart pounding.

Tears leaked from Scorpius's eyes as his hands jerked up to block his nose, little sniffles escaping his chest. Draco's arms were instantly around the boy, drawing his violently small form against his chest. "D-D-Daddy..."

"Shhh, Scorpius, shh." He stroked the boy's hair as cleansing magic washed over him, glancing behind him at Hermione. "Why isn't it getting rid of the blood? It should heal, or clean, shouldn't it?" He rubbed Scorpius back, ignoring the blood that slowly began leaking its way onto his shoulder. "Harry, can you go get me a warm, damp cloth please?"

"I told you that the bubble needed to be closer to his skin to actually heal him. All it does now is protect him."

"Fat lot of good that's done," Harry grumbled and grabbed his wand without a thought.

Hermione narrowed her eyes a fraction, but didn't try and stop him from the episkey he performed on the child's nose.

Scorpius winced at the violent pull against his nose, tears pouring from his eyes as a sob left his lips, his knees shaking, hands clenching his still bleeding nose violently. "D-D-Daddy-!" The little boy's chest racked with waves of sobs, blood dripping from between his fingers to land on the floor against his sock clad feet.

Hermione sighed. Either her theory was wrong or there was something she was missing. "Get out of his bubble. Get out. Both of you. Harry, his blood's too thin for that to work as it should. Though the fact that your spell didn't outright kill him gives quite a bit of credence to my theory..."

"K-Kill him?" Draco turned, knees burning against the rub of the floor, the friction twisting the fabric against his knees painfully. "That could of killed him!"

Scorpius whimpered, shrinking back from the yells, causing Draco to instantly deflate and turn slowly, a hand coming up to place against the shell of the bubble. "Oh Scorpius, shh, I am sorry for yelling. I know you don't like it when I yell. I'm sorry." His heart was breaking at the sight of his son trapped in something that was suppose to help, and bleeding against his clothes, the red liquid dripping to the floor, trapped partially between tiny little fingers. "O-Oh Scorpius.." Ron hadn't spoken up this whole time, which the blonde was more than thankful for. He turned, sat fully on his knees, and placed both hands against the bubble, Scorpius reaching up, ignoring his blood gushing from his nose, and placed his hands over his father's, the bubble forming around the appendages. "Daddy..."

"Draco, I mean it. If you want the bubble to do what it's supposed to do, move away," Hermione ordered.

Harry was staring at his wand, stumbling back from the bubble. Merlin, that could have... But why?

Draco moved back with a few, shaking movements. "H-He could of died... Right there..." Silver eyes wide with fear, with such worry it swept through Draco's veins in waves, his heart tore at the images of his son lying flat on his face, the bubble still pulsing around him, his heart no longer beating... blood pooling around his little, blonde head... Oh Merlin. "Hermione, what is going on?" The exclamation shook, just as Draco's hands did against his legs.

"I think... Well, I think it has something to do with Harry..." She waved her hand. "But that doesn't matter now. Scorpius, I know it hurts really bad, but can you tell us how you got hurt?"

"He tripped," Hugo spoke up from against Ron's leg.

Hermione glanced over, sighed, and looked back at the bleeding boy. The bubble wasn't moving in any closer like it was supposed to. "Merlin, I think I have to get rid of it..."

"But Hermione-!"

"Harry," she snapped, "it should be moving close enough to stop the bleeding. It isn't. We'll have to do it the Muggle way. Now, Harry, you come with me. We'll take Scorpius to his room and handle things from there. Draco... I'm so sorry, but I think you have to stay here."

"What? Hermione! You can't be serious! He is my son, I should be there-"

"Draco," Harry spoke calmly, emerald eyes pleading, "I know he's your son, but a parent must do what is best for their child. And in this situation, you staying here," he waved a hand as if to encompass the whole kitchen, "is what's best." He reached forward to take the blonde's trembling hands, bringing them to his lips for a soft kiss on his knuckles.

"Harry..."

"I know. I love you. He's mine too, remember? He'll be okay."

"Harry, come along before he loses too much blood."

Draco watched the two of them leave, hands clenched, his bottom lip being gnawed on almost violent enough to cause blood.

"Cousin Draco, will he be okay?"

"Yes," Hugo muttered, face buried in his father's pant leg. "I told him to be careful..." He looked up, dark eyes flickering with worry, lip stuck out in a pout. "I did, dad..."

Ron blew out a breath, swooping his son up. Shite. "You may as well take a seat, Malfoy." He cleaned up the blood that had dripped to the floor with a flick of his wand. "Once Hermione has something in her head, she won't let go."

"I've gathered that..." The Malfoy, for once in his family's history, did not give a flying fuck about appearing cool, calm, and utterly collected near a blood-traitor. Grabbing the back of a plain kitchen chair, Malfoy flopped down unceremoniously, shucking his hands through his hair and rubbing at his hazy silver eyes. "Fuck, this is so messed up..."

