~ The Great Hall ~
Harry and Draco were sitting side by side up at the staff table overlooking the four house tables full of excited students who were waiting for the sorting ceremony to begin. Draco winked at Daniel, who was sitting beside Isabella at the Slytherin table with the other seventh years. He then glanced over at the Gryffindor table to smile at Jeremy, who was sitting with her fellow fourth years. The green-eyed, pale blonde girl grinned and waved.
The kids had grown up so fast, Draco reflected. It seemed like just yesterday that Jeremy had been born and he and Harry had started their relationship anew.
Harry had resumed his job as DADA professor as soon as the new school year had started after Jeremy was born. Remus had gracefully accepted the new position Albus had offered him, to be the Astronomy professor, as Professor Sinistra had thrown herself from the top of the Astronomy tower one summer evening. They never did discover why and she didn't leave a note.
Two years after Jeremy had been born, Harry talked Draco into taking a year off as Potions professor. Severus Snape covered his classes during that time, but had sworn that he would never do it again. After almost three years of being under the Imperius curse, Snape no longer had the nerves of steel he had been known for. During his time off, Draco had fallen pregnant with their third child, their second son, whom they named William Potter, or Will as he was usually called.
According to Draco, he didn't have mood swings while he was pregnant but if you asked anyone else who was in the castle during those nine months you would hear a completely different story. Draco, who had retained his role as Head of House, managed to get each and every Slytherin student wrapped around his little finger by the end of his first month of pregnancy. The students ran errands for him, carried his bag for him everywhere he went and even went so far as to bother the house elves at all times of the day or night to obtain whatever foods he was craving.
Harry had been bemused by the whole experience, having already been through what Draco had been through but without all the additional help.
"Harry, honey, the trouble is, you don't know how to delegate," Draco had drawled one evening when Harry had commented on the difference between their pregnancies.
The years had rolled quickly by and the Hogwarts pre-school had filled up. As the children reached primary school age, Albus had employed Justin Finch-Fletchley (who had gone to a muggle university and had a degree in primary education) to teach the children all that they would have learned, if they'd gone to a muggle primary school. Of course, with Justin came Charlie, who took over as Care of Magical Creatures professor. Hagrid had decided to retire as a professor but would still act as the Groundskeeper and Keeper of the Keys.
Now it was time for Will's sorting. For once Draco was clueless. He really had no idea which house his son would be sorted into. Daniel had obviously been meant for Slytherin, as had Bella. As the pair of them had grown, their cunning and ambition had become obvious to their parents, much to Ron's despair. Jeremy had been much the same in developing particular house traits. Her courage and innate sense of commitment rivalled Harry's. She was obviously destined for Gryffindor.
But Will, he was completely different. He was the spitting image of Draco, but in personality he often displayed characteristics that Draco had previously thought were unique to Harry. Often in a world of his own, the happy-go-lucky boy was quite content to spend his days with his parents or outside helping Hagrid. There wasn't much that would upset the boy, his good-nature and kindness overriding any other emotion he might feel.
Draco blinked and returned his attention to the hall as the first years were being led up the centre of the Great Hall towards the stool and the sorting hat. Their wide-eyed, curious gazes trying to take in everything at once. Well, most of the students looked like that. None that had attended primary school here did. They were excited about the sorting, to finally find out which of the revered Hogwarts houses they would join, but the room, the older students and the professors, that was all old news.
Will waved at his brother and sister as he walked amid the other first years towards the tables. Draco was pleased to see Daniel and Jeremy wave back. Bella waved too and shot him a grin. Draco smiled. Daniel and Isabella had finally gotten together last year much to their families delight, although Draco privately thought Hermione spent an extraordinary amount of time worrying about what would happen if they broke up.
"When I call your name, you will step forward, sit on the stool and I will place the sorting hat on your head. Appleby, Nora," Minerva said sternly.
"Ravenclaw!"
