After supper, I sent Draco an owl mentioning that I would like to build a play shed for Scorpius' tricycle outside the house and asking if that was all right, or if I needed to get permission from his father.

First thing in the morning, I received an owl back.

Dear Potter,

A play shed would be acceptable, but only if it is keeping with the standards of the property. If it is ugly, Snotty will vanish it for you. Please note, that mornings are for outdoor play, not afternoons. So, we will be inside while you muck about outside.

Sincerely, Draco Malfoy

That owl immediately changed my plans, because I wanted to be outside while Draco and Scorpius were outside. Knowing how slow owls were, I called Dobby and Kreacher—Kreacher because he was my elf and Dobby, because Kreacher didn't like me much and Dobby was still watching him for me—and ordered the elves to tell Draco that I'd changed my mind and was coming in the morning.

I was stuffing my mouth with toast when Dobby and Kreacher returned, Molly having only just begun to cook the Weasley family breakfast. The elves reported that Draco had agreed and shoed them off, so I ordered the elves to start transporting the supplies and grabbed a second piece of toast.

I still had a mouth full of toast when I apparated to the beach house. Draco and Scorpius were nowhere in sight, so I told Kreacher and Dobby to stay put and went inside.

I found Draco feeding Scorpius mush, as usual, except this time the mush was pink and Scorpius' pajamas were the new cool grey ones with the snakes. The bib was new too; one of the ones Hermione and Luna picked out that said, "Auntie Loves Me," of all things. Neither Draco nor I had a sister, so I figured it was their way of insinuating that they would like to be Scorpius' aunts.

"Yum, yum, strawberries, Scorp. You like strawberries, don't you?" Draco was asking as he spooned bits of mush into Scorpius' mouth.

Scorpius must've really liked it, because he sat there waiting with an open mouth in between bites and making happy noises of appreciation with every swallow.

"Um, I'm here, just so you know. I'll be outside working on it," I said.

"You do that, Potter. We're having strawberry oatmeal this morning and it's actually going in our tummies for once," Draco replied in a better mood than he'd been in for days.

I went back outside and began to work, starting with the frame. It was hard going, but I had magic, two elves, and all the time in the world. There was no rush, because this gave me an excuse to be outside and watch as Draco brought our son outside to play. Now Scorpius was wearing the new swim clothes I'd bought in the smaller size: red dragon bottoms with a plain red top and a matching red sunhat.

Scorpius rode his tricycle in the other direction today, towards the garden. Draco followed and from the sounds of it, had to stop the baby from picking unripe fruits and vegetables and mangling flowers. After a while, Draco chased Scorpius out of the garden, out to the front of the house, where I was working.

Scorpius stopped, rose up on his tip-toes while straddling the tricycle, pointed an accusing finger at me, and grunted loudly.

"Yes, I know, Scorpius. The Potter is back. He's like a bad case of nappy rash that we can't get rid of," Draco explained.

"Totta?" Scorpius asked.

"Hello, Scorpius! I'm making you a play-castle, with a garage for your tricycle. Is that all right?" I asked, stepping closer to my little boy.

"My kyke!" Scorpius yelled, flinging his arms protectively over the handle bars.

"Yes, it is your tricycle and it will be your play-castle too," I replied.

"My play?" he asked.

"Yes, your play-castle," I confirmed.

"Fadder?" Scorpius asked, turning to look at Draco, while pointing at me. "Totta gig elf."

"You think so, my Scorpion?" Draco asked.

Scorpius nodded.

"All right, Potter, you have been promoted to elf. Do all your chores, stay out of the way, and don't bleed in the house when you punish yourself for being bad," Draco said. "Oh, and despite what ideas your Granger puts in your head, it is definitely an unpaid position."

"Er…Okaaaay…" I trailed off, not knowing how to take this.

"It is a great honor to be a house elf for such a noble family, Master Draco, sir," Kreacher said bowing his nose to the pavement, as if Draco had just promoted him too.

"Dobby will work for Harry Potter, but Dobby has no master!" Dobby proclaimed.

"Come along, Scorpius. We have playing to do and the elves have working to do," Draco said, encouraging Scorpius to continue towards the beach and ignoring my elves.

Scorpius went with a shout of, "Wadder! Go go go!"

