Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work. Any similarities to other fanfiction stories are completely coincidental.

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I pulled down the covers on the bed while waiting for Draco to finish changing on the other side of the room. He had just tucked Sebastian in to bed and had probably ended up reading at least three stories if not started up a chapter book with the boy. Today had been rather long, particularly for a Friday, and the evidence showed on Draco's body. He had brought work home with him and had ended up spread out on the island in the kitchen. He had his head in his hands and an abused quill in one of those hands that was leaving an ink mark on his forehead when I came home.

I could see now that his shoulders were slumped in exhaustion and he had yawned at least three times since he had walked into the bedroom. He crawled into bed and pulled the covers up around the both of us once I sat down. I flicked the lights off and then sunk in next to him.

Then his restless mind came into play. He quickly rolled away from me to sleep on his side but then ended up on his back five minutes later and then he was snuggled up next to me again only to roll onto his back with a heavy sigh. "Not twenty minutes ago I was ready to fall asleep standing up and now I can't shut my eyes."

"Do you need me to read you a story?" I teased to which he groaned in response. "What's on your mind?"

"Work, us, and Sebastian of course." He rolled to face me and sighed again.

"What about us?" I asked curiously, I was under the impression that we have smoothed things out recently.

"I want to take you out on a proper date which leads me back to Sebastian." He sighed once and then a second time before continuing. "I don't have anyone to watch him if we want to go out."

"I'm sure a clever Slytherin such as yourself can figure out a fun activity for all three of us to participate in." I said warmly and he looked over at me with sad eyes, clearly not thrilled with the suggestion.

"How can we have a romantic evening with an eight year old?"

"Maybe not a romantic evening but I'm sure there is some day outing we could do together that we'd all enjoy." Draco shook his head in frustration and I sighed before moving on. "Fine, why else are you worrying about Sebastian?"

"He's constantly asking about magic at every turn. I don't know how to help his curiosity." He sighed and then looked at me curiously. "When you learned about magic, how did they approach it?"

"When I found out? I bombarded Professor McGonagoll with questions, enough that she took my parents and me to Diagon Alley so that I could buy nearly half the books at Flourish and Botts."

"Was it enough?" He asked with furrowed brows and I laughed quietly to myself.

"Honestly, no. And I was in no way prepared for the magic of Hogwarts, but it helped." I sighed.

"Nothing can prepare you for the magic of Hogwarts." Draco sighed again, rolled to his side to face me, and then propped himself up on his elbow. "I just don't know if taking him to Diagon Alley will go over well."

I shrugged. "We won't know unless we try. We can go tomorrow if you like since we have the day off."

I watched the emotions cross Draco's face before he nodded briefly. I smiled slightly and then closed my eyes, rolling slightly to the side to get more comfortable. Draco relaxed back onto the bed and let out a sigh, worry filling him but he was eventually able to drift off to sleep.

When they stepped into Diagon Alley the next day, after taking a cab to London, I noticed that Draco braced himself and stared straight ahead, holding tight to Sebastian's hand. I rubbed his back lightly and he turned toward me, concern flooding his face and his nervousness evident from the clear gulp. I lowered my hand but walked closer to him, letting my arm brush against his.

Sebastian was in awe of everything around him. He pulled Draco toward the pet store first and he excitedly looked at every animal. I bent down near one of the cages where there were ravens who were mimicking the other animals and talked to Sebastian who was fascinated, answering the questions he had. I was quite startled when Draco gently pulled on my elbow and gripped Sebastian's hand.

"Come on, let's move on." He said tersely and I looked at him in confusion.

"Draco…" I began to ask but he just shook his head and led them out of the shop. He quickly shot down Seb's request to go into Olivander's and then led them into Flourish and Botts, taking them to the top floor. He took Sebastian to the magical creatures' section, finding them a few books on dragons and other 'mythical' beasts. I stepped away to browse another section for a few minutes, which quickly turned into ten. When I wandered back toward the boys I quickly stepped in front of Sebastian, creating another wall of protection behind Draco.

I didn't know who the three women were that were spouting such vile things but I had doubts on their status as 'ladies' in high society. Draco stood their without reacting, just making sure Sebastian was hidden behind him. Seb, for his part, was listening and watching with fear in his eyes. I took another step forward, making my presence known after being hidden by a bookshelf from the ladies.

"Is there a problem here?" I questioned and the attention of the three ladies immediately fixed on me.

"Thank Morgana, someone had the sense to fetch an Order member to handle this trash." She gestured toward Draco who still hadn't said a word.

"Has he done something wrong?" I asked and one of the women openly scoffed.

"Has he… are you daft girl? He's a Death Eater. He killed people, tortured children. He belongs in the same dirty pit that his Father ended up in. I'd rather have seen all of them sentenced to the kiss." I noticed Draco's jaw tighten and saw moisture form in the corners of his eyes.

