Months later and Harry still could not believe this wasn't a dream.

Each night when he went to sleep, a part of him feared he had dreamed the entire thing up; that he was still hopelessly in love and unable to explain in fear of ruining things.

As his hands tightened slightly around her waist, feeling Elia bury her face in the crook of his neck, he silently thanked his interfering family members once more.

Not that he would ever tell them in person. No need to inflate their egos.

"You're staring," she murmured, voice thick with sleep and something else that shot straight through him.

"Can you blame me?" he retorted, carding a hand through her hair as he felt her smile against his neck. A feathery light kiss was placed on his jaw, and Harry felt desire rush through him.

"How much longer do you think we have?" he asked, shifting so that he hovered over her, his arms holding him up.

She tilted her head up, and Harry lost himself in the feel of warm, feeling her smile against his mouth.

"Three seconds," she murmured.

"Wha…" Elia kissed him once more, swallowing his words before he heard the sudden roar followed by the hissing voice of Teddy shouting at the dragons.

"We can't ignore them, can we?" he groaned, head falling against her shoulder as she laughed.

"Not unless you want the house burned down," she told him.

Groaning once more, he fell onto his side, idly watching as she made her way to the connecting door that led to her bathroom.

"I suppose it's time to get up," he muttered to himself, heaving a sigh as he walked on bare feet to the door of his bedroom.

The sounds of the children was much louder in the sitting room attached to his rooms, and Harry closed his eyes in slight disbelief at the sight that greeted him beyond the doors.

Auriga had managed to scale the walls, her talons clinging to a brass light fixture that he had reinforced with magic as she hissed at Iacomus.

The larger Ironbelly was hovering in the air, small sprouts of flame leaving his mouth as the two dragons argued.

"…which of you gave them the meat?" he asked, eyes glued to the three staring innocently at him.

"Not me," they all protested in unison.

"She ate my kill," Iacomus hissed, screeching at Auriga once more.

"Jealous lout," Auriga hissed, and Harry stared in disbelief at Teddy.

"I didn't teach them that," the boy defended. "That was the portrait's fault."

"Which portrait?"

"Julius," Teddy answered quickly, and Harry groaned once more at the thought of having such rowdy beings in his house.

"Outside, both of you," he hissed, a stern look on his face as he herded both children and dragon away from their rooms.

The dragons had grown too large to walk around the manor easily, thankfully, but the children had always found creative ways to let them inside the halls. Waving a hand, Harry stared pointedly at the two before he pointed to the enlarged window he had opened, waiting until they grumbled and finally flew outside to the small area he knew the elves placed their food.

They had charmed a portion of the grounds to stay warm, the dragons given free reign to a certain extent as they managed to blend in with the winter weather.

"Can we go flying on—"

"No!" Harry said firmly, ushering the children downstairs.

"I'm big enough!" Aegon insisted, wide purple eyes staring pleadingly at Harry.

"Iacomus is not big enough," he said dryly. "Nor is Auriga," he added, seeing Rhaenys open her mouth to intervene.

They stared sadly at him, and Harry had to remind himself not to give in.

"How about we make pancakes?"


He was lounging in his seat, slightly disappointed he couldn't leave this meeting to Elia. Had it been up to him, he would have placed her permanently as his proxy, but the last thing he wanted was to hear the lecture that was sure to follow.

A good thing he was beginning to enjoy his duties somewhat.

There were a number of eyes on him, and Harry smirked nonchalantly at the continued surprise he saw whenever he turned up to Wizengamot meetings. Things were not running as smoothly as he hoped, but they were a lot better than Harry had thought they would be, his name helping him carry some changes forward.

"Little cousin," came the drawling voice of Draco, the blond enjoying the reminder that he was a month older. He plopped into the seat next to him, the chair meant for Wizengamot heirs.

"Dragon," he snarked, smiling winningly at the sight of flashing grey eyes.

"A wonderful photo," Draco smirked. "I'm glad to see you've learned to work the press to your advantage."

Harry blinked slightly, not knowing what he was speaking of and feeling a growing sense of dread at the thought.

Draco's smirk widened, an infuriating glint in his eyes as he crowed, "You don't know."