After what seemed like an extraordinary number of children had been sorted, Draco heard the name he'd been waiting eleven years to hear.
"Potter, William."
Will stepped forward, not looking at all nervous or worried. After all, he'd seen this ceremony every year since his birth.
The hat sat on his head for approximately a minute before shouting "Hufflepuff!"
"What?" Draco exclaimed, shooting up from his seat. He couldn't believe it. It just wasn't possible. His son in Hufflepuff? Never.
"The sorting hat has spoken, Draco," Albus said calmly.
"I demand a re-sort," Draco said single-mindedly. Harry laid a hand on his arm but Draco shook it off and gazed resolutely at Minerva.
"The decision has been made, Draco," Minerva said primly.
Draco shook his head in despair. This was not happening. Hufflepuff. Everyone knows Hufflepuffs huffle-suck, he thought, resorting to the childish taunt.
Will walked over to Draco and stood opposite him. Draco stared down at a younger, softer version of his own silver grey eyes staring back at him.
"Please Dad. Sit down. It doesn't matter which house I go in. I'm sure the hat had a good reason."
Draco stared down at his son's pleading eyes and relented. "I'm sorry, honey. But are you sure you wouldn't rather be in Slytherin or Gryffindor? Or even Ravenclaw?"
"I want to go in the house the hat put me in," Will said, displaying the loyalty his new house is famous for.
Draco sighed: he never could refuse his youngest son when he adopted Harry's sad puppy look.
"Alright," Draco forced a grin for his youngest son. "Go join your housemates and enjoy the rest of the evening."
Will grinned at both his fathers and skipped off to sit with the Hufflepuffs.
Draco groaned softly as he watched Will sit down to wait for his best friend, Toby Weasley, Charlie and Justin's only child, to be sorted.
"He'll be fine," Harry said, slipping his hand into Draco's. "He'll do well in Hufflepuff."
Draco turned to look at Harry, ignoring the rest of the sorting. He felt a wave of suspicion sweep through him. "Which house did you think Will would end up in?"
Harry ducked his head and murmured, "humphumf."
"Did you just say Hufflepuff?"
"Yes."
"You thought he would go there and you didn't tell me?"
"I knew you'd get upset about it, but I didn't think you'd make a spectacle of it and embarrass your son in the process."
"Embarrass him? I didn't embarrass him."
"Yeah, you're probably right. It would take a lot to embarrass that kid. But you know him. You carried him and you've lived with him for eleven years. Come on, admit it. Deep down, you knew he was a Hufflepuff."
"No, I never-"
Harry snorted.
"Alright fine, so I had my suspicions. But I was in denial. I liked being in denial. It's nice there."
They grinned at each other and, still holding hands, both tuned back in to hear Albus finishing up his welcoming speech.
"And now to announce this years Head Boy and Head Girl," Albus said warmly. "Many of you will be pleased to note that this year, any professor who has a relationship with any children in seventh year were excluded from the decision of who was most worthy of these positions. Since all of us fall under that category, that meant there was no one left to make the decision and that wouldn't do at all. So I owled last years Head Boy and Head Girl and asked them to recommend two students. The entire staff discussed these choices and we agreed that we could not have made a better decision."
The seventh years were all on the edge of their seats.
"I am pleased to announce that this year's Head Boy shall be Daniel Potter."
Albus was drowned out by a sea of applause, led loudly and enthusiastically by Daniel's parents, most of the staff who had watched Daniel grow up and all the Slytherins.
"And our Head Girl shall be Isabella Weasley," Albus said when the noise had died down. Instantly a similar level of applause started up again.
Daniel and Bella both looked extremely pleased as they hugged and kissed each other.
"And now, the feast," Albus said with a wave of his hand and the food appeared.
"I'm so happy for them," Hermione said excitedly as she helped herself to the food in front of them. Then she frowned. "But this does bring up a difficult issue. As Head Boy and Girl, they each get their own single room. This means that they'll be able to be alone together, any time they want."
