I Wouldn't Change a Thing (10/?)
Chapter 10: A new addition to the family
Tonks paced around the bathroom, staring at her watch then at the pregnancy test on the counter. Three more minutes and she would know if she was pregnant. Severus sat on the edge of the bathtub, watching his fiancée pace back and forth, back and forth.
Down the hall, Harry lay with his head in Lucius' lap. It was three days since the Christmas dinner and Draco had popped in that morning asking Harry to take him back. There wasn't much more of this that Harry could take before he blurted out that he was doing his father. A hand was resting on Harry's stomach underneath his shirt. "How many more months?" Lucius asked softly.
"About three." Harry replied. He sighed and remembered what the medi-wizard had told him. Because he was getting close to the due date, he was to forgo sex until the baby was born. They sat in silence, listening to their breathing.
"I'm terribly sorry for the trouble Draco has caused you. I will have to discuss some things with him and explain that you no longer want to be with him and that's final." He leaned down and gently kissed Harry.
A quick check of her watch and Tonks picked up the test. A blue minus sign. Negative. She didn't know if she should be happy or sad. "Negative. I'm not pregnant." She sighed, tears pricking her eyes. Severus got up and wrapped his arms around her small frame, inhaling the scent of her kiwi shampoo.
"I'm sorry." Severus whispered.
"I don't know, when I thought I might be pregnant, I was so excited about it and now that I know I'm not going to have a child, I feel a bit disappointed." She explained.
Two months later
School was something Harry dreaded. There was no Lucius there to protect him when Draco got out of hand or to soothe him when he became too emotional. He and Lucius had now been together for nearly two and a half months and Harry was due any day now. Draco had been pestering him for the past month, asking if he could be there when the baby was born. Harry said no and threw what Draco had said when he found out he was going to be a father right back in his face. This child was far too important to Harry…And Lucius for that matter. He had moved down to his bedroom in his father's rooms and was to stay there until the end of the year.
Nymphadora Tonks, soon-to-be Nymphadora Snape, had been spending time at the castle with Severus planning their wedding. Severus had already done the whole wedding planning thing once and sure as hell wasn't going to do it again. When he had tried to help Lily plan their wedding, the redhead had criticised everything he said and spent a good amount of time yelling at him for some unknown reason. He calmly told her that whatever she chose would be perfect and maybe Ms. Granger could help her if she wanted to.
No one beside Hermione, Ron, and Tonks knew about Harry's relationship with Lucius. That was how they planned to keep it but as everyone knows, things don't always go as planned. If people found out then they found out but Harry and Lucius wouldn't outright tell people they were together.
Friday, March 13, 1998
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in Severus' sitting area playing a game of chess and chatting. Harry and Ron studied the placement of their pieces. As usual, Ron was winning. Before Harry could make his next move, pain washed over Harry and he clutched his stomach. "Fuck, this hurts!" He whimpered. The pain went away as quickly as it had come. He nudged one of his pieces on the board to move and slammed his fist down on the table as he was hit with another wave of pain. This time, it lasted a bit longer.
Hermione was becoming suspicious of the sudden pain her friend was in. She ran over and helped Harry up and over to his bedroom. Laying him down on his bed, Hermione ran back out to the sitting area and fire-called Madam Pomfrey. She sent Ron out to fetch Severus from the headmaster's office and told Hermione to bring Harry to the infirmary.
Harry laid down on one of the beds in the infirmary and gripped the mattress as he felt another contraction coming on. Hermione gently rubbed Harry's back and helped him concentrate on breathing through his contractions. "Go. Get. Luce." Harry growled.
Less than five minutes later, Lucius had been called and was on his way. When he arrived, he was greeted by the sound of Harry screaming at Pomfrey for something, anything for the pain. "Mister Snape, I can't give you anything. It would just complicate everything." Lucius ran to his lover's side and mopped his brow with a cool towel. Harry whimpered in pain as the pain lessened and pulled Lucius down to gently kiss him.
"Mister Malfoy, do you think you could keep Harry distracted?" Lucius nodded as Poppy set up a screen around Harry's stomach.
"Harry, look at me. You're fine. This will all be over soon." He held Harry's hand in his and stroked Harry's sweaty hair.
"Harry, this is going to hurt but it will be done in a few minutes. Try not to move too much."
Harry nodded and squeezed Lucius' hand as he felt the tug of the knife as it pierced his skin. Lucius wiped away Harry's tears and though he was sure Harry had already broken a few bones in his hand, he let the boy squeeze his hand as hard as he needed to. "Harry, stay with me. Talk to me, love." Lucius stroked the young man's cheek with the back of his hand.
"Where's my father?" Harry sobbed, his eyes darting around the infirmary for any sign of his father.
"He'll be here." Lucius attempted to reassure his young love. Harry saw the blonde's crestfallen expression as Harry was stitched up and the baby was cleaned up.
The sound of the baby's cries echoed in the sterile room. A cool, glass vile was pressed to Harry's lips and he eagerly swallowed the pain reliever. Oh how Lucius wished the baby were his and not his son's. He watched as the matron wrapped the newborn in a swaddling blanket and handed the tiny bundle to harry. "Congratulations, Harry, it's a boy."