Draco followed. Today they skipped the sandcastle and went in the meandering path of a toddler, to the ocean. Scorpius swam in his new swim clothes and I noticed with pride that he was weighed down less by soggy clothes, because this fabric didn't absorb the sea the way regular clothing did.

I watched the fun from a distance, slowly working on the frame of the castle with Dobby and Kreacher, being sure to follow the directions.

When Draco's alarm went off, he dragged a screaming Scorpius from the water. The baby's flailing limbs impeded his progress towards the house, so he was going very slowly as he passed where I was building the castle thing near the front of the house.

"Here, let me get that," I said, running to get the front door.

"Elf!" Scorpius cried, momentarily shocked out of his fit.

"Yes, my Scorpion, you've found the elusive Potter elf. If only you could unfind him," Draco replied, stepping into the mudroom.

Draco removed both his and Scorpius' shoes there.

I took the moment to offer, "I could watch him for you, while you shower and get dressed. Just call me; I'll be out here."

"We bathe together. I don't have the luxury of time to myself. Not even when my mother is here, do I get to bathe by myself," he replied and then went down the hall to the sitting room.

I followed. "But you could now. I could watch him. You should have time to yourself," I insisted.

"That's not what my father says. 'Once you spread your legs, Draco, your time belongs to the child you bring into this mess,' Father says," Draco said as he set Scorpius on the floor and kneeled to remove the wet clothing.

"I don't much like your father. Let's do the opposite of everything he says," I suggested.

"And how do you suppose we do that? I'm living in his house, off his allowance, and using his house elf to do all my magic," Draco replied, working Scorpius' swimtrunks down over the swollen nappy.

I was pleased to note that the stripping process was faster with proper swimclothes; Draco must've accomplished it in less than half the time. And for some reason, Scorpius was not fighting to get away today, instead sitting there with his index finger in his mouth as he watched me. Even when Draco got the nappy off, stood Scorpius up, and let him free, the baby stayed standing there, index finger in his mouth, watching me with wide green eyes.

"Why don't you do any magic yourself? You're seventeen now, same as me," I replied.

Draco screamed wordlessly in exasperation, took a menacing step towards me, poked me accusingly in the chest, and exclaimed, "Because of you! I didn't even finish my fourth year! I've been without magic for two years! Now that I'm finally allowed, I can't remember any spells that would actually be of use to me! Using a spell to turn on the lights is hardly worth the bother, when Scorpius likes to go for my wand! Sure, I can make the occasional potion when Mother watches him, but she'll only watch him if he's sick and needs a potion! Most of my magic these days, is Herbology out in the garden, like I'm fucking Longbottom!"

Meanwhile, Scorpius cowered in fear and hid behind Draco's leg, clutching on tightly with his little fingers. I could just see one of his wide green eyes watching me from behind Draco's old robes.

"What about all those spells we learned in fourth year? Wouldn't it be helpful taking care of Scorpius if you changed his nappy with your wand and all the other tricks we learned?" I asked.

Draco grunted in rage at me. "I wasn't paying attention to that back in fourth year! I didn't want to be in that class! I didn't think I'd ever have a use for any of it. I thought I'd have a stay-at-home husband to do it all, while I went off to my very important job as a professional Quidditch player. Besides, they're mostly charms and charms has always been my worst subject! And you don't even know what Scorpius can do with a wand if he gets hold of one!" he shouted.

Scorpius whimpered and then started crying softly. Draco noticed and bent down to pick the child up, settling Scorpius on his hip and comforting him.

"Father's sorry, my precious Scorpion. I didn't mean to yell. It's just the Potter makes me so mad sometimes. It's all his fault, you know," Draco said gently into Scorpius' ear as he ran his free hand over the baby's head.

"Bad elf?" Scorpius asked.

Draco chuckled and let some of his anger and frustration slip away with a sigh. "Yes, Scorp, Potter is a bad elf. A good elf wouldn't talk so much."

Scorpius said something I couldn't understand, except for the phrase, "Totta elf," so I figured he was talking about me.

Draco didn't seem to catch it either. Instead he called Snotty and asked the elf to take our son into the nursery for a few minutes to play. Scorpius followed Snotty and then Draco and I were alone, face to face for the first time since the first day. He was still angry, but more haggard and less spoiling for a fight.

"I really don't have time to deal with you, Potter," Draco said with a sigh.