"Mione, they could do that before they were Head Boy and Girl. Don't you remember our final year at school? I know it was so long ago but try to cast your mind back," Harry said teasingly.
"Merlin, remember what we used to get up to in seventh year," Draco said to Harry. "We didn't get to sleep on an actual bed together until that prank when you slept over in my dorm. But that certainly didn't stop us!"
"I can't believe you're being so cavalier about this," Hermione exclaimed.
"What's the big deal, Mione? As long as they're being careful," Draco said.
"They're going to do it anyway," Harry chimed in.
"You can say that because Daniel and thus, you, don't have to deal with the consequences," Hermione replied irritably.
"She's not going to get pregnant, she's too ambitious for that," Draco said dismissively.
"Look," Harry said quickly. "We'll have a talk with Daniel and you have a talk with Bella. That's really all we can do."
"Fine," Hermione said.
Ron looked startled. "I hope you realise I'll be busy that day."
"You don't even know when we're going to talk to her," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at her blushing husband.
"We're not going to talk to her. You are," Ron protested.
"Nonsense. You are her father and you and I are going to have a frank and open discussion with our daughter about sex," Hermione replied firmly.
"This is secret women's business," Ron insisted.
Hermione scowled at him. "Fine, I'll do it myself. But you are talking to Nick when it's time."
Ron grimaced. "Fine. Anything but talking to my teenage daughter about things my teenage daughter should know nothing about. This is all your randy son's fault."
Harry grinned. "He takes after me in that respect."
Draco laughed so hard he almost choked. "What? Since when have you been randy?"
"I've been known to be randy on occasion," Harry said loftily.
"Oh please, we haven't made love on a regular basis in years," Draco retorted.
"Well, watch out tonight, honey. Our children will be safely asleep in their dorms and our room will finally be child-free!" Harry said, grinning lewdly at Draco.
"Mmmm, I'd forgotten that," Draco said, leaning closer to his husband. "After so many years of constant interruption, I don't think I remember what it's like to make love to my gorgeous husband. We'll have to make sure we get lots of practice in the coming months."
"The Coming Months, is that what we're going to call it? Because I kind of like that name," Harry teased as he leaned closer to Draco. Their faces were now only a few inches apart.
"Sounds good to me, honey," Draco said before closing the distance between them and kissing his husband. It was a kiss full of promise for the night ahead.
"Get a room!" Sirius called teasingly down the table from his seat beside Albus. Draco and Harry ignored him and the animagus went back to his conversation with the headmaster.
"Are you sure you two will be fit to teach tomorrow? You won't be too tired?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
"Mione, what did you and Ron do on Nick's first night in Ravenclaw?" Draco asked pointedly.
Hermione thought for a moment before grinning. "Point taken."
"Who do you have first tomorrow?" Harry asked Draco.
Draco made a face. "Second year Gryffindor/Slytherin."
"Oh god," Hermione said, laughing softly.
"Shut up," Draco retorted. "You'll have them eventually. Shit, I hate that class. Marauder's children and the Weasley twins' children in the same class. Someone up there hates us."
"They won't be so bad. At least they take it pretty easy on us," Harry said in a pathetic attempt to console his husband.
"They take it easy on us?" Draco said slowly. "Since when? In Potions it's like open season for pranks of any kind."
"Well, they don't mess with me," Harry said with a knowing smile.
"You hexed them last year, didn't you?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"I may have asked some students to participate in a demonstration," Harry replied guardedly.
"That's…that's…" the witch trailed off but Draco finished her sentence off for her.
"Brilliant."
A light shone in Draco's eyes as he contemplated all the ways he could warn the group that playing pranks in his class was a Very Bad Idea. Snape's teaching style suddenly made sense but Draco would never emulate it. He would just make it very clear that messing with him would have consequences.
"So, have you made any plans yet for the Christmas holidays yet?" Ron asked Draco and Harry curiously.