Before he could demand to know what was going on, Ernie plopped back into his seat as he whistled, "Way to go Potter."

"He doesn't know," Draco said.

Ernie blinked once, twice, before a shit-eating grin grew on his face. "You're telling me you didn't plan that?"

"Plan what?" He asked irritated.

Draco unfurled the paper that had been held in the crook of his arm, grinning at the wide-eyed expression Harry failed to hide quick enough.

There, on the cover of The Daily Prophet, was a photo of him and Elia, the two of them stood wrapped in each other's arms on a balcony. The photo was from the last month, at the small get together held for Emry's birthday. He remembered sneaking away to the balcony for a stolen moment, unaware that someone had followed them.

"Two lovebirds hiding away for a slight reprieve, unable to keep away from each other," Draco mocked. "Far kinder than I expected; they've bought into this star-crossed lovers-at-first-sight thing you've got going on. Mother sends her congratulations."

Bloody hell, he thought, groaning internally at the thought of what might come from this.

"Is that why..."

"-everyone is looking at you as if you've unlocked the key to time travel, yes" Ernie grinned. "They usually enjoy writing speculation about your private life."

"She's won them over," Draco said. "Really cousin, if you don't marry the woman I'll be sorely disappointed in your skills with the fairer sex."

"Shove off Malfoy," he scowled, eyes lingering on the photo.

They were usually slightly more formal at parties, those closest to them aware that things had changed between Harry and Elia, but he'd given in to an urge that night, glad that she had reciprocated.

Thankfully, the photo only showed a flattering view, one that could have been from any photo they might have taken themselves and handed in. Whoever their photographer was, they'd clearly waited for a good shot.

He sat through the ribbing his cousin and friends gave him, ignoring the delighted smirk Griselda wore as he hightailed it home.

To his surprise - though, why he was still surprised he did not know - Elia had not been worried at seeing a private moment made public.

"It's not indecent," she told him, "nor am I truly surprised. They've followed your life for years, Harry. I expected something like this. Besides," she added, "I've been raised to expect extra scrutiny from the masses."

"Imagine if Westeros had journalists," he murmured.

Her eyes widened in mock horror, and Harry laughed at the face she made.


He heard their thundering footsteps before he saw them, Teddy in front and flying into his arms, his excited babbling slightly difficult to decipher.

"Whoa Teddy, slow down kiddo," he laughed, seeing his son pull back to look at him with sparkling green eyes, his hair cycling through various colours.

"I got my letter!" Teddy cheered, hand holding tightly to a familiar piece of parchment as he waved it in front of him. Aegon and Rhaenys were bouncing around them, ecstatically cheering along with Teddy.

"Fantastic," he said with a grin, though a part of him was less enthused than his son.

"Can we go to Diagon today?" he asked, eyes wide in plea.

Today, he thought, mind running through the things he had to get done.

"You don't like crowds," Teddy pointed out, his siblings nodding alongside him, purple eyes wide.

"Touché," he said with a wry grin.

"So we're going?" Rhaenys asked.

"Go get dressed," he told them, snorting as they ran off to badger Elia.

He walked through Diagon in a bit of a daze, hand held in Elia's as they made their way from the bank to the apothecary to Ollivander, nostalgia and grief swirling amongst the pride he felt in his son as he watched Teddy chatter excitedly with Aegon and Rhaenys, the three of them picking out his school supplies.

There should have been more people here; others who had far more right to seeing Teddy off to school, who should be bursting with pride at the young boy.

He felt Elia squeeze his hand, a slight tug pulling him into the library as soon as they returned to Potter Hall.

"Don't do that," she said, settling in his lap as soon as he sat on the couch. Her hands cradled his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. "You're overthinking."

"I didn't think it would be this hard," he admitted.

"He's your son, Harry," she stated softly. "However he came to be with you, he's your son, and you've spent his entire life protecting Teddy. It's natural to be afraid to let go."

He leaned his forehead against hers, eyes closed as he took a deep breath.

"You are more than enough for him," she whispered. "He's an incredibly lucky child to have you as his father, and I know Teddy wouldn't change that for anything."

