Author's Note: Sunday dinner at The Burrow. Enjoy!
The five of them arrived at The Burrow with a whoosh of green flames. Harry had hold of Albus, Draco had hold of Scorpius, and they each held one of James' hands. Just in case. Given Harry's disastrous first Floo attempt, he was always a little paranoid when travelling through it with his children.
He passed Albus to Draco a split second before "Harry!" was cried in welcome, and he was pulled into a fierce hug by Molly, regardless of the fact that she had seen him only a week ago. One thing he loved about Molly, was that she treated you the same whether she saw you every week or only every few months – though the latter might earn a few pointed comments about visiting more often.
Harry was released and Molly turned her attention to the boys, giving James, Albus and Scorpius an individual hug in turn. "Draco! It's so good to see you!" Molly welcomed before pulling the surprised blonde into a hug of his own. It took him a second, but he did return the embrace.
"Why don't you boys go play outside? All the children are out there, including Teddy."
"Teddy's here?" James asked excitedly.
"Yes, he's playing with Victoire."
James and Scorpius each told a hold of one of Albus' hands and helped him toddle outside as fast as his legs would carry him.
"They do love Teddy," Harry remarked as the three of them drifted into the Kitchen.
"Teddy as in?" Draco asked, needing to clarify.
"Teddy Lupin," Harry replied. "I'm his Godfather." Draco nodded, several things now made more sense. "Do you need any help Molly?" Harry asked.
"If you could chop the vegetables for me dear," she responded as she turned her attention to the many steaming pans on the oven. "And Draco dear, could you make us all tea?"
Draco instantly turned to the kettle, glad to be given a task he could fulfil. "Are you sure you don't mind Scorpius and I being here?"
Molly turned around, and met Draco's eyes levelly. "Do you really think I wouldn't notice that James and Albus bear a striking resemblance to you?" He blinked, barely able to restrain himself from gaping. "And now I have another grandson," she added brightly. "You can never have enough grandchildren," she commented happily as she turned back to cooking. It was Harry's turn to blink. Though why he was surprised that Molly would react this way he didn't know. "Never did understand why you and Ginny married, Harry dear. But I suppose everything worked out right in the end."
"It did, didn't it?" Harry replied as he finished chopping the vegetables with a flourish. He automatically took the chopping board and slid the veggies in the right pan.
"Help a lot, do you?" Draco asked, as he handed both of them a mug.
Harry nodded. "Thank you dear," Molly replied. "Yes, he's one of the few of my children I can trust in the Kitchen."
Draco laughed, glad he had yet to take a sip of his own tea, lest he might have spewed it unbecomingly, or choked upon it. Harry just snorted. "Yeah, they're not the most accomplished of cooks. But then, why would you ever want to be, when you've got a Mum that's such a brilliant cook?" Harry asked.
"Thank you Harry dear," Molly replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Now why don't you two go say hello to everyone? I've got this covered."
"You sure you don't need more help Molly?" Harry checked.
"I'll call you if I need any help," she promised, ushering them both from her domain.
"Harry!" the twins greeted the moment the pair stepped outside. They each slung an arm around opposite shoulders, their version of a hug.
"Kids okay?"
"Yes," Fred said long-suffering.
"Of course," George finished, both rolling their eyes.
"You know I can't help it."
They nodded sagely before releasing him. "Welcome Draco."
"Am I?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
"Well, the fact that," George began.
"You're here, means that," Fred continued.
"You must be serious," they finished together. The blonde smiled. "That being said, you hurt our little brother, and we'll make you regret it."
It was Harry's time to roll his eyes. Draco quirked an eyebrow. "You don't think those 'accidental' targets for their pranks were really accidental, do you?" He laughed softly at Draco's surprise. "Strangely enough, every person to be 'randomly' effected by one of their pranks, all had the fact that they had been being cruel, bullying, or belittling to a fellow student in common."
"I'm impressed," Draco complimented. "Though, that being the case, I'm surprised there weren't more Slytherin targets."
"Why would we primarily target Slytherins?"
"They protect their own, even more fiercely than Gryffindors-"
"And only lashed out at other Houses, before others could do so to them-"
"Whereas Ravenclaws were terrible for cruelty, bullying and belittling."
"That's true," Harry agreed. "They stole the majority of Luna's possessions and scattered them across the Castle. All except her books and school notes, they were sacrosanct," he huffed.
"Our little brother abhors bullying," the twins explained, "as well as cruelty."
"Don't forget belittlement," the brunet added.
"Not surprising is it?" Draco replied, smiling at Harry's shock. "It was why you hated Severus so much wasn't it?"
"I didn't hate him." Draco scoffed. "I didn't!" he insisted. "I was angry, furious, and he pissed me off," he finished softly. "But I never hated him." He shrugged. "I did my best not to hate anyone. Hate is ugly, and to hate someone gives them a hold over you. I refused to give anyone that power. Still do."
"Commendable," Bill remarked, pulling Harry into a hug. "Hello little brother," he greeted warmly.
"Hello Bill," Harry replied. "Where's Fleur?"
"Mum huddle." Harry grinned. "In gatherings like this, the Weasley wives often retreat together to talk. We've jokingly started calling it a Mum huddle," he explained to Draco.
Harry turned towards the house. "Be nice," he ordered, eyes going to the twins and Bill in turn. Fred and George nodded, they knew all too well how exacting Harry's wrath could be.
"Of course," Bill replied with a smile. Draco and Harry both looked at him suspiciously. "I don't blame you for anything," Bill stressed, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder. "We've all been the subject of pressure and expectations while students, and you were in a particularly bad situation. If you did anything to rebel, He was in the perfect position to exact painful retribution upon you or your parents. Anyone would have done the same thing you did, no matter what they might say – unless of course they hated their parents. You did what you could, when you could, and ultimately you did the right thing. None of us could ask for more than that," he stated firmly. "None of us could do more than that."