"You have a schedule to keep, I know. I just want to help. I want to watch Scorpius and do some of your chores, so you can put some time for yourself into your busy schedule. I want a chance to fix everything I've ruined and put our family back together, the way it was meant to be. Just let me help, Draco," I pleaded emphatically.

Draco sighed again. "I don't see how you can fix things. I don't love you anymore. I don't want you back," he said flatly. The fact he didn't scream it or yell it in anger, made it so much worse.

In that moment, I wanted to break down and cry. I snuffled back my tears, determined to stay strong, and with a broken voice, I requested, "Then please let me do whatever I can, so that you can lead a more normal life. If you don't want to marry me, you at least need time to yourself sometimes. And you didn't finish school, but you need to get your OWLs at least."

"How can I get my OWLs, Potter, when I can't take Scorpius to school with me? I'm nursing, so I can't leave him with a sitter all day," Draco replied. He was listing obstacles, but he sounded like he wanted me to come up with a real solution.

"A tutor. We'll get you a tutor, who can come here, to the house. I'll watch Scorpius for a few hours every day while you learn. I'll ask Flitwick himself to come and if he's busy, I'll find someone just as good. You should start with charms, I think, because that will be the most help in your day-to-day life. I could ask Pomfrey or Sprout to come, to teach you those baby charms again. Merlin, even Molly Weasley would come here and teach you a few spells if I ask. Why hasn't your mother taught you any?" I asked.

"My mother agrees with my father, that I should be punished. Professor Snape is the only one who's taught me any magic in the last two years and he's dead now." He teared up then, at the mention of Snape. "Merlin, sometimes it felt like Snape was the only one in the world who cared about me. Father's just out for himself and the family name and Mother does whatever Father says. But Snape, he would do anything for me and Scorpius. Sometimes I think it's my fault Snape is dead, because he probably protected you thinking that Scorpius and I needed you, when really we just needed him!" He was sobbing now, sagging at the knees, looking like he was about to break down in his grief.

I cried too. I felt like a cad for the way I'd treated Snape all those years. Not only was Snape watching out for me, but he was clearly taking care of my family in my absence. He didn't defy Lucius, but he did what he could.

"Come here," I said, arms out for Draco to enter. He came and I wrapped my arms around him, comforting him. I loved him, even if he didn't love me. I wanted him to be happy, even if that cost me my happiness. If he wanted to date and marry someone else, I couldn't stop him. I just wanted my son and to share some of the burden. "I miss Snape so much too. I was wrong about him. So wrong. He was the true hero in all of this. I told Skeeter that."

He nodded and replied, "I saw."

"We'll have a grand funeral for him. We'll honor him like the hero he was," I said.

He nodded. "But I'm all wet. I need a bath and my breasts are starting to hurt. Scorpius needs to nurse."

"All right. You go do that. I'm going to find you a charms tutor. What time is good for you?" I asked, letting my arms fall to my side.

"We have two hours of play time directly after breakfast. That's the only time I can manage it, but it would mean Scorpius wouldn't be able to go outside and play," he answered.

"I can watch him," I insisted.

"I don't trust you watching him in the ocean. We're in a protected cove, so the waves are always small. But still, if you take your eyes off him for a second, he could drown."

"I'll watch him inside, if that will make you more comfortable. He can go swimming in the afternoon or on weekends. Your education is more important. And if you don't trust that I can handle it, I can ask Molly Weasley to supervise. She has a lot on her plate right now with Fred's death, but she'll do it, for me."

"My father won't give the secret to a Weasley. Just you and you stay inside the nursery. Half past eight to half past ten, Monday through Friday. I must go now; Scorpius isn't even wearing a nappy. He could be defecating all over the nursery," Draco said, running out the room.

I followed Draco into the nursery and sure enough, Scorpius was sitting on the little potty, doll in his lap.

"Did you make pee pee, Scorpius?" Draco asked excitedly.

Scorpius nodded and stood up, doll hanging from one hand, proud of himself. But when Draco went to check, there was no pee or poo in the little toilet. Scorpius had just been playing. Draco did the celebration noises and sang the potty song as if Scorpius really had gone and Scorpius stood there with a big smile on his pointy little face.

Then Draco ushered Scorpius off to the bath and I left, to arrange a tutor.

Author's Note: Please Review!