Hugo wiped his sleeve over his nose, lip quivering. "We were chasin' the cat. An' I was holdin' Scorp's hand." He didn't bother to try and say the full name; he couldn't get it out even when he'd been talking to the young Malfoy. "An' then... I guess I let go an' then he fell an'... 'm sorry. He didn't fall hard or nothin'."

Teddy climbed into Draco's lap and gave him a hug because that's what you were supposed to do when someone was upset. And he was pretty sure that cousin Draco was very, very upset. And maybe he was upset too, but he was ten and a half, which made him pretty much grown up. "Uncle Harry'll fix it. He helps people all the time."

"Oh I know he does Teddy, and it's not your fault Hugo." Draco stroked Teddy's back, more for his own comfort then the child's. "Harry will help him, don't worry. I'm just..." His eyes flitted up to meet those of the youngest male Weasley. "I'm just sad."

"Don't be sad," Hugo instructed with a decisive nod.

Ron sank down into a chair across from Malfoy, lightly bouncing his son on his knee. "You've figured out what Hermione's getting at, haven't you?" he asked quietly.

"I've got a few ideas," he shrugged, eyes flitting down to the small, albeit bigger than Scorpius, boy in his lap. "None of them are anything pleasant, but nothing is anymore." Draco lifted a hand, gently stroking his fingers through Teddy's hair as the boy snuggled up to his elder cousin's chest.

"One of those ideas may lead to the cure, so..." Ron shrugged, entirely unsure how to strike... small talk with a former Death Eater. Even if all the Dark Marks were gone, there were still really evil people out there, people who were responsible for the scars on his brother's face, the missing ear of another brother, and the death of a third. His family had suffered. They'd suffered a lot and here was this... member of that group. Ron's heart thudded because he felt sympathy, but he wanted justice. His son was dying, though. And he knew that Draco had never technically done anything to them. For fuck's sake, he hadn't given Harry up at the Manor and even Malfoy wasn't stupid enough to not recognize Harry Potter. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do with this irritation, so he kept bouncing his son and thanked Merlin that it wasn't Hugo alone with Harry and Hermione.

So... so fuck it. "So you and Harry...?"

"Um..." He rubbed his own hair, a sigh leaving his lips as he sagged against the hard back of the wooden chair, summoning Kreacher with a wave of his hand and politely asking for tea and something for the children. "Yes, me and Harry." What was he supposed to say? 'Well, my son is dying, Harry found him pushed over in a park and now, oh would you look at that? I'm engaged, and shagging your best friend.' Yeah, that would go over lovely.

"'Mione clued me in, y'know. Not a whole lot, but... I dunno. Knew you two were together and I know he found you at that park between his flat and that Muggle coffee shop he likes." Ron looked down at his son, running his fingers slowly through the boy's hair. "Look, that's a big bloody deal. He doesn't help people like this, not anymore, not since... Well, he's probably told you all about it already. But he's helped you. That's a big deal, means you can't be all bad." That doesn't mean I trust you, but that went unsaid.

"Well thank you for that, Weasley." Draco grumbled, trying to ignore the small flares of exhausted anger that boiled in his chest. He knew it was just worry, he knew it was just a cumulative of all the emotions he went through in the past few moments; but it was still a stingy subject to be talking to a Weasley who on no specific occasion wanted him dead and served on a cold platter to the... vermin he 'served.' "And I thank you for allowing Gra- Hermione to help in my son's case. It does mean a lot, shocker there."

He gave a soft laugh. "Hermione does what she wants. And so does Harry." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. "I am sorry about your son. No one deserves this."

"Yes well, I guess whatever the Muggles call it - 'Karma,' wasn't it?" He absentmindedly stroked Teddy's back, the boy beginning to drift off against his cousin. "-does eventually come to bite you in the proverbial arse, if I do say so myself." Draco's heart twinged, almost painfully grabbing the breath from his lungs. What were Harry and Hermione doing that was taking so bloody long? Draco was worried sick, not that he would admit it with a Weasley no more than two feet in front of him.

"Others deserve worse." Ron shrugged. "You didn't sell us out."

"Yes, well," Draco wouldn't mention the nasty hex (or twenty) he'd received from his lovely Auntie Bellatrix once that was all found out. He shifted in his seat, his shoulders twinging at the memory.

Harry interrupted, dropping heavily into a third chair and rubbing a tired hand over his face. "He's okay. And... I put him in that bubble thing again except... how it's supposed to go. That takes a lot out of you when you've never done it before..."

Draco jerked up from his seat, careful not to rouse the child in his lap. With a small movement, he slid his cuppa over to Harry, placing a kiss against his temple and muttering a warming charm for the tea. "Drink a little, then go take a nap. Hermione will keep us updated."