"I think that's quite enough. What exactly did you three do during the war?" I quickly asked and received a guilty silence. "That's what I thought. He saved my life, time and time again. Sod off, he's just here to purchase books."

I glared at the three women, unknowing that I had drawn my wand, and they quickly skittered off. As soon as they were out of sight, Draco brought a hand up and brushed away the tears that had threatened to spill. He turned toward Sebastian and briefly smiled.

"Did you find any good books?" He asked, trying to sound happy and unfazed. Seb nodded quietly and held the book tight to his chest. Draco guided Seb downstairs while I trailed behind. I stepped forward when we got to the counter and presented the books to pay. The shop keeper kept his eye on Draco the entire time, waiting for him to do something that required aurors.

I led the way out of the shop, holding tight to Sebastian's hand, Draco following right behind us. Once out of the shop I opened my ears and heard the people who were steering clear of Draco. As much as I was a war hero, I wasn't as distinctly recognizable as Draco.

"Death Eater Scum"

"My sister died and he gets to walk the streets freely, where's the justice?"

"Filth"

"Bet he's proud of his name now"

The hex finally did it in my opinion and I tucked tighter to Draco as he winced from the pain. I turned my head so that Draco could hear my words.

"I'll finish the trip. Go home, you don't deserve this treatment. Sebastian doesn't need to hear these things." I said hurriedly and quietly. Draco glanced at Seb once before nodding and veering off toward the nearest apparition point. I watched to make sure he was safe before briefly smiling down at the boy. "Would you like to visit the joke shop?"

"What's that?" He asked quickly, excitement evident but his voice still laced with the shyness from earlier. I pointed at the large purple shop at the end of the road and we immediately pulled their way through the crowd. Once they picked up some safe toys and fireworks, they made their way back in the alley and went to one of the toy stores, finding some dragon figurines for Seb's room. I guided them out of the Alley after visiting a sweets shop and grabbing a few different treats and then got them home.

Draco was sitting in the living room when they opened the door and quickly jerked his head up. Sebastian ran forward and pulled out his figurines for Draco to see. Draco put on a forced smile and encouraged Sebastian to keep talking about his trip, asking questions about various shops to keep him talking. Eventually Sebastian's stomach grumbled and Draco sent him upstairs to play while he made lunch. I followed him into the kitchen and set our purchases on the counter, taking the sweets out and hiding them on the top shelf.

"I bought some cauldron cakes and spicy imps." I said quietly and he hmmmed in acknowledgement. I watched him as he moved about the room stiffly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." He said firmly, not turning to look at me.

"Draco…"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." He slammed his hands down on the counter and let out a frustrated breath. I stepped toward him and rested my hand on his arm, watching as the tremors passed over his body as he fought the tears that were spilling. I pulled him into my chest and he quickly gripped me close, digging his fingers into my back. He tucked his face into my neck, sobbing silently. He continued to sob until we were startled apart by the water boiling over. He quickly rubbed his wrist against his eyes and then dumped some pasta into the pot, leaning back against the counter afterwards.

"Sebastian enjoyed himself." I tried gently and Draco's face scrunched up again.

"He heard what those people said about me." He said quietly and I nodded, not sure what else to do.

"Draco… He knows you though. You're his favorite person on the planet."

"They said that I killed people!" Draco yelled just as the door opened and Seb froze. Draco looked over and his face dropped. "Seb…"

"Those people don't know what you lived with, they have no idea what was really happening." I said firmly and gripped Draco's arm, focusing my sight on him though wanting Sebastian to hear me. "I love you, Draco. I have killed people. We did what we had to do to survive. Don't you dare think otherwise." I brought my hands down, rolled his shirt sleeve up, and then bent his arm while embracing it. "Why did you take the mark?"

Draco watched Seb with fear in his face and gulped.

"Draco, why?"

"My parents were in danger." He whispered.

"You kept them alive. They are safe because of you." I said encouragingly and Draco nodded numbly, still focused on Sebastian, who was still rooted in his spot. "You made a choice that no child should ever have to make and you're a better man for it. You got to see how far your mother would go to protect you, how much she would sacrifice just to make sure you were alive. Can you imagine what kind of father you would have been without that experience, what kind of husband you would have been?"

Draco immediately turned his head toward me and thought briefly about what I was saying. He nodded reluctantly and brought his arm up to brush against my hidden scar. "I…I regret a lot of things I did when I was younger."

"I don't care what those people say. I know you and I know what happened. If I can forgive your actions then all those other people can go toss off." I smiled warmly and a small smirk formed on Draco's face at my unique use of language. He looked back over at Sebastian and gestured for the boy to come forward. Sebastian ran forward and hugged Draco tightly, so I stepped back and worked on finishing lunch. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the two boys were still sharing their embrace and Draco was rubbing Sebastian's back comfortingly.

When they pulled apart, Draco ran his hand through Seb's hair and smiled down at him. "I love you, bud."

"I love you, Draco." Sebastian leaned back in and started another hug.

AN: Happy Easter!