"Ron! It's the first day of school and you're already thinking of the holidays? You should be ashamed of yourself," Hermione said, her eyes flashing at her husband.
"Actually, we have made plans, but for the Easter holidays when it's warmer," Harry said, smiling lovingly at Draco. "We're going back to Venice for a second honeymoon."
Draco beamed at Harry, remembering their visit to the travel agent in Hogsmeade just yesterday. He was so excited to go back to Venice with his gorgeous husband, but he was even more excited to be alone with his delectable husband, without any interruption from students or staff members. It was going to be a wonderful two weeks and he just couldn't wait. Their children were also eager be left behind as they'd never had the true boarding school experience of being away from their parents as Harry and Draco had always been there.
Harry reached out and caressed Draco's cheek with his fingers. Draco leaned into the gentle touch before moving forward to capture Harry's lips with his mouth.
"Love you, my dragon," Harry whispered tenderly.
"Love you too," Draco whispered back, once again thankful that Harry had managed to forgive him for his deplorable behaviour so many years ago. He truly was blessed.
The End
A.N. Well, there it is. The last part of what has been a huge part of my life for so long. I may, repeat MAY, continue this but it won't follow on in this one because it's called Epilogue, I'll have to start a new story. I probably won't though, unless there is enough call for one – and I mean A LOT - because I want to move on and try something new. Plus I really should finish my other stories so I'll probably concentrate on that for a while.
Diagon Alley will not be continued. But I have that new story – The Sweetest Of Dreams – of which I am almost ready to post chapter 2 of. I am putting a tremendous amount of effort into this story, whereas my other stuff I kind of just do on a whim. Sure, it's not H/D but it is Sirius/James, Harry/Severus and Draco/Ron. Go check it out and review. Trust me, it's going to be better than anything else I've ever done, and if you don't think so, then tell me why it's not and I'll try to do better.
The phrase 'Hufflepuffs huffle-suck' is from a banner I found on the net months ago. It's on my computer. I thought it was cool and so I used it here.
I toyed with the idea of making other people HB and HG but in the end I decided that Daniel and Bella were ambitious enough to get the coveted positions. Plus, I like the issue of the single rooms.
And just for fun a Class List – to keep track of all those Weasley children :) of course, there are other children at the school, but I've only listed the children of our favourite people…
Seventh Years House Parents
Daniel Potter Slytherin Harry and Draco's son
Isabella Weasley Slytherin Ron and Hermione's daughter
Sixth Years House Parents
Michael Thomas Gryffindor Ginny and Dean's son
Georgina Zabini Slytherin Blaise and Padma's daughter
Fifth Years House Parents
Percy Weasley Jnr Ravenclaw Percy and Penelope's son
Lachlan Weasley Hufflepuff Bill and Seamus' son (Seamus took Bill's
surname when they married, like Draco took Harry's)
Fourth Years House Parents
Beth Lupin Gryffindor Remus and Angela's daughter
Jeremy Potter Gryffindor Harry and Draco's daughter
Nicholas Weasley Ravenclaw Ron and Hermione's son
Andrew Zabini Slytherin Blaise and Padma's son
Third Years House Parents
Andrew Thomas Gryffindor Ginny and Dean's son
Regina Weasley Ravenclaw Percy and Penelope's daughter
Second Years House Parents
Anthea Black Gryffindor Sirius and Narcissa's daughter
Ingrid Lupin Gryffindor Remus and Angela's daughter (twins)
Ryan Lupin Gryffindor Remus and Angela's son (twins)
Rose Weasley Gryffindor Fred and Lavender's daughter
Nathan Weasley-Wood Gryffindor George and Oliver's son
First Years House Parents
Will Potter Hufflepuff Harry and Draco's son
Toby Weasley Hufflepuff Justin and Charlie's son (Justin became a
Weasley because Justin Finch-Fletchley-Weasley is just too much)