He picked up the cup, stared at it for a moment before taking a sip. His fingers were trembling, though, so he set it down and reached for his godson. "I'll take him with me." He offered a tired smile. "Scorp wanted to see you. 'Mione's with him. Ron?"

The redhead nodded, understanding the unspoken question. "Yeah, mate."

"Thanks."

The blonde blinked in confusion, standing and following Harry out of the kitchen with muted footsteps. "Was there something I missed?"

"Not really. He gets it." Harry hefted Teddy a little better and the sleeping boy turned his face into Harry's chest with an unintelligible mumble. Outside the downstairs bedroom, Harry curled his fingers into Draco's shirt and dragged him down for a brief, heated kiss. "I did that spell on him. Hermione had to leave the barrier entirely and drop it for a moment, but I did that spell and now he can touch things and stuff again."

Draco sighed, feeling a wave of positive relief wash over him like a cool shower. Reaching up a hand to gently caress Harry's cheek, he pressed their lips together softly, comfort pouring from the brunette to the blonde and back again. "Thank you. Thank you."

"I love you," he murmured. "Now go say hi and promise him he doesn't need another bath already. He was worried about that." Harry smiled and gave him a last, gentle kiss before starting up the steps.

Draco's cautious smile followed him up the stairs before he let out a long sigh, shoulders sagging, hands running through already tousled locks before he turned and walked towards the door, waving a hand for a cleansing charm before giving a curt knock. "Scorpius?"

"Daddy!" The sound of little feet got louder, padding towards the door, before it was jerkily opened, the little child clinging to the doorknob, feet almost in the air from having to jump to reach the metal knob. "Hi, daddy!" There was no blood in sight as Scorpius dropped to his feet and ushered Draco in with a full pulls to his father's pant leg.

Hermione smiled, pushing her hair back and quite honestly stuck on the floor because she'd sat on it like a fool. "I'm really beginning to think that my theory is going to pan out. I just need to do a bit more research on it. But as you can see, he's doing fine. He lost... a lot of blood, but he's doing fine."

Draco placed the boy on the floor after lifting him for a hug, walking over and holding both hand's down to the witch, gently helping her from the floor and giving her a quick once-over to see if she was alright. "Will I be entitled to know this theory, or has my fiance forbade you to speak of it?" Scorpius giggled at the fancy words, still unknowing to the state of his father and soon-to-be papa's affairs.

"Actually, he wasn't in much of a state to have it explained to him." Hermione sighed. "I think... Well, you know the basic reason why Harry was able to defeat Voldemort in the end. He did... announce it on the table, after all. His mother sacrificed herself for him and it was her love. Now I think that's still affecting him. It's still a very strong part of his magic. I think that, for lack of a better term, that purification has made him capable of helping Scorpius in a way I don't think anyone else can."

Draco sat on the bed, Scorpius chatting amiably in his lap, tutting Perry around and mumbling about 'Having to rescue 'he 'rincess!'

"What do you mean? Like... some sort of filter? A filter for what?" His brow furrowed in confusion, trying to process the thoughts. What did the brunette mean? That something was contaminating Scorpius, and Harry's magic, his love for his son, was helping filter that out? But what was the contamination? He bounced Scorpius on his knee as a way to help sort his thoughts.

Hermione blinked at him. "A filter... That actually makes sense." She didn't pace only because her feet were beginning to hurt. "A filter would let Scorpius's magic generate, block the contaminate from getting through and steady the flow. If his magic could generate naturally, without the contaminate, he wouldn't have a problem at all. So yes. Yes, Harry is very likely a filter. I just need to figure out how to use that."

"Hermione- Granger- Sit down, please. You're making me dizzy." He moved over to allow the women to sit with a small huff. "Now, slow down and back track. What do you mean, and in slightly less specific terms. I'm a Potions expert, not a Healer." Scorpius hopped off Draco's lap, giggling and rushing around the room as Draco carefully charmed one of Teddy's snitches to slowly zoom around for the tragically small five-year old to rush around and try and nab, very successfully at that.

"I don't exactly have the specific terms." She ran a hand through her hair, fairly frustrated. "Alright." She took a breath. "Alright. Now then. Scorpius's illness stems from his body turning on his magic. His body thinks that his magic is a foreign substance that needs to be stamped out. Its attempt to kill his magic is killing him. You know that.

"Why it's doing that is, quite simply, a contaminate. Something is contaminating Scorpius's magic. If there is a filter applied - if Harry's magic is somehow applied to Scorpius's, it may become strong enough to filter out the contaminate. Scorpius's magic will be able to flow freely with Harry's help. Ergo, Scorpius will live.