He didn't know what he had done to have this incredible woman in his life, but Harry was glad that she wanted to be with him as much as he did, amazed that he didn't have to voice his fears for her to know just what bothered him.

"Thank you."


It would be a few weeks before Harry worked up the courage to give Teddy his final gift.

He left for Hogwarts tomorrow, the trunk packed and promises to write letters to Egg and Rhae daily were wrangled from him.

He took Teddy upstairs into his office, his son seated across from him looking so very like he did, though Harry noted bits of Teddy that had been made to mimic Elia.

"It's tradition," he began, clearing his throat roughly. "A tradition in our family that certain gifts are handed out before we start at Hogwarts."

Teddy straightened in his seat, the boy leaning forward slightly as his brow furrowed. Harry smiled at the sight, knowing Teddy was running through the many stories he had been told.

There was a small box on the table, and Harry slid it across to Teddy and waited as the boy opened it.

Nestled inside was a small ring, the constellation Leo etched into it with the focal point being the star Regulus.

"Gran wanted you to take the name Denebola," Teddy said, hands gingerly placing the ring on his little finger.

"Because they were in the same constellation," Harry smiled, green eyes focused on the slightly wistful grin on his son's face. "She'd be bursting with pride."

"I know," Teddy said quietly.

"There are two more," he continued, holding the soft wrapping in hand. "You remember the story of the Three Brothers."

"They met Death," Teddy answered, brows furrowed as he recalled the various versions each Potter had told him. "And he gave them each a gift; a wand, a stone and his own invisibility cloak."

Teddy's eyes widened slightly, and Harry smiled at the understanding he saw in his eyes.

"Every Potter, from the moment Iolanthe married Hardwin, has passed the cloak down generation by generation, from father to son or mother to daughter, but always to the eldest."

He unwrapped the cloak, gesturing for Teddy to stand and come closer. Of all the things he kept in the house, Harry had kept this particular item under lock and key, unwilling to risk Teddy disappearing beneath the cloak as a baby.

When he stood before him, Harry tugged the cloak around his shoulders, the parchment at the corner slipping into Teddy's hand as he saw his torso disappear.

"They can't be here with you," he told him, seeing the boy's eyes focused on the map, Teddy fishing for his wand so he could activate it. "This way you get a piece of them with you."

He had an armful of his eldest, Teddy's face buried in his shoulder as he held tightly onto him.

"Thanks, Papa," he whispered, clutching onto his cloak and map. "Don't you need the cloak?"

"I'll make do," Harry told him, knowing it wasn't something he needed with him and feeling better at the thought of Teddy having it as a fail safe.

Softly, he nudged the boy, gathering the packaging as he led Teddy outside. "You should pack those away before you forget them."

His son bounded to his rooms, and Harry smiled at the thought of what came next. He wasn't ready for it, not entirely prepared to let him go, but Teddy was no longer the little baby that had clung to his father, unwilling to be parted from him.

It was less than an hour later that heard a knock on his door, his eyes flitting to where Elia stood, making her way to open it. There was a small smile playing at her lips, and Harry saw the grin she wore as the door opened to reveal the children, all three dressed in their pyjamas.

"Can we sleep here tonight?" Teddy asked, scuffing his foot on the floor as he ducked his head down.

"Of course," Elia said, ushering the children into the room.

They hurried in, Aegon leaping on the bed as he shouted, "I'm not in the middle!"

"You're the baby Egg," Rhaenys said, before blinking in surprise as Teddy ran to the corner, her brothers staring at her in smugness.

"Your turn," Teddy told her.

"You're the one going off to Hogwarts," she scowled.

"Exactly," he said. "And I want the corner."

Grumbling, Rhaenys made her way to the bed scowling fiercely at the boys. He shared an amused look with Elia before he muttered, "I'm taking Teddy's side. You can wake up with Aegon's foot on your head."

"He only does that to you," she retorted, laughing as she kissed him.

They broke apart at the long-suffering sigh the children released, seeing identical looks on their faces.

"Scoot over," he said to Teddy, throwing himself on his side of the bed and curling an arm around them, his fingers linking with Elia's as she did the same next to Aegon.

He pressed a kiss to Teddy's curls, watching quietly as his family stayed close for the last night until Teddy's return.