(A/N: Hey guys, sorry for being gone for so very long. I have been dealing with some really heavy stuff mentally and just didn't have it in me to write anything. But now I'm back and can hopefully bring you updates to my stories with a little bit of consistency. Hopefully. Don't hold me to that.)

The North Wind Blows

Part 23

Harry stared blankly up at the ceiling of his room, having just woken up he wasn't sure whether or not his mind had fully returned from the land of dreams. To one side of him he could feel Draco clutching at the material of his pajamas, holding on tightly as if Harry might slip away at any moment. It wasn't an unrealistic fear, to be fair. To the other side of him he could sense the presence of Narcissa, waiting in the chair that sat beside his bed. More often than not these days it was occupied. Typically by one of their Healers, but sometimes one of his bond mates or, more rarely, Narcissa.

Turning his head slowly, so as not to disturb Draco, he allowed himself to look at the woman that had become like a Mother to him. She smiled at him in the same gentle way that he could remember his actual Mother smiling down into his crib. Perhaps there was something in her that looked at him as a son as much as he looked at her as a Mother, or at least, he liked to hope so.

"Good morning Harry," she whispered and he blinked in confusion, it had been early afternoon when he and Draco had laid down for their nap. Perhaps they had overdone it on playtime with Dudley again and their bodies had required more sleep than normal. It wasn't uncommon for them to do such things, and yet it shocked him every time.

"We did it again, huh? I'm glad you guys make us change into our pajamas for naps these days," Harry replied softly.

"Yes, but it was to be expected. All three of you went rather long playing on your brooms and chasing each other through the gardens. Even Dudley hasn't woken up yet, and he's usually more resilient than the two of you smaller boys," Narcissa explained, allowing her voice to rise in volume as Draco stirred from his sleep.

"Yeah, I'm really sore from all the running around. I guess my body isn't used to playing yet," Harry admitted and sat up as Draco did the same.

"Do you need something for the pain?" Narcissa asked, looking to the nightstand where a group of potions waited for use. She wasn't sure that there was anything in there that could be considered a pain reliever any longer, but it wouldn't be too much effort to call one to herself if it was needed. Harry paused to think for a moment, patting his legs and chest to appraise the level of pain that he was actually experiencing.

"Yes please. What about you Draco, are you sore from yesterday?" Harry asked plainly, not wanting to intrude by using his magic to monitor the other boy, and knowing that he would be overstepping his boundaries to do so. The Mind Healer had been teaching him about healthy boundaries lately, and he was forced to realize how often he had gone beyond other people's without even asking. But it had been a byproduct of his own boundaries being so completely obliterated and he was learning better than that.

"Yeah, I think I could use something. Nothing too powerful, but my legs and chest hurt from all the running and laughing we were doing," Draco said at last and Narcissa nodded, waving her wand and calling out for two pain relief potions.

Shortly the door popped open and two small phials from Severus's lab came speeding into the room, landing neatly in her outstretched hand. Normally such things were had child-safe stoppers, but Severus had brewed several batches that were able to be accessed by small hands with less strength. It allowed the boys a sense of independence to be able to take their own medicine without having to rely on the nearest adult to open it for them. Plus, with how busy the house had gotten, it allowed them to follow their schedules more closely than they otherwise would have with having to wait around for someone to open them.

Both Harry and Draco took their potions when offered and opened the phials without complaint, barely pausing to smell the less than pleasant concoction within before downing them in one gulp. Neither boy truly liked the taste of medicinal potions, but neither did they entirely hate them. It wasn't something that one wanted to get used to, instead doing so out of necessity.

"I should ask Severus to allow me to see his potions books. I would like to find alternatives to make them a taste a little better," Draco said as he passed the phial back to his mother. She smiled at him indulgently and accepted the empty phial from Harry as well.

"I'm sure that he has already explored options for making them taste as good as possible. But I am also sure that he wouldn't mind a fresh mind turning itself to the art of potion making either. Perhaps we can discuss it with him once the two of you are up and dressed. I believe that he is in the Library at the moment with Lucius and Lord Voldemort," Narcissa said and Draco laughed with a shake of his head.

"I know my Godfather well enough to know that he is only concerned with how well something works, not how good it tastes. He very well may have recipes for potions that taste better, but if they aren't strong enough he is sure to not use them," Draco said, earning a smile from his mother and Harry both.

Sometimes Harry forgot that Severus was one of Draco's Godparents, it wasn't often discussed. In fact, it was something of a mystery as to why Septimus had named Severus Godfather; the two had no real connection other than through Lucius. Harry suspected that part of it had been to curry favor with Tom and Lucius, but with Septimus now firmly in Dumbledore's pocket, it was likely that he would never truly get the chance to find out.

"You may be right. Severus never really was one for nonsense. I'll leave the two of you to get dressed. Would you like me to wait outside for you, or would you rather come to the Library on your own?" Narcissa asked softly as she rose from her seat, the motion as fluid and graceful as everything that she did. Harry aspired to learn that pureblood grace, Draco had already mastered some of it, Severus and Tom had learned it over the years, and Lucius was the epitome of it.

"We'll meet you in the Library," Harry and Draco said simultaneously, their voices strong enough in unison that she could not tell them apart. It was becoming clearer by the day that the boys had magically bonded themselves as brothers and that she now very much had two sons rather than the one. Some small part of her hoped that one day Dudley would look to her in much the same way. It wasn't that she wanted a large family, not exactly; she simply knew that her motherly instincts were strong enough to handle one.

(A/N: Alrighty, that's all for the moment, sorry it's short, but I would rather dip my toes into the shallow end than to jump into the deep end and burn myself out again. Thanks for reading; I hope you'll leave me a review to let me know what you thought.)