The little baby in his arms yawned and its tiny eyes opened. Harry touched one of its tiny hands. He slid over a little on the small bed and patted the area next to him. "Sit with me." He said softly to Lucius. Lucius nodded and slide in the bed. "I know what you are thinking. I wish you were his father, too, and not Draco."
"He's beautiful, Harry." Lucius smiled, pressing a kiss to his lover's lips. "You did so well before. I'm pretty sure you either broke my hand or badly bruised it but I don't mind. I love you."
The sound of footsteps and the doors swinging open was followed by the loud chattering of Harry's friends and father. They remained silent as Poppy scolded the group for making too much noise. "Before they come in here and bombard us with question and kill me, I want to ask you if you would marry me. This isn't how I wanted to ask you but it just seems so right to ask you now."
"I love you, Lucius Malfoy." He whispered then kissed him. "Yes, I'll marry you."
"If the two of you are quite finished, there is a group of people here to see you, Harry." Poppy said.
"Let them in." Harry sobbed and kissed his lover once more. Harry watched his baby move his little hands around.
The group walked in and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Lucius sitting in Harry's bed, holding the baby. Hermione and Tonks rushed to the bed to see the baby. "What's its name?" Tonks cooed.
"We haven't chosen a name yet." Harry smiled.
"We?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lucius gave Harry a questioning look which Harry responded to with a smile. "Yes, we, Luce."
"We're not and we never will be back together." Harry answered.
"What is Lucius doing, holding my grandson?" Severus inquired.
"Dad, meet the mystery man I've been with since Christmas."
Severus looked like he was about to have a heart attack after hearing that his son had been seeing the elder Malfoy for over two months. Severus stopped himself from saying what he had been ready to say to Lucius only because it made him a hypocrite.
A silence fell over the room as Tonks cooed over her newest cousin and Poppy wrapped Lucius' injured hand. The soothing silence was soon broken by the sound of the infirmary doors swinging open.
"Mister Malfoy, you can't come in here." Poppy said to Draco.
"I want to see my child! I have the right to see my child!" Came the shrill voice.
Lucius wrapped his arm around his fiancé. All the noise in the infirmary was upsetting the baby, making him start crying. Harry tried to calm the child but wound up just letting Lucius do it. Severus was on the verge of a nervous breakdown which Tonks was trying to prevent.
"Father, why are you holding my child? And why are you sitting in Harry's bed." Draco asked nervously. He hoped that their answers were not the ones he was thinking.
"Draco, I believe you've met my fiancé, Harry." Lucius smirked.
"Fiancé?"
"FIANCE?!" Severus shrieked.
The baby started wailing again and Harry silently urged Lucius to go into the hallway to calm down the child. "Lucius asked me to marry him before all of you came in." He explained.
"Have you chosen a name?" Draco asked timidly, trying not to cry at hearing that he lost the one he loved to his father.
"No, Luc and I have not chosen a name yet." Harry answered sharply. The tone of his voice cut through Draco like a dull knife. It pained him to hear his Harry calling his father by a nickname. "I've had a very tiring day. Dad, can you tell Lucius to come back in when you all leave?" Harry asked.
"Yes but you and I will be having a long chat, with Lucius once Poppy thinks you are well enough the leave." Harry nodded and let his father fluff his pillow.
Lucius softly kissed the baby's forehead and set him carefully in the basinet by the window. For a while, he stood next to the basinet watching the infant sleep. He suddenly felt the presence of another person standing behind him. "I hear you and Harry are engaged. You both have my blessing."
"Thank you." He said, turning on his heel and heading towards a sleeping Harry.
Harry woke up the next morning groggy and with a dull pain in his abdomen. He peeked under the gauze bandages at the pink scar and grimaced, remembering how much pain he was in the day. Wincing, he sat up and put on his glasses. Standing in font of the window was Lucius, dressed as impeccably as ever, holding Harry's son. He was grateful that he was one of the few people who had the privilege of seeing this softer side of Lucius Malfoy.
Lucius held the infant in his arms and pointed to the dove sitting on the window ledge. The bird cooed and the baby just looked at it. He had been forced to tie up his hair after he found out that baby liked to pull on it. When he saw that Harry was awake, he ad baby went over and sat in the bed. "Good morning, my precious baby." He cooed.
"Good morning to you, too, Harry." Lucius said, kissing Harry's cheek.
"I was talking to the baby. Good morning, Luce." He pecked the older man on the lips and took the baby from his arms.
"I already fed him, burped him and changed him." Lucius said proudly.
"Aren't we domesticated?" Harry laughed. "We need to name this little one."
"This all feels a bit strange. You're marrying your child's grandfather. Are you completely sure about this?" Lucius asked.
"I'm very sure about this. To be honest, I don't want Draco's name on my child's birth certificate. I'd rather your name be on it." Harry sighed.
"So what, he's going to grow up believing Draco is his older brother?"
"I don't know. Can we not argue about this?" Lucius had a point and Harry knew it. He wanted his child to acknowledge someone kind as their father, not someone like Draco. "What do you think about Damon?"