"Now the problem is the application. I have absolutely no idea how to get Harry's magic to interact with Scorpius's." She nodded decisively, much in the way her son tended to do. "Understand?"

"Yes, I'm grasping it. Careful Scorpius!" The little boy giggled, nodding, and moved away from the dresser in the corner of the room, near a brightly lit window.

"Do you know what the contaminate might be?" Draco shifted to glance at Hermione through the white-blonde fringe that swept against his nose, looking very... ordinary in a simple white button down and slacks, feet bare and hair disheveled.

"Honestly...? No. It's very possible that everyone else's magic is affecting him. I left the room and Harry was was able to perform the spell to its max capability. I have absolutely no idea if it's everyone, just certain magical signatures, or..." She waved a hand. "I have no idea. Destroying the contaminate would also cure Scorpius, but... if it is all other magic, that will never happen. Trying to figure out how Harry will help him is the best course at this point."

"So there is the option that Scorpius will need to live as a Muggle, I assume?" Draco pinpointed, shifting awkwardly. He enjoyed having magic back in his life, bloody well cherished it, his wand warm against the holster attached to his arm. But, if his son were to live as a Muggle... Were to need it to survive? Draco knew, without a single regret, he would give up magic once more without a thought. He lived without it for three years, what's another fifteen, another twenty?

"Well... no. Even Muggles come across magic on a daily basis. If the magic of others is what's bothering him, then... Again, Harry. If Harry's willing to link his magic with Scorpius's, he'll be fine."

Draco fell back against the pillows, running a hand over his haggard appearance. "And if he isn't? Or if something goes wrong? There are so many variables to this, Hermione."

Scorpius ambled over, reaching both hands over the edge of the bed and grabbing onto the covers, tugging himself up and over to fall into his father's lap. "Daddy, I'll be okay!"

"Of course you will be, Scorpius." Hermione smiled. "And, Draco, do you honestly think Harry would say no? He loves you and he loves Scorpius. Now, then, I'm going to head home and get a few more books. I'll let Ron know." She managed to get to her feet, smiled warmly at father and son. "I'm sure there's some record on magical sharing somewhere."

Hermione disappeared without another word, Draco rolling over and groaning into the pillows that smelled of apples and cinnamon, a relaxing combination. Scorpius giggled, curling up against Draco's side and closing his eyes. "S'all goin'a be okay daddy. You'll 'ee!"

Draco smiled softly, turning his body over to pull Scorpius against his chest, dimming the lights with a calculated wave of his hand. "Of course it will Scorpius. We have Harry to thank for that."

"Papa!"

The brunette wandered in, closing the door before coming to the bed. He climbed up, snuggling Scorpius in-between himself and Draco. "Bloody exhausted and I couldn't sleep," he mumbled, lips curving into a tired smile. "Just what've you done to me, Malfoy, to make me need you so much?"

Draco chuckled as Scorpius happily snuggled down between the two, Draco lifting the duvet from under them to cover his - their son. Their son. Holy shite, did that sound amazing. "Oh you know, Potter. Just a little bit of this, a little bit of that." He shrugged playfully, arm reaching towards the ceiling. "Maybe a little bit of Dark Magic."

Harry captured his hand, entwining their fingers. "Git. Sleeping now. Oh." His eyes, which had started to drop, blinked open. "We never told Scorp our news."

As Draco began to drift off, warmth seeping into his bones, Scorpius's little silver eyes cracked open. "Hm?"

"We're getting married, Scorpius." Draco smiled, curling around the boy, fingers laced tightly with Harry's. "Harry is going to be your new papa."

The blonde's answering cheers had the five-year old colliding with Harry's chest, the kid happily snuggling down against his papa with small, exhausted chants of "I love you! So happy! Perry and Harry! Papa! Papa! Pa...pa... love you..."

"Love you too, Scorpius. I love you." He buried his nose into Scorpius's hair, sighing quietly and letting his eyelids lower once again. He snuggled just a little bit closer, pressing his lips to Draco's. "And you," he murmured. "Sleeping now. Honestly." And he was, lids lowered over emerald eyes, lips parted just slightly to allow puffs of warm air through and rested against lightly Draco's.

Draco drifted to sleep, content with the warmth Harry provided, their faces pressed innocently together as Scorpius rolled around before falling still, sleep claiming his tired and aching body, carrying him to the dreams that the two adults had once so greatly feared, dreams full of hope and bliss.

-8-8-

3 chapters in 3 ½ days? What is this blasphemy? I don't know. I'm too exhausted to figure it out.

Night, all! I have school. Icky. And a dentist appointment. Any last words Syl?

I like Teddy. And Scorp. And Hugo. They're fun XD

Review! Do it! Do it! Come ooonn, we wanna know what you think of our baby! :D ..before you come to hate us in the next few chapters.

Sincerely,

-Abraxas and Syl.