Harry headed back into the Kitchen with a smile. "Oh Harry dear, I don't need any help."
"I know," he replied smiling, picking up his cup of tea and settling with it against a counter out of her way. "I need to talk to you about something."
"Is it about Draco?"
"Yes and no," he replied honestly. She picked up her own cup of tea and waited. Harry would tell her in his own time, and she had patience. "I'd already gone to the clinic when Ginny asked for a divorce. Molly, I'm pregnant," he informed beaming.
She carefully set aside both their mugs and pulled Harry into a hug he happily returned. "Congratulations," she murmured kissing the top of his head. "Though I did already know." Harry pulled back enough to look up at her curiously. "You have a glow about you when you're pregnant. A soul deep happiness. The same happiness you have when you're holding one of the boys close," she informed.
"The same one you have when the family is gathered?" he asked with a smile.
"Exactly," she said releasing him gently. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"Draco wants more kids," he spoke softly. "The natural way," he added, biting his bottom lip. "Molly, he promised that we'd have another daughter." He flushed. "Oh, we're having a little girl," he hastily added. "And he told me to go with my original thought of Lily Luna," he continued with a smile. "Oh Molly, he wants to call our second daughter Nymphadora Narcissa, because she was family. He has no idea how much I cared about Tonks," he breathed.
Molly tugged him into another hug. "He better be serious, saying things like that to you," she remarked protectively.
"I doubt he would have come here if he wasn't Molly," Harry replied grinning. "Though, I will admit, I told him he and Scorpius had to join us for Sunday lunch here, before we got too far into the relationship."
"He was very brave coming here." Harry hummed his agreement. "Give him a reward for it later," she whispered softly in his ear. Harry's face flamed, just as several heads poked their heads around the door. "I'll tell you when it's nearly ready!" she scolded her fully grown children. "Shoo!"
"What have you said to our little brother?" Bill asked, he and the twins rooted to the spot.
"Never you mind. If you're in here, who is keeping an eye on the children?"
"Ron and Ginny," Bill replied easily. "And it's not too many for them to handle. We have a rambunctious lot, but they are generally well behaved."
"Well, it won't be too long now. Get the table set, and make sure you corral the children inside to get cleaned up too."
"Yes Mum," they replied, ducking out of the house.
"I don't need any more help, Harry dear, why don't you go out there and make sure Draco is coping?"
"Yes Molly," Harry replied, kissing her on the cheek. It still amazed him at times, how well she was able to manage such a rambunctious family, children and grown-ups alike. "Doing okay?" Harry asked Draco softly as he wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Mm," he hummed, wrapping his own arm across Harry's shoulders.
"Bit overwhelming at first," the brunet remarked.
"I wouldn't say that," Draco murmured, watching Scorpius happily running around with the other children, avoiding the attempts of Fred and George to herd all of them into the house. "Chaotic certainly, but a good kind of chaos." Harry hummed an agreement. "I can see why you liked coming here so much in school."
"The family was much smaller then," Harry murmured. "But it had the same feel, we were just the ones entertaining ourselves – in between the de-gnoming, and homework." He sighed happily. "They're good at making you feel welcome, like you're part of the family." Draco kissed the top of his head. Harry stilled as a thought occurred to him. "Draco, how are your parents going to react to me?" he asked, voice hushed and anxious.
Draco turned Harry's face up to look at him. "There is no need to be concerned," he assured. "And I haven't met Arthur yet."
Harry scoffed. "Arthur hardly ever disagrees with Molly, and on the rare occasions it does happen, she brings him around fairly quickly." He grinned. "They're very well suited, and he knew exactly what she was like when he asked her to marry him, so she was definitely the woman he wanted to marry," he added with a smile. "But your parents-"
Draco cut him off with a finger to his lips. "If my parents did not approve of our match, it would not change my mind. Though I think you'll find that they are quite agreeable to the idea. Mother is likely to have much the same reaction as Molly; the more grandchildren, the better." Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Why the concern?"
"Because you love them," Harry replied. "And if you love them, I at the very least want them to like me. I don't want you to have to choose between them and me."
Draco cupped his cheek and kissed him gently. "With an attitude like that, how could they not love you?" he breathed.
"Past history?" he offered quietly.
"We all did what we had to do," Draco reminded.
"Harry, I think Fred and George might need some help rounding up the kids," Arthur remarked joining the couple.
"Sure thing Arthur," Harry replied, squeezing Draco's waist before he slipped from their embrace. "They're just excited because there's so many of us, and they have someone new to play with," he remarked as he headed toward them. "Kids," he called, and all of them turned to him. "You realise that the quicker you get cleaned up, the quicker you can have food and go back to playing?" The children immediately shot toward the house, Harry and the twins in pursuit.
"He's very good with children," Arthur remarked from beside Draco. "It's hardly surprising that he decided to stay at home with the family, rather than become an Auror, like he thought he would when he was younger. Though, I think he was surprised by how good he is with all children, with his past." He glanced at Draco out of the corner of his eye. "I never understood why Harry and Ginny got married," he remarked. "I always thought that the two of you would." Draco turned to him in surprise. "His parents often argued, right up until they got together in their seventh year. I expected the two of you to go the same way," he murmured with a shrug. "I suppose things worked out, eventually." Draco gaped at him. "Welcome to the family," he greeted, holding out his hand, which Draco immediately took. "Harry wouldn't have brought you, if he wasn't serious, and you wouldn't have come if you weren't. Just because I let my wife do most of the talking, doesn't mean I'm not observant," he informed. "Why don't we see if Molly needs any help?"