"It's no Lucius but I like it. What about Paris for his middle name?"
Harry thought about it for a moment. "Damon Paris Malfoy. I like it. Wait, D.P.M. aren't those Draco's initials? What about Paris Nathaniel Adrian Malfoy?"
"I like it." Lucius leaned over and looked at the sleeping baby. "Hello, Paris." He turned to look at Harry. "Why Malfoy and not Snape?" he asked, resting his chin on Harry's shoulder.
"Because I highly doubt you would change your name to Snape when we get married." Harry turned his head and brushed their lips together. "How is your hand?" Harry looked down at the bandaged hand and raised it to his lips
"I wouldn't make a good Snape anyway. I have too much Malfoy pride… Don't worry about my hand. How are you feeling?"
"Sore but other than that, I feel wonderful. I have a beautiful child and a man who loves me and wants to marry me." He raised a hand to cup Lucius' face and kiss the older man.
"Sev, would you rather have your son be in a relationship with a man who genuinely loves him or with some stupid little wanker that told Harry to get rid of their baby and said some of the worst things to him? And now all of a sudden Draco wants Harry and the baby. Harry needs someone who can provide him and the baby with a stable future. Okay, so my uncle doesn't have the best past but he has a stable job and will protect his family at all costs. He has been your best friend since you were children! Don't you want to see him happy? Don't you want to see your son happy?" The young auror tried to keep her temper down.
"That is precisely what bothers me! Lucius has been my best friends since we were children! Harry's my son, my seventeen year old son who is marrying my best friend!" Severus leapt from his chair and raked his fingers through his hair.
"You do realise that you and my father are the same age, right? I don't see how our situation is any different!" She shrieked.
"How is his situation different?! Harry just had a baby whose father is the son of the man he's marrying! He's also seventeen. He hasn't even graduated yet. Lucius may be my best friend but he's also more than twice Harry's age, he was convicted of being a death eater, Harry sent him to prison, and Harry's only been with him for two and a half months and they're already fucking engaged!" He slumped onto the corner of his bed with his head in his hands.
Tonks sat down next to him and put her arms around him. "You're not afraid you're going to lose him, are you?"
He leaned into her embrace and sighed. "I've been his father for less than two years and already he's leaving me. I gave him up when he was a baby because it wasn't safe then last year, after the war was over, I get to be his father again and now he's getting married and has a child of his own. I can't help it; I still see Harry as this tiny little baby that used to fall asleep on my chest or between Lily and I when we couldn't get him to fall asleep."
"You will always be his father and he will always need you. It's time you stop seeing him as a baby and start seeing him as the young man that he is. You're a grandfather now. He's going to need your help a lot. Go talk to your son." Tonks pulled Severus on his feet and pushed him towards the door.
"You do realise that you are the baby's step-grandmother." He smirked and kissed her. Tonks wrinkled her nose and pushed him out the door.
The infirmary was quiet except for the occasional whispered terms of endearment of the sound of someone shifting on the bed. Paris was sleeping in Harry's arms while Lucius snuggled up to Harry's side, placing wet kisses down his neck.
Severus huffed and cleared his throat, making his presence known. Harry looked up at his father while Lucius couldn't really care. "For God's sake Lucius, you're 43. Act your age." Severus groaned and sat down on the next bed.
"You try being separated from your lover for over a month then, when you do see each other, you can't even have sex." Harry elbowed him in the ribs.
Severus made a sound of disgust after hearing Lucius complain about not being able to have sex with Harry. "Don't talk about your sex life in front of me. I would prefer not to know what you and my son are up to."
"Luc, back off for now." Harry turned to his father and handed him the infant.
"Have you chosen a name yet?" Severus asked, stroking the baby's light brown hair.
"We named him this morning. His name is Paris Nathaniel Adrian Malfoy." Harry was proud of his newborn child and leaned back against his lover's chest.
"Harry, I just want to apologise for not being supportive of you and Lucius. I want to see my closest friend and my son happy. If the two of you being together makes you both happy, then I'm happy for you." He cracked the tiniest bit of a smile at seeing how happy the two were that they had his approval. "Lucius Adrian Malfoy, I'm expecting you to take care of my son." The blonde nodded and turned Harry's head so he could kiss him.
A few days later, Harry returned to his classes. Tonks and Lucius had both offered to help baby-sit until Easter hols. Lucius' daily letters to Harry helped make the days go by faster for the young father. Severus wouldn't allow Lucius to visit frequently because harry needed to concentrate on his studies and not his boyfriend. So, to get around this little obstacle, Lucius had sent Harry a highly suggestive letter to which Harry replied with a steamy letter of his own. Every day Harry would receive a letter at breakfast and would reply by lunch. On one particular day, the envelope had been thicker so he had stuffed it in his pocket and read it when he had some alone time. Harry had been pleasantly surprised when he found a photograph of Lucius and Paris and several nude photos of his lover. The picture of Lucius and Paris was place in a wooden frame on Harry's dresser. And so the remainder of the year went. Surprisingly, there wasn't any trouble from Draco, something that unnerved Harry and his father